Costume

My costume consists of: 

•  A pair of blue dungaree's. 
• A white oversized shirt to go underneath.
• A pair of black tights
• A green pair of Doc Martins. 
• a cap (backwards)
• A small toy (nerf gun) 

What do I know about my character from the text?

From the text I figured out that Puck is very mischievous and doesn't often follow orders. He mixes things up and is often reluctant to correct them because he doesn't like accepting his mistakes. He is very loyal to Oberon. He gets around with people you can tell by his façade that he gives to people. Which is him being cool, mysterious and cheeky. But underneath the façade he is scared and doesn't like to disappoint or get things wrong. He is very energetic and childish and always likes to make everything fun. If he ever gets things wrong he tends to shift the blame on the person telling him off.

Interrogating the text (in character)

What do people say about me (Puck)?

People seem to believe that I am mischievous but I believe that I just want to be understood. I also don't believe that it is fair for everyone to believe that I have no feelings. I may joke around but words hurt me even if I just brush them off. 

Oberon thinks I am loyal and really does trust me but after mixing up some of his recent requests I've not been on his good side. 

The fairies find me really annoying cause I'm always teasing them; it's not to be annoying it's just how I make friends. 

What do I say about myself?

When I think of myself I think of someone who everyone finds annoying. I also see myself as someone who can be really kind and caring when someone needs me to be. I am unexpectedly really caring towards people even if they think I'm joking. I think that if Oberon hadn't found me I would've probably have become a criminal. Which with people thinking I do now as bad they wouldn't want to see what I would've been like without some help. 

My journey through the play:

I am loyal to Oberon since the beginning, I was slightly scared of him but then I stopped. I did as he asked and mischievously turned a fellow called Bottom into half an ass. Me and Oberon then also made Titiana fall in love with him. Which was hilarious! Me and Oberon then saw a love square and decided to use some of our magic on them. But that went wrong and I had to correct myself. Oberon then felt bad about what he had done to Titiania and took away her spell. I reluctantly changed Bottom back to a mortal and then I correct my mistake with the lovers. Which by the way Oberon almost killed me for. Finally after all my mistakes were corrected carried on being loyal to Oberon.   

Fairy's dance or first look into the forest music.

I think that this can be a more creepy song to add a certain mood to the song.

This song could work for the beginning of the play maybe depending on the mood that was wanted.

This could be referring to whenever Oberon and Titania are arguing or when the love square are. This could be used when they all love the wrong ones. 

Contents Page

Contents Page

• Characters given circumstances (from what the text tells you) In a list format with evidence from the text.

• Nine questions (each one should be a blog entry)

• 1]  Who am i? (In form of biography - Education, family life, relationships,childhood in modern outlook-2016, hobbies,)
  2]  What time is it? (for each scene I'm in- season(midsummer), era, what it feels like, time of day, feelings at certain times of day, how dark or light it is, worst summer ever(wet,miserable cold))- Throughout whole play
  3]  Where am I? (For each scene that I'm in)-List of locations, not very detailed
  4]  What surrounds me? ( description of whats around me)
  5]  What is my relationship with the things around me? (are they my friends, how does it change my character i.e physicality, voice. How does it feel?)6]  What's just happened before I enter the scene? (What has happened before I come on stage- conflict. Helps to come on with correct energy)
• 7]  What do I want? (What's my motivation, purpose, Objective, need, helps me know what I need to do during the scene, OBJECTIVE CONTAINS THE SEED OF ACTION, how are you going to achieve your goal)
  8]  What's the obstacle? (What's in my way?, what's stopping me?, Is it a person?)
  9] My Action- What am I going to do to get what I want? ( what are you going to do for every scene, if you don't know how to say a line then you don't have an objective)

• • What is my animal and why?

  • Research my character-animal

  • What animalistic traits can I bring to the character?

  • What is the soundtrack to your character's life?

  • Put together a personal playlist for your character's journey throughout the play

  • 
    

  Interrogating your Relationships

  • 
    

  • who is your family?

  • Who are your friends?

  • Who are your acquaintances? 

  • Who are your enemies?

  • Who do you openly like?

  • Who do you openly dislike?

  • Who do you secretly like?

  • Who do you secretly dislike?

  • 
    

  Interrogating the world of the play

  • 
    

  
  

  • Answer your Homework Questions on the world of the play

  • What production values do you want the piece to have, think about:

  1. Costume

  1. Props

  1. Set

  1. Sound (music)

  1. Lighting

  • Find music for each specific moment in the play to share with the class next week

• 
  

Puck Character Development

I think that  a good idea would be to have Puck having some sort of thing that he always does for example he could occasionally take a sip from a small bottle of "alcohol". It could be a minor thing but it could build onto his character.
Puck is a player and often leaves people after he has strung them along; he does this because of his bad childhood with his parents.

Pucks Q&A

Who is your family?

