Each section

What is devising?

 Devising through my eyes is the term you use for when someone is creating a piece of original work from either nothing or a given stimulus.  People use devising to portray a story, whether that be a fictional story based on real life issues or just a fake story. It could be a non fictional story as well. People have different opinions on devising for example a quote from Emma Rice “There is no formula to the way we make theater… It starts with an itch, a need, an instinct… We gaze at books and films, sketch and begin to form a concept; an environment in which the story can live, in which the actors can play. This physical world holds meaning and narrative, it is as much a story telling tool as the written word.” (Quote from Devising Theater - Drama Resource ). There is a process behind devising which is separated into 5 stages in the book "Drama games for devising by Jessica Swale"  Stage 1 preparation which is to prepare yourself mental and physically to start as a group. Stage 2 which is generation, this means to find a starting point or stimuli. Stage 3 is exploration, this is to develop the previous ideas and expand to have things such as characters,general concepts of scenes and how the story will go. Stage 4 is Distillation, this is to fill all the gaps that we have from all the other stages and have a final piece ready to start practicing. Stage 5 is presentation, this is working on everything to do with voice and how you will present yourself on stage so now you'll be read to perform.

My thoughts

When we first received the commission from Gloucester Welcomes Refugees (which was the charity we were going to raise money for), I knew I wanted to do more of the Halloween side of things than Christmas which the class also wanted which was a great start! There was also the reason of that last year they did a Christmas project so we though people may of been bored of having another so it would be a bigger audience to go for a Halloween project instead. When someone suggested the idea of an escape room I was happy to do the puzzles since that sort of thing I find fun to do so I knew I was doing that before we  officially started. I was really looking forward to working on an escape room but the idea it was a Halloween one made it so much more exiting for me since this was my first preoper experience to do something scary as a performance! I knew it would be difficult but I had determination that I would be able to get through it quite well!

Inspirations

Our project

Our devised performance was called "Miss Maggie's Toy-Box". It was a Halloween escape room mixed a with walk-through.  The story was about a company that shut down that the guests came to look at and end up getting trapped and had to do puzzles to be freed. They learn the story of the building's history throughout the escape room. They learn that the CEO and his brother murdered a bunch of kids and a few adults due to their own personal issues. They learn my character was a detective that came to solve the murders and the disappearance of my own father, got to close to the truth so in result was tortured and murdered by the CEO (My uncle). There was 3 rooms they had to solve. The toy room and train room both had 2 puzzles and both a timer of 15 minutes. The last room had a timer of also 15 minutes however the task was to find the 3 keys and give them to the kid without getting caught. My job as the guide was to give clues and keep watch of the guests all the way through and monitor their time. The whole purpose of this performance was to raise money for a charity called "Gloucester Welcomes Refugees". https://www.gloucesterwelcomesrefugees.co.uk/ This is there website.

Process

I decided to write a script based on the already devised parts we all had come up with to give everyone a base idea on how their dialogue would go and which rooms things were said in. Yes in the end it wasn't followed exactly but it gave everyone a clearer understanding on how everything would be laid out when it came to performing and our improvisation could work around it.

I came up with the puzzle ideas by thinking of what rooms should have first. I know we all spoke about an abandoned toy factory so I came up with shop themed rooms. I came to the idea of the bear room, the train room and the mannequin room. From there I deiced to do the puzzles for the first two rooms with the themes in mind. So room one had puzzles to do with stuffed bears, room two had puzzles to do with trains.

MISS MAGGIES TOY BOX. 

Written By  

Misty Coates 

INT LOBBY 

CEO 

Welcome welcome! It is so lovely people have all turned up to see us all again. Come closer come closer! (Repeat if needs be and be loud) Now isn’t it lovely to see all your wonderful faces! We haven’t had people here in years! Oh, you’ll love it here so much you wont even want to leave! Do not explore on your own accord. I will find you a tour guide shortly. 

