TaPS MASTER CLASS RESOURCE PACK: “One Summer Evening” - Devising
Theatre about the UK riots of 2011
By John Rainer
April 2014, Manchester TaPS SSS
TaPS Master Class Resource Pack
Manchester, April 2014
One Summer Evening – Devising
Theatre about the UK Riots of 2011
John Rainer
One Summer Evening Devising theatre about the UK Riots of 2011.
As its context, this class will explore the UK rioting that took place in the
summer of 2011.
It takes as its starting point a short script written by John Rainer and Kirsty
Walters, One Summer Evening. This script, loosely based on testimony from
some of those involved or implicated in the riots - and their aftermath - is
structured as a sequence of monologues, and was written as a ‘skeleton’ – a
basic template which students could develop further as part of their
examination work in drama.
In order to create material in the class, we will be taking ideas from devising
frameworks based on the work of key theatre practitioners and theorists.
The 2011 UK Riots – Context
The events which unfolded on the streets of Britain between 6th – 10th August
2011 – mass rioting and looting in the streets of many major towns and cities,
and the aftermath of burned buildings and wrecked businesses - are widely
regarded as the worst UK example of civil unrest in living memory. Watched
by millions on TV as they unfolded, the riots and their ‘causes’ have been
much debated, and the legislative response to the mostly young people
involved was quick and decisive, with many being sent to prison for long
periods. Some of the statistics are interesting for what they might tell us about
those who took part in the riots: Of the 1,984 people brought before the courts,
90% of those arrested were male and 13% were regarded as ‘gang members’.
42% were white, 53% black or Asian (with 5% recorded as ‘other’), and about
half were under the age of 21. Two thirds of the young people brought to court
were regarded as having some kind of special educational need, and about
the same proportion already had a previous criminal conviction or caution.
More than a third of the young people had been excluded from school in the
previous year, and 42% claimed free school meals – a reliable indicator of
poverty.
For more information, see : http://www.theguardian.com/uk/series/reading-the-riots One Summer Evening
By Kirsty Walters and John Rainer
1. YOUTH – 1st monologue
When I was a kid, in the winter, ants would come into the house. My mam
would try and find the nest, and pour a kettle of boiling water over it – but it
never did any good.
I used to put an apple core down on the tiles round the gas fire, and within
minutes, there’d be hundreds of ‘em, like a seething black crust.
I used to take one or two. And put ‘em on the gas ring – in the middle of the
biggest burner. As they walked to the edge I’d ignite the gas, and see them
frizzle. An’ I’d do it again, and again…
I didn’t plan to rob anything.
We were just having a look – had a text on my Blackberry saying it was all
kicking off – and went down to see. I never even took a bag with me…
It started with smashing the security grill. Within minutes there’s loads of
people ducking inside and helping themselves.
And one of them asked me what size trainers I wore…
There were women with shopping trolleys, guys parking up vans, unloading
the whole shop…and then moving on to the next one.
And you know what? It felt good.
When the police arrived, you could tell they was scared. And it was, ‘Let’s
cause frickin chaos, let’s cause a riot’.
And then people started having a go – throwing stuff an’ taunting ‘em an’ that.
And then the car went up in flames and people scattered… and then moved
on to the next shop, and the next.
And I thought, If we want to do this, we can. And you won’t do nothing. You
can’t do nothing to stop us.
And we began to realise. If we spread this, could the police control it?
It was like turning the gas on and lighting it. And it felt good.
Really, really good.
2. POLICE OFFICER – 1st monologue
It was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me.
Things moved so quickly we couldn’t follow what was happening. It was
obvious that they were communicating with each other – they’d all be in one
place and we would get a message, but by the time we got there they were
away – they’d break up into smaller groups and just disappear. So officers got
frustrated. We weren’t able to respond. The training manual does not tell you
what to do in this kind of situation. And then we got cornered between two
office blocks – there was about thirty...forty of them.
I received a blow to the head from a flying brick, and it split my NATO-issue
public order helmet. I could feel the blood trickling down my neck - but what
can you do? There was no-one going to come to our assistance, and I
remember thinking I had to keep going. If I’d have gone down, that would
have been it.
The bricks were coming thick and fast, and they were organised: they’d stolen
some shopping trolleys from the Tesco’s across the street, and were using
them to replenish their stocks of things to throw…bringing trolley loads of
bricks and debris from a building site.
And then an elderly woman – just crossing the street – got hit in the face, and
went down. We grouped around her, to try and protect her – but they kept on
throwing stuff – bloody great big chunks of masonry. They didn’t care about
this poor woman. They had no sense of decency. We charged with our
shields drawn, so that the ambulance could get to her. I’ve never seen
anybody look so terrified as that ambulance driver.
They knew we were scared of them. And yes, they would have killed us.
There was nothing left to steal or smash, and so they turned on us…
3. LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS
A
Strike the match, start the fire, watch it burn. The walls of the palace
come crumbling down - into a pile of ashes that resemble nothing of the past just memories of what once was.
B
I read in the paper that the cost to business and the taxpayer came to
five-hundred million pounds. I spent 30 years building this business. My father
started it, and handed it to me and my brother.
A
My Gran and I always had a special relationship. She bragged to
everyone she knew about me, and was proud as punch when I went off to Uni
to study fashion design. When she died she left money for me to achieve my
dreams. It was enough to open a small business. A shop where my designs
could be displayed, and sold. It was only a small business, but it was mine.
B
We are not get-rich-quick merchants, rip off bankers, fat cats. We don’t
drive flash cars, own big houses. We flog furniture. At a small profit.
We do a good Job – a good service. We give a discount to OAPs.
‘Responsible capitalism’, they call it.
I can understand people being angry. Kids, with no hope and no job. But they
were animals, that night. They smashed their way in and stole what they
could carry. They were in frenzy. What would a fifteen-year-old lad want with
a reclining armchair? Then they set a fire, and within minutes it was all gone.
A
As news of the riots spread across town, I got that uneasy feeling that
you sometimes get in the pit of your tummy when you know something’s not
quite right but you’re not sure what it is. I got in the car and drove down there.
Police had cordoned off part of the street. I stood and watched my little
business in flames.
