FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Our final performance was successful and I feel it was definitely one of our best runs of our piece, if not the best. One particular detail I feel we as a group improved on was the projection of our vocals, as many had been struggling in the rehearsals to be heard. This was apparent in our final performance as I was able to hear the A & B’s conversations clearly without having to strain like I had to in the rehearsals, this meant that the piece ran a lot more smoothly than it had done previously.

One of the strongest aspects of my performance I feel was that I used my voice effectively, I especially put in deliberate effort to slow my lines down as I felt I would often speak too quickly in rehearsals. I also attempted to involve and address the audience on all sides of the stage throughout my dialogue as I felt that the other actors may have been leaving them quite bare. I didn't want any of the audience left unaffected by our piece and so this was  my attempt at keeping them all engaged and involved, which I feel I carried out generally quite successfully. I also knew my lines confidently so I was able to completely let go and focus on the character and presenting the political messages across to both the As & Bs and the audience. By being confident in my lines I was able to so this successfully whilst also keeping my energy at a 10 rather than worry about my cues; this was definitely one of the strongest aspects of my performance.

An aspect of Ms Goodall’s group’s performance I really liked was their use of music. By incorporating songs into their piece it kept the audience captured and entertained, whilst delivering a political message effectively. Their characters were well defined and characterised; they stood out against one another and told the story colourfully and almost, light-heartedly.  This contrasted well with Mr Rennison’s piece, which was definitely a lot darker. Oscar’s characterisation choices stood out for throughout the piece and he portrayed an extremely creepy Max Clifford-esque character effectively and carried the whole piece together.  He, along with Hayden as his gimp, managed to portray the darkness and evils behind tabloid news in such a way that kept me, as an audience member, engaged and captivated. This was also aided by the actors playing  Ds who responded to his character in such a way, for example when they all picked up the chairs when he was walking towards them, that instantly told the audience  he was not to be trusted. I also really liked the aspect of ensemble used in this piece; it really addressed the way we, as a society, view the news and the entertainment industry in a creative and truthful way. The flaws of society and the tabloid business really shone brightly through the well directed performances of the A & Bs. Though I knew the text, both pieces were extremely enjoyable and well developed pieces of political theatre; they left me thinking long after they were finished.

Our scene addressing the issues with Guantanamo Bay went really successfully all three times and I was extremely happy with how it turned out, especially as our run through didn’t go as well. I managed to time the beeps of censorship at the exact right times so it worked to display the government blacking out words effectively and without messing up. However, I feel our piece could’ve been improved if the beeps were louder and more prominent, displaying how big of a deal it is for the government to black out details. However, I am certain we made an impact as when people were walking away many would positively comment on what they just saw and the messages we were trying to get across. Another aspect I felt was particularly strong was the ending where Billy and I point towards the door, directing the audience to the stage. We came up with this during the dress rehearsal and I am extremely glad it worked so effectively – it portrayed us almost like robots, suggesting the robotics and manipulation behind the US Government. If we had had more time I would’ve like to develop this small scene a little bit further, providing more evidence and detail for the audience of what we’re trying to put across, helping them gain a better understanding – however, I feel it worked effectively in the state we left it in.

I felt one of the strongest performances was that of Kim playing a media business person. She made different bold character choices that made her A/B character stand out against the others, capturing what it really means to be a stuck up member of the media. She made the definite choice of shushing the D’s and asking if anyone else wanted sushi, this was an extremely important moment of gestus in our show. It completely outlined the relationship between the two sets of people and how the A & Bs perceive the C & Ds – they don’t care about them or the news story, lunch is more important. This was done through the one simple movement of the hand, signalling for us to be quiet and stop whilst she took the orders. Not only was it one of my favourite parts of the piece but I feel it also tied the piece nicely together as it presented explicitly the relationship between the two groups of people. 

