ENSEMBLE

Ensemble Work

In today’s lesson we looked at working and performing in an ensemble, as this is a something that Brecht uses and something that we want to put into our piece of theatre. The main aim of the exercises was to explore what it is like to be part of an ensemble and what difficulties may present.

The first game that we played was a combination of three games, where we had to walk towards someone in the circle, say someone else’s name and throw a ball. This exercise was about making us engage with not only ourselves but with each other, as we had to be able to listen to one and other and be aware of what they are doing. By gaining these skills, it allows us to become more connected and aware of each other. It also made us concentrate more as we had more than one thing to concentrate on, while there was lots of noise and movement going on around us. This was useful because in ensemble work, there may be other things going on around us or we may have to be engaged in more than one movement or dialogue, and consequently this task made us have to be concentrated all the time.

The next game we played was a boat-based game, where we were given different instructions, such as “port” and we would have to run to the end of the room, there was a number of different instructions and, like the other game, we had to concentrate on and react to the different instructions. Also there was certain instruction that were made to confuse us, such as “freeze” and “unfreeze”, this meant that we had to be fully in the exercise and engaged with it, this showed us how in ensemble work, you always have to be aware and involved with what is going on, even if you are not the centre of attention all the time. This links with the fitness level of this exercise, as there was a lot of running, and in ensemble work, it can be very draining and you need a certain level of fitness to engage with it. Also at some points of this exercise, everyone had to be very close to each other, this allowed us to get used to being in small proximities with each other, and breaking down unnecessary boundaries, to make us be more comfortable with each other and to try out new things, with each other.

We then did a battle, in ensemble form using gestures, which links in with gestus and Brecht’s idea of using gestures to express the character. One person had to stand in front of the other team on do a gesture and sound, and then their team would repeat this. To me this displayed how doing something in an ensemble rather than as a single person can create a much more effective and forceful meaning to the gesture and can make it more interesting to watch. The strength of a group is displayed in this exercise and by having the entire group fully involved and committed to what we are doing can make the performance stronger and more interesting to watch.

Finally we did a really powerful exercise, where we were given a stimulus, such as the Syrian massacre, apocalyptic Britain and Blondie’s control, then one by one we had to entre the space and make a freeze, then slowly an image would appear of this scenario. Then we would have to bring the whole scene to life. I personally liked the exercise most, as we were able to put all the things we had learnt about ensembles into this exercise; however we wouldn’t have been able to do this exercise as well if we hadn’t done the other exercise. This exercise allowed us to work with and interpret different things from the stimulus. Also I think the still images were really powerful because it showed the scenario’s clearly, and it also demonstrated that in an ensemble piece lots can and all yet everything can be important and contact with each other, as we are in the same scene, but one person isn’t the main character, it is more about the message and the word that they are trying to spread, not the individual characters.

Verfremdungseffekt

VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT

This is a German term meaning: effect of making strange, and in this task we took a scene and for us we made it strange.

In pairs we had to create a scene of a serious nature, we choose a friend telling another friend that they have cancer; we had to act this out in a naturalist, Stanislavsky style. We then showed these to the class, it was quite emotional to watch, as we could see the actors fully engaged and connected with the scene as they were all really emotionally involved, some had tears in their eyes and their was real feelings being shown in their voice.

Then in our pairs we revisited the climax of our scene and rehearsed that piece over and over until we knew all the stage directions really well. Then we had to do that small part of the scene again, however this time we had to say the stage directions as well as the lines, for example if we naturally took a step forward we, as actors, had to narrate this.

From this exercise we learnt a lot of the technique of Verfremdungseffekt, as we took a scene that could be seen as normal and quite a normal way of acting, to making it something that you would very rarely see on stage and that actually feels really uncomfortable to act and to watch as it doesn’t seem right. I started to learn more about Brecht from this technique because it shows how much he disagrees with the naturalism style of acting and that he prefers it being more unnatural and even strange to watch or act and this exercise demonstrated that aspect of Brecht’s acting style.

I think that Brecht would use this technique because it alienates the audience and the actors from the characters themselves because when the emotional parts of plays or scenes and from stopping the actors from becoming too involved with the hard issue that they are dealing with because this could be seen as very hard or harmful for the actor to have to contact the emotion that those issue create. So by putting in the actors having to say the stage directions takes them out of the scene and out of the emotion. He wants to distance the audience because although he want them to go away with a message and something to think about, equally he doesn’t want the audience to think that the characters are real people and wants them more to think that the action on stage isn’t real but is in fact a reflection or representation of the issues in society but aren’t happening to those people on stage, they are just tools to comment on society.

I found this exercise quite hard to do. As an actor I have always tried to connect to the character, so by being made to have the connection I have between my character, especially in a very hard, emotional scene be broken by the narrating of the stage directions, I found it hard to accept that I wouldn’t be able to have that deep connection and understanding between me and the character, as I am not trying to be the character any more. Also I found it uncomfortable to do, as it didn’t feel natural to be commenting on my movements, so it felt forced and not natural.

