Commedia dell'arte

Introduction

Commedia dell'arte was a part of theatre in Europe around the 16th and 17th century. It translates as 'comedy of the professional artist or actors.' When I first heard about this and it's translation I was excited to learn about this type of Theatre as I've heard so many people saying its a great style of physical theatre, and how unique and fun it is. 

Stock Characters

In Commedia there are different stock characters. A stock character is a character that appears in every Commedia dell'arte play. For example Homer Simpson appears in every Simpsons episode. Some stock characters are relatable to the audience as they know someone who is like the character. These characters have rules and are in a hierarchy of status.

Harlequin

Some Stock Characters:

Harlequin - This is one of the main characters in Commedia, the character of Harlequin can be linked to Joey from friends as he is very handsome but isn't clever, Harlequin is also amorous, this sometimes gets him into trouble as he doesn't think. The costume of Harlequin is tight fitted and has diamonds and colour.

Columbina - There aren't many female characters, however she is often featured. She's beautiful and extremely graceful. However she is cunning and will use her body to get her way. She would most likely be seen in a dress that's worn to show her status as a servant. Her stance is a slight tilt from the hips to try and show off her best features.

Pantaloon - He is a mean old man and is often portrayed as rich. In some extracts of Commedia he has been seen as Columbina's father. Usually he has aches and pains and he is short sighted. His mask makes him seem mean and also ridiculous. He wears very tight fitted clothes and yellow slippers with a black cloak. His stance when talking to someone is bent forward but when receiving information lent back. He is the top of the pecking order. He has money and his orders are usually obeyed.

Masks

In Commedia one feature is Masks. this feature was used for most characters to give the audience a better view of the characters status and feelings. For example Pantaloon's mask has very bushy eyebrows this shows his age and gives a subtle feeling of how wise he is. Without actors being able to show their facial expression because of their masks they have to make sure their body actions tell the story of their character. This is one of the many reasons of why Commedia was so popular because it was so melodramatic, that it made the audiences laugh. This was one of the many reasons why Commedia was so popular in the 16th and 17th century.

Workshop

From spending a whole day looking at Commedia I felt I was familiar with this form of theatre. We first started the day off with learning about the history of Commedia and when it was most popular, we also watched some videos of students trying different scenarios and also a teacher explaining the hierarchy in Commedia dell'arte. After this we did a practical and were asked to portray different Commedia characters, we were also given scenarios and to each pick different characters and play with status, for example a Zanni may be cleaning a Pantaloon's yellow slippers to show hist status, this I found really helpful because I gained a better understanding of the hierarchy. Our class also did an exercise where two captains were trying to get past each other. This was really funny to do because of the reactions of the cowardly captain. It was lovely portraying this juxtaposed character, from the cowardly side to the arrogant side. 

Influence

Commedia has had a big influence on many different contemporary shows and films. For example the hit comedy show Friends, the character of Joey is very much Harlequin. Another influence is in Kafka's Metamorphosis Lodgers.  David Schwimmer who also appeared in friends was educated in Commedia and added it to different slapstick scenes. Commedia also had an influence of 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' who is dressed exactly like Harlequin.  

Devising - Week 3

New Ideas

As we told our idea we started to notice as well as Deborah that our work as we would like it would not fit the time limit that is required. We had many scenes that we wanted to use but unfortunately it would of taken a long time. Our work was also quite linear meaning that it was a story, however we needed it to be less linear to achieve the physical theatre style. On Monday we found it difficult to devise as Donna was away and so was Lewis. 

