Final piece write up

On Thursday 1st May 2014 we performed our adaptation of 1984 and named it 2050. My initial thoughts of the project were extremely excited as it was something completely different and something we could get stuck right into.  I felt honoured to be part of creating an immersive theatre performance and acting within it. I loved how in the short space of time we had, we managed to pick up life long skills along the way that many children wouldn't usually have the opportunity to learn (such as projectors, lighting etc.). I wasn't educated much on the subject of 1984 however when the process of devising happened I had a built up knowledge ready to bring to the lessons including help from lessons where we learned off of each other and had the opportunity to watch the film on 1984 and know the historic background. This helped as I was able to input ideas from sources that I had found and make the ideas thread into our final performance.

The first few sessions running up to the final performance were mostly for learning skills such as using projectors and live cameras so it got us thinking about how these can be incorporated into our group spaces. The use of this was to get us used to the types of multi media we can choose to use throughout our performance. So from the very first few lessons our minds were being puzzled on the sorts of things we can create. The next few sessions were extremely fast thinking lessons, we were given our characters and rooms and were told to go with whatever we have and create up to 9 hours worth of performance material to be compressed into 1 strong hours piece. This was one of the most challenging yet fun experiences I have personally had in theatre yet, as the ball really was in our court and what we decided goes. It was useful for me to experience being in control, as our ideas were taken into consideration and were easily adapted into the final performance. 

After being told I was part of the Anti-Sex league and I was working in The Space alongside Amber, Iris, Yasmin, Hannah and Anna we created a group chat so that all of our ideas would be read and considered. This worked extremely well as we were able to constantly talk and send work to each other for one another to see. We all assigned roles for each other to complete by the following week. This method of communication worked amazingly as the work all evidently paid off and things were organised fully how we needed them to be.

We also took into consideration minor details such as colours of clothing, amounts of seating in our lecture - this was extremely useful as when we were asked for a props list we knew what we needed off the back of our hands. Although the school couldn't provide necessaries that we needed, we made sure that as a group we went and bought them ourselves (this included props such as red neck scarfs, white shirts and black skirts).

We also arranged meet ups where we created an advert to be played during our presentation. Our original advert didn't go to plan as we realised we would have to add parts in and we didn't have enough time to do this how we wanted. This is the link to the original advert:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuQ63Uz5KDU&feature=youtu.be
We then decided to take the original film we had done and edit it further. This consisted of all of our ideas being noted down and a script to be followed by during the filming. Although all of the group members didn't play a part in the advert we all contributed to planning the filming, actually filming and editing. The following link is for the final edited piece.
http://www.magisto.com/video/NFhEYl8QRzouAhZpYw


The costumes myself and the rest of the anti sex league wore stood out and contributed to bold character choices as oppose to the dark and dreary colours that other characters wore. The idea was to look prestige and in control which worked exceptionally well. Our bold character choices included into walking with a stern posture, serious sustained faces and a controlled pace. Costume performed in its self mainly in our group which had made the audience intrigued on the difference status levels within the 1984 world. For example if the audience were to look at highly professional sustained characters such as The anti sex league as oppose to the rebels who did exercises outside who wore dreary clothes underneath bright yellow oversized mackintoshes. The effect of this was to show status, hierarchy within the world and the different party members.

Throughout the process we also created leaflets to hand out during recruiting along with posters to put up and surveys to fill in. The leaflets included facts and knowledgeable information about ourselves which we had to take time to research into as there really is an Anti sex league and we couldn't make it up.

On the day of the performance we set up chairs and worked along side with the 'group hate' group to make our room work well together at different times. I think this entire performance was based on communication between groups. Although we also were in favour by those who had more experience with projectors and other types of multi media. Timing was crucial, for example, we were sharing a room with another group we had to make sure there was time to set up and put away. 

