13.5. Scene 7 & Costume

Greta and Sav presented their idea about the costume's today, and we all participated in the discussion about them. The next text is copied from Greta's blog:

"Flake, Caruther, Butcher, Mulberry and Clark. My idea would be they should wear dark green suit jackets, black trousers or just green colour should be dominant in them costumes because it would symbolize cauliflower. Some of them could have cauliflower in their front pockets.

Roma, Giri and Givola. Black trousers and dark coloured shirts and suit jackets. Everyone could have different colour shirts but suit jackets should be dark, preferably black. Givola should have flower in his front pocket. All of them should wear dark hats but with different colour ribbons on, ribbons colour could be matched with tie colour.

Arturo Ui. My idea that Arturo should wear white hat (like Al Capone used to wear) and bright colour suit jacket maybe white or purple because it associates with royalty. Black trousers.

Bodyguards and gunmen should wear whatever costume they will have but as a symbol they should wear aviator sunglasses.

Judge. We will have to get a mantle and I was thinking that it would be funny if we could get a wig like in the picture on the left.

Doctor. Long laboratory coat.

Betty Dullfeet. Long down the knees skirt and jacket. Maybe little hat that used to be popular in 1930`s, gloves.

All other male characters should wear suit as well but without any symbols.
All other female characters should wear long down the knees skirts with shirts."

    During the discussion about the costumes, it was pointed out that in the 30's everyone wore suits, meaning that the jacket and trousers had to be the same colour. This brings some difficulty, since between character changes it wouldn't as simple as just changing a jacket, but you need to change the whole costume, which for example for me between scene 5 and 6 might become a bit of a problem since I am changing from Flake into Ui. It doesn't necessarily mean that we couldn't do changes like this,  since it is actually very Brechtian to change in front of the audience to have them see that it is simply an actor playing the characters, but we also want it to look good and flow from character into another.
   The cauliflower trust could also have different ensembles. The main colours should be greens and browns, but I felt that not all of them had to have full suits, but some could wear the full get up, but some could only have the vest or braces on tip of the trousers and white shirt. I also really like the play with colour for Ui, tho I think it should be a one coloured suit. Purple signifies royalty and white does that also. White has also been a choice of colour for some famous gangsters such as Al Capone who always wore a white hat.
   Some important items that we need are hats and Brogue shoes. The hats were a significant part of men's attire in the 1930's and they represent each character. Brogue shoes were also the style and since they were in fashion an couple of years back, I am sure we could find some reasonably prices ones somewhere.

After this we did scene 7. The others had worked on this scene before during extra rehearsals. I thought it was good that I hadn't seen this scene being made, since I couldn't make the extra rehearsals, since this way I had a more neutral way of looking at it and could give feedback to make the scene better. I pointed that Ui's speech could have more variety in it, since it was a lot of yelling and aggressiveness, where it should have moments of persuasion and (fake)sincerity. Ui wants to get these people on his side, to trust him with their money, which means there has to be a likability factor to the speech. Max needs to look at the text and analyze it so that he knows which parts the yelling adds to it.  Siou also pointed out that we should look at the stage direction more carefully, since there was a part where in the play it says that Clark is pulled to speak by Roma and Givola, but in our version he simply walks forward. The fact that Clark is pulled forward shows that he is forced to do this, which then again brings more attention what the gangster are really like and how they really don't have good intentions. There also needs to be more hesitation and frightfulness on her part.
   We also discussed if Dockdaisy should have a child with her and how it could be funny if she would just have a doll to represent the child, since she isn't really putting any effort in trying to be believable. I also suggested that it could be funny to have the bodyguard act as the child. I do not think we will do this, simply because it doesn't really follow the style we have chosen to go with.

   I am supposed to be the bodyguard in this scene singing the song "We would be one". I have been ill, so I haven't been practicing it too much, but we did think about how to make it work and make it funny. Someone suggested that I should lower my voice to sound like a baritone, but after the class me and Max came up with the idea that when I am speaking as the bodyguard I should have low voice, but as I sing the song I could even bring my voice a little bit higher than I usually sing. I want to try this out in class and see what the reaction is, since it could either be hilarious or confusing.