Narration

NARRATION

Brecht in his work uses narration, and sees narration as a very important tool; we did an exercise to explore narration and the use of it. In this exercise we had to act out an exercise and use narration to tell the story, however we had four types of narration that we had to use: one single narrator, an actor playing a character and stepping out to be a narrator, an actor speaking in third person and a singing narrator.

We had to tell a fairy story and use the four narrations, we did Cinderella, and we started off with the single narrator, this was because it is the classic way with fairy tales to have some one set the scene and the background, also it drew the audience in as it painted the picture for them. We then put the actors being the characters and narrators and the actors speaking in third person in the middle of the play, as part of the action as they were so much as describing the setting like the first narrator or setting the scene but are just telling the audience what their character is thinking or about to do, so that the audience know that that piece of narration goes with that character. Then at the climax of the piece we put the singing narrator, because this creates humour and highlights that part of the speech, because it has a twist to the normal narration to it.

Brecht uses narration in his theatre as a technique to break the forth wall between the audience and the actors. Unlike Stanislavsky, Brecht doesn’t believe in naturalism acting and the actors on stage being in another world and being their characters. The use of narrators breaks down that idea of the actors being in another world and being the characters. It brings the audience in and acknowledges their existence and it becomes clear that they are involved in the theatre and that they are trying to send a message to them. Also use of the actors playing the characters and doing narration stops them from becoming that one character and from connecting with them on a level that Stanislavsky would want but makes them act the way that Brecht believes is right, by being yourself on stage being a character and not the character on stage, and if you have to keep coming out of the character it makes it harder to get into the emotions of the character and from being them.

Exaggeration

EXAGGERATION

In Brecht work he plays a lot on stereotypes and even exaggerating these stereotypes, we explore this by two actors demonstrating a scene of a doctor and a patient. Both were given a small character description; the doctor was a private doctor and it was the end of the day and he wanted to get through his last visit so that he could go play golf, this is a stereotypical view of middle class, private doctors but then the actor has to exaggerate this, and use their voice and physicality to support this. The actor made the doctor overly well spoken in his voice, with a clipped tone, this gave the impression across to the audience that he cared very little for his patient and that he cared more for his golf than the needs for others. Also his physicality was very solid and up right, this showed his high class status and his power, however it was also very close off and didn’t appear to be very welcoming to the patient, this implied that he didn’t want to know the patient problems and in a way just wanted his money not to help him.

The actor playing the patient was given the description of a patient that doesn’t have any illness but just want to off load to the doctor about his life because he doesn’t want to talk to his wife or any one and generally just wants to have a bit of a moan. The actor playing him also made him very posh and middle class in his voice and his physicality although trying to be upright like the doctor to show his status, he was slightly more worn down than him so he was more slumped and shoulders rounded over. This showed the audience that he had enough money to misuse the doctors time as his voice tells us about his background and hugely implies his wealth as he is at a private doctors. It also tells us that he thinks it is easier to cover his problems with his money rather than try to sort them out, this stereotypically implied that middle class people can’t deal with their problems and talk to each other openly.

Then our teacher clapped her hands and the two actors had to swap characters, they both played the character similar to the other and the story progress from that point. It was very humorous to watch as the audience because the actors had to completely change their objective in the scene and had to change their emotions and wants. It was also funny because they had to work out how to get the scene to flow and continue to go, even if they were in a position that they didn’t think that their character show or would be in. Brecht believed a lot in humour in theatre and this was one exercise that brought that to life and showed us how more serious issues, such as how much money runs peoples life, can be funny and still make an impact.

This exercise was also very useful to our project and to learning about Brecht because a lot of the time in his work he made a lot of his actors play more than one character, and this is something that we could be doing in our piece. By doing this exercise it got us as the audience used to seeing actors playing more than one character, this is helpful because it means that we wouldn’t get confused easily and it becomes something that we are accustomed and used to. Also it is very useful for the actors because we, as actors, will have to play more than one character and this allows us to get used to that and also not to become to connected or involved with one character as that goes against Brecht style of acting and by switching character we move out of that character so that we don’t get to in depth with that one character but are able to play more than one character without getting emotionally attached to them.

Gestus

GESTUS

Gestus is a theatre technique create by Brecht, it combined using gestures and putting attitudes on these gestures. By using gestures it immediately tell part of the story or character to the audience in a quick and simple way; however these gestures could only tell the story so far and could become very generic. Then by adding an attitude onto this gesture it gives more depth to it and consequently gives more depth to the characters and the story line as it tells the audience how they feel about the gesture or emotion behind the gesture.

