Knotted Project Workshop

The Activities we Explored

We explored different activities in an ensemble as we walked around the space and we did certain movements in pairs when we made eye contact with someone.

• Moving around the space stopping and starting together as an ensemble
• Doing 1 of 3 movements when you make eye contact with someone: grab wrist, take each others weight, sit back and pull through
• Back of hands touch, spin back to back and connect you whole body as you move
• Back to back, one bends one leans back, takes their weight completely, then swap.

The purpose of this was to help us work better as an ensemble and to recognise when making eye contact with someone should be a cue to interact.

We held a stick with fingers tips between partners, lead and following. Then walking around with your partner and trying to keep the space the same as the starting point at all times. The purpose of this was to show use how distance can portray a relationship.

Another activity we did was shouting falling, flying or tunnelling and the entire chorus had to run to you and do the action for you (e.g. lifting you up or catching you if you begin to fall). The purpose of this was to show us that as a chorus, we must work as one unit and be there for every member as well as trusting each person.

We then split up a chorus piece of text for Antigone. We chose which lines we thought we could make the most interesting movements out of. Once we had chosen them, we used what we had learned previously to add intriguing actions. We had a short amount of time which taught us to work quickly and make whole group decisions and respect other’s ideas (as there was no time to argue about them).

We also learned some important teachings:

• You must balance the space
• Be light on your feet
• Turn your body if you walk to the edges of the stage so you can always see everyone
• Peripheral vision is essential
• When lifting someone, never lift holding a joint

For me, I need to remember to keep my chest and eye line up, as it gives me a powerful presence on the stage. My target is to remember this as well as speak with projection and purpose.

Critical Report (Acting)

In Dirty Butterflies, I used my knowledge of Stanislavsky to incorporate a naturalistic style of acting. For example, Stanislavsky’s main aim was to teach actors to feel what their character would be feeling. Despite it being an abstract and confusing piece to grasp, the more research I did on the play and the more we rehearsed it, I learned more about my character and began to understand completely how he would be feeling and thinking. When saying certain lines, I was able to grasp a motive for what I was saying and this made my acting more realistic. In Bliss, the only thing I knew about my character was that I was supposed to be perceived as a needy fan of Celine Dion. I used one of Stanislavsky’s ideas of using my own experiences to create a more realistic performance by remembering exactly how I felt when meeting one of my ‘idols’. I exaggerated this feeling inside of me so I could express it more easily to the audience.

Uta Hagen’s questions for understanding my Given Circumstances also helped me create a more realistic performance in Dirty Butterflies. When thinking about the specifics such as where I was, the time of day and my objectives, it was clear who my character was and I therefor found it easier to put myself in his shoes. I also managed to empathise with his issues and could see his problems from his point of view. For example, other people would find me to be a troubled stalker whereas I managed to see myself as someone to feel sorry for. In Bliss, it was difficult to pinpoint the answers to Uta Hagen’s questions as it was an extremely abstract ensemble performance. However, I knew that I was one of many ‘crazy fans’ and I could answer the biggest question: What does my character want? I clearly wanted to be noticed by Celine Dion in amongst the chaos. Knowing the answer and putting myself in the shoes of someone who wanted that made my performance more realistic.

Throughout the rehearsal process, I learned more acting skills. Practice of trying to come across as a realistic character even in an abstract piece where I had lines that wouldn’t be said in real life gave me the opportunity to use other techniques to present something realistic. The main thing I learned was that I need to fully understand my character especially when performing something abstract such as Dirty Butterflies or Bliss. When I know my character well and put myself in their shoes, the physical movements, facial expressions and stance come naturally. My ensemble skills improved, too. I had more practice performing this way and therefore understood what was meant by the terms complicité, dispondabilité and le jeu. At first I wasn’t sure how a group of performers could feel so ‘connected’ to one another that they could easily work as one. But with the amount of practice we had doing an ensemble piece, I completely understood.

As well as this, I learned that the more I rehearse a piece, the more I understand the whole piece (no matter how abstract) as well as my character and others in the play. I originally thought it would be impossible for me to understand and properly perform the pieces I was given as they were extremely abstract and I didn’t understand at all what was happening in them. However, with research and plenty of rehearsals, I completely grasped the plays and found it easier than expected to perform realistically.

