Drama

=__Developmental Workbook__= Marriage BY LAWRENCE RAAB Years later they find themselves talking about chances, moments when their lives might have swerved off for the smallest reason. What if I hadn􏰃t phoned, he says, that morning? What if you􏰃d been out, as you were when I tried three times the night before? Then she tells him a secret. She􏰃d been there all evening, and she knew he was the one calling, which was why she hadn􏰃t answered. Because she felt— because she was certain—her life would change if she picked up the phone, said hello, said, I was just thinking of you. I was afraid, she tells him. And in the morning I also knew it was you, but I just answered the phone the way anyone answers a phone when it starts to ring, not thinking you have a choice.
 * March 23, 2012**

I like the poem Marriage by Lawrence Raab. I like how it talks about how their marriage might never had happened if she had answered or not answered the phone at a certain time. I find it interesting how the couple look back and realize how just a small thing could have changed their entire relationship. I love when people analyze how changing one thing in the past might have changed where they are now and this poem is talking about how the woman knew that he was calling but knew that if she answered her life would change forever (which it did). Personally, I find this poem really intriguing and thought provoking because it makes you look at the past and how even the smallest thing can change everything for you. I like how in this poem they even talk about how they were afraid because they knew what was coming. That just shows that they did not know what would happen or where their relationship would go, but they took the change anyway and they ended up happy together.

What Makes An Entrance or Exit Effective? I think that what makes and entrance or exit effective is when the person (exiting or entering) adds a sort of dramatization to it. Even if they are just entering a room to get something, adding a bit of personality of the character to it, makes that entrance more a part of the play. In some cases, the entrance or exit has to be done quietly because it is supposed to be sneaky for example, but even then, adding a bit of drama to it makes that entrance or exit more effective. Overall, I think that what makes an entrance or exit effective is when the actor gives that part of the scene life, even if it might just be a small part of the play. Sometimes, the exit or entrance is critical for the scene, and sometimes not so much. Either way, emotion should be put into the entrance or exit, nonetheless.
 * March 8th, 2012**

Preparing for my final drama assessment where I played Nora was a bit of a challenge. I had the same difficulty that I had when preparing the part for performance earlier. This time though, I knew my lines a lot better so I was able to act and use props along with delivering my lines. Something that also helped me with portraying Nora was the fact that my partner knew all of his lines as well and was able to interact with the props so that the scene was more believable. One thing for the future that I need to work on is slowing down. I always have this problem of speeding up whenever I act, present etc. Watching the video back helped me realize just how much I spoke quickly. I also need to stop being so fidgety with how I stand because I am constantly moving around. This could have been a good thing but in the case of the skit, it just made Nora seem more confused then sure of showing off everything that she bought.
 * February 19th, 2012**

Preparing to present my scene took quite a bit of work. I had very simple one sentence lines except for one part, which I confused a lot. Since a lot of what I said was very similar to each other, I would mess them up and say them at the wrong times. Presenting the actual scene was a bit challenging because I got a bit stuck with my lines and had to look at the screen. Also, it was difficult to bring the actual emotion to reading it because I was getting confused between my lines. In response to the “Stars and Wishes” of the class, I do think that I needed to add a bit more emotion into it. With one comment about pronouncing the punctuation, I was a bit confused on what that meant. When I asked she said that I needed to be more clear where there were pauses, so that is definitely something that I need to take into consideration for whenever I perform. I had never thought about that in the sense of bringing the punctuation to my actual acting, but now I know that it is something I should do for next time.
 * February 2nd, 2012**

In the opening act of the play __A Doll’s House__, the names Torvald uses to refer to his wife are: - Nora - My little lark - My little squirrel - Little spendthrift - Little featherhead - My little skylark - Little person - Miss Sweet Tooth - Darling - Little girl
 * January 28th, 2012**

The opening conversation tells us that Torvald is a bit concerned with how much Nora is spending and how carelessly she is spending. Nora talks about how because the New Year is soon and a lot of money will be coming into the family, they can afford to spend a lot of money to make the house nicer and buy nice clothing. However, Torvald feels that she needs to stop spending as much as she does and that she needs to be more careful with the amount of money that she spends. The conversation tells us that their relationship is not the most concrete because the husband wants to save while the wife wants to spend a lot. You can see that Torvald has control over Nora. For example, at the bottom of page 6 it goes:


 * Helmer: T** hat is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle.


 * Nora: ** As you please, Torvald.

