What was actually used

Blue Print

This is the blueprint Leyla and I came up with for the Medieval Day stage

Medieval Day Discussion

The 6th graders were very attentive when we performed our play, as they sat in front of the stages (technically in the mud and on the cathedral). I believe our performance was quite successful.

Possible improvements:

• bring in the students by social status, so that it is staggered and they can become familiar with the space they are working in and be able to recognize the different social classes
  1. serfs
  2. merchants and shopkeepers
  3. knights/guards
  4. nobles (lords and ladies)
• use music to bring them in the environment
• more color (fields are green, river is blue, castle is grey)
• give them the map of the town before they discover the space
• add more props (herbs and 'poison' at the apothecary station)
  

Acting Exercise Relating to Stanford Meisner

We did an exercise last class that was very interesting. Here is the process:

• Two actors are told a relation (father and son/ sisters/ teammates/ student and teacher)
• each actor was told a different thing they wanted (the other actor didn't know)
  - sister is angry because the other forgot her birthday/ other sister wants food, but has a no-carb diet
• actors go on stage and work off each other

We then had to create a scenario, relation, different motives, and place for two actors of our choice.

It was interesting to see which motives could act as blocks or made it difficult for people to work off one another. 

Writing Assignment: That Which is Hidden

They don't know what they're dealing with. They see a polite, quiet girl who looks serious and does her work on time. They see a petite girl with funny facial expressions and jokes that don't make sense. They see it. It is part of who I am. Do they see the hidden desire to find a purpose in life? Do they see the awkwardness I feel when confronted with certain tasks? Do they see the emotions that are brought about when listening to beautiful music or reading something very touching? It's possible that they do. Probably not. However, there's a reason I like to hide. I don't want them to know who I am completely. I want them to wonder, to be surprised at something I do, to simply regard me as another classmate doing her work and contributing her ideas. No one needs to know who I truly am. Only those I love and love me in return. Is that a bad thing or is it a bit logical? Is it alright if I don't know the answer to all of my questions? I think so. 

Looks like we're doing the Pardoner's Tale!

Kabuki: Caleb's Presentation

Narukami - Thunder God

Imperial court lady
White cloud
Black cloud
Stage assistants
Play write

Status of each character

Stage manager strikes a sort of gong before the play and keeps striking it and ends with one long resounding strike

Setting: secluded mountain retreat by a waterfall
Pupils of Narukami talking with each another

Storyline: Taema, imperial court lady, comes up to the mountain to wash the robe of her recently deceased husband. She loved him very much and came to clean the robe to get rid of anything that may have soiled it. She is actually there to seduce Narukami to give up his vows, as he controls rains. (Reminds me of Ikkaku Sennin).

THIS IS ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE MY PLAY!

Medieval Day

Dogville - Lars Von Trier

• maps out a town with tape on the floor
• imaginary town
• immediately fall into what's essential
• BERTOLT BRECHT

We will be adding a small scene from Canterbury Tales this year

 The Pardoner's Tale

  Characters: Pardoner, Delmar, Eric, Johnnie, Cyril, Ronald, Match-Seller, Store-Keeper, Wife of Bath, Host

The Miller's Tale

Characters: Pardoner, Doctor, Friar, Summoner, Gullible Villager, Host, Miller, Lawyer, Reeve, Cook

Jean-Pierre, Alice, Nicolas, Absalon, Chaucer, Franklin

Using the Plateau Exercise as a Director

I would use the plateau exercise in order to make my actors aware of the space they have and the way they can use it. If I were to plop them on stage and tell them to start acting out a scene, they might be able to deal with the space, but would they understand the importance of one spot versus another in seeming more powerful or less so? I'm not quite sure.

As a director, I would first let them try acting without the exercise and then ask them how they felt about the space. Then, I would try the plateau with them and hopefully it would heighten their awareness of the space.

