Evaluation Of Performance/Multimedia

When starting the topic of 1984 we were shown some images from a cartoon of the book by George Orwell, with these images we were asked to put them in an order in a prezi. This was useful because it helped us learn how to use prezi which we could have used in our performance and we also got a better understanding of what the play was about. In addition we were shown the film which influenced our performance because it gave us ideas for small scenes we would perform and also the spaces/locations we would perform in. I also decided to read the book so that I could understand the point of the book even more and also have better knowledge of the themes and ideas we would be trying to get across to our audience.

 

The themes of the performance were oppression, control, freedom, love, betrayal and freedom. I found these out in Ms Lee's lesson when we were looking at how Winston betrayed Julia, how the party and Big Brother were controlling the country and also, how in a dull and boring world where love is not supposed to exist, it can still happen which we see in the relationship between Julia and Winston. We showed the oppression and dullness upstairs in the food hall and room 101 so that the audience could understand the themes we were trying to portray and we also showed love in the ending of the revolution when Winston (Stanley) and Julia (Rose) were reunited. This showed the audience that because they believed in love and their own thoughts they could not be controlled any more by Big Brother and the inner party.

Furthermore at the beginning of the unit we explored ways in which we could use multimedia - Video footage, projections, sound, lighting, props, set, costume, sounds-capes, posters and dance. In these lessons we were in groups and discovered how to use projectors and props to make things we could use in our performance. This was extremely useful because it made us think about the multimedia aspects we wanted in our performance and how simple things can be used to great effect like an old sheet and school projector.

We were then were split into groups and were given a room to decide our multimedia uses and write scripts, all the multimedia added to the performance and were there for a reason. The group I was in got given the food hall and we discussed together what technical elements we would use. We also gave each other a script to write which we learnt and used in our performance. 

Everyone's group had to decide all their used of multimedia and as a whole I think we created a really good interesting atmosphere for our audience. We then all came together to make a timeline so we knew exactly what was happening in everyone's room and so we knew when planned events such as the revolution was happening and at what time. Unfortunately I missed this lesson, but my group was very helpful and helped me catch up on what I had missed.

Use of multimedia in the different rooms:

The Space - Anti sex league, hate room

When the audience entered the space they were made to enter in a line and in there they were welcomed by flashing lighting and a projection. This helped the audience understand the reason for the hate and allowed them to join in with the shouting because the lighting caused a frantic feel to the room. Also the costumes of the anti sex league with the smart shirt, short skirt, heels and the flash of colour from the red neck scarf really made their characters come to life how they were teasing the audiences. As the audience entered with the lights flashing it made them feel confused and disoriented by the atmosphere and Presence of the anti-sex league. Also the fact that they were made to stand on a cross made the audience feel less important and being forced to listen and believe in what the anti-sex league was saying.

415 - O'Brien's office

Obrien’s office had normal lighting but when Obrien did his speech theatrical lighting was used to create a spotlight. This showed the audience the importance of Obrien’s character and for the audience to enter a really technical room with lots of computers and screens making the audience feel intimidated by the importance of the room and the characters there. In the room Fenton was also on a computer but he wasn't pretending to do work he was actually using it to type up announcements and look and spreadsheets in order to make his character believable, the computer was not just a prop it was a performance in itself because the audience were able to explore the information on the computer and interact with the performance. They also had a video camera set up so that it looked as though Obrien's speech was being heard all over the country, so that everyone would hear what he had to say, this made the audience understand the importance of Obriens character and how everyone was trusting and believing in his words being completely brainwashed. The costumes they were wearing were very smart to show their importance and Obrien had a prop so that he could be editing word New-speak language, this made the audience feel like Obrien was trying to find as many different ways as possible in which to control the people within his world. The also had costumes in Obrien's wardrobe which could have been used more to interact with the audience and they had a coffee which was brought to the by the food hall staff so that there was a threading performance happening and the audience would enter Obrien's room.  

Lecture theatre - entrance

In the Lecture theatre a prezi presentation was used so that the audience could be introduced to what was about to happen, this prezi was very dull and contained rules and information which scared the audience because they were being introduced to something completely different to the normal world they live in. Lighting was also used to great effect, it was blacked out and the doors were locked so that they were in a holding area for about 5 seconds. This was really good because it gave them a change in atmosphere and world and helped them believe and join in, it gave them time to forget about what was happening in theirs lives and focus on what they were doing now. It made the audience want to enjoy the suspension of dis belief. When entering the room they didn't know what to expect but with the prezi informing them, the masks and the sudden blackout it made them enter our world quickly and effectively and added tension already to the performance.

