Week 1 - Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

Previous Knowledge and Anticipation

I was really excited to get the Shakespeare unit started, as I knew little about him and wanted to know more about one of the World's best playwrights. From doing a course at GSA I already knew a brief bit about Shakespeare, I learned a little about Iambic Pentameter and difference between verse and prose, but I was ready to learn more. We first started off by all writing two things on a post it note that we know about Shakespeare or something that relates to him. I put down about how I knew about Iambic Pentameter and simply put a couple of Shakespeares plays that I knew, like Hamlet and Macbeth. I really enjoyed this task as it enlightened me about Shakespeare and I got to view the brilliant playwright in a different way that I ever had before. 

Practical

Our first practical lesson was a brilliant one as Sally showed us different elements in Shakespeares language as well as we got to shout Shakespearian insults at each other which was a lot of fun. It would come apparent to us later on that these insults meant a lot as we would be studying Shakespeares play Much Ado About Nothing which would often show arguments between Benedick and Beatrice the two main protagonists which despise each other at the start of the comedy. We were given different sheets which showed us loads of different insults and what they mean. I never knew how much language Shakespeare created and was used in his time and how different it is to todays language yet most of his plays are very contemporary. We also we're given a sheet that had other day to day words on it that were translated into Shakespearean, I enjoyed looking through this words to see how different it was in the Elizabethan times. What also interested me was how words that were used in the Elizabethan era are still used now like minx and cousin which still carry the same meaning. From two of the handouts we were given there were common words that were used on one sheet and less common words. The uncommon words were still very descriptive. For example one word that wasn't used much but would of been great for Much Ado About Nothing was the word fancy-monger which meant a lovesick man. I could see Benedick using this against Claudio after he finds out he has fallen in love.

For the next bit we got into lines and started to shout various insults at each other across the lines, I enjoyed this exercise because it showed me how Shakespeare isn't all about posh speaking and rhetorical devices which I foolishly first thought.

Inflexions and Thou/Thee

From the lesson and my own research I found the origins of why Thou was used and how it was used. Thou used to be singular and you was plural. You was then used as a singular term this was most likely due to the fact that they copied the French language. As vous means you. You would mostly be used when a servant addresses a master and thou would mostly be used when a master would address a servant. After looking at the script I saw how this would be used in Much Ado About Nothing, in the scene where Benedick and Beatrice talk about killing Claudio, Benedick would change between Thou and you this may show how Benedick changes his thoughts on Beatrice throughout the scene, not looking at the script too in depth I should think that Benedick starts to refer to Beatrice as Thou after Beatrice has asked for him to kill Claudio as Benedick is disgusted by such a question. Beatrice always refers to Benedick as you this may show how  Beatrice looks up to Benedick or how she wants to have a more casual conversation.

Research

I have recently found out that next week we would be visiting the Globe and doing a workshop, I can't wait to go and learn about Shakespeare and the illustrious Globe Theatre so I thought I'd do some research before I went, to give myself a taster on what was to come. I think this is a good idea because it helps me get a better understanding of this great playwright and to learn about how Much Ado About Nothing would have been performed in Elizabethan times. This is an important issue as we have to respect what Shakespeare would of wanted as it is his material. I believe that once you start to respect the playwright then you respect his work and you get a greater meaning for what he wanted to accomplish writing it. I learned how The Globe was built in 1599 and how it burned down but was rebuilt some years later in 1614.

Casting

Today I found out that I would be portraying Benedick in Act 2 Scene 3 in which Benedick has 2 monologues and some odd lines while hiding away from Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio. I'm glad I got this part because the two monologues show a lot of variety and both have very contrasting objectives and features. 

I'm looking forward to next week as I'm going to the Globe theatre, this will be shown in blog post 'Week 2 - Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing'

Classical Theatre Performance Context

Introduction

After finding out I would be performing exerts from 'Much Ado About Nothing', I thought it was only best that I research the Social, Historical and Cultural backgrounds to how this successful comedy was first showcased.

'Much Ado About Nothing' is a comedic play by the English playwright William Shakespeare. 'Much Ado' first questioned people about the poems or sonnets at the time. Sonnet 116 which is read by Benedick to Beatrice (two main protagonists of this comedy), says how love isn't really love if its not loyal. This is a main theme to this play as we see a love between Hero and Claudio that looks like it may not last as it doesn't seem to be as loyal as the love Beatrice and Benedick have at the end. This is due to the fact that Hero's marriage to Claudio is an arranged one and even though they like each other they don't know each other well, whereas Benedick and Beatrice have know each other for a long time and know what makes each other annoyed and happy.