We looked at a scene where Brother Taylor meets Billie Joe, in this physical theatre scene. We discussed how this is the first time they meet and they both dislike each other as brother Taylor is getting married to Bobbie and she is in love with Billie. In this scene we first have a stare off this shows the tension between these two characters and is almost like what boxers do to publicise a match.  After this I run really fast at Billie as if I'm attacking him, Billie leap frogs over me to show he's dodging an attack, it also shows how he dodged people finding about his and Bobbies relationship. Next Billie runs at me and I catch him, this shows how whatever Billie tries to do Brother Taylor is one step in front. This catch we learned from Kirsty and is very much in the style of the physical theatre practitioner 'DV8'. after the catch I throw him down and push him back as if to show I want him away from me, however I pull him back to show the tension at this point he punches me in the ribs and this is when Lewis' character intervenes. His character is the father and his intentions is that his daughter Bobbie will marry Brother Taylor and will stop the relationship with Billie. Unfortunately at this point we couldn't add Lewis' part as he wasn't with us.

After choreographing this we went to Deborah's lesson.

Deborah's Lesson

In Deborah's lesson we were prompted to try something new as the idea we had planned was too linear, we were thankful that this was brought to our attention early in the devising process. She told us how it would of been easy for the audience to guess what was going to happen because of the obvious storyline. We were also told how some of our story and lines were cliché. For example their is a dance where I am with Phoebe and I say 'for the time we have left let's spend it together'. Unfortunately this line is quite cliché and almost sounds unreal however this is not what our intentions were. Our group were guided that it would be better to set it in a wedding environment where things can happen and go wrong and it can be less linear, in this fashion we would also be able to use the audience as Wedding guests. I had the idea that we could have three relationships and base our piece around the theme of 'Abuse.' I said that we could set it in a Restaurant and Kennedy raised the idea that we could show three different types of how abusive the couple were. For example subtle abuse, so things like a kick under the table or a subtle look. Then a more noticeable by the audience abuse where you can see physical hitting and mental abuse like name calling. The third couple was to be neutral this would give the audience a nice scale to see how abusive some can be. 

We thought the restaurant idea was good but we felt we had more options with the wedding and also link it to the arranged marriage. As this was one of our ideas Deborah was willing to help us build on our idea and play a game sort of exercise that we may use in our piece, much like the work of 'DV8'. This improvised games helped to produce ideas. The game had rules that each member had to follow, the rules we used were that one person had to be standing at any one time, another rule was that someone had to be moving to a different seat. This simple exercise created moments of unison and tension between different people in this game. This gave us different ideas of how we can develop on this and maybe use it in our piece. Other rules could be that you have to make eye contact with only one person, or you have to balance the plate meaning that you do the opposite to another person in this scenario. This could be implemented into our piece as we could explain to the audience the rules and they join in.

On Thursday we started to devise some more and look at new scenes and a way in which we could add Lewis into the scene with me and Joe. Me and Joe had already devising a physical scene and we've now added Lewis in, for this scene Brother Taylor and Billie Joe have had a tense battle and Father comes to break it up. After this the father who is on Brother Taylor's side shakes his hand, we then do two roll overs back to back, to show the connection and companionship between these two characters. This sequence is also good because it allows 'Father' to be face to face with Billie creating tension. Billie and the father then have a set of moves that resembles a fight this is good because it shows what lengths Billie will go to because he is truly in love. At one point in this sequence Billie is thrown into centre stage, where me and Lewis' surround him, at this point Billie runs away. This scene is good because its easy for the audience to make out who the antagonists are. 

In our group also the girls did a dance to show abuse with movements that resembled a dagger going into their heart. The boys later joined in on this and did movements in this scene such as pushing the girls hands down to show abuse. We thought this was good as it showed the major theme in our play. However from feedback from other members in the class it was difficult to understand what was going on and it would of been better with just the girls. This constructive criticism was duly noted and we will look into changing it next week. 

Conclusion

Overall this week I felt we bonded over doing simple tasks and exercises like the wedding game suggested by Deborah. I think there is still a lot of work to be done but we're on track. 

