Evaluation

After doing our performance i think it actually went well. There was little mistakes and those that did happen were very easily recovered. A big positive about the piece was the added sound of trumpets that we put in last minute right before we performed it. It added to the annoyance of Helena as she had something to be fed up with. 

We had actually managed to get through the performance without any big line mistakes. We had struggles with learning lines and had relied on the script in rehearsals. However as we performed we had actually managed to do it without making man mistakes.

 But there were a few times were lines were either delayed or not even said. However they were barely noticeable and were covered up by going onto the next thing. An example is when i delayed saying a line and struggled to think of the next but i think it added to creating tension between Alison and Helena. 

Although these are positives to our performance i think the main negative was the lack of emotion at the end. During my bit with Jay i could of expressed more anger and pain through my performance and maybe cried to show the emotion was there. I think this would of been helped if i had maybe used emotion memory because it would have more meaning to be more emotional. However as i didnt do this and stuck to trying to feel the emotion i think i could of focused of the emotion more than the dialogue. 

Overall though i believe our performance was very believable and true to the style of the play. We worked hard to make it naturalistic and i think this worked paid off. We are very happy with the way it worked out and are relieved it wasnt stagey or theatrical. 

Units and Objectives

My first action in the scene is picking up Jimmy's pipe and holding it for a while before placing it safely on the table. This shows a connection that my character has with the place she is visiting but at the same time she is rethinking old memories she had gone through at one point. It also shows her need to clear things away in a tidy order as if she needs to look after the place. You see Alison look out for Jimmy when she tells Helena not to leave him. She knows Jimmy needs someone to look after him and although she still loves him she knows maybe she might not be best for him. 

An action i do through the scene multiple times is wrapping my cardigan around myself. I do this as a form of protection. I think when Jimmy is saying his monologue and im waiting to leave, i wrap the cardigan around myself as a sort of comfort and protection from Jimmys hurtful words. I think this adds to my portrayal of Alison as it shows the held back more reserved version of her rather than the emotionally unstable version of her you see later on. 

Another action is my standing up after being left alone with Jimmy. I go to leave as it is clear Alison is unwanted in that moment. But as he continues to speak i stay stood leaning onto the couch for support. I stay stood because it is clear Alison isnt being welcomed by Jimmy and is certainly not wanted to be comfortable by sitting down and listening to what he has to say. 

When i fall to the floor i end up with my back turned to Jimmy. I did this because it suggests that even though Alison has suffered and the two are back together, there is still some things that need to be worked on in their relationship. Not looking at Jimmy whilst breaking down and having her back turned also suggests that Alison is a person that does not want people to see her in such a state. 

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Main goal in the scene;

I think Alisons main goal in this particular scene is to make Jimmy aware of her suffering. She came back to prove to him she went through such a painful things and that she finally understands. She just wants Jimmy to realise how hurt she is and for him to understand that she now has a reason to be angry.  I think i did this more in my last little speach to Jimmy. 

 The line "i was in pain and all i wanted to do was die and all i could think of was you". Shows that even in her darkest moments Alison still thinks of Jimmy and how he would feel. "This is what he wanted from me" also proves this as well as showing that Jimmy may be happy she finally went through suffering in her life. 

Comparisons..

1- Black and White version.

This version of the play seems very theatrical and not so much naturalistic. Although Alison is held back and not outspoken which is very fair to the way she would be. It seems very controlled and the body language seems to be very stiff and not as relaxed as people should be in their home. 

The walking around of Jimmy seems very unnatural to me as not many people would randomly walk around their living area. 

However it isnt all in one camera shot, it doesnt show it from a viewers pov. The camera follows them through the space to show how cramped it actually is and gives the sense of it being a real place. 

2- 1989 colour

This version, for me, is different but somewhat similar. Jimmy seems to be too posh and almos like a joker. He isnt as angry as the character should be.

I think the main part of the clip we watched that was very was unnatural was the slamming of the door by Jimmy. It was very over the top and nothing youd see in real life. 

Overall i think that the two differences is that the first is more serious and dramatic yet overplayed. Then the second is still bery theatrical and stagey. 

