lmamajorperformancelee

[lmamajorperformancelee]

Bibliography

BROWN, P. (2005) A Merseyside Reaction To The Housing Market Renewal Initiative. [Online] Available from: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/mcs/lfs/docs/CFkwpb0405.pdf 

[Accessed: 3rd February 2020]

CARAVAGGIO. (1607) The Seven Acts of Mercy. [Oil in Canvas] Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples. 

CHER. (1989) If I Could Turn Back Time. [Song] United States: Geffen. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgD9FyE60hs

[Accessed: 25th February 2020]

CHUBBUCK, I. (2005) The Power Of The Actor. 1st Ed. New York: Penguin Random House LLC.

[Accessed: 3rd February 2020]

CITY ACADEMY. (2020) Vocal Warm-Ups: How To Do It Safely. [Online] Available from: https://www.city-academy.com/news/vocal-warm-ups-how-to-do-it-safely/

[Accessed: 20th January 2020]

ESPELAND, T. (2015) The Eight Efforts: Laban Movement. [Online] Available from: https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/the-eight-efforts-laban-movement/

[Accessed: 14th January2020]

LUSTGARTEN, A. (2016) The Seven Acts Of Mercy. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. 

MASTERCLASS. (2019) Film 101: What Is Cinematography And What Does A Cinematographer Do? [Online] Available from: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-101-what-is-cinematography-and-what-does-a-cinematographer-do#what-does-a-cinematographer-do

[Accessed: 17th March 2020]

MASTERCLASS. (2019) Acting Tips: How To Be Successful At Your First Table Read. [Online] Available from: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/acting-tips-how-to-be-successful-at-your-first-table-read#what-is-a-table-read 

[Accessed: 13th January 2020]

MEISNER, S. LONGWELL, D. (1987) Sanford Meisner On Acting. 1st Ed. New York: Random House, Inc.

[Accessed: 20th January 2020]

M.I.A. (2007) Paper Planes. [Song] United States: XL/ Interscope. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y

[Accessed: 3rd March 2020]

RSC. (2020) The Seven Acts Of Mercy. [Online] Available from: 

https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-seven-acts-of-mercy/production-photos

[Accessed: 7th April 2020]

STANISLAVSKI, K. (1963) An Actor’s Handbook: An Alphabetical Arrangement Of Concise Statements On Aspects Of Acting. Available from:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GgfVQhe23hcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=konstantin+stanislavski+magic+if+book&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1r8KXuProAhVhaRUIHarYCn8Q6AEINjAC#v=onepage&q=magic%20if&f=false 

[Accessed: 4th February 2020]

THE DRAMA TEACHER. (2014) Theatre of Cruelty Conventions. [Online] Available from: https://thedramateacher.com/theatre-of-cruelty-conventions/ 

[Accessed: 14th January 2020] 

THE GAME ft, 50 CENT. (2004) How We Do. [Song] United States: G-Unit/ Aftermath/ Interscope. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH34kMOjmQk

[Accessed: 10th March 2020]

WALKER, B. (2001) What Is A Warm-Up And How To Warm-Up Properly?. [Online] Available from: https://stretchcoach.com/articles/warm-up/

[Accessed: 20th January 2020]

YOUTUBE, added by FLASHBACK FILMMAKING. (2017) Makeup The Joker (Jack Nicholson) ‘Batman’ Behind The Scenes. [Online] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n4TgvtbvHc

[Accessed: 2nd March 2020]

[lmamajorperformancelee]

Ongoing Research and Character Analysis

Throughout this whole process, I have undertook my own further research within the show to develop my knowledge and understanding of the circumstance of the show. Thus creating a more realistic performance needed to portray the most truthful performance. For further character analysis, I researched into Stanislavski’s system: The Seven Questions that an actor needs to answer to create a character. This supported me to finalise my base of my characters back story, through the playwrights description to my own choices.

I also looked into the Royal Shakespeare Companies version and looked into how their Lee is represented and I found that they went more for the look in comparison to Leon than what is stated in the script “ a handsome man ... something of a Joey Barton about him” (Lustgarten, 2016, p. 52) I believe that it just didn’t quite meet the character in my opinion, to the description made in the script. In addition to this it seems that it only shows Lee in a suit, defying that he doesn’t change throughout the play, means that he doesn’t dress appealingly towards the company he is - like I have within my character. I feel that it will come across stronger to the audience, if he does change costume especially when being around his family, as it shows that he is trying to make the effort that he is trying to change and wants the forgiveness from his dad. 

