Do you think the material you have created today will be
suitable for ‘little People’? Why is it/is it not suitable?
Today we created the torch material and the tiger dance
material. I think that the torch material is suitable for the children because
the suspense of not knowing where the tiger is will keep them engaged and
focused. Also I think that our scared faces will entertain them and the big
bright tiger eyes will shock them and also interest them. I think the ‘here
kitty, kitty, kitty’ is suitable because the children can probably relate to it
if they have a cat however to make this section as effective as possible we
need to make sure we are in time so that we sound like one voice and the words
sound clearer. Also by leaning in and away from the tiger it shows a contrast
when we get more frightened and moving the eyes around will allow the children
on all sides to feel involved.
The next second part we worked on was the dance and song.
The dance I believe is suitable because we all now have embodied the tiger
which we show through our movement of the body and also using the butterfly
nets. I believe this section would be suitable, however the song still lacks
energy. We really need to improve this otherwise the children will become bored
and loose interest. I think that we
should either shorten the song or change it altogether. I think we could make
facial expressions and keep up the energy if the song was shorter or we should
just change the song to a more light hearted kid’s song that will keep the
energy high and will be easier for the children to understand. At the moment
the song goes on for a long time and is boring because not enough facial
expression is put into it and also the words are difficult to understand.
Here are some examples of other kid’s tiger songs which are
more energised and show us what we need to do to improve our song:
At the end of the lesson we came up with some ideas for the
play ending I really liked the group’s torch idea with the ‘the tiger can’t eat
me!’ I think this will be suitable for the children because it will add some
humour to the piece. I then think we should all go and try and find another
creature but to make it humorous I think we should get in a line and follow each
other in a line, then the person at the front can stop, everyone will bump into
each other and say ‘what is it?’ where the person will reply ‘oops sorry it was
just an ant’? Then continue until they find another animal. I also think we
could do some of our group work for example when we were lifting kitty up to
look in a tree. Near the end I think we should be returning home with all our amazing
discovery’s which will then follow onto Eleanor’s idea of it all being a dream
when taking the children on stage. I think all these ideas will be suitable for
the children because we are still exploring in our setting and by getting rid
of the tiger it is no longer on stage however I do believe we could catch the
tiger so that’s why it ends up escaping from the zoo in the story. Also the
dream idea was really good because it will suggest to the children the story is
a fantasy but it all starts normally with a child having a dream and it all
goes back to normal.
At the beginning of today's lesson we went down to the new theatre where we will be performing for 'Little peoples day '. Here we took part in a three sided workshop, the focus was on both body and voice. We completed the rapier and dagger exercise, which means having our chest and feet face in a different direction to our head. I found this exercise difficult and unnatural because I was thinking about it to much, to improve I need to practise this technique so that I can reach the final stage of conciousness - unconscious. Also it was difficult because I often bumped into other people so we need to practise working in unison, being aware of each other and balancing the space. Pretending to have a rapier and dagger in opposite hands did really help me change the direction of my head and chest because it allowed me to picture the weapons and become more confident with the exercise by thinking about attack and defence. This exercise was very important because it allowed us to work with our angles on stage and allows energy to travel to all parts of the stage. In addition this exercise will be very useful for our performance because we now know when walking around the space we need to have our body at two different angles in order to keep the audience engaged on all three sides and now are familiar with the space we are working in. Furthermore when walking around I need to remember to change my position so that the three sides get a different part of the body in their direction. The next step is to be able to use this technique whilst being in character so I will continue to practise in order that I will not have to think about what I am doing.
Within the workshop we also concentrated on voice, breath and projection. At the beginning of these exercises I found it difficult to let lots of air into my lungs so I need to improve work on my breathing technique. Also when I bent down I found it difficult breathing as the air into my lungs was restricted however when repeating this exercise several times using my body to move in line with my breathing it became easier and I was able to breathe in and out for longer. We also focused on using different types of speech, and using breath in our speech to allow our energy and project our voices to all parts of the audience on all three sides. We changed a whisper into a stage whisper by using more breath to make the sound produced louder which we could use in our performance. We also practised using normal voice and also nasal with breath because it helps a lot with making the sound louder and pronounced better. We discovered that by speaking through our nose we would be able to gain attention which would be helpful in our performance and would project energy to all sides of the space. Also within the lesson we discovered that when facing the back and also when not using a stage whisper the sound waves would not be absorbed by the audience which would loose energy. We also learnt by doing the breathing it allowed us to relax and gain focus which will be a good exercise to do before the performance.
