final evaluation

When I began preparation for the play, I broke down my script so I could become more familiar with the text. I worked out every scene I would be in and what my lines were. After working out all my lines, I could then decide on my physical objectives. This meant that from the first rehearsal I could begin to form my character of Loacaha and experiment with different ways of portraying Loacha. As I did more rehearsing I changed some of my physical objectives, because I felt they worked better than the ones I had originally chosen. When the actors are familiar with their script it is helpful for the directors because it is much easier to shape the play with actors who are able to put forward their thoughts and ideas and be ready to jump in at any time with out having to familiarise them self with the script first.

In the play I changed character several times. This meant that at the beginning of the rehearsal process I had to research each of these characters and become familiar with them, vocally and physically. For example, I become a tribes person, so I researched aborigine tribes and looked at their way of life. I researched their clothes, their traditions and their music, so that I could adopt  their way of life for my character. 

I showed use of technical skills, when I re-blocked my parts, from where we had been rehearsing, to our performance space. I had to think about projecting in such a big space and making sure that I took into consideration the audiences configuration. Our performance space was three or four times bigger than our rehearsal space and the entrances and exits were different. I had to re-block some of the pathways my character took and I had to make sure that if I exited the stage I would have time to get to my next entrance. Re-blocking in detail, meant that during the real performance I didn't have to concentrate on my position on stage or my next exit, but on performing to the highest standard I could. 

I found confidence to play and experiment with my character. The rehearsal time is an opportunity to fail and try again. Some of the physical and vocal decisions I made for my character didn't work and I had to try again. I had to find the confidence to perform  in front of the rest of the cast,  and do things that may have made me feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. Being able to do this, meant that the finished product of my character was the best it could have been because I had explored and tested different things out. If we had had more time to develop the piece, I could have developed my character even further. 

We communicated the world of Nation to the audience, using some props, but mainly physical theatre. For example, we created the forest and pigs in scene 10, using only our bodies. The ensemble transitioned between playing islanders to embodying strangely shaped trees and a pig, with her piglets. This was effective, because we committed to these roles and made sure we believed in what we were trying to communicate. We had to paint a theatrical picture, that would be interesting and engaging for the audience to look at. I think we were successful in creating the environment of the play through physical theatre. 

I changed character a lot during the play, but when I did, I didn't have an opportunity to change costume or make up. This meant that the only way to communicate to the audience that I had changed character was through my physicality and voice. I feel that I was successful in doing this, however if I had had longer to prepare I could have developed each character even further. 

During rehearsals I made sure that I took notes on every single scene, even if I wasn't in it. I looked over these notes in between rehearsals, so when we came back to a scene, I would know what to do straight away. Taking notes really helped me develop my scenes much quicker and I think that the rehearsal process would have been easier if every member of the cast had taken detailed notes on each scene. Having my notes also allowed me to demonstrate leadership skills, by helping other cast members to know their role in a particular scene.

I made sure that I committed 100% of my energy and focus to the ensemble scene, because I know that  even if one person doesn't commit, the illusion of the play is lost for the audience. Even though I may not of had any lines in the ensemble scenes, I made sure I knew what character I was and what emotion I was trying to convey to the audience. It is important to remember that the performance is only as good as the worst person in the cast. 

I involved myself as much as possible, in the preparation of the play. I turned up for extra rehearsals, came off book within the first two weeks, learned my cues and familiarised myself with the space as much as I could, by looking at photos and diagrams of the space. 

During this process I have learnt that EVERYTHING you do to prepare before the final performance makes a difference to the end product. Its not just your acting in the show that makes it good, but its all your research, approaching the script work, extra rehearsals and note taking that makes a difference. I have made the realisation that in order to create a fantastic piece of theatre, my commitment through out the whole process needs to be 100%.

I have learnt that when your performing, you need to push your vocal and physical ability to the limit, so that you can reach your potential as an actor. It is only a good performance if you commit to your character and believe in the world. All your thoughts and even your manorisms need to be left behind when you are on stage.   

What I have learnt about myself is to trust and have belief in the outcome of the play. There were times during the rehearsals where I thought that the final performance wouldn't be as good as it needed to be for the audience to appreciate it. But everyone put in the hard work and it came together really well. I now realise that I should enjoy the rehearsals more and have faith that everyone has the potential to give a brilliant performance. I still think that the performance had potential to be even better, but I was pleased with how it turned out. 

I think that my physicality was good in the performance. I was successful in changing my physicality for each character I became and managed to change my voice depending on what role I was in. For example when I was Locaha I had a strong, upright physicality and changed my voice to be on a lower register. 

I feel that I took direction well and also put forward my ideas and thoughts. I responded to direction by writing everything down and using it to improve my performance. I took any constructive criticism I got and used it to make my performance the best it could be. I took advise from other cast members and gave them any ideas I had to make their performance better. 

