The fourth read-through of Coriolanus!

(Most of you are double or triple cast, so double check which lines you have to read.) You can look up the lines of the characters here. The names listed below all go with the Folger Edition.  We will post line changes and cuts shortly. 

Please submit your confirmation or any request to understudy here. If you’re in any doubt, please ask.

Times and time zones: 

EDT (US):  8:00 PM

CDT (US): 7:00 PM

MDT (US):  6:00 PM

PDT (US):  5:00 PM

BST (UK):  1:00 AM Sunday, May 25

AEST (AU):  10:00 AM Sunday, May 25

Leader: @purplemuskrat

Cast:

Coriolanus: @hollishasatumblr

Menenius: @silver-sporks

Volumnia, Plebian Rabble, 6th Citizen: @shadowsong26x

Sicinius, Noble: @amysterywrappedinanenigma

Firsts, Young Martius: @CassRMorris

Cominius, Volsce (Adrian), 4th Citizen, All People: @jwgh

Aufidius, Aedile(s), 5th Citizen, Herald: @infinitelytheheartexpands

Brutus, Roman (Nicanor), 7th Citizen, Gentlewoman: @sayyestothejess

Seconds, Valeria, Lieutenant: @herebehunters

Lartius, Virgilia, Thirds: @purplemuskrat

Please submit your confirmation here - liking/reblogging this post does not count!

Read the Guidelines. To avoid the differences between editions that make for confusion and missed cues, please use the Folger edition of Coriolanus during the read-through.

Each polarity consists of two components that’s exploration is imperative for a beneficial and successful Applied Theatre workshop, each relationship containing two opposite yet complimentary roles. Despite the two components within each polarity being complete polar opposites, one cannot function nor fulfill its purpose without the other and failure to explore both components can cause a workshop to become immobilized and incapable of any beneficial progress. In order to explore these polarities successfully, the facilitator must move from different polarity sets according the demands of the situation, the needs of the group they are facilitating and the aspects of the issue they are exploring within the workshop. It is the facilitator’s responsibility to manage and encourage the exploration of the polar relationship while also managing the safety of the group and how these relationships can be productive and beneficial to them. However, when exploring a polarity set, the facilitator must ensure that they do not neglect one side polarity. If only one side of a polarity is explored, a key component of the relationship is thereby neglected and the balance of the workshop becomes disrupted and thrown off, causing it to become counter-productive and immobile. And a workshop in which nothing can be achieved, that does not in any way benefit it’s participants, or that does not aid the participant’s exploration may as well not be carried out at all. Therefore, in order to achieve the overall goal of an Applied Theatre workshop, the well balanced exploration of the six polarities can play a vital role in the carrying out of a productive and beneficial Applied Theatre workshop.

The polarity of Surface and Depth can be frequently encountered within the earlier stages of a workshop. Participants who have little experience with performance can be uncertain when it comes to working in the space and sometimes need to be broken out of their shell. Because of this, there may be a challenge in breaking through the component of Surface and moving into the exploration of depth, as participants who are new to Drama as a whole may at first feel reluctant, shy or embarrassed when it comes to the output of their own ideas and opinions. It is common in these situations for a participant to simply follow what the majority is saying when it comes to providing the facilitator with feedback and opinions on a particular game or exercise, due to fear of being judged by the rest of the group, or giving the ‘wrong’ answer. This can also occur during exercises, in which participants are, at first, most likely to look only at the literal, for example: if put into groups that are all given a situation of which they are told find their own interpretation, participants are most likely to act out the situation as a naturalistic scene. This is a perfectly valid and interesting response to an exercise, however, while this is a perfectly fascinating and attractive interpretation in itself, facilitators are often keen to have their participants explore a wide range of different possible interpretations rather than just the one. This can also interlink with the polarity of The Fixed And The Free, as the introduction of rules and restrictions can be used to combat the imbalance of only exploring the component of Surface. For instance, the restriction of speech means that participants must convey their situation through sound and movement, or one could go the opposite way and restrict movement, meaning the participants must then convey their situation through the use of speech, sounds and freeze frames. When some door is closed, more are forced to open. However, a group’s initial uncertainty with regards to exploring the component of Depth is an integral part of the development of the workshop, as it is imperative that both components of a polarity be explored in order for the workshop to maintain a healthy balance of exploration that will be engaging and beneficial to it’s participants.