Original Staging and Performance Style

Recently I watched a modern version of 'Much Ado About Nothing'. I enjoyed this adaptation as it brought a modern comedy element to it with the wonderful facial expressions of Catherine Tate, along with slapstick comedy like the smudging of Benedicks face with paint. Even though we have these slapstick elements like a tub of paint these props and different parts of staging wouldn't of been used for the original version that was showcased at The Globe. This was due to the limited resources at that time. After watching a modern version of Much Ado About Nothing with the cast of David Tennant and Catherine Tate I noticed how many things they adapted from the first version. For example in the original version Much Ado is set in Messina which is located on the island of Italy called Sicily. The version I saw was set in Gibraltar. The original version  was set in Messina. In the original staging they would of had trapdoors. This would of been used to make special entrances. For Much Ado About Nothing, the trapdoor may have been used for when Benedick is hiding from Claudio, Lenato and Don Pedro when they talk about Beatrice loves him. I feel that they could of had Benedick come up for his line while the other character on stage could be in a freeze frame. This could also be the same for when Beatrice eavesdrops on Ursula and Hero. The trapdoor could also be used for when Don John enters to show that he is the villain in this comedy as it is as if he is coming from the underworld. The Globe was open air, as they didn't have the technology to have lights so they used natural lighting. This meant that they would have to continue to work even if the lighting wasn't right for example, if it was very sunny it would of been difficult to portray a tragedy like Macbeth. For Much Ado about Nothing, I think the actors would of wanted a sunny day for their lighting, as it would represent Messina in Italy well. With the Original staging going back to when Benedick is eavesdropping to Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio. They would probably be pillars on the stage, and this would of been what Benedick would have hid behind in the original staging, this would of probably been the same for Beatrice. The actors on stage would of performed quite quickly to get the audience entertained so they weren't standing in the pit too long, this was one of the reasons the aside was used so much as it kept the audience involved.


The Performance style in the original would have been very melodramatic due to that naturalism wasn't popular till the late 19th century and naturalism if tried in the Elizabethan era probably wouldn't have been well received. The Actors would of said the words in a very dramatic way to convey there emotions to the audience. The Actors and the audience would interact through soliloquy's where the Actor would normally speak to the audience without any actors on stage, this is seen a lot in Hamlet. I think that through Much Ado about Nothing, there are many 'aside' stage directions. The asides could be if a character is speaking to one character if in a scene with many characters or it could be them talking to the audience.  Many asides are seen in the scene where Leonato, Claudio and Don Pedro are talking about Benedick. Claudio has many asides some our to Leonato or Don Pedro is eavesdropping Bendick and the other asides are to the audience, to explain how they are playing a trick on Benedick and do this by breaking the 4th wall. Many modern interpretations of this dramatic effect are still kept, for example in Much Ado About Nothing with Catherine Tate and David Tennant, Benedick uses the aside many times, and also breaks the 4th wall in his monologue. The Actors wouldn't go into the pit but would talk to them from the stage. This is because there costumes where expensive and it would be to risky to have them near the common people in the pit.

Original Cultural, Social and Political Themes

Cultural

Image taken from 1993's version of Much Ado About Nothing.
As shown by this contemporary version the costumes of the men
returning from war are very elegant and prestigious.

In the Elizabethan Era, Queen Elizabeth 1st was on the throne, the Queen at the time loved the arts and recognized the importance of it. She would often go to the theatre herself and enjoyed the works of playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare. The Arts were respected very highly, costumes would of taken ages to make and they would try to reuse costumes as it wouldn't take so much time and money. A company would spend £300 on costumes, that now would be at the amount of about over £35,000. The costumes would show the social status, for example the costume of a character like Don Pedro would be very elegant and look clean. The character of a witch from Macbeth may be in rags and would look dirty and swamp like, the actors would never step into the yard to interact personally to the audience as the costumes were too expensive and delicate.

