Evulation For Our Brighton Performance

On Friday 20th May  we performed as The Brighton Fringe Festival which is such a great opportunity. Overall, I am really proud of the cast and TTA and its was such a nice.

We did a warm up on the grass which really fun. At first I was quite self conscious about it doing as everyone was watching like we were mad or something however I got more comfortable. I found the voice warm up helpful as I sore throat that day which I think did effect my performance.  Doing the Side Stretch felt really liberating to do it in fresh air and on grass bare foot.  We did are normal warm up which we do before every performance I think the one that makes us ready and energised for the show is when we are all standing in a circle clapping and we say different sounds. I think this makes us work together as an ensemble which is important and we just have lots of fun with it.

We were all quite nervous for the show as we were just throw into a space where we have never performed before. We knew some things would go wrong however we would have to fix them on the spot. From looking back at the performance I think only small things went wrong like at the beginning when we the Andronicus have to run around the set following Lauren and Sybil. This bit went a bit as from where we were standing we had to run behind the set so the audience couldn't see us. I don't think the audience really noticed something going wrong as we just went with it however we should of ran the other so the audience could see most of the chase.  Another thing that slightly went wrong was when we exit after the ensemble parts with Titus cutting off his hand.  We exited when we shouldn't of as next it Gemma and Deliany sword fight where we stand on the sides on a diagonal . However did exited and then entered half way through the sword fight. This didn't look bad but it properly just looked a bit messy. Having said this the show went really well and we expected some things to go wrong.

The moments in the piece that looked really good was  the Haka. I think this really supersized the audience and really got there attention a the beginning.  The Haka was properly as good as the one in the New Theatre because we were giving it everything we could. The Haka really sets the energy of the piece so if we performed it badly I think it would be really hard for us to perform the rest of the show really well. Another other moments that went really well was the tree. From where I was positioned I couldn't see that much however our breath was all in time with one another which effected when we moved our sticks. I think  when the tree is done properly it looks really cool but when done half hearty it looks bad, in case we were fully committed to our role which meant the tree looked really good and it complemented the scene.   In addition to this, I think the ending the deaths worked really well and better than I thought as I thought the strobe lighting made the scene however in this performance we fully committed and it still looked really cool. As well  as the on Delaney line half of the cast breath in die and we fall to the floor and someone catches us. Considering we were on hard concrete I thought everyone would just do it really carefully however everyone in the ensemble just fell to the floor which must of looked so good and made the ending as strong as the Haka.

Overall, I think our voices were stronger and louder to be heard. I was worried that people wouldn't be able to hear us as there were other performance around the park. However, Ben said he could hear everyone and when I was backstage I could hear everyone. We were all really happy with this feedback as we have only performed outside in a rehearsal

On a personal I note I think my performance was ok overall. I don't think I was connected to the given circumstances or my character Marcus. I think this is because I went out the night before which I shouldn't of done and I quite disappointed in myself of doing so. Obliviously I cant d anything about it now but  I have to take it as a lesson leant as I think performed better in rehearsals and in the New Theatre.  My vocal technique wasn't the best as my voice wasn't grounded and I felt my voice cracking in my monologue due to throat killing. Again, this is a lesson learnt to look after voice the night before. Having said this I did really best to perform with energy and life which I think I did quite well. My monologue went okay however I think I could of opened up to the audience a bit more as I felt like I was performing to the myself and Sybil. In addition to this, I think my feet were quite grounded to floor which is something I struggled with in rehearsals so I am quite proud of myself with this. Overall, my performance was okay I now know what to do for Stratford in July , which I am now so excited to perform at the RSC.

I am really thankful that we were able to have all the set in Brighton as I didn't think we would have the platform. I think having all the set did make us more comfortable to perform somewhere where we have never performed before as we were all quite worried about how we would perform. In addition to this, having all of the set made us work the space more as we know own the space as we have performed in it a number of times. Furthermore, I think from performing with the set many times has made us really own it a lot more as it is now our world of the play (if that makes sense) .


Finally, I am really proud of the members of the Titus company as it was such nice day where we all got to hang out in Brighton for the day. In addition to this, we all really wanted the show to be as good as it was in the new theatre and I think it was for different reasons. For example, ours voices were stronger and the Haka was unexpected. I think Stratford will now be amazing as we have performed the show now twice to an audience.