Devising - Week 2

Making Dinner Scene

For this week we started making some scenes to fill our 30 minute time. We started off by making a scene at a dinner table between the family. The abusive dad played by Lewis, the scared mother played by Kennedy, their youngest daughter Betty who is played by Phoebe and their eldest daughter Bobbie played by Donna. This scene we had created was quite easy to create as they improvised as me and Joe who plays Billy watched and directed. It was good for me and Joe to watch as we got an audiences perspective and we could input different ideas to enhance this scene. I brought up the idea that the family should be saying grace to start the scene to show their religious views. This was lovely because the first thing they see is a religious family at dinner thanking God for their meal. This sets the scene and foreshadows one of the major themes in our devising piece. While me and Joe were watching we felt that it was good but it needed more of a physical theatre influence. Kennedy then came up with the idea that Betty, Father and Kennedy's character all asked Bobbie why she wasn't eating at the same time. This Berkovian type effect will make it more memorable for the audience and will also make them feel sympathetic for Bobbie. We decided that we could have a dinner scene more than once to show the gradual progress of the family and the repetition in the characters feelings. 

Tableaux

On Wednesday we did 3 different tableaux. A tableau is a group of people representing the scene motionless. Instead of looking at scenes we decided to focus on objectives and feelings of each characters. In the first Tableau Bobbie and Billie are kissing, as Brother Taylor is reaching out to touch Bobbie. This shows how Bobbie and Billie are in love but Brother Taylor also likes Bobbie and wants to make the family happy. In this tableau the relationship between the parents is very prominent. We can see Lewis aggressively pulling Kennedy closer to him to show how he feels she can't be trusted. I think Lewis' positioning is very good as he isn't blocking the character of the mother but he is very close to her.




After the first tableau we did a transition to get to the second tableau. From mine and phoebe's first position we pull Bobbie away from Billie and Lewis and Kennedy pull Billie away on the opposite side. This shows the separation the family want from the couple, yet Donna and Joe's characters are reaching out for each other as they want to be with each other. I like Phoebe's body shape in this tableau, she has managed to portray how her character is subtly clinging on to Bobbie, this is because she wants her older sister to be happy and also it would mean Brother Taylor wouldn't get married.




To go into the third tableau Lewis pushes Joe down to the floor to show
disrespect to their love. Kennedy's transition is quite easier as she changes how she stands and puts her arm on the dad's shoulder. This subtle transition is almost not seen and this is good because it looks like it flows from one Tableau to the next. In our final tableau I felt I did well portraying my character, as shown I am holding hands with Betty while also having my arm around Bobbie, this shows how I am in love with two women. I also think my stature in this is good as I have a good posture as I'm standing tall, this shows my status in the eyes of the father compared to Billie who is down on the floor.




I think this week we progressed a lot, I'm sure we will add these tableaux into our scene to show the thoughts and feelings of each individual character in a more in depth way.

Devising - Week 1

Ode to Billy Joe Initial Response

Texas Bar doors.

The Stimulus given to us for this devising unit was Bobbie Gentry's song 'Ode to Billy Joe'. We listened to the song about 3 times, my initial response was that it would be set in a Texas bar specially with the stereotypical doors, as shown.

I also had the idea that the family run a farm and the news of their son passing doesn't mean that much to them, 'well Billie Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits please'. This shows how even Billie's father wasn't shocked about his death and is shows that it isn't important as he would rather have the 'biscuits' then talk about his sons suicide. This also shows how their life goes on, this is ironically shown as of the repetition of the song and beat. 

Another response I had is that the lady singing the song Bobbie Gentry had a love relationship with Billie Joe and that they had a child. The relationship was hidden by Bobbie and Billie, because they would have been disowned by Bobbie's parents as they hated Billie. Bobbie soon became pregnant with Billie's kid. They managed to keep the pregnancy secret but it would have been impossible to keep the baby a secret, so once Bobbie had given birth, her and Billie decided to throw the baby of the Tallahatchie bridge. 'She and Billie Joe were throwing something off the Tallahatchie Bridge'. This is also the reason Bobbie has lost her appetite. 

