"People Snogging In Public Places" by Jack Thorne
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/people_snogging_in_public_places.pdf
"People Snogging" is a radio play that was first broadcasted in 2009.
This play is a bold and funny coming-of-age story that follows a young boy called James Mathews who's disabled uncle Patrick has moved in with his family. This play confronts the themes of cheating, bullying and the mental toll of a disability on family life. The play continually jumps through time of James' and his family's life and through this time jumping the plot and characters are slowly revealed.
I play the character Angela Matthews. She is the second of four children to Phyllis, sister to Uncle Patrick, wife to Tim and mother to James and Alice. During the play Angela is faced with main difficult choices and experience such as at the beginning of the play we learn that he husband Tim as cheated on her but she brushes that of. She was also knocked unconscious by her brother Patrick who was trying to hit Phyllis instead and she now has to take care of her brother and her son who may also have some kind of disability as well.
Personally I believe that When Angela was younger she was bold, clever, determined and had a life planned ready for herself. But when her mother died she was left to look after her brother Patrick and that completely stopped all of her dreams. Her life was put on hold and she began to lose herself within her family. In a scale of hierarchy I believe that Angela would probably be at the bottom to the whole family as she is suppressed by the disabilities that have stopped her life plans and her children have a higher priority over what she wants.
I think the most challenging part for me about playing this character is the time jumping. She is the only character that we see the whole timeline of her life from child to teenager to adult and I think this makes it a challenge to be able to show a lifetime span within a hour or so and to make it believable as well. In order to over come this challenge I have decided to change my voice to suit her age. As this is a radio performance I will not be able to show a change of age through her clothing so I have changed the pitch of her voice to show an ageing to her character. When she is her younger self at 13 I tried to used a high pitch voice and Angela's voice wouldn't have dropped yet and in the scene she is meant to be excited so I think it works quite well. Then when she is 17 I have used a middle range but I have also been more relaxed in the way I deliver the lines and she is complaining to her mother and so she isn't overly formal anyway. And finally for her present self I have tries to use a lower pitch in my voice to show age but also to she how the stress of life has got to her. I dialogue is also more formal I feel then when she was 13 and 17 so I think this also helps to age her character.
I also found it easier with this character in some scene to move my arms and act our the scenes in the space rather then just say the lines into the microphone. There is a scene near the end of the play where Angela and Tim have an argument about having Patrick stay with them. When doing this scene it seem that me and Pau both really act out the scene as if we were directing it to each other even though we are standing next to each other facing the same way. I think helped us both get into character better and it allowed us both to really feel the anger come through in our performance.
Saturday 25 February 2017
Example of audio ensemble - Cock
What is a Radio Play
A radio play is some kind of story, acts, scenes or even full length musicals that are broadcasted on radio. these types of plays rely completely on the voice of the actors or sound effects to help portray the play. there are no visual aspects to the play and so a variety of voice, music and sound effects help create the image of the play. Most of these play are recorded in a studio however there has been some that record live from a theatre so that the listener can here the audience reaction to the play.
Cock - Radio Play
https://soundcloud.com/delilahdevinkaufman/bbc-radio-3-presents-mike
Cock is a play written by Mike Bartlett that was released as a audio production on BBC Radio 3. It is a play based around a man called john who decides to take a break from his longtime male partner when he accidentally meets the girl of his dreams. This version of the play started Ben Whishaw, Andrew Scott and Katherine Parkinson.
With this production they have clearly indicated the passing of time through a simple bleep sound effect. The noise initially starts of loud the it sort of decays within a second or two. It is played in between the end of one time and the beginning of a new time. I think this noise is very helpful to establish a scenes of time passing as it so regular like a chime on a clock. It also is the only sound effect that is heard in the first 5 scenes which I think is effective as the audience become a fly on the wall because they can only hear the two characters voices. This play also uses no sound as a way of creating an atmosphere. Between the actors dialogue there is long silences to help indicate to the audience that the actors are thinking. It makes there acting more realistic and again it reinforces the idea that the audience are a fly on the wall as there is awkward silences.
This play does included quite a lot of bad language that would not be suitable for young children. Also it tackles some very difficult issues such as someones sexuality and sex itself. I feel that this play may be suitable to older teens as a way of education. However the play is not overly energetic so it probably would most likely be listened to by adults as it would not old the attention of teens as well as adults. I therefore feel that this programme would be better of played on a station like BBC Radio 3 or 4 as these are channels that mainly adults listen to. I also feel that because of the context and language this play uses that it would be better played at night when children are most like to be asleep.
