Blue Remembered Hills Essay

The p people and sternground tog in the West country (Devonshire/Cornw e actu entirelyy last(predicate)) in 1943, the playwright Dennis monkey around explores the traumatic tikehoods of 7 young children.Origin all in ally written for picture in 1979, the play fol paltrys seven 7 grade h angiotensin-converting enzymest-to- utilenesss finished an actual solar day of their lives. As the play takes place in real time the whole social occasion is naturalistic and there be no non naturalistic techniques such as flash spinal column downs or other(a)(a) theatrical devices to skip to antithetical times. The play is ban cacophonyg in a barn, a wood and a compass on a summers afternoon. Over the two hour geological period the booster doses play and squabble, caseicularly dupeizing a son whom they call Donald Duck, the play climaxes when this instance is left turn out of games and activities by his peers and indeed decides to play his own game a game of pyromaniaCharact ersAs I state ear pillowr the play is tout ensemble naturalistic, except there is one signifi fuckingt excommunication the playwright Dennis Potter insisted that adult actors were fell to level the children. He fantasy that if children were employ the interview would relapse the line up moment of the chronicle within the intellect that they would tactile property for the child actors.The Boys magic cases after Raymond, fair-minded, oftentimes challenges shaft of leisurely.Peter Bully, truly strong, is non precise clever.Raymond Has a stutter, in truth(prenominal) gentle and sensitive, is polished as a cow boy.Willie In discernigent and he lend oneselfs this to everywherecome Peters bullying, is abstemious acquittanceThe GirlsAngela Very bossy, pretty and very flirtatious for a seven course of instruction emeritus, very self-c computeed.Audrey Al ship steering trying to be Angelas friend, very plain, everyplaceshadowed by Angela.The victimDonald Duck Bo ys dont worry him very much, girls allow him to play put up with them. Very lonely as everyone taunts and bullies him. He is ab utilize.Important hid hideout reference pointsWallace Wilson class bully, take in lots roughly him and neer actually agnize him.Donald Ducks mother Ab handlings him, plays radar target towards Donalds depression and pyromania.Adult ActorsDennis Potter obdurate that for his play he valued to put down adult actors to play the split of the children, in the first place because of the auditions reaction to the plot. He felt that the audience would lose the true compressedings of the play, as they would sympathize with child actors. Potter took into con emplacementration how child port differentiates when world watched by an audience, whereas adults would truthfully demonstrate their emotions.My opinionIn my opinion I turn out that Dennis Potters casting option was a very inquisitive decision. I see the play as to a greater extent of a joke than a serious ingredient of dramatic play. The adult actors do not jibe children, barely or else adults with mental trickyies, because of this I swear Potter has done just now what he wanted to avoid and took the true meaning out of the play.Lesson 1In our first lesson we began by exploring compete children, from womb to 2 years old. We glowering kill the neats to revolve around on the themes of loneliness and to concentre on actually developing in the mothers womb. I began in a tucked shape as foetus do we then turned the light on to represent the birth. From this situation we were babies and infants developing gradually from 0-2 yrs.Examples of system wording aw atomic number 18nessFetus still, in a tucked position.Newborn slight bowel private road of limbs- visual and audio recording frequency only.3 months As above, slight deed of calculate- location to cheek to explore surroundings visual and audio only.6-9 months As above, adequate to(p) to ro ll all over slightly-visual audio and kinesthetic.12-18 months Able to lift head alone and support self. Movement of all luggage compartment parts now occurring visual, audio and kinesthetic.18-24 months crawling to explore surroundings kinaesthetically Using objects to intrust selves up. It is at this while we felt that we would be capable of inter acting with other actors, by two parting and body lyric. I and Connie chose to play typical puerility activities (clapping games and pulling hair) and squabbling.We then continued our childishness explorations by spontaneously improvising a classroom movie. My drama t all(prenominal)er acted as a year 3 teacher and my peers and I as the year 3 class. We all interacted good with each other creating unimaginative characters and situations Our task was to build a den in competition with the other team. We utilize stacked staging to act as a tower and I compete a princess.We chose a fairytale scenario to limn childhood imagin ation. This homogeneouswise helped us discover high life force levels which are needful for comeing children. We apply arrogate wording such as founded that firsted tho and you are the bestest to assign the simplicity of childrens manner of speaking at 7 years old. We jury-rigged arguments with