Greek Project Evaluation

In this blog entry I will be talking about the groups performance, and I shall be evaluating myself in both roles of Orestes and Chorus and my abilities to, deliver lines, acting styles, characterisation etc.

Basics

My first role was Orestes I played the first one and so my first entrance was after an announcement and then the lights would come up and then I took my place kneeling next to the block on the left, this looked more aesthetically pleasing compared to being straight on whilst the audience walk in as the lights gave a very cold atmosphere. My first line was "Hermes you who guide the soul" and this was to be said after Electra one said "Our warmth all mingling together", I didn't say this line straight after Electra's as we had a music que and it add more to what I was saying so I waited for the music listened to it a bit before preforming the lines. Through out the play I managed to get my ques for my lines correct, but on one of the nights I did slip up when moving, I was meant to walk backwards onto a block, but whilst I did it was still being moved, and so I just took a breath and carried on which helped immensely. My exit as Orestes went smoothly the role was taken over by Reece and went straight into a dumb play. The only thing that I thought the chorus struggled with when I was in it was the final scene in act 1 with the chairs, our timing and energy with the "shout for joy shout" was very poor on the first night but we practiced it and it sounded better after.

Stylistically

The main style of the way we preformed this play was it being contempry, and so what we did was use the chorus as journalists something that a modern day audience would understand. We also added a lot of movement into which looked great once we sorted out the lights for it, for instance the scene where Orestes is talking about how the people were yelling "stone them" we have the chorus in the background twisting and turning but when they faced the audience they were miming yelling and it looked weird when we rehearsed it but under the lights it looked better as it really highlighted each one of their faces. It was a very physical piece because if we hadn't added all of these different types of movements it would have looked naturalistic when what we were looking for was a very stylised piece because traditional Greek tragedy was very stylised. I think that this play was perfect for looking at different acting styles, as the parts were split into scenes, so it was easier to one, see the progression of Orestes and Electra and two, show how diverse the group is from one another it gave us a chance to show of what we could do or how we would take on our characters.

Actors Skills

Through out this project we have been working on our characterisation doing things like, character studies and workshops to help us understand not just our characters, but also what it was like in Ancient Greece. Before we preformed we were told to take the animal we associate with our characters, which was a previous workshop we had done, mine was a mouse and we would pretend to be this animal and slowly become our character using some of the features this animal had, then we were told to close our eyes and picture our characters walking towards us and then as they came in front we would merge with them and this helped me as during the performance I felt I took on Orestes, at the stage he was at in his journey, because even when I wasn't saying my lines I was always thinking like him, and when I did say my lines I took on a character who has a high statues but doesn't want anyone to know he is there and therefor pretends to be a lower statues, lower than he actually is. My vocal delivery during rehearsals was lax, and I put that down to being lazy, when it came to the show I felt that I pushed myself because there was an audience, I always looked up at the clock in the theatre, as it helped me raise my head to project more, and at home I went over my lines making sure that my diction was correct, so that people could understand what I was saying clearly. I used gestures in my scene as Orestes to not just show who I was but to also draw the audience's attention to the things that were happening onstage, my problem with my blocking on the first night was the fact I sometimes was not in the light, but for the next few shows I positioned myself correctly.

Ensemble

I was not in many chorus scenes, but my character Orestes was, one scene I had to work with the chorus to draw their attention in, as we had made out as if it was a press conference, but I had also needed to trust one of them to catch me as I fell backwards, which took some time. When I was in the chorus we worked together to create the chair scene which didn't look very good at the first performance because we weren't too sure what we were doing so it lacked energy like I have said previously, but we had eventually got round it. In another chorus scene we had to work as one, like a school of fish or flock of birds, which was also difficult as we had to get in close to each other, without falling over, but once we had figured it out it did look very effective and drew attention to us when we came on stage. During rehearsals we did whisper backstage to each other for ques etc. but eventually we had all learnt them the only time we spoke to one another was when someone needed help with costume, or some wasn't feeling very well but we made sure that it wasn't so loud that the audience would be drawn away from the stage. Overall I think we did preform the show very well, once we had gotten a hang of the roles and lines we smoothed it out and delivered the piece with as much energy as we could, a lot of us were worried about looking stupid, as it was a stylised piece, but we finally just got on with it and just put in everything and the end result went really well.