Both Laying the Foundations: A guide to youth drama facilitation and Chris Johnson’s House of Games contain detailed descriptions of what Applied Theatre practitioners consider to be the most vital components of an Applied Theatre workshop and what should be taken into account when both constructing an Applied Theatre workshop and carrying one out with a group of participants. House of Games provides facilitators with detailed descriptions on what they should explore in order to build a successful Applied Theatre Workshop, while Laying the Foundations is more focused on the role of the facilitator and how the facilitator’s actions and behavior effects the group as a whole and the workshop’s overall success, as opposed to the actual content of the workshop itself. However, these two aspects of Applied Theatre often come hand in hand and are both vital for the construction and undertaking of a workshop. The two texts describe in detail how these particular elements of Applied Theatre play an important role in workshops and what they do for the participants involved and they benefit the group as a whole. House of Games goes into greater detail of what these components are constructed of and why. For instance, in Laying The Foundations, it is described how rules must be introduced into Applied Theatre games and exercises, stating that it aids enhanced the participants concentration.  However, Johnson goes into further detail regarding the importance of rules and why we must have them, describing the benefits of rules and structure in the first polarity (The Fixed And The Free) and how the incorporation of rules into a workshop does not necessarily set limitations, but provide the participants with further opportunities for exploration, as by closing some doors, more are forced open and the participants are therefore able to explore multiple possibilities. Both texts are also very beneficial to keeping a facilitator’s focus upon the overall goal of an Applied Theatre workshop, which is to focus it’s attention upon individuals and/ or communities and to provide them with a safe way of talking back to society by empowering the participants to understand their own lives, providing them with the voice and confidence to explore and apply positive changes to them. Laying The Foundations provides the facilitator with tips on how a safe space can be created in which the participants are able to work on and build this confidence, while House of Games compliments the tips provided in Laying The Foundations by describing how many of these techniques can be traced back to the six polarities and how failure to explore them to a satisfactory level can lead to a counter-productive workshop in which further progress is impossible, leaving the group disappointed and thus producing a negative effect- the exact opposite of what an Applied Theatre workshop aims for. The two readings paired together provide a facilitator with vital information on how to construct a an efficient workshop that the participants will find positive and beneficial, with Laying The Foundations going into detail about how a workshop can be carried out effectively, while House of Games goes into more depth about the prior construction of an Applied Theatre workshop and what is specifically important to explore within it in order to make it effective and beneficial to the group.

1: Are GIFs or videos better for capturing a time piece? Why?

The fourth read-through of King Lear! 

(Most of you are double or triple cast, so double check which lines you have to read.) You can look up the lines of the characters here, but beware the differences in names. The names listed below all go with the Folger Edition. If you’re in any doubt, please ask. 

We recast some readers; I hope you don’t mind reading a smaller part now!

Times and time zones:

UK: 19:00-23:00 Euro: 20:00-24:00 EST: 14:00-18:00

Leader: evil-bones-mccoy

Cast:

@lamaspucke: Albany & Knight purplemuskrat: Burgundy & Messenger & Doctor empressofireland: Cordelia & Herald altchar: Cornwall & Captain @flytely: Edgar @thewindysideofcare: Edmund theboyfallsfromthesky: Fool evil-bones-mccoy: Gloucester nimblermortal: Goneril & Curan iagoinaducksuit: Kent greengiantburb: King Lear @newlyorange: King of France & Gentleman & Servant 3 wefoxesgrin: Oswald & Servant 1 & Servant 2 heuristicdevice: Regan & Old man heresmyfiddlestick: Understudy thelovelyanathema: Understudy

Please send an ask to confirm! 

Read the Guidelines. To avoid the differences between editions that make for confusion and missed cues, please use the Folger edition of King Lear during the read-through.

Here is my suggestion for September:

"Inferno" - By Dan Brown

Art in the 21 century has extended the conventional media of time-based, or 4D work. To come to this conclusion the author has interviewed Second life artist, to understand how they use and explore time. An important thing to note is that the idea of time has changed from passive to interactive through the last couple of years. Machinima is an example of this, since it’s a filmmaking technique that is applied within an interactive immersive 3D space.

Another art movement within this virtual world is Fluxus, which was identified in the 1960’s. The introduced the concept of the viewer becoming the work of art through active participation. Meaning that this includes experimental events such as happens, where people are encouraged to meet up and be a part of the event. This forced the audiences to think in new ways and that is what Second Life artists are doing today. They try to break down the conventional ideas about “what art is”. Not to mention that performance artists are a group of people that increasingly with time really have incorporated technological media into their pieces.

The author then mentions that the Second life performance artists see immersion as means of taking their art directly to a global audience while not needing the physical space to do so. But there are always exceptions to the rule, since there also exists something such as mixed reality art, where one would see a mixture between virtual reality and real life. Meaning that this kind of art actually needs physical space. (This kind of art can for instance be used to explore new forms of sexuality and identity). However, another important thing to remember is that even virtual art and performances, still will be judged by the reaction of the viewer.