When Nora says, “As you please”, it shows that she is doing something so that her husband is happy, as compared to herself. After reading the opening conversation between Nora and Torvald, you see how it compares to the relationship in __The Story of an Hour__. In __The Story of an Hour__, Mrs. Mallard loved her husband dearly and was very upset to hear about his death. After a while though, she began to feel as though she had been freed and was somewhat okay with the news. Their relationship seems to differ from the relationship of Nora and Torvald because with Nora and Torvald you get the sense that Torvald is controlling and that Nora is not completely happy. With Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, even though they never actually have a conversation in the story, you get the sense that they love each other and that there was no one person powering over the other.

I think that when a playwright is considering a name for his play that he thinks about whether or not he wants to give away what the play is about. Depending on the name given, the playwright can tell an audience what a play is going to be about or he can keep it a mystery. The name "A Doll's House" for example, is mysterious because you can picture a doll house but you do not know whether the play will be about doll houses or something more. With the play "Billy Elliot" however, you automatically know that it is going to be about a boy named Billy Elliot. A playwright has to think about whether he wants the name of his play to have a hidden meaning that an audience will not pick up on when they first hear it. Sometimes playwrights want the audience to come in and not realize that the name of the play actually had a deeper meaning then was originally thought. This way they come in with one idea and leave with a whole new perspective of it. When a playwright has to think of a name he has to think about how relevant the name is to the subject of the play. You do not want to lead the audience completely astray with the name. Otherwise, they will come thinking the play is about one thing, realize that it is about something completely different and not want to come see anything else that playwright produces. Playwright's have to think about whether or not they want the title to sum up the play. In some cases, playwrights want the audience to know exactly what the play is about when they go in. One other thing that playwright's might have to consider when picking names for their play is what type of audience they are after. If they write a play that is a comedy they want people who are into comedy's to come see it. They will have to think of a name that shows the play is funny so that they attract the audience that they were after, but still not give too much away.
 * Question: The title is the first thing people know about a play and starts to create ideas in their minds. What do you think a playwright considers when choosing a name?**
 * Concept Map**

Monologue:
==== My name is Amy. I am a parrot living in the Amazon rainforest with my family. I have been living here for the past 3 years. Around me I constantly hear loud noises, noises that sound like metal, chopping down a big tree. My mom calls them machines and says that the noise is normal and has been heard by generations before us for decades. I am really curious to find out what the noise is. Every once in a while, as I look out over the thousands of trees in the forest, I see birds flying rapidly, animals running and big trees that have been there hundreds of years come flying down. I think that the machines are the reason for this. Mommy will not tell me if it is true or not because she says I will know when the time comes. I used to have a friend named Michael that I hung out with a lot but he is no longer here. Mommy says that the machine I keep hearing is the reason for his disappearance. I really want to know what this machine is but I also want it to go away. Every day, Mommy and Daddy look worried and panicked, always ready to make a move if necessary. They always say to my siblings and I “If you hear voices that you do not understand and you see big metal objects with giant teeth, come tell us and be ready to fly!!” I do not like living like this but until these big scary beings leave, I will have to constantly live in fear. ====

I decided to chose the topic of a bird in the Amazon rainforest because I wanted to look at how an animal would feel voiceless in an environment that is being taken away from them. To write the monologue I had to do a lot of research on the situation in the Amazon rainforest. I researched what exactly the problem is, how long it has been going on, how the birds in the Amazon are affected and what is being done about the problem. In writing my monologue I had a few challenges because I wanted to show the situation but also not give too much information because of who my character is. Being a bird, it is not going to know why its habitat is being cut down or what will happen to its home. Through my research I was able to find the answers to those questions. When I was writing my monologue I had to think about what I could say as a bird that gave some background to the situation but still only saying as much as a bird would be able to figure out. Something else I found challenging about writing the monologue was having to make what I wrote from the bird’s perspective not be boring and monotonous. Since the bird is only going to know so much I had to think about how I would write something that would be 1 - 2 minutes without it sounding repetitive. When I presented my monologue in front of the class I had difficulty remembering what I had to say. I knew the main idea of what I wanted to say to everyone as the bird but I could not remember it when I was sitting in the chair in front of the class. Something that I think I did well was keeping my voice slow and in good pace. I think that was important for my character because the bird would need to be clear when presenting her problem. I think that the Stanislavsky method of acting is very useful for an actor / actress because it allows them to get into the moods, feelings, scenarios, etc. of their character. If an actor does not believe that they are their character then nobody else will. When the actor starts thinking as their character does and pretending that they are their character then it makes it easier if they forget their line or sentence. For example, if an actor forgets his line, believing he is his character will help him say what he thinks his character would say at that point of time. In order to prepare for my presentation of my monologue on I found the best way to memorize it was to keep going over it again and again. By going over it I slowly memorized each part and was able to put everything together by the end. If I forgot something I had key points to remember which helped me to keep going if I stumbled on a part.

Background: What is the issue? The issue is that forests are being cut down to make paper, wood etc. leaving birds without homes.

