Unit 3: Romey & J (Blog 6)

ROUGH DRAFT - 

No, I did not prepare sufficiently for the rough draft performance because I did not have my lines memorized and the staging was very scattered and people did not know their exits and the attitude from the characters were missing because there was no fluidity and I wasn't able to appropriately play my character appropriately.

There were elements in the our performance that was absolutely horrible and needed lots of work. First of all we needed to work on memorizing all our line especially my lines because I needed the script the whole time and that held me back from portraying the role of Sampson's smart aleck/sarcastic role in the scene. We needed for the thumb-biting to be more confident and look more offensive, and Irti wasn't able to pull it off so if we weren't able to do it properly we were advised to cut that out. Irti also needed a sash/crown/cape that signified him as the prince in the end he also needs more authority. Irti also had to work on making the maidenheads and the female being the weaker vessels part work with the joke and I had to deliver my lines more aggressively and push him off and he had to be aggressive about pushing me to the wall.  The questions between Abrahm (Sarang) and Sampson (Irti) need to be more sarcastic and Tybalt (Willie) needed to be more bitter and the stage combat hand to more 'staged' because it sounded like they were breaking the wooden swords. And most of all me and Irti a.k.a. Gregory (me) and Sampson needed more actions and not give our backs to the audience. We need to fix the attitude so that the emotion and circumstance of the scene is understood. I think the audience wouldn't have been able to understand because we needed the extra attitude and emotion with lots of 'testosterone' induced sarcasm  for enmity in the scene for the audience to understand what we were trying to get across.

To improve our performance for the final draft we improved our staging and communicated with each other about who was standing where. and we also put in that I exit when the combatting starts and come back on to do my part for citizens and then exit again. We also researched our parts in the No Fear sparknotes and added the appropriate emotion and attitude so the audience understood and Irti did his thumb bite more aggressively while I delivered my lines with sarcasm and aggression towards Irti, we carried out our part like a conversation. Willie was more aggressive and bitter with Tybalt and Sarang worked on his character and made it more snarkier. And the most redeeming part was that we all memorized our line except for some mishaps and Irti needing ques. 

FINAL DRAFT- 

Yes, the final draft was much better than the rough draft because we memorized our lines and we also went over the No Fear script so that we knew what emotion we had to get across to the audience with a much better understanding. We also improved all aspects that made the audience waiting like lack of action and gestures in the beginning and the portrayal of the level of testosterone.

First of all we memorized all our lines and then we went back to the No Fear script to find out the meaning of our lines in modern english so we knew what emotion to get across for the audience to understand and set a mood for the scene and improvise on our attitudes of our characters. We also used more action in the opening bit with a bit more sarcasm and aggression and improved on the maidenheads bit which had to said with pride and also he thumb-biting bit, Irti finally figured out who to bite his thumb at and how to do it more offensively. Willie, Sarang and Irti made the quarreling bit flow more fluidly because we all learned our lines and then they improved their combatting and Irti learned his lines for the Prince and was able to deliver them with authority. We also improved our staging the mos because we finally advised each other and discussed my exit and the entrance and we remembered to not give our backs to the audience.

Since we all understood our lines better in the Final draft performance we were able to improvise our attitudes and emotions in delivering the lines so the audience would understand better. We didn't really have a audience except for Ms. Kimi but I think that if we did than the audience would've been able to grasp the intention of the dialogues. I think that we were able to portray the circumstance of the scene much better than the first time that we attempted to but it still needs improvement. We were able to portray elements of the scene very good and we still need a lot of work on other scenes.

FINAL REFLECTION: 

After attempting to perform a scene from R&J, I've come to realization that actors in the Shakespearean theatre had lines in a different style of language which had to portrayed with emotion in order for the audience to get the gist of the scene and the mood of the scene. I also learned that if scenes from R&J don't flow properly they lose the quality or the 'magic' of the entire concept, so the character personalities were different as well. The actors that performed these plays must've had a hard time learning the lines and emotions had to portrayed perfectly, which actors nowadays have it easier on them because they don't have to perfect the emotion behind the lines for the audience to understand.

I learned that I have to memorize all my lines and most of all understand all my lines so that I know what emotions to deliver with the lines for the audience to understand and I always have to in action on stage or show some expressions so that I don't seem boring and the scene flows on fluidly. I also have to do more rehearsals when I'm doing difficult performances like R&J and anything else that I might find difficult. I also have to remember to stand diagonal so the audience see me from every angle and I'm not giving my back to the audience unintentionally.

Unit 3: Romey & J (Blog 5) (Annotated script)

Annotation includes the modern meaning and action/emotion that needs to be portrayed. (Click on picture o see better)

Unit 3: Romey & J (Blog 4)

If I were to choose a scene to perform from Romeo and Juliet, I would choose the fight scene after Mercutio's death when Romeo and Tybalt fight. The thing I love about this scene are the lines and the climax of the whole thing. When Romeo says something along the lines of "Mercutio's soul is waiting for one of our souls to follow him, it's either you or me, or the both of us" (well, I wrote it in modern English), I personally think that's one of Shakespeare's most awesome piece of writing, and although I'm not that quite fond of Romeo and Juliet, that scene is still awesome. I think this duel scene is influential and awesomely written, it would be even more awesome if it were dramatized.

