The Healthy Performer (14) (Injuries in the studio)

Strains & Sprains:

• A strain is when a ligament is stretched or torn, whilst a sprain is when a muscle or tendon is stretched or torn. Strains or sprains can occur through a sudden trauma (such as a fall or blow) or through over-use. For example, neck strain can occur when choreography requires excessive head movement and performers do not warm up or call down properly. 
• Strains and sprains should be treated using the "RICE" treatment: rest, ice, compression, elevation. Performers should rest by not doing the activity that caused them the injury. Ice should be applied to the area for 20 minutes at a time several times a day (though the ice should not be directly on the skin). An elastic compression bandage can be worn to prevent additional swelling or blood loss. Also to reduce swelling, the area that is injured should be lifted above the level of the performer's heart whilst they are resting.
• To prevent strains and sprains, performers should ensure they have done a thorough physical (and vocal) warm up. An effective physical warm up contains four sections: pulse-raiser (e.g. jogging), joint mobility (e.g. circular movements of the ankle), core strength (e.g. planks) and flexibility (e.g. lunges).

Cuts & Flesh Wounds:

• Cuts and other flesh wounds can occur when there are trip hazards in the studio or when performers are wearing unsuitable wear for physical work. Trip hazards could include cables from CD players or lighting - if a performer trips over they could fall, which could result in friction burns or cuts or bruises. Unsuitable clothing includes jewellery (as the clasps on bracelets could cause deep scratches; long earrings can be ripped out easily) and false / long nails (especially during close group work like lifts, having long nails can result in yourself or other people being scratched).
• Cuts should be cleaned, as to lower the risk of infection. Cuts should also be covered to stop the bleeding and to prevent anything getting in to the wound. Friction burns (or scrapes) should be cleaned to make sure there is no dirt in the wound (so that the new skin doesn't grow over the top of dirt) and stop the bleeding. For bruises, there are creams available to "bring them out" such as "Arnica cream". 
• To prevent cuts and flesh wounds, ensure that the studio is free of hazards (such as trailing cables, broken mirrors and spilt fluids) and that you are wearing appropriate clothing for movement.

Broken Bones:

• Broken bones can occur during falls - being dropped in a lift can result in broken bones. Heavy objects falling on the performer could also result in broken bones (such as lights that are not securely attached, or heavy props/sets/flats falling over). 
• Broken bones are diagnosed through the use of an X-ray and are treated by resting and by having a cast put on the area (e.g. if you break your ankle, you will have a cast from your foot up to your calf). 
• To prevent bones being broken, you should ensure that your studio if hazard free and that there are "spotters" when trying out lifts and that it is being well supervised.

"Dr Faustus" - Marlowe (13) (Sins)

Below are the pieces of music we have decided to use for each sin (we only use as much as these songs as the narration takes):

• SLOTH & GLUTTONY - "3:14 Every Night" from "The Social Network"
  • (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpxuJbVaBA)
• PRIDE - "Fashion songs 4 London Fashion Week"
  
  • (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSWk-IIc9Yc)
• WRATH - "Emotion Series - Anger Vol 2"
  
  • (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHRqTSgKJGg)
• LUST - "Express" from "Burlesque"
  
  • (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3oz7ENqFz8)
• GREED - "Ode to Greed" from "Payday 2"               
  • (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc4DovMFabo)
• ENVY - "Message Man" by Twenty-One Pilots
  
  • (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5-f3DLoSyY)

We ran our first four sins focussing on our traverse staging as to make the piece look interesting for all audience members. We then discussed having the sin script section recorded rather than spoken live. This discussion started because Rhiannon and I wanted to record our narration for Lust. We wanted to do this as this is not only a long section to remember whilst doing the movement, but we want to perform this to the best of our ability vocally (and felt that doing a movement section might make us out of breathe and would alter how we spoke). Another benefit of using pre-recorded narration is that our timing for our movement sections would be constant each rehearsal and therefore should be very effective in the actual performance. Our narration would fit perfectly to the songs we are using for each section as we could edit the tracks and merge them. It also means that we can focus on our movement in order to perform this to the best of ability. Next lesson, we might record the other sections of the sin script.