Grouping

After everyone had thought about their initial responses we were told to get into groups with who we would be devising with. The class was told to get into 3 groups of 6. Our group quickly formed and I was happy with the outcome. I felt I was in a group of people that I was good friends with but also that I wouldn't get distracted. In my group was Donna, Phoebe, Kennedy, Joe, Lewis and myself. After the group got together we sat down and started drawing a spider diagram of different ideas for our devising performance. I felt Kennedy, Phoebe and myself contributed to the diagram the most. In this diagram we highlighted different thoughts like, covering up a murder as something is thrown off the bridge, to the idea that the Dad has a grudge. We also discussed how he could live with the guilt.

After looking into the story of Billie Joe, I remembered a song that I like called 'Take the Money and Run' by Steve Miller Band. The song mentions Billie Joe and Bobbie. However I think Steve Miller band's song is an interpretation as Billie Joe is said to rob a castle.

First Devising Idea

We then decided to look into making our first scene but before we did we did an exercise to get warmed up and also helped to produce ideas. The warm up we did was a piggback race between 3 groups of 2. This warm up was great because it enabled us to be connected with each other and also we used it as one of our ideas to open the play. In this we had three couples to show the different stages of Billie Joe and Bobbie. We had the young love portrayed between Phoebe and Lewis, then the careful and secret love between Donna and Joe and the nostalgic love in Kennedy as at this point in the couples life Billie has committed suicide. We also thought about the couples dancing and Kennedy dancing by herself to show her sadness.

A New Idea

We felt and made the decision that as a group we all wanted to portray different characters to make our piece more memorable we said how we felt that all boys portraying Billie and all girls portraying Bobbie wasn't what we wanted, and so we scraped the idea. However the idea was not all bad as we kept the element of three couples. We decided to portray Bobbie's family, which we decided consisted of the father played by Lewis the mother portrayed by Kennedy and the younger sister who is Phoebe. We gave different themes to the three couples, for the parents we had the theme of abuse and the Father abusing the mother. We have the loving relationship of Bobbie and Billie almost like Romeo and Juliet as they are keeping the love a secret. For the last couple the limited time, Brother Taylor my character is in love with Phoebe's character Sister Betty, but is getting married to Bobbie. Betty is however under age and so this relationship cannot be known.

Overall, I think the new idea is good and we have made sufficient progress. I also think are new idea is good and we can build on it. 

  

Portfolio Week 5 - Vocal Health

Vocal Health

In this week of voice we learned about what affected the voice, and how to look after it.

We started off with a spider diagram naming things to do with Vocal Health. I said dairy, as I remembered that one of my friends would never have dairy a week before singing as it creates mucus, which can interfere with your voice. The class also managed to name things like alcohol, sugar, drugs and other things that our linked to Vocal Health.

Alcohol affects the voice as it also creates mucus and it can numb your throat and reduce your awareness on the force you are using when you sing. Unfortunately, in the profession, actors and singers are around drugs the most. Drugs like Cocaine affects the voice as when snorted through the nose, it combines with the mucus and drips down the back of the throat. Cocaine can scar your voice and because of this, people can loss their vocal range. It also can cause exhaustion in the vocal area.

Vocal Health Poster

In this lesson we were also asked to create a Vocal Health poster. With this poster Donna and I aimed to talk about the different causes surrounding vocal problems, and how to look after the voice.

To look after the voice so less problems occur, we said you need to get enough rest as you don't want your voice being tired. Also if it's possible not to smoke as smoking has been linked to laryngeal cancer. The effects of this cancer are loss of voice, loss of taste and surgery will be needed.

We also put pictures in, 'Stop Smoking' logo and 6 glasses of water to make the poster more enjoyable and easier to read.

Conclusion

For this lesson I have learnt how the voice is key to an actor as it is our instrument, and we have to keep it safe and healthy at all times, and avoid things that cause the larynx and other vocal organs to become distressed. 