B
What’s happened to the world? Nothing on telly but talent shows and
celebrity rubbish. Everything’s corrupt – the newspapers, the politicians, the
bankers, even the police…everybody’s got their feet in the trough, in it for
what they can make. No values. What kind of an example does it set?
A&B Course, we can claim on the insurance. Get some of the money back.
A
The next day people pulled together – put on a united front and refused
to be beaten. They cleaned the streets, swept away the debris, removed the
shattered glass. I sat and could not move. Around me people busily pulled
together but still I could not move. On the news they interviewed some of the
rioters and they voiced their disregard for a society which apparently ‘does
nothing to support the likes of us’.
B
But some of ‘em that did it live round here, walk past the shop every
day. I saw their pictures. Recognised some faces, know their families. The
shop…it was a local landmark – Robson’s corner. Young girls used to meet
their boyfriends there before a night out. Handy for the Odeon across the
road, you see. Those kids’ parents might’ve sheltered from the rain under the
awning. Not anymore. They can bloody well get wet…
A
They had apparently wanted to make people listen. I would have
listened. Did they need to have done it like that?
B
I’m too old to start again. That’s it.
4. MOTHER- 1st monologue
As a family we did a lot together. It didn’t matter that the kids were growing
up, they still wanted to be involved as much as possible in family stuff. Next
on the list was the camping holiday at the end of August. Emma and Joehn
had come round to discuss arrangements over a glass of wine. ‘Let’s write a
list of what we need to take’, said Emma, ever organised. The wine flowed as
plans for the holiday were made. In the background the telly was on. It was
the news and it was showing footage of the riots taking place in Manchester.
My eyes drifted over to the telly as we talked. Such awful scenes of anarchy
and chaos. What was happening to society? ‘Frightening isn’t it?’, remarked
Emma, noticing that my attention was drawn to the screen. ‘What a world
we’re living in’, I commented, ‘these are just kids’. The conversation switched
back to who would share tents. The two older boys - my son, 17, and theirs,
16 - would be better in together, the smell of two teenage lads better kept
apart from the rest of us! It was then that something else caught my eye on
the screen. I started to drift again into a world of violence, aggression, sheer
terror, as the streets of Manchester were taken over by thugs. On the screen
was a number for people to ring should they recognise the faces of any of the
young people shown in the news coverage. The Police urgently wanted
people to come forward, to help them with their enquiries, to identify the thugs
responsible for the carnage on screen. The voices of those in my lounge
seemed to drift further and further away as I looked at the screen. A feeling of
sweat, nausea, legs turning to jelly. Amidst all of the other faces on that
screen was that of my son. Daniel. It couldn’t be him, it couldn’t possibly be?
I looked away, then back at the screen again. No one else must see. I see,
and I know those eyes. It is without doubt the child I gave birth to, the baby I
held in my arms, the son I had come to regard as a companion, the apple of
my eye. The message on the bottom of the screen: ‘Where are your children
tonight?’ I jump up, fumble for the remote, switch channels quickly. ‘You
OK?’ asks Emma, noticing my sudden change in demeanour. ‘Yeah, fine, just
feel a bit off’. Within no time at all, I am ushering my guests out of my house.
‘Probably just and upset tummy’, I lie. I close the door and my husband is
concerned: ‘Can I get you anything love’? ‘No thanks’, I reply. ‘I probably just
need an early night’. I climb the stairs, stand frozen in my bedroom. And then
I try his mobile. It is switched off.
5. POLITICIAN
We have looked under a stone and revealed something about our society that
we would rather not see. A seething mass of foul creatures – insects –
engaged in cynical acts of materialism, hate and lawlessness.
There will be those who say that these riots are an act of revolt – presumably
against the justified budget cuts enacted by the present government.
However, for those who say that the riots are about disenfranchised youth
finding their voice – I say this: what we have seen in the riots in London,
Manchester and other places this week is nothing more than shopping with
violence. All it reveals is that young people in Britain today have a misguided
sense of entitlement – they want it all without effort. They no longer have a
moral compass ; they have lost their way. They prove that our society is
broken. It will take serious and determined efforts to fix it.
6. POLICE OFFICER – 2nd monologue
The sounds are deafening, the scenes are of chaos and destruction. There is
pure venom in their eyes, their body language says fight, aggression, no fear.
This is not something I have experienced before. Never have I seen our city
look and feel so very threatening...threatened . Many of these rioters are
young people…teenagers who behind the masks are nothing more that spotty
adolescents who will return home to their homes tonight, get into bed and
have no concept of the damage they have caused. In this situation a human
being has a fight or flight reaction. As a police officer there is only one option,
and that is to fight.
7. POLICE OFFICER’S WIFE
When you marry a police officer you marry into the job. You accept that there
are times when you say goodbye and you have no clue about where they are
going to, and who they are dealing with. That night was one of those times. It
was my youngest daughter’s fifth birthday and we were having a little
gathering at our house. He was on call, which meant that there was no booze
for him that night. We knew that he could be called out at any time and we
were used to that. The call, in fact, came in the middle of the night. They had
needed to draft in more officers as things in the city centre were getting so out
of control. I was half asleep as he quickly got dressed and planted a kiss on
my forehead. Don’t think I even said goodbye.
8. YOUTH – 2nd monologue
‘Come on then!’
‘What you waiting for?’ I’m screaming at them, the pigs. They hate us, blame
us for everything. ‘Come on, you bastards!’ We’re just taking back what the
government’s taken from us. Noise, loads of it. I’m buzzin’. Us and them.
Hood up, balaclava on. I can see them, but they can’t see me.
‘Come on then!’
9. BYSTANDER
What I want to know is why these kids are not at home with their mams and
dads. They need a bloody good hiding. In my day, one step out of line and I’d
have been grounded for a month. Nowadays…anything goes. And the
language! Just listen to ‘em! Some of them were only twelve, thirteen yearolds. Do you think anybody knows where they are, what they’re up to?
I’m afraid what this boils down to is PPP: Piss-poor parenting!