This was our room during the set up process. As you can see, we didn't need the crosses on the floor however the other group did so we made compromises so that we could all collectively work together. I believe other rooms worked well, especially room 101 where the use of multi media and sound was used outstandingly to create the atmosphere that was needed. Understandably each group couldn't get everything they wanted to finalise their rooms however rooms such as the canteen didn't need many multimedia pieces as things on offer to the audiences (such as food) was enough to create the correct atmosphere. This was useful for the audience as sometimes simple can be the most effective. 

Thinking about the atmospherics we already had we used the building its self to create the theatre performance we needed. For example using the black walls and Victorian shape of building. Before the performance even began we gave out surgical masks to create discomfort and a suffocation feeling. We made the audience immediately feel part of a controlled environment and got them involved by being allotted a number and being called by their individual number if necessary (almost to feel as if they were not worthy enough of a name). The idea of masks was referenced from Punch Drunk to allow their audiences to have the freedom to perform, this immerses them into our world and brings them into disbelief. 

Canteen- Voice of monotone voice, looped video of past supporters, decoration on the walls, food.

I believe the use of a monotone voice worked as the canteen was made to be very minimalistic including the food that was served such as cold soup and plain white bread on white paper plates. The decorations on the walls of posters supporting Big Brother and the hatred towards the rebels. This worked because the audience where able to feel as if they were oppressed to believing into one party. 

 

Room 101 - Projection of operation of eye, baby crying, super bright light which also created heat for a suffocating atmosphere, blacked out windows, torture tools laid out, blood on wall and people. 

This room worked extremely well. Being in the audience, they would feel as though they are being taken into a room to be punished for sins they are unaware of committing. It would of worked better if the screaming of the baby was silenced to add a dramatic feel of somebodies death.  

 

Stanley room - Hidden music box playing dreary music, animations, normal room light (with institution like feeling). This room was the most comforting room of all, however it speculated the audience more as this didn't fit in with the other highly atmospheric rooms. I think the comfort of this room worked well as we were able to see that its a very secretive place and almost like a slight get away from the usual dystopia lifestyle of 1984.  

 

415 - Theatrical lighting only used once, computer (which also let off light), costume used to set the room e.g. Ironing board, dress makers dummy. We could of involved the audience more by encouraging them to try the costumes on to immerse them into our world more. However the use of this room was very office-like and uncomforting for the audience to be in, which of course was the aim.  

 

The space - Projection, sound, strip lighting, set with x's marked on the floor, double door entering, lines of chairs. Very minimalistic to show the dreariness of everything. Explaining more the side of the Group Hate the flashing lights were extremely effective as we were able to feel enclosed in situations we didn't expect and want to be in. However, it would of worked more if the lighting was varied from bright to dim again to create an edgy, claustrophobic feeling. 

 

The oak tree - Sound of music and dance to create the totalitarian effect. This was a very last minute prepared piece to show our rebellion which indicated that the performance was over. Although the dance routine hadn't gone exactly to plan and speeches could of been read louder, the aim was to indicate a rebellion showing different sides of party members. What worked well was our outcome... The audience had left speculated on the world of 1984 as a lot of questions may not have been answered (this can be a metaphorical way of showing the uneducated minds of the 1984 controlled society, where 2+2 really could equal 5 without us knowing the real truth). 

 

The Lecture Theatre - It was extremely minimalistic using only the strip lighting and the projector of power point explaining the rules and regulations throughout the world of 1984. I thought the simplest of ideas worked the most effectively as the audience were ordered to make lines and stand in complete silence. The audience were immediately able to feel oppressed and everything they did was wrong, the idea of a totalitarian society started right from the start where masks were put on our audience to be identified.

 

The outside areas - The outside areas worked well as the weather was dull and rainy which was perfect to fit in with the dystopia society. Props were used such as posters which were worn away by the weather and other objects such as picnic baskets including food with posters supporting different parties. One significant part of the performance was the idea of being able to see things where ever you go... As the audience walked up the stairs to rooms 101 and the canteen, if you were to look outside the window there was a teddy and items of clothing which created the dull society feel even more. It almost had a feel of a scary atmosphere that naturally an audience member would feel curious to be in.