On our first recording of lust, Rhiannon and I had divided the lines - some lines we said individually and some lines were said in unison. We thought this was an okay way of doing it, but we particularly liked the sections we said in unison as we felt they were more eerie, seductive and chilling. We decided that we would do a second take, this time saying all of the script in unison. We then listened back to the recording and decided that we needed to slow it down to make the piece sound more seductive and therefore more likely to tempt Faustus to give in to the sin of Lust. We slowed the whole thing down on our third take and also worked out where the most appropriate places to pauses were. For our final recording we worked out what words we should emphasise - these words were "touch", "take", "desire", "ohhh", "sex", "eroticism" and "flesh". We thought these words formed the semantic field of lust and were very provocative.

After doing our recording, we began coming up with ideas for our movement section of Lust. Rhiannon and I worked out how we would go from our final positions of Wrath (on one knee on the floor doubled over), to the beginning of Lust. We decided we would do a body ripple to stand up and then we would walk to each other and circle each other (to create tension and intimacy).We experimented with a short floor section consisting of mainly rolls, stretched and hair swishes to look as seductive as possible to lure Faustus in as to try and make him give in to the sin of Lust. We didn't create any more this lesson as we ran out of time, but shall continue with this next lesson.

Contemporary Theatre (20) (Page 11 - 28)

In this lesson we went back to the beginning of our script and re-staged it to fit with what we had worked out / decided about the script for our version. To make it clear when we were in the "Book Club" we kept returning to a semi-circle of chairs. The section we went over today changed location six times:

• Page 11 ("In that moment...") - Page 17 ("Written by someone who...") = BOOK CLUB
• Page 17 ("ONE, two, three...") - Page 17 ("Look. You know...") = WINSTON'S MEMORIES
• Page 17 ("How about you? Where are you?") = BOOK CLUB
• Page 17 ("I'm asking where you are. Right now...") = WINSTON'S INTERROGATION
• Page 17 ("Sorry - is there...") - Page 18 ("At this moment he was dragged...") = BOOK CLUB
• Page 18 ("A girl had stopped...") - Page 18 ("Real coffee. Is it...") = PAST REALITY
• Page 19 ("What did you say?") - Page 19 ("Sorry everyone..") = BOOK CLUB
• Page 20 ("Winston. Winston Smith...") - Page 24 ("Through there...") = PAST REALITY
• Page 24 ("Oranges and lemons...") - Page 24 ("Everything's going to...") = BOOK CLUB
• Page 25 ("Attention comrades!...") - Page 27 ("That's better...") = INTERROGATION 

 After the prologue we form a semi-circle of chairs to be the book club. My character of Voice is reading out loud to the group. Kat's character of Host continues with reading out loud. When she begins her line "This is the moment", we thought this was her character explaining the book to the rest of the group. When James says the line "I had this feeling...", we decided this sparked off the group sharing their opinions. Originally, we performed the section on page 14, where the lines interrupt each other, in a rather poetic and fluid way. However, now we have decided we are sharing ideas in a book club, we are performing these lines more conversationally, as if we have come up with ideas that we need to call out before we forget them. To get Oliver out of the book club so he can enter the next location, he gets up and goes as if to get another drink but stays off stage until he enters in the next scene. All the while, Robert is sat in a chair DSR away from the rest of group. I am directing my line "You are Winston" to the group as if explaining the author's intentions, but I face Winston when I say this (although my character cannot see Winston, as he is just a character in the book I am reading). When the phone goes off we all look through our bags, as we did previously. On the line "written by someone who knew he'd soon be dead" we all look at Winston to bring the audience into his world.

