Task 2: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Performance: Performing a Classical Role: Rehearsals, Mock and Performance

A Midsummer Night's Dream 

Group Members

• Kacie Everett
• Mathilde Marsh

Wednesday 22nd November, 2023

• This was our first lesson/rehearsal for our exam in this unit on the 17th of January, 2023. Our exam is a performance of a classical role and our extracts are from Shakespeare's, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. 
• The first thing we needed to do was choose our partners and the extracts we want to do. I will performing alongside Mathilde Marsh and our first chosen extract is the opening scene of Act II which is a duologue between Lysander and Hermia. I am taking on the role of Hermia for this scene. Our second chosen extract is Act III, Scene I which is a duologue between Bottom and Titania. For this extract, I will be playing Bottom. 

Creating a Rehearsal Schedule

• Once we decided on our roles and the scenes we will be performing, we needed to create a rehearsal schedule that leads up to the exam date. Our timetabled lesson for this unit is on a Wednesday afternoon so we decided to use this time as a rehearsal. We also want to add in an extra rehearsal each week and a Monday afternoon worked best for the both of us. If the performance/rehearsal space is unavailable at these times then we will try to work around that by rescheduling a rehearsal on a different day. As it gets closer to the exam we may add in extra rehearsals, depending on how we have progressed in previous rehearsals and on how confident we are with our scenes. 

Rehearsal Schedule

Initial Ideas on Setting and Character

• Once we organised a rehearsal schedule we decided to begin plotting and exploring the scene between Bottom and Titania. We decided to work on this scene first as we were eager to do this scene the most as we had the most thoughts and ideas for this scene. We also felt that this scene has more of a comedic element compared to the scene between Lysander and Hermia, which is why we liked it. The obvious comedic element to this scene stood out to us and sparked creative ideas. 
• We started by doing a simple read through and started brainstorming initial ideas on how we could start the scene and how we are actually going to present our characters to an audience. 
• My initial thoughts was that Titania would be overly invasive of Bottom's personal space and blindly in love. My thoughts for Bottom's reactions and general stage presence is that he needs to be overly, "unattractive" by having him enter by making obnoxious donkey noises and scratching an itch on his bottom or smelling his arm pits. Meanwhile this occurs Titania is completely swooning. I think we should really exaggerate our character's persona's to really show the absurdity of Titania's love for Bottom. 
• We began to workshop these ideas and overall really liked how it gave a strong comedic element to the script. I made some suggestions of how we could move around the stage and certain actions we could do to remain the contrast between Titania's love and Bottom's overall confusion. As we were playing around with the script and experimenting fresh ideas, we wrote them down onto our scripts so we wouldn't forget any of our ideas. 

Script (Act III, Scene I) 

Initial Thoughts for Staging

Rehearsal Reflection: Thoughts and Feelings

• I am super eager to get going with this project as I am a fan of Shakespeare's plays and I find the use of language very intriguing and interesting. I also feel like our chosen scripts are very engaging and I'm excited to explore the comedic elements and comedic timing throughout the 2 extracts. We have only had one rehearsal but we are already coming up with many strong ideas and Mathilde and I are bouncing ideas off of each other really well. I am looking forward to working with her and seeing how we both develop these scenes.
• The thing I would say I need to work on is that I need to be more confident with my entrance as Bottom and embrace his more disgusting habits that we have added like scratching his bottom and smelling his arm pit. I need to not be afraid to really exaggerate and emphasis these movements so that they are clearly obvious to an audience. Shakespearean language is very different to our own so a modern day audience will not necessarily understand what is being said so our actions need to be emphasised and clear.

Monday 27nd November, 2023

• In this rehearsal, we started by going through our notes and stage directions on our script from the last rehearsal and did a rough run through trying to get into the flow of new creative ideas for the next part of the scene. We also did a run through just to recap what ideas we already have written down and to see if all these ideas together although the scene to run smoothly. 
• Once we had a little run through, we moved onto the next part of the script as we were both happy with how everything was going so far. We experimented with a few ideas but some didn't work for what we wanted to portray to an audience. We are trying to think of ways to add strong comedic elements to our already comedic scene but without making it look like we are trying to make it overly 'funny' to the point where it's not. We don't want to over complicate the scene. We felt that over exaggerated faces really added to the scene really well. 
• Titania closes this scene with a paragraph, so we needed to think how we can still tie in Bottom even though I am not saying anything. Titania is expressing her love and Bottom is trying to avoid it so I had this idea that when Titania is talking her last lines to close the scene, Bottom (Me) should try to slowly crawl away. When Titania says, "And I do love thee..." she should catch Bottom in the act and pull him by his foot back to centre stage. I thought this would be a good idea as it keeps us characters moving around the stage and still acting out a script instead of just me being sat and listening to Titania. We tried this idea out and overall we both agreed that it worked very well with the script so we wrote it down on our script. We just Need to figure out what place we are going to do that throughout Titania's lines.

Script (Act III, Scene I) 

New, Added Ideas 

• Our rehearsal was cut short as the rehearsal space was needed for a lesson so to make sure we still had a full scheduled session for rehearsing we decided to reschedule the rehearsal for Thursday afternoon. 

Rehearsal Schedule (Updated)

Rehearsal Reflection: Thoughts and Feelings

• Even though our rehearsal was cut short, I feel very happy with the progress we made in a short amount of time. We came up with creative ideas and ways to use the whole performance space. I feel like we have developed the scene at a fast rate and we are working really well together as a pair. Our scene is progressing well and we are on schedule so far to have everything ready for the exam. In the upcoming rehearsals, we should start thinking less about the actual staging and more about where we are and more of the setting so we can work with the scene more in relation to our setting instead of just performing the script. I contributed several ideas and we both really liked them and get them in the final draft. 

