Evaluation of much ado about nothing

Evaluation of Much Ado About Nothing 

1st show in New Theatre 

I believed that for the first show of Much Ado About Nothing, I needed to talk a bit louder as, since I said some of my lines very fast it made the projections of the lines decrease throughout the performance, especially when the watchmen arrested Conrade and Borracio on the balcony, On the other hand, The watchmen brought the comedy side of the play out a lot throughout that scene , through the use of gestures, actions and miming of us sneaking around the stage. The theme of the play was comedy and as an ensemble we used the aspect of comedy in a very effective way because we didn't only do research into the play to find the comedy in the words but we also used our comedic words to find the comedy in our actions as well, moreover, we were constantly living in our given circumstances and just constantly playing around, which lead to a successful performance.

I have notice since our audience was much younger in the first performance than the second performance, I noticed that the audience found laughter more in our actions than in our Shakespearean words because I didn't think they really understood everything that we were implying of saying, on the other hand, The adults in the theatre understood the comedy in the words because they were older and had more understanding and knowledge of the actions and words.

The props in the play worked well, for example, the guns that the watchmen were holding even through they were made of plastic they looked very life-like because we played with them really well, every time someone picked up, they picked it up as if it was very heavy, therefore, this made the show become more really for the audience and the actors.

2nd Show in New Theatre 

The energy used throughout the show was very good because since it was the second show we were tired, however, we were very energetic in our piece, moreover, since our energy was so high it brought up the energy of the audience and made that even more interactive towards our piece. I have noticed that most of the things the audience found fun the in first performance the parents didn't really find fun because they didn't really still have the child mentality that we have as performers.

I believe that the cast did really well with our accents because at the start of the rehearsal process our accents weren't doing so well , however, by the time we got to the 2nd performance, i believe the tone and shape of the accents that we used was very strong, moreover, even through we were using a very hard accent we still projected and the audience could understand everything with clarity. 

3rd show in Brighton 

During the 3rd show in Brighton , I believed as an ensemble we worked really well with our ques because since the area we performed in was so big and so loud, it was quite hard to hear what was going on , on the stage, on the other hand , I strongly believed out of all three shows that we did this had to be the worst in the aspect of sound and clarity because we were competing so many other sounds than just ourselves and the audiences. Even though in Brighton we didn't have much sound or lighting in our scenes we still brought the energy that we had in the theatre into the stage we had in Brighton because I believe that since we didn't have the lighting we thought that we had to make more bolder choices and do more to help bring across the story that we were trying to bring across to the audiences. 

Something I would have done better next time would have made sure I had lubricated my voice properly and truly warmed up before I went on stage because at the beginning of my scene I felt like I had the need to shout to be understood clearly and effectively by the audience at the middle and back of the sitting area, however, as time and the okay went on I found a easy level of clarity that I could talk at for me to be understood without me shouting and straining my voice in the performance, which was really beneficial for me because it helped me to find more freedom in the scene and to just play and by the middle of play I was just playing and enjoying the moment , which was something that should of been doing right from the beginning of the play.

MY PRODUCTION

 My Production

RESEARCH: Research your own Shakespeare play: Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost or Titus Andronicus. What is the play about? When was it first performed? Find a contemporary production of the play you can get an idea of and research it in terms of concept, style, design, casting. Give some attention to your own character and their role in the play.

Much Ado About Nothing

The Play Much Ado About Nothing is one of William Shakespeare most comedic plays that he has written in his life time, The play was first performed in 1612 and then later adapted in 1993 into a Dramatic film, in addition to this , the play was known to have been written between 1598 and 1599, when William Shakespeare was in about the the middle of his career as a Director, playwright and Actor and an English Poet.

I have noticed since Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy, the comedy in the play would have been comedy that was appropriate to the audience of the time the play was written and performed , on the other hand, the comedy that is written in the play wouldn't really have a massive impact on the modern day audience that come to watch the play. The characters in Much Ado About Nothing were written to be seen to be larger than life, moreover, the modern day audience would find the characters funny because the characters react differently to how people would react in the modern day life and theatre.

Much Ado About Nothing is about a kind,respectable nobleman man named Leonato that lives in the town of Messina. Since Leonato is so kind he decides to share his home with some of his friends returning from war because of his sense of kindness and friendship , he opens his door for them. As the play starts he starts to welcome his friends, Don Pedro, a prince and a very close friend of Leonato and his fellow soldiers , most importantly Claudio and Benedick, well respectable men and soldiers.

