Websites
- http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/cherryorchard/context.html
- http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/cherryorchard/themes.html
- http://www.shmoop.com/cherry-orchard/characters.html
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Images from websites
- http://www.bawds.org/kathy_wholley1.htm
- http://orion.neiu.edu/~stagectr/CherryOrchard/CherryOrchard.html
- http://www.gradesaver.com/the-cherry-orchard/study-guide/character-list
These are the sources I used for my research that have helped me with my blog. Also these images are references to those who have performed the character Chalotta and this has helped me with my character choices.
Thursday, 19 November 2015
The Cherry Orchard Evaluation
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov was a difficult play to perform and I played the part of Charlotta Ivonana. The themes were about loss, memory, old Russia and how had changed. My character in each performance really showed the way I saw than the way Chekhov saw her. I feel I didn't capture her in the same way he did. Through my evaluation, I will also talk about the strengths and weaknesses to how each performance developed.
In a short space of time the play proved to be more difficult. Not knowing our lines also led to awkward silences. We were under rehearsed because we had short allotted amount of time to properly rehearse and punctuality was an issue.
Characterization
I found it difficult to keep my character because I felt like I was acting like myself at times, letting the characterization slipped away. Most of the characters managed to keep completely in character. Personally, I think my character on the first was too soft and I didn't reveal the outer shell of this character but, revealed what was hidden underneath her. A character like Charlotta you need to be a strong woman, someone who has lived but, experiences things that the other characters haven't. She could be a different woman if she wasn't a governess but, the character needed to be a strong individual.
Someone who really had great characterization was Jack's character, Simeon. He kept the clumsiness and really changed the character. It was nothing like himself. In a way, he helped me out to get back on track after I performed my monologue at sat down. Also the emotional memory helped to think of past experiences where you'd have to be the stronger woman. It raised the energy and helped me continue my character.
Also I improved in my next two performance, developing gestures that were obvious for my character and remember my physicality of what I did last time. The confidence grew with my character, especially when the ideas this time was not to reveal my soft side. The difficulty was I felt like I revealed myself a lot rather than character.
Stylistically
The style of the piece showed that all the time it may have been realistic but, I felt the costume for my character was unclear to show what status I was. I would of thought the Victorian type of lace top and trousers was an idea. In a way, I felt like I was a servant from the outfit and it didn't show my class.
However, from the (picture to the right) I was basing it Kathy Wholley's idea look as I didn't want to make it the clothing choice to feminine as it would not suit the character. Relating it to the idea about the way she presented herself and the way I presented the way my character looked way good because even if I looked lower class it showed that it didn't seem like something a governess would wear in my eyes.
Was it a naturalistic performance?
I believe we did perform and give a naturalistic performance. The set setted the scene with the type of chairs and furniture at the time. We did three simple gestures that would show that the character did these things normally.
Conclusion
I still have a lot of developments I can make to those weakness and strengths. It has depicted on each performance that my vocal tone and they way it was mostly a middle range a lot of the time. I could of experimented and explored the character creatively but, I didn't use much imagination as I focused to much on the information that I was given than exploring. Professionally I need to know the things I need to improve on which are my vocal tone, physicality and creative which are key things that I lack in my performances. To be professional to reach my career aims, I need to break barriers and be more creative and in depth of the character that was a weakness to me.
Basics
In a short space of time the play proved to be more difficult. Not knowing our lines also led to awkward silences. We were under rehearsed because we had short allotted amount of time to properly rehearse and punctuality was an issue.
Characterization
I found it difficult to keep my character because I felt like I was acting like myself at times, letting the characterization slipped away. Most of the characters managed to keep completely in character. Personally, I think my character on the first was too soft and I didn't reveal the outer shell of this character but, revealed what was hidden underneath her. A character like Charlotta you need to be a strong woman, someone who has lived but, experiences things that the other characters haven't. She could be a different woman if she wasn't a governess but, the character needed to be a strong individual.