Are the ideas effective? Are they theatrical, if not, can they be made theatrical? Will they appeal to 'little people'? Why/why not?
At the beginning of the lesson we managed to polish a perfect pyramid. I brought in a photo of a pyramid which we managed to achieve when working together in an ensemble. We can now build and dismantle the pyramid in a slick, quick and safe way. I think the pyramid is very effective because we are able to use different levels and having the speech come from different levels draws the audience to different places on stage. Also by having Fenton at the top and in the middle the audience can now quickly recognise that he is the person that found a tiger. I believe the pyramid is theatrical because it creates a big shape on stage and makes the performance more interesting that if the lines were just said. The pyramid will give the children a stable structure to focus on which will interest them. We also managed to make the pyramid curve into a semi-circle, this will allow all three sides of the stage to see part of the pyramid. I think that the pyramid will appeal to the children because it will draw there attention it may look exciting for them because it is a lot bigger than them and I also think it is the thing that they will remember most about the piece. Also by having Fenton at the top we can tell he is the odd one out, having seen the tiger and he will be able to project his lines to all of the audience and this means that when the lights black out there is a contrast between us all being together and then going of on our separate ways.
The Dance with the butterfly is effective because it involves different types of media and I believe using the butterfly net to turn into a tiger will appeal to the children. The butterfly net resembles a Chinese Dragon which the children might recognise and be able to relate to. I think that the snail dance and waving of the butterfly poles will be theatrical especially when moving to the beat of the music however I do believe it could become repetitive and the children could find it boring. To prevent this we could change the tempo in which we walk and the size of which the figure of eight is in order to vary the performance. We could also bring the tiger close to the children and let them clap along to the beat so that they feel more involved.
At the moment I don't think the song is very effective because it sounds quite dreary like a dirge therefore it will not appeal to the children. Having the dance and movement will make the song more theatrical because it will give the children something to focus on, but I think we have also got to put a lot more energy into the song and we need to all know the words. The tiger will allow the children to imagine a real tiger and create their own image of the tiger in their head so the song needs to add to this excitement. This could be done by increasing the tempo of the song, singing it higher to make it light and happy and I also think we could give the children percussive instruments or get them to clap along so they feel more involved with the performance. This song definitely needs to be improved in order for it to be suitable for the performance, like the jungle sounds at the beginning really add to the atmosphere whereas this song at the moment keeps the piece at a low energy which we need to change.
I also don't think the 'A Tiger!' part, when we are all supposed to be getting quieter after Fenton has announced he has seen a tiger, is effective because you can feel the energy drop in the room which is not suitable for the audience as they need the performance to be constantly at a high level of energy. I think we could make this section more theatrical and better by either starting loud and then getting quieter but facing the audience using exaggerated facial expressions so they know they are scared. Or by having individuals say the line one after another, by doing it this, no energy will be lost because each person will say the line in a different way according to their character which will vary the short phrase and make it more interesting. By having individuals saying it, more of their character will be brought out and the person who is last will be the quietest and probably the most frightened. We could even have groups of people saying it in unison to one another to make it more powerful at the beginning which will get the audience's attention.
I do think the call and response 'A Tiger, I saw one' 'A Tiger? Who saw one?' is very effective because it allows us to smoothly transition into the pyramid. It also is very theatrical because it is similar to a pantomime moment when they are saying 'he's behind you' which the children will be able to relate to. I think this will be very appealing to the 'Little People' because it is a catchy rhythm which the children could join in with. It also comes across as believable because we are not looking at Fenton making the children think we actually cannot see him. I think this section is really good because it will allow the children to join in either saying the phrase with us or trying to tell us where Fenton is.