What others said:

• help actors know where to stand/position themselves
• stage presence
• how to depict balance
• use it as an exercise before a performance
• use it during the rehearsal process
• beginning of rehearsal process
• apply it to each line in the scene

What Ms. Lynch said:

• it's a double-tool - work at the nitty-gritty dynamics of a scene and then turn it over to the actors
• cohesion
• invisible way of getting the actors to work together
• not something you can use all the time
• used for awareness and power of presence and emphasizing space
• it is not a thinking exercise/ you cannot think this through: Sensory
• could relate to the neutral mask in a way

Jacques Lecoq: Plateau

Physical Theatre
Neutral Mask Exercise


ONE PERSON-
Chauffer le plateau
Find my place and place myself

Someone comes in and positions themselves in order to work with each other

one against one
one against two
etc etc

SPACIAL CHESS - reclaiming the space

once they create geometry, a space opens and another person comes in

Journaling: The Conference of the Birds

This was taken from my IB CAS reflections. These are written as entries:


August 30th - Today was the second day of auditions and I found that I can truly express my creativity through acting. However, I did find that when I read directly off a script, my movements are limited and therefore a bit boring. Hopefully I will learn to be less dependent on text and experiment more with movement and voice.


September 3rd - The full Theatre company sat together and did a read through of two scripts in order to decide which one to use for the play itself. When reading the material aloud, I realized how abstract and deep the actual words are. I was able to relate to, for example, the idea of the "Valley of Love" and how it is a part of my own life. I think that a big part of one of my next steps to being able to perform a role, is being able to connect to the piece to my personal life so I can better understand it. Of course, I could not experiment on movement today, but I learned that speaking in different voices is essential. 


September 12th - The rehearsals involving movement have started today. Today we have to run our lines on stage and do some editing. As an observer, I noticed that it is very difficult to assign lines to different people with the same character. It was more difficult to move while reading than I thought. What's brilliant is that we have all chosen hats that have now been assigned to us that allow us to become our characters every time we put them on. My previous reflection was an image of most of the company wearing their hats. I feel that my challenges for the coming days will be to learn my lines better and be more aware of my movements as I try to act more like my bird, the nightingale. I am also looking forward to figuring out how to play the part of "old man" with two other people. 


September 28th - It is two weeks away from the show and I am still faced with challenges. One of my characters, the nightingale, requires me to act very bouncy, energetic and boastful. This can be challenging at times, as I may not have energy and I must always be aware of the way I annunciate certain words. I must be concentrated and focused. Overall, I have improved on my nightingale character and I have developed a bird walk to use. I have also improved on my old lady character, as I have developed a voice to use and have been able to keep it. However, I must work on the posture of my old lady character and reactions. The biggest challenge I have at the moment is to memorize my lines accurately. 


October 4th - Today, I was able to try parts of my costume, including scarves. There were many things I found challenging about the use of scarves, especially since I was given another character to play who spins quickly across the stage and then around a character.  I found myself struggling to keep the scarf out of my face as I spun. I would really like to try and work on my spinning and develop a technique that will work well for me and still give a striking image to the audience. I'm quite nervous for the play, as I have never played character parts before. I have only payed "narrator". This anxiety leads to my need to make sure everyone participating focuses, which causes misunderstanding because a few actors believed I was yelling. I perceived it as asking for attention in order to move on and work on a specific scene. Luckily, we resolved the issue by apologizing to one another and were able to continue. It is a real step out of my comfort zone and I am hoping to do the best I can.


October 9th - Yesterday was our last Saturday rehearsal before the week of the show. I was very tired and found a new challenge that I didn't have to encounter very often before: fatigue. My goodness, it was difficult to play my energetic characters while feeling so weak. I was able to do well, but I mostly tried to focus on the transitions between each scene. We had some trouble working together, as a lot of people were not focusing on the task at hand and were goofing off. I found it incredibly disrespectful and tried to get the actors to work with me in a concentrated way. Sadly, this was difficult and it ended up being a very frustrating rehearsal. I spent some time thinking about the play itself. I realized how important the content of the play is. It is about a journey to find nirvana. It dives into many beliefs in Sufism, which really applies to many cultures in the world. Hopefully, the audience will enjoy the show and will at least understand some concepts of the production. I'm very nervous. We only had five weeks to put it all together. 


October 15th - Today was our third performance of the play and it went well in my opinion. There were no major glitches and most importantly, I didn't forget any lines or queues. It such an exhilarating experience to be on stage in front of people whose eyes are fixed on your actions the entire time. I was shaky and nervous, but I found that once I had an important role or monologue, I stopped shaking. I am so happy to say that I have gotten over the fear of doing poorly over these past few weeks and have managed to pull off a good production with my fellow actors and crew members. 

