Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is still relevant to a contemporary audience

(I had started writing an essay in which wasn't part of the final coursework needed for this unit but thought i was post it as it talks about some interesting factors of the play.)

In this essay I am going to discuss how our performance of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is relevant to a contemporary audience.

Throughout Coriolanus you see three contrasting political groups journey through a struggle for power and survival, The Romans, The Volchsians and The Rebels. Each group have fought to gain their power and place in a broken, post apocalyptic world and each want the chance to overrule Coriolanus. This is the story line of our version of Coriolanus at it's simplest and yet you can see already that there are common themes in which a contemporary audience would be able to relate to or understand on a general level.

A contemporary audience would be aware and often educated about moments in history such as World war 1, World war 2, the ongoing conflict is Gaza, the cold war etc. This knowledge would help a contemporary audience begin to understand the themes of Coriolanus such as loyalty, friendship, group mentality and hierarchy as they have seen from history how power and greed can lead to conflict or the basic ins and outs of how a war is played out and the aftermath. The idea that Coriolanus highlights the brutality of war makes the play still relevant today as contention is an ongoing problem in society and shouldn’t be forgotten.

Not only would a contemporary audience be able to link Coriolanus to famous moments in the past but would also be able to link themes to the present. Every audience member at some point in their lives may have struggled with conflict, found friendship, experienced or seen the effect of a group like mentality. In fact all audience members are surviving on a daily in the world we live in today. So the themes in this play still very much relate to a contemporary audience, they are just magnified to a larger, global scale.

For example, if you look at Coriolanus and his mother Volumnia in the play you can see a disjointed, difunctional relationship where Volumnia manipulates the Coriolanus brothers and is extremely proud of the people which they have killed. Some may believe this situation is entirely un relate able for the audience, as it is unlikely that anyone would have been forced to kill by their mother however, you can see small similarity's in which an audience member may be able to relate to, like a friendship where you have felt over powered or a situation where you have been made do something without your willingness or control. These are the underlying feelings in which an audience member could understand which leads them to emphasise with the characters. The problems and themes I have been discussing are ongoing and will always exist within the world as we are human and it is in human nature to experience struggle or sin, the fact that these problems are on going means the plays relevance is on going because Coriolanus speaks about universal issues.

In addition to this, overall our production of Coriolanus is contemporary as we have used various forms of multi media such as, video projection, lighting and sound effects this creates a sense of modernity. The 21^st century audience live in a technological age and therefor will be able to identify with the world and setting better if they see things in which are normal to them. Perhaps If we were to have set our play in ancient Rome and made the decision to use no sound effects, projections and minimal lighting the audience may feel even more detached from their normal world and therefor may have been less able to relate to the play.

Henry V Comments

• I believe most cast members brought something unique to their character which was nice for me as i could dip in and out of sections of people and see their different personalities come through like Sophie's curiosity and love of men or Olivia's power hungry jealousy of the french King. because this play had an all female cast, it would have been very easy to loose your sense of character, it would have been easy for the girls to all play a similar version of each other however this didn't happen and it was nice to see characters shine through.
• The overal image of this play was the most beautiful i think out of the three, stylistically you could see powerful images throughout that was visually pleasing and created a bold, chronological,clock work type format which i believe worked with the context of the play as each king was almost working in clock work with what their next move is and how they were going to win the war. However one thing i would say is that although visually i was taken back, i didn't feel like the images were real, i wasn't brought into the world of these characters and what the women were going through because a lot of the time the images were still. I felt i was hungry for something when watching and i think it was lacking in a truthful l grounded performance from a lot of the women in the factory, i didn't feel connected to their circumstances or  of the fear of war. It was a pretty picture that almost hid the brutality and pain that you faced these women.