Evaluation on '13' Performance

In this evaluation I will reflect on how the class and I performed Mike Bartlett's '13'.

For '13', I was Stephen Crossley, a main character who is in a lot of scenes, for me to perform Stephen to the best of its ability I had to be confident with my lines. I felt I was confident with my lines, however in the first of the three performances, in at 4 scene 8 I said a line a the wrong time, fortunately I was with two brilliant actors who managed to repair my stumble, because of this it wasn't noticeable to the audience and it also meant that this error was unlikely to happen again.

In our performances the cues for entrances and exits and also transitions is fundamental to a good performance. In act 3 scene 4, Zia and Shannon are on stage, I come in after this to deliver my speech to Oxford union. Between these two scenes, I found it difficult to know when to come on. This was a weakness in the first performance but by the second one I had learnt my cue and when to exactly come on stage.

As the piece is very modern the style is naturalistic. For example in act 3 scene 5, Stephen has a speech to the Oxford union, in this speech I needed to feel the emotions behind my speech as it had a real deep meaning. This is shown in the script. 'If, as a women, you cheated on your husband, you would be stoned to death'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 19th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000045 ). For me as an actor to channel this emotion I did research on the way women were treated in Iran and also watched a small clip of a women being stoned. This, I found difficult to watch but it meant I could feel the way Stephen should in this speech, this I took upon myself as the actor to research and I feel it helped strengthen the scene.

In one of my performances my voice was very quiet yet I felt I was projecting in the right manner. I found his out through audience members and the director. This mistake annoyed me a lot because I felt I had just ruined my performance but I knew I had to do better in the next performance. I rested my voice that day for the evening performance and it really helped as I spoke to one audience member and they said 'I was loud'. They said this in a good way and that it helped in the scenes with John.

One of the skills I felt I did particularly well in was characterisation. In act 4 scene 8, for each of the 3 performances I tried to portray Stephen in a different way. In the first performance I played Stephen in a shocked way at what John was suggesting is stupid. In the second I was angry with John as I felt he was wasting Stephen's time. For the last performance I acted quite sadistic to make it seem like I was winning in this war of words.

As an ensemble I felt our class did well, in Ruth's speech I am apart of the chorus. In this scene I felt Joe and Frankie did well as they showed teamwork as Joe was holding a camera filming Ruth while Frankie was holding a microphone to get what Ruth was saying, this gave a great naturalistic impact as they portrayed a news team.

Overall, as a class the performances went well, I think I also did well as I improved throughout each performance.

Character Profile - Stephen Crossley

Who Am I?

My character is Stephen Crossley, he is 54 years old, unfortunately he looks older because of his cancer but he doesn't mind because he believes it makes him look wiser. Stephen has a slight ego but isn't too arrogant. For example in Act 2 scene 11 when I'm told Holly sells her body for money I'm not too surprised as she is below him. Stephen's illness doesn't bother him too much as he wants to live his life to the full because he knows he has limited time to do so. I believe Stephen has a bucket list but it is unique and not filled with things like parachuting. Stephen's bucket list contains things like warning young people about the terrors of Iran, and also showing people how in his words 'there is no god'. (BartlettM.2011'13'.Retrieved 14th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ) This is from Act 4 Scene 8 when speaking to John, Stephen truly believes there is no god as he is dying and yet no god is here to help him. He also wants to express his knowledge to John because he has so much power of the others in the play. Stephen doesn't have much of a family, he has no kids he has never been in a serious relationship and his Father died at the age of 22. His father was very religious and believed in God. Peter (Stephens father) went to church every Sunday with Eve (Stephens Mother). Peter died in a car crash after coming home from work one day. This affected Stephen so much that he started to question the existence of God and why he didn't save his dad from the crash ever since that Stephen would never attend church again, this angered his mother, after this Stephen who at the time is 22 moved out and hasn't spoken to his mother for 32 years, because of Stephens belief and also how Eve got married to a different man only 1 year after Peter died. Eve married a man called Clive who Stephen despised. Eve worked in a charity shop and Peter was a reverend for the local church, because of this they didn't have much money and at times Eve and Peter would go days without a meal to feed Stephen. Stephen knew from a young age that he wasn't rich and was bullied at school for not having shoes that were new or trendy at the time. After Stephen had moved out he started looking for a job having graduated from Oxford University. He worked as shop assistant for his uncle to get some money as well as a loan to attend Oxford. He graduated in Theology and Religion, while at Oxford he became friends with Ruth who would later become Prime Minister, however Ruth took Law at Oxford, yet Stephen and Ruth became good friends, 'I remember as a student you dancing so hard you knocked the rectors teeth out' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 15th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000024 ).

