Rehearsal log.

My group is Me, Alex, Michelle, Logan and Taffie. We have been given the fourth scene in which King Creon addresses the people of Thebes and speaks of his new decree.

As a group we have contributed well and have come up  with some exciting ideas. For multimedia, we had the idea that we could set our scene in a bunker during the second world war. We would have audio of bombs and sirens going off to add atmosphere and suspense.  It also makes the audience feel more involved as they are also inside the bunker experiencing loud noises and dark lighting. Unfortunately we weren't able to actually able to do this because the show has to follow the same time period in every scene to make sense.

Why have you developed characters the way you have?

Because Creon and Antigone are two very clashing personalities. Both bold and courageous. Both wanting good. But only one knowing the REAL good. So because of this we have characterised our characters in a very traditional way but have placed them in a modern setting.

What multimedia are you using?

My group are making a short youtube video in which I interview each person about what they think of Creon and Antigone's reaction. This is effective as the audience can understand the context of the show whilst they are moving to the next scene.

This will develop the work we created as is makes the audience feel more connected to the individuals in our chorus scene. If we didn't have the video, the audience might be bored of the chorus and just see a bunch of girls running around. The multimedia video will make the audience understand all the perspectives of the characters. You have Antigone and Creon, but not the people. And with the video you can see what the people think of Creon.

Homework.

- Within a Theatre production, how does the use of multimedia help in its communication to an audience? What does it add to the piece?

In this video the performance contains lots of lighting effects and projected images. In the first few seconds of the clip we can see that a blue man is projected onto the floor above. This is a more visual way to tell a story instead of spoken dialogue. Another thing is that nothing is said in the piece. The storytelling is entirely physical and visual. Sometime it is better to leave a lot for the audience to think about rather than to tell them. And that's exactly what this piece does. It leaves a lot of space for the creativity of the audience. 

I have decided to set my version of Antigone in the future where technology is really present. Every man and woman can easily access one another from anywhere in the world. Thebes is a hotspot for technology and thriving culture, but is sought after over its power. I decided to set it in the future because i felt it was relevant to the theme of multimedia and technology.

Performance evaluation.

The performance today was very successful! Although a few minor technical difficulties, the entire show was solid and strong. My scene went according to plan although my voice was particular distorted by my megaphone, leaving the audience slightly confused. The ensemble scenes really worked well and I could see the commitment the groups faces.

The aspect of multimedia enhanced the performance dramatically. Technology definitely has its advantages over a standard performance as it can engage a wider variety of people. The multimedia gave the show a more professional edge, and made it more exciting to watch. Because of this I felt that the audience were thoroughly enjoying the show and were interested more because there was more to take in and there minds had to work harder to understand the story (yet at the same time multimedia made the story even clearer).

If the show had not have included multimedia, I do not think the show would have been more effective. Pinnacle scenes would not have been as engaging. The multimedia allowed us as actors to explore creative ways to tell a story. Without our ideas I feel that we would of made the audience bored watching an about an hour of dialogue.

Out of the entire show, I felt the best moment of multimedia was in Cameron's group. The moment when the messenger tells Eurydice of Antigone and Haemons death. They decided to project a video of a suicide onto a black wall whilst the audience were huddled together. I was watching and felt that the combination of the horrific footage and the cramped audience reminded me of cattle come to be slaughtered. I thought it worked well together and was by far the most atmospheric.