10. MOTHER – 2nd monologue
I lie awake even though I pretend to be asleep when my husband comes to
bed. He must not know about this. He will go mad so I must deal with it alone
until I have decided on the right course of action. When he is finally asleep, I
creep downstairs. I sit in the darkness of my lounge and I wait. At two am the
door quietly clicks open. He is trying not to disturb us. He kicks off his shoes
and leaves them in the hall, something I have always told him to do. Doing as
he’s told has never really been a problem before. You may be thinking that
this is what all protective mothers might say when faced with a problem that is
about to rock their world. A mother’s instinct - to protect, defend, justify. I
have always had a good relationship with Dan. I’m not going to lie, we have
had our moments. Teenage lads rarely escape the teenage years unscathed
do they? On the whole though, he hadn’t given us any real problems.
Popular, intelligent - just a good lad really. He goes into the kitchen to get
himself a drink. He does not switch the light on. I stand at the kitchen door.
He turns, I startle him. ‘Shit, mum what you doing up?’ ‘Waiting for you’, I
reply, and I look deep into those familiar eyes. ‘You OK?’, he asks.
‘Where’ve you been?’ - my voice steady, controlled, calm. ‘Just out with Nick
and that’, he replies, a little edgy. ‘I phoned you’, I say. ‘More than once - but
your phone was off’. He looks a little uncomfortable and does that face that
he does when he is about to tell his mother a lie. ‘Yeah, I didn’t realise it was
off. Did you need me?’ I stare at him. ‘Mum…you OK?’ He is starting to get a
little concerned. ‘Where have you been?’ I repeat. ‘I’ve just said. I’m going to
bed’, he says, rattled, unsettled, defensive. He passes me as I remain stood
at the door. Our eyes lock for a second. Come on, son I plead inwardly,
please don’t let me down, please make this OK. Inside, I am begging him to
give me some explanation, some reassurance, to tell me that there has been
some mistake. The silence remains. He walks away and makes for the
stairs. ‘I saw your face on the news. I know where you were tonight’, I say.
My voice is quiet, almost a whisper. I cannot let my husband know what is
going on. He won’t deal with it right. I have to get this sorted out in my own
head first. Dan looks at me, and at first his face shows an expression of
confusion, he is going to try and deny it. ‘I saw you Dan, involved with the
riots. You were there’. He is also frozen, rooted to the spot. The air is cold,
freezing cold, bone- chillingly tense. ‘The Police are asking for people to
come forward, to name the faces shown on screen’, I whisper. There is no
emotion on my voice, just monotone, cold. He looks at me and the
expression has now changed. There is now the face that I recognise, eyes of
panic, sheer ‘please mum, help me’ panic. ‘Mum, I can explain…. Mum
please…what you going to do?’ I take a step towards him. ‘Go to bed, son’.
‘Have you told dad?’ he asks. ‘I said, go to bed. We’ll talk about it in the
morning when I’ve had more time to think’. ‘Have you told dad?’ he repeats.
I shake my head. The tears sting. ‘Go to bed’. And he does.
11. SOCIOLOGIST
What happened was the worst urban disorder in this country in living memory.
It is crucially important to give the riots some context and to try to understand
why they happened. Britain is now more unequal than any other western
country apart from the United States, and the gap between rich and poor
widens every year. The UK is deeply economically divided and stark and
entrenched poverty exists in many areas, with devastating consequences for
those who experience it. The current government’s policies are making things
worse by slashing the essential services on which the poorest members of
society rely.
Rioting and stealing consumer goods is perhaps not a politically mature form
of protest, but it may have been the only way these young people felt they
could communicate the disrespect, hurt and anger that they clearly feel.
Rather than dismiss these people as scum, maybe we need to try and
understand. There are lots of questions left unanswered.
If what the riots show is these young people’s fundamental disrespect for
authority, we need to start asking: what are they angry about and who,
precisely, don’t they respect? And, most importantly, what can be done to
help them feel part of society, with a vested interest in making it work instead
of destroying it?
12. MOTHER – 3rd monologue
The next morning he waits until his dad has left for work before venturing
downstairs. I have to get my youngest to school so I try to act as normal as
possible as I don’t want the other one picking up on any of this. I flap as I try
to find my car keys, ‘where the bloody hell are they?’ I mutter, and it is then I
hear his voice, ‘they’re here’. I turn and we clap eyes on each other for the
first time that morning. ‘Thanks’ I reply. We hold a stare for a few seconds
before I look to my other son and say ‘come on or we’ll be late’. As I make for
the front door I hear him mutter ‘what are you going to do?’. Slowly I turn
back and reply. ‘I haven’t decided yet’. His face, so tired, pale and pathetic.
My motherly instinct is to protect, to tell the child that everything will be all
right, to make things better. I cannot do that at that precise moment because
the child I am staring back at is almost unrecognisable to me. I walk out of
the door, get into the car and take a deep breath. After the school drop off I
will sort my head out. I will rationalise, reason and regain control. I will
decide what exactly I am going to do. I pull out of the drive and glance back
across at the lounge window. He is staring back at me.
13. POLICE OFFICER – 3rd monologue
That summer evening I experienced a side to the job that I had never
experienced before. It was a feeling of powerlessness and a loss of control. It
was a fear that this uniform no longer stood for anything other than a disguise
that protected the man underneath it from being recognised. Flight or fight….
14. MOTHER – 4th monologue
My job; to protect. Yet that evening, those feelings became confused with
disappointment, dismay, guilt. I had somehow failed in my role as a parent.
Could I now fail a society - that I had, for a long time, feared was being ruined
by those who had been brought up unaware of the difference between right
and wrong?
15.
LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS A & B Thirty years building up a business…
BUSINESS OWNER A
Which was destroyed in less than thirty minutes.
BUSINESS OWNER A & B
POLITICIAN
They lost their way…
POLICE OFFICER
BYSTANDER
ALL
They wanted to be listened to…
The language they used!
That evening…
YOUTH
We wanted our voices to be heard!
SOCIOLOGIST
There are important questions left unanswered…
POLICE OFFICER’S WIFE
ALL
That evening…
And the biggest question in my mind is….
Who’s to say it won’t happen again?
From: Kirsty Walters and John Rainer, Learning about Social Issues from Scripts, David Fulton (pub. April 2014)
4 Frameworks for Devising
Virtually all 14-19 drama examination courses currently available give
students the option of devising drama as part of the assessment for the
examination.
Many students enjoy the relative freedom offered by this approach to making
theatre, and relish the opportunity to engage in issues and concerns of direct
relevance to their own lives, while at the same time applying something of
what they have learned about theatre genres, forms and conventions. The
demands of such an approach, however, should not be underestimated.
