Blog # 12: Over analyzing separates the body from the mind.

Description:

The third week of June is now gone which means that the school play performances are over. However, we cannot close this project without stopping for a moment to reflect upon the work we've been doing for the past months, and to judge it by saying if the final product ended as we wanted it to be. There were three different presentations, three different days and thus three different groups of people who attended to see the play. This means that there were also different comments made by the audience. So, in this entry I'll be focusing on some of the comments made by the audience which really caught my attention and made me reflect about our play.

Analysis:

Actors running from place to place, costumes and clothes on the floor, noise and yelling...you could feel the hype. Foundation all over the place, prosthesis being put on our faces, people complaining about prosthesis... the changing rooms were full of many different problems, but in the end all of these had its benefits. I have been complemented many times by people who went to see the play on how much they like and even on how much it made them reflect. Well, we could argue that with just this, we've accomplished one of our goals and fulfilled one of German Expressionism's main purposes, to make the audience reflect and feel identified with the play. The first thing I want to talk about is symbolism and how have some of the people that went to see the play, interpret them. In the first place, we have the symbolism of power which is mostly present with the characters of "el jefe de fabrica", "el padre" and "el jefe de oficina". As I previously mentioned in one of my earlier entries, the levels created by the different risers and platforms on stage gave this idea of power and hierarchy. We have 4 major levels on stage; first we had the platform which elongated in front of the stage which is considered to be the lowest level, then we have the stage with no risers which is considered the second lowest level, we also had the first riser and finally the second riser in which the tower is settled. This idea of power and hierarchy is reinforced by these levels created; as they give a visual image of somehow stairs or a pyramid. They give physical levels in which the ones in the tallest level are the ones with the most power, and the ones in the lowest levels are the ones with less power. This also helped to generate a more intense feeling of oppression in a clear and more visual way; as the levels gave this impression of encapsulating "el hombre" in a repetitive and monotonous world of confusion and uncertainty. Taking as an example the scene of the family, both "la tía" and "la madre" were sitting on really tall chairs which were on the first riser, making them look even taller and menacing. The fact that these chairs were looking towards "el hombre" in 3/4s gave the impression that there is a barrier over him, that he is constantly being looked at and judged which managed to increase the idea of oppression and power. 

El Jefe giving the impression of oppression and power

Moreover, I received some commentaries concerning the mixture of reality and dreams and how they managed to intensify "el hombre's" suffering. When "el hombre" was in a peak of despair and confusio, there was a transition to a dream. Moreover, we can also say that the progression of the dreams was somehow in crescendo. Why? Because we can see how his first dreams start as a general idea of oppression (sueño azul) with these entities that oppress him in the factory, to become something more personal (sueño morado) with "las brumas" who represent his family and how they look at him. Therefore, these dreams managed to represent different levels of emotional distress; giving the impression that "el hombre's" sole reality and existence lies inside his head, as it is his way of representing the hostile world that oppresses him. The use of color also added dynamisn and energy to this scenes making them the most powerful and emotionally charged. The reality was in black and white, giving the idea that reality didn't have a purpose for him, he was tired and sick of his life and he wanted to reinvent himself. So, in a way "el hombre" managed to represent humanity and the people in society, he was every character in a way; as he represented the German society and the lack of identity. In conclusion, the dreams were the symbolic representation of what happened to him to an emotional level, they emphasized the way that this character felt across the whole play.

Finally, one other thing that caught my attention and something that I haven't thought about, was the code name given to "el hombre" during "las pruebas". "El jefe" refers to him as cadidato numero 379; well, I received a comment referring to this number in particular and how the fact that it is an odd number and how each of the numbers that form it 3,7 and 9 are odd manage to create this effect and idea of instability and weakness. I was told that the fact that the 9 is odd and that it is just before the 10 give the impression that you want to reach that 10 but you're still not quiet there. If we connect and compare this to when we raise the volume of the TV, you somehow get the need to get the volume to be in a 10 or in an even number; therefore we can say that odd numbers give the sense of being unstable and weak as they do not manage to be even.