Assuming, I'm the said director of this scene, I have to think about the staging, props, lighting, roles of characters, how the lines are said and also about some on-stage duel. I would set this scene in a more alternate format than what it shows in the exact movie representations, I want to thunk like Baz Luhrmann and set the scene differently. I think the scene would be more dramatic if it were to have happened in the marketplace, so I would set it there, but after the sun went down. The scene would start off with Romeo over Mercutio's body, and quite in shock and sadness, while Tybalt turns away to walk away and mark his victory, all of a sudden Romeo get's up and snatches Tybalt by the collar and deliver his lines about avenging Mercutio's death. Then Tybalt shoves him to deliver and then Romeo delivers his lines (that awesome verse) and the duel starts and ends with Romeo kneeling feet away from Tybalt's dead body in shock. I will include the original lines, and the following. But I want to avoid all male actors even though the scene includes all men.

Being that I'm the director, I would know how I want to Romeo's particular lines to be like, so I would make myself Romeo, regardless of the fact that I'm a girl. I think I need a serious actor to play the part of Tybalt, so I guess I would choose Minnies because she can be very serious in my opinion and I think the scene is supposed to look stiff and menacing and I think Minnie's good at being cute but she can seem very mean if she acts like it and that's what I need, stiff mean-ness.

Unit 3: Romey & J - Reduced Shakespeare Company

In class, we watched the following clips from the Reduced Shakespeare Company's production "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare":

What elements are being used in this particular performance? (Be specific, use examples and evidence to support your choices)

• Some elements that I've noticed, that were being used is the use of male actors, and a bit of cue acting. 'Cue acting' was very popular during Shakespeare's time because actors were given their lines right before the play sometimes and/or didn't have time to rehearse so someone would whisper the lines to them from behind the curtains. They also used rhythm, repetition, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance in their dialogues even in the parts where it was modified or improvised. They also used some onomatopoeia like the original plays to emphasize sound effects. Onomatopoeia was used in Shakespearean times to emphasize sound effects, since they didn't have that many. ("The Theatre in Shakespeare's Time."The Theatre in Shakespeare's Time. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://alexryan8x.tripod.com/theatre.htm)

What changes have they made and why? (again, be specific and use examples)

• They improvised a lot of the things and they were able to do it in under 15 minutes when the play is originally 2 hours long. They also skipped out a lot of the script, like the part where Tybalt comes in, Tybalt barely says anything but it finishes with the ending snippet when he is killed. They have also added some funny parts like the groping/kicking that would have been considered almost vulgar in the Shakespearean times. They also mixed in some modern jokes, modern lines and thing into the play, like at the end. And they had a minstrel/narrator who introduced the scenes and relayed the lines for cue acting.

Do you think this performance would be successful in Shakespeare's time? Why or why not?

• I think this performance would be booed in Shakespeare's time because Juliet wasn't a prepubescent boy with a high-pitched voice. They also had groping and comedic things that would've been booed or considered vulgar in th Shakespeare's times. The audience wouldn't be amused by the joking in a tragic story like Romeo and Juliet. They were also exaggerating a lot that was more suitable to Commedia but it wouldn't have been acceptable in the Elizabethan era that came along. So they would probably get hit with rotten vegetables/fruits by the groundlings.

Unit 3: Romey & J - Baz Luhrmann

• Knowing what you know about Shakespearean theatre now, what do you you think about the Luhrmann interpretation?

I think that the Luhrmann interpretation was a lot more graphic (not in a bad way) than the original play in a lot of obvious levels and since it was done in a movie, the Luhrmann had cut out some parts so it was difficult for the audience to grasp onto some scenes because of the shortness. I thought there was a lot of things going on in each scene, even though they were short so it was hard to keep up with Luhrmann's version at times. I thought that Luhrmann's modern day interpretation to adapt it to a familiar modern setting was very creative, I especially thought that the little details from Shakespeare's plays that were added on the skyscrapers and shops in modern,  pop-iconic Verona in the film was very good and creative. In the film the actor's expressions were more life-like but dramatic whereas the original play required the characters to exaggerate their emotions even more, so I personally prefer the Luhrmann version in terms of the actors' expressions and their more natural delivery of their dialogues. 

•  What specific "Shakespearean" elements can you identify from your research?

The most distinct and obvious Shakespearean element was were the dialogues because they referred directly to the original script. They also used Shakespearean quotes from other tragedies he wrote on the shops or billboards in modern Verona in Luhrmann's film. Since this was a movie, there were sound effects (including songs), lights and also weather variation whereas the original play didn't have many lights and sound effects. There were many expensive props like cars and such in the movie, which were a lot more than the original play.

• Do you like the artistic concept he has chosen for the piece? 

