-          We began the year learning a bit about Bunraku puppets. I remember my first impression of Bunraku puppets being how amazing it is that they look so lifelike and intricate.

-          We started to learn about the TPPP (Theatre performance and production presentation). By doing a small game show, with questions involving the aspects of the TPPP criteria, we gained an understanding of what the TPPP would involve, but we gained firsthand experience when we completed our first mini TPPP on our previous theatre experiences. Our game show didn’t go as well as planned as it was poorly organised and we couldn’t remember the criteria. We did however gain some experience in improvisation.

-          I finished reading Mother Courage by Brecht. I was part of this production in year 10 drama and I thought it would be useful and interesting to complete reading the play.

-          For my mini TPPP, I used a picture of a butterfly as my image and coloured in it different colours to symbolise my thoughts and moods towards Theatre. In my mini TPPP, I covered Vietnamese Theatre and Shakespeare. I should have gone into more detail, as I had many more experiences.

-          I completed a tree diagram, with images used to represent the leaves, as a way of explaining the Theatre syllabus. It was interesting to see Kate’s, Ronelle’s and my interpretations.

-          We read through the original translation of Tartuffe by Moliere and completed character maps to help us understand the relationships of the characters.

-          We participated in an improvisation workshop which was run by ImproMelbourne. It was very informative and built my knowledge of improvisation. I learnt about blocking and the importance of listening.

-          We completed a small exercise on Commedia dell’arte, to help us understand the Commedian influences that are present in Moliere’s work.

-          We read through Louise Fox’s adaptation of Tartuffe to give us an understanding of the production we saw on March the 6^th. It was good having such strong knowledge of the play beforehand as it allowed me to focus on the stagecraft and dramatic elements of the performance, and not only on the storyline.

-          We completed a unit on makeup to assist us with our performance of Tartuffe. It was interesting and rewarding experimenting with different kinds of makeup and getting different looks from doing so. The knowledge gained through this was useful for our performance of Tartuffe, and for everyday life and future performances.

-          A review was written on Louise Fox’s adaptation of Tartuffe. It was good gaining some experience in review writing, and even though it wasn’t magnificent, it allowed me to improve my review writing by seeing what needed to be fixed. 

-          I gained experience in critiquing my sources by critiquing all of the worksheets in my folder. This will become very useful next year for the research investigation.

-          We watched a documentary on “In the company of actors – Hedda Gabler”, and even though we weren’t studying this play, it was interesting to see the different perspectives from Cate Blanchett as the actor and Andrew Upton as the person who adapted the script. It emphasised the importance of the audience and it showed the hard work that is involved with making sure a production runs smoothly. Looking back on this video, this can be applied to our PPPs, as it further shows that if a play has a strong purpose or theme, the audience members can feel touched and may do things to help others.

-          Rehearsals for Tartuffe began, and required much energy which was hard to find as Year 11 began to take its toll. I experienced set design as I was put in charge of the set design for our performance of Tartuffe. I had difficulty acting the original translation as I had seen the adapted version by Louise Fox, and Mariane’s actions in that production were influencing mine. However, I saw the importance of performing the original, as more could be learnt from the original compared to the adaptation. E.g, French Neoclassical makeup, costumes and set designs.

-          We saw “As You like It”, by The Bell Shakespeare Company. I didn’t really enjoy this play, as it ran for three hours. However it did have many imaginative aspects such as the scene changes which involved baskets being used as crocodiles. After writing Performance analysis on both Tartuffe and As You like It, I could compare what I liked and disliked from both. It was also helpful writing a performance analysis on a play I didn’t like as I had to think thoroughly about why I disliked it.

-          We participated in a Bunraku workshop to gain knowledge about Bunraku and to learn how to manipulate and build a Bunraku puppet. This was different than French Neoclassical Theatre but was a good change. It made me more confident when it came to manipulating our puppet and the hands-on experience was the most valuable thing during the Bunraku Unit as manipulating a puppet is something that can’t be learnt from a book!

-          We also watched some videos of Bunraku performances, to give us an idea as to how Bunraku is performed. I found these videos very inspiring and I learnt that prop size is very important. The props cannot be too big for the puppet or else it looks unrealistic.

-          Our performance of Tartuffe allowed us to apply our makeup skills that we had previously learnt, and allowed us to gain some experience in team work and acting. By performing Tartuffe, it allowed me to fully understand all the things I had learnt in the unit and allowed me to understand the importance of symbolism in props.

