Journals for this week!
Grade 8: On a scale of 1 - 5 (with 1 being "not good at all" and 5 being excellent), how would you rate yourself as a group member? Explain your answer. What did you contribute to the musical tableaus? Are you a good leader? Explain. Write about a time you had to work in a group and what you learned from the experience.
Remember, D Block -- I am taking you to the play on Thursday at 1. Please bring $5 for your ticket! The money goes to support the drama club, so we can keep doing great plays for our school.
Drama 9/10: Write a review of your heritage play. Give the play a name (for example, "Time Marches On" or something like that) and then write about how it went describing particular scenes, actors, the use of music, the staging, whatever you want to comment on. Include both things you thought were successful and things that you wish had gone differently.
Senior Drama: Martin Scorsese (the great director of "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", "Goodfellas", "The Age of Innocence" and many great movies, including this year's "The Irishman") has said this about Marvel movies: "Cinema is an art form that brings you the unexpected. In superhero movies, nothing is at risk." He goes on in this vein, "[refering] to Marvel movies as “amusement parks” and [listing] how they are devoid of “revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger,” and that the “pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes.” Comment on this idea. Do you like Marvel movies? Do you think they follow a pattern? Are the characters interesting? (Describe one you like, if you can. If you don't like the characters, say why.) Do all movies explore a finite number of themes and satisfy specific demands? Try to be thoughtful in your answer.
Friday 29 November 2019
Saturday 23 November 2019
LEARN YOUR LINES!
I think we made excellent progress over the last two days, but we still have a long way to go. You all need to go back to your scripts and learn the lines as they are written. Some of you are not saying what the script says (and of course, many of you are still too dependent on your scripts). This weekend, take out your book and really work on learning what Shakespeare has given you. It is better than anything you can improvise!
Firstly, thanks to those of you who came early to paint. It was a big job and it feels great to have done it. Dina, perhaps you could pass on to the other theatre production students that we will paint the trees on Monday, so they should wear paint clothes.
Check the schedule for the next two weeks! You need to make arrangements to be at every rehearsal and do not surprise me on the day before a performance by telling me you have an orthodontist appointment or something, because we have to be sure you are there for every performance! You don't need to ask permission to be out of class on matinee days -- I will tell all your teachers you are in the play.
Sufiah, we need front of house crew and people backstage to follow the script and cue people. There isn't much anyone needs to do as far as set changes go.
Costume-wise: This is modern dress, so don't worry about what period it is supposed to be. Mr. Price wants monochrome for the city (lounge) and trendy, cool stuff that looks stylish. Then, when we go to the forest of Arden, it should be Mountain Equipment Co-op -- "hiking clothes", but stylish and with your character in mind. If you don't have anything, ask Sufiah -- we have lots of stuff in the prop room.
Props are on the prop table now. If a prop isn't there that you need, let me know. Actors, PUT YOUR PROPS BACK ON THE PROP TABLE WHEN YOU FINISH WITH THEM. Ask Ms. Kosar about her first time being props master and how the actor kept losing the "turd" that was so important in the play!
I have made some cuts -- we want the show to be under two hours and these cuts don't take away from the sense of the story, but take out what the audience might not understand joke-wise or philosophy-wise. I might have to make more and it is nothing about your performances but just what can be eliminated without affecting character development and story.
Cuts:
Act 1, scene 2: from Rosalind's speech "Nay, thou goest from Fortune's office" to Celia's speech "whetstone of the wits".
Act 2, scene 7: Jacques: lines 45-57 ("provided that you weed . . . glances of the fool") and lines 79 - 87 ("Or what is he of basest function . . . Unclaimed of any man")
Act 4, scene 1: Rosalind: "Troilus hand had his brains . . .But these are all lies"
Act 5, scene 2: Rosalind: "Know of me then . . . grace me."
Notes on the two runs:
Act 1, scene 1: Adam: be very hurt at "old dog"
Oliver: really try to ingratiate yourself with Charles
COME ON TIME TO REHEARSAL!
Great entrance, Le Beau! Everyone needs to react to the story about the family of wrestlers that gets hurt.
Great warmup, Charles
Project HUGELY in the lounge.
Orlando -- great on "Frederick"
Celia -- be silly right from the start -- very silly; "trodden" has a short "o" as in "dog"
Make sure, when you have a big speech, that you get into the centre of the lounge, belt it out and turn around so everyone can see you. The audience will be all around you (this is called "theatre in the round").
