Lesson 2 - 13.11.12

Lesson 2

PROLOGUE

We were assigned a task to 'create' the prologue in pairs by adding in lines that aren't in the script. The prologue consists of a Taxi driver talking to a passenger. I was in a pair with Eric and we decided to have the taxi driver have a conversation with the passenger. Eric had the role of the driver and I was the passenger. 

Firstly, we decided to stage our scene having two chairs diagonally to each other as we were trying to avoid the common "car set" with chairs set in the formation of a car.

We added in extra lines in the second paragraph to make the scene more interesting and so it would be more fluid. This is the original scripted part:

So you leave early did ya?

Oh right

Yeah right shame that

Never mind

Yeah it's still early for me

I'll probly go back

Pick up more punters

Knoworramean?

This is our edited version: ('E' stands for Eric, 'B'stands for Benji)

E: So you leave early did ya?

B: Yeah bloody early.

E: Oh right.

B: Y'know how it is.

E: Yeah right, shame that is.

B: Never mind, this the usual?

E: Yeah it's still early for me

B: What do you do on ya breaks?

E: I'll probly go back, pick up more punters. Knoworramean?

B: Yeah yeah

Another pair that I found was effective was Jake and Matteo. I thought theirs was very effective because their characterisation was very good and they used pens as props for cigarettes. They also added in some interesting but effective lines.

We also did a whole class hotseat where everyone had to take on the role of the taxi driver. Hot seating is a an effective technique to use in a rehearsal because you can really delve into the character you're trying to portray.
I decided to put a comedic edge on the driver I was portraying. I made him quite camp but I kept the slight East London accent. At one point Mr Worden told everyone to take the role of my character and the whole class read out the script together whilst staying in the character of my driver.

We didn't actually get on to doing the ensemble taxi driver piece with Mr Worden.

TALE 8

In groups we read through Tale 8 and we had to underline anything that suggested a location, weather or atmosphere. My group (consisting of Aaron, Rory, Eric, Oliver and Me) decided to focus on the first part of the script (as you can see in this photo):

Once we did this we went through what we underlined and created a scene using sounds and movement.

This is a rough idea of how our scene went: 

Aaron and Rory played the parts of "Jon and Michelle" as directed in the script. I then came along and greeted both of them. Oliver strolled on stage and said "Imagine, Imagine, Imagine." That was a cue for Eric to make a clapping sound and all of us apart from Rory fell to the ground. The clap represented the thunder. Rory then exclaimed "There's a clap of thunder'.

Everyone then got up and created a "human tunnel" type of thing and Rory walked through saying "A lawless tunnel in the gangland war". The 'tunnel' represented the alley way in the script. 

Unfortunately we ran out of time and weren't able to perform these.

Research - East End Tales

RESEARCH

History of the East End:

This is a film about the East End. It explores the history:

This is a link to an article about a recent gang fight on the 18th of November 2014:

http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/crime-court/100_youths_clash_in_east_end_street_gang_fight_at_bethnal_green_1_3851924


This is an article that links to the topic of murder in the text. It is about two boys (one aged 11, one aged 12) who have been arrested after being linked to a stabbing in East London:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/two-boys-aged-11-and-12-arrested-after-stabbing-in-east-london-9859232.html 

I found this pie chart about domestic violence which is a topic used in the play: 

Here is an article I found about a cafe in East London. This could be a good factor we could use while exploring East End Tales.

"This dirty cafe in east London has been given a zero hygiene rating after inspectors discovered a catalogue of grimy blunders.

Staff were found to not wash their hands regularly at the tiny African Canteen premises where inspectors also discovered deteriorated chopping boards, dirty equipment, a filthy fridge door handle and extractor fan, and no refuse containers.

Walls and surfaces were found to be unsuitable for food preparation and there was no soap or drying facilities by wash basin full of pans. 

Despite being inspected three times and the local council declaring it is in need of ‘urgent’ improvement, the Rainham cafe has been allowed to stay open."

Here is some background information about East End Tales, written by Fin Kennedy:

East End Tales is a series of nine stories inspired by photos and news articles from local papers in east London.

It was written as part of a Half Moon Young People’s Theatre Scriptworks project for Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, London. The story ideas were developed by a group of Year 10 Bengali girls over a number of weeks through a mixture of improvisation and written exercises, before being shaped and written up in a lyrical style.

The stories range from short contemplations on the nature of east London, through to longer tales of domestic violence, the drudgery of low-skilled jobs, petty crime and high density living. 

The play is suitable for performance by any group of young people with a good level of maturity. It is particularly popular with those studying GCSE Drama.

Because each tale is self-contained, it is possible to pick and choose among them to create performances of varying length, without affecting the overall narrative.

This research has helped me develop my characters in the play because it gives me an insight into what it's really like to live in East London. It does this through real life experiences devised by a group of Year 10 Bengali Girls at Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets.

Lesson 1 - 6.11.14

EAST END TALES

What did you think of it and why?

I found the play really interesting, especially because of the way it is written. There are no specified names to any of the characters speaking, nor genders given. I also like how it is written slightly poetically.

What is the play about?

The play is written in the different point of views of people living in East London. You get to experience things such as:

Violence
Crime
Money Issues
Weather
What it's like to live there

My favourite tale was number 5. I enjoyed this tale because it was very well written and quite suspicious. It's from the point of view of someone living next to a flat where there is domestic violence occurring. At the end of the tale it turns out that the women who was getting abused next door was murdered but no one tried to step in and help her. Everyone turned a blind eye as it was 'none of their business'.

At the start of the session I knew nothing about the East End apart from the fact that Eastenders is filmed there.
By the end I had learned a lot more than I knew before. I learned that there are many different people with different ethnic backgrounds. There aren't just the stereotypical "Fat, bald, white, West Ham supporter". I also learned that there aren't flat blocks and council houses, there are also big and expensive houses. A lot of the information I learned was from the input of Mateo and Jake as they are both from the East End. By the end of the lesson, a very negative view turned into a very complex and cosmopolitan one.

My group were asked to explore Tale 5. In tale 5 (as I previously stated) it is written in the point of a character (no gender nor name specified) who is living next door to a flat. The character starts to notice strange things going on next door. In the script it specifies "smashing" and "crashing", maybe of a plate? Or a plant pot? Or something along those lines. We were also asked to stage a part of our tale. I was in a group with Aaron and Rory and we staged our tale in quite an abstract way by deciding to stage it in a Police Station. Aaron and I (playing the characters that were next door during the crime) were being interrogated by Rory (who was a policeman) about a recent murder that happened next door to us.