Modernising Shakespeare - Macbeth 2006 film

This adaptation of Macbeth takes place in the terrifying Melbourne underworld. Macbeth (Sam Worthington), a humble drug smuggler to his crime boss Duncan (Gary Sweet), is told by teenage witches that he will one day have great power. Driven by their prophecy, his wife (Victoria Hill) plans to kill Duncan and take the leadership of the gang for herself and her husband.  Macbeth's compulsive love for her leads him to agree to her murderous plan, but he finds that maintaining his power will require a lot more from him than first thought.

The film opens in a cemetery where the Weird and crazy Sisters, (three school girl witches), are seen destroying and defacing headstones and statues, while close by Lady Macbet breaks down and crys beside a headstone marked "beloved son". Macbeth stands by. It is in this scene that the three witches make their plan to meet with Macbeth later, and leave the cemetery, smiling smugly at Macbeth from afar.

Macbeth leads Duncan's gang, in his absence, to do a drug deal with Macdonwald and his men. In a gunfight between the gangs, all members of Macdonwald's gang are killed. While chasing two gunmen, Banquo and Macbeth are led to the Cawdor Club. They seize the club. The current owner of the club is tied up and later killed.

Duncan officially hands the club over to Macbeth, and Macbeth and Banquo celebrate by drinking the club's alcohol and taking some pills found on a table. During this drug trip Macbeth meets the three witches, who prophesy that he will soon be in Duncan's position with total control over the gang. He tells his wife this, though she doubts he has it in him to take over Duncan's position. Later when she learns that Duncan will be dining and staying at their house, she plots with her husband to kill him, passing the rank of gang leader to Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth drugs Duncan's bodyguards, and while they sleep Macbeth takes their knives and kills Duncan, framing the guards. Macduff comes to Inverness and finds Duncan murdered in his bed. Before the bodyguards can profess their innocence Macbeth shoots them. Malcolm, Duncan's son, immediately suspects Macbeth as having something to do with his father's death and flees.
After Macbeth is hailed as the new leader by most of Duncan's gang Macbeth sends two murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. The murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth holds a celebratory dinner, and after learning that Banquo has been killed, sees a vision of Banquo's ghost at the dining table.

Macbeth is becoming more shaken by his desire for power. Lennox, Ross and others now suspect Macbeth of killing Duncan and Banquo. Macbeth finds the three witches in his house that evening and, after drinking a nasty potion and engaging in an orgiastic sexual encounter with them, asks the witches of his future. He is told to fear Macduff, but no man "of woman born shall kill you". Later it is revealed that Macduff is not a natural birth, but a caesarean section, which is not "of woman born".

He is also shown a vision of Fleance being hailed as gang leader. These prophecies enrage Macbeth, as does the witches' quick disappearance, and he has the murderers go to Macduff's home and brutally kill Lady Macduff and her son.

Seeing this on the television, Lennox and Ross go to tell Macduff who has gone to his uncle Siward. Malcolm convinces him that Macbeth has gone much too far in his quest for power and must be stripped of his leader status. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth has become more insane, to the point where she re-imagines the evening of Duncan's killing and continuously tries to wash off his blood from her hands.

A doctor sedates her, and Macbeth appears fairly indifferent to her instability. He prepares for the impending attack from Macduff, Lennox and Ross. Lady Macbeth commits suicide in a bath tub by slashing her wrists, enraging Macbeth. The two murderers, realising the unlikeliness of surviving the attack, swiftly flee Dunsinane leaving Macbeth with only Seyton, his main bodyguard, and two others.

 The murderers run into Macduff and his associates at the edge of Burnham Wood and are shot. Fleance looks on. Malcolm leads his men to Dunsinane where they ambush the house and a large gunfight ensues between them and Macbeth and his guards. Macbeth is chased to the cellar where he faces off with Macduff and is stabbed in the stomach.

 He stumbles upstairs to his bedroom, where the body of Lady Macbeth lies, and dies at her side. As Macduff leads Fleance, now the inherited gang leader, from the house Macbeth's famous "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech is heard.

CAST:

Sam Worthington as Macbeth Victoria Hill as Lady Macbeth Steve Bastoni as Banquo Lachy Hulme as Macduff

Bob Franklin as Siward Craig Stott as Fleance Gary Sweet as Duncan Matt Doran as Malcolm

Modernised versions of shakespeare! Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet - Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

This modernised version of William Shakespeare's plays takes place in the modern setting of Verona beach, where the Capulet's and Montague's are arch rivals. at the start of this modern version of the play the opening scene takes place in a petrol station where the Montague boys led by Benvolio, Romeo's cousin, and the Capulet boys led by Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. come face to face. they start to insult each other and one of the Capulet boys say to one of the Montague boys do," I bite my thumb at you", and that sparks a massive gun brawl between the two families which starts to cause chaos in the city. The Chief of Police, Captain Prince, reprimands the families, warning them that if such behaviour continues, their lives "shall pay the forfeit of the peace".