GUIDE 

Kind hearted soul(S) I see! Don’t listen to this man he’s... full of lies… Quick follow me! We have so much to discuss! 

INT BEAR ROOM 

GUIDE 

So, as you may have noticed the doors are shut. I am terribly sorry about this but you have some responsibilities before you leave. Each room will have two puzzles and you’ll have 15 minutes to solve both in each room! Now! Our friend here… He’s missing his friends. He’s fussy though so return them correctly.  

GUIDE 

He has his favourite friend here… He has a certain spot to sit. I have a few clues for you however only 3 so be careful… 

HINT 1: He likes to see the door. The door is his friend. 

HINT 2: He likes to stay high up. He can see everything from there. 

HINT 3: His favourite colour is purple. He loves purple. 

GUIDE WINNER  

You did it! Well, done well done! Now quick let’s move on… 

GUIDE LOOSER 

Oh my… Oh my… well hope is starting to look slim. Let’s move on… 

The guide would go to take them over to the door when the CEO comes in. 

CEO 

What do you think you are doing? You are helping them?! Do you know what I could do to you for that?  Disgusting. You always knew how to run your mouth. That’s why I stitched it shut. You got in my way and still after I shut you up you find a way to meddle with my business. Don’t let it happen again understood? 

Guide is scared and cowering at the CEO. The CEO leaves and as the guide speaks to the guests the bear has slumped itself against the door that’s not being used which they would see. 

GUIDE 

Next room shall we! 

CONDUCTOR 

Get in all of you, Hurry up. 

Righty! I’m kind of stuck hanging out here so you need to do my stuff for me or else I won’t let you leave. Ill make missy over there trap you all in!!(Doll) Right the rules of my train are, and ill only say this once. Read the sign if you forget.  Don’t come on my train without a ticket! Tickets cost 5 pounds got it?! Wednesday isn’t allowed on. I hate yellow its such a gross bright colour! No yellow! I’m allergic to rats, no rats or rat owners! No pranks on this train! Oh and… I love dogs… Now get on with it! 

GUIDE 

Oh dear, she’s asleep again… Probably went to sleep crying that her favourite toy had been took apart and scattered. Please help her feel better! Once you think you’ve done what she wants wind the music box here! (Pink music box to represent the pink train you need to find) 

GUIDE WINNER  

Congratulations! You’ve made her happy. Just hurry now before she gets moody! This way! 

GUIDE LOOSER 

Oh, you failed…Let’s…Let’s move on… 

The guide takes them into the next room. 

LITTLE KID 

Help! Help please… Come here! (Wait’s until they come over.) 

Please…Have you got my key? You have it right? No? Then get it! Don’t you dare come back here until you do!!  

They would start looking and the guide will make sure the music box ran out which the little girl will then get up and start rattling chains near the people in room waking the jack in the box who is now active.  

GUIDE 

Quick Quick, the music box!! Turn it up to stop her following you and keep very quiet our Jack in the box is blind… don’t let him hear you. Find the key and we all leave! I can only save your group 3 times if any of you are caught! 

If the jack in the box catches you but you have lives left: 

GUIDE 

Here! Over here! Come on Jack! 

If the jack in the box catches you and jump scares after 3 strikes or the timer has ran out:  

LITTLE KID 

You all have failed me and everyone else trapped here…Get out. 

If you find the key:  

GUIDE 

Quick, give it to the little kid! Hurry! 

As they go to the girl all monsters in the room follow slowly behind. Once they give it to her: 

LITTLE KID 

Oh thank you! Thank you! I…I can rest now…I miss you mummy and daddy… 

The kid will move away from the door and your guide will assist you out. 

GUIDE 

Thank you… you freed us all. Now we can all rest and that CEO will finally be where he belongs. (If we are taking pictures.) Please make your way out and if you would like some photos with any of the cast make your way over to the photo booth! Thank you for visiting.