If we had had a longer amount of time to work on the piece I feel we could have developed a few more little sections like the Ugandan lesbian sequence, it was a really powerful moment that attempted to portray the horrors that the woman had gone through. I feel it was one of the strongest aspects of the pieces as it truly presented the mindset of the A’s & Bs; they did not care about the woman getting raped or the centre not being shut down, but just the aspect of sex. Even though the piece worked effectively as it was, I feel we could have added a few more sequences or moments to colour the piece to really present the desperation the Ds were feeling towards the As & Bs and their attempt to try and gain their attention. If I personally had longer, I would've liked to work a little bit more on the physicality of my character and how they would have held themselves as I felt it was a little bit of an afterthought and less touched on - however, I feel this was justified due to the importance in political theatre of presenting the political messages rather than having a developed character.

One of the weaker aspects of the performance on a whole was that I felt the Ds were still coming too far forward on the stage rather than spreading out and filling out the stage. This would have hindered the effect we had on those sitting around the sides as their view would have often been obstructed and lines would not have been as directed to them. I personally made an attempt to keep the stage filled out rather than staying at the front and keeping those at the side engaged, however, there were still moments where I got caught up in the action at the front and left those at the sides behind. This was one of the weaker aspects of my performance. However, one of the strongest moments I feel was the gradual leaving of the A’s & B’s at the end; the D’s were begging for their attention but they were merely dismissed and ignored. This again was a really important moment of gestus during the show, it outlined how much the A’s & B’s generally did not care. It was also highly surprising for the audience as it was a quite sudden movement, it juxtaposed well with the bored stance the As & Bs had adopted throughout the piece previously.  

By using Brecht’s different techniques over the term, they helped me develop a deeper understanding of what it really means to present a piece of political theatre to an audience.  Brecht believed a piece of political theatre should leave the audience asking questions about themselves, what they just saw and society itself – I feel we definitely managed to achieve this successfully and effectively and that we not only left an impact on those viewing the performance, but on us, the actors, as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed this political term and studying both “The Most Horrific” and Brecht’s techniques. I have learnt many different skills over this term which I have never had the chance to develop before and I have gained new knowledge and experience that I will definitely use in further pieces and their development.

Last week's rehearsal had many different moments that could be classed as different Brechtian aspects and techniques of theatre. One example would be the use of gestus, this was displayed in many ways by the A's and the B's as they would interrupt D's as they were talking. One of the ways this was done was, when I was saying my line, Ellie stood up and put her hand out for me to stop, she proceeded to then ask if anyone would like sugar in their tea. Her hand movement was not only a symbol of our character's relationship and their social statuses against one another, but it also displayed to the audience the relationship between C's and D's and A's and B's on a whole. The A's and B's don't really care about what the D's have to say, they'd rather have a quick and easy story to publish and get it over and done with. I think this was portrayed very well through Ellie's physical choice and that it was a bold, and clever, decision to make.

It's never specifically stated in the play who these characters are, they're given no names. So not only does this apply the v-effect and avoid emotional attachment from the audience, it also allows the idea that these characters and the ideas they're presenting are universal and can be applied to anyone. I also think this was also aided by the fact that everyone playing C's and D's acted similarly and everyone playing A's and B's acted similarly - The lack of characterisation and individual personality adds distance to the audience as it reminds them that these are actors playing characters, they're there to present different ideas to leave the audience thinking - rather than being fully fledged and layered characters.

I feel the divide we created between the A's and B's and the C's and D's stood out really well, not only was it presented through the physical divide we created in the room but also through the body language of the two sets of people. The A/B's were more relaxed and nonchalant about the situation, often checking their phones and turning away from the C/D's. Whilst the C/D's were a lot more attentive and submissive towards the A's and B's, constantly looking for their approval. I feel the contrast in the two practicalities portray an almost consistent example of gestus as the C/D's are constantly being dismissed by the A's and B's throughout the piece in different ways which ultimately displays the social dived between the two.

One of the issues with last weeks rehearsals was that I feel that everyone lacked in energy as the piece developed further. Some of the A/B's lost focus nearer the end of the piece, coming out of character and getting distracted. This lulled the energy of the piece down and caused some of the cues and lines to be delivered incorrectly or with a lack of punch behind them. This was also apparent with the C/D's as well, few would miss their cues due to other distractions and would then drag down the piece as a whole. In order to succeed, everyone needs to be at a constant level 10 at all times to make sure the piece doesn't fall on it's face. With the right energy and drive behind it, I feel that our version of 'The Most Horrific' could be a very powerful piece of political theatre that leaves the audience thinking once it's finished.