Connections:

Well, I can definitely compare our play with 

Reflections:

This is the moment in which I should reflect upon some of the work done throughout this whole process. There has been many sensations, experiences and learning during these few months and I feel that I have managed to get the feeling of making German Expressionist plays. In class we learnt at the beginning that rather than focusing on the self discovery and relationship between the actor and his character, German Expressionism seeks to represent those emotions and use your body to transmit that idea without restrictions or constrains. Actors in those times did so because they wanted to relate to the German society of those times who suffered from many things such as lack of identity and economic crisis. Since this type of theatre was not intended for entertainment, everything was to be presented in the most crude and real way; therefore it not only tried to show something real, but something twisted about reality.

In the play, we managed to see this and therefore I think that the main idea of German Expressionism was accomplished. The fact that we see the story and life of a man that is not successful at all and who does not have a clear identity (this is why he is always questioned in his dreams) is really crude and sad.

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Blog #11: Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.

Description:

The second week of June just passed and we are exactly 4 days away from the premier of "Romper la Piel". This week, we had our general rehearsal in which we were able to fix any last minute details in order to make the play work in the best way. In my case, I worked and contributed to the process in a practical way, although sometimes I had to be the leader, specially with the 6th graders that worked in the tower with me in order to make the entrances as exits as clean as possible.

Analysis:

This week, as I already mentioned, we had the general rehearsal for the school play and therefore the actors and the musicians had to work hard in order to have the cues clear. As I have mentioned on previous entries, music is a really important factor capable of increasing tension, rhythm and pace  to the scene depending on the amount of dissonance and the pitch of the instruments the musical piece has. Taking as an example the ending of scene 6, Las Pruebas, the inclusion of the staccato bowing by a single violin during "el proceso de inducción" helped to increase tension as it gave the idea of individuality and uncertainty. Why? In my opinion, the fact that there was just one violin playing it gave the idea of individuality, reassembling more or less "el hombre" itself, likewise; the fact that it was doing staccato bowing gave the idea of uncertainty as if "el hombre" wasn't sure about what was going to happen. Furthermore, we could argue that the fact that it was just one violin, made the volume be low showing the impotence of "el hombre" who is incapable of changing his destiny; he simply does not show the strength and power of will it takes to step up and stop being the underdog to become something more. Therefore, I believe that music has a great influence on the dynamism it can add and bring to the scenes. The audience could feel what was going on, I think they were able to get into "el hombre's" shoes for a moment and realize that the lack of stability in his life is something really 

Furthermore, we could say that the effect that Jake implemented to the transition between scene 6, Las Pruebas, and scene 7, Sueño Fucsia, increased the tension and instability of "el hombre" as well. In my opinion, this "wah wah" effect rapidly varied between high and low pitches which gave the effect of oppression, overwhelm and instability. In a way, it gave the audience a glimpse into "el hombre's" soul and mental state; it was as if we could hear his thoughts and the fact that it was an unclear sound gave the impression that he didn't have his ideas well settled. Therefore, we could argue that the music followed the concept of an overwhelming reality, as it contributed to "el hombre's" moral decay. Clear dissonance, variations in the pitch and volume, and a chromatic scale helped to give the audience a clearer idea of how "el hombre" was feeling. This was of great use for the scene changes or transitions because it gave the feeling of blurriness required for the changes between reality and dreams.

Another design element that really helped to improve the scenes and give the sense of blurriness and uncertainty, was lighting. The adjustable light that managed to give a sense of hierarchy was the light propeller at each of the edges of the stage, the LEKO.  These managed to cast a shadow on the tower, which at the same time created two different effects. On one hand, we could say that when "el hombre" is being questioned by "el psicólogo" the shadow created on the wooden plank gave the impression of "el hombre's" inner self which little by little is starting to get bigger and bigger until the final outburst in the last scene of the play. Since the LEKOs were illuminating from the bottom-up, the shadow created was even bigger than Eduardo himself. Therefore, we could say that it gave the idae of "Romper la Piel", of "el hombre" going through these different stages in his life until he changes; until he reaches this different stage in which he first need to change internally to change on the outside as well. Moreover, we could argue that the shadow created on the tower gave the impression that "el hombre" is still being diminished by "el jefe", since in the tower, we had light striking right into "el jefe's" face creating a sense of spookiness and power. Although the shadow on the tower was pretty big, the fact that "el jefe" was on a higher level helped to create with the help of the lighting on his face the idea of him being superior and more powerful than "el hombre". The shadows created on the back of the scenery, in the case of "el jefe"  as I already said, gave the sensation of power and predominance, reinforcing his empowered status.