I believe that the characters in this play are very naturalistic as they do take long pauses to emphasis the use of thought and they do overlap over other peoples dialogue like normal people do in real life. I also feel that the relationships between the characters are very believable as they take the mick out of each other and they are very relaxed in the topics that they talk about which shows a sense of comfortableness around each other. I think this is mainly due to the fact that this production was originally a play so the actors had already been working with the characters and actors for a long time so they were comfortable with the material. But also they have brought that relationship very clearly to the audio setting as well.
I would say that this play is a drama as it does tackle very controversial and challenging themes through out the play. However there is also funny qualities to the play through the dialogue. For example when we find out that John has been dating a woman and he gets confused he says "I need some straightening out" him ex gay partner then says "You've already done that". This comedy is witty and sort of lightens up the play to make the themes seem less threatening.
A radio play is some kind of story, acts, scenes or even full length musicals that are broadcasted on radio. these types of plays rely completely on the voice of the actors or sound effects to help portray the play. there are no visual aspects to the play and so a variety of voice, music and sound effects help create the image of the play. Most of these play are recorded in a studio however there has been some that record live from a theatre so that the listener can here the audience reaction to the play.
Cock - Radio Play
https://soundcloud.com/delilahdevinkaufman/bbc-radio-3-presents-mike
Cock is a play written by Mike Bartlett that was released as a audio production on BBC Radio 3. It is a play based around a man called john who decides to take a break from his longtime male partner when he accidentally meets the girl of his dreams. This version of the play started Ben Whishaw, Andrew Scott and Katherine Parkinson.
With this production they have clearly indicated the passing of time through a simple bleep sound effect. The noise initially starts of loud the it sort of decays within a second or two. It is played in between the end of one time and the beginning of a new time. I think this noise is very helpful to establish a scenes of time passing as it so regular like a chime on a clock. It also is the only sound effect that is heard in the first 5 scenes which I think is effective as the audience become a fly on the wall because they can only hear the two characters voices. This play also uses no sound as a way of creating an atmosphere. Between the actors dialogue there is long silences to help indicate to the audience that the actors are thinking. It makes there acting more realistic and again it reinforces the idea that the audience are a fly on the wall as there is awkward silences.
This play does included quite a lot of bad language that would not be suitable for young children. Also it tackles some very difficult issues such as someones sexuality and sex itself. I feel that this play may be suitable to older teens as a way of education. However the play is not overly energetic so it probably would most likely be listened to by adults as it would not old the attention of teens as well as adults. I therefore feel that this programme would be better of played on a station like BBC Radio 3 or 4 as these are channels that mainly adults listen to. I also feel that because of the context and language this play uses that it would be better played at night when children are most like to be asleep.
I believe that the characters in this play are very naturalistic as they do take long pauses to emphasis the use of thought and they do overlap over other peoples dialogue like normal people do in real life. I also feel that the relationships between the characters are very believable as they take the mick out of each other and they are very relaxed in the topics that they talk about which shows a sense of comfortableness around each other. I think this is mainly due to the fact that this production was originally a play so the actors had already been working with the characters and actors for a long time so they were comfortable with the material. But also they have brought that relationship very clearly to the audio setting as well.
I would say that this play is a drama as it does tackle very controversial and challenging themes through out the play. However there is also funny qualities to the play through the dialogue. For example when we find out that John has been dating a woman and he gets confused he says "I need some straightening out" him ex gay partner then says "You've already done that". This comedy is witty and sort of lightens up the play to make the themes seem less threatening.
Wednesday 22 February 2017
Techniques for Audio Performances
The Body:
When performing any audio piece it is important that your body is...
. Loose, if the body is loose there is no restriction for your voice and the actor will be relaxed behind the microphone
. Have your body weight on the balls of your feet, that way your weight pulls you closer to the microphone and makes you voice more direct
. Have your legs spread shoulder width apart, this means you are grounded and the voice is supported by the body
. Released your arms, this means your are able if you want to use gestures to help you get your text across to the microphone.
The Microphone:
It is also important to consider the microphone in comparison to the body...
. Stand sideways to the microphone, this will help the actor to avoid popping. (Popping is when letters like P re overly emphasised on the mic and you can distinctively here a pop noise)
. Don't stand to close to the microphone as your voice will sound to loud for the audience. It is best to stand about a hand size away from the mic.