In this play William Shakespeare uses the aspect of comedy to build off the title Much Ado About "Nothing" by using the word "Noting" , which he uses throughout the play, which means,means Gossip,Rumors and Overhearing, moreover, I believe this was the very effective title for the play because it give us a little summary of what the play is about. In Addition to this it makes the audience intrigued because they wonder as I wondered how can the themes of Gossip, Rumors and Overhearing become a comedy. An example of overhearing in the play is when Benedick over hears Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato talking about how "Beatrice loved him".

Example of the use of NOTING 

Claudio: Benedick, didst thou note the daughter of Signor Leonato?

Benedick: I noted her not, but I looked on her.

The Cast of the Kenneth Branagh 1993 Adaptation of the play

Leonato - Richard Briers
Hero - Kate Beckinsale
Margaret - Imelda Staunton
Friar Francis - Jimmy Yuill
Antonio - Brian Blessed
George Seacole - Andy Hockley
Francis Seacole -Chris Barnes
Hugh Oatcake - Conrad Nelson
Ursula - Phyllida Law
Beatrice - Emma Thompson 
Messenger - Alex Lowe 
Don Pedro - Denzel Washington 
Don John - Keanu Reeves 
Conrade - Richard Clifford 
Borachio - Gerard Horan
Claudio - Robert Sean Leonard 
Benedick - Kenneth Branagh 
Balthazar - Patrick Doyle 
The Boy - Alex Scott 
Dogberry - Michael Keaton 
Verges - Ben Elton 
Sexton - Edward Jewesbury 

1st Watchman 

In the globe theatres production of Much ado about nothing they made sure all of the watch men were taller than Dogberry and this added to the comedy of the play because Dogberry is meant to be the big strong leader,however, in the production of the globe he was small.  The first Watchman is suggested to be Hugh Oatcake as leader of the patrol because of his ability to read and write and in contribution to the testimony to sexton about Conrade and Borachio. The Watchmen are part of a neighborhood watch that Dogberry commands and charges to patrolling the streets of Messina at night, in addition to this, the watchmen are not really bright at all but they still were able to conrade and Borachio and lead them to the sexton.


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Gulf War

Research Notes On The Gulf War

During the 1980s there was war between Iran and Iraq (Iran vs Iraq) over many issues, such as , money, oil, power,The defense of Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Storm,etc. This war resulted to the contribution of countries all over the world from Europe, America, England, etc to Africa Egypt, to Asia , Iran and Iraq, Kuwait. The countries in support of Kuwait was known to be the largest Military Alliance since World War 2

Coalition Forces
Coalition forces:  United States  Kuwait  United Kingdom  Saudi Arabia  France  Italy  Canada  Argentina  Egypt  Syria  Morocco  United Arab Emirates  Pakistan  Oman  Qatar

The First Gulf War was from the 2nd of August 1990 - 28th February 1991 and then resulted into the later Invasion of Iraq in 2003. Iraq were a key state and religion was not really linked towards their people. The government was neutral and was not controlled by one type of Muslims but intertwined and house equal number of representatives of the two types of Muslims. 

USA taught Iran how to fight making them create "gorillas warfare soldiers", therefore, they were fearful of what Saddam Hussein soldiers could do because they were trained by the American soldiers and army. USA made a deal with Iran saying that they couldn't trade with no one unless it's American that they were trading with , moreover, this resulted into the death of the majority of Iran's people.

Research Notes On The Invasion Of Kuwait 

Oil is in Kuwait - people want the oil so they invade to get the oil and Kuwait sell it and people buy it. 

July 1990 - Saddam Hussein a right wing dictator accuses Kuwait from stealing oil from Iraq's Rumaila oilfields. Saddam was Muslim , however, he didn't rule a Islamic state of government.

Saddam Hussein demanded a repayment of $2 Billion Dollars from the Kuwait Government and people. He blamed them for the over production of oil that had been made, the result of so much oil made the economy come down and the money for oil was reducing because it wasn't really in high demand because there was so much to give and buy, however, Kuwait refused to be threatened by Saddam Hussein.