ROOM 1: TEDDY BEAR

Actor no°: 1 atm

. Arrange the coloured bears into alphebtical order based on their colour and give them to the bear in the corner of the room who will throw them away if you give them wrong. At the beginning of this room they will scare you to let them know they are real and cry about missing their friends.

Once completed: They will give you a normal bear.

. The goal is to find his favorite spot to sit. There guide will give clues along the way when you ask.

Clue one: He likes to see the door. The door Is his friend..

Clue two: He like to stay high up. He can see all His friends from there

Clue Three: His favourite friend is purple.. He likes the colour purple.

In the room there will be 12 stickers

3 purple, 3 orange, 3 green, 3 red

1 purple will be high up and facing the door that's the spot the bear should be placed

ROOM 2: TRAIN SETS

No° actors: 2

. A conductor will come over and give you 6 ticket.

There is 10 passangers jars waiting.

4 of which are not allowed to the train.

Rules of the train

You must not come on without a ticket.

You must pay your 5 pounds for your ticket.

Wednesday is not allowed on.

Yellow is my least favourite colour yellow is not allowed.

I'm allergic to rats. No rats or rat owners are allowed.

No pranks on my train!

I love dogs!

Work out who needs to be given the tickets by their notes to the conductor and give the correct passengers their tickets in there named jars.

❤️Jasmine: I have 15 pounds! I'm best friends with My sister lilo! I gave her 3 pounds!  ❌

❎Katie: Hi, I'm Katie! I love dogs! Here is my 5 pounds! Also I saw a boy called bob today! He bought so many sweets and something else he spend almost all his money. He spent 9 pounds! ✅

❤️Lilo: Hi my sister is Jasmine! I am Lilo! I have 2 pounds to start with but she gave me some more! Shes so lovely!! ✅

❤️Rachel: Hi I'm Rachel my brother is Wednesday.. He is in a lot of trouble recently.. Here is my 5 pounds! ✅

❎Emma: hello! I'm Emma! I'm bobs cousin! It's nice to meet you! Though bob bought fake money today.. Though Mum gave him 10 pound today! ✅

❤️Tom: Hello, I have my 5 pounds! Though did you know Katie.. Her rat bit me once..✅

❎Wednesday: hi I'm Rachel's brother! Nice to meet you! Here is my 5 pounds! ❌

❤️Dilan hi.. Here is my 5 pounds.. ✅

❤️Riley  Emma loves the beach her dress reminds her of the sand because of the colour.. Here is my 5 pounds! ✅

❎Bob hello.. I'm Emma's cousin. Here is my 5 pounds.. ❌

. Oh no the little girl has fell asleep without buying a toy. You know the rules wake her up again. She does this every-time.. This is why her mother never came back for her she fell asleep and never woke back up.. Only we could wake her up.. It's your turn! Oh and don't touch her... Only take her music box off her she doesn't like it silent..

As you look around the room you find several train tracks and you put them together finally putting the train on it. You then wind the music box up that she holds and she wakes up. If you have the correct train on it she wakes up and speaks to you then leaves. If its wrong she goes back to sleep

Character study 

Practitioners Practice

Commedia dell'arte was used to make divised peices using stock characters. This could include Pantelone, the lover, Arlecchino and many more. These stock characters would often be stereotypical types of people. For example Pantelone is a master who keeps all their money to themselves and very greedy.

All these characters were lead by a body part. Pantelone was lead by his nose, the captain was lead by his chest, the doctor lead by his stomach. It helps to portray the characters personality through their posture and body language. For example the captain is very proud so he leads with his chest to portray that personality type.

History behind devising

Devising can date back to 15th century with Commedia Dell'Arte however it grew more popular in the 16th century. They used exaggerated movement that would express a characters personality and behavior. They usually used stereotypical characters such as "Pantalone" Who is led by his knees and nose due to them being quite selfish and always keeping their money to them selves and turning their nose up to people. There is also characters like the "Harlequin" who is a servant that is quite stupid and they often tricked the roles with a form of power over them and were a comedy character. They used these stock characters as a base to devise a story. They would decide a theme then improvise a scene with the characters they are using. This type of devising would then go on to inspire Mime. So even without dialogue performances were made and still did the goal of creating entertainment to an audience. This is often said to come from France however it can date back to Greek times as well!