Evlaution Of The Performances

The New Theatre:

On Thursday 12th May 2016 we performed Titus Andronicus at The BRIT School in The New Theatre.  Overall, I am so proud of the cast and TTA strand for pulling the whole together and it became one of the best Shakespeare show in this season (in my opinion). 



The main elements that made the show for me was energy. There was constant flow of energy being passed onto one another which created this really powerful piece of theatre. I think the reason for this was because we all worked as a team and looked after each other on stage. This is so important as an ensemble because it allowed us in rehearsal to explore our characters and the given circumstances which then followed onto the show.  Having energy made our characters strong and powerful which gave everyone much more of an intention. This is the style of how we wanted to portray the play and I'm really glad we did because it was completely different to the other Shakespeare shows. In my opinion the beginning of the show starts of the energy as the Haka grabs every ones intentions and its not what people expect females to do.  I would the Haka was good in both shows however I think the 4:30pm it was better because we just warmed up as a group and we were so full energy. In addition to this, as a cast we all love the Haka and I think we just really wanted to play around with it and show off to our all friends about our play. I'm not saying the 7pm Haka wasn't good but I think I just personally was a bit more nervous as my parents were coming to see and I really don't like them watching me act.  In addition to this, I think the energy in both performances were there because we all knew our intentions in each moment in play. Linking back to the Haka we all wanted to scare and intimidate the audience and we did this really well. Another moment I would say is when Marcus shows Titus Lavinia when her hands and tongue has been chopped off. I think I did this section really well because I knew my intentions which meant I was confident on what I was saying which naturally brought energy to the piece. 

Moreover, another thing that worked really well was the show is nothing that people expected it be. As an all female cast I think the audience thought the show would be more light hearted and not as gory, but it was. A moment that worked really well was the ending where lots of people dye, The Lighting was wicked and complemented what was going on stage as the ensemble pretending there where fly's around them and then everyone was dying. People wont expected there to be so many deaths especially at the end as most Shakespeare have a happy ending. Furthermore, as a general he audience didn't expect us to be so strong and powerful in everything we do and the detail in how we did it was amazing. For example, at the beginning of the term Ben taught us the power in the way me walk. I never thought the way walked really defined our characters however it does massively and I have started to see a big difference from playing Marcus Andronicus.
but on the process as a whole. I have finally learnt to have and enjoy myself while I am rehearsing and performing. This year I kind of forgot how much I loved acting and why I do , I kind of just did for a grade and not for the passion. However I am really happy I have learnt not to stress out about everything.  This meant the performance was the first time I have ever felt nervous but confident on the show and I think that really showed.  It sounds really weird describing my two emotions are they both opposite however  I think I found the perfect of wanting to perform and being scared that something many go wrong.

The moments I enjoyed was my monologue, this is something I've always enjoyed doing and showed when it came to 7pm show as it more realistic as it ever has. The 4:30 show was good however my acting technique wasn't good as my body was ground but not voice. My voice was very high and did hurt after a little afterwards. However when it came to 7pm show I think my voice was a lot more grounded and more connection to the given circumstances was the best they have ever been. I think the connection to play has been easier for me than the technique as vocal technique is something I do find quite difficult to control. However, from performing Titus Andronicus I have learnt to ground my voice no matter what character I am playing. This will be really helpful for me when we perform in outside in Brighton and Stratford.  As my body my voice were grounded in the second show I think my performance as whole was better as I am starting to understand the balance between the both.

A general note to both shows would be the commitment. This is something I am so proud of the cast as normally with shows you always have that one person who doesn't care but with Titus everyone wanted the show to be to something special. It felt so good to work with everyone who wanted the same thing. This is something that showed in the way we warmed up as a cast and in how we always spoke so highly of show. In addition, you could see the commitment in everything in the performance. For example, when some of cast (including myself ) had to be a tree for about 10 minutes. At the beginning of the rehearsal process this section honestly did not look good however I think the ensemble complemented the scene really well and just made it look a bit different.  In addition to this, the commitment in our characters was incredible and made me realise how talented our year. I mean I've  always that we have some wicked actors in our year but sometimes you just forget as they your friends.  Some For example I think Kit and Amber did a really good playing Chiron and Demetris as these two characters are really evil and the way they incorporated  more of animalistic manner was really good.