The result of the Invasion of Kuwait in 8th of August 1991 was because there was too much oil in Europe , Saddam Hussein believed Kuwait was making the economy weak so he wanted them to pay money of billions and billions of pounds and Kuwait refused , therefore, Saddam Hussein decided to invade Kuwait because of their refusal. The Kuwait Government implied that they couldn't pay the full $10 Billion dollars that Saddam Hussein demanded but they could pay $9 Billion dollars and pay the remaining $1 Billions dollars later , however, The Iraq government were not satisfied, therefore, they decided that On the 2nd of August 1990, Iraq would launched a invasion by bombing Kuwait's Capital , named Kuwait city on The 8th of August 1991, resulting to the death of thousands of Kuwait's people and a up rising from its people against Iraq. Saddam Hussein decided to target the Highway between Kuwait and Iraq named "Highway 80", which was later used in the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq's forces in 1990 and the USA in 2003.

The President of America George.W.Bush decided to take no further action to prevent the invasion of Kuwait and on the 2nd of August 1990 Iraq forces attacked Kuwait by saying The Gulf War was about a "New World Order Of Peace" , however, George bush realised since American had a oil deal with Kuwait this affected america if no oil was being made, therefore, they didn't like what Saddam Hussein was doing , moreover, they went to the League of Nations to resolve their problem with Saddam Hussein because they were sort of "partners" with the country that Saddam Hussein ruled over as a dictator.

On the 22nd of January 1991, Iraqi troops began to blow up Kuwaits oil wells and they blew up a a coupe of the oil wells occupied by American and this made the American government annoyed and made them come to the defense of the Kuwait government as well as Iran's people. The American involvement in this Iran vs Iraq war began in the fourth year of the war, when there was a very high number of deaths on both sides, going from hundreds to thousands of men, moreover, The United states President believed American needs to get involved to bring peace,in addition to this, he believed that the war could come to the west of the world, therefore, he wanted to go to the war before the war came to him. Iraqi threw more wood into the fire by Iraqi forces capturing  20 year old Us Army Specialist Melissa Rathbun-Nealy and Army Specialist David Lockett, Melissa Rathbun-nealy was the first female U.S. Prisoner of war since World War 2 and the American people found out that their citizens were in troubled and demand the government to get theses people back safely straight way and supported the resistant task force of Kuwaits people against Iraqis troops, military and the Dictator Sudan Hussein.

The invasion of Kuwait became an international affair when the United Nations(UN) demanded for Iraq's forces to withdraw from Kuwait straight way, however, The UN treated Iraq saying that if Iraq didn't withdraw they forces, the UN will pass the bill named "OPERATION DESERT SHIELD". This meant that 250,000 USA troops would march into Saudi Arabia if Iraq didn't meet the withdrawal deadline. This was a big deal because America was apart of the Coalition Forces, therefore, this meant that as well as Americas forces , there will be 45,000 British troops as well as Egyptian and Syrian forces with american, resulting into more than 295,000 troops marching into Saudi Arabia.

Research Notes On Second Gulf War 

On December 1998 there was a Operation named "Operation Desert Fox" , where, UK and USA forces decided to Bombing on a suspected Nuclear nuclear production point, which resulted into a failure. The second Gulf war lead to the terrors of 9/11 and war on terror being declared in 2003, This war lasted from the 20th of March 2003 to the 1st of May 2003 and was also famously known to be called the " Iraq War"as well as the "Gulf War". The Iraq war was known to be a major armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United states -led coalition that aggravated the government of Saddam Hussein and led to his governments down fall as well as the downfall of the dictator Saddam Hussein.

SHAKESPEARE TODAY

 Analyse contemporary Shakespeare productions with reference to live performances you may have seen or clips or footage available online. You should comment on what you notice about them and how they differ from what you know about the original performance conditions of Shakespeare’s work? (Don’t be afraid to point out the obvious).

The Modern Day Performance Of Much Ado About Nothing By The Globe Theatre

Source : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gjtI2qyDnXk

The entrances ad exits the actors uses are way more spontaneous compared to how it would of been in the Elizabethan era , therefore, since they have more technology in this modern day era , it's more likely for the story they are telling to be understood because we have more knowledge than the audience would of had in that time period. In Shakespeare's time plays for the rich would be inside and plays for the poor would be outside, however, shown from the globes theatres performance of much ado about nothing, you can see upper class rich and middle working class both sitting with each-other side by side enjoying theatre, they are not as divided in modern day period.

The modern day performers use space more widely compared to the actors of the Elizabethan era because even though their stage is much smaller, the actors enter from the audiences members in the pit , this is an effective idea that the actors in the Shakespeare time didn't use because it helps to bring the audience into the piece so it doesn't feel as if they are watching a piece of theatre but they are living in it instead. Something that the globe theatre did well was when Beatrice and Benedick final express the love that they actually have for each other they had a costume change and they both wore the colour red in the performance, moreover, red is seen to be the colour of lust and love , moreover, I believe this was a brilliant idea to use for the two character that went from hate for each other to love for each other, they have a love hate relationship.