Photo by Ellie Kurtiz. Lee in ‘The Seven Acts of Mercy’. 

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Major Performance Mid Process Review

This really helped me investigate where I am within the process of the module. Through this task, it gave me an opportunity to elaborate and acquire my strengths and weaknesses, in order to improve as well as receive the best mark possible. This also made me realise of the small detail and narrowing down about the characterisation of Lee, especially the elements that I have never really thought about before in my analysis, such as: hip placement and gate. This was essential as my character was still developing even though not in the rehearsal room.

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Hot Seating Questions

The following are the selected questions from the given questions provided by the director, to help build characterisation and acknowledged about when creating our character. The back story of a character is key as then you know how to react truthfully in situations and interpret the given circumstance correctly. Ivana Chubbuck (2005) explains on page 195, the importance of a characters’ PREVIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES, that its essential to complete the analysis of the script to understand and create a full back story of the past and present activities to then encourage and emotional, physical and mental attachment. Thus leading to a truthful and realistic performance. I believe this is key to producing my character of Lee due to me going through similar experiences to the character himself, meaning that I can relate to the words and actions that are needed to be portrayed, to then win my objectives that I have set throughout my performance.

The following are the questions which I have chosen from the questions provided:

Who is the person you are closest to at the moment and is it a healthy relationship?

What made you scared?

Do you feel like you are a similar person to child you?

What are your friends like?

Describe your parents?

What are you surprisingly good at?

What is your favourite item of clothing?

Is breaking the law ever justified?

What is your biggest regret?

What are you secretly proud of?

If you could have a superpower what would it be and why? 

What happened to Mickey’s mum?

How did you get into the jobs that you did?

I chose these questions as I believed they were the most obscure from the list. Therefore meaning that I can produce a more well rounded character as I have produced a backstory based on unique knowledge.

[lmamajorperformancelee]

17/03/2020 Filming

Today we got a great opportunity of being able to film the play for some footage material. The impacts of this were that we were able to re-watch and analyse, what we feel that needs to improve or even change. 

First things first is the physical and vocal warm-up due to it being such an important day, it was a bit of fun through the activity of ‘splatogories’ which enabled us to think of the answer on the spot and under pressure - warming up our minds.

‘Splatagories’ is a game in which the cast gets into a circle with one member in the middle, the middle person points at someone asking a question such that of “Name a Car brand?” immediately following on from that the person pointed at must duck and the players on either side turn to each and answer the category. If the pointed person does not duck then they are out or if they do duck then the person who does’t answer the question first then is out. This game carries on until the final two. The final two players then stand back to back, until the chosen word is exclaimed, then the first player to turn and say bang is the winner.

Subsequently, after the game we participated in filming the progression of our show. Lois started off by trying to film the scenes however struggled so asked for my help. So I carried on with the filming of the scenes. It gave me a chance to increase my camera skills and it also gave the opportunity for cast members to get some good footage for their blogs, I worked on using different camera zooms so they could have establishing shots, two shots, close-ups and extreme close-ups. The key to what I wanted to achieve was that I wanted to get as many different shots as possible but also show a good story line in a good way to look at this is that “Cinematographers should think carefully about every shot, considering the angle, the light, and the camera movement, because there is an infinite number of choices they can make.” (Masterclass, 2019) This was apparent to me when filming as I wanted to produce the best rehearsal footage for fellow actors so they are able to completely scrutinise their performance, encouraging them to become better actors. Alongside to the scenes being filmed, I felt that this really helped everyone as it boosted morale and confidence and made some people really act on instinct and chase their objectives. When performing my scene especially Scene 1 in Act 2, it was evident from the feedback received which Lois (2020) proclaimed it to “some of the best acting that we had accomplished”, as we lost all inhibitions, acted on instincts by using good listening skills and really chased my scene objectives and my overall objective. I really let go and tried to gain the best possible performance with the character analyse I have completed over the past few months. Moreover, we finished off the day by looking at Act 2, Scene 11, I added into my scene the work I have learned from previous years, which is a technique called Emotional Diaries, taught by Ivana Chubbuck. This provides a concrete foundation to what understanding and the build of emotion needed to be shown within the scene. Emotional diaries must consist of writing a letter to your substitute and then stating your objective, which continues to state otherwise you would and everything you write prior to the final statement is a lie, the last statement is the truth. Finally the final sentence should state otherwise I WILL DIE because every objective needs to be won no matter what, so it should always be that feeling of its life or death. This really made me accomplish and achieve what I desired in the scene as it forced me to bring out emotion and really fight on listening and instinctive actions to win my scene objective to then win the scene.  

