My rationale - Animal farm

Animal farm by  George Orwell

Created by Shake & Stir theatre co.

Adapted for the stage by Nick Skubij

 

 

The production animal farm is an allegory for the Russian revolution. Each character symbolising something from this event for instance Boxer represents the working class, he lets the higher authority (pigs) make all his decisions, he trusts them but is later betrayed (when he dies his body parts are sold) or for example squealer who represents the Russian Media, he justifies the pigs and spreads false statistics, squealer is used to explore how power can often use language to twist the truth and gain control or for instance my character, Mr Pilkington, the easy going gentleman farmer who represents the capitalist governments of England and the united states with his bitter enemy, Mr Frederick, who is based on Adolf Hitler. 

 

The message we wanted to get across to the audience is that we should always be aware of what s going on in our government as sometimes people can get to greedy and selfish and no longer care for the people of the country. That you should stand up for what you believe in, no matter how hard you must fight to let your opinions and voice be heard.

 

personal aims and goals

During this performance I wanted to gain more confidence in acting and being on the stage, for me to perform to my full potential I have to feel combatable with my environment and the people around me, so during this production I have gained  better friendships and became closer with my peers. I also want to show my teacher and my audience that I can play any role that is thrown at me since the character I am playing in animal farm is completely different to me as a person for instance I am a young female where as Mr Pilkington is a older male!

 

 





Everybodies roles

Animal farm by  George Orwell

Created by Shake & Stir theatre co.

Adapted for the stage by Nick Skubij

 

 

cast

 

Director/old Major/animal - Rachel Blanch

Assistant director/Jones/guard dog - Emily Louise Becroft

napoleon - Cameron May

Snowball- Rani Matthews

Squealer- Isabella Ragonese

Boxer- Tobias Gaitt

Mollie/pig/hen- Jessie Barclay

Clover- Taylor McCool

Benjamin - Jayden Mallin

Mr Pilkington/sheep - Charlotte Daniels (me)

narrator 1 - Kayla Davidson

narrator 2 - Alana Rhodes

narrator 5- Ryan McAuliffe

 

props set design:

Alana Rhodes

Emily Louise Becroft

Rani Matthews

Taylor McCool

Charlotte Daniels (me)

 

Costume:

Rani Matthews

Alana Rhodes

Isabella Ragonese

Charlotte Daniels (me)

 

Makeup:

Taylor McCool

Alana Rhodes

Kayla Davidson

 

Music:

Cameron May

Rachel blanch

Ryan McAuliffe

 

lighting:

Emily Louise Becroft

Jayden Mallin

 

 

 



Mr Pilkington costume and makeup

Since I am playing a male character and I am female I want to make it seem believable so for my makeup I used a light brown eyebrow pencil which matches my hair colour to draw on a beard,  made my side burns and eyebrows thicker and longer, which are all characteristics of men!

 For my outfit, I used my dads jeans to make me look really frumpy and bigger built, I used a lot of layers to symbolise that a farmer is out in the cold working hard and I added a tartan shirt, which is a stereotypical farmer piece of clothing and also to add some colour

Since my hair is long, like a girl I will be using a lot of hairspray and tightly pulling back my hair into a bun, to make more like a man, give me ore of a professional look and to make sure my hair isn't covering my face and therefore preventing the audience from seeing my emotion when I'm on stage

Saturday rehearsal

Today we went through, the entire play without stopping, one whole run through, for the first time. It took us about an hour and a half and we had Daphne in for the day to do a technical run through with the lights!
without stopping it made the play seem a lot more real and therefore made me focus a lot more and get into my character.
we also put all of our scenery, props and set together for the first time, which again made it seem more real and made things a lot more serious.

The slides to the other room were opened up during our run through which gave me an idea on where the audience are going to be situated. Rachel (director) sat at the very back of the room and told me if she could see more or hear me when I was on stage which helped me to realise I needed to speak louder and showed me where I needed to be situated on the stage so that all the audience could see me at all times.

 we also used fishing wire to tie the tree to the light fitting and rani and I laminated the windmill blocks so that when they are pushed and thrown around the stage they don't get destroyed or ripped.

Term 1 Week 9 period 4

Today we went through the slaughter scene this is the scene where an animal kills another animal for the first time in the play which is very important since one of the 10 commandments for animal farm is 'no animal shall kill a fellow animal' in this scene I play a goose who is killed for questioning Napoleon. we wen through this a few times however I feel the scene is a little weak as when we die it doesn't make a very big impact we just fall to the ground however when the music and lighting is added the scene will be more intense.

we also went through the re building of the windmill scene, which is a choreographed piece where the animals (an animal ,boxer, clover and  Benjamin) have synchronised movements as they move the blocks of the windmill across the same this makes the scene really strong, powerful and also adds diversity as lots of the scenes involve a lot of straight talking between characters, where as this interprets the story in a new fresh way to the audience.

