Lesson video

Hi everybody and welcome back to drama and lesson three in the evaluating stagecraft scheme of work.

If you're ready, let's look at what you'll need today.

In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or some paper to write on and you'll need a pen.

So when you're ready, we'll get started.

Okay, so I hope you've done the intro quiz because that will have helped you recap some of your knowledge.

We are going to recap some prior learning and look at some of the concepts we looked at in the previous lesson, we're then going to explore something called physical theatre today, and we're going to analyse a live theatre clip which explores physical theatre and the ensemble.

That will take us to the end of the lesson, and we'll do an exit quiz when we finish, just to check your learning from today.

All right then.

So our keywords today is, the first one is physical theatre which I've just mentioned.

And this is when actors use their bodies to convey something instead of using props or objects.

We're also going to look at something called choral movement which is when a group of actors move together in unison.

So their movement is as a chorus.

And we will also look at non-naturalistic theatre, which is theatre which does not mirror real life, and instead elements are suggested or represented.

So we'll expand on all of these things during this lesson.

All right then, so let's start by recapping our prior learning.

So in the last lesson, we explored these terms: juxtaposition, ensemble, contemporary and interpretation.

I'd like you just to pause here and see if you can remember what these terms mean.

So pause the video and write me the definition, please, of each of these terminology words.

All right then, here's some answers.

So if it's perfectly fine if your answers are phrased differently, just as long as the gist of the answer is the same.

So juxtaposition is when two things which contrast are put together, so they're viewed side by side, and often that's for a dramatic effect in literature or in theatre.

An ensemble is a group of actors, or sometimes musicians, working together for a collective goal.

When we talk about something being contemporary, that's relating to the modern day.

And then when we talk about an interpretation, that's a representation or view of something which is perhaps new or unique.

So we've got character interpretations, which is an actor's view of a character, and then we've got interpretations of plays or scenes or moments of action and they are perhaps a different representation or view of that piece of theatre.

All right then, so hopefully, we're going to use all of that terminology again today.

So bear those four terminology words in mind and we're going to introduce some new terminology now as well.

So as we said at the start, we're going to look at non-naturalistic or stylized theatre.

But to start with, let's understand what naturalism is.

So theatre is presented in different styles and genres.

A genre is a type of theatre and style is how something is presented.

So how that theatre is presented to the audience.

So one style of theatre is naturalism.

So this is a style developed in the late 19th century by a Russian theatre director and practitioner called Konstantin Stanislavski who you may have heard of.

In naturalism, everything on stage should mirror real life.

So what the audience experience is watching a slice of life on stage.

So the sets, the costumes, the lightings should look as real as possible.

Theatre which is non-naturalistic is often called stylized because more of a style has been applied to it so it doesn't look like real life.

But stylized is quite a general term and there's lots of different types of non-naturalistic theatre.

So let's have a look then at some features of stylized or non-naturalistic theatre.

We may see non-naturalistic lighting or sound effects.

For example, it's not naturalistic to have flashes of red lightings.

That doesn't happen to us in real life.

But that would be non-naturalistic lighting.

There might be minimal or symbolic or representative sets rather than a set fully representing real life.

We might see some use of symbolism.

For example, symbolism of colour.

A character maybe wearing red to show that they're angry, and that's a symbolic costume, not a costume that represents real life.

We might see use of physical theatre in a non-naturalistic piece, because it is non-naturalistic to express things physically instead of with all the correct props and objects.

We might see some gestural, non-naturalistic movement.

So gestural movement means it suggests what it is rather than enacting it exactly and in a naturalistic way.

We may see symbolic or minimal costume.

So minimal costume doesn't mean the actors aren't wearing many clothes, it means that they might all be wearing black or with the odd costumes signifier rather than being in full costume which represents real life.

In stylized or non-naturalistic theatre, we may see some choral singing or some choral movement.