Benvolio meets with Romeo on a beach. Whilst playing a game of pool they learn of a party being held by the Capulet's that evening which they decide to gate-crash. Romeo agrees to come after discovering that his 'crush' Rosaline is attending the party.

The Montague boys meet their friend, Mercutio, who has tickets to the Capulet party. Romeo takes the Ecstasy pill Mercutio gave him and they proceed to the Capulet mansion. The effects of the drug and the party overwhelm Romeo, who goes to the rest-room. Whilst Romeo is in the restroom he fills up and sink and dunks his whole head into it. when he comes back up for oxygen he notices in the mirror an aquarium and he walks over to it. when he is there admiring the aquarium he notices Juliet on the other side. Tybalt spots Romeo and vows to kill him for invading his family's home, but Fulgencio stops him.

Romeo and Juliet sneak into an elevator and kiss. The nurse spots them when the doors open and drags Juliet away, while revealing to her that Romeo is a Montague. At the same time, Romeo realizes that Juliet is a Capulet. Mercutio takes Romeo from the party, but he sneaks back to the mansion, hiding under Juliet’s balcony. Juliet emerges into the yard and proclaims her love for him before Romeo sneaks up behind her. Juliet is horrified that he has risked death, but Romeo tells her he does not care whether he is caught. Knowing her nurse is looking for her, Juliet tells him that, if he sends word by the following day, they will be wed to each other. Romeo visits Father Lawrence, telling him he wants to marry Juliet. He agrees to marry the pair in hopes that their marriage will help ease the tensions between the families. Romeo passes the word on to Juliet’s nurse and the lovers are married.

Tybalt encounters Mercutio just as Romeo arrives. Romeo attempts to make peace, but Tybalt assaults him. Mercutio intervenes and batters Tybalt, and is about to finish him off by hitting him with a log when Romeo stops him. Tybalt slashes Mercutio with a shard of glass. Mercutio, in denial, laughs it off as a mere "scratch", but soon realizes that the cut is deeper than he thought. Angered over his pending death, Mercutio curses the warring houses. He storms off in anger only to die in Romeo's arms a few moments later. Angry that Mercutio, neither a Capulet nor Montague, has been murdered, Romeo chases after a fleeing Tybalt to shoot and kill him and he succeeds.

Captain Prince banishes Romeo from the city. Romeo, hiding with Father Lawrence, claims he would rather die than be banished. Father Lawrence, in turn, sternly lectures Romeo about the fact that the end result of his actions could have been his death as opposed to banishment. Father Lawrence treats Romeo's injuries and says that, after some time passes, he will help Romeo and Juliet return to the city and reconcile with their family and friends. The nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is waiting for him. At the Capulet mansion, Juliet prays, horrified by what has happened. When Romeo climbs over her balcony, she kisses him and they have sex. Fulgencio decides Juliet will marry Paris, the Governor's son.

The next morning, Romeo narrowly escapes as Juliet's mother tells her that the family has promised she will marry Paris. She refuses to marry, so her father threatens to throw her out. Her mother and nurse insist it would be in her best interest to marry Paris. Juliet sees Father Lawrence, imploring him to help her and threatening to commit suicide. The priest proposes she fake death and be put in the Capulet vault to awaken 24 hours later. Romeo will be told of the plot, sneak into the vault, and once reunited the two can travel to Mantua. He gives her the potion which mimics death. After saying goodnight to her mother, Juliet drinks the potion. She is found in the morning, declared dead, and placed in the vault. Balthasar, one of Romeo's cousins, learns that Juliet is dead and tells Romeo, who is not home when the messenger arrives to tell him of the plan.

Romeo returns to Verona, where he buys poison. As he goes to the church, Captain Prince finds out he is back, and tries to capture him, without success. Father Lawrence learns that Romeo has no idea Juliet is alive. Romeo enters the church where Juliet lies and says a farewell speech. She awakens just as Romeo takes the poison. The two then see each other before he dies. After he dies, Juliet picks up Romeo's gun and shoots herself in the head.( dying instantly). The two lovers are discovered in each other's arms. Prince condemns both families, whose feuding led to such tragedy, and coroners are shown removing the two bodies.

The House of Montague Brian Dennehy as Ted Montague: Romeo's father Christina Pickles as Caroline Montague: Romeo's mother Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague Dash Mihok as Benvolio Montague: Romeo's cousin Jesse Bradford as Balthasar Montague: Romeo's cousin Zak Orth as Gregory Montague: Romeo's cousin Jamie Kennedy as Sampson Montague: Romeo's cousin

The House of Capulet Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet Diane Venora as Gloria Capulet Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet John Leguizamo as Tybalt Capulet Vincent Laresca as Abra Capulet Carlos Martín Manzo Otálora as Petruchio Capulet Miriam Margolyes as Nurse

Others Harold Perrineau as Mercutio Escalus Pete Postlethwaite as Father Lawrence Paul Rudd as Dave Paris Vondie Curtis-Hall as Captain Prince M. Emmet Walsh as Apothecary Quindon Tarver as Choir Boy Edwina Moore as Anchorwoman (Narrator)

 

Modernising Shakespeare - Macbeth - duncans death - Establishing shot!

