First Rehearsal

Today we worked on the prologue and the first two scenes:

Prologue 
Our setting for this play is in Stanley Halls which is a theatre built in the Victorian era. Therefore we decided to open our play as a group of teenagers breaking in to an abandoned building. This introduces a sense of exploration even before we take on the roles of our other characters based on the island. Exploration is a massive theme in the whole play whether it be Mau discovering he can lead the Nation or Twinkle realising the realistic prospects of life by the end of the play. We all came from different side of the stage (I came from the cafe door) and we need to interact with each other to express to the audience our excitement on discovery of this new, enthralling setting.

Then when Mau enters and strikes the floor with an axe, we turn into birds; birds of paradise. We were asked to pick a bird and look at its movement. This was the bird we found and decided to replicate:

Its hopping action synchronised with its wing action made it an easy move to replicate and an unusual yet practical way of transporting myself across the stage to my exit.

Scene 1
In this scene I am a drowning sailor. I have to mime the actions of a sailor, for example, pulling ropes, being seasick or praying before death. I varied between these actions to create an intense, high energy atmosphere for both the cast and audience to appreciate. We then become the drowned bodies of the sailors, swirling around the space, with the girls ending up on the floor whilst Mau is lifted by the boys. This shows detachment from Mau and all the dead and justifies how alone he is; one boy amongst so many dead. It adds to the eerie tension of the scene.

Scene 2
In this scene we are zombie like creatures who come back to life, to create a gothic atmosphere on the entrance my my character, Locaha. We begin my drumming to the beat of the 'Imo' song. We were not strong vocally or lyrically, but as it is our first rehearsal, we still have time to learn the lines and perfect our timing and strength as an ensemble. When we rip of our masks (which we will be making at a later stage) Locaha stands and the zombies crawl to the side and stand, twitching subtly, maintaining their zombie like stature. When I deliver my lines I am on stage left and walk down the space brushing lightly against the people stood there and they start to do a Mexican wave, representing their loyalty and synchronisation with me as they are meant to be my minions.

Approaching the Script

What people say about me and what I say about myself?

Father- You dare not name me. The fear freezes the word on your tongue.

Mau- You feel strange, will I see you again.

Daphne- Horrible thing like death, I'm going to fight Locaha, why is death so blind.

Ataba- Locaha makes him into a dolphin.

Pilu- Dangerous.

Marisgala- Locaha we challenge you, send the girl down to fight Locaha, only the strongest and bravest women return from the land of Locaha.

Raiders- I promise you flesh, I bring death here, worship me well and you will live forever, he has seen Locaha we cannot fight him.

Cox- she how she calls you to die, not their painted God.                                                                                                                                                        
Who am I?
I am Locaha, the embodiment of death. I am from the underworld known as 'The Land of Locaha' were people go when they die. The islanders fear me and believe anyone who has seen me is invincible. Cox and the raiders sees me as their God. My ultimate goal is to convince Mau to leave the mortal world and come with me.

What is the present situation?
I originally take over Mau's father and use him to taunt Mau and get close to him. I try and convince him that after all the disaster the wave has caused it is better to join the so many dead then stay with the few living. I then take Daphne in the water and try and drown her, again to show Mau how many people he has witnessed die and it would be better to join them. I then come to Mau when he drowns in the water, believing that he is dead and that he is mine. Then when Mau and Daphne journey to the underworld, I try to convince Daphne to leave Mau and that they cannot hide from me forever. In the final scene it is my final attempt to convince Mau to journey to paradise now that he is a hero.

Where am I?
I am a figure based on the island as one of their Gods. I journey to and from the underworld, coming to the land of the living to tempt people to come with me.

Costume
I wore a long black maxi skirt, a black top with black eye make-up and henna style tattoos on my face. This gave both a dark and gothic theme and a tribal element to my costume.

Class Activities and Warm Ups

To develop your knowledge of the play you need to work off script, working in depth and detail to achieve confidence on stage.

In Act 1 Scene 1 we are all drowning sailors on a ship. The majority of the ensemble in the main space have no lines and can only convey the emotions and chaos of the sailors through their actions. Therefore we needed strong physical actions to make this clear to the audience without using words and supporting not hindering the performance on the balcony. We were asked to come up with 5 actions that a sailor would perform and do these in a sequence, experimenting with speed and levels. My 5 actions were:

• Putting on my boots
• Scrubbing the deck
• Being seasick 
• Climbing the rigging
• Turning the wheel

I chose these because they have varied heights and energy levels. Putting on my boots is in a sitting position and I chose to do it slowly (though it is also effective fast) contrasting to climbing the rigging which is reaching up with my hands and climbing fast. These actions complement each other whilst still contrasting, making the sequence interesting to watch. It will give the audience a lot to look at and create a hectic atmosphere. By experimenting in this way I have ideas and choice that I can make decisions on from failing and succeeding in rehearsals and apply the successful ideas to the final piece.

