Site Specific (11) - Cutting scenes 1 & 2

Characters:   In order to know how to start cutting we discussed who the key characters were. Obviously, Abigail is crucial to the story (as she is the leader of the girls), and so are Mary and Mercy (two of Abigail's group), and Betty (as she is the one who falls ill at the beginning). We agreed that we don't need all of the group of girls as they are not essential to the plot (and it also saves the issue of us not having many girls in our class). Also an obvious observation, but John and Elizabeth Proctor are essential to the plot - John had a short affair with Abigail (their old servant), and Abigail wants Elizabeth dead. Reverend Parris, Abigail's uncle, is definitely needed as he is the reverend of the village. We decided we don't need Giles Corey or Rebecca Nurse for our version as their opinions and activities don't add much to our main story - they have their own stories (i.e. Giles' issue with land), but it doesn't aid the main events. We also felt that the Putnam's weren't needed - for the same reason we discarded Giles and Rebecca.

Scene One:   Having worked out what characters we need and what ones we shall cut, we began editing our first scene. We decided that we didn't need the very beginning of the scene, and could instead start from Mary's line "I just come from the farm...". We could use an additional cast member as Betty, and have them in the audience to start with. They could then collapse, and Mary would burst through from the back of the audience with her line. We then cut from Parris' line "What happened? What are you doing to her! Betty!" to Hale's entrance and line "Pray you, someone take these!". By doing this, our script still made sense, we managed to cut over two pages and the characters that we said we didn't need. The rest of the scene was cut in a similar way - either cutting lines said by the characters we've cut, or changing them so another character says them instead. We then read of this scene again to ensure it all still made sense.

Scene Two:   We decided to cut the very beginning of this scene as it is not relevant, so we started from Elizabeth's line "I thought you'd gone to Salem this afternoon". We cut parts of the script where we felt they repeated themselves or we already got the gist of it. We also obviously cut the section that contained Nurse Rebecca and Corey.

Directing (18) - Full run

In this lesson we did a full run of our play (with scripts) to the year below. This was the first full run we have done, as well as the first time we had performed any of the scenes to an audience. We asked them for feedback afterwards to see if the subtext and the work we had done on intentions came across. The general reception was that they quite liked Robert in the end, though thought he was mad for staying with Emma. No one really liked Emma and thought that Jerry seemed sweet to start with but didn't like him at the end. Our audience thought that none of the characters should be together, but did like Jerry and Emma together although they shouldn't be. No one believed that Robert hit Emma, especially when he held her at the end of scene four. The only character they truly felt sorry for was Judith!

What we have left to do until we are ready to perform:

• Get off of script as soon as - as we will then spend a bit of time ensuring body language is all still okay, as our hands will now be free because we won't be holding scripts!
• Work out who shall move what set and where to - when we did this run, whoever left that scene tended to move set as they left, and move set again when they entered. However, we want to assign jobs to ensure that we all know who moves what and when (to make our set changes as slick as possible). 
• Run the piece with our actual set and in the space - as the set shall alter how we shall perform. For example, the different chairs shall make us sit differently, and we might have different body language when at a table. 
• Run the piece with all props: glasses, jacket, keys, book, bottles, basket, table cloth, food on plates, trays, apron, mirror and brush. For a start we need to make sure we have all of these props and get used to using them, but also we need to figure out how we get these on and off stage and ensure we all know what props are needed for what scenes (which can be complicated as the scenes aren't in chronological order). 
• Rehearse in costume as this may also change how we feel and move. 
• Decide if we want to show time passing with projections or anything, or if we shall just perform it without.

Directing (17) - Scenes 6, 7, 8 and 9

Scene Six:  We worked a lot more on subtext and intentions with this scene. For example, when Jerry asks Emma if she received his letter okay and she responds with "of course. Miss Me?". Ollie had directed for the line "miss me?" to sound slightly less flirtatious and a bit more cautious - as if Emma is desperately trying to change the subject away from the topic of Torcello. We have also added a bit set into our play - but thankfully this additional set doesn't move! We have decided that we shall use the two book flats positioned in front of the stage on the floor (one on either side). The purpose of these is to create our own wings: they provide places for the characters who are not on stage to go, provide hidden entrances and exits and enable us to put props on the stage behind them for ease of access.

Scene Seven:  As this is one of the few scenes that follows chronologically from the scene before, I wanted the subtext to be really clear - at this point Robert knows about the affair, but Jerry doesn't know that he knows. I directed Ollie to be a bit bitter on the line "we haven't played for years", when he is referring to playing squash. My intention here was to show a deeper meaning to something that could sound quite friendly - the reason that they haven't been able to play squash for years is because Jerry has been spending his time with Emma for years. My directions were mainly to do with finding deeper meanings for Robert and showing Jerry's feelings. The movement is fine as it is supposed to be a very static scene (due to the restaurant setting).