Myself and Claudia came up with the idea of setting our scene in the college. Basically Gary the head of our department is king Duncan and Alex and Yusuf are his guards. So earlier in the play lady Macbeth drugs his guards so they fall asleep so Macbeth can go kill the king without any issues.

the establishing shot is going to work like this. Gary is sitting at his desk with the camera facing him so he is facing the camera. like this -

 

 

the camera angle that says eye level is the angle we wish to use.

so Gary is doing his work the behind him. and in an unfocused shot, I walk in slowly holding a glass bottle. I then slowly walk up to him and hit him over the head, but as I go to hit him with the bottle the camera blacks out. then the next shot is gonna be as if its through Gary's eyes so the camera will be on the floor facing up the its gonna see as if im hitting it. and blood is going to be splashed over me as im doing it. then as I walk of the camera will be facing the door as I leave, then as I leave Gary's hand is gonna come from the bottom of the camera covered in blood then suddenly drop to the floor the next shot will be Claudia in the foyae downstairs wating for me.

review is coming very soon! as i was in and out because i couldnt stop coughing i did not get a chance to see it all. so it is coming. just i need a bit of time

Macbeth Synopsis! Ayo helped me with this.

The play begins with amidst thunder and lightning and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. In the following scene it opens with a wounded sergeant who reports to king Duncan of Scotland that his generals- Macbeth, who is the Thane of Glamis and Banquo have just defeated the allied forces of Norway and Ireland who were led by the traitorous Macdonwald and the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth, the King's kinsman, is praised for his bravery and fighting prowess. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor (A broad area of open land). The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. The witches then vanish and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named 'Thane of Cawdor' and that he shall "be King hereafter." Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence. When Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches inform him that he will father a line of kings, though he himself will not be one. While the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title: Thane of Cawdor as the previous Thane of Cawdor shall be put to death for his traitorous activities. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the witches’ prophecy that he will be crowned king—might be true, but he's  uncertain what to expect. Later on he visits King Duncan and they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife 'Lady Macbeth', telling her all that has happened. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and wants him to kill Duncan in order to gain his throne. As soon as Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to murder King Duncan on that very night. So Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains (an officer who manages the household of a king) drunk so they will black out; Next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their crime—and easilyassumes the kingship. Meanwhile Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.

Feared that the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs (Legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death)  will seize the throne. Macbeth hires a group of murderers to attack Banquo and his son Fleance, suddenly Fleance escapes and Macbeth becomes furious and fears that his power remains insecure as long as an heir of Banquo remains alive. At the banquet, Macbeth invites his lords and Lady Macbeth to a night of drinking and merriment. Banquo's ghost enters and sits in Macbeth's place. Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests as the ghost is only visible to himself. On the other hand the others panic at the sight of Macbeth raging at an empty chair, until Lady Macbeth desperately tells them that her husband is merely afflicted with a familiar and harmless malady. The ghost departs and returns once more, causing the same riotous anger and fear in Macbeth. This time, Lady Macbeth tells the lords to leave, and they do so. Macbeth, disturbed, visits the three witches once more and asks them to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him. To answer his questions, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers predictions and further prophecies to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, they conjure an armored head, which tells him to beware of Macduff . Second, a bloody child tells him that no one born of a woman shall be able to harm him. Thirdly, a crowned child holding a tree states that Macbeth will be safe until Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows that all men are born of women and forests cannot move. Macbeth also asks if Banquo's sons will ever reign in Scotland: the witches conjure a procession of eight crowned kings, all similar in appearance to Banquo, and the last carrying a mirror that reflects even more kings. Macbeth realises that these are all Banquo's descendants having acquired kingship in numerous countries. After the witches perform a mad dance and leave, Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth orders Macduff's castle be seized, and, most cruelly, sends murderers to slaughter Macduff’s wife and children. Everyone in Macduff's castle is put to death, including Lady Macduff and their young son.

As soon as the news of his family execution reaches Macduff in England , Macbeth is stricken with deep sorrow and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm (Duncan's son) has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff then joins him as he mount's to Scotland to challenge Macbeth's forces. Scottish nobles are appalled and frightened by Macbeth's  tyrannical and murderous behaviour and the invasion has support of the Scottish Nobles. Meanwhile Lady Macbeth becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans (Express discontent or sorrow over something), what she believed to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth's opponent's arrive, he receives news that she has killed herself, this causes him to sink into a deep and pessimistic despair but nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsisnane to which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his invincibility. Macbeth is struck numb with fear, however he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinsnane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.

The stuff I have written or drawn in my pack!!

Things and stuff I have written or drawn in my pack!!

Shakespeare research!