-          By completing a unit in Set design, I could let my imagination run wild. However, due to only basic facilities and a low budget, my imagination had to be constrained and I had to adjust my ideas to suit our stage. Symbolism played a major part in my set design, such as the artificial flowers to expose the artificiality of the family. I learnt the importance of props, symbolism, and planning. I had to draw a scaled map of the stage, and take measurements. Although it was an annoying task, I did realise why it had to be done.

-          We did a small unit on actions and acting. By being given blank scripts, we could choose actions to apply to each bit of dialogue to portray a certain message. Actions included: to praise, to support and to question. By doing this exercise, I learnt the importance of having a given circumstance before beginning to direct a scene, as the actions have to reflect the given circumstance. We took it in turns of acting out each other’s scripts, so we also got experience in directing and acting.

-          We got given a script from A Country Practice, which is an old Australian TV soapie. We all had to apply actions to the script, depending on the given circumstances we came up with.  It was frustrating at first, being told what to do all the time, however, I then realised that progress was being made, so being told what to do was understandable. I learnt the importance of knowing the character’s intentions before beginning to play them, and discussing the character with the director is also very important.

-          In June, I began researching my research investigation. Becoming a member of the state library of Victoria allowed me to gain access to many international journals that contained information and images on Bunraku.

-          After the mid year holidays, we saw Hamlet. I realised that the Bell Shakespeare company have a problem of never changing their costumes. The performance analysis I wrote allowed me to compare this to As You Like It and Tartuffe. A main problem I saw in this production was, Bell Shakespeare claims to be universal, so all cultures can understand their productions, however, in their plays, there are only aspects from western cultures.

-          We were introduced to the Laban Movements during the year. By learning about these movements, and applying word associations to them, such as wring, and freedom, I realised how the Laban movements could be used for acting and to help get into character. The Laban movements were extremely tiring, but this further emphasised the fact that acting also requires much energy!

-          We then enhanced our puppet skills and our Laban skills by putting the two together! At first it felt a bit silly treating something inanimate like it’s animate. But Laban helped me get over that silly feeling. I felt more at ease when using Laban movement with speech, compared to silence. Maybe because it felt like I had a purpose for doing the Laban movements if I spoke. Who knows really! This exercise was the perfect opportunity to gain experience with manipulating my puppets. I also learnt which actions could be applied to which movements. Such as flick is very useful for being a perfectionist.

-          We started more work on Bunraku. Which involved reading The Love Suicides at Sonezaki by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. At this stage, I was nearing the end of my Research Investigation, and I realised how my research into Bunraku costumes could benefit our production of The Love Suicides. I also made a storyboard of what I felt were the most importance scenes in the play. By doing this I was able to understand the story a whole lot better.

-          We undertook a process when it came to preparing for our performance of the Love Suicides. By creating a list of these processes, it was clear to see the amount of work and knowledge that was involved to prepare for our performance.

-          We went to see Philippe Genty’s Lands End in September. My first impression wasn’t a very good one, as I had little knowledge of visual theatre and I thought the production was stupid and made no sense. However, after discussing it in class,  I was able to acknowledge the performance a lot more. The two main things I learnt from seeing this were; Visual theatre doesn’t have to be in a chronological order, and Visual theatre doesn’t rely on text to tell its story. I saw this performance and came out with a broadened knowledge of Theatre which allows for more inspirations.

-          We discussed the difficulties and differences with our production of Love Suicides and the traditional production. We realised we were seriously under-manned, as we had no Shamisen player and no trained narrator. We also realised keeping in sync with each other was beginning to be a problem. However, looking back on this, it is evident that we overcame these problems and we worked to the best of our abilities with what we had.

-          I then experienced the most daunting unit of this year, Shakespeare. Shakespeare is usually always a problem for me; however, I was determined to do well in my monologue as Titania in a Midsummer Night’s Dream. I felt this unit would be the perfect opportunity for me to understand Shakespeare a lot more.

-          I began by reading A Midsummer Night’s dream, and I drew a character map to help me understand the characters and their relationships. I found it extremely confusing due to the similarities in names. Such as Hermia and Helena. I had little understanding of the play, but with the help of Ms Anketell, I was able to understand it pretty well, which was a great boost in confidence, as it was something I had not done before.

-          I also learnt about Iambic pentameter, and how it is important for learning how to pronounce words. At first I found this frustrating and impossible to understand, but I eventually got the hang of it.

-          By understanding my monologue, I could understand what I had to do to improve my monologue. I understood that there were strong ideas that had to be emphasised, so I worked hard to show these ideas.

-          I also did a very useful exercise that consisted of me making sure my hands stayed by my side instead of flying around all over the place. By doing this, the energy I saved was then used as power and strength in my monologue. This definitely worked and won’t be something I forget.