Scenes from Antigone:	Multimedia used and locations	How did the multimedia in each scene enhance the performance?
1. Creon announces that Eteocles will be honoured and Polynices will be shamed and left un-buried.	Video to be shown on screen in reception.	Made the scene feel more realistic and modern which is relatable.
2. Antigone goes to Ismene to persuade her to assist the burial of their brother. Ismene refuses.	By the tree - video shown of the thoughts of the characters.	The videos were informative and made the plot clearer.
3. Antigone goes to bury her brother.	Round of wooden stumps.	I thought the phone was current and modern which is again, relatable.
4. Creon looks for the support of the chorus of Theban Elders in his  decision to leave Polynices unburied.	Creon announces from fire escape door of 415 - chorus round the tree looking up. Audience looking up also.	The megaphone distorted the voices and left the audience unclear on what was going on.
5. A Sentry reports the burial of Polynices. Creon insists that the Sentry finds out who or face death.	Filmed footage of event is shown on screen top of stairs. Sentry talking to Creon.	Helped the audience to remember plot points that are key.
6. Chorus sing about honouring gods.	From the yard up to windows of 413 Recorded chorus played.	The ensemble worked very tightly to make the scene chilling and creepy.
7. Sentry returns with the Culprit: Antigone. Creon confronts her.	Burst into 413 - audience turn to see. Lighting used.	The use of stage lights made the scene look more serious and dark.
8. Creon confronts Ismene. Ismene tries to confess but Antigone won't allow it. And in the end, the two sisters are imprisoned.	Still in 413 but Creon live speaks to a projected Ismene. Antigone is walked out the room and joins the real Ismene - escorted off. Lighting used	Live feed made the scene more engaging. The audience could view the live feed simultaneously.
9. Haemon both pledges allegiance to his father, Creon, and asks that Antigone be spared. After the discussion deteriorate, Haemon storms out vowing never to speak to him again.	Traverse in 413 - iphone lights as the two talk. Throughout confrontation, lights go out, one by one.	Very confrontational and effective. Makes audience feel like a fly on the wall.
10. Creon choses to spare Ismene, and to bury Antigone alive. As she is dragged out, the chorus express their Sorrow.	One light left on Creon's face. Sound of s body being dragged...etc.  Projection and video used	The video made the audience feel invloved.
11. Tiresias attempts to advise Creon that what he is doing is wrong and that the Gods are angry. The prophecy of a dead son is mentioned.	Tiresias never moves his mouth but what he says coupled with weird underscore is played through speakers of 415. Projected video played	The music made the scene more intense. this made the audience understand the seriousness of the situation.
12. The chorus, terrified, begs him to take Tiresias' advice. Shaken, Creon agrees to release Antigone and bury Polynices.	As many chorus as possible fill cavities of 415 and urge Creon. Three doors and side grated window thing.	The audience feel involved.
13. Chorus deliver a choral ode to the god Dionysus.	Lights from iPhone used when physicalising the cityscape of Thebes.	Phone light made the city more visual and was very effective since the room was dimly lit.
14. Messenger informs Eurydice of Haemon and Antigone's death.	Filmed footage on repeat of Haemon stabbing himself and Antigone hanging, swinging from a branch.	Footage was informative and chilling. Left the audience uncomfortable.
15. Carrying the body of his dead son Haemon, Creon is then met by a 2nd messenger informing him of Eurydice's death.	Audience back outside looking at tree. Creon walking through the courtyard, holding Creon, confronted by messenger at the tree. Chorus look down from 415.	Made it more exciting.

Promenade theatre and chorus.

Today we were given the location at the school in which our scene will take place. We were given an outside site, this makes sense as our scene is Creon addressing the people of Thebes (chorus). We were given the courtyard and the fire exit balcony. I thought that this was fantastic as Creon will stand at the top of the balcony and address the chorus the same way as kings or queens used to do. It also would make the characters classes more distinct as Creon is of born of wealth, therefore he is higher up in the social hierarchy. Because of this, Creon would be placed on the balcony to symbolise his higher authority over the chorus, who are lower down the hierarchy and placed below him in the courtyard.

I don't particularly like the distance between the placement of Creon and the audience. The distance would be quiet significant meaning that it would be difficult for them to hear my lines. Mr Crowther said he would like me to use a megaphone to project my voice. This is a good idea as the audience would actually hear me. But, I would prefer to set up a microphone to some speakers as a megaphone would distort my voice and make my diction unclear. Although they would almost certainly hear me, the wouldn't understand me. So a microphone would make it louder and clearer. 

When multimedia comes into play, there isn't a lot we can work with because the performance will take place in spring time meaning daylight hours will be lengthening. This means we cannot use any lighting equipment such as mobile phones or torches as it would be too bright to use them. We also won't be able to use a projector in any form because of the same reason. We are very restricted with the use of multimedia even if we do have a lot of ideas. 