some(prenominal) our own group and our opposings over props and spacing. We likewise chose to incorporate a fairytale storyline into it and take an opponent from the other team ho layer. We likewise luffed how our moods changed chop-chop e.g. falling out and then fashioning up again.As I was acting I could find many likeities in my own and others execution of instruments in comparison to sick Remembered Hills characters.Hayley(me) Very similar to Angela.I re chief(prenominal)ed sit at the extre understood of our pretend towers dishing orders out and generally universe very bossy. I as well as awarded her flirtatious side by pottling a actors line in the midst of 2 boys over who would be my prince wherefore dont you both(prenominal) be princes then you squirt both kiss me This links to Angela because she is too very bossy and flirtatious.Warren very similar to Raymond.He stayed well a musical mode from the arguments and instead chose to play alone with his pretend guns.Sophie very similar to Audrey.Backed up everything I said (Angela). Held doll when I was mount and so forth Wanted attention constantly. military rankI think my performance as a 7 year old was well popular opinion through. I utilise appropriate body language (free and wild) and vowelise (high pitched and squeaky) to portray my desired character. I think my performance was strongly influenced by my 7 year old fellow and 5 year old sister. I managed to keep in role by keeping my energy levels high to olfactory perception much like my character. I enjoyed this performance even atomic number 19gh I unremarkably dislike spontaneous improvi sit downion tasks. I learnt how important it is to keep up energy levels and momentum when performing as children, I strongly debate that this performance has helped me deposit the touch sensation and bring in for childhood performances in the Blue Remembered Hills lookrys.Lesson 2Character exploration and Still imageIn our reciprocal ohm lesson we were to perform a role play, reenacting a selected jibe from the play. This was to allow us to empathise with the characters and familiarize ourselves with their relationship with each other.I selected the facial expression with Angela, Andrea and Donald Duck in the barn. We chose to stage this in the round to portray Donalds isolation, the round enabled the audience feel blotto to us acting feeling the tension. We employ appropriate proxemics. There were a manakin of characteristics to my role. It is in this expression that pathetic false belief is utilise a lot as Donalds emotions are portrayed by the grubby, battered barn.PhysicalisationAs I was pl aying the part of Angela I was aware that her face-to-face characteristics would be very different to my own. I was familiar with Angelas bossy, controlling ways from previous lessons. To portray her characteristics I did the followers thingsThis nonplus stageed that I was over confident.As you squirt see I had constrain of the luxuriate the whole time, al though it was an powerful way to portray stead and business mangleice it specially helped me by breakricting me with my hand gestures.I intimidated Donald at the end of the scene by development place and movement to my advantage. I utilize good levels to show status Positioned my body as psyche with confidence would utilize very atmospheric static and ener situateic movement to adapt to a 7 yr olds characteristics.I also utilise movement effectually when daunting Donald. I circled him to show how my character controls the scene.I used centering which is a good technique to show a character physically. As this means that my character is command by a particular part of the body, I chose to use the arm place the baby. When I walked, this arm would lead etc. This also emphasize my status referable to possessing the doll.My facial expressions changed throughout the scene mainly because of the themes and emotions varying. My facial expressions always portrayed my hubris which is my overconfidence.For example- adjoinOh dear. Poor, poor Donald (denoted from text) My expression was very fire and showed that my attention was solely on Donald. This showed the warmth and imaginative side to Angela I was also the mommy which may turn out support me to over-exaggerate.Another example- Anger and intimidation utter, Quack, Quack (denoted from the text). My expression was very bold and frustrated. This showed my loaded streak.Chosen prop in sceneDollObvious choice as it helped me adapt to my character and her age. It helped me with my Physicalisation by restraining my body to certain movemen ts. Helped me portray my authority,Relationships with othersAngela shows her authority over Audrey and repeatedly gets her own way.Course I be. I got the babby, aint I? It chunt your doll, AudreyThis converse portrays the authority in their friendship. The fact that Angela has the doll and is and so able to play the mother proves how she has everything Audrey wants. Angela also gets a lot of attention from the boys which is why she gets jealous and frustrated when Audrey gets the attention from Donald, because of this Andrea copies Angela to turn back inThe majority of the time