In Much Ado About Nothing, we see the change in Benedick where at one point he is 'a proffessed tyrant' to the opposite sex to where he falls in love with Beatrice. We also see Claudio is falls in love with Hero straight after seeing her. I think Shakespeare was providing a vision on how society was at the time, how there would be characters like Claudio who would fall in love with the first beautiful woman they saw. I know this to be true as many of the sonnets before Sonnet 116 where about how women were beautiful and how they'd be compared to gods. I think Shakespeare went against this and showed this in Much Ado About Nothing as the couple of Benedick and Beatrice looks much more likely to last than that of Hero and Claudio. the Actors wouldn't be allowed to wear the costumes outside of the theatre as they would have been arrested for trying to impersonate someone of a higher level than them.

Social

Society in Shakespeare's time was very energetic. London's population was bigger than ever, between 1550 and 1600 the population had doubled in size. By 1650 it had once doubled again and was at the population of 400,000. This high number meant that at that time it was the largest city in the world. Because of the large population, the people of London wanted more entertainment and plays and so playwrights like Marlowe, Shakespeare and more were very popular. Entertainment at the Globe theatre was a very social thing.

The yard shown from the Actors perspective.
Where audience members would stand to watch a performance.

With costs for seeing a show being the cheap price of a penny, many would turn up. The people wouldn't of wanted to stand up for long amounts of time, so they would of wanted to be entertained otherwise they would start to chat or shift around. It was the actors job at the time to keep the audience entertained and they would do this constantly by breaking the 4th wall and addressing the audience. A lot of Shakespeares plays contained high action. For example in Much Ado About Nothing. Hero dies of a broken heart. This sort of action would of kept the audience invested in the story and would want to see how this would progress. The yard were the common people would be would be havoc. There would of been arguments, sex, eating, dancing, roaring and many other raucous things happening as there wasn't much security. The actors would have to deal with all of this and continue to try and entertain. Shakespeare himself would often perform at the globe as an actor.

He was apart of a group called The Lord Chamberlains Men. They were a company that played at the globe, Shakespeare would write the plays for them and then he would help them perform them normally as a secondary character. For Much Ado About Nothing he may have played the character of Don Pedro or Leonato. In Don John scenes the audience may boo just like you would see at a pantomime today. This would of shown if the audience were invested in the play. 

Political  

Image taken from 1993's version of Much Ado About Nothing.
The Friar who is a man of god is the Priest for this wedding.
He is given the duty to marry these people as he is of most importance
in this environment.

The Elizabethan Era was when Shakespeare was around, Queen Elizabeth 1st was on the Throne. Elizabeth and most other royalty loved entertainment and loved the theatre. They would sit above the stage. They would go to the theatre for the entertainment and to be seen. They'd also be the highest people in relevance to the stage. This would show how they were nearest to the heavens and to state how they were royalty. If an Actor had a soliloquy or a monologue like Benedick has in Much Ado About Nothing they would also have to direct it to the royalty behind them, this would of been difficult because they have people watching from every angle and they all want to be kept entertained. If a Royal liked your work they would invite you to their mansion to perform and you would have been paid and fed and maybe even have a room to sleep in for the night. In Much Ado About Nothing, the friar at the end would have been of quite high importance and respected as he was a man of god. This was shown by the script Shakespeare had written as the friar would speak in verse which was seen as a form spoken by more higher class characters, while character like Dogberry would speak in Prose. This is due to the fact that verse is spoken in a rhythmic pattern and seemed heightened and to have more of a dramatical purpose than that of Prose. The Royals who would watch the performance may levitate to the characters of someone who speaks Verse as it would of been much nearer to their political class.

Contemporary performances

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is very contemporary, with main themes of love and betrayal that still are big in today's society. Much Ado About Nothing will continue to be in the minds of modern audiences.

Much Ado About Nothing (Nov 2005)

Taken from 2005's version of Much Ado About Nothing.
The wedding shown. The moment before Claudio disowns Hero.

I recently watched Much Ado About Nothing with Damien Lewis who was the most notable cast member. I really enjoyed this modern interpretation. It was set in an office environment that was about a news team with Claudio, Hero, Beatrice and Benedick being different hosts of different parts of the news. For example Claudio represented the Sport side of the news while Hero was the weather girl and Benedick and Beatrice where the two main anchors. I though this was a brilliant idea to have Beatrice and Benedick as the main anchors as we go to see the flirty yet sly behaviours of how Damien Lewis and Sarah Parish played these protagonists. In this adaptation directed by Brian Percival. They had the scene where Hero is meant to die of a broken heart, as her falling down and bumping her head quite badly and being taken to the hospital. I think this is due to the fact that a modern audience wouldn't believe that someone would die of a broken heart. Where that may have been more believable in Shakespeares time. What I particularly liked about this adaptation was how they changed the audience to suit a modern audience. I felt I got a better understanding of the story and I felt more emotionally attached. 