Devising good theatre pieces can be a time-consuming, frustrating business
that needs considerable commitment and tests the autonomy of even the
most capable students. The nature of the task – the fact that students have,
sometimes literally, a ‘blank page’ in front of them – can provide a daunting
challenge. What is the play to be ‘about’? How best can its content be
researched? What – of all the possibilities available – is the most suitable
form for exploring the content? How should the emerging ideas be shaped
and structured?
These frameworks for devising theatre projects are provided so that teachers
can help their students undertake group-devised theatre work in a focused
and methodical manner. They provide helpful guidelines for styling and
structuring projects. Although the frameworks are provided so that they can
be applied to the students’ own choice of content, examples are provided with
content taken from our own work with students. It is probably best to use
these structural ideas once students have begun the process of selecting the
initial themes, issues or narrative for their drama.
The four frameworks in this section are based on the application of a range of
theatrical ideas and processes drawn from a number of genres and theorists.
Framework 1 draws on the idea of a ‘mythic’ structure as identified by
Christopher Vogler and Joseph Campbell, and enables students to explore
the archetypal story structures typically found in myth and legend, and apply
them to their own drama work.
Framework 2 is based on the early work of Mike Leigh and adapts some of
his methods in building plays through independent character development,
and situation-based spontaneous improvisation.
Framework 3 applies some of the conventions of classical Greek theatre – in
particular the use of mask and chorus – and provides a simple, structured
approach to play-making based on a stripped-down, non- naturalistic theatre
style.
Framework 4 explores narrative techniques for the adaptation of existing
texts – novels, stories and poems. It is based on the ideas of theatrical
innovators such as Steven Berkoff and the Shared Experience theatre
company.
Framework 1: Mythic structure
The hero’s journey
According to Christopher Vogler, ‘All stories consist of a few common
structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams and movies’.
Vogler describes this common structure as ‘the hero’s journey’. According to
his theory this archetypal mythic structure is a ‘monomyth’ from which all story
telling springs.
The hero’s journey is a 12-stage structure which provides a template for the
analysis of stories and dramas as well as a method of constructing ‘satisfying’
dramatic narratives. In fiction of this kind the 12 elements shown below are
usually found.
1
Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD where
2
They receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE.
3
They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL but
4
They are encouraged by a MENTOR to
5
CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the special world, where
6
They encounter TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES.
7
They APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossing a second threshold
8
Where they endure the ORDEAL.
9
They take possession of their REWARD and
10
Are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World.
11
They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are
transformed by the experience.
12
They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the
Ordinary World.
This structure, or variations of it, can be traced in examples of stories, films
and dramas with which your students will be familiar. For instance, myths
such as Homer’s Odyssey, many traditional tales, classic children’s stories
such as The Wizard of Oz, Disney animations, as well as modern films such
as The Matrix and Star Wars all fit this structure. In this section we suggest
ways in which the idea of the hero’s journey can be applied as a structural
template to aid your students’ devising work.
It may be helpful to apply the hero’s journey structure to films, stories or
dramas with which the students are familiar, noting variations and even
subversions of the structure where they occur. In this way the students will
become familiar with the basic pattern, and this will be helpful later.
Give the students the hero’s journey handout, which shows the 12 stages of
the typical hero’s journey as described by Vogler. In pairs, ask the students to
identify how closely some films, plays or stories they know match the given
structure. Ask them to feed back to the group, noting how closely many works
of popular fiction fit the structure.
While there are a number of ways that a devising project based on this
structure could start, identifying character archetypes can be especially fruitful.
In ‘mythic’ stories and drama, similar archetypal characters tend to appear
and many sources provide exhaustive lists of archetypal characters drawn
from Jung’s work on the collective unconscious.
According to Jung’s theory, people in the past created myths in order to
explain things they did not fully understand. Such myths, and the characters
that populate them, tend to recur across time and cultures. Jung suggested
that these structures were so embedded in human psychology that they could
be referred to as the collective unconscious.
Whether the theory is valid or not, a study of elements common to myths from
widely varying cultures and contexts does reveal startling similarities. Your
students should be able to compile a list of character archetypes found in
many stories and dramas with which they are familiar. For example:
● hero
● mentor
● sidekick
● guardian of the threshold
● earth mother
● vamp
● sadistic genius
● evil beast.
Applying such a list to the students’ own content material can produce some
interesting starting points for their work. Provide your students with a list as a
starting point, but encourage them to come up with their own additions.
Students should now ‘overlay’ the chosen archetypes onto their own content
material. Even if this is not yet fully formed, undertaking this task will often
clarify the group’s ideas, and spark new ones. First, instruct the group to map
out their ideas for the piece on large sheets of paper. Make notes of ideas for
the plot line, characters, action shown, and the function of the scene as it
relates to the play as a whole. At this stage the work can be quite sketchy; the
detail can be applied later.
Ask the students to list the characters they have in mind for their drama. For
each character, it may be helpful to create a ‘role on the wall’, filling in an
outline with notes on the characteristics already known.
Now ask the students to compare these simple character studies with the
archetypes already listed. Do any ‘match’? Could any of the characters
already formulated take on a more archetypal persona?
Once the group has come up with some suggestions for archetypal characters,
the next stage in the devising process is to plot the structure of the piece
against the 12-stage hero’s journey. In this way, a rough scenario for their
play can be produced in a relatively short time, and this will serve as a guide
for the more detailed devising work to follow.
Again, it is a good idea to use large sheets of paper, one for each scene,
which can be filled in with detail as the work proceeds. They can be fixed to
the wall as a record of what has been decided.
Example
One group of students was interested in devising a piece exploring the fate of
a lottery winner, whose ‘journey’ saw her seeking happiness, but tempted to
spend her new-found wealth in all kinds of unwise ways. They first listed some
possible characters, using their list of archetypes as a guide:
● Maud Smith – a middle-aged woman who had won £25 million in a
lottery. (Hero)
● Her friend Mandy (Sidekick)
● Ronald Twee – author of a self-help guide entitled In Search of
Happiness who appears to Maud in a dream (Mentor)
● Various salesmen on TV (Villains of all kinds – representing the
seven deadly sins – who tempt Maud)
● Maud’s husband, Harold, the source of her unhappiness and who
appears as the Guardian of the threshold, but also represents her
‘normal’ life.
