IB THEATRE GROUP PROJECT LITTLE RED RIDDING HOOD PERFORMANCE, SOUNDSCAPES AND LIGHTING

Lesson 3-4
Class work - Jan/ 30- 7/ 2011



The combining part of music, sound and action I thought was challenging. It made me think of other performances I’ve been in, for instance Romeo and Juliet, where it was a devised play but I only had to worry about the acting. To combine all three SUCCESFULLY, (meaning that the emotion and story line was conveyed to the audience by the use of lights, sound and actions and still be original in reference to style and innovating ideas) I thought was hard, as we all went off and did our own things without realizing that when we wanted to block it, the cues where different, and that the actors couldn’t depend on the music cues as that would interrupt the flow of the drama. Since then, we became closer as a group and learned from that mistake, and so everything we did, we tried first to see if it would work.

 We have already decided on the music we want to use, which I suggested would be that of a discordant sound of a violin, which will automatically make the audience feel scared and uncomfortable, matching the scenery. For the music in the forest however, we have decided to use a more upbeat song to cause tension for the rapid fight, and for the introductory music of the characters we will use creepy, low beat music that matches each character.

Red Riding Hood: Natalia

Mother: Paula

Grandmother: Paula

Wolf: Mike

Lights: Aly

Sound: Grace


(Sound scape and lighting cues attached

Sound Sound Sound

Sound Cues

-fade in road to nothing (k) ()

-right after, 4 seconds, fade in wind sound () ()

Girl enters St L

Girl: “It is a northern country

-Church bells sound fades in (k) ()

Harsh, brief, poor lives.

-Everything stops abrubtly to perfect silence

They have cold weather, They have cold hearts

-They have cold hearts whisper comes in simultaneously when the girl speaks

-scream sound 2 seconds after whisper (k) ()

Mother enters St R (Girl still on stage, facing audience)

-soft piano music fades in after scream slowly (k) ()

Mother: “Go visit your grandmother, she’s been sick. Do not leave the path because of the starving beasts”

-fade to quiet

-fade in to creepy violin music or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My7qQGC3xrY (k)

-3 seconds wind (k)  ()

-3 seconds owl (k) ()

-3 seconds rustling leaves and howling (k) ()

-3 seconds heartbeat escalating (k) ()

add c when the wolf appears only quick

-shing sound when girl takes out daggerKnife sound effect:  (k) () http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GMAbcz6nUk

(Fight between girl and wolf)

Lights: Wolf projected onto scrim from behind.

Girl: “Red eyes, grizzled chops!”

-running sequence (k) ()

(Girl wins fight picks up the paw, continues towards grandmother’s house)

Girl: “I slashed off his right forepaw.”

(Girl enters grandma house)

-fade out all ambient sound of forest (k) ()

-creak of door from this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvlODEKD7Y and use rest for background (k) ()

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCxbXDbdf7A when girl sees grandma () ()

(Girl sees paw)

creepy sound (creepy sound)

-heartbeat from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvlODEKD7Y (k) ()

Girl: “Grandmother!...She’s moaning and shaking.”

-heartbeat escalates
sceam!!!!!!!

all music fades out

(take out cloth, hand drops, Girl screams

-fade in of creepy music  (k) ()

Girl: “The wolf’s paw! It’s a hand, toughened with work, freckled with old age”

whole stage back

-children laughing () ()

-

(villagers come running in, beat Grandma and stone her to death)

Girl: “The Devil is as real as you or I.”

Aly over God mic: “Now the child lived in her grandmother's house; she prospered.”

http://www.drummerman.net/shining/music.htm

Lights Lights Lights

Lighting Cues

-fade in slow red cyc lights

Girl enters St L (Silhouette)

Girl: “It is a northern country

-light spotlight on center stage to illuminate faces

Harsh, brief, poor lives.

-Full power red cyc

They have cold weather, They have cold hearts

Mother enters St R (Girl still on stage, facing audience)

-Red cyc fades into lighter red, not as intense, lights come up on stage to have normal lighting.

Mother: “Go visit your grandmother, she’s been sick. Do not leave the path because of the starving beasts”

-Cyc changes to dark blue/green, lighting on stage very minimal, white wash to illiminate face

(Fight between girl and wolf)

-Lights projected behind scrim of the wolf

-Red side lights come up 50%

Girl: “Red eyes, grizzled chops!”

(Girl wins fight picks up the paw, continues towards grandmother’s house)

-Lights behind scrim disappear

Girl: “I slashed off his right forepaw.”

(Girl enters grandma house)

-Cyc changes to dark blue

Girl: “Grandmother!...She’s moaning and shaking.”

(Girl sees paw)

-Cyc changes to red

(take out cloth, hand drops, Girl screams

Girl: “The wolf’s paw! It’s a hand, toughened with work, freckled with old age”

-Blackout instantly

(villagers come running in, beat Grandma and stone her to death)

-Lights projected from behind scrim to show stoning.