Finally at the end of the lesson we began to work on the torches and cat eye
section. During the torches section we all follow the objective - to search - looking for the tiger. We repeat the line 'here kitty kitty kitty *kiss noise* x 4' I think this it theatrical because we are all saying it in unison however at the moment it does sound quite scary so we need to practise saying it together in time with a more energetic input. I think having the torches will really appeal to the children because it will give them different beams of light to follow and involve the audience more. We could shine the torches on the children's faces thinking they were the tiger. I think the blackout and tiger eyes will really excite the children because they will imagine a tiger on the loose and will think the explorers are silly because they cannot find it. We need to remember not to point the torches towards the eyes and also we will need to practise so we know where the eyes will be when they move around. I think this is a very effective idea because it compliments the song, it will be fun, engaging and it will be a good build up for the story that will begin after our 10 minute slot.
What tasks did you do in the lesson today towards creating TTWCTT?
In today's lesson we did a few tasks we sang and listened to a song, we used our body and voices to become explores and experiment different ways of gaining height.
We listened to the song the tiger sung by Patti Smith who is an artist, musician and song writer who focuses on political themes. The song was originally a poem written by William Blake who wrote the poem London and was inspired by the world and also the death of his brother. William Blake wrote the poem in his brothers notebook and Patti Smith was inspired by William Blake as an artist so decided to sing his poem as a song.
The song we listened to talked about a tiger and also about god which we could see in the line 'Did he who made the lamb make thee?' Patti smith sang the song in a very haunting way which may be scary for the children. Also the rhythm was very repetitive, the word were quite difficult to understand, it is in a low pitch and it sounds like a dirge, lament or hymn. However we can now adapt the song to make it more interesting and entertaining for the children. To make the song less haunting more than one person should sing it, we could perform it in a round making the song more up lifting and jolly to sing. We could adapt some of the words so that the children could relate to the song and join in if they want to. The song also needs some more energy, a catchy rhythm, maybe a faster pace a song that you want to listen to with instruments, change in pitch and less annoying and dreary. We can adapt this song to make the children not loose interest and so that we can make it fit with what is going on stage, for example if we sing the song when we have made the tiger out of butterfly nets it might be slowly drifting around so the song is sung at a slower tempo or maybe we are hiding from it so we sing it in a whisper. This will make the song fun and exciting for the audience to watch. We also learnt how to sing this song keeping our necks loose and changing the pitch to suit our needs.
After learning the song we did a becoming explores exercise. We were told to have the objective to search/look. At first we were all creeping around really slowly but we soon realised to make the piece more interesting we had to vary our tempo and our rhythm so that we were able to work as a group and move around the space creating and exciting and fun atmosphere. By staying low and really looking at things this will engage the children making them wonder what you are looking at and making them want to join in. We all then were told to say a short something about what we had found. We made an order so we could quickly repeat one after the other. Having a gap in between someone's line would break the energy in the room so we had to breathe in near the end of the person before us sentence so that we could quickly say ours. Some people were not giving enough excitement so they improved this by staying at a high level for the whole of the sentence so the energy didn't drop. Having us all spaced around was a great idea because the sentences were fast pace moving allowing the children to quickly look from person to person and so that they could grab their attention.
Finally at the end of today's lesson we were trying to lift up Fenton to make him stand out compared to the rest of us. We all came together in a big group and had three sections, low, medium and high. We moved from these sections making sure there was an equal number in each and then Fenton had to climb on top of Charlie shoulders. This idea was very successful because it was difficult for Fenton to get on Charlie's shoulders and Charlie found it difficult to support him. It didn't seem very safe and wasn't very stable so we decided to experiment with a different idea. Our next idea was to try and create a human pyramid. We managed to get up to three layers however it still wasn't very stable. For next we we are going to try and find a safe a quick way to create this human pyramid without jumping on really quickly and hurting people in the process. Research on Human Pyramid = http://hollygarciatiger.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/human-pyramid.html How do you think it contributes/will contribute towards making TTWCTT?