   As a class we should focus on reading the stage directions better, but also analyze the scene before class individually so that when we discuss the scene, we know what is happening and what is politically happening in the scene.

• What did I learn during this lesson? How can I use it?
• It is good to have fresh eyes look at the done scenes. When you create the scenes, sometimes it is hard to notice some smaller things since you've been working on the scene so much, but then someone else might see completely different things about it, for example if the points we are trying to get trough are noticeable. We should look at the scene's we have done already and have people make notes about them so that we are working towards our true potential. 
• What is my goal for the next lesson? What do I need to do to achieve this? What information do I need?
• I want to work on my song and be able to show the different ways I could do it to the rest of the class. I am also going to create the bodyguard character, with his own Gest and voice. 

11.5. ACTING FOR CAMERA

  Today me and Jenny finally got to do our scene from Mike Leigh's movie 'Life is Sweet'. We chose to shoot in the old painting and decorating section of the college, because one of the rooms already had a couch there. The window also gave us excellent lighting, so we only had to use our light when lighting Jenny's face.
   Our scene was fairly simple and pretty short as well. The difficulty in this scene was to get the characters clear and funny. Our pacing was especially important, but I felt we did a good job with it, since both of us were well memorized and we had rehearsed and discussed the scene multiple times. We took over all 5 shots and the largest amount of takes we had to take in one shot was 3, which was pretty good. Most of the shots were done in one take. Since our script was simple, we didn't have any entrance or change in position, it didn't take too long to shoot, but also most of the shots were done so that we got to do the scene from beginning to end, not having any pick ups. This really helped with keeping up in the mood of the scene and helping it to flow better. The important thing when doing a pick up or a shot in the middle of the scene, is to know the progression of the scene and how the emotions and intensity rises. You need to know what part of the scene it is, and what emotions your character is going trough so that you can keep consistent with the progression of the scene.
   I have said before that I don't like being infront of the camera, because I can't really relax in that situation. This time was a bit different, I felt a lot more comfortable acting infront of the camera, even though I felt I could have been smaller in my expressions. I still often think about acting in the theatre point of view, which makes my facial expression more exaggarated  to be seen from far away. I did manage to put some small looks that made a huge impact during the close ups, which I felt pretty proud of. I also tried to have a bit more northern London accent, since that is where the movie is set. Now, it wasn't perfect, but I did think that the timing and pace of it made it seem more realistic.
   On the technical side, what me and Jenny had to do in the shots were to sit closer together, just because on film the distance will look bigger. We also had to move the sofa once we started to film on the other side of room, so that the proportions would stay the same to previous shots. 

8.5. Staging, Scene 4, Prologue & Songs

   We were in Pelham today, and since trying out our stage last time, we had decided that it didn't work. I was sad to hear this, since it was my idea, but at the same time I agreed that it was too ambitious for us, but also limiting, when we could have something more innovative. There were three main ideas we were working with:

• Max's idea that looked close to a T-thrust extending from the stage. He also suggested having signs showing the different sides belonging to Cauliflower Trust or Ui's gang
• The signs could limit using the space in some scenes
• Sav's idea inspired by gladiator ring, having a floor height staging in the middle and two platforms of the sides
• Problem with this one was that we would lose a lot of floor space, since it would be hard to stage scenes. Pretty much nothing in the middle would be seen
• Sophie's idea of having to 'islands' on the side of the long catwalk formed thrust representing the Cauliflower Trust and Artuto Ui's gang. 
• I felt like the catwalk would also limit our usage of the space, since it would be hard to fit more than one person on it.

