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.

Multimedia Monday.

An incorporation of multimedia in a live performance.

In today's lesson we incorporated multimedia into our chorus work in page  of Antigone. We decided to use our mobile phones' flash light to help create the image of a city skyline with lights on in the houses. I felt that this was really effective as it allowed us to have more variety on stage to look and enjoy, rather than just looking at a live performance.

Chorus scene in which I use my flash light.

We also blocked the chorus section on page 15 and 16 of Antigone. We decided that that we would use our physicality and body rather than incorporating multimedia.

Second Lesson.

1. Which scene did you work on?

I worked on the Edward Miller adaptation of Antigone, which was adapted for a more modern audience. In this scene, Antigone confronts Creon about the burial of her brother, polyneices. Knowing she has defied Creon, she anxiously awaits her punishment.

2. What do you think of the style of writing?

I found the style of writing was still very formal, but more relaxed for a modern day audience. A modern day audience can still understand the emotions and the subjects as they are universal. Themes such as death, sexism and war are all common in todays society, but cane overpowering if you do the adapt the text to a modern audience so that they can understand it all.

3. How was this scene different to the other script used in the lesson?

In the original text it was very word heavy with some very complicated words to understand whereas in this adaptation it was less of a text and more of a natural conversation between the two characters.

4. Did the language make the characters change?

Yes, they did. I noticed that when we used the original text we are more focused in what we are saying so that we don't muck up our lines rather than performing. In this adaptation, we focused more on the relationship between Creon and Antigone. We were more used to the language and we felt more relaxed performing and could utilise our techniques.
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We later created an adaptation of Antigone on our own for a modern audience. My group decided to set the play during the First World War. We decided this as it wasn't to hard to understand and it was also modern for the audience to enjoy. We created modern interpretations of the characters in the play with Antigone as a very 'posh' english woman,along with her sister Ismene, who was also very well spoken. I played the part of the exceptionally camp servant who had a lust for Creon and had a special talent for eavesdropping.
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1. Susanna's group

This was a very comical interpretation set in a primary school. With Creon as the headteacher and Antigone and Ismene as naughty school children. The chorus were are a group of gossiping schoolgirls, which was surprisingly effective.

2. Benji's goup

They decided to set their version on an iMessage group chat. They demonstrated brilliant use of multimedia, using ringtones and internet terms. Very comical and well performed.

3. Alex's group

This was set in the Big Brother House. Crean was played as the house leader and showed clear status even in a modern interpretation.

4. Roseby's group

This was set amongst the workings of the mafia. This had very strong characters and was an interesting time period to set the play.

5. Erics group

Very, VERY funny. I couldn't stop laughing. The characters of the servants were particularly hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed.

6. Stacey's group

Set in a bankrupt pub. Crean was actually the father who couldn't afford to pay for the pub and the rest of the caster the suffering family. I could see it may have been some sort of Eastenders themed version.

7. Matteo's group

Set in a modern London gang. Matteo was a very amusing Creon and interacting well with Ella, who played one of his henchman.

6. Exploring The Text

Ismene and Antigone

What did we focus on when exploring this scene?

When we explored the scene, we focused on the relationship as sisters and how they react to one another. We also looked at the views of the characters as Antigone doesn't obide by the laws whereas Ismene does.

How did you explore the characters practically? 

I decided that since Antigone is quiet a rebellious character she would have more of an open body, almost like a modern day teenager, and Ismene would have strong posture to show that she is more of an 'upstanding citizen'.

What did you discover about the relationship between the sisters? 

From what I've read, it seems that maybe the sisters used to get along, but due to Polynieces' death they have drifted apart socially and morally. In the scene we read, it seemed that their relationship is rather volatile. 

How did this scene link to some of the information you discovered about the historical context?

It showed the conflicting views of politics against religion and how women were treated in a Greek society. We can see this when Ismene talks about how women can't do anything in the world.

Antigone and Creon 

What did we focus on when exploring this scene?

We focused on exploring the status' of the characters and the way men treated women and vice versa.

How did you explore the characters practically? 

Once again we focused on the posture of the characters and how a man might carry their body as with women. We also looked at the projection of Antigone and Creon. We thought that since Creon is a king and a man he would project his voice quite loudly and well spoken. Antigone would be defiant so she would also project her voice but nowhere near as much as Creon.

What did you discover about the relationship between the characters? 

Just like the relationship between Antigone and her sister Ismene, the relationship is volatile and intense. Neither one of the two even remotely like each other even though they're family. Because of Antigones gender, Creon feels more important. He doesn't want to have to associate with her.

How did this scene link to some of the information you discovered in the session about the historical context?