Whenever we change location, the book club location pauses as it were - we all freeze in whatever positions we are currently in (unless we leave - like during the power cut, we all leave to clear the stage space ready for the next scene).

The Healthy Performer (13) (Programme Evaluation)

Overall I think my programme was rather successful as I managed to meet my goals in the time period I set myself. One of my goals was to become slim enough to fit into the costume (leotard and skirt) that I was given for my "Skinny Love" contemporary dance, in time for the dance shows. When I first tried it on, I struggled to pull the leotard up over my hips - although I could just about fit in the costume, it was very tight and restricted my breathing and movement. However, by becoming slimmer I could fit into the costume comfortably. Another one of my goals was to become physically fitter to improve my stamina. My stamina did improve in time for my dance show as I managed to do the matinee show without getting too physically tired before doing the second show in the evening. My final goal was to become more flexible for the "Skinny Love" dance to get my legs higher on the kicks to make the dance look more impressive and also so I can perform these moves with more ease.

The general programme went well (especially the sit ups) as I did manage to become thinner. I know that I achieved this as I could fit into my "Skinny Love" costume and by taking measurements throughout the programme meant I could track my progress and see how I improved across the three weeks. The flexibility section was very effective as I can now get my legs higher on kicks, have improved my splits and have better extension. To see my improvements at the end of the programme, I took pictures on the first and last day of my programme to see by what extent my flexibility had improved.

I feel a big difference having completed my programme. As I crafted my programme so it would fit into my everyday life, I have now carried on with it as it has become a part of my daily routine. I find my contemporary dances and ballet a lot easier now as I can lift my legs higher and with more ease. I can also hold positions (e.g. arabesque's and attitudes) a lot longer as my balance has improved as I have improved my core strength. I also find singing and projection a lot easier now as my diaphragm is now stronger. My confidence has also improved now, in terms of what costumes I wear, as I can fit into smaller sizes and know that I can improve myself further (as I have improved since the start of my programme).

If I were to begin this unit again, I would have added jogging/running sessions in to improve my stamina further. This would have been useful for long runs of shows and for my dancing. I would have also improved my diet to fit alongside my programme as a healthier and organised diet would complement my programme and allow me to progress further and faster.

To ensure that I implemented safe practice when doing my programme I made sure that I had the correct alignment when doing the sit ups and planks. Before dancing I ensured that I was thoroughly warmed up and the studio was free of hazards. When singing, I ensured that I warmed up and I supported all of my notes.

Contemporary Theatre (19) (Decisions)

Today we decided that we should make final decisions on our version of "1984", so we could make appropriate staging choices. Below are the notes I made throughout this lesson. We will explore these notes further when we implement these decisions into our staging.

• Man & Father --> Members of book club. Real
• "ONE, two, three, four..." --> Memory. Army training? Way to calm the child down?
• Martin (book club) reads... leads into Winston's story (1st sees Julia)
• Martin is author? Written himself into the story? Martin is Orwell? At book club discussing his book
• Power cut (reality) leads to Room 101, O'Brien.
• Child "Thought-criminal" --> hearing this in his interrogation
• "Down with Big Brother" --> back to him writing
• Charrington --> memory --> church --> "oranges and lemons"
• Winston electrocuted --> back to book club (still in power cut)

We then used an image of a cake and gave it four layers. This was to break the split the characters down into four sections so we had a better understanding of the play. Below are the four layers and the characters that fit into them.