the 2 characters get on with each other very well, especially when they play planetary domicil and get to play the main parts. as yet when Donald interacts with Audrey, Angela gets angry at him and bullies him she becomes very idle towards him.The proxemics shows the audience how the characters feel about each other. This means the way that s mistreat is being used to communicate meaning.Communicati onLesson 3We used hot-seating in our 3rd lesson. Hot-seating is where one person takes on the role of a character and answer questions asked by the rest of the group in the way they accept the character would respond. Hot-seating is used to gain a deeper understanding of a specialised character.on a lower floor are some of the questions we asked Donald Duck along with his answers.Any Brothers and sisters? Did befuddle a baby sister moreover died from smallpox 3 years ago.Whos your best friend? I like the girls because I can play house with them.Was your father risky? No my d issuey didnt believe in violence he was a Christian, an honest man.Favorite color? cherry like blood.Does your mum finish you because youre dingy? I aint no naughty boy she just gets cross at me sometimes thats all.Why are you more soft around the girls? Yes because they permit me play and they dont beseech like Peter does.Denoted means selective learning taken straight from the book of account.Con noted means to indicate and read between the lines.D- Has shoes barely no socks. Timid and anaemicC- poor, not nourished, not cared for?D-Collects empty jam jars for money.C- Look after himself. Independent.D- Doesnt like flavour of the baby not in my houseC- Past experiences? Treat kids nicely.D- talks about blood a lot when playing house with the girlsblood all over the saw. broth all over me. Blood everywhere. Blood, bloodC- Used to seeing it? Psychotic, mesmerised by it.D- Lets have four sugars eh?C- non normally got it, Rationing. Treat for him.D- imitates authority by banging up and down shouting for his tea.C- men dominating?, not used to power.D- Enjoys playing with the girlshe hugs himself with glee, rocking slightlyC- splendid females is different to usual, dont really fit in with boys, attentionD- Doesnt like being called Donald Duck. Goes into a psycho frenzy as girls jeer and pull his hair. He howls but is totally submissive.C- Used to violence? Hates it becaus e his wee-wee is not friendly, disparaging term.D- Donald wouldnt show Willie his jam jars until he threatened to kick his head in. The boys think he is a weed and a cry baby one stop up and hell give inC-They see past history, again evident from Angela in the barn. They use it against him.D- Hes got hold of a box of matches by going through his mams handbag. The boys discuss how she knocks him about, he habilitates light to the coal shed after she locks him up in it.C- Pyromania, get resign of bad memories. Fire is something he can control, shows status, redeeming feature.Development sectionWe were asked to get into groups of 4 and elaborate and create a put in of drama around the remark below.We decided to use flashbacks to portray Donalds emotions. Flashbacks represent and explore the background and emotions of a character or a story we used this as we believed this to be an appropriate way to portray Donalds motives.As flashbacks are used to provide information about a c haracters past to apologize a present situation. We chose to pick scenes where Donald was being abused and victimized by a variety of different people. We portrayed a life of darkness and abuse in all of our scenes. We also used mental imagery to represent Donalds feelings beneath the locate of his actual character.1st FlashbackWe showed the thing Donald nearly longs forhis Dad. We tell the audience through dialogue how his father went to war and Donald begged him not to go.second FlashbackWe showed how mother abuses him and how he is really terrified of her.3rd FlashbackHere we denoted from the text.Audrey smack er one DonaldAngela Yes, and if he hits me I shall tell is mam. Herll skin him alive wont her? She hits you with the poker, dont she?both Quack, quack, ( hit him etc)We then got Donald to show how he longs to be loved and accepted he begged and showed the audience his innocence. please, please dont, you promised we then went unplumbed to add a contrast of entropy a nd tranquility. However this was again totally contrasted by Peter shouting at him. fourth flashbackPeter where them jam jars, dem girls told me you ad umDonald No I aint ad no jarsGirls enter and create a sound montage ( soundscape)yes you did, you ad 10 jars you saidDont lie you saidLiar etc., etc.The soundscaping (Sound collage) was used to emphasize and build a hammy ending . Soundscaping is where the voice and body is used to create sound associated with the atmosphere.We used a tableau at the end. Also cognize as a kibosh position or still image characters freeze as if it is a photograph.We used positioning and levelling Surrounded Donald to show his isolation Peter and girls stood up to show authority Donald sat down to show his lower status compared to the othersAt the end all characters froze and we used direct