So again, it's not real life for everyone to suddenly burst into song, that's why musicals tend to be non-naturalistic, but everyone singing or moving at the same time can have a really good dramatic effect.

And that would be called choral singing or movement.

Okay, so let's just check our understanding at this point with this statement.

There are only two styles of theatre, naturalism and non-naturalism.

Would you say that is true or false? It is false.

And the reason is, if you remember, we said there are lots of different theatre styles, but naturalism is one of them.

Work which is non-naturalistic is sometimes referred to by the term stylized drama or theatre.

Let's zoom in now then to physical theatre which we mentioned at the start.

So physical theatre uses the body to represent things on stage instead of using props.

It can also use the body to represent action or events instead of using naturalistic dialogue or actions.

So just to help us understand this, let's look at some examples of physical theatre.

So for example, we could have a group of actors creating a car journey on stage just by moving their bodies and maybe holding their hands like a steering wheel.

That is physical theatre because there's no car, there's no set.

Or actors using their bodies to create furniture in a room such as a bed and a wardrobe.

So the actors themselves being the pieces of furniture.

So anytime you've got actors being objects, that is physical theatre.

So before we move on to look at a specific clip of theatre today, let's check our understanding with this new terminology.

So I've given you four sentence starters here and I would like you to pause the video and finish each of these sentences with your understanding at the moment.

So take as long as you need, write down your answers whilst you pause the video, and then when you're ready, we'll resume and we'll look at what answers you could've come up with.

Okay, so let's check your understanding with these answers.

Don't forget, these answers will be in your own words and it is absolutely fine if you've not written it or phrased it in the same way as I have here.

But here is a suggestion of what you might've written down.

So naturalism means a style of theatre which mirrors real life.

Some features are stylized theatre, you could have had any from this list, physical theatre, symbolism, minimal set or costume, non naturalistic lighting or sound, or you could have mentioned gestural movements or symbolic costume, or you could have said choral singing or movement.

So anything that we've covered in that list.

Physical theatre is a style of theatre where the body is used to represent objects or actions.

And an example of physical theatre, you obviously could have come up with your own idea here, which would be fantastic, but for example, I said earlier, the example of the actors creating a car using bodies, but if you've got your own example of physical theatre, that would be fantastic.

All right, great.

So let's start to look at our extract from today.

So we're going to watch an extract from the National Theatre Production of "Jane Eyre".

So "Jane Eyre" is a novel written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847.

You may have read it.

I'd like you to just to summarise the plot here by reading this with me.

So Jane is an orphan who is treated cruelly by her aunt after her parents and her kind uncle have died.

She's then sent away to school to the Lowood Institution.

So the conditions at Lowood are very harsh.

The children there experience beatings, poor food and thin clothing.

They're punished and they're humiliated if they don't live up to strict standards.

The disease typhus breaks out at the school, and that happens in the story, due to the poor conditions.

Later in the novel, Jane grows up, she becomes a teacher at Lowood and then she becomes a governess and that changes her life completely.

The novel follows Jane right through into adulthood, but we're going to focus today on the scene from the play which is produced by the National Theatre where Jane arrives at the Lowood Institution.

So that's the context we need to know for the extract we're going to look at today.

All right then.

So here is the clip we are going to look at from the production of "Jane Eyre".

So this is directed by Sally Cookson, and it's the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic Production from 2015.

We're going to watch the clip twice.

The first time round, I don't want you to write anything, I just want you to enjoy watching the clip and to take it all in.

Give it your full attention.

The second time, can you make some notes on the use of the physical theatre and choral movement? So what do you see that the actors are doing in chorus, so that means in unison, and using their physical theatre skills? Try and write that down as much as you can, and we'll watch the clip twice in total.

Lowood Institution for the education and edification of poor, orphaned, and abandoned girls.

Blood of my saviour, bathe me in thy tide, wash me in the waters gushing from thy side.

Come you children, let me teach you the fear of God.

Keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from speaking lies.

Okay, so that's the first watch at the clip.