413 - Food hall

This was the room I was in and we wanted it to be a very cold and icy atmosphere so we just had a few lights on and then the light coming in from the window. We also had a continuous loop of 'War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength' going on in the background which helped the audience understand what the people in this world were made to believe in and how they were brainwashed and forced into believing it because they didn't have a choice. At the far end of the room we had the serving counter where we served real soup and bread in polystyrene bowls and water in cups, this food was served so that the performance was more realistic because a canteen is known for serving food. Unfortunately the soup was cold but if we performed it again we would make sure it was hot. At the other end of the room we had some shelving which was dressed with food so that we could move with a purpose from one end of the room to the other and change the areas in which we were performing.

Other props we had were a stock book which we could right in and we also had posters on the rules to reinforce the theme of control and also to use in our performance.

Furthermore the windows were useful because we were able to get audience to look outside to where the Ingsoc youth were training. We also had a video which was on mute but had notices from different people, this added another layer to our performance because it sowed it doesn't matter what they are saying because you should just know they are saying good things. Unfortunately we were unable to connect up a live feed but it didn't make much difference to our performance, however if we did it again we would definitely have it up and working.

When the audience entered the food hall the first thing they would have noticed was at the far end of the room, the soup. This was difficult to handle because they all came straight down to that end of the room intrigued about what we were serving and feeling like they had to go and get food because everyone else was getting it. However later on the audience became more confident and began to explore the other parts of the room. Having the use of multimedia made the audience feel part of the world and worked really well because we were able to give the atmosphere of control and the multimedia performed in itself.

Room 101

Room 101 had a really creepy and scary feel to it, there was the constant sound of a baby crying which made me think of a horror film. Repetitive music can cause people to be tortured and become insane for example during the war the repetitive sound of the bombs did drive people insane. We also made the audience feel like they had lost control because what ever they did they could not stop the baby from crying and everyone knows when a baby is crying you instinctively want to make them better and happy again. They also blacked out the windows so it was very darks with only cracks of lighting coming through the gaps and a very bright light just in one corner. This bright light made the room hot and made the audience feel even more uncomfortable. They also used projection of an eye operation which might have made the audience feel scared and they used fake blood to show that people were hurt and tortured in there. Other props they had were torture tools and a flickering screen with a blood hand print on it which showed the audience that very dark and horrible stuff happened in that room. It made the audience feel uncomfortable because sometimes knowing something is going to happen is worse than it actually happening. The atmosphere was very haunting with screams and distressing sounds frightening and scaring the audience. With all of the multimedia it made the audience more aware of what was happening around them and slightly disturbed due to every multimedia aspect in the room having the purpose to make the audience feel uncomfortable.

Stanley's room

Stanley's room contained a hidden music box under the bed which made the atmosphere boring because it contained dull background noises. They used normal lights which was simplistic because that is what he would have had in his bedroom. They also had a radio with songs on it such as the chestnut tree and party announcements, this made the room more upbeat because it actually had interesting sounds which was a contrast with the rest of the rooms. The props consisted of a bed, desk, diary and other things, the diary was useful because the audience were able to dive into his thoughts and read something interesting instead of just a bit of party propaganda. The thing that I found most effective in this room was the apple mac computer with Shade's exercise video because Stanley was able to interact with it and I think it was a really clever idea.

Brinley’s room

I really liked Brinley’s little shop because it was hidden away from the rest of the world and was full of props that he was trying to sell. One of the best things in his room were the little electric candles because they made the atmosphere very mysterious and it was a real contrast with the rest of the rooms because it there it felt quite safe, colourful and pleasant. When the audience entered Brinley's room the audience felt peaceful because the candles may have made them imagine a church where there are holy candles making them feel in a safe environment. The candles could also make them feel comfort like during a power cut when you are with your family around a candle, for example when we had a power cut we all ate round some candles and it felt really relaxing and I felt protected in our little bubble of light.

Outside

The audience were able to view outside from the window in the food hall and also when they were walking across. Outside the training took place and there was a real contrast in colour because they were wearing bright yellow mackintoshes, this gave a more positive feel but actually lots of young children were being trained to fight and being told off which was a negative. The multimedia they used was a song which they chanted, this was good because it showed how they were brainwashed to remember these lines and how they all work together for the benefit of the party.

Everywhere/Hallways

All around the rooms and hallways there were posters printed by Hector which really dressed the space and made the world believable. Also in the hallways I believe there were a few cameras and some props used in peoples individual performances.

Ending

The Ending was the revolution scene. In this scene dance and music was used to confuse the party members. The use of these two styles of multimedia allowed the rebels to express themselves and showed the audience they no longer wanted to live in a world where you could not think for yourself. I think the ending was really powerful especially when Yasmin stepped forward and Tahlia accepted her into her arms because it showed the rebels were better than the party and more understanding. The use of the bike shed was affected because it showed in a visual the oppression the people had to go through and the ending with Rose and Stanley was really good because they finally won against Big Brother and Obrien.