Wednesday 29nd November, 2023

• In this rehearsal, we aimed to establish the setting for both scenes, the era in which we our scenes will be set in and then link this to our initial ideas for costume. By discussing the setting for the scene, this will help our acting as we will be able to actually place it somewhere instead of just reading a script and act out the lines. 

For both our scenes, there are 4 things we need to think about:

1. Establishing the world in which the story is taking place
2. Telling the story
3. Discovering the characters
4. Exploring the language

• We started by discussing these things for the scene we have already started to work on, Act 3, Scene 1.

Act 3, Scene 1

1. Establishing the world in which the story is taking place

Where in the story is this scene?

• This scene is at the beginning of Act 3. Act 2 finishes with Hermia going to search for Lysander as he has disappeared. The scene just before the part with Bottom and Titania is a scene between Bottom and the mechanicals/players, rehearsing for their play.

Where is it set? What Era?

• Traditionally, the play is set in ancient Athens and this particular scene is set in a wood near Athens. We have decided to keep it's traditional aspects but instead of a wood near Athens we have decided to set this scene in Epping Wood, which is a wood in Essex, England. Mathilde and I really enjoy the traditional style of Shakespeare but we disliked that it was set in Athens as we didn't like the costume ideas as we would have to dress like typical Grecians in ancient Athens. We chose Epping Wood as we were mainly inspired by the movie, 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'. We were inspired by the wood that Robin Hood and The Merry Men hide out in. This lead us to the decision to set this scene in the Medieval Era/Tudor time period. When researching our characters, we liked the way Michelle Pfeiffer was dressed when she portrayed, Queen Titania in the 1999 film version of, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We thought her overall costume and 'look' was very alike to the fashion in the Medieval Era, which is why we chose this time period. 
• Now we have decided where and when our scene is set, in our next few rehearsals we need to discuss how we are going to design our stage to look like a forest. To add the fantasy/ magical element to the wood, we want to figure out a way to add yellow/gold fairy lights to the stage to almost look like the little sprites/fairies flying around. 

Initial Ideas for Costume

Titania: 

• For Titania's costume we were inspired by both Michelle Pfeiffer's costume for Titania and Lady Marion's costume in 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'. 

• Both costumes incorporate a flowy dress, so Mathilde and I were thinking that our Titania should also wear a flowy dress. We both really liked the idea of a flower crown to add that fairy style to the costume. We researched medieval style outfits and the most common accessory was a corset. Mathilde owns a dark green corset and we thought that would work perfectly. We spoke about footwear and we made the decision that Titania needs to be bare foot as we want to make Mathilde look fairy-like in a not too obvious way. To add to the sprite/fairy style we could also incorporate ivy and flowers throughout the outfit, not just in the flower crown. 

Bottom:

• Overall, we were inspired by Kevin Kline's costume in the 1999 film version of, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We liked the simplicity of the outfit and the way it resembled what a male peasant in the Medieval times would wear. I own a white baggy-sleeved shirt which I think will work perfectly. I also really like the idea of Bottom wearing a waistcoat. I happen to own a waistcoat which I also think will work well. When researching, a popular item of clothing that was worn in the medieval times by male peasants was 3/4 baggy trousers. I don't own a pair of trousers like this but I do have baggy jogging bottoms. I could roll them up and make them 3/4. This could potentially create the overall effect we want. When it came to footwear, the shoes of the time looked very alike to modern day ballet shoes. I studied ballet for 10 years, so I own plenty of pairs so I'm thinking I could wear them for when I play Bottom. The flexibility of a ballet shoe will also not restrict my movement in the scene. 
• This scene is when Bottom's head has already been transformed into a donkey's head. This means we need to find a way to create a donkey's head. Mathilde and I came to the decision that I would make the donkey head as I have worked with sculpting and paper Mache before and it will be easier to measure and do as I can do it at home. I didn't like the idea of having a whole donkey's head as that would mean my whole face would be covered. The comedy in our scene mainly is shown through our overexaggerated facial expressions. If my whole head is covered with a donkey's head, an audience won't actually be able to see any of my expressions.   
• I was brainstorming ways I could show that I still had a donkey for a head as well as an audience still be able to fully see my face. We also need to consider that we are performing 2 completely different scenes on the same night so heavy amounts of makeup to make me look like a donkey would be too time consuming. 
• In the 1998 movie, 'Ever After: A Cinderella Story' the character, Jacqueline dresses as a horse to the royal ball. Her horse head is like a hat so you can still see her face. I had the idea to recreate what she wears but to make it look like a donkey instead of a horse.

    2. Telling the story

What is the text telling me as an actor?

• The text is telling me that Titania is head over heels in love with Bottom but Bottom is confused as to why. Titania says, "I love thee." and Bottom replies with, "Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that...". Titania is absurdly obsessed and admiring of Bottom but this is where the comedic element is added as Bottom has a donkey head. An audience is meant to find that hilarious but Titania only sees beauty. 

What feeling should come across in our performance?  

• The overall feeling that should come across to an audience is joy and laughter. The play, as a whole, is a comedy and this scene especially is comedic. We really hope an audience finds it funny. When we act out the scene we exaggerate all movements in a hope to also exaggerate how bizarre Titania's love for Bottom is. 

What are we trying to communicate?

• In a way, we are trying to communicate that love comes in mysterious ways. Yes, in this instance Titania has been spelled to love Bottom but just because he looks different, it doesn't mean he cannot be loved. Earlier in the play, Helena says, "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind". This is telling us that love is blind. Bottom may look horrifying but love isn't about that, it's about who you are as a person. 

    3. Discovering the characters

Who's the character I'm playing in this scene? Who are they in relation to the play? Character motives?

• I am Bottom for this scene. Bottom is the only character who moves between the different worlds, he's a bit of an attention seeker. 

• 'Nick Bottom is a weaver in Athens who has ambitions to be an actor. At the start of the play we see Bottom trying to convince Peter Quince that he should play all the characters in the play to celebrate the Duke’s wedding. During one of the mechanical’s rehearsals he is magically transformed into an ass, and in this state Titania, Queen of the Fairies, falls in love with him. By the end of the play he is turned back into a human and able to perform the part of Pyramus in the play.