The artistic concept of Luhrmann's version was very creative and I personally thought it was very impressive. I thought the concept of a modern Verona including all the classic Shakespearean intentions of drama was very good because they were able to convey the story almost exactly like Shakespeare with a different setting. I think that the character's costumes were very expressive of their nature and the use of the weapons and props was great too. I actually quite liked Luhrmann's artistic concept because of the witty moments in the film. But the dialogues were unintelligible sometimes because they were grunted or shouted, but I still liked some of the delivery, it was kind of a hodgepodge, but a successful hodgepodge I guess. 

• Do you agree with the characterization, conventions, and design elements you have seen?

Yes, I do agree with all three. I think the characterization and design elements were the best part of the film because the character's had realistic and convincing expressions so that emphasized each one personality even more. The little Shakespearean details like the quotes on billboards were one of the little design elements that I like I also like the setting with the beach and the modern theme of the infamous party where Romeo and Juliet meet. The convention was good but I think it could've been better with the famous and great actors like DiCaprio and Claire Danes but sometimes I felt that they weren't able to grasp their lines in the original character's intentions.

• Which side of the argument do you think Shakespeare would have agreed with? Do you think he would have supported or criticized Luhrmann's attempt to revolutionize his work?

I think that Shakespeare would have criticized most of the things about Luhrmann's work because he cut out some bits from the script which made the movie into a whirlpool of details that weren't easily noticeable unless watched 2 times. And I also think that Shakespeare wouldn't have been impressed with the swimming pool scene because that was crucial scene where it was supposed to be pure and tender but like the NY Times reviewers mentioned:  "[Luhrmann] turned Juliet's balcony into a Manhattan fire escape for ''West Side Story,'' this film draws on watery settings so that its lovers can quite literally take the plunge,". It also missed some crucial classic details of purity in the movie with the (although impressive) costumes and open profanity, provocation in some bits.

At the time of the movie's release it was very controversial--critics polarized and either loved or hated the piece (see here: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE7D91139F932A35752C1A960958260 and here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/romeo-and-juliet-1996

 http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/romeo-and-juliet-1996

UNIT 3: SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE - ROMEO & JULIET

-historical context 

Commedia dell'arte was originated in Italy, while the Shakespearean theatre was originally from England. As the Renaissance ended and slipped into the Elizabethan era (Shakespeare's times) so a lot of the same features from commedia influenced Shakespeare's theatre. Shakespeare's plays were based on scripted serious stories, whereas commedia was based off of a general plot with the stock characters and very improvised with no language script since they used "gromalot". It was hard to recognize the main character in commedia because of all the stock characters and each one's colorful personality, but in Shakespeare's plays the play was based on a story about 1-2 characters that would mentioned at the beginning of every play in a prologue. Commedia was also more comedic with their exaggeration and most of Shakespeare's plays were tragic with a snippet of comedy but characters weren't exaggerating, they were rather dramatic. (

Larque, Thomas. "Shakespeare and His Critics - Index." Shakespeare and His Critics - Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://shakespearean.org.uk/>.)

-audiences 

Commedia dell'arte was performed for all the commoners and peasants, on the streets, in big houses or areas and it travelled throughout Europe and Italy. Whereas Shakespearean theatre stayed at its house, The Globe in England; although they would occasionally perform at the Palace or for any wealthy, powerful person as requests. (

Larque, Thomas. "Shakespeare and His Critics - Index." Shakespeare and His Critics - Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://shakespearean.org.uk/>.)

-script/text 

Shakespeare had made up 5000 words and phrases while writing  his plays and used English to write his scripts since the plays were based in England. Commedia was more global since they travelled through the continent so they're script was gibberish so it was based solely on actions. (

Larque, Thomas. "Shakespeare and His Critics - Index." Shakespeare and His Critics - Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://shakespearean.org.uk/>.)

-performers/performance styles 

Commedia was allowed to have vulgarity and paid female performers whereas Shakespearean plays did not allow female performers and joked about vulgar things in implication or hints because of religious influence on England at the time. So it was a downgrading thing for female performers. Shakespearean plays had critical audiences in the groundlings that had great interaction with performers but they would throw rotten vegetables or fruits if they didn't like the play. Commedia pulled up members of the audience to stage to improvise them into the performance and command and direct their actions.(

Larque, Thomas. "Shakespeare and His Critics - Index." Shakespeare and His Critics - Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://shakespearean.org.uk/>.)

-rehearsal process 

Commedia dell'arte was improvised and didn't seem to have any main characters among all their stock characters but they went about it with a certain hierarchy. Commedia plays would often portray unexpected deaths and such things throughout without the characters even knowing, so the whole thing was generally improvised. Shakespearean plays were rehearsed using a actual script inside The Globe during broad daylight, like commedia.(

Larque, Thomas. "Shakespeare and His Critics - Index." Shakespeare and His Critics - Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://shakespearean.org.uk/>.)