Someone who really had great characterization was Jack's character, Simeon. He kept the clumsiness and really changed the character. It was nothing like himself. In a way, he helped me out to get back on track after I performed my monologue at sat down. Also the emotional memory helped to think of past experiences where you'd have to be the stronger woman. It raised the energy and helped me continue my character.
Also I improved in my next two performance, developing gestures that were obvious for my character and remember my physicality of what I did last time. The confidence grew with my character, especially when the ideas this time was not to reveal my soft side. The difficulty was I felt like I revealed myself a lot rather than character.
Stylistically
 |
However, from the (picture to the right) I was basing it Kathy Wholley's idea look as I didn't want to make it the clothing choice to feminine as it would not suit the character. Relating it to the idea about the way she presented herself and the way I presented the way my character looked way good because even if I looked lower class it showed that it didn't seem like something a governess would wear in my eyes.
Was it a naturalistic performance?
I believe we did perform and give a naturalistic performance. The set setted the scene with the type of chairs and furniture at the time. We did three simple gestures that would show that the character did these things normally.
Conclusion
I still have a lot of developments I can make to those weakness and strengths. It has depicted on each performance that my vocal tone and they way it was mostly a middle range a lot of the time. I could of experimented and explored the character creatively but, I didn't use much imagination as I focused to much on the information that I was given than exploring. Professionally I need to know the things I need to improve on which are my vocal tone, physicality and creative which are key things that I lack in my performances. To be professional to reach my career aims, I need to break barriers and be more creative and in depth of the character that was a weakness to me.
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
Character Study - Charlotta
Who am I? She is Anya's governess. She is a in late thirties / earlier forties.
Name: Charlotta Ivanovna. The Russian meaning of Charlotta means masculine or a "free man." I think it's quite an appropriate name for the character. I think this could relate to what she's like as a person.
Where am I? The house she lives in is the estate next to an cherry orchard in Russia with Lyubov, her family and other household.
When is it? The Cherry Orchard is set in 19th Century Russia. It's between May and October. The weather is cold when they arrive back to Russia after being 5 years since they were last here.
What do I want? She'd do anything to have company or wants to have have something to love. I also feel like she wants someone to except her for who she is.
Why do I want it? Charlotta feels that she's alone. She's the only one who's a different class (middle class) to the others. What Charlotta wants is to have children of her own, the cot moment conveys that when she sings she remembers the times when she looked after Anya. She wants to be loved and have a family. She is the very opposite of Lyubov however, they both want a soul mate.
How will I get it? Whenever she has the chance to flirt or talk sense with the other men in the household, she will try to see if she can persuade them to like her for who she is. The difficulty is for those men to understand what she means.
What must I overcome? She's a hard and a strong person on the outside but, underneath she is soft and loving person. The cradle moment in the play revealed her gentle side and shows her attachment in the way she speaks in her motherly tone. It's a complete opposite of the way she is towards the other members of the household. Charlotta needs to overcome the barrier that she won't let anyone see her sensitive weak side because maybe people can see her in a different light.
Past life: She's a single governess who doesn't really fit in. She follows in the footsteps of her parents performing magic tricks but, Anya (Lyubov's daughter) does complain about it. Ivanovna is an orphan, her parents were travelling performers and when they died a German lady took care of her. Also she has no home and no strong identification about the past. She travelled with Anya to find Lyubov and accompany them back to the estate.
Present day: As the estate and the cherry orchard is going to be auctioned to pay the bank their debt, it's difficult for Charlotta to find work as Anya doesn't need a governess any more. She's a strong and independent woman, Ivanovna is still lonely.
Charlotta's objective is to support the family and look after them when they get back to the estate.
Charlotta's super-objective is to find love and find someone who understands. That means at times to try to break down the barrier to show others that she can be different and show the person she used to be before becoming a governess.