Having this song now gives us a stimulus that we can explore with and experiment with in different ways. This song is very appropriate to our topic because it talks about a tigers appearance, yes we may need to make it less complicated to help the children understand but having a song means that we have something to work with. As I said we can now use this to hep the children learn facts about the tiger but in a more interesting way, we could adapt the song so that it could be telling facts but due to it being in a song format the children wont realise they are learning they will just be drawn to the energy we give from the song. using this song we can create lots of movement and sounds maybe using our voices or instruments to accompany it. Also listening to this song taught us how to sing, it showed us that we needed to change it to a higher pitch for some of us because we found it difficult to sing, we also experimented with how singing was just extending vowel sounds and it only sounding good if we kept a soft neck and if we wanted to sing high, think low and visa versa. From learning how to sing this song we now know if we sing together it makes it more powerful which we might use in our performance.
This exercise was extremely useful because it helped us create who our characters were going to be and also this is going to be the opening of the show. Creating these characters and actions of searching a collecting allowed us to think about the props we will need for the performance in order to make it believable. For example I am collecting small insects, fruits and anything I can find so I now know I will need a bag and maybe a clipboard in order to record my findings. I did not mention this above but we also got into threes and created different activities we could all do together, this is important because we have now come up as things such as looking at tracks which we can all do as a class and we also have little scenes that can be going on in the jungle together as a team. We now know that our performance has to have a varied rhythm and be at a fast pace because through this activity we all felt the energy drop when people were not putting in enough effort so we know we need to be at a high energy consistently because if we felt the energy go the children definitely will and then they will loose focus.
This has contributed to the making of TTWCTT because we know we need to lift Fenton in our performance so by having the freedom to experiment with different lifts is useful because it will allow us to find the best possible way of lifting him. Also doing this lift made us work as a team in TTWCTT we are all going to be working together including other strands so this exercise has helped us work together which we will be doing in the dress rehearsal and on little peoples day. It has also shown us that if some things don't work straight away we can find another way to do it and it may look even better so in our whole performance we should make sure we perform to the best of our ability and if we don't like it we still have time to change it.
1. Always have your strongest and toughest at the bottom of the pyramid. Like anything, the base of the pyramid is the most important.
2. Have your arms shoulder width apart to make sure your weight is evenly distributed, the Egyptians didn’t have lopsided pyramids so neither should you!
3. Push up through your shoulders to make the ‘Angry Cat’ position, to make sure the upper levels have a flat surface to kneel on and to take pressure off your spine.
4. For those climbing on, aim to have your knees in the upper to middle part of the back of who you’re climbing on to, so your weight is supported by your shins not your knees.
We've all seen the classic human pyramid. This pyramid is formed by groups of people getting down on their hands and knees and stacking on top of each other with the lightest person at the top and the strongest at the bottom. This pyramid is great for events where a pyramid was not planned or practised, because they are not as high and do not require as much balance as other pyramids.
Straight Legs
This classic three-person pyramid is popular at games because it enables the cheerleader to be placed higher off the ground, allowing more fans to see her. This pyramid requires four people--three to form the pyramid and a spotter in back of the pyramid. The most important principle to remember for this type of pyramid is straight legs and locked knees.
Pyramids with Stunts
For a well-trained and more daring pyramid, consider forming a moving pyramid shape. Some examples could include forming two three-person pyramids and transferring cheerleaders in the air or a larger five-person pyramid with the top members doing handstands. These types of pyramids should not be attempted without extensive practice in a safe setting.
Maybe next lesson we could try a pyramid like picture one and two where they are standing slightly because it might be easier and quicker because it is more supportive.
In today's lesson we talked about how this performance would be performed by all the different strands which means that during the transition periods when our strand is not doing something we need to keep focus and concentrate so that we can quickly get to work and understand what the other strands are doing. For little peoples day we are going to be exploring facts about tigers and giving an interesting, entertaining performance that is not too long (about 10 minutes) so that the audience (children aged 2-5) do not loose focus.
Questions What is Children's Theatre?