Scene Eight:  Our blocking changes slightly for this scene as we thought about our flat positioning. By having flats, we have avoided potentially using a dodgy split screen - our piece feels really naturalistic as we have imagined that my kitchen is behind the flat, so I say my lines from back there. The flats also enable me to put an apron on during the scene before and to then take it off again when I re-appear the second time in this scene.

Scene Nine:   Our main focus of this scene was the very end with Robert comes in. We want to make Robert seem quite likeable at this point and Jerry seem horrible (contrasting to how we hope our audience feels about these characters at the beginning). We needed to work on the section of stage directions to ensure we get our timing right for Robert's entrance. To make Robert seem more likeable, we have decided that he shall almost laugh at Jerry and be completely understanding. He now puts his arm around me to show the audience that Robert does love Emma and that their marriage used to be idyllic until Jerry pursued a relationship with her. We worked on a position at the end - we knew that Robert had to go to leave first and then be followed by Emma, who could then be stopped by Jerry. We wanted this freeze frame to be symbolic so I suggested that I had my head toward Robert but my heart facing Jerry, to show Emma as being torn between the two men. I then developed this further by using a question we asked from the very start: did Robert know about the pair from the beginning? Therefore, I thought about using the mirror - Robert could go to look in it to sort his hair, so the audience is left questioning whether Robert saw them or not.

Site Specific (10) - Research into different companies

Grid Iron Theatre Company:   They are an Edinburgh-based company that specialise in site-specific performances, but do performances for theatres too. Previous productions include "Roam" at BAA Edinburgh International Airport in 2006 and "Once Upon A Dragon" performed outside in Cammo Estate in 2007. The company incorporated in 1995. Their first production full-scale production was of "The Bloody Chambers" which they performed in the underground vaults beneath Edinburgh's historical Royal Mile (which are famous for being haunted). The image on the right shows some pictures from their production and what the press said about it - the parts in capitals are the parts that the press said about the location. The Herald liked the use of close proximity, making the performance more immersive. The Independent implies that the "haunting venue" helps make the production so chilling - perhaps if this performance was performed in a hall, for example, the production would not have the same impressive effect on the audience, which raises the question, how important is the venue choice to the overall production? The Guardian commented on their use of tour guide. I really liked the idea of having someone not involved in the actual performance itself, but specifically cast to be a tour guide as it helps create atmosphere. However, due to us having a smaller cast, we would be unable to do this, so will have to work out how we can get our audience to travel from room to room with us. We shall work this out when we start doing full-runs of our version of the play.


Talking Birds:   Since 1992, the Coventry-based theatre company performing both nationally and internationally. They like to perform in places that the public don't normally get to go - often interesting places that are of risk of being forgotten about or are between uses. Previous work includes "Three Doctors" at the Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital to mark its closing and "Wanderlust", which was their own devised performance at the South Bay Underground Car Park in Scarborough.

Wilson + Wilson:   This company was set up in 1997 and is regularly funded by Arts Council England, Yorkshire. They do their performances to smaller audiences for artistic reasons - making their performances more intimate and immersive for audience members. Their previous work includes "News From the Seventh Floor",  which was performed at Clements (one of the country's oldest department stores) after hours, and "Mapping the Edge" through the streets of Sheffield. I like the idea of having a smaller audience, especially for our version of "The Crucible", as we are wanting to do a promenade performance, taking our audience from room to room with us.


Installation art:   "Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that often are site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called public art, land art or intervention art; however, the boundaries between these terms overlap." - Wikipedia.

Site-specific:   "Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork" - Wikipedia.

The definitions above of instillation art and site-specific art can be applied to theatre. The main difference is one is for any location to transform the space, whilst the other is designed for a certain location.

A physical space informs and suggests a performance piece by the size of the venue, the age of the venue, the capacity of audience the venue can hold and the style of venue.

Site Specific (9) - Inspiration images

1. I was intrigued by this image as it is from a modern adaptation of the play. It is from the 2016 Broadway revival. I would be intrigued to see what the production looked like as a whole as witchcraft is definitely not a modern thing. People aren't as superstitious or gullible nowadays.
2. I liked the use of levels in this picture - it is similar to how we used different levels of staging in Sweeney Todd (our double workshop unit).
3. I like the minimalistic set here. With complicated dialogue we don't want to have over-complicated set either - though at the same time we might need a bit more set to help the audience understand the setting and narrative.
4. This looks like a 'typical' production of "The Crucible", as in it is costumes and the staging - it looks quite melodramatic. 
5. This image is unlike my others as it is set outdoors - something that we will be able to in our site specific piece.
6. I like the use of levels and restricted space - something we may be forced to do depending on the size of the rooms at our venue.
7. This image intrigued me as they were all facing different directions on something that seemed to be suspended.
8. The costumes looked effective and it seems like they were doing a physical theatre piece - something which I think we definitely should include in our piece.
9. This version was performed in-the-round which I found interesting.

