The goal of the theatre lesson today (Mon) was to decide on a scenario for our commedia production. However, we were less productive then hopeful and as of Monday had not decided on a scenario. To me this lesson showed me the weakness and difficulty of group projects. I was very excited to hear the other proposed scenarios but I think as an ensemble we found it difficult to combine our ideas. We definitely got side-tracked by trying to work out the character relationships. The problem wasn’t anyone’s pride, it was difficult because we had all arranged completely separate storylines and no one wanted to “step on anyone’s toes” and disregard an idea. If we’d been more focused on the actual storyline instead of the characters I think we would’ve been more successful.
On Wednesday for our double lesson we were originally going to finish the scenario, but instead it morphed into a practical lesson on mask work. First Mr. F demonstrated the different types of masks so we could understand the physicality behind it. My first reaction= I hate masks. To me, masks distance the audience from characters and are just plain creepy. I also don’t like clowns and I recently saw “V for Vendetta”. I’m supposed to try and put that out of my mind, because that mental “baggage” obviously affects me. However the audience all has their own mental baggage and everyone takes something different away from a production (as we discussed earlier). Reflecting on the process I’ve decided that mask work can still be a valuable way of learning about theatre but I personally don’t enjoy watching it, a compromise that I think both the IB graders and the I can live with. With that in mind I fully participated in the lesson and even tested out the character of Il Capitano. The most important physical aspects I learned were the impact of slowing down the movement in general and drawing attention to the personality quirks of the character (ex..birdlike movement of Pantilone)
Thursday we got down to business and defeated the huns. AND we finished the scenario! So far we have decided to keep the production in a high school setting, that way we can utilize cultural references and more modern pieces of humor. Over the break individual work should be getting underway to start stitching the show together. I’ll begin with a masterclass on acrobatics, hope everyone is warmed up J
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