Two weeks of theatre, from loglines to our play!

SO, this entry has to make up for the fact that I forgot to do it last week. Hopefully it’ll fill in all the gaps.

Monday 14^th of January – We took a short break from Commedia to concentrate once more on our pitches, with Mr. Fearnehough introducing us to loglines. Loglines are particularly used by Hollywood screenwriters in their film trailers to attract attention. They do this by placing 3 key words in the text read by the narrator. These words are:

When – Sets the scene, introduces the main character of the story.

Then – Introduces the problem that befalls the main character.

Until – The character thinks outside the box to find a solution to the problem.

These will be a great help in writing our pitches for our Commedia play, now called “Love wins all”.

Wednesday 16^th of January – was the day on which we made our Commedia masks! Although we probably won’t use them, this was a great insight into the world of Commedia. I was the model so I didn’t make a mask but I still feel like I learned a lot on mask making. The masks are made of tissue paper and gum-tape, so they are tough yet light. Following that trip to the art room, Mr. Fearnehough explained what our next research task would be. Mr. Fearnehough wants us to make an annotated bibliography. Although this is something that only the higher level students are supposed to do, Mr Fearnehough wants everyone to do this as it will be very important for university. An annotated bibliography is basically a bibliography in which every source is explained, from its reliability to its use. This is a very good exercise but a very long one too!

Thursday 17^th of January – Freeze frames and improvisation! We decide to make our freeze frames better as we had found a lot of things we could change. Halley, Mary, Abby and I started improvising the cinema scene in our play, a scene which does not have Bekki or Lydia in. Bekki watched us and gave us feedback while Lydia printed and hung posters of our freeze-frames. We repeated that scene several times and every time we were surer of our acting and of the things we were saying.

Monday 21^st of January – A trip back to the art block was on the cards so that we could finish our masks. Mary and I are focusing on the Pantalone mask, so we started work on a small, spiky moustache and a crooked nose. Although they are not nearly done, we did get a lot over with!

Wednesday 23^rd of January – This was the big devising day. Halley started us off on a small Commedia workout, including the 8 Commedia steps. We then went straight to devising and improvising our play, although we were one member short as Lydia was ill! Nevertheless we ploughed on, desperately trying not to make a musical, even though that’s what everyone really wanted. We got practically all of it done and dusted by the end of the lesson though. Or so we thought!

Thursday 24^th of January – For the first time ever, we showcased “Love Wins All” to a live audience of… two. And that’s when we realised exactly how much more work had to be put in. We had concentrated so much on getting it right we’d forgotten one of the key points of Commedia; audience interaction. We were all too focused on each other to give the audience a glance! That being said, there were some good bits too! Halley dove right into her role as Il Capitano, acting extravagant, arrogant and like a right prat, which is exactly what Il Capitano should be like. Mary got us out of a few tight spots with her improvisation whilst Abby knew exactly how to react to my Pantalone character. Bekki did her Zanni part very well, especially during the guitar scene. To conclude we agreed we needed to break the fourth wall and give the Zanni a bigger role, as they are key to Commedia and our biggest chance at making people laugh.