Workshop (34) - Final rehearsals

We spent the whole day in the hall to set the stage, rehearse in the space and do full runs with the full cast...

Setting the stage:   Thankfully we didn't have to worry about the remains of the "Grease" set on the stage, as the curtains remain shut for the entire performance. However, we did have to take down all of the banners and flats from this performance. We set up all of our stage blocks and ensured we had all the props we needed. We bought flour and pies, and cut the ribbons down to the sizes we needed.

Our cast:   Unfortunately, Taylor wasn't able to come in at all this day as she had food poisoning, therefore we had to find someone else to play beggar woman! Thankfully, our friend Kat came in to save the day - she had never seen Sweeney Todd or even knew the story so we knew we would have to spend a lot of time with her. We spent time running all of the parts she was in and went through all of her entrances and exits. Whilst we worked on other parts of the play, she listened to the songs she was in.

Cutting & running sections:   Although it didn't matter if our additional cast members used scripts or not, we preferred it if they didn't. For this reason, and the fact that we were running over with time, we decided that we would cut the discussion between Todd, Anthony and Lovett about hair and Anthony going to the asylum. I also cut down the track of "Greenfinch and Linnet Bird" for Alice, so that she only had to sing one verse from it. We had also never done the ending with the track so we tried this early on in the day, so I had time to alter the track if needs be. When I made this track, I had timed it so that the dialogue fit before we started singing; however, we couldn't work out where I started the dialogue. Moreover, this track sounds very similar until the faster section of the singing - therefore we thought it best if I cut this track so it just had one bar in before I started singing. I cut this track and it actually worked really well. Rob and I weren't very confident with this final song though as we hadn't done it a lot, so we ran this number multiple times (the lyrics are also very quick and we dance at the same time, so this was a worry for us both). The other number that Rob and I kept running was "A Little Priest". We found this number tricky due to the fast lyrics and complex choreo, but we were worried about the space, so wanted to do it a couple of times to get used to the amount of space we have. The other number we ran a few times, as a group, was "Johanna reprise" as this involved our additional cast members. We initially had planned to have a short dance section between Anthony and Johanna and then between Todd and Johanna, but we decided against it as a) we thought it might overwhelm the audience what with the sounds as well, b) we didn't have enough time to sort it, and c) it wasn't really necessary.

One of our runs was to work out where all of our entrances and exits were and who would move what set. Another run was to ensure all lighting cues and sound cues were accurate. Both of these runs were used to see what parts needed the most work - we then worked on these weaker parts for the rest of the time.

Site Specific (8) - The Salem Witch Trials

Although we really like "The Crucible", we agreed that we won't be performing the whole thing as a) it is far too long and b) we don't have a large enough cast. Therefore, we thought that we could do our own version of it. We are researching the actual events of the Salem Witch Trials to see how this compares to "The Crucible" as we are planning to tell this tale but using sections of "The Crucible" script. We shall focus on the main scenes from the actual script but edit the script in places to make it work for us. Below is the research:

• The Salem Witch Trials took place between 1692 and 1693
• Rumours of witchcraft started in other towns / villages (e.g. Boston)
• More than 200 people were accused
• Tituba (Parris' slave), Sarah Good (a beggar and outcast) and Sarah Osbourne (sister-in-law to Ann Putnam) were the first accused. Later the same month, Rebecca (a nurse), Martha Corey (didn't believe in witches), Dorothy Good (only 4 years old) and Rachel Clinton (a beggar) were arrested. They were vulnerable members of the community.
• Bridget Bishop (a tavern-owner) was the first to be executed. 
• The girls were aged 9 - 11 (Abigail Williams in "real life" was only 11 years old, whilst the play presented her as about 17). 
• 20 were executed
• Giles Corey "refused to enter a plea" and was tortured to death.
• Two dogs were killed as they were suspected of witchcraft. 
• Phips created a special court "Oyer + Terminer" that was set up for the trials
• No one was burned at the stake (this punishment was only for men who had committed treason and only "after they had been hanged, quartered and drawn" - due to law at the time).
• 1697 - Courts finally declared the trials false
• 1957 - An apology was made to victims of the trial
• 2001 - The apology was updates to include unnamed victims

• http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-salem-witch-trials/

Workshop (33) - Full run to page 144

In today's lesson we did as much of a full run as we could in the time we had. We managed to get page 144, but discussed how we would do the end section. We went over at what points in the script the tracks need to be played and made a note of what tracks needed to be altered. This was the first time we did a run without scripts... unfortunately this didn't go as well as we had hoped! Some cast members needed a bit of prompting but we just about managed it. Our main focus over the next couple of days is to make sure everyone knows all of their lines!

