Unit 4 Evaluation

 This is my initial idea on creating my evaluation i will be focusing on one point from the image. 

Tents

Outside work (shadows)

This is where the actor is outside of the tents and light is projected onto the actors’ hands by using torches. This is so that the actor can create a face or shape where, using semiotics, the audience can see the created shape as an index towards a relatable source.

Having the audience sitting in the tents and having shadows projected above them, gives that sense of childish-ness in them, making them feel like the story is coming to life.

(Sanctuary scene – 10/03/2014)

This is a scene from ‘Lemony Snicket and the Series of Unfortunate Events.’ In this scene having the shadow of what is mentioned as a photo of the children’s parents lit up with a light source behind it emphasises their silhouettes. Looking at the image from the children’s perspective, the Shadow projected above the children, makes the scene that more meaningful, and shows the relationship between the characters without using script. 

What didn’t work with this is the audience sitting in the tents. With a small group of people in a tent, this makes the tents really hot and stuffy. Putting the audience in that environment can make them feel uncomfortable, and that would take the attention away from the audience. So the only thing we could do to improve is having two people from the audience at one time. The only problem is that it would make the audience bored because they will soon understand that 2 people get taken into the tents, and they will be wondering when their turn is to go into the tent. Which will cause them to take focus off the actors who will be trying to distract them from the audience, unless the actors who are with the rest of the audience could ask the audience what they think is in the tent, and build the focus towards the tents. But that means the tents should be the main focus of the show, which I don’t think they should do because I like the subtle use of the tents to create the atmosphere.

I compared the shadow work we did in class to the theatre company ‘Wondering Moon.’ Looking at the picture on their website, I noticed that the shadow play is a lot more intricate, and how they spend a lot of time on what the shadow puppet looks like. I also found out that the company shows their work in the outside environment, this shows that they are not transfixed on making it look like shadow puppets are real, where as they will have the audience seeing the actor manouver the puppets. This can be a link towards the practitioner Brecht, where the alienation comes into practice. This is when the actors shows the audience they are an actor playing a character, breaking the illusion and realism that Stanislavski is commonly known for,

(Wondering moon – 16/03/1014)

Looking at the image above, I noticed the lighting sets the mysterious atmosphere, and you could easily see the detail in the shadows. When we created the shadow puppets we made it really simple, which really works because we played on making the audience think, whereas Wondering Moon makes the audience amazed and entertained, keeping in mind that the Wondering Moon Theatre Company is aimed at children.  

To apply this to the show, we have a scene where the audience are taken into the tents; this is where the shadow play is used. While I am telling my story, I have two other actors on the outside of the tents, and they have devised their own shadow play. Looking at the meaning behind my story, I wanted to keep the shadows fairly to the stimulus of light hearted but a subtext of a darker meaning. The two actors on the outside of the tents made the decision to use their bodies as silhouettes, rather than paper puppets. This is so they can feel that they are not restricted to one device of practice.

To improve this scene I would want to spend more time on the shadow play and possibly add in moments where the actors swap from storyteller to shadow actor. I would want to try out the possibility of more actors being used, and maybe have all the actors on the outside of the tents to be placed centre stage, and have light projected on to them while they were in a still image so that each group of audience would see the same still image projected on to each tent. I would want to try out having the storyteller interact with the shadows, maybe having the storyteller blowing into her hand and having the shadow actors using shadow to create birds or butterflies as an example to work with. Keeping in with the theme of my story, I would have the possible use of colourful floor lights, using gels in orange and red, projected around the tents to create the effect of fire, as well as the heat generated from the lights to give the sensation of house fire.

Bibliography

Sanctuary image - http://lookatthisstuff.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/shadow-play/ (Accessed 10/03/2014)

Shadow research wondering moon shadow theatre - http://www.scene4.com/archivesqv6/sep-2006/html/infocussep06.html (Accessed 10/03/2014) 

Wondering Moon shadow theatre image - http://www.scene4.com/archivesqv6/sep-2006/html/infocussep06.html (Accessed 10/03/2014)