The two are very different to our versions. The way my group approached it was to keep everything minimal. We keep our staging very small and cramped as we did this to focus on being natural within our characters. 

Rehearsals.

We had shown Daniel our scene and were very pleased when he said it was looking bery naturalistic as we had downplayed it.  He gave us some feedback and over the past rehearsals i think we had definitely improved on them. 

We were told to make a certain line between Alison and Helena more light hearted. Although Alison had turned up again and they are having a tense conversation the line "you make a good cup of tea" was supposed to be said very light hearted as if she was trying to be happy and change the situation she was currently in. I think i did this because i paused before saying it and adding on a slight smile as if to change the topic of conversation. 

I was also told to be more emptional at some points. One was when Alison says "you loved him didnt you". I realised Alison would be very angry and upset thay her friend had gone behind her back and started a relationship with her husband. I started to look down and look distant whilst i said this line as if i couldnt look at her because of the betrayal. 

Another was when Alison finally breaks down and shows Jimmy exactly how she feels. I had originally been playing her more angry than upset and so after the feedback i had changed and played it less over the top. I say it very quietly and to myself at some points then, when it is directed to Jimmy i get more angry until im on the floor and cry. 

I think the feedback helped a alot with making our performance very naturalistic and less stagey. 

Rehearsals

Today we had started to think about the emotional aspect of the scene. 

Going through it many times we started to feel more comfortable with how we would show emotion and how to not overact them. We wanted to stay as natural as possible and if we werent producing tears we would pf rathered that, as opposed to tears that look very unnatural. 

We also worked more on the blocking. Myself and Jay worked on the ending of the scene and how i would end up on the floor without being very overdramatic. 

The big issue we are having with this unit is the accent. We find it sounds very forced when trying to put a posh accent on for our characters and so we chose to stick to our natural accents so that the characters are very natural and we could focus on that as well as portraying emotion. 

Themes

LBIA was the first to explore the theme of the "angry young man". The term describes men post World War II artists as well as working class men. They werent an organization of some sort but were individuals that were all angry at the way social class was not acknowledged. 

Jimmy Porter was the prime example of the "Angry Young Man". He is angry and the social structures of Britain that he believes kept him from achieving better things than cramped attic accomadation. This anger is shown thoughout the play and is very much directed towards his wife, Alison, as she comes from a higher class than he. 

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The loss of childhood is very clear within the play. Jimmy's loss of childhood is clear when we are told how he had to watch his father deteriorate physically and mentally as a man at a young age. It highlights the fact Jimmy has had to deal with losses from such an early age and has had anger within him since. Which is then repeated in his life with Alison, inwhich a friends mother dies whom he was very close with.  

Alisons loss of childhood is very different from Jimmy's, not suffering any losses and only having to grow up a lot faster. This is another reason Jimmy is angry, he knows how harsh life really is and knowing Alison hasnt had to deal with that he believes she has it so easy, therefore he wishes great pain on her (the miscarriage.. Which turns out to happen). 

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Kitchen sink drama is another big theme in the play. The theme is one in plays that explore realism by showing domestic situations.  According to many, realism in theatre during the mid 20th century had become bery tiresome and unimaginative. Then Osbournes play returned the imagination by showing the anger of post war culture and the non-existent acknowledgment of the working class people. The play explored and commented on a number of domestic and social dilemmas of the time. 

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I think these themes all explore the anger held by Jimmy. This helped with my characterisation as it allowed me to explore how Alison would deal with Jimmy's angry outbursts. 

I knew after years of marriage Alison would be used to it but not outspoke and would keep her opinion to herself. So when Jimmy would be angry and go ranting i would keep quiet and very held together within myself not wanting to do anything that may spark more anger.

The system

Stanislavski's system includes three steps..

1- relaxation

2- concentration

3- imagination. 

Relaxtion..

In order to feel comfortable playing a character you must be relaxed. This step therefore is very important as your character can flow more freely and naturally when you are relaxed. Whereas if you arent then you body language will be very rigid and your peformance will be very stiff. 

