Characterisation (Week seven)

In this session, we look at characterisation.

"Characterisation is the concept of creating characters for a narrative. It is a literary element and may be employed in dramatic works of actor everyday conversation. Characters may be presented by means of description, through their actions, speech, thoughts and interactions with other characters."

Niobe

Niobe is a middle aged woman who has a lot of emotional baggage and a tragic past where she was abused and violated by soldiers during the war. This would clearly be shown through her characterisation. Throughout the play, Niobe is always mentioning how she knows all about being abused and hurt which is why some people in the audience see her to be a mean character towards Philomele when really she is trying to protect her as she knows what fighting back will do to her.

One way i would show this character would be through my physicality. To show her emotional baggage through her body language, I would stand very closed as she has been broken by men in the war. I would also walk slowly and calmly as if she has given up on life and she has no purpose or aim in her walk.To show this character through my facial expressions, I would not show much emotion as the past has been a lot worse for her so she is used to it. Also, I would show her concern for Philomele as she is now the person how takes care of her after Procne left.

Another way i would portray this character to the audience would be through my voice. To show it in my voice, I would speak slowly, calmly and with a lot of pauses and sighs in between to show that I am remembering the pain of the past and how it has affected me. 

Helen (Female chorus)

Helen is a member of the female chorus from Thrace. Thracian women are considered to be not as well educated as the women from Athens; therefore this would show in my characterisation for Helen. Thracian women also only seem to care about 'barbarian practices/rituals' and drinking wine. Throughout the play the female chorus have seen what is coming and tried to warn Procne. They know what Tereus is like and how he behaves.

One way i would show this character would be through my physicality. Her body language would be very boisterous to show my lack of intelligence. For example, slouching, abbreviating words to make the dialogue sound more 'common' and having a staggered walk. To show this character through my facial expressions, i would have my eyes wonder to show lack of interest in what Procne was saying. I would also show very little emotion in my face as they do not care for what Procne is saying to them. 

Revision of themes (Week six)

Thursday 2nd April

In this session with Tish, we revised over all the themes we have discussed over the past few weeks.

WAR

• Conflict - Physical movement used to express war. For example, at the beginning of the performance, we have created a stylized piece to represent war and conflict.
• Tension - In our performance, we use silence to create tension. For example, when Tereus is attempting to create conversation with Philomele there is a lot of awkward silences as he struggles to create a flowing conversation.
• Consequences - In the performance there are a lot of events that happen due to the war taking place. For example, after the war, Tereus wants Procne as his prize.
• Death - This links in with consequences as it is one of the many consequences of war taking place. For example, When the captain is killed by Tereus for not following orders.
• Ruin - When Philomele has her tongue cut out, everything has been ruined by Tereus and he can never go back.
• Fights 
• Invasion
• Weapons
• Violence
• Soldiers
• Teams
• Hate
• Anger
• Power - War is all about who has the most power to be victorious. Tereus show this when Philomele says that he had to cut her because he did not have the strength himself to restrain her so he did this to have power over her.
• Control - When Tereus cuts Philomele's tongue out, he does this to try to control her.

Feminism

• Power 
• Equality - Feminists believe that women can do anything that men can do. One example of this in TLOTN is when the female chorus have their annual 'baccae' which is a party for women.
• Fighting - Women fighting for their rights and equality with men. For example, when Philomele continues to tell everyone what has happened even though she has been silenced. Another example is when Procne and Philomele confront Tereus about what he has done.
• Rights 

Male Dominance

• Control - Men trying to control women. An example of this is when Tereus tries to force Philomele to love him.
• High status - Men thinking they have more rights and higher status than women. One example of this is when Tereus sees Procne as a prize.

Male dominance (Week Five)

Wednesday 25th March

In this session, we began by going back to the beginning of the play and working on each individual scene in detail. Today we worked on scenes two, three and four where Procne and Philomele are admiring the soldiers, Tereus takes Procne as his prize, and when Pronce is with the Female Chorus discussing how she wants to see her sister.

Scene Two

For this scene, we discussed how we can bring this to life. We talked about how Philomele is seen to be a little child and is constantly full of energy and very playful when talking to Procne. This part of the play is seen to be quite comical as they are supposed to be talking about the biology of men. We wanted to show that it was two girls giggling about men.

Scene Three

In this scene, it is clear that Tereus holds all the power, to show this, we discussed how he should stand very proud with his head held high. We thought that Tereus should be in the kings face about taking Procne as if to order him to give her away.

Scene Four

In this scene, the female chorus are considered to be quite rough looking in comparison to Procne. To show this we stood with our arms crossed, our backs slouched, mimes smoking cigarettes and our language was not considered to be properly spoken. We are also not interested in being friends with Procne as she has very little interest in them and their cultures so to show this we showed very little eye contact with her and we were always trying to move away from her.

Thursday 26th March

In this session we talked about male dominance. This is when men take control and see themselves as a higher status than women. This is one of the major themes of the play as men are always trying to over power people, especially Tereus.

