antigone performance

Scenes from Antigone:	Multimedia used and locations	How did the multimedia in each scene enhance the performance?
1. Creon announces that Eteocles will be honoured and Polynices will be shamed and left un-buried.	Video to be shown on screen in reception.	The video will grab the audiences attention which is important as it is the first seen. It also helps introduce the concept of multimedia
2. Antigone goes to Ismene to persuade her to assist the burial of their brother. Ismene refuses.	By the tree - video shown of the thoughts of the characters.	This helps the audience fully understand how the characters are feeling it enhances the performance because their emotions and thoughts are shown through both the video and the actors
3. Antigone goes to bury her brother.	Round of wooden stumps.	The usage of alarm and police tape enhanced the performance by making it more realistic which helped the audience relate to what was going on
4. Creon looks for the support of the chorus of Theban Elders in his  decision to leave Polynices unburied.	Creon announces from fire escape door of 415 - chorus round the tree looking up. Audience looking up also.	This strongly presented the staus of creon because he is above everyone even the audience.
5. A Sentry reports the burial of Polynices. Creon insists that the Sentry finds out who or face death.	Filmed footage of event is shown on screen top of stairs. Sentry talking to Creon.	This made the performance more real because they had evidence, also it reinforced the event that happened
6. Chorus sing about honouring gods.	From the yard up to windows of 413 Recorded chorus played.	Because the audience watched this from above, it made the chorus seem like one moving thing. Also the pre recoring and the breaths made it more intreaging and mysterious
7. Sentry returns with the Culprit: Antigone. Creon confronts her.	Burst into 413 - audience turn to see. Lighting used.	Because the scene is sudden, the lights enhance the dramaticness of it
8. Creon confronts Ismene. Ismene tries to confess but Antigone won't allow it. And in the end, the two sisters are imprisoned.	Still in 413 but Creon live speaks to a projected Ismene. Antigone is walked out the room and joins the real Ismene - escorted off. Lighting used	This made the performance more interesting because they were watching a live actor communicate with someone on a video
9. Haemon both pledges allegiance to his father, Creon, and asks that Antigone be spared. After the discussion deteriorate, Haemon storms out vowing never to speak to him again.	Traverse in 413 - iphone lights as the two talk. Throughout confrontation, lights go out, one by one.	This made the scene more mysterious because there were only two lights to light the characters, also the lights going out added to the atmosphere
10. Creon choses to spare Ismene, and to bury Antigone alive. As she is dragged out, the chorus express their Sorrow.	One light left on Creon's face. Sound of s body being dragged...etc.  Projection and video used	The sound enhanced the performance dramatically because the audience had no idea where it was coming from. The projection and video reinforced the mysterious atmosphere
11. Tiresias attempts to advise Creon that what he is doing is wrong and that the Gods are angry. The prophecy of a dead son is mentioned.	Tiresias never moves his mouth but what he says coupled with weird underscore is played through speakers of 415. Projected video played	This enhanced the performance because the audience would watch the facial reactions of Tiresias while his voice was played but his mouth didn’t move
12. The chorus, terrified, begs him to take Tiresias' advice. Shaken, Creon agrees to release Antigone and bury Polynices.	As many chorus as possible fill cavities of 415 and urge Creon. Three doors and side grated window thing.	The chorus being in the room made the atmosphere more intense
13. Chorus deliver a choral ode to the god Dionysus.
14. Messenger informs Eurydice of Haemon and Antigone's death.	Filmed footage on repeat of Haemon stabbing himself and Antigone hanging, swinging from a branch.	Having the video in the background of haemon stabbing himself helped the audience understand his pain more because they were seeing him go through it. It also made what the actors were saying more dramatic because the audience could see what they were describing
15. Carrying the body of his dead son Haemon, Creon is then met by a 2nd messenger informing him of Eurydice's death.	Audience back outside looking at tree. Creon walking through the courtyard, holding Creon, confronted by messenger at the tree. Chorus look down from 415.	Having the two dead bodies actually lying infront of the audience enphasised the amount of people that had died because of one mans decision. In a strange way, it could also make the audience empathise with Creon because he is staring at his dead wife and son

Evaluation

I am really pleased with how the performance of Antigone went, I felt like that the use of promenade theatre helped to make the play more modern and kept the audiences attention because they never knew where they were going to go next or what was going to happen. There was a wide range of multimedia used throughout the performance: videos, lights, pre recorded sounds, alarms and microphones. This also helped greatly in bringing Antigone to a modern era and it also engaged the audience because they always had more than one thing to look at. Overall, it gave the play a mysterious atmosphere because sometimes only iPhone lights were used or sounds were being projected but the audience didn't know here from. It defiantly had an impact on the audience.