Something that worked as a whole in the show was the form and style. The way we slightly changed the form to the play being set ' nowhere but everywhere ' is cool as its shows that the setting of the piece doesn't matter and only story does. This is something another thing I have leant in the process especially when it comes to Strawberry Picking as I am directing a show where the setting and date of the play doesn't matter. When Ben explained this to us I was thinking it was really strange to do this but now doing the performance I think it was really clever. the style of the piece was something really new to me and at first I was scared of it and everything has to be so big and power. The style wasn't naturalistic and quite experimental due to the ensemble moments and lighting. In addition to this, it was inspired by Peter Brook and Yoshi Oida who are directors and theatre practitioners. The style of the piece was also bold and animalistic. An example of the boldness and animalistic moments is the opening scene when the Andronic and Goths are in the background we were strong warrior with animalistic  features like bending our knees and changing our posture. 

Furthermore, another thing we did well in the performance is us sharing the story with audience. In the tech run we didn't do this and I was worried that I might shy way from the audience due to nervous however I didn't and I am really proud this. As well as this, we shared to the audience however I think we all got the perfect balance of sharing the story to each other and to the audience. Therefore this looked really natural and interesting. This is one of the elements in acting that's needs balance or wise the audience will zone out if you are not involving them but then wont believe you if all you are doing is directing everything to them as it will look fake.

Another thing, that went well was everyone projected there voices. At times in other Shakespeare shows I couldn't hear everyone as they weren't projecting however this is one of the technique we really worked on and I'm glad we did as it made a massive difference to the show.  I think our voices were slightly better in 7pm show because in the 4pm we different want to loose our voices for the 7 o'clock so we were cautions. in the first show.

Finally, I think helped the show be amazing is all the technical aspects of the show. For example the lighting was so good and I loved it when every time some one died red lighting would make the whole look more dramatic and bold. In addition to this, the staging was simple but effective and we all worked within the space really well baring in mind we only did two rehearsal before in the theatre before the show. The sound was wicked and I loved the sound effective which I'm my opinion  made the audience feel really uncomfortable.

Overall, I'm really happy with how our show  went and I'm grateful that I was put in the all female cast. At first I didn't want to be in it all as I thought it would really judgement and gossipy however it was the complete opposite and I have become so much closer to a lot of girls in the theatre because of Titus.

Wednesday 11th May

Today is the day before the show and its when everyone is starting to get really nervous and excited about the show, including myself. I know the show will be amazing but there is just so much to think about and has to be in order for the show to be brilliant. 

The run through we did today was so good and it was the best we had ever done it. No one forgot there lines and if they did I didn't notice. The energy in the room was amazing and was making everyone work so hard in order for the run to be great. Everyone's acting  was strong and I was really impressed with Esther who is playing Titus Andronicus 2. What I think Esther did really well was she started experimenting and trying new things with her lines. In addition to this, I think everyone really stepped it due to the tech run where everyone was really disappointed in. Ben said that having a bad tech run is good thing as you need a bad run before the actual performance and I guess he was right. Because we all really wanted this run to go amazing!

The Haka was the best that we had everyone done it and we are looked crazy and terrifying (in a good way) .  We all put so much energy into it which is a good thing as this starts the whole show off to a really strong point. This is what has been missing when we have been doing Haka before as it just looked like some teenage girls clapping however now we look like strong and scary warriors, which is what we want.

Another part in the show which was worked was the love day dance. Everyone was fully committed and our breath was in time with one another.  The most important thing I have learn from Ben is how important our breath and how that has to be connected with bodies. The love day dance is a perfect example of this and we were all going up and down in time out breath and I really wish we filmed because I really want to see how it looked.  In addition to this, Katie and I eye contact was really good as we didn't take our eyes off one another once. I think this made the improvised non- contact connection even stronger as we weren't look at anyone else.

In addition to this, the use space was really good as in the tech run we started to clump together and only share our performance with each other and not to the audience.  I think this could of been due we are more comfortable performing in a theatre room than we were in the new theatre as it was the first time we rehearsed in there.  I thin when it comes to tomorrow it will be fine as we will know what not to do. In addition to this, we had a warm up which was really helpful as we did new exercises such as putting our arms out and sharply moving in and out in order for us to allow are arms to flow naturally when we perform. When I did this is really hurt and I thought that this would do the opposite for me as it made me want to relax my arms and not work them. 

However, when I started to act in the role of Marcus I did start to notice a difference in the way I reacted with the given circumstances and how I express my objectives. For example, at one point at grabbed Katie's hand to grab her attention. I didn't even mean to do this it was just a natural response which is something I have learnt on Wednesday.

