Final Performance Evaluation

Today we completed our final political play performances. Our production was still quite raw with strong ideas that needed to be work-shopped further, nevertheless we managed to pull off an insightful and at moments poignant piece about state sanction torture and certainly got the audience thinking. In this evaluation the key areas I will be focusing are; The artistic achievements we made; the level of professional execution; strengths and weaknesses and the future potential of the piece as a theatre product. This term has been a really big learning curb about the power as theatre as a tool for change and how to make an audience really watch the play, deeper messages and all. 

The motif of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was really effective on the night. They provided a brilliant element of spass and cause the audience to question their laughter. As the audience came in they were greeted by these weird clown figures dressed all in white. This straight away applies the verfremdungseffekt as they step into a room and are already being interacted with. I felt like this was  effective because it instantly set up tense atmosphere and made them start asking question. Another way in which alienated the audience as they came in was with the "Barney song". This was another Brechtian technique we applied (song). This was enhanced by adding gesture and blank facial expressions. The fact we were standing behind the audience and they had no choice but to sit in front of us. I feel like this was a representation of the dark, looming, ever-present torturer figure. 

This would have put the audience right into the victims shoe's. The theatrical configuration (traverse) help to add another element that made the audience feel on edge. They could always see other audience members and the ensemble. This would have made them feel very aware that they were sitting in a theatre; it would also make them conscious of their own reactions instead of being lost in the narrative. Also because it was a small audience there was a sense of hyper awareness of everyone around them. I feel like this was a positive and a negative because they felt like they couldn't laugh. Most of the funny parts were met with half-assured laughter which meant that they felt the subject material was too dark to laugh at which was one of our main aims.

I feel like we executed the performance with a high level of professionalism and commitment. For a lot of us the piece was a bit of an endurance test. My section wasn't until right at the end which meant I had to stand for about 45 minutes moving a minimal amount and keeping that "I've been lobotomised"essence going for the entire duration. This was made even harder by the feeling that an audience member could look at you at moment. Some feedback I got from one of them was that most of us seem to just stare at one spot for the whole piece which was really effective and maintain that atmosphere. However not everyone could keep this focus. I feel like this could be solved by having a moment when the ensemble changed sides and look at the audience; this would also apply the V effect and give us an opportunity to stretch our legs. Another example of where we showed excellent professionalism was when the tech went wrong. The video didn't play on cue for the "I'm in Guantanamo get me out of here". There was a long pause but after a little wait the action continued regardless and they managed to re-work it without causing too much disruption to the audience. It was great to always find new things in a performance. I found myself looking at the back of the person's head in front of me. I thought this was effect because it would make the audience on the other side think they are being watched. 

Our biggest strength was our acting and our aesthetic approach. I spoke to one of the audience members (Mr. Worden)  and he said that the play really got under his skin. He was later on watching a music show but he was still thinking about the piece in the back of his mind. I think our application of Brecht's techniques was very strong however I feel like I could have used the V effect more. When I leant back on my chair and said "We're all in this together, you see". I made eye contact for a brief second with a few audience members but that was it. I could've improved this by physically pointing and getting in their faces. A weakness of our production was the fact we didn't provide a solution to our message. We presented our problem but we didn't solve it. In order to improve this aspect of the piece I would add petitions as the audience leaves or even during the performance. That would really bring that out of the narrative. Sharply. 

As a theatre product I feel this piece has a lot of potential. With a bigger audience the jokes would resonate more, a higher budget we could have higher quality projections and a bigger cast we could add more ensemble spass scenes. I think this piece would be suited in a Fringe theatre like the cockpit. The intimate space would mean that the alienation and creepy atmosphere would remain but our message would reach a wider audience. We could even transfer it to a non-theatrical space like a train station waiting room. I think that the simplistic set would mean that the piece could be profitable and we could donate the proceeds to amnesty international.

In conclusion, our political piece was a success as we managed to do the hardest thing within theatre; get the audience think about the issue even after they left.

Make-up for Political piece

I covered my eyes with dark black paint and had white and black arrows pointing towards them. This was to represent how my character had "seen a lot of things". It was also a way of "hypnotising" the audience and other characters into looking into my eyes. A lot of torture is physiological and the dark patches could be interpreted as sleep deprivation. This was another way in the piece we applied the V effect. 

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN Song Lyrics

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I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain

Dancin' in the rain
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
I'm happy again!
I'm singin' and dancin' in the rain!

Notes from Director

Be on the cues - in order to make the scene more sharp and comedic we must come in with our lines a tiny bit before the last person speaks; however we must not speed up or interrupt each others lines. This is difficult because it's hard not to rush your lines when your trying to hop on your cues. I need to make sure I know my lines inside out in order to prepare for vocal production.

"It's the act of animal, that" - I need to borrow speech patterns from northern dialect in order to say the line right. 

I have to find the balance between professionalism and concern within my character. I can do this by analysing how adults respond when confronted by a crying child that isn't their own.