Much Ado About Nothing (2011)

Taken from 2011's version of Much Ado About Nothing.
Benedick played by David Tennant showing the slapstick element
of this comedy.

Catherine Tate and David Tennant took to the stage for this adaptation set in Gibraltar. I enjoyed this adaptation, it was very comical like Shakespeare would of wanted it performed. David Tennant gave an enjoyable performance. What I loved about this adaptation was the use of modern technology and slapstick. At one point David Tennant had paint all over him as he got into a bad turn of events when trying to eavesdrop. Elements like the paint would of not been used back then as the costumes cost too much money to have paint on. There was also a moment in this adaptation where Beatrice is on a wire and being lifted up to the sky when the other wire with the painter on is at the ground much like a balancing scale or seesaw. I loved this bit of comedy as I liked to see Beatrice get annoyed as she had been so rude to Benedick before. This wouldn't of happened when the play was first set as they didn't have the technology to make that work. I think this was a wonderful way for Beatrice to listen in to the conversation of Hero and Ursula. 

Drama Schools

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2 classical pieces mono

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'Road' - Week 4

As week 4 started we still have to finish off blocking Road. Thankfully today we did.

Ending of Road

Today we finished blocking Road, the idea for the end is that when one person is delivering their monologue every character comes on stage to a still image. I think this is a good idea because the audience will notice that everyone is on stage but they will still e focused on the person delivering the monologue, as we are all in a still image. 

Costume

Jacket for Bisto

In this week I started to think more about my costume and what I should wear. I first went to my father and asked him what a stereotypical 80s DJ would wear, he told me that they would wear very colourful outfits, I asked him whether the DJ's would wear flares, he told me they were unfashionable in the 80s and were only fashionable in the 70s. I thought being the character Bisto was, he would wear flares because he would still think that flares are fashionable. This is Road is quite secluded and so they don't know much about fashion or the latest fashion. I think that considering DJ's would wear very colourful outfits that I will wear a hawaiian shirt and colourful blazer with flares and chelsea boots, I think Bisto would wear Chelsea Boots as its the sort of thing David Bowie would wear, and Bowie being a big inspiration to him, means he would wear this. I think I know which Jacket I want to wear over a hawaiian shirt, the jacket I want to wear is sparkly purple and blue and is shown in the image above. I also am thinking about wearing a hat, but if I don't I think I'll have slicked back hair.

Franks Scene

On wednesday, I asked Frank if I could look at his scene. It was very good, Frank's acting was brilliant, he still needs work on his accent but I think its going well. I gave Frank the advice to make some bits faster and some bits slower, as if its all at one pace it will get boring for the audience. I stated how he should go slower when talking about 'her'. I think also when Frank's character Jerry is nostalgic, he should also talk slower, this is because the character Jerry is trying to hold on to the memories he used to have and he wants to savour them. Frank also gave me some feedback saying how I should remember to react to the audience on the night, in the way that I say some of my lines for example 'okey dokey', that can be said in many ways depending on the mood of the audience that night, if they are hooked on me I will say the line very energetic and upbeat whereas if I'm not getting much of a response I will say the line in more of a downbeat manner, I don't think Bisto fully understands when a situation is awkward, so i will try not to act in this way if the mood isn't right. I also looked into finding action points in this bit of diologue, I felt as if the 'how you doing?', can be said as I direct it at a certain audience member. I also think the 'move up and down with Bisto' can be said as I do a slow twist to the ground, I will also use intonation in this phrase to make it even more cheesy and DJ like. I will also count on my fingers as a gesture when naming the different events I do, ' I'm available for weddings, engagements, barmitzvahs', I feel Bisto would do this as he is trying to get the point across that he is always active and a good DJ. 

In this week I made sufficient progress to Road by learning more about Bisto and finding action points. I also helped out Frank in keeping his scene interesting. 

