Directing - Week 1: Intro to DNA & Transitions

Wednesday 4th October

Freeze frame 1 - status of characters at the start of the play

Freeze frame 2 - status of characters beginning to shift around middle of play

Freeze frame 3 - status of characters at end of the play

Connecting the freeze frames:
Stage one - got them all to walk between their positions a few times so they could map out their route in their heads

Stage two - slow walkthrough of push/pull transitions to move between positions. Rule was they couldn't move more than one step with their own momentum, had to connect with someone else. Changed a couple of things - stood one of the crates portrait so proxemics slightly more interesting and symbolic of status, ie in first freeze frame Jacob is a slightly higher status than Hannah so is slightly raised on the crate. Also, Siobhan walked to centre stage after everyone had got to third position, everyone's focus switches to her when she moves. Idea is that she is Adam and after the third ff, although he has been killed he is still present in the minds of the gang and they are all affected in someway by their decision to kill him so he is still the focus.

End product - added emotion, facial expression and body language to give their movement some meaning. Stories begin to emerge, aware of the status of the person they're interacting with and how that would change the quality of the interaction. In previous run, Kate tracked Siobhan walking then snapped her head back to her original position which I really liked. Made it part of the move for everyone, engage full body when tracking Siobhan across the stage, then when she sits snapping back to original point of focus. Emphasises idea that Adam is still in the backs of their minds. All except Cathy (Libby), she seems to feel no remorse about what she did to Adam and so does not follow 'his' movement across the stage, draws attention to her too as the new leader of the gang.

Link: https://youtu.be/MxofUwceiAQ