Unit 5 Shenagh
The title of Unit 5 is “Immigration” research for the container
This was to show us how migrants came to
Britain.
We started off this unit on a low point as in our class we there was a student who had come to the country in the back of a truck. We were going to create a devised piece but
due to the circumstances it was hard for him to attend lessons. I personally asked at the beginning for us to
move onto a scripted piece as I saw the impact that recapping the story was having on him. I was overjoyed when we had scripted work
because it felt more morally correct.
We decided as a class that scripted work was the
best choice. The script was picked by our director. It is The
Container , it tells the story of five migrants – two Afghans, two Somalis and a
Turkish Kurd – who are crossing Europe, accompanied by a Turkish trafficker and
an unseen lorry driver. Their hoped-for destination is the UK, land of dreams.
But they are experiencing only nightmares: the grim memories of what drove them
from their homes, the stench of the container, and the fear of an unknown
future.
Having a hard copy script where I
could put all my actioning annotations improved my ability to memorise the script. It also helped me to deliver a better performance as I annotated actions that I could use to improve my performance of the character (Ahmad).
The performance went well and I used the observations I had made on my script to give my character authenticity eg hunching my back when I was sat on the bucket. I thought it was believable.
Although in the performance of The Container we did have a few technical hiccups such as the lights cutting out on one side of the stage and a few technical difficulties with sound, we didn't let those impact our performance. Unit 6
Context
In this unit we focused on the performance of The Container. We focused on the story and learnt about what it is like for immigrants coming to the UK and the different methods it took to get here. We focused mainly on one aspect - lorry travel which is key in this play as it is set in the back of a lorry in a container which is very cramped. There were 5 characters in this play with the same intention - to travel to the UK - all cramped inside a small container. But of course this comes with a lot of ups and downs resulting in a lot of actioning in the script as there were a lot of stereotypical controversial scenes. I had to use my actioning abilities to mark out the different movements and sounds that were going to be used throughout the production. I did this with the help of my teachers who had different warm up techniques and different drills.For example, we had to perform different actions -starting by standing still, then acting out a motion, then proceeding to add sound to it.
Rehearsals
Throughout the rehearsals we faced many problems along the way. One of these was the different speeds at which all of us learnt our lines.Some people were still on script during our tech run and that was very scary for those who actually committed and learnt their lines. Throughout this project I got given the part of Ahmad who was a highly esteemed business man, travelling with working class citizens in the back of the lorry. The contradiction between my character and the others allowed me to add different actions and facial expressions which suggested to the audience I was above the other people in the lorry. My character was also ironic because being the businessman who earned a lot more than the others I was still travelling among the poor working class refugees. This shows that it doesn't matter what you did back in the other country when you migrate to different countries, they view you the same as the people who were below you back in your country. I made sure to learn my lines quickly to make sure I could improve my character and do the performance to the best of my ability. My performance in the end was great. I kept all my confidence and remembered all of my lines. Throughout the 6 weeks we had to prepare with the help of my great teachers I managed to conduct myself in such a way that it was clear to see that I had put a lot of time and effort into doing this production and it paid off in the end which I was so pleased about. We also used different props such as a bucket that I sat on throughout the performance. It was very uncomfortable to sit on which was an accurate representation of what it would've been like sitting in the container. We also had different sounds such as a lorry moving and the knocking on the door. I had to act hunched during the performance because I was sat on a bucket and it was very uncomfortable showing that in the back of a lorry it wasn't very comfortable.
Research
Throughout this piece there were a lot of different aspects we had to research such as different types of themes. I researched different types of refugees such as Afghan and Syrian refugees to get an idea of how they might dress and act which assisted my performance to be more authentic. The research I found was that the Syrian and Afghan refugees had a tough time getting through to this country. I experienced first hand a story from an Afghan refugee who travelled across from France to England in a boat inside a fridge. Due to the temperature there was a high chance that he could die along that ride across water and then he had to get across border security. The fear of getting caught left him with sleepless nights and PTSD which has had an impact on his education and mental state. As a result it is hard for him to find decent paid work and to live a decent life that he deserves, just because he tried to get a better life and escape the terrorism and war in his country.
Unit 7
Production of the Container
Lighting
Throughout the entirety of the performance I was in charge of lighting therefore I had to work with the tech team to tell them when to light up the stage and when to do blackouts I had multiple themes throughout this play. We experimented with variations of darkness to create a scene of hopelessness. We felt this would provide a contrast to the hope that the actors are trying to depict. The different characters are sat in the container with different views on what London is going to be like and how it will affect their lives in a positive way even though the setting foreshadows how it will actually be in London for the refugees. Therefore, to set the scene the lighting had to be the appropriate and fortunately I was in charge of that, meaning that I made sure we had the right lighting with all the different blackouts positioned properly. I worked a lot with the tech team to make sure that our performance ran smoothly.
To conclude, Claire Bayley's the container was a very interesting to study and with the help from my director and the lighting team we pulled off a great performance. This was a socially relevant play which had a lot of depth and meaning. I found that the play was very painful and emotional therefore I was glad when it ended as it was very close to home for another member of the group. It took a lot out of me and it often left me tired and drained.