Scenes and what we plan to do with them:

1st Scene - Foyer: 

Having the first scene introducing the audience to the camp, showing the characters and initiating the relationships. 

2nd scene - Scene Dock / Gas Chamber: 

Leading the audience into the scene dock to be gassed, singing whilst this is going on. 

3rd Scene - The Hub / Coat Dance: 

Having the inmates sorting clothes and discovering camp life, playing music, rejoicing in memories. 

4th scene - The Hub: 

Beatrice and Benedick tricked into fancying eachother. 

5th scene - Stairs: 

Love scene, by the stairs, transforms to Joanna dragging Hero off. 

6th scene - The Hub / The Balcony:

The audience led upstairs to balcony to watch, whilst Joanna drags Hero to be killed in the gas chamber, Benedick saves her. 

7th Scene - Pod 1A: 

Back to camp life, fearing what happed to Hero. Prisoners showing sense of humanity and love during dark times. 

8th Scene - Pod 1B: 

Ursula murdered by Joanna, Benedick kills Joanna. Benedick and Beatrice feel love through the fact that He saved Hero and defended her. 

Feedback

Striking opening - hard hitting 

- Have more moments, share looks between characters, think about where you are directing your lines. 

- singing gives a good atmosphere, same as violin. 

- is the violin an act of defiance? - 

-establish relationship between Benedick and Beatrice quicker. 

- make intention and thought process clearer (how difficult the situation is seeing as he is supposed to be hated) 

- scene needs to flow better when sorting shoes, have it already starting before audience reaches the room. 

- show the belittling between officers and how Benedick embarrasses Joanna. 

- show more love when Ursula dies, she gave Benedick love and warmth, when it is forbidden, when she dies this shows benedick's emotional attachment to her. 

- play with the idea of travelling around to give more time.  

Props use: 

- use wooden coat hangers 

- use more older looking props 

Rehearsals and Scene Development

Going into the Gas Chamber scene, we worked with Rose to add physicality and movement to how Hero is dragged and forced to the gas chamber. We also covered the scene with layered music that has screams, gun fire and verbrato tones that's give it a more religious undertone. This helped us to create an emotional impact. 

(Video to follow) 

Wednesday Rehearsals 2-6

Working on our physicality scene, using coats and scarves. 

Maybe having symbolism exchanged - having James holding the yellow star and Elsa holding the SS guard armband. 

This would help us identify the forbidden love and show the taboo idea to the audience. 

We have choreographed the movement and have made the love interest scene before out gas chamber scene. I will be involved for this scene as Daisy (as Joanna) is tearing apart the relationship whilst hero encourages them.  

Today's objectives:

Ideas for today: 

Focusing on the gas chamber scene (before transition to court room scene). 

Based on real life events, camp got liberated and Franz helped Helena find somewhere to live. Sent her to Italy to his mothers house and gave her warm shoes. But Helena's father said "don't forget who you are, I am a Jew and I will always be a Jew" - we will use this to be interpreted as Helena's words. 

(Beatrice and Benedick conversation) 

I'm going to write up script for people and also find cheap white pj's to buy. 

Agenda and Rehearsals

- going to see Natalie's idea for the opening scene. 

Using the foyer and herding the audience like cattle, in sections, through the revolving doors. Have SS guards (me, James and Daisy) checking the inmates as they pass through barriers. Sorting them as they arrive. 

- doing script work. 

Reading through script and securing the lines to make sure they make sense in each scene. 

- finalising scene between James and Elsa. 

- connecting the 3 scenes, Ursula's death, talk between Beatrice and Benedick and Joanne's death. 

New changes!

Due to recent events and the affect of my illness, as a group we felt it would be more effective to have me as a more directorial role as physically, I'm hindered to give my best performance. So I would only fill in for smaller parts such as prison guards / officers and guide tours, where I can utilise some performance. But I will still have an important role within the creative roles and decision making. 

Speaking of which, we have looked upon the beginning scene for the entrance. At this point there are 2 things we want to look at: 

- using the outside part of the college at the entrance to herd the audience and then segregate them as they enter the building. 

- having the characters integrated into the audience and then called out for being branded. 

Doing this we need to see how each idea plays out and compare which one would be realistically, more impacting to the scene. 

Pedra's Death

- sorted out scene text and have an idea of how to make each character's status through quietness and stillness. 

- we have 2 examples (on Daisy's blog) of the same scene in different tones. 

I am found as Pedra, dead on the floor after the Sonderkommando has killed me. We changed the second one to have more stillnesses and make James' speech calmer to show an inner rage that slowly builds. 

Objectives

- Sort out individual scenes

- work out what we parts of script are relevant. 

- doesn't have to be much ado 

- doesn't have to be same characters saying their script. 

- work on war crimes end scene, come up with ending and how we could create something to instigate remorse and forgiveness without taking away the seriousness of situation. 

Plan

(Been focusing on funding the past 2 lessons and been ill on Tuesday 1st April) 

Elsa is absent. 

Ideas: 

- Assigning scenes to direct to each person. 

- Going through scenes to discuss what we could do with them. 

- me doing the war crimes trial scene. 

