Monday 25th November 2013

What did we do?
In this lesson, we analysed our "Theatre Uncut" performance pieces that covered the topic of "Immigration in the media". 

I was assigned the role of "Eddie Reeves" in the short play, "Church forced to put up gates after font is used as wash basin by migrants" by Mark Thomas.

From reading the script and analysing the themes/context of the play, I gathered that my character represented the "caricature" of the "right-wing news reporter of the 21st century", loosely based upon the ideologies of the "Daily Express" Newspaper. 
The remainder of the lesson was allocated to reading through the script, familiarising myself with the "given circumstances" of "Eddie" which I interpreted as "racist" and "misogynist".

From discussing my character with peers in class, I was able to gather ideas on how I was going to convey my character of a "rich/fat capitalist" on stage.

What Went Well?
Understating the themes/context of the performance, gave me some insight into how I was going to present the character of "Eddie" on stage.
My confident understanding of Brecht and "caricatures" helped me in this process and gave rise to a number of extravagant possibilities into how I was going to present myself in an exaggerated Brechtian fashion much like the representation of a "Fat Capitalist". 
The "given circumstances" allowed me to play around with my character, broadening my understanding of what it meant to be "powerful". 
Overall, I was able to utilise the skills and techniques of Brecht such as "Gestus" in presenting a character which represented "status" and "gluttony".  

Even better if?
I believe I would have gained more from my character if I began in the first lesson of "performance work" to transfer all my ideas of Brechtian performance and the themes of "power" and "status", into a practical exploration of my character, instead of basing the lesson solely on theoretical understandings, with "note-taking" on ways in which I could create a convincing character.
I understand however, that a character can only appear "convincing" if preparation and theory is applied before the practical rehearsal process begins.

Conducting a Political Protest

Staging a Political protest in awareness of "Gender Equality and Equal Rights".

What did we do?
In groups of between three and five, we were instructed to choose a subject on the basis of which we could create a "staged political protest" from. In my group consisting of myself, Harvey, Seth, Poppy, Sukey and Ruby, we decided to develop our piece around "Gender Equality" and "Equal Rights for Men and Women".
Our aim in protesting was to draw upon the gender stereotypes that our generation is faced with in everyday life and challenge the boundaries of principle. 
In order to achieve this aim, we used role reversal ie. men dressed as women and vice versa, in order to challenge the idea of why both genders are segregated in terms of fashion, sex and opportunities.

The Pros of our Political Protest
From initiating and conducting our Political Protest on "Gender Equality", I believe our desired response of interest and awareness was achieved from the audience. We wanted to make sure that our protest covered topics ranging from "homophobia" to "equal rights for men and women in the bedroom" and most audience members respected our argument and supported our cause.
I believe that the content within the protest was successful in raising awareness for "gender equality" and that our interview/discussion method, effectively interested our audience and got them thinking, discussing and sharing ideas on the basis of "gender equality".
The "immersive" nature of the protest i.e. "through the selling of orgasms" intrigued the audience and in response, helped them become more aware of our message. 
It also made the whole experience more inviting and intriguing, spreading "equality" in a positive, light-hearted way.

The Cons of our Political Protest
At certain points during our political protest, we had to deal with minor negative homophobic comments directed at the usage of dresses by the males in the group. The dresses were used as a technique to raise awareness for the social ideas that divide both men and women in terms of "fashion" and many other social factors. However, as a group we understood that some individuals may have been sensitive and therefore misunderstood the premise of our argument resulting in the negative responses to our political statement.
Another factor that posed as a problem in the early stages of devising our protest was the idea of not making the piece reliant on "theatrics" and "comedy" which may have defeated the purpose of our message and the sincerity of "gender equality" but at the same time, keeping it light hearted and humorous. 
We decided in the end to have a mixture of both, we would address the theatrics through song/dance and incorporate more deeper understanding and awareness of "gender equality" through our interviews.

In all, the protest proved a success in addressing the social factors that divide both men and women on the topics of "image", "sex" and "expectation". 

We were able to draw upon these factors in a mature and well-rounded manner that enlightened and inspired our audience.

An example of how we used "Role Reversal" as a way
of intriguing our crowd with a clear political message
of "Gender equality".
We also used banners with punchy slogans such as
"Let it grow" to promote the idea of "going natural"
and not falling for the pressure of artificial beauty
created by society.
 

During the protest, we allowed members of the crowd
to participate. We conducted short
interviews on their attitudes towards "gender roles"
and the patriarchal ideas of sex and relationships
which plays as a contributing factor towards
"gender inequality" in society. 

An example of how we incorporated
humour and comedy into our
protest through "song".
The traditional Christmas hymns
were given "lyric twists" that referred back
to our protest for "gender equality" and
"equal treatment" of men and women.
As a group, we incorporated "song" into
our protest from our understanding of
Brecht and his technique of "montage"
which was used to immerse and involve
the crowd in our stand against "gender 
mistreatment". 

Through "Song", an idea we were able to develop from
our work on Bertolt Brecht in emphasising the moral
idea of the piece, we were successful in attracting 
members of the audience to engage with our argument
 through familiar tunes with a "lyric twist".
We decided as a group that the message of our piece
would be more engaging and inspiring for an audience
if we made the whole experience light hearted and 
entertaining.