Joan Littlewood was an important figure in the 50-60's in devised theater due to how she decided to combat the idea of only upper and middle class people being represented on stage as the norm. She decided to portray the working class life through her devised performances to do so.  https://youtu.be/8A9MSpZnS70?si=oZmsNeIuOVyvM8eg - This is a small insight into Joan Littlewood by a youtuber called Dinesy. She made performances relating to the working class to make things more relatable. It would also widen the audience range since it would interest the working class now they have something to relate to themselves. Not only a it relatable but it also brought more awareness to some of the struggles the working class would go through which would make them feel appreciated and heard. Not only that but in most plays where the lower class were presented they were usually belittled or made fun of so suddenly being took seriously was a big deal at the time. At the time she was creating her own work it was a mostly male dominated world so the fact she challenged that by working in the performing arts industry as a women would of helped other gain inspiration to do the same to go on to make more devised work.

Companies today also portray real life situations through their devised work such as Alter Ego who does devised performances on problems in today's society. An example of this was one I watched by them called "County Lines". This was about trafficking drugs and how young people are pulled into it. It showed the behind the scenes such as the violence and manipulation. This was important to be shown to a young audience to educate them about the signs to look out for when people approach you on the streets. It also educates them on how bad it is behind closed doors without being drawn into by the idea of rewards like money. My opinion on it was because the stage combat was quite believable it made it seem even more real. I didn't know just how bad it could be so this helped inform me when I was younger to look out for more signs and not be as naive.

Similarly people use real life events to possibly bring awareness to what had happened in this given piece. They may use real quotes to make the audience feel even more attached to the plot and make it more believable. It would make you feel more for the characters but even more for the actual people the characters are based on. You can spread awareness of the issues in the events that happened and even help prevent these events happening again if they are negative. If positive it can encourage people to try to do the same, for example something motivating.

Another real life performance was made by Hnc, Hnd students during 2020. This was the time of COVID and that's exactly what it was about. Not only was theater needing to be made to keep people in business during the pandemic but it felt important to people to express how they felt about it. Such as the isolation from friends and maybe even family that is distant. It goes over how things were repentative during lock down and how desperate people were to see their family. This is so important to the actors to express their feelings through devised work but also it connects to the audience due to them too being in the same situation. This would also make the piece so more emotional to everyone of every class. This piece was made online which made it all the more current to the situation that they couldnt even create it together in the same room.

Devising is also useful due to you not needing the rights to put on your own original work since you created it yourself. This opened up opportunities for many since getting the rights to shows could cost too much in a persons budget. However to create your own piece you can take your own budget into consideration and form a devised performance around it making a show that is not only enjoyable to all but also practical for yourself.

Strengths and Weaknesses in Movement

In movement we all have our strengths and weaknesses. I would like to go over and evaluate mine so I know how to improve or stabilize those qualities. I believe as an actor I have many strengths and this applies to movement in acting. 

I know I am very good with levels, I can portray a character quite well using them. For example, if i'm playing the stereotypical henchman character they are known for being lower to the ground to represent where they stand compared to their boss who stands tall and prideful. If you have a lousy character they may sway and change their levels from time to time. The list is endless, but the level you give the character in posture or movement can portray a personality without needing the use of dialogue or sound. For the performance we will work on I will use levels to help me portray my characters personality. Over all I do believe this will be a useful skill not only for this performance but future ones as well! An exercise to maintain this ability is to walk around a room and use different ways to lead yourself around in character without dialogue or noises. Such as leading around with your nose which would naturally bring you lower as your back would be bent giving you a lower level in posture. This portrays nosiness or someone being snobby. 