MALE Puppet

All types, for example: warrior, generals, shopkeepers, clerks

Feet:
• Large, medium, small and special
• White or flesh-colored
• Manipulated by means of small L-shaped piece of metal fixed above the heel. Footwear is also attached to this

Eyebrows

There are four different types of eyebrows

1. Made from hair glued to a thin metal plate shaped to the brow (used for a fierce character like a warrior)
2. Plaster moulded to a shaped to a wooden support and painted with Chinese ink to give lustre (used for youthful characters)
3. Cut from black cloth an glued to the brow (female)
4. Painted on and is more common (young unmarried women)

FEMALE Puppet

Middle aged
Young wives
Young girls
Old women
Courtesans
Ugly
Comic

Bunraku puppets are classified into six principal types: male, aged people, female, children, comic characters, and extras.

Main roles have character variations.
Four feet is the average height.
Heads can be interchangeable if the puppets are similar.

Presentation

Flavia - An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

Late 1800s, rich aristocrat with his wife
He (Robert) is considered the ideal husband by his wife. An old rival of Lady Chillturn turns up with a bachelor at a dinner party. The rival wants to black mail Robert because he and her former lover were involved in an operation, which is how he acquired his wealth. He left her former lover broke. He does not want to ruin his honor, however, his wife finds out anyway and is devastated. She did not want to forgive him because she saw him as ideal for so long. Lady Chillturn goes to the bachelor for help in a form of a letter, which could have been seen as a love letter, used by the rival to break apart their marriage. Robert reads the letter and does not think much of it. Basically, their marriage falls apart and it very stressed by the end of the play.

Shattering of the ideal.

Bunraku: Instructions on Puppeteering

1. When a puppet steps forward, he places his left foot first. A female steps with her right foot first, which is what distinguishes the two sexes
2. A general looks back when he stands up. The other puppets only look back when they leave the stage
3. When a puppet calls out another's name, the puppet points to the sky with their hand
4. To walk slowly, the body should be bent and thighs lifted. To walk in darkness the arms are lifted
5. When asking a question, the puppet steps forward in making a refusal the puppet steps backward. To show fear, the face looks left and right
6. A samurai who arrives as a messenger  takes off his sword when he sits down. An ordinary samurai enters a room with sword in hand
7. Female puppet wipes away tears by moving face and the male wipes away tears
8. A female puppet takes the first three steps slowly and then increases pace when entering the stage
9. Tears may be wiped away with the left hand once in three times. But if the puppet's back is to the audience, it is allowed only once during the whole play
10. To express understanding, the head is raised upward. To express astonishment, the head is raised upward
11. A puppet leans backward to relate to a story and bends forward to listen to a story
12. When two puppets meet, the one with the lowest rank bows without speaking
13. A male puppet moves shoulders when laughing, while a female bends her head with her sleeve before her mouth
14. When fighting begins, there is silence and then a lot of noise
15. When pointing to someone inside, they must point below the eyes of the other puppet
16. The fan held by a puppet is always put down at the same time as a sword. The sword is fixed on the left side of the puppet. A fan is fixed on girdle on the right side
17. A subordinate looks at its master's knees when spoken to. Worship a deity - bow three times
18. Buddha - hands together and head downwards
19. A great master does not move his puppet unless there is a reason to do so
20. It is bad for a puppet to stand idle after speaking, but it is worse to move unnaturally  

Bunraku: Instructions

1. Excessive benevolence becomes weakness
2. Excessive intelligence becomes mere cleverness
3. Excessive faith becomes obstinacy
4. Excessive honesty becomes awkwardness
5. Excessive generosity becomes extravagance 
6. Excessive courteousy becomes adulation
7. Excessive fortitude becomes arrogance
8. There is a great difference between meanness and frugality

To become a great master, first learn these maxims well. If they do not answer all your difficulties, then go to your teacher! 

The Conference of the Birds

Clickity click

A Very Interesting Video for My R.I.

Hopefully you'll learn as much as I have.

I still do not know where this mask is from!

