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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