1. Winston Interrogation (Room 101): O'Brien // Winston // Parsons // Woman's Voice // Telescreen
2. Memories (Childhood). Not real or real: Child // Sister // Mother // Woman's voice // Telescreen
3. Past reality (Actual events in Winston's life): Mother // Syme // Parsons x2 // Charrington // Julia // Parson's child // Speakwrite // Waitress // Telescreen
4. Book Club: Father // Mother // Host // Martin // Man // Waitress // Voice

F(l)ight - (3) (Opening sequence // Groups)

To begin this lesson we looked at songs we could use for our piece. We will need to use more than one song to make our piece the required length of 10 minutes. The songs we came up with were as follows:

• Sound of Silence - Disturbed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MPD5Z2u-pY)
• Down with the Sickness - Disturbed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytspBXUqgs)
• Try - Pink (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCDVfMz15M)
• Face Down - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8wvyPDZo_w)
• Faint - Linkin Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRYtXBgEsWo)
• Numb - Linkin Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2REZSj4XnE)
• Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chilli Peppers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLhXTJk4l9Y)
• Love the way you lie - Rihanna & Eminem (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B50RUXbs-8)
• Because of You - Kelly Clarkson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biff2Rx5VZw)
• Burn - Hamilton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Y9r_42eDU) (Instrumental)

We decided that we wanted our piece to be on domestic abuse and the publics perception of it. We thought this was a very hard-hitting subject so we thought we could explore it and make the audience think. We thought we could include quotes of statistics and facts, but we decided that this would be a little bit boring and took us away from physical theatre, so we have decided to use small section of quotes instead (e.g. 40%, 1 in 5, etc.). We also watched an Australian commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjBfU-bfGII) stating that we should stop violence from the start. It shows that if children aren't corrected from a young age and if they witness domestic abuse when they are younger, then they are more likely to offend when they are older. I thought the video was very effective but I didn't like the fact that all the victims in the video were women. I thought this was quite sexist and thought it supported the fact that the public tend to ignore the fact that men can be victims of domestic violence too. Therefore, we want to explore different types of domestic abuse.We also realised that we don't all need to be in the piece at all times - thus meaning we could have sections that focus on different types of couples.

For our introduction, we are using the first 40 seconds of "Dark Necessities" by RHCP. We thought this was quite an intriguing opening and offered quite a good build up in atmosphere. We all begin lying on the floor very close together to represent the countless number of victims of domestic abuse. Whilst lying on the floor, we all say a fragment of a quote, to intrigue the audience. We then reached up one at a time and turned round to kneel on one knee. We did this one at a time, and did this in cannon around the circle. James stayed on the floor, and then we did a lift where we hoisted him up onto his feet. This was to show that some people are forced to get up on their feet and carry on with their lives. After we do this lift, we wanted to do another lift where James is lifted and flipped over to represent how domestic abuse can completely flip your life upside down. However, we didn't do this lift this lesson as the ceiling is too low in the room we were rehearsing in.

Instead we moved on to our pairs and groups. Lewis and I are one pair and we will portray domestic violence with the man being abused. Charlie and James will present domestic violence between brothers. Ollie, Rhiannon and Rob will show domestic violence between husband and wife in front of their child and the effect it has on their child.

Below is what Lewis and I created for our section and our thoughts behind it:

• Lewis stand behind me, with one hand on my waist and one hand caressing my neck - to establish that we are in a relationship
• I flick his hand off of my neck with my hand - to show that I am dominant and don't care for him
• I do a head roll (with my hands on my head) and a kick to the left (with a flexed foot), and then step on to the left leg - this section shows my frustration with my partner and symbolises how I want to kick him into shape into the man I want him to be
• Lewis reached towards me. I block him by putting my hands up and putting my weight on my left leg (which is bent, inverted and on my instep) at the same time. I do this with a slow dynamic - Lewis reaching towards me shows his desperation to be forgiven. My block shows that he is not forgiven. The fact that my leg is inverted and bent shows my corrupted state of mind.
• Lewis reaches towards me again. I block him again in the same way, but this time with sharp, jagged and quick dynamics - Lewis is desperate to be forgiven. He won't give up. My character is aggressive and can flip very quickly.
• I perform a "round" action from Frantic Assembly's technique of "round-by-through. I roll across Lewis' side so we end up back-to-back - My character dismisses Lewis and turns her back on him and her morals.
• We do a lean, where he leans on me, but I then push him off - The lean shows that he relies on me. It also shows that if my character left him he would fall and crumble. 

