I Would Use a General Wash, Level 10, to Show That It Was Daytime

THEATRE ARTS

TERMINOLOGY

Use your revision booklets to look at theatre arts vocabulary and the production skills vocabulary notes also attached. Then answer the questions.

LIGHTING

I would use a general wash, level 10, to show that it was daytime.

I would use red gels on the fresnels, level 7, to create dramatic tension and emphasise the mood of danger for the audience as red is associated with danger. I would have the lights slightly dimmer to create more mystery for the audience.

I would use a profile spotlight on Character X, to create a feeling of isolation and loneliness, reflecting the emotions of Character X.

I would use blue gels, level 10, on the Fresnels to create a cold and sad atmosphere, reflecting the mood of the scene which is one of lonliness and loss. All characters are on stage at this moment which is why the fresnels are more appropriate than the profiles as they would give more general covering to the four characters on stage.

In order to highlight the change of setting from the Robinson house to the park at night, I would use cross fade from stage right (the Robinson house), where the lights would be set at level 7, general wash to indicate early evening – to stage left where I would use some green gels on the fresnels to emphasize the setting of the park, however, I would also have two profile spots with orange gels to indicate street lights.

QUESTION: How did or could you use lighting in your performance to highlight specific moods/atmospheres?

COSTUME

The character of Helen is a shy, geeky girl who doesn’t get out much and has little idea of fashion. Therefore, I would dress her in a plain white shirt with a navy cardigan and a navy, knee length skirt. The plain navy colour would show that she does not like to experiment with fashion and given that it is set in present day, the knee length skirt would help convey that she does not know about current fashions. I would also have her wear navy tights and plain black brogues, which would clash slightly with her navy outfit, again, highlighting her lack of fashion. The clothes would not have any design or pattern on them.

George is a banker from a wealthy background, living in London in the 1980’s. Large pin stripe suits were very fashionable in the 1980’s and so this is what I would dress him in. The colour would be navy with white pinstripes. He is a very confident character who has a large ego and so he would be wearing a smart white shirt with a bright red tie. He would be wearing matching red socks (red being a bold colour showing confidence) with expensive, designer, leather shoes. He would have a matching red hankie in his right chest pocket. His suit would be from Saville row, which is a very expensive street where there are lots of tailors who make suits to measure. This would help to highlight his ego and wealthy background.

QUESTION: Describe how you did or could used costume to help enhance the portrayal of a character in your DRAMA SKILLS performance.

SET

We chose to use ‘split staging’ to show that one part of the play was set in the Robinson household and the other part of the play was set in the park. The play was set in the 1970’s and in order to highlight this, the set dressing colours were browns, oranges and yellows, which were popular colours of furniture and décor of the period. The sofa (DSC)was of velvet type material in a coffee colour and it was worn with stains on to show that the family had stopped caring about the state of their living conditions. There was a round, brown coffee table DSC with a high back chair in orange velvet material DSR to show where the family always ended up sitting around. There was a 1970’s television just DS of the coffee table to highlight that the family no longer talked to each other they just watched t.v. The flats at the back of the stage had a window painted in the middle of the and painted either side of the window was swirly brown and yellow pattern to represent wall paper.

QUESTION: How did or could you use set to help communicate the overall period, setting and location?

PROPS

In order to help communicate the tension of the end scene, several props were used. The character of Tom, entered slowly carrying a personal prop that we made out of wood and covered with some tin foil at one end to represent the blade. This was held behind his back but so that the audience could see it as the light reflected off the shiny surface. This created a moment of dramatic irony as the audience’s attention was drawn to it but the character of Linda could not see it, thus enhancing the tension. The character of Linda was very self-conscious and throughout the play was checking herself in her make-up mirror. She was also using this personal prop at the beginning of the end scene. Because she was checking her appearance again, she did not see Tom enter, thus enhancing the tension. The prop helped to show her personality throughout the play and helped the actress portray the characters nervous disposition by constantly checking herself in the mirror. This helped communicate the tension as the audience felt uncomfortable watching her fiddle constantly and nervously check the mirror.

QUESTION: How did or could you use props to enhance EITHER mood/atmosphere OR a characters personality? (You may also discuss set props)

SOUND EFFECTS

The beginning of our play starts with a flashback, showing all the characters standing as if at a funeral. The song ‘How to Save a Life’ by the Frays deals with death and loss and we played this recorded sound effect to help emphazise the emotions the characters were going through and helping the audience to understand that something sad had happened. The scene begins to change with the introduction of the church bells, which were also recorded and this is the cue for the characters to leave the stage one by one. This also helps to change the atmosphere of the scene and worked in sync with the lighting, which also began to fade up to general wash as the church bells played. As the last character was left on stage, the sound and lighting continued to work in sync as a live sound effect of the characters phone alarm went off as the lights reached level 10 general wash signalling a change of atmosphere from sad and reflective to busy and lively.

QUESTION: How did or could you use sound effects to communicate changes in mood and atmosphere throughout your DRAMA SKILLS performance?

MAKE-UP/HAIR

Our Drama was set in the 1960’s and so we needed to ensure that all the hair and make-up were selected to reflect the styles of the period. The character of Maureen was an out-going party girl aged 22. I styled her hair with a messy beehive which was a popular style at the time. I used ‘Twiggy’ as an inspiration for the make-up. I used thin black liner to draw in fake eyelashes just under the eyes as well as thick mascara. I used the thin black liner on the eyelid and smudged this slightly. I then used white eye shadow to fill in the socket and up to the brow to create the 60’s go go girl effect. I used a fair colour base to which I applied a light pink blusher to emphasize the cheekbones and then a very pale light pink lipstick with a little gloss. This helped highlight the characters personality of a follower of fashion and girl about town.

In order to create the character of George – a man in his 50’s who does not take care of himself, is living in poverty and has just been mugged – I firstly used some brown liner to enhance the worry lines on the fore-head, creases around the eyes, creases above the lips and in the dimple area – this helped portray the age of the character. I also used derma wax to create a small cut above his right eye to show the effects of being mugged. I used this with some dark red, fake blood to show that he had not had the wound cleaned highlighting how little care he took of himself. I also created some bags under his eyes with some black liner and eyeshadow. Finally, I used a stipple sponge to create the effect of stubble to show that he didn’t look after himself.

QUESTION: Describe how you did or could use make-up and hair to help communicate the personality of a character from your DRAMA SKILLS performance.