Costume

I have mentioned some of the costume already but I would like to mention it in more detail. Everyone really worked well so that we were all coordinated wearing dull colours such as grey and black. The rebels were dressed scruffy whereas the inner party members were smart and clean. The red neck collar for the anti sex league was a nice touch and the yellow of the Ingsoc Youth drew you towards them. The costumes really brought the characters to life for example the thought police were all in black so you knew exactly who they were and the torturers wore a nice black dress to lure you into a false sense of protection but they also had blood and hand prints on them to show the audience what they were really like. 

I think by all the use of multimedia the spectator got to witness lots of different atmospheres created for the purpose of the rooms and I think they were able to interact and enjoy something they probably hadn't seen before.

Punch drunk really influenced our performance because they also use multimedia and immersive theatre in their performances. We also took the idea of the masks from them because they use them in every performance. The masks were very effective because they made the audience feel hot and uncomfortable like they were suffocating which helped them understand our theme of oppression better. Also because we were not wearing masks it made them feel alienated because they could be identified by just the number on their mask so they didn't feel human because they were just a number and entering a world which was diseased. It also enabled us to interact with them and bring them into the performance because we were allowed to tell them off if they were not wearing their mask and we could also call them by their number - this happened in room 101. The masks allowed the audience the freedom to perform. Punch drunk also influenced the style of performance because like them we produced a production that was 'focused as much on the audience and the performance space as on the performers and narrative.' We also got inspiration from punch drunks the drowned man (http://www.theguardian.com/stage/audioslideshow/2014/apr/15/the-drowned-man-punchdrunk-felix-barrett-temple-studios-audio-slideshow), because like it says in the video we want to take them to a 'parallel universe' and make them believe what is happening is real.

I think that the ushers/ year 13 actors really helped our performance because they were able to get the audience involved with our performance and direct them to the good places and the right times. Also they acted within the performance with us helping us create pieces of improvisation making it more interesting. I also think because our performance was a sight specific piece it was more effective, we were able to use the performance to create a dull, drab, depressing, institutional atmosphere. This was good because it showed the audience how awful our world was and made a big contrast between inside and outside where the revolution took place suggesting to the audience the revolution was the right thing to do.

I think the acting was really good because we were all able to stay in character throughout the performance even though some things did go wrong and were improvised. I think I portrayed my character well by having an upright body language, being dressed smartly and using my voice to show that I was in charge of the food hall. I also commented on how much I liked the party to show the audience I had grown up influenced by Big Brother and believed everything they were saying and I called them Lady and Gentlemen, sir and Madam to show I had a high status and respected them. I also think I did well with the improvisation because I had to make up a speech about chocolate because nothing was happening in our room so I had to make it interesting for the audience. I think we all did extremely well when things did go wrong for example when Sam hit Eleanor by accident but they stayed in character until the end of the performance. We all interacted with each other through our character and I think there were lots of nice scenes and I am glad that I remembered my spacing for example when I was telling someone off I made sure I did not rush over and there was space because every scene is a chase scene.

There were a few things that I think cold have gone better for example I believe there could have been more threading performances because the audience didn't really know where to go. Furthermore I think that we should have made more time to put up our live feed in our room because I think we could have used that in our performance well. Finally if I was to do the performance again I would make sure the soup was hot and make more material for the performance. Lots of the time we had huge gaps where nothing was happening so we should have made up more material to fill up those gaps.

The audience seemed quite confused at times so I think we should have given them more information about where to go because they all just followed each other. My dad also said that he would have liked to be told where things were for example he had the hate times but he didn't know where that was taking place so next time we could give them more information about where things were. In addition I think they found the story quite difficult to follow because there was lots of shouting so we could have explained it a bit better. I think the audience all enjoyed wearing the masks and being part of the performance as well as the atmosphere we created for them, however I think we could have involved them more for example in Obrien's office they could have tried on his garments, but overall I think they enjoyed it because they stepped into a world that they were willing to believe in and interested in because of the multimedia used and our believable character choices.

Finally I think the most difficult aspect of the work was pulling everything together in such a short amount of time. I did find the multimedia aspect difficult because I am not great with technology but I feel as if I know a lot more now than I did before. The devising was particularly difficult because we had lots of time to fill up and we didn't really know what to do, but when I sorted out my character I just had to think what we she do on a normal day at work and from there on we were able to make lots of small scenes.

To conclude I think that our performance was a huge success because we were able to help the audience join in and enjoy the suspension of disbelief. However if we were to do the performance again I would make sure we had 4 hours because we were lacking in some performance material but other than that I think our performance went very well. 

I think that I have achieved a merit or distinction because I have contributed to the process of the performance giving ideas and input and showing imagination to shape the multimedia performance. I think I have justified my ideas for my choices in the use of multimedia and I think I performed using multimedia and performance skills showing focus, engagement and giving my intentions across clearly to the audience.