Guantanamo Bay Force Feeding

Due to individual and widespread hunger strikes throughout Guantanamo Bay, militants and officials had to resort to force feeding inmates. In 2005, the detainees organized several widespread hunger strikes to protest their innocence and the conditions that they were confined to - they then began again in 2013. In September 2005, The New York Times reported that as many as 200 prisoners had taken to hunger striking. During the new wave of hunger strikes in 2013, it was reported that 106 out of the 166 detainees were on a hunger strike with 45 of them being force fed.

Many argue that force feeding the prisoners is abusive, the UN Human Rights Commission said they regard the force feeding as a form of torture. If prisoners did not comply to counselling and being fed, officials would have to use force, strap them down into a chair and deliver their food through a pipe in their nostrils.

We created our piece to resemble a hearing taking place debating the force feeding of detainees, with Billy and I standing on chairs as those with authority and Kim, Ivory, Ethan and Kevaughn as prisoners and those against the force feeding. We placed a set of head phones between two, one ear piece going in one's collar and the other going in the other's - this was meant to represent not only the method of force feeding but also the filtering out of information by the US Government. The prisoners would then say a line of text taken from the article we used as stimulus whilst Billy and I pressed a buzzer sound to black out certain words they were saying. I really liked the approach we took as it wasn't too direct and simple but it still got straight to the point and portrayed the correct information and emotions that we felt was necessary for the article. By carrying out this exercise and developing this piece we were not only able to learn more about the subject but that we also made a piece that allows the audience to understand and discover a little more about the situation in an interesting and artistic way.

HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT.

One of the most current news stories around the world today is that of the events in Ferguson, Missouri. I feel that it's not exactly getting the coverage it deserves over here in the UK and I would personally barely know anything about what's going on if I wasn't so prominent on social media. This issue is also extremely relevant for this week's protest work as the fatal shooting of Michael Brown has sparked protests and movements across not only the USA but across the world. Many believed the shooting was due racial discrimination and so thousands of protesters took to the streets of Ferguson back in August protesting the lack of action taken over a white police officer, Darren Wilson, shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown. The first wave of protests lasted from the 9th of August, the day of the shooting, up until the 25th. The protests initially began peaceful, however, after the destruction of a makeshift memorial for Brown - some became unruly and begin to act destructively, causing the police began to use excessive force and aggression against the protesters (even against those peacefully and legally protesting). Last week, Wilson was incited by a grand jury as not guilty for any crimes related to the whole situation. This sparked the second wave of protests that are currently on going - however, these branched out from Ferguson and across the world.

The protesters use the typical aspect of chanting; "HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT!" was and is chanted throughout both waves of protests, referencing to Brown being shot with his hands up and unarmed. Many have also taken to carrying out the typical use of placards and signs, in this situation they often display different statements about racial division - predominantly; BLACK LIVES MATTER.

The impact of the original protests and the story itself had been astonishing, thousands of people around the globe having been protesting in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, a protest in London took place last Wednesday night. This is just a prime example of how important protests can be when used effectively - although the issue may have been overshadowed by the violence, the people of Ferguson's voices were heard by those continents away. Now thousands are demanding that Michael Brown gets the justice he deserves as well as the racial issues in the American justice system to be addressed.

Political Protest Evaluation

My group’s issue we were protesting against was the idea of victim blaming. This issue can obviously be quite personal and so we felt we needed to get real voices and examples to add power and truth to our protest. By researching different aspects for our protest, we were able to develop the authenticity of our argument we were trying to present. We were able to use actual quotes from various rape cases to further our argument as we were using real life examples – this showed the prominence of the issue. By doing the research myself, I was able to develop a deeper drive for my argument as many of the different arguments and examples flared up a form of anger. I was then able to use the emotions conjured by the research, and transition them into our political protest – I felt extremely strongly about the issue I was protesting against. 