About the play : In August 1606 James was at Hampton Court , a palace near London , entertaining his brother-in-law , King Christian of Denmark. A play was acted for them Macbeth - written by the best dramatist of the time , William Shakespeare. It was a new play, but the story was an old one , and James knew it well. It was about his ancestors , Banquo and Fleance, through whom he had inherited the throne of Scotland. Shakespeare found the story of 'The Chronicles of Scotland ' , by Rapheal Holinshed. However, his play is much more than a dramatic re-writing of the historical facts . He made many changes, and the biggest of these concerned James' ancestors . In true story , Banquo joined Macbeth in killing Duncan ; but clearly it would be tactless to suggest that James was descended from regicide - the murderer of a king. So Shakespeare 's Banquo is innocent. James also believed that he was descended spiritually from the long tradition of English monarchs , and that he had inherited the power of healing that Edward the confessor (1042-66) possessed . Shakespeare's description of this power ( Act 5 , scene 3 , lines 148-58) is , to some extent , deliberate flattery of king of his king. Shakespeare also knew that James was extremely interested in witchcraft and had written a book about it. Macbeth is certainly a play ' fit for a king ' . On one level it is royal  entertainment - and entertainment , too , for all those of us who enjoy the suspense and excitement of a murder story. 

A Moral lesson :

But of course it is more than this , more than flattery for an ancient British monarch. Although the story is largely true , we do not read Macbeth as a ' history'. We could interpret Shakespeare's play as a moral lesson. Macbeth murders his king . To murder any man is crime , but those who lived at the time of Shakespeare thought that the murder of a king was the greatest of all crimes. Kings were appointed by God , to rule as his deputies : rebellion against a true king was rebellion against God. By murdering Duncan , Macbeth gains the crown but he loses , love , friendship , respect and in the end his life. His crime is rightly punished.

Characters : 

Duncan : The King of Scotland (c.1034).  He is presented as a true and gracious monarch - the embodiment of the Elizabethan belief  that a king was appointed as God's deputy on earth and was himself almost divine.  

Macbeth : A mighty and ambitious warrior , one of the leaders of Duncan's army. A witches ' prophecy leads him to murder Duncan so that he himself can be king - but his conscience afterwards will never let him rest. 

Lady Macbeth -  Macbeth's wife. She is even more ambitious than her husband , and has fewer moral scruples . She urges Macbeth to kill Duncan , and refuses to understand his doubts and hesitations . Gradually her close relationship with Macbeth crumbles into nothing. 

Synopsis : 

Act 2 

Scene 1: Banquo and his son , Fleance  are going to bed when they encounter Macbeth , who is preparing himself for his grim task.

Scene 2 : Macbeth has murdered Duncan. Lady Macbeth takes the bloody daggers away from her husband , who is already beginning to regret what he has done. 

Scene 3 : All is discovered. The porter is roused from his drunken sleep by Macduff and Lennox who go to call upon the king but find he has been murdered. Macbeth panics and kills Duncan's attendants . Duncan's sons are afraid for a their own safety and slip away secretly. 

Scene 4 : Ross and an Old Man discuss the unnatural events that occurred on the  night of Duncan's murder. They learn from Macduff that the king's two sons have fled , and that Macbeth has been chosen to be the next king. 

Macbeth REsearch

Macbeth Research.



Macbeth was a king of the Scots whose rule was marked by efficient government and the promotion of Christianity, but who is best known as the murderer and usurper in William Shakespeare's tragedy.
Shakespeare's Macbeth bears little resemblance to the real 11th century Scottish king.

Mac Bethad mac Findláich, known in English as Macbeth, was born in around 1005. His father was Finlay, Mormaer of Moray, and his mother may have been Donada, second daughter of Malcolm II. A 'mormaer' was literally a high steward of one of the ancient Celtic provinces of Scotland, but in Latin documents the word is usually translated as 'comes', which means earl.


Macbeth -  Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such as Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.          

Lady Macbeth -  Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Early in the play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches imply that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to each another.

all of my research has come from books I have at home and through asking people around the college. I in no way have copied this.

Bertolt Brecht!

Bio Of Brecht!

Playwright Eugene Berthold Brecht (also known as Bertolt Brecht) was deeply influenced by Charlie Chaplin and Karl Marx.  This strange combination of inspiration produced Brecht’s twisted sense of humor as well as the political beliefs within his plays.

He was raised in a middle class family in Germany, although he often fabricated stories of an impoverished childhood. As a young man, he was attracted to fellow artists, actors, cabaret musicians, and clowns. As he began to write plays of his own, he discovered that the Theatre was the perfect forum to express social and political criticism.

Brecht developed a style known as “Epic Theatre.” In this medium, actors did not strive to make their characters realistic. Instead, each character represented a different side of an argument. Brecht’s “Epic Theatre” presented multiple viewpoints and then let the audience decide for themselves.
Does this mean Brecht didn’t play favorites? Certainly not. His dramatic works blatantly condemn fascism, but they also endorse communism as an acceptable form of government. His political views developed from his life experiences. Brecht fled Nazi Germany before the onset of World WarII. After the war, he willingly moved to Soviet-occupied East Germany and became a proponent of the communist regime.

 
Brecht's Major Play!


