Julian's Children's Theatre Journal (2006)
Week Eleven - Week Fourteen
The focus of the workshop this week was dance. Salmiyah ran us through a warm-up that included plenty of stretching, and several techniques designed to help us find our centre of balance and flow of energy through the spine. As Jenny’s play is very elemental, we also ran through the movements associated with those elements. The Snottygobbles of course are earthy and grounded, but have water-like qualities in their camouflage mode, the circus performers use the motions of fire, while the fairies are light and airy. Interestingly, Caballus was paired with the Chinese element of metal as befitting his hard, cold character.
Although many of the participants (including myself) had initial reservations about our natural disposition toward clumsiness and lack of grace, we soon found ourselves enjoying the dance exercises and losing any inhibitions we may have harboured. We were encouraged to dance and move as our own characters, which is particularly important as some of the cast still need to work on their characterisations. In Children’s Theatre, unlike other, more realistic forms of drama, overacting and excessive characterisation is encouraged. To simply move and act as one would normally is to be rendered unnoticeable (or worse, boring) on the Children’s Theatre stage.
A second purpose of the dance workshop was to reunite the cast and the crew who have been largely separated since the auditions. A professional production relies on the cooperation of all parties if it is to be successful, and teamwork is essential. Although the actors may be the public face of the play, the lighting, sound, FX, design, set building, costuming, management and publicity components must all integrate seamlessly to create the illusion of an alternate reality.
Today I got to try on part of my costume for the character of Sarki. It consists of a white, ruffled shirt and three quarter length white trousers with brass buttons. This will help to give my character a sense of authority that should be obvious to the children watching. The costume will undoubtedly help me refine my character further, but I will write about this when the costume is completed.
This week I also used the internet to do some research on the meaning of the name, Sarki. According to Jenny, the name means ‘chief’. I also found reference to it as a respected family caste in Pakistan, which linked to some interesting material about the caste system and levels of authority. It is also a form of song in Ottoman music. Perhaps I can incorporate some of this near-eastern culture into Sarki over the next few weeks.
The bump into the Nexus Theatre today not only reinforced to me the degree of professionalism that is required from each and every member of this unit, but also brought a whole new dimension to our production. I am not talking here of music, lighting, FX or costuming, although these are undeniably important, but of the dimension of height. While rehearsing in the Drama Workshop, I had little concept of how the overhead walkways would be incorporated into the onstage action, and now it seems to me as though the whole play has ‘opened up’ as a result.
The move to our new location has also meant that much of today was spent re-blocking the action. There are new entry and exit points to consider, including use of the main door at the top of the auditorium, and of course the overhead walkways have to be utilised. The physical stage space too, seems more restricted than the Drama Workshop, although I think this is largely due to the fact that Nexus has curtains, rostra, backdrops etc. in place. This has completely altered the dynamics of the play as every cast member adjusts to the new requirements of the performance space.
This week also heralded the introduction of a simple dance routine for the Snottygobbles. As I find any kind of structured or coordinated movement on stage incredibly difficult, especially while reciting lines, the introduction of the dance meant that I forgot both the dance and my lines simultaneously. This is the first time that I have felt discomfort on stage for some weeks. Lauren went beyond the call of duty in giving me instruction, and our movement rehearsal with Salmiyah also focused on giving the dance some sense of cohesion. However, I sense a lot of practice ahead before I am fully competent.
I also have concerns this week that the Snottygobbles are still failing to gel as a team. We rarely seem to have all members present for movement workshops, and some of us have not yet learned lines, blocking, timing, or worked on characterisation. I feel that this shows in rehearsals, and adds to the stress levels of other group members, with adverse effects on their own performances. In order for the group to achieve its full potential and perform beyond the sum total of its parts, all members must leave their ‘baggage’ at the theatre door and focus upon the job at hand as a unified team.
Some words of congratulation this week to the set designers and constructors, (simply awesome work guys!), the Ed Pack people who have done an amazing job bringing the production into the educational environment, and to Darren who has been given the unenviable task of replacing Karl as the goblin king, Caballus. Although this late change is bound to change the dynamics of the performance, Darren seems to already be on top of the situation and is turning in strong performances during rehearsals.
The pressure is well and truly on now, with daily rehearsals, tech runs and behind-the-scenes chaos. Although I knew that Children’s Theatre was a demanding unit, I don’t think I was quite prepared for this! It is therefore up to all of us, from now until the end of the last performance, to be as professional as we can so that the production reaches a smooth and successful conclusion.