  Facts we learn about Nick Bottom at the start of the play:

  • He has a very high opinion of his capabilities as an actor.
  • He wants to play all the parts in the play.
  • He wants to take control of the rehearsals.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• Bottom 'represents what the play is all about: not playing by the rules'. Bottom Facts. Titania is a queen and Bottom is a peasant so their relationship was considered scandalous in Shakespeare's time and was definitely against the rules. Bottom is concerned by this but he is more concerned on why its him Titania suddenly wants.

    4. Exploring the language

Verse and Prose

• Prose: 'Prose is a conversational way of speaking which doesn’t have a set rhythm or structure.' Royal Shakespeare Company. 
• Verse: 'Verse always has a set rhythm and structure.' Royal Shakespeare Company.
• 'Most of the play is written in verse but the mechanicals, including Bottom and Quince, use prose throughout. Shakespeare sometimes uses prose and verse in this way, to show us which characters are wealthy and important at court and which characters are more 'common', like the mechanicals. Look out for the way they talk to each other and how this is different as well as the direct comparison between Titania and Bottom in Act 3 Scene 1.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• Titania speaks in verse/rhyming couplets throughout this scene, stating her royal position. This nicely contrasts Bottom's speech as he speaks using prose. This emphasises the absurdity of this scene as the rich and poor cannot fall in love. 

Act 2, Scene 1

1. Establishing the world in which the story is taking place

Where in the story is this scene?

• This extract is the beginning scene of Act 2. Act 1 finishes with Helena telling Demetrius of Hermia's plan to run away with Lysander. All 4 lovers have now ended up in the forest. 

Where is it set? What Era?

• Traditionally this scene is set in a wood near Athens like our other scene with Bottom and Titania. As we have kept the Bottom and Titania scene quite traditional, we decided we wanted to completely change the era that this scene is set in to give a big contrast between our scenes. We decided to make it modern. We still didn't want it completely modern so we chose to set this scene in the 1950's. 
• We liked the setting of a forest still so we decided to make it late night/sunset time of day. As these 2 characters are lovers, we thought we could make the scene a romantic picnic date. This idea was inspired by the date scene between Tristan and Victoria from the 2007 movie, 'Stardust'. In the film Tristan and Victoria have a night time picnic, stargazing and overall we though this idea would work really well. 
• Over the next few rehearsals, we need to discuss  what our set will look like for this scene. Our scene will mainly rely on our costumes to show the era and also props. We were thinking of getting a gingham patterned picnic blanket. I happen to own one so we plan to use that. Gingham was a very popular pattern in the 1950's so we thought it would be a great idea to incorporate that in our scene. We also aim to include this pattern in our costumes too. We also wat to get a woven picnic basket and we also want to include fairy lights on the stage in some way to create the effect of the 'stars'. 

Initial Ideas for Costume

Lysander: 

• These images (above) shows the typical fashion of a man in the 1950's. This is the kind of style we want to recreate for our version of Lysander. Mathilde owns trousers that are in this kind of style and they are a burnt orange colour. We think these would work really nicely. We discussed that Mathilde should also wear a white shirt/blouse of some kind and possibly a knitted sweater vest. For footwear we decided she should wear Doc Martens boots. We also decided that Mathilde should have her hair tied back into a low ponytail to show a contrast between when she is Titania with her hair down and to also o try and make it clear to an audience that Mathilde's character, Lysander, is male.

Hermia: 

• Gingham was a very popular pattern in the 1950's so we wanted to try and incorporate that not only through the picnic blanket we aim to use for this scene but also through my costume for Hermia. I own many vintage 1950's dresses and one in particular would work very well. I own a brown/orange 1950's gingham pinafore dress. A pinafore dress, I feel, would work very well to fit the theme of a sunset/late night picnic date. The colour scheme of my pinafore dress would match Mathilde's trousers very well too. I will wear a petticoat under the skirt to really give it that 1950's look. I also have 1950's accessories that I can wear for this too. For footwear I own bright red 1950's heels but as my pinafore is brown, the heels may not work together but this is something we need to keep in mind for when we do dress rehearsals. 
• For my hair, I aim to put it into a 1950's inspired hairstyle that is quick to do as we won't have long between our first scene and this one. To go with my pinafore, I need to wear either a white/cream blouse or a white/cream shirt. As the play is called, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' both our scenes will be set in midsummer so we won't have to think about it being cold so we won't need any coats as a part of our costume.

   2. Telling the story

What is the text telling me as an actor?

• In this scene, I have interpretated it that Lysander and Hermia are in the woods and Lysander has forgotten which way they are going, shown in the line, "I have forgot our way". Then they both decide to rest and Lysander wants to sleep together/next to each other but Hermia wants to sleep separately and away from each other for modesty's sake and she convinces him to sleep away from her. This is a comedic scene as Lysander can finally be near Hermia but she still wants to keep a distance to be 'sensible'. They both love each other but Hermia is trying to stay modest. The comedy lies in Hermia and Lysander trying to convince each other of what they want to do.

What feeling should come across in our performance?  

• The feeling that should come across in our performance is a feeling of joy and warmth as the love should radiate from Hermia and Lysander but we also want the audience to laugh at comedic elements. We are yet to set this scene but we aim to add strong comedic elements throughout. 

What are we trying to communicate?

• As we haven't really looked at this scene yet, we aren't 100% sure of what we want to communicate to an audience. Based on our initial thoughts for this scene, I would say we are trying to communicate the wide range that love has. In Act 3, Scene 1, our other scene, we have made it so that Titania is all over Bottom and completely obsessed with him. This may not be true love as Titania is spelled so in this scene we are showing a more realistic love. The love between Titania and Bottom is very much like a fairy-tale, something you would read. It follows that concept of 'love at first sight'. Whereas, Hermia and Lysander's love is modern and more real. As a whole, we are trying to communicate the difference between the dream and reality of love. 