We discussed these different ideas and then tried out a hybrid of it that looked like the image above. This idea had the island(dark grey) and a bit of a catwalk as well. The island are on a lower level to the rest of the thrust. We even talked about having the island separate, but with our idea to create more of a cabaret-feeling with tables, having the island separate would take too much space. Also, trying out the catwalk we noticed it is too narrow, and so it isn't really using the space that well.Also, the island missing pieces on the sides didn't look right, kind of like we were trying to make the stage look impressive, but without a clear reason. So, we took these factors and edited the stage to the picture below. This way, we still have a bit of a catwalk/podium that can work as an excellent focus point, but also have more space. We also edited the point so that we have steps on all of the sides. We also filled the wholes on the islands. 

   We have classes at Pelham every Friday and I feel that next time we really need to just get the stage rigged and start rehearsing right away, since if we devise scenes during the week we HAVE to try them out on the stage to see if it even works. To make most of this time we need to get everyone to come in on time and help out, since today it took us longer because everyone were not pulling their weight. 

   Since last week we missed extra rehearsals, because too many people weren't able to make it this timeg, we all agreed to read trough the scene and come in with ideas for the scene, Really, we should do this before every scene, so that we can get trough discussions quicker, but doubt many do this, unless they have lines in the scene. Here are some of the ideas I came up with for the scene:

• We could have a picture of the mansion on the screen to show to the audience where we are in this scene
• When Ui comes in it could start with him and Dogsborough having their own sides, but then Ui invading Dogsboroughs side to show his power
• Since this scene has a lot of exit's and entrances, it would interesting to play with them and have the characters come somewhere else than just behind the stage, for example, the audience?
• When Ui has his longer monologue about what he wants from Dogsborough, he could really play out to the audience, even winking or doing gests that suggest that his intentions are not necessarily sincere.
• When Ui & Roma exit we could have Goodwill and Gaffles walk past them, both group clocking each other

Since Harry wasn't in, we had Max step in for Dogsborough. We will have to do this scene again with Harry once he's back in. This scene has the potential to be really good, showing the different sides of Ui, how he can be intimidating, but how still at this stage he hasn't reached his real potential and acts like a child when he isn't getting what he wants. I really like how when Ui and Roma come in, they have a chance to connect with the audience to show their true intentions and Gests. 

   At the end of the scene we have a sign shown that says "Hitler is appointed chancellor, promising to prevent the composure of Osthilfe scandal". In the 1930's, after WW1, many countries in Europe were in deep depression. Many of the Prussian estates were going bankrupt. The Eastern Aid, also known as the Osthilfe was Germany giving a part of the Government funds to the bankrupt estates in Prussia. They did this to maintain the support of the Prussian Junkers. But it became a scandal since many of the Junkers had wasted the money on luxury items, such as cars and vacations, rather than maintain the estates functional. As they looked into the scandal more, it was reviled that the President of the Republic, Hindenburg had a connection to the scandal having estates to himself that were in deep debt. This weakened Hindenburg's position and then appointed Hitler as chancellor under the pressure of the industrialist. I feel like in the scene we really need to be able to show the state of mind Dogsborough is in, he knows he has done something bad and he could get into deep trouble for it. 

•    Did I achieve my last goal? What could I or the group improve on?
• My last goal was to use the extra rehearsals to work on the newspaper people in scene 3, but since we cancelled the rehearsal I we weren't able to work on them. We need to make the effort to make time for extra rehearsals. We have set dates, Tuesdays and Thursday when we have extra rehearsals, but I hope others would arrange more rehearsals when they do have time, since there has been too many times when I've heard that either people don't have time or have something else during it. If people cannot come to set rehearsal times, they need to arrange rehearsals for the scenes they are in. I think I should probably try to make more time to even more extra rehearsals and try to encourage others to join and work around their schedules. 
• What did I learn during this lesson? How can I use it?
• It really was good today because we came into the rehearsal, everyone already having ideas about the scene. It really made us work faster and work better. It is really important to do research and study of the scenes at home, so that we can use all the rehearsals to create the scenes as good as we possibly can!
• What is my goal for the next lesson? What do I need to do to achieve this? What information do I need?
• I want to do my research on the next scene and brainstorm with myself as I did for this scene so that I can be the most use for my group. 