How long has it persisted? This problem has been going on for about 450 years. Most of the damage though has been done in the past 40 years to the Amazon rainforest.

Who/what caused it? Mankind has caused this problem especially companies that need timber such as companies in China.

What is the problem? The problem is that when the Amazon rain forests are cut down it is causing over 500,000 animals, plants, fish etc to loose their homes. There are about 1,500 bird species in the Amazon rainforest meaning that many species have to find new homes or they will not be able to survive. If all the birds die that means that there will be an extinction of over 1,500 different birds.

Who/what does it effect? The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest affects the animals, plants, fish, amphibians and reptiles that live in the forest. It also affects the the few people that live in the forest because there home is being destroyed. It also affects the rest of the world because about 20% of the whole world’s oxygen comes from the Amazon rainforest.

How much does it affect them? The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest affects all the species and people living there a lot because they lose their homes and their way of living. They have to migrate and for some this is not easy. It is hard for birds when the forest is chopped down because they live in the under canopy of the forest and when that is taken from them they have nowhere to go. This causes them to die.

Has anything been done about it? There are some organizations set up to help stop the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest such as Greenpeace International. There are also some laws that prevent the cutting down of the forest at massive rates but they are not funded enough and so they do not make a powerful impact. Some things have been done to raise awareness in schools such as campaigns.

Why (not)? These are being done because if awareness is not raised and something is not done about the deforestation of the Amazon, then many species will die out and go extinct and the rest of the world will lose a major oxygen supplier and medicine supplier.

By whom? Organizations such as STARO (save the amazon rainforest organization) and campaigns are being done by different people that are interested and passionate about raising awareness and saving the forest. Laws are also being created but they are under funded.

Can you find resources to support your position or give others more info? There are many resources such as websites (for e.g. [|__http://www.mongabay.com/saving_brazils_forests.html__]), books (for e.g. The Great Kapok Tree: Tale of the Amazon Rainforest by Lynne Cherry) and newspaper articles etc.

Individual: Who are you? I am a bird that is about to lose his home because of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

How did you come to be involved? I was living in the under canopies of the forest and will continue to live there until it it cut down.

Does the issue affect you directly? Yes it does because as a bird living in the Amazon rainforest i will have nowhere to go when the trees are chopped down and my home is gone.

Does it affect people/ animals things you care about? Yes it affects my other birds and the animals that I need to eat to survive. If they lose their environment as well then I will starve and die.

How does it hinder you? It hinders me because I will lose my home and my food source thus causing me to die.

How do you feel? I do not feel anything right now because I don’t know that it is going to happen but I will feel scared and confused when it does happen.

What do you think? I think that my home is being destroyed and that I won’t have anywhere to go.

What do you want to do about it? I want to be able to tell somebody to stop the deforestation so that I don’t lose my home or food source.

Can you do anything at all? I cannot do anything at all because I cannot speak. All I can do is fly and make noises but that is all.

Are you alone or with others? I am with all the other animals, plants, fish and people about to or losing their home.

References: __[]__ __[]__ __[]__ __[]__ __[]__

__Emotion Exercise__ Doing the emotions exercise was somewhat challenging. When I had to think about a sad emotion I had some difficulty because I was trying to stay focused on one event that made me sad and ended up having different memories keep passing through my mind. When I had to say the sentence with a sad tone of voice, it was hard to pass my memory and how I felt through to my voice so that it came out sad sounding. With the happy emotion it was a lot easier because I thought of something and was able to continue that state of happiness when it was my turn to say the sentence. It is always a lot easier for me to be happy then sad. The angry emotion was hardest for me because I could not pinpoint a specific time that I was very angry. Everything I thought of kept going back to something sad and not angry and so it was difficult to sound angry when I had to say the sentence.

__Tree Exercise__ The tree that I was sitting in was tall and strong. There were many branches coming out from the tree. There were many other trees around the one that I was seated in. There were a lot of birds flying in and out of the tree and the other trees around it. The leaves on the branches were blooming. I was sitting high up in the tree so I used all the branches below to help myself up to the branch that was good for sitting. The reason that I was in the tree was because I was trying to see if I could view anything around. I could see for miles from the tree. I was in the tree with a friend. We were sitting there so that we could see how high we could climb in the tree and how far we could see. My friend kept falling and moving while he was in the tree. It was strange to imagine the chair as a tree. I have never really imagined anything to be something that it is not before. It was hard to pretend that my feet did not reach the bottom of the branch because my feet touched the ground in real life. I had to put my feet up on the bottom of the chair so that they would not reach the floor. I also had to hold on to the sides of chairs otherwise I would fall off because Freddie kept moving the chair. It was also hard to pretend that I could see for miles in different directions because all I saw was the actual classroom and not some forest or sky.