Research for Road

In Road there are many themes that links to the 1980's. Poverty was in the 1980's Margret Thatcher came to power politically and made some changes which effected people who became employed from there jobs. This was the time when Billy Elliot was made. Billy Elliot shows the theme of the miners strike. Billy Elliot is a great example because there are miner strike scenes that shows you what the conditions were like and how the police were trying to get the miners.

This video shows that miner and the police and how violent it was. The police would block parts of the road. This video really shows what the strike conditions were like.

 The suffering of not seeing there families is running deep. The communities were separated and it took a long time to heal. Some of the communities never did heal.

The guardian wrote a story about a person Bruce who was a miner. He was 29 years old and married with 2 young kids. He worked as a miner in Silverwood Colliery Rotherham since 1978. He said that he knew that the strike would happen. They warned enough by our NUM (National Union of Mineworkers). Thatcher and her government wanted a showdown.

The strike is mainly because of the power and the leadership of Margret Thatcher this video explains the idea that Margret Thatcher had. Margret Thatcher was very good at giving speech to support her argument. 

The of National Coal Board wanted to cut 20,000 more jobs that previously planned to get the industry to break even was purely a commercial one. The NCB happily signed to the agreement. The minister thought that a strike could be avoided. The NCB never thought the strike would go on for years. Quoted by John Redwood 

'The left's aim is to pave the way for ultimate defeat of the government by destroying its policies and its credibility'. 

John Redwood was the chancellor of NCB and that quote was explaining his plan for the future. 

How does the theme poverty relate to my character?

My character Valerie is in a process of poverty because from her monologue she is explaining her story about the life that she is in and how her husband is always out. The words 'can we not have before again' shows that she is struggling and need help. The word 'we' means its more than one person which means maybe its a relationship issue. The poverty theme effects Valerie because of Margret Thatcher's cut jobs that Valerie needs. 

Music

Another theme that occurs in Road which is music. The character Bisto uses a lot of music in his scenes and relates to the 1980s. He refers in his monologue 'ahh the Bee Gees'. The Bees Gees was formed in 1958. The band member consist on Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.  The trio were very successful by releasing songs staying alive. They released the disco part of the 1980's. The Bee Gees had sold more than 220 million records worldwide. 

This clip was the music in the 1980s because this decade was all about discos and having a good time with your friends down the pub. The dance move of night fever was then brought in from this record and thats what became more popular. 

The 1980s was the memorial decade for music because of the diso element and DJ's like Bisto. Bisto used the music for his act. The music made his act more funnier and communicated to the audience his job and his character from. 

Also the music in the last scene got the boys what they wanted by getting the girls Carol and Louise drunk. The song 'Try a little tenderness' was written by Otis Redding which was released in 1932. 

Fashion

The fashion was a very popular part of the 1980s. Some of the fashion from 1980s have passed on to this decade such as leather jackets. Leather jacket were popular in the 1980s. International fashion was influenced by American sportwear more so in 1980s than it had been since jeans in 1960s. Also the jean jackets were influenced in the 1980s. Velvet was popular around the clock and women with tweeds and leather. 

Mens clothing wore snug fitting and comfortable clothes. Soft fabrics were everywhere while they clothes were still tight compared to today, they weren't skin tight like the seventies. 

Activewear was a popular choice for men and boys alike. Matching sweatpants and sweatshirts flew off the shelves for the entire decade. In the early eighties the men started a fashion of having a thick moustache but by the end of the decade they had become much less popular. Mens suits were relatively conservative seemingly the only in the eighties that wasn't drowned in the bright colours. 

Most characters wore the eighties fashion in the play Road. For example the girls that go 'pub after pub' had the fashion to talk to the men that were around. The girls wore heels to go out to the party. 

Valeries character didn't really have fashion as her costume was in her nightie but if she would go out she would of worn vibrant colours. 

Final Week Road

This week is the last week of Jim Cartwright's play 'Road'. This play has given so much confidence because I have gone out of my comfort zone and tried a more challenging part for my personally. I feel that I have improved in my character by trying out different ways of taking the monologue and having a new perspective on each line and point when I want to change the tone of the monologue.