Furthermore, I could argue that the shadows created on the scenery, such as the tower or the wooden planks at the sides managed to depict one of German Expressionism's main ideas and purposes. Taking into account Germany's status in that time, we could say that these type of plays dramatized the "spiritual awakening" and suffering of their protagonists; in a way they intended to atone the feelings of these people. Germany at that time was going through the stages of World War 1 and suffered its terrible consequences. The country was in a state of depression and people had an undefined identity. Therefore I believe that shadows helped to portray that, the undefined identity of these type of people who aren't sure of what is coming next, who aren't sure about the power they are capable of having, etc.

Connections:

I have managed to reinforce a connection that I found when we were first starting to implement music to the rehearsals. It is a connection with "El Ultimo Ensayo" and all of the scenes of the school play. In "El Ultimo Ensayo" there are no clear changes between the scenes; lights do not fade nor they turn off, therefore the use of of props and music is essential in order to make a clear contrast between scenes. In the school play, we had in mind the idea of scenes being connected with no abrupt scene changes of cuts; the purpose of this was to give the idea of constant oppression in "el hombre" who does not have time to stop for a minute and reflect on the different things that are happening to him. We did this by using music and slight changes in the use of lighting and props. This intends to maintain the energy, pace and attention of the audience at its fullest. As I previously mentioned, the use of music accompanied by a series of actions is really effective in the transitions. The progressive changes in pace is useful to create another level of reality from scene 1 onto scene 2, scene 2 onto scene 3, etc. the grotesque and bizarre movements made by the workers give a sense of dreams and illusion. By changing the pace, rhythm and volume of the music, we can determine when the scenes are changing or when we are getting into a dream or back to reality. The use of lights was clearer in this manner as each dream had a color, and thus by using gels we gave the stage the color of the dream... making it clear for the audience that a dream was taking place.

Reflections:

I have been able to realize that music in fact helps to create a feeling of paranoia, in this case the paranoia felt by "El Hombre" since he will now feel that he is always being judged due to his quality of "inutil". The music therefore makes the listener/audience feel as if they were in a maze without a map; lost and confused. Instruments such as violins and violoncellos were useful to depict changing moods in the scene; the use of staccato bowing generate tension and uncertainty due to the speed and length of the notes they make. I can therefore say that the scenes solidified and became more complete as the implementation of sound designwas useful to make clearer the ideas that want to be transmitted. Music also helps to establish a better connection with the audience as it might help to bring them back memories of their past in which they remember situations that are similar to the ones being presented in the play. I also noticed that lighting is a really important factor in order to create a difference in hierarchy and power due to the shadows and their size. Likewise, these shadows gave the impression of the instability that "el hombre" and many of the other characters in a way feel in their lives. Now the questions is, if these will manage to establish a stronger relationship with the audience as they feel more identified. 

Will design elements be appreciated as much as they deserve by the audience? Will we manage to give a performance that will be valued by many? It all depends on how well the three days work out...

Blog #10: Quality, not Quantity

Description:

First week of June is now gone and we are exactly one week and four days away from the premier of the play as of today. This week we continued with the school play rehearsals and this time we wanted to ameliorate and polish the scenes of the second act rather than just finishing the, specially transitions and scene 7 (El Circo). In my case, I continued to contribute to this process in a practical way, though sometimes I had to help in the part of the direction with the 6th graders that were in the tower with me.