Summary
This character is lonely but, Lyubov was the one who has been kind to her since that's who gave her the job. She has been looking after Anya for a long time now. The memories that Charlotta has is missing the times when she looked after Anya and raising her as her own. Part of her wishes she could find love and have a family but, she's quite a deep person.
This character is a real challenge to portray.
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| Charlotta's cucumber moment in her monologue |
Where am I? The house she lives in is the estate next to an cherry orchard in Russia with Lyubov, her family and other household.
When is it? The Cherry Orchard is set in 19th Century Russia. It's between May and October. The weather is cold when they arrive back to Russia after being 5 years since they were last here.
What do I want? She'd do anything to have company or wants to have have something to love. I also feel like she wants someone to except her for who she is.
Why do I want it? Charlotta feels that she's alone. She's the only one who's a different class (middle class) to the others. What Charlotta wants is to have children of her own, the cot moment conveys that when she sings she remembers the times when she looked after Anya. She wants to be loved and have a family. She is the very opposite of Lyubov however, they both want a soul mate.
How will I get it? Whenever she has the chance to flirt or talk sense with the other men in the household, she will try to see if she can persuade them to like her for who she is. The difficulty is for those men to understand what she means.
What must I overcome? She's a hard and a strong person on the outside but, underneath she is soft and loving person. The cradle moment in the play revealed her gentle side and shows her attachment in the way she speaks in her motherly tone. It's a complete opposite of the way she is towards the other members of the household. Charlotta needs to overcome the barrier that she won't let anyone see her sensitive weak side because maybe people can see her in a different light.
Present day: As the estate and the cherry orchard is going to be auctioned to pay the bank their debt, it's difficult for Charlotta to find work as Anya doesn't need a governess any more. She's a strong and independent woman, Ivanovna is still lonely.
Charlotta's objective is to support the family and look after them when they get back to the estate.
Charlotta's super-objective is to find love and find someone who understands. That means at times to try to break down the barrier to show others that she can be different and show the person she used to be before becoming a governess.
Summary
This character is lonely but, Lyubov was the one who has been kind to her since that's who gave her the job. She has been looking after Anya for a long time now. The memories that Charlotta has is missing the times when she looked after Anya and raising her as her own. Part of her wishes she could find love and have a family but, she's quite a deep person.
This character is a real challenge to portray.
The Cherry Orchard
Introduction
The Cherry Orchard is our second play that we were given as a class. It was the last play Anton Chekhov wrote before he died in 1904. Chekhov was a Doctor and started writing to see him through medical school. He's someone who has seen a lot but, thought of people differently through status, affection and manner. The play does relate to his experiences and the way he thinks about Russia but, he learnt about with people who have different experiences.
What do I know about Naturalism so far?
Chekhov and Stanislavski are two Russian playwrights who we have explored but, are both followers of Naturalism.
Chekhov
Chekhov is one of the leaders in naturalistic drama writing. Before he pursed a career in journalism and writing short stories, he trained but, briefly worked as a Doctor.
His plays include naturalism which mirror real life and actually events that happened. The pause was vital in his plays as this device revealed a truth in the pause. An event can change nothing but, the characters in the play are effected "You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible." ( Brainquote.com ) For example in The Cherry Orchard Lyubov isn't sure about putting her trust and belief into Alexander hands about the estate. As a result, Alexander decides to save her debt but, manages to loose her trust life becomes impossible because she can't save the orchard either. Things become impossible when you don't trust others then becomes worth of how to trust yourself.
Relating it to the play "It's funny how sometimes the people you'd take a bullet for, are the one's behind the trigger." Alexander for a fact was defiantly the one behind the trigger and Lyubov would take a bullet for her family and household but, everyone would be effected in this event. When something is taken away from you, it's difficult to let go especially when the person who made the decision is the one you and everyone else trusted but, had a planning to ruin her.