-performance space

Shakespeare's crew was housed at The Globe in England, which was like a ceiling-less theatre with "groudlings" seats and had more expensive seats on the levels around the top of the theatre. And as aforementioned, commedia was travelling all the time so they didn't have a predominant house, they just predominantly performed in Italy more. Since either of these groups couldn't afford enough candles to put on performance at night, both performed at daytime, even if it rained!(

Larque, Thomas. "Shakespeare and His Critics - Index." Shakespeare and His Critics - Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://shakespearean.org.uk/>.)

-production elements (lights, sound, costumes, etc.)

Since it was done in broad daylight there weren't anymore lights except for those for both. Shakespearean plays had props and they also had proper costumes for each character. At The Globe the stage had a place underneath which was referred to as hell where actors could disappear through a trapdoor. Commedia was done on streets and was based on mime since they didn't have props most of the time and actors would wear masks to represent their characters and made sound effects using their mouths along with gibberish.

("Commedia Dell'arte (Italian Theatre)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 18 April. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/127742/commedia-dellarte>.)

A tour of The Globe

Unit 2: Commedia dell'Arte Final Performance Task Final Draft Evaluation

Using the performance rubric, reflect on your performance and discuss the following: (Crit C)

What were the strengths of your performance? 

• We had improved a lot from our rough draft performance so we were more exaggerated and expressive and we also showed a lot of energy and enthusiasm towards it. We used a lot levels and made use of the space. We also used props that added humor (which was a strength) to it. We also added a little bit more of audience interaction. We decided to use Gromalot to make it more expressive, therefore for the understanding of the scene for the audience was much better. We incorporated a lot physical elements into m character, which was difficult to re-enact because my character was Pantalone. We also improved our miming and also incorporated more mimes and actions through improvisation to make our performance longer and make the scene and plot clearer.

If you were to score your performance, what would you score be? 

• I think that I would score my performance I would get a 4 in context of the rubric we were given. I think that we were able to portray the exaggerated personalities of the Commedia characters that we acted as and we were also able to create a mostly clear scene, which means that the audience had understood where we were going with our performance. We improvised and incorporated audience interaction into the performance. We also incorporated sound effects during our miming of the door and used a minimal amount of Gromalot but was still clear as to what we tried to communicate through our exaggerated actions. We also had a clear and fun partner relationship that was amusing to the audience and our scene was clear, overall! Our performance was also reasonably timed!

Overall, do you think you did your best in this performance? 

• I think I did my best in terms of the physical movement and use of space and props because I was able to get across what each of those things were to the audience. I also think that I was able to portray Pantalone's personality well throughout the performance, but I feel it could've been better. I think that some of the elements of the performance were my best, like the antics between Harlequino and Pantalone, I thought that my exaggerated actions were the best part. 

What could you have done to improve your performance if you had the opportunity to perform it again? 

• I think that I should've used more Gromalot throughout the performance and exaggerated my facial expression a bit more so that I could've gotten my point across to the audience instead of using the crown as a prop. I also could've added more sound effects from my part and some more audience interactions to take the performance up to a 5 on the rubric.

Arshad and Taseen: The group I thought did as well as us

• I think Arshad and Taseen did a great job and they were level with our achievement in their performance. They used a lot of humorous elements and they're mimed interactions were great. Arshad's exaggerated expressions were especially great because he was able to portray his character, Brighella very well with his body. They also had good audience interaction and good use of Gromalot. I think that needed to mime more clearly because they lost the audience at some points in their performance. Taseen used good approaches to portraying his character and the both of them had a great partner/character relationship. I think I would give them a 4 out 5 in context of the rubric we were given because they mostly completed and portrayed all the elements needed for the performance, much like us. 

Prabhanu and Afraz: The group I thought did not do as well as us

• I think that Prabhanu and Afraz's performance needed a lot work because it didn't have the correct use of Gromalot because you could literally hear Prabhanu speaking english but in a deeper tone. I also thought that they didn't use exaggerated expressions and didn't use their character's typical body language so sometimes the scene looked very messy and they had audience interaction but it was very unclear as to what they wanted the audience member to do. I think that Afraz needs to look into Zanni a little more because he was flapping his arms and hopping around and looking everywhere, but he was smiling the whole time as well. I think that Prabhanu (Magnifico) should make Zanni do some other things other than throw food at him all the time and be hostile and make him provel, I would give them a 2 on the rubric because they were able to accommodate all the key elements like movements, use of space and clarity of scene sometimes but they're character personalities and character relationship needs a lot of work 

Unit 2: Commedia dell'Arte Final Performance Task Rough Draft Reflection

Once you have performed your rough draft in class, you will need to write a blog post including the following:

Part 1: Evaluate your own performance using the language found on the performance rubric and Crit B descriptors. 

• What did you do well? 

- We had good partner interactions and the audience understood the relationship between me and Harlequino and understood what the scene was about. They also understood the miming even though it was bit messed up in some places. Our actions and exaggerated gestures were also good. 

• What did feedback did you receive? What do you need to improve? 

- We needed to work on our expressions because we let our character slip sometimes and snicker or sow pain but it was good. We need to structure our scene better because people understood the plot but were confused about the set-up of the space so we need to work on staging. We also need to work on sound effects and add Gromalot. We also need to add some more audience interactions. I think we would get a 3-4 on the grading criterion. 