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16/03/2020 Improving Scenes

To begin the day we experimented with a physical theatre technique ‘Frantic Assembly’. Another physical theatre technique, where we had to use creativity and team work, through mirroring each other and following the leader. This was effective as boosted people’s trust in each other and overall team work skills, as well as improving the qualities of timings and listening. I found this fun especially with the running exercise as I treated it more of a matter of trying to speed it up to increase movement, leading to a better shapes being produced.

Once completing this exercise, we looked into creating a captivating opening to the show, through the use of having both worlds crossing paths and mirroring each to show the relationship and interweaving of the worlds, unearthing the portrayal of the potential plot of the whole play. This is significantly efficacious upon the audience, as this allows the audience to invest in the show immediately and create their own hypothesis of what may happen throughout the production. 

Proceeding on from mastering the beginning of the show, we delved into the scenes that the cast felt as though needed the most work on, to increase the quality of the performance. I suggested going over Act 2, Scene 1, as I felt that pace and energy was required within the scene, as well as working out possible doings and humour. This was beneficial as the scene is long already therefore it needed more things to make it flow nicely without having the audience disengage. In addition, one thing that sometimes comes as an obstacle, is actually reacting the background noise (a football match) as it doesn’t always add up to the dialogue in the scene. This will boost the naturalism and realism within the scene, making it more enjoyable to watch.

[lmamajorperformancelee]

10/03/2020 Specific Scene Work

We started the day off by looking into the full entirety of the transitions for act 1, this was done by the use of top and tailing each scene. This includes sorting the correct actions, so that the correct staging is set and the music can provide the correct mood for the scene. This was to make sure that we could solidify everything within the first act and start putting more attention onto the second act. 

Later on in the day, we re-looked Scene 7, the parts with Jimmy and Karen. This was essential as we never rehearsed that part of the scene, due to absences.  This was a help due to being able to see how the scene should pan out and how much of a benefit these characters are to this significant scene. In addition, to see what worked and what didn’t work in the entire scene with the part being added. On this note, we confirmed the song that this scene will have:  ‘How We Do’ by The Game ft, 50 Cent (2004) as a group in the scene, we felt that it suited the characters the best and the actors wanted a song that they could dance to to produce a truthful reaction. Throughout this performance, I was able to play around with how Lee can make such a notable impression on both members of the cast and audience, by proving what power  he authorises, due to the actions of whistling and sitting in Prime and Razors work place. I think this was effective, specially due to the reaction I received (the cast members and audience were shocked).

Towards the end of the day, we worked through more challenging scenes: Act 2, Scene 4 (Vincenzo scene) as it contains sexual content, so we had to ensure it was played as realistically as possible.

[lmamajorperformancelee]

09/03/2020 Act 1 Transitions

We first looked at the transitions for the whole of Act 1. The significant aspect we wanted to adhere to which was making sure that we kept both worlds separate and trying to ensure that we kept blackout transitions to a minimum. This is so we wouldn’t be constantly ruining  the flow of the play and making sure that it wasn’t distracting and disengaging to the audience. 

After going over the transitions, we focused on Act 1, Scene 7, to work around the relationship between Lee, Prime and Razor. For my own personal benefit, I was pleased to do this scene again, as I needed to work on my authority within the scene, due to the choreography been added into it, I’ve lost my power, as I struggle not to laugh most of the time. So within this run I tried out new tactics and doings, in order to create unpredictability meaning that the other cast members didn’t know what to expect. I was at an advantage, as the other Lee from the other cast was absent, meaning that I could work with a different Prime and Razor, which allowed me to make new discoveries and ways to regain my power back. My strength was my listening ability as I followed my instincts and played off on what was given back to me.

Once producing the skeleton of Act 1 we performed a showcase to other members of LMA staff. This showcase consisted of the use of different cast members for different scenes. This was beyond beneficial for me as I had the chance to work with different cast members meaning that my listening skills had to be on point, to produce a truthful reaction and also work a lot on my instincts due to not having had the opportunity to constantly act with them.

This was also the chance for me to play around with how I delivered my lines, using and performing different objectives and how I could make other characters react, by doing completely different things within the scene. 