In the Elizabethan period the actors of much ado about nothing use to interact with the audience, however, in the modern day versions they pretend that they are not there. I believe that the modern day version of much ado about nothing is funnier than the Elizabethan eras version because in the Shakespeare time they exaggerated every movement they made and this is seen to be odd in modern day theatre, therefore, it adds to the comedy of the play. The key advantage of the play is the physical action and movement that they use to express what the words do not really say, it helps us to read between the lines. 

The modern days staging of the time period is more realistic than the first performance of Much ado about nothing in the Elizabethan period because the technology we have now makes it easier for us to make set, costume and much more because in Shakespeare's time they didn't really have props or set or costume unless it was 100% essential, for example if it was a play about Roman, they would of had to of worn Togas. 

The comedy shown in the Elizabethan period was mostly physical, however, in the modern day globe theatres company's version of much ado about nothing, they use comedy in a physical way and through the aspect of language because the modern day audiences has understanding of language and body movements of the play. The actors in the globe theatre cast use repetition to show the comedy throughout the characters and the text, for example, when they say a monologue they tend to repeat the last and middle line of their little speech.

The modern day version of the play uses both men and women in performance, however, in Shakespeare's time it was mostly male actors performing. In the modern day version of they play they don't cast by colour or gender but instead they cast by who they believes suits the role the most, on the other hand, in Shakespeare's time they did. I believe that something the actors do very well throughout the play is that they use the silence of the play to add to the comedy and they do this by their physical actions , for example , when Claudio and her first kiss , hero looks at her dad for approve and smiles and this adds to the awkward funny side of the play. The actors use comedy even in serious moments , for example when Don John says hero is not loyal , they all look at each other like "awkward" and Don John winks and smiles at the audience, which came across very amusing.

I think that the globe theatre cast use colour in a very effective way, for examples Don John wears black in the performance, moreover, implying that he has a black heart for him to want to split up Claudio and Heros love towards each other. The audience of the globes theatre are more discipline than the audience of the Elizabethan era because they are constantly listening to the actors every word the actor says is understood with care, on the other hand, in the Elizabethan period they would of been people talking and making noise throughout the performance but the modern day audience listen very well to the performance. 

My Monologue Of William Shakespeare's Play Of Antony and Cleopatra Act Iv Scene 14 

source: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=nsrM__k9Wdg&index=23&list=WL

As I referred to before since this play is a play that has a certain era , for example , "The Romans " the actors wear togas moreover, the actors of William Shakespeare time would have also worn these Togas because it's a play that has a unchangeable set timing because it is a historical play . I have noticed that even through the performance is set in a certain time period , the staging of the set looks quite modern, the Palace that they are in looks like a real modern day house , moreover, this could be the cause of technology because this play was performed in the late 70s/early 1980s.

The set that is used in this clip is very spacious, if this was performed in Shakespeare's time and we tried to watch it back it wouldn't have been in colour like the one that I watched, the costume that the actors are using has culture in it , for example , you can really see the difference between the Egyptian soldiers and the Roman Soldiers. The entrances and exits that the actors use are quite view-able from the audiences sight-lines. Even through the performance was performed inside the stage is quite big , in comparison to this, in the Elizabethan era the stages inside were smaller than the ones outside, on the other hand, this stage is as big or maybe even bigger than the ones that would be outside for the actors to perform in. 

In this clip of William Shakespeare play of Antony and Cleopatra, they have decided to put up walls with Egyptian writing on it to bring the vibe of it being set in Egypt to light, however, in the Elizabethan period of England that this play would have been written and performed, the English people of that time wouldn't have known what some of the Egyptian signs or words in their language would have actually meant, moreover, something that they would have lacked in the time period the play was first written and performed was historically reliability, In addition to this, the only way of people getting around was by ship, therefore, it took way longer to move around the world in this time period, therefore, William Shakespeare wouldn't have really been able to go to Egypt and learn more by the Egyptian language before he wrote this play.


The footage I watched was on video and in colour, on the other hand, the plays first performance of "Antony and Cleopatra" in the Elizabethan period wouldn't have been able to be on video because of the lack of technology of the time period because the first performance of Antony and Cleopatra was in 1606, however, the first film camera was made in England in 1887 by A Frenchman named Louis Le Prince, moreover, that is a big 281 years difference of time so there may of been hundreds and thousands of the performance of "Antony and Cleopatra".