Contemporary Plays People Read

Oleanna - David Mamet (Emily)
College professor and student

Cloud 9 - Caryl Churchill (Kosa)Most scenes end with the characters coming together and singing
Most scenes start with poems
2acts: act 1- somewhere in
Africa/ women play men, white men play black men act 2 - 25 years later in London/ in the park
Cheating, lots of it
British colonialism
Gender/ sexual oppression

Proof - David Auburn (Garvin)

Improv

Today we got into groups of threes and decided on a location we are trying to get to and who we are as characters.

Leyla, Zoe and Flavia were cowboys in the old West riding on horses. Leyla is the dimwit of the three and is riding on a donkey. She was able to utilize her Southern accent and did a good job of sounding, to be honest, like a total idiot. Flavia was the deputy of the three and was constantly trying to take over the power of the Sheriff, played by Zoe. I found that there was a very good balance between the three characters, as one did not stand out more than the others. They made me cry until I laughed.

Tristan, Caleb, and Emily's group were lost in the forest. Tristan had doodled on the map and both Emily and Caleb were making very rude remarks to insult him. Although it came unexpected, Tristan was able to improvise and simply say, "That was hurtful" and develop his character.

My own group consisted of Garvin, Kosa, and myself and we were a group of college kids on their way to a house party. They did some pre-party drinking and Kosa was therefore drunk. He stumbled a lot and pointed in various directions. I was only tipsy and laughed at almost everything they said, although I did have a few serious moments in an attempt to seem sober. Garvin was the strict responsible friend who was trying to find the way. Unfortunately, they ended up at a slaughterhouse.

The Nightingale

• he is a fickle lover
• believes he is a true/best lover and knows everything about love
• he loves a rose. However, the rose never lasts for very long and does not care about the nightingale
• he is drugged with passion
• does not realize how much he's been cheated of love

The Valley of Annihilation

• "Here, all is nothing and nothing is all"
• "The world is drowned, those who know they're null/ Are submerged then dissolve in joy and peace"
• " impure/ Souls remain as stone and aloe, hard and bitter things,/ Vainly resisting existance's fate, they're insecure/ And opaque, no light shines in them, they cling/ To the hook of self"
• "those who submit and merge/ With the greater whole retain their beauty, purge/ Themselves so they are when they cease to be./ This the mind cannot hold no matter how it tries to see"

Main Idea: those who are impure will cling onto their bodies as their souls try to leave, those who are pure will let their souls leave their bodies to join a greater energy, pure souls will purge themselves when they die because they are gaining something greater than themselves, the mind cannot understand it

The Valley of Astonishment

• "Bewildered into this unseen world that's the sum/ Of low spirits"
• "fire does not warm, depression/ Is your qualification in this domain, no higher place/ Seems to open to you"
• "The Valley of Unity was grace:/ It taught you to forget all, emerge and dissolve./ You start from the depths where nothing is known/ Neither the inviolable middle nor the remote resolve/ Themselves in you. All sense of self has flown"

Main Ideas: Only love survives, you are unsure of what is in your heart but you want it to be read, you are lost in emotion

The Valley of Unity

• "In this valley all is broken into your sight/ Then restored again into the One"
• "Ten thousand heads from a single source/ Are raised"
• "But that confusing number rises from one force/ That makes ten thousand again, thus begun/ The whole you perceive becomes a multitude"

Main Ideas: everything is in one and one is in everything, this is a reference to the Simorgh, saying he is one, yet within all of us

The Valley of Detachment

• "When the soul and body join together to render/ The world a distance, a gaze of non-attachment"
• "In this valley nothing has value old or new"
• "If a thousand souls drowned in a mighty sea/ They would be but a flea despatched in a drop"

 Main Ideas: everything we see and know is nothing because there is a greater universe, you cannot take life for granted

The Valley of Understanding

• "Its origins as sure/ as a firefly in the marshy distance"
• "To see the Way you must work to become whole,/ Disperse inattention and sloth, avoid death/ Of spirit"

Main Ideas: Nothing is clear or easy to understand, once you understand you should not be self-obsessed because you cannot reach knowledge otherwise, you must focus

The Valley of Love

• "Love is not something to be borne./ To work out, to reasonably apply"
• "try to hear the cry/ Of a wolf baying at the candid moon/ And you shall sense the nature of love"
• "To love be transparent, ready to give all/ Or else you have none of love's flame"
• "You are ruled by your senses, a pall/ Of reason chokes your will to give/ Yourself whole"