Cutting sections:   Last lesson we cut "God That's Good" as it wasn't necessary and we didn't have time to perfect it, but we decided to cut more dialogue today as there were sections we hadn't done (and also our show was still running longer than we had intended). Depending on how it goes in our rehearsal on Monday, we might cut the scene between Johanna and Turpin on page 49 - they have never done it together as Alice isn't in our lessons. We aren't worried about this scene as it is not essential to the plot, so if we do end up cutting it, it won't matter. We cut the section with Toby in the bakehouse (on page 134) as it isn't needed. By cutting this, we are not only saving time, but also avoided the complications of making it look like James is in the bakehouse. We have also decided to cut the asylum scene as it is another section of script that is not really needed but is making our show longer. The audience knows the Anthony has gone to rescue her, but they don't really need to know what happened to them, just the fact that Todd never got to see her. As we have cut dialogue, the track that I made for dialogue to go over is now no longer needed! My section of song and Taylor's part will now be sung a Capella - this actually works really well as it sounds more eerie.

Tracks:   After today's lesson, we found that the track for "No Place Like London" wasn't quite right - I tried to fit in the lyrics in the script, not realising that they were wishing to do the film version. I cut this track again with Rob at the end of this lesson, to ensure that he was happy with it. I have now also made a new track to go between this song and "Worst Pie's in London" so Rob has some music to travel in - in our rehearsal Monday, we shall quickly work out his movement - this section will involve everyone doing round-by-throughs and just general moving frantically to create a busy London scene. We have left this for Monday as we will have everyone in the rehearsal so we can slot this together easily. I have also edited a piece of music to be played whenever anyone is killed, thus helping to form a motif in our piece.

Site Specific (7) - Acts Two and Three of the film version

We watched the second and third act of the film version of "The Crucible". This was performed with American accents and outdoors for a lot of it. We obviously won't be able to use the outdoors to the extent that they did, as we can't control the weather and don't have the sea by our venue! Below are my summaries for Act Two and Act Three (I used the following website to help: http://www.shmoop.com/crucible/)

Act Two Synopsis:   This act begins in the Proctor's house. Elizabeth is worried that John went to Salem (but he says he didn't) and she tells him that Mary Warren went, and she couldn't stop her. She is now part of the court in the trials. Elizabeth says John should force Mary to say it is all false. Both John and Elizabeth then argue about Abigail. John tells her to forget Abigail as he has. Mary returns and says she's sick from the proceedings so hopes that he won't hurt her. May gives Elizabeth a doll (a "poppet"). Proctor says that Mary shall no go back to court as it is not proper work. She says she must and claims she saved Elizabeth's life. Elizabeth knows Abigail wants her dead. Elizabeth says that John needs to talk Abigail. Rev Hale arrives and questions why John has missed so much church and gets them to say the Ten Commandments - John says all but one, but Elizabeth reminds him. A heated discussion ensues in which John defends his wife and says Hale should question Abigail. More people arrive and Hale is troubled. Cheever (the constable) arrives and takes Elizabeth as Abigail has charged her. They ask for proof - this is the poppet, it has a needle in it (a girl fell at dinner with a needle stuck deep in her belly, claiming it was Elizabeth's spirit that did it). Mary says it was hers but meant no harm. Elizabeth says she will go (as they want her to). In attempt to save Elizabeth, John accuses Abigail of being an adulteress.