 

The hallways - In the hallways posters were placed everywhere. The most effective part of this was seeing different sides of parties putting up or tearing down posters. The audience were able to spot who supported what and who didn't. It would of been more effective if the audience were taken around in smaller groups and put on different routes around the building as the top floor was extremely busy and there were moments when I noticed people just standing around looking confused on where to go next. The individual performances that went on in the hallways worked exceptionally well as lucky enough audience members were able to experience the unexpected. Some individual performances included interrogations by rebels or just seeing mental people walking around almost scaring audience members into what their past experiences were, this worked as when audience members weren't sure what to do and loitered in the hallways, they could still witness these things happening. 

 

The shop - The shop had a very enclosed, claustrophobic feeling. Using the atmospherics of the costume cupboard Brinley dressed up his space with small tea light candles to make the room quite cosy however looking at the outer world the audience were able to feel as if this feeling wasn't right for a totalitarian society. I don't think it was useful for the audience as the space was too small to get many audience members into.

 

I was lucky enough to see most of the rooms as being part of the Anti sex league we were able to wonder about when recruiting people to come and see our performance.

Our performance started at 6.30 where myself and the Anti sex league handed out masks and took down peoples details. We then ushered them into the Lecture theatre where they were ordered into 3 parallel lines. The most challenging part of the evening was keeping things ordered and in control. I felt as if members of our audience were trying to get us out of role so the hardest part was not to laugh and act as if we are in the world of 1984. The suspension of disbelief was used throughout to create the atmosphere.

It was then time for us to recruit people and inform our audience who the Anti sex league are and the times we will be lecturing. We all stuck to our times and our allocated jobs meant our floating worked perfectly. 

It was time for our first lecture, unfortunately there wasn't enough space for all of the audience to enter so we had to inform them about the second performance (not many people were happy with this). During the lecture we all worked exactly to plan and the constant rehearsals definitely paid off. We had a technical difficulty during the rehearsal process and didn't manage to get the lighting we wanted however we worked with what we had and made our light changes fit into the routine and the video to flow smoothly (we had a backup to say that the rebels were interfering with advert just in case the video glitched). 

Our floating process then carried on however we were told that our next talk would be in 5 minutes due to the early running of all the other groups work. Within the space of 5 minutes we gathered the people we needed and begin our presentation. During the presentation we had the post 16's surprise us and disturb the lecture. We thought on the spot and shouted at them to get out. Although this was a shock to our group we acted perfectly and made strong character choices to show that we were committed to the Anti sex league. We were then ushered to end our lecture early where we also had to improvise an ending. I think this worked exceptionally well as we were able to think on the spot because of how well our characters were developed. 

Finally was the group rebellion. On our way down to the oak tree we decided to chant our slogan 'sex is sin' this worked exceptionally well as it also allowed people to follow us outside to watch the rebellion. I believe the rebellion worked really well however the dancing was incorporate like it was suppose to. Even though not a lot went to plan during the rebellion... Strong character choices, some dance moves and scripted parts made the audience know that we were nearing the end of our performance. 

Overall in the short space of time we had, the work collectively made and contributed to the play was worth while. Specifically the Anti sex league who all made time for rehearsals, devising sessions, advert filming and editing etc. I am extremely proud to be part of a working cohort who did extremely well job of pulling off such a dramatic, opinionated, famous piece. 

The audience were able to have an insight into the crazy, dystopian, totalitarian society of 1984 and how we were able to adapt it and highlight multimedia resources to capture the attention of the audience. They would of been able to take away the knowledge of what people really felt and the strong leadership people were in. I'm glad we performed in such a sustained strict manner as our audience were able to be involved with the immersive theatre experience we had created for them (for some this may have been their first ever experience of immersive theatre). They were able to be as exploring as they wanted to be and what they saw was what they got. Each audience member had the opportunity to look inside things, pick things up, press play on iPads etc. Although the audience wasn't given a clear story line, being bought into the actual world we created for them was enough for them to pick up key points we wanted to portray. Overall 1984 was a great success and had worked better than expected, leaving the audience flabbergasted with what we were able to pull off.