"Sir Roe-land" as in "show", not as in "ouch"
Charles, I think long pants, sweats, leggings, rather than shorts
"Ay" is pronounced "I"
When in a group on stage (lords), arrange yourselves in a nice stage picture.
Act 2, scene 3: be more doddering, Adam -- really push this all the way.
"Buried" is pronounced "berried"
Lords, get the audience to go into the theatre and help them find seats
Act 2
scene 1: project over the sound, try to avoid turning your back to the audience, and project if you must turn away (but don't)
Lords: be hearty!
When Jaques is mentioned, everyone is amused.
Samantha, when you quote Jaques, mock him.
Celia and Ros: enjoy Touchstone, that's why you brought him along -- so he could amuse you. Sufiah, let's find James a hat
Corin, great idea to sleep! Well done.
"Jove, Jove, passion" -- she's quoting a song lyric.
scene 5: NO PHONES ON STAGE!
Sabrina, good reaction to mistake -- she's just playing and singing for her friends, so that's exactly what you would do. Make it part of the performance, as if you (as the actor) planned it.
Can you speed up the tempo, Sabrina? Use the lords as your audience and try singing some of it to them.
On second verse, all lords join in on "Come hither"
Everyone laugh when Amiens says to Jaques, "it will make you melancholy" because he already is.
Jaques, make sure you're clear on "turn ass" because that's a joke! Big elaborate bow after you sing. Make your ignorance big -- "stanzo" and "ducdame"
When Amiens says, "Sirs, cover the while" -- two lords go into the hut and bring out the bench for the lunch.
Scene 6: maybe "WAAA!" Adam?
scene 7: Lords, put the food on the bench.
Jaques: Make each stage of life different and imitate the voice of the person in that stage (like a baby's voice, a little kid's voice, Nolan's voice as Silvius (for the lover), the soldier -- very macho). You are trapping yourself in the "melancholy", I think, and getting into a repetitive delivery style. Try to laugh at yourself, get angry at people, sigh heavily -- think of a variety of ways that people express their disappointment with their friends and the world at large.
Lords, join in on second "Heigh ho" and clap, not snap (having heard both, I've decided)
Lords -- when Duke Senior exits, take the food!
Act 3
scene 1: Lords, you should be there (at least two of you)
scene 2: Orlando, stick the poems everywhere! (There are stickies on the prop table) -- if anyone wants to write a silly love poem to Rosalind, write it on a sticky!
Touchstone -- DICTION! Bigger thrust on the copulation speech
Lords, come into the theatre and react to jokes from Jaques and Orlando
Orlando, when you change the subject abruptly, find motivation for it. Tease him, Rosalind.
Everyone, don't come too far downstage -- you aren't in the light; on the high platform, come as far forward as possible.
KEEP THE BANTER, JOKES FAST! Going slowly kills it.
scene 3: PROJECT!
scene 4:
lineaments -- pronounced lin ee ah ments
nice on "brave", Celia
scene 5: great scene, Silvius and Phebe -- but come as far forward on upper platform as you can and don't linger there too long -- it is so hard to light!
DAmask - great, Phebe
"Dead shepherd" -- this is a reference to Christopher Marlowe and a poem he wrote so say it like a quote - "oh, now I understand Marlowe's poem!"
Act 4
scene 1: "Wit, wither wilt?" - good
scene 2: We need lots of lords here and hearty singing (it doesn't have to be good, just hearty!)
scene 3: Silvius, you are afraid of Ganymede, but you don't cringe -- try to pretend you aren't afraid. You are very curious about what is in the letter and when you find out, you are crushed. Good crying.
Celia, when you see Oliver, let your mouth drop open, like "wow" and then walk slowly towards him as you speak.
Oliver, to Celia's right, when you tell the story - don't drop your voice and don't turn away -- really act what happens. There is a bloody napkin on the prop table.
Sort out the exit. To whom are you speaking? Be sure you know.
Act 5
scene 1: nice scene -- Audrey, when you fight with Touchstone, face us (not away)!
Touchstone -- always use the audience!
scene 2: Orlando and Oliver -- how are you such buddies after all the strife? can you motivate this? Oliver is grateful to Orlando for saving him. Maybe Orlando is just so happy to have some family to love that he's eager to be liked. Try to show us what's going on.
Orlando needs a sling for his arm.
scene 3: Audrey, this is a sign that Touchstone is not going to be a good husband. Look concerned.
scene 4: great on the "Lie Direct" scene, everyone! That really helps the audience understand. Do it to the audience and don't look back, Touchstone.