Our Room

In our room we had a bench at the far end set up with our food. The food allowed the audience to interact with us and become part of the canteen and our world. We also had the windows in view which allowed the audience to look out and see the youth of our country training. The set was very simple with four tables, each with a table cloth and six seats around it. We also made posters of missing people and promoting the party which we put on one wall so that the audience could look at them and understand our world better.

Furthermore we had dark lighting to make it have a miserable atmosphere and we had the three statements, 'War is peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength' playing on a loop in the background so that the audience felt as though they had to believe in these phrases.

We also had a video playing in the background with the days announcements which were also on a loop so the audience could understand what the party wanted to promote to the public (this video was played on mute). 

We were going to have a live feed but we were unsuccessful to set it up in time. If we did have this the audience would know they were being watched and it may have been useful when making scenes.

Finally our costumes were very bland and boring to show the audience the world we lived in was very dull and we had a shelving unit with food and chocolate on to make it look more like a canteen and it also helped us use more of the space having it at the other end of the room.

Prezi for Ms Lee Presentation

http://prezi.com/hhmyyel-uxgd/1984-is-still-relevant-today-because-in-todays-world-there/

Questions

What is 1984 about?

1984 is about a world in the future which is under government control. It is about a world where you cannot express yourself or have any of your own thoughts because you have to believe in what the party is saying. The world is under totalitarianism and Winston doesn't want to live in a world like this. He meets a women called Julia, they fall in love - even this is an act of rebellion. They try to join the rebellion but are tricked, they end up captured, tortured and changed so that they love Big Brother.

Who created it?

George Orwell

Where was it created?

London

When was it created?

In 1948

Why was it created?

George Orwell lived through two world wars and the British empire time. He wrote this book after world war 2 ended therefore the genocide and control in Germany could have influenced his book. The control and genocide of the Jews was a terrible event and I think that George Orwell wanted to make people aware that history could repeat itself.

George Orwell was also a socialist and believed that people should be equal. I think the book was created for the less wealthy to show them that they are not living a fair life and that they should ask the government for better housing in order to have a better life. The fact that Winston finds the proles as good people shows that in real life George Orwell does care for the poor. At the time the lower class were living in very bad conditions so this book was showing them if they didn't do something about it they would be stuck living in these conditions.

Today's lesson

In Thursday's and Friday's lessons we worked out the timeline for our performance. We also stuck some of our posters on the walls and sorted out exactly what props and set we need for our room. We also managed to go over a few of our scripts and sort out some moments with people who are not in our rooms.

We now need to stick more posters up and get food for our room, we also need to make sure the voice over is done and the video for the projector which will be playing as our scene goes on.

My Personal Timeline

This is my timeline for the performance:

6:45 - Heating up soup, cutting bread - preparing canteen
7:00 - Meal time, serving food
7:10 - Lauren Conversation about party
7:20 - Stealing food, getting food from the cupboard, collecting bowls, walking round the canteen, adjusting posters, refilling soup, stock list.
7:25 - Speech from hallway people
7:30 Leaflets (O'Brien speech on screen)
7:35 - Eleanor to room 101
7:40 - Sam asking for Eleanor
7:45 - Soup spilling
7:50 - O'Brien speech
8:00 - Revolution

- When I have spare time I will be checking stock, cleaning and cooking.

My Character

I have decided to call my character Margaret Jones. She is a party supporter and works in the food hall where she is the head of the kitchen. Margaret lives with her husband and two children who want to become thought police. Margaret really respects Big Brother and hates traitors because she has been brought up to believe everything that the party and big brother says. She does not like trouble and is very strict with her employees.

Lesson I Missed

Due to being in France I missed the lesson where they planned what was going to happen in a timeline, however my group have told me what I need to do. Currently we are getting our costumes together and props as well as learning our lines from the scripts we wrote.

Soup script

Waitresses are moving around robotically without any friendly interaction with audience members. The atmosphere is cold and bitter and the workers are doing everything correctly accept from one who seems to be quite distressed in her gestures and hectic movements.

Waitress 1: (repeating to herself flustered, whilst looking at the cameras and posters on the walls) war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.

(She walks in a hurry to serve the soup carrying cutlery, a bowl of soup a plate of bread and a glass on a tray. She bumps into the lead waitress dropping everything she’s holding making a loud noise )

Lead waitress: (shouting angrily) you clumsy fool!

Waitress: (fragmented and scared) I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me today I-

Lead waitress: You stop right there! I’ll tell you what’s wrong that thought criminal has got to you haven’t she! Everyone this woman is a t –

Waitress 1: (cutting in) NO! I’m not, and I would never betray the party.

Lead Waitress: Don’t let those criminals get into your mind alright?