Chekhov's plays related to his life. The Cherry Orchard was written from early 1901 to late 1903 and it was one of the last two plays he wrote. Since he has been diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1898, he had special care of seeing a Doctor regularly and was on the Mediterranean Island of Yalta. This was in order to spare his lungs.
Stanislavski
Stanislavski was different to Chekhov. Stanislavski didn't graduate as he continued to self-educate while travelling in Several European countries. He studied in museums and libraries, he's the leading practitioner of The System.
The System includes:
The Magic If - Stanislavski said that the character should ask the question "What should I do in this situation?" This means that the actor then puts themselves into the character's situation. This helps to motivate the character to play the role.
The Cherry Orchard is our second play that we were given as a class. It was the last play Anton Chekhov wrote before he died in 1904. Chekhov was a Doctor and started writing to see him through medical school. He's someone who has seen a lot but, thought of people differently through status, affection and manner. The play does relate to his experiences and the way he thinks about Russia but, he learnt about with people who have different experiences.
What do I know about Naturalism so far?
Chekhov and Stanislavski are two Russian playwrights who we have explored but, are both followers of Naturalism.
ChekhovChekhov is one of the leaders in naturalistic drama writing. Before he pursed a career in journalism and writing short stories, he trained but, briefly worked as a Doctor.
His plays include naturalism which mirror real life and actually events that happened. The pause was vital in his plays as this device revealed a truth in the pause. An event can change nothing but, the characters in the play are effected "You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible." ( Brainquote.com ) For example in The Cherry Orchard Lyubov isn't sure about putting her trust and belief into Alexander hands about the estate. As a result, Alexander decides to save her debt but, manages to loose her trust life becomes impossible because she can't save the orchard either. Things become impossible when you don't trust others then becomes worth of how to trust yourself.
Relating it to the play "It's funny how sometimes the people you'd take a bullet for, are the one's behind the trigger." Alexander for a fact was defiantly the one behind the trigger and Lyubov would take a bullet for her family and household but, everyone would be effected in this event. When something is taken away from you, it's difficult to let go especially when the person who made the decision is the one you and everyone else trusted but, had a planning to ruin her.
Chekhov's plays related to his life. The Cherry Orchard was written from early 1901 to late 1903 and it was one of the last two plays he wrote. Since he has been diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1898, he had special care of seeing a Doctor regularly and was on the Mediterranean Island of Yalta. This was in order to spare his lungs.
Stanislavski
Stanislavski was different to Chekhov. Stanislavski didn't graduate as he continued to self-educate while travelling in Several European countries. He studied in museums and libraries, he's the leading practitioner of The System.
The System includes:
The Magic If - Stanislavski said that the character should ask the question "What should I do in this situation?" This means that the actor then puts themselves into the character's situation. This helps to motivate the character to play the role.
Imagination
Emotional memory - They actor finds a similar past experience that they could relate it with their character. The feelings can be "borrowed" to bring the character's feelings to life.
Actions - They could either be actions or gestures from what how the character should show themselves to be like.
Objectives - When the actor needs to achieve that target that was set for them.
These different techniques in The System is used to help train actors and actresses to draw believable and realistic emotions throughout their performances.
Exploring The Cherry Orchard play
As a class we had a read-through for everyone to all learn about before we got the characters. I thought it was helpful so we could discuss about the play with my other peers as I did understand the play but, wanted to get a better understanding. So, I did some research about the context, the characters and play The Cherry Orchard by using www.sparknotes.com which helped me to learn about the play better and it was broken down easier than a site like Wikipedia. This play is very difficult to not only perform but, the style I found was difficult to think about.
After we got given the scripts of which scenes we would do, we when then told our characters. I found out the character I was given is the governess called Charlotta. Next we got into groups of which act we were in however, I was put in Act 1 for the moment even if I had one line but, Karen decided to add the servant scene to Act 1 in so I would have a bit more to say and a chance to perform her monologue in the way Chekhov sees Charlotta to be like.