Theology and Religion at Oxford

After not finding man permanent jobs he decided to write a book called 'The Christian Faith' his first book in what would later become a trilogy. In this book he speaks about the different questions around Christianity. This book became very popular and Stephen managed to make enough money to take a PhD.
 While taking this he wrote the second book in his trilogy, to help him with his PhD, this book was called 'beyond belief'. This book also received a great reception. In this book he speaks about a world without belief. After he got his PhD, he went to lecture at different universities. This is where he met John. John was a student that was quite popular but also did his work to a great ability. John as a student stood up for what he believed in. Stephen lectured many classes and students but John was one of his favourites because of his tenacity towards his views on the world and religion. After John had graduated Stephen and him became good friends going to parties where they would drink and smoke. 'and he can drink alot'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 15th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000037 ). Stephen smoked for most of his life until he found out he had lung cancer. Stephen had been smoking ever since the age of 17. I made the assumption my character smokes as its the main cause of lung cancer. As soon as Stephen found out he had cancer he stopped smoking by taking different classes and nicotine patches, these patches are designed to help you stop smoking, at first Stephen was reluctant to try but after finding his cravings to hard to resist he blamed God and used the patches.

Smoking and Lung cancer causes
from Cancer Research

 As shown by the research I have done on lung cancer the length of time the person has smoked is more fatal. This shows how Stephen has smoked for a long time as he has cancer and it's terminal. Stephen isn't interested in any sports and has been called a nerd many times. He also enjoys having a coffee this is justified as he wants coffee when offered 'coffee' (BartlettM.2011.'13.' Retrieved 16th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). Stephen also likes to enjoy a meal out with friends and enjoys a glass of wine. 'Me and uncle Pinot' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000024 ). In '13' there are key themes such as war, 'I have no influence and we will go to this wrong war'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000056 ). Stephen links to this theme as he says how we have to go to this war even though no one wants to because we have to protect our values. 'no one wants this to happen, but we have to protect our interests.' (BartlettM.2011.'13' Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). This quote shows how Stephen doesn't want to go to war but it's the only option they have. Another strong theme in '13' is religion. From the alpha group to an atheist lecturer, religion and belief is a strong factor to '13'. Most characters in '13' believe in God or is unsure, except Stephen who strongly thinks there is no God. 'There's no God, no divine justice' (BartlettM.2011.'13'. Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). This shows how he truly believes there is no God because if there was why wouldn't he be helping Stephen with his lung cancer or the world and the problems surrounding it. This is also shown by Holly in the Alpha group but about Jesus. 'He could actually come down right now, do some miracles today'. (BartlettM.2011.'13' Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000019 ). The character of Holly can be linked to Stephen as they feel like they are the only ones being realistic and questioning belief even though they are so diverse as characters. I also in some ways think Stephen links to the protagonist John as they both are very outspoken and looking to change a generation and impact the lives of others but for different reasons. Ruth and my character also link as they are good friends and know each other well, this is shown as Ruth trusts Stephen when telling him information about John and Simon, 'I'd already heard about him from Simon' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000051 ). This shows how Ruth and Stephen are good friends and able to chat nostalgically.

