Development Tutorial With Dianne

Development Tutorial With Dianne

Before entering this tutorial i had very little confidence in the material that i had, i felt some sections were considerably stronger and i was struggling with the ending. As part of my character development i had tried being the character and just talking about anything and seeing where the conversation lead. I recorded the conversation incase anything of use came about. From this i ended up with a monolgue full of emotion and the character was litterally sobbing. The problem that i had then was i felt i was not confident enough to portray that much emotion again in front of an audience. So, this i where my tutorial started. I expressed to my tutor the issues i were having and even contemplated just playing the recording. However, my tutor felt it would be more effective to do it as a live performance. She highlighted my passion for the subject as it is a personal topic and believed that i was strong enough to pull it off. We went through the last scene and she helped me work on a technique to cry. Although i didn't reach the point of uncontrolable sobbing i did feel my breathing change and my body shaking. We repeated this, but this time my tutor told me to work with the change of breathing to help aid tears. This did work effectively but it was only a subtle tear. After discussing this with my tutor she pointed out that the subtle tear was perhaps more meaning full to an audience and i shouldn't focus on the idea of making the audience cry.

We also discussed the humour of my piece. After working on the intensity of the rest of the performance it was becoming increasingly difficult to 'be funny'. As this was something that had always come natural to me, i was starting to feel the humour was cheesy and forced. My tutor highlighted the idea that i have demonstrated that i am a good technical performer and working on this piece and pushed me out of that comfort zone and in turn has developed my acting abilities and techniques.

After this tutorial i left feeling confident in my abilities and the development of the piece. My intentions for the piece were to take the audience on a journey and in creating this piece i feel as an actor i too have taken a journey of discovery.

Make-up and effects Tutorial

 

Make-up and Effects Tutorial

For my piece i wanted the character to have visible scars from self-harm, I was also considering having the character slit their wrist on stage. So in order for this to be achieved effectively i asked the help of our Finish Exchange student Jonna Kauvosaari, who has training in stage make up and special effects. Unfortunately she will not be available to do this on the day of the performance as she will have returned home. So i asked her to teach me some basic but effective techniques.

Step 1:

Using 'Fake Skin Make-up', which is like a skin coloured wax roll it into a small sausage about the size you want the scar. Press it on the skin and blend the edges down to look like it is attached to the skin. You should now have a sausage shaped lump in the skin.

Step 2:

Using something with a thin point carve a line down the centre of the scar and smooth down the edges so it looks more realistic.

Step 3:

With a very fine brush add some black into the centre of the cut. This will make the cut look deeper.

Step 4:

Add some read over the top of that and around the cut. Dab with the finger to create smudges and a less cleaner finisher.

Step 5:

If necassary at a tan coloured paint to finish.

My First Attempt

Jonna's Version

Incorporating Humour

Incorporating Humour

I have mentioned before that i want some elements of houmour within the piece to make the audeince think about why and if they should laugh.

I think most of the humour will come from directing dialogue at the audience e.g

Point at an audience member, wag your finger and giggle whilst stating 'You, you shouldn't be here you numpty'

or something of a similar nature.

Relationships

Relationships

'I do not suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, those close to me are the sufferers'

Front of house

Front of House

My initial ideas for front of house were to just have someone taking the audience to their seats and anouncing the start of the performance. However, after some thought my idea now is to create something related to a hospital that the audience may not instantly make the connection to, so that they are unaware that they are in a hospital.

Frome this idea i thought of putting some kind of door beel on the theatre door similar to the security ones you have on a ward at a hospital. Then the front of house members will meet them at the door and lead them to there seats.

However, after thinking this through in relation to the performance piece i have come to the conclusion that this idea would undermine the fact that the audience are infact in the characters head. So if someone interacts with them then it weakens the concept.

So, in coming to this conclusion i now have to think of a way for the front of house to get the audience in there seats without interacting with them, because theoretically they aren't actually there.

 

Episodic

Episodic

One of the characteristics of a Borderline Personality Disorder Sufferer is the rapid change in moods and emotions. In order to portray this effectively i have been exploring the idea of making the piece episodic, so that each section could potentially stand on its own. I think this will demonstrate to the audience how quickly this change in the individual can be.

My initial idea is to link a mood to each episode having some episodes more predominant and having those that will juxtapose each other together will also highlight the intensity when the emotions change.