Production: Poster & Social Media

Me and Sophie are ahead of Marketing, which includes doing the poster, social media sites and updating them, making sure the posters are distributed, and we are also ahead of making the program.
   We actually finished making the poster and our Facebook and Twitter page on 22.4.. We divided the tasks between us, Sophie was to create the social media sites, since she has a twitter page with a big following and I did the poster. I have done poster for multiple shows before, for example for our Shakespeare and Walks of Life shows, and also helped with the 1st years Layers shows poster as well as our last years final year shows poster for Dracula. We had multiple ideas for the poster and here are some of them:

• Portrait of Ui with a Hitler mustache, half of his face disappearing into the shadows
• Looked too much like Hitler, plus taking on the time we had to do the poster, we wanted something that resembled the 1930's sleek poster art style. 
• Art Deco style picture of the Chicago skyline, with sun setting/rising from behind the buildings.
• wasn't very popular with the class, a little bit boring as well.
• Arturo Ui in a hurricane with cauliflowers flying out of it
• good and funny idea, but taking inconsideration our style choice for the show, we didn't want it to be too comical
• Arturo Ui hugging a huge cauliflower representing the earth
• again, a little bit too comical idea for our show.

We ended up with one of my ideas. In our Twelfth Night show I had used two silhouettes of the twins to cut out their silhouettes to a old paper-pattern to show the storm at the sea. I wanted to use something similar, but with a sharp black background with a silhouette of a gangster smoking a cigar. The cutout would show cauliflower to connect to the show. It was a very simple and sleek idea, which we felt fit with the 1930's poster style. I first wanted to use this red cauliflower picture I found, but after discussing with everyone, I realized it did look like a tumor of sort, which was something we didn't really want. We wanted the audience to know it is cauliflower in the picture. We still need to change the Facebook page address on the poster, since after sending it to Andy we noticed that we put the address wrong. I have remade it and send it for Andy to reprint. 

   Here are the social media sites Sophie made for our show: 

• https://www.facebook.com/ArturoUiCCB
• @ArturoUiCCB

On the sites, we have shown some sneak peaks of the show to come, to keep the audience interested, but we are also planning to bring on some competitions, for example to win free tickets or free VIP tables. We could also post some interesting facts we find during our research or somethings about Brecht and the style of theatre we are doing so that the audience knows what to expects, but will still be interested enough to come to see the show. 

6.5. Scene 3 & Production Meeting & Signs

   Today we started to tackle on scene 3 and I was quite happy with how many times we were actually able to run through the scene with commenting and changing things in it at the same time. 

   We still need to work on the newspaper people on the background. For now, we have been improvising the movements, but I feel we need to look up certain lines where we react in a certain way, choreograph it more and make it way more stylized. We also noticed by the end of the class, that the stage directions actually say that the people leave in the middle of the scene, meaning we have less time to play with the newspapers. What also changed about the newspaper people was that we first had them as people at the bookie's office, which I am kind of sad we lost. It gave the atmosphere for the bookie's office, telling the audience where the scene is set, but also gave movement to the people on the background. I'd like to see if we could for example first have the people listening to a radio, betting on horses, and when the conversation between Ui and the other's gets heated, us extra people could start listening and snooping around. 

During BLP, we had a production meeting where we went over each team and discussed when their next deadline was, where are they in meeting that deadline and what do they need to do next. This was a pretty straight forwards conversation. Me and Sophie are ahead of Marketing. Our upcoming deadline is distributing the posters and  leaflets, which was originally set for next week, put we decided to push it back for another week. We don't want to put the posters up too early, since people forget easily and they might be taken down or covered by other people's posters after a couple of weeks. By putting them up the week after we still have close to a month before the show, which is plenty of time for the posters to be up. We also discussed Other ways to promote our show. We already have a Facebook page and Twitter account, but we need people to buy tickets and get more interested. Sophie talked to Andy about leafleting and if we could perhaps get a permit to do that on a day or two couple of weeks before the show and he promised to call someone about it. We also thought about maybe pitching a story to The Argos, but the problem with this is that we would have to have an interesting story for them thought out first. I also came up with maybe leading workshops to nearby schools drama classes. This could get us some more publicity and more people who would come and watch our shows, but also give us experience in creating and leading a workshop. The workshop could either be about Epic Theatre or Commedia dell'arte, since those are two styles we have been studying. I already e-mailed a couple of schools asking if they would be interested.