Set preperation and decoration day 2!

Today we started by doing rehearsals, we ran from scene 7  till the end it took us nearly 2 hours. Since in-between scene's everyone would stop to discuss what is going on in the scene which shouldn't be happening, at his stage we should just be running through the scenes without stopping because we know it so well. this is something which should have been sorted in the first few weeks of rehearsals! so in the last few lessons we are going to have to really focus and work as hard as we have ever worked, no messing round and make sure all of us no are lines and where we are. luckily for me I have know my lines from the beginning, since I don't have as much lines as others also the times I come on stage is very spaced out so it gives me time to get prepared and to get in to character between scenes.

next Rani and I, spent the rest of the day in the sewing rooms creating the slave outfits for the animal at the start of the play. I used a material called calico. I started off my cutting out two rectangles of fabric of 60cm in width. I pinned the sides and cut out a v shaped whole at the top for the head to fit through, next I sewed up any where that had pins, there was a few malfunctions with the sewing machine at times since I haven't used a sewing machine in about 2 years so it took me a little time to get used to it before I got started. next I turned the garment inside out so no one could see the sewing lines and began to rip, cut and tear the garment to make it look used, worn and old.

Term 1 week 8 period 3

Today we started scene 10, which is the final scene out of the whole production. scene 10 is also where I have my rather large speaking part for Mr Pilkington. we didn't actually get to my part of the scene however whilst others where rehearsing I went over my lines a few times. Also in lesson I created a mind map for my character, Mr Pilkington. I have been quiet un sure on who my character was, what he stood for and most importantly his significance to the story. I also created a back story fir my character to help me further get into role and I also don't have much lines through out the production which makes it difficult to know who my character is so by creating the back story it gave me more to work with. from making this mood board I am now more aware of my who my character is and have a better insight on how I should play him on stage.

Term1 - Week 8 period 5

we have nearly finished going through the whole play and have 2 scenes left till we are done. we worked through scene 8 today and practised when we all laugh and scream and shout when we are watching napoleon and squealer (Cameron and Isabella) acting out being drunk. we also got given our assessment notifications giving us the guidelines on what we will be evaluated on. For instance we will be marked on our vocal dynamics (projection,clarity,tone,pitch)  so at home i am going to be going over my lines and I have also got in the habit of recording myself and listening back on how i could improve.
we are also going to be evaluated on our movement dynamics (control,energy,spatial awareness) i will be working on this during lessons when we go through scenes, by making sure i am always facing the audience, that i am using the space i am working in effectively and making usre wheever i am standing i am always visbly seen by the audience

Set and Prop Decoration Day!!

Today I came to school on Saturday from 9.30 to 3.30 (so basically a entire school day)
I started work on the orchard. Rani collected two large sticks from outside, one with branches one with out. we tied them together with tape and had the idea of having it suspended from a light fixture to make it look very atmospheric.

Next I made the leaves for the tree, I found some parcel wrap and started to paint it, I mixed yellow and green together to get different shades of green to make it look more realistic.

whilst the paper was drying I then helped Rani with the windmill. I began to cut the parcel wrap to size so that it covered the stage blocks and then used the staple gun to attach it to the blocks.

by this time the paint had dried and I began to paint the other side with green paint and again left it out to dry. while I waited for that to dry I began to paint the brick work pattern, for the windmill on the stage blocks.
now that the paint had completely dried on both sides of the parcel wrap, I began to cut out different leaf shapes and sizes. ( this took me ages since I had about 2 meters worth of parcel wrap to make sleaves out of and each leaf was about 5 cm each )

after about an hour of cutting out leaves, I poked holes at the top of each leaf and used nylon fishing line to attach the leaves on to the braches to make it look more like a tree ( this took me like an hour and half ) I tied the leaves closer and further away from the branches to give it more depth.
 
My group Animal Farm managed to achieve most of our props and set today especially the most important set decoration, the windmill. I think everyone worked as hard as they could and the time flew by quickly. I feel I have especially benefited from the day since I got to work with members of my group I haven't spoke to much during this project and it was a great bonding experience for the entire group, for me anyway.

 The tree I created >

Term 1 Week 7 period 4

Today we spent the lesson organising and discussing all the props, costume and materials we would need for our performance this meant we would hopefully be able to get everything ready for Saturday, when we are decorating and creating our set and props. I didn't realise the vast amount of products we actually needed till now and we haven't really left much time to get it all so maybe we should have done this a little earlier. Luckily a lot of our set can be made out of cardboard like the windmill and commandments which is cheap and easy to get hold of.