. Breathe in threw your nose and mouth, this will help depress the noise of your breathing in the recording
Extra noises:
With in you audio performance you may have extra sounds like...
. Sound effects, these are often used to help indicate where the actors are set or what time era. It can also help describe the actors actions and what is happening around the actors. For example there could a noise of a kettle boiling so we know it is probably set in a kitchen or there is the sound of a gun so we know someone has probably been shot.
. White noise, this is used just so that there is no silence in the audio piece. It is helpful to put as a background noise whilst someone else is talking.
. Music, this is used to indicate the passing of time, a time era in which the piece is set or even to set the mood of the scene or play.
When performing any audio piece it is important that your body is...
. Loose, if the body is loose there is no restriction for your voice and the actor will be relaxed behind the microphone
. Have your body weight on the balls of your feet, that way your weight pulls you closer to the microphone and makes you voice more direct
. Have your legs spread shoulder width apart, this means you are grounded and the voice is supported by the body
. Released your arms, this means your are able if you want to use gestures to help you get your text across to the microphone.
The Microphone:
It is also important to consider the microphone in comparison to the body...
. Stand sideways to the microphone, this will help the actor to avoid popping. (Popping is when letters like P re overly emphasised on the mic and you can distinctively here a pop noise)
. Don't stand to close to the microphone as your voice will sound to loud for the audience. It is best to stand about a hand size away from the mic.
. Breathe in threw your nose and mouth, this will help depress the noise of your breathing in the recording
Extra noises:
With in you audio performance you may have extra sounds like...
. Sound effects, these are often used to help indicate where the actors are set or what time era. It can also help describe the actors actions and what is happening around the actors. For example there could a noise of a kettle boiling so we know it is probably set in a kitchen or there is the sound of a gun so we know someone has probably been shot.
. White noise, this is used just so that there is no silence in the audio piece. It is helpful to put as a background noise whilst someone else is talking.
. Music, this is used to indicate the passing of time, a time era in which the piece is set or even to set the mood of the scene or play.
Saturday 11 February 2017
The Rover - Costume rehearsal
For my character Florinda I wore a long black skirt that covered my ankles as that was seen as indecent to show off ankles in the restoration period. I also wore a front lace up bodice that had a front corset, puffy sleeves with sliver lace on the shoulders and it had very large hips that fell down to my shins. I think doing rehearsals in this costume was incredible helpful for getting into character. The corset meant that I was naturally sitting and standing up right were as when I was releasing in normal clothes I would have a tendency to slouch in my scene. The large hips also help me know where to place my other hand. My right hand would usually hold my fan but I never knew what to do with my spare arm so having the hips meant to could rest my arm on the hips. There was also some body restriction due to the costume as the corset made it harder to breathe through so I had to be very calm on stage and remember to take long deep breaths in order to feel comfortable on stage. It also meant that the fan became very useful in keeping me cool with in the costume as well as heightening the character.
The Rover - Modernisation
Whilst looking at the text and play itself, we decided to try a modernisation of the text. It meant that we took every single line and turn the language into contemporary language. This also meant the we had to change certain setting. For instance we originally sit up right on two wooden chairs however in the modernisation we were sitting slouched on a sofa. The directions we the same but we modernised the environment we were in.
When it came to changing the language, it defiantly helped that we knew our lines off by heart and that we understood what the lines were saying. As if we didn't we would never have been able to modernise the text and show the right emotion in the text. For instance my first line in the original text is
"What an impertinent thing is a young girl bred in a nunnery. How full of question. Prithee no more Helena. I have told thee more then thou understand'st already."
And due to the fact I knew what florinda was saying I was able to change it to...
"Helena, you are going to become a nun. So stop asking me questions about sex because there is no point in me telling you"
True, this is not an exact translation of what Florinda originally says but it is the gist of the line with the subtext behind Florinda and her sister's conversation. I think that this exercise was extremely helpful as it proved that we understood the context and subtext of the scene. It also shows how we understand the emotions and meaning of our scene. Mainly it meant that we were able to relate to the characters as we put them in a modern scenario.
When it came to changing the language, it defiantly helped that we knew our lines off by heart and that we understood what the lines were saying. As if we didn't we would never have been able to modernise the text and show the right emotion in the text. For instance my first line in the original text is
"What an impertinent thing is a young girl bred in a nunnery. How full of question. Prithee no more Helena. I have told thee more then thou understand'st already."
And due to the fact I knew what florinda was saying I was able to change it to...