'Road' - Evaluation

When first presented with the Road script by Jim Cartwright I was excited for the new challenge, however after reading the text it didn't completely appeal to me, I didn't like the way it was written as it was just monologues, and I like the idea of being on stage for most of the show. Even though I wasn't too fond of the script one character stuck out to me who I'd like to be. His name was Bisto a loud mouthed DJ who is sexually driven, I seemed to levitate to this character because in some ways he resembles me. I felt that even though Bisto wasn't a big part I could really make him the star of the show. I felt I really understood how this character was the comic relief of the play and this was one of the main reasons I wanted to play him because he is very light hearted with his witty jokes and remarks which I felt once again resembled me. The first time Bisto is seen, he is very forward with the audience and is quite confident, by approaching the audience 'How you doing?', to me this line shows how he wants to be the centre of attention. This was my favourite scene to read, because it was so easy to relate to, Bisto really fits the stereotypical mould of a loud mouthed DJ.

Throughout the rehearsal process I was very disciplined. I tried to stay in character as much as I could. I also spent a lot of my spare time going over Bisto's lines, and I felt this showed good time management as I was one of the first people to have known there lines. I also looked at the 80's and before, luckily for me I love this era of music and it was great fun to research the music. Over the rehearsal process I had a great relationship with my fellow peers and also lecturers, I got mostly good feedback, and I felt I grew my character. I felt I always kept a good response to feedback I was getting, I was pleased to get feedback as it helped me grow and develop a better understanding for my character and deliver a greater performance. For example, I was given feedback to stay in character in the week before our performances. After this I did disciplinary exercises to help me stay focused.

From the beginning of Road to the end I felt my character had really grew. I felt I took a big risk in picking this character because when reading the script Bisto isn't one of the main characters who I always prefer to play. I feel like to really get the potential out of Bisto, he needs to be played by a character actor. The type of actor I feel I am. I felt I also took a massive risk as at one point  I strip, I found the stripping difficult to do as I'm not comfortable with my body, but I know my character Bisto would be comfortable so I had to forget who I was and be Bisto. My interpretation of my character changed tremendously I first saw Bisto as an egotistical DJ who only wanted sex, but I felt at the end of the process Bisto was a lot more modest than the lines entail. 

After performing the first performance I wasn't overly joyed as I would have liked to be, I messed up my lines. The reason I think I forgot my lines was because I was so focused on my acting, that my lines had gone, even though my lines weren't right I stayed in character and on topic and most of the audience members didn't notice that I had slipped up.  The second performance was much better, I felt I really stole the show in the second performance, mostly due to my second scene, my dance moves were very much that of a 43 year old man, and my energy was consistently high, I knew I had done well as I was the only member of the cast to receive an ovation. This gave me a great high and I felt even more confident going out to perform the end of the show.

I had many strengths in this project. From the start of rehearsal process, I was blessed with feedback like 'you were born to play this role' and other great feedback, this really made me happy and I wanted to develop my character even further to deliver a brilliant performance, I felt throughout the rehearsals I was very in touch with my character and I would find myself delving into my character and looking at things like costume, personality and the subtext of my scenes. Another strength of mine was my confidence. I felt to portray Bisto to his best ability you have to be confident with what you're doing on stage and everything needs to be 100% committed.

There were also some weaknesses, there were points when performing the second scene I would break character due to the laughs of my fellow peers, unfortunately I wasn't disciplined enough to stay in character and develop my scene, I acted on this and did disciplinary exercises. I think I also lost my accent at points in my scenes, for example I didn't drop my H's on some of the words, however overall my accent was very good. 

For my next performance I will bring the same level of confidence as I did to the character of Bisto. I will do more work on my character for the next project as I felt I lacked in this area. Since the beginning of Road I feel I have really grown, at the start Bisto was just a character on the page and by the end he was a larger than life character. 

I really enjoyed this project and I'm proud of the development of my character and growth as an Actor.

Character Profile

Bisto

Name:

(James Connelly Jr) Bisto. He has a nickname called Bisto, as of an incident in which gravy was spilled all over him at Christmas time. He loves the name, and hardly anyone knows his real name.

Age:

 43

Gender:

 Male

Status:

 In the road, Bisto is a guy of high status as he is fun to be around and also knows a lot about music and alcohol which other characters are interested in. Outside of the road he is an outcast like the rest of the people of Road.

Parents:

 Bisto's father is James Connelly Sr, he was a failed actor who moved to Road, because it was the only thing he can afford, this is where Bisto gets his high energy from. His mother Deidre Connelly was a cleaner who didn't earn a lot of money. She was always annoyed and had constant fights with her spouse James.