The feedback that was given to me was on the whole much better than my previous attempts at this monologue however my accent did slip slightly at places where I wasn't as confident which was mostly near the end. On the other hand I know this and I will use this feedback to make my character better.

I have a prop in my scene which I am struggling to use because the prop either looks too rehearsed when I get angry or it looks funny. So I acted on this and tried to involve the washing more by stretching the clothes when angry and folding them angrily. I think that this will have my character more as it is her responsibility to do the washing, cleaning and ironing etc around the house. From a audience point of view they seems more interesting rather than sitting in a static position.

I have had some other feedback which says that I wasn't believable with the experience that Valerie is going through. For an example when Valerie's husband comes home Valerie would be more scared and quiet rather angry and loud.  The reason why I should do this is because I researched on youtube the 'Sons and Lovers' by DHLawerence which showed what a relationship similar to Valerie's. The video clip showed that when the husband comes in the room he wanted the centre of attention. It helped me realise what the husband's view is and how a he would come home from a long day at work and then go to the pub. Equally I can see how Valerie is when the money is spent on drink rather than on food,clothes and entertainment for the family. She must feel so embrassed to ask for money when she has no choice but to provide for her family. This makes sense as she is 'always scrimping and scarping' for her husband to give her some money.  She doesn't seem to have family to turn or on any prospects which doesnt help on her mental state and her ability to cope.

Week 7- Road

This week is the final week of rehearsing before show week. Personally I think the show is coming together really well however we still need to practise with energy, accent work and relationship with other character that need to have the chemistry between the two characters.

The two character I was referring to are Joey and Claire. From rehearsals I have seen I haven't found the relationship between because they still not entirely confident with there lines. They need to work with each other more to get the relationship right. I think that the scenes they have with each other is suppose to make the audience cry because there scenes are very sad to watch. I think that Claire needs to be more emotional and more caring for Joey because Claire is going on a diet for her boyfriend. Also there is a part of a scene where Claire stands up quickly and then feels dizzy. This looks not naturalistic because the spinning of her head suddenly comes too quickly. I feel she need to feel the dizziness before getting up so then she is knowing how she is feeling. I think Joey's reaction is not a obvious to see. I have a idea to maybe Joey gets out of bed and helps Claire in to bed again. This idea will give some movement to the scene and wont be boring to watch. Joey and Claire need to be similar to the character Romeo and Juilet. The relationship between Romeo and Juliet is so powerful because of the love they share. Romeo and Juliet are similar age to Joey and Claire. Also the reason for the both couples are that they die for the other person in the relationship. For example Romeo kills himself for Juliet because I thought that she was dead. Claire went on the diet because of Joey.
In order to improve Claire and Joey's relationship watching this clip will make them improve the scene.



The scene that we worked on was the scene between Helen and the Soldier (Curt). This scene has come on leaps and bounds. The reason why this is because the physicality is so strong in this scene it makes the audience be drawn in and see what Helen's character is about. I has humour this scene but at the same time you feel sorry for Helen. the way to improve this is to work more on the accent and slow the speech down because the speech can be lost if Helen speaks to fast. The awkward climb up on the soldier is my favourite part of this scene because it is funny and something to different to watch. This one thing that I would say is to work on the northern accent at time because the accent can be dropped.

This week was putting all the scenes together and running the whole show in one go. I performed my monologue and I thought that this was my best so far. The reason why it was my best attempt of the monologue was because I felt confident for the first time with my lines and my character. In my feedback Kirsty said that it was brilliant and made her cry which I think was a great reaction which I needed. Also to bring the emotion in to the monologue helped and made me cry to. The whole monologue came out more naturalistic. The only improvements that I need to make was to articulate on certain words such as 'swallowing and throwing'.

Before this feedback I had to think of ten items in my washing basket to show anger but then sadness. For example turning the washing inside out and fold it and just stroking clothes when daydreaming.