The LMA staff (2020) then provided their opinion of the show. Their opinion consisted off: “they feel they have a very good show on their hands and that we are in a very good place for the time we have left before the show”. The only thing is that as a group we need to work on projection, as we are in a predicament to whether or not to use microphones of just completely up projection. I personally don’t like the idea of having microphones on stage as some of my scenes consist shouting and a lot of action which incur technical problems, thus leading the audience to become discombobulated. 

After the completion of all of that, we done a final run through of the transitions and solidifying them into the show. Through this process, we found that there was some miscommunication between the director and actors, when working on transitions meaning that props be in the wrong place leading the scene to be delayed or not understanding the purpose of that certain transition, thus incurring a drop in pace and energy. Sometimes, we took a while to find a suitable song, for example being the opening of the show. Finally, was the decision of when, and when not to cross the worlds together as this may cause confusion between the action and the audience. 

As the day concluded, the decision was made that to watch the show you would have to be 16 years old and above. This is due to containing themes of a Sexual nature, violence and inappropriate language that may offend and scare the younger generation. This was done to keep the safety of the audience in mind. 

[lmamajorperformancelee]

03/03/2020 Soundtrack and Scene Work

We started the day, the same as we do every Tuesday rehearsal by participating in a thorough warm-up sesssion. This is necessary as we are attempting to complete a full run of the play, therefore we need to ensure that we are on the ball and have a lot of energy. This warm-up consisted of vocal warm-ups including stretches of the mouth and playing with different vocal levels, physical warm-ups both cardio and streches to increase mobility, and improvisation just to get characterisation intact and get the creativity flowing. These warm-ups help me a lot to be the best actor that I can be, as when I am warmed up I am able to engage more in the rehearsal room.

After the warm-up, we gradually stumbled through scene by scene and focused on how we could possibly organise transitions and working out a possible soundtrack score for the whole performance. Whilst looking into the soundtrack we played the scenes along side to see whether or not it works and goes alongside the action. This was helpful for specific characters as it encouraged them to immerse physically, mentally and emotionally in to the scene. In intact doings into my scenes (i.e. taking Primes hat which is a power move, raising my voice, actually having a Liverpool shirt to permit a reaction out Mickey and Leon).

I composed a playlist myself as an exercise, to see how I would score the play myself, and choosing songs for specific scenes. This activity of creating a playlist allowed me to truly start feeling the mannerims of Lee, as the character I felt in control and power. Another key point to scoring the show is background noice in particular scenes such as Act 1, Scene 5 (politician scene) and Act 2, Scene 1 (the football game scene), in particular to make it sound as realist as possible, as well as help the actors feel the scene. For example, one song I suggested, that I thought really would work for Act 1, Scene 7, is ‘Paper Planes’ (M.I.A., 2007). This is completely to do with the reference to the lyrics in the song: “All I wanna do is (gunshots) and take your money,” (M.I.A., 2007, Chorus: 1-3) really defining the inner essence of what owners of bookmakers want, as well as the fundamental characterisation of Prime and Razor. However, this song was not chosen by Lois, the director, as she felt that it just didn’t suit the style of the play and just followed a kind of ‘kid-like’ tune. Below you will find my playlist and also Lois’s playlist on Spotify (2020). However, we took someone’s suggestion of the song: ‘How We Do’ (The Game ft 50 Cent, 2005) which was suitable to the actual characters, Prime and Razor.

After working out a possible playlist for the show myself, we looked further into the scene where Prime and Razor compose their dance routine, and to see if it flowed with the scene. Making sure the dancing looked realistic and not coming out of the blue, as well as seeing if the song worked and didn’t juxtaposition with the rest of the soundtrack. The indispensable point of the Prime and Razor scenes is that we have tried to make them our own and suitable upon the actor as well as character as best as we can. To begin with I struggled entering the scene whilst they were dancing due to laughter, therefore to overcome this I need to ensure that I contribute in a Moment Before, which will enable to remember the reason I am here and the urgency of my objective. This will help me not to corpse within the scene.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/71BCn81wbRhuVvS5Nmos92?si=GsjZI7GiQgCzqeg5qdCyeg - My Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3f8hy30rDXFHxjI160LCZL?si=9jmgowxgRyWwh3MULMq8fQ - Lois’s Playlist

[lmamajorperformancelee]

02/03/2020 Costume

Today was the day we looked at our character costumes. I paired up with the other Lee, to discuss what we believe our characters would wear. This was a great exercise as we were able to contemplate different ideas to see whether or not they would work for specific scenes. In my opinion I believe Lee being a very strong minded and quick-witted character, we used colour psychology to resemble what each character may or may not wear. I finalised with approval from the directors, that Lee should be wearing blacks and greys, compared to the likes of Caravaggio who would be wearing browns, burgundies and the colour red. These colours were chosen as different colours represent different emotions and meanings. This is referred to as Colour Psychology, which adds further information to the audience to what type of inner character a role holds as well as the emotion they are trying to represent. 