Appearance and Personality

Stephen's clothes

Stephen is 6"1' with a average build he isn't plump but also is not slim, this build and height is like mine. His hair is short to medium whereas mine is medium length, for me to be able to get my hair to look like Stephens I will have to not wash my hair on the day of performance, by doing this my hair looks shorter. Stephen's eye colour is green yet mine is blue. I could use contacts to change my eye colour but I don't think it will make to much of a difference. For Stephens clothes I had the idea Stephen would wear a shirt as he was an older man and wanted to look formal, I also had the idea he would wear a cardigan to show his age. I had this idea for Stephen's clothing and even believed the black trousers would work as they represent his simple personality. I think the shirt is wrong however and needs to be chequered for Stephen. For his shoes I think he would wear navy blue/black formal shoes, maybe suede. I think the photo (bottom right), represents what Stephen would wear but less of a boot and more of a shoe.

Stephen is quite when socialising and doesn't get along with many people. He has a small case of autism but nothing severe or recognisable. Autism is a disability that affects the way a person communicates, this is why Stephen sometimes finds it hard to socialise or be in a crowd that is popular.

However, it helps him in some ways as he has a great memory and has a remarkable mind as he can work things out that to someone else could seem impossible. Stephen's autism means its hard for him to convey what he believes and sometimes would struggle with lectures, but since being told he was dying he showed that most of that was psychological as he managed to get over different fears when speaking to a crowd or socialising.

In some scenes like Act 1 scene 6 Stephen has a box, for this I found it difficult to find a box Stephen would use, I was thinking about using a ring box but I believed that may have been too obvious to the audience and so I looked around to try and find something suitable yet I found this difficult. So I asked some people in our class. Matt managed to bring in a box that I thought was excellent. The origins of this box are unknown as its from a charity shop, this makes it ever so more mysterious and fits with the idea behind it that God is trapped in it. The box is opened by a latch and the lid opens the top. This was great for this scene as I can reveal that there is nothing in the box to myself before I reveal it to the people in the lecture. This is naturalistic as the lecturer would check the box before showing the students.

Throughout the Play

To start Act 1 Stephen wakes up from the dream with the other 11. I wake up from a nightmare panting and subtly shocked. For this I used affective memory to think back to a dream I had a month ago that scared me like this one did to Stephen. Affective memory is one a technique created by Constantin Stanislavski and used in his 'system'. Affective memory demands the actor to recall a memory from a similar situation. Lee Strasberg an american actor and teacher developed Stanislavski's technique and said about sense memory, where the actor recalls the physical feeling surrounding the emotional event. I don't really have any objectives or obstacles in this scene.

In act 1 scene 6, I am lecturer in a London university. In this scene I am talking about a hypothetical situation and asking my students what they would do in a certain situation. To get to grips with this scene and how my character would act I had to do some research. I found some YouTube videos of a lecturer called Michael Sandel, in these videos Sandel talk's with a passion about the subject and also has a good rhythm and isn't too quiet. I tried to imitate Sandel's voice as I felt it would help give a naturalistic tone to this scene, I found this difficult to do as the on stage audience was a lot smaller than that of Harvard's audience. In scene 6 Stephen's objective is to enlighten students about the presence of God. My obstacle in this scene is students who are not listening and students that would rather play of their phone. Another obstacle is the riots outside as I don't want their noise to deafen out my voice. In this scene Stephen knows about the riots but isn't ready to take action.

The next scene I'm in is act 1 scene 17 with Ruth. My objective in this scene is to persuade Ruth to think about what she is saying in her speeches and to be honest to the public. 'people want you to be honest'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000024 ). My obstacles in this scene is Ruth as she believes she's giving the people what they want to hear. In this scene my voice is key as I am indoors and I don't have a lot of movement. In this scene I soften my voice to show how Ruth and Stephen are friends and how I don't need to project to a chorus or ensemble. In this scene Ruth asks how my sex life, after she asks this I react in a shocked way as even though Ruth and I are good friends it isn't appropriate and is unlikely to come out of the Prime Minister's mouth. 