Both the productions of "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Anthony and Cleopatra" use the aspect of colour in a very effective way, for example, in "Anthony and Cleopatra" since it is a play about war, death and love throughout, they use a lot of dark colour for the staging of the play and most of the colours used for the set and lighting of the play was blacks, browns and grey because it help add to the dark mood of the play. On the other hand, "Much ado about nothing" uses positive bright colours, such as , blues, greens, yellows, orange etc, moreover, this is effective because it helps with the comedic vibe of the play as it makes the characters look quite funny without us hearing any dialogue at all, for example, right from the beginning of the play you can see Beatrice sitting there next to the water playing and she has a funny vibe because she looks terrible and mess but act as if she was looking beautiful like a star shining in the sky.

Consider how these productions are employing all the techniques, technology and resources of modern theatre.
You can use Digital Theatre http://www.digitaltheatre.com a password to access this site is available from the library.

THEATRES, ACTORS AND ACTING IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them? 

In the Elizabethan period their were only two major types of theatre, there were Outdoor Playhouses, which were mostly known as "Amphitheatres" or "public" playhouses in this time period, In addition to this there were also Indoor playhouses, which were known to be called "halls" or "private" playhouses. The private playhouses were normally inside a building with a roof, but the public playhouses were outside in the cold and rain or shine, the play would still be put on in front of the audience, since they were different theatres they tend to attract different types of people that came to watch theatre in the Elizabethan era.

In William Shakespeare's time a stage wasn't just one type of area that plays had to be very different, The same play may be performed in a outdoor playhouses, an indoor theatre , a royal palace or area of noble wealth, for a company on tour , the courtyard of an inn, even though it was a different location the plays still stayed with the key ideas of theses stories that William Shakespeare found from his life and ended up making them into his own.

 Private play houses

These were the types of Play houses that the rich, noble people and people of the royal family would come to, so they could come and watch one of William Shakespeare world famous plays come to life right in front of their very eyes. Most of the plays in the private play houses were performed in the theatrical configuration of Thrust, however, the seating in the theatre was more restricted compared to a public play house because only the really wealth sat on the sides of the stage in their own private booths. The stage was about half the size of a public play house theatres stage.

Public play house 

Theses Public play houses would normally be performed outside in the cold for the people of lower class/ working class of the Elizabethan era. Most of the plays in the public play houses were performed in the theatrical configuration of Thrust.There was not really any rules in this types of theatre because i was seen as lower in class environment, therefore, people use to eat and drink while watching the performance and since it was a little pit people use to go to the toilet in the seating area as well, in addition to this people use to fornicate in
theses environments as well without any one saying anything because it would of been seen as a natural thing to happen. The stage was about double the size of a private play house theatres stage.

The first Playhouse theatre was called The Red Lion and it was first built in 1567 by a man called John Brayne and with help from his bother in law "James Burbag". The Red Lion theatre was first a Inn outside the city walls before they converted the Inn into a theatre, Since it was built so long ago there is true little evidence of how successful the theatre was, on the other hand, It must been on high demand because It was known to be a famous due to the plays of William Shakespeare and many more playhouse were starting to open up between the 1570s and 1620s.

The theatres of the Elizabethan period changed a lot throughout William Shakespeare  lifetime because the authorities didn't like what Theatre was about and didn't allow theatre to happen in the city itself. They believed that Theatre and the arts had a very bad influence on the people and they believed it restricted them from going to church. On the other hand the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth loved actin and the arts, therefore, she helped the theatres become famous but some people in England didn't agree with the queens views and acceptance of the theatre and the arts. As the years went on more and more theatres became popular as they emerged outside the city walls of London ,nevertheless, outside the city walls of London was seen to be an unsafe and dangerous area to be around because of crime and prostitution was constantly around because there was not really any police or Secretary to protect people around those areas. 

William Shakespeare theatres were full of joy, laughter and life because there wasn't really any rules in this place of theatre and performance, therefore, people didn't sit around that much they stood up for the whole performance, moreover, it was not a quiet atmosphere to be apart of because the audience members, rich and poor could move around the sitting areas,eat, drink and do what ever they truly wanted to do during the play. They cheered if they like the play, they booed if they didn't like they play and they even threw objects at the performers. William Shakespeare outdoor theatres were so much bigger than his indoor theatres because they had more space to do things for the theatrical environment, for example, outdoor theatres usually had a big stage than indoor theatres did, therefore, they also had a bigger capacity of thousands of audience members at the theatre, compared to indoor theatres that would of just had around 500 people watching.