His most acclaimed work is Mother Courage and Her Children. Although set in the 1600s, the play is relevant to contemporary society. It is often regarded as one of the finest anti-war plays.
Not surprisingly, Mother Courage and Her Children has frequently been revived in recent years. Many colleges and professional theaters have produced the show, perhaps to express their views on modern day warfare.

The one the play’s most renowned lines is: "Who is the bigger criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?"


Epic vs Dramatic Theatre!

Dramatic Theatre	Epic Theatre
Plot	Narrative
Implicates the spectator in a stage situation	Turns the spectator into an observer
Wears down his capacity for action	Arouses his capacity for action
Provides him with sensations	Forces him to take decisions
Experience	Picture of the world
The spectator is involved in something	He is made to face something
Suggestion	Argument
Instinctive feelings are preserved	Brought to the point of recognition
The spectator is in the thick of it, shares the experience	The spectator stands outside, studies
The human being is taken for granted	The human being is the object of the enquiry
He is unalterable	He is alterable and able to alter
Eyes on the finish	Eyes on the course
One scene makes another	Each scene for itself
Growth	Montage
Linear development	In curves
Evolutionary determinism	Jumps
Man as a fixed point	Man as a process
Thought determines being	Social being determines thought
Feeling	Reason

Above i have found a table giving the differences between dramatic and epic theatre i found this table on: http://www.usq.edu.au/artsworx/schoolresources/3pennynotes/drama

Verfremdungseffekt
Often translated as the ‘alienation effect’, verfremdungseffekt is better explained as the ‘making strange effect’, or the ‘defamiliarisation effect’. ‘Alienation’ implies that the audience is disconnected completely from the performance, which is not quite correct. While they are disconnected from empathizing with the characters and their plight, as in naturalistic theatre, they are still completely involved in critically-analysing the play and its broader social significance. The ‘V-effekt’ is a technique of taking human social incidents and labelling them as something striking, something that calls for explanation, something not to be taken for granted, not just natural.

Gestus
Gestus, Brecht said, was the base building block of Epic Theatre. It is both gist and gesture; an attitude expressible in words and actions (Chalk). A basic equation for gestus is: a gesture of the body (gest) + a message (gist) = gestus (Chalk). The message is an essential part of this equation, because without a broader social context, the gesture is redundant. The most famous example of this particular element is from the original production of Mother Courage and Her Children. In the scene where Mother Courage’s son is killed, she lifts her head back, stretches her mouth wide, and holds this grotesque position in a “silent scream”. This showed her devastation at the loss of her son, but her inability to show that feeling. So the physicality of the scream + her contradictory feelings = the gestus of the ‘silent scream’.
Music
The “V-effekt” was also made possible in Epic Theatre with help from the music. In many of Brecht’s plays where music was used, the musicians were set up where they could be seen. In the original Berlin production of The Threepenny Opera, the titles of the songs were projected on placards on stage, the orchestra was lit up, and the actors changed position in order to sing their songs. This is just another way of showing that it is just a theatre show, that the actors are simply actors and that the musicians were just that, musicians.

Brecht Unit - Mother Courage.

The play we have been given is Mother Courage.

The play is set in the 17th century in Europe during the Thirty Years' War. The Recruiting Officer and Sergeant are introduced, both complaining about the difficulty of recruiting soldiers to the war. A canteen woman named Anna Fierling (Mother Courage) enters pulling a cart that she uses to trade with soldiers and make profits from the war. She has three children, Eilif, Kattrin, and Swiss Cheese. The sergeant negotiates a deal with Mother Courage while Eilif is led off by the recruiting officer. One of her children is now gone.

Two years from then, Mother Courage argues with a Protestant General's cook over a capon, or chicken. At the same time, Eilif is congratulated by the General for killing peasants and slaughtering their cattle. Eilif and his mother sing "The Fishwife and the Soldier". Mother Courage scolds her son for taking risks that could have got him killed and slaps him across the face.
Three years later, Swiss Cheese works as an army paymaster. The camp prostitute Yvette Pottier, sings "The Fraternization Song". Mother Courage uses this song to warn Kattrin about involving herself with soldiers. Before the Catholic troops arrive, the Cook and Chaplain bring a message from Eilif. Swiss Cheese hides the regiment's paybox from invading soldiers. Mother Courage & co. hurriedly switch their insignia from Protestant to Catholic. Swiss Cheese is captured by the Catholics while attempting to return the paybox to his General. Mother Courage deals her cart to get money to try and barter with the soldiers to free her son. She takes too long trying negotiate small amount of money for herself, the Chaplin, and Kattrin to live from and Swiss Cheese is shot dead with 11 bullets. To acknowledge the body could be fatal, so Mother Courage does not acknowledge it and it is thrown into a pit.

Later, Mother Courage waits outside the General's tent in order to register a complaint and sings the "Song of Great Capitulation" to a young soldier waiting for the General as well. The soldier is angry that he has not been paid and also wishes to complain. The song persuades the soldier that complaining would be unwise, and Mother Courage (reaching the same conclusion) decides she also does not want to complain.

