'13' - Week 5

Introduction to Week 5

This week we started running through Act 1 with lights and other technical aspects. I enjoyed this run through, as I felt it helped me to see how the class was progressing and how '13' would play out to the audience. I also looked at scenes from Act 3 and 4.

Costume Thoughts

As the week started, we were told to bring in items of clothing we believed our characters would wear. I pictured Stephen to be a highly intellectual man, who wears old fashioned clothes, yet also is smart. I envisioned Stephen to wear frumpy shoes, black trousers, a shirt and a cardigan. Most of the clothes I have mentioned I owned, except a cardigan, who I got from Frank, I thought it was perfect for Stephen as it showed how he was older and also shows how he is ill, because the cardigan will also keep him warm. I also had the idea that Stephen may wear a jacket but I thought a cardigan would be more appropriate. 

Running of Act 1

We started running act 1 with lighting and other technical elements. This was brilliant because it gave me an idea as to how '13' will look, it also helped me get into character and also now I am excited to start performing '13'. This also gave me an incentive to start researching into my character more, and the play itself. I did my speech which appears in Act 1 Scene 6 with lighting. I enjoyed this scene as it helped me to find a naturalistic level with Stephen, as the light made me feel as if I was in a university hall. We also did a nightclub scene that ends Act 1. The directions in the script are 'People are dancing – the people of London, out on the town – drunk and letting go. It's tribal and free and open. Full-hearted shouting and release. The student party after the protest maybe, or a dream, a memory … It builds and builds and then … with a ripping … voice and voices … the world explodes … white light – a nuclear blast and then... Blackout.' (BartlettM.2011.'13'. Retrieved 1st November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000025) These directions show how the people protesting are happy, and believe what they are doing is the right thing because they are in good spirits as they are 'full hearted'. As a class we interpreted Mike Bartlett's instructions to be the cast show as an ensemble in a night club scene. We were split into 4 groups, I was in a group with Frank, Hannah, Milo and Frankie. This was great because I felt this group would work well together and it did. We were given 16 beats on each beat we had to do a different movement but it had to be appropriate to what would happen at the nightclub. Throughout the 16 beats there was moments of unison and chain effects. One example of this is when Hannah does a spin, bumps into me, I do a spin, bump into Milo and he does a spin. I had the idea of the spin as I knew it would work well as it gave the sequence repetition which helps the audience to become interested.  After our group finished our individual 16 moves we merged them together with the other groups to make the night club scene seem more realistic and hectic. We also did this scene with different lighting effects as we had a bright spotlight on the floor which will draw the audience to one spot.

Act 3 Scenes

In this week the class also looked at Act 3 scenes. I am in Act 3 Scene 8 which contains the 12. In this scene I continue my speech from scene 5 earlier in this act. At a later point in this scene I collapse. This, I believe creates a great impact as it shows how my illness is very advanced and that I could collapse at any moment. It also puts emphasise on the speech earlier in the act as its Stephen's last wish to express his knowledge to the youth. The ending to this scene is a speech from John while everyone has there eyes shut and praying while Stephen has collapsed. This image is thought provoking as it shows the desperation of the other characters not just in there on personal life's but with the war in Iran. It also gives a religious view and how in some ways everyone is praying to him, this also shows how John's character is very Jesus like. In this scene I come off the from standing on a box to positioned standing on the ground I am still and wondered if I should create a triangle with Jake and Donna, however I needed to be more upstage so I wasn't blocking anyone. I also practised my speech with Matt to see how I could use my voice in different ways and different explorations within the script. From this experience I learnt a lot and got another view on how I could deliver my speech in Act 3 Scene 5.

Act 4 scene 8 with John and Ruth

This is my favourite scene from '13' and I was excited to rehearse it on Thursday. This is Stephens last scene and I feel I can make a big impact to it by the way I use my voice and my body language. A lot of this scene was cut. However, I got to keep most of the lines I felt had the most impact and meaning to show my anger at John. In this scene I believe my objective is to make John see the light while also attempting to hide his pain of lung cancer. This is shown by lines like 'I'm fine' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 4th November 2014 from  http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057) when responding to Ruth asking me if 'I am alright?' This shows how Stephen doesn't want to come off weak to anyone and this is what I have to consider when portraying this character in Act 4 Scene 8. 

Conclusion

I am happy with the progress I have made this week, and I was happy to rehearse and have feedback on many different scenes from different acts. I also enjoyed the nightclub scene and choreographing that. For next week I hope to have all my lines learnt while also doing more script exploration.