I still feel I need to improve on doing much more in depth research on my character, the themes of the play, the time frame and the other characters who interacted with my character. This would have allowed me to develop stronger relationships between my character and the other characters in the play. When I did my research I focused more on Locaha and less on the other characters, the themes and the time period of the play.

I need to learn how not to strain my voice. I had to project my voice very loudly because we were performing in such a large space. At the end of the performance my voice hurt and that was only from one performance. If we had done multiple performances it would have been really important for me to learn the techniques for projecting, without straining my voice. 

I needed to be much clearer on my physical objectives. When I did the approaching my script work, I worked out my objectives, however as the rehearsing went on and I followed the directors instructions, some of my objectives changed and I became unsure of what some of them were. For my character to be completely believable and my voice and body to be connected, it is important that I am completely sure of every single one of my objectives. 

For the final performance, the lights didn't come on for the first and second scene. This meant that what was happening on stage wasn't very clear to the audience and the story, which is introduced in these scenes, wasn't very clear. It also meat that it was harder for the actors on stage to know what was going on and right at the beginning, the cue was missed for Mau to come forward and put the axe in the tree, because he was waiting for the lights to come up. The section where blue plastic sheets were stretched out in the space to act as waves, didn't go as planned. Me and my partner got hold of one end of the sheet and two people came and unrolled it as they ran backwards. I couldn't hold on to the sheet, so the end got pulled into the middle of the space. We needed to spend more time on this section, as it was very difficult. There also needed to be better communication between the two partners, as to how to unroll the sheet. The musical numbers went really well, because the whole cast committed and put lots of energy into them. The ensemble sections were effective and every member of the ensemble were sharp on their cues, so they ran very smoothly. 

Ways to improve the play...

• Take detailed notes for every scene, even if you aren't in it 
• Go over your notes and learn lines through the week, instead of doing it in rehearsals
• Focus in every rehearsal and don't lose concentration between scenes 
• Be the best you can be in every rehearsal 
• Remember that THE PLAY CAN ONLY BE AS GOOD AS THE WORST PERSON IN THE CAST
• When performing in an ensemble it is really important that every single actor commits and plays the part well, otherwise the whole ensemble looks weak 
• Make sure that you take everything you have learnt so far on the course and use it in Nation 

Evaluation Of Rehearsals So Far

We have been working through the script in order and so far have got up to scene 15. We stage the scene and practice it once or twice, then move on to the next scene or section. Using this method means that all the actors in the cast need to take detailed notes on their part in every scene because we are not going back over to rehearse scenes, so when it comes to our run through everyone will remember what they did in  rehearsals which were some weeks ago. 

To make our play good, it is also important that the cast meet outside of our Monday rehearsal time, because in order to make a play look professional, actors need to rehearse for more than three hours a week. The extra rehearsals mean that we can improve on transitions (which there are a lot of in the play) and work on technical things like the lifts. Working on these elements of the play will mean that there will be no luls in it.

I need to make sure that in every rehearsal I stay focused, even if we aren't doing a scene that I am in. This is because it is important to be familiar with the whole play, so I need to make sure I know what is happening in each scene, regardless of whether I am in it. It is also difficult for the actors who are rehearsing to concentrate on their directions, when the other actors around them aren't focused or are chatting.

There are some songs in the play, which mainly the whole ensemble will sing. In order for the songs to be effective we need to learn them off by heart and be able to be confident enough to sing them with articulation and volume. We have sung as an ensemble in previous performances, and it was not very effective because not every one in the cast committed to the song and it brought down the whole piece down. We can learn from this by making sure that we put energy in the songs in Nation and make them a highlight of the play. 

I think that our play has the potential to be an amazing piece of theatre, as long as every single person in the cast focuses in rehearsal and takes responsibility for themselves by making notes of their directions. It is also very important that we get together and go over scenes in our spare time, to make sure everything looks clean and polished. Finally all lines should be learned, including the songs and chants.   

The song ' Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' was originally written as a poem. It would be effective to use the original poem in our version of nation.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

BY JANE TAYLOR

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,

When he nothing shines upon,

Then you show your little light,

Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark

Thanks you for your tiny spark,

How could he see where to go,

If you did not twinkle so?