Act Three Synopsis:   At court, Giles testifies about his wife - he didn't know his concerns about her reading would get her accused as being a witch. Proctor arrives with Mary and tells the judge she has an announcement. She is silent, so he speaks for her. Danforth questions Mary and she says everything was a pretense. Proctor answers Danforth - his purpose is to try and free his wife. The questioning pursues, and Hale sticks up for Proctor. Elizabeth is pregnant so they said they'll spare her until she delivers. Proctor still won't drop the case. Proctor gives Danforth a testament of Rebecca, Martha and Elizabeth's goodwill, signed by 91 people. Hathorne says they should be questioned, Danforth agrees reluctantly. Giles struggles with his case as he can't give the name of the innocent man - pressure is put on him. Giles is arrested. Hale states accusation doesn't mean guilt. The subject returns to Mary's case - with a lack of proof, she is questioned further. Abigail says Mary is lying and that Elizabeth has always kept poppets. Proctor involves Parris further, stating he witnessed the girls dancing in the woods. Mary states everything was pretense and is told to faint on command to prove it but cannot. Abigail is questioned and offended, so creates a scene, acting possessed - the group copy. They claim it is Mary doing this to them. John grabs Abigail and admits his adultery. Elizabeth is brought in and denies this, as she doesn't want to condemn John. Abigail and the group start up again and Mary (seeing no other option) joins in and says John forced her to do this. Proctor is arrested; Hale leaves court. Parris admits to Danforth and Hathorne that Abigail and Mercy have disappeared, potentially boarding a ship and leaving. Abigail also stole all of his money. Parris believes he is in danger. He also asks to postpone the hangings - Danforth says he can't but will work with them to try and help them change. They try to get Proctor to confess by allowing him to see and speak to his wife. Giles refuses to confess so is killed by crushing. Proctor verbally confesses, then eventually agrees to sign a document but then won't return it and then rips it up. He is hanged.

Directing (16) - Scenes 3, 4 and 5

In today's lesson we ran scenes three, four and five.

Scene 3:   This scene went really smoothly. We are happy with how the characters came across - their intentions were shown clearly. This scene is the end of their affair. Although the scene starts with them being quite angry at each other, they are both a bit emotional at the end.

Scene 4:   We spent a long time on this scene today, mainly focussing on proxemics and eye contact. These two things are absolutely essential to this scene. Below is what the characters know here:

• Robert knows about Emma & Jerry
• Emma knows Robert knows about Emma & Jerry
• Jerry doesn't know Robert knows about Emma & Jerry
• Robert knows Jerry doesn't know that Robert knows about Emma & Jerry
• Emma knows Jerry doesn't know that Robert doesn't know about Emma & Jerry

We needed to show all of these facts through our proximity, tone, facial expressions and eye contact. We already had made the decision that Robert would move over when Emma enters so that he is sitting between her and Jerry. However, we added in a closer proximity to make Emma feel more awkward. Robert shall put his arm around Emma to also prove a point to Jerry that she is his wife - we think that Robert is enjoying the fact that Jerry is watching Emma feeling uncomfortable and Robert having control. We also got Ollie to exaggerate when he says "brutally honest" as if to have a dig at Emma but also a subtle dig at Jerry. When the men stand up making decisions about lunch, and Emma then asks "Can I watch?" the two of them then turn round to look at Emma. This is something we came up with today. The following is what their looks need to portray:

• Jerry's look to Emma says: Why would you ask that? I can't think of anything more awkward.
• Robert's look to Emma says: What do you think you're doing? As if you're coming with us!
• Emma's look to Jerry says: I know you're confused but trust me on this.
• Emma's look to Robert says: You said summer last year to come to lunch with you both. I am only doing what you said. You can't get angry. I don't trust what you'll say to him. Please.

During Robert's speech, we have staged it so he walks nearer to Emma and makes her uncomfortable by his distance towards her, the eye contact and by putting himself between her and Jerry. He also goes over towards Jerry at times to make Emma feel worse. The other essential bit of eye contact is when Jerry and Emma look at each other when Jerry says that he is going to New York. Her look needs to say "why didn't you tell me" whilst his is an apologetic look. Robert looks between the pair quite angrily, thus prompting him to say "Judith going?" later on. Emma's line "do you deserve the trip?" is her being cautious in what she says and her trying to be civil with Jerry as to not anger Robert. During the scene, Robert is being really spiteful to Emma and the audience may sympathise with Emma, and possibly be fearful for her as it was only two scenes ago that Robert told Jerry that he (apparently) hits Emma. This makes our new ending, that we decided today, more significant. We tried having Robert come and sit next to her, put his arm round her, and then her put her head on his shoulder and cry whilst he holds her - however, we thought this still made Robert look really controlling. Therefore, Ollie goes on one knee in front of me, looks at me sweetly to see if I'm okay, to which I nestle in to him crying and he simply holds me. This shows a really sweet and caring side to Robert - something the audience doesn't expect. We questioned why does he not say anything at the end to her? Does he feel bad for how he just was to her? Does he realise that she's on edge constantly? Robert doesn't leave Emma or say anything to Jerry (despite knowing how long the affair has gone on for and all of the details) - showing how much he loves Emma. 