• We discussed some key words/ Phrases that defied the meaning of male dominance:
• Power over women
• Rebelling against people
• Pressure
• Proud of themselves - They see power as being something to be proud of
• Intimidation - People can be made to feel intimidated by men dominating over them
• Control
• Possession - See women as trophies
• Higher status - No-one else will ever be better than them.

Three phrases that relate to the theme of male dominance

Tereus - you call this frivolous (he seizes her) ---This is showing his dominance through physical movement as Philomele tries to leave but can't as he grabs her to bring her back to where he wants her.

Niobe - The one alive who cannot speak, that one has truly lost all power. --- This shows male dominance as Niobe is discussing that silencing Philomele has took any power she had left away from her

Itys - A slave, a girl slave holding my sword! --- This shows Male dominance as Itys can't believe that a slave who is also a girl is holding his sword as if to say "as if a slave wasn't bad enough, a girl slave as well"

Feminism (week four)

Thursday 19th March

In this session we discussed the theme of feminism in the play. Feminism is people that want women to be treated equally to men. Wertenbaker is considered to be a feminist as a lot of her work involves fighting for the equality of women and women's rights. Her work also includes how women are seen to be less powerful in comparison to men and that women are considered to be 'the weaker sex'.

Feminism is still around in the present day but female equality is more accepted. One example of feminism in the present day is careers. For example, certain jobs are seen to be a job for males or females only such as being a builder. Women would not be seen to have a job in that area that requires a certain level of strength.

Wertenbaker incorporates her principles into The Love of the Nightingale  in many ways. One way is when Philomele is silenced by having her tongue cut out for standing up for herself and against Tereus. This symbolises that in that time, women did not have the right to speak and did not have the ability to over power men; those who tried to suffered the consequences.

Another way in which feminism is shown is when Tereus returns from the war and wants Procne as his prize. This shows that he saw Procne as an object to be possessed rather than a female person.

Three quotes from The Love of the Nightingale that portray feminism to the audience

Philomele throws the dolls into the circle.
The rape scene is re-enacted in a gross and comic way.

This shows feminism as Philomele is trying to speak about what happened even though she has been silenced by Tereus. She is trying to stand up against him.

Procne - I obeyed all the rules: the rule of parents, the rule of marriage, the rules of my loneliness, you. And now you say. This

Tereus - I have no other words

Procne - I will help you find them

The body of Itys is revealed

If you bend over the stream and search for your reflection, Tereus, this is what it looks like.

This shows feminism as Procne is finally standing up to Tereus and telling him what she truly thinks of him. That he caused all of it and the women had done nothing.

Philomele - Men and women of Thrace, come and listen to the truth about this man --

Tereus - I will keep you quiet

Philomele - Never, as long as I have the words to expose you. The truth, men and women of Thrace, the truth --

Tereus cuts out Philomele's tongue

This shows an act of feminism as Philomele is standing up for herself and wants to expose Tereus for who he really is

WAR (Week Three)

Thursday 12th March

In this session we discussed the theme of war. This is the main theme as it is always shown throughout the play. Wertenbaker establishes this from the very start as the first line of the play is "WAR!". After this, a fight scene begins and two soldiers are left on the battlefield where one is then brutally killed; this is shown as the war of Athens. The next scene continues with the theme of war when Philomele and Procne are admiring the attractive soldiers fighting for their protection.

One way that we have supported the theme of war in out performance is by creating an extra scene at the beginning of the performance where a group of school children are sheltering from an air raid that is happening. Another way is through physical movement. For example, we have included a stylised piece at the beginning of the play which represents conflict and the war that is happening around them. We have also included stage combat/fighting in a number of scenes.

Another way that the theme of war is portrayed in the play is after the war when Tereus returns from it, Procne is considered to be a prize for him. Also, a lot of men change to be more violent and abusive after returning from the war, this is shown when he assaults Philomele. Both of these events are consequences that have occurred because of the war taking place.

Rehearsal Process and Research (Week two)

Thursday 5th March

In this session, we looked at Bertolt Brecht as the style of the play is influenced by him.

Bertolt Brecht was a German playwright and theatre director of the 20th century who focused his work around politics and deep, meaningful events that took place in history. Bertolt Brecht was born in 1898 and passed away in 1956. During this time, two wars took place. Brecht was heavily influenced by these wars and the events that happened at this time and wrote a play called 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'. This play is about Hitler (Arturo Ui) trying to take over specific countries. However, in this play, Brecht wrote that Arturo Ui wanted to take over a vegetable business and was willing to kill people to do so. This play is an excellent example of Brecht being influenced by politics and historical events.



Brecht's style was called 'epic theatre'. This means that all his work was on an epic scale with very 'hard hitting' subjects. Brecht also 'broke down the fourth wall' in his work. This means he broke the contrast between audience and the stage, interacting with them and referring to them in his work. He also made political and educational plays entertaining with music and comedy. Brecht also used a term called Verfremdungseffekt. This means breaking the illusion that the piece of theatre the audience is watching is real. For example, showing costume changes on stage.

Brecht was influenced by Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre which is why a lot of his work includes conflict and 'hard hitting' subjects.