We did many exercises to explore Brecht’s technique of Gestus. In the first exercise we had to get in pairs and then stand at opposite ends of the room, one then had to tell a nursery rhyme to the person across the room. This presented problems to the person receiving the nursery rhyme as there was lots of other noise being created in the room, so a lot of the words were being missed and lost, making the story that was being told get lost and this could lead to the wrong or no message getting across. We then repeated this exercise but added gestures to the telling of the nursery rhyme, we used simple, clear signs to get the message across. For example I was telling my partner “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and I added gestures such as a star shape or looking into the sky, these are noticeable, generic gestures and signs that got the story that I was trying to tell across a lot more easier as if my partner missed some of the words or part of the story, they could fill in that part of the story with the gestures to get the message and the full of the story. However then we took out all of the words and only used the gestures to tell the nursery rhyme. This became difficult as well as the just words, as it only demonstrated parts of the story and other parts that were harder to put into simple movements and this could also lead to sections of the story going astray. From this small exercise I learnt that sometimes it is easier to communicate with the audience by combining dialogue with gestures can get messages through to the audience and the gestures can back up the story as well. This is something that Brecht does a lot in his work and he thinks that adding dialogue and gestures together can support and strengthen the piece of theatre.

We then did a simple exercise where we had to get into pairs and we were given classic, well known pairings, such as Romeo and Juliet, cat and mouse, and then we had to put them into a still image. This was exploring the usage of gestures but more so the stereotypical gestures that we all associate with certain groups in society, issues or people. For example we were given the pairing of rich and poor, when looking around the room, nearly every pair had created the same image, with the poor person on the floor, and sometimes begging up to the rich person, with the rich person standing up grandly with a very pompous stature. We all seemed to go to the extremes of each social group and more than that we all went to the stereotypes, this was because that the stereotypes are the most recognisable signs of the social groups. This is part of Brecht’s work and gestus as he uses stereotypes in his work to show groups and different people. It also makes a social commentary on how groups and classes are viewed by the rest of society, this would then impact on the audience as to whether these stereotypes are accurate or not.

The idea behind the Gestus, gestures combined with attitude, was demonstrated clearly in the next attitude that we did. One person walked on stage as a solider, the rest of us had to explain how we knew he was a solider; the reason was because of the gestures that took over his body, for example he had a strong posture, with arms behind his back, and his head held high, he then did the classic gesture that sums up soldiers and what we know of them; he stood to attention and walked off. This gesture is world know as a statue that people in the army have to take, so this clearly informed all of us that he was a soldier. He then repeated the exercise, this time with dead bodies laid around the stage. This time it could have just been the same with the actor continuing to just play the gestures of that type of person: the soldier, however this time wasn’t the same because he implied gestus and with the gesture he added attitude. He did this by reacting to the dead bodies and having some engagement with them, this would then tell us a lot more about the character himself and the story. This actor chose to look down disgustedly at the dead bodies and even kicked some of them. By having this negative attitude, gestus was being put in place because without any words or description we, the audience, could tell that the soldier was on the opposite side to the dead bodies and that he could even have had a part in their death. It came across that he wanted them to be dead and the kicking was a way of making sure they had died. Just by adding these to small details of acting together, the characters, story line and even the message was projected across to the audience in a really simple way.

Lastly in groups we had to make two images, one: “War the maker of hero’s” and two: “War the taker of lives”. For war the maker of hero’s, my group had people putting up the flag in celebration and people with their hands over their hearts. This was gestic because it we used an iconic picture of victory, and nationalism which is so often linked in closely with hero’s as it shows dedication to your country, equally people don’t want to see their own country in a negative light, so this nationalism attitude we gave to the image, out a positive spin on war and what it can make of people. For “War the taker lives”, like most groups, we showed an execution taking place, with people lined up, waiting to be shot. This was gestic because it showed a very negative and cruel view of war because although people’s lives are lost in battle all the time, this seemed even worse because the people lined up had a very helpless, innocent attitude and the executer seemed to not care about them at all. This showed war as being unfair and murderous with a negative attitude over it.

I think that gestus is a very useful technique as the gestures can be simple, just how you stand with your body or a slight action, but it can tell the audience a lot about who the character is and what type of person they are, as demonstrated in the soldier exercise. The gestures also mean that you can communicate with the audience not only through words but through movements, your body and symbols, and this can speak to the audience in a very strong way and can connect and effect them in a another way, it could even get what you are saying across more clearly in an action or gesture. Then combining this gesture and telling the audience about the character and who the character is through the gesture, the attitude then tell the audience a message, and I think that this is really useful, as a lot of Brecht’s work and techniques are used in political theatre and political theatre often is trying to get across some sort of message and have an impact on the audience, so the attitude, as also shown in the soldier task, does this. Also I think that gestus is good for Brecht work as it tells the audience and the actors a lot about the character without the actors having to be the character and to feel the emotions of the characters as Brecht through that acting should be getting into the character and becoming them but thinks that the actor should be themselves on stage, pretending to be someone else, and I think that gestus does that because it doesn’t give us time to look deeper into the character it just does what it has to do to get the message across to the audience.