• What specific things will you do to improve before performance?

- We need to mime for one door because at the moment we have three doors leading to the same room and I also have to mime the crown more exaggeratedly. We also need to improve our falls because I have to fall and I have to slow down my movements because of Pantalone's original back condition. Harlequino needs to be more jumpy as well.

Part 2: Evaluate another group's rough draft (someone who didn't do as well as you) using the language found on the performance rubric and Crit. B descriptors. 

• What did they do well? 

- Jawwad and Shopnil gave great performance. They had sound effects and very entertaining exaggerated expressions and a amusing and budding partner relationship. I think that they're miming was good and character personality of Jawwad's character, Pantalone, had good personality with the bitterness and mocking tone to teasing Shopnil, the doctor. 

• What feedback would you give them? 

- I think that their character personality was good and their partner relationship was good as well because they're personalities were portrayed in their actions, Pantalone had good exaggerated movements and gestures since he was mocking the Doctor. They'd get 4-5 on the grading criterion.

• What specific things could they do to improve before performance?

- They could work on different levels and staging because they need to mime more properly and Shopnil needs to do other things rather than eat all the time to show more character.

Part 3: Evaluate another group's rough draft (someone who you think performed better than you) using the language found on the performance rubric and Crit. B descriptors. 

• What did they do well? 

-  (Samrin and Arafat) They're character relationship was good and they made good use of space and a prop and they had good expression but they need to clean up their performance. 

• What feedback would you give them? 

- I think they needed to improve their actions and develop more character and just overall expression because they needed to clean up the whole scene. So they would get a 2-3 on the grading criterion.

• What specific things could they do to improve before performance?

- They needed to use more audience interaction and they also needed to clean up their scene it was all over the place and it needed to be more exaggerated. I think they should change the scene because their 'story' was bit bland because the only thing the story line was about was serving Magnifico.

Unit 2: Commedia dell'Arte Final Performance Task Process Update

What 3 initial ideas did you brainstorm with your partner?

• My partner was Saadman and he chose to be Harlequino and I am Pantalone. Out first initial idea for a scene between Harlequino and Pantalone was: Pantalone is trying to bribe someone from the audience to buy a deceitful obkect that would be useless later on but Pantalone wants the money. Then Harlequino jumps out from his hiding corner and foils Pantalone's plans by playing pranks on Pantalone's 'customer' and drives him away and then pulls a very mean prank on Pantalone when he goes to chase after Harlequino. 
• The second idea was of Pantalone getting inside the room where a crown is placed and Pantalone admires it and then plans to steal it. Harlequino sees this through the keyhole of the door, picks the lock and taps Pantalone on the shoulder and moves to the other side of Pantalone and Harlequino takes away the crown when he isn't looking and they fight each other in the process of fighting over it and the crown is destroyed. Harlequino tricks Pantalone again after that by offering him a sit but taking it away and Pantalone falls on the ground.
• Our third scene was of Harlequino mixxing poop and pee into the food that he would be serving Pantalone and then when Pantalone throws the food away, Harlequino pulls up people from the audience to mock Pantalone and play pranks on him.

Which idea did you choose and why?

• We chose the second idea because we thought that it was possible to fit in more audience interactions into it and more levels and emotions and physicality. We also that we could add tid-bits of the other ideas and put it into the piece for second idea, so it would be more diverse and humorous. 

How does your "story" choice fulfill the required elements? (Be specific.)

• Our story choice fulfills he audience interaction element because we bring up someone from the audience for pulling one of Harlequino's pranks on Pantalone. Pantalone also has to exaggerate his features in order to show his liking for the mimed crown since we aren't using real props. Harlequino has to be jumpy and use different levels all the time where as Pantalone has o be crooked-backed and uses a limited number of levels and he also has to be very slow when he's chasing Harlequino around. We also have good structure as in plot line and we also have good partner interaction and a good number of mimed interaction. 

Using the rubric, what strengths and weaknesses can you already identify within your performance?

• In our performance we already have emotions, levels, audience interaction but we have to add some more. We also have mimed interaction of opening doors but we need to clean up our scene because we have good miming but at the moment it looks like there are three doors to one room. We need to add sound effects and some Gromalot to make the scene more entertaining. But we have good partner interaction because we fight and play pranks.

Unit 2: (BLOG) Commedia dell'Arte--Emotion & Language

In class we watched National Theatre videos (links below) and explored the concepts of exaggerated emotion & the language of Commedia dell'Arte (Gromalot). We experimented with these through different applied theatre activities. In this blog entry, discuss the activities we completed in class and your own expanded understanding of Commedia dell'Arte performance in relation to these two elements.

• Emotion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlIFR6c7NZc 

- In class we did a activity that we had to get in a circle for and think of different actions and put emotions in it and the person next to you would mimic your actions and then that person will make one of theirs after mimicking your actions and it goes on till we reach the first person again. We also did another emotion activity which involved us brainstorming the primary, secondary and tertiary emotions/feelings in theatre and then having a scale from 1-10 of how much we can exaggerate the emotion. Like for example if my emotion was laughter, on 1 on he scale it would be a snicker or giggle and by the time you get to 10 you'd be on the floor laughing with tears streaming down your face. 