"Helena, you are going to become a nun. So stop asking me questions about sex because there is no point in me telling you"
True, this is not an exact translation of what Florinda originally says but it is the gist of the line with the subtext behind Florinda and her sister's conversation. I think that this exercise was extremely helpful as it proved that we understood the context and subtext of the scene. It also shows how we understand the emotions and meaning of our scene. Mainly it meant that we were able to relate to the characters as we put them in a modern scenario.
First practice of Children's Story
In our lesson today we started to have a first look at performing an extract of our solo performances into a microphone. I decided to work on my children's story Disney's Atlantis - The Lost Empire simply because I think I will have to work on this piece as it requires extra character voices.
I started of by running the first page of the book so that I would become familiar with the text and I could start experimenting with different voices. Because all of the voices in the extract were men and I am clearly not a man, I had to try and find something that would resemble to voice of a young enthusiastic man. I think the voice sounded very husky as I think if I was to make him sound well spoken I would either make him sound quite feminine or it would become too old for the character. With his lines I would also added a lot of inflection to certain words like "Atlantis" as this is a keyword in the story that the children would need to be able to hear.
Then we got to perform the extracts into the microphone in front of everyone so that we could get some constructive criticism. We started talking about were the best place would be for the actor to stand in front of the microphone so that their voice would be picked up and not muffle into the microphone. For my piece I decided to stand a hand distance away from the mic as I thought I would be loud enough to be picked up by the mic and I would not hear my popping onto the mic. I then had to adjust the microphone to the perfect height and also find a good position in which to hold my book so that I could read from it whilst talking into the microphone.
Once I had performed the piece, the class said I had the right narration inflection in my voice that meant keywords were clearly notice and it was slow enough so that people were able to understand what was going on. I did get some constructive criticism that said my man's voice could have been deeper in tone to make him sound more like a man however the husky quality seemed to work for the character.
We then had a few minuets to practice and improve upon the criticisms we were given and then we would re-perform the extracts again one last time with the new improvements. We I added the deeper tone to the voice I defiantly heard the difference to the character and I believe it did sound more like a man. However I believe that I must keep the inflection in the character's dialogue, otherwise the character starts to sound a lot older then it should be.
I started of by running the first page of the book so that I would become familiar with the text and I could start experimenting with different voices. Because all of the voices in the extract were men and I am clearly not a man, I had to try and find something that would resemble to voice of a young enthusiastic man. I think the voice sounded very husky as I think if I was to make him sound well spoken I would either make him sound quite feminine or it would become too old for the character. With his lines I would also added a lot of inflection to certain words like "Atlantis" as this is a keyword in the story that the children would need to be able to hear.
Then we got to perform the extracts into the microphone in front of everyone so that we could get some constructive criticism. We started talking about were the best place would be for the actor to stand in front of the microphone so that their voice would be picked up and not muffle into the microphone. For my piece I decided to stand a hand distance away from the mic as I thought I would be loud enough to be picked up by the mic and I would not hear my popping onto the mic. I then had to adjust the microphone to the perfect height and also find a good position in which to hold my book so that I could read from it whilst talking into the microphone.
Once I had performed the piece, the class said I had the right narration inflection in my voice that meant keywords were clearly notice and it was slow enough so that people were able to understand what was going on. I did get some constructive criticism that said my man's voice could have been deeper in tone to make him sound more like a man however the husky quality seemed to work for the character.
We then had a few minuets to practice and improve upon the criticisms we were given and then we would re-perform the extracts again one last time with the new improvements. We I added the deeper tone to the voice I defiantly heard the difference to the character and I believe it did sound more like a man. However I believe that I must keep the inflection in the character's dialogue, otherwise the character starts to sound a lot older then it should be.
Wednesday 1 February 2017
The Rover - Character Profile
Florinda:
Florinda is the older sister to Helena and the younger sister to Don Pedro. They live in Naples and are a rich Italian family. In the beginning of the play their father has died and in his will he wishes for Florinda to marry a rich Indian lord called Don Vincentio. However her brother, Don Pedro wants Florinda to marry his best Don Antonio. But Florinda has madly fallen in love with a British colonel who saved her from being raped in an attack. His name is Belville and at the Carnival him and Florinda plan to run away.
Her sister Helena is told that she is to become a nun so she also plans to go to the carnival so that she can have her way with men as a celebration of her freedom. Because Florinda is the older sister she is expected to marry for wealth however Helena is seen as a burden and trouble maker and would be better of in a nunnery where she can't destroy the reputation of their family.
