Wabi Sabi and Traditional Japanese Ceremony

Tuesday 15th October:
Today we had a visitor that came and introduced the Japanese Tea Ceremony to us. This is a zen experience which many different rules.
We learnt and practised how to actually do a tea ceremony and what not to do. We had to look up the words Wabi and Sabi before class and I found that it meant graceful, zen experience. Both words together mean fresh, beauty, peaceful and grace. They are put together in many Zen experiences and the Japanese Tea Ceremony is one of them.
There were many specific rules to the tea ceremony and a lot to remember but I think everyone was quite good at it. The thing I found most difficult was how we were sitting because I found it so uncomfortable and it was really painful but you have to just power through it, just how it might be on the stage. Eachtime you do the tea ceremony, it is done the same and it a ritual, just like Bunraku can be. You have to be perfect at it to be the best and it is always done the same.

Thursday 17th October:
no class because it was sports day!

Friday 18th October:

This was the last lesson before half term so we had to go over what we will have to do. Bekki and I stayed with Mr Fearnehough and went through advice on our RI's. I have a lot of work to do and I discussed all of it with Mr Fearnehough, he gave me good advice for my RI but also for being an IB student in general. I told him that yes suddenly the pressure has hit and we aren't used to it so its a bit of a shock all the work load but I am getting used to it and I want to do well, especially in Theatre.
I don't really care about what points I get, as long as i pass and I have put in all the work I can as I only need minimum points for the Uni I want to go to.

Hardly No Lessons This Week

Tuesday 8th October:
There was no class today because we went on our French trip to the Nuclear PowerPlant.

Thursday 10th October:
today we only had 10 mins of class because we had school photos. In that 10 mins we discussed turnitin which helped us to see our referencing and stuff. I was a low percentage so I need to makesure i reference things properly but I am happy that it wasn't over.

Friday 11th October:
We began the lesson with a relaxation exercise because we were a little hyper from the quiz last night but also super tired.
We have done this relaxation exercise a few times before so we know exactly how it works and it always helps us to relax. We then did another exercise that required a lot of focus so it helped doing the relaxing exercise beforehand. This exercise was about "sensing" eachother. We stood away from our partner but facing eachother. We had to close our eyes and walk towards our partner and join hands without banging into the our pair doing the same but across us. It was more difficult that what it seemed. I thought technique first would be good by keeping to the straight line and listening our for footsteps but after i tried it without technique and didn't think about it. I just walked and I got Abby's hands. I felt like i knew how she was walking and how fast she was going.
We then did my pilates which i had planned. It was just short but I would help everyone to understand how Pilates can connect with Zen. Yoga is more zen and Pilates is more exercise ubt there is still aspects of Zen in pilates. I think most people found it difficult doing the moves and I think the whole class needed the right clothes, music and much more concentration. It did help bring the energy up and concentration level for the next exercise though.
We went outside and Mr Fearnehough was holding balloons which scares me. We had to keep one balloon in the air firstly and makesure it didn't touch the ground. This was an easy task for us so we stopped in the end but we all got into it very much haha.
Next we upgraded to going into a circle and throwing a balloon to someone which had water inside. We weren't that bad at it so we made the circle bigger, in the end Abby threw he balloon and I caught it too hard and it burst all over me. (it had to be me)
We had to have trust in everyone that was throwing the balloon but we also had to focus on how we were catching it and our skills. I know that Abby fekt like it was her fault the balloon burst on me but I don't think it was, and even if it was, It doesn't matter because i trust that she wouldn't have done it on purpose.
We did a partner back massage. This was standing up and I was with Abby. It was like the one we didn lying down but we were standing up. I first did it to Abby and I had to be careful of her back which was bruised but I think I did a good job of it. I found that when I was giving the massage, i felt in control but I had to be aware of the other person. I was happy to have a massage in return because I love them and it was a really relaxing massage. I think Abby did a very good job of doing it and she was also very kind t my back and I trusted her a lot when iving me the massage.
The last exercise we did was a little narrative. Axel was the narrator and me, abby and bekki were joined with the sticks and had to perform what Axel said in his story. We had five minutes to practise and then we performed it infront of Mr Fearnehough.
He said that our work was really good for 5 minutes but obviously it wasn't going to be perfect. We communicated well together in this exercise and really listened to eachother especially Axel the narrator. We sensed what was going on around us and this really helped us to work together. s

RI work, marking work and Puppetry work

Tuesday 1st October:
Today we handed in our first draft of the RI. I was happy with mine but I knew there was a lot of work to be done on it. I was curious to get my marks back and also worried to know the amount of work that I will have to do on it to get better grade. I also feel motivated to do the work I need to get a better mark! We then started to go through our RI's to know the do's and dont's which is helpful because it was quick advice that would help us to get those little marks. Also something we could always go back on.

