Scaramouche Jones Week 4

Editing and Rehearsals

 

The forth week in preparation towards our 'Scaramouche Jones' assignment, and this week began with a slight change.  Within mid rehearsal a unfortunate event occurred amongst our tutor group.  Unfortunately two members of the tutor group left the course, therefore leaving only ten members of the group and more editing to be made to the script.  With certain scenes and dialogue being cut, in order to have a fair amount of time in the performance and have each member of the group to have an equal amount of lines to learn.  As well as having to split two pieces of dialogue, which were to be said by the two members who left the course, amongst ourselves to ensure that the pieces were not cut entirely.  This resulted in certain members having to say more than one piece of dialogue, which is just like having to learn two monologues.  My part in 'Scaramouche Jones' remained to be the same, except my part to close the play was extended.

     Once the editing was complete we continued with rehearsals.  This weeks rehearsal was to simply focus on people who hadn't practised their parts, on stage, and explore the dialogue to see how we could present the chorus.  Alongside this was the members of the chorus focusing more deeper into the use of movement and speech.  After observing a chorus at work with a lot more use of speech and little movement, we decided to experiment on certain pieces of dialogue.  Where lines were said and we all would have a conversation on whether we should highlight this line through use of speech and whisper.  Also the use of movement was to used a lot more in certain dialogue, such as the use of physically changing the characters position on stage; moving him from front centre stage to back centre stage.

     In summary this whole week was taken over by a vast amount of editing the script and rehearsing to ensure each member of the group would be able to give the best performance possible.  Whether they are on stage representing the character or the chorus.  Along with looking at how to highlight their individual personality's to show the audience that the chorus is just like the characters inner clown and presents his thoughts and feelings.  As well as looking at how the characters dialogue is interesting and intriguing to the chorus, which will catch the audiences attention.  I think this week was helpful as the constant rehearsal will insure that we are all fully prepared and organised for our main performance; and half term ensure that we have full time to practise in our own spare time.  The performance shall take place on Thursday 14th November at 7pm and the second and final performance shall be on Friday 15th November at 1pm.

Scaramouche Jones Week 3

Dialogue and Staging Rehearsals

 

The third week of preparation for our 'Scaramouche Jones' assignment, and our main focus this week was on each tutor group members monologue and looking in more detail as to how we were to do the staging.  The dialogue rehearsals had each member of the tutor group looking at their lines in a little more detail, in the sense of understanding the meaning of certain words and the purpose of the character saying them.  As well as rehearsing and beginning to learn our individual lines, off by heart, so in upcoming lessons we would be able to speak aloud rather than read off a script with hesitation.  Whereas for the other members of the group we were to be rehearsing more on the staging of the chorus.  Focusing on how we were to react to certain words, the character was saying and thinking of how we could mime out the descriptive events in the actors dialogue.  Our first session on Monday 14th October began with a simple run through, as we had the actor read their lines and took notes in our own scripts as to how we could present the characters thoughts and feelings, or even mime out the event they're describing, in the chorus.  This was interesting as we all came up with different ideas that required many different use of speech repetition and staging for each member of the chorus, but in the end we came up with a good use of staging, in the actors part of the performance.
     The second lesson of the rehearsals was on Tuesday 15th and in this lesson we began with taking more notes, in our study book, and received a better understanding of the purpose of a chorus within a performance.  We also had a look at a chorus at work on screen.  Watching a chorus was interesting as they had more use of speech and they used the majority of the stage, which isn't how I pictured a chorus within a production.  My previous knowledge was the thought that the chorus was to use a minimum amount of speech and almost be like the elephant in the room, where the audience knows their presence and purpose, but their invisible in the characters eyes.  Whereas in the footage we watched the chorus consisted of about twelve people, similar to the amount we have in ours, and theirs used more speech, as if to represent a group of people summoning spirits, as they all spoke at the same time.  As well as the chorus we watched had less physicality with the character on stage and kept their distance.  This was all very helpful as we all had a different opinion of a chorus and came up with many different ideas as to how we were to portray our own chorus on stage to for fill their purpose.
     The next half of this lesson consisted of us rehearsing our group monologue.  The group monologue was added in by our teacher who thought it would be interesting to have every member of the group on stage performing one monologue, then returning to individual performances.  But this group performance can be found in the centre of the play, and was a scene where there was two characters being described on stage, and the handy technique of having the whole group perform this was to represent more than one person in the descriptive monologue.  Now as to how we were to stage this, I thought it would be better if we divided the group into two, where one represented Scaramouche and the other represented the extra characters being described by Scaramouche himself.  And how we were to stage this was to have the two groups on both halves of the stage but meet in back centre stage, so we made a 'V' shape on stage.  This was to show us staying in contact, just like a chorus should do.  This was our end result:

I think the end result was very well done, as each member of the group had a line to say and there was a fair amount of movement on stage and in the performance I think the audience shall recieve a good image of the described event.
     For our Physical Theatre lesson on Wednesday we started off looking a little more at our own lines and came up with a plan as to how we could learn them in time for the performance, as well as highlight certain words we didn't understand and had to look them up on the internet to find out their meaning and how to pronounce them.  This was handy for certain people as they did not know how to pronounce certain words and struggled to read aloud in rehearsals.  But this lesson allowed us to look in a little more detail for the next rehearsal lesson.
     We ended the lesson with a great use of Physical Theatre practical work to get a much better knowledge of our character.  So the method our teacher gave us was to close our eyes and look at the characters origins story, and think of how the character would walk and talk and breath.  Then we put the knowledge to the test and acted out an improvised scene, in which our teacher made up on the spot for us to act out the character of Scaramouche Jones.  This was incredibly helpful as we managed to get a physicality to this old man who has been through a lot and is still a performing, famous, clown.  We all came up with interesting methods of the characters physicality and they will all come in handy for when it comes to the rehearsals and the main performance, as we will all be able to portray the character in many different ways, but hopefully have a convincing performance of Scaramouche Jones. 

Scaramouche Jones Week 2

Chorus Preparation

The second week on our ‘Scaramouche Jones’ assignment began with us having a rehearsal of the dialogue and the chorus preparation.  As the play of ‘Scaramouche Jones’ consists of one man on stage telling the story of the main character, and there being twelve members of our tutor group, our teacher came up with a clever method of being able to divide the script amongst the twelve of us so we all have a part to play.  Having a least two pages to perform each.  However the big question was what were eleven people meant to do when one member of the group was to be acting?  The answer was a chorus.  As a group was learnt in last week’s Physical Theatre lesson what the purpose of a chorus is and how they were to be presented on stage.  Knowing that a chorus’ purpose is to present the main characters thoughts and feelings and their position on stage is to be the shadow of the character.  But this week we were to be having a proper rehearsal of how we were to pronounce the dialogue and how we were to present the chorus and receive feedback from our teacher as she was both giving advice and telling us what she thought from an audience’s perspective.  We began as simply as we could with giving a good layout of the stage.  Alongside me reading through my opening lines, with the chorus members analysed each word and discussed how they could present the characters thoughts and feelings as he was saying the dialogue; this was all to be presented through a series of mimes and quiet sounds.  For example, the opening line states: “God, what a day!  What a day,” which is to be delivered with the tone of exhaustion and tiredness.  This was to be the perfect starting point for both the actor and the chorus, as well as a good starting point for our rehearsal.  Because we ended up with presenting the character to walk on stage slowly followed by the chorus and delivers the lines and have the character rest himself down onto a stall, whilst the chorus was to present the feeling of exhaustion.  So their part was to simply collapse onto the stage flaw.  This was very handy as it was a good starting point for the chorus rehearsal and it gives the audience a good understanding of what age the character is.  The next step was to take a look at the very next line: “Good crowd, quite a good crowd, not bad for a swansong.”  This line is to show the characters comments on tonight’s circus audience, demonstrating that he has a long career of performing and has seen many crowds; but at the same time we wondered how we could present the characters thoughts and feelings.  But it was a couple of people in the chorus group who had suggested that they should nod in agreement and make silent comments about what the character has just said.  Again this was handy in the way that the chorus is his thoughts and feelings and at the same time the people acting the chorus would soon perform the same character from the past.  So the silent comments would represent what the younger Scaramouche would of thought about these comments, and how he would of responded.  The whole chorus in a way is to represent Scaramouche himself and almost in a way, they are the elephant in the room, because the audience can see them and the chorus assists Scaramouche on stage but he never really notices them.  Which think is very interesting, and very handy to have choruses in a play such as this one.

     As we went on we came up with many strategies as to present the chorus with the use of movement and whispers to echo to highlight important moments within the dialogue.  But once I had finished reading my part in the play, which was the first two pages, we had to come up with a strategy as to how we were to change actors on stage without it crossing the audiences mind.  This is where out teacher suggested the use of a mirror frame on stage.  A mirror frame is used in stage productions to represent a mirror, but have no glass in it, so the actor may look into the fame and act as though they are looking at their own reflection, and have the audience see what the actor sees.  So for our performance our teacher wanted me and Alicia, who was to perform the next two pages, stand opposite each other with the frame in between us as if to represent the character staring at his own reflection.  But in order for us to switch places we came up with a strategy, a strategy that required me to say my final line and Alicia was to say certain parts, which would give the audience the knowledge that we are playing the same person, alongside us reflecting each other’s actions.  Then we were to take each other’s hand and I was to pull her out of the frame onto centre stage.  Placing her as the next actor performing as Scaramouche Jones and I was to join the chorus and we were to begin performing the thoughts and feelings of her portrayal as Scaramouche Jones.