In this session we also looked at Gestus. This is the way your physicality, costume, facial expression, attitude and use of space combine to show the audience the kind of character you are. This way is very obvious to the audience the character they are playing and is not subtle at all. It is very clear who they are.

In this performance, I need to think about my Gestus and how I can make it clear to the audience what character I am. For example, Niobe is an older woman who has had a difficult past. To show this I would wear a shawl or a head scarf and I would keep my body language very closed . My facial expressions would never be happy as she has never had a reason to be happy and my use of space would always be isolated from everyone else except Philomele as I am her servant; although I would keep my distance until I am needed.

Friday 6th March

In this session, we blocked scenes 7 - 11. The main event that happens hear is the journey to Thrace. Philomele is falling for the Captain and Tereus has fallen for Philomele. Niobe can see what is going to happen. The male chorus can also see what is going to happen in the future; this is very clear to the audience when the male chorus are speaking.

Page 304 - Queen - Listen to the chorus, the playwright always speaks through the chorus.

This is basically giving the audience the instructions to listen to what the chorus is saying as they are telling the story of what is happening and what is going to happen.

Page 323

Tereus lies to Philomele about Procne's death. This shows the darkness that is in Tereus as he makes her feel like it was all her fault and that if she had stayed where she was she wouldn't have died. Tereus does this to get close to Philomele but it drives her in the opposite direction as Procne was the only person she was close to.

This part of the play is crucial as it is where we start to see the mental violence that Tereus is capable of as he is able to tell this lie so easily and put the guilt on her without feeling any regret.

Introduction to the piece (Week one)

For this unit, we are working on a scripted piece called The Love of a Nightingale by Timberlake Wertenbaker. 'It is an adaptation of the Ancient Greek legend of the rape of Philomela by her brother-in-law Tereus, and the gruesome revenge undertaken by Philomela and her sister Procne. The play takes a feminist look at the ancient tale.'

Synopsis

The King of Athens, Pandion I, fights a war with Thebes over land. The King of Thrace, Tereus, helps out Pandion, and in return, Pandion allows Tereus to marry Procne, one of his two daughters. Procne obeys reluctantly. She is not attracted to her taciturn soldier of a husband, and she dreads being parted from her beloved and spirited sister Philomele. When she reaches Thrace, she struggles to adjust to life, as the women assigned to her have none of the cultural interests she has grown up with in Athens. She asks Tereus to return to Athens and bring her sister, Philomele, to come and see her, as she is the only one who understands her.

Tereus travels to Athens and takes Philomele on his ship. From an early stage, there are danger signals that Tereus is sexually attracted to his sister-in-law. Though Philomele herself is initially unaware of his interest, both her older servant and chaperone Niobe and the sailors can see the warning signs. After a while, Tereus starts finding ways to slow down their journey, to give him more time to try to seduce Philomele. As she finally realizes his intentions, she desperately reaches out to the Captain of the ship, a quiet, gentle man, in hopes of escape. But when Tereus finds them together, he angrily kills the Captain. In order to make her weak and vulnerable, Tereus now informs Philomele untruthfully that Procne has died during his absence. When Philomele continues to resist his advances, he rapes her. Later, due to her determination to rebel and inform her sister, who she has worked out by now is not dead, he cuts out her tongue.
On his return home, Tereus informs Procne that Philomele was drowned on the journey. Five years pass.

Philomele has in fact been living in isolation for 5 years, and has seen nobody except the king (who initially visited her occasionally), Niobe and Niobe's servant. Niobe takes her to the annual Bachann/Dionysian festival, which is the only day of the year in which the women can drink and run wild. Using large dolls she has made, Philomele performs a re-enactment of the rape in order to inform Procne that she is alive and of what Tereus has done. In revenge, Procne kills her own young son with Tereus, Itys. As Tereus begins to chase the women, his intent being to kill them, the gods turn Procne into a swallow, Tereus into a hoopoe and Philomele into a nightingale.

Thursday 26th February

For our first session, we looked at the script and blocked the first scene. This scene starts off with a war and two soldiers are left standing for a fight to the death.  We have decided that this performance will be mostly in the style of Bertolt Brecht. Brecht's style was in the style of 'Epic Theatre'. "Epic Theatre proposed that a play should not cause the spectator to identify emotionally with the characters or action before him or her, but should instead provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage. Brecht thought that the experience of a climactic catharsis of emotion left an audience complacent. Instead, he wanted his audiences to adopt a critical perspective in order to recognise social injustice and exploitation and to be moved to go forth from the theatre and effect change in the world outside. For this purpose, Brecht employed the use of techniques that remind the spectator that the play is a representation of reality and not reality itself. By highlighting the constructed nature of the theatrical event, Brecht hoped to communicate that the audience's reality was equally constructed and, as such, was changeable."

 

To incorporate this style in our performance we came up with the idea that at the beginning of this scene, we decided to start off as children who escaped and air raid and are hiding out in a theatre. We also decided that we would all be sat round the perimeter of the stage and remain on stage for the whole performance; our costume changes would be on stage too. 

The next part we blocked was where Procne and Philomele are talking about the men that are fighting in the war. This scene is considered to be very innocent as neither of the sisters have had any experience with men before.