When Hymen and the girls enter, everyone give them full focus. Really react!
Dina, the sound board has blue tooth -- can we do that rather than using the plug in? I am concerned that the plug in is sounding rather muffled.
That's it! LEARN YOUR LINES! (Have I said that before?)
About a week to go!
Firstly, thanks to those of you who came early to paint. It was a big job and it feels great to have done it. Dina, perhaps you could pass on to the other theatre production students that we will paint the trees on Monday, so they should wear paint clothes.
Check the schedule for the next two weeks! You need to make arrangements to be at every rehearsal and do not surprise me on the day before a performance by telling me you have an orthodontist appointment or something, because we have to be sure you are there for every performance! You don't need to ask permission to be out of class on matinee days -- I will tell all your teachers you are in the play.
Sufiah, we need front of house crew and people backstage to follow the script and cue people. There isn't much anyone needs to do as far as set changes go.
Costume-wise: This is modern dress, so don't worry about what period it is supposed to be. Mr. Price wants monochrome for the city (lounge) and trendy, cool stuff that looks stylish. Then, when we go to the forest of Arden, it should be Mountain Equipment Co-op -- "hiking clothes", but stylish and with your character in mind. If you don't have anything, ask Sufiah -- we have lots of stuff in the prop room.
Props are on the prop table now. If a prop isn't there that you need, let me know. Actors, PUT YOUR PROPS BACK ON THE PROP TABLE WHEN YOU FINISH WITH THEM. Ask Ms. Kosar about her first time being props master and how the actor kept losing the "turd" that was so important in the play!
I have made some cuts -- we want the show to be under two hours and these cuts don't take away from the sense of the story, but take out what the audience might not understand joke-wise or philosophy-wise. I might have to make more and it is nothing about your performances but just what can be eliminated without affecting character development and story.
Cuts:
Act 1, scene 2: from Rosalind's speech "Nay, thou goest from Fortune's office" to Celia's speech "whetstone of the wits".
Act 2, scene 7: Jacques: lines 45-57 ("provided that you weed . . . glances of the fool") and lines 79 - 87 ("Or what is he of basest function . . . Unclaimed of any man")
Act 4, scene 1: Rosalind: "Troilus hand had his brains . . .But these are all lies"
Act 5, scene 2: Rosalind: "Know of me then . . . grace me."
Notes on the two runs:
Act 1, scene 1: Adam: be very hurt at "old dog"
Oliver: really try to ingratiate yourself with Charles
COME ON TIME TO REHEARSAL!
Great entrance, Le Beau! Everyone needs to react to the story about the family of wrestlers that gets hurt.
Great warmup, Charles
Project HUGELY in the lounge.
Orlando -- great on "Frederick"
Celia -- be silly right from the start -- very silly; "trodden" has a short "o" as in "dog"
Make sure, when you have a big speech, that you get into the centre of the lounge, belt it out and turn around so everyone can see you. The audience will be all around you (this is called "theatre in the round").
"Sir Roe-land" as in "show", not as in "ouch"
Charles, I think long pants, sweats, leggings, rather than shorts
"Ay" is pronounced "I"
When in a group on stage (lords), arrange yourselves in a nice stage picture.
Act 2, scene 3: be more doddering, Adam -- really push this all the way.
"Buried" is pronounced "berried"
Lords, get the audience to go into the theatre and help them find seats
Act 2
scene 1: project over the sound, try to avoid turning your back to the audience, and project if you must turn away (but don't)
Lords: be hearty!
When Jaques is mentioned, everyone is amused.
Samantha, when you quote Jaques, mock him.
Celia and Ros: enjoy Touchstone, that's why you brought him along -- so he could amuse you. Sufiah, let's find James a hat
Corin, great idea to sleep! Well done.
"Jove, Jove, passion" -- she's quoting a song lyric.
scene 5: NO PHONES ON STAGE!
Sabrina, good reaction to mistake -- she's just playing and singing for her friends, so that's exactly what you would do. Make it part of the performance, as if you (as the actor) planned it.
Can you speed up the tempo, Sabrina? Use the lords as your audience and try singing some of it to them.
On second verse, all lords join in on "Come hither"
Everyone laugh when Amiens says to Jaques, "it will make you melancholy" because he already is.