I have struggled this character a lot. It's difficult to see what she's like but, after researching her it turns out that she is a lonely character that doesn't really fit in. I also found out she's an orphan but, her parents were both travelling performers
Plantonov
Karen took us to see Plantonov which was one of the 4 part plays at the Chichester Festival Theatre. This was because if we watched a play performed it would help us the way the actors use naturalism and how Chekhov's plays work, We were told to look out to see if any of the characters could relate to the character in the Cherry Orchard. I couldn't see anyone or relate to anyone from the characters in the play. I didn't feel that my character was in anyway like them at all.
The pauses were good like the time Plantonov was sitting outside his house alone thinking. It was effective and realistic because it was something that someone would naturally do when they are alone. Some people are looking to escape from where they are, Plantonov was trying to escape from lots of different woman and work out what he would need work out to achieve his objective at the end of the play. However, a powerful pause would be after something dramatic happens e.g. when Plantonov is shot. The silence may be deafening but, it can give an intense imagery and reveal a deeper meaning to the play.
I loved the lighting and scenery. The way that that by the lighting you could tell by what time of day it was whether it was the evening, the morning or the afternoon. The detail that the lighting designer, director and stage manager not just thought about the whole picture but, also thought about the individual pictures to make it realistic.
The similarities were that both plays introduced us to a female landowner who owned the estate. Also the characters relate to Chekhov when he lost the estate. However, Lyubov relates to him more as she also planted a cherry tree like Chekhov did so, the memories were powerful and it was difficult to erase the pain when it was cut down.
The idea I pictured of what our play was going to look like with furniture I imagined with wooden furniture and we could add the lighting dimming or brightening to show the time of day it was than have the same light throughout the play. Lightening can be a key to show how we can show the light to be a realistic part of this play.
These different techniques in The System is used to help train actors and actresses to draw believable and realistic emotions throughout their performances.
Exploring The Cherry Orchard play
As a class we had a read-through for everyone to all learn about before we got the characters. I thought it was helpful so we could discuss about the play with my other peers as I did understand the play but, wanted to get a better understanding. So, I did some research about the context, the characters and play The Cherry Orchard by using www.sparknotes.com which helped me to learn about the play better and it was broken down easier than a site like Wikipedia. This play is very difficult to not only perform but, the style I found was difficult to think about.
After we got given the scripts of which scenes we would do, we when then told our characters. I found out the character I was given is the governess called Charlotta. Next we got into groups of which act we were in however, I was put in Act 1 for the moment even if I had one line but, Karen decided to add the servant scene to Act 1 in so I would have a bit more to say and a chance to perform her monologue in the way Chekhov sees Charlotta to be like.
I have struggled this character a lot. It's difficult to see what she's like but, after researching her it turns out that she is a lonely character that doesn't really fit in. I also found out she's an orphan but, her parents were both travelling performers
Plantonov
Karen took us to see Plantonov which was one of the 4 part plays at the Chichester Festival Theatre. This was because if we watched a play performed it would help us the way the actors use naturalism and how Chekhov's plays work, We were told to look out to see if any of the characters could relate to the character in the Cherry Orchard. I couldn't see anyone or relate to anyone from the characters in the play. I didn't feel that my character was in anyway like them at all.
The pauses were good like the time Plantonov was sitting outside his house alone thinking. It was effective and realistic because it was something that someone would naturally do when they are alone. Some people are looking to escape from where they are, Plantonov was trying to escape from lots of different woman and work out what he would need work out to achieve his objective at the end of the play. However, a powerful pause would be after something dramatic happens e.g. when Plantonov is shot. The silence may be deafening but, it can give an intense imagery and reveal a deeper meaning to the play.
I loved the lighting and scenery. The way that that by the lighting you could tell by what time of day it was whether it was the evening, the morning or the afternoon. The detail that the lighting designer, director and stage manager not just thought about the whole picture but, also thought about the individual pictures to make it realistic.
