PLEASE LOOK AT YESTERDAY'S POST ON THEATRICAL REALISM. I AM CHECKING SCRIPTS TOMORROW.
- MEMORIZE, STEP ON LINES
- Welfare scene - it is winter up north - cold. All of you DO NOT have a job. You are hungry, tired, and discouraged. You HATE the SYSTEM. WE NEED PEOPLE NOISES!!! Reg and Frank - in this scene, we need to see you laugh, show your love for each other, and Alice, we need to see your appreciation for Frank.Rock of Gibralter is an inside joke among Frank, Reg, and ALice. After the welfare scene, put two chairs in Carson's office and the other benches and chairs by the bar.
- React to Paige more in the welfare scene.
- LISTEN to the people SPEAKING and REACT!
- EVERYONE needs to be LOUDER.
- MEN, DEEPER VOICES!
- If you are in authority, be stern - Paige and Cody - be loud and businesslike. You are not out to make friends.
- Guys - You are big, steel workers - the toughest men in the world. We need to see this toughness, this pride, this machismo.
- Know your spots and cues.
- Hayden and Tucker, move right stage before the welfare scene.
- Human gate - more robotic and more authority.
- In men's singing lines, be louder and mean what you are saying.
- ENUNCIATE and learn ACCENTs!
- There are a lot of people noises in this play. You all must speak, react, - we need you acting from your feet up.
- We need more expression in faces and bodies.
- When factory sounds play or the music is on, you have to be louder. There is a dead space on Cooper's stage, and it is Center stage, so practice being louder now.
- In big scenes, we need more chit chatting.
- We need to see you tired and hot when you are working.
- As actors, be sure that you are facing the audience. STAND UP STRAIGHT.
Look at the different types of jobs in a steel mill - EVERYONE.
We need a raised platform in the back for Carson and Mac - also for girls working as men.
NEEDED -
- Wide shovels
- metal brooms (concrete)
- BIG TONGS
- BIG HAMMERS
- Tables from maintenance and lights.
- signs for the union
- music
- Look for places to use the percussion - Jared - I liked your idea.
COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS
NATHAN - I believe the scene when Frank and Reg are younger is important because it shows how close they were before the strike. Then you can compare that to the times during the strike, emphasizing how difficult the strike was by revealing the rift between brothers. It also shows how family lasts through all crisis when they unite at the end of the play.
PAIGE -Under Canadian history of steel - In 2010 Canadian steel industries produced 11.3 million tons of steel. The Stelco strike of 1946 probably greatly impacted this number because if the strike had not happened, the numbers could have been completely different.
The need to use more face expression like tucker he is very moditoned in his lines and face i know that frank is not supposed to have a lot because he is more serious, hannah needs more face expressio to, that's just something we were talking aboit yesterday
ReplyDeleteBecause the play is theatric realism told from Billy's point of view doesn't that make each person subjective to how Billy sees them. It's his flashback so I think we should accentuate each character's most prominent traits, similar to the way you would remember someone.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ty's voice should be deeper and louder; its almost like hes mumbling in some parts. And in the boiler scene, all the men need to shout at each other because they are supposed to be in a very loud factory.
ReplyDeleteSo with what Carson said, that means it's like last year where it was all memories too. We need to ues people more like objects like that one play at Regionals last year that used those people as human props. I think it was Hillsboro. The gate made out of people is a good start but what if we incorporate stuff like that in more? I'm not sure where but we need to sit down and figure that out if we want this play to be different and fresh, we need ideas like this.
ReplyDeleteI know it's just the beginning but we all need to pull our own weight and help Mrs. Couch and our crew with any and every thing they need.
I liked Michelle and Nathan's busy work in the back during the steel mill scene. We need more busy work like that to complete the scene and make it look like an actual steel mill where people are working and not just being actors. I totally agree with Michelle. What Hillsboro did last year at regionals with people being props really set them apart from everyone else and made them very original. When everyone is in line waiting for Mr. Hilton, I think the mood in the room should be tense. He could fire you on the spot for just speaking or being there. Mr. Hilton could put you out of a job and make you go back to welfare which could not support you and your family. Keep working hard and continue to have good attitudes. Memorize those lines!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI believe that the welfare scene is very important because it shows from the beginning of the play how bad the economy of Canada was at the time. It also shows how they thought that the gov't when Paige is acting like their nothing but specks of dirt for her to look at.
ReplyDeleteAn estimated 920,741 employees worked per year in the steel industry in Canada and the United States in the 1930's. Over 8% of these steelworkers died per year because of the health risks of the jobs. Suprisingly, 75% of the deaths were due to disease, rathter than accident, including carbon-monoxide poisoning, kidney failure, heart disease, pneumonia, silicon poisoning, conjuctivitis that spreads to the brains, and other lethal infections. Although not all disease gotten from steel workers wer deadly, such as paralysis (particulary in the arms), heat stroke, "hot mill cramps", blindness, "steel worker's" deafness, as well as many others.
ReplyDeleteSavannah and Hannah are really the only two I can hear that aren't using their accents. I know that they probably don't think they sound good or that they sound funny, but from what I heard Savannah do it sounded good. If you keep putting your accent off it won't get any better, because trying to do an accent that your not used to can be difficult but by the time contest rolls around you will sound great. You need to get used to your accent so that it feels like second nature to you.
ReplyDeleteOne key aspect in theatre is building relations between characters. Each person should react to one another differently because of their relation with that person. One thing that we do really well and Mrs.Couch does a great job of enforcing is that every person is involved in each scene weither that be with dialouge or not, so we must act and react to one another in order to build a great ensamble. Having a great all around group of actors is key to advancing and I think we have just that. So lets keep up the good work. Another thing that is going to be key is the passion that each character has and shows. These were very hard working people and in some way very passionate in what they did and when it came to their beliefs. Adding on to that, when they fought for something they went all in. Remember they were giving up a lot by going on this strike and we have to clearify to the judge just why they did this.
ReplyDeleteMy character, Rose, needs to steadily decline throughout the play. The only thing that stays steadfast is her love for Nate. I may not appreciate his drinking problem. I may not like that he is gone all the time. But if I was to show true concern for him, than I obviously love him.
ReplyDeleteI feel like we need a lot of sound affects anytime the scene is in or around the factory. Factories are not quiet and I feel we need a way to draw the audience into the scene, and into the steel mill with us. I think a lot of banging metal and people noises would be a very neat and effective way to accomplish this. ~Paige Williams
ReplyDeleteThis play is going to be a tough one but I think we can do it well. Savanna your character is flirty and ambitious much like Louis. When your around Louis touch him often, show the love in your heart towards him. Alice needs to be strong, she is the one who gets reg to start the union, she needs to look strong. Alice is a working women, she will stand tall and with her head up. Billy, like I have said before is extremely naive, extremely. Hayden you need to play this off or it won't be understood. Hayden also provides the comic relief. Without this it makes everyone uncomfortable that must be there.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole having dialoge in a scene or not each one of us actors needs to respond to whats going on. React, show facial expressions, gestures, etc.. Each charcter needs to be that charcter. There are many differnt obstcles in the play. Emotions are huge also. nothing is this same throught the play each one of us has a different attuide at differnt times. We may be going through the same things but you could feel differnt than other character.
ReplyDelete