My role in the protest, along with Zoe, was a female wearing contrasting clothes to the two girls wearing more revealing clothes. This contrast was meant to represent the idea that the clothes females wear can excuse sexual harassment and rape; that by wearing more revealing clothes, they were asking for it. Additionally, I also had to shout out different quotations from our research – not only did this attract the attention of those walking past but it reaffirmed different examples of victim blaming. I feel the use of quotations along with the outfits, helped add effect and power to our argument as it really underlined the definition of victim blaming, clearing it up for those who may not have a very detailed understanding. At different intervals, we all would come out of character and chant; “Women are not guilty for the violence committed by men on their body, mind and soul.” – I feel this was an extremely effective aspect our protest as it really underlined the point we were trying to get across and by chanting it all together at once we were able to gain as much attention as possible. 

I feel that as a group we worked in quite a sophisticated to create a general professional protest. We had everything organised and sorted out before the deadline and had carried out sufficient research to support our argument. This meant we were able to present and perform to the best of our ability without having to worry about different aspects that we may not have cleared up and prepared beforehand. However, this could have been hindered by the fact we used quite blunt and bold techniques, like chanting and shouting, to get our point across as it could be argued as too ‘in your face’ and aggressive.

I felt our protest achieved to conjure up various reactions from the onlookers as there were a variety of different comments being made. For example, an older female teacher stopped on the stairs to tell us how much she agreed with our argument and protest, this showed that we were able to impact people’s ideas and their thoughts surrounding our issue. Whilst performing, I overheard someone state that they often jump to conclusions and judge girls for what they’re wearing, stating that they are practically ask for trouble. This is a further example of our protest impacting on people’s views as they were able to connect the ideas conjured from our protest and relate them to their own experiences and ideals. Though we didn’t present a direct, ‘this is what you can do’ aspect for your audience, I feel that we managed to make people think and at least question their mindset on our issue as many people made comments in response to our actions.

I found during the protest I was able to detach myself from the fact it was a theatre assessment and really start rallying for the cause I was trying to present. I was able to perform with confidence and without anxiety, devoting myself completely to the subject. I found this quite interesting as sometimes I can find myself holding myself back and not letting go, however, with this protest, I felt like I was able to give myself over to the cause and that I had no self placed personal artistic boundaries.

One of the weaker aspects of our protest was the fact that our music was so quiet and covered up by the noise of the other protests. We had developed our chant to respond to the lyrics of the song, however, as we were unable to hear the song at different points we were unable to chant as effectively as we would have liked. Often the song just got pushed into the background and I don't feel the audience were able to connect with the significance of that particular song being used. However, I feel that one of our main strengths was our use of shouting out the different quotations as it attracted attention and got our messages across in a simply way. Sophie and I developed a improvisation during the protest; I would help her, in her drunken state, walk down the stairs as I quote different victim blaming quotations about and towards her, for example; "Did you see how much she had been drinking that night? She had been dancing with that guy the whole time. What did she expect to happen?. I feel that this developed into one of the strongest aspects of our piece as it helped draw the theatrical elements into our protest that I feel we had been lacking previously. One of the challenges we faced, that could’ve weakened our protest gravely, was the fact we were presenting to a group of spectators containing many of our peers and friends. They could have easily distracted us and led us to lose focus, however, I feel that though I did come in contact with many of my friends – I managed to stay in the correct mindset and focused on promoting our message, rather than get distracted and lose my political drive.

I feel that almost every piece of political theatre is a form of protest in a way as both political theatre and a protest strive to achieve the same goal; to leave people thinking and wanting to make a change. Therefore by combining the two, I feel you can create a really powerful device that could be used to promote change and influence ideas through different mediums. You are able to combine both typical protest aspects with different theatre techniques to create something extremely artistic and thought provoking, that leaves the audience with just as much impact and effect as a rally or organised protest. If I had the chance to redo the task and create a new protest, I would have liked to developed a piece that was perhaps more artistically and theatrically driven, to really push myself and my abilities. 

Overall I am really happy with how our protest turned out and although I feel we could have developed our ideas into a more artistic and perhaps creative response to our chosen subject, I feel we created a piece that successfully communicated our ideas to the audience in a way that left them thinking about their own ideals and approach to our chosen subject. 

