The New Theatre:
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.
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