Establishing Structure


Today we looked at refining the work scene, as we felt we were missing some of the things we wanted to convey. First of all, we altered the conveyer belt so that instead of using computers, we used paper instead. This allowed us to create a more simplistic paper shuffling movement that we could use to create a beat. The organising of the paper made a much louder and more easily controlled sound than the keyboards, so the repeated sound was more defined which I think helped that sense of monotony we wanted to give the audience.

Two of the cast also created a night out scene between the main character Jack and his best friend Dan. The scene had an upbeat and fast paced energy which I think well reflected the chaotic nature of nightlife culture, although I think a few aspects concerning mask technique could have been more defined. For example, sometimes it was difficult to tell what it was they were doing, such as when listening to music on the jukebox. I think this was just a case of making the mime more exact and making sure they were both in agreement on the size, look and placement on the jukebox, since on occasion they stepped into the space it was supposed to occupy.

We also organised the structure of our piece. We wanted to be able to show the impact of Jacks choices and of alcohol in his life. We split the structure of our piece into a set of positive scenes for each of the supporting characters, followed by a set of negative scenes.

  • Work Positive
  • Dan Positive
  • Emily Positive
  • Work Negative
  • Dan Negative

Emily Negative

I think this was important because it allowed us to define the Jacks relationships and show the things that were a key part of his life. Having the comparison would allow the audience to better understand the loss Jack faced when all of these things left his life. Furthermore, I would say that these scenes are also important for showing the positive and negative sides of alcohol. It can be a something which is a part of positive experiences such as nightlife culture, for example with Jack and Dan’s scene, but can also lead to many problems and become addictive when not used in moderation.  

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