Term 1 - week 7 period 2

The last couple of lessons we have been going through random scenes in the play so we thought it would be a good idea for this lesson to put all the scenes we have practised together, and do a run through.
We started at scene 1 and managed to get up to the start of scene 3. However we were discussing our ideas as we went along as well which took a lot of time up.
I managed to remember all my lines through out the entire rehearsal and didn't look at my script once the entire lesson.
we also came back at lunch and Rachel went through my lines with me since I have a large speaking part at the end of the play and we haven't got to the end of play yet since we are working on the first half of the play at the moment, so it gave me a chance to act my lines out

Mood Board - outift ideas for Mr Pilkington

  Since I come from the UK, when I think about farmers I immediately think of warm, waterproof clothing also I used to live in the southwest of England (Devon) which is known for its countryside and farmers. here are some ideas I have come up with for my character, I think the hat will be a good idea since it will hide my long hair to make me look more like a boy, also it gives a sense of working class. The staff is also really easy to get hold of since I can just find an oversized stick and I already have a body warmer at home which I can put a big cable knit jumper underneath or a checked shirt. i think it will be important to have thick layers since I am playing a male role it will make me look bigger ,plus since I have some time behind the curtain before I change from a sheep to the farmer it means I have time to get my costume on.

 

Term 1 - week 6 period 5

In todays lesson animal farm went out on the school field to work on our production. (seems legitament  considering we are animals and animals are found outside)
All the animals went to the bottom of the field except the pigs (Cameron and Isabella) who stood at the top. In our production the pigs have to persuade the animals to rebel from the humans and take over the farm so the pigs would have to shout powerful words and entice us to come up the hill such as 'more food' 'no more Mr jones' If we felt persuaded then we would make our way up the hill, they would have to keep going until all the animals made it to the top.
 This helped me gain insight oh how the animals would be feeling about the rebellion and helped me establish what my character (sheep) wanted.

We then did this again this time the animals would make their way up the hill confronting the pigs asking them questions like 'why did you take the milk' 'why do you make us work so hard' if they gave us a good answer to our question then we would have to stop, we kept going until again all the animals made it up the hill.
This helped with my improvisation skills since I had to think of questions on the spot. It also helped me get into my character and feel empathy for the animals who were working so hard for nothing in return.

Term 1 - week 6 period 3

Today Mr Cameron started off by talking to us about how long we have left before the big performance, and where we should be at with everything which helped put me put perspective on all the things I need to prepare and how long I have to do for it. For instance getting my characterisation and costume for Mr Pilkington complete and learning how to work the lights since I am in charge of them.

We also went through all the dates and times that we would need to put in extra time in after school and the weekends.

Next we went through scene 5. Since we have been working on the first few scenes of the play we though it would be a good idea to work on the second half, which we didn't have much practise on. this meant that I had my first proper scene with Jessie (Mollie). In the scene I have to act quiet creepy as I, Mr Pilkington, try to entice Mollie with sugar and ribbons to come work for me. I had trouble trying to sound creepy and weird so I ended up focusing on rehearsing my lines rather than getting my voice right. I will work on my accent, tone and playing the character, Mr Pilkington at home so next time when I go through the scene I know exactly what I am doing and not wasting time.

Term 1 - week 6 period 5

In  todays lesson we played the bus stop game which is an acting exercise. Basically someone stands at the bus stop, another person has to improvise and do anything and everything in the power to get them to leave. when it was my turn I decided to fall asleep on the person, I started off falling a sleep on their shoulder and this soon escalated to sleeping on their lap. I found this exercise really useful, since I joined the drama group later than everyone else I didn't really know the people in my class or feel that confident around them, this exercise also helped me to use more of my creative side as I had to think of a character and a scenario quiet quickly.

Term 1 - Week 5 period 2

Today when I entered the drama room the curtains had been fitted and the room looked so different and bigger. since the curtains were up we thought it would be a good idea to rehearse our first scene using them and put it all together with the music and the lights. by doing this I found it so helpful as I could see where I was coming on from, also since I joined the course 2 weeks later than everyone else I had missed what was going to happen in the first scene so by going through it all today I am now confident with what I am doing. We worked on where we was situated on the stage when Old Major gives his final dying speech and went over how we moved and got into our positions so I know how long I have to get from behind the curtain to my place on the stage. we  went though singing the song 'beasts of England..' for the first time which gave me a sense on the rhythm and tune of the song and I now know where I come in and the lines that I sing, I feel that I have made lots of progress from the week before as I have gone past the stage of just reading my lines and now I am  beginning to think more about the music, lights, my presence on stage and how I am  getting on and off form scenes.

to work on: for the weekend I want to learn all the lines to the song and work on singing louder and projecting my voice also during lessons I want to work on putting my ideas out there more often as sometimes I come up with something to add to a scene but I am to afraid to say anything just in case someone disagrees with my ideas.

Term 1 - Week 5 period 4

Today we tried to work with our scripts up to scene 5.
I only had three lines up to this point so I didn't find this task to difficult but I still need my script as  I have learnt my lines but I am still not sure on my queues. I also need to work on knowing where I am positioned when I am on scenes and where I am entering the stage from because I find myself shuffling around during the scene to get in the right place.