(Natalie has a question!) 

There may be some alterations to decisions made. 

Ideas that I want to explore for war crimes trial: 

- using the black out pod as interview room. 

- having a flashback (might be a bit tricky to incooperate) 

- having franz seek remorse for his actions. 

Agenda:

Absences this week are: 

Daisy - Monday (trip) 

Me - Tuesday and Wednsday (hospital)

Elsa - Wednsday (trip)

Mandi - Wednesday (trip) 

Becs - Tuesday 

So we are planning the most effective way to arrange our meeting and pitch. 

Thursday - day of the pitch is and we shall arrange our rehearsal for the pitch at the lunch time. 

Wednsday and Friday the group are devising for our Shakespeare. 

Today's Objective

Timeline writing!

We've got a long scroll of paper, and we're highlighting and picking out key parts of our scripts. 

(We have books of Much Ado and will use them to help us familiarise ourselves with the text)

This is to help us form an idea of how our play will be set out and differentiate each scene and how it will transpose into our Auschwitz story. 

We will match up each scene with their corresponding story. 

Today's objective:

Theme of music:

Seeing as we only had an hour today to start devising and planning things, we've decided to focus on the theme of music and how that creates atmosphere. 

We looked at using Becs' use of violin - playing our song "Ah Poor Bird" and collaborating with piano and/or guitar. 

This could be used well during the scene of the Jew's being sent into the showers, creating atmosphere of irony and using music as a juxtaposing device against what is happening in the scene.

Natalie's notes (STOLEN!)

Agenda

Rehearsals

Text

Presentation

Cast list / characters

Rehearsals: 

Tuesday Presentation 

Wednesday lesson text

Wednesday afternoon presentation

Thursday lesson text

Friday lesson characters and casting

Text - if not got, need to buy and then look at text, take something from it and create an exercise (but 3 books off amazon)

Presentation carry on with individual things and bring everything in on Wednesday

Characters

Benedick - Franz

Beatrice - Helena

Claudio - Claudia

Hero - Sister 

Don Pedro - Pedra

Don Jon - Sonderkommando 

Margaret - Margo

(Transferring the much ado characters to the more suited era from which we are working) 

List of Characters

Below is a list of characters and character personality traits. Also there is a roughy draft and final draft. If you can't read it, I shall write it up. 

Workshop Plans (originally posted on the 13th)

My idea: 

- Being pairs, looking after the other person, working together. James being the commandant. 

- audience participation, confine them in groups. 

Becs' idea: 

- like chickens in a pen - representing confined space of the barracks 

- told to do certain jobs. 

Mandi's idea: 

- log rolling over someone 

- looking after someone else's physical well being 

- trust exercise 

Plan for rehearsals / Idea!

Rehearsals every Wednesday - some people cannot make first week rehearsals

Other times will be arranged soon. 

- April 10th rehearsal one 

- April 17th rehearsal two 

- May 18th the rehearsal

- May 19th / 20th / 21st / 22nd production week - dates yet to be picked. 

We are arranging times every Monday to plan out aims and objectives for each lesson and writing them out. Then we put them to work every Wednesday rehearsal. We will workshop both ideas of Auschwitz and Witchcraft. 

MY IDEA! 

Coming from an angle where we can interview the characters and then go into a scene, example: 

Interviewing Helena in the black out pod with a spot light on her (used as a gas chamber - using an isolated spot to concentrate on her story) about how she felt during the war, dressing her in the prisoners clothes and talking about how she lives and who she loves. Then jump into a scene, travelling to another room to  show the story of what she has just told. 

More accurate ideas of play:

- Possibly set in WW2 (Auschwitz concentration camp) 

- Claudio and Hero represent the hate and denial in the war. 

- The power of what love can overcome in any situation (represents Claudio's love) 

Films to watch / base idea: 

- Freedom Writers 

- Schindlers List 

- Bent 

- Boy In Striped Pyjamas 

Using the intensity of how love can transform someone's ideals and perspective. Keeping the idea of pressurised conformity. How we could mould that around the 'absurd' relationship of Nazi's and Jews. 

Another idea: 

- Adultery 

- Jealousy 

- Feminism 

- Stereotypes 

A woman being accused of cheating on a man is the worst crime ever, worse than a man doing it, because that is what men do. 

Films / plays 

- Brief Encounter 

- Knee High 

- Great Gatsby 

Another Idea: 

- 1920's 

- women's movement (suffragettes) 

- role reversal 

- sexual revolution 

Exploring Ideas:

During our lesson today we were asked to brainstorm possible ideas for us to explore and play around with in the coming weeks to help navigate in which direction we want the play to be set. 

We came up with the following ideas: 

- feminism 

- mistrust of females in that era 

- persecution 

- gothic / supernatural twist 

- 30's / 40's music 

- live juxtaposing music 

- audience participation 

- homosexuality 

- prejudice 

- gender bending roles 

- narration use 

We also liked the idea that James came up with, which was to use a real life story that happened in during WW2 set in Auschwitch. This story was very similar to the relationship between Claudio and Hero and included the forbidden love and twisted ending, loss of relationship but freedom of persecution and prejudice.