    3. Discovering the characters

Who's the character I'm playing in this scene? Who are they in relation to the play? Character motives?

• For this scene, I am taking on the role of Hermia. 
• 'Hermia is a young woman in Athens and Egeus’ daughter. She is in love with Lysander but unfortunately Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius. Egeus invokes an ancient law that states he can choose his daughter’s husband or she will be put to death. The Duke Theseus upholds the law and condemns Hermia to death. She and Lysander decide to elope to escape the judgement. In the woods they are chased by Demetrius and Helena, Hermia’s best friend. Whilst there Lysander and Demetrius fall under a magic spell that makes them both fall in love with Helena. A huge argument ensues before more magic is used to work out all the problems. At the end of the play Theseus overrules Egeus, with Hermia and Lysander marrying.

  Facts we learn about Hermia at the start of the play:

• She believes she has the right to choose her own husband.
• She stands up for herself against all the odds and defies her father to run away with Lysander.
• Hermia and Helena have grown up together as best friends.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• 'At the start of the play, Lysander and Hermia’s relationship seems strong. They have decided to marry each other even though Hermia's father wants her to marry Demetrius and the Duke, Theseus, has threatened that she will die if she doesn’t obey her father.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• In the middle of the play, 'Lysander and Hermia run away together into the forest to escape her father’s plan and Theseus’ decision. They stay together in the forest but Hermia asks that they sleep apart and Lysander respects this.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• Near the end of the play, 'Lysander is affected by the love potion that Puck gives to him by mistake. It causes him to fall in love with Helena instead, because she is the first thing he sees. This hurts Hermia, who is confused and upset.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• At the end of the play, 'When the effects of the potion wear off, Lysander's feelings for Hermia return and the two of them get married, with Theseus conducting the service.' Royal Shakespeare Company

    4. Exploring the language

Antithesis

• Antithesis: 'Antithesis happens when two opposites are put together. For example, hot and cold or light and dark.' Royal Shakespeare Company
• 'All of the lovers use antithesis throughout the play to describe conflicted feelings and unrequited love...While this is often done to comic effect, the cruel way in which Demetrius spurns Helena also causes Oberon to take pity on her and intervene.' Royal Shakespeare Company

Adding to the Script

• Once we discussed everything to do with our characters and the scene itself, Mathilde and I spent the remaining time to continue working on the script between Bottom and Titania, Act 3, Scene 1. In this rehearsal, we completely finished and set the whole of this scene. We added strong comedic elements which came from my ideas. We tried out the idea we got for the ending that we brainstormed in our last rehearsal. The idea was that while Titania finishes the scene with her log paragraph, Bottom (me) tries to crawl away and escape but gets caught and dragged by the foot back to centre stage. We really liked this idea when we actually acted it and decided to keep it in. This idea also gave levels to our performance as I was on the floor and Mathilde was still standing. Titania is a Queen so by having her stood up, it shows her authority in the scene and her current dominance over Bottom. Bottom is of lower status and by having him on the floor, their hierarchy is heavily pointed out as Bottom is beneath Titania both literally and metaphorically.
• We needed a finishing position, so I had the idea that Mathilde crawl on top of Bottom and we finish the scene in a freeze frame with really happy Titania and a still very confused Bottom. This is where are comedic elements lie so we really hope that the comedy is communicated to the audience. 

• We decided to record this rehearsal so that we could see our progress over the rehearsal process and so we can look back to see if any movements didn't look right or didn't flow well. 

Rehearsal Video

Rehearsal Feedback (From Classmates)

Rehearsal Reflection: Thoughts and Feelings

• Overall, we have made great progress in our scene Act 3, Scene 1. We have now completed all the basis of this scene we just need to refine certain movements. The spins and twirls will be a lot easier to do when we have learnt our lines and won't have a script in our hands. We also now have a deeper understanding of our scene which will help us to further develop our scenes in a greater detail. Due to the fact, we made lot's of progress in this rehearsal, we had collectively decided to not to have the scheduled rehearsal on Thursday that we added as our Monday rehearsal was cut short.

Monday 4th December, 2023

• In this rehearsal, Mathilde and I decided to focus solely on our actual staging, setting and atmosphere we want to overall create for our performance. In our last rehearsal we spent time looking at the era we want to set our scene in and the costumes we aim to have but we also looked at where in the play our scene actually is. We are only performing an extract of the play so we need to help an audience understand what is happening without having seen the whole play. As we have only worked on our scene between Bottom and Titania, we focused this rehearsal on this scene. 
• We started by brainstorming ways we could introduce our scene to an audience without saying exactly what the plot of the play previous to this scene is. We want to help give an audience context. I had the idea to create a shadow/silhouette of Titania getting spelled by Puck. This idea was inspired by Shadow theatre. Shadow theatre 'got its start thousands of years ago in China and India. This unique form of storytelling is the oldest type of puppetry in the world. Shadow puppets are figures that are placed between a light and a screen. Moving them creates the illusion of moving images on the screen. An experienced puppeteer can make figures appear to walk, talk, fight and dance.' What is Shadow Theatre?

These images show examples of Shadow theatre. This is the imagery we want to create at the start of our scene. 

• We aim to create the Shadow theatre effect with a white/cream sheet and a light source. The light source can be a projector, torch or even a lamp. We can experiment with what light source works best over the next rehearsals. While we are performing this Shadow theatre part of the scene, we want to add music underneath to create more of a magical atmosphere to our performance. 
• This then led us to finding a piece of music that would work with our scene. We came to the decision that we wanted to use an instrumental piece of music as lyrics could distract an audience from the scene as they are trying to listen and focus on the lyrics. After brainstorming a few songs, we have decided to use the instrumental song, 'Fairy Dance' by James Newton Howard from the 2003 adaptation of 'Peter Pan'. This music creates that fairy/magical atmosphere perfectly, not just through the name of the song. The music almost sounds like little fairy sprites flying and we really want to incorporate this music into our performance. 

