We started with The Frontline by Che Walker
We split up into groups and discussed and analysed what the term 'Frontline' meant. We discovered that there can be many different connotations and interpretations of the word 'Frontline.' Some immediately jumped to the conclusion that it indicated the literal 'Frontline' of a war zone. Others considered metaphorical 'Frontlines' such as being representative of a political or social movement. We made the following mind-map or spider-diagram (whichever you prefer) of our discussion.
We then moved onto looking at 13 by Mike Bartlett.
We did a very interesting exercise which I really enjoyed. Will told us to each find a space alone in the room with a piece of paper and a pen. We were then told to continuously write without taking our pen off the page for 30 seconds. We had to begin our sentences with "I believe in..." and whenever our thoughts got blocked we had to continuously write "I believe in in in in..." until we were able to finish the sentence.
Mine read as follows:
I believe in free education. I believe in feminism. I believe in better rights for prisoners. I believe in in in in being kind to others. I believe in in in in in in in in animal rights. I believe in in in helping less well off countries. I believe in in in a good quality education for all children around the world. I believe in in in in in in in the elderly. I believe in the world. I believe in in in in happiness.
We then walked around the room reading out what we had written, experimenting with the volume and power we put into our vocal performance of the piece. We then labelled each other A and B and then the A's would walked around to all the various different B's whispering what they had written. Then at random points Will would tap on one of the B's shoulders and they would have to repeat (with appropriate adaptation and ad-libbing) what had just been whispered to them loudly and with passion and volume so the whole class could hear.
I really enjoyed this exercise because the repetition throughout the workshop of my own beliefs cemented them as real thoughts in my mind. This exercise helped me to dig deep down into my subconscious and to find my inner beliefs, whilst cementing them as real thoughts and feelings within me.
We then moved onto Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker.
Will made us note down our responses to the following questions.
What difference does theatre make to your life? Where would you be without it?
Theatre makes me empathize with and understands situations that I have not personally been exposed to in my life. Theatre gives me hope and a reason to get up in the mornings. It gives me direction and a purpose in life. Theatre empowers me to allow myself to be human. Through theatre I can strip away all of my own characteristics and put on someone elses. Theatre challenges me to push my boundaries and makes possible what I thought was impossible. Theatre makes me feel like an intelligent active participant and member of society. Most of all theatre provides me with a dream and gives me something to be passionate about.
Without theatre I would be an apathetic boring person. I would do nothing all day and I would be a mediocre person doing a mediocre job earning mediocre money for the rest of my life. Without theatre I wouldn't live a happy life.
All in all it was a great lesson and I feel like I learnt a lot today and absorbed as much information as I could despite my sleep deprivation.
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