My family left me when I was younger so I am not influenced by them. I know that my mothers name was Tulip and my fathers name was Acorn and that is really it. I remember how they looked and the things that they said to me; not much of it nice. They were often very abusive towards me and didn't like me for the majority of  the time I was with them because I took up to much space.

My mother was a beautiful fairy,  I was told that she had a kind heart and loved the world around her. Until she met my father who was evil and destructive and her changed her for the worst. He made her mean and cruel.

They had me and decided that I was not good enough for them. I always had to do what I was told and I was never able to do what I wanted. I started to find that playing pranks on people would make me feel better and it would make me feel like I was somewhat whole.
They left me when I was around 8 years old by an old oak tree in the forest and never came back. I was alone for 2 years when King Oberon found me; I may have been his servant but he treated me as if I was his family. He clothed me; fed me; saved me and I will forever owe him my life.

Who are your friends?

I don't have many friends; I used to once. But I became too mischievous and people started to dislike me because I didn't want to grow up. Why would you?

I am quite good friends with Snug. When he is actually being slighter smarter; not that it would matter. 

Oberon is more like a father figure to me. 

I used to be friends with fairy once upon a time but I hurt her feelings and she never spoke to me again and I will forever be ashamed of what I said to her. 

Who are your enemies?

My enemies are the fairy squad. They are a bunch of high pitched idiots and I don't believe they do there job very well. They are supposed to love Titania but they always talk about her behind her back. I don't really care for Titania but I wouldn't betray Oberon so why would they betray Titania. 

Who do you openly like?

I don't really like many people I often find them annoying and they talk a lot so I just spend time with myself. 

Who do you openly dislike?

Titania...It's not that I openly dislike her it's just that I don't approve of her existence. She isn't good enough for King Oberon and I believe that she doesn't love him. 

Who do you secretly like?

  I secretly like myself. A lot. I'm an amazing fairy.

Who do you secretly dislike?

Again I don't like Titania and I can't openly say that as King Oberon would be very displeased.

Pucks Playlist

Puck: These songs are what I often listen to.

Setting

To create a forest in the room we could use leaves and create a canopy above the audience to create a more closed and in a way comfy environment so that they can get more of an outdoors feel.
We could have windows open so that it could create more atmosphere in the room (unless it's really cold).
We could use green lighting.
We could have scents in the room like a outdoors smell or the smell of wood for atmosphere.
Rain sound effects could work and also to have it sounding stormy.

Question and answer for puck

Who are the fairies in this world?

The fairies in this world all have different personalities some are evil and energetic while some are kind and flirty although some are happy while also being lazy. They go around creating a busy yet calm environment  making sure that everything is perfect for King Oberon and Queen Titania. 

    The fairies often wear cyber punk style clothing but also have an out of this world book - They do not look like the typical story book fairies. 

What does it mean to be immortal?

To be immortal means that I would be more free to create mischief and I would have much less to worry about. I also wouldn't close myself of in the environment that I'm in now because there would be so many other things I could do in the world other then serve King Oberon. 

What would you do differently if you were immortal?

If I were immortal I would create more mischief around the world and do the most dangerous things because I would be able to not die from it. I would also try to make more friends because I would need some people to talk to when I'm bored and lonely.  

Punk character look ideas.

Pucks Animal

If I as Puck were to be an animal I would be a weasel. This is because weasels are very similar in character traits as Puck.
They are both:
Mischievous
Conceited
Flirtatious
Untrustworthy
Attractive.
I can see many similarities and opportunities to use this in my character of Puck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tq3eyOxTOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdRXuyBOyow
Weasels are fast and agile and I can use this as a characteristic trait.

Puck representation

These seems like a nice representation of Puck in a more comedic way but I might not use it because I want to create my own version of puck.

I like the comedy aspect that they use. It is intriguing to the audience and makes them want to watch more.

Idea

This does not benefit my character but it seems like a nice adaptation of the play by The Rose Theatre. I like how Oberon and Puck are good friends; and the actors seem like they have good chemistry.

Video of puck fron A Dead Poets Society

I like this type of acting because it seems more direct towards the audience. I might use it in the final scene because it feels like it might fit. But I may not depending on the feel of the whole play and if I think the idea will fit or will benefit the play and if it will leave an affect on the audience.

Puck Character Choices.

Who am I?

I am Puck, I am cheeky, stubborn, egotistical, loyal, respectful and also compassionate. I can be sympathetic to those I love but I prefer to lighten the situation with my fun personality. Many people believe that I intentionally hurt others; but this is not the case. I never mean to hurt others but sometimes I do/say the wrong thing but always try to rectify the problem.
 I was sent to a boarding school when I was 11 because my parents wanted me to get good in life. I became the class clown and often got in trouble. My parents never really looked after me I was brought up by the maid, Moth Windsor, she raised me and I often thought of her as my mother and best friend. I didn't have many friends as I was growing up as people found me quite annoying. This is most probably why I'm so eager to please my |"friends" and Oberon. Growing up I was told I was a sociopath but I don't believe I am as I have made friends with a few people.
These days I am quite the ladies man, I enjoy going to parties and often get myself into trouble even though I don't mean to. My hobbies are shoplifting, go-karting, watching porn and being a player.
(Character physicality ideas- I have something that I always do for example; I could always at some point rub my hands together or itch my ear- This can add something that may not be noticeable to all but people who are paying attention will notice; this is similar to a piece of music playing before something happens)

What time is it?

