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Description

This weekend we went to the play 'Incendios'. This has a very intresting plot that revolves in the fact that a mother had recently died, and she left a strange testament. In which her childen have to look for a father and another son. This eventually creates an intresting trama that gives a shocking ending.

Moreover we worked in the school play as we already divided people in different scenes and started working with some themes that were similar to ours. I was in charge of the scene about the Donahue family.

Analysis

The first play we saw was 'Antigona' that really helped me have an idea of poor theatre. As it didnt have that much design element the actress managed to use her body in order to peform the play. I think it was quite intresting the fact that she acted all the characters and she could change characters very easily. She could completely change her whole characterization in order to help the scene work. Moreover, I saw my design element, which were costumes in poor theatre. In this play they had this intresting proposal that was the fact that she wore the same costume but she changed it as she changed character. It was this monotonus dress, which had a cape, and she would put it on the head or tied it to portray the king or the princess, etc.

Furthermore, we saw this play 'Incendios' which gave us a very intresting proposal for the reading of a letter. Because the actual chacter appeared when they were reading the letter of the mother. Since we can use it in our play when Mrs. Redwood is reading Leon Redwoods letter about becoming the next leader of the country. I also enjoyed the fact that they not only portrayed a single character but some actors represented differents ones. Also the special effects gave me a new perspective of how to do certain stuff. For example, with the bullet, they actualy had fake blood and created a great effect. The thing I liked the most was the imaged of this person covered in blood that gave crude sensation and this effect worked better than actually having the people killed in the stage. As everything is in your imagination and it creates more tension and curiosity. This is something we want to apply to the play in the scenes were the high governer is killed.

Morever, In the school play we started working with scenes and trying to get more ideas of how we would develop each one and which actors go with which characters. In order to achieve this, we divided our selfs in groups from different forms, sixth grade, form I, form II, etc. So in order, to train people into poor theatre, they were divided in forms. I was incharged of form I and II. We followed Grotowsky's training, as we did the warm up and explain the  'via negativa' that means that you have to break your barriers and dont limit yourself is you feel tired or thirsty. We also introduced the theory of 'face as a mask' and making sound effects themselves.

Connections

The Grotowsky theory of 'face as a mask' gives me a connection to German Expressionism that you needed to have a their face sort of a mask as it tried to be distorted as to break the conventional way to be, to act and behave.

The play 'Antigona' made me think about ' Confesiones' because there was one actress that had to change completely their phsicallity and characterization as a whole in order to portray by herself the different characters that were demanded.

The use of lighting to create a different level of reality in 'Incendios' created a conection to 'Proyeccion Privada' because in incendios the mother's ghosts appeared and talked to the children. The same happens in Proyeccion Privada, which had as a game, the play of the different colour lighting in order to alter reality-dream-reality. This also happened in Romper La Piel as they had different color lighting in order to show a change with reality and dreams, to portray different levels of reality.

Reflections

In conclusion, i think we need to see more plays to have more ideas to apply in ours. I think is also better to have some more knowledge in poor theatre, not only practical but also actually seen more poor theatre to have an idea. This is because we are not doing the exact poor theatre but is our stimuli and we are having some conventions from them as the 'actor as prop' but I think we should explore it more to have more positive results. Moreover, I think we should work more with discipline as the final scene were there is a final fight, needs to be organized because if not it will look like a complete mess. This is why coordination is needed, as well as timing. Also I think we should work more in the special effects and help the actors have ore training in poor theatre in order to use as much as they can their body. 

How can we portray intresting deaths? How can sound effects made by actors be applied? To what extent our actors can work without getting tired? How can lighting help create different levels of reality?