Voice 

Voice is one of the actors most important tools. It can covey and support the emotion shown through your body and the thoughts and feelings intended from the writing of the script. It is important, like any muscle to train it through warm ups and exercises. We did some of these in lessons to help with our vocal work. Some of these activities were:

Voiced and voiceless fricatives- the voiced fricatives are the v and z sound and the voiceless fricatives are the f and s sound. These help us with introducing partial sound to breath stamina and help us develop an understanding of what is required to create sounds clearly with your voice.

Tongue Twisters- an example of a tongue twister would be:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers 

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked 

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked

This helps with diction as you have to pronunciate the p sound clearly so the words are individually clarified and you don't stumble over the similar words.

Breath

Breath is key as it will help you maintain a speech without having to interrupt to pause for breath unnecessarily. Doing breath control exercises helps improve you breath stamina and control. An example of an exercise we did is:

Invisible feather- You imagine you have an imaginary feather on your lips. You then blow the feather according to the height you want it to reach. If you want to rise and fall, you do short breaths and if you want to maintain it at a height you have to do a softer, prolonged breath. This exercise leaves you in control of your breath and fully concentrates you on the extent of your breath. 

Objectives

When working with any script  working out your objectives is the first thing you need to do, even if your first attempt doesn't work. Objectives guarantee you a purpose on stage and give your character a direction. Therefore for every scene, even if your not speaking, you must work out your objectives.
Act 1

Prologue
I have broken into an abandoned building with my friends and am exploring the space. My objectives in this scene are:
To notice- look at things around the room, noticing everything and anything. I also have to notice Mau when he enters the room.
To comment- when I see things I need to comment on them, sharing them with my friends. I also comment on Mau's action at the end of the scene.

Scene 1
I am a drowning sailor who is praying when faced with death. My objectives are:
To pray- I am kneeling on the floor silently mouthing a prayer.
To sway- the movement in my body is a swaying reflecting what it would be like to be on a ship. When I drown I also sway but moving across the room, not just in one place.

Scene 2
In this scene I am a zombie and I am also Locaha. My objectives are:
To build- I put my body 'back together' sharply twitching.
To drum- I drum and say 'Imo made the fish, Imo made sea.'
To glare- I am looking around, with an evil and zombie persona.
To laugh- as one of mannerisms for Locaha is a high pitched laugh, any scene I am in when I play Locaha, I will laugh.
To follow- I follow Mau around the stage taunting him.
To touch- whilst following Mau I reach out and touch, another way I taunt him because I know he fears me and take pleasure in that.

Scene 6
In this scene I am a wave and I am also Locaha. My objectives are:
To sway- using my legs, neck, arms and spine I move low to the floor recreating the movement of a wave.
To laugh- when I become Locaha to signify the change.
To circle- I circle around Mau trying to overpower him.
To growl- when Daphne wakes up, this angers me and therefore, to contrast to my normal laughing I growl.

Scene 9
In this scene I create the woman's place where Cahle gives birth. My objectives are:
To whisper- I whisper a sort of enchantment as part of the ritual.
To enclose- I stand and raise my arms above Cahle to create a shelter around her.
To chase- I chase after Daphne when she leaves to go to the beach.

Scene 10
In this scene I perform the beer ceremony, become a forest and a hungry islander. My objectives are:
To chant- I chant 'beer beer beer beer' as part of the ceremony.
I dance- dancing is part of the ceremony and I dance reflecting the characteristics of fire and air.
To crouch- I crouch in a circle waiting to taste the beer, excited and attentive,
To reach- as a tree I have to extend my arms and legs to form a tree-like shape.
To hunch- when I am hungry my body has to physically represent this and therefore I hunch over to show how weak my body has become.
To sing- when the islanders are allowed onto the island and are told they will be fed they sing in celebration. The song needs to express their emotion and share their story with the audience.

Scene 13
In this scene I talk to Mau as Locaha in the lagoon. My objectives are:
To process- I walk slowly from stage right to downstage.
To follow- wherever Mau goes I have to keep getting closer to him, as if I am closing in on him.
To lift- I lift Mau up and turn him as though he is floating, drowned in the water.
To laugh- to maintain my characters mannerism.

Scene 14
In this scene I sit on the steps watching hopefully as Mau lays dead and Daphne travels to the land of the dead. My objectives are:
To watch- I need to constantly watch everything that happens in the scene.
To notice- if someone gets upset I need to notice this and react accordingly.
To laugh- to maintain my characters mannerism.
Scene 15
In this scene Mau and Daphne have come to the underworld and I am trying to make them stay. My objectives are:
To herd- I bring all the other Locaha's into the space, beckoning them in.
To follow- I follow both Daphne and Mau around the space so everywhere they turn, Locaha is present.
To observe- in both the city and funeral scene.
To restrain- I hold Mau back during the funeral scene.
To laugh- to maintain my characters mannerism.