When me and Jayson participated in a discussion, we believed that Lee should be in his signature leather jacket, Shirt, Pants and smart shoes when in the scenes consisting of Emily, Prime and Razor to show power and the need for respect. In comparison to Leon and Mickey scenes, I think he wouldn’t be bringing back home work related stuff as well as the character of Lee doesn’t need power when in company of family. Wherefore, Lee would be dressed more smart casual in the likes of a shirt, jeans and high fashion shoes, to reduce the need for power and more to making his Dad proud which correlates with my overall objective. 

“I’ll find my character when I find his wardrobe” (Flashback FilmMaking, 2017) I love this quote made by Tim Burton during the making of his Joker in the Batman trilogy with Jack Nicholson, as I believe the costume for the character is the main aspect of finally finding the overall characterisation of a role.

[lmamajorperformancelee]

25/02/2020 Characterisation

To start our rehearsal day, we did an improvisation exercise to work on our characterisation of our characters. This consisted of a hot seating exercise improvisation exercise. My scenario was based in a sex clinic and the characters included Lee, Leon, Mickey, Damian and Prime. This worked well as we worked off instincts alone, didn’t have time to think much due to many variables of the scene and being asked questions. I found this beneficial as it allowed me to focus on my characterisation of my role, as well as practising putting all the attention on the other actors within the scene.

We then did Character Hot seating activity, where we had to choose a piece of music that complemented our characters. We got asked a number of questions that we must answer in character, enter the space so how would your character walk and sit and finally speak. This allowed me to explore and discover new facts about my character that I can implement into my performance. The song that I chose was ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ (Cher, 1989) referring back to the want of having his family back, both his dad and child, Mickey. This worked as it helped work on further characterisation and the unearthing of specific idiosyncrasies that our characters may adapt. 

Finally. we studied two of Lees scenes to which included both the football scene and also the second Prime and Razor scene. The football scene was working out relationships between the characters and the differences between relationships of Leon and Mickey compared to Lee. In comparison to the other scene which was working on transitioning from the Present world and Old world and making sure that these transitions are made flawless. I struggled a little with Act 2, Scene 1, the most as it is such a long scene to keep audience engaged so have to make it as interesting as possible with doings and the use of an emotional journey, which is difficult with the type of scene. Additionally, I found yet again there was no official positioning of the television. Therefore next time we run the scene I am going to discuss with the rest of the cast members regarding eye line of the television. As for Act 2, Scene 1, I need play around with my motives and Beats and Actions, to create more of a journey for myself within the scene.

[lmamajorperformancelee]

24/02/2020 Act 2

At first we looked into completing line run, to see how the whole cast has done with being completely off book for the entire performance. I found it beneficial as to boost confidence in both lines and some characterisation of characters, alongside to seeing the fluidity of the play, as for the consideration of previous cuts and incorporation that we have completed as a group.

We then discussed how we felt the cuts fitted based on the full performance and whether or not all the cuts worked, I felt that some of the cuts that were made for the character of Lee had to be put back in (”I was crushed here, I was suffocating under that mans weight of expectation” (Lustgarten, 2016, p.137)) due to him making reference to some of the lines later in the show, so the table read was very beneficial for this reason.

After that we got split into separate casts and started to look into specific scenes in depth and giving our own opinions on the different ways of portraying the scene. This in my opinion was a good trial as we were able to make the show our own, enabling us to engage and relate more to the play. The final instalment of the day was experimenting with with the possibility of potentially overlapping the two worlds instead of blacking out, re-setting stage for every transition. This is so the flow of the play isn't ruined for both cast, crew and audience members, withal reducing the temptation of losing interest via going on mobile phones. Whilst experimenting this we tested Music as well for specific scenes to add both atmosphere and emotion to each scene. 