We're going to play it again, and this time, I want you to have your pens ready to make some notes.

So what we're looking at specifically is the use of physical theatre and choral movement.

So try to write down a description of what you can see happening on the stage.

Lowood Institution for the education and edification of poor, orphaned, and abandoned girls.

Blood of my saviour, bathe me in thy tide, wash me in the waters gushing from thy side.

Come you children, let me teach you the fear of God.

Keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from speaking lies.

Okay.

So we've watched that twice now and I hope you've managed to get some notes down.

So let's have a look at what we can do with those notes.

Alright then, so let's expand on the notes you might've made by looking at these reflection questions.

So I've got three questions for you here.

Is the production naturalistic or stylized? What the use of physical theatre represent? And what effect did the choral movement create? So the bottom two questions there are analytical questions.

This is pushing your thinking, moving you on from your description to analysing why those choices were made and what they may have represented.

So pause here while you answer these three questions and then we'll review your answers.

Alright then, so is the production naturalistic or stylized? The answer is it is a stylized production because it features physical theatre and choral movement.

What did the use of physical theatre represent? Well, in my opinion, the physical theatre shows the students washing in cold water and later coughing 'cause that was representing that illness and the poor conditions that were experiencing at Lowood.

And then thinking about what effect did that choral movement create.

So the choral movement created the effect that all the children were treated cruelly, badly at Lowood and had to go through these punishing routines every day.

So the idea of seeing everybody move in unison, doing the same movement creates an idea of routine and repetition.

And I thought that was doing really, really effectively in the clip.

So check your answers to see if you've got something similar here.

If you want to expand on your answers by adding any of these notes, then just pause the video until you're ready to continue.

All right, so we're going to explore the use of juxtaposition now in the clip, because this is one of our terminology words for today.

As a reminder, juxtaposition is when things which contrast or don't fit together are put side by side to create a dramatic effect.

So in this clip, we see some really interesting use of juxtaposition.

The performer, who you can see at the very start singing, she's singing the Kyrie Eleison, which translates as Lord have Mercy, and this is an invocation or a chant used in church, if that's something that you may be familiar with.

So mercy means compassion or forgiveness.

And so I just want you to think about that and bear that in mind in relation to what else is going on in the clip.

Additionally, we see the man at the back of the stage, and that's Mr. Brocklehurst who is the principal of Lowood.

So he narrates and he introduces the institution as being a place for edification.

So edification means moral or intellectual improvement.

And so I'd like you to think about that phrase and whether you think the clip is showing evidence of edification.

And he also, he preaches, doesn't he, to the audience and he uses some religious language.

So he's saying that he's going to show the children how to avoid evil and he's inviting the children to follow God.

So bearing all of that in mind, the question I've got for you is here in the green box.

Thinking about what we see and hear in a clip, how does the choral movement of the actors contrast with the words that we hear and how does that create juxtaposition? So I've put a pause point here because I'd like you to pause and think about the answer to this question using the information you can see on the screen.

So pause until you have come up with an answer to this question, thinking about what we're posing here, and then when you're ready, we'll continue and talk about it further.

Great, so here are some ideas you may have had in relation to this question.

So what I really perceived was that, what we see from the students' movements, the students at Lowood Institution in the video, there's no mercy or compassion shown to them because they're clearly suffering.

They're cold, they're coughing, they're ill, and that's represented through that choral movement.

So for me, that creates juxtaposition, because we have the Kyrie Eleison being sung, talking about Lord have mercy, but no mercy being shown for these children.

We've then got Mr. Brocklehurst preaching, and he actually preaches about bathing and washing, but the children are washing in cold water and they're dirty and they're ill.

So they are living in poor conditions where they're perhaps not being washed in God's tide.

And for me, that creates juxtaposition because Mr. Brocklehurst is not practising what he preaches, which is one way of looking at the juxtaposition in the clip.

So there are my responses.

You may have had something similar, you may have had something different.