"Dr Faustus" - Marlowe (12) (Beginning Act Two)

In this lesson, we began our first run stagger-run of Act Two. Below are the more significant blocking/staging decisions we made and why:

• (13) Wife: Rhiannon is playing the role of the Wife. Lewis will summon her and she will walk the whole length of the traverse towards Faustus. This will create a dangerous atmosphere as this will foreshadow what is to come. The audience is aware that by allowing Mephistopheles to bring Faustus a wife, he has given in to the sins of greed and lust. The walk that Rhiannon takes creates suspense as the audience hopes that Faustus will send her back and repent, but he does not. She walks towards him, touched his face and they turn to face each other. They go to kiss but don't as Faustus then replies to Mephistopheles' question. Faustus sits down on the edge of his desk, whilst his wife sits on the desk behind him and gives him a massage. 
• (13) Passing of time: We discussed having a projection of different events that have happened in the past to show the passing of time (e.g. 9/11, discovery of water on Mars, etc.). Whilst this projection was taking place, we also would like to include a physical movement section here using the chorus. We haven't staged this yet but discussed what we would like to include. We would like to use a windmill lift, as this is in a circular motion and is similar in appearance to the hands moving on a clock, so it could easily represent the passing of time. 
• (13) Heavens: We discussed having Faustus and Mephistopheles on a stage block in the centre, with the chorus around them moving in a slow smooth movements. We didn't stage this but we considered doing this to prompt Faustus' question - "Is this heaven?"
• (14) Good and Evil Angel: Initially, the good and evil angel entered from the audience and stood either side of Faustus, who faced away from Mephistopheles. As they exit, Faustus turned back around to deliver his question to Mephistopheles. Although this did look effective, we have changed the staging so Good Angel enters from the further end of the traverse (to show that Faustus has drifted away from God's teachings), Evil Angel enters from the other end of the traverse (by Faustus' desk to show that Faustus has been influenced more by evil than good) and Faustus is standing in the middle between the two angels. Faustus faces the Good Angel first (as the Good Angel speaks first) and then turns 180 degrees to face the Evil Angel (when he speaks). Faustus then turns back to face Good Angel, but Mephistopheles is now standing there (as he has moved whilst Faustus was facing the Evil Angel). This implies that Faustus has no choice now and has gone too far to repent, so goes on with his allegiance. 
• (16) Sins: We ran the sin section so far and then completed "wrath". We had completed our pure movement section: finishing with Rhiannon and I at the back (far end of the traverse), Charlie and Rob in front of us, and James in the middle of the traverse lying down. At this point we then begin delivering our lines for this sin. We discussed using the Frantic Assembly technique of round-by-through, but decided to try something different as Oliver and Lewis already used this technique earlier in the play. We decided we wanted this section more in the style of Artaud. We therefore decided that we would use aggressive looking movements in close proximity to the audience. We came up with five movements that we would repeat whenever we weren't speaking. These movements consisted of punches and a knee kick. When Robert delivered his line, he put Charlie in a head-lock and then they performed the five moves movement sequence. When I delivered my line, I kicked James back down, sat on him and twisted his head to the side (to make it look like I was trying to break his neck). We then carried on with our five moves movement sequence. Rhiannon then performs a short duet section with James to present her dominance and power over him. Charlie and James just deliver their lines to the audience while in a powerful and dominant stance (head slightly raised, and leading with their chests). We finish in a straight line (facing alternate sides as to involve all audience members) and Rob walks down pushing us to the ground one by one to portray his power. 

