Unit 12: Classical Theatre

How were the two plays you are working on for classical theatre staged and performed to their original audiences?

The two plays that we are working on are called: Antigone and Macbeth. This means that we have been studying to different eras as well as two different types of theatre (Greek and Shakespeare).

Antigone is a Greek tragedy play written by Sophocles and is the third play in the Oedipus Cycle. The play is based around Antigone going against the orders of her uncle (Creon - King of Thebes) by burying her brother Polynices and it is also very political so you see all of the politics and government issues that would have happened in that specific era.

Originally Antigone would have been performed in an outdoor amphitheatre that would have eventually accommodated up to fourteen thousand spectators and even though these theatres were massive and could accommodate thousands, the acoustics allowed everyone seated in the audience to hear the performers. Also there would have been at least 24 actors that would have performed in a the play, as a Greek production is normally staged with around 15 members in the chorus and then the main characters. For Antigone there would have been 15 chorus members and then 6 actors for the main characters: Antigone, Creon, Eurydice, Haemon, Ismene and Teiresias. Then you also have the guard and the two messengers.

Secondly the other play Macbeth was a Shakespearean play based on Macbeth going around killing people in order to have no enemies and so a battle commences between Macbeth, Malcolm and Macduff to kill Macbeth.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's shortest and most intense dramas. The Theatre where it would have originally be performed in was basically a courtyard surrounded on three sides by tall raised balcony areas. The Globe Theatre where Macbeth was performed in 1611 is famously confused with Bear-baiting pit. At the centre and to the back of the courtyard there was a raised stage and the stage contained a trapdoor where the witches would have used to enter and exit, at the back of the stage there was a curtain leading to the actor's dressing area formally known as the 'tiring room'.

The courtyard was open to the sky, so lighting was largely natural, but in some indoor theatres or palaces such as Hampton Court, where Macbeth was first performed in 1606 in front of King James I, candles were probably used to create an artistic tension between natural and unnatural (artificial) lighting.



What is the relevance of the play's social, cultural and political themes to both that audience and one today?

Antigone and Macbeth are both plays based on characters seeing an opportunity in their lives to get ahead of everyone else regardless of the consequences and pain that they will put others through. For example; Antigone went against the King's orders and buried her brother after he was named a traitor and banished so she saw that opportunity and she ended up being a traitor. In Macbeth he sees an opportunity to be a 'better leader' in his eyes and ends up killing a lot of people and in the end ends up dead. In relation to the current affairs Donald Trump the US President is much like this, he sees an opportunity and takes it no matter the consequences or back lash of it at all.

How have you researched and understood the context and significance of the plays language?

I researched I depth the language of the plays Antigone and Macbeth in order to understand the context and language for both plays. I performed the monologue of Creon for my Macbeth Audition and beforehand I researched online how the monologue should be spoken and then I used that research and incorporated it into my acting to make it more realistic and politically and ethically correct.

How do you intend to perform pieces to an audience? What creative choices have been made when interpreting the text?

The creative choices that were made whilst I was interpreting the text were that of the fact that I wanted to make things a bit different especially when I was doing the music cues for Dominic Lelean. Rachel at first wanted the song 'A Thousand Eyes' By Of Monsters and Men to be involved within the performance therefore I went through the script and whenever the witches entered I wanted to make the creative decision to have chosen singers singing this song because this song is very eerie and slow and it talks about 'the storm' which could portray the storm up ahead meaning the war that Malcolm and Macduff are springing on Macbeth without warning. The Witches being the creepiest characters in the piece who also drive Macbeth mad I thought it fit very well with their characters therefore it gives them an entrance.  



How have you developed your vocal and movement skills to create characterisation?

I developed my vocal and movement skills to create characterisation by going through the script of Macbeth and looking at all of my stage directions and for my Creon monologue I researched online about the character of Creon and it definitely helped watching a production of Antigone so therefore I went and saw that and over analysed the actor of Creon's movements and vocal techniques and obviously with him being male I had to interpret his movement and vocal skills differently and then try and suit them to myself.

How does your character interpretation relate to the Classical Theatre genre in terms of vocal techniques eg: awareness of rhythm, pace and tone?








My character interpretation relates to the Classical Theatre genre in terms of vocal techniques by pace and tone. As the character of Sergeant I wanted my pace to be quick but slow at the same time because I was in pain and I needed to show this by taking breaths in between each line to make my pace slower and makes it so I didn't rush my lines.  Furthermore I wanted my breathing to be shallow as if I was actually in pain.

Describe the contrast between your roles when performing to an audience?

The difference between the two roles I played which were; Sergeant and First Murderer are as followed.

For Sergeant I had to be out of breath and act injured and that I was just delivering a message, I feel that I did a lot with this role, also costume especially helped the overall aesthetic of the character, with the fake blood and the army wear, it really brought it all together. Whereas with first murderer I

dressed all in black and I had to change what I wore to all black with a 'pop' of colour, which in this case I used the fake blood all over my arms to indicate the 'blood of my other victims'. Also with first murderer my movement was different because as the Sergeant I didn't have to do much moving as I leaned on other actors who were 'holding me up' whereas with the first murderer my movements were slow and creepy and then I would move abruptly and fast paced to surprise my next victim, in this case 'Lady Macduff'.

The contrast between my two roles of Sergeant and First Murderer were very different in many ways but mostly in aesthetic, voice, tone, pace, and movement.

Did your performance communicate the intentions of your characters and styles with absolute confidence and flair?





 
I feel like my performance as the Sergeant communicated the intentions and styles with absolute confidence and flair, especially during the rehearsal process when I decided that I wanted to portray the sergeant as a beaten down mess covered in blood and severely injured but still found the strength somewhere inside to deliver this message to the Queen before it was to late. Furthermore I feel that during rehearsals I showed a lot of confidence with this role of Sergeant because although I was given it last minute I still persevered and went on with the character  as if I had had it for ages.