Jaques, make sure you're clear on "turn ass" because that's a joke! Big elaborate bow after you sing. Make your ignorance big -- "stanzo" and "ducdame"
When Amiens says, "Sirs, cover the while" -- two lords go into the hut and bring out the bench for the lunch.
Scene 6: maybe "WAAA!" Adam?
scene 7: Lords, put the food on the bench.
Jaques: Make each stage of life different and imitate the voice of the person in that stage (like a baby's voice, a little kid's voice, Nolan's voice as Silvius (for the lover), the soldier -- very macho). You are trapping yourself in the "melancholy", I think, and getting into a repetitive delivery style. Try to laugh at yourself, get angry at people, sigh heavily -- think of a variety of ways that people express their disappointment with their friends and the world at large.
Lords, join in on second "Heigh ho" and clap, not snap (having heard both, I've decided)
Lords -- when Duke Senior exits, take the food!
Act 3
scene 1: Lords, you should be there (at least two of you)
scene 2: Orlando, stick the poems everywhere! (There are stickies on the prop table) -- if anyone wants to write a silly love poem to Rosalind, write it on a sticky!
Touchstone -- DICTION! Bigger thrust on the copulation speech
Lords, come into the theatre and react to jokes from Jaques and Orlando
Orlando, when you change the subject abruptly, find motivation for it. Tease him, Rosalind.
Everyone, don't come too far downstage -- you aren't in the light; on the high platform, come as far forward as possible.
KEEP THE BANTER, JOKES FAST! Going slowly kills it.
scene 3: PROJECT!
scene 4:
lineaments -- pronounced lin ee ah ments
nice on "brave", Celia
scene 5: great scene, Silvius and Phebe -- but come as far forward on upper platform as you can and don't linger there too long -- it is so hard to light!
DAmask - great, Phebe
"Dead shepherd" -- this is a reference to Christopher Marlowe and a poem he wrote so say it like a quote - "oh, now I understand Marlowe's poem!"
Act 4
scene 1: "Wit, wither wilt?" - good
scene 2: We need lots of lords here and hearty singing (it doesn't have to be good, just hearty!)
scene 3: Silvius, you are afraid of Ganymede, but you don't cringe -- try to pretend you aren't afraid. You are very curious about what is in the letter and when you find out, you are crushed. Good crying.
Celia, when you see Oliver, let your mouth drop open, like "wow" and then walk slowly towards him as you speak.
Oliver, to Celia's right, when you tell the story - don't drop your voice and don't turn away -- really act what happens. There is a bloody napkin on the prop table.
Sort out the exit. To whom are you speaking? Be sure you know.
Act 5
scene 1: nice scene -- Audrey, when you fight with Touchstone, face us (not away)!
Touchstone -- always use the audience!
scene 2: Orlando and Oliver -- how are you such buddies after all the strife? can you motivate this? Oliver is grateful to Orlando for saving him. Maybe Orlando is just so happy to have some family to love that he's eager to be liked. Try to show us what's going on.
Orlando needs a sling for his arm.
scene 3: Audrey, this is a sign that Touchstone is not going to be a good husband. Look concerned.
scene 4: great on the "Lie Direct" scene, everyone! That really helps the audience understand. Do it to the audience and don't look back, Touchstone.
When Hymen and the girls enter, everyone give them full focus. Really react!
Dina, the sound board has blue tooth -- can we do that rather than using the plug in? I am concerned that the plug in is sounding rather muffled.
That's it! LEARN YOUR LINES! (Have I said that before?)
About a week to go!
Friday 15 November 2019
Back in black
Let's all resolve to do our journals in a timely manner this semester. When I give you time to write in class, take advantage of it and write your journal! We'll all be happier for it in January.
Senior Drama: What are your thoughts on Remembrance Day? Does it have any meaning for you? Do you think it should be changed in any way? What purpose does it serve? Is there ever a time when war is the best answer to a problem? Explain.
Drama 9/10: How do music, light, costumes, sets and props help a scene? Think of at least three ways and explain your answer.
Drama 8: What should Ms. Kosar know about you? Include past drama experience (if any), whether you have stage fright or not, whether you have ever performed in front of an audience (as a musician, athlete, actor, any public performance), and anything else you might want to tell me so I can teach you better!
Senior Drama: What are your thoughts on Remembrance Day? Does it have any meaning for you? Do you think it should be changed in any way? What purpose does it serve? Is there ever a time when war is the best answer to a problem? Explain.