This scene showed that women were treated poorly as apposed to men and that men were better off in the world than women. It also showed the importance of status and the social ladder as Creon is the highest and and Antigone is less important.

5. Women in Greek Theatre

1. How were women viewed in Greek Theatre? Why?

Typically in Greek Theatre, the female characters were who the audience would sympathise and relate too most. Even In a society that saw women as the underclass, you would find it peculiar that the characters written for the stage, such as Antigone, Electra and Medea, were strong, empowering females. And even though plays were written by men, performed by men and watched by men, there would be no females in sight. This is because women were not allowed to view the performances. Women were occasionally seen but not heard and were deemed of lesser importance than men. Their absence from the theatre left the plays to be influenced by male eyes only. This can be shown throughout Antigone as King Creon has all of the power and is left to rule Thebes, whereas Antigone has to fend for herself in a mans world.

4. Cultural Context 

What were the performance conventions in Sophocles’ time? 

There were many performance conventions during Sophocles' time, one of which was the fact that there was limited set pieces so the cast had to announce the setting and describe the scenery so the audience know where the play is set. Although most of the time the plays were set in amongst the cities, where the theatre is situated.

Another convention is that only few actors were allowed on stage at a time. This inevitably led to the creation of the chorus. The chorus allowed the cast to have more than three or four actors on stage at once and made it easier to tell the story, making the process of time changing quicker.

What were the trends or fashions within the performing arts?

In a Greek Theatre, the cast were always all men. Actors wore masks made of linen and cork to give the illusion of different genders and exaggerated expressions. It also made it easier for people at the back of the audience to see, so it made them a recognisable character. The masks often had a traditional hairpiece attached to them and had a large eye holes and mouth holes for the actors to see and hear. The large eyes makes the mask look rather creepy. 

Actors who played tragic roles wore boots called cothurneses which made them taller than the other actors. When an actor was playing a female role, he wore a wooden structure called a ‘prosterneda’  infront of the chest to imitate breasts. As for costumes, their isn't much they wore. Originally the actors would wear body paint instead of clothing but over time it changed. Actors who played important characters wore more intricate clothing that were more expensive whereas the less important characters wore robes and rags.

3. Social Context of Antigone

• What do we mean by the social context?

The social context is the social environment during the time of the play and events that may have had an influence. It is also means how people interacted and how society treated one another.

• How did people live at the time Antigone was created?

During the 'Golden Age' (4th Century), Greece was a bustling community that were graced with the theatre, live music and books. The society was male dominated. Women were treated incorrectly, they were to accompany and obey their husbands and serve to cook, clean and  their offspring.  

• Who was the target audience for the piece?

The target audience was for that of a male audience with no females allowed. The play was written for the people as a useful tool of propaganda, teaching the people that too much Dionysus in your life can be a very bad thing, leading to bad consequences.Since this was written for the citizens of the city, this was a great way to control the masses.   

• What were the needs, values and beliefs of the target audience?

The Greeks had many strong beliefs, one of which was that power was determined by gender, leaving women the lesser of men. They also were very religious, worshiping many Ancient Gods. Zeus, Poseidon and many others were very common. 

• How did this influence the themes and characters of Antigone?

The themes of the play were heavily influenced by religion and social beliefs at the time. We can see there is  conflict between Creon and Antigone which shows the idea of religion against politics, as Antigone wants to bury her brother but Creon deems it wrong. We also see it throughout the play as men are shown to be the characters with higher status and power, whereas the females characters are treated unequally. Although the character of Antigone was written as a strong female.

• What have you found out about the social context of Antigone?  

I have found out about how the people lived during 4th Century B.C and the social conventions of society during the time. This has helped my performance as I understand the status my character has over others in the play, and has defiantly benefitted me.

• Who went to the theatre?

In a female oppressed society, Men were the only ones privileged to go see theatre, women were not permitted at all. Occasionally seen but never heard. In the society at the time, women were seen as the underclass of men, leaving an unequal society. Some would even argue that we live in one today.  

• What was the relationship between theatre, politics and religion? 

We can see these relationships through the characters of Creon and Antigone as Antigone wants to give her brother Polyneices a proper burial due to her beliefs, but Creon objectifies that because of the politics. Crean was forced to make this difficult decision because he needs to show the citizens that he is a powerful leader who can make tough choices.

2. Current Events

Antigone, performed by the National Theatre.

1. What was happening when Antigone was created?

Antigone is said to have be written by Sophocles around 441 B.C, during the rule of Pericles. Sophocles passionately believed in a democracy over dictatorship and many other forms, this is and influence that showed in his writing. In the play, Thebes' people has just come out of a bloody and terrible war that's left the country scarred and crippled. This is the time in which Creon steps into power.