A good way to look at the way in which the flow of the scene should go is “ The text is like a canoe, and the river on which it sits is the emotion ... It all depends on the flow of the river which is your emotion.” (Meisner and Longwell, 1987, p.115) This is a great representation to understand how the flow of a scene should run as a fundamental basic outline. I believe this really helped me develop the skill of producing a brief outline of any scene tasked and really encourage the use of listening skill and acting based of instinct via what the other actor gives you. 

[lmamajorperformancelee]

17/02/2020 & 18/02/2020 Half Term

This week was half term week and during half term we had the task of making sure that we were completely off book. During this week I looked into solidifying all my scene objectives and working out my overall objective which is what I have to win by the end of the show. The piece of research that I completed during this week was my main characterisation for Lee, which was working on a kind of half breed accent between a London accent with flits of a scouse twang. Both Lois and Emma (the Directors) enjoyed this type of accent during my audition therefore I decided to remain with this accent. The choice behind the accent was due to Lee moving away from Liverpool for a while, but most of the time you always have specific words and phrases that are always said like a specific accent, such that of always pronouncing your A’s harshly and K’s for scouse.

Scene Objectives:

Act 1 Scene 5: To get you to desire me. 

Act 1 Scene 7: To get you to respect me. 

Act 2 Scene 1: To get you to understand what I wanted. 

Act 2 Scene 7 Part 1: To get you to leave (so I can protect my daughter).

Act 2 Scene 7 Part 2: To get you to listen. 

Act 2 Scene 9: To get you to forgive me. 

Act 2 Scene 11: To get you to love me. 

Overall Objective: TO MAKE MY FATHER PROUD!

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11/02/2020 Blocking

To start the day off it was mine and Josh’s task to warm up the class. This shows a professional etiquette as it proves that you have a understanding and the ability to warm yourself up when required within your professional career.  I was a good leader and was taking into account any possible injuries people may have had. I listened to my fellow partner when he gave ideas and worked on encouraging the class to do the warm-up correctly, safely and enthusiastically. I received good feedback from tutors that I had a natural ability of controlling people and that I would make a good teacher, so they wouldn't lose interest leading to a lack in focus.

Today was blocking day in which we ran through the whole script and worked on each scene to figure out the basic blocking to the scenes and have a overall outline to the full show.  During this time I also offered constructive criticism to both scene work and transitions, to try and bring the best out of people and the show.  

We finally made the decision of how we are going to stage the play of which we decided to perform end on and not traverse. This is due to the choice of venue being the Bluecoat meaning that this alteration couldn’t be made to produce a traverse staging. I believe that end on is the best staging for the play and in my opinion I like the idea of constantly having something happening in both worlds and happening behind the main action. After this decision was made another spanner was thrown into the mix, by having a split stage: so on one side of the stage is Caravaggio’s world in Naples 1600 and the other side is Bootle present day. This is because we have more of a challenge to be able to transition it smoothly and it may not work. Furthermore to this point we started to experiment with having characters from both worlds constantly present on stage and having minimal movement and less complicated transitions.

Towards the end of the day, we had a masterclass from another one of our tutor, Charlie De’ath (2020), whom he played the main role of Caravaggio, in another professional adaptation of this play. We discussed how he got over the fact of not actually painting The Seven Acts of Mercy, also the likes of what set his performance used, to which we have a similar idea of having a split stage and flitting between both of the worlds scene to scene. The masterclass also included a Q&A just to ask questions about other characters and what he believed worked well and what didn’t. This really helped with the morale of the class and really ignited the want to perform this great play.

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10/02/2020 Rehersals

We looked into the first proper introduction of Lee as the previous scene was just a little hint of who he is but not a true reflection. We looked at Act 1, Scene 7, the scene between Lee, Prime and Razor. It is the gambling scene of which to begin with we had a little play with the scene just to see where it would take us and how we believe the scene would go without any direction. I found this very helpful as it allowed me and the other cast members to work based on instincts alone and not being told what to do and where we have to be which is one of the main key techniques of being a good actor and working especially on reacting on instincts. This is a key scene especially for Lee, as he is coming into a scene/ show being a nobody to being a somebody, a main role who has power. 

My key to winning the scene is the changing of status and gaining respect from the other characters. “the more time and effort you put toward exercising them, the better you’ll become. You can’t be expected to win an Olympic gold medal if you don’t practice, practice, practice. Reward will follow if you stay open, take risks and work hard.” (Chubbuck, 2005, p.209) meaning that the more you put into the action the more you will get in return, thus winning the scene and beating your objective. 