When Catholic General Tilly's funeral approaches, Mother Courage discusses with the Chaplain about whether the war will continue. The Chaplain then suggests to Mother Courage that she marry him, but she rejects his proposal. Mother Courage curses the war because she finds Kattrin disfigured after being raped by the clerk while collecting more merchandise.
At some point about here Mother Courage is again following the Protestant army.
Two peasants wake Mother Courage up and try to sell merchandise to her while they find out that peace has broken out. The Cook appears and creates an argument between Mother Courage and the Chaplain. Mother Courage departs for the town while Eilif enters, dragged in by soldiers. Eilif is executed for killing peasants but his mother never finds out. When the war begins again, the Cook and Mother Courage start their own business.

The seventeenth year of the war marks a point where there is no food and no supplies. The Cook inherits an inn in Utrecht and suggests to Mother Courage that she operate it with him, but he refuses to harbour Kattrin. It is a very small inn. Mother Courage will not leave her daughter and they part ways with the Cook. Mother Courage and Kattrin pull the wagon by themselves.
The Catholic army attacks the small Protestant town of Halle while Mother Courage is away from town, trading. Kattrin is woken up by a search party that is taking peasants as guides. Kattrin fetches a drum from the cart, climbs onto the roof, and beats it in an attempt to awake the townspeople. Though the soldiers shoot Kattrin, she succeeds in waking up the town.
Early in the morning, Mother Courage sings to her daughter's corpse, has the peasants bury her and hitches herself to the cart. The cart rolls lighter now because there are no more children and very little merchandise left.

Roles:

Mother Courage - Tiffany

Kattrin - Yvonne

Swiss Cheese - Shabill

Sergeant - Crystal

Cook - Pierce

Chaplain - Bicton

Yvette Pottier - Claudia

Man with the Bandage - Charles

Old Colonel - Charles

My first thoughts of the script was me thinking, what?! I dont get it! but when i done some more research in to the play i began to think that this script is more dark compared to the short brecht piece that we worked on. when we first read through the script i could really understand what was going on and why Mother Courage loots dead bodies on the battle field, and i also understood why wherever she goes she pulls along a cart full of all th merchandise that she loots from the dead.

Pictures From Mother Courage And Her Children at The National Theatre.

Jackie's Work! :)

TARGET AUDIENCE.

Our target audience is year 10 students and the age ranges from 14 - 16. Because our target audience are teenagers we had to come up and devise a piece that was suitable for their age, and we had to make the piece interesting so that they wouldn't sit and just ignore the whole piece. unlike the primary school performance were the children would happily sit there and listen to us tell them a story in costume and having fun with them, we had to get the teenagers attention in a different way.

I strongly believe that performing a piece about domestic violence and Internet safety, we would be able to attract the attention because most teenagers today use the Internet and are not aware of the dangers that are on the Internet. And i also know that most teenagers of today are not aware of domestic violence, because most teenagers think, " oh he is beating her, what can we do". So i think it was good t show them that just by simply talking to someone about it, you will get support, people will try and help when your in that situation.

DEVELOPING IDEAS.

When we began developing ideas in groups of 4. i was with Crystal, Shabill and Cameron, and we decided that our little part of the scene can be done in the style of Jeremy Kyle. So when we began to devise the piece i decided to go ahead and create the characters names, and come up with a reason to why each character was on the "so called show". Anyway Crystal, became Claire, and the reason why she is there is because she was being abused by her boyfriend. Then i made Shabill Claire's best friend, and he is basically there for moral support for Claire. then i made myself the doctor who explains what injuries Clair's has taken on, and we made Cameron the very hyperactive TV show host.

But, unfortunately our piece was not used, and we became one big massive group and nick came up with an idea of putting the performers which is us, in a horse shoe shape around the edge of the performance space. then after that group 1 and group 2 we came together and we used some scene from groups and added a few monologues from people. And that is how it stayed for the performance.

PERFORMANCE IN REHEARSAL.

during the rehearsal period everything was very consistent and repetitive. but because we merged with the other group we wouldn't always rehearse everything with them. but because i had a bit of time off due to family circumstances i was taken of the performance and i just worked the camera. so whatever happened in rehearsals when i wasn't there, happened.

MY POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION.

my positive contribution to the group was helping everyone with their work, and giving as many ideas as i could.

Theatre In Education - Secondary School Performance 5th - 8th March

Monday 5th March

Yesterday was really cool. we began the first part of blocking our scenes for the secondary school performance.
and we changed the whole thing into a horseshoe because before we were just performing our pieces one by one. but now we have joined with the other group, so the piece will be more powerful.

it starts off with a people leaving a voicemail message to the person the are trying to call and at the end of that part someone will say all message deleted "BEEEP". then one by one we set up eachothers scenes so like if charle's piece is first then me esther mahine rebecca and prince, we will have a short conversation describing the character what her home looks like and then the piece will satart and the other groups in the piece are doing the same, so it is very repetitive.