They then took these characters and experimented through improvisation with
various scenes drawn from the hero’s journey structure.This is the scenario
that emerged:
. 1 Maud and Harold at home, mealtime. They argue over money. (The
Ordinary World)
. 2 There is a knock at the door – the postwoman (another archetype – the
messenger?) arrives with a letter, and a cheque from the lottery
company. ‘At last, Harold, we’ll be happy!’ (The Call to Adventure)
. 3 At first, Maud wants to spend her money on material possessions but
basically keep her life the same. After discussing it with her friend
Mandy she begins to realize that she will have to search for happiness,
even with all her money; but where to look? Mandy agrees to help her
in her quest, but she also has no idea where to begin. (Reluctance)
. 4 That night, in a dream, Maud is visited by Ronald Twee, American selfhelp guru. He gives her a copy of his book, In Search of Happiness.
Unfortunately, the last chapter of the book is missing. (Encouragement
by a Mentor)
. 5 With the book as their guide, Maud and Mandy leave their ordinary home
town to begin their quest. (Across the First Threshold)
. 6 They are tempted by a series of TV shopping channel sales personnel,
who embody the seven deadly sins, and tempt Maud and Mandy down
dubious paths to happiness. They eventually pass these tests, and on
the way meet up with an ally, Matilda, whom they release from
shopping channel hell! (Tests, allies and enemies)
. 7 With Matilda’s help, they approach the end of their quest – the place
where the last chapter of In Search of Happiness is hidden, and where
the secret of true happiness will be revealed to them. The tension
builds as the trio wonder whether they are up to the challenge. Maud
again dreams, and Ronald Twee re-affirms her courage as she nears
the end of the quest. He does, however, warn her of the terrible evil
beast who guards the innermost cave where the last chapter is hidden.
(Approach to the Innermost Cave)
. 8 They fight the beast – who is actually her husband, Harold. After a hardfought battle, they defeat the evil beast and... (The Ordeal)
. 9 They take possession of the Last Chapter. (Possession of the Reward)
. 10 Armed with the secret of happiness they begin their journey back home.
Harold, by now recovered, chases them back to their home. (The
Road Back)
. 11 Just as they near home, Harold traps them. They fight, the last chapter
is destroyed, and Matilda is injured in the battle. She does not die, but
returns to TV land, a place where Maud can always consult her for
advice. (Resurrection)
. 12 Armed with self-knowledge, Maud and Mandy return home. Maud gives
away her money, is reconciled with Harold... and finds true happiness.
(Return with The Elixir)
Once a scenario is agreed, the next stage is to add detail to the actual scenes.
The ultimate aim of this stage of the process is to fix the text, and to record it
– either by transcribing it as a script, or by note-taking and repeated ‘polished’
improvisation. We suggest that different students might take responsibility for
particular scenes, producing relatively rough drafts – possibly with some
scripted dialogue – for the group as a whole to work on together. When
working in this way, urge the group to adhere to some basic principles:
Show rather than tell
At first, especially when scripting dialogue, students may have a tendency to
over-write, and to ‘spoon feed’ the audience. Encourage them to demonstrate
characterization through what characters do, as well as what they say.
Variations in pace and dynamics
Encourage the group to seek imaginative solutions to technical problems they
encounter and to plan for ‘highs and lows’ in their work, identifying where
variations in the pace and energy of scenes might be most effective.
Moments of heightened tension
In a similar way, remind the group that dramatic tension must be present in
their drama if it is to engage an audience. Ask them, at a relatively early stage,
to identify moments of high and low tension in their work, and encourage them
to experiment with methods to enhance the levels of dramatic tension, such
as music, sound effects and lighting.
It is at this point that the characters can be ‘fleshed out’ and given depth, so
that while they are clearly based on archetypes, they also have their own
unique character traits. Students might undertake a range of improvisational
exercises where the characters can be explored in more depth. For example,
setting up ‘off text’ situations – in our example, finding out how Harold and
Maud behave when they are visiting the bank manager, or interviewing
Ronald Twee on a chat show – might be fruitful. Teachers and their students
will be familiar with a range of strategies – hot-seating, still images, role on the
wall – that might be useful in developing more rounded characters at this
stage in the work.
Once the characters and text are relatively solid, it may be helpful to work
through the scenes in order to resolve staging and other technical challenges.
At this point a sense of the style of the performance should emerge as the
group experiments with particular theatrical techniques. It is probably at this
stage that ideas related to design will also crystallize. For example, is the
world of the ‘quest’ markedly different from the ‘domestic’ world? Is there (as
in many myths) a clear moment of transition from ‘domestic’ to ‘supernatural’
realms?
Example
In our example, the group had to consider how best to represent the dream
sequences (sections 4 and 7), and the fight scenes in sections 8 and 11. They
also had to think about how to demonstrate Harold’s transformation from
‘domestic’ to ‘supernatural’ persona and back again by use of staging
techniques, costume, make up or lighting effects.
The final stage is, of course, rehearsal: taking the now finished devised play
and preparing it for performance.
Framework 2: Independent character development
The work of Mike Leigh
This approach to play-building is based on the early work of Mike Leigh, as
described in Paul Clements’s book The Improvised Play (1983). Much of
Leigh’s work for the stage, TV and film has been built around the notion that
actors separately develop detailed characters – often based on real people of
their acquaintance – who then interact, through improvisation, in various
combinations and settings. Issues and ideas emerge from the action
generated by characters; unlike some other methods of devising theatre, in
this kind of work ‘content’ is not usually a starting point. Rather, themes and
issues emerge as the work progresses. The material thus produced through
improvisation is then edited and structured, and eventually refined into a script.
The actual devising method used by Mike Leigh for his stage work has varied
from project to project, but is often based on three stages: 1) character
creation and development; 2) the generation of possible material through
improvisation; 3) editing and refining material into a finished script for
rehearsal.