   Me and Sophie are also ahead of doing the program for the show. We are trying to get new head shots taken of all of us, since that would make the program more professional, but I feel that even if we can't get them done by the photographing students, we can take our own if needed. They wouldn't be as good, but I think it is still important for us all to have some kind of introduction for us all. Max also brought some programs from other shows for inspiration. These are some things I would like to include in our program:

1. Cover - similar to poster, doesn't necessarily need all of the information on it
2. Introduction to the play and author - summary of the play, Brecht, Epic theatre and the time the play was written in
3. How we see the play? - explain our vision and political opinion, what inspired us style vise
4. Introduction of the actors - Head shots and short introductions about who we are, why we act and what are we doing after this course
5. List of characters and their actors
6. (Maybe) Scene Summaries
7. Thank you's and acknowledgments

  We also talked about the signs in the play. Before, we have just kind of brushed them off and not talked about them too much, but today we really got on it to decided what they will be in our play.There were a couple of ideas flying around. Sophie and Sav were planning to have  pictures that would somehow represent the scene and the play, but we were also pointed that Brecht wanted it to be clear to the audience why these scenes happened. We decided to have a mix of both picture and text signs, using both the projector and actual sign to our advantage. These were the texts that would be for each scene, telling the audience what historical events they represent:

• Prologue
• Montage/Powerpoint of news articles
• Scene 1
• Germany is hit by the world crisis. The cauliflower trust represents Prussian Junkers.
• Scene 2
• Prussian Junkers offer president Hinderburg an estate.
• Scene 3
• Nazi's are threatened by bankruptcy. Hitler tries to be appointed Chancellor nut Hinderburg refuses to see him
• Scene 4
• Hitler is appointed chancellor, promising to prevent the composure of Osthilfe scandal
• Scene 5
• Hitler keeps his promise but use's violent measures
• Scene 6
• Drawing/Drama masks representing the change of Hitler and the rumours about how he was trained by an actor. 
• Scene 7
• Reichstag Fire
• Scene 8
• Innocent unemployed worked is sentenced to death for causing the fire.
• Scene 10(we skipped 9, since it doesn't tell exactly about a real event, nor does it say in the play it has a sign)
• The death of Hinderburg. Junkers demand Röhm's removal. The occupation of Austria is planned.
• Scene 11
• Hitler betrays Röhm
• Scene 12
• The Austrian chancellor Dollfuss agrees to stop the media attacks against Hitler
• Scene 13
• Dollfuss is murdered. Hitler continues to negotiate with Austrian rightist circles.
• Scene 15
• Hitler marches into Austria. An election under Nazi terror results in a %98 vote for Hitler.
• Epilogue
• A montage of past and present leaders and dictators connecting to Hitler and how society has had the change to stop this, but have they? Have we?

• Did I achieve my last goal? What could I improve on?
• I wanted try to look at the scene in a more playful way, which ina way I did. We for the newspaper people I suggested to try lead and follow game, something we have done before to train our complicity. Also we tried a game where want to hear and see what the gangsters are talking about, but also cannot be seen by them. I could have used another game or two to create the choreography for the newspapers, but at the moment I could think of any. 
• What did I learn during this lesson? How can I use it?
• We really need to read the stage directions! This might seem like a stupid thing to say, since it is so obvious, but today we forgot to read them and until the end of the class we didn't realize that halfway trough the scene the extra people flee away. 
• What is my goal for the next lesson? What do I need to do to achieve this? What information do I need?
• We have extra rehearsal tomorrow and I really want to work on the newspaper people before moving on to the next scene, even if it won't be with the other people acting on the foreground, but to make it interesting. I could look into musicals and movies for movement inspiration, Newsies could be a good example. Also, simply looking at scene from gangster movies where they are in crowded areas can show how people acted in public in a more stylized way. 