Political Protests: Victim Blaming

"Women are not guilty for violence committed by men on their body, mind and spirit"

My group; Sophie, Zoe, Chloe and myself, decided that we were going to base our political protest on the subject of victim blaming. In our world obsessed with rape culture, victim blaming is at an ultimate high and we felt it was an extremely important and prominent issue to address. We focused on the victim blaming towards women as it's an issue that effects females more, though not limit to, than males.

We took different quotes from various rape cases we had researched, for example; "Some girls enjoy being raped" - Israeli Judge Nissim Yeshaya in an appeal court ruling on the gang rape of a 13 year old girl by four Palestinian boys, and then placed each quote on to a single piece of paper. We felt that we didn't need to decorate the posters with different colours or add detail as we felt getting the message across clearly was the most important part and it didn't need any sugar coating. We chose to use a black bold font on a white back ground as it's bold and it stands out as well as being quite plain - this links with the fact that the issue being presented with should be plainly dealt with, yet it's sugar coated with excuses to villianise the victims. We explored and used different victim blaming excuses from various different rape cases to add context and realism to our protest; "Not all rape is rape", "She drank too much", "Just let it happen."

We chose the song "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell Williams, as since it was released it's caused a lot of controversy throughout the media and across the world. The song has been accused of featuring 'date-rape' lyrics, such as the repeated section of "I know you want it." As well as many rape survivors also compared the lyrics from Thicke's song to those from the mouths of their rapists. We chose to link the lyric of "I know you want it"  with the often used excuse of "She was asking for it" as it poses the idea that the man knew the wanted it, and that she was practically asking for it. This was the exact idea we were trying to protest against and so by using such a popular song, we were able to bring our argument relevance and use an example so relevant to our pop culture. 

In addition to the placards with the quotes, we used the traditional protest aspect of chanting in our piece. We decided that we all as a group would chant "Women are not guilty for violence committed by men on their body, mind and spirit" - a quote taken from a feminism based website, as it really underlined what we were trying to present. We are not guilty for men's against us, no matter how many excuses they try and draw up. 

Response to Exhibit B

I first heard about the issues surrounding Exhibit B on the radio, a few days after it was supposed to open, with someone involved in the event was re-telling their experience with the protesters. I'm not 100% sure on where I stand with the entire debate over Exhibit B, however, I feel that as soon as we start censoring art - we begin to tread in a extremely dangerous territory. This article from the Guardian is a debate between one of the artists, Stella Odunlami, and a protester Dr Kehinde Andrews  - I found this really interesting to read as it gave me a chance to hear the different arguments from the two sides of this issue. However, I feel the protester's point was hindered by the fact that they hadn't actually experienced the exhibit themselves and was going off reviews and accounts of the exhibition to create their argument. Though I agree with Andrews' point "If we can’t campaign against things we haven’t experienced there would be no social movements." as I am extremely passionate about different worldwide social issues, I feel that with this specific situation, as it's protesting against an event rather than an idea, experiencing it yourself before making a judgement is imperative. I feel like they are protesting the idea of using real life people rather than the actual exhibition itself - this then poses the questoin, what if it was developed into a theatre piece? would it still be classed as racist?. Whereas Odunlami feels that the exhibition not only exposes racism of the past, but as the present as well. As an actor and artist, I feel I may be biased towards Odunlami as I have a strong belief that art shouldn't be censored and that we should tackle the hard and controversial issues in creative ways. 

This debate also touches on the idea of censor-shipping art, and although Andrews claims that "This is not a discussion about censorship, but about racism, what it is and who has the power to define it.", I feel that by cancelling an exhibit due to it's content, without experiencing it, is a definite indirect form of censorship. Andrews' quotes that it's "about racism, what it is and who has the power to define it", which then poses the question; are the protesters really allowed to accuse it of being racist, and do they have the power and the means to define it as such? I will never agree with silencing protesting voices or the censorship of art, and with this particular issue I feel that with what ever conclusion you come to - someone will always be offended and disagree.