Friends:

 Bisto's best friend was a boy called Derek Cutter, who he met in Primary School, they both wanted to be DJ's from a young age but Derek went on to achieve great things DJing all over the world while Bisto stayed in Road. They still keep in touch but aren't as close as they once were. Bisto is also a friend with Scullery, they both love food alcohol and music and are around the same sort of age.

Occupation and Monetary Status:

 Bisto is a DJ who, works at the Millstone Pub 5 nights a week, Tuesday through to Saturday but not Sunday or Monday. He earns about £50 per night which works out to be about £13000 per year. This is quite a lot of money compared to the people on Road.

Religion:

 Bisto is an atheist, in the past he has often clung to God but God never answered his prayers, this is why he is often seen as quite fierce when talking about sex, alcohol and other things that would be looked on as a sin by some religions.

Ethnicity:

 Bisto is a white male. Both his parents and grandparents were English, Welsh and Dutch.

Social Skills:

 In public Bisto is easily approachable, he's easy to talk to but still will come off as arrogant, if he sees a girl he likes he will go up to them and introduce himself but will often be rejected.

Education:

 Never went past secondary School, he studied at the local school and got poor grades, he only got 1 O level in Music.

Where they live:

Bisto lives in a small house, that's quite modern, he is very frugal and would hardly even use heating or lighting, and is one of the reasons is short term girlfriend left him.

Past experiences:

Bisto has always had a passion for music but was told by his father not to pursue it as he despised the world of entertainment after never finding success in Acting. Bisto didn't listen to him and went into DJing and fell out with his quite conservative father. The job of being a successful DJ didn't work out but still kept doing it as he loved it.

In Secondary School, at Christmas time the school had a free Christmas Lunch, Bisto sat with his friend Derek and others and they all had a great time. However, at the time Bisto wasn't extremely popular, gravy was thrown all over him and everybody started to laugh, and went 'ahh Bisto', this was one of the first times Bisto got attention even though it wasn't for the right reason and he started to crave it, and is one of the many reasons he's so flamboyant. It's also the reason he kept the nickname Bisto.

Bisto, for a small time joined the Army but was quickly kicked out because he wasn't disciplined enough. He joined with some of his friends, who lasted in the army a lot longer, but unfortunately most of them he doesn't know or are dead. Except Curt, who came back from the war alive but was emotionally scared as shown in the script.

Personality and Appearance

John Travolta on the left, Grease (1978).

As I found out what character I was, I started to do research about him and make artistic decisions surrounding the character. I started off by looking into his appearance and thinking about his personality, I envisioned my look to be much like John Travolta's out of Grease, Grease came out in 1978 and Travolta would of been a popular icon for people to follow back in the 80s.  After researching into Travolta's trademark the leather jacket, I found that they were quite expensive. I thought about Bisto again and even though he isn't frugal he certainly couldn't afford one. I think that instead Bisto could wear something very colourful, like a Hawaiian shirt, I will also wear black skinny Jeans as y that time Flares were out of fashion, I will also think about wearing a colourful jacket to boost the poignant and arrogant DJ, I think that Bisto is also quite fat, he enjoys his food and will often eat a burger and chips before going out to DJ. He also drinks a lot of beers and sweet Ciders which are very calorific. I then went on to look at Bisto's personality. I first thought of James Buckley's character from The Inbetweeners, in this his character Jay Cartwright is a foul mouthed, low status character, who is very sexually driven. This is much like my character Bisto who has the same traits as Buckley's character. I feel that this personality was good but wasn't completely the same as Jay Cartwright's considering he is quite a lot younger and isn't into the music Bisto is into. I also thought about the scenes I was in. The first scene I am in is on page 31, I looked into this scene and asked questions about my character in this scene.

James Buckley, The Inbetweeners.

Bisto's first scene

In this scene the stage directions are as so: 'Bisto, the pub DJ, enters with a pack of leaflets. (On them is something like 'Bisto and his Beatoven Disco. Tonight at the Millstone Pub'.) He throws these out to the audience as he speaks. He wears a hat with two stuffed fingers on top in the V-sign. I was told that this now wouldn't be set outside but in the pub, for this I had to change one of the lines. The line was along the lines of 'later why not come down to the Millstone Pub and move up and down with Bisto.' Now that I'm in the pub and disco already in changing the line to 'later why not move up and down with Bisto and his Beatoven Disco. ' This shows how I'm in the pub for this scene and won't confuse the audience.

