In RRAU, and many other Brecht plays, Prologue is the part of the play that tells the audience what is going to happen and introduce the characters. It is also the opening of the show and sets the style for the rest of the performance. These were all things we had to take in consideration when starting to create the prologue for our play. We started off by dividing into two groups to discuss different ideas for the scene. A lot of had the idea about boxing rings and the prologue having that kind of mood. It was also suggested that people could go into the audience to do parts of the prologue, or start from sitting in with the audience and then stand up to say their parts. For now, these were hard ideas to agree on, since we weren't sure how the staging was going to be or whether we would have tables for the audience, in cabaret style, or just just chairs as there are usually. Sophie had suggested everyone coming in in a V formation, like a flock of birds. From that the rest of prologue just kind of created itself.
Here is a video of the start of the prologue. We decided on a cabaret/showgirl beginning, since that was something Brecht enjoyed and wanted theatre to be more like.It doesn't fool the audience into an illusion of reality, but still keeps it entertaining. This also created an exiting and upbeat start for the show. The dance came actually from our morning warm up, Siou lead us a short afro-jazz inspired warm up and the steps really inspired us all to use some dance in the prologue. We were planning to use 1930's dance in the show anyways, so why not start with it? You can's see in the video that we actually come in to the arrow formation in the same jumpy showgirl-manner as we do when we turn around or go into the flock near the end of the video. The song we use for this dance bit is by Louis Armstrong and his hot five 'Fireworks(1928)'. After we get into the flock, the announcers lines were split between everyone and we do some flocking. and then move on to two lines each side of the stage to introduce the individual characters. Then we skip back to the flock to reveal the four Arturo Ui's who are in a row behind the flock. The prologue will end with everyone one by one turning towards the audience with their arm straight, like the Natzi Hail. Fade into black out and hearing gunshots with Gershwin rhapsody in blue(1927) playing in the background. This will add to the gangster effect, showing that this showgirl opening won't last for long, and that there is a darker side to this all.
We showed this to Siou and got some notes to work on. We should have the first songs beginning be on a loop when we come on, something that we were planning to do anyways. During Standing in two lines on the sides we should be doing a slow click. We had tried it, but changed it simply because people couldn't keep up with the rhythm, but if we do it slowly and add swaying to it it should work after some practice. For the characters, everyone should have their Gest when their character is introduced, as well as communicate with audience, almost cartoon like and very stylized to give them a clear image of the character and what we think of them. Ui's actions also need to be more clear, but she liked the fact that we were all pretty awkward with our gesture, showing who Arturo Ui is in the beginning.
To make this scene even better, we really need to just keep running it and we did discuss doing the prologue as a warm up beginning of most lessons. This way we can get the dance moves sharp and work in unison to look even more like showgirls in a professional cabaret or burlesque. I think this will also keep our energies up and get us exited at the start of each lesson, since everyone seemed to really enjoy it! We also set a goal that on Tuesday everyone would me memorized for this scene and those whose characters are introduced, would have their gest, or at least the beginnings of it. We also need to figure out some hand movements and gestures for the flocking part, to make it a bit more showy.
For the next lesson, I really want to have my Gest(or Gests) figured out. I have been wathcing some videos of Hitlers speeches to give me inspiration, but also to study the way he holds himself. During his speeches he uses his hands a lot to express and empower what he is saying. Some gestures I picked up on especially were:
We showed this to Siou and got some notes to work on. We should have the first songs beginning be on a loop when we come on, something that we were planning to do anyways. During Standing in two lines on the sides we should be doing a slow click. We had tried it, but changed it simply because people couldn't keep up with the rhythm, but if we do it slowly and add swaying to it it should work after some practice. For the characters, everyone should have their Gest when their character is introduced, as well as communicate with audience, almost cartoon like and very stylized to give them a clear image of the character and what we think of them. Ui's actions also need to be more clear, but she liked the fact that we were all pretty awkward with our gesture, showing who Arturo Ui is in the beginning.
To make this scene even better, we really need to just keep running it and we did discuss doing the prologue as a warm up beginning of most lessons. This way we can get the dance moves sharp and work in unison to look even more like showgirls in a professional cabaret or burlesque. I think this will also keep our energies up and get us exited at the start of each lesson, since everyone seemed to really enjoy it! We also set a goal that on Tuesday everyone would me memorized for this scene and those whose characters are introduced, would have their gest, or at least the beginnings of it. We also need to figure out some hand movements and gestures for the flocking part, to make it a bit more showy.
For the next lesson, I really want to have my Gest(or Gests) figured out. I have been wathcing some videos of Hitlers speeches to give me inspiration, but also to study the way he holds himself. During his speeches he uses his hands a lot to express and empower what he is saying. Some gestures I picked up on especially were:
I like the first picture, because this gesture can be interpreted and used in different ways. It was look very passionate and as if he is holding something very close to his, showing compassion, but it could also be done in a way that seems defensive and frightened. Since I am playing Arturo Ui before and after his transformation after being trained by the actor, I need to find different Gests for each parts, but this I could use in both, just use it different ways. 2 is very defensive as well, something I can use in scene six, or just in general to show he is hiding something. In the picture, he is crossing his arms, but not in the traditional way, but rather looking like he is holding himself. Again, it looks like he is protecting himself from something, which is the case before scene seven; he is still trying to get his reputation back and feels like a failure because he hasn't been able to keep his status high.
I would like to use 3 and 4 together. 3rd picture has Hitler holding his hands open, showing openness and so winning peoples trust, but 4th picture shows greed and obsessiveness, to me at least, revealing his true nature. These would fit scene thirteen perfectly, since he is trying to get Mrs. Dullfeet on his side, but she can see past his act. These gestures also show power, which in this point Arturo Ui is rapidly gaining.
The last picture and gesture could be used as a way to show Ui's manipulative character and power. He wants to control people and this gesture is often connected with parents telling their children theiy have done something wrong, lecturing them. In the play, even though he is sometimes manipulated by his henchmen, Arturo Ui thinks he is smarter than others and on top of them. This could be done in different ways as well, at first timidly and as if he is afraid to correct people, but then as Ui gains confidence he isn't afraid to show people he is right.
At the moment I feel all of these are quite good gests, but I still want to show them to some people and discuss with them, how they see the these gestures representing the character, since the idea is to convey my and our idea to the audience. The final decision is mine, but I feel a second opinion is important. For scene six, I want to show how Ui can transform from an timid and low-self-esteemed man into the start of the frightening man he will become. In scene thirteen, I really want people to see how he has become even cocky with his success, radiating confidence. But just like Adolf Hitler once he got too much power, Arturo Ui becomes more and more close to losing his mind and I want that to be conveyed in scene thirteen. He is not absolutely crazy, yet, but the power is getting in to his head.
I have also finally come up with some self-reflective questions I can ask myself when writing each blog. I will talk about them in detail in the post, but also give short summary at the end of each blog, just remind myself and identify what I need to do to better myself.
- Did I achieve my last goal? What could I improve on?
- My last goal was to find out about 1930's music and dance. I did look up some songs and get a general image of what the music was like. I still need to look into it more and study it further, perhaps making a blog post about ideas they give for different scenes.
- What did I learn during this lesson? How can I use it?
- We all set the style for the play, which will help me and all of us really when thinking about the rest of our scenes and planning them.
- What is my goal for the next lesson? What do I need to do to achieve this? What information do I need?
- My goal is to learn my lines for prologue and practice the physicality of Arturo Ui with the Gests I have talked about in this post. I should also ask someone to film them for me. Analyzing Arturo Ui's objectives during the scenes will also help to determine which Gest fits best.
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