Comedy of Errors Comments

• Each actor fully committed themselves to their role. Sometimes i find personally as an actor i find it hard to expose and embaress yourself in front of an audience so i have huge respect for all the cast in this play who openly allowed themselves to be out there and not take themselves so seriously.
• One thing that i believe could have been improved was the transitions. Throughout the play three drag characters would do a dance routine to music which changed the set or lead to a new scene. At first i found it interesting and humours to watch however because this kept being repeated in every transition i felt the humour was lost and it began to look like they were trying to just cover up the moving of the set with music and dance. I would of suggested having just 2 or 3 main dance routines throughout the piece as a transition where all cast members come on stage and reveal something more about there character wether it being the way they dance, the way they walk and talk, the way they interact with others etc. And also using different genres of music and different characters for each genre would have also kept an interest and excitement in scene changes and it would be constantly realign something more about that character.
• I partiality thought that Billy's performance stood out throughout the whole play. You could see that he had spend time and effort thinking about all the details of his character, for example the way he walked and talked, the way he spoke and moved his mouth were all cleverly thought about which made me want to watch him and invest in his character. One movement which i liked was he often would move his feet inwards and shuffle around like a small child would if they were irritated or needed the toilet, i liked this because it created and air of innocence which drew the audience to be in favour of him. I also think Jack did a really good job of playing the same character in his own way. He didn't just copy Bill and Bill didn't copy Jack they each brought something different, Jack was more gentle and quite and Bill was feistier.

Run notes

Be loud especially when there in movement on the stage like moving blocks or running steps. Listen to the sounds in the space and the audiences reaction. Feed off the cast and audiences energy.

It is a challenged when dresses all the same. This is a difficulty in our play, you have to establish who you are and stand out amount the crowd if you at higher status.

Your emotion is coming from your stomach. It is rooted from within.

Tomora's Bag

Tech rehearsal

In the tech run I am learning to stay concentrated and focused sending all my energy to the show. 

It's exiting seeing everyone in costume and seeing the set in actual size. It creates an automatic atmosphere for me personally. When you are faced with the size of the space you realise the scale of the performance. I have learnt how to use my voice correctly, projecting, in a larger space. 

As soon as you loose the lines the energy drops and it's hard to get it up again. Be on top of the lines.

I've learnt that it is so important to know the entrences and exits, being in the right place at the right time to make sure your keeping the pace of the piece going. 

Placing on stage is extremely important to the definition of the scene. For example the opening scene the blocks have to be placed in the centre of the stage as it visually is the focal point. 

Three tips

•learn lines inside and out and say with energy and meaning 

•know your entrences and exits, be in the right place at the right time 

•wrote down notes for blocking, movement of blocks and queue  lines 

Look over responsibilitys, queue lines, movement entrences . Play the energy throughout the transitions. Play the given circumstances, never drop the world you are in and the fight. Don't talk or relax backstage spend time quietly focusing. Invest in the preset. Live in the world.

Work the words, speak them like you have never heard them before.

Personal Notes

Second Zig zag make noise

Make you the sword of us needs to be more powerful

When swapping arm bands, wear nothing then change into red only and wear that for the rest of the time.

Take off balaclava after holding knife up to Coriolanus.

Scenes we need to look over:

Shefron change 

Act 3 scene 6

At 3 scene 8 

Dans fight

Kunfoo jig 

Riot scene 

Notes

From this week in particular and throughout this process so far I have become more fluid on stage and have learnt to constantly move in the scene and give an energy out to everyone in the scene. 

Having this freedom on stage is really helping me just live on stage rather than think to much about what I'm doing, it has made me feel comfortable and safe to just feel rather than think. 

Tell the story from the very begining. Understand the world and bring that on stage from the outset.  In the pre set we need to be slower, just to allow more room. 

The fights need to be slicker, stick to your routine that has been ceorographed.

Do things as a group shouting, interacting and feel the energy. Don't be afraid to make decisions that others aren't. 

Blocking sheet

This blocking sheet has real helped me know from scene to scene where i come on, where i go off, what i do and the transitions I'm involved in. Having this in rehearsals will make working so much easier.

Who is Tomora?

Here i have done a spider diagram based on what i know about Tomora and what i imagine her background story to be like etc.

This has helped me understand her as a character more and revealed things that i never knew, for example the fact that she never wants children because she only wants to look after herself.

Relationships with others

Staying in tune with what each character is saying on stage is another key factor which i am learning to do more on stage. I need to have an opinion on what the others say and know the relationships i have with them for example - do i hate them, love them, hold something against them, detest them etc. 