Target for this week are:
Keep going over the lines to avoid forgetting them in the performance
Practise with the washing and get use to using the clothes on what parts of the monologue.

Character Study

Name: Valerie Johnson

Age:35
Martial Status: Married
Ethnicity:White British 

What does your character do for a living?

Valerie is a mum with three children who she picks up after in a flat whilst her husband is working for the family. Valerie doesnt see her children too much because he is drinking at the pub all the time. I know this because Valerie cant do go out and get food to provide for family because the money is spent on drinks for her husband. Valerie is a working mum at home to make sure that the washing,cooking and cleaning are whilst the children are at school. 

What is the relationship between her and her husband? 

I think Valerie struggles to bond with her husband because Valerie is hesitate about him because of the way her husband treats her such as his 'fat hard hands in bed at night'. Valerie says that her is a 'rough dog' which I think it means that her husband is using her for sex which is horrible to think about for Valerie. If Valerie had a choice she would leave her husband but then she would feel guilty and want to come back. She feels confused about what she wants to do because she saying 'I blame but I dont blame him'.
Religion
I think that Valerie is a Christian because she prays for money and asking for money from her friends and neighbours. The neighbours are Christian because when they ask to help they are there to help for Valerie and that is a reference from Bible which is 'Love thy neighbour as you love thy self'. This means that neighbours believe that if Valerie needs money and help the neighbours will help.
Education
Valerie was brought in a poor part of the north which made it very hard to be in school and go to school. Valerie didn't have the best education because of where she lived and the environment around her. She received no qualifications because of the way she was living and her attitude towards school. Now she regrets all of this and she wants her children to have the best education possible so they dont make the same mistake as there mother did. 

Social Life 
Valerie doesnt have a social life because she is always at home looking after the children who she loves very much. She sacfices are social life because she doesnt want her children being left alone by her husband because he will be "pissed drunk".

Road- Week 6

This week we focused in individual scene to refine them ready for the show.

I focused on emotion on my monologue this week. Deborah said to come up with six points on where I need to change the pitch or emotion. She suggested one point which was the part of 'Rough dog' because that part is telling a story and changing the emotion slightly brings the characters differences. I thought about the other five point and about how it would flow into the monologue.

I chose the other 5 points:

The second point that I thought changing the perspective of the of that sentences. The words of 'What a life' is a line that makes Valerie review her life and her daily routine after that line. The line follows by 'get up feed every baby in the house'. The daily routine is tiring and is very lonely.

The couple of times I have said the line "Im fed up" sounds very depressing and not realistic. Issie said a good point about not showing the right reaction of the word. I thought if i changed to be more angry and burst in with the monologue. Bursting in with the monologue will allow the audience to be more interested.

Another point that I thought I could change was the last final words in the monologue which was 'oh my man'. Laura gave me some feedback on changing the line slightly to be more sacrastic and bring more volume to that line. The volume will bring the monologue up and build up the emotion more. I think that Valerie loves her man but she is heart broken because of what he does and her experience with her husband.

The fifth point that I thought was changing the perspective of the line 'He'll come home soon'. I thought that Valerie could be a little nervous for when he comes in because she knows what he is like when he is drunk.  I thought that to feel that I am nervous I thought bring the pace faster and look around her to see if he comes home.

In my monologue I say 'drinks it' three times. I thought to change the tone slightly on every time I say it and a reason for saying it three times. For example a memory that my character that didn't like and show that emotion in my voice and facial expression and body language.

I took part in a audition workshop with Max Lewendel who is the artistic director of Icarus Theatre collective. He said to consider the space and imagine what room I was in. When he said this I thought that I was in the washing and that would make sense considering I look static at the moment.

I had feedback to have a prop so the monologue wont look as static which could be boring.

Road week 5

This week was blocking the pre show of the play. This is the first part which everyone sees. Our pre-show is slightly different to the script as we wanted to develop the pre show by having all the characters.  