'Fairy Dance' by James Newton Howard

'Fairy Dance'

• These images are from the movie at the point where this song is being played. The imagery of Peter and Wendy surrounded by glowing fairies is definitely the imagery we also want to create with Bottom and Titania but we want to use fairy lights across our stage to represent our fairies. The general aesthetic of this scene heavily reminds me of the aesthetic of the 1999 movie adaptation of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. 

Rehearsal Reflection: Thoughts and Feelings

• Overall, this rehearsal was very successful as we have made some good executive decisions on how we are actually going to bring our scene to life. We have really developed this scene nicely and I am looking forward to experimenting this scene with the Shadow theatre element. I'd say that Mathilde and I have fully planned out this scene. Over the next rehearsals, we just need to really focus on the development of this scene and how we can piece all these ideas together. We have worked on this scene a lot so for the next couple of rehearsals, we are going to be looking at developing our other scene, Act 2, Scene 1, which is between Lysander and Hermia.

Monday 11th December, 2023

This is our rehearsal plan. The red lines show the rehearsals we have had. This rehearsal is highlighted in peach as it was not originally planned to happen. We decided to add an extra rehearsal so that we could get as much done before Christmas as possible as we only have 2 rehearsals after Christmas until the real thing.

• For this rehearsal, we decided to move on from our Act III, Scene I script with Titania and Bottom as we feel we are confident with that scene and we have all the basis for that scene planned out. In this rehearsal, we aim to stage the first page of the script. 
• We chose to work on our script with Titania and Bottom first as we had more creativity for how we wanted to set the scene as we had less for this scene. We found it difficult to get ideas and bounce off of each other as we didn't really know where to start with this scene; there was no clear plan or image. In previous rehearsals, we came to the decisions that this scene would be set in the 1950's and Lysander and Hermia are having a romantic picnic date. We needed to think about how we could get onto the stage and make it clear to an audience that we are creating a picnic date. In the actual play, these characters aren't actual having a picnic date so we need to really focus on the words they are saying so we can find a way where this picnic idea can match the speech. This lead Mathilde and I to the decision that Lysander, Mathilde, goes onto stage first with the picnic blanket and sets up the date. Hermia, Me, then follows behind Lysander and catches him setting up the 'date'. We want to get across that Lysander and Hermia have been walking in the woods and Lysander has set up a secret date but has in a way tricked Hermia into being on this date and throughout the scene she shuts it down but in a loving way. When it comes to characterisation, we want Lysander to be quite geeky, cheeky and sweet. We also want him to be the main comedic element of this scene.
• As Hermia catches Lysander setting up the picnic blanket, e had the idea that Mathilde jumps all over the blanket in an attempt to 'cover up' what he just set up. The jump needs to be really obnoxious and almost unnatural in a hope for it to come across as comedic. Once we decided this beginning section, we decided to have a read through so that we can really focus on the words in the script and so that we can brainstorm ideas and movements in relation to what we are saying. 
• We ran through our ideas to see if they felt natural and ran smoothly. Once we were happy, we wrote them onto our script. 

Script (Act II, Scene I) 

Initial Thoughts for Staging

Rehearsal Reflection: Thoughts and Feelings

• Overall, I think we made good progress and have a good base to work with and develop this scene even more. We struggled to find ideas but once we started brainstorming, we bounced off of each other really well. We need to work on the other half of the scene now and tidy up what we did today but overall a good start. I think we could experiment with our characters a bit more and show more ways of how cute and loving their relationship is so that we can show a huge contrast between the love Lysander and Hermia have for each other compared to the 'love' between Titania and Bottom. We need to really show that Lysander and Hermia's relationship is love and that Titania and Bottom's relationship is lust.

Wednesday 13th December, 2023

• For this rehearsal we aimed to finished staging Act 2, Scene 2, the scene between Lysander and Hermia. This was the original plan on our schedule so we have stuck to it. 
• We started the rehearsal off by running through what we had set in our last rehearsal on Monday for this scene. Our brainstorm for this scene from the last rehearsal has given us more creative ideas for the next half of the scene. Once we did a run through of what we already had, we added an extra part to the scene to help build up the cute, awkwardness we want this couple to have. 
• We planned in the script, for Lysander to read the situation wrong and very over-dramatically lean in for a kiss from Hermia. We originally decided for that to happen immediately after Lysander finished his line but decided that this made the scene seem rushed. Due to this, we decided to add a long, dramatic pause after Lysander says, "two bosoms and one troth". This creates a very awkward atmosphere, not just for Mathilde and I on stage but also for the audience. This awkwardness, should make Lysanders lean in for a kiss more comedic as we are building up the scene's atmosphere to lead to a moment, in this case a kiss. 
• We read through the second half of the script to get an idea of the language they are using and to gain an understanding of what they are talking about. We then started by talking through what we could do next in the scene. In our previous rehearsal, we decided that I would roll Mathilde off of the picnic blanket in hope to have it all to myself as in the scene Hermia wants Lysander to sleep away from her. I had the idea for Mathilde to land on one knee once I have rolled her off the blanket. This led us into the idea of making this picnic date into a planned wedding proposal. This idea gives the scene a cute, sweet vibe to it. We then had to think of how we could ease a proposal into the scene as the original play doesn't include a proposal between these 2 characters until the end of the play. As Mathilde is on one knee, we thought we could play around with our movements. 
• I had the idea for Mathilde to grab my hand spin me into her so that I am sat on her knee. Once she says a certain line, she spins me out again and off her knee. This is where we decided to add the proposal in as when Mathilde spins me, I am turned away from her. When I next turn around, I see the ring. This creates a really cute moment between Lysander and Hermia. Before this action, I pull the picnic blanket out of my way. This action gives excitement to the scene as it hopefully should make an audience expect something to happen, which it then does: a proposal.
• We had brilliant ideas to develop the scene more and we are both feeling really happy with how the scene is going. 
• Another idea we had to help to add comedy to the scene was to mime Hermia shooting an arrow into Lysander's heart. This idea came from a scene in the 2018 movie, 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'. During the song, 'Why Did It Have To Be Me?' young Donna shoots an arrow at young Bill on his boat. 