- Basically I've learned that since we can't really communicate in Commedia we have to use exaggerated emotions and expression in order for the audience understand and it also adds humor and meaning into the piece that w might be portraying. Commedia characters are all about their emotions and their actions and each of the different character's 

• Language: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gTs9xWJcgg

- In class, we did a activity where two of us had to randomly get up and improvise a scene and use Gromlalot to put out point across but with Gromalot there was a lot of exaggerated gestures so the audience could understand. When speaking Gromalot, a lot of us tend to combine English words with Bengali to make words and some of us also just slip up and speak in English but change our tones in voice. I think speaking in Gromalot in Commedia is like adding more drama to it and it also helps to fill in he quite silence that would follow with exaggerated movements if Gromalot were not used.

- I think that we could use Gromalot to communicate better with the audience and improvise in our final performance and it would also add more humor and drama and all those other communicable elements. I think the speaking of Gromalot fills in the quiet space because if we weren't allowed to use Gromalot then it would just involve us miming with exaggerated movements which would be boring in Commedia without Gromalot because it gives the characters more background. Like each character might have differnt tone of voice, like Pantalone could be bitter-toned and have a nasal/kinda jealous tone of voice with heavy Gromalot words.

Unit 2: Commedia dell'Arte Summative Performance Task-- Exploration of Exemplar

(THIS wasn't actually this video but the one I watched was this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkjQUxedbGQ&list=PLduNxeUSH1tyQ8DqQNy6nplqZDMlNiAzR)

• Lazzi (what were your favorites within this piece? why?) 

My favorites about this piece was the part where he got a female volunteer from the crowd to perform an improvised piece with him, especially the part where he was trying to seduce the girl and she was very surprised. The other thing that I liked about the performance was his exaggerated expressions and sound effects that were used, it really made the act all the more enjoyable and it added life to the pantomimed objects and environment portrayed. I like these parts in the pieces because I thought it was these elements that made the act amazing and funny.

• Using varied interactions (environment, props, characters, etc.) 

Amo Gulinello, the clown, pantomimed different props and used the audience as his characters, so he used the theater environment to his advantage. He also used sound effects and pantomime to portray the environment his act was taking place.

• Taking out to audience 

Basically, the whole act was based around improvisation by taking out people from the audience. The linked video that I watched; the clown picks out a random girl from the crowd and improvises with a scene where he takes her on a date, in his comedic streak. From the surprise of the girl you could tell that it was totally random and he did a very good job to surprise her in the end and also with his antics,

• Exaggerated emotion (1 to 10) 

I think, I would give the clown a 9 for his exaggerated emotions because he showed very 'Disney-like' exaggeration. Like with the 'grinding' and the faces he made at the girl during the date in the act really stood out and he also showed a lot of emotion and the emotion was also present in his exaggerated actions.

• Exaggerated physicality (use of space) 

He used the front of the stage but he used a lot of levels in his exaggerated actions and he also did some little stunts on the chair, so he made use of the chair's platform by doing little stunts on it, like how he stepped over the girl's whole body and he made more big movements like that to use the space. He also ran across the stage as his entrance and ran across the stage as his exit as well.

• Exaggerated facial expression 

He had good exaggerated facial expression was good and it made the act really funny. It also emphasized the character's personality quite a bit and it was very expressive. I think the act included a lot of the basic facial emotions of anger, frustration, happiness and so on but in a more comedic and exaggerated manner.

• Stock characters of Commedia 

I think the character of the clown would be ranked as Harlequino, because he was comedic and funny but he wasn't necessarily stupid like Zanni. In some parts he was a bit of a flirt, which I can relate back to a sub-character of Commedia that I came across in the research stage; Mezzetino, who's a flirt but does pretty much the same antics as Harlequino. The clown was a bit of flirt and clown in this one. 

• Performance elements (sound, lights, staging) 

I think the sounds were great because it helped to make up the environment on stage. The setting of he chairs on the middle of the stage was also very good because it was visible to everyone. There was light focused on the place where the clown went and the staging was good too. He used a good amount of the stage, the front of it only but his levels of movements made it much better. 

• Working with audience member (how did he make it clear to her what she should do? how did he support and lead her through the scene?)

The audience member that he picked (the girl) was struggling in some bits because she was very amused and she wasn't thinking out all the exaggerations and extra actions of the piece so he had to improvise and instruct her using his actions since it was a silent act. I think that the instructions he portrays blended in smoothly with the piece, the clown also used extra emotions to instruct the girl on her actions.

Commedia dell'Arte Unit: Task #6

Why did you choose the character you did?

• I chose "The Hot-Shot" because I thought that it was a very interesting character and quite unique than the other characters we saw, like the The Hot-Shot isn't exactly the school jock, but more like the player and the braggart that has expensive cars and has this manly superiority.

How is that character described (personality, physicality, etc.)?