Thursday 3rd October:
Today we worked on marking other example RI's. This was good to help us understand the markscheme. The first one we marked was very bad and we all knew why, but it was good to discuss afterwards how and why it was so bad but how to make it better. We understand the easy marks that were missed
The second example, we thought it was AMAZING but we were very wrong. We thought that it was worth a 6 or 7 but it was actually just worth a 4-5. This shocked us because it made us realise what we have to do to reach those top marks. This was the most helpful example because it helped me to understand the points that were missed that I thought was fine and good. We had one more to mark for homework.

Friday 4th October:
Today we had a 2 hour session of practical work. We did many exercises involving working together, movement, puppets...
Our first exercise was movement like cars. One person was blindfolded and had to trust another person to guide them round with just simple directions of a push and touch on the left or right shoulder or a tap on the head for stop. I was with Abby and first I guided her round. She seemed to trust me very well and I thought it would be an easy task for me but harder for her. I felt like there was a lot of responsibility when pushing Abby round because she had to listen to me and I had to be very clear with my instructions otherwise it would go wrong. I was telling her an instruction once and she didn't hear me and ended up walking into Axel and I felt so bad because I felt like it was my fault.
I then was being guided round by Abby. At the beginning I felt really nervous about bumping into things but not being I didn't trust Abby, it was because I was worried I wouldn't hear her and I would get the instruction wrong.  Mr Fearnehough tried to put obstecles infront of us. My reaction to this was weird because it didn't make me nervous, I literally couldn't hear the noises around me, i just blocked them out and focused on abby's instructions.

Japanese Tea Ceremony.

On Tuesday 15th of October we had a visitor come in to show us about the Japanese Tea Ceremony whihc is known in Japan as 'The Way of Tea'. It is a ceremonial preperation and presentation of macha which is powedered green tea.

We had to look at the words 'Wabi-sabi' before the start of the lesson and we foudn out that 'Wabi' means  austere refinement and 'Sabi' means quiet simplicity. These words together connect to the idea of being zen.
The tea is made in a bowl and a Tea Wisk. The tea maker will start off wisking gently then go in a specfic circle form which has a significantmeaning in the Tea Ceremony.

There is a certain way to drink and hold the bowls during this ceremony. There is also a certain way to sit - on our knees and our hands placed on our thighs. At the beginning you have to bend down and say 'Osakini'. The person will then go on to placing the bowl on the side where ever a person is on when bending down you have to say 'Otemae'. Then you move the bowl back infront of you and grab the bowl wiht the right hand and palcing it on the palm of the left hand. You then have to turn the bowl twice and then you are able to drink the green tea. After drinking the tea you have to wipe the side of the bowl then clean you hands with a handkerchief found around the neck. You then have to place the bowl back on the ground and thanking the tea maker.

Traditionally on the tea bowls there are floral paterns that are very meaningful this is why the bowl is turned twice so that the pattern is facing the front of the bowl and can be seen whislt the tea is being drunk. As soon as one person has finished drinkign the tea the tea maker will do the exact same process wsking the tea then giving it to the next person down the line. The person will then go through the exact same process drinking the tea.

After the Tea ceremony i relaised the words we talked about at the beginning have a very strong connection with the way everythign is presented in the ceremony. Whilst the tea ceremony was in progress we stayed very quiet and respected the way in which the tea was prepared and we all respected each other when we drinking the tea.