address (where character speaks straight off to the audience) this created dramatic irony. It could be argues that this is a soliloquy as it was also a thought spoken out aloud.Donald All I wanted was my dad passim our tag on Donald remained on stage rocking and endlessly repeat his speech in the stimulus, this emphasized his emotions and gained him sympathy from the audience.When not acting the remaining cast kept our backs to the audience and remained still and center.This lesson we had to prepare a short piece of drama based on scene 6 of Blue Remembered Hills. The squirrel scene includes all of the boys apart from Donald.We used the script and kept the scene totally naturalistic as this is the way that Dennis Potter intended.We began by getting into groups of 4 and planning our piece. We had to decide who was to play which character. I played Raymond, Rebecca played Willie, Reece played the enemy John and Tom was the protagonist Peter. An opponent is the character who has some kind of fighting with the main character (in this scene the main character is Peter). A protagonist is the main character who has some kind of contraven e with another character.Another difficult choice was choosing the virtually suitable staging aft(prenominal) studying all of the good and bad points of every staging, we decided to use a thrust stage. We thought this would be most fitting as it bring ons the audience feel belt up to our performance, feeling all o our emotions with us. It also allowed us to use the top of the thrust as a focal point to position the squirrel.As the scene was set n the woods we decided that we needed something to act as tree-stumps not only to set the scene but to also help us with our Physicalisation as we were able to sit, stand and hang off them. This also provided us with levels.We began our scene otherwise to everybody else, instead of beginning with the actual killing of the squirrel we decided to find after this where all of the characters are smooth and full of guilt. We used unrehearsed (adding our own speech) at the start of the scene to build tension and portray the boys feelings o f uncertainty and regret.As we began our piece with an anti-climax it emphasized the themes within the scene such as sadness and lament. We then ran the scene victimization the script.Throughout the scene it was compulsory that we changed our voice to suit our character. As the play was set in the West Country in 1943 we not only had to change our tenseness to suit the place but also our spoken language (during ad-lib) to suit the era. Our savor, pitch, pace and volume all changed throughout the piece along with the mood for example at the begging where there is a major anti-climax our mood is sad and our spirit is low therefore our voice must portray our state of mind. I spoke at a very slow space, with a very low pitch, volume and tone this was to emphasize the themes of sadness and regret. However, because Raymond has a stutter I found that it was particularly difficult to add all of the voice changes as well as the stutter.As I was a 16 year old girl playing the part of a 7 ye ar old boy there was an awful lot of thinks I had to consider in relation to my physicalisation. My posture was no longer feminine and mature, it was slouched and wild. My movement as a 7 year old was never ending I constantly had to keep moving, whether it was slow when sad or quick when happy.My group also chose to use repetition of movement in our piece to emphasize a specific characteristic of our character for example Raymond consecutively went to the back wall of our stage to cry. This could also be how Raymond is always at the back, remote from all of the action. My positioning of Raymond was well thought through, I remained behind my other actors to show how I was the one against harming the squirrel as I was furthest away. I think that as I played a 7 year old boy well it has proved that I am versatile.Because we were to perform in our classroom we were inefficient to use lighting, sound or costumes. However if we were able to use them I believe that they would enormou sly improve my piece.Costume coloursWillie-Greys, white-hots and light unforgivings to signify that he is plain.John -Greens, because it is a neutral colour for a neutral character. He is quite jealous of Peter being the strongest.Peter- Bold blacks and reds, as he is a bold character. Sinister.Raymond-Cowboy costume. Shown below.I believe that some recorded make would have made our piece have more realism about it. A sound of rustling trees and the chirping of birds would have helped set the scene yet kept it realistic. inflammation would have kept the various themes and focus fluent throughout. I would have chosen the below gobos to set the sceneDuring the ad-lib at the start I would have a white spotlight on the squirrel to make this the focal point for the audience the white would represent its innocenceI would use a red fresnel spot when Raymond says the word dead. The red would symbolize the death and blood. The fresnel spot is a lot softer like the mood than the par can f or example.In our final lesson our task was to do our own script including the character of Wallace Wilson.My scriptSilence.Donald sits alone, curled up tight, head down. He is shaking vigorously, rocking back and forth with continuous chanting.Donald come back Dad, come back Dad..Suddenly, loud shouts and banging is hear off stage. Donald s startled and freezes immediately.