One of my areas for development are to learn my lines earlier. Although I found it reasonably easy to learn them without trying hard (I just learned them the more we rehearsed), I know that I can proceed with understanding the motives of each line quicker if I am confident on them already. Another area for development is to be more specific when answering Uta Hagen’s questions for my character. I found that knowing these answers dramatically improved my confidence when performing as I knew exactly what I would do as my character. However, if I had thought more about not only the answers but why I had chosen them, I feel that my performance would be much better.

I’ve decided that my targets for the next term should be to understand Stanislavsky more. To do this, I will continue to practice his techniques such as using my own life to incorporate real emotions into my performances. If there’s one thing I learned last time, it’s that continued practice of something makes it easier to understand. Therefore, I will also aim to use Uta Hagen’s questions for every single role I am given. And hopefully I can go into more detail with my answers for each question for a further understanding of my character.

Ensemble Theatre

What does ensemble mean?

The main point of ensemble theatre is that all of the performers work together on behalf of the play as opposed to having individual characters. Ensemble theatre is likely more abstract. The translation of ensemble is, “together” which speaks the point loudly.

An example of a piece of ensemble theatre is Ivan and the Dogs by Hattie Naylor. A preview of the script shows the sort of style of writing that you would expect from an ensemble play:

The lift is broken, broken for
months and months. People say they will come to
mend it but they never do.
So I go down the stairs.
The door at the bottom is really thick –
and I can’t open it.
It’s so no one can get in.

Source: BBC Writer’s Room

It is “told plainly in the simple sentence structure of a child” according to a review by Vera Liber. This abstract kind of storytelling is basically what ensemble scripts are like.

Although an ensemble is just a group of actors working together, there are a variety of different styles of ensemble theatre.

Frantic Assembly is an example of a company that use the popular style of abstract movements in a performance. There are also ensemble plays linked to slapstick comedy and melodrama. This style is more exaggerated instead of abstract. An ensemble piece could also consist of only two actors but this is far less common.

A practitioner of ensemble theatre named Jaques Lecoq says that there are three main aspects when it comes to ensemble theatre:

Complicité (togetherness), Dispondabilité (openness) and finally Le jeu (playfulness).

Those in an ensemble piece have a bond that links all of the actors together which helps them move and speak as one. Dispondabilité refers to the idea that everyone must have trust when it comes to ensemble theatre as the effectiveness could fail if just one person was off. Finally, Le jeu is the idea that ensemble theatre should be fun and collective and you shouldn’t worry about getting something wrong – just enjoy yourself.

Ensemble theatre is all about teamwork and each actor should know what they are doing and when or the effectiveness of the style would be lost.

When looking for research on the history of ensemble theatre, I was unable to find any clear ideas about it. However, I did find an article (here) that stated:
“But like so much that’s deeply valuable, the term is notoriously hard to pin down. NET has wisely avoided using restrictive definitions of exactly what ensemble theatre is. Some ensembles have close ties to a specific community, others don’t. Some create original, devised theatre, while others only produce extant plays. Some have a clearly defined leadership, but others don’t.”

I believe that this perfectly depicts that ensemble theatre is an umbrella term for a certain style of acting that is different to what most expect. The fact that ensemble theatre is still a little in the unknown might indicate why it is hard to pinpoint who originally came up with the idea – or if it was a collective few that had their own ideas. Maybe ensemble theatre somewhat merged into what it is today over time.

 

Uta Hagen’s 9 Questions

Dirty Butterfly

1. 1. Who am I? – Name, age, physical traits, education, personal opinions, likes and dislikes, fears, ethics & beliefs
   2. What time is it? – Year, season, day, minute
   3. Where am I? – country, city/town, building, room
   4. What surrounds me? – environments, landscape, people & objects
   5. What are the given circumstances? (Information I can draw out from the text) – what has happened, what is happening, what is going to happen?
   6. What are my relationships? – objects, space, theme/idea, other characters, people not in the play
   7. What do I want? – right here right now & overall (objectives & super objectives), motivation: purpose
   8. What is in my way? – obstacles preventing me from getting what I want
   9. What do I do to get what I want? – verbal & physical actions I take

