In today`s class I was in the group with Robin, Sarah, and Saif. We continued our thought process on corruption and were assigned to create a short 1-2 minute play showing a cover-up, using the basic knowledge we have about corruption and using drama techniques to enhance our intention and impact of our short play.
We performed to two other groups who gave us very helpful feedback since we are able to really improve our performance through this. What we did well in this play is our use of levels since we had different people on the stage at the same time who were all positioned differently (at different levels) especially in the scene in court since we have the judge who is sitting on a higher box than the witness and defendant and we had the attorney who was just standing. Our use of levels created a more interesting play since it also enhanced our status at some parts and gave the audience more things to look at. We also paid attention to our angles and how our bodies were positioned in comparison to each other, we never masked each other and everybody in the group faced the audience throughout the performance, which makes it easier for the audience to see what is going on. Another thing we did well in this performance was project our voices so that the whole audience could clearly hear us at all times during the play and showing status at some parts because it was very convincing, when the witness is testifying, the defendant and witness exchange a glance for about three seconds, and then the witness confirms not seeing the defendant killing the person. This is good status because it shows that there is something going on and that the witness and defendant somehow have some control (higher status) over the judge even though he has the highest status (through the little deal the witness and defendant make)(the cover up). These were the things we did well, but we also need to improve on a few things to make our play better. Our play was not very clear, sometimes it confused people about what was happening and in which order it was happening. This was primarily in the flashback parts because we started with a flashback and ended with a flashback, leaving one current scene in the middle. This was confusing for the audience because there was no clarity on what events were in which order, so we will have to make sure to make it more clear. Another thing our group needs to improve on is the court scene, to make the judge seem more powerful through placing him higher than the other actors to make sure that his body movements (gestures) make him seem higher status. The last main point the audience gave us when giving us feedback on our play was that we need to make sure that the focus is not taken away when the person is being killed because the person being killed was jumping around as part of his character, which took away the focus of the killer. We will need to make sure that the focus is on the killer but still have the killed person have a strong character in that scene.
This class and this little play really opened up my mind on different reasons for corruption, we further explored the reason for becoming corrupt in the first place (killing the person because the victim slept with the killers husband) and then someone else becoming corrupt when it was essentially just the killer who was intended to become corrupt, which also made me realize a bit better about how easy it is to become corrupt. Our intention of this play was to show the audience the killer who became corrupt (and how he became corrupt) and the witness who became corrupt as well because of the killers actions and witness` bribe taking and how the corruption of both of them was covered up when the case was taken to court. Our intention was strengthened through the use of drama techniques, especially our flashback (which we do need to make more clear) because it is more interesting and does not only show the cover-up, but also the result of the cover up (the court scene) and our freeze frame when the flashback started since it showed the audience an important part of the bribe (when the witness discovers the body, which was the main cause for the bribe happening, leading to corruption). Our group also worked together really well since we had our idea for the play pretty quick and were able to rehearse multiple times before performing, our whole group showed knowledge on the subject corruption and we were able to put that knowledge into a play, which worked well since it showed corruption and showed a clear cover up of people being corrupt.
For next performance, our group needs to:
We performed to two other groups who gave us very helpful feedback since we are able to really improve our performance through this. What we did well in this play is our use of levels since we had different people on the stage at the same time who were all positioned differently (at different levels) especially in the scene in court since we have the judge who is sitting on a higher box than the witness and defendant and we had the attorney who was just standing. Our use of levels created a more interesting play since it also enhanced our status at some parts and gave the audience more things to look at. We also paid attention to our angles and how our bodies were positioned in comparison to each other, we never masked each other and everybody in the group faced the audience throughout the performance, which makes it easier for the audience to see what is going on. Another thing we did well in this performance was project our voices so that the whole audience could clearly hear us at all times during the play and showing status at some parts because it was very convincing, when the witness is testifying, the defendant and witness exchange a glance for about three seconds, and then the witness confirms not seeing the defendant killing the person. This is good status because it shows that there is something going on and that the witness and defendant somehow have some control (higher status) over the judge even though he has the highest status (through the little deal the witness and defendant make)(the cover up). These were the things we did well, but we also need to improve on a few things to make our play better. Our play was not very clear, sometimes it confused people about what was happening and in which order it was happening. This was primarily in the flashback parts because we started with a flashback and ended with a flashback, leaving one current scene in the middle. This was confusing for the audience because there was no clarity on what events were in which order, so we will have to make sure to make it more clear. Another thing our group needs to improve on is the court scene, to make the judge seem more powerful through placing him higher than the other actors to make sure that his body movements (gestures) make him seem higher status. The last main point the audience gave us when giving us feedback on our play was that we need to make sure that the focus is not taken away when the person is being killed because the person being killed was jumping around as part of his character, which took away the focus of the killer. We will need to make sure that the focus is on the killer but still have the killed person have a strong character in that scene.
This class and this little play really opened up my mind on different reasons for corruption, we further explored the reason for becoming corrupt in the first place (killing the person because the victim slept with the killers husband) and then someone else becoming corrupt when it was essentially just the killer who was intended to become corrupt, which also made me realize a bit better about how easy it is to become corrupt. Our intention of this play was to show the audience the killer who became corrupt (and how he became corrupt) and the witness who became corrupt as well because of the killers actions and witness` bribe taking and how the corruption of both of them was covered up when the case was taken to court. Our intention was strengthened through the use of drama techniques, especially our flashback (which we do need to make more clear) because it is more interesting and does not only show the cover-up, but also the result of the cover up (the court scene) and our freeze frame when the flashback started since it showed the audience an important part of the bribe (when the witness discovers the body, which was the main cause for the bribe happening, leading to corruption). Our group also worked together really well since we had our idea for the play pretty quick and were able to rehearse multiple times before performing, our whole group showed knowledge on the subject corruption and we were able to put that knowledge into a play, which worked well since it showed corruption and showed a clear cover up of people being corrupt.
For next performance, our group needs to:
- make the whole play more clear through using the drama techniques more effectively (maybe just use one flashback instead of two)
- Make sure to show status not only through character (attitude) but also through body positioning and movement (especially by putting the judge up higher than anyone else in court)
- Making sure that the focus is on the important part of the play and not on something else (in particular the killing part, making sure that the focus is on the killer and not on the victim)
- I would like our group to each strengthen their character a bit more, so that the audience immediately knows what the character is like and what kind of attitude he/she has towards corruption.
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