Hello Fellow-Drama-Ibers….Hope you are enjoying the clear skies, crisp air, and sunshine we so rarely see here in the Northwest. Sitting here recalling our Friday discussion of OCG, I feel a sudden sense of urgency. Drama, the word itself, means ” to do.” Drama is an active verb, not a concept, although there are infinite concepts one could derive from its practice.
Hence we have this wonderful project before us. How can I best assist our collaborative journey? The philosopher, Goethe, urges us to simply begin once we feel the faintest glimmer of motivation. Where that motivation came from, what “stimulus” we are operating on, whether it be conscious or not, we only need to actually begin the journey and according to Goethe, the universe will provide what we need to make it happen.
One foot in front of the other. Lets begin the journey.
We made some important decision about the style of the production, beginning with our definition of a “staged reading.” I invite you to read and amend, make further suggestions, and continue the dialogue with regard to the whole production. I’ve noticed that you read each other’s comments, so lets continue that practice. Creative teams must re-visit their ideas, keeping an open mind as to what can be let go of and what must be clarified. I was heartened by Lucas’s story of his fifth grade band, The Cobraz, and how some of the members are still together…they must have a strong collaborative working style, and a common artistic vision to have remained together. That is one definition of success. So let the ideas and impulses flow. Remember that we must listen to each other and consider each others ideas, building consensus as we work.
SOME OF WHAT WE SAID…
- This is a play about character and so we need to memorize lines. Except for Liz’s monologue, we do not have hug line loads. Sorry Lauren!
- Some editing needs to be done with regard to the opening monologue and other parts that may be too intense for our audience.
- Projections would be kept at a bare minimum, if not, left out completely. We are still considering some use of them to assist our audience with a sense of “place.”
- We did discuss creating a backdrop of canvas as an image of the ship’s sail and as an image for a map of the journey from England to Australia.
- There will be two performances at least in Jan/Feb and they will happen in the drama room, a space we will adapt into a black box adding fabric covered 4×8 ft. panels, painting, and emptying the space to accommodate an audience of about 50-60.
- In order to express the main idea of the play, we will find appropriate costumes for the status groups that exist in the text. There exist the criminals, the officers that work with the criminals, Ralph and Harry, and the more distant layer, Ross, Campbell, Faddy, Dawes, and Governor Phillips. We may have to share some 18th century jackets and wigs…as Dawes and Faddy are only on for one scene.
What is our next step? I think we need to create a rehearsal schedule..but I don’t think we should rehearse everyday. We have other fish to fry during the week, so I am open to suggestions. Lets discuss this on Monday and lets have some fun between now and Winter Break…a little celebrating would be nice.
What else do YOU recall we discussed on Friday regarding OCG and what questions do you have about IB class? We will review deadlines for your TIW research project, your TIM stimulus project, and continue in our journey…. Blog, post, subscribe and have a nice weekend.
Ms. Ferguson