Analysis:

This week I was part of both scenes 6 (a.k.a. Estación 4) and 8 (a.k.a. Estación 5). However, this time we just focused on improving the quality of these scenes and establishing the transitions between one scene and another, I noticed something really interesting that would like to mention on this entry. I have realized that I haven't commented specifically on the scenery of the play up until now and I consider it to be a really important part of the play. For example, in the first scene of the second act, "las pruebas", there are different physical atmospheres being shown and separated by simple yet effective pieces of the scenery. El Jefe, is located around upstage left in 3/4s and the tower is pointing to downstage center more or less, where El Hombre is standing at first. This helps to create and effect of constant oppression as it gives the idea of El Hombre being watched and monitored at all times. Likewise, the fact that the tower is slightly pronounced outwards at the front give El Jefe the possibility to pronounce his body with greater intensity. This also creates the idea of oppression and bewilderment as we get a visual effect of roundedness; as if El Hombre was being covered by a large dome.

Moreover, there is also this idea of simplicity being better than complexity being shown onstage. Around center stage there is small desk in which El Hombre is takes "la prueba de conocimientos". The fact that the desk is really small, almost as big as El Hombre's body, helps to create a feeling of vulnerability as Waldo and Bonzo are standing one to each side of the desk. Since the desk is small, El Hombre does not have how to protect himself and is physically exposed to these two entities. Since Waldo and Bonzo are located to each side of El Hombre, it gives the effect of being attacked from all different directions. There is another atmosphere created to right stage center and it is the one of El Psicólogo. There is a big panel and in front of it, and looking towards it, is seated El Psicólogo who is in charge of questioning El Hombre about his past. I consider this part of the scene really tense as we are digging into El Hombre's soul and try to understand the reason of his suffering. I think it would be really interesting to light from the edge of the stage El Psicólogo in order to create a big and menacing shadow on the panel as it will create more tension and drama. We know that humans are afraid of the unknown, and shadows are clearly that, they might seem like nothing at first but what they are hiding is equally or even more threatening that shadows themselves. Also, the fact that El Hombre is located right in front of the panel looking towards the audience intensifies once again the idea of vulnerability as we are seeing him totally, almost barely naked; he cannot hide anything and is constantly being judged, not only by El Psicólogo, but by the audience as well. Finally, the other atmosphere create is the one of the "sala de operaciones", in which El Hombre is being examined and we get an idea of his physical state. Once again we get this feeling of decay and weakness being at the center whilst the rest is around. El Hombre is seated on a hospital bed whilst the two enfermeros and El Doctor examine him through all different areas of the body. There is another panel located behind the hospital bed, at left stage center, and it helps to create once again the idea of a different room. In this occasion the constant touching being done by the characters surrounding El Hombre give the idea of constant oppression as they are constantly judging him. This gives the audience the idea of the proximity between El Hombre and death in a way; we question ourselves and establish queries such as "how long will he be able to withstand the pain?".

The use of sounds is also something really effective that should be taken into account when watching the Estación 5. This time we presence constantly the noise being done by the workers of the office as they are all complaining about different matters concerning the work itself. There is incongruence generated by all the workers talking at the same time and the noises made by the constant typing of the keys on the typing machines and sounds these make. All of this create the idea of oppression made by El Jefe who is demanding high productivity and in consequence the workers stress out and what we see is chaos. The attitudes of the workers are being contrasted with the passiveness and confusion of El Hombre who finds himself in the middle of all of this chaos, this creates the idea of oppression and how it will eventually take over El Hombre who has been deposited into a word similar yet different to his previous work. It is also interesting how in this scene the workers go from being incongruent and dissimilar when speaking at the beginning to being organized and representing a single entity when talking to El Jefe who makes an abrupt interruption. This shows the docility and fear felt by all the workers who join forces when speaking to El Jefe as they know that as a single they wouldn't be able to confront him. The change of pace and tempo, from normal to slow motion when the workers start blaming El Hombre is really effective. There is a physical image of all the workers surrounding him and forming a sort of layer over his body and finally making him fall over the desk. This makes the scene more dramatic yet more interesting as the audience wonders "what will happen next" to El Hombre.

Connections:

I think that I can connect my character to "Acreedores" as in this play, the characters make special emphasis on their voice rather than focusing on refined physical actions. I think this is because voice often helps to show clearer the intentions and the emotions of the characters. In my case, El Jefe is going to use a microphone when speaking which will give more importance and intensity to his voice and thus the effect of power and oppression will be created. The microphone will also help me to explore lower volume ways of speaking since it will magnify what I'm saying. Therefore, it would be interesting to use a low volume voice like whispering to create more weirdness and creepiness.