Drama 9/10: How do music, light, costumes, sets and props help a scene? Think of at least three ways and explain your answer.
Drama 8: What should Ms. Kosar know about you? Include past drama experience (if any), whether you have stage fright or not, whether you have ever performed in front of an audience (as a musician, athlete, actor, any public performance), and anything else you might want to tell me so I can teach you better!
Monday 11 November 2019
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
That is from a poem by Laurence Binyon about World War I. I saw the UBC production of "The Wars" on Saturday night and it was terrific. The set was completely open and you could see the artifice of the stage very clearly -- they used a drop cloth for the trenches and the roads and the dikes of Holland. You could even see the person doing the sounds, right there on the stage -- it was hand made, not electronic, which I really liked.
Sound was very important for the play -- there are lots of references to animals throughout the novel and the play -- the main character, Robert Ross, loves animals and he pays a great price in trying to protect them -- and so animal sounds linked many of the scenes, from his life at home in Canada to the horrors of the trenches. At one point in the play, the sounds disappear and the soldiers wonder why it's suddenly quiet. I knew, because of the stories of my mother about her uncles who fought in the trenches, that silence was terrifying, because it was a precursor to the gas. My mother's uncle, David, was a victim of a gas attack. He survived, but he was never healthy after that and had trouble breathing and eating for the rest of his life.
I mentioned before that the actor playing Robert Ross was our own David Volpov. He was outstanding in the role, which required him to be very vulnerable and open to the audience, just as we watched him change through his experiences as a soldier. David has always been a very brave actor and I was so impressed at how he took all of us in the audience down the terrible path that Robert Ross had to walk through the play. He is a young innocent fragile Canadian boy at the beginning of the play and we see him struggle to lead his men and face the horror of man's cruelty while he attempts to hold onto a vestige of himself. It is a remarkable performance, and I hope some of you will be able to see it before the play closes on November 23.
Sound was very important for the play -- there are lots of references to animals throughout the novel and the play -- the main character, Robert Ross, loves animals and he pays a great price in trying to protect them -- and so animal sounds linked many of the scenes, from his life at home in Canada to the horrors of the trenches. At one point in the play, the sounds disappear and the soldiers wonder why it's suddenly quiet. I knew, because of the stories of my mother about her uncles who fought in the trenches, that silence was terrifying, because it was a precursor to the gas. My mother's uncle, David, was a victim of a gas attack. He survived, but he was never healthy after that and had trouble breathing and eating for the rest of his life.
I mentioned before that the actor playing Robert Ross was our own David Volpov. He was outstanding in the role, which required him to be very vulnerable and open to the audience, just as we watched him change through his experiences as a soldier. David has always been a very brave actor and I was so impressed at how he took all of us in the audience down the terrible path that Robert Ross had to walk through the play. He is a young innocent fragile Canadian boy at the beginning of the play and we see him struggle to lead his men and face the horror of man's cruelty while he attempts to hold onto a vestige of himself. It is a remarkable performance, and I hope some of you will be able to see it before the play closes on November 23.
Wednesday 6 November 2019
The Wars based on Timothy Findley's novel, performed at UBC starring SLSS alum David Volpov
Don't miss our own David Volpov in Timothy Findley's classic Canadian story, "The Wars", adapted for the stage by Dennis Garnhum and directed by Lois Anderson running this month at UBC's Frederic Wood Theatre. David was one of SLSS's finest actors -- who can forget his hilarious Flute in our terrific production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"? He went on to play many terrific characters on our little stage and is now pursuing his acting goals at UBC. The show opens at 7:30 pm on November 7 and runs until November 23 at the Frederic Wood Theatre at UBC. What a great play to present as we near Remembrance Day! It explores the journey of Robert Ross who leaves his safe life in Canada to fight in the trenches in World War I. Don't miss it!
Friday 1 November 2019
Journals!
Senior Drama will be presenting "The Trial of Lizzie Borden" on Monday and Tuesday next week in C Block. After the shows, I would like you to all write your reflections on how things went. Hand it in next Friday! (If your parents or relatives would like to see one of the shows, they are welcome to come. Just tell them the time for C Block on the day they'd like to come.)
Drama 9/10: What does "care and respect" mean to you? Give an example of how you have learned to show "care and respect".
Drama 8: What have you chosen to speak about for the show and tell speeches? Why did you choose the item you did? (Make sure you have two minutes of material and that you speak clearly and project your voice!)
We will be performing the Aesop plays on Thursday and Friday.
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