• We decided to do this as Hermia calls Lysander a, "gentle friend" and again "sweet friend" even though they are in a loving relationship. It came across as a dig to Mathilde and I so we thought we could make it a funny moment by adding this action.

Script (Act II, Scene I) 

New, Added Ideas 

• The pink stage directions are the added we added this rehearsal. 

• Once we ran this scene a couple of times, we decided to recap our other scene between Titania and Bottom. We ended up adding an extra movement to the end of the scene to help us exit the stage. The movement we finished the scene on is with Mathilde on top of me. This position added comedy to the ending of the scene but we are both completely on the floor which doesn't welcome a graceful exit off of the stage. This led to an idea that Mathilde pulls me up to her by the collar of my shirt and then helps me up and leads me off stage. This keeps the scene going way after we have stopped talking as if there was another scene after like we were performing the whole play and not just an extract.

• Once we ran through the scene, we then performed both of our staged scenes to our teacher to get some feedback so we can know what is good and what needs improving or developing more.

Rehearsal Video

Act II, Scene I

Rehearsal Video

Act II, Scene I Feedback

Rehearsal Video

Act III, Scene I

Rehearsal Video

Act II, Scene I Feedback

Rehearsal Reflection: Thoughts and Feelings

• Overall, this rehearsal has been very productive and we are following with our schedule very well. We have now staged both our scenes and I am really excited to further develop them with costumes and props. We received very good feedback on ways we can develop our scene even more and in our next rehearsal we can start by applying the feedback to the scenes. 
• The scenes didn't run smoothly today as we only had one script that we had to keep passing between us, which was difficult as at some points in the scene we are quite far away from each other. We did break character as we both couldn't reach the script and it took up time in the scene while we gave it to each other and then found our place in the script. This affected our time as we couldn't get a realistic idea of how long our scenes are as we spent moments giving each other the script. We should aim to learn our lines as quickly as possible so that after Christmas we can get used to running straight through the scenes without having to look down at the script etc. This will also help us fully experiment with our characterisation more as we won't be either focusing on our lines and we will also have more free movement as we won't have a script in our hand.

Friday 29th December, 2023

• This date is during the Christmas holiday period. Mathilde and I didn't plan to have any rehearsals during this holiday so I chose to make sure I have built the Donkey head for our scene where I am playing Bottom. My overall aim for the day was to construct the base of the Donkey head. 
• I started by searching up reference images so I have something to copy and help me get the right dimensions. I found a front facing view and a side facing view so that I could see what My version needs to look like from both angles. This allows me to get my sculpture as realistic as possible.

Reference Images

• Once I found some reference images, I then began to draw them out and plan where I wanted it to sit on my head. I also planned how I was going to make it. I wanted to make it out of cardboard as it is strong enough to use so that it stays in place and strong enough to be covered in papier mâché and not disintegrate. I also sketched how I was going to construct a baseball cap type shape so that it sits on my head like a normal hat would. I also looked at my reference image of the front view of the donkey and divided it up into sections so I could see what shapes I need to cut out of the cardboard. 

Drawn out Plans

Divided Sections

Key:

hello= Ears

hello= Hair
hello= Front panel (forehead/nose)

hello= Nostrils

hello= Eye sockets

hello= Eyeball

hello= Head/cheeks

hello= Cheekbones

• Once I had planned out what I wanted and how I wanted to construct the head. I started cutting out my cardboard pieces, starting with the red section. The lime green sections were next. Then the orange and light/mint green.  Once all these elements were cut and glued together with a hot glue gun. I then started by constructing the eyeballs and then glued them to the head. Lastly I cut out the ears and glued them on top of the head. 
• To create the 3D effect of the nostrils and cheekbones, I hot glued foam pieces in the desired place and then trimmed them down with scissors to be curved like hey would be. 

Reflection

• By the end of the day, the base was completed and ready to be covered in papier mâché the next day. I am very happy with the result.

Finished base

Saturday 30th December, 2023

• The aim for this day was to fully cover the donkey head in papier mâché. This is a crucial step as it will make the texture of the foam and cardboard the same and will cover the dried glue so that when it comes to painting, the overall finish will be smooth. It will also strengthen the head and make sure the ears don't flop over.
• Once it is complete, I can let it dry and then paint it. 

Completed papier mâché

Sunday 31st December, 2023

• This is the last day I spent on constructing the donkey head. Day 3 consisted of painting the whole head. I aim to get it as realistic as possible. I also want to get the hair glued on.

Finished Result

Monday 8th January, 2024

• This was a scheduled rehearsal but we were unable to have one due to a lack of space to rehearse in. 
• Instead of this rehearsal, Mathilde and I have individually been prepping our costumes and props ready for a tech rehearsal on 'Wednesday 10th January, 2024'.

Tuesday 9th January, 2024

• This is the day before our scheduled tech rehearsal so I spent the night planning my costume. I am sticking with the original costume plan except instead of wearing ballet shoes for Bottom, I have decided to wear jazz shoes instead as my ballet shoes weren't comfortable to move around in.

Hermia Costume

Bottom Costume

Wednesday 10th January, 2024

• Today was the tech rehearsal for our scenes. This will be the first time we aim to be off script and the first time we are doing the scenes in our costume. It will also be the first time we will be trying out the 'Shadow Theatre' section at the beginning of our Bottom and Titania scene as well as the first time we re using our props. As this rehearsal includes a lot of first's, we may discover some issues that we need to overcome.
• We started the rehearsal by going through our scenes so that we were clear on what we are doing and to refresh our memories since we had the Christmas break. We've rehearsed our scenes a lot so we were already pretty confident in what we are doing. The aim of today's rehearsal was for each pair to tech their scenes with our teacher, Tanya, and our technician, Anthony. We also decided a running order for the performance. 