Children's theatre in a performance which uses different types of media such as dance, music, art, theatre and movement to educate or entertain. To engage children, interaction and colour is used to keep the children focused. Many people believe that children's theatre comes across as basic and simple but good children's theatre often has a deeper meaning and is for both adults and children to enjoy. It is there to give them a better understanding of life and the world they live in so that they can be taught about issues and learn lessons which may add to the child's knowledge. This piece of theatre is often thought as being a play put on but it can also be a devised piece or facts which teach and entertain the children. Children's theatre should be accessible to all, children often tend to have a short attention span but by using your voice in different tones and positions, buy using your body to portray movement and by delivering words clearly to the whole audience whether to you side or front will create a piece of theatre that is exciting and interesting to watch. What skills does and excellent children's theatre performer need to possess?
They should be a total artist therefore the should me able to sing to some extent, dance ( have some movement), play an instrument, understand technology and be able to devise. They should also be able to play the space for exactly if someone is speaking to one direction and there whole body is facing that way the rest of the audience is gaining no energy from him so they should have there chest to one direction and their head to another so that they can deliver to the whole audience, this means that no ones view is blocked.. The theatre does not have to be basic they just have to be clear, they should have clear pronunciation, give across energy and speak with accuracy and control. to work on this an actor should exercise there mouth regularly to pronounce words properly, they should know exactly what they are saying and give clear and concise words so that if they do need to speak quickly every word can be understood. They should also be able to change the position of there voice, as well as pitch in order to get the children's attention and keep them wanting more. For children's theatre actors need to have the freedom to experiment they need to release there inner child to make the performance fun and exciting
The actors also need to be able to make eye contact in order to connect with the children and play to the vertical and horizontal so that energy is given to all the seats so the children and adults pay attention. A good children's performer should be sympathetic towards the audiences reaction and understand how to make them feel comfortable so that they all enjoy the performance. Children's theatre should be exciting for all ages and the actors can do this by putting in effort, playing their character to the correct energy level and using the body and voice as one. Exercise like 'I'm a slimy frog' and 'the tension levels' can help actors learn how to use there body and mind to portray emotion and use there voice with their body. How would you adapt an issue for delivery to a specific audience?
To give facts to a young audience could be seen as difficult because they have a short attention span but we can keep them engaged by giving a exciting creative performance. Our group decided that we could adapt these tiger facts into a performance involving breaking news. Lots of children watching CBBC and Ceebies see presenters and short news flashes so this was the base for our idea. We thought that we could make it slightly 'pantomime' like having the news reporters panicking about the tiger on the loose and then having the tiger walk behind them without them knowing. We also thought by having this news flash we could go to different locations such as the zoo where the tiger broke out and a safari to find out more about the tiger species. Having these changes in set will keep the children excited and engaged, also due to it being a quick newsflash it will not go on to long and we would be able to fit in lots of facts at the three different locations. Involving news makes the performance educational and also having the wondering tiger on the loose will make it entertaining for all of the audience members.
We did two exercises in today's lesson slimy frog and 7 states of tension.
Slimy frog
This exercise was repeating the word 5 times but slowly getting bigger and exploring more with the world. This exercise helped us learn how to use our body to the sound of the word and allowed us to look stupid and explore the sounds of the words in an environment that gave us the freedom to experiment.
The 7 levels of tension
These are the seven levels of tension and during this exercise we were able to explore different ways of showing the level of tension and we allowed our bodies to move by themselves and not think about it. This exercise was created by Jacques Lecoq who worked a lot on physical movement and mime and has his own school in Paris.
For both of these exercises we noted down some skills we needed to do them well:
It doesn't matter what you look like, experiment and live in the moment
Commit to discovery, change your movements to gain energy, don't repeat
Don't think or over think you should feel and respond
Allow the sound and the body to be one, you should experiment and remember the word doesn't have to sound like a word
Give each other the freedom to experiment and be supportive to allow them to do this
No critical self awareness - accept what you are doing
Commitment - give energy
If your doing level one do level one, if your doing level 5 do level 5, give the right state of tension and play with that level
Improvise - don't rehearse otherwise not in the moment and you are repeating which is boring because it has already happened before
Both of these exercises gets the actors to understand the state of tension and helps them use their voice and body as one. Doesn't have to be used obviously in the performance but it can be used if it is subtle.
The performance of beautiful things was really moving and interesting to watch. The performance began quite slowly with just normal life happening so that the story would have somewhere to go and keep the audience interested throughout the performance.