The audience members that came to the indoor theatres were seen to be the more educated and richer people of England compared to the outdoor playhouse theatre. People believed that indoor theatres plays had more music, sparkly props such as jewels and pearls because they were supported by the rich and nobility because they were the people that came there once a week every week because that would be the only time to be able to watch a play, in addition to more jewels, these playhouses had way more speech that action because the audiences were smart enough to understand what was going on because almost everyone in the audiences would have had the money to go to school and wouldn't of had to start working by the age of 13/14 years old.

Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?

Research fact sheet:  http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Theater/

Used the Globe’s fact sheets

The actors in William Shakespeare's plays were always played by men because in this time period they believed that men were the only ones that could enjoy or portray true characters, therefore, only the men were the actors of the Elizabethan period of England. Even if their were women in one of William Shakespeare plays, they would of been played as men, for example, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet maid was played by a man and this added to the comical side of the character, this was done because they lived in a very patriarchal society.

The actors in this era didn't really care for historically accuracy concerning their costumes, unless, they were acting as a Roman in a Roman play, they would have wore A toga to show the tradition within the Romans clothing and if it was a normal modern style play of the era , they would have worn gorgeous modern outfits, especially for the leading parts of the actors. In addition to this even if costume was worn , it was usually second hand clothes once owned and worn by real life noble people of that era.

Being an actor in modern day society is seen more respectful and appreciated in this modern day era compare to the Elizabethan period actors like because people see the theatre to be a more respectable play to be in, in this modern day age, for example, people usually don"t bring food in to the theatre, even though some food and drink is sold during the intermission of some plays, in comparison to this, actors in the Elizabethan era were not respected by the audience for their art and skills that were shown on the stage, instead, they were attacked and couldn't do anything bout it because they had to remain in role as a true actor, however, some actors did come out of character to abuse the audience member's for what they do throughout the performance and some actors abused the audience in characters as well because they didn't want to break role.

In this Shakespearean time period the entrances and exits of the actors were in plain sight of the audiences members , therefore, the audience members could constantly see the actors entering and exiting from the stage, moreover, if the actor was looking at lines before entering the stage , there was no way to hide it because the audience could see everything from where they were sitting or standing because there was no Flats to hide the actors enters and exits throughout the show duration. Since the audience could see the actors standing there waiting for their ques of occurred, most stages in Incorporated some vertical entrances and exits into the theatre, for example, if relevant actors could enter from what would be seen as the heavens by entering from above the stage and entering from would could be seen as hell by entering or exiting the stage from below through a trapdoor in the middle of the stage.

Interrogating My Character and Objectives

Questions On Interrogating My Character and Objectives 

First Watchman 

The Watchmen Team

Who am I?

I am the first Watch man of the Watchmen and I am in charger of Watchmen 2 and 3 because I out rank them, however, even though I out rank them I am not smarter than them because we all possesses the same amount of intelligence throughout the play even when our leader Dogbre and Verges are not in sight, we count ourselves as equals , in a way we could be see to be "Brothers of the Watch" no one greater than the other man but  not equal in the aspect of service for our leaders Dogbre and Verges. My job as a Watchmen is to obtain orders and not talk back to my commanders, however, My fellow watch ,an brother and I tend to talk about to Dogbre by questioning on how he wants us to do his stupid commands that don't always makes sense, even though we know he is not smart, we fear Dogbre because he is from a different land , where they have big machines and powerful robots , as its better to live in fear than to not live at all.

What time is it?

ACT 3 SCENE 3

 Act 3 Scene 3 it seems to be the early mornings of the day because our characters are based on the US training of Iraqi rebel solider and research shows that the Americans use to wake them up very early in the morning because they were trying to teach them discipline, therefore, since verges is inspecting us, It suggest that it is very early in the morning.   

ACT 2  SCENE 1

Act 2 Scene 1 is set around mid-day/Night time because the scene before this is the scene is a scene for parties and celebration and in the Elizabethan period parties normally start at Mid-day/sun set and lasted until the next morning or the first sign of first light.

ACT 4 SCENE 2 
Act 4 Scene 2 is set in the prison and the scene before this is when we captured Conrade and Borachio and it was about midday, therefore, I think it would be around night-time that we are in the prison, moreover, since its nigh time, this would not cause problems with Leonatos family and our guarding of the family and the streets . 

Where am I ?