Who is Present?

The only people present in this scene is myself and the audience. Scullery may also be present but I don't interact with him in this scene.

When is it Happening?

I think Road is set over a night, with the first scene of Road starting at about 5:30 pm and the last scene going on till about 2 am in the morning. I think my first scene is set at about 6:30 pm, I think its earlier in the night as he is trying to attract people to his Disco.

Placement of Scene

The scene before this one is Joey and Clare's scene where we first see these characters, we find out that these two characters are severely ill, this is quite sad scene for the audience to see, after this I need to completely change the mood and make the play happier. I feel like my scene is the comic relief to the play. After my scene it goes back to Clare and Joey, I hope that this first scene of mine will be very happy and bouncy to really contrast the scene before and after. 

Other Questions

Set in Public or Private: Public place know as the Millstone Pub.

Outdoors or Indoors: Indoors in Pub.

Physical Characteristics: I would say Bisto is very claustrophobic in this scene, I think he is also very persuasive and reminds me of a con artist or scam lawyer as he seems to be quite a slimy character, I will do this by showing my physical characteristics as quite laid back and quite egotistical.

I don't think my character has any boundaries in this scene as he will approach any audience member and may even flirt with them.

Subtext

Under the words is where we find subtext the meaning behind the lines, I feel Ihave many lines with great meaningful subtext, for example Bisto's famous line "you'll get used to me, you'd better" has a great meaning to it, Bisto craves for attention with this line and is almost forcing people to like him, I feel in this earlier scene Bisto wants to hook the audience in coming to his Beatoven Disco later, even though he may be scaring them away as he is quite aggressive he believes he is quite persuasive and this is one of the many reasons he is quite egotistical. I also feel like the line 'I hopey so' can also be said in two different ways I feel like it can be said quite sarcastically if I don't get a response off the audience or it can be said in a jolly way in which I'm trying to entice the audience into coming to the Beatoven disco, I think I will say it in the jolly way as the character would want people to come to his disco. 

Bisto's Second Scene

Bisto's second and last scene is set in the Millstone Pub and its the start of the Beatoven disco. This is my main scene and the scene in which I want to make the most memorable.

Who is Present?

in this scene its just me and the audience and also maybe Scullery. In this scene I will interact with the audience a lot more, and even Scullery at certain points.

When is it Happening?

As expressed before I think road takes place over one night with the first scene being at 6:30, I think this scene is set at 8pm when the Beatoven Disco starts.

Placement of the Scene

 This scene is after Joey's and Clare's scene where Joey has just died, I need to make sure my scene is better than the one before so I can lift the emotions of the audience and make them happy and laughing. This will be difficult but I'm ready for a challenge. This scene is one again comic relief. After my scene, it goes into Scullery, Manfred Dor and Lane. This scene is quite funny in the way that Nyakeh who plays Manfred has interpreted it, I think this is good because nearer the ending of my second scene the mood drops a bit when Bisto is talking about how he loves the audience as its very sentimental and very contrasting to the rest of the scene. I feel like at this point the audiences spirits need to be lifted again and this is done expertly by Nyakeh.

Other Questions

Set in Public or Private: Public place, Millstone Pub. 

Outdoors or Indoors: Indoors in Pub. 

Physical Characteristics: Like the other scene Bisto is very bouncy in the scene trying to get the audience up on there feet and dancing however there are also parts where he's aggressive, 'dance you buggers!' I will use a pointing gesture at this point to make Bisto seem even that bit more aggressive.

My character again has no boundaries in this scene and will wink at any member of the audience as he believes everyone loves him. 

Subtext

For my last scene Bisto's catchphrase, "you'll get used to me, you'd better", I started to make the saying more sentimental because I wanted to add variety but also because I believe as it gets later on into the night he has more to drink and becomes less aggressive and develops more of a loving attitude. Also when I say 'this next one's dedicated to you, well you know who you are darling', Bisto thinks about a girl at this point, I'll use Stanislavski's system to vision someone from my real life to make the subtext more invigorating. 