 

1. My character’s name is Jason. I interpreted the character as being 25, slim, and having a lack of education: simple Maths and English. From my given circumstances I have concluded that I also lack physical human touch. To make the character’s obsession more unholy and uncomfortably strange, I envisioned Jason having a Catholic upbringing. I expect Jason to be currently introverted but having a past full of friends and being social. I believe Jason has lost all of his confidence.
2. Both I and the other two in this play agreed that the story would be more unsettling if we imagined that it was Winter, mid-afternoon on a Saturday. The idea that it would be cold helps us become more unsettled and anxious and we decided that it being mid-afternoon would contrast our characters from what the considered ‘normal people’ do. Instead of living our lives or working on the weekends, we are stuck in our hidden lives: separate from the rest of the world in the middle of the day. As the play is modern, we kept the date as 2019. That can give us an idea of the culture around us.
3. We are in London in a rough flat building. The walls are thin. We know this because we can hear one another quite clearly. Therefore, the flats are likely cheaply made.
4. I imagine that the rest of the flat building is dirty and cheap and in a rough state. The walls are made of unpainted concrete and many others live in the same building. The furniture around me is minimal yet there is a lot of clutter and mess. This helps me connect with a character that has an unusual life and is in a messy mental state which reflects on my home. Jo and Amelia are next door to me and I am well aware of their presence.
5. I can hear Jo next door, I’m listening in because I enjoy hearing what goes on with her and what Jason might assume is an abusive boyfriend. It’s unlikely that Jason has any concept of what may happen in the future and instead he is stuck thinking that this will be his life.
6. I have a past, (unknown to the audience) relationship with Amelia. Maybe we had a romantic relationship for a brief amount of time. I don’t know Jo and I probably never speak to her but she is the one I listen in to next door and I know a lot about what goes on in her life. There are no objects presented in the piece but realistically Jason would have many things around in his home that I imagine he has no attachment to much like the relationship he has with other people.
7. On the surface, I want to listen in to Jo. More deeply, I want to stop my urges and be normal and want to not want to listen in.
8. Knowing that my urges are odd – and knowing Amelia and Jo would find my behavior strange – makes me emotionally less able to listen in comfortably. My obsession is getting in the way of me being normal.
9. I confront myself more within the play, realising my obsession isn’t normal and I try to stop myself.

Dirty Butterfly Research

Dirty Butterfly was written by Debbie Tucker Green and was first performed in 2003.

Amelia and Jason both have a mutual neighbour: Jo. They listen through the walls and know something strange and dark (violence) is going on but they do nothing about it despite it having such a massive impact on each of their lives.

Amelia tries to blank the noise out by sleeping on the sofa downstairs whilst Jason becomes obsessed with eavesdropping even to the point where he becomes unusually and uncomfortably aroused by the situation.

“The three of them have lives that interlock but never connect directly. There has obviously been some previous relationship between Amelia and Jason. There is also a sense that Amelia and Jo were once friends but no more which may explain why she does nothing about the noises coming through the wall.”

“Although ostensibly a one-act play that runs straight through, there is a distinct feeling that Dirty Butterfly is two acts. The first being conversations between the characters through the paper thin walls of their homes and the second being a confrontation between Jo and Amelia.” 

– Terry Eastham, 29-04-17

Stage directions are that the actors remain on stage throughout the entire performance and surround the actors. At times, the performers may interact but most of the time they are locked up in their own mindsets, providing the audience a fascinating visual captivating because of the strong, unique characters. Jason seems unable to grasp human touch whilst Amelia wants to avoid Jo’s mess compromising her respectability.

The play is described as “brutally poetic”. It challenges audiences to face the topics of domestic abuse, sexual curiosities, racial challenges and distrust of the authorities.

Bound to Create Theatre

Halcyon Theatre

“‘You ever woken up of a mornin wonderin if this one was gonna be your last – you ever got that feelin in your stomach as you lay there wonderin that? Like butterflies. Like butterflies gone ballistic. Like butterflies gone wrong.'” “Listening through their thin walls, Amelia and Jason are drawn into the dark and compelling world of their mutual neighbor Jo.” –Book Jacket.