• "The Hot-Shot" is a superior stock character, he expresses power because he has all the money and riches and he gets all the girls, he's knows he's good-looking and he's confident in school and out of school. The character leads with his shoulder and chest, mainly the torso area and his gestures and facial expressions also make up who he is.

What body part is his stereotypical feature? How did you attempt to center their energy there?

• The Hot-Shot's stereotypical body part is his torso area, including his shoulders and neck sometimes. I basically had to walk a lot like Magnifico, but be more chill and cool because I have to also show the laid-back confident braggart that the character is. I had to walk with slow steps, jut out my chest a little bit and push back my shoulders, and slouch and stand tall at the same time to give the impression of looking confident.

How did you did choose to interact with the environment/prop? What specific interaction choices did you make?

• I chose to create imaginary characters to interact with and I also chose to wink and point at the audience as some additional interaction so I look confident. I also chose to utilize the space  by making it my personal runway and walk into the act with laid-back shoulders, smolder stare and say hi and sleek/flip my hair to imaginary people.

What feedback did you get from your performance?

• My group members told me that it was good so far but I needed to improve and add more to my audience interaction, like flirt or bring someone up and show them my expensive watch. I was also told to improve my facial expressions by incorporating a side smirk or something like that to make me look confident and "hot" or something.

How did you choose to "take out" to the audience in order to "invite them in" to your performance?

• Like I said before, I want to wink, smirk and improvise with them to invite them in to the performance.

What will you change for the next performance?

• I need to add some improvisation and some audience interaction on stage . I think I also need to improve on my general facial expression throughout the whole performance. 

2. Choose another character from your group (Classic or Contemps) and evaluate their performance using the same prompts above.

• I chose to evaluate my friend, Nawar's contemporary draft performance. She performed "the lover/s". Her character's personality and physicality was basically being committed to relationship so a first she was all lovey-dovey and skipping across the room, thinking about her special someone. Then she transitioned into moving away and ignoring other people who try to talk to her because she was so invested in her relationship. I think that her character's main physical point was in the movements, like how she was skipping around and moving around the space. Her stereotypical feature might've been her and because she kept them close to her self and she shooed people away like that and also skipped around like that. She pantomimed and used her gestures to create imaginary characters that she used to shoo away to show her commitment. For next time, I think she needs to take out to the audience and she needs to make some interaction with the audience, like incorporate a gesture of expression directed to the audience to improve her initial performance.

Commedia dell'Arte Task 5 - Personal Evaluation of Performance Task 1 (Final)

Part 1: Performance Task 1 Self-Assessment

What choices did you make for your rough draft performance?

• I interacted with the audience more in my rough draft performance. I chose to go sneaking around the room, suspiciously look at the audience, act as if I was listening into some juicy gossip and at the end I chose to turn to the audience, look at them and use gestures with my finger against my lips to tell them to quite while I stole a "water bottle" and ended my performance that way. I used mischievous and suspicious expressions on my face. I didn't really use many levels but I did use a lot of pace because I basically kind of tip-toed across one side of the room to another. I used my walking to guide Brighella, my character.

How much time did you spend practicing fro your performance?

• I spent 3-5 minutes every 4 days to practice my character t school with some of my friends. I also stood in front of the mirror once or twice to look at the expressions and facial traits.

What specific feedback did you get  from your rough draft performance?

• I was told to interact more with the audience and I was told to show more mischief in my expressions. My tip-toe-esque, closed hips walk was really good according to the audience. I was also told to switch something instead of stealing the water bottle because my personality is more selfish than greedy. And I also some comedic facial expressions like acting appalled and I was told to show more facial expressions that would be visible the audience. 

How did you feel your final performance went?

• I think my final performance was honestly worse than my rough draft performance because I think that I lost the essence and gist of Brighella because my rough draft performance was so long ago. I think that my final performance needed a lot of the good elements from the rough draft performance and maybe could've used more improvisation.

What did you choose to change for your final performance?

• I chose add the squinting of my eyes and hide behind he trees because I thought it would look good. I also chose to out in the reading of papers so it looks "mischievous". But I think that didn't work.

What specific feedback did you get?

• I was told to add more mischief to my facial expressions and add more interactions. I was also old to incorporate different levels and show some different expressions of mischief on my face instead of one facial expression. I was told that my "squinty eyes" were good and so was looking through the paper and incorporating a imaginary character to make it more entertaining.

What would you score your performance out of 10 using the Criteria B descriptors? Explain Why.

• I would grade my performance a 5 out of 10 because I thought that I had all he concepts of the classical commedia character down, but the problem was that I couldn't incorporate all the traits of Brighella into the performance, so I understood the whole concept and was able to carry out a satisfactory performance judging from my feedback.

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Part 2: Performance Task 1 Peer Assessment 

Pick someone who's character is completely opposite than the one you chose. 

• I chose to evaluate Minnie's performance of the Doctor.

Evaluate their character based on what you know about the character. 