-Fade out slowly

-Spotlight 100% center stage

Girl: “The Devil is as real as you or I.”

-Blackout instantly

Aly over God mic: “Now the child lived in her grandmother's house; she prospered.”

sounds links :

Heartbeat sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYBtchCqPao

Sound effect (scary sounds include: Wind, bird, rainstorm): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JW7eQY6T44&noredirect=1

 Church bells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKTIe6piDOI

Intro sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_evkY46fzI&feature=related

Footsteps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDagNuuRr34&feature=related

Wolf growling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeWGSo17BAc&feature=related

Wolf fighting scene (growling and braking) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvHHi3GI1XU

Knife sound effect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GMAbcz6nUk

Sound effect woman screaming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFqHyCoypfM

Running sound effect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__0OQemumqg&feature=related

Owl sound effect:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f440zV7RnA

Throwing stones sound effect: http://www.audiomicro.com/work-industry-throwing-stone-on-wood-sound-effects-520704

forest music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGlLI_ivL7k

(EVERYTHING will be Edited by garage band)

* Romeo and Juliet Performance -- October 2011*

Having the chance to participate in my school’s interpretation of the “Romeo and Juliet” play was over all a very exciting and life changing experience, from the very beginning to end.

I went through a lot of different emotions as during the three months of rehearsals. I was nervous for the castings, as the character I wanted to interpret (Lady Capulet) requires skills that I didn’t particular feel comfortable with doing such as singing in public, specially a difficult song such as “The dog days are over”. As I had to compete against very good singers I felt very stressed and preoccupied, as I wasn’t sure if I could make it. However, starting in the auditions, I started to bond with other students and got some of those talented singers such as Nicole and Katy ( The Juliets)  to help me with get through them. I still remember the day I was told that I got the part, as although at the time I had already participated in other school and extracurricular productions, I think it was that feeling you get after overcoming what you think at the time is a big and challenging obstacle or goal that overwhelmed me.

In order to be a good performer,  I think that it is vital to demonstrate that you have a lot to offer, and that you are able to try and perform any role you are challenged with. You need to have special skills other than just acting in order to do so, and singing is essential for any musical performing which is what I like doing and would like to study. In this production, not only I got to improve my acting skills, but also my singing skills. I got to work with professional singing instructors who taught me skills on how to moderate and control my voice. It was intense training and coaching, and very stressful as the rest of the main characters where so talented at it, but that help and confidence from teachers and my partners, so made feel stronger every day and want to improve myself every day.

The nights of the shows( being exposed to such a great audience ), were a key point to loosing your voice as it was very easy to be overtaken by nervousness. Automatically in these situations, this feeling encourages you to sing louder and force your voice, as you forget about controlling it and make it louder unconsciously. To overcome this emotion, I followed a technique taught to me by my singing instructor, that she liked calling ‘’Mother Nature’’, consisting o opening your chest up and your legs to find stability in your body and balance, to help you stick to the ground and feel like you have space to “express” you feelings ( the song) comfortably without feeling like you have to shout as you feel trapped by the huge audience surrounding you. Also, a vital thing in theatre is not what you say, but the intention with how you deliver it, and because my song was submerged in the context of the funeral atmosphere, I could find refuge in my feelings of absolute sadness and fury to help me transmit my song better, using an aggressive tone and strong intonations.

Funeral singing scene

One of our drama teachers told us that n order for our characterization to be successful, we had to start getting into our roles in the wings, at least a minute before we went on stage. I learned that this was very true, and when I had to cry in a scene ( Tybalt’s death scene), I would start preparing myselfmentally for it, so in the scene I would appear ready once the lights went on.

Juliet's funeral scene

 In order to successfully acquire the character you are playing, you have to become intimate friends with him/her. You have to know everything about them, what they like doing and what they don’t, what they, their stories, experiences and memories, and what their goal is in life or a particular situation. That way, it’s as if you are understanding yourself, helping you make the right decisions when expressing your character. This idea connects with Stanislavsky’s quote of “ If you are playing a villain, think of all the good things about him, and if you are playing a noble man, think of all the evil things about him”.
I researched to get information from other movies, other interpretations of Lady Capulet from other movies, and I found that they were mainly divided into two different attitudes, one was very passive and nice, and the other one was very bitter.
   When choosing how I wanted to perform my character and in what direction I wanted to take her, it was sometimes difficult to decide, as when analysing my lines and the tone and pace they required in order to build a character, my vision of it was sometimes different to that of the vision the director had of Lady Capulet.  As I was used to independently devising my own characters in my previous drama classes, one of the things I found challenging about the play was following orders on how the director wanted my character to be. I learned that it was important to try other things, especially when people more experienced than you gave you the advice, as well as learning that even though I may have a very set image and view of my own Lady Capulet, when working for a production you have to follow the directors orders. This play helped all of us get used to what it feels to be part of a real production and gave us experience for other productions we will join.