Unlike her sister, Florinda is very much a typical woman of the restoration period. She is subservient to men and she often is seen as an object to be sold onward. However her sister very much defies all conventions as she is very head strong and she is not afraid to stand up to the men. Due to the close relationship between Florinda and Helena, Florinda often has spurts where she defies her brother as her sisters has a big influence on her however she then remembers that she is the lesser to her brother.
Since the play, the Rover, is written by Apha Behn, who was the first female playwright, the women and men's roles are almost reversed as the females are very boisterous compared to the men who are more seductive and sensitive. I therefore think that both Florinda and Helena are very amazing characters for the modern mannerisms compared to the society they live in.
Women on the Stage:
It was until Charles II was in power in 1660's that women were finally allowed to start acting on stage. Originally all of the female parts in plays had been performed by men. These men went to special acting schools in which they were stripped of all their masculinity and instead they were turned into women. They would learn special gestures that were viewed as feminine and they were taught to speak in a feminine pitch and tonality. However when the women actresses were allowed on the stage, the men actors who had forever been taught to be women, had no jobs as they could perform as woman and they no longer had the ability to present as men.
When the news actresses started, playwrights started to write their play where women were seen as sexual objects rather then equals to the men. This is because the females aroused the attentions of audiences in more ways then just the ability of being able to act. Many female actresses were also prostitutes so an audience member could watch their performance and afterwards have their way with them after wards.
One of the most famous of these actresses was Neil Gwyn. She was originally an orange girl who would sell oranges during the plays and she would send messages between audience members. She started her acting career when she was 13/14.years old and she was considered to be a very beautiful actress to watch. There was even rumours that she was King Charles II's mistress.
Some other famous actresses in the Restoration Period were:
. Anne Bracegirdle
. Elizabeth Barry
. Margaret Hughes ( she was the first ever female actress)
Florinda is the older sister to Helena and the younger sister to Don Pedro. They live in Naples and are a rich Italian family. In the beginning of the play their father has died and in his will he wishes for Florinda to marry a rich Indian lord called Don Vincentio. However her brother, Don Pedro wants Florinda to marry his best Don Antonio. But Florinda has madly fallen in love with a British colonel who saved her from being raped in an attack. His name is Belville and at the Carnival him and Florinda plan to run away.
Her sister Helena is told that she is to become a nun so she also plans to go to the carnival so that she can have her way with men as a celebration of her freedom. Because Florinda is the older sister she is expected to marry for wealth however Helena is seen as a burden and trouble maker and would be better of in a nunnery where she can't destroy the reputation of their family.
Unlike her sister, Florinda is very much a typical woman of the restoration period. She is subservient to men and she often is seen as an object to be sold onward. However her sister very much defies all conventions as she is very head strong and she is not afraid to stand up to the men. Due to the close relationship between Florinda and Helena, Florinda often has spurts where she defies her brother as her sisters has a big influence on her however she then remembers that she is the lesser to her brother.
Since the play, the Rover, is written by Apha Behn, who was the first female playwright, the women and men's roles are almost reversed as the females are very boisterous compared to the men who are more seductive and sensitive. I therefore think that both Florinda and Helena are very amazing characters for the modern mannerisms compared to the society they live in.
Women on the Stage:
It was until Charles II was in power in 1660's that women were finally allowed to start acting on stage. Originally all of the female parts in plays had been performed by men. These men went to special acting schools in which they were stripped of all their masculinity and instead they were turned into women. They would learn special gestures that were viewed as feminine and they were taught to speak in a feminine pitch and tonality. However when the women actresses were allowed on the stage, the men actors who had forever been taught to be women, had no jobs as they could perform as woman and they no longer had the ability to present as men.
When the news actresses started, playwrights started to write their play where women were seen as sexual objects rather then equals to the men. This is because the females aroused the attentions of audiences in more ways then just the ability of being able to act. Many female actresses were also prostitutes so an audience member could watch their performance and afterwards have their way with them after wards.
One of the most famous of these actresses was Neil Gwyn. She was originally an orange girl who would sell oranges during the plays and she would send messages between audience members. She started her acting career when she was 13/14.years old and she was considered to be a very beautiful actress to watch. There was even rumours that she was King Charles II's mistress.
Some other famous actresses in the Restoration Period were:
. Anne Bracegirdle
. Elizabeth Barry
. Margaret Hughes ( she was the first ever female actress)
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