This is as far as we got to in this lesson. Next lesson, we shall hopefully complete the sin section. Before the end of this lesson, we paired up and picked a sin we hadn't staged yet. For our chosen sin, we shall pick a piece of music and tell the class what we chose next lesson. Rhiannon and I formed a pair and picked the sin of lust. The class were suggesting pieces of music for this sin like Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat on"... Although this would portray the sin of lust it would be a bit comical - Rhiannon and I thought we should have something a little darker and more serious. We thought of Beyoncé’s "Crazy in Love" - the "50 Shades of Grey" version, but agreed we wanted something a little less well-known and iconic, so opted for Beyoncé’s "Haunted" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0k_i8PPM40). We felt that this song presented the same idea of lust and was serious, but it also creates more of an atmosphere due to the title "haunted" having connotations of horror stories and danger. It also could foreshadow the events to come as well as fitting with the supernatural genre.

Contemporary Theatre (18) (Page 18 to 20 // Questions)

In the first section of this lesson, we continued staging our version on "1984".

When  Kat says her line "with a violent jerk", we get up off of our chairs and move to two parallel lines but groups in pairs - one member of the pair faces the front, and the other member stands directly behind them facing the back. Kat and Charlie are a pair, Rhiannon and Lewis are directly behind them, and on the opposite side are Ollie and James, and then me and Oliver. In these pairs, the person facing front stands on their right leg (bending this leg as if they are sitting down, with the left leg crossing the right leg). The person facing back is supporting the "sitting" person, by having their back against the "sitting" person and by putting their hands behind them so the "sitting" person can put their elbows on their hands (as if it were arms on a chair, and to also help with balance). When Kat says the line "round her waist", the "sitting" person swaps their legs over. This was inspired by Dv8's move in "Can we talk about this?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNVPumETpuA - 0:56) The purpose of this section is to make it look like we are sitting in a café. We wanted the two lines to be straight so we look uniformed and regimented to portray the control Big Brother has. This also emphasises that Winston is the odd one out (as he is sitting on a literal chair at the front of the line stage right. On the line "and now she was looking at him", we all stand up straight and look at him, to make him feel more isolated and targeted.

When the stage direction mentions the "buzzing sound" and the lights flicker, we perform a very short round-by-through section to get us back to our chairs. The round-by-through creates a confusing and busy atmosphere to reflect Winston's confusion in asking the question "what did you say?". We then follow the stage directions by frantically searching through our bags for our phones. As we are performing in C5 and we can have a total black out, when the lights go off, we all run and hide behind the curtains, so when the lights come back on, only Robert is left on stage. Oliver walks out from the curtain at the back centre and talks to Robert. This makes Oliver's character even more sinister and mysterious as he just appears from nowhere.

The second part of this lesson was spent asking questions about the play in general. These questions are perfectly fine to be left unanswered and are mainly just to consider. The question we asked were as follows:

• Is the play a book club reading the novel, 1984? When the phone rings, is this the book club themselves getting distracted and then they go back to the story?
• Is Winston imagining everyone, or is everyone imaging him?
• Is the whole story Winston's interrogation and he is drifting in and out of consciousness?
• Is the whole story in Room 101?
• Is Julia undercover? Is she trying to use the system to get her way? Is she real? Is she a concept? Is she Big Brother?
• Is O'Brien the embodiment of Big Brother? Is he acting as the powerful man to protect the real leaders?
• Is the Host the leader of the book club? Is the voice just someone reading in the book club?
• Is the reason Winston can't remember the end of "Oranges and Lemons" because he is the last man standing and so the "chopper to chop of his head" his is fate at the end?
• Is Orwell Winston's son? Could Winston have known he was going to be killed, so told his son (Orwell, also son of Julia) everything that happened to him, so Orwell wrote down everything he was told? Therefore Winston was not forgotten, even if he was deleted/unpersoned.

At the end of this lesson, we discussed what we thought was true or not, and what sections of the play were "the real world" and what was imaginary. We liked the idea of having a book club, or even possibly a history lesson as the real world. We then decided that we could all sit on chairs at the side when it was the real world to show us sitting in the book club / history lesson. Next lesson we shall continue staging the script as well as trying to answer some of these questions and decide what way we want to go with our piece.