At the moment the emotions that i would like to explore are;

• Content
• Paranoia
• Anxiety
• Extatic
• Anger
• Sorrow

Triggers

Through the research it has also been discovered that small 'triggers' or events usually generate the rapid change in emotions. These can be small things like somebody looking at them, a change in there routine or plan.

Hopefully these will be the linking factors between each episode.

Work in Progress

Work in Progress 30/03/13

An extract of the peformance based around a small piece of text written by a Borderline Personality Disorder Sufferer. It was their explanation of why they have an obsession with a specific pattern of numbers. It explained what they were and why they believed in the idea.

The number pattern is: 7, 11, 13, 17, 27

The piece was centred on an individual in the middle of a cage, performed in the round. I wanted this small extract to demonstrate the characters passion towards the things she believes in and how important these ideas are to her. I want the dialogue to be directed at specific individuals with rapid movements from one direction to the other, to create the idea that i am talking to one individual that keeps moving. I wanted to create a believable character and perhaps make the audience feel some form of sympathy towards her.

The piece needed to start off small and both the emotion and tension needed to build.

Comments and Feedback

'The extract of Jess's performance was performed with enthusiasm, attention to detail, clear diction and pronunciation, the delivery was strong and concise. As a viewer you felt compelled to look more. Jess used the staging creatively in order to engage with the audience up close and personal. Overall the performance shows great promise and Jess's delivery even more so. I would suggest practice, practice and more practice in order for Jess to reach the full potential for this piece.'
Will J Drury

Jess had created a short piece of working progress that appeared well structured and thought through, being sensitive to the subject matter.  Jess had consideration around the staging ideas and performed with the audience in mind.  The performance was watchable, interesting and though provoking.  A very neat and mature start to the process.
Joanne Kimpton

Jess's performance was equal parts engaging and intimidating. It was captivating
to hear the sequence and the thought process behind the piece, and I would be
interested in seeing the 'broken workings' explored further. I am also extremely intrigued by
the staging concepts and look forward to seeing the finished product.
Graeme Barrie

Costume Ideas

Costume ideas

I want the character to look as natural as possible because i don't want the audience to instantly connect the character with having a mental illness. However, there are certain things i should consider e.g:

• Long sleeves/ trousers to cover scars/ marks from self harm.

• Wristbands or chunky bracelets that hide marks.

I have also been considering the idea of writing a message on the palms of my hands that will not be revealed until the end. Obviously, i will than have to make sure i don't make this visible throughout the performance. This could be possible as i could add this as one of the traits of the character. Refer back to the 'hands' task completed previously.

I like this idea as the hands in themsleves are a form of communication. We use are hands when we can't speak or when it is hard to hear. The character will feel like there is no communication between themselves and others. Also, with the constant voices and hallucinations it could appear to be extremely loud for the individual, which is why i think using the hands at the end will highlight the destress.

Special Effects

Special Effects:

I don't want to feel like i have to tip toe around the subject area in my performance. I want to be sensitive towards it but not so much that it limits my performance. An idea i have been considering is exploring ways of portraying self-harm. I would like to physically show this during the performance.

I don't however want this to be cheesy or unrealistic. i feel that if i can't display it in such a way then maybe i shouldn't use it. I am going to start some trials instantly so i have time to practise and make a decision.

In terms of costume i will also need to have some existing scars as the characters is not self harming for the first time.

Staging Ideas

The key element for my staging will be the large birdcage situated in the centre of the stage.

The cage needs to be big enough for me to fit inside and have some space for slight movement. I also want the bars to be made of a stretchy material possible something like tights so that i can manipulate the cage to demonstrate the characters struggle and highlight the idea of being trapped inside your own head.

I want the audience to be very close to the actions almost making them feel claustrophobic and this is why i have chosen to use the Alan Space. I want the audeince to feel tight and almost as if they are trapped within the perfromance. This feeling will then hopefully help them to relate to the character more.

Character Ideas

Character Ideas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schizophrenia

Characteristics:

• Thought disorder/ Strange Thinking
• Belief that people are reading mind
• Think people are plotting to harm them
• hear/ see/ smell/ feel things others can't
• hallucinations, delusions, psychotic symptoms

 

 

 

 

 

 

Borderline Personality Disorder

Characteristics:

• Takes risks without thinking
• emotions go up and down rapidly
• difficulty making/ maintaing realtionships
• unstable sense of identity
• self harm
• fear of rejection
• delusions/ hallucinations
• suicidal thoughts