I have learnt that Tomora is angry a lot of the time. Ultimately she wants to over through coriolanus and set Rome free, so everyone who gets in the way of doing that she will kill or ruin. Tomora is very hard hitting and level headed. Having this in mind i have discovered that she has a negative option on many of the other characters. Especially Meninaus as she doesn't approve of his support for Meninaus. 

Blocking

Blocking is a skill that i am developing more throughout this process. I have realised even more so within this play that writing down every exit and movement you make on your script is so important as i often need to refer back to the script for entrances and exits. In addition i have learnt that writing down  blocking such as transitions, even if you aren't actually moving the staging in that particular scene on stage and allows you to know the stages of the play. Each stage of the play as an effect on your character and what they bring on in their scene. Knowing what has just happening in the scene before you will effect the way your character behaves in the next so writing notes helps you remember all these things.

Here is an example of my note making for the transition into act 2 scene 3.

Tension is Key

From this weeks rehearsal the main thing that stuck out to me was tension. The world we are living in is so different to the world we live in now, their is no order and control. No law. No definite power. Living in this world as a human you would be on edge a lot of the time, fearful of the future and what clan you will be fighting next. Therefor we have to remember to keep that tension in our minds and our physicality throughout the play. We need to do this because i personally feel that the audience can't see us relaxing or feeling comoftble in a world which is so uncomfortable and ever changing and if they do it breaks that reailty of what we are going through.

I've written some keys ways that us actors can show tension physically on stage:

• Keeping our bodies tight and enclosed. Having a rigidness to our movements when we walk and talk creates a tension within our bodies.
• Clutching hands, feet and mouths.
• Watching people and the space with intense eyes makes the characters on stage and audience more aware that their is an edgy atmosphere.
• Never sitting in one spot on stage being active and moving creates a sense of uncertainty.
• Having a sense of urgency with everything that we say.

In addition this atmosphere shouldn't stop throughout transitions, the tension should remain maybe even more so in the transitions because things are changing and the audience don't know what's going to happen next within the play.

Self evaluation

I believe I rehearse well within the group. I listen to the directors instructions and try to stay as focused as I can. I also think I do a good job of staying in tune with what's going on In the scenes I am not in scenes like the transitions etc. I look to help others and offer them something. 

However I believe I could do better and being more pro active when not in the scenes so writing on my blog, taking photos, learning lines and writing my blocking down. In addition i believe i should try and visualise the world more, even if i have to take 2 minutes before entering the stage to visual what the space feels like, looks like, sounds and smells like will help me bring a truth and fire to my performance.

Rehearsal Notes

When you feel awkward on stage it tells you that you need to do something more to know your objectives. To be comfortable is to be knowledgable. To know what your character feels in that moment and have enough awareness about your relationships with the others on stage allows you to make bolder decisions that are backed up. 

You should be able to physicalize you objective on stage. If you can't then find a new objective which equals the same but can be acted out with your whole body. Their is no point having an objective which can't be easily viewed by an audience, us as actors need to express what is in our characters heads on stage, the audience cant read our mind.

Bring the text to the front of your mouth otherwise the audience won't hear you. Using your whole mouth, tongue and teeth to say your lines. Shakespeare is already extremely hard for us to get our mouths around and also hard for audiences to understand if we don't pronounce each word correctly and with meaning.

Keeping the tention throughout even through the transitions is key. Making each movement not slopping but clean cut and giving yourself an objective even when moving the blocks, keeps the flow I piece going.

Costume and set reaction

My initial reaction of the costume and  set was positive. The geometric box's allow us manipulate the set into different shapes, this is going to really useful as we can create different spaces in accordance to the scene. We can also interact, play and climb on the box's which enables us to experiment with the space more than if we just had a set space. I like how the constant changing of the set reflects the constant changing of power in the play, this create an air of un-certainty and tension amongst both the actors and the audience.

I also really like the idea of the strip lights at the back of the stage. I an idea that i had is that throughout the play the lights could get dimmer and dimmer as it represents the hope in the end of the play. i also think having the lights flicker on and off alongside the shadows from the cages will create an eery broken look.