The similarities were that both plays introduced us to a female landowner who owned the estate. Also the characters relate to Chekhov when he lost the estate. However, Lyubov relates to him more as she also planted a cherry tree like Chekhov did so, the memories were powerful and it was difficult to erase the pain when it was cut down.
The idea I pictured of what our play was going to look like with furniture I imagined with wooden furniture and we could add the lighting dimming or brightening to show the time of day it was than have the same light throughout the play. Lightening can be a key to show how we can show the light to be a realistic part of this play.
What is The Cherry Orchard about? What's the significance of The Cherry Orchard?
The Cherry Orchard symbolises different thoughts from each character in the play. For example, it reminds Lyubov of her memories from her youth when she says "I feel like a little girl again." She doesn't want to loose it because it's something precious to her so, cutting it down would not just kill the cherry orchard but, part of her heart would break too. However, her friend Alexander wants to cut down the cherry orchard to make a fortune and doesn't understand how much this orchard is worth to Lyubov.
Chekhov's past relates to this because he knew about cherry trees and planted a cherry tree on an estate in Melikhovo and had purchased it in 1982. However, not long later he lost the estate and the new owner cut down the cherry trees. So you can see where he got the idea of the play that is related to his experiences.
The Cherry Orchard is a paradise that Lyubov never wants to be lost. Convincing him is difficult because all Alexander's cares about is the money that he'll get than the beauty of this orchard. His difficult childhood pushes him to the direction of killing this wonderful creation.
The difficulties of both characters relate to memory and loss which is two of the themes in this play.
19th Century Russia
19th Century Russia was a time of great change.
Music
The choice of music that could have been used to introduce our play could be something sound sad but, something with meaning of life to being with. The old Russian song "Why are you so sad, Maria?" The song sounds like a good way to open the play. I could imagine it relating to The Cherry Orchard and the way it could reflect on the memory but, also the character's who have lost something precious to them. It feels like this song represents the pain, memory and the way each character reflects on who they really are. It could also work as the music for the end of the play to be like a reflection of the past but, a way that life still carries on. I think this music may be a good thing to use if we ever going to do another Russian play but, I feel that it is quite sad for the beginning of the play.
 |
| The blossom on the cherry trees |
The Cherry Orchard is set in 19th Century Russia when a family return to the estate to find out that they don't have long to find a way to owe the bank their debt. It leads to only one solution which is to auction the estate. However, The Cherry Orchard is shown to be the most valuable and precious memorable thing that it's struggle for Lyubov the household owner to let go. It's going to be a complicated and difficult decision to make especially when the Cherry Orchard holds so many memories. Something's our precious back in the past but, not always precious in the future.
Chekhov's past relates to this because he knew about cherry trees and planted a cherry tree on an estate in Melikhovo and had purchased it in 1982. However, not long later he lost the estate and the new owner cut down the cherry trees. So you can see where he got the idea of the play that is related to his experiences.
The Cherry Orchard is a paradise that Lyubov never wants to be lost. Convincing him is difficult because all Alexander's cares about is the money that he'll get than the beauty of this orchard. His difficult childhood pushes him to the direction of killing this wonderful creation.
The difficulties of both characters relate to memory and loss which is two of the themes in this play.
19th Century Russia
19th Century Russia was a time of great change.
Music
The choice of music that could have been used to introduce our play could be something sound sad but, something with meaning of life to being with. The old Russian song "Why are you so sad, Maria?" The song sounds like a good way to open the play. I could imagine it relating to The Cherry Orchard and the way it could reflect on the memory but, also the character's who have lost something precious to them. It feels like this song represents the pain, memory and the way each character reflects on who they really are. It could also work as the music for the end of the play to be like a reflection of the past but, a way that life still carries on. I think this music may be a good thing to use if we ever going to do another Russian play but, I feel that it is quite sad for the beginning of the play.
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