Quad Jumping, Fluff Picking and Round-by-through

On Monday we discussed multi-rolling the characters of Cameron and Caitlin, agreeing on two pairs to portray them differently in each scene, enhancing diversity. While undecided on specific roles, we moved on to costumes. Opting for plain black attire for everyone, we planned distinctive pieces for Cameron, Caitlin, and the weird girl. Cameron would carry a camera, reflecting his role in the play. Caitlin would wear a brightly colored jacket to represent her vibrant personality, easily interchangeable between pairs. The weird girl would have a blanket and her teddy bear. Keeping the rest of the costumes black, we aimed to avoid complicating the already creative and frantic nature of the performance.

We decided to have three pairs of Caitlin and Cameron, considering our group size of six. However, we designated one actor to always play the "weird girl" character, recognizing the value of consistency amidst our frequent changes. This approach not only adds effectiveness but also highlights the complexity of the "weird girl" character, allowing for varied interpretations and engaging the audience's imagination. 

We then decided that Ruby would be Weird Girl whereas Dylan can be Marlee and Weird Girls Brother, we then put Bethany and Luca as a Cameron and Caitlin pair and Me and Paige as a Cameron and Caitlin pair.

Liz then introduced us to quad jumping, a technique involving jumping in sections while standing in lines of three to music. Initially confused, I grasped the concept better after Liz's explanation. The sequence involved jumping eight times, then jumping backward counterclockwise and turning to the next group of three, repeating until the end of the rows. The pattern reduced gradually to jumping backward once as the front group turned. While challenging at first, quad jumping aims to enhance movement and release tension within a scene or group. 

After practicing the technique, we had forty minutes to focus on devising our extracts, aiming to incorporate frantic assembly techniques. For the first extract, we decided on a chair duet, featuring Luca and Beth in what we called the "dream scene," where Caitlin and Cameron discuss their love for dreaming. I portrayed the dad initially with Dylan, then transitioned to sitting on the floor expressionless, with Cameron capturing her with a camera. Ruby directed Paige, me, and Dylan to mime actions with a teddy bear, creating a symmetrical and visually pleasing scene. Mimicking the teddy bear's movements conveyed a sense of control or abuse endured by the "weird girl," leaving room for audience interpretation. As Luca continued the chair duet with Beth, we synchronized actions to his dialogue, such as turning a dial down to signify coldness, enhancing visual impact and utilizing the unison technique effectively in theatre. 

At the end of our devising session, Liz introduced a new frantic assembly technique called fluff picking. This involves choosing a partner and touching them without eliciting a reaction, such as moving a strand of hair or touching a shoulder. Each partner does five touches in turn, and the story can become more complex with facial expressions and reactions. Dylan and I had a rule where we had to watch each others hands move to eachother, creating a magnetic connection between us. We found potential for a compelling story and began exploring touches without specific intentions. This technique proved valuable for illustrating character relationships and conveying a narrative through movement. I found it enriching as it fostered a closer connection with my partner and taught me how to communicate a story through physicality. Liz encouraged us to incorporate this into our pieces, with a deadline set for presenting our progress to the group on Thursday. 

Thursday arrived, and Liz informed us that we would devise our pieces and present them to the group. With a short lesson scheduled, we understood the limited time available for further devising but opted to continue with the extract from Monday. Liz began the session with an exercise called "Round by Through," a frantic assembly technique involving three steps:

SHIFT – When you physically move someone from one place to another 

THROUGH – When you pass through a space made by another or two people 

ROUND – Either you turn someone around or you go around them. 

I was put with Dylan and Harry, where we made a scene using round by through that somewhat reminded me of a collaborative dance, although we had minor complications with choreographing this, we fixed them and pushed through until Liz told us to show them back, in which it was told it was very good due to how planned out it was, as it told a story what we planned as a random bloke (me) tries to go past two bouncers (Dylan and Harry). We decided this since im the lightest therefore we could incorporate a lift.

The other group provided feedback on our performance, focusing on our use of frantic techniques. Scarlett mentioned the incorporation of a chair duet and unison with the weird girl, acknowledging the need for further techniques as we had just begun devising. Another observation was the effectiveness of actions alongside monologues, particularly when Luca and Beth acted out the words. Our utilization of everyone in the group, even in background roles, was praised, aligning with our goal to keep the stage active (since we dont have wings). Feedback highlighted the balance between a busy yet visually pleasing scene, emphasizing the importance of clarity amidst chaos. Suggestions for improvement included syncing movements with dialogue, such as sinking down when Luca mentions piling on duvets, and incorporating a lift for the weird girl scene. Additional ideas included changing music for scene transitions and expanding the chair duet with more movement.