(weeps)

Waitress 1: I just don’t want them to hurt her

Lead waitress: Hurt her? What are you talking about, you must be sick. They will teach her the right way to be, she’s clearly a lost soul that needs bringing back, so she can be normal

Waitress 1: What’s normal?

(Continues to weep)

Lead waitress; (sternly) stop crying your embarrassing yourself, people are watching. It’s clear you’re effected now if I was you I would shut up whilst your ahead. I’ll be rid of you in a second, you’re not a star waitress and I will not have another one of my workers disgrace this kitchen.

Waitress 1: That’s enough now, I am not a criminal! And I’m a good waitress stop it!

Lead Waitress: (starting to get angry) Don’t you dare tell me when to stop now clean up this mess now!

Waitress 1: (stares at the cameras and whispers)Why do they have to watch us all the time?

Lead waitress? : (shocked) what did you just say?

Waitress 1: I-

Waitress 2: (covers Waitress 1’s mouth) Just ignore her she in an awfully weird mood

Pause (lead waitress stares at them both suspiciously)

Waitress 1: I’m truly sorry it won’t happen again, I won’t be so clumsy (quickly starts clearing)

Lead waitress: (sighs) Just get back to work, this is way too much chaos for one day in a lunch hall, and your talk is beginning to frighten me.



(Through the speaker you can hear) ‘War is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength) and Waitress 1 continues to weep silently to herself whilst they all repeat this.

Timeline

6:45- heating soup and cutting bread. Making sure the live feed is set and properly
7:00- cutting bread, sweeping floor, serving soup
7:10- meal time ( an alarm rings, everyone rushes into the food hall to get a meal. Two people follow in after the rush, whispering and acting suspicious)
7:20/25- stealing food
7:35- cleaners and cooks talking to audience
7:45- rebellion leaflet
7:50- soup spills 

This is our timeline for our performance just in our room - I have highlighted the parts I am involved in.

Multimedia Performance

In our performance we will be using multimedia. Multimedia refers to the use of the processes, techniques and product of media such as film and radio in the creation and performance of a piece of live theatre.

(http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/backstage/multimedia)

In our performance we will be using audio, images, videos, projection, live feed and a few other types of multimedia. Projection can be used in theatre to create an illusion, set a location or tell a story.

In the Wizard of Oz projection is used to created the twister and also t make the wizards head. Here projection is useful because it creates a more realistic scene and it is more imaginative.

Projection is also used in A Curious incident of the dog in the night-time to show the boys thoughts. Using projection the audience are able to see the thoughts that are trapped in his head and it make s the performance more interesting and exciting.

Immersive Theatre

Immersive theatre is when a piece of drama involves the audience within the performance. It is when the audience no longer watch the show, they become part of it and have to create the performance with the actors. Our 1984 piece will involve immersive theatre so I have researched three companies that use immersive theatre in their performances.

Punchdrunk


Punchdrunk works with producing and commissioning partners to create the unforgettable theatrical experiences of the future. Since 2000 Punchdrunk created by Felix Barrett have been creating performances that focus on the audience as much as the focus on the performers. They have performed many different shows and are now currently performing: The drowned man: A Hollywood fable. Punchdrunk is funded by Arts Council England and Esmee Fairbain Foundation.

http://punchdrunk.com/
(source 5)

Secret Cinema

Secret cinema is an organisation that was formed in December 2007. Secret cinema use music, sound , film and theatre in their performances which they perform in abandoned places. Secret cinema is there so that audiences can lose themselves in imagination and fiction that challenge social and cultural interaction.

http://www.secretcinema.org/
(Source 6)

Dream Think Speak

This company was founded in 1999 by Tristan Sharps and it creates and produces his works. The performance uses film and installations alongside live performance so that they can take their audiences on a journey. They have performed in many different spaces even though it is a Brighton based group.

www.dreamthinkspeak.com

(Source 7)

Ministry Food Hall

Ideas and notes

Characters = Cleaner (rebel), lead cook and second cook (party supporters, Third cook (scared doesn't know what side to be on), guard.

Needs to have a strong smell of food - Soup, water, bread - electric hot plate.

Posters - Missing people on walls - recruitment and big brother.

Windows clear so can look down onto training.

TV Screen = for all to see (live confessions, show there success, hangings, traitors)

Speakers - Slogans being repeated.

Notes from Film = live confessions, telescreen showing how successful they are, tin can bowls, dirty, posters, grey, victory gin, language from the mouth not the mind, double plus good, hangings, busy and crowded.

Guard - watching with gun.

Camera filming canteen, live feed into )O'Brien's office.

Costume - white apron, hairnet, grey skirt, grey shirt, black shoes, tights and surgical gloves.

Find dramatic moments to happen over your 1-hour period.