Running order = hello = Our scenes

1. Chloe and Lola - Peter Quince and Nick Bottom (Pre-donkey)
2. Harrison and Ellie - Demetrius and Helena
3. Kacie and Mathilde - Hermia and Lysander
4. Verity and Gracie - Helena and Hermia
5. Kacie and Mathilde - Bottom and Titania

• We took tuns to tech our scenes in the running order. The running order is in order of where our scenes are in the full play. Luckily for us, we have one scene to get changed into our other costumes ready for our Bottom and Titania scene. Mathilde and I aimed to try and do our scenes as off script as possible. We are both a lot more confident with our lines for our second scene between Bottom and Titania. 
• We teched our first scene which is Act 2, Scene 1 that is between Lysander and Hermia. We went through the scene and for the first time we used the picnic blanket and wedding ring with box props. We took my script on stage and shared between the both of us so that we had a script available to us for the lines we don't know. As we shared a script, we had to pass the script to each other on stage. At the point in the scene where Mathilde (Lysander) proposes to me (Hermia), Mathilde spins me out away from her. My line was next and I forgot it so I need to grab the script. I was trying to subtly hint to Mathilde that I needed the script and this appeared to Tanya that I was hesitating about grabbing the ring. Overall, her feedback was for me to actually hesitate and attempt to grab the ring and then not. She said it was quite comedic until she realised I was actually planning to grab my script. I am taking her feedback on board so I will now add this new movement into our scene. 
• In our rehearsals, we mimed having a picnic blanket so when it came to this rehearsal where we actually had it, we didn't struggle to use it at all. Sometimes using props for the first time can throw you off in a scene but this didn't happen for us. Once we went through the scene and we had our lights sorted. Tanya gave us feedback that our intro to our scene needed some music as the start ,where Mathilde sets up the blanket, is completely silent until I walk in. Our scene is set in the 1950's so we decided to add a 50's song over the top of our scene intro. We decided on the song, "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis. We specifically chose a piano instrumental version of the song. This song fits well with the theme of the scene as it is between 2 lovers.
• After we teched this scene, we got into our costumes for our second scene which is Act 3, Scene 1 that is between Bottom and Titania. Instead of a full flower crown for Titania, I have a gold metal headband that has flowers and ribbon detailing. We thought this would work better for Titania as it has a very fairy feel to it and it also quite subtle so it isn't too distracting as I am already wearing a huge donkey head on top of my own head. The ribbon detailing ties into your hair. We plaited into Mathilde's hair but thus means it is not simple to put into her hair and we don't have a lot of time between our 2 scenes to be able to put the headband in. This meant that we needed to come up with a way to over up the headband in her hair in our first scene. We decided that a 'Peaky Blinders' style cap would work perfectly as it still fits with our 1950's theme. 

Final Product of 'Shadow Theatre' Section

• When it came to tech-ing this scene, we talked Anthony through our idea for the 'Shadow Theatre' section that introduces this scene. Our original plan was to use a white bedsheet and place a light behind it and have 2 other people hold the sheet up. Once we told Anthony of our original plan he helped us bring our original idea to life and make it easier for us. The curtains in our performance space has a first 'front' curtain that is black and opaque and the second 'back' curtain is white and translucent/sheer. Anthony pulled the black curtain back so that the white one could be seen and placed a lamp behind it. this allowed us to do the 'Shadow Theatre' in a much easier way and looked really effective. This curtain is at the back of the performance space so our shadows are at the back of the stage, which creates a distant image of us. Mathilde then walks through a gap where the curtains join together and walks downstage. This separates our scene from the 'Shadow Theatre' and brings our scene forward so it can connect with the audience more. The  original plan was to do this section with music playing. We have stuck with that plan and are still playing the song, 'Fairy Dance' by James Newton Howard from the 2003 film, 'Peter Pan'.

• When it came to actually running the scene through, it was our first time doing it with the donkey head. This could give us a couple of issues as Mathilde does push me to the floor and I crawl away from her and there's a possibility the head could fall off. If it does we will have to adapt our scene so that it doesn't. It is also the first time we are using the fairy lights. During our tech rehearsal, Mathilde and I decided that she would take the lights on with her and when she 'sleeps' she holds the button in her hand and switches them on once she has laid down. Having the fairy lights around her creates a magical image and looks as if she has her fairies surrounding her. 
• When it came to our lines, we are both much more confident with our lines for this scene so we decided to try and and go through this scene without a script on stage. I did forget my line while rehearsing but Mathilde helped me out and we picked the scene back up again. Overall, our run through went really well but we just need to polish our lines. 
• Our main overall feedback from Tanya, for both scenes, was to not directly talk our lines just to each other as it closes off the scene from the audience and the audience feels as if they are intruding on us. We need to turn our bodies out, more towards the audience, and speak our lines out so that we bring the audience into the scene. We will definitely take this advice on board. 
• Once everyone had teched their scenes, we planned to do a full tech rehearsal/run through so that we could record our scenes and see what they looks like from an audiences perspective and so that we could time how long it takes for each pair to perform their scenes. 