-          One of the main problems I faced was the rushing of my lines. I did try hard to slow my speech down, however my nerves sometimes did get the better of me.

-          My knowledge of lighting also improved with this Shakespeare unit, as we learnt about lighting in order to help us with our monologues. We learnt about the purposes of lighting and the terms used in lighting. Much like set designs and props, lighting can symbolise characters, moods and situations.

-          For our monologues, Kate, Ronelle and I created a general wash on our stage with minimal lights, so the remaining lights could be used as gels for special effects we wanted. I chose to have green lights on my stage, to represent the forest setting, and a frosted white spot light in the backstage right corner to represent moonlight. I was extremely pleased with how it turned out on the night of the performance as it all looked very suitable for a fairy.

-          After the performance, I summarised how I think I went, and I realised that my nerves did affect my performance. I didn’t express my ideas as clearly as I would have liked and I spoke too fast. However I accomplished my main aim, which was to feel more comfortable about Shakespeare. I was pleased with my costume, set design and lighting however. And my decision to not re-contextualise my monologue was the right choice as I learnt a lot about Shakespeare from the traditional monologue.

-          I did a short comparison between Moliere, Shakespeare and A Country Practice. I felt this quite difficult as I was short on ideas; however I understand it is a very important exercise as it will help me identify the similarities and differences between the three.

-          In preparation for year 12, we began discussion on our PPPs, (Practical Play Proposal). We read two past examples of PPPs, one good and one bad, so we could see what is required of us next year. By reading these, it gave me a good idea of what is required. To further enhance our knowledge, we got given two stimuli; one poem and one picture. For both of these we had to write a pitch. I gained a lot of experience by writing these pitches and I know what is required and I learnt we get to be creative as we like. I also was relieved to know, it is not all written. Drawings and mind-maps can be included in Part 2 of the PPP.

-          We then got given an altered version of Goldilocks and The Three Bears, and as a group we had to come up with a mini PPP, with a pitch, supporting materials, a rationale and a bibliography. It was interesting to hear everyone’s ideas but was difficult trying to agree on one idea. However, the end product contained an excellent idea about a selfish celebrity who is sent to a refugee camp. It has a theme of rich vs. poor and has a purpose of making people aware to the treatment of refugees. By doing a mini PPP we also learnt about site-specific, which will be useful for our own PPPs next year. From doing work on the PPP, I feel much more prepared for next year.  By learning about PPPs, I learnt that productions can be used to teach other people about the world, and encourage people to help others. I really like this idea and I would be interested in pursuing a career in theatre that involved helping other people.

-          By doing a pitch based on an image, and coming up with the idea of a children’s visual theatre piece, I began to consider the idea of doing a career in children’s theatre. My career options are very varied, but it would be an excellent career to consider.

-          We did another short directing/acting exercise which allowed Ronelle to have a chance at directing. It was a good opportunity to apply Laban to our movements and have some fun with acting. This further enhanced my previous knowledge gained in regards to the importance of the director.

-          As we are nearing the end of the year, we pulled Baby, our Bunraku puppet out of the puppet box. We worked as a team to manipulate him, and refresh our Bunraku skills. We are hoping to complete the Bunraku unit completely, which will involve using our adapted script and the props available to perform our production of the Love Suicides. I am sure we will complete it to the best of our abilities, but we do face some difficulties, such as, limited time, limited space, limited set design, limited costumes and limited puppets. Although, a lot was learnt from this unit, such as the highly stylised gestures involved with Bunraku puppetry, and how it adds to the gracefulness and serenity of a production, and my awareness of other cultures has increased.

-          We saw another adaptation of Tartuffe called The Hypocrite. This was adapted by Peter Evans and definitely was different to Louise Fox’s adaptation. By seeing this adaptation, I could compare it to the original translation and Louise Fox’s adaptation. I found it inspiring to see that one play could be performed in so many ways with so many different ideas. It also broadened my knowledge in regards to rhythm, costume, lighting, set design and actor-audience relationships.

-          My knowledge of stagecraft elements and the dramatic elements has increased, I know more Theatre terminology which will be of great use in year 12, and I feel more comfortable with acting and directing compared to the start of the year.

-          This summarises what I have learnt this year in IB Theatre. It has been a fun filled, knowledgeable year, which has many memories associated with it. I’m looking forward to learning more about other cultures’ theatre, I’m looking forward to learning more about all types of Theatre and I’m looking forward to applying what I have learnt and my creativity skills to my PPP and my Research Investigation next year.