Themes of RRAU

  We had a short discussion on the themes of the play in class, and I thought I'd make a blog post expanding on those themes and telling my thoughts on them.

THEMES

• Hitler/Nazi Germany
• This is one of the more obvious themes of the play, something we have been discussing about since we started to read through this play. Arturo Ui represents Hitler in a 1930's gangster setting, but also how the Nazi party rose to become in charge of Germany. 
• Break Down Of Society
• This is a very interesting theme. The break down of society was basically the reason why Hitler could have rose to power. At the end of WW1, Germany was in a very bad economical state and people were desperate for change. Once a huge and glorious country was now crumbling and the people of Germany were going with the losses of their leaders. Hitler and the Nazi party took this opportunity to inflict extreme views and blame Jews and other countries for their economical problems. They created an image of a perfect world full of perfect people that would bring Germany back to its former glory. But, the rise could have been stopped, just like the title The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui tells us. During our lesson Siou used the word complacency which means "a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger" or "satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation,condition". Basically Brecht is trying to say with this play that it was the society's fault why this all happened, since the people and society could have stopped it and were able to resist. This is shown in the play with the cauliflower business crumbling and the vegetable dealers desperately trying to survive, while taking on Ui's empty words and trusting him with their money and businesses. 
• Outsiders
• Outsiders as a theme is a bit more difficult to explain, but it is a theme in the play. Arturo Ui keeps talking about how he comes from the Bronx, so he isn't actually a native Chicagoan, yet he talks about joining in together and how people need to stick together as Chicago is all of their home. Also, during the rise of the Nazi party, they blamed the Jewish community for the problems of Germany, talking about them as people who came from another country to take away the riches of the German people. In RRAU, Ui talks about how man is naturally prone to crime, pinning people against their neighbors. As Ui's long monologue says in scene seven "I have to face the facts: this is what men are - they ain't no little lambs." Later on he and the other gangsters also pin the blame of the warehouse fire on Fish, a man who has just the day before arrived to Chicago. He is is the outsider that is blamed for a crime he didn't do, but people eat it up because they do not know him. 

5.5. Scene 2, Staging & Shadows

 Today's goal for us was to start on scene 2 and hopefully finish it. After reading the scene and shortly discussing it, we started to think about the blocking and sort of just improvising the scene, whilst suggesting ideas on the meanwhile. We decided that since they are supposed to be in Dogsborough's tavern, we should have a bar where most of the talking could happen. Dogsborough could for example be serving drinks for Butcher and Flake. I think the bar also works to show Dogsboroughs interest throughout the scene, he can use it as a shield, stepping out from behind it when he becomes to interested. This is when the two other men can surround Dogsborough to sweeten him up, do a little bit of extra convincing. 

   We also had an idea to use shadows to make the scene a bit more stylized and interesting by having Dogsborough and Young Dogsborough behind it at the beginning, indicating that perhaps they are in the back room or behind the bar working. This also solved the problem with me playing Young Dogsborough in this scene, since Chloe will be playing him in the rest of play. I can stay behind the screen and deliver my few lines from there. I won't be on the stage, but the audience will still be able to see my presence. We discussed first to have me announce "And I will be playing Young Dogsborough in this scene", but using the shadows seemed more smooth and fun! 

 During this clip there was a discussion about how to start of the scene. It is suggested that they have been talking about this deal before, and that simply because the scene starts from this bit, doesn't mean that their conversation started from here. They may have been talking about for hours already and this is simply the conclusion. After class I talked about it more with Siou and discussed the idea if we could show clippets of their conversation and argument, tableau's of sort with different lighting changes showing their mood and progression of their debate. I thought it could be interesting to do it with shadows, having Butcher and Flake then be kicked out of the backroom by Dogsborough, or them simply coming to the front room to discuss a new deal. 