If you want to pause here and add to your responses, that's fine.

And then let's look at the extract in further depth.

Great.

So to expand our depth, we're going to push our thinking and that's going to invite us now to write a response.

So what I've phrased here is an exam style question.

So the question says, discuss a production you have seen where ensemble acting was used successfully to create a dramatic effect.

Describe the use of the ensemble acting and analyse and evaluate why this was successful.

So the keywords I pulled out from the question are the keywords we've been using throughout this unit, and they are, describe, analyse and evaluate.

So we are going to describe the use of skills, analyse why those choices were made, and we are going to evaluate in response to the success of the scene overall and your response to it.

So if you want to pause here to write down the question, then that would be a good idea.

If you want to highlight, if you've got highlighter, the keywords which are in the question, then that might be a good idea too.

So here I've given you some example paragraphs to support your writing for today.

So what I've phrased on the screen is a simple paragraph and a more developed paragraph.

So you can see immediately there's a big difference here.

The simple paragraph is very short.

The developed paragraph is much more expanded upon, isn't it? So in the simple paragraph, it says, a performer sang Kyrie Eleison and this contrasted with the actors because they were coughing, creating an effective moments.

So my question is, does that work? Are you happy with that paragraph? For me, it doesn't really explain the connection between the song and the movements or the coughing.

So it doesn't explain why Kyrie Eleison and the coughing work together.

So we need to develop that, don't we? So a developed paragraph would maybe look like this.

In the extract from "Jane Eyre", a performer sang Kyrie Eleison, which is a religious song used in church services, translating as Lord have mercy.

This message contrasted with the actors' choral movements because they were using unison movements to show coughing, representing that they were ill and suffering, creating an effective moment because no mercy was shown to the children at Lowood, giving a sense of irony to the song lyrics.

So that is much more expanded.

It gives a lot more detail, doesn't it? First of all, we've got the name of the production, we've got an explanation of what the Kyrie Eleison is, so that makes sense, then we've got a description of what the actors were doing and we've got a clear explanation of how that contrasts to the song Kyrie Eleison.

So that's a much better paragraph.

So I would really encourage you to expand on the detail and always give examples and explanations in your writing.

All right, so it is your turn now.

So you're going to now write your response to this question.

The question is here again for you in bold.

I'd like you to try and write about different elements of the scene, so what you've just seen in the example paragraph.

So you can write about the children's movements, but you can write about Mr. Brocklehurst as well and the contrast between what he's saying and the movements of the actors.

And you can really expand on my starting paragraph to add a lot more detail into this.

So this is your big task for today.

Take a look as long as you need here, making sure that you are describing, analysing and evaluating, and then when you finish writing, just resume the video and we're going to reflect on your work.

Great, so what I'd like to do is to review your learning.

So it's always a great idea when you've completed a task to look back at it and reflect on how that went and if there's anything that you would improve.

So I've phrased a few questions for you here.

I would like you to work your way through this checklist, to read back through your work and assess the success of your own writing.

So we're talking about evaluating theatre, we're also good to now evaluate your writing.

So pause here, work your way through every question, answer every question, and perhaps annotate on your own piece of work, where you've done these things and where perhaps you could have expanded or improved.

And your final task based on your reflection that you've just done and your answers to that checklist, I'd like you to give yourself today a tick and a target.

So what have you done well? What were the positives and the strengths of your piece of work? And what could you perhaps do better next time? Was there anything missing or could you have expanded further on something? So just reflect and pause here to give yourself a tick and a target for this lesson, and when you're done, we'll just resume.

Well done, so a great lesson looking at quite a complex piece of theatre.

So we've started to really, really develop the vocabulary and terminology now because we're not just describing and analysing simple acting, we're looking at juxtaposition, contrast, irony, contemporary interpretations and physical theatre.

So hopefully, you will feel like you've learned a lot of new language and used it effectively today.

So well done, and I'll see you next time.