Scene 16
Similarly to scene 14, I watch intrigued as Daphne and Mau lay dead. My objectives are:
To watch- I need to constantly watch everything that happens in the scene.
To notice- if someone gets upset I need to notice this and react accordingly.
To laugh- to maintain my characters mannerism.
To growl- like scene 6, I am angry when I do not claim Mau and Daphne.

Act 2

Scene 1
In this scene I celebrate Twinkles birth and discover more about the meaning of the God Anchors. My objectives are:
To interact- as we want a communal feeling I have to interact with others to create that atmosphere and make it genuine.
To stare- I stare at the gods as they walk past and I stare at the watch when it is presented to Twinkle.
To protect- when Mau gets angry I protect myself and I also protect those around me.

Scene 2
In this scene I am a islander scared by the opening of the cave and also one of the grandfather statues. My objectives are:
To kneel- I kneel before the cave out of respect.
To shield- I shield my eyes from fear of the cave and I shield those around me.
To move- I subtly move my body from my spine as I lay like the grandfather statues.

Scene 3
In this scene I am an aristocrat trying to listen in to the conversation on stage. My objectives are:
To frown- as I am an aristocrat, I have a judgemental attitude about everything around me.
To cry out- when something 'tragic' happens, for comedic effect I dramatically cry out.


Scene 4
In this scene I am an islander curious to find out who has come to the island. My objectives are:
To observe- I am curious as to who has come to the island and want to see.
To protect- when I realise they are threatening me I want to protect myself. Also when they take Daphne I have a protective instinct towards her too.
To scream- when Ataba dies the shock and pain of it is expressed through screaming.
To kneel- out respect and emotion I kneel by Ataba's body.

Scene 5
In this scene we perform a ritual over Ataba's dead body. My objectives are:
To kneel- out of respect we all kneel around Ataba.
To reach- I reach up, down and across with my hands creating a sign as part of the ceremony.
To chant-  we chant 'Imo watches over here, Imo demands peace.'

Scene 7
In this scene I start on the balcony watching the battle and then try and tempt Mau to enter paradise. My objectives are:
To observe- I watch from the balcony excited and attentive to the fight taking pleasure in it.
To laugh- to maintain my characters mannerism.

To circle- I move around Mau, making him listen to me and to try and push him towards paradise.

Floor Plan

 

This floor plan of the space is what I follow throughout the performance. It is a basic label of all the entrances and exits and I will use and I filled out my scene by scene placements accordingly. 

The Space

When performing, you must have an understanding of the space to be able to understand how to play your character. Placement on stage is key, both for character development as you need to know what is plausible in the space and therefore instead of having to limit yourself because of a lack of understanding of the space, you can adjust your placement according to the space. A space can develop a whole character, inspiring and supporting your character choices. Stanley Halls, the space we are performing in, is a Victorian building with intricate detail in its structure and design befitting of its time. It supports my character choices in many ways. For example the use of the balcony (which I make use of in Act 2 Scene 7, a crucial and dramatic climax in the performance) will heighten the sense of authority and power over everyone else that Locaha possesses.

A key part of the building that is an inspiring centre piece of the performance is the arch over the stage reading Justice, Liberty, Science. These themes are key in our play; justice, when people die and justice is needed to avenge them, liberty, the freedom of the island and science, the islanders knowing that they discovered the basis of science that for so long others were credited for. I think having this in the building will constantly remind the cast of their purpose on stage and in a hectic performance, will guide the audience when watching.

Locaha- Developing My Character Through Costume

Locaha, as the 'living' representation of death, is very gothic and so as an exception to the other characters and cast, we will be wearing very dark clothing. It is even more effective because we are the only ones because it will make us look even more out of place and therefore will support the idea that we are abstract and not necessarily from the same world as Mau and Daphne. I will be wearing:

 Black make-up- we chose to make this part of Locaha's make-up as the facial make-up can have a relevance to the characters emotions and therefore their personality. As dark make-up is often associated with 'goths' we decided that we could use that identity when we are playing teenagers in the first scene and carry on that costume and make-up when we become Locaha. Eyes can convey a lot of emotion and the intentions of a character. Therefore having  dark make-up shows a deeper sense of my characters make-up as a person.

As the main part of the play is staged on an exotic island we felt that we needed to include a more tribal element in the play that fitted the setting. Therefore we decided to include black henna in our costume. We have planned to have it extending for our eyes, across our cheeks, across our lips, down our necks and down one arm. This gives us tribal element and makes us stand out, adding to the gothic theme.