Main Ideas: devoting yourself completely, reason prevents us from giving ourselves, you cannot feel love fully if you do not give your all, love can be too strong/destructive (compared to a raging fire) if you are too taken up by love, love is not easy

The Valley of the Quest

• "You shall be assaulted by pain and doubt"
• "Tidal waves of confusion, none will hear you shout"
• The only way to save your heart is to "bind/ Yourself to the search"

Main Ideas: Freeing yourself from mortal distractions, refining your soul to a more pure state by seeking to answer a Holy question that has no defined answer, reaching out of your comfort zones, facing extreme pains, confusion, not receiving any help

Here is a very useful video to help understand the TCOTB more clearly.

I will be abbreviating "The Conference of the Birds" as TCOTB

Another Set by Karl-Ernst Herrmann

The set for "Mignonne, alors voir si l'arrose.." performed in the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels

More on Le Songe d'Une Nuit d'Ete

Please click this link to watch a related video

Le Songe d'Une Nuit d'Ete

Last night I had the privilege of seeing Le Songe d'Une Nuit d'Ete at the Theatre de la Porte Saint-Martin. The play is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and is in French. Although my French is not fluent at all, there were a few things I could take a way with me. However, I am a strange thinker so I will do this in lists.

THE SET:

• main colors were black, white, gray, and some brown
• a lot of the material was reflective
• there was a rising platform at the center and back of the stage
• the main shapes were circles (at least I noticed)

THE COSTUMES:

• the play was set in a 60's-70's time period
• main colors were black, white, brown, pink, red, blue and green
• the females wore go go boots and had their hair tied up tightly (mostly) and wore dresses from the fitting time period
• the men wore business suits or very colorful clothing

THE LIGHTING:

• it was very flashy during the choreography
• there were themes of colors
• it was used to mark specific spots the actors had to go to
• at one point it was used as lighting or magic striking Puck

Karl-Ernst Herrmann

Herrmann's Clemeza di Toto

I'll start by sharing some links I read first:

http://www.goethe.de/kue/the/bbr/bbr/hl/her/por/enindex.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/jul/20/artists-artist-theatre-set-designers

IB Aspect: Acting

Alright, last year I helped with set for "Love's Labour's Lost" and therefore had two other aspects of Theatre left to explore.

This is the main reason I am acting in "The Conference of the Birds" this year. I am playing the roles of the Nightingale and an Old Man (Well, old lady). I have only played the role of "narrator" in previous plays, so this is somewhat of a big step for me.

Difficulties I am having so far:

• Keeping a voice I invented for a character
• Always remembering to move like a bird
• Being aware of how to read out my lines and in what tone

"No amount of skillful invenion can replace the essential element of imagination" - Edward Hopper

What comes to mind when I read this quote is that the best skill you have is your own imagination. Having the skill of invention may be useful, but what one does with that skill is also important. To me, skillful invention requires a bit of creativity and a lot of academic knowledge or common sense. However, imagination requires more. One has to be creative and be able to think of the impossible as entirely possible in any situation whatsoever. I actually have a difficult time with a quote like this because I mostly feel my answer more so than think it. I cannot always phrase it.

Sandwich Bench

Last class we did a very interesting acting exercise that I very much enjoyed. Four people went on stage one at a time and sat on a stool, imagining that they were in a park, to eat their meal. As an actor, you had to determine what you were eating and how you were eating it. Then you had to change the way that you were eating, nothing else.

I found that extremely difficult because, first of all, I was eating a green apple and drinking a bottle of water. How does a person even hold an imaginary apple? How do you eat apples in different ways? This exercise really made me realize how difficult it is to do a simple action in a different way. I became extremely aware of everything I was doing. Overall, I really enjoyed the exercise and feel like doing more like it would really help me grow and explore different characteristics.

THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR HAS STARTED!

It is time to get to work and I hope to fully apply myself to Theatre. Wish me luck!

Ikkaku Sennin: Plot

The play was originally by Komparu Zempo Motoyaso

It takes place in Barana (a kingdom in India) and it is the autumn. To make it less complicated, I'll do the plot in bullet points/list form.