Greek Project (Week 7)

Most of this week was running through both acts making sure we knew what we were doing and that its was slick. At the beginning of the week we had completed act 2, but I do not know of most of the stuff that was happening as Act 1 were sent away to do Character studies.

Me and Abbi started to look at the scene between us both, we learnt the blocking and the lines, and later we had help to get more of a connection going between these two characters, we sat in front of one another and read our lines out looking into each others eyes. We then helped Reece and Charlotte with their scene as they thought that something was missing and if we watched it we could help them, which we did and we all agreed it was nice to kind of self direct for once as we got things done faster.

In movement we ran through my scene with the chorus, making sure it was fast and smooth. I had learnt my lines for this scene so that it was easier to get through.

The last two days of this week were used to run through Act 1 and 2 we did what we like to call a fun run which is where we would act out the play as normal, but someone would shout out some thing e.g. Harry Potter, Cowboys, Divas etc. and then we would have to act it out in this style, it was nice to be able to have a laugh with each other but it showed that we knew what we were doing as we were thinking fast on the spot whilst acting.

Its all coming together now and its been great working for the first time with the group on a piece already written, I think the audience will find this Greek Tragedy different, but entertaining none the less.

Greek Project (Character Study)

In this blog entry I shall be talking about the character I play, in our Greek Tragedy “Black and White” which is an adaptation using both Helen Edmundson's “Blood and Light” and Euripides “Orestes.” I play the part of Orestes, and I shall be talking about our version of Orestes, and comparing it with research I have found on other peoples opinion’s on him.

Research

I have looked online at peoples different ideas for Orestes character profile, I will be showing you quotes from the information I've picked out and then I will be commenting on my views on these, here is what I found.


Some people think that Orestes is very young, as they think that he is immature and childish, Spark notes explain why they think this theory is true "Still quite youthful when instructed by Apollo's oracle to avenge Agamemnon's murder, Orestes displays a level of immaturity that renders the ultimate revenge the serious matter of matricide morally ambiguous," (1) they speak about how Orestes murders his mother because he is instructed to, but I think that he does kill his mother because of two reasons, one honor of his father he says "This is my fathers grave, Agamemnon the great king lies here" (2)  and also "Help me remove them, as they removed you. Either by truth of justice or simple might of right. And let me deal with them as they dealt with you" (3), looking at the first line he speaks highly of his father as if its a great honor to say his name, and then in the second section he talks about dealing with Agamemnon's killers the way they did to him, he is asking his father to allow him to do this, not Apollo and so I think that he understands honor and it is looked on as mature that he has asked his father to allow him to do this because if he was childish he would have been rash and just got it over with.

Another website speaks about how Orestes becomes the savior of Argos like the chorus say " But at least he has given life to the hope of Argos" (4) I believe that this is the chorus giving Orestes false hopes as he is very gullible when it comes to the advice from people, through out the play he asks for advice and help and they always end in horrible ways. 

The relationship between Orestes and his mother, is obviously not a good one considering what he does to his mother, but both Orestes thinks that he is his father's son as the chorus convince him by saying " I belong to my murdered Father" (5), but Orestes is more like his mother as he does what ever he can to protect his family, which is what Clytemnestra was doing when she sent her children away. He later in the play feels guilt for what he has done as he is haunted by his mother, Clytemnestra also feels this as Electra says "I could say how she danced while he lay dead, wound garlands through her hair, and then sagged to the floor vomiting." (6)

He maybe a lot like his mother through out this play but Spark notes showed me that his sense of civic duty is a lot like Agamemnon "Agamemnon sacrificed his own daughter so that the Greek fleet could sail to Troy, thus condemning himself to death in order to allow his society to prosper. Similarly, Orestes committed matricide, a heart wrenching and disgusting act, in order to preserve the order of society." (7) This shows that he may have killed his mother, wanting to avenge his father, but he knew that if this did not happen than the he could not preserve the order of the society." (8)

Facts

Name: Orestes. The meaning of his name is "he who stands on the mountain" or "one who can conquer mountains." (9)

Age: He is younger than his sister, as Helen speaks about how Electra is unlovable because Agamemnon and Clytemnestra wanted a boy when she was born, this proves he wasn't born before her, I think that he is ten years younger than his sister and he is 15.