Live feed, music and mobile phones - multimedia lesson.

Live feed

We have learnt about several different ways to incorporate multimedia into our performances, one of which we learnt about is called 'live feed'. Mr Crowther gave us a demonstration of live feed in one of our lessons, in which he setup a handycam to a projector that was pointed at the wall. This sparked various ideas in my head. Can we use this to intimidate and make the audience feel uncomfortable? Maybe we could use this in a larger scale.

I find that live feed can be a powerful tool in terms of multimedia (although any multimedia can be powerful). It adds a unique and interesting finish to a scene which you couldn't get with live theatre. You feel as if you are watching a TV show or film being made right in front of you! 

One way we could incorporate live feed into our performance is by having a camera set up directly at Creons face whilst he says his speech and have it projected onto the large wall at the bottom of the stairs. This could give the impression of the people viewing his speech on TV or on the news. This could make the audience feel even more important to the scene as they feel like they are the people of Thebes watching the announcement for the first time, LIVE!

We could also have a live feed pointed towards our chorus and projected onto different areas. Maybe Michelle is projected onto one wall whilst Taffy and Alex are on another, making the audience intimidated as the chorus seem to be surrounding them from every angle. 

Using audio in Garage Band 

Ms Bailem taught us briefly how to use GarageBand and what the potential uses could be.

I thought that audio in our performance could make our scenes more atmospheric as we could create a piece of music which coincides with Creons evil nature and play it through some speakers. I personally think sound can stir up just as much emotions in someone than a performance can.

But there are less pros than cons when it comes to sound outside. 

It might be difficult as our scene is outside. This means we'd have to play the music louder to be able to hear it, which would drown out the sound of my voice. This would be bad as the audience must hear my speech to be able to understand why polynieces is not going to be buried. Also, to bring speakers outside you would need to have a cable extendor or adaptor. This would be complicated as you would have a long wire running through the school to the performance space. One way you could tackle this problem is by having Bluetooth wireless speakers that run on batteries. This way we could carry it around with us and save space because you don't have to use wires.

Mobile phones

By adding mobile phones to the performance you unlock a huge variety of choices. You could use photos and videos to display something. You could even download the mobile version of GarageBand and play the audio for your scene from your phone. We used our mobile phone lights in the ensemble choral scene in the play. We used to phones lights to illuminate the room as it was dimly light. This made the scene rather eerie and creepy.

Historical Context Thursday.

Today, we did some vocal exercises, which also helped our breathing. Made our multimedia segments to our performances and watch the rest of the companies scenes.

We started off by doing some vocal warmups. We stood in a neutral position and breathed in through our nose for four counts and then out from our mouths for for counts. This was very useful as in my performance I have a lot of moments in which I have to stop, pause and continue. This allowed me to control my breathing in the speech and made my speech more effective and powerful as it gave the audience a moment to register what I was saying and take in the magnificence of Creon.

Later on in the lesson, we had to film our multimedia segments of our performance. We decided as a group that we would style it as a reporter asking questions about the opinions of Creon to the general public. We asked question such as; What do you think of Creon? What do you think about him not allowing the burial of Polynieces? What do think about Antigones reaction?
We are going to edit each persons answers into one film. This allows the audience to watch the video as they walk from scene to scene over the course of the show.

We also performed our pieces to the rest of the class. There was many fantastic scenes shown and you  could really see that each group had put a lot of effort into them. My personal favourites were Gloria's group as they decided to set the scene in a modern day crime investigation. The combination of modern and old really fit as they used modern language at the beginning the scene, but then transitioned into the classic text. The scene was also effective as they added a slight bit of comedy, not too much that it takes away the tragic theme of the play. They had comical police officers who would patrol the body. Their interaction with one another was hilarious and had brilliant comedic timing. I also enjoyed watching Benjis group. They had exceptionally strong characterisation. You could clearly see who had the higher status and who didn't. Jake, who played the part of Creon, had a very enforcing tone to his voice and Benji, who played the part of the weak servant, had amazing vocal control.

This was a very productive day of rehearsals and performances that I benefitted from immensely. I learnt that to show the status of my character you could have a stronger posture, or even a more enforcing tone to my voice.