SECTION 1 / planning and development
Idea Development
What piece did you decide to perform?
For the monologue performance, I decided to do “Hello, Goodbye, Peace” by Gabriel Davis. “Hello, Goodbye, Peace” is about a girl called Alina, who is a barista at a coffee shop in Manhattan. Her dream is to climb the economic ladder in hopes of changing the world for the better.
In this scene, Alina has just gotten into an argument with someone who comes into the coffee shop, and since it is her last day she decides to let loose and say what’s on her mind.
Why did you choose that particular piece?
I chose to perform this scene from “Hello, Goodbye, Peace” because it made me think about how not many people would be brave or courageous enough to go after their dreams and try to make a difference in the world. I also enjoyed being able to come up with different ways to perform the piece and finding ways to interpret the Berkoff style of acting into the performance.
What other ideas did you consider?
Before choosing to do “Hello, Goodbye, Peace”, I was going to do a piece called “Who’s Afraid of the Working Class” as well as one called “The Sugar House”. As I was debating which one to do, I decided to choose “Hello, Goodbye, Peace” as it gave me the most ideas for staging, props and style.
Who did you discuss your ideas with and what feedback did they give you?
During the time we were given to practice, I mainly got feedback from Astrid, Monique and Charlotte, as well as when we performed small parts to the class and got feedback from everyone.
The main part I was told to focus on was my spacing as kept shuffling around and was more focusing on my lines at the time rather than the movement and gestures.
Planning
What design ideas did you come up with and why did you make these choices?
During the time we were given to rehearse and layout our monologues, I came up with several different ideas for my piece, consisting of the physical elements of drama, such as movement, gestures, gait, levels, facial expressions, etc.
Movement: movement was a large part of my monologue as it was one of the main ways I set up my character to be presented/seen. Most of my movements were quick as I saw my character as someone who was driven and passionate about the topic she was talking about. Although most of the movements were quick, I also had some parts where I stood and spoke out to the ‘universe’ rather than it being like I were in a conversation.
Gestures: during the performance, I tried to use lots of gestures as I wanted it to be more engaging for the audience
Levels: I tried using lots of different levels throughout my performance, by using both the blocks and just my body. Towards the end of my performance, I made the choice of using a large black block to stand on. This did not only get my point across in the script but it also added to the use of levels which helped make it more interesting for the audience.
Discuss the context of your piece. How did you use the context to inform your decision making?
About the play: Alina, a barista at a Manhattan coffee shop, has dreams of climbing the economic ladder to change the world. Robert, a former engineer/inventor turned stock broker, gave up on a dream of launching a business around his lifelike robotic puppies for allergic children. From their first ‘hello’ at the coffee shop, sparks fly and not before long they’re fully engaged in a relationship that challenges both of their dreams and identities.
The scene: Alina has just gotten into an argument with a customer who comes into the coffee shop everyday. She is fed up, and since it’s her last day she decides to speak her mind.
When I first began rehearsing my monologue, I didn’t know the full backstory of the play so I had to be more creative with my choices and make more decisions than you would have to do if you were given the story behind the performance. Although I had to come up with a substitute for a story at the start, this allowed me to create ideas I don’t think I would have come up with if I had known the backstory.
After I had done some research on my chosen piece, I was able to intergrade it into what I already had and this influenced my decisions to make it more of a conversation than having it as something the character was thinking to herself.
SECTION 2 / Rehearsal
Discuss the rehearsal process you used to develop your character in the performance
When we first began rehearsing our pieces, my main focus was to learn the script as this was definitely one of the most important parts for both my performance and setting myself up for later. It took me roughly three lessons to learn my script off by heart (plus some practice I had at home). Learning the script first helped me to learn/get a feel of who my character was and allowed me to develop them in the way I wanted her (Alina) to be seen.
The next thing I did was blocking. I did this for most of the time we were given to practice as I was constantly changing it and editing my performance. This took quite a lot of time as it was always changing and I was always adding to it. The blocking allowed me to space out my movements, which helped develop my character as someone who had quite quick, yet strong gestures, as well as having some parts that were slower and more thoughtful.
Outline the specific choices you made during rehearsal and what informed these choices. Refer to your use of vocal and movement techniques.
During the rehearsal time, I made lots of different choices for both the vocal and movements technicalities of the performance.
For the vocal aspect of the piece, I tried to sound both bubbly and independent as that was what I imagined the character being like by reading the script. However, there were also parts that were meant to be humorous, and some parts that were more thoughtful. At the end of the performance, I decided to make the line and movements quite slow, which was very different from the rest of the scene. I made this choice as I felt it best represented what she would be feeling at the time, as well as it giving me more of a chance to express different emotions.
I had to make several choices to do with the technique of movement, some of them being my gait and posture. My gait helped to determine how my character would be seen through her walk, so I decided to make it more open and have a larger stride as it made it look like I was more confident and independent.
SECTION 3 / Performance
Were you prepared for the performance? Why or why not?
I think I was definitely prepared for the performance as we were given lots of time to rehearse and I made sure that I was doing all I could in this time as well as doing some practice at home.
What went well throughout the performance?
Throughout the performance, I think I kept both a good pace and volume level. I also think I made it intriguing for the audience by using lots of props and constantly using different physical elements of drama, such as levels, movement, etc.
What did you need to do differently?
Although I used lots of movement, I feel like there may have been parts where I wasn’t as focused on this and was more concerned about my script, therefore shuffling/pacing around a bit.
How would you have done things differently to improve this process?
If I were to go through the whole process again, I would probably try to take a different angle for my character as I feel like it would have been more fun if I had spent more time thinking about the different ways in which I could perform rather than just having a set image.
SECTION 4 / Final Evaluation
What are the best aspects of your performance?
Personally, I think that the best aspects of my performance would be the way that I delivered my character. Being able to have a creative input in the way my character was perceived was quite exciting as I was able to express myself through this by making her fun and independent and bubbly.
What areas needed to be improved?
I could have possibly improved on my timing and maybe paced my monologue a bit better as I feel I may have slightly rushed under the pressure of performing.
What did you learn?
Throughout the performance process I learnt a lot to do with both the history/different styles of drama and as being a performer and how I could better myself. During the term we learnt a lot about some different styles of drama, such as the Berkoff style, which I later used in my scene from “Hello, Goodbye, Peace”.