In act 2 scene 11, Stephen finds out John is back and conducting a speech in the park. I come in shocked and also find what John is saying to be funny because even though he has gone he is still saying the same things. My objective in this scene is to find out where John has been and what he has been up to and to give him Ruth's mobile number. In this scene my obstacles are John as he is reluctant to tell me and keeps diverting the questions by saying things like 'do you thinks its going to rain?' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000037). Holly ad Shannon are also my obstacles as they keep interrupting when I am about to give John Ruth's number.

Act 2 scene 12, Stephen and Ruth are in No. 10, Stephen has urgent news and his objective is to tell it to Ruth. However the obstacle in this scene is Ruth as she doesn't have a lot of time to talk. In this scene I am reluctant to tell Ruth that John is back because I don't know how she will react. In this scene Ruth smacks her hand on her dresser this scares me somewhat as I subtly move back. 

Halfway through act 3, I have a speech where I talk about the Iranian regime, in this scene my objective is to warn people about the things happening in Iran. My obstacle in this scene is my emotions as I can't let them get the better of Stephen when delivering this speech at Oxford union. With this speech I need to find a deep emotion on how I feel about Iranian regime and how women are stoned to death. However, I can't let my voice suffer.

In act 3 scene 8 I am continuing on from my speech, my objective is to keep warning people about the struggles in Iran and what might happen in the future. In this scene my obstacles are still my emotions. In this scene I have to be quick paced with my lines as it will give the scene more impact. 

At the beginning of act 4 I have a scene with Ruth. in this scene Ruth tells me how John and her dead son were best friends. This Stephen finds shocking. My objective in this scene is to listen to Ruth and the riots outside is an obstacle because it could at any moment be deafening. This scene for Stephen is mostly around his reaction to Ruth and emotions.

The next scene Stephen is in is act 4 scene 4, in this scene my objective is to persuade the Prime minister in to getting the police to help stop the riots. However Ruth being my obstacle in this scene doesn't think this is a good idea. In this scene I am trying to persuade Ruth so I will act as and talk in a very understated patronising way to make it seem like this is the best decision. 

For my final scene, act 4 scene 8, my lung cancer has got worse. This is seen by John at the start of the scene, 'You're ill'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 19th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). In this scene my objective is to talk sense to John to show him that we have to protect our country even though no one wants this war. My obstacles in this scene being John and the rioters as the riots are getting worse and worse and more people are doing it. In this penultimate scene of act 4, Stephen starts to get annoyed and angry at John this I can show in raising the volume of my voice and shaking to show my illness. At the start of this scene where I get my coffee, I subtly shake with it a bit in my chair to show how the cancer is affecting me.

In '13' Stephen's overall objective is to convince people that there is no God, and he believes he has proof as he is dying and no God is helping him.

After '13' has finished, Stephen's lung cancer gets progressively worse and he starts to lose hair, he takes 6 different pills a day and he finds it difficult to cope but is still focused on his main objective. The bombing gets worse as war breaks out in Iran. Stephen feels he did the right thing persuading Ruth as he believes 'we have to protect our interests'. 1 month after the bombing begins in Iran, Stephen is admitted to hospital. Unfortunately, the lung cancer has spread all over the body. After hearing he only has a short time left to live, he calls up his mother, as Stephen's last wish is to make peace with his mum. His mum goes to see him in hospital and Stephen tells her that she's the only women in his life, 2 weeks after being sent to hospital, Dr Stephen Crossley dies.

To conclude, I have found that Stephen is a man who sticks by what he believes in, for example his Atheist ways. I have also found what Stephen wears and how it represents his personality. Stephen is a clever man and has a very mild case of autism. Unfortunately, Stephen's lung cancer gets the better of him and eventually he passes away.