Cocentration.. 

Being concentrated on your character is key. You need to concentrate on their back story and why they will feel or do certain things. I think this links with the play really well as i needed to understand why Alison would leave Jimmy but come back in the scene we were doing. It helps you picture things and make them more real. 

Imagination..

The last step is one that links them all together. Without imagination you wont be able to put yourself in your characters shoes and you arent able to keep up the believable performance. I think this step is the most important because sometimes you may need to imagine how they feel if you haven't been through the same (or similar) things. This is especially true when you dont use emotion memory and are having to imagine. 

This is a major difference in the two plays we have recently done. Going from Brechtian style where there was big sets and music, sound and different lighting. To Stanislavski who was very focused on the actor and their personal training. The two practitioners approached their work very differently and i was excited to do LBIA as it was so different to TWOWC with it being a naturalistic piece. 

Emotion memory

Emotion memory is an early element within Stanislavski's system. It requires an actor to call upon a certain emotional memory that has details similar to those that their character is going through. Stanislavski believed that actors needed to take emotion and personality to the stage and call upon said memories when portraying a character. 

We had a workshop with Jill which we explored the use of emotion memory. As a group, some told emotional memories of theirs and then would have to use it to tell another story. For example, Andrew told his own story and then used the emotion to tell the story of the three little pigs and the wolf. 

I think this method is a good way to feel and show the emotion more naturally. However some people believe this method is very draining and mentally exhausting. If say, you perform a show a number of times and have to recall certain memories each time it can leave you feeling very drained. So many people prefer to actually get into the zone of their character and feel the emotion, then as soon as they are off stage that emotion is gone because it wasnt theirs. 

I chose not to do this method because i felt like, if i was concentrating on a memory i would feel less focused on the scene and making it more natural. 

Rehearsals..

Today we had mostly done blocking and decided to keep the setting very minimum.  We stuck with a couch and a chair as well as two tables. We used a few little props. We kept them all very close together with to show the cramped nature of their attic accomadation. 

We kept movement to a minimum as we thought moving around a lot would take away the naturalistic element and the content of the scene. 

There only movement from Alison is when she goes to leave after she is left alone with Jimmy. I think the most effective movement is when Alison falls to the ground. Although i changed this to where i was already crouched before falling to make it more naturalistic i think it worked because it shows Alison being in pain and giving up. It shows her as being weak which you also get from the line "i was in pain and all i wanted to do was die". The falling to the floor and crying signifies that she lost hope in the good of the world and finally suffers and understands Jimmy. 

Angry young men & Kitchen Sink Drama

The angry young men were a group of British playwrights and novelists who were becomming prominent in the 1950's. Leading members of the group included John Osbourne.

In label of "angry young men" was first used by the Royal Court Theatre's press officer to promote the play, Look Back In Anger by John Osbourne. Following the success of the play the label was later used to describe British writers that were charactersized by some sort of disillusionment with the standard society of England at the time. 

Osbournes has been said to be one of the leading members of this movement and it is shown within his plays. You could always see he wanted to express his concerns with society by producing plays that shown controversial moments as well as an immaturity that compared to the  impatient youths. 

Look back in anger is the main example of what influenced the whole concept of Angry Young Men. The play was wrote to express his feelings towards Englands 1950's society. The main issue was the status issues he would bring up on numerous occasions. This was reffered as "kitchen sink realism" as they would begin to deal with issues of those in lower classes. In years before the play this was never given much attention but as the AYM movement had become more prominent the issues were being more widely acknowledged and accepted.

 In LBIA this is shown through the anger of Jimmy Porter. Life quality in Britain post World War was very low for people of lower classes and so Osbourne used this to show how people neglected to help those that truly needed it. 

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KITCHEN SINK DRAMA

Becoming more popular in the late 50's and earl 60's, this is considered to be one of the most important movements within British theatre. 

It was one to show domestic situations ow working class people often in cramped, rented accomidation. It originally comes from a painting done by 'John Bratby' that had a kitchen sink in. A critic 'David Sylvester' had called an article about the painting "The Kitchen Sink". This sparked an interest within young painters in the domestic situations with the stress of life. 