The process begins with individual actors creating detailed characters,
normally based on people they know or have observed. In Leigh’s work,
actors may identify a long list of possible characters, then, after detailed
questioning, make a final choice. What is important for Leigh is that actors do
not discuss their characters together during the process: their improvised
interaction is therefore truly revelatory. Within the context of a school project
this may be impractical, so we suggest that students initially work together in
pairs or small groups to help each other develop their characters, and that
information about characters is shared on a ‘need to know’ basis. The
following activities might assist students in this process.
Physical work
At first, physical work on character may be largely imitative as students try to
reproduce the physical characteristics of those they have observed – for
example, the peculiar rolling gait of a man who has spent years at sea. Once
such physical characteristics are identified, students could be encouraged to
exaggerate the p o s t u re, gait, gestures, and so on to create a ‘stylized’
version of their character, who may well be comic or grotesque. The
‘grotesques’ can then interact with each other in short, improvised non-verbal
scenes, set, for example, in a park or on a seaside promenade. Although little
of this kind of work is likely to find its way directly into the finished product, the
exercise does serve to clarify the physical characteristics of a particular
character, and as the work is refined, the physical stylization can be reduced
and made more subtle.
Biographies
A helpful exercise at this relatively early stage is for each student to prepare a
detailed biography for his or her character, identifying key life events –
education, work, personal achievements, close relationships, and so on.
These biographies can then be developed into chronological improvisations,
and monologues. At this stage, we recommend that the character biographies
are not shared with the rest of the group.
Chronological improvisations
Using their previously constructed biographies, students can structure a
series of improvisations exploring important moments in a character’s life,
perhaps in the form of a collection of ‘home movies’ or a ‘family album’. In
groups of three or four, students can take turns to direct the rest of their group
as they improvise key moments from the lives of their characters. The
sequences can provide insight into particular characters’ background and
motivation.
Monologues
In this exercise, students pinpoint a particular moment in the life of their
character, and write monologues that provide insight into the character’s state
of mind at that time. The stage convention of the monologue – delivered
directly to an audience – enables a character to speak about thoughts and
feelings much more directly than would be possible through naturalistic
dialogue. Such monologues can be exciting, heightened moments on stage –
as in Jim Cartwright’s Road, where the audience is given access to the inner
workings of the character’s psyche, revealing richness, complexity and
contradictions.
Coffee mugs
A number of activities that may provide further reflection and insight into
character focus on the personal belongings of the character. For example, ask
students to consider the coffee mugs used by their characters (perhaps in a
drama based in a particular work place that the characters have in common –
such as a school!).
•
On sheets of paper, ask students to design the coffee mug regularly
used by their character
How did the character come by it? What condition is it in? Does it have any
sentimental value? How does it reflect the character of its user?
•
•
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Where was it bought, or made?
Who by?
Does it have a particular history?
The car park
A similar exercise is to ask each student to enter their character’s car
registration number and description on a previously prepared map of the
‘office car park’. This is an interesting way to explore the status and hierarchy
of a group of characters who, again, happen to work at the same premises.
Once the initial work on character has been undertaken, Step 2 can begin.
During this phase we suggest starting the work off by setting up an
improvisation in a setting where all the characters might be present, perhaps
at a party or holiday hotel reception. It is important, however, that during the
improvisation students remain in character throughout, and this can demand
high levels of concentration and commitment!
The party
First, it is important to establish some contextual details about the party.
•
•
•
Who is holding it, and for what purpose?
What is the relationship between individual characters and the host?
Where is it taking place, and in what kind of neighbourhood? Once
basic details are established, students can undertake a range of work,
either individually or with partners, designed to build the context of the
improvisation to follow.
For example, students might imagine their characters preparing for a party.
•
What do they wear?
•
Do they have a particular ‘ritual’ associated with getting ready to go
out?
•
How will they get to the party? Ask the students to walk from one side
of the room to the other, to symbolize their journey to the party. As they
walk, ask them to describe the details of their journey. As they enter
the party room ask them to freeze, showing their character’s first
reaction to the party. In their freeze, ask the students to imagine their
character holding a drink.
•
What kind of drink is it? How might their character drink it? In what kind
of container?
In Mike Leigh’s work, much of this ‘pre-rehearsal’improvisation takes place
in real time. Again, in the context of a school examination project this is
likely to be impractical, so you might suggest that students ‘telescope’ time,
by improvising the first 15 minutes of the party, followed by a similar
section in the middle of the evening, perhaps with a final sequence taking
place towards the end of the night.
•
What was notable about the improvisation?
•
Did any interesting or dramatic situations emerge?
•
Did any particular characters stand out, or dominate?
•
Were any relationships formed between characters that might be
fruitful for later work?
Small-scale improvisations
Based on their observations of the previous exercise, the group should now
be able to compile a list of potentially interesting situations or groupings on
which to base further improvisations. For example, Character A serves
Character B in a restaurant; C and D are passengers in a taxi driven by E, etc.
In these small-scale improvisations it is important that students allow the
action to develop as the result of characters’ motivations, not as an attempt to
make things happen for effect.
It is imperative that students meet after such improvisations in order to record
significant elements of the work and to begin to identify possible sequences of
action that might be developed further in Step 3.
It is at this stage that ideas for structuring particular scenes should emerge.
Although much of the preliminary work may be discarded, it is likely that some
elements will be selected as key moments in the finished play. Encourage the
group to construct a rough, ‘skeleton’ structure, with each sequence or scene
identified on a separate large sheet of paper. As ideas emerge, further
improvisations can be explored in order to flesh out scenes or fill in gaps. It is
important for the group to keep careful notes at this stage, so that ideas for
situations or dialogue can be recorded.
Once initial improvisations are complete, and a basic scenario for the piece
has emerged, the interesting task of editing and polishing the material can
proceed. We suggest that this is best achieved through a series of group
production meetings, with particular students taking responsibility for ‘fixing’
particular scenes – either through scripting dialogue based on notes taken
from previous improvisations, or through detailed annotations of the action of
the scene, which can serve as a ‘map’ for the performers.
Once the particular elements of the play are assembled, the rehearsal
process – where scenes are polished for performance – can proceed.
Framework 3: Greek chorus
Style and structure
This framework applies some of the conventions of Greek theatre in order to
provide a clear sense of style and structure to the students’ own work. As in
the previous frameworks, initial work on content material for the students’
drama is best undertaken before moving on to ‘structural’ or ‘formal’
considerations.