1. The Dragon Gods are trapped in a cave because of Ikkaku Sennin's curse and are unable to make it rain. The emperor grieves for his land, as it is all dried up and there is a terrible drought. Shinka, who serves the emperor of Barana, is to take a beautiful girl (Lady Senda Bunin) to the mountains where the wizard lives for him to fall in love with.
2. Shinka, two koushou, and Lady Senda Bunin travel to the mountains (they sing a travel song).
3. They arrive and claim to be lost travelers. Ikkaku Sennin tries to make them leave, but decides to show himself.
4. They offer him some sake, but he refuses by saying hermits only eat needles of pine trees and drink dew.
5. Lady Senda offers him a cup of wine and he accepts, as he has fallen in love with her. He falls into a deep sleep.
6. Upon awakening, he discovers that he has lost his powers for being with humans and getting himself "lost in lust".
   
7. The great dragon gods are released and appear before him.
8. Ikkaku Sennin takes a sword and tries to fend them off. He exhausts all of his remaining magic powers and drops to the ground.
9. The dragon gods go back to their dragon home.

I think I'll introduce you to Ikkaku Sennin first and then talk about Noh.

Yes, I do everything backwards.

Maybe it would be easier to post all (or most) of my RI notes and info on here..
LET'S SEE HOW IT GOES!

Ikkaku Sennin: The Characters

Ikkaku Sennin: He is a holy hermit monk with a horn on his head. He is better known as the "Holy Hermit Unicorn". He is said to be sprung from the womb of a deer, explaining the horn. The actor wears a mask.

Lady Senda Bunin: She is a beauteous young woman sent to seduce Ikkaku Sennin in order for him to lose his magic power. A mask is also worn.

The Two Dragon Gods: These are the gods who are responsible for the rain. However, they are trapped in a cave because of Ikkaku Sennin's curse. These actions have caused a drought in the country. They also wear masks.

Shinka: A servant to the emperor of Barana, a kingdom in India.

Two Koushou: They carry the palanquin Lady Senda rides.

Two On-Stage Assistants

Chorus of six or eight people

Irwin, Vera Rushforth. "Ikkaku Sennin." Four classical Asian plays in modern translation . Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972. 241-269.

Supporting Images

Points to Make For My Oral Exam (With the Help of Leyla)

1. Did not know much about theatre before - the only time I was on stage was for a band concert or when I played narrator in Elementary School
2. Had the most difficulty with sharing my ideas and revealing/exposing who I am
3. Broke the barrier by being encouraged and hearing others' ideas as well, learning more about practitioners and realizing I may be able to really develop with mine
4. I learned from the process of using stimuli and devising that
   - theatre can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, as long as you have a clear message
   - stage elements take a lot of work
   - practioners' theories can be of great use
5. Grown in developing my ideas and thinking more outside the box
   - I'm more creative than I thought and am having less of a difficult time creating a message
6. A message I find in a lot of my pieces: It's okay to be different and there's no need to hide.
7. Themes I find in (almost) all of my pieces: acceptance, difference, vibrance

Images:

- a blank canvas (I have so many ideas to paint)

- trombone (another passion of mine that is stressful at times, but gives me the sense of release: COMPARISON)

- thinking outside the box

- a nice necklace with different beads (all these different people make a beautiful product)

- something simple looking on the outside, but complicated on the inside

THEATRE IN PERFORMANCE:

• Acting
  - Brecht
  - Disney
  - The Empty Space (Deadly, Holy, Rough Theatre)
  - Green Team Piece
  - Improv. Pieces
• Devising
  - Little Airplanes
  - Disney
  - Musical
• Writing
  - Musical
  - Little Airplanes
  - Monologue
• Critiquing
  - We critiqued everything
  - Sweeney Todd
  - Julius Caesar
• Directing
  - Pulp Fiction (?)
• Stage Elements
  - Doing set of Love's Labour's Lost

THEATRE IN THE WORLD:

• Three Penny Opera (Brecht)
• Topgirls (Caryl Churchill)
• Little Airplanes of the Heart
• Marat/Sade
• Romance Language
• took a peek at Commedia dell'Arte
• practitioners
  

1. Brecht (Epic Theatre)
2. Meisner (Method Acting)
3. Shakespeare
4. Brooke (theories)
5. Jacques LeCoq (Physical Theatre)
   - space, colors, plateau, animals, elements
   - clown (Bouffon), neutral mask

THEATRE IN THE MAKING:

• devising from stimuli
  - process, music
• directing and visions
• acting
  - physical (LeCoq)
  - method (Meisner)
• make up
• color
• masks
• spatial awareness
• researching, doing, observing, recording (journal/blog)

Theatre Exam. Oh boy.

