Rehearsal 14.3.14

In this rehearsal we looked at the Augusto Boal book for exercises that we could use that might be relevant to our piece.

The first exercise that we found was a shoe game where we had to pass shoes round the circle, tapping them on the floor, to a rhythm or song. We choose to use a nursery rhyme and then used the Rose Red song. When reflecting on this exercise we thought that it could be good to include in the piece as it symbolizes the women's jobs in the camp to sort through clothes and shoes.

James then thought of another exercise that we could try which focused on control and teamwork. One of us had to hide a bottle top in our hands and not reveal who it is. James then had to control us and tell us what to do as a way to torture us into giving up who has the bottle top. We timed how long it took us to give up who had the bottle top and it took us roughly 7 minutes. I thought that this was a good exercise because we were able to have a little insight into how exhausted the camp mates would be and how strict everything is in a camp.

We then decided to play Honey, I love you - we did this as a test on concentration levels and having the ability to keep a straight face. These are two things that the camp-mates would have had to everyday.

We then sat as a group and with Rose's help wrote our mission statement:

Our Shakespeare re-imagination of Much Ado About Nothing is set in the historical context of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. This is an innovative new take on the plot-line of Beatrice and Benedick, entwined with a real life story from within the camp. A major aim of the production is to inform and explore the nature of humanity, with our audience in a participative role. The style of this piece is dark and naturalistic with undertones of tragedy; a dark adaptation of the original play.