Fautus Performance

Our mini assessment of Classical Theatre was Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe.

Every pair blocked and self-directed their own section, which was a fun and creative experience.

Fautus Performance

Others Strengths:

• Sophie's change in volume was a strength. This is because her raising her voice showed that she was acting stern, making the mood more serious and the feel of the scene much more dramatic.
• Physical theatre in Catttrina and Beth's scene - I really liked their use of physical theatre. No other group decided to use the technique, so it was unique and stood out from the rest. It was kept simple (John and Josh acting as a table and chair), but looked highly effective.
• The levels used in Lauren and Niamh's scene - Niamh being sat on the floor clearly showed she was inferior to Mephastophilies, who was played by Lauren.
• Lighting - this always sets the atomosphere. The choice of red was a smart one because the colour is easily linked to hell.

Mine and Sax's scene:
I thought that I used the space well in our scene. Playing Mephastophilies, I had to obtain some power over Fautus, which I tried to show through circling him. In our performance, Sax forgot majority of her lines, however, I carried on and covered it well, adding a burst of energy to the scene. My improvement for the future would be to spend more time choreographing the miming sections - of the scene and of our seven deadly sin (lust.) On the day, our miming sections were practically improvised. One thing I was really pleased with was the learning of my lines. I thought my confidence with my lines helped me deliver a stronger performance. A goal for my next classical theatre performance would be to have a greater understanding of the language in the text. The language can sometimes create a barrier for the actor.

My favourite scene was Josh and Ellie's - they started back to back, which was different and a powerful image. Standing back to back also helped to reflect that they were playing the same character that had two minds. Ellie's pauses left more wanting more, and heightened the suspense. They both projected their lines to the audience, with no interaction between them, which created a really strong conenction between actor and audience.

Rush Review

The main dance style in Akram Khan's 'Rush' is contemporary, there also elements of Khatak, which is a type of Indian classical dance. The piece is performed as a trio. The stimulus of Rush is the idea of freefalling.


At the start of the piece, the music is the sound of swishing, which compliments the movement - for example, when the dancers rotate their arms. The swishing noise represents the sound of the wind you hear when you're going up in a plane, prior to the actual free-fall. Akram Khan was interested in exploring what happens to the 5 senses during free-fall; this shows that the sense of sound has been tackled in the opening music and is proven to be suitable for the theme. 


Choreographically, there a minimal moments of unison in the opening section. The only time unison appears to be used is in group moments of stillness, for instance, when their left arms are in by the chest with the right arm extended out. Stillness is effective because a change in dynamics has a greater impact. Through stillness, tension is built which can be instantaneously broken. The main device used in the opening section is canon, this is where the dancers perform the same movement, but at different times to one another. Another device that has been applied is repetition, which highlights key movements, like when the dancers are bent over with their arms spread horizontally. This movement reflects the mental and physical preparation the person goes through, before jumping out of the plane.


Akram Khan has represented the jumping out of the plane by completely changing the dynamics, and also through his choice of music. The word 'Da' is spoken, and shortly afterwards comes the sound of an alarming bell. The dancers then perform their movements at a much faster pace, in unison, and begin to use a broader range of the stage. This tells us that the spatial restriction at the beginning was intended, because the spatial freedom in the next section reflects the unpredictable journey of freefalling.


Overall, the lighting starts quite dark and brightens when the pace picks up. However, the change in lighting is very gradual, which in my opinion doesn't create a strong enough impact on the audience. If I were directing it, I would've had a flash or strobe of lighting when the dancers have metaphorically begun their free-fall.


Each dancer wears the same costume - all black. It is good that the costume designer hasn't gone literal and put them in free-falling attire. The trousers worn by the dancers are loose, which is helpful to the dancer as they need to be able to move freely in performance.


One thing I'd definitely change is the music. Although, I like the opening music, the same music returns after the alarming bell, which I believe is boring and repetitive. The last section is supposed to be the most exciting part, of both the dance and literal freefalling, therefore, I would've had music to reflect that. Free-falling is loud, which Akram Khan has failed to represent by sticking to the same sound of swishing.


To conclude, I though 'Rush' was average. I think there was a lack of excitement in the piece. With a stimulus like freefalling, the audience need to feel like they're on that journey with the dancer, and I just didn't feel that. However, performing the movement in our own groups with something I really enjoyed, I think this is because we were allowed to interpret it individually, using pictures and different choreographic devices.

Rush - Akram Khan (2nd Attempt)

 

 

 

Rush - Akram Khan (1st Attempt)

 

Key Words:

1) Improvisation - spontaneously creating work (movement.)

2) Transitions - 'linking' movements in a dance. 

Presenting our hat (Costume Mini Project)

Beth provided the group with our hat materials - brown cloth, tartan cloth and white netting.
The brown cloth will be the base colour for the hat, although we initially decided on grey, this colour was our only source, and it is still as much of a negative (dark mood) colour. The tartan will be the patches on the wizard's hat. Tartan is old-fashioned so it proved to be suitable. The colours in the tartan cloth include red, green and yellow, which make it stand out from the brown base. Lastly, the netting will represent cobwebs, therefore aging the hat like we initially wished to.



Sketch of hat, with attachments of different fabrics.

We would like the hat to be made 30cm (12 inches) tall, with it flopping mainly at the back. We have decided to 'oversize' it so the children will be engaged and interested by it. The largness of the hat may also create humour. A disadvantage of the hat being quite tall could be that it weighs down the actor's head, altering his posture. However, his posture becoming slouchy will match well with his lazy attitude. The character of Fizban having a
slouchy posture is also appropriate because of his old age.

Our presentation went well in my opinion. We were quite organised, designating a section for each person to speak about. Kim did ask questions on the spot which put us under pressure, but I think as a team we responded well and supported eachother's statements. Next time, I wish I'd have learnt my speech by heart so I could've been more natural in my delivery.

Faustus Duologues

Act 3, Scene 1

Fautus = Prisoner - Sax
Mephastophilis = Evil, Power-crazed prison guard - Me
Pope =  Elsie
Friar = Natalie

The way we've modernised Fautus is by making Fautus a prisoner and Mephastophilis the prison guard. In the original scene, Mephastophilis is casting a spell on Faustus to make him invisible in Rome, and wants to gain something from it. Because of this, we want it to appear like Mephastophilis is letting Fautus out of his usual prison boundaries, to attend a secret, dodgy deal. Fautus' invisibleness will be shown in him running free and having a laugh. To show that Mephastophilis is releasing Faustus, we've decided to use handcuffs which I will undo on the line 'So, Faustus; now do what thou wilt, thou shalt not be discerned.' Unaware to Fautus, but aware to the audience I will perform this deviously. The Pope will act as the head guard, whilst the Friar will play the role of deputy. Instead of snatching dishses and cups, Fautus will steal the keys and a food which is classified as a treat, such as chocolate - not a usual privelege for prisoners. The opening of our scene will be located in a cell. The section with the Pope and Friar will be in an office.

The purposes in our scene:

• From Fautus' Rome speech to the line 'I hope his Holiness will bid us welcome' = to inform
• Mephastophilies persuading to the line 'Come, therefore, let's away' = to persuade
• 'Nay Faustus' to 'their folly make us merriment' = to discourage
• 'I may be invisible' to 'thou shalt not be discerned' = to gain control
• Pope, Friar and Faustus description = to decieve
• 'Come on Mephastophilies' to End = to stop conversing

What is Choreography?

The HOW of choreography:
Dynamics - e.g. smooth, sharp, slow.
Stimulus
Motif
Choreographic devices
(In italic are the key words of the lesson.)

The WHAT of choreography:
Actions - e.g. roll, jump, contraction.

The WHERE of choreography:
Space - e.g. levels, upstage, downstage.

The WHO of choreography:
Relationships - e.g. trios, props, audience.

Action + Space + Dynamics + Relationship = Movement motif

Choreographic devices:
Retrograde
Canon
Repetition

After learning the basics, we looked at the professional work - Rush, by Akram Khan. First of all, we watched the video and noted down what we saw. I noticed the use of unison and canon. One thing that stood out to me was the change of dynamics, where moments of stillness would turn into a super fast sequence. Afterwards, we were informed that the stimuli was freefalling, which explained the spacial restriction and freedom. The restriction resembled the moment when the person is in the small plane waiting to jump. During the jump out of a plane, there is an endless amount of space, which explains why the dancers in the video largely expanded on their use of the stage.