Alison..

Alison is a woman of an upperclass family, her father being a Colonel. She marries into Jimmy's working class lifestyle in a sort of rebellion. Although her marriage is far from good, her husband is angry at the difference the two share and does not hold back in telling her about how he feels. Being in the marriage and hearing the words Jimmy says has left Alison very miserable and closed off. 

Although she claims to have only ever loved Jimmy she finds the courage, from her friend Helena, to leave Jimmy and go back home. She does this without ever telling him she is pregnant with his child. In the last scene she returns to her old home and talks to Helena, who had been in a relationship with Jimmy, during their conversation Helena realises she has been doing wrong by being with Jimmy and is makin plans to leave. After she does go Alison and Jimmy are alone, after hurtful words are said Alison breaks down and shows how much pain she has been in. She shows Jimmy that she too has gone through great suffering and now understands his anger, thus leading to the two ending the scene in each other arms. 

My potrayal of Alison

During the scene i had though about Alisons behaviour and body language. I thought she would be very held together and closed off but also very full of emotion. 

During the conversation with Helena i tried to show Alison, at times, as a very bitter person as she is talking to a friend that moved in with her husband and starts a relationship with him. I think the best part this is shown when i say the line  "you loved him didnt you". This line is said full of emotion, being angry and upset but also bewildered as how her friend could get her out of a dreadful marriage only to go to that man. 

However once she is speaking to Jimmy you see how much pain she is in. After hearing hurtful words from Jimmy she breaks down and shows him that the suffering she went through makes her realise things. The line "i dont want to be neutral. I dont want to be a saint. I want to be a lost cause i want to be corrupt and futile" shows just how much she is lile Jimmy now. I did this line full of hatred to the suffering she had gone through but also hopeful that Jimmy can take her back and they can be the same people. 

I had made myself very reserved and made sure body language look as if i didnt want to move too much incase i hurt myself more. I stayed sat still and only moving a few times to show that i was still in pain and suffering but also that i wanted to stay and make sure Jimmy would understand everything. I also had a cardigan that i would wrap around myself as if i was trying to protect myself from any words being thrown at me. 

I think my version of Alison had worked well as it showed her quiet, reserved self in the beginning until her breakdown. 

First impressions of LBIA and my character..

After getting our script and reading through it i was really happy that we had been given such a naturalistic play, as opposed to the WOWC play we had done before it. As we were told to read through it and get into groups i was instantly drawn to the character Alison. You instantly realise she is married to Jimmy who is an angry man with no regard for his wifes feelings. This is more shown when he wishes a miscarriage on her. Her relationship is very confusing an brings up the question of why she stays with him if he does nothing but put her down. You see jimmy is directing his anger towards her in regards to her bring up in a higher class standard than his own. 

I think i was very intrigued with her character and wanted to look more into it  and how i could play such a character in a naturalistic way. Especially the scene we had chosen, Alison breaks down and shows raw emotion to Jimmy to show that she had gone through the suffering he wished upon her. I thought it would be a challenge to do this naturalistic piece but was ready to try it as a different style of acting as i had been a narrator in the previous play.  

The naturalistic style of the play had brought the research of Stanislavski. He had brought true life to theatre and explored ways in which actors would be their charcaters and feel their emotions. 

One exercise we did at the beginning was to have someone come into the room and act as if a letter was on the floor. We saw that acting as if it was there seemed very unnatural and almost robotic; you looked for the letter as soon as you entered the room instead of it being found. So we had done it again and actually put a letter there, doing this made a huge difference and you could tell with the expressions and reactions from the person. We were told to underplay it, act but try not to let it show too much that it isnt natural. I think this exercise helped because in my scene i pick up Jimmy's pipe and place it on a table, i didnt want to look uncomfortable so i had picked it up and held it for a while whilst i said my lines. 

I think the scene that we are doing really shows off the development in Alison from the beginning of the play to the end. You see her show what she's really feeling and shows Jimmy that she went through pain and now understands his anger.