Reference:

Books:

Road by Jim Cartwright

Websites:

http://www.newrockbristol.co.uk/collections/leather-jackets (Leather Jackets)

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=John+Travolta+Grease&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=geEiVYrrGOrG7AaI74CoDg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=1ykxcqxxW3AQWM%253A%3BjzW9NuERPJ7ujM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.eonline.com%252Feol_images%252FEntire_Site%252F2011418%252F300.grease.cm.51811.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.eonline.com%252Fnews%252F316992%252Fjohn-travolta-s-attorney-slams-allegation-star-groped-grease-cohort-jeff-conaway%3B300%3B300 (John Travolta Grease Photo)

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Jay+Cartwright&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=huIiVdWrFI6S7AbFuICwBg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667#imgdii=_&imgrc=wPw-TlY3Xt_3WM%253A%3BkrWfoP1MgHpxIM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fstatic.televisionando.it%252Ftelevisionando%252Ffotogallery%252F625X0%252F36059%252Fjay-cartwright.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.televisionando.it%252Ffoto%252Fthe-inbetweeners-serie-di-culto-gb-in-onda-su-mtv_3365_10.html%3B450%3B337 (James Buckley Inbetweeners Photo)

'Road' - Week 7

Quick Run Through

On Wednesday, we ran through Road, to see what props where needed for each scene. I also started to learn my cues for when I come on stage. For my first scene I didn't need any props as I am just talking to the audience. However this was helpful as I found my cue to come on was when Clare says "I'd rather get in bed". This is the cue for my first scene, and I knew that I had to come on stage very upbeat and high energy to quickly change the mood of the piece from the sad scene with Joey and Clare. For my second scene I come on when the song Don't know much about History by Sam Cooke comes on, I like this cue as its easy to listen out for as sometimes I may not hear my cue line but if its a song it will be much easier. For this scene I will need headphones, to give the impression I'm a DJ however, I don't need them for my first scene as I don't play any records. I may also need some records in the second scene.

Proper Run Through

John Travolta Point

After this we did a proper run through, I did my second scene in which I do many different dance moves, I felt my dance moves were all really good and this was my best run to date. The first song I dance to is Let's Dance, I felt like I should add a movement to start the song, I felt like moving my arm slowly from side to side to show that I want every audience member to get up and dance. The second song I dance to is the Bee Gee's Saturday Night Fever, for this I'm going to do some different spins, as they work with the rhythm of the music, I will then do the John Travolta point, as its quite iconic to this song. The next song I dance to is Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire, for this song I do the twist dance move, this was an iconic dance move back in the 50s, and even has a song named after it called Let's Twist Again which came out in the same era. The next song is Barry White's Can't Get Enough of Your Love, in which I pretend to kiss an imaginary girl, I think this is great because it shows how Bisto is thinking about a certain girl which works with the text 'well you know who you are, darling'. I then for the first time this week started to strip, I think that this was brilliant as it was very memorable, I think it propels my scene to another level of Comedy and it describes Bisto perfectly. Luckily for me we decided that as soon as my shirt gets to the lowest button to stop the music, and I get a bit flustered. this is the last song that I properly dance to so I wanted to make it as memorable as I could and I felt I did. The last song was Je' taime which I don't fully dance to but leave to, I didn't know what to do for this, I was recommended to close my eyes and walk out with my DJ set. I felt this was good as it was the last we see of Bisto and is quite symbolic and shows how he loves what he does because he is fully embracing it by closing his eyes. I feel by reading the script and Bisto's character people take Bisto as this aggressive DJ who only loves sex and alcohol, my objective through Road was to change peoples view on Bisto, I felt in order to make sure his scenes were the comic relief of the play he had to connect with the audience and I felt I did this in the last bit of the second scene where I'm telling the people how much I love them and then walk out slowly to Je' taime. 

I felt in this run through I was stuttering a bit, I know that was because I still wasn't 100% confident with my lines so I will go away going through all my lines before performance week. I got some other feedback over my scene, I was told to stay in character as there was a point where I came out of character and laughed as myself. This was because this was the first time I got really good reactions for my scene, and I didn't know how to control myself and stay in character, this annoyed me as I thought I was a better actor than this and it won't happen again. There were also parts where I was quite rushed with my lines, I felt this was because I was so energetic that I wanted to rush the lines. I got good feedback though as I was confident and I had great dance moves. 

Next week is performance week so I will be focusing on my role for the character. I'm confident going into next week I just need to go over my lines.