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