This is a picture of the staging of the pre-show. The pre-show gives the audience a little insight about what the play is about. The pre-show is good image to look at because there is a lot of levels and emotions going such as the difference between the Jerry who is a older and remembering the "past" where as Bisto is happy and playing some music in the pub. Also because there is so many people on stage at the same time gets the audience interested to watch the rest of the show. In the pre-show we see the Professor and Scullery do a double act about doing a video of Road which there character more others but they are character that explains the storyline of road. Making the video shows there relationship and how they are popular to other characters in the play.

We worked on the entrance and exits for each scene which was helpful for us actors but now it will flow a lot better because of the transferring from each scene. For example when I walk on for my monologue I push in between Bald and Dor to make a good transition.

 

We went from the beginning scene by scene. The scene that stood out for improvement was Louise and her brother scene. From my research I have seen that Louise's brother is horrible to Louise but I didn't feel this in the scene as there weren't having the contact they needed to make it uncomfortable to watch as a audience. To improve it I directed them to on the line "lets dance" to get closer so they are breaking there personal bubble that the characters both have and it looks awkward too because they are brother and sister. The video shows the brother breaking the personal bubble with his sister. The atmosphere is great in this now because of the eye contact which builds the tension. This scene now has lights and shades which is a brilliant scene to watch.

I saw the monologue of Skin Lad. The first time I saw this monologue I thought it lacked some confidence with the monologue wasn't sure that the facial expression were there. However the monologue is twice as more energy that what I saw last time. Now the monologue is got more eye contact with the audience which adds comedy to the monologue which is a great moment for the character as he is described by Lane Dor and Scullary as a "fucking nutter". The adjustments that I would make is to slow the monologue as you couldnt understand what Skin Lad was saying. I understand that his character is a energetic character who needs to be up and moving all the time however the pace needs work slightly. The physicality side of the monologue fits with what he is saying. For example the punching to the sides of the stage saying '1 2 3' works well as it keeps the pace up. The accent need to be worked on but Nathan did a good attempt of the accent. Compared to the first time I saw the monologue it has improved lots as he is confident with the lines gives a advantage to work more on the monologue to performance standard.

Road- Week 4

What are my ideas for costume? 

This week I started to think about costume Valerie seems to be quite red in her monologue because of the children driving her crazy so what I thought was to have her in a dressing gown.

                                             Description of Valerie's appearance page 54

The stage directions already say about Valerie's appearance. My idea is to elaborate from the dressing gown and have the dressing gown tatted to show that she is poor and doesn't have enough money. Her costume will be a old dressing gown with maybe flowers on it to show the age of the dressing gown. The dressing gown should be a fabric dressing gown with a nightie underneath.



This picture is Valerie which I thought that my costume similar. Valerie character seems to show tiredness as she is fed up with her husband. This costume shows that she is tired as a dressing is a comfy approach when you are tired and reminds people of bed and the feeling of being tired which we make the audience feel empathy towards Valerie. Also Valerie mentions in her monologue about "fat hard hands in bed at night" which indicates that she may just be used for at night. The dressing gown I thought that Valerie hair would be greasy and hasn't been washed for days because of the amount of stress she is put though on her own. At the end of the monologue she practically begs "can we not have before again" to the audience and it is a question asking to her husband because maybe her husband used to help with the kids and her got out of control and that's why he goes to the pub and "drinks it drinks it drinks it".

What feedback did I receive when performing?

Good feedback that had was:
Good accent however some words needs to be worked such as softening certain sounds.
Improvements I need to make:

My pitch was good but the audience thought that I needed more when emotional words come.This will impact the audience more as it will vary the tone of my voice.

My pace was a little boring at times because my pace was slow at times. The audience said that I shouldnt be afraid to speed the pace up and slowly the monologue down.

What did they want me to experiment in my monologue?
My group (Frankie, Brandon and Joe) suggested that I should experiment with my emotions by using the method working up through the emotions until it is to your biggest but I should start at 5 then I have a gap to go down or up in the tension of my mood. I will take this on board as I think it will help me improve my character because Valerie betrays a lot of emotion throughout her monologue.