In "El Ultimo Ensayo" there are no clear changes between the scenes; lights do not fade nor they turn off, therefore the use of of props and music is essential in order to make a clear contrast between scenes. Likewise, we are trying to implement this idea of connecting scenes with music and slight changes in the use of lighting and props. This intends to maintain the energy, pace and attention of the audience at its fullest. In the Estación 5, the workers themselves are in charge of getting their desks into place as well as the typing machines. They do this in the most serene and calm manner possible, as if they were turned off and didn't have strength at all. Once the lights change, the workers start their job as usual and there is this sudden outburst of energy. I consider them to be like robots who need of light to fuel their engines; this gives the idea of oppression and constrain.

Reflections:

The scenery on these two scenes fulfill their job in a good and efficient way. We can say that the scenery is somehow minimalistic as it does not intend to have its own purpose but to help develop and strengthen then idea of oppression and constrain. Moreover, the contrasts between individuality and masses shown in the Estación 5, give the idea of weakness and vulnerability from the workers who join together when talking to El Jefe. As I mentioned two weeks ago, in scene 6 the questions posed by El Psicólogo to El Hombre really help to encourage his moral decay as they make the audience understand El Hombre's past; we get to know that he was never valued for what he did, we was never congratulated for his accomplishments, he was just diminished by the greatness of his cousins and relatives who were more successful than him. Therefore, we see that El Hombre's life throughout this play up to this point is of constant decay and oppression, as if he was falling permanently in a ground-less pit. Since this type of theatre was not intended for entertainment, everything was to be presented in the most crude and real way; therefore it not only tried to show something real, but something twisted about reality.

Is it effective for actors to rely fully on their voice?
Te quiero Robbie <3

Blog #9: El pan para mayo se agotó...

Description:

The last week of May just passed and the school play rehearsals managed to maintain the same focus as last week's work; however, this time rather than focusing on building the first scenes of the second act, we managed to finish (at least what appears to be a first draft) the second act of the play. In my case, i continued to contribute to the process in a practical way, working on the third scene of the play by ameliorating the character that I previously built. I worked with the "Estación 5" (a.k.a. scene 8) on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, order wise.

Analysis:

In my case, I had to continue working on the characterisation of my character for the "Estación 4" as the audience has to be able to understand what is the role of my character in the play and what effect it causes on "El Hombre". Roberto suggested that I should try implementing a voice in which it appeared that my character had nasal congestion although he didn't. In my opinion this would intensify the creepiness and weirdness of the character since his voice would be contrasted with his body characterisation and thus generate both humor and weirdness in the scene. The powerful and menacing body characterisation would still be mantained; having the chest slightly pronounced outwards, the shoulders now slightly raised, the legs close together when standing up, and separated when playing with levels, the fingers and hands reassembling a spider and my face expression consisting of the wide opened eyes, the mouth remaining neutral and smiling by showing just the teeth when saying something cruel or listening to something, and the sudden thrusts and movements of the head which I consider that reassembles the wriggle of the worms or snakes. All of these manages to make the character of "El Jefe" special as his body, face and voice depict the idea of him being weird and creepy, as if he had been molded to be like that. The sudden contrasts and changes between having the legs close together when standing up and bending them and separating them when playing with levels and when using the border of the tower to talk to "El Hombre" creates a feeling of imprisonment and constrain, as it gives a visual impression of "El Hombre" being covered by "El Jefe's" body which appears to be more prominent due to the fact that it is raised and since many shadows are created in the backdrop on stage. The sudden smiling by "El Jefe" is mostly used after he has said something that makes "El Hombre" feel miserable, for example after he says "Si has llegado hasta acá es solo porque tu curriculum no fue tan malo como el de los demás,¿lo sabes no?". "El Jefe" is trying to highlight the fact that "El Hombre" is useless, and the only reason that he is bestowing him the interview is because there are other candidates out there with even worse qualities. He makes this clear, and then smiles as if he gained pleasure from making other people feel miserable. This makes more clear his wicked mind and the fact that he has full control and domain over what is done in the company. This also works with the eyes that remain at all times wide open and without actually blinking, which gives the idea of monotony as if "El Jefe" was saying and doing everything monotonically without processing what he is saying or doing. It also gives the impression of him having lost his sense of perception and no longer feeling any emotions, he has been robotized and fully molded to the demands of the society in those times. This increases the weirdness of the character and makes it even creepier as the audience feels threatened by both, his stare and unconventionally awkward movements. Moreover, when Waldo and Bonzo, "El Psicólogo" or "El Doctor" are doing the tests to "El Hombre", "El Jefe" is in his tower looking at everything that is going on without saying anything; therefore the use of actions in these moments is really important. Roberto told me that the movements had to depict and show the craziness and madness of the character. Therefore, I consider it interesting for the character to kneel down, and just show to the audience his head and part of his shoulders. He would be grabbing the borders of the tower and wriggling his head from side to side maintaining his face expression; with sudden smiling which made it more creepy and dramatic.