Week 38: Wabi, Sabi, Tea-time

Tuesday: Today we had a visitor show us how to do a  Japanese tea ceremony. I found it to be very  graceful and interesting to watch (as I did not have the opportunity to do it myself), although  as a social setting and activity I think it would become kind of boring. The lady taught us about wabi and sabi. "Wabi means things that are fresh and simple. It denotes simplicity and quietude, and also incorporates rustic beauty. It includes both that which is made by nature, and that which is made by man. It can mean an accidental or happenstance element (or perhaps even a small flaw) which  gives elegance and uniqueness to the whole, such as the pattern made by a flowing glaze on a ceramic object."* "Sabi means things whose beauty stems from age. It refers to the patina of age, and the concept that changes due to use may make an object more beautiful and valuable. This also incorporates an appreciation of the cycles of life, as well as careful, artful mending of damage."* Together these words refer to a grace and ritualistic beauty, the ancient practices. The tea ceremony had very specific rules and each person had specific roles, like a theatre piece. As in theatre hierarchy is key as it determines how people speak and act to each other. It was vital to react to each "character" appropriately or else the ceremony would be destroyed. Each time it is done it is done the same way, although there are are some  very slight differences in different teahouses (e.g. number of turns on the bowl). This shows the rigidity of the performance if each "actor" doesn't do their part than the other actors will not know how to react, although slight deviations from script or blocking can be tolerated.  
*From http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/nontech/wabisabi.html
Thursday: sports day-no class
Friday: We are preparing for the break and for Argy, this means getting help on RI's and making sure blogs are caught up. Mr. Fearnehough has also assigned us the task of building a Bunraku puppet. He wants it to be able to move correctly. I think that this could be difficult, especially as our only materials are newspaper and masking tape, and anything we bring in. 

Double Lesson Friday 4th of October:

We continued on our work on puppetry, to do so we continued working on concentration an activity we did was 'Cars'. We were out in pairs and one person would be the car and one person would control in which direction the car would go in, the car would also be blindfolded. There were different parts of the body, tapping the head meant stop, tapping the left shoulder would mean turn left and the right vice versa. The aim of the exercise was to have trust in each other. Me and Axel were paired up and i didn't have a problem trusting him i was comfortable in Axel 'driving' me because i had nothing to worry i also felt like the directions Axel was giving me quite easy and i reacted quick to them up until Mr.Fearnehough started making noises i thougth this was unfair because it put me off and then i got less comfortable in myself and doubted myself where i was stepping. When we changed role i thought i would find it easier and i did i could feel that Axel trusted me just the same that i trusted him just until Mr.Fearnehough started making noises i felt sorry for Axel but he seemed to deal with it better then i did.

Another trust activity was we had to walk around the room with our eyes clothes and at the exact same time we had to coordinate when to stop and go. I found it difficult because i was unaware of where people were but i used my ears more to figure how far they would be or when they would stop and go.

Double Lesson Friday 11th of October:

At the beginning of the lesson we did the relaxation exercise which always seems to work so well and left the rest of the lesson in a very good dynamic where I thought we were all focused. Continuing on the relaxation mind we did an activity that required us to sense each other. We were paired up across the room and we had to walk towards each other with a blindfolds on and arms out. The aim was not to reach each other perfectly with our hands together but to 'sense' each other. I found this activity hard because i could not sense anything. The only thing i could sort of feel was how far Axel was from me. I did not understand the feeling something in this activity and it could just be down to luck.
After this quite concentrated exercise it got ruined by us going outside and playing with balloons. We started playing the classical balloon game - 'Dont let the balloon hit the floor'. We did this and treated it like a game not thinking about consequences. After we got a hand of that we moved on too throwing a balloon to each other semi full of water. No we all knew what would happen an unlucky person was going to get wet that person turned out to be Lydia. We talked about the consequences that we treat a situation differently when there are worse consequences such as getting wet.

After that activity we did Pilates led by Lydia. I had already done some Pilates so i knew vaguely the movements Lydia would use but i still find holding the inner core a horrible thing. I felt uncomfortable doing it and always forgot to do it during the exercises.

After the Pilates we massaged each other - Now it wasn't as good as the lying down massage but it was alright ahha. We were put in pairs and shown a quicker way to do the massage standing up. I didn't find it very relaxing maybe because i had high expectations because of the lying down one but i didn't enjoy it as much.