My character needs to gain respect and power so he can tell the two stooges what to do because he is the new boss now, and they are not used to being in this position as they are normally their own boss. The key turn of events is the phone call to Hench within the scene as until this point both characters are in denial. This is the point when Lee truly has all the power and he really has to prove himself that he can be the boss and he is the boss. 

The key fact is that you have to find your characterisations as soon as possible so you can play within the scene and really chase both your scene and overall objectives. My Character of Lee is very stubborn, thrives on power but gentle at heart, all he wants from his life is to make his father proud. In comparison to Prime and Razor, who are similar to the likes of a comedy duo, so one has the brains and the other will just do and try everything to fit in. Therefore when I approach this scene, I need to play around and take risks within the scene, to make my actors react to my actions. I personally believe this scene already has that, as all three of us are playing within the scene and reacting to each other.

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04/02/2020 Scene Work

We started off the day by getting into pairs and working a plan to warm up the class each week both physically and vocally, each pair will take it in turns to warm the class up. This enables us to work as a team and encourages independence, this can be beneficial if I would want to consider teaching professionally after graduating.

After the warm up, me and other cast members went to a different room with Emma, where I participated in a number of different exercises. We focused on Act 2, Scene 11, the final scene of the show. To start the process we just let the scene run to see what we could do with the scene. I found out during this process that I needed to play around with a lot of the pauses and also find out what I wanted to get out from the character. However, the issue with this scene is that due to it being such an emotional scene therefore it will change every time it is performed until the day of the performance. The emotional journey of the scene is the key to the success of the scene, as it is the finale to the show.

I struggled with the full immersion of the scene due to the nerves of performing in front of the audience and not allowing all my inhibitions go and just focus on being the character of Lee. by giving everything to Josh and Jack (who were playing Leon). On the contrary, my strength was that I adapted to direction quickly, by implementing any notes given into my next performance. Especially having the opportunity to perform it twice (due to two Leon’s needing a Lee as the other actor was absent) which allowed me to explore with the way I can play the scene and take risk and try out new things to see if they work.

Once we had run the scene a couple of times by playing around with scene, we looked into playing around with the pauses and the effectiveness of letting especially this scene to breath so much, to increase the emotional arc. This interlinks with my Beats and Actions which I planned out for myself earlier in the character process. I tried many different ways of leaving the scene, specifically as it is such a dramatic and hard scene to produce and portray, so once we looked through the scene. We undertook an improvisation exercise, which helped me to find a lot more characterisation and helped my progression with Beats and Action, finding the suitable ones for the scene. I had an advantage, due to have the double opportunity to trying it out with both of the Leons, which I got different reactions. Personally, for me the best technique I could use for this would be substitution of which would be using my dad as the substitute. On the Contrary, due to me not going through this experience of seeing my dad passing away. On page 247, Chubbuck (2005) states by using the tool of substitution you are able to create an imaginary artificial predicament which intern will produce raw, instinctive and emotional reactions. This provided me with the basic structure to explore the scenes that present emotional elements, allowing the audience to extensively immerse themselves into the play or characters and potentially relate to the circumstance. Making the performance an enjoyable experience.

I could have potentially used a different technique to produce such emotion within a scene. This includes the “Magic If”(Stanislavski, 1963, p.94) technique however, I felt that this didn’t produce as strong of a result compared to Chubbuck as it relate to my own life experiences and potential harm to my family.

Finally we performed in front of the rest of the cast and the other cast. It was a very heart felt performance of which we received a great reaction from the audience to which it did really hit some audience more than others, and this really made me come out of my shell and just go for my objectives and taking on Ivanna Chubbucks final technique of LETTING IT GO. This was due to using my substitute, therefore proving to me that using this tool was beneficial to me as an actor for this scene.

[lmamajorperformancelee]

03/02/2020 Chubbuck Technique

Today we looked at one of the most famous techniques around today, “The Chubbuck Technique “The 12 step acting technique that will take you from script to a living, breathing, dynamic character.” (Chubbuck, 2005, front page) this reperesents exactly how a practitioner like Ivana Chubbuck would teach to build a character and produce a truthful performance via the full embodiment of a role. ‘The Chubbuck Technique’ has adopted the workings of Konstantin Stanislavski and Sanford Meisner and their work on Method Acting, which enabled Chubbuck to produce her way of this method. Below you will find a break down of the stages and a brief synopsis of each stage.