For me, I am still finding my feet in the Nexus Theatre, as this is the first time I have ever been on a proper stage. Strangely, I am finding that my character’s voice and movements are both changing in response to the demands of the performance space, and this has given me cause to reflect on the actor’s relationship to space. I already knew that different venues might require such techniques as greater voice projection or adjustments to movements, but until you experience this phenomenon first-hand it is hard to imagine how it works in practice.
With the character of Sarki for instance, I am very conscious of throwing my voice up into the back row, and allowing for the extra muffling that will occur with 200 bodies in the auditorium. Sarki has also had to adopt a different gait and move faster because of the distances he must travel from entrances at the back of the theatre, to reach the stage in time for cues. These changes seem to have a flow-on effect to other aspects of his character, with the result being a general refinement in his whole persona.
The Snottygobbles dance routine was dumped on Sunday night, and, despite the fact that I spent a fair amount of time practicing it, I am relieved because I was never truly comfortable with it. The pressure this week has been unrelenting and it is interesting to see cracks appearing in the temperaments of normally placid people. There is a tension backstage that is quite noticeable now, as people focus on their characters or deal with private issues.
Wednesday evening brought a welcome change in mood however, as it was our first dress rehearsal. It was great to see everyone in costume, although I felt a bit left out as mine wasn’t ready! I thought the rehearsal went quite well, considering the fact that we had to get used to the costumes, and it will be interesting to see how the different costumes affect the actors’ characterisations over the next few rehearsals.
Although I was really tired, buried under a mountain of assignments, and still had the evening’s tech run to look forward to, I decided to get up early and attend Thursday’s school incursion with Lauren and company. The incursion is an important component of Children’s Theatre, linking as it does with Theatre in Education. It encourages the involvement of students, thus making them more receptive to messages conveyed within the play (McCaslin, 2000). It also gives teachers an awareness of the educational possibilities of both the production and the Ed pack, and acts as a litmus test for the credibility of the characters.
The incursion turned out to be one of the highlights of the unit, and was of invaluable experience to my career as a future teacher. Although I was not in costume, I was assigned to the group of Mallee, Mouse Ears and Cobweb to help them with their ‘movement’ class. This was great fun as we had the kids recreating the movements of creatures that they might encounter in the Banksia Forest, such as Goblins, Fairies, Insects and so on. A Children’s Theatre script must be populated with characters that are well developed, and above all, credible. McCaslin (2000: 331) states that children are more likely to become involved in a performance if the “…characters are those in whom the audience can believe, whether or not they are real.” From the enjoyment on the faces of all the children at the incursion, I would say that “The Secret of the Snottygobbles” more than fulfils these expectations.
That night, I found myself back at Nexus for the tech run. We had been warned by Joe to expect a tedious night, with many stops and starts to the rehearsal process. He also pointed out that we should be patient with the tech crew, as they (the crew) were trying to accomplish in one night what had taken the cast thirteen weeks to achieve. Taking this into account, and the fact that this show is very tech heavy compared to earlier Children’s Theatre productions, it is a tribute to Joe and all of the tech crew that the evening ran as smoothly and efficiently as it did. The cast were finally sent home around 12.30am, with the rest of the tech completed on Friday.
(I knew that the tech crew had done a great job when I saw the circus reveal for the first time with the scrim curtain, orbiting spotlights and full circus music. Yes, I did get a little misty…).
The split second timing and coordination of lighting, sound, music and FX is difficult to achieve, yet essential in giving children the best theatre experience possible. We must always remember that there will be many children in the audience who are encountering live theatre for the first time. A positive experience now may encourage a lifelong appreciation of drama and the arts, and teach them alternative perspectives through which to view the world.
I must also mention here the remarkable job that Melissa performed in replacing Erin as Pierrot, literally at the last minute. It seemed we had only just heard that Erin was ill in hospital, when Melissa arrived in full costume, lines and blocking learned, and characterisation in place! Remarkable, and truly professional.