Week 37: Getting Down to Business to defeat the Puppet

Tuesday: No class-nuclear power plant trip
Thursday: 10 minute class
We had a very short class today because of pictures, but we went over turnitin. This is a site that looks  at how much you  have copied out of other sources. Mr. Fearnehough showed us how it worked and told me that have an acceptable percent of copied words, 19%, because we  should  be using correctly  cited  quotes. He also showed us how we could use the information  better, by mentioning where a quote  comes from to show its validity and quote "simple basic" information to give it authority and credibility.

Friday: This was our only "real" lesson this week and it was a double which was interesting. This lesson was first in the day after quiz night, so we were very hyper and unfocused at the beginning of the lesson, so we did the relaxation exercise, which got us much more focused and ready for the lesson. Then Mr. Fearnehough had us do another exercise looking at our ability to "sense" each other. We paired up and then stood opposite from our partner, then with eyes closed we attempted to walk across the room and place our hands on our partners. This was made especially  difficult because our paths crossed the othe pairs. I found it difficult to hold the "link" with my partner after moving, because I doubted my ability to accurately tell what she  was doing, in other words I didn't trust myself. I was really suprised by the fact that later when I tried it with Axel, we did it perfectly the first time. I had been  trying very hard, but I was easily distracted by the logical  side of my mind and tried to reason out what I should do, but Axel said that he knew when he  got to a certain point that he should stop and wait for me to come. I found myself doubting less and doing what seemed right that time, and it worked. This exercise  showed us how difficult it is to do something with out communication. Then we went outside and played with balloons. This was an exercise that looked at how we view and react to a situation  that has consequences and one that doesn't. We started by playing "Don't touch the Floor" with a normal balloon. Then we progessed to a balloon half-filled with water. We took passing this balloon around much more seriously because there were real, lasting consequences if it burst on someone. When I threw the balloon to Lydia and it burst, most of the class laughed, most likely  because of released nerves, and I just felt terrible for soaking Lydia. This shows how we are more committed to something if it has real, lasting consequences if failed. 

Then we did Lydia's pilates. I found them to be quite difficult because I had hurt my back the night before, but the concentration required to follow the movements, keep my inner core tensed, and control my breathing helped my to ignore it. The pilates poses were very simple, but required a small amount of flexibility and strength that I found difficult a the time, but I thought that is looked very graceful. The  concentration required on by the pilates helps with our Buraku work because it promotes concentration and focus, as well as being uncomfortable to accomplish a task. Then we massaged each other. We did it differently this time, the ensemble paired up, and one person did their partner's back. I found this to be much less awkward than the other way of massage we did before, as only one person  was focusing on me, I was in a standing position, and I was not surrounded by the entire class. Although  the experience was not negative, I didn't find it to be a very relaxing as a massage. The final thing that we did was a make an improved skit in a Bunraku style. This was done with three people with holding the sticks between them and the other person as the "chanter". The chanter made up a story and the three people acted it out as he narrated it. I thought we worked together well. The story that Axel made up had one main character that we all did together. This required good teamwork and seemed to work better because we all had on common goal.

Week 36: More RI

Tuesday: We handed in our first draft of our RI's on Monday, but on Tuesday we went over some tips and tricks to touch up our RI's. I was kind of confident in mine when I turned it in, and I was a little disappointed that we got a lecture on it right after finishing the first good draft. I did notice some simple things that I needed to fix like a table of contents and organizing sources, as well as more important points such as having an equal amount of words on practice, piece, and aspect. I was still kind of annoyed that Mr. Fearnehough gave us this lesson before he even looked at our papers, I felt that he was automactically assuming that we had failed, but the advice he gave us was useful and did address things that I had done wrong.
Thursday: Today we worked on grading RI's and knowing how to use the markscheme. This was useful because I saw what I though was an almost perfect paper get a 5, when I thought it deserved a 7. This shows me how hard I will have to work to get a good grade on this paper.