Family Life: He didn't have much of a family as he was exiled by his mother, to Phocis where he met Pylades (son of the King of Phocis.) He grew up in Phocis and so I would say they have become a family to him. You can tell at numerous points through out the play that his father plays a big role towards him, as he is always talking about revenge for his father, as if he wants his dad to be proud of him for doing it.

Personality: Orestes personality changes a lot through out the play. At the beginning he is shown as a character who kills for honour and to help preserve the order of society, he also is mourning his father and so is shown to have loved his father. During and after killing his mother Orestes becomes numb and emotionless, which is to be expected after just killing his own mother, but he becomes more guilty for what he is done as he hadn't slept for 6 days or nights after killing Clytemnestra, he had a fever and also is haunted by Clytemnestra through out the play. Eventually Orestes is overtaken by revenge, murder and guilt this makes him a monster, he feels nothing not sympathy nor emotions, he is set on getting what he wants, and finishing whoever tries to stop him.

Context

Before the play Orestes, is exiled to Phocis, where he grows up waiting for the day he can come home and see his family again, once he comes home he finds that his mother has murdered his father for her new lover Aieguthus and so he sets out to murder her after meeting his sister Electra who he hasn't seen in a long time. After killing Clytemnestra he is haunted by what he is done, numerous family members come to see him and his sister before they die, Helen of Troy, Menelaus and Tyndaroues. Orestes and Electra are condemned to death and the people choose left for the mob as their way to die, before the guards can get Electra and Orestes they kill Helen and then Orestes plunges to his death with Menelaus's daughter Hermione.

 

Relationships

Orestes has a strong relationship with his sister, it has been scientifically proven that siblings that are split apart at a young age have a stronger lover when they next meet, this love may not be shared between two sibling that were not split up. He shows through out the play that he wants to protect Electra. Honour is a theme in this play and Orestes shows that he wants to Honour his father by killing his mother in the play, Forgiveness is another theme which is shown when Clytemnestra begs her son to think about what she did and not kill her but to forgive her. Revenge is the main theme as all the killings are based on revenge Agamemnon is killed by his wife because he sacrificed their child, Clytemnestra is murdered by her son for killing Agamemnon, Orestes and Electra kill Helen as they believe she is the main cause for she was the reason Agamemnon sacrificed his child as it was for her.

Characterisation

To understand my character more we have done many exercises in class, such as taking animals that can represent our characters and being them thinking how they think, moving like they do, being hunted, or even hunting and then finally slowly becoming the character you play and taking on some of that animals traits whether it be a speed they walk at, a twitch they do or maybe their eyes are looking for something at all times. We also did an exercise between Orestes and Electra where we read out our lines whilst looking into each others eyes, so that we could get more of a connection.

 

 Quotes:

(1) http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/electra/canalysis.html  
(2) Script
(3) Script
(4) http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/libationbearers/canalysis.html
(5) Script
(6) Script
(7) http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/libationbearers/canalysis.html
(8) http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/libationbearers/canalysis.html
(9) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orestes_(given_name) 

 

 

 

 

 

Greek Project (Week 6)

On Monday we started blocking Orestes 1's (Me) scene, it was a scene where the chorus have basically pushed him to the edge, we have put the chorus around Orestes at the beginning, but with their backs turned from him, each section of the chorus turn round on different lines, until eventually they are being physical with him pulling him and pushing him about. I thought that this was effective as it felt like I couldn't get away, and if you put that with the lines they were saying then it puts it in context that Orestes cannot escape what he is about to do. The chorus then sit in front of Orestes as if they were at a conference, and then Orestes is taken by two chorus members who clean him up and help him onto a block where he then says a monologue about his mother, this is when you start to see his hatred towards his mother, in this section of the scene I felt in power as if everyone was listening to me, but deep down I knew they were listening because its what they wanted to hear. Eventually Orestes starts to ask the chorus questions as they all crowed round with microphones as if they are getting their juicy story that they want to hear.

In our voice session we looked at the animals we felt that our characters were like, and then pretended to be the animal moving around the room in ways such as, being hunted, hunting and eating. We then eventually over a slow period turned into out character using aspects of the animals, I chose a mouse at first, as they hide and are small and the scene I play Orestes in, he is trying to hide from everyone as he shouldn't be home as he was exiled by Clytemnestra. I also chose a lone wolf as Orestes feels as if he is on his own and he keeps asking for the gods to help him as he goes through this alone. My final animal was a snake, now this was from a metaphor he talks about, the fact he is the snake that bites into his mothers breast at the end of  Orestes 1's scenes going into Orestes 2. I think this exercise helped us all because it took us out of the normal so we are now more confident with being weird around each other and also it helped us move away from being us when playing the characters we can now move like a different person.