Connections:

The first connection I found was between scene 1 ("Estación 1) and "Proyección Privada". In "Proyección Privada" we are able to see a strong contraste between the woman and the husband, since they both have opposite personalities. As I mentioned in my play review, the woman is identified and represented by the rabbit, an animal which represents comfort and vulnerability whilst the husband is represented by the horse, an animal that represents power and freedom. These two attitudes help to intensify the idea of being totally different but at the same time manage to transmit one idea; the fact that love diminishes over time. Likewise, in scene 1 of the school play; the two contrasting attitudes being presented are the ones from the "Sindicalistas". For example, Jose Alex's character has this sort of aggressive momentum and presence which is clearly depicted by his voice and body characterisation. On the contrary, Patricio's character is more delicate and sagacious; which helps to intensify his mental power. Although both of these characteristics are not the same and somehow different (mental vs. physical) they are complementary at the same time. The fact that both of them are "Sindicalistas" gives the audience the impression that they can tackle problems from different points of view as they can easily relate with the workers in the factory. Therefore, I can say that the use of contrasting characters is really useful when trying to represent a somehow strong and complementary idea.

Moreover, I also find a connection with "El Ultimo Ensayo" and the first two scenes of the school play. In "El Ultimo Ensayo" there are no clear changes between the scenes; lights do not fade nor they turn off, therefore the use of of props and music is essential in order to make a clear contrast between scenes. Likewise, we are trying to implement this idea of connecting scenes with music and slight changes in the use of lighting and props. This intends to maintain the energy, pace and attention of the audience at its fullest. As I previously mentioned, the use of music accompanied by a series of actions is really effective in the transition between scenes 1 and 2. The progressive changes in pace is useful to create another level of reality from scene 1 onto scene 2, the grotesque and bizarre movements made by the workers give a sense of dreams and illusion. Therefore I can say that the use of music and lighting will in fact be helpful in order to help transitions between the scenes of the play. However, this continuity will demand a high level of concentration and energy from the actors who will be on stage most of the time unless they have to leave because they won't appear again.

Reflections:

I have realized that the creative process of making expressionist scenes in the play continues to be developing well. The implementation of dialogue to the scene gave it a completely different mood and pace. For example, in scene 6 the questions posed by El Psicólogo to El Hombre really help to encourage his moral decay as they make the audience understand El Hombre's past; we get to know that he was never valued for what he did, we was never congratulated for his accomplishments, he was just diminished by the greatness of his cousins and relatives who were more successful than him. We also understand that since El Hombre never found love, he has never been truly happy in his life. The audience understand El Hombre, because we know that love is one of the things that make people happier and since he has not experienced that yet, his life has continued to be a constant pit from which he cannot escape. Referring back to German Expressionism conventions, we know that rather than focusing on the self discovery and relationship between the actor and his character, German Expressionism seeks to represent those emotions and use your body to transmit that idea without restrictions or constrains. This is clearly being shown in the scenes of the play; taking as an example scene 6, both Bonzo and Waldo use their bodies clearly to depict the idea of weirdness and craftiness by using the face, especially the ideas which constantly move from side to side. Since this type of theatre was not intended for entertainment, everything was to be presented in the most crude and real way; therefore it not only tried to show something real, but something twisted about reality.

To what extent is character personality determined by voice pitch and pace?