I adopted this Technique into my acting and applied this to my characterisation of Lee. I did this as I feel that this technique really works for me due to my strengths being experimenting with choices, going for my objectives and producing a very truthful and realistic performance. 

To begin with this technique I started to impliment the experimentation of Scene Objectives to see which would produce the most interesting and unique character choice, that will add to the plot. 

Act 1 Scene 7:  scene objective: To get you to respect me or To get you to give me my power back. 

Once the completion of the trial run of Scene Objectives, I then finalised my final choice of Scene Objective for this specific scene which is, To get you to respect me. This choice was solidfied due to it producing the most interesting performance to watch for the audience. 

I have acknowledged that the key thing to be aware of when making and focusing on a Scene Objective is ensuring that it is non plot and that it has to be performed to the point of being a life or death situation.

Then after discovering my scene objective I looked into my Beats and Actions within the scene which are as follows: Beats are similar to inner monologues, it is similar to a train of thought compared to an Action, which is more of your emotion within the scene. I benefit from these the most, as it helps me understand the language and the journey of my character and the play. 

1st Beat = To get you to understand why I am here  and what I am here to do. To get you to like me. To get you to help me. 

1st Action = Cool and Collected 

2nd Beat = To get you to respect me. To get you to appreciate me. To get you to find that you need me. 

2nd Action = Smug, Commanding and Understanding.

Then, Moment Before, which is where you have come from and why you are at the point you are. So, for this scene would be that I have just come from my Bosses house (Hench) after he has demanded me what to do. Therefore, this gives you the monentum and purpose within the scene meaning an increase in characterisation and understanding to provide the best actions/doings for the scene. Also this produces the sense urgency that my character carries through the entire play.

Inner monologue, which is what you are saying on the inside compared to what you are actually saying on the outside. So for this scene it would be I am here to talk to you and you will listen to everything I have to say because I am the one in charge now and you will do as you are told. Furthermore, this is an effective way to portray emotion as a thought process is constantly rolling. This Inner Monologue may change dependent on the outcome of the scene. 

The key fact about how I am playing the role of Lee is what Ivanna Chubbuck teaches, this includes both “ my acting technique has a tendency to bleed into an actor’s personal life.” (Chubbuck, 2005, p.X) and also “ how to use your pain and win goals, is that I have a technique that profoundly deepens actor’s performances and changes their lives.” (Chubbuck, 2005, p.X) therefore this refers to me as an actor especially for this role, because due to such an emotionally invested character I need to connect with my deepest of pains to produce a truthful and realistic performance. 

After working out all these acting features, we tried an exercise based on blocking meaning that only 1 actor is to be sat at any one time, whilst the other actor/actors should be standing but if any position changes the other actor/actors must find a natural point to then do the opposite action. This helps with staging, blocking and doings within the scene. I felt that this only worked for certain scenes as due to the boundaries of an actor being seated and this just doesnt work for every scene especially for Act 1, Scene 5, as this is a very political, quick and snappy scene.This exercise I didn’t find useful, I was too much focused on ensuring to sit or stand, I was not focusing on the scene.

Using this exercise we then showed back the results however, when performing the scene we realised that this exercise wouldn’t really work with the scene chosen (Act 1, Scene 7). This is due to the pace and the type of characters within the scene. 

In addition to the exercise, we then had a discussion with another tutor Mike Neary (2020) of whom has had first hand experience with the situation being portrayed with reference to the Holdouts and the HMRI (Housing Market Renewal Initiative). He explained the truth about the fact that people were either getting paid off to leave their homes or getting kicked by the likes of gangsters, due to them needing to be vacant because the houses were “threatened with demolition because it is in the Welsh Streets area where 400 houses are due to be cleared.”(Brown, 2005, p.2) This therefore showed more of a truthful insight of what was happening within the play and certain characters should be portrayed, of the likes of Leon, Prime and Razor especially. This was beneficial for me personally, as this information is relevant to Lee, as he is part of the regeneration system.

To further enhance my knowledge with what happened with housing development schemes, I spoke to my mum Nicola Bunting (2020) and stepdad Antony Bunting (2020), as they are within the housing business in many ways so was able to explain what may have happened and specific technical vocabulary meant. Especially as my mum was in the Spanish Property collapse, which gave me more insight for Act 2, Scene 1, where Lee talks about the Spanish Property Market.