Unit 8 Collaborative Performance Project
Candidate Declaration - I confirm that the attached portfolio is all my own work and does not include any work completed by anyone other than myself.
Task 1
Check Blog.
Task 2
Check Blog post titled One Flew Over Audition and Preparation.
Task 2.1
For our performance I researched and looked into many of the aspects of the psych ward the characters inhibited and the tools Nurse Ratched used to keep them under her command. This helped me understand the actions of the characters in the performance. Furthermore, I looked into who the characters I played were, by watching the film, reading the script and also filling in the blanks of the Williams and Warrens such as how long they had worked there, and how they felt about the patients:
Aide Warren:Aide Warren is an aggressive Aide who works in the ward. He has worked in the ward for 5 years and even when he first began working at the ward, he harboured a strong hatred for Miss Ratched. Even though he doesn't interact with many of the patients on the ward, it is shown he dislikes Chief, perhaps feeling threatened by his height, even though he believes him to be harmless since he sees him as "deaf and dumb", often getting the Chief to do his work for him. Furthermore, Warren despises McMurphy, desperate to put him in his place ever since he tried to fight for power in the Ward, even relishing in the fact that McMurphy threw the first punch in the second act, as he knew he could get away with beating him up, as well as sending him to the Shock Shop.
Aide Williams:
Aide Williams is the more laid back of the two aides, since he has worked there for shorter than Warren, who was quick to warn him of The Big Nurse. Because of this, Williams is a lot more fearful of Nurse Ratched than Warren, so when Warren talks about killing her, Williams eggs him on, as well as joining in on the idea. It is shown early into the second act that Williams enjoys having banter with the patients on the Ward, even joining in their Basketball game before quickly being shot down by Nurse Ratched.
Task 2.2
For my production role as a dramaturg, I made a PowerPoint of my research on psych wards. In this PowerPoint was information about lobotomies and electroshock therapy.
Task 2.3
My research into both character and the location the play is set in has enhanced my performance as it has helped me get into my characters mindset. This means that I can stay in character whist I am in the background of a scene and not the focus of the story in that moment. As well as this, the research helped others in my group understand more about the setting of the performance. Furthermore, it changed how I interacted with the patients on the ward as both characters as both of them feel some slight empathy towards them, as the Aides know the patients are unaware of how Nurse Ratched abuses her power.
Task 4.1
I have grown a lot these past few months as an actor through the rehearsal progress of One Flew Over. The beginning of this show process was our auditions, where we performed a monologue in front of Kelly to show our range, to make it easier for her to choose what roles fit who. I chose to do a monologue that challenged me as an actor and showed an emotion I felt I hadn't had chance to convey before, sadness. I have written about the audition process in more detail in my blog post titled One Flew Over Audition and Preparation.
Once we had shown Kelly our monologues she gave us some feedback to help improve ourselves, before giving us our roles. Whilst unsure of my roles as Aide Williams and Warrens at first, I quickly grew into them as I found their character and motivations fascinating, as well as being able to portray the two characters differently. Due to the fact I would always be sharing the stage with my counterpart in most scenes, Williams or Warren, I found that it made learning my lines a lot easier, since I could always practice them with my other Aide. This helped me build even more chemistry with the other Aide since we spent so much time practicing lines together, which made the bond the two aides shared more believable, even if they do sometimes betray each other out of fear for Nurse Ratched. I also worked with McMurphy in cast two when I was Warren, as we had to choreograph a small fight scene for when Warren tries to take away chief. To make sure no one was injured during it, we worked with the fight captains to make the fight look the most believable, while not actually being dangerous. During rehearsals, I made sure to stay in character the whole run through, and when I wasn't on stage for long periods of time, such as the party scene, I helped others work on their scenes and learn their lines for either One Flew Over or Radium Girls. This helped me grow a stronger connection to my fellow actors as they knew they could come to me if they wanted to practice lines or run through scenes. As well as this, I believe the research I did as a dramaturg greatly improved my performance as it helped me understand more about insane asylums and why people would want to work there, helping me understand the Aides motives. All in all, I believe the rehearsal process of One Flew Over was very challenging, while still being incredibly fun and enjoyable, testing my skills as an actor and making me grow closer with my fellow actors.
Task 4.2
I had quite a few objectives when going into the performance of One Flew Over, with my main goal being to give a believable and enjoyable performance of both my characters. This would help enhance the performance as my characters are made to keep the patients on the ward in order, whilst also being fearful of Nurse Ratched, who rules over them. I believe I met these objectives by how I acted whilst on stage, going around doing jobs such as cleaning tables and chairs, helping patients around the ward and checking the log book. Because of this, it made the performance more realistic for the audience, as I was just doing my job, since as a member of staff I am used to how the chronic's acted.As well as this, I tried connect with both Aides emotionally, as it was crucial to make my performance more realistic. However, while I originally struggled getting into the Aides mindsets, I began looking at how I could portray them differently to each other, with Warren being more antagonistic of both the chronics and acutes, and Williams being more friendly, even getting involved in a basketball match in the second act. Once I had differentiated the two, I found it a lot easier to get into their individual head spaces. This meant the audience could connect with both the Aides whether it be anger at Warren, or growing a liking to Williams.
For this performance, I worked hard to learn an American accent since the play took place in Oregon, so we all had to master an American accent. This was a challenge for me as I have struggled trying to learn accents before, however I found the accent relatively easy to pick up. While I was still using my accent, I also had to make sure that the audience could understand what I was saying, and I didn't want my lines to get lost in the accent. Furthermore, I was able to keep my volume at a high enough level during the whole performance so everyone in the audience was able to hear me.
During the show, I had a lot of physical movement, ranging from fighting McMurphy to cleaning around the ward. This meant whenever I was on stage I had a purpose, which enhanced the piece, since it was more realistic as I was always doing something, since I was a worker there. I also made sure to take notes on where the chronics were, and if they needed to be taken off the stage since they couldn't take themselves off so I would be able to lead them off. I believe this helped show my skills when it comes to working in a team, since I had to know about the others onstage, as well as myself, while making it all still look natural. As well as this, I also had great chemistry with my other two Aides, which helped show the friendship and comradery between the Aides.
For my costume I wore all white and black, a white button up shirt and white trousers, with a black bow tie and shoes. This helped reinforce the overly sterilised feel of the ward and the attempts at making everyone look the same. As well as this, I constantly had a rag in my pocket for cleaning around the ward.
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