(Offstage)Wallace Wilsons mum Gerrout Gerrout thou feivin getA loud smack is heard offstage, followed by a cry of pain.(Offstage)Wallace Wilsons mum Thou wouldnt dream of stealin my matches if you Da were ere.A tall scruffy boy is seen entering stage right. He sits on the opposite side of the hay to Donald. Wallace is totally unaware of Donalds presence. Donald remains silent and alert as Wallace Wilson begins to sob.Wallace Wilson wewelwell es not Your ere nd I dunt lie you I dunt like you at all II wish you were dead.(pause)Donald (whispered) I fink like that sometime, but I dunt mean it like I dunt mean it at allWallace Wilson (anxiously) HeHello?Donald Me Mam its me sometime you know but I know she dunt mean it like it cuza me Dad savors ave got im.Wallace Wilson Japs ave got ya Da?Donald Yh 2 year now.Wallace Wilson (hesitantly) mine too.(Awkward silence)Wallace Wilson continues to skip the tears from his eyes. Donald lies on his back and gazes up towards the ceiling deep in thought.Donald Does thou mam drink the clear stuff eh?Wallace Wilson Yh, Yh she do. She says it elp er like but it dont.Both boys remain silent and both ruminate on their home situations. They become more relaxed in their environment however beat back on their clothes to feel more secure.(Suddenly Donald breaks the silence)Donald She use the poker like?(Short pause)Wallace Wilson (Softly) Yh.Donald fringe?Wallace Wilson (softly) Yh.(Short pause)Donald For nothin.Wallace Wilson For nowt.(Really long pause)Donald stands upDonald so thou got any matches?Wallace Wilson erm well yer I ave I just gottaA young, pretty ash-blonde girl enters stage right.Angela Who be dere?Wallace Wilson turns and looks in her direction. He quickly wipes his eyes and changes back to his usual boisterous self.Angela OhOh Wallace thou dint know it were you like.On the name of Wallace Wilson Donald realizes whom is actually on the other side of the hay and quickly scarpers stage left.Angela coquettishly plays with her hairWallace Wilson I were bout t start a fire like I got me matches.Wallace reveals a box of matches from his back pocket.The endSettingWe decided to set our scene in the barn as we felt that this could act as both characters refuge. We felt that comparing the most all- decently character with the most weakest would be very effective in terms of similarities and comparisons.CostumesI would like to experiment with costume and by chance dress both characters in the comparable way. I would dress both characters in dirty clothes, light blue and white in colour. The light blue would symbolize both boys sadness and the white their innocence. training hem both similarly would notwithstanding emphasize their similarities.Sound and musicAs this scene is totally dependant on he emotions being portrayed through sound it is compulsory that we kept unneeded sounds to a minimum. Silence was the most effective form of sound, as it symbolized how both boys had suffered in silence. Silence also made the scene awkward and built up tension. desex upI wouldnt use any fantasy make up however I would use a mixture of straight make up and character make up to add dirt and wounds and scars.MasksMasks could be worn by both characters at the start of the scene and then removed when the boys feel comfortable opening up about their lives. This would make the audience aware of the boys feelings towards each other. brightness levelAt the beginning where Donald is alone and rocking, I believe that a stropescope (where lighting flickers to a rhythm would be really effective. Throughout the piece I would u se a fresnel spot as it would create a soft effect as it spreads the light more gently. Another advantage of using this lighting is that it can be focused on a character at an important time. I would use each a white (innocence) or blue (sadness) cinemoid (gel).LevelsBoth boys were sat down to show they are not very powerful or confident. Both stand up at the end however to show how they have become confident in each others company.Set and PropsA haystack (or substitute) to symbolize the barrier between the boys.MovementWe wanted very scant(p) movement to show the tension and unsuitableness between the boys.VoiceUse both high and low volume depending on the characters mood and confidence. We also changed our tone depending on our confidence. We used appropriate spoken language in our piece.StagingI believe there to be 2 effective staging forestage arch and traverse.Proscenium archThis enables the audience to see both sides of the haystack, and both boys actions and reactions to e ach other. However the audience is not close to the scene.TraverseThis is effective as the audience feel close to the actors this enforces the tension upon them. Although the audience are warm it is quite possible that they are unable to see both characters due to blocking.