• Minnie's character focuses all the energy on the stomach/belly making that the distinguishable feature for the doctor and expression wise he has to be quite oblivious and clueless, basically the thing about the doctor is that he doesn't understand anything yet he has a lot of knowledge and he's basically funny. So I think that Minnie was able to show that in her performance and her facial expressions and use of space and audience interaction was very good.

How close did they come? What did you like about their performance? 

• I think Minnie was able to pull off the performance of the doctor almost perfectly because her interaction with the audience was great it was really funny and cute. I really liked the performance when she used the mumbling/gibberish aspect from commedia and was able to incorporate it into the performance, I think it was my favorite performance!

What do you think they could have improved from their performance?

•  She could've added a part to the performance where the doctor's clueless and more tragic side came out because he couldn't understand while Minnie's whole performance was more comedic and cute I think she should've added a part where the tragic and clueless side of the doctor came out. 

What score out of 10 would you give them using the Criteria B descriptors? Explain why.

• I think Minnie scored a 8 out 10 because she was consistent and interactive with her peformance, She also used gibberish/and or muttering which is a aspect of Commedia, that I no one expect for one more persohose to incorporate into their performances so I thought that was something good she took into account. Her interaction with the audience was very good because looked at us and rubbed her bell and gave some humor to it. She only missed the tragic side of the doctor, but other than that it was a very good performance.

Commedia dell'arte Task 2: "THE MASKS WE WEAR" (IDENTITY Short Film)

IDENTITY (Short Film)

1. I think this film was very inspirational and the thing I like about this film is that it was a very diverse concept and it got me thinking about my own life. I think I liked the idea of setting it in a school environment and that it "unmasked" the truth about the "masks we wear" in life and in different circumstances and how it makes us who we are. I observed how they brought up Plato's theory and the roles of the pieces in chess and how the actions in the film connected with the high school environment, there was also a part where they show the sign which says "This is what beautiful is" with the mask and multiple other girls with the same mask on and also how one person changes masks when she talks to another group of her friends. I think the themes that I mentioned about the high school environment and also the stereotypical views of society and the concept of Plato's theory and rules of chess they showed to emphasize their point in the movie about finding your identity was applicable to life because society is very demanding in standards today.
2. There a lot of masks that we wear in life, every day, without realizing sometimes and do it on purpose to fit in with different groups of people in society. After thinking long and hard, I've come to a conclusion that I tend to wear masks everywhere, even at home and mostly at school since I spend the most time there. When I hang out with my best friends in school I tend to wear my "social/enlightenment" and mask of power because I take a stand on my own because my best friends are one of my closest relationships. When I'm in class, my mask represents smart and quiet/observing  and when I talk to my friends that are boys, my mask represents strength, independence and toughness.

3. THE DESIGN PROJECT ON THE THREE MASKS I WEAR

We were asked to find contemporary stock characters from our modern school environment. As mentioned before, all stock characters have very distinguishable personas from each other and I've picked out similar stereotypical contemporary stock characters from a modern school environment. Instead of focusing entirely on the mask, I've chosen to draw the whole frame of my characters so I can explain what they're postures represent about them. I've named my stock characters "The Extraordinary One", "The Outsider" and "The Hot-shot". (I've drawn them myself!) 

1. "The Extraordinary One"
   This character is a girl and judging from her appearance she looks like the typical nerd, but her appearance, as in looks-wise she is much more prettier than a stereotypical nerd. From her posture, you could tell she's timid and she doesn't realize that she's very pretty, this all could be told from the way she clutches her book. The book she's holding is meant to be a fantasy story book, which also tells us that she has a great imagination and the stereotypical meaning behind the glasses means she's good at studies and  she's a hard worker. All these qualities that we see on the character makes her "extraordinary". 
   The mask is divided in half and the beige color represents simplicity which is in her style and the yellow represents imagination and intelligence and the pink star symbolizes her calmness. 
   
2. "The Outsider"
   This character is obviously not from the same place as the other children at school and this can be told from the way she's dressed up and her distinguishable features. She's possibly from another country. She's also very watchful, her sight isn't set straight and she's looking at something else. From her ram-rod straight shoulders, that look quite uncomfortable she could be defined as nervous and fidgety. I think she wants to fit in but is failing in doing so with her different appearance, style and persona which defines her as "the outsider" from among the other people at school
   As for her mask, green represents inexperience and the outlines of her different shaped eyes and mouth represent purity because she's new the yellow represents her cowardice to mix with other people.
   
   
   
3. "The Hot-shot"
   This character is the most confident character at school. He can get away with anything and you could see from his thick arms that he works out a lot so he's also pretty tough and from his smile you could tell he's very confident and smug about himself. He's laid-back posture and broad and straight shoulders tell us he's very powerful and his perfect hair also gives you the impression of his leadership. Judging from his appearance he can get any girl he wants as well and his expensive v-neck t-shirt, skinny jeans and high-top boots, all scream "hot-shot".
   As for his mask, red represents power and pride and black represent sexuality and wealth. He even has a smirk with a splash of blue on it, blue represents confidence and his eyes aren't wicked but confident, which means he doesn't harm anyone with his strength.