Another technique on Wednesday was not to wobble. I never noticed this before but in my monologue I tend to wobble which makes my foot not grounded and connected to floor. This is another I have learnt in the process of Titus Andronicus is how important the walk of your character and wobbling isn't something people do in real everyday all the time. In order to stop me from doing this Ben got me to play Granma foot steps. I honestly didn't know what this game as I cant remember playing it as kid and games where really my thing as a kid. I didn't really know why I was playing it until I started to notice that my feet was grounded when Sybil turned around and looked at me and I completely froze. In addition to this, I took a lot more care where I was walking and how I was walking. I found this is really helpful because I will apply it to my monologue.

Overall, I am really happy with how the run went which has made all the girls so excited for tomorrow. Also, it was such a good feeling to know that the run went really well and I think this is motivate us to want to feel that way again tomorrow.

Tech Run

Today we had our tech run which was really helpful and new to us as it was the first run of the play in the space. I was quite nervous as it is starting to sink in how soon our show is and TTA where sitting down and watching the show for the first time.

Overall,  we were all really disappointed on the run as so many things went wrong and I didn't feel like there was enough detail in our performance. The main cause of this is because we didn't warm up before the show and everyone just came from lunch so didn't have there mind on what to do. This has made me understand how important warm up is and why we do warm up. Though out the run there was no energy and we weren't putting 100% into our performance. However, the way this play is directed we have to have high energy 100% of the time epically scenes like the Haka which was the worst we had ever done it as it was messy and people wasn't doing the right movement at the right time. In addition, with the Haka we are playing warriors therefore we have to act warriors. In the run we were defiantly not doing this as for some reason we weren't confident in the place which is fair enough as it was the first run.  In the Haka our voices weren't louder enough  which we need to sort out as the Haka gets the show of to a really strong start.

A general would be is our bodies and voices were small as we were only performing to each other and not sharing it out to the audience. This is something I need to think as I wasn't opening to the audience at all and as the audience is on three sides we have to work even harder. Another general note was to balance the space. In one of my scenes Gemma, Katie Sybil and I are all on one side of the stage which looks messy. This is something we will have to redirect tomorrow in order for us to do a run on Wednesday. Another part scene I didn't like was the love day dance. In this we have to all work with each other to balance the space as it is a no contact jam with our partners. This scene was properly the wirst we have ever done it as there was no live behind our eyes which is really important for the dance as there is no speaking involved just breath. In addition to this, I think our breath was in sinc everyone else's which made the dance look okay however we were just doing it half heartedly.

A personal note that Ben gave to me was not to wobble. I get this a lot when I act and its because I just do it all the time. However, my character Marcus wouldn't wobble and therefore I cant do this as it is so distracting.  To prevent to doing this I need to ground my feet more.

Moreover, we need to react to everything that is going on around us. A moment where this was bad was when Lavinia gets killed right at the end. The ensemble didn't react on bit which made the show look really boring.  Again this can relate to us not having energy so by the end we all kind of gave up which is shame as the final scene is the most important in my opinion.

Overall,  the tech run didn't go as well as we wanted to go however it has made us walk away wanting to work so much to make our show the best it can be. In order for this to happen we need to project more , work the space and give 100% all the time.

Friday 5th May

Today we didn't do a rehearsal however we had to come in to do our tech plot for TTA and Ben to work the technical element to the show. 

This gave us the opportunity to have a look at the set which is really exciting as we only get two runs in the theatre before our show.  At times it was a tedious as it was us just sitting down waiting to be called or us just standing in the piece. However this is something I need to get use to as an actor and it gave me the opportunity to explore the space and feel the floor as the way you walk is so important when performing.

This is the set:

I love the set as it simple but effective. What I think really works is the caldron as it stands out. Furthermore , the bamboo sticks are placed in either ends of the platform which I think is really clever. The caldron is major prop to our piece and that's why I am happy that it stands out and is constantly on stand all the time.  The ladders I was slightly scared about as I have to run up and down them at one point however I think this is something I will get use to as we do a run though of the show.

I found this day really productive and I got to explore the theatre which has made me feel more comfortable for our tech run on Monday.  

Peter Brook

As our style of the show is inspired by Peter Brook I thought it would be helpful to do some research on him. 