In the whole play the season is summer and the year is 2016. This is one of the worst summers I've ever had. It is cold and wet and everything is miserable. When I go outside It's dark and cloudy and I'm getting bored being inside all the time due to the storms. The only time I feel alive is when It's night because I can creep around and nobody will know.

Where am I? What surrounds me? What are my relationships with the things around me?

• ACT 2 SCENE 1- A wood near Athens

The woods are dark and gloomy there are faint tinkles of light from where the fairies have left the magic. The stars are reflecting off the puddles that have been left from the previous storm.
I met fairy who I make fun of because she is Tatiana's fairy whom is not friends with Oberon at the moment.  I want to get to Oberon in this scene. In this scene I need to attend to Oberon.  To do this I am going to do whatever I can to please him and make him happy.

• ACT 2 SCENE 2 UNIT 14- Another part of the woods due to looking for a maiden ( I Find her and the gentleman!)

The woods are dark and gloomy there are faint tinkles of light from where the fairies have left the magic. The stars are reflecting off the puddles that have been left from the previous storm. 4 people laying on the ground.
I do not know the people but I want to help them because they are not happy.
In this scene I want to find the people I have been sent to find and give them the flowers juice so that they can be in love. In this scene I need to find the man and maiden so I can make them fall in love. To do this I am going to look around the woods and try not to get to mad.

• ACT 3 SCENE 1- The wood. The wood where Tatiana lies asleep.

Fairy lights are hung from the trees and there is also no puddles around. The place feels light and not free. Not much evil in this area.
Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout and Starveling are my "friends" they find me annoying but I like to play jokes on them. We get along sometimes but I can be a bit too much. In this scene I want to turn Bottom into a half donkey after my orders from Oberon. I try to be a joker around my "friends" because I want people to be my friends; I also believe that I am better then as I am close to Oberon.  In this scene I need to turn Bottom into a half donkey so I can please Oberon. To get what I want I am going to use a spell on Puck.

• ACT 3 SCENE 2 UNIT 20- Another part of the wood.

The woods are dark and gloomy there are faint tinkles of light from where the fairies have left the magic. The stars are reflecting off the puddles that have been left from the previous storm.
Oberon is the one that I respect and worship. I don't like to disobey him and I feel awful when I make the wrong choice and disappoint him. He is a father figure to me and I find that I can get away with my jokes around him.  I want to Obey Oberon. Being around Oberon makes me act more sensible because if I mess around he might get mad at me. I have an open physicality. In this scene  I want to get rid of Tatiana but I cant because I also want Oberon to be happy.  I am going to try and ignore Tatiana but try to pay some attention to her so I don't disappoint  Oberon.

• ACT 4 SCENE 1 ACT 27- In the previous place

 The woods are dark and gloomy there are faint tinkles of light from where the fairies have left the magic. The stars are reflecting off the puddles that have been left from the previous storm.
Oberon is the one that I respect and worship. I don't like to disobey him and I feel awful when I make the wrong choice and disappoint him. He is a father figure to me and I find that I can get away with my jokes around him. I do not like Tatiana as she likes to disobey Oberon, she takes us too much of his time and distracts him from his royal duties. I don't like that they are always together because Oberon forgets about me and I become jealous. I don't like being jealous. I want to get rid of Tatiana. Being around Tatiana makes me become more s mischievous and I try and make more jokes because I want to please Oberon. The reason I become more mischievous is because I want Oberon to pay more attention to me. My physicality becomes more closed and I look as if I am up to something.

• ACT 5 SCENE 1 UNIT 32- Athens. The palace of Theseus.  

Light, Golden walls and bright lights. The air is clean. A burning fireplace in every room and the chandeliers reflect patterns onto the palace walls. The furniture isn't extremely comfortable and the floors are marble.
Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout and Starveling are my "friends" they find me annoying but I like to play jokes on them. We get along sometimes but I can be a bit too much.Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout and Starveling are my "friends" they find me annoying but I like to play jokes on them. We get along sometimes but I can be a bit too much. Everyone thinks I am mean and I feel very attacked by this. I want to watch the play and make sure everyone has a good time and enjoys themselves. I act important hear because I feel like to be noticed by these people. I feel as if I need to please them but I don't want to appear like I am less than them.

Photos of puck

 I have included these pictures as inspiration to help me find my character.

Monday Lesson Shakespeare- 8/2/16

Today in lesson we looked at the contrast of the beginning of what Amber did and how the scene looked after we had directed it. When she first started she was sluggish physically which didn't help in showing her objective, she didn't show any emotion in her character and was very neutