It's over, it's done.

Today, June 11th marks the completion of my performance of the prologue of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".

One week ago, I performed my rough draft of my final performance in class to get feedback and find out where I needed to improve. I didn't have my lines completely memorized, and so I missed one line (oops) which was kind of embarrassing, but I realized that I needed to practice my lines a lot more. Otherwise I think I was pretty well prepared, I had a basic idea of what I was going to say, and probably forgot due to nerves. I knew my blocking and what I was going to do in the scene, so I think it wasn't too bad. My feedback was that I needed to talk slower and be more questioning on the word "unclean". I took all of my feedback into account and tried to be more emotional. I think the audience understood the language of my scene, as it was relatively simple and I think I pronounced it clearly. Also, to make "unclean" seem more questioning, I lifted my hands, and paused before I said it.

Today was the big day. After performing my final draft I was really afraid that I had forgot some things, and wasn't sure exactly what (kind of like an instinctive gut feeling, you know?) so I freaked out for a bit. I think my final draft was an improvement from my rough draft, because I knew exactly where I was walking to, what posture I should have, and I remembered to talk slowly, with pauses often enough, so that it didn't seem like one big blob. I feel that I did communicate the emotions and circumstances of the scene really well. I remembered all of my actions and felt confident. I spoke loudly and clearly, and I am sure the whole audience was able to understand what I was saying. The prologue is supposed to be an introductory thing for the audience who hasn't seen Romeo and Juliet before. I think I showed this well through a talk show form because it seemed like a good introduction to me, and I think it went quite smoothly.

I now know and understand Shakespearean theatre way more than I did in the beginning of the unit. Especially in terms of the technical aspects and how important the dialogue was. Shakespeare would, a lot of the time, make up his own words, and so it was up to the actors to perform his play using good inflection, projection and emotion. Otherwise, the audience wouldn't know what was happening as they didn't know the language. This is kind of a way that Shakespearean specifically was like Commedia, because there wasn't a language that everyone could comprehend, but it was how the actors showed it that allowed the audience to understand. Although I didn't face this problem as everyone could understand the language, I still had to give emotion, and ensure everyone could understand, so this was still extremely important. The main acting skills that helped me succeed were my preparation and rehearsal. I learned most of my lines early on so that was really good preparation and rehearsing it made me that much better. In future, these are two skills that will be really important for me.

Two households, both alike in dignity...

In fair Verona, where I do not lay my scene. :P

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present my script, for the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet, marked with notes of: costume, tech, inflection, emphasis, and all other things I need to know to make my scene the way I want.

Ta-daa!

So, for my scene, I had originally chosen to be a reporter on scene. For example, when a disaster strikes then the newspeople change to a reporter on spot. However, I decided this was not best and decided to change it, because the reporter on scene thing wouldn't really work. You normally have to have the background of the scene, which wasn't available to me. I decided to do some sort of a talk show, with a special episode on Romeo and Juliet, which made much more sense. The only thing I use is one big, comfy chair, like where Ellen sits in her show. I think this is a good choice because the prologue is supposed to be the beginning informative bit of Romeo and Juliet, so a talk show, which informs the public about celebrities, current events, etc. would be a good idea. Because I am doing this in the setting I have chosen, I don't speak like I normally do. Instead, I try to project more, and use more inflection. In places where I think I should sound questioning, I change my expression so that it matches and I use a tone which is questioning. I think this seems more like a talk show person, which is what I am aiming for. For my physical choices, again, I am thinking about being like Ellen, my main model. The aim is to be comfortable, but formal. I speak slowly, because I am introducing the whole play, and clearly because I need everyone to be able to understand. I try to hold my head and shoulders high, to be confident, and not look down too much. I also use hand gestures to show things, like the two households, etc. Overall, think Ellen DeGeneres. :D

What to do, what to do...

For my final performance, I am interested in the beginning part of the play, the prologue. I chose it because after watching the Reduced Shakespeare Company version I realized that was my favorite part of the play, even though I didn't know why. I think I like the way it is introduced, and how frank it is. There are two families, they're similar, and they don't even know why that hate each other. A pair of lovers, one from one family and one from the other, take their lives and bury their parents life. And that's it. The whole play. Summed up into one sentence. Also, I am not one for sappy, romantic things so I like the beginning, because right after the prologue there is the "Do you bite your thumb at me sir?" "No sir, but I do bite my thumb sir". I like how this follows the prologue because it seems very dramatic and interesting for me. I am not exactly sure why, but I enjoy the prologue, and after watching Shakespeare in Love (when the person who stutters finally doesn't stutter and makes it through) I knew I wanted to do this scene.

For this scene, to give it a little twist, I would set it in a modern day America. Where two families are running for the presidency, Democrats and Republicans. These would be the Capulets and Montagues. Children of the men running for the presidency would be Romeo and Juliet, however possibly with more modern names. That would be the overall set for the play. For the specific part, it does not really seem like a scene, so it wouldn't exactly be staged. I know there are many reporters who broadcast what is happening during campaign and election. So, I have decided to have a reporter live on the scene, rather than at the studio which would be too similar to the Baz Luhrman version. The setting, rather than being in "Verona" would be in Washington, D.C., where the White House is. I think this makes sense in the political way. The modern day Capulets would have already had Lord Capulet as president once, so Juliet could be living in the White House, where they could hold the party and have the balcony scene, etc. To make it more Shakespearean, I would obviously use the original script, but also break character sometime. The costume would be formal, maybe a dress skirt and shirt, with a microphone to show that it is a reporter. To have a Shakespearean ambience, the lighting would stay relatively the same throughout the entire scene, to represent how they didn't have stage lights at that time, and performances were mostly during the day. So: Modern day dressy reporter with microphone and relatively simple light, using Shakespearean language to introduce the conflict between the two campaigning families, and what happens in this exclusive news report.

In this scene, there is only one part, that of the chorus. I would therefore cast myself, as I chose this scene because I thought the role would suit me. However, seeing as I think the prologue and the beginning bit of Act 1 Scene 1 go together, I will also pick some of the characters from there. For the main representative of the Capulets, I would pick Amara(Tybalt) and Farhan(Samson). For the main representatives of the Montagues, I would pick Farah(Benvolio) and Guglielmo(Abram). I chose these people because I think Farah and Amara could perform a fight scene very well, especially given the actresses. I chose Farhan and Gugli to be with them because I know that they are friends of the girls and could be good supporters. Also, I think they can stage fight well so that would be even better. As the Prince, I would pick Kheilah because she is a good mediator and I think she can be very peaceful.

Reduced Shakespeare Company R&J

In our Drama class, we watched videos of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (part one and two found here and here, or you can watch above) performing the shortened version of Romeo and Juliet. I quite enjoyed watching this, as I personally found it hilarious.

There are many "Shakespearean" elements in this performance, for example, the fact that it is being performed on stage. Also, another thing is that it is only played by male actors, and in Shakespearean time, female actresses were not allowed to perform. The actors sometimes broke character and took out to the audience very often, and they used mostly old english, as if very quickly reciting from the script. The costumes seem like those which would have been used before, with the exemption of the shoes. A note can be made to the simple lighting, with sometimes having the spotlight, this can be related to Shakespearean times because they could not manipulate the light back then.

Balcony Scene with Narrator

Although there are "Shakespearean" aspects, this reduced play is also very modern, in the way it is performed. The performance as a whole is around 13 minutes long, and this play is traditionally much longer. Normally, there would be an entire cast to play different characters, and probably no two characters would be played by the same actor. The performance also is much more funny than originally, as there are only two, extremely dramatic, actors and one narrator, who make up the entire thing. For me, it was most funny when the actors would break character, and talk to each other, as if in modern times. I think if this were performed in Shakespearean times, it would not be approved of because not everything is shown in detail, only the important bits and also, the comedic bits probably would not take up. One of my favorite parts is when Romeo and Juliet are supposed to kiss, and the after playing Romeo doesn't mind, but the actor playing Juliet rejected him and backed away, and said something along the lines of "No, ew dude, I'm not kissing you" and then went to the next part. Another bit of comedy that I like is when "Juliet" has the scene on the balcony, and Romeo was all "What are you doing??? o.O" and Juliet said "The Balcony scene" and the balcony was literally Juliet's skirt over the head of the narrator. After that, when Romeo promised his love, they included an audience member, and I do not think some of the things they said about her would have been accepted in Shakespearean times, whereas the audience merely laughed in this performance.

Overall, I do not think this performance would not have been successful in Shakespearean times because it has been adapted to fit our modern world, in my opinion. The comedy, is designed for people in the 21st century to understand, and I think that people would not approve of this type of performance in the Shakespearean times. I think if this were performed a long time ago, some audience members may have taken offense, and it would have had to go much slower, as I think this type of theatre is mooch more modern. Although it wouldn't go down well in Shakespearean times, this play is hilarious in the present and I would love watching any of their plays performed live. :D

Narrator, Romeo and Juliet, for the final words :P

Shakespeare VS Baz Luhrmann- Who did it best?

In my opinion, without any disrespect to Mr. Baz, I think this version of Romeo and Juliet is horrible. From the movie, I can clearly find one Shakespearean element, the language used, which was probably very similar to the script. I didn't like the artistic concept he chose for the piece, and I don't think it suits the story. I think the characters and actors chosen to play them were appropriate, however, I think the modernization of everything except the language really didn't go, as that is an essential part of something that relies so heavily on the spoken words. I don't think they focused enough on the more important parts, like the part where Tibalt is killed by Romeo and when Romeo and Juliet suicide. The movie was long but not too interesting for me, and when we started watching the original in

I think it was a good idea to have Verona in a modern city, which seemed (to me) similar to a less flashy Los Vegas. I really liked the setting, and think the casting was really good, however, Juliet looked more like a 16 year old than a 13 year old, which really annoyed me, as one of the things about this play that stood out to me was their age difference. I liked the setting and thought it went well with Romeo and Juliet, because it clearly showed the division between the two families. It was evident that one side of town seemed to belong to the Montagues and the other side the Capulets. I think the director made some poor choices, such as when he made it loo like Romeo purposefully killed Tybalt. In the original script, it is more like an accident when Romeo kills him, but here, Romeo looked at him and shot multiple times. This made me personally feel that Romeo deserved to be banished, as he had killed someone and the Prince had warned that whoever disturbs the peace would be killed. Even if Tybalt had killed his friend, he should't have reciprocated. Choosing to have guns rather than swords also didn't work for me because with swords there is more of a fight, whereas with tunes, it is just a shot and the person is dead. The final thing that I really disliked about the movie was the filming itself. It seemed very sudden and jerky, especially in the fight scenes. Overall, I do not think this was a good movie and I didn't like it very much at all.

I don't think that Shakespeare would have agreed with this version of his play, as it is very different and doesn't go. If Baz really wanted to "revolutionize" the play, I think he could have made the effort to change the language, which is the main thing that I strongly dislike about the movie. I think Shakespeare would have criticized this version of Romeo and Juliet because it strays from the original a lot, even if it keeps the language and the overall main scenes.  There was not enough effort put into very important scenes, like the part where Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, and I don't think Shakespeare would have appreciated that. Baz Luhrman did not do Shakespeare justice in my opinion and I think he could have done much better. I strongly dislike this version and prefer the original because it sticks to what was written and does the play justice.

UNIT 3: SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE - ROMEO & JULIET

Commedia dell’Arte and Shakespearean theatre are very different, but very similar in many different ways. Although both forms have various individual aspects, we can compare and learn form one, to move into the other. 

 

Commedia dell’Arte	Similarities	Shakespearean Theatre
Specially known for use of masks.	Actors essentially bring in their own costumes, which are their everyday clothes.	Costume would reflect social status, like if they were king or peasant.
Performances could take place anywhere, in a market, etc. Very minimal set and stage things.	Daytime performances, couldn't afford candles for night time.	Usually performed in a theatre, for example the Globe theatre.
Had Italian origins in the 16th century.	Fourth wall was constantly being broken, very audience interactive.	Had English origins in the 17th century.
Very comedic (lots of lazzi) and most of the play was improvised.	The audience could be anyone, from monarchs to peasants, but they were understandable	More focused on tragedy, horrible things happening in life, and the play was written with specific lines.
Women were allowed to act and were played. Essentially they were equal to men onstage.	Actors were hired for a specific role that they could play.	Women were not allowed to perform.
Used gromalot as language (if it can be called that)	The church was opposed to both types of theatre and thought they were satan worshippers.	Primarily in old english.
Stock characters were used, where one would have a basic idea of a character and go based on that.	Although they were performed differently, there was some form of rehearsal in both types of acting.	Different characters for different plays, although some characters may seem similar, each play would have a set of characters.
Sound was usually exaggerated and created by performers.	Important to project and exaggerate so that the entire audience could understand what was happening.	The sound was very important. Tickets would cost more if there was a better sound quality.

       

Sources:

Class work
Previous Commedia knowledge
Video watched in class (I don't have the link)

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2014/01/costumes_cosmetics.pdf

The Love of Three Oranges

When I first attended the MS Play CCP, I wasn't sure exactly what we would be doing. Then I got my script and really read the story, and I loved it. In the beginning, I wanted to be the narrator, because I thought it would be quite an interesting role. But during auditions, I changed my mind. I no longer wanted to be that character, I wished to be Fata Morgana (dun dun dun), the dark, powerful witch. I thought I could do better at this role, and have more fun with it, as she is the main evil character. I was so excited when I found out I got the part.

The end process of putting together this play seemed a bit rushed. In the beginning, it felt like we had loads of time, but after auditions, it was a month and a bit. Then a month, then two weeks, and before we knew it, it was time for the show! I really tried getting into my character for this show. I would practice my inflection and projection, stand in front of the mirror and speak my lines to myself, randomly go up to Adhora and scare her, and overall try to be sinister and wicked.  Every rehearsal was a chance for me to become someone completely different onstage, and that was exactly what I intended to do.

On Wednesday the 26th of March, 2014, the cast and crew of The Love of Three Oranges had our first and only proper dress rehearsal, the day before the show. It did take us a reeeeeally long time, however I think I did quite well. I remembered almost every single line of mine, got really into character and made sure to project clearly, while going through my scenes at an appropriate pace. I would give myself an 8 because I personally think that I developed the skills I needed to learn really well and I was able to completely become my character. Also, my ideas were clear as my character and I think I did a good job at acting like the witch.

When I compare both nights, I think the first night was the better performance. Although the sound cues got messed up a lot, I think that made the performance itself all the more hilarious. Before the show I was so nervous, I think I started to hyperventilate a bit. But when I went on stage, I was comfortable in my character, and I knew what to do. When I finished my bit, I knew I could do the whole rest of the play, no sweat. In the end, I loved the play so much, and wished I could watch it some way. Everyone performed really well, however I think Rehnuma and Adhora did the best because Adhora completely became the prince, and Rehnuma was just plain hilarious the entire time. I would again rate myself an 8 out of 10 for the same reasons. I think this is what most of us would get, with the exception of a few, like Rey, Adhorra and Kheilah, who I would give a 9. I think the best part was the messed up sound cues because when I compare it to the second night, the first got us many more laughs.

The second performance was lass of a trial and more of a "we got this, we can do it" sort of thing. The sound cues were pretty good, which was the one big blip from the night before, but personally I liked the first show better. The second show I pooled my hair up like crazy so that I would look like more of a witch. I was supposed to wear a wig, but my character is sort of clumsy and falls twice, so when I practiced that with the wig it just didn't work. The second night was also worse for me personally because I forgot a line and had to make something up while I panicked, so I sort of skipped a few lines. I don't think the audience noticed, but for the rest of the night I was kicking myself for forgetting. Everyone did amazingly in the show again, and the grades I would give them would be the same, however, I would bring mine down one because I made the really obvious mistake in my opinion.

I really got into my character this time, which I was able to do easily. I am proud of  this because most of the time it doesn't happen that naturally (could be something to worry about, but whatever). I will take away a lot of my new learning about the 80's and this will be a show I will never forget. I would have to say, my favorite things about this were: my costume (loved it) and the part where I took over the story (felt very proud of my character).

I really learned how to get into character, but also how to interact with the others in my ensemble, age differences aside. I really liked the fact that it was ladies and Rafsan, because I think that made me feel more comfortable. Although they were long, I enjoyed some of the later rehearsals because it gave me a chance to relax backstage with my friends and overall have a fun time. For next time, I will try to fully memorize my lines, because that was the one big thing that really bugged me, because I forgot one line on stage, on the final night. However, overall this was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it.