The Wardrobe by Sam Holcroft

Entry 1 - 10th September

About the play 

Our first play we have been introduced to is called The Wardrobe by Sam Holcroft.  The play is about a fixed object in this case a wardrobe which was built in the Tudor times and has survived through different periods of time.  There are 12 scenes in the play where we visit a different time period throughout the five centuries of British History.  Each scene shows how much this object means to each character when they climb in to the wardrobe e.g. hide or escape.

The video we watched on the National Theatre connections website Holcroft was discussing and thinking about how much energy young people have and how she wanted that to become a challenge in a small space, I liked the idea she was thinking of.  She spoke that "when you create Live theatre you generate a lot of energy" but, the fact is that she wants young people to try and confide the energy into a small space e.g. a Wardrobe.  Personally, it sounds like a challenge after hearing this it confused me a little bit because I wasn't quite sure how we would contain the energy in that space.  However, she then talked about a "pressure cooker" and saying about if there was a lot of energy in one confined space you can get lots of explosions that lead to other "wonderful things" can happen. I am starting to understand the idea of a pressure cooker and how this can help when it builds up to certain events.

Over the different periods of history contains either a hidden meaning, truth and story. Throughout the play we find out that some people made markings on the wardrobe.

Based on the writer's teenage years she often wanted to escape for many reasons e.g. bored at school or struggling with family problems.  However, by escaping she felt that she could be herself.  By showing each scene in different periods Holcroft wanted to highlight the different people who wanted to close a door on the outside world because of the the circumstances of the life and it's conditions.

Entry 2 - 14th September

What is Physical Theatre? 

Physical Theatre is a form on theatre that puts emphasise on the movement than the dialogue. There is vast number of deviations because the genres cover a wide range of work. The human body is used as the main storyteller. It's abstract in style then portrayed through movement in a realistic way.

DV8's production "Can we talk about this?"

DV8's production "Can we talk about this?" Through the production the performers and director used physical theatre to express extremely complicated but, delicate movements to narrate political and social issues. When words are difficult to explain alone combining body language and words can emphasise a lot more than just words alone.

Entry 3 - 15th September

Our work today was about naturalism which we discussed in pairs and then as a group to see what we knew already.  It was difficult to start of with because the only thing two words I had in my mind was realistic and believable. I have heard of naturalism but, was unsure of any other words to describe or relate to naturalism. However, the real struggle for me is to know the difference between naturalism and realism. The words naturalism and realism can be used a lot or said instead of the other word to mean the same when they actually aren't.

The spider diagram I made during the lesson gave me an idea of what we knew as a class about naturalism e.g. key terms or practitioners.

21st September

Titles for Scene 11 in The Wardrobe

The first title I came up with was based on the ideas that a child would experience through their time in the wardrobe.  The Wonders of The Wardrobe was based on the idea that a child would be exploring a world full of magic and fantasy. Children love snow and in the winter it has that effect of making places look like a wonderland. A fantasy in this scene was to help the girl Lucy imagine and experience something amazing even though to her it may just look like a wardrobe even, . As the writer has said previously in a video I watched about young people having "extraordinary" imaginations they can bring the fantasy they see through their own dreams to live in front of those who would love to experience this too. For example, the storyteller which shares this journey with Lucy who has cancer so it's a dream of hers that she's been anticipating for a while. Using props, music and words it can help Lucy to believe that this fantasy is happening. A little bit of imagination can go a long way.

Opening the doors to escape and discover - Lucy from the film Narnia

Comparing it to the film you imagine the way that Lucy discovers the wardrobe in a room and then it leads here to the amazing place called Narnia. For any child, it's a fantasy to be in a place like Narnia. So, this wardrobe is an not just an escape from reality but, a break from the outside world and a chance to just be herself by not worrying about what conditions she has e.g. cancer but, being herself is the best thing because you can shut a door from life's adversity. Also Lucy's fairytale or fantasy can come true through her own imagination from words by a storyteller.

The second title sounds a bit strange as we struggled to think about what else we could have. The Heart of The Wardrobe sounds mysterious but, not so easy to explain. I have just had a thought that maybe it could be called "Home is where the heart is" because Lucy in the play cries when she is happy that her dream could finally come true.  So, it's a comforting and the place where she would rather be.

We all have somewhere where we'd rather be.  For Lucy in the film it was Narnia that she explored, the play writer decides that in this scene the child with a serious illness at the time of the  Post War the wardrobe and the adventure feeling like a dream or wish of her's waiting to happen before she dies then hopes to visit. In the present day, a final wish for a child with a serious illness could be Disneyland as it's a world of fantasy and fairytale that every kid wishes to go. In this time, I am sure every child would love to go to place like Narnia.

A wonderland that every kid would dream of like Lucy's wonderland which is Narnia

23rd September

We warmed up differently by listening to Jeanette the head of voice as she lead us through a series of warm ups. The first video was to do with breathing, as you listen to her you can relax and ignore everyone else because you are concentrating on yourself. However, at the beginning I did feel a little bit strange because I didn't feel so focus but, when paying attention to her voice you can start to focus much a better.  Concentrate on the breath, you can feel the diaphragm and taking each step slowly you soon learn notice how much each warm up is important for an actor.

The breathing exercises either breathing in and then out with an "s" sound this helps to feel the organisation of each breathing muscles. This is to do with breath control and holding on to the sound. However, also doing spinal roles relaxes each vertebrae in my body but, I need to remember that if I come up to quickly I get blood rushed to my head then start to feel dizzy. If I come slowly, I can feel my ribcage open up, it helps to keep the connection will the belly and the back.

Each breathing exercise is an essential start to any vocal warm-up. This organises the breathing muscles and extend the capacity of the voice. When lying on the floor, feet flat knees raised as you let your breathe. Relax your shoulders, then relax the back of your neck as you let the breath respond to your position. Relax the jaw by giving it a massage to not have any tension is each muscle.

Without doing any exercise my body would have tension and wouldn't feel focus when practising today's lines. The difficulties of reading a poem was struggling to read the lines after reading it then saying it with a certain purpose as I couldn't help but, laugh. Eye contact is very challenging because when people look at you in a serious or certain way for too long I feel like it is out of my comfort zone. It's strange because when we talk to someone we look at them but, one on the spot we feel under pressure. I need to learn how to not laugh when looking at someone for too long.