On Wednesday we looked at more chorus workshops, we looked at lines again and used freeze frames for them which we then slowly put together and moved into each of them, this gave us more ideas for the chorus's lines as they have very long sections to fill with movements. We also came in, in our chorus outfits, the guys wore shirts and ties, and most of the girls wore dresses, I thought this helped me come out of the mind of Connor, as I don't wear formal clothes, and then jump straight into a different person's shoes.

Thursday we ran through act 1, and then blocked the last scene in the piece, as a group we had decided to have a line of chairs and then work in twos and threes, splitting the lines between us and doing movements with the lines, me and Rae helped make sure that each bit of dialogue and movement connected to the group after each group. I think this was nice as it gave us a chance to explore creative ideas and it was great to work as a collective together without being directed.

Greek Project (Week 5)

In movement this week  we blocked Electra 2's (Abbi) first scene where she is mourning at her fathers grave, mourners join her, but they are the journalists in disguise, we used news papers in this scene so that the chorus could hide behind them, and also throw them about the stage on the line "I cannot pure out the oil, the wine, the milk, the honey" which looked effective as this is when you first bit where Electra is showing hatred towards her mother, the paper throwing movement for me is symbolism for Electra stripping away at her mother to show Clytemnestra's true form. The chorus also do a still image on the line "whether slave or free, neither I can choose or escape it" they form a cage out of their body's which looks great as it makes it look like Electra cannot truly escape what is to come.

In our later lessons that week we were running act one, and I got to show my monologue at the beginning which was great as I couldn't wait to show what I had done, I had learnt my lines so that I could easily move around the space more computably, without looking at my lines every so often, the feed back I got was brilliant, Alex said that I had given her goose bumps, and as this is the first time I appear that is great, I was told that it was good that I had learnt my script and the blocking, as it meant I could focus more on my lines, what they meant and how I was going to make the audience believe what I was saying.
Later in act one there is a scene were Electra and Orestes have just seen one another for the first time, we played around with what we could do such as, leaning over the bath, and also using each others wait, which was effective as it was as if we were relying on the other person to do something it gave it more of a connection between the brother and sister.
One of the chorus scenes we ran was lacking a bit of character, and so they got pass this by saying the lines differently from one another e.g. ignorant, arrogant, childish and sarcastic. Once each member had found the character the scene looked more effective, as it was as if the chorus were arguing with one another with their different opinions.

Today I did some character study on Orestes and I would like to share the photo on the right with you, as I thought it showed the relationship with the chorus and Orestes really well, you see three women around a man who look to be manipulating him with their words, which I thought was an exact representation of the two different people.    

Greek Project (Week 4)

We started with an exercise that worked on the chorus's lines, we took an extract from the script and instead of saying our line standing still directly to the audience, we walked around the space as journalists and when it came to your line you had to either make a huge gesture or stand on something, this helped with the flow of lines and controlling the breath as it was very physical. After we said the lines in a different style whether it be insincere, arrogant or childish etc. which helped to make your line individual to your character in the chorus rather than saying it together in the same tone, which was boring. We ended this exercise by having someone sit in the middle of us and then we had to say our line so that the viewer would be drawn to us.

Later we looked back at the scene between Helen and Electra, looking closely at the chorus this time and how we could make it more effective, in this scene we wanted the chorus to pose as Helen's servants but also be listening in for information for our "news stories" as we were playing journalists, so we did a lot of changes in poses between our listening stances.

We went back to the text that we had previously worked on Monday and started to look at how our individual characters in the chorus would walk around the room, this was because the way we staged this scene is by having each person come in, in a cannonball style to say their lines, but everyone was doing something similar, so we changed how we came in and also how the lines were said.

When I had done my character study today I found this image when I typed in Orestes, and for me it symbolises the fact he cannot see past the revenge he has against his mother, I really like the makeup that is used as it could be something that stands out in the play for the character, and that maybe as he gets further into the play, once he gets more angry and more lost the colour changes darker and darker, I was looking at this because I was wondering what Orestes would wear in this
performance as we want it to look timeless.