Childrens theatre - lesson 2 - crisis on the Island

In todays lesson we were put into two groups and had to act out a crisis on the Island. One group was for the crisis trying to make it worse/succeed. The other group were against it and trying to help prevent it.

Basis of scene - For the crisis
Gathered to a group meeting. Discussing how to get off the island away from the other people. Came to the conclusion of 'sinking' the island. There was a 'plug' to the island in  which we would pull in order for it to sink. We did this but it only sank half(?) of the island. When we reached the other side we realised we sank the wrong part and were still with the other residents.

What worked if performed to a younger audience?

During our performance we used elements of humour throughout in order to make it interesting and engaging to younger audiences. For example, we did the classic 'run the opposite direction to where you're supposed to go'. We also over exaggerated certain gestures in order to hopefully make it humorous. For example, breathing in and looking hopeful then dropping and quietly muttering shaking our heads. By doing this we are giving hope then taking it away, in a way in which is not bad but is slightly subtle but known. We believed this could be humorous as its the idea of we were going to say we had a solution and had ideas but really we were just there because we were called and didn't really have anything to input. We also used very simplistic language during our piece. For example, when answering questions we kept it very brief and very short. For example, when answering about how we should sink the island we had answers such as: "flowers" "swim" and "the plerg". This is to ensure children wouldn't get confused and wouldn't get bored with waffle-y dialogue. Also with 'The Plerg' we made sure our reactions were big and visible as well as when replying making it higher and confused. We felt that this was a well used and known technique when performing/producing content for children and would gain the audiences attention as the pitches in our voices would have changed quickly and drastically. In our performance we also had limited props which meant our staging was simplistic and we had to use certain props/staging for multiple things. This meant we and the audience would have to use imagination in order to make sense of what we were doing. We felt that this was good as it got to exercise the creative side to the audience and ourselves and would encourage them to get involved/lost in our story.

What would need to be developed?

I feel as though in our piece what would need to be developed would be our interaction with the audience. We would either need to physically involve them/immerse them in our performance or break them fourth wall in order to have their input. This would make it more engaging for the audience and more enjoyable as they would be taking part rather than just sat watching a piece of drama. We also need to structure the narrative better and possibly add a few more details into the story. For example, suggest why we don't like the other residents and why we want to get off the Island so bad. Therefore, understanding the narrative better and making it more believeable. Personally, I feel as though I need to work on my character, Alix Caser. For example, I need to give them more elaborate characteristics or emphasise certain traits in order to make them more suitable for childrens theatre. As, at the moment they are very realistic and seem to be more for an older audience. I also feel that we could experiment with our staging a little more or make it a little more structured. As, we didn't really move anything which meant we were in a very closed space and therefore didn't seem to travel around the space much. I feel that if our staging was slightly more sparse we would have more space to do elaborate and exiting gestures and possibly progress the narrative.

The Other Group

I feel that the other group were strong in terms of characterisation. You could tell instantly the traits of each character and what distinguished them from one another. They held strong presence and you could tell the relationships between certain characters. I felt that this would be good for children's theatre as strong characterisation is key when interesting and captivating a younger audience.

I feel as though narrative may be a possible thing to develop as we only really saw a discussion about the crisis. We didn't see a resolution or progression in movement. I also feel that like ours, interaction would need to be developed. Whether that's breaking the fourth wall or physical audience participation.