Performance Recordings

'Act 2, Scene 1' 

Hermia and Lysander

Performance Recordings

'Act 3, Scene 1' 

Bottom and Titania

Rehearsal Reflection                                                                                                                  

• Overall, this rehearsal went very well and gave me a lot of confidence in our scenes and the work we have put into it. I really enjoyed watching the recordings of our performances as I could see our vision for our chosen scripts/scenes come to life. We received really good feedback that we can apply to our performance ready for the real performance on Wednesday. All props worked successfully (with no malfunctions) and didn't cause us to stumble over lines or distract us. The donkey head also successfully stayed on my head and was stable throughout our whole scene which I am very happy with as this means we won't have to adapt any movements in our Bottom and Titania scenes. One movement we do need to fix is when I turn my head to the audience and Mathilde pushes my cheek so that I am looking back at her. Out of habit, Mathilde pushed my actual face like we have been rehearsing the whole time but I am wearing a Donkey head/hat which is meant to be my head so Mathilde needs to push the cheek/nose of the donkey head instead. My personal target, is to just get the rest of my lines learnt and polished ready for the performance.

Wednesday 17th January, 2024

• Today is the day of the exam and our final tech rehearsal before the real thing. The main aim of the rehearsal is to have a full tech run of the whole performance, including all the other pairs and their scenes and to time the length of performance so we can get an idea of how long the overall performance will be.
• We started by doing a run through of the whole performance  without any of our music and tech just so we can get into the flow of our scenes and so that Tanya could have a look at our scenes and gives us our final lot of feedback.
• Mathilde and I ran through our first scene (Lysander and Hermia). This will be our first run through since our last run through, last week. It will also be the first time we will have run through the scenes without our scripts. I’m feeling less confident with this scene as I say a big paragraph and it doesn’t have perfect rhyme. One example of this is, ‘such separation as may well be said…bachelor and maid…’. ‘Maid’ and ‘Said’ is meant to be the rhyme when it actually doesn’t. Due to this, it makes it very tricky to remember what line is next as  an element of rhyme helps me to remember as I know the next line is going to rhyme.  
• When we went through the scene, we did forget a couple of movements and I had a mind blank and forgot the last 2 lines in my big paragraph that I have been struggling with. I think we played it off well and just carried on. 
• When it came to our second scene, (Bottom and Titania) I felt way more confident with my lines as I have less of them. We ran through the scene and this went way more smoothly than the first one so I have no worries with this scene. 
• One issue I did have was that I was unable to put my jazz shoes on as I had ran out of time  as it was our time to go on stage. I still have my socks on so it did create and illusion of wearing shoes. 
• Once we had all gone through our scenes, Tanya gave us feedback. Her feedback was to slow down our scenes and allow time and a chance for the audience to laugh at the moments that are comedic. Mathilde and I took this feedback on board and started to think of ways to elongate our scene and still give the audience a chance to laugh at the movements that are funny. 
• The scene we mainly developed was Act 3, Scene 1, Bottom and Titania. We decided to make my entrance slightly longer and more impactful and so that the donkey head could receive a laugh. I now very slowly turn my head around the side of the curtain and weirdly walk onto stage and then I make an “eeyore”/ donkey sound. 
• We also adapted the end of the scene as well. When I say my line, “I have enough to serve mine own turn.” Mathilde comes over and shushes me and puts her finger on the lips of the donkey head. Then we continue with what we already were doing in the scene. At the end of the scene, on Mathilde’s last lines, she pushes me down to the floor (original plan) and the she pulls me up my the collar of my shirt and then lets go and pushes me down again. I then scramble and crawl after her. Before I leave I now stand up and flirtatiously say, “eeyore” and then chaotically run off. Also when Mathilde drags me, she now drags me for longer and across a bigger distance of the stage. This just adds more comedy to something that is already quite funny.
•  Once we had developed our scene based on our final feed back from Tanya, we then planned to do another run through of the whole performance but now our newly developed scenes. 

Videos of Tech Run

Act 2, Scene 1

(Hermia and Lysander)

Act 3, Scene 1

(Bottom and Titania)

Mathilde's Costumes

• When it came to Mathilde's costumes, the overall vibe and aesthetic we wanted to create was definitely achieved but certain elements of her costumes are slightly different to the original plan. For her costume when she's Lysander, we planned for her to have a shirt and sweater vest. We then changed this to just a shirt. Mathilde owns a brown coloured shirt with a gingham pattern we went with this in the end as the sweater vest looked to clumpy and didn't look how we thought it would. Mathilde's new shirt complemented my dress so well so we decided to go with that instead. We also decided to add a 1950's style tweed hat to add to the overall look. It was originally added to cover up the fact that Mathilde was wearing a flower tiara. We have decided to not use the flower Tiara as we didn't have enough time to put it into her hair before it was our time to go on stage. We also liked the simplicity of the outfit without the crown as well. As w aren't using the crown we didn't necessarily need the hat but we liked how it looked so we kept it. It also really helps show an audience that Mathilde is 2 different characters for our scenes as she wears her hair the same both times. 
• For Mathilde's costume when she is Titania, we kept the original plan of her wearing the green/blue corset but Tanya gave Mathilde a dress that could work really well that also fits in with the vibe and colour pallet of Michelle Pfeiffer's version of Titania in the 1999 adaption of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We put all the costume together and really liked the dress with the corset so we made this Mathilde's definite costume for Titania.

Lysander Costume

Titania Costume

Our Costumes together

Action Shots From Our Scenes

BOTTOM AND TITANIA

HERMIA AND LYSANDER

Rehearsal Reflection

• Overall, this was a very successful rehearsal. We received our last bit of feedback from Tanya which helped push and develop our scene even more. We are happy with our costumes, lighting and music and we are both very confident with using the props. I feel very confident with our scenes. I'm also very happy with how our scenes have developed as it was great to watch back our rehearsal videos and see our first vision come to life. The one thing I am not really not confident with is that one paragraph in the Act 2, Scene 1 script that is between Lysander and Hermia. It's lack of perfect rhyming throws me off  but we have an hour or so gap before the actual performance so in this time I can really focus on this line. It's lack of perfect rhyme may even help me remember what the next line is as I will be able to remember that the next part is the non-rhyming line. Other than that, Mathilde and I both feel very prepared about the performance of our scenes as we have put a lot of thought and detail into our scenes and have several out of lesson rehearsals to make sure we could develop and work on our scene as much as possible before today.