Week 6 - Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

Costume Vibe

Mumford and Sons

A man at a festival

We all started to think about what costumes we would wear considering we have decided to go forward with the festival vibe. We thought about what band we could try to look the same as, to try to get the festival vibe, we thought about Mumford and Sons as they have the sort of vibe we are going for. The tie, waistcoat and shirt look I think is very folk which is what we are also trying to achieve as the song 'Sigh No More' has been covered by Mumford and Sons which is in Much Ado About Nothing. The idea of a hat is also a good idea as it shows the festival sort of look. As shown on the left, I don't think however that the band will wear hats as it seems to be more of something festival goers would wear. I was also thinking about sunglasses but I don't think I will as it will cover my eyes which is a key asset of my facial expressions. I will also chat to Matt and Lewis who also play Benedick to see what ideas they have for the character. A lot of people have also suggested Wellington boots however I don't think that the band would wear wellies as they wouldn't be getting too muddy and they aren't very stylish.

Notes and Run Through

After this we observed each others and made notes for feedback. I observed Sophie and made notes that she could look back on to improve. I said how I wanted to see more of a relationship between her and Donna, as Beatrice who she is playing is best friends with Donna's character Hero, I also felt like Sophie was rushing her lines a bit and was losing the meaning behind them, one of the reasons is because she is yet to know her lines. In the scene there is a part where Sophie is turned around while Benedick enters, she has her back to the audience and is reacting over her shoulder. I felt that it would be more effective if Sophie was towards the audience as we could see more of her when reacting to what Benedick had been saying. I feel like that having her back turned isn't the right blocking, I also said how she could be tightening the bunting or playing with a prop so she doesn't look frozen on stage. I also looked out for some rhetorical devices that as her character she could play on in the scene, for example Beatrice uses a metaphor when talking about Benedick being Claudios friend 'he will hang upon him like a disease', this metaphor is also a place where others in the scene can laugh and subtly mock Benedick. I think Sophie has a good presence in this scene but I feel she has a way to go before its good.

After this I watched Act 1 Scene 2, I observed Nathan, in this scene Nathan doesn't have a massive part but I believe plays it well when reacting to Beatrice as he is Leonato. When watching people that aren't the main part in the scene I always think of a quote, that if you're character isn't talking 'you're thinking of what to say, but you choose not to say it'. I think this is a brilliant quote as it keeps the other characters active and listening to what the main character is saying as well as reacting. I felt at point that this scene was quite flat but I think this will be helped if Frankie can keep the pace of the scene going as she is the focal point. There are some points where the lines said by Frankie can be quite breathy and makes it hard to understand, I like the act that Frankie plays as Beatrice when she imitates different people, as it brings more energy to the scene however her voice needs support when reading in different voices and making big gestures in the scene.

I then got notes on my scene as Sophie was observing me, she said that I lacked focus in the scene, this is true as I felt we all broke character as people were trying to find there lines, however I am annoyed at myself that I broke character and lacked focus throughout the scene as I prided myself on giving my all on stage and staying in character. Sophie felt that I was still putting on a projected voice, I didn't feel that I did this as much but apparently there was still a different voice, I felt that I practised enough to find my own voice but I see that I still need to work on it. As Sophie gave me good constructive criticism I was also given points where I performed well, Sophie said how she could see the thought process when I am thinking about my dream lady's hair. I think this is because when I was thinking about my dream girl I had a picture of a girl that I felt was perfect. I felt it was good I did this because I got more of a genuine reaction. Sophie said that I also had a good reaction when the lid of the box fell on my head. This bit of slapstick in this scene is brilliant because it mocks Benedick and I feel I can give a good reaction as it doesn't hurt too much but I pretend that the pain is times by 10. Sophie felt that I had a brilliant reaction when Beatrice enters, I felt that this was good as well, I played it partly over the top so I could get a funny reaction and this big reaction would of been quite real to Benedick as he is excited and would act over the top or hyper as Beatrice enters.

This week was brilliant for me as I got closer to what I need to achieve with Benedick, I also enjoyed giving feedback on scenes as I like to see the progression of our work as a class as its satisfying to see the final product.