Friday: Today we actually did some practical work, although we have yet to work with actual puppets, we have been investigating what it will take to work as a team to control and manipulate a Bunraku puppet correctly. We did a few exercises, which gladly did not involve balancing the sticks. One was "Cars". One person was the car and was blindfolded, and the other person tapped them on the head, shoulders, or back to move them around the room. This was an exercise in trust, some members in the ensemble found it difficult to trust their driver as they moved around the room, but I actually found it more difficult to correctly follow the directions. I trusted the person leading me because I didn't have reason to doubt them  and I didn't see the risk as being that high if they did try to run me into things. I found it much more stressful to be the driver, because here I had to avoid obstacles (furniture, walls, other students...) and keep Lydia, my "car", away from Mr. Fearnehough, who kept hijacking her and pointing her toward a wall or somewhere dangerous. I found it more stressful to have the responsibility and the implicit trust of someone else, to trust another person. This may have been because I found it difficult to "be creative" and navigate Lydia as I worried I would mess up the exercise, whereas when Lydia directed me, I did not have any responsibility except to follow her directions. The other exercise we dd was one that looked how we "sense" each other. We walked around the room with our eyes closed and tried to coordinate our stopping's and starting's without talking or signalling. We also sat in an outward and counted up to twenty, with out interrupting or talking at the same time. We had a hard time sensing one another, with a lack of time and focus, but I did get some of it. We didn't need language to communicate.

Creating the ensemble feel and Bunraku!

Tuesday 24th September:
We began the lesson with Bekki finally getting chance to show us her presentation on the costumes and props in Bunraku. I think by everyone researching a different aspect and giving a presentation was good in many ways:

• We all took good notes on eachother presentations and the information.
• it gave us another practise for the TPPP's by speaking outloud in public, linking things together
• it also helped with researching skills

In Bekki's presentation, I was impressed with the amount of effort the puppeteers make in preparation for the puppets when dressing them, painting and repainting their faces. It makes me worried about Bunraku because we only have five weeks but what they actually do with the puppets interests me so I am excited.


Thursday 26th September:
Today was the deadline for our first RI draft hand in. A few of us needed more time.
I felt really bad because we knew that this was the date for ages but most of us missed it. I didn't want to hand mine in because I knew there were problems in it that I wanted to change over the weekend otherwise I thought there was no point handing it in with mistakes I knew were already there because we only get one redraft and it would be a waste. I should have gone and spoken to Mr Fearnehough before the lesson about it but I was stupid so next time I know.

After the big talk on RI and deadlines, we went into the other room and did more work with the sticks. We tried balancing the sticks in different body parts and looking at techniques. We had a whole discussion on us needing to be committed and focused on the tasks like true masters would be. After we had to do a REALLY painful (as I described it) exercise. We had to stand with our knees slighty bent and arms stretched out. At the beginning, I couldn't focus. I was looking to see what everyone else was doing and it seemed like everyone had their own ways of getting through this task. Abby had her eyes closed, so I tried it but I felt way worse doing it. Axel started at the stick and I tried it, it felt easier to do it and I could focus for a while but then Axel mentioned when the time for three minutes had started, that was when the pain got worse because and I felt the same. I had this sick feeling in my stomach more than anything because I felt really uncomfortable standing the way I was. It was something my body was not used to but this is something we have to keep in mind during Bunraku. Each lesson now I have come across an uncomfortable feeling that I have to power through it and continue because it is not about me, it is about what I am doing and in the Bunraku case, it is abot the puppets.

Friday 27th September:
Today is our double lesson so we had plenty of time to get into some practical work.
We were firstly shown a quote from the book "Zen In the Art of Archery" the quote was "if one really wished to be a master of an art, technical knowledge of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the art becomes an 'artless art', growing out of the inconcious"

My reaction to this quote is that I thought we could relate to it because we have to excel ourselves during Bunraku and in theatre as a whole. I have to go beyond my normal motivation and push myself to carry on, not give up not matter how difficult or painful a task may be. It can link to commedia dell'arte because this is the skill and technique of theatre to make people laugh just like Bunraku takes 20 years to learn. You have to take time and effort to master and make these passions or tasks perfect.