Scene 5:   We have kept our movement and intentions exactly the same to how we always have. However, we did find some more subtext with the following lines:
"What they of course did not know, and had no way of knowing, was that I am your husband"
"Pretty inefficient bunch"
"Only in a laughing Mediterranean way"
 We always looked at this as Robert saying that they are "inefficient" only in a "laughing Mediterranean way", but we then realised that he could just be carrying on his sentence implying that they are only married in a "laughing Mediterranean way" - there marriage is now a joke due to the affair.

Site Specific (6) - Act One of Old Vic Production

In today's lesson we watched Act One of the Old Vic's production of "The Crucible". To begin this act they did their own physical theatre section which was very slow and had no dialogue at all. The lighting was very low and it was difficult to make out people's faces, so we were focusing on silhouettes. Their introduction gave the audience a sense of setting by their clothing, and formed the unsettling atmosphere.

The actual script work itself was quite contrasting to their opening - the setting was the same, but the pace of the script was quite fast. This company chose to get their actors to have Northern accents, perhaps to make it more accessible and the language seem more normal. I particularly liked the girl who played Betty because her movement was amazing, but I felt the rest of this version was a little bit melodramatic at times.

Act One Synopsis:  Betty, Reverend Parris' daughter is sick in bed. His niece, Abigail, announces the arrival of Susanna - who tells Parris that Dr Griggs can't find a cure and thinks its supernatural but Parris says this can't be true. Abigail and Parris dismiss Susanna and discuss witchcraft - Parris confronts Abigail about what she did in the forest but she denies it. Mr and Mrs Putnam had heard the rumours and tells Parris that their daughter, Ruth, is also sick. Parris has called Rev Hale (a witch-hunter) as a precaution. Mrs Putnam tells Hale that she has had seven stillborns, but admits she sent Ruth to Tituba (Parris' slave who can speak to the dead) to find out why. Abigail says they were conjuring but she wasn't. Abigail, Mercy (Putnam's servant) and Mary talk about that night with Betty (as everyone has left the room for now). They get their stories straight. Proctor arrives and Mary and Mercy leave. After discussing witchery, Proctor tells Abigail their affair is over. Betty wakes up and the Putnums, Mercy, Parris, Giles (an old man) and Nurse Rebecca enter. Rebecca says it's childish pranks but can't explain Putnam's stillborns. Everyone argues. Hale enters and everyone explains the situation to him. Rebecca leaves. The kettle at the dance is discussed. Tituba is blamed. Abigail lists people she saw with the devil - Betty wakes and joins in.

Workshop (32) - Act One Run

Today we ran all of Act One and the beginning section of Act Two...

• Pg 1 - 3:   Prologue went well. We all remembered the movement. The edited track worked fine. No real worries with this number - just need to be cautious of timing at the end when we put the boat up.
• Pg 7 - 11:   Tom wasn't in today so they didn't get to do this song and scene, but I think the track was okay. 
• Pg 12 - 19:   I struggled to sing "Worst Pies in London" today as I have a really bad throat, but I now know exactly what I am going to do during this song. The track for this song works perfectly. The dialogue afterwards went quite well. We have changed our blocking to help with the following song "my friends". Instead of me dragging Rob up the stairs to give him the razors on the stage, I now run up and bring them down to him so that we are positioned on the floor in the centre up the table. This gives us a lot more space.
• Pg 19 - 21:   This track was perfect for Rob. Ages ago, we had come up with a little bit of movement for this number - however we weren't really sure on it as we didn't want to have a full ensemble number so soon. As to not take the attention away from Rob, I remained at the table watching him throughout, whilst the others all held a razor and did movement in a semi-circle behind our table. This worked quite well as it was not too distracting or over-the-top. We much preferred this to the movement we created a while back.
• Pg 22 - 27:   We skipped these pages as we didn't have Tom, Alice or Taylor in today. However, I am confident that the tracks for these pages are fine.
• Pg 28 - 36:   The dialogue and song here were fine. We have done this section a lot so were quite happy with it. 
• Pg 36 - 45:   Unfortunately, I couldn't find a track for "the contest" so we are going to record our music teacher playing it on piano so we can have a backing track. The rest of the dialogue and the actual song itself here are fine. However, we need to get two of our friends to be plants for us to sit in the chairs and be shaved during the song. 
• Pg 51 - 58:   The track for "wait" was fine, but it took us a little while to work out when the track should be played in relation to the dialogue. Lewis stood in as Anthony for us in this lesson, and the dialogue all went quite well. I think Rob and I got our intentions right during this section. The split-screen in this scene actually worked really well today. If we can't get a wig for James to wear, then we will cut the split screen - I will just lead him off to get a pie and then we shall run back on as he exclaims how he needs to see Pirelli.
• Pg 59 - 65:   This section went really well. Both Ollie and Lewis know this section s owell as they have done it many times. The track worked really well once we worked out what part of the dialogue the track started under. 
• Pg 70 - 77:   I think the dialogue all went pretty smoothly for this section. Our characterisation was all a lot better than what is has been. On page 73 we cut Mrs Lovett's lines as they aren't necessary, therefore I walk Toby off on the line "come on in to my lovely back parlour" to avoid over-using split screens - this also means that James isn't left on stage for the whole of "Pretty Women". This song went really well today, although it did take ages to work out where the music should come on. However, once we had worked this out, it all went really well. 
• Pg 78 - 90:   The song "Epiphany" went really well - everyone remembered their movement and our desired atmosphere was created. "A Little Priest" didn't go so well... The track was the best I could do, but it doesn't build enough where we would like it to, therefore Rob and I got a bit lost in places. However, this should be okay once Rob and I have sat down with the track and gone through it a few times together. We also need to practice waltzing as it was really messy and didn't really work. We shall definitely get our dancing shoes on this week!
• Pg 92 - 106:   "God That's Good" was the beginning of Act Two, but it didn't go too well today. James felt a bit uncomfortable with the track as it was in a different key to his "Pirelli's miracle elixir" but this is because the only version there is of this track is the show version, which is in a different key to "Pirelli's miracle elixir" anyway. Due to James feeling uncomfortable and a lack of time to put things straight, we have decided to cut this number. We didn't think this number was necessary to our version anyway, as the idea of Lovett's pieshop flourishing is portrayed in "A Little Priest" and through our movement in "Johanna".
• Pg 107 -112:   Although Tom, Taylor and Alice weren't in, we ran "Johanna" as to ensure the track was fine (which it was) and that everyone remembered their movement / timing of their noises (which we did). This number is not an issue at all, but we need to spend a little bit of time just slotting in Taylor, Alice and also one of our plants to get their throat slit during this song.