The basic structure of classical Greek tragedy is as follows:
1 Prologue.
This is spoken by one or more characters, to introduce the play and set the
context for what follows. This usually involves reference to the mythological
history that forms the backdrop to the play.
2 The chorus then enter the stage (the orchestra) for the first time, singing
and dancing (the parodos).
3 The first section of dialogue (the first episode).Characters and chorus
interact.
4 At the end of the first episode, the characters leave the stage, and the
chorus reflect and comment on the action of the episode (the first stasimon).
5 Scenes then alternate between episodes – spoken dialogue, and stasima–
choral sections, which might be chanted, sung and danced.
6 The end of the play is marked by the exit of the chorus, who process off
stage singing a song that comments on the outcomes of the play (the
exodus).
1 Write the word ‘chorus’ on the board, and ask the class to respond to
the word. Write down their responses. How many meanings or
connotations were they aware of ?
2 Hand out the text of a short poem of your choice, chosen because of the
interesting imagery it suggests, or the evocation of a strong
atmosphere or mood. Ask the students to begin to ‘stage’ it.
3 Ask them to select two or three key images suggested by the poem. For
example, the image of a house leaning on a tree or the moon as a
ghost might provide a starting point for the work.
4 Ask them to work in small groups to physicalize the chosen images,
perhaps as still images that can then be ‘animated’.
5 Find an interesting way to link the images to make a movement
sequence that illustrates the poem.
6 Perform the sequence while incorporating relevant sections of the text.
Experiment with ‘choral’ renditions of the text, perhaps by breaking it
into sections or using a variety of echoing or ‘cannon’ techniques.
7 Choreograph the sequence of movement and speech until all group
members are operating as a single entity while performing the poem –
a chorus.
8 Share the work.
.
a) How far were the students able to integrate choral speaking of the
text with movement?
.
b) Did the performances express the theme or meaning of the poem,
or were they simply abstract shapes?
.
c) Having worked on the poem, what do the students think it is ‘about’?
What is the mood or atmosphere created by the poem? How does it
achieve this effect?
.
d) How far did the physicalizations of the text evoke strong images or
moods? Why might any metaphors or similes used in the poem make it
a good poem to dramatize in this way?
.
In Greek drama the chorus has a number of functions.
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It establishes the context for the play and can provide exposition to
the audience, for example to give information about a newly
introduced character.
It allows the playwright to present other characters who can
comment directly on the action. The chorus can also ask questions
or give advice to the main characters.
The chorus is used to structure the play by breaking it into scenes
(see below), and to create pace and movement.
Ask the students to devise a simple staging of a story with which they are all
familiar, using a chorus in one of the ways suggested above. They may
consider the use of a chorus to narrate ‘gaps’ in the story, comment on the
characters’ actions or to expose the subtext of a scene.
Present the work, asking each group to scrutinize the group performing
immediately after them – with the last group referring to the work of the first.
Ask each group to identify the functions of the chorus in the piece for which
they are operating as ‘critic’.
Hand out the sheet describing the basic structure of Greek tragedy.
Summarize this by explaining that the action of the play is sandwiched
between prologue and exodus, and the scenes are then interspersed with
choral commentary.
It may be useful to point out to the students some of the other characteristics
of Greek theatre, although how far they apply this understanding in their play
is a matter of choice.
a) Ask the group to list as many uses for the chorus as they can.
b) Which were most effective?
c) Why?
This basic structure has been appropriated by many playwrights since the
Greeks, notably Bertolt Brecht, who, in plays such as The Caucasian Chalk
Circle (1944), adopted something similar in the search for his dialectical ‘epic’
theatre.
a) Are the students familiar with this structure from plays or scenes they
have seen or studied?
b) Can they give examples of the use of a prologue (or epilogue)?
c) What might be the dramatic effect of such devices?
Greek Theatre: Three principles:
Ethical, religious or political themes. The theatre served as a meeting
place and forum for a largely illiterate but politically sophisticated audience. It
dealt with social themes (love, death, war) as well as mythology and fate.
Many plays explore the effects of the actions of the gods on the world of man.
The tragic hero, and hamartia. The tragic heroes of Greek theatre normally
have something in common; their tragic condition is the result of hamartia, a
tragic flaw, mistake, or error of judgement. This always leads them into
difficulties. For example, in Oedipus, the hero, through a series of mistakes,
ends up unknowingly killing his father, and marrying his own mother!
Resolution. By the end of the play dramatic tension is resolved. This does
not necessarily involve a happy ending – many plays end most unhappily! It
does, however, suggest that the audience should feel ‘relieved’ at the end of
the play even if things are resolved with tragic consequences.
How far could the group apply these sets of ideas to their own work? For
example, the first point might provide thematic possibilities: fate, the
controlling actions of divine beings, or big social issues.
The second point might help in providing background ideas to develop the
central protagonist of the drama. Identifying the fatal flaw in the hero’s
character will often highlight the turning point in the plot.
The idea of plot resolution may be helpful in pinpointing the cause of the
tension to be resolved.
It is now time for the group to begin to apply what they have learned about
choral work and the structure of Greek theatre structure to their own ideas.
Ask each group to plan out the scenes in their play on large sheets of paper.
Start with the action or plot of the play – the episodes. Try to create a
synopsis for each episode, recording the action of the scene, and giving a
rough idea of the dialogue. In order to create a synopsis, answer the following
questions:
a) Where is the scene set?
b) When is it set?
c) Who is involved?
d) What are the characters trying to achieve?
e) What stops them fromachieving it?
f) What is the action of the scene? (What is shown to happen?)
g) How much action is reported, rather than shown?
h) What is actually said in the scene?
i) What is suggested or implied, but not said?
j) What are characters thinking? This might, of course, contrast with
what they are saying.
Ask the group to divide the action of the play into three or four episodes. Once
the episodes have been roughly agreed (which could take some time), ask
them to add in their ideas for how the play will begin and end. Remind the
group that the prologue can be used to introduce the play in a lively way, and
that the exodus can be used to summarize the play, or to comment on the
‘moral’ – perhaps in the form of a song.
Once the action of the play has been sketched out in this way, ask them to
consider how the chorus might be used in interesting ways between the
scenes. Again, remind them of the introductory work, and the various
functions of the chorus. Record the basic business of the stasima in note form.