• Spilling soup
• Stealing food
• Cleaner encouraging rebellion
• Catching leaflets
• TV announcements
• Watching O'Brien's monologue

Props List.

Tables, Chairs, Soup pt, Ladle, Electric hot plate. bowls, cutlery, cups, metal Jug, Posters, Tv Screen or Projector, Speaker, Camera (live feed), leaflets, serving table, costumes, stickers, broom, cloth, gun, food, ingredients, water.

Scripts.

Rebellion Leaflet script

(The cleaner is sitting discussing to audience members and handing out leaflets, cook one (leader) sees paper with a sign on and walks over)

Cook one: What are these you are hiding?

Cleaner: (tries to hide the leaflet) Nothing, just some leaflets about the newspeak dictionary.

(Cook one takes a leaflet from a member of the audience, which shows a rebel organisation)

Cook one: What do you think you are doing? Give me all of these right now (Shouting) (to cleaner) you here now, stand there. (To the audience) Whatever these leaflets are telling you they are wrong, they are lies. The party is double plus good and should have your full support. The party give us our homes and our jobs, they protect us from war and we cannot live without them. Big brother is our leader and we should all love him, he is our protector and anyone who disagrees is WRONG!

Cleaner: Don’t listen to her /him, don’t let her contr…

Cook one: ENOUGH! You two (choses to audience members) in the corner now. (To cleaner) Who made you hand out these leaflets, tell me now!

Cleaner: NEVER (shouts)

Cook one: (to audience) how are you involved in this?

IMPROVISATION with two audience members and cleaner

Cook One: right, because you’re not telling me the truth or who has put you up to this, I’m going to have to take you to O’Brien and he will decide your fate from there.

Cleaner: NO PLEASE HE WILL SEND ME TO ROOM 101 PLEASE IM SORRY PLEASE.

Cook One: This is my duty and I must see it through.

(Take to O’Brien’s office more IMPROVISATION)


Stealing of food

Cook 2 stops working and goes other to the kitchen area, thinking no one is looking, she grabs some bread and hide’s it in her pocket. Cook 1 catches her and walks over to where cook 1 has continued to work pretending she didn’t steal a thing.

Cook 1: What do you think you’re doing? Put it back now!

Cook 2: (Nervously) I…I have no idea what you’re talking about

Cook 1: The Bread! Put it back now!

Cook 2: I...I don’t have any (nervously fiddles with the pocket the bread is in)

Cook 1: (Looks down at her pocket of where cook 1 is fiddling, and pulls the bread out) what is this? BREAD! That’s what!

(she grabs hold of cook 2 and drags her towards the back of the food hall, cook 2 starts screaming, she gets thrown out the door.)

Cook 2: (she screams through the door) NO! PLEASE!!! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!

(Cook 1 walks through the door and slams it shut behind her, cook 2 is still screaming, a slam comes from behind the door. The screaming suddenly stops; cook 1 returns and carries on working as if nothing happened)

Multimedia Plans.

Lighting - Dark, dim lighting - Flickering lights.

Live feed - filming audience in canteen.
Equipment: 

Camera in our room in a position where it can see everyone, and a screen that is connected to it in O'Brien's office.
Idea:

So that the audience can see they are being watched when they go look in O'Brien's office they will realise they were being watched in the canteen without knowing.

Screen - to show notices and slogans

For this we will need a TV or Computer screen and have an ongoing video always playing. The screen will have to be quite big so that everyone can see it, therefore we might have to use a projector.

Second Prezi

This prezi could be used to introduce the audience to the rebellion. 

My prezi: http://prezi.com/s0t_qi9_wzwm/its-a-beautiful-thing-the-destruction-of-worlds/

My prezi talks about all the negatives in the party so this could be used on all the TV screens around are rooms. At the end of the performance we play to have a rebellion starting so this could be shown on all the screens so that the rebellion can get their message across. However to make this fit for the scene I would probably have to make it more specific and take things out.

Evaluating Tips

http://multibrit.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/how-do-i-critically-evaluate-something.html


(Source One)

1984 Response and Film

I think this performance is going to be really good because by using multimedia it will bring our performance to life and will show that we are in the year 2050. I think that the book 1984 have given us lots of ideas for our performance and even though we are not acting out scenes from the book we are using the locations to set up our performance and we are also using the themes and political issues in our performance.

Today we watched the film in class and I made lots of notes which are going to be useful for both Mr Rennisons and Ms Lees lesson, because they inspired ideas for certain rooms in our performance and I was able to pick out the key moments of the film which will be useful in my presentation. Having watched the film I can now see how they were brainwashed and how the party kept control which means that I now have a better understanding of how people are trapped in a life they don't want and this will help me in my performance because I can feel empathy for the characters.