The multimedia impacted the audience because they had no idea what was coming next. The scenes varied so much because we did them in groups and everyone interpreted the play differently and used multimedia in a slightly different way. The multimedia had a positive impact on the audience because it made the piece easier to understand as the story was being explained through multimedia aswell as the dialog of the play. It also made the play more unique and creative because there were so many different elements.

I don't think the performance would have been as effective without multimedia because there would have been no contrast or difference between each scene. I think because we were split into groups and were allowed to chose what multimedia we used, it allowed every scene to have it's own style and it's own way of presenting this story with the use of multimedia. It enhanced the performance because people could be more creative in the way they presented the story which then intrigued the audience because it was something they maybe hadn't seen before and none of the scenes were repetitive, everyone had used multimedia in a slightly different way. I also think multimedia helped the audience understand what was going on. Because the language used at that time is very different to how we speak now, it can be hard to understand, so the use of video and sound helped audience members who were struggling because they could watch the events happening and with the sound, it helped create an atmosphere so the audience could sense what emotions the actors were feeling.

I think the the scene where Haemon's mum finds out about his suicide, a video of him killing himself is played repeatedly in the background, was the most effective. When the mum walks in asking what has happened the audience can sympathise with her because they already know as they have seen the video but are waiting for her to find out. When Haemon's suicide is being describe and what lead to him stabbing himself are projected, the video enphaisis the pain he felt and really engages the audience. I think the multimedia, in all of the scenes, helped back up what the actors were trying to present.

Lesson review - 27/4/15

Today we ran through the promenade peice, in order to see how the audience would move from one group to another. When performing our piece, i felt like i didnt perform to my best. I really need to think about the relationship between me and my brother and how seeing his dead body would effect me. When saying my last line, i need to have a sense of shock when the alarm goes off rather then waiting for it. I also struggled to pull ellis off the stage, but once we have a plastic sheet underneath i think it'll be easier. I also need to go through my lines for the second choral section as i wasnt confident with them when we went through it. 

Lesson review - 6.4.15

Today we recorded the choral piece and some breathing. The words of the choral piece were recorded so it was when it is projected through the speaker, it'll be easier for the audience to hear then if we were speaking it. Also it allows us to concentrate on our movement whilst performing this section. The breathing will be projected behind the audience, this creates atmosphere and a sense of the chorus being everywhere and bigger then it actually is.

Our section of the play is where the people guarding Polynieces unburied body leave, giving Antigone the opportunity to bury him. This is relevant for audiences today because it explores relationships within the working world. One guard is higher up than the other, and the other feels like he has to agree and impress him. It is relevant because even today, people have to impress their bosses and do stuff they don't agree with just to get on the good side of them. It also shows the relationship between siblings, and how Antigone is willing to risk her life for her brother. For people with siblings in the audience, it'll make them think whether they are Antigone or Ismene; whether they are prepared to risk their life to make sure their brothers get equal treatment, or if the fear of death is too strong to take care of their dead sibling.

For the multi media, we have used an alarm and police tape. This will make it look like a modern crime scene, which is relevant for our piece because it makes out that polynicies is bad and it is a crime to try and bury him. Our group aren't incorporating film so I can't answer the next few questions.

NOTES FROM THE SCENES PERFORMED:

GROUP 1: good commitment to the characters

                  scene was brought into modern day by the language used

                  antigone and ismene's relationship was clearly presented

GROUP 3: movement was well choreographed and intimate with lloyd and logan's lines

                  movement was effective and reinforced the story line

GROUP 4: the status difference between Benji and Jake was clearly shows through their voice and 

                  reaction to each other

                  good use of multimedia by incorporating the news report

GROUP 5: eric and sherene conflicted effectively and their use of volume and tone presented their 

                  feelings towards each other well

GROUP 9: used multimedia by having phoebe and tara shining lights on the boys

                   the anger between thiago and rory developed throughout the piece and their father and 

                   son relationship fell apart effectively

GROUP 10: multimedia was used by music when the girls walked in

                    harmony and tasha acted as the conscience and their characterisation was very good

                    they also used doors, which were slammed when the girls left which surprised and 

                    engaged the audience

lesson review - 13.4.15

Today we worked on our chorus pieces as a class. It's important for us to remain focus because we are working in such a large group.

To warm up, we did an exercise where we had to create the physicality of the characters in our play. Usually when being given a character, I think about their voice rather than physicality so this exercise helped me think about how they would stand. Afterwards, we walked around and reacted to the others around us. This made me consider Antigone's feelings towards people like her, people of a higher status such as Creon and how this would affect her stance. This will go towards my development of Antigone as a character which will make my performance better. We also had to try and find people who were the same character as us, this encouraged us to exaggerate our body language so people knew who we were.

We then started the first choral piece where we stood in a semi circle and learnt actions that linked to the words being spoken. I think moving in unison emphasises the fact that the chorus is one and is working together. However, i also like when we separated into five groups and were given a line each to choreograph. We then performed these in canon, the build up of movement is really effective and projects the emotions the chorus is trying to present. This is important because the chorus is there to almost bring everything together and reinforce what has been set previously, whilst moving the piece forward in time.