I also know that I am good with my pace in movement, whether it be to demonstrate the characters energy levels, or for a certain task they are performing or trying to achieve.  To continued on from that point, If I play a character with a lot of energy or hyperactivity they would move around at a jumpy fast pace. Even stood still they could be bouncing or doing something on the spot. However, a character with low energy would drag along slowly with less effort to lift their limbs more. However, it may not always be energy! For example, it could be based off a characters professional standard. So a character could have a lot of energy but be professional so they could walk at a moderate pace with good posture. I will use this in my performance with my character to further develop its characterization through movement to better my performance quality. I can sustain this ability by ,similarly to the last strength, a workshop where I walk around and portray a new character each speed level i go up from 1-10. This will give me several new characters I can use in performances in the future and work on this ability to portray character through my pace.

Now I've talked about some strengths I must go into some weaknesses so I can make sure to improve and learn from them. One of my main weaknesses is due to a condition I have called hyper-mobility. With this it causes a lot of my joints to be looser than the normal person and make it harder to make my body more stiff. So flexibility is problematic where i'm too flexible in certain areas. However, something that also works is adaptability in which I use it in my character. For example be more loose with my characters movements where it fits. Then it comes across as natural to an audiences perspective! I am getting better with this, however I do need to be careful as it can cause my knees to bend backwards  and lock on me which could be a trip hazard for myself sometimes. So for this to be maintained I need to work on my core strength to prevent the chances of falling over. So balance workshops will be helpful for this since it uses your core and can strengthen it through practice. 

Another weakness I have is motivation. This effects my movement by making my energy drop which could make my movement less clear and direct as its suppose to be for the character I'm playing. My motivation drops usually in rehearsals or if my emotions are low. It can ruin my passion for the project if not maintained which weakens my ability to portray my characters movement at the best of my ability which can cause the audience to loose the believable part that I am the character rather than just an actor doing a performance. Luckily on performances my motivation is always high due to wanting to perform something enjoyable to an audience and the adrenaline I get from doing so. However to maintain this motivation in rehearsals and other parts that isn't the performance I need to improve it. A way I could do this is if its emotion or head space based could be to do a fun warm up game to get my mind off things. Such as splat. This is because to win you need to have your full concentration on the game and the person in the middle. This would get my mind off things and also cheer me up since games are fun so its a win win situation. The same concept would also give the motivation due to adrenaline from the game which would help build motivation and energy levels for the rehearsals just as the nerves for a performance would do on the big day.

Overall, there is things I know I'm good at and things that can always be improved. I will always work to improve the weaknesses and try to make them strengths or at least not a problem. As for strengths I will work to make them even better or at least sustain the high level they are already at to better my performance through movement. This will enable me to enhance my ability to trick the audience into believing me as my character and being entertained by the story I will be portraying in which ever way I do in future performances. 

Work shops/ Exercises

In this workshop I go over what the reason for doing them is and how it may help me. I also say in my strengths and weaknesses my reasoning for picking these workshops and the plan behind them. As an actor I need to always be improving and stabilizing my abilities in a way that works best for me which is why I chose these certain exercises to improve my balance and motivation and then stabilize my levels and pace in my movement.

Rehearsal videos

Performance

Viva voce

My after thoughts

My thoughts on the project were mixed. I loved the story behind everything and the characters. However making everything possible was the difficult part in my opinion. There was a lot of set,props and choreography that needed to be made. I did enjoy the co-operation between certain roles had however. Me and Sam were two that had to work together a lot since he worked on a lot of the set and needed to know from me the idea behind things and vise versa. It was quite stressful when people didn't always turn up or take part as much as they could of but we pulled through and I'm proud of everyone who did do their bests to get this all done! I belive the story and characters were definetly my favourite part as it could easily be its own performace if we ever wanted to bring back Miss Maggies for a film for example. Which to me shows how much thought went into them!