I believe that the way I managed to add and enrich the play with my intervention was by adding humour to some parts as well as being a very evil character. The feedback I was gives from members of the audience wads that Lady Capulet was a very enjoyable character, as she was a typical mother that was only able to think about fortune and status, and that her way of moving around the stage was comical in the sense that it she was very coquette, flirty and conceited with her body language and facial expressions. At the same time, I was very pleased to her that she managed to show change within emotions very powerfully, as in the scene where she finds her daughter dead, she shows a breakdown to reality and allows herself to feel great pain and regret for someone so dear as Juliet.

I really enjoyed adapting to the modernized concept to the play. The use of technology such as videos on the internet to show the news from Verona or the skype calls between the lovers were very clever and fun touches we adapted.  Also, it was very interesting and enjoyable to add music and dancing to the scenes, as it helped us transmit the play better to a more modern and young public. We got the honour to explore Shakespeare’s style and genre through the play, and created a contrast between the modern date that the play was developed upon and the traditional language used in the script. It was challenging to get used to speaking in verse all the time, and difficult as the delivering of the line structures changed. In order to adapt ourselves to the concept of language, we had to use it all the time. I remember how we were given a sheet of paper with a lot of insults in old Shakespearian language, to apply to our vocabulary of the fight scenes. That exercise was very amusing as the language was in a way hilarious due to its translated interpretation now, and so we all rally enjoyed exploring those enriching tastes of time and culture. 

Lady Capulet and Juliet after Tybelts death scene- For this scene, my character had changed showed her most bitter and eveil side by talking about a painful revenge for Romeo. In this scene, i wanted to act desperate, angry and take it a bit to the extreme, being very manipulative and dangerous. I did this by talking ver harshly and quickly, having very strong and hard gestures with juliet for example when i was holding on to her hands very strongly as shown above to shoe power and termination, articulating my words making them bigger along with my eyes, to show how i was vicious for revenge.

Dancing!!!!

April, 24, 2011 Dubai, Sharmila Dance extravaganza annual show


Having have danced for the past 9 years a variety of different styles of dancing, I have realized that dance is a beautiful and very powerful way of cenveying feelings and telling stories.

I thought about the class exercises  on how music, along words can magnify its emotion, and thought about when I uses to dance for a performing arts company. In Dubai, I was part of an academy, for which i participated in every annual show for three years, as well as annual work shops in which we got the chance to have famous choreographers from the world to teach us the basics of different dance flavors. It was easy to notice, that dances such as salsa, cha cha cha and african dances had a faster beat and transmitted a happier mood to the audience when watching ( along with happy facial expressions and gestures), tango and flamenco where more passionate and strong, normally transmitted more dramatic stories about strong feelings of love, vengeance, passion or death ( of love) and hip hop and street jazz where more modern styles which used bodies to tell more actual subjects of sociality such as violence, sex or partying. I like to think this is a realistic approach, as it is a style music with an expected response from the dancing. Dancing, I think is great as a story teller, as using body gestures and movements to a particular rhythm and tone can be very descriptive, and really walk the audience throughout what a person ifs feeling and what they are doing. it is also an effective way o showing internal monologues, as sometimes the dance can be used in the context of showing the inner thoughts of the actor/person, or even their dreams. Dancing can also be applied to other forms of theatre performances and styles which don't necessarily have to be musical theatre or physical theatre, as the other day, watching Laura's IPP, she incorporated movements in the style of theatre of Commedia d'l rate. I really liked the moment in which the main actor (Loyd) and his wife encountered each other after him coming back from the war. They performed a set of synchronized, sharp, movements moving their upper body from side to side, bending forwards and backwards towards each other and turning at the same time, to portray a comical intent to capture and avoid each other, with the use of music.

Lyrical dances are dances created based on the lyrics of the song. I discovered, while dancing, that they are normally the only type of dances that best explain the situations, as they describe exactly what the song says. A clear example of this for me is the dance I liked below, from the song of James Brown, "Its a man's world" which i performed in a show.

http://www.sharmiladance.com/Videos2010_big.html

This is a man's world, this is a man's world
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl

You see, man made the cars to take us over the road
Man made the trains to carry heavy loads
Man made electric light to take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water, like Noah made the ark

This is a man's, a man's, a man's world
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl

Man thinks about a little baby girls and a baby boys
Man makes then happy 'cause man makes them toys
And after man has made everything, everything he can
You know that man makes money to buy from other man

This is a man's world
But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl

He's lost in the wilderness
He's lost in bitterness ......