In the dark blue sky you keep,

Often through my curtains peep

For you never shut your eye,

Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark

Lights the traveler in the dark,

Though I know not what you are,

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Ideas for act 2

Scene 1 

• The stage directions say 'a year later' - to show this, everyone in the nation, will do repeated actions up on the stage to show time passing
• The God anchors will be given to audience members 
• Everyone in the cats will sing 'happy birthday' from wherever they are standing in the space 

Scene 2 

• Mau and Daphne are exploring the cave 
• We could through big, black sheets over the audience, then Mau and Daphne could climb under them to show the cave 
• The bodies in the cave should be rapped in dust sheets to show them being mummified

Scene 3

• The grandmother finds out her son is to be king 
• To show a change of scene, a table and chandelier should be bought on to the stage 
• The lights will be made brighter to show a completely different place 
• Gentlemen of the last resort will be dressed in different colour coats of have different colour umbrellas 

Scene 4

• Foxlip shoots Ataba 
• Foxlip and Polegrave should be hiding among the audience from the beginning of act 2 
• An umbrella from an audience member will be used as the gun

Scene 5

• Daphne takes Foxlip and Polegrave for tea 
• They sit down and a tipi is built around them ( made from brooms and mops etc) 
• When Foxlip drinks the beer, the ensemble will create a humming soundscape ,which gets louder and faster as he is dying 
• The song and his death will be made into a big ceremony 

Scene 6

• This scene is where Daphne has her trial 
• There should be members of the nation standing among the audience 
• Mau should be standing up on the balcony 

Scene 7 

• The raiders will walk up onto the stage 
• They will be drumming and chanting 

Scene 8

• there could be actors coughing in the audience to create a soundscape of the influenza outbreak 
• 'twinkle twinkle little star' can be sung by the nation- lyrics from the poem to add to the song

Scene 9

• Daphne's father will enter with several soldiers following him 
• Daphne's father should be standing on the balcony 
• the lights will dim when we comes in- show that he is confused/ struggling to see
• when he arrives the nation will be up on stage holding flags 

lyrics for 'South Australia'

The tribe sing this song in scene 10, as a celebration of being accepted onto the island. the stage directions read 'They sing as barrels of Sweet Judy food and rum are fetched. Tools are passed around'. In the scene have the ensemble are up on stage and the other half are on the floor between the audience. boxes are passed through the space and thrown up to the people standing on stage. 

In South Australia I was born, heave away, haul away

In South Australia, 'round Cape Horn, were bound for South Australia

Haul away your rolling king, heave away, haul away

Haul away, youll hear me sing, were bound for South Australia

As I walked out one morning fair, heave away, haul away

'Twas there I met Miss Nancy Blair, were bound for South Australia

There's just one thing that's on my mind, heave away, haul away

That's leaving Nancy Blair behind, were bound for South Australia

And as we wallop round Cape Horn, heave away, haul away

You'll wish to God you've never been born, were bound for South Australia

In South Australia I was born, heave away, haul away

In South Australia, 'round Cape Horn, were bound for South Australia

Research presentation

We got into groups and did some research into Polynesia and its culture. We then put all of our information into a prezi. Here is a link to it ...

https://prezi.com/embed/e9ssjnjgdyys/?bgcolor=ffffff&amp%3Block_to_path=0&amp%3Bautoplay=0&amp%3Bautohide_ctrls=0&amp%3Bfeatures=undefined&amp%3Btoken=undefined&amp%3Bdisabled_features=undefined

Ideas for act 1

Scene 1

•  a swarm of kids will enter through the building playing and messing around
• a group of the kids will approach the tree and birds will fly out 
• The children will become the birds and 'fly' off stage
• The balcony will then turn into the ship 
• The actors will all be on the balcony, then when they abandon ship they will run through the audience (chaos)

Scene 2 

• The Nation will enter from all different parts of the space - celebrating, singing, dancing 
• Mau should be dressed in all white (shows purity)
• Milton will be wearing very bright colours
• Locoha can wear black feathers around wrists and ankles 
• The tribal people should be bare foot, wearing flamboyant and over the top masks  

Scene 3

• The balcony will be the shipwreck 
• The stage will be the island and there will be sand on the stage 
• There will be two blue lights which will give the idea of the sea 
• Daphne will be standing up on the balcony holding a lantern
• Daphne will also be looking through a telescope and there will be a projection of what she sees on the wall

Scene 4

• Mau will be up on the stage and Daphne will approach him, walking through the audience
• they will have their first meeting up on the stage
• when Mau runs at her, both will retreat down into the audience
• Daphne will use an umbrella from an audience member as a gun

Scene 5 

• Scene 5 starts on the wreck of the ship
• Daphne and Mau have tea together 
• Daphne's grandmother turns into a bird - there will be a blackout and a puppet of a bird will appear to represent the transition of the grandmother turning into a bird 
• The interior of the ship will be below the balcony 

Scene 6

• Mau, Daphne and Milton are sending Robert's body off into the sea 
• The stage is the island and Roberts body will be sent off from the stage 
• People standing in the audience will carry the body along, as if they are the ocean 
• Locaha will be a collective of people 
• Use the push theatre company as inspiration for Locaha