After a welcome Saturday off (to do assignments), and a full dress and tech rehearsal on Sunday, it was time for Monday’s preview show. As I lay behind the blacks in a blind panic, covered in an inch of make-up, a hessian sack and six feet of dry ice, I wondered yet again what I had let myself in for. Then the curtain went up and I finally realised that I was enjoying myself…
It was interesting to note the difference in audience dynamics between the preview show, where many of the audience were adults, and the first of the school performances on Tuesday. It took me a while to become accustomed to stony silences during parts of the show that I had thought were incredibly funny, to hearing the children respond loudly to a silly move or a slapstick moment that I had not considered amusing at all. For a production such as this to be successful, I believe that it must combine elements of humour that appeal to both adults and children. In this way all audience members will be able to take something positive from the performance, and we alleviate the risk of being patronising to children.
The rest of the week was a roller coaster ride that established itself into a pattern of less than satisfying performances in the morning, followed by generally very good performances in the afternoon. Although I could not be sure of the reason, it certainly seemed that the cast were more focused later in the day. I have learned that focusing on your own character, your cues and lines, and the play in general is immensely beneficial to the resulting performance. By being prepared before entering the stage, lines are delivered with better timing, cues are responded to more accurately, and the general pace of the play becomes more lively and energetic. There are also less prop handling errors and silly mistakes. It is no coincidence that the most consistent performers are also the most focused.
The poor performance on Wednesday morning seemed to be due to a combination of lack of focus and Random Acts of God. With half of the cast suffering from colds and general malaise, there were missed cues, slipping and tripping on stage, dropped props, malfunctioning lights, and at least one dislocated shoulder, (sorry Darren…). Even though the children still enjoyed the play, it gave us all cause to reflect upon our responsibilities as performers, both to the audience and each other. As a result, the second performance for the day was much improved, and Darren showed great resilience and commitment by playing through his discomfort.
The audience dynamic changed significantly again for the public performances on Saturday. This time, both the adult and children’s humour was responded to, and the feedback from the audience seemed to lift the energy of the cast and crew to new heights. At the start of the first show, I felt very ill and was not sure if my voice would hold out, but once on stage I felt I gave my two best performances of the run. The afternoon show in particular had great interaction, and I finished the day on a real high.
It has taken until the end of this week for me to finally realise why an actor does what he or she does. Despite feeling sick, tired, and physically exhausted, and being pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of, I discovered that I cared really deeply about what I was doing, and why I was doing it. To look back now on the unsure, performance-shy person who entered this unit in Week One, I can see that a momentous personal transformation has taken place. My goals then were to increase my confidence with acting and singing, and to increase my knowledge of production and technical processes and these have been achieved beyond my wildest expectations.
But what of the unit objectives? I feel that both my production process and performance skills have increased exponentially as a result of my engagement with Children’s Theatre. I have gained knowledge about acting, characterisation and vocal techniques, as well as a significant amount of backstage and technical knowledge. Being a part of such a professional and helpful team has improved my understanding of collaborative and ensemble work in the theatre, and my knowledge of the tenets of Theatre in Education has vastly increased, both through my involvement in the school incursion, and my first assignment, which was heavily based on T.I.E. outcomes. Perhaps above everything else, I now have an awareness and appreciation of the demands of a professional theatre company. The efficiency, responsibility and commitment to theatre practice that has been modelled by everyone in this unit, from the unit coordinator downwards has proven nothing short of inspirational to me.
To finish this journal, I will leave you with a passage from Nellie McCaslin’s book, Creative Drama in the Classroom and Beyond that I feel sums up everything that I believe about Children’s Theatre:
“Theatregoing can be one of the richest experiences of a child’s life. With its aesthetic, educational, and social potential, a good play, well produced, can lead to appreciation of a great art form and add to knowledge and a deeper understanding of humankind.” (McCaslin, 2000: 345).
McCaslin, N., (ed). (2000) Creative Drama in the Classroom and Beyond. 7th edn. New York: Addison, Wesley, Longman Inc.
View other Julian's Journal entries... Week One - Week Five Week Six - Week Ten Week Eleven - Week Fourteen
...or view other 'Your Work' entries... 2006 Ed Pack Glynis' Journal
Lauren Boon's Movement in Education Nicole Pfeiffer's Theatre Production in the Classroom
...or view other 2005 Your Work entries... Val's Journal Jodie's Journal
...or view the... 2005 Ed Pack
Go to Children's Theatre: My Journal History Notice Board Your Work
Contact Andrew @ thechaseison@optusnet.com.au
This page last updated: 30th June 2006