'I object' work experience
We were commissioned by the British Museum to create a piece to perform in the Big Rotunda about protest taking inspiration from their 'I object' exhibition which we'll be seeing in two days.
Here are the definitions of words that are related to the theme of our work experience:
Satire - mockery to criticise people's stupidity; usually in context of contemporary politics
Dissent - alternative opinions from 'mainstream'
Dissenting - expressing alternative/ uncommon opinions
Subversive - disruptive of the 'system'
Subversion - Undermining established systems
Orthodox - following the generally accepted rules of religion/ politics, etc.
Establishment - examples are Government or the police; those who maintain the 'status quo'
Authority - those with the power to give orders or enforce decisions/ obedience
Protest - A statement/ action demonstrating disapproval or objection
Objection - An action of disapproval/ disagreement
Ridicule - to make a mockery of someone
We were then put into pairs and made posters on this theme based on stimuli:
Questions from the exhibitions
Hamilton 07/11/18
1.
What
techniques were used to tell the story of Hamilton? How clearly did the
production and its narrative, structure and characters communicate the
historical context of the story and how did they update it for a modern
audience?
Hamilton was set in the 17-1800s so the costuming and
set reflected that time period. The music was in rap and the speech wasn’t too
sophisticated to understand which modernised it. The story was also made
interesting and entertaining by the comedy which was used when people were
arguing with each other (in a rap battle) or were funny on their own by using
dramatic facial expressions and movement.
2.
How
successful were the performances in the production – were there any ‘stand out’
characters? What made their performances special?
The performances were very successful. In my opinion,
there were two stand out characters that caused a great reaction from the
audience. The first is King George played by Michael Jibson. He caught my
attention straight away because he barely moved on stage which I found
interesting since I thought that maybe he should. However, this lack of
movement made his character look very strict so when he sung “da da da da da .
. .” and started dancing very stiffly with a dramatic change of expression, the
whole audience laughed. He also made very effective comedic pauses and would
look directly at certain people in the audience and point at them when singing
“you”.
Another standout moment in the play was when Philip
Hamilton, played by Cleve September, was dying and then passed away in his
parents arms. He was gasping and struggling as if trying to stay alive – an
excellent and convincing performance. When his character died, the whole
audience gasped in sadness and some even cried.
3.
How did the
audience respond to the work at different points? How successful was
communication between the audience and the performers?
The last question partly answers this one. Generally,
the audience was laughing at what the characters were saying or how they acted.
The performers would constantly face the audience whilst speaking to the other
characters or sometimes even speaking directly to us. Therefore, I think the
communication between the audience and the performers was successful.
Project workshop 12/11/18
We were instructed to conduct some research on 'protest' as a performance theme, to find any shows/performances that have a political/social/cultural objection as an underlying theme.
Christopher Bruce's Ghost Dances was a tribute to the victims of the political oppression in South America. This piece which was created in 1981 is still relevant today as people as human rights are being violated in different parts of the world.This can be related to my protest which is about being kind and treating people with respect.
As a class, we looked at Swansong which was also choreographed by Christopher Bruce. It's a tap dance about how two guards violently torture a political prisoner. The guards are trying to force him to say what they want him to say. The prisoner argues back and dances towards a diagonal shaft of light coming from the upstage left representing Heaven and freedom. In the end, the prisoner dies. This Swansong also represents the end of Bruce's dancing career.
My protest theme:
"Be Kind To One Another" is a quote from Ellen DeGeneres. This quote can represent so many things. In the news, politicians have been called out for being mean to other politicians. There was an article on the BBC website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-parliaments-46650310) about MPs being given advice on how to behave. Successive Speakers have released a "useful guide" to ensure civil debate and to let everyone be heard with respect. In the Prime Minister's Questions of 2018, Conservative MP Paul Scully questioned whether Jeremy Corbyn calling Theresa May a "stupid woman" was in keeping with the rules of behaviour. According to the guide, there is no list of words you are not allowed to say because context is important but personal remarks are prohibited. It also says "Any abusive or insulting language used in debate will be required to be withdrawn immediately."
Ellen DeGeneres is against bullying and there has been a lot of awareness about cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is a very serious matter and can lead some people to committing suicide. The Sky News website (https://news.sky.com/story/cyberbullying-what-can-be-done-to-fight-abuse-10437926) tells of such a story. Hannah Smith took her own life after being targeted online. Parents who have to suffer such an ordeal are horrified when they see what horrible messages were sent to their child and they wish they knew before so they could have prevented this happening. The article ends with offering what may be "perhaps the best way" to prevent any such thing happening again and this is for parents to let their children know they don't need to suffer in silence and if they are ever being treated cruelly or are being bullied in any way, shape or form, to let someone know.
I Object presentation
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