The Play was set in an estate where the five characters lived, the props and staging set a dark and dirty atmosphere which was realistic and simple. This made the audience recognise that the characters were struggling with money and all were close with one another due to being able to leave there possessions such as chairs, and tricycle outside because they trust one another not to take them. The props outside also gave the characters a purpose to be there such as sorting the washing, brushing her hair and using the chairs. They used the space effectively for example when they would sit on the front of the stage and others were at the back so you could see two different conversations going on.
In this dark and dreary atmosphere sound and music was used to brighten up the life they were living. I found that when Leah started singing it showed hope and light, she was no longer speaking in slang, the words she sung were clear and gave of beauty in a place people would not expect to find it. Music was also played to give the characters time to change the set or mark a change in time. This music was happy music and was based on the theme of love, this gave the audience clues to what would happen in the story and it also gave the audience to recap what had happened in the previous scene and really think about the message the play was trying to give across. Music was also used to create tension in scenes and fights as well as there to be background music and set the scene for the audience. There were also sound affects for example the alarm when Jamie was setting it and the voice of the father which helped the audience understand the relationship between him and his son. All the sound gave the audience another aspect to focus on ad made the performance more relate-able due to the music choices being familiar to me.
The performance was clever because it enabled the audience to relate to the story and the characters. The director cleverly chose to have the more important scenes to be shown in quieter moments in contrast with the big shouting, loud mouth act put on in the more humorous scenes. These made a big contrast because in the quieter moments it allowed me to see what they were really feeling and trying to hide. The Characters were brought to life by the use of voice and also body language. All the characters except Tony put on a very tough and boisterous front. They shouted a lot, sore and insulted each other. This helped the audience understand they were youthful and had grown up with this as there background. Also they changed their accents when talking about a Spanish teacher and spoke some Spanish which allowed me to relate to them because that's what teenagers do and I know because you do put on silly accents with your friends. As I said before the singing was a way Leah could express herself and be who she wanted to truly be but she knew she couldn't because they all had to put on a front. You could see the change in body language with Ste when he was trying to act strong and happy to when he was Jamie and he showed his emotional and softer side. Later I will talk about how we could relate to the characters and the moments I believe had the most impact.
The Costume contributed to the person character and to the set. Throughout most of the play Ste and Jamie were dressed in their school uniform, Ste uniform was baggy and he carried a spots bag to show the audience he was sporty and enjoyed football which was a contrast with Jamie who the audience knew didn't like football from the start and had a neater uniform. The glasses Jamie wore showed us that he didn't want to be bullied and was scared of showing his true self but Ste was there to support him and was a true friend. Leah, Sandra and Tony are also dressed quite relaxed either in casual clothes or a dressing gown. Leah does not wear uniform due to being excluded and carry s a cigarette to show she is relaxed and putting up an act that she doesn't care. By the end of the play we see them going to the pub dressed up nice and looking smart, Jamie and Ste are confident now and Jamie does now wear his glasses in school showing the audience they no longer care what people thing about them and they accept who they are. The Costumes are very realistic, they are set in the 90's and go with the old fashioned set. Having just a vest and underwear at nigh time help the audience recognise what time it is and relate to the characters. We also see Leah dress up as her inspiration when on drugs, this costume is effective because even though it is funny and ridiculous it shows the audience who Leah wants to be and how far she is from being it but she doesn't give up.
The lighting again is very simple, it makes the stage light and the walls look dark giving the impression that the characters are trapped in this estate. Also at night the squares are lit up so there is a yellow glow making it look like it is night-time. Spotlights are used on the bed and on certain characters to get the audience’s attention. When the spotlight is on the bed, it gives the impression that Ste and Jamie are in there own little world where they can do what they want and not be judged - this is their reality. The spotlight has also been used on characters when the scenes are changing even if they are just going inside like Tony did but it draws the audience eyes towards these characters so that they do not see the set being moved around. And when the scenes do change the lighting dims and goes to a blue colour.
There is no double casting or females playing males or vice versa but we do see different characters. We see the different characters of Ste and Jamie when with others and alone and we also see the mum changes when with Jamie in his bedroom. This lets us relate to the characters because we all have things we can share with only a few people and how we want people to see us.