Peter Brook was born 21 March 1925 and is an director in film and theatre. He has won many Awards such as Tony and Emmy Awards.  Majority of Brooks shows are amazing such as the production Marat/Sade in 1964 which was the first English production. This got transferred to Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Play.   Don't get me wrong Peter Brook is an amazing director however recently he directed a show at the Young Vic called Battlefield and my friend told me that it was bad he didn't want to put his name on the programmes. I think this is really interesting as Peter has been called 'our greatest living theatre director ' who all actors want to work with. I do feel sorry for him as he properly does have a lot pressure to create amazing theatre all the time and all artist will make mistakes at some point in there career.

Brook was influenced by Antonin Artaud and his idea of Theatre of Cruelty. I studied Artuad last term and I found it really interesting as I have never studied experimental theatre before. To sum up theatre of cruelty its a form of theatre where Artaud wanted to unleash unconscious in audiences and performers that weren't normally accessible. He wanted theatre to show the audience society nightmares and deepest fears. I can see why Peter Brook is inspired by Artuad as I think not many theatre directors do this now a days which what makes Peter Brook so special.  In 1964 Peter Brook and Charles Marowitz did a The Theatre of Cruelty Season at the royal Shakespeare Company. The season was very popular and properly started Peters career. Peter was also inspired by Joan Littlewood. Brook really looked to Joan because at one point he called her 'the most galvanising director in mid -20th century Britain ' . He was also inspired by Jerzy Grotowski , Bertolt Brecht , Chris Covics and Vsevolod Meyerhold. I think by Peter Brook being inspired by so many people  gave him the opportunity to keep on creating original theatre and making his mind on what he wants to use and not want to use from there techniques.

Brook's first production was Dr Faustus in 1943 which was performed at the Torch Theatre in London . In 1947 assistant directed Romeo and Juliet and Love's Labour Lost. His career then took a massive peak in 1947- 1950 where he was Director of Productions at the Royal Opera House and Covent Garden.  Skipping a couple of years in 1970 Brook was the founder of The International Centre for Theatre Research. This was a company made up of actors, dancers and musicians that travelled around the middle east in the early 70's.  The company was based at the Bouffes du Nord Theatre in Paris since 1974. The company still exists however in 2008 Peter resigned as artistic director and Olivier Mantei and Olivier Poubelle took over.

^{Learning about Peter Brook has been really interesting and is someone who I should be seeing his work as he is such a good director. Finally, it is helpful for me to learn about other theatre directors as I want to be one myself.}

Wednesday 4th May

In todays session we did the normal side stretch warm up and the exploration of the back, legs and arms. From doing the exercise for exploring different ways my body has helped me find new ways of coming up to standing. I think this is helpful for an actor as I am moving body and allowing myself to be as free as possible.

After this, Ben spoke to us about how the show is over 1hour 30mins and how we need to really speed up the transitions. So Ben made us do this exercise where we had do a funny version of the play in under 10 minutes. At first I didn't really know how we would make the play Titus Andronicus a comedy as there is so much death to it however in the end we did.  The funny version of the play was about 17 minutes. As this was nearly double over the time we wanted it to be I was concerned as the run yesterday was 2 hours.

After this, Ben decided to give us a break as we worked so hard. When we came back ask Ben if we could do a run through of the show outside. The reasons for this was we will be performing outside on Friday 20th May and performing outside is completely different to performing inside in my opinion. Performing outside was so nice because it was such a nice day and I feel like everybody worked a lot harder than as there was primary school next door and lots of things that could of distracted the audience. It is so important to work harder when performing outside as the audience are much more likely going to zone out due to the distractions. I personally loved performing outside as normally theatres are really hot and stuffy but as we were in the shade it was really cool and refreshing.  In addition to this, I think this rehearsal was when people started to find there characters more for example Hannah. I think what Hannah did really was she had strong charastics that were bold and big which suited her character Saturinus.  In addition to this,  this rehearsal made everything speed up abit more as the run came to 1 hour and 27 minutes which is really good. I think the show will be 1hour 20minutes as there are some points in the play that do need to speed like especally the transitions from scene to scene.  The example of this is the second Haka. I personally think the introduction dropped energy. However , having said this we did pick up the transition when we all got into formation.  In my opinion, the opening of this scene needs to happen quicker as I just think its a sloppy because it is slow.

Overall , the show is in a really good place and I was really proud of everyone as we have all worked really hard to make the show really good.