Now that the groups have an outline plan of their play, they should beginscene by scene - to put ‘flesh on its bones’. Because of the structure of the
piece, small groups can take responsibility for developing different elements
of the play. For example, one group can begin to develop, through
improvisation, the dialogue of the episodes, while another can work on
scripting and choreographing the choral sequences. Once each scene is
relatively fixed, encourage the groups to record it, either as notated script or
by sound recording.
The final stage is, of course, rehearsal!
Framework 4: Text adaptation
Physical expressionism and self-narration
This exciting physical style, best seen in the work of Steven Berkoff, is also
particularly suited to the dramatization of novels, short stories and poems. A
number of theatre companies have produced pioneering work in this vein,
notably Shared Experience and Compass Theatre. At its heart is a strippeddown, physical, visual approach, often using ‘self-narration’ techniques which
demand that the performer is able to step in and out of character
instantaneously. This technique permits a single performer to play multiple
roles – usually with minimal costume – and also allows rapid switches from
dialogue to narration and back again. Using this style of playing, a small cast
can perform classic plays or adaptations of novels with a broad, ‘epic’ sweep
and large numbers of characters.
In its simplest form it works through a combination of a number of elements:
1. physicalization of the text, built around key images, and using figurative
mime (‘body as props’) techniques
2. ‘choreographic’ renditions of the text
3. self-narration, and self-introduction techniques.
Hand out the choral text of Little Red Riding Hood for five characters.
Ask the students to form groups of five, and read the text.
LRRH Choral Script for 5 Actors
1:
As Little Red Riding Hood approached her grandmother’s cottage
2:
carrying her basket of good things
3:
she felt uneasy
4:
the sky was dark and glowering
2:
the trees cast strange shadows
5:
and the girl was afraid of what she might find.
3:
The frightened girl rapped on the door. (As Little Red): Grandma, can I
come in?
1:
The girl did not know that the wolf had got to the cottage first
5:
and was waiting for her…
2:
in her grandmother’s bed. (As the Wolf): Yes, my dear! Lift the latch
and walk in. It will be so very nice to see you.
3:
Little Red Riding Hood opened the door and walked in.
4:
She was aware that something was wrong in the gloomy room
125:
But what?
3:
(As Little Red): Grandmother, is that you?
2:
(As the wolf): Oh yes my dear!
3:
But your eyes they’re so big!
1245: All the better to see you with!
3:
And your ears are so long and pointed
1245: All the better to hear you with!
3:
And your teeth! They’re so sharp!
1245: ALL THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH!
1:
And with that
4:
The wolf jumped out of bed
2:
and howled in expectation of such a good meal.
12345: Howl!
3:
The frightened girl cowered in the darkness…
4:
but became aware of a noise coming from outside the cottage…
12345: Would she ever see her mother and their cosy little house again?
Ask them to allocate parts and stage the extract. Here is a suggested
sequence of tasks.
1. Create key moments for each section using still images.
2. Link the images to make ensemble movement sequences, which will
serve as a rough template for the action of the piece.
3. Add in the chorally spoken text, taking note of the moments where
individual characters (Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf) are the
focus.
4. Fix the sequence of movement and words.
5. Rehearse until the choral effects are fluent.
The piece is, of course, to be performed with no set or props. Instead, it is the
job of the performers to create the world of the play and to use their bodies to
bring the environment to life. The first section takes place in the forest, and
gives opportunities for performers to work together to create the tense
atmosphere and scary forest.
Sections two and three take place in the cottage, which gives opportunities for
imaginative use of figurative mime techniques to create elements of the
building itself. Performers 2 and 3 have the added demand of having to step
out of the ensemble work in order to portray the characters of the Wolf and
Little Red Riding Hood – and have to be able to switch fluently from narrator
to character and back.
Once the piece has been performed, set groups the task of completing the
script in the same style. This should familiarize the class with the basic
techniques, and alert them to some of the implications of working in this way.
•
It is can be a very democratic way of building a play, which
concentrates on ensemble playing rather than the development of ‘lead’
and ‘supporting’ roles. This can suit some groups, particularly those
who enjoy physical work but might be less confident with more
naturalistic styles.
•
The performance style makes demands on the whole range of
performers’ vocal and physical skills (‘total theatre’).
•
It can be quite time-consuming, as even a short piece of text demands
detailed and intricate work. The following stages may be used to apply
these ideas to the students’ own choice of texts:
1. The chosen text should be edited and key elements selected. Any
sections of dialogue can be redrafted in the form of a script, with lines
allocated to actors. This need not necessarily be in terms of individual
characterization; ‘choreographic’ effects with abstract ‘voicings’, as in
the Little Red Riding Hood example, can also be effective. Narrative
sections of the text should be carefully selected for the richness of their
imagery as well as their narrative function.
2. Key images suggested by each section of script should be identified,
and sequences of still images created as starting points for action.
Linking passages of movement can then be constructed to allow the
images to flow, one into another.
3. The text itself should be integrated into the sequences. There are many
effective choral techniques besides simple ensemble speaking –
echoing, and breaking the text down into words, or even syllables, can
be extremely effective. It is worth noting, however, that the more a text
is broken up in this way, the more ‘abstract’ the work will tend to
become.
4. Underscoring this kind of work with carefully selected music can be
extremely effective. However, it is entirely in keeping with the
performance style for the performers to create their own music and
sound effects, perhaps with percussion instruments, or using found
instruments and objects.
The final step is the rehearsal process itself, which can only take place once
the text is fixed.
(Adapted from Martin Lewis and John Rainer, GCSE Drama, OUP (2006)
John Rainer is Leader of the Academic Division of Arts, Humanities, Language and Inclusive Education at Manchester Metropolitan University. He also co-­‐ordinates the successful PGCE in Secondary Drama programme. John has over 30 years experience as a teacher, youth theatre director, local authority advisor, lecturer, consultant and writer. He is the author of Teaching Classroom Drama and Theatre (revised edition 2012) for Routledge , Drama at the Heart of the Secondary School (David Fulton 2012) and The GCSE Teachers Course File (OUP, 2006), all with Martin Lewis; His most recent publication is Teaching Social Issues Through Scripts (David Fulton, April 2014), with Kirsty Walters.