Alright, this is officially my drawing board for my Theatre exam on Tuesday. After visiting the museum on Wednesday a few main ideas have popped into my head:

• four people (each from a culture I briefly mentioned in my previous posts) meeting and showing one another their own cultures
• transforming into a different animal according to character traits (happy - dog, shy - ostrich etc.)
• going from an objective world to an animated world

I'LL EDIT WHEN I THINK OF MORE IDEAS!

Un Monde Subdivisé/ A Divided World (Branly)

Same body, same soul.

My group looked at the totemic object of a kangaroo from Australia. The idea that one is part of one bigger ancestor animal is shown. A story was told to us of aboriginal Australians hunting together and dividing up the animal they have caught later. While a person from the South takes the tail of the animal, a person that lives in the center of the land takes the heart of the animal. By hunting the animal and taking their specific parts, they realize that they are a part of the same clan. One ancestor is always kept in mind, as each clan has a different animal. Each family takes a different part of the animal, as they are part of the ancestor.

Un Monde Objectif/ An Objective World (Branly)

Same bodies, different souls.

We looked at a portrait (naturalist object) of a woman from Europe painted during the Renaissance. In this culture, animals are seen as objects and are not equal as in an animist world. The material world is paid attention to and humans are seen as better than animals because they have souls. It is humans that show the importance of the material world. Humans like showing how different they are as the light is always on them in paintings, every person looks different, we are just machines and the soul is more important than the being.

Un Monde Enchêvetré/ A Entangled World (Branly)

Different bodies, different souls.

We looked at a statue which captured the idea of analogism; bringing similarities to oneself. The idea that one can represent the whole world in a small thing just as Japan is represented in a small Zen garden is applied to the statue. One can gain the qualities of animals by adding the animal pieces to a statue of oneself. Examples of this can be wanting the ferocity of a lion by adding its teeth. Representations of elements are also included and mostly shown in the concept of analogism, but also appear in all other beliefs in some way or another.

Un Monde Animé/ An Animated World (Branly)

Different bodies, one soul.

We looked at an Inuit mask from Canada and had a discussion about their beliefs. In an animated culture, the beautiful idea of metamorphosis is illustrated. The body is just clothing that one can change. The mask had a man inside the bird, implying that metamorphosis is always constant. When wearing the mask, one can transform from a human to a bird to communicate to animals. Animals and humans are equal and one cannot possibly know whether one is meeting a human or an animal. Although the mask is merely an object, it embodies a major belief of an entire culture. It shows the constant change of "clothing" from animals and back to humans.

The Battle Between Art Critics and Archeologists (Branly)

When the museum was built, art critics and archeologists argued over how the various artifacts were to be displayed and how they were to be viewed. While the artists wanted to show beauty, the archeologists wanted to show the meaning. Archeologists noted that these objects were not supposed to be on display as art during the specific time periods in the first place. An aboriginal Australian did not draw in the sand for the entire world to see, but rather to mark the presence of their community and let it be swept away. Having visited the museum with my classmates, we noticed that the artists won.

Architecture of the Museum

Here are a few things Leyla and I noticed about the museum:

• White, light earthy colors and dark earthy colors are mainly used in the interior design
• The bottom floor where you check-in is very dark and dimly lit
  - burgandy and deep/wine red are the most prominent colors and banners are hanging from the ceiling
  - circular columns
• A tube of musical instruments is in the center of the wide stair case
  
• The rungs throughout the museum curve like snakes and are not adjusted according to what they are attached to
• There is a projection of a river of geographic and cultural words (white on white with some deep red)
• The idea of a river of culture is reoccurring in the entire museum based on the interior design

Musée du Quai Branly Field Trip!

Okay, so I'm going to compile a bunch of notes that will probably be extremely out of order and will add images later on.