Storytelling Performance! EVALUATION

Today We Performed Our Story-Telling Piece To Gwyn Jones Primary School.

in my opinion everything went ok, i wouldnt exactly say it was amazing. the kids enjoyed it but some certain parts were not working for me.

costume for me and mrs hedgehog were a basic monkey onsie but we just tucked the head so it then looked like a headgehog, cameron also wore a onesie which was a bunny rabbit style so that worked and yvonne was dressed as an old room and she added this cough to add to her character which was really good.

there was a part when mrs hedgehog shouts and mr hedgehog and i changed something at the last minute and i should not of done that, we changed the line to going to pick some flowers for mrs hedgehog instead of making dinner. and i thought it would be a good idea to get some of the children up to help. and all they were doing was standing picking some fake flowers out of this make shift flower pot and then they just stood there not knowing what to do, because i had to do part of a scene with cameron.

then after that was the part with the race and that was a little messed up because were supposed to say a few lines but we all completely forgot, and just went straight into the race and some of the kids just looked at us and i could tell that they were thinking, "what the hell just happened". then it finished and we gave them some fake flowers as a thank you for watching our little story, and some of them started to fight over them, and that was a bad mistake.

but all together i was pleased with the outcome, and it was really enjoyable to work with Cameron, Yvonne and Simone.

Weekly Log Book - Storytelling Performance - 23rd - 25th Jan

Wednesday 23rd jan -

today in drama my group decided that we would change a few things, like we need to add a song and have more interaction with the audience. and yvonne didnt realy agree with this, all she thought her character shoud do is sit there, far away from the audience, not introduce herself to the kids as the narrator, and refused to the narrator as an old lady. so the rest of us we had enough because it was getting beyond a joke, so she stormed off. so that left me cameron and simone to work by oursleves.

today we didnt get much done, because of the problems we encountered.

Thursday 24th jan -

today in drama was much better, in my opinion. yesterday was all forgotten about and we moved on and made way with the changes that we wanted to make. so to begin with we began work on the narrator and at first yvonne was a little aprehensive, bu she reluctantly moved on. then it came o the end of lesson and i asked the group what song are we going to use. we had a little discussion about it and we al decided that we should the goodbye song from bear in the big blue house. but, it needed to be rewritten because, some of the lyrics were not relevant to our story so. i rewrote it. this is now our song:

(highlighted text is to be spoken)

Mr/H: Hey, this was really fun

MS/H:  We hope you liked it too

The Hare: Seems like we've just begun

Old Woman: When suddenly we're through

Together:  Goodbye, goodbye, good friends, goodbye

Together: Cause now it's time to go

Old woman: But, hey, I say, well, that's OK

MS/H: Cause we'll see you very soon, I know

The Hare: Very soon, I know

Together: Goodbye, goodbye, good friends, goodbye

Mr/H: And tomorrow, just like today

Together:
The hare, the hedgehogs and narrator too,
We'll be waiting for you to come and play
To come and play, to come and play

Together:  Bye now!

and we were told by nick, that the hedgehogs to do some cornish accents but because simone can't do one, we had to drop it because it would just be really silly, if one of us were doing it and the other weren't. its not like it would be silly it was silly enough which it was supposed to be its just felt like it was too out of contrast. just because were doing childrens theatre and we can be silly for the children but it still needs that sense of reality, because it is all about indulging the children into a make belief world.

Friday 25th Jan -

Today in drama we carried on with the rehearsels for our T I E project, and today my group for the hare and the hedgehog decided to try and work the song into the piece, and at first we were having a bit of trouble with it, because our ending was, supposed to be me and mrs hedgehog walk of and the hare runs away. but we had to change a lot of the dialogue, so now the ending is, the hedgehogs win and offer mr hare a peace-offering, the we all freeze then i unfreeze and say my line then simone then cameron then yvonne then we all stamp our feet on the ground and that is our cue to start the song. the we begin, and whilst are singing we go down the side of the kids and hand out flowers which we made, and then we say by, then we walk off leaving yvonne on stage and she does the moral of the story and and finishes and we also decided that the song is going to be done in our characters, so the hedgehogs will sound very silly the hare will sound posh, and the narrator will sound old and cough every now and then during the song.                                                          

Weekly Log Book 1 - Storytelling Performance - 14th Jan - 18th Jan

Monday 14th Jan -

We began with warm up with Nick, and we done the form and lying down on our back's trying to stretch our spine, and in the form we added a new step, so instead of going down and then standing up, we go down straighten our back then lift our head up and then we stand up into the last position.

After warm up we had double drama and we were in our groups and we just kept on going over our fairytale, blocking it and making sure that every movement had a purpose and also making sure that every line we said wasn't chewed and also checking to make sure that all the lines were sensible and had no bad language.

After drama we had gary's lesson and we were just doing our hot seating, and we had to take notes on eachother's hot seating and take notes. Only half of the class done their hot seating yesterday and the rest of us are going tomorrow!

