Friday, 14 September 2007

Macbeth at Gielgud Theatre


An anatomy of the relationship between ambition and corruption, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most bloody and fear-filled tragedies.

Rupert Goold, who recently directed Patrick Stewart in the Royal Shakespeare Company's acclaimed production of The Tempest, now directs Stewart as Macbeth, the man who murders king and comrade in his quest for the crown, only to lose it all.

Complicite "A disappearing number"


Staged with Complicite's characteristic elegance and startling visual originality, A Disappearing Number takes as its starting point one of the most mysterious and romantic mathematical collaborations of all time.
This is a story about connections between ideas, cultures and times. In London a man attempts to unravel the secrets of his lover. In Bangalore a woman collapses on a train. In Cambridge in 1914 Englishman GH Hardy seeks to comprehend the ideas of the Indian prodigy Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Simultaneously a narrative and an investigation, A Disappearing Number weaves a provocative theatrical pattern about our relentless compulsion to understand.

Punchdrunk Theatre Visit


PUNCHDRUNK & BAC present THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
Mon - Sat, 17 Sept 2007 - 12 Jan 2008.
Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN
The Masque of the Red Death follows Punchdrunk's smash-hit Faust , which won a Critics' Circle Award in 2006. Journey into a macabre world and explore the four corners of Battersea Arts Centre’s Old Town Hall as Punchdrunk immerses the entire site in Poe's imagination. Inspired by the classic short stories of Edgar Allan Poe, The Masque of the Red Death is an indoor promenade performance lasting up to 3 hours, with two entry times at 7.15pm and 7.45pm . Evening dress is optional . On Friday and Saturday nights tickets for The Masque of The Red Death include entry into Red Death Late Nights, an after-show party with live music, dancing and surprise mystery guests .

Year 13 TTheatre Visit


Reverence was at the Salisbury Playhouse on 13th September 2007

Reverence - A tale of Abelard and Heloise
Around nine centuries ago, French scholar Peter Abelard and his beautiful, young pupil Heloise fell in love.

Exploiting to the full the dramatic potential of Southwark Playhouse’s atmospheric and stylish new venue, writer Gillian Clarke’s retelling of their tale, directed by Joel Scott, underscores its modernity, yet takes us right back to the chilling, medieval horror and complexity of what they endured.

As we wander rapt through cavernous vaults in this promenade performance, we are not just an audience, but religious novices, peering fearfully into the gloom. The lovers’ tragedy is not remote, but a trauma shaking our own community.

Pieter Lawman’s Abelard is fiery, wiry and burning with passionate intelligence. His Heloise (Leandra Ashton) is more sensual, but just as bright and a feminist opponent of blind obedience.

Their great ally is the reassuring, jesting but ultimately tragic Odile (Ian Summers). Those who undo them range from the querulous acolyte Thomas (Michael Cox) to the murderous William (Jason Cheater) and the lusting Canon Fulbert (Patrick Driver).

As Heloise’s jealous uncle, Fulbert deals the cruellest blows to Abelard, not just denying him his manhood, but denying him intellectual influence and ensuring posterity would remember him rather as a doomed lover than the greatest philosopher of his time.

Friday, 6 July 2007

year 10 written response

Year 10 written responses


1) RESPONSE PHASE


Write about lesson one.
 Pick one or two exercises and analyse what the drama technique is and
 how it was used in the scene
 Analyse how you used it and how effective it was
 Use diagrams to analyse, body language and facial expression. Use of space, and the meaning behind the scene or freeze frame.

2 Development phase

Write about lesson three or four:
 Pick one or two exercises and analyse what the drama technique is and
 how it was used in the scene
 Analyse how you used it and how effective it was
 Use diagrams to analyse, body language and facial expression. Use of space, and the meaning behind the scene or freeze frame.

3 Play review

See attached sheet for guidance
WOMAN IN BLACK
SCHEME OF WORK Paper One Unit 2

Assessed criteria

a) Explorative Strategies

Narration
Hotseating
Still image
Roleplay
Forum theatre
Captions

b)The Drama Medium

The use of set/props
The use of voice
The use of movement, mime, and or/gesture
The use of space and/or levels

c) The elements of drama

Action/plot/content
forms
climax/anti-climax
conventions
symbols
characterization


SESSION ACTIVITIES
ONE

TAUGHT


Research background of Victorian England and its family values/ technology/views of marriage etc. (handout on marriage read for homework)
In pairs/groups
• Key rules of society shown through still images (a) linked by narration (a) and /or captions (a)

Exploration of themes
Discuss the themes of the play:In groups
Revenge
Fear
Loss/grief
Duty/ honour
• Create a still image (a) exploring one of these themes from Victorian times/ present day/ possible future linked by spoken thoughts (a) and then develop to role play (a). Discuss differences between a Victorian reaction to these themes and a modern reaction.