 We also tried out different ways to have the boxes move from the position they are in at the end of the first scene into the bar. We only filmed mine and Jenny's attempt, but other's had a go at it too. We had two definitive ways to do it, one very showgirly, as we had in the prologue, and other more gangster style. The showgirl version had more energy, which worked better and they also used eye contact while doing it. What I liked about mine Jenny's is that it was a little comedic, with us taking the same box and me (accidentally)almost falling from leaning on the box.

   I felt, even though we got some work done, we really need to step up our game. Looking at scenes before class, giving ideas, receiving ideas and just trying things out. Today almost everyone seemed tired and uninterested, which doesn't make a very good work environment. For tomorrows session I want to look at scene 3 and scene 2 again and come up with some games we could try out to create the scene in more creative way. I could have done for this lesson as well, but I need to step up game by being more brave to think of more fun ways for us to explore these scenes. Still, we did get up and did something, rather than just planning it by talking and sitting on the floor, which is some improvement on what we have done in the past. 

Sophies idea. Main thrust and then couple of steps down on the sides.
This would be an interesting mix of the original idea and Max's idea.

   We also discussed the staging. Siou was worried about the steps, since they are a very challenging staging for us, or anyone really. I agree with this, even if it was my idea to have the stairs, but it is smarter to hear other ideas and try out as many of then as possible. Here are a couple that Sophie and Max suggested:

Dedicated areas to Ui and the vegetable dealers, showing the two different sides.
I also thought that these could be either step up or step down from the main thrust.

   

   Max also talked about an idea to use the shadow to show Arturo Ui's rise to power and how he changes throughout the play. He suggested that it would be a very strong and stylistic choice to have Ui be behind the screen for the whole play, but after discussing it for a bit a lot of us came to the conclusion that Ui is too much of a big role, too many lines and interactions with people for this to work properly. but I think it would still be a good idea to use it during his long speeches, perhaps having it be his shadow, Ui giving the speech in front of the screen, but the shadow showing his true nature. 

     Later in the afternoon, some of us had time to stay for extra rehearsal for some time. Since we didn't have too many people we couldn't go on to the next scene, but we did start looking at scene 6. We discussed how The Actor should be portrayed. By the end of the day, it is Max's character and he has the last word on what the character will be like, but we also want him to be different from the gangsters and vegetable dealers. In the scene, Givola is questioning Actor's choices and way of presenting himself, that is way too theatrical, which tells us he is kind of over the top and perhaps even silly looking. The Actor also talks about how he isn't appreciated for his Shakespearean style of theatricality, saying that he is too old fashioned for modern theatre. Max didn't want to make him traditional English type actor, what a lot of the other adaptations have done, so I suggested making him more camp and musical theatre inspired character. This would bring on the fun and even ridiculousness the scene needs. Also, we thought to have at the beginning the actor to be brought in the room by the bodyguards tied up, as in against his will to show the power Ui has, but then have the actor actually be excited for this opportunity to bring more humour into the scene. We need to show what we have done to the others to get some notes tomorrow!

• Did I achieve my last goal? What could I improve on?
• My last goal was to work on my Gest for Arturo Ui and then show them to my peers. I showed some of them to Max, who is also playing Ui, but we agreed that we need to have a proper discussion about it with all of the Ui's since we need to establish a common Gest and view on Arturo Ui.  
• What did I learn during this lesson? How can I use it?
• The fact that you need to go and try things out really became prominent during this lesson. It is so easy to just sit down and write what you are going to do, only to realize it won't work at all. Even though today's lesson wasn't the most productive, we did get a frame of two different scenes done by simply going on our feet and improvising. 
• What is my goal for the next lesson? What do I need to do to achieve this? What information do I need?
• For next lesson I want to look at scene 3 and scene 2 and find ways to explore them in a more fun and playful way. I should read trough some of my old blogs to go through different exercises we have done in the past and use them for my advantage. I also want to explore a very clear Gest for Young Dogsborough and do more research on who he was in real life.