Here are my notes:


Themes
Hope
Fear
Violence
Oppression
Control
Betrayal

'Language from the mouth not the mind'
'Oranges and Lemons...' - song from the past.
'Double Plus Good'
'It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of worlds'
Future = 'A boot stamping on a human face forever'
'Past is erased, a lie becomes truth, then becomes a lie again'

Key Moments

• 'I Love You' note
• Sex in the woods
• Notebook
• 2+2=4 in diary
• Buying the antique shop room
• Childhood keeps coming back, stealing chocolate, when return mother and sister gone all that is there are rats
• Reading the Book
• Woman singing
• Hidden telescreen and arrest
• O'Brien questioning and torturing Winston (2+2=5)(tooth pulled out)
• Still has feelings for Julia
• Room 101 (rats)
• Betrays Julia
• Winston and Julia meet - they are brainwashed and broken (betrayed each other)
• Winston confession - didn't commit all crimes, wants to be shot with clean mind
• He loves big brother

Other

• Constant War
• Always watched
• Chants with salute (x arms crossed)
• Hate Goldstein
• grey, dirty area
• Called brother
• Mrs Parsons - children accuse people of being thought criminals - uniform
• Street parade warm criminals and enemy shot and hanged
• Everyone suspicious of each other
• Children march, sing, like army
• INGSOC posters everywhere
• Paper weight/snow globe - message from 100 years ago
• Luxuries - Winston and Julia
• Bombs in background
• War with Eurasia and Eastasia - keeps changing
• Helicopter surveillance
• Electric torture
• 2+2=5
• Brainwash
• Make people disappear
• Room 101 - Worst Fear
• Winston believes himself to be mentally deranged

Characters

Winston

Julia

O'Brien

Mrs Parsons

Mr Parsons

Big Brother

Children

Torture assistant

New speak worker

Bad - Room 101, arrest of Julia and Winston, Hate, Brain wash, torture

Good - Hope, love note, Winston and Julia together, diary.

Using this information I can use the themes to come up with a new style of this play for my presentation.

Research

I thought I would do some research about George Orwell and what was going on in the world in 1948.

George Orwell

Orwell was a British journalist and author, who wrote two of the most famous novels of the 20th century 'Animal Farm' and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.


Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on 25 June 1903 in eastern India, the son of a British colonial civil servant. He was educated in England and, after he left Eton, joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, then a British colony. He resigned in 1927 and decided to become a writer. In 1928, he moved to Paris where lack of success as a writer forced him into a series of menial jobs. He described his experiences in his first book, 'Down and Out in Paris and London', published in 1933. He took the name George Orwell, shortly before its publication. This was followed by his first novel, 'Burmese Days', in 1934.


An anarchist in the late 1920s, by the 1930s he had begun to consider himself a socialist. In 1936, he was commissioned to write an account of poverty among unemployed miners in northern England, which resulted in 'The Road to Wigan Pier' (1937). Late in 1936, Orwell travelled to Spain to fight for the Republicans against Franco's Nationalists. He was forced to flee in fear of his life from Soviet-backed communists who were suppressing revolutionary socialist dissenters. The experience turned him into a lifelong anti-Stalinist.


Between 1941 and 1943, Orwell worked on propaganda for the BBC. In 1943, he became literary editor of the Tribune, a weekly left-wing magazine. By now he was a prolific journalist, writing articles, reviews and books.


In 1945, Orwell's 'Animal Farm' was published. A political fable set in a farmyard but based on Stalin's betrayal of the Russian Revolution, it made Orwell's name and ensured he was financially comfortable for the first time in his life. 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' was published four years later. Set in an imaginary totalitarian future, the book made a deep impression, with its title and many phrases - such as 'Big Brother is watching you', 'newspeak' and 'doublethink' - entering popular use. By now Orwell's health was deteriorating and he died of tuberculosis on 21 January 1950


(Source Two)


The story


Winston Smith is a member of the Outer Party. He works in the Records Department in the Ministry of Truth, rewriting and distorting history. To escape Big Brother's tyranny, at least inside his own mind, Winston begins a diary — an act punishable by death. Winston is determined to remain human under inhuman circumstances. Yet telescreens are placed everywhere — in his home, in his cubicle at work, in the cafeteria where he eats, even in the bathroom stalls. His every move is watched. No place is safe.


One day, while at the mandatory Two Minutes Hate, Winston catches the eye of an Inner Party Member, O'Brien, whom he believes to be an ally. He also catches the eye of a dark-haired girl from the Fiction Department, whom he believes is his enemy and wants him destroyed. A few days later, Julia, the dark-haired girl whom Winston believes to be against him, secretly hands him a note that reads, "I love you." Winston takes pains to meet her, and when they finally do, Julia draws up a complicated plan whereby they can be alone.