ACT 3 SCENE 3

In Act 3 Scene 3 it says in the script that I am in the street, therefore, I thought it suggests that I am on the streets of Leonatos villa is protecting his home as a guard of the town. Since we were the watchmen I believe we are on the street trying to keep the peace and watching out for anyone that we believe our leaders would be seen to be doing wrong like Conrade and Borachio.

ACT 4 SCENE 2 

 In Act 4 Scene 2, I am in the A prison with Dogberry, Verges , Sexton, Conrade , Borachio and my other watchmen. Since we are in the prison I believe it is a dirty and grime places to be in, therefore, Dogberry and Verges will be looking disgusted, however, the watchmen may feel quite normal because this is what we are use to dirty and nasty places to live and work around.
  

What surrounds me?

The people that surround me throughout the whole play is My Watch-brother and my leaders Verges, Dogberry, Sexton and Leonatos family, friends and servants. 

What's my relationships? & Who are my Friends?


My relationships between the Watchmen and Myself is very strong because we see ourselves as one and equals. The relationships feels like its been strong since for ever, this implies that we have known each other for what feels like for every. My relationship between Dogberry, Sexton and the Verges is shakey because I don't really respect them but i have to pretend that I do respect them because I am afraid of them all because they are not from where I am from, they are different and I see them as foreign, this aspect of fear is shown every time Verges and Dogberry talk because the watchmen tend to shake of fear after they finish saying their last word or sentence. 

My relationship between Conrade and Borachio is a relationship of complete hate throughout the play from when we over hear them talking to the very end of the play when the watchmen guard the ending party celebration. 

Who do you openly like?

I openly like my watchmen friends and the family I serve because I feel a vibe of feeling like I am wanted throughout though two groups of people because I feel like my watchmen friends will always be there for me and I feel that even though I am not apart of Leonatos family, they haven't made me feel like I am just an outsider that just protects them from danger and people wanting to hurt them , this family made me feel like I was one of them even though I am not actually one of them.

Who do you openly dislike? and Who are your enemies?

I openly dislike Conrade and Borachio because I suggest that they are "villains" for calling the princes brother Don John a villain because I basically work for him through the service I do for Dogberry and Verges, I also respect Don John as a man because I am afraid of him and he is a big American powerful man.

Who do you secretly like?

I secretly like Sexton because he continuously insults Dogberry and Dogberry doesn't have a clue about what he is talking about therefore, he tends to say thank you to Sexton for insulting him to harshly. I secretly like him because if my leaders knew I liked him they would believe that I do not fear him and they would begin to be harsh to me as they are to each other and Dogberry the most.

Who do you secretly dislike?

I secretly dislike Dogberry because if he doesn't believe I am on his team and like him, he may kill me or have me killed because he already believes that my watchmen friends and I are useless, worthless creatures that are below him and unneeded, another reason that I secretly dislike him is that we give him good beneficial ideas and we don't get a simple thanks you or even "good job", which I believe is horrible because we truly do all the work, for example, we police the streets , the homes and catch the people in the wrong and all he does his just take the credit for our hard work.

What happened before the scene starts and what happens after the scene?

Before Act 3 Scene 3 began Claudio has been told that Hero is not as pure as he thought she was, therefore, Count Claudio now decided not to marry hero and that Don John and his friends should come with him to go approach the young child of Leonato to show everyone that she is not innocent and that he will not marry her.
After Act 3 Scene 3 Hero is talking to her maids about her plans to get Benedick and her older cousin Beatrice together because she knows that they will not come together to find romance by themselves because they are both really stubborn , therefore, she decided to help them express the love for each other by force instead of letting the romance happen naturally.

Before Act 4 scene 2 Beatrice and Benedick have been talking about their love for each and this scene is all about them knowing that they love each but no one wants to say that they love the other first , therefore, it is a lot of flirting and playing around with each other.
After Act 4 Scene 2 Claudio and his friends have meet up to get ready to go to Leonatos house so that they can go disgrace young hero in front of the whole Assembly and God.

My Obstacles 

 

My Objectives and My Actions

 

 

 

My Character as an Animal 

A Wolf

I strongly believe my character would be part of a wolf pact because as part of the Watchmen I tend to work together with the other watchmen to get what we want, this is shown in the play when we apprehend Conrade and Borachio, we worked as a unit to arrest them and bring them to justice. A wolf would have done anything for his fellow wolves and I think that the watchmen show little signs of this throughout the performance, for example, When Dogberry attacks one of us , the other two watchmen say sly quite comments against Dogberry that only the Watchmen hear and understand.