We then did more tasks with sticks. We began just on our own, then with out eyes closed and then with two people. I was first with Axel and we had to keep the stick between our fingers and move around without dropping it. I was the leader at first and it felt quite easy and we had a lot of energy and focus between us. Then after we tried it without a leader but we had to keep eye contact. I found this very difficult to focus on two things at once and also as there was no leader, it felt like I was the leader just because I felt I had to move direction otherwise it would drop. I guess sometimes I am quite bossy and lead but it was natural but it felt right for both Axel and I.
I then got paired with Abby and we had to keep a stick together in a different place of the body. We tried the elbows, arms, noses but the best things we tried was between the legs. We realised we had to be synchronised when walking with the stick and we had to have 100% concentration. I felt pleased with our result because I know that Abby & I struggled the most with using the stick so to understand the technique and concentration was good.
We then got into a group and had to keep the stick between our fingers. Abby was at the front, Axel & Bekki in the middle and I was at the end. I think I may have had the easiest job but it was still difficult to keep up with the line sometimes and keep the stick in place. I really enjoyed this task because I felt that it was fun but we really created a fun bond between the group more. We were concentrated but we had to understand and stay focused because there were way more distractions outside the "safe room".
There was some sort of discipline that if we dropped the stick we would have to start again at the beginning, but we only had an hour so this would be a bit difficult.
Throughout all the stick games, I thought sometimes they were a bit of fun and a laugh but I am really starting to realise properly that they have showed me a lot of skills I need in theatre as a whole and Bunraku. When I used to drop the stick, I would laugh and carry on because I was embarrassed but also I didn't think it was much of a problem. Now when I drop the stick, I am frustrated because I want to succeed because I find it more important to myself.

The final exercises we did in the day, were a type of massage. It required four people around one body which was lay on the back. The massage was a firm pat all over the body and then a swipe and a rub of the hands to create heat. I didn't think this massage would have much of an affect but Bekki & Axel did the massage and said it had a VERY big effect. I usually am quite comfortable with people but I felt a bit more reserved this time to go but now other people have tried it, I feel fine :)
I did feel a bit conscious touching other people but I think we all get used to where is appropriate and what people don't want and we all respect that. But it requires a lot of trust :)

Last week in Drama we continued working on concentration and balance. We had wooden sticks and had to balance them on our fingers. After we did this a few times we went on to doing it on our chins and noses which we all found very hard. I ended up sitting down because I pulled my neck, everyone saw this as me giving up which hurt me a bit and put me in a negative mood. Because if my neck wouldn’t have had anything wrong with it that day I wouldn’t of been seen as a failure. We then had to do a proper Japanese exercise which involved us balancing a stick with our arms stretched and standing with our knees slightly bent. This was very difficult and I realised quickly the amount of concentration a person needs but also how someone to me has to be physically fit to do this. Because of the way the legs were positioned I found this the hardest we were doing this for 2 minutes then we were told we had to do it for another 2 minutes. I found that closing my eyes and breathing in and out helped me forget about the pain and discomfort and carry on with the exercise. This exercise showed me that persistence is key. And you have to go through the pain to be able to succeed. I also found that my breathing was important in this process and controlling all my body to not drop or move the sticks balanced on my arm.

Friday, Mr.Fearnehough read a quote out from the book “Zen in the Art of Archery” the key quote he read out to us was ‘If one really wishes to be a master of an art, technical knowledge of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the art becomes an ‘artless’ art growing from the unconscious’. My first reaction to this was that a person has to keep on pursuing their own goals in order to succeed. A person has to overcome exhaustion and keep their own beliefs in what they can do. We realised that Bunraku and Commedia dell Arte connects together by the skills needed and the amount of technique needed to be successful. After this we went in the ‘safe room’ we had to do an exercise in pairs and we had to take turns controlling the stick in which direction it would go in and the other person would have to let the controlee do it.  I found it quite hard to lead because I had to have the pressure of the other person pushing so I was sure the stick wouldn’t fall. We then did it all together and walk all together around the school following each other carefully. Abby was placed in front and she had to follow Mr.Fearnehough’s hand. I think as an ensemble we had to be more communicative when we moved because we would get easily distracted by people laughing and starring at us. This exercise involved focus but because we are in a school setting people will find it weird if something is different by different I mean our ensemble walking around the school corridors holding sticks. I found I had to trust both Axel that was behind me and Abby who was leading the whole ensemble but I also had to trust Lydia to make sure she would follow us at the back.