Alone in the countryside, Winston and Julia make love and begin their allegiance against the Party and Big Brother. Winston is able to secure a room above a shop where he and Julia can go for their romantic trysts. Winston and Julia fall in love, and, while they know that they will someday be caught, they believe that the love and loyalty they feel for each other can never be taken from them, even under the worst circumstances.


Eventually, Winston and Julia confess to O'Brien, whom they believe to be a member of the Brotherhood (an underground organization aimed at bringing down the Party), their hatred of the Party. O'Brien welcomes them into the Brotherhood with an array of questions and arranges for Winston to be given a copy of "the book," the underground's treasonous volume written by their leader, Emmanuel Goldstein, former ally of Big Brother turned enemy.

Winston gets the book at a war rally and takes it to the secure room where he reads it with Julia napping by his side. The two are disturbed by a noise behind a painting in the room and discover a telescreen. They are dragged away and separated. Winston finds himself deep inside the Ministry of Love, a kind of prison with no windows, where he sits for days alone. Finally, O'Brien comes. Initially Winston believes that O'Brien has also been caught, but he soon realizes that O'Brien is there to torture him and break his spirit. The Party had been aware of Winston's "crimes" all along; in fact, O'Brien has been watching Winston for the past seven years.


O'Brien spends the next few months torturing Winston in order to change his way of thinking — to employ the concept of doublethink, or the ability to simultaneously hold two opposing ideas in one's mind and believe in them both. Winston believes that the human mind must be free, and to remain free, one must be allowed to believe in an objective truth, such as 2 + 2 = 4. O'Brien wants Winston to believe that 2 + 2 = 5, but Winston is resistant.


Finally, O'Brien takes Winston to Room 101, the most dreaded room of all in the Ministry of Love, the place where prisoners meet their greatest fear. Winston's greatest fear is rats. O'Brien places over Winston's head a mask made of wire mesh and threatens to open the door to release rats on Winston's face. When Winston screams, "Do it to Julia!" he relinquishes his last vestige of humanity.


Winston is a changed man. He sits in the Chestnut Tree Café, watching the telescreens and agonizing over the results of daily battles on the front lines. He has seen Julia again. She, too, is changed, seeming older and less attractive. She admits that she also betrayed him. In the end, there is no doubt, Winston loves Big Brother.

(Source Three)

Useful book review:

nicolebasaraba.com/book-review-1984-by-george-orwell/


The Year 1948



1948 Events & Facts

MAJOR EVENTS:

• Mahatma Gandhi assassinated in India
• House Un-American Activities Committee accuses Alger Hiss of spying for the Soviet Union
• Communists seize power in Czechoslovakia
• U.S. Congress ratifies Marshall Plan, approving $17 billion in European aid
• State of Israel created; admits over 200,000 European war refugees
• Soviet Union seals off land routes to Berlin; West responds with massive airlift of provisions
• President Harry S Truman re-elected in upset over Thomas E. Dewey 
• President Truman integrates the U.S. Armed Forces

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

• U.S. continues to cope with severe postwar inflation while rocked by labor unrest
• United Auto Workers succeed in linking wage increases to cost-of-living index in contract with General Motors
• Congress enacts federal rent controls

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:

• Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male is the first large-scale study of individuals’ sexual habits, with stunning revelations about infidelity, homosexuality and other issues
• U.S. government conducts extensive missile tests in New Mexico desert
• 200-inch telescope at Mount Palomar begins operation
• Cortisone introduced as an arthritis treatment
• "Big bang" theory of the universe’s origin postulated
• Orville Wright dies

SPORTS:

• World Series: Cleveland over Boston, 4-2
• Olympics held in London
• "Citation" wins Preakness, Belmont and Kentucky Derby
• Boxer Joe Louis retires
• Babe Ruth dies

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:

• Movies: Hamlet, Macbeth (Orson Welles), The Naked City, Oliver Twist, The Fallen Idol
• Songs: Nature Boy, Buttons and Bows, All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth
• TV Shows: Howdy Doody, Philco TV Playhouse, Toast of the Town, Kraft Television Theatre, Meet the Press
• Books: The Big Fisherman, Lloyd C. Douglas; Crusade in Europe, Dwight D. Eisenhower; Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton; The Ides of March, Thorton Wilder;Tales of the South Pacific, James Michener; The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
• Long-playing (33-1/3 RPM) record invented
• Boxing and wrestling are TV’s prime attractions

EVERYDAY LIFE:

• Selective Service inaugurated, providing a continuous peacetime military draft until repealed in 1973
• New York’s Idlewild Airport opens (renamed JFK Airport in 1963)
• Swiss outdoorsman George de Mestral invents Velcro
• Noted food critic Duncan Hines founds a company to make prepackaged cake mixes

FUN FACTS:

• Popcorn sold on a mass scale for the first time
• "Scrabble" introduced

(Source Four)