My First Impression

After reading 'Nation' for the first time, my first impression was that there was a lot of potential for creating an unique exciting play. It is clearly a multimedia performance and a lot of physicality will be required to bring this play to life. For example to create certain props, like dolphins and sharks, you will need to make them using your body. To link both the physical theatre and multimedia elements of the play, we could involve some dance or use lighting to emphasise certain scenes. For example, for the scenes when Daphne travels to the underworld, dark lighting with scarcely any lights and people doing movement on the floor curling up and moving as if in pain, will create an intense atmosphere that reflects the location.

There are many different scenes within the play with many different props, character and locations. Due to the fact that we will be using a old Victorian building to create an exotic island it will take a lot of imagination from both cast and audience to help the play come to life fully. We will be using the materials that we find in the building as the basis for building our play. For example planks of wood will create a canoe and an old umbrella will create the tree tops of the jungle. This means that we as a cast will have to be independent when creating ideas and making props. I am looking forward to creating a performance that is heavily created by the imagination of both cast and crew. I will be able to put forward my ideas and see them developed and used in the final piece. I believe this will be  very rewarding

I can see that there will be a lot of physicality in the piece. A lot of the characters, especially the animals and the characters that are influenced by the characteristics of animals, will bring their characters alive by using their physicality. For example, the grandfather birds will need to be brought to life by someones physicality, making it as meaningful to the audience as it would be to Mau. I think this will be very interesting to work with as I will be able to bring my knowledge from other plays I have done (Blackout) to be able to make my physicality believable and meaningful. There are many different ways of interpreting the movement, so I think it will be interesting yet challenging to experiment with different movements, pushing myself to create a physicality out of my comfort zone.

Another element that is at the forefront of the play is puppetry. I like the idea that physicality and props will come together to make characters come to life and give them many dimensions. For example we discussed the idea of having Milton as a puppet. We will have to find a way of transforming him in to a lifelike bird using only the materials we find in the building and also a way of transporting him throughout the space effectively during the performance.  I think this will make the play interactive and visually interesting, bringing the world of 'Nation' to life for the audience and the cast. This is important to make both the audience and cast believe in the world they have created, consequently making the play more believable.

Overall, my first impression of the play is very positive because of the pieces ability to take ideas from the cast and crew, but to also inspire. The writer has given us inspiration to fuel our ideas and the play is also adaptable enough to allow our own individual creativeness to be represented through the play. I am looking forward to rehearsing, developing, researching and performing 'Nation.'