For the piece we are currently working on, I am Gregor. The impact of Gregor on the audience would be that they feel very empathetic, which means that the audience should feel very upset about how the family are treating GregorHow does this part add to the overall meaning of the play?. To be Gregor i need to put on a croaky voice and speak like i am in a lot of trouble. I will play Gregor by hunching my back and having constant eye movement which means that there will be very stylised movements of the head and eyes to make me seem very Beetle like due to the nature of the fast movements. The scene starts with me in the middle watching the other characters coming in while they re doing their characteristic movements. I then have to say my line in a hoarse voice. after that there aren't many lines for me, but I need to make sure I keep moving in the background and stay in character. when the Milk part comes I need to get up in slow motion, and in a robotic way, turn from a beetle into a human, this is done through a series of timed drum beat movements after saying my line in a normal human voice, I take a sip of the milk and then i need to quickly fall to my knees to show the juxtaposition between something Gregor loved before and something he cannot stand anymore. for the food scene, while everyone else is calling out the foods, i need to look up towards them and (back to my hoarse voice) say my lines.
Metamorphosis C/W
1. Social/Historical/Political (200/200)
During the time that Berkoff was writing this play, the entertainment
side throughout the world was flourishing. Bands like the Beetles and the
Rolling Stones were emerging and hippie culture was rife. However the state of
the country was poor, the upper classes were well off, but the middle and lower
classes were not. This type of theatre was called Total Theatre. Berkoff was
reacting to things such as class divisions, anti-Semitism (being Jewish
himself) and also the style of theatre that was around at the time which was
focused predominantly on kitchen sink drama. ‘Metamorphosis’ explores the theme
of the working class , as Gregor is the sole breadwinner in the house and the
way society treats their own, the pressures that society pus on the family, who
then put that pressure on Gregor. The play is still relevant because of the
current state the country is in. There are plans of reducing and getting rid of
many benefits which means that the working and lower classes may suffer. The
impact of this is that society may go back to what it was like during the time
Berkoff adapted the novel and therefore ‘Metamorphosis’ becomes relevant again.
2. Practitioners (122/150)
Berkoff believed in Total Theatre. He described it as a “pre-requisite in
the making of the drama”, He also states that there should be ‘economy of
dialogue’, which means that words should be straight to the point because the
body language should speak louder than the words. The theare should ensnare the
senses and provoke an immediet emotional connection to the audience. Although
Total Theate was used throughout our performance, a specific moment would be
that when the lodgers are sitting down and about to eat their meals when they
all eat in unison performing the same steps in unison. This gave the effect
that the lodgers were greedy, but overall emphasised that they all represent
society and so are one body.
3. Visual/Aural/Spacial (39/250)
[Set design, Costume design, Drawings of props, Movement map – all done
separately]
In ‘Metamorphosis’, we used to emphasise different emotions that we were
feeling. For example, when we are tying Gregor up before he dies, a slow and
very emotional track was playing so that the audience feel sympathy for him.
4. Language and Vocal Awareness
(222/250)
[Annotated script section]
|
Character
|
Type of Language
|
Examples
|
In performance
|
|
Mr Samsa
|
Declaratives: Tries to be dominant and
keep power. Becomes inferior towards the end.
|
“Greta, take the lodgers belongings…”
|
When I say this line it is in a Slow
pace because Mr Samsa the dominant character, I use a low pitch because I am
the man of the house and powerful tone.
|
|
Mrs Samsa
|
Sycophantic, tries to always make the
lodgers happy.
|
“You tell us what you need”
|
Mandi says this line fast paced
because she is eager to reassure the lodgers and it is high pitched because
of the stereotypical housewife.
|
|
Greta
|
Starts the play very quietly but after
the lodgers leaves, she becomes more dominant.
|
“What funny faces”
|
Anjnee uses a high pitch which shows
Greta’s immaturity as she is a younger character and they usually have higher
voices.
|
|
Gregor
|
Is the most human character despite
being a beetle.
|
“I felt their eyes on me til the last
filled with pain and misery”
|
Alice says this line in a croaky, low
pitched voice because of Gregor’s exhaustion and the slow pace shows that she
is struggling to get the words out.
|
|
The Lodgers
|
Represent society and so they are very
demanding.
|
“Breakfast hot and ready at 8:15”
“Prompt”
|
Harpreet says this line with slow pace
because it is an instruction that she is expecting the Samsa’s to carry
out.
|
5. Interpretation (50/200)
[Annotate the script on how you performed it, directions wise] [How are
characters dressed]
This scene would be set in the Samsa home, and because of this i would
keep the normal proscenium arch stage. I would like this to keep the audience
in a position where they’re not completely detached from the characters but
also so that the audience and feel emotions towards the different characters.
6. Characterisation (201/250)
The character that I played was Mr Samsa. Mr Samsa is the man of the
house. He is the one who has the authority in the household and the one who is
most emotionally unattached in the beginning. He is in a position where he is
not the main breadwinner anymore as he cannot provide the family with that they
need and so relies on Gregors money to run the house. As with the rest of the
family, his trouble is that he doesn’t know what to do when Gregor becomes a
Beetle and his only source of income is gone. We tried to figure out how Mr
Samsa should be played and came to the conclusion that he should be a very
dominant and commanding figure, so I put on a deep voice in order to seem like
a figure of authority. This worked well as many of Mr Samsa’s lines are to do
with telling others what to do. Mr Samsa is more devastated by the loss in
income than his son becoming a beetle, this shows that he is very superficial
and cares not for the really important things, this means that he demonstrates
the mindset of society.
7. Non Verbal Communication
[Annotate photos]
Non-verbal communication is very important in Total Theatre as Berkoff
believes in economy of dialogue. This means that body movement and facial
expressions are even more important. A particular part where we used non-verbal
communication was when the chorus were recreating the emotions being felt by
the characters in our performance. In this scene, we had the chorus members,
which were me, Mandi, Karan and Anjnee, showing the audience the emotion behind
what Mr Samsa, Mrs Samsa and Greta were saying. This meant that when Greta was
saying her lines we would freeze in an angry pose and when Mr Samsa was
speaking we would take a helpless pose. As we were wearing masks, it was very
important that our body language was clear and gave the message to the audience
very clearly.
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