For our actual clothing we decided to wear a long black skirt. Although Locaha is scary, there is also an elegant element to our characters. We have a constant presence and confidence in the space and a skirt allows us to move with conviction and grace. Plus, as all of us are female, a skirt gives a feminine hint that allows us to interact with the characters in a certain way; even if it as a strong female character or a childlike girl like my character.

The second part of my Locaha costume is a black crop top. This fits the theme of the play being set on an exotic island and it also supports the underlying femininity of the character. 

As it is an ensemble piece, I am playing other characters throughout the play. The other character I am going to be playing is an islander on the island. I need something I can efficiently put on that fits my character. I thought a floral headband would look effective both as a character and will be efficient to put on and take off. It wont take too much time to take off my make-up and re-apply it every time I change character, so the headscarf will draw attention away to the dark make-up and counteract it.

Costume is very important when developing a character. When you put on a costume it is like putting on the skin of your character. It is the final layer of your character and it helps you get into character. Like my costume, when it is different to your everyday clothes it allows you to defy normality and become your character completely.

To test the effect of my costume, I put on the costume and make-up and showed it to my family. They were very shocked and they were uncomfortable seeing me in such a gothic outfit. They commented of how scary it was, proving that if people who know me very well are effected by a costume, proves the effect it really has. For them to now longer see me as Olivia but as Locaha is exactly the effect any costume should have. Moreover because they found me scary means this costume was fulfilling its objective for this particular performance, which was to scare.

Song and Dance

We are using song and dance in our play to make the play more interesting to both perform and to watch. For example, during the birth scene, Daphne sings 'Twinkle Twinkle' a song everyone knows. However we incorporated more than one verse, as the lyrics we know are not necessarily the most effective ones. The full song is as follows:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, 
How I wonder what you are. 
Up above the world so high, 
Like a diamond in the sky. 

When the blazing sun is gone, 
When he nothing shines upon, 
Then you show your little light, 
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. 

Then the traveller in the dark, 
Thanks you for your tiny spark, 
He could not see which way to go, 
If you did not twinkle so. 

In the dark blue sky you keep, 
And often through my curtains peep, 
For you never shut your eye, 
Till the sun is in the sky. 

As your bright and tiny spark, 
Lights the traveller in the dark. 
Though I know not what you are, 
Twinkle, twinkle, little star. 

Twinkle, twinkle, little star. 
How I wonder what you are. 
Up above the world so high, 
Like a diamond in the sky. 

Twinkle, twinkle, little star. 
How I wonder what you are. 
How I wonder what you are. 

Adding the extra verses in makes the song more meaningful. There is a massive element of journey and maturing in the play especially with characters like Daphne and Mau. Therefore we added the extra verses to give context to our performance. Plus there is also a theme of stars as the islanders are both fascinated by them and worship them. The new lyrics allow us to express underlying story lines and themes in a new way that the audience are initially familiar with but then are immersed in a sense of discovery through the lyrics that they may not be as familiar with. 
We also included a sea shanty 'South Australia.' 
In South Australia I was born, heave away, haul away
In South Australia, 'round Cape Horn, we're bound for South Australia

Haul away your rolling king, heave away, haul away
Haul away, you'll hear me sing, we're bound for South Australia

In South Australia I was born, heave away, haul away
In South Australia, 'round Cape Horn, we're bound for South Australia 

This song is used to express a happiness when travelling refugees from 'the great wave' realise they will be provided with food and shelter. As there is a language barrier between Daphne and the islanders, in a ensemble moment of celebration using the medium of song is effective as music is a multicultural language that everyone can share in. Music and singing adds another layer to the performance for the audience to indulge in and understand the performance through.

Another multicultural 'language' that we use to express different elements of the play is dance. We use it to celebrate a birthday and mourn someones death. Both scenes peak a certain emotion proving how effective dance can be in expressing emotion when done properly. If someone doesn't commit to the performance it then looks strange and out of place, loosing its purpose completely. However when done well it can set the scene for the audience and transports them further into the world of our play.  

The all blacks rugby team haka is a dance inspired by a Maori tradition celebrating the child of the God of the Sun and his wife the Summer maid. The child was named Tane-rore who represents the trembling of the air on a hot day which is represented by the shaking of their hands in the dance. The men normally are at the forefront dancing and the women are at the rear supporting with vocals. The haka commonly seen today is the haka taparahi which is the haka without weapons. The dance is an important part of the Maori culture that expresses passion and identity of the race. It is used to welcome and entertain visitors. Tribal reputation was based on your ability to perform the dance.

I think this would be appropriate for our performance as Mau is part of a tribe and throughout the play he is trying to prove himself to the elders and others in the tribe, which is what this dance is used for. It is a dance for all occasions and as dance is used in our performance under many different circumstances it would be appropriate to use.