Everything didn't go too badly, baring in mind, this was the first time we had done the show in order and used the new backing tracks. As we have cut a lot of the show (as it is only a workshop performance) we will not need an interval. What we have left to do for this first half though is to make a script with all the song cues in, put Alice, Taylor and our plants into the numbers and scenes they have not been put in yet, and for everyone to learn their lines.

Directing (15) - Discussion & scenes

We began this lesson with a long discussion about how we shall go about our show in a couple of weeks. We had this discussion as if we were directors, and spoke about spacing, costumes and how to show time.

Staging:   We had decided from the beginning that we wanted to perform our play in proscenium arch as it doesn't have enough movement to justify using thrust, traverse or in-the-round (as audience members wouldn't see everyone's expressions. Having a proscenium arch setting would enable us to do our set changes more easily, as we have two exits and can leave discreetly for costume changes. Having decided before staging our play how we wanted our audience to be positioned, today we debated whether to perform our play in C5, C6 or the hall. Performing in C6 would make our exits harder, as there are no wings or exits from the room that we could use. Therefore, we debated between the hall and C5. The point that made this decision for us was lighting: both rooms have exit places for us, but we all agreed we wanted the play to have naturalistic lighting (as Pinter has written the play with a naturalistic dialogue), and the only room where this would be possible is the hall. We said we shall not perform on the stage as this distances the audience and takes away the naturalistic form. We will use the section of floor just in front of the stage and shall use the stage itself as the bar to lean on and put drinks on. This is the most practical way to show him being at the bar - although we don't have someone behind the bar, it is realistic as Lewis (in scene one) shall lean on the stage as he would at a bar.

Costumes:   We shall wear costumes that suit our characters. We have decided that Ollie shall wear a three-piece suit to show Robert is professional and all business, Lewis shall wear an ordinary suit to show that he is in a good profession but not as official as Robert, and I shall wear jeans, shirt, belt and boots to show I am comfortable but smart. In an ideal world we would change costumes throughout as the play goes across nine years - however, we can't do this as we are in consecutive scenes. Therefore we shall adjust our costume to make it work for scenes - as Ollie has time he shall change his costume for the holiday scene, whilst I shall just take my boots and belt off. To show time passing I shall wear glasses for the first four scenes, wear them now and again for scene five (as if they were reading glasses), but not at all for the last four scenes. This will show time passing as it will make it seem like Emma didn't need them when she was younger, but as time progressed her eye-sight deteriorated.

Set Changes:   We can't work out how we are going to do our set changes until we have worked out exactly what set we are using and until we rehearse in the space (with the set).