TWO

TAUGHT
(assessed) Storytelling as a style
An exploration of acting style of how to communicate plot and content and character. Using narration (a) and role play (a)/props/costume/set(b) etc. In groups
use plot summary handout to present main points of play. Present.

Exploration of character (off the Text)

Exploration of past/present and future

Imagine the woman in black or one of the main characters in the attic of the house.
• Individual work: magic box: pull out from box in the attic some objects important to their lives. Choose one object and using automatic writing write their thoughts and feelings towards this object.
• Group work: Choose one of the characters and their object and create a scene which shows how that object from the past has affected their present life. Use different techniques include some of the automatic writing in the piece.

Notes for portfolio (task one)



THREE
TAUGHT
(Assessed)
PAGE 39: Sam Daily’s Speech
Individual
Read extract and discuss what rules of society gave to young women who got pregnant out of wedlock? In groups, hot seat one as woman in black to discover her feelings behind this story.
In groups
Explore and present this story from the woman in black’s perspective. The exploration involves using roleplay (a) still images(a) narration(a) and the use of movement, mime and/or gesture(b).

Notes for portfolio Task 2

Forum Theatre (off the text)Whole group

A talk show where the woman in black accuses Alice Drablow of allowing her baby to die and stealing her baby. Alice Drablow defends herself.

Students can stop the action at any moment to take over the role-to try and find a solution.







FOUR
TAUGHT

Text work Creating tension

page 41-42
Discuss as a whole group how these pages were presented on stage and how they used techniques to communicate the nightmare quality.

In groups, using voice (b), the use of movement, mime/or gesture (b) and the use of space and or levels (b) re-create this scene. The students can use parts of the script or the whole of the scene to communicate the atmosphere, tension and climax (c) of the scene, present.

off the text:
Create in whole group their own ghost story using narration, the use of movement, mime/or gesture and the use of space and or levels to create tension. Present and evaluate.

FIVE
TAUGHT Use of Language

Page 34:Read the extract of the child’s nursery
Whole group.
Create using still image (a) and symbols(c)the nursery

Using narration (a)from the extract add significant descriptions of the objects, then add spoken thoughts(a) from the objects in the room about memories of the child or the woman in black, present.


In pairs choose one of the other characters rooms and write a short description of the room(read out). Evaluate the effectiveness and clarity of description.

In small groups repeat earlier exercise and compare the detail of the description and effectiveness of the language and how this tells us about the characters and the times and their thoughts and feelings.


SIX
TAUGHT
(assessed) After the play
Consider the actor at the end of the play

Individual

Write a letter to your wife or a diary entry explaining your fears after what you have experienced. Read out.

In pairs
Create a scene where the wife reads either the letter or diary entry and confronts her husband .Role play(a) Present

In groups:

Create a scene showing what happens to the actor and his wife, will the curse continue or do they manage to stop it?

Use narration(a) still image(a), The use of movement, mime, and or gesture(b), The use of set and props (b) and forms(c) to explore this.
Present and evaluate.
Notes for portfolio task one and two
Evaluate the whole scheme of work
What did they learn about the play’s themes and meaning and about creating theatre through text.

Friday, 29 June 2007

stimulus for devised plays



Look at Complicite website about their devising methods. Then also look at DV8 theatre company for tips on devising.

Thursday, 28 June 2007

Summer revision for year 12 going into year 13


REVISION NOTES FOR Summer 2007


1. Create a stimulus book for your paper 4 devised piece.
This includes pictures, poems,plays ,books, quotes from newspapers, music etc.
To bring to first lesson after summer

2. Read Trojan Women and as a director create a plan for how you would direct the first scene with the gods.


3. Read Artaud Theatre and its Double, Peter Brook The Empty Space and There are no secrects and Grotowski Towards a Poor Theatre. Make notes on their main aims as practitioners.

4. Read handout on Greek Theatre.