Reseach for Unit 5

We had been set a task where we have to perform duologues preferebly taking place in living rooms of those willing to watch. We first had been given the opportunity to read through a couple of different Shakespeare duologues ranging from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and so on and so forth. Once we had made up our mind on what duologue we may have wanted to do, we were paired up, and I had been given the reponsibility of learning the duologue between Petruchiuo and Katherine from Taming of the Shrew.

As I was paired up with Grace, we had decided to go ahead and research about the play and scene to allow us to have brief knowledge of the story and allow us to interpret ideas for the scene. A short synopsis of the play itself based around my character and Grace's is that Petruchiuo is madly in love with Katherine although she has a brief annoyance with him before the scene begins. However, by the end of the play, Petruchiuo manages to get her hand in marriage and they become successfully engaged.

Furthermore the research we had carried out by watching others performing our scene helped fuelled our interpretations. Our base idea was to have Grace walk in to the room/corridor which led to me catching her off guard with the first line I proclaim, 'Good Morrow Kate, for that is your name I hear'. According the source off YouTube, the scene is incredibly exaggerated which led to our further interpretation where I am obsessed with touching her over and over slowly increasing her anger. However one factor that may restrict us from expanding our scene to total exaggeration is the space of the person who had decided to allow us to perform. So we had decided to include the exaggerated parts but to a minor level adapting to any space given to us.

Review of Drama Level 3 Year 2 Performance

The Drama Level 3 Year 2 students had performed 2 pieces around the subject of  bullying and what it can lead to. They had used a range of different techniques to make the performances their own, especially in conveying the moral across to the audience. For example in the second performance, they had introduced the main character who was put through depression as all the cast had surrounded them with their daily routines. However, the message being conveyed was portraying that you should not judge someone for their general appearances as you do not know their true story.

The use of two perspectives in a following scene was very creative in my opinion as it has entertained the audience with expectations and reality. This then lead to truth unveiling as one of the characters revealed her sexuality also fuelling evidence not to judge anyone by their cover.

During the intermission or transitions between scenes, in the second performance, condolences were placed upon the grave of the character facing depression making it clear that they hd passed away although have helped a lot of people while alive, many regretted not being there when she was. I found this very effective as the performance was performed in a re-arranged chronilogical order where scenes that happened before her death were placed in between the condolences at her grave. Furthermore the use of lighting in specific positions at certain times made it clear to the audience of what was taking place.

Finally, the concluding scene where everyone had their own spotlight in thanking the character who had passed away after a few years was very effective as this allowed the cast to catch up on everyone and bring the passing away of their friend bring them closer together. In addition, it can shine a light on the audience as many can relate to this situation as it can be similar to previous events; in result making their performance very successful.