How to show time passing:   As stated earlier, one of the ways we shall show time passing is by giving Emma glasses in her later years. We mentioned the use of placards but decided against this instantly as it is rather Brechtian. Therefore we thought about using projection with the dates on (as we are in the hall and have the use of a projector without interfering with our performance space). To stick to our naturalistic style, we thought about having a projection of different newspapers for each year - so the projection would show the front of a newspaper from that year, with the date showing and an event that made a front page in that year.

After having our directors discussion, we moved on to doing a couple of scenes. Lewis and I did our first scene. Everything we did in this scene stayed the same, apart from Ollie directed me to change my intention slightly for my line "we have the occasional drink", when talking about Casey. I initially said the line as if I didn't really want to talk about Casey, but also hinting that Casey and Jerry are in the same boat - she is currently having a drink with Jerry. Ollie then directed me to say the line as if she is quoting Jerry - she is only given the information to Jerry that he knows.

The boys then ran scene two. This went okay but I gave them a lot of notes on movement. I felt that Lewis was sitting far too still, so an audience might struggle to connect with him and see how he is feeling - therefore I asked him to really focus on how he is sitting, how he uses his hands and how he moves. Ollie is in a similar position with how he holds his arms. After working on their movement this scene really improved. However, I did ask Lewis to change his intention slightly - with the section where Jerry says to Robert that him and Emma spent "very long" afternoons together, I felt that Jerry should get a bit angry - Jerry is being very brave at this point and I felt he would be fuming with Robert for saying that he hit Emma. After adapting this intention, I got the Ollie and Lewis to swap parts to see how they would play it. This helped them both as they could see how the other would embody their character, but it helped me as a director as I had a chance to see how they would interpret certain parts, which gave me ideas on what I should do to improve this scene. I felt that Lewis' stillness gave Robert a quite unpredictable but refined manner so I have asked Ollie to adapt an aspect of this in his characterisation. I also liked Ollie's complete naturalism - he was comfortable with his hands and touched his face and hair a lot to show how uncomfortable he was - this gave Lewis ideas on what to do with his hands.

The three of us then watched a clip online of Janie Dee and Michael Sheen performing scene five - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfqrI5E-ICg. We liked the way that Robert came across as quite nice during this and has opened our minds as to how we can present him - although we shan't change the way this scene was directed / how we shall perform it as we are happy with our version. What I have learned as an actress and as a director is to not be scared of pauses; silences can be really powerful in a piece and can be more meaningful than words.

Site Specific (5) - Movement piece

In this lesson we returned to the movement piece we began a few lessons ago. We decided to cut the part where we all dropped to the floor at different times, as this was quite weak in comparison to the rest of our piece so far. We began this lesson by going over everything we did a couple of lessons ago, and polished our movement. The part where we swapped positions was messy before, so we needed to find a way so that we didn't crash into each other, but could still get to our positions on time. Therefore, we all agreed with our partners which side we shall pass them on, so no one would crash. After we polished what we already had, we created a new section.

James and Rob pick up Ollie M by his legs in a pencil lift. Once he is held in this lift, he goes limp and falls backwards into Ollie K's and Lewis' arms. The four of them lift Ollie up level, and then push him upwards, and then he lands with his arms around Lewis and Ollie. Rob and James walk off. Ollie is put down on the floor and Ollie K and Lewis then walk off. Meanwhile, Kat, Hope and I have walked away from the circle and are in a line at the front. We shall do a sequence of similar but different movements on different levels - we haven't decided what movements we are going to do, but we have got ideas from our research on the rituals. After these movements, we shall do some floor work, so the section of Ollie being thrown up and then put down is visible. The purpose of this section is to show the three "witches" supposedly doing their ritual, and the consequences to what they are doing is happening behind them. This presents how superstitious and gullible people were at the time.

We are wanting to do this movement piece outside on the grass - but we have a lot to take into account. We need to see how even the ground is to ensure that all lifts are safe. We also need to make sure that the ground is clean - not containing any broken glass or twigs or protruding roots - to ensure that if we do floor work, we are not at a high risk of injury. 

Workshop (31) - Audacity

I have now finished editing all the songs for Sweeney Todd! However, I could not find a backing track version of "the contest" anywhere, so we will have to ask our music teacher to play it for us and we shall record him playing it. Number 19, "potential ending", is what I thought we could use for the beginning of the final song. I couldn't find a backing track for the first section of this. Therefore, I got the epilogue backing track and realised that Lovett's sung parts can actually fit quite well to this track - it actually aids our intended creepy and tense atmosphere. We will need to work through this was Taylor in an additional rehearsal, but if we get the timing right, then Taylor's parts will have chimes underneath it. The dialogue would all fit perfectly over this track too, if timed right. The song crescendos leading to the part where the judge sits in the chair. Then I cut the track, and we would change in to the actual reprise of "Pretty Women".