For the second choral piece, we used multimedia by including the lights on out phones and a water sound effect. Personally, I think the skyline section is the most effective out of the whole choral piece. We use our bodies to form shapes similar to the buildings in a skyline, because this is performed in the dark, it'll make our shapes more effective and possibly more realistic. Also at this point, we use our phones. The lights pop up on certain words in the script which could come across quite mysterious as the room is dark. After this, we all sit cross legged as a group and start to sway as the water sound effect kicks in. Because before that we created buildings separately or in small groups, it's nice to end the piece with us all swaying in unison to bring the chorus back to one again. For this it is very important that we sway in time with each other and in the same directions because one person who does the opposite to everyone else will ruin the feel of that section.

homework - 26/3/15

Today we looked at two different scripts of Antigone, writers who had put the script into a more modern context. Rory and I worked on the scene where Creon finds out Antigone has buried her brother. I liked how the dialog was worded in a more understandable way for this day and age. It also brought in swearing, which made it more realistic and allowed us to empathise with the characters because we could understand how angry or upset they were. I don't think the language made the characters change but personally I was able to understand them more and I think that is what the writer intended. For example, I think their status was more obvious and you could see how although Creon had more power than Antigone but she wasn't intimidated by that. 

We then had to get into groups and recreate a part of Antigone in a more modern context. I was with Antonia, Michele, Daniel, Benji and Rory. We decided that the characters in the play would all be in a group chat where Creon was trying to get everyone against Antigone because she tried to help her brother. I was in the middle as Antigone, and everyone was around me but on their phones, as if they were in their own rooms. Antonia stood behind me, and spoke the notifications. For example, Michele would say what she's texting, and Antonia would say, "message sent". The characters personality was shown through their texts and also tone of voice when they were saying their texts aloud. Creon was presented as the leader of the group, who had the ability to make everyone agree with his opinions, resulting in everyone hating Antigone. Ismene tries to be the peace maker when telling Antigone what people are saying about her on the group chat, but she is steering towards Creon's views and doesn't agree with what her sister has done; however Antigone sticks by her decision but feels as if everyone is ganging up on her.

OTHER GROUPS:

GROUP 1: this group set theirs in a school where Creon was the headteacher and Ismene and Antigone were students. The chorus was made up of three girls gossiping, who would narrate what was going on.

GROUP 2: they made their seen more urban by changing the language

GROUP 3: theirs was set in big brother where Antigone was being thread of being kicked out of the house because of burying her brother

GROUP 4: this was set in america, where Creon was the owner of american diner and he has ordered all his staff not to bury Polynicies 

GROUP 5: posh and old fashioned language was used. Creon was very pompous and up himself so he refused to listen to what Antigone had to say. Antigone and Ismene were also posh and quite spoilt.

GROUP 6: Creon acts as if he's really strong and defensive but has a fear of dirt, so when Antigone spits on his hand he starts to panic. He relies heavily on his guards to protect him.

GROUP 7: Creon owns a pub and fires the two brothers but wants Antigone to still work in the pub. She says she's going to leave, and refuses to stay if her brothers are fired. 

For my set design, I decide to set the play in a rough estate. The audience would sit in front of the stage, and the actors would be placed either on the balcony of the houses, or on the steps. The colours would be quite grey, as it is just a brick building. The stage may even be dirty as it's a rough and not very well looked after estate. The idea of the steps, is that Creon would always stand at the top to show his status and also so he could look down on people. He is well known and powerful on the estate so everything is centred around his flat and that's where he feels most comfortable. Antigone lives next door, so she has to confront him and there is no way of her getting passed him.

lesson review - 7.4.15

At the begging of the rehearsal, we were in our groups a discussed our long term and short term goal for this topic. We had to then sketch some diagrams of what we wanted the stage to look like, create a modern version of our scene and begin to stage the piece. My group are set outside by a circle of wooden stumps, we had to decide where we wanted to be and also where we wanted the audience to be stood. Because we are outside, and it's hard to use multimedia such as film because there is nowhere for it to be projected, we decided to set the scene using props. We would have police tape wrapped around the wooded stumps, with Ellis as the dead body in the middle. Tim and Antonia would move around the area as guards, and also move the audience into position as if they're too close to the body, this will make it easier for them to know where to go when moving from the previous scene. I think we struggled to rehearse this scene because although it is significant in the play, it is a very small section and our aim was to elongate it and make sure everyone was involved. This lead us to creating new characters, the guards, and developing their characters so it fitted in with Antigone. I also think because we didn't have the props we planned to use, it was hard to imagine them. For example, when I'm about to bury Polynicies, an alarm is meant to go off, but we didn't have that which lead to me having to kind of trail off when speaking because their was nothing to interrupt me, which effected my development of Antigone.