2nd May Lesson Evaluation

2nd May

1 ) What important discoveries were made during the rehearsal?

Within today's rehearsal, our aims were to re-rehearse the bingo scene, establishing characters and linking in Jessie's character to what we had already devised. We had envisioned Jessie as the main 'medium', controlling the powers and bringing hero back to life. Here we used the props- moving staircase (as this physically gave her more power- higher levels) and the table. Taking the idea of the mask from our previous play 'George's marvellous medicine' where we used the mask to extend out to George, intimidating and pushing him to the ground. Similarly Jessie climbs onto the table, pointing at George- as though she's reaching out. We thought that we could use powder paint or glitter ( that she could blow towards him) as though it's 'magical dust'.

Furthermore, we also continued with the bedroom (Dance scene), asking Rose for feedback and advice. We were able to clear up some of the duets e.g making sure the audience could see both Claudio and Hero from the same angle. We were also able to complete the ending duet section. Initially we were having trouble trying to create the movement however Rose reminded us that with simple gestures we could still create meaningful movement as opposed to what we were trying to do with big lifts etc. there were some lifts that we tried that didn't work physically so we had to find ways to problem solve around this, ensuring that they maintained the emotions/ ideas we are trying to convey. Further to this, Rose suggested an alternate to the use of paint- as it wouldn't be clear to the audience what this meant! We also needed a physical way of communicating to the audience that each different dancer was still hero. We decided that instead we would use a dead Rose - each time the Hero changes, she passes on the Rose - pulling off just one petal. This follows the idea of 'he loves me, he loves me not'. Taking this symbol, we decided that we could use this throughout e.g. At the beginning of the play, hero could arrive late to the station with a single Rose in hand. Claudio is also holding a bunch of roses ready to give to her when she arrives. He sees her single Rose and then pushes her away ( he knows who she's been with 'she knows the heat of a luxurious bed').

At the end of the bedroom scene Claudio is alone on the bed, doing the Hero motifs this shows his 'acceptance' stage, he's ready to accept death.

2 ) What led to those discoveries?

The bingo scene worked as a result of good preparation-  Megan came prepared to the lesson with the script and ideas for movement which meant we were able to begin rehearsing straight away with the material offered- rather than trying to create this as we went along.
The bedroom scene worked as a result of taking risks, experimenting and accepting all ideas. Although I came to rehearsals with an initial idea, we all contributed to help improve, shape and develop the scene in a way that benefited everyone.

3 ) Towards where do those discoveries lead?

We are approaching the stage in rehearsals where all the main scenes are almost finished ( just need a few final changes and decisions). Particularly within our rehearsal today, we were able to focus more on the transitions between scenes rather than devising the scenes already ( as these are mostly set in place). Once we have finalised each major scene, we can begin piecing the play together through the transitions.

5 ) Reflect on dramatic action and conflict.  How’s it going?  What actions does this
suggest?

Particularly within the bingo scene, Jessie's character creates the main dramatic action. I love her portrayal of the character- although she felt as though she was being too 'over the top' it really suited her character send gave the scene dynamic - rather than just dance and singing, there is now drama and a central evil character. Furthermore, we began devising the transition linking into the bedroom scene. Here Amy ( who is a salsa teacher) and Jessie have an argument over the space. This provides some comic relief just before the intensity of the bedroom scene.

6 ) Reflect on transformational leadership.  How’s it going?  What actions does this suggest?

We are all taking ownership of our own scenes, therefore the 'leadership' is still spread equally.

8 ) What is the most important thing that happened (or didn’t happen) in your recent rehearsal?  Unpack its importance.

The most important thing that happened within today's rehearsal was finishing the bedroom scene. We were having difficulty with the ending in previous lessons which was preventing us from moving on to other scenes and making progress! Now that this scene is finished, we can start working towards the final suicide scene.