Tuesday 15th Jan -

We began warm up with gary and, we talked about our next drama school mock audition and, we
also done some work on our Storytelling performance pieces. So, we were asked to join to our groups and to make our version of the story a silent piece, and at first it was hard work because we only had like 15 minutes to do it, so first thing was first. we had to block bit by bit in silence, then we performed it, and the idea of this warm up exercise was so that gary could guess what the story was before we told him what it was, and he got it dead on, so, whatever were doing, we are doing it right so we just gotta keep up with it.

then we had tutorial and we just done our online blog entry's, then went to lunch.

after lunch we had jackie's lesson and we learnt some lines from a play, and some vocal warm up exercises. then we had gary's lesson, and we done the hot seating well the final part and it was my turn. and i think i Flopped BIG TIME! he asked a question and he said, " have you ever done any shakespeare before", so i referred to the time when i played Friar Laurence in Romeo And Juliet, but for a second i forgot the name of the character i played, and accidently said Friar Tuck, a character from Robin Hood. a very silly Mistake.

Anyway after Gary Pointed out my mistake it was then end of the day.

Thursday 17th Jan -

today we began warm up with sean, and we learned a song called, Oh Freedom. ad i thought it was an ok song and i dont really know why we are learning this perticular song, to me seem's a little bit pointless, but nevermind. then we decided who are doing the one on one singing lessons with sean, im not one of them so yeah.

then we had double drama with nick and we had to finish blocking the parts and learn the script of by heart, so then in the second lesson of drama we were to perform it to the group. rehearsing it was pretty bad, we didnt get much done purely because Yvonne is refusing to be a team player, she keeps moaning that, she don't want to do it, she feel's silly and she also doesnt project we cant here her, so when we got her to project her voice, she made out that she lost her voice, so if she is refusing to be part of it then, i would like to say here and now that when we have finished i do not want to work with her again. i can't make a good performance if people dont give 100 percent she is only giving 10 percent.

then we performed our piece to the group and, it was alright, probably the worst one, from my point of view simply because of Yvonne. but, Nick made some changes to it, and changed mine and Simone's accent, into cornish. so yep it was alright.

This week altogether could have been better and because i werent well i wasnt in on wednesday and friday. and as for the yvonne issue, well all i can say is, you can lead a horse to water, but cant make it drink.

Weekly Log Book 1 - storytelling performance! 7th january - 11th january!

Monday the 7th jan - Today was the first day back at college and we had tutorial at 12:30 and there nick spoke to us about our next unit which was part of TIE or known as the storytelling performance. And he was talking about how we need to be careful with what we say and how we interact with the children whilst performing. after we spoke for a while we went to the welcome back assembly and then gary's assembly which was him speaking about the acting industry and other things which i cant really remember. then we finished early and went home

Tuesday the 8th jan - Today was the first full day of timetabled lessons and immediately i got straight back into the habbit and we just had tutorial and voice and garys lesson. so in tutorial nick helped us all set up an online blogger for us to do our log books on which i think is a lot more easier than doing on pen and paper. and we also spoke more on our next unit which kind of made me nervous because i didnt know how hard it was to perform in front of 6yr olds.
then we had voice lesson and we were just playing some gaes trying to get back in to using our diaphrams again. and jackie also said to the people that havn't done their part of emotional recall are doing it next week and im one of them, and i dont want to do it because there have been problems in my life that i dont even want to talk about and i dont like talking about them so im not going to do emotional recall. in my opinion, what is personal should stay personal. and in gary's lesson we were just doing some practice hot seating. which was ok. but im not one hundred percent sure on some of my answers so im gonna have to work on them.

Wednesday the 9th jan - Today was a short day in my opinion we didnt really do much. in the morning we had warm up with sean and we just done some improvising games which was fun. and then we had drama, and them lessons were covered by sean and gary because nick had to cover another lesson so this meant that we had to wait yet another day for us to be put into our group. and given our scripts. but in gary's covering lesson he showed us a video of the college he used to work at called pendleton college and he showed us there version of into the woods which is fairytales mixed into one. and in seans part he just showed us some clips of storytelling to a younger audience.

Thursday the 10th jan - Today was a particularly good day. the reson why is that today we got our scripts and we were finally paired into groups. before i go on to say who i am working with and fairytale im doing i must say that i am a little disapointed that i am not working with charles again but i am also happy because it is giving me the chance to work with new people. so in my new group is  - Myself, Simone, Cameron and Yvonne. and i am so excited to be working with this group because from the 10 minute plays i have been really wanting to work with theese three people and the fairytale we are doing is called the hare and the hedgehog. im playing mr hedgehog, simone is mrs. hedgehog cameron of course is playing the hare and yvonne is playing the narrator and we have just decided to make the narrator a squirrel called chutney. simply because we want to keep the children engaged all the time so we thought why not. lets make Yvonne a squirrel.

Friday the 11th jan - Today we only have one session of drama with nick so today we really just went over the script started to roughly block some scenes come up with set idea's and props and costume designing. so that was really it, but because we really had to change most of the script because it just wasn't suitable for children but im excited about the new changes and the blocking and all the props that i made this weekend and the others were finishing there costume ideas.


This video clip from a school in america gave us some idea's for the bit's that we needed to rewrite.