A Wolf

 

 

  A DOG

I strongly believe my character would be seen as a Dog because a dog is really go at just following orders and the watchmen are constantly made to follow the orders of Dogberry and Verges right from the first time they are told to walk onto the stage by Dog berry until when they are told to leave the stage with the prisoners that they had apprehended called Conrade and Borachio. Since sense of following orders to the book was founded in the improvisation rehearsals that we did and Dogberry made us do various exercises before Leonato came to inspect us to book us for the party he was going to be hosting that is later shown on page 12, therefore, I believe we did really well in trying to link our improvisation to the play that we are doing.

 

 A DOG

 

 

Peer assessment during rehearsals and Improvisation

Peer Assessment During Rehearsals

Is the actor trying to apply imaginative, creative , movement and emotion skills to their performance ? 

ACTOR: Daniel Adeosun as Don Pedro 

DON Pedro

From right at the beginning of the scene as Daniel walked onto the stage , he has embodied his character physicality and emotional state right from the start of the scene, moreover, you could see that he come on as Don Pedro and not Daniel Adeosun. As I observed Daniel in the scene I could see that he knows something bad is going to happen even before anyone has spoke, Therefore, I could see he did his research on the scene and what he believed his character was feeling and saying to the audience through his words and physical attributes. Daniel Adeosun character has statue and he uses the statues to his own advantage by looking over Leonard's family and reassuring them that he is better than them without saying a single word.

Daniel has very good stage presence continuously as Don Pedro, this results to him looking alive and open in the moment of the scene/play, moreover , this implies that he had done research on his character and the scene that he is in. Since Daniel is very open, this means that he was able to bring across his characters emotions and mental state at that moment in the play, which was Anger and vengeance over the wrong that he believed that was done to his friend Claudio by the Young Hero daughter of Leonato.

Whilst performing Daniel knew he's cues and lines, this resulted into him being swifter with his lines. In the wedding scene Daniel physicality implies that he is the leader even though he is not right in front , he brings a sense of power even without talking and before he talking. 

Daniel has found the fear that Don Pedro brings to people and he shows this through the little lines he says and the little questions that make such a big impact that you feel like you were in the wrong even when you are not. Daniel knew his lines from when he was first on stage, therefore, this helped him to find freedom in his scene, freedom in his character and just having fun in living in the moment.

 

Comments On The Improvisation Work

My group decided to improvise the vibe of the American training of the Iraqi soldiers, which are formally known to be the watchmen and Dogberry and Verges are seen to be the American training team for the Iraqi soldiers in our version of Much Ado About Nothing. I believe this improvisation was very effect to help the watchmen build character because it made us tighter as a group and instead of being completely separate it helped us to tighten our group as a unit. I believed that this helped me to build character as the first watchman because even through we are named 1st,2nd, and 3rd we are actually the same and no one out ranks the other, therefore, I feel that the improvisation helped us to strengthen the connect between the character. The improvisation was also effective to do because it helped us to show a side of the watchmen that the audience and cast don't really see, through our lines and scenes, therefore, it helped us to look deeper at our characters and their relationships to Dogberry, Leonato and each other.

The comedy is our quick scene really worked because it wasn't really meant to be funny , however, since we began to find the dept of the characters as the improvisation went on the comedy of the characters came with it because they are natural really funny characters but we don't see that much of the comedy side of them, therefore, this improvisation helped shed a light on their characteristics and objectives. In addition to this even the scene was quite funny , the funny moments of the play helped us to also bring out the true seriousness of the scene as well because we are actually training for war and that aspect of war and battle sometimes gets lost as the play goes on.

I have noticed from our research on Iraqi rebels of the golf war that the Soldiers would of used sign language or some sort of sign language because they wouldn't always be close enough to talk to each other especially if they are sneaking up on people, moreover, we have looked over this idea of sign language and incorporated it into our scene , when we arrest Conrade and borachio.

Group Rehearsal Notes 

Our volume needs to be clear and articulated throughout the plays running, especially in our performances space of the theatre because it's so much bigger and wider than our performances space. 

Try to use all the space that is provided you do not always have to be in the middle of the stage, make sure you spread out and just live in the moment of your character. As your character you need to make sure you play the opposites with your line because we need to look a the lanuague and see what is your character really trying to say and how does your character really feel. 

PLAN 

1) Talk about what happened= done 

2) How did this help you to build character? = done 

3) Talk about comedy in the quick scene and seriousness in the quick scene= done
4)Talk about research on Americans training of Iraqi soldiers