Scene 7

• Cox enters at the back of the space and walks down through the audience towards the chief, who will be up on the stage
• Four radars will be standing behind the audience, drumming in unison 
• Cox will get dragged by the radars up onto the stage
• Cox shoots the chief and he will fall into the orchestra pit
• When cox says his monologue he will walk around the whole space 

Scene 8

• The night sky will be projected onto the walls and ceiling 
• There is a lot of nature in this scene - green umberellas will be used as tree tops 
• When Chale gives birth to twinkle she will be behind a lit up sheet, so the audience can only see her silhouette 

Scene 9

• A tipi will be created up on the stage and this will be where Chale gives birth
• The tipi will be made up of brooms, umbrellas etc ... 
• When Daphne sings 'twinkle twinkle little star' she will sing the first verse, then the ensemble will sing the chorus
• The song will show how Daphne is bringing her own culture to the nation 

Scene 10

• This scene is where Daphne and Mau suck milk from the pig 
• It will be a ritualised ceremony 
• Sow and piglets will be up on the stage 
• As Daphne and Mau travel to the sow, they will go through the audience

Scene 11

• Foxlip and Polegrave will be brought through the audience lead by a group of radars
• cox will come in through the double doors and go up onto the stage to look closer at the prisoners 
• the rest of the scene will be up on the stage 

Scene 12

• heavy rain - sound effects using rain sticks 
• Mau will be standing on the stage and Milo will be among the audience
• Ataba cuts his foot 
• the islanders will stand between the audience 

Scene 13 

• Mau, Milo, Pilo and Ataba are all on the boat
• moving in unison to show they are all rowing 
• Locaha will be up on the balcony 
• only hear the voice of Locaha 

Scene 14 

• Daphne will fall into the orchestra pit when she dies, then climb out when she goes into the under world 
• in this scene the actors should play with levels
• make the lighting dark and sinister  
• mysterious soundscape 

Scene 15 

• use puppets for the dream fish
• puppets on long sticks being controlled by people in the orchestra pit
• same lighting and soundscape as scene 14 

Scene 16 

• the whole of the nation will be standing up on the balcony watching over Mau and Daphne
• Mau and Daphne lying side by side under the balcony 
• their friends standing in a circle around them

Staging ideas

Scene 4 - The beach

Scene 4 is where Mau and Daphne meet for the first time. They struggle to understand each other and Daphne is wary of Mau. She gets frightened and produces a gun. She fires at him, but the gun hasn't got any bullets. They recover from the incident and Daphne apologies. She invites him for tea on the ship wreck. 

For this scene I thought that Daphne would walk through the audience, who would be sitting in traverse, and stop half way to observe Mau. Daphne speaks quietly to Milton about the boy she can see one the beach. When Mau, who will be on the stage, sees Daphne she can walk up there to be able to talk to him. They will have their interaction up on the stage, which will represent the beach. In the middle of the scene the stage direction says 'Mau stamps the ground in a ritual war chant and then charges forward', this will scare Daphne so both of them will run down off the stage and back into the audience. This will be when Daphne tries to shoot him, so she could get an every day object, such as an umbrella, off an audience member and use it as the gun. After the shooting, they will continue their interaction among the audience, until Daphne and Milton exit. At the end of the scene Mau talks to the grandfathers, who could be in the orchestra pit.

In our group we made a diagram of the stage and plotted the positions of the characters during the scene...

First impressions of the play

Nation is about a young girl, from Wiltshire, who finds herself washed up on an island called Polynesia, after being in a tsunami on the way to visiting her father.No one who was on the ship survived, so the girl is left alone. However she finds a boy on the island and meets his people. They form a strong friendship and together lead the Nation. 

The story of Nation is very spiritual. It includes elements of religion and science, and doesn't say that either one is right or wrong. The play is set in the Victorian era, but is ahead of its time because it has a female character who is very interested in the sciences, which was unusual for the time. In the play there is a lot of interaction with animals and nature is a big part of the story. Nature has power over the people, they cant fight natural disasters such as the tsunami. The play shows the contrast between two very different cultures, but it proves that people, however different, are able to unite and come together. 

When I first read the script I began to see that the dialogue between Mau and Daphne will be hard to execute in an effective way. When they first meet each other,they cant understand the others's language, but in the script they are both speaking English. When we devise this scene we will have to make it clear to the audience that they are supposed to be speaking different languages, by both actors using mime and finding creative and effective ways to show the audience their confusion and difficulty understanding each other. 

I also thought that the character Milton, who is a bird, could be a puppet. He has a lot of lines and is in many of the scenes, so the puppeteer could also be the voice of Milton, as well as controlling him. There is a balcony in the space where we will perform, so Milton will be able to fly down off the balcony, into the audience.