     The next day we began performing the same technique, but I was in the chorus and it was Alicia’s turn to deliver her lines as Scaramouche Jones.  This time we came up with more mimes and sounds to create an environment that the character is describing.  As this dialogue was more about telling the story of the characters birth, rather than my part, which was just opening the play and introducing the character.  Again this was all very helpful as we managed to create an ideal image as to how we are to present the play in both dialogue pronunciations and chorus presentation for when it comes to our main performance in November.

Scaramouche Jones Week 1

Character Analysis

For our first Performing Arts assignment we are to be performing the play 'Scaramouche Jones'.  The play consists of one man, dressed as a clown, giving the story of his one hundred years of living.  The character named Scaramouche Jones tells us, the audience, his life from the moment he was born and how the first half of his life was one huge tragedy.  Only the first half of his life, because as his childhood was dark and dull, and he describes through dialogue and mime how his mother had died and how he went through the Holocaust in World War II.  But then he describes how his life took a turn and he "experiences laughter for the first time" in his life, and then decided to become a clown for the next fifty years of his life.  The play begins and ends with Scaramouche backstage of a circus as he has just performed his last show and the audience visualises his life through his mimes and multiple voice changes.
     The assignment consists of the twelve of us, in the tutor group, performing at least two pages of the script each.  This is a clever technique in which each member of the group will be able to perform a piece of the script, and the audience will be able to see multiple personality and see how they portray the character.  As well as being able to see the different ages of the characters life, as he, and the audience, is transported to his childhood and early adulthood. 
    
     We began with a read through of the script on Monday 30th September.  A tradition introduction to a new script is for each cast member to have a read through of the whole play to receive a better understanding of the plot and any character details hidden within the script.  Each member of the group was to read their part within the play, and my part was to open and close the play; to introduce the character and close the play.  Once we had all finished reading our parts and concluded the read through we then turned to a discussion as to what our thought and feelings were on the play.  From what we read we had a pretty good understand about what the character had been through and how he came to be in these situations.  This would all be important information as it give an actor better knowledge as to how he/she is to perform their character, by knowing their origins story.  We also presented our initial idea as to why the character would reaction the situation he is describing, or even how he's feeling at the beginning and the end of the play.  Which also linked in with the initial idea as to how the character should be staged and how he should move, to make the performance more realistic and believable.
     At the end of the day we had a look at video showing a professional performance of 'Scaramouche Jones'.  There were two videos showing two extracts of the play, the first clip was to opening lines, and the second clip was an extract from half way through the play.  The video showed a talented performance of the character by actor Pete Postlethwaite.  Now I thought this was very interesting because it can be very handy to see another actors interpretation of the character.  Pete Postlethwaite's performance was very interesting as he was able to perform as sense of a board comedian, the sense of an old man who know what is about to happen to him, as well as the sense of a man who has been through a lot, a really troubled life and, in a way, he is almost happy to see his life come to an end.  Because the clown had a dark origins story and it had a deep impact on him and the audience see's how dark it really was through his description, it was interesting to know, and see another actor perform, the sense that when he is performing as the clown he is all cheery and happy, for the imaginary audience.  But when he is back stage he becomes himself as if to show his dark disagreement of life.  Just like it is delivering the moral message that he has seen the harsh reality of life and will ensure that no child will experience it just like he did, hence forth giving an entertaining clown performance to brighten up and entertain children.

     Finally on Wednesday 2nd October we had another Physical Theatre lesson, focusing on the characters chorus.  Because with there being twelve people on stage and there being moments when another member of the group would come and perform their part of the play, what would the others do on stage whilst the one actor would be delivering their lines?  Well in previous Physical Theatre lessons we were introduced to an actor chorus.  An actor chorus is where a few members of the group, but in this case all, would be on stage and physically present the characters thoughts and feeling as they presented their lines.  In this lesson we had a practise.  So I was to be delivering their first lines in the play, whilst everyone else was to be presenting the reaction to what I was saying and how I was saying it.  Each member of the chorus presented different ideas as to how they should present this, knowing how I was to say the lines, and offered multiple ideas and constantly changed it.  Another interesting method was to offer multiple personality's within the chorus, as in a way to show the different ages of his life.  How they did this was that one member of the group was to be performing a extract in which they were miming the age the character was in his childhood.  So in the chorus they were giving child like actions, whilst the rest just looked in disagreement.  The plan is to use similar reactions and mimes throughout the whole play, as actors would switch places with a member of the chorus and it would be their turn to deliver their lines and the others turn to be a member of the chorus.  The lesson was all interesting and helpful for when we come to do the actual performance in November.