The lights also look like a heartbeat or sound wave so could be interrupted as the lifeline for the characters.


The large weather balloon is also a really interesting concept because the balloon is constantly hanging over the stage and is used as a projector for menanus it is like a higher power looking down on the city. The fact that it is constantly their hanging over us is also a powerful image.

Discussing the set together as a cast helped us come up with more ideas for example one person suggested having sprayed vines and flowers weaved in and out of the cages. I thought this was a good idea as it shows how any life or hope has died. We also talked about using rubble and rocks to make it seem although buildings had fallen down and add to the effect of the space.

Here are some of the costume designs . This helped imagine what my Character Tomora would look like and  the type of clothes she we wear. I discovered that Tomora is very similar to the men in her tribe. She doesn't see herself as higher than anyone else. She fights for the people.

Sum up the play in line

Corriolanus is the story of a broken city and it's struggle for power.

Initial reaction of Coriolanus

My initial reaction of the play is positive. I found it really interesting how the political people advising Coriolanus throughout the play end up tricking him and ultimately don't agree with his arrogant towards people of lower status. I also think the dynamics of the play are always changing and love how the power is always in the balance as it creates tension throughout the whole play. I like how survival and violence is at the for front of everyones minds, it's a constant battle to fight and knock down the others around you. 

Because their is little to no loyalty within this play between the characters, i found it interesting how Maninaus continually supports Corriolanus throughout the play, i feel like it is the only sign of hope within this story.

My favourite character so far is Volumnia, Coriolanus's mother. I think she is a super complex and diverse character as you never know wether she truly does love her son or wether she just uses and manipulates him in order for her to survive. Her tactics and almost incestual relationship with her son intrigues me as you can read into a lot of what she says. During the class discussion someone mentioned how Volumnia was almost the most powerful within the play as she has a lot of control of Coriolanus, i found this interesting as the play is heavily male dominated yet underlying a women has the most power - like they are all pawns in her game. It made me further question - who really has the power in the play?

Acting within our world

Their has to be a giving and taking between the people. You have to offer the other actors something and in return they offer you something. It could be a feeling and action or whatever comes natural in the moment. It is important to have imaginative reason when creating a character and relationship, you have to a be able to justify why your character may behave in a certain way or have negative feelings towards another character. Be creative in the way you view and interact with the whole cast. Have an opinion. A visceral performance.

A fear of change always lingers throughout the play that is why everyone is so desperate to survive and stay stable in an ever changing world. None of the power that anyone has gained within the play is permanently. The power is in the balance and things could turn very quickly.

This animalistic and primal behaviour has to come from within you, an anchor in the belly. We can't fake it as it creates a un-justified, weak performance. It is important that we connect with this sense of survival in a truthful way and visit these feelings of hate and fear in rehearsals and on stage.

The movement work is going to be more expressive than realistic. I understood that if we are living in a world that is surreal to us and to the audience, why try and rein- act fighting realistically. Creating movement which is artistic and interruptive continues to bring the audience into a world that is totally different to the world we are living in now which is exactly what we aim to do. Expression, freedom and art needs to run through our lines too. Being creative and honest with our words, using all of our body and voices.

What kind of world are we living in?

The play is a post apocalyptic, broken and dark world. People no longer truly support each other and trust is forgotten. Everyone we see can be of use to us. We want to survive so killing, stealing and betraying is a necessity.

We are a fragment of humanity left behind, after the world we know and are familiar with now has died. We are like jagged pieces that somehow fit together, sharp and harmful. If your family are alive you would have had to kill or ruin others to get you there. It is everyman for themselves in this world. Survival of the fittest, that is why any sign of weakness will be exposed.

A key change is the people's value system. Things that we may see as i inanimate are now precious.  Anything you can get hold of that may be of use to you in survival is held higher than ever before.

Here are some pieces of art that i have found which helped me to visualise the world we actors are going to be living in. These images made me begin to imagine what it would actually be like if i lived to see the end of the world or the decaying of London city, how different my daily life would be and how i as a person would cope and react to the changes.