WEEK 2 

Sophie:

Through reading the script i picked up on something very interesting. “I’ve been here before.”, “I think so yes. This sensation… it’s familiar.” These lines, in the opening void, is the beginning of various links to Sophie’s chosen vision and her illness.

Sophie’s life is over-run with routine and consistancy. The memory which alows her to move to the after life is one of complete randominity. It occurs during her time in a coma. It is a dream but more like reality. During her time in a coma, Sophie touches on the after-life which is why she think she has “been here before.”

 Sophie’s life is a reflection on her personality - controlled. Everything she does she has manipulated to be that way. Nothing she does is random and it is because of that - that she is so unhappy. Thus the memory of her sucess during her second flashback is declined by the guide.

Sophie’s reaction to ‘the void’ is going to be very different to those around her due to her controlling personality (depicted above). She is going to feel very insecure and out of her comfort zone which means that she will break out like a rash. I use the word rash as a metaphor because often people suffering from nervousness or uncertainty may break out with one. Sophie will do the same thing to deal with her emotions but in a more physical way, e.g. scratching, fidgeting. Because her emotions are running wild she is also suffering angry outbursts which is uncharacteristic of her everyday life, “I wish he’d stop that!”

OR
She may go about her new surroundings, in the way she does everything else, calmly. Sophie may treat this as she would any other challenge in her life - an obstacle she must overcome whilst being as proffesional and detached as possible, making her surroundings un-important and out of mind. This take on the character of Sophie would be much more difficult to play, as it would be hard to justify her actions if the character is not fully developed and understood by the audience.  

SET AND LIGHTING

Receiving the photos of the Mechanics Institute Theatre was a great help in setting a picture of the space we have to use and the strategies we can employ to create a visual deception. The idea discussed of having a long backdrop which creates a curve joining with the floor, giving the set the impression it goes on forever is in my opinion a great idea. The photos from the set of ‘Ameture’s guide to Pornography’, with just a straight 90 degree wall-floor angle, show the potential for visual effects.

The stage, in my opinion (influenced by the set of ‘Ametures guide to Pornography’, should be dressed to the bare minimum. The after-life, when appearing in movies, is a very pure (white) place, or a place of wild fantasies, filled with colour and the unimaginable. My ideal set would be and empty black space, with black walls on either side creating and angle going out to the audience. The actors would then be dressed in very basic outfits in a neutral shade of  cream or beige. The idea of this is draw attention to the actors and to imagine what it is that they are seeing and feeling.

“I enjoy transformation of every type whether of characters, objects or space through the actors’ imaginations and those of the audience”.  - Christopher Heinmann.

The lighting is key to the stage setting as well as the over-all feeling of the play.The use of bright colours and many of then can create a very ‘out of this world’ experience. It can be also used during memories as symbolism for the kind of memories and characters being played as well as the emotions being amphasized. Lighting is great in this way as by using a small shade of one colour, mixed in with a large shade of another can draw attention to perhaps a underlying theme in a particular scene, and though the audience may not be aware of it their mood is altered.

The other option in lighting is simply going with the basic white lights but in different magnitudes. Using this effect once again draws back to the bareness referred to in the costume and set section. it also makes the shadows of people and objects more defined and obvious.

A large part of lighting, shown by my research is going to be creating the illusion of depth and dimensions via the shadows of the set and props.

‘Lighting designer Adam Crosthwaite, using relatively few instruments, achieves marvellous effects, particularly when the shadow of a stick changes with the position of the sun leading Ketu to believe the sun orbits around the earth.’

The above statment is from a review of the original show, ‘100′, produced in London. It is going to be inspiration for many of the lighting effects used throughout the different scenes. Using this technique the set will be altered without actually being altered which will not only be extremely interesting to the audience but simple to do. 

These are my ideas so far and though put in very ‘black and white’ bending and mixing concepts will be inevitable in a group driven process such as ours. I hope at least some of the concepts I have come up with are appealing but if not please do not be afraid to disagree as I am aware that compromise is apart of our ‘team’ decision making process.

On a side note I would like to say that blocking is moving too slow. I understand that it is a time-consuming and needed process but there is too muchenphasis from the company on the delivery of lines and acting in general. Can we please keep in mind that the blocking is a the building block for the development of characters and though you may have great ideas on how to better a character’s scene or line, please leave it until running of the show begins as it is important for the actor to understand and create their own character. At that time constructive critisism and advice will be much appriciated.

I urge you to please leave feedback or a note for discussion.

Gemz (pilot).