I am now going to talk about the Characters and the moments of impact that were created. Jamie and Ste were the main characters I believe and they were both portrayed very well by Jake Davies and Danny-Boy Hatchard. Ste was shown to be a very masculine character but we later find out he is hurt and upset due to his father being a drunk alcoholic who abuses him and realising he is gay but not wanting anyone to know. Ste unlike the others is mostly open throughout the play. We discover he skips school because he doesn't like football and he is called queer and bullied, Jamie later discovers Ste is a great friend who makes him feel better about himself and he falls in love with him. Sandra is a strong tough mum, she puts on a loud front and uses a lot of comedy, but we later find out she was beaten by one of her boyfriends and never had a proper mother. This helped me understand maybe why she had so many boyfriends because maybe she wanted to be loved and she puts on a hard front to protect Jamie because she doesn't want him getting hurt.
My first impression of Leah was once again she was a very loud rude girl who didn't really know what to do, but we later find out she loves singing and cares for both Jamie and Ste a lot because she doesn't want them to get hurt. Finally Tony is a very free man he speaks posher than the other seems better educated mentioning universal challenge and being an artist, we don’t really discover much about his character other than that he is not great at showing affection toward Jamie.
I found that six moments really stood out to me in the play even though there were many others but these are the ones that were most memorable and had the most impact.
The first moment was when Jamie was talking to Tony about Sandra boyfriend. Before this happened they had been joking around but this is the first moment we see Jamie getting upset and truly caring for his mum. We see speaking quietly about this man called Richard, he is letting out his feelings for the first time in the play and we see the real side of things. This quickly changes back to normal, joking around and having fun which is effective because it has shown us the first glimpse of what is really underneath and what has happened in the past.
The next moment is when we see Ste's bruises. They are in Jamie’s bed and in a spotlight so it shows they are in there own little world. Seeing these bruises and then the connection between the two characters helps us understand the situation they are in, also the fact it takes a while for him to show Jamie shows that Ste is not proud of his bruises and if not confident. We get to see the real side of them when they kiss and comfort each other. Having Jamie to confide in allows Ste to talk about his father and how he doesn't want to be seen as a wimp. Having the body shop lotion and Sandra shouting from downstairs also adds a bit of comedy but this is a great moment because it shows the audience they do have feelings toward each other.
We then find out more about Leah when she tells them she has been lying for them. This is important because it shows the audience she does care and she hates seeing Ste hurt by his father. It shows us how she is not treated right because she does try to help them and doesn't tell them not to be together.
We then see Ste thinking him and Jamie being wrong. I think this is one of the most important moments in the piece because it allows people to relate to him. He thinks it is wrong, he can’t tell his friends or their families, he doesn't want to be judged and he doesn't thing he will be accepted because he father would hate it. Many people today are probably in their situation and have had thoughts like this so it makes his character extremely believable and also someone to look up to because in the end he does just accept who he is.
In addition when Sandra finds out, it again shows us that Jamie didn't want to disappoint her, it shows a close connection between them and her accepting it. However the most important bit is when Ste finds out Sandra knows because we see the pure terror in Ste because he doesn't want his father to know. This is effective because it shows how scared he is of him even though he is family and that he is scared of what everyone will think.
The end of the play is my finale moment of impact. Having them dance with each other outside in view of all shows the audience that they and Sandra and Leah have accepted who they are. We see them not caring who sees them going to the Gloucester pub because they are happy together. The ending shows that love even when young should be accepted and should not be put down.
The story was a story of love and acceptance. In today’s society there are still people who are scared of what their friends and family will think if they are gay. This play shows how Ste and Jamie manage to get through this and gain what they want in life - each other. Many people can relate to this story which shows two close friends falling in love with each other, but having things holding them back. This shows how today’s society has become more accepting and that you should not be embarrassed with who you love, it is not wrong and it does not matter because love is love so it should be accepted.
The only thing I would change was the fighting scene between Sandra and Jamie because it didn't look very realistic but other than that I think the director did really well being able to blend scenes quickly and get the emotion from the actors when performing.
I really loved this sweet heart warming play because it used comedy to up lift some of the more dramatic scenes. The mention of TV programs such as Coronation Street and innuendos made the performance both funny and relate-able letting me connect to the characters and their stories. I believe it will have a big impact on others as well as and I would love to see it live.
Analysis of the Process The director
The director was Nikolai Foster was born in Copenhagen and grew up in North Yorkshire. He trained at the Drama Centre London and the Crucible, Sheffield. He has directed many production including Beautiful thing. We asked to work on the piece he was really excited to after reading the play, he wanted it to be humorous but also sophisticated and he loved the relationship between the characters and there families. He obviously made lots of decisions when directing the actors and was also in the process of finding the correct cast which turned out very well and created a realistic performance.
Actors
http://sosogay.co.uk/2013/spotlight-on-the-cast-of-beautiful-thing/ Jamie Jamie was played by Jake Davis who trained at the Brit School and is 19 years old. He found Jamie a very interesting character and loved him when he was reading the play. Jake found that he was very similar to Jamie's character being quite cheeky and loud living in the same sort of area, coming from a working class family and having the same dialect so he could quickly come into character. However there were some differences for example his sexuality and the fact that he didn't like football but other than tat he was perfect for the role. Whenever he had an questions about what option he should chose for the scene Jonathan Harvey. He also said in an interview that like Jamie he could also be sensitive and could identify with being bullied and no fitting in therefore he could relate even more to the character.
Ste Ste was played by Danny-Boy Hatchard, his character was someone who was confident at school and loved football, shy and suffering from domestic violence at home and then feeling Ste with Jamie. Danny-Boy could relate to Ste because at school he was confident and used to show of just trying to fit in to different groups changing his personality to fit. Even though Danny-Boy didn't suffer with Domestic Violence he was able to relate to Ste because he knew people who had suffered from it and had confided in him so he wanted to be able to portray Ste in the right way. He described Ste as a honest, sweet, caring character and said that he could relate with the love of sport and football. Although Danny-Boy has a different sexuality to Ste he said he didn't find it difficult because he believes love is love so it doesn't matter what gender you are.
Leah
Leah was played by Zaraah Abraham s who really wanted the part. She said she was similar to Leah because she is very passionate and fights for what is right and what she believes in but she said she didn't get wound up so easily so the confrontation was a difference. She also said the clothing was different and due to playing such a young character she had to work on her slang and try to act like a 15 year old so that her reactions, body language and the way she spoke were truthful. She also said that the writer and director really helped because they gave her a background story and lots of input into the character so she could portray a girl trying to find her identity.
Sandra
Sandra was played by Suranne Jones who has been in a lot of different performances. Sandra is a very tough women who is fun and is fighting for herself and son. I could not find out much about the process of getting into her character but she did say she liked Sandra's independence and her sense of humour.
Tony
Tony played by Oliver Farnworth is a very relaxed guy who is a painter and does not judge Jamie. This shows us that he accepts Jamie and Ste for who they are. I couldn't find much out about Oliver except he had been trained in theatre, he thought him and Tony were very different so he had lots of questions and believes that the director, cast and creative team all helped to make his performance a success.
Writer
Jonathan Harvey wrote beautiful thing in 1993. When younger he went to the local youth theatre and he wanted to be an actor. As a teenager he liked to read plays and go to the local theatre to see plays and then he entered in a writing competition and his play was made. Beautiful thing was set in the area where the school he taught was because he had a better understanding of how the children behaved. He wanted to write this story because the age of consent was being discussed and hid did not agree with it. By writing a play about being gay people was a campaign in itself but it wasn't by being angry it was being sophisticated and comical. Having Jonathan there he was able to change things such as 'Tesco's' and he was also able to help the cast. He was allowed to give the characters back stories and let them know how he saw i would happen when written because it came from his mind therefore his image of how it would be shown was vital to the process.
Process
The process of making the play took a lot of people and a lot of work, they had to cast the character, sort the set out and lighting and staging. They had to make the performance believable so that the audience could understand the characters. The characters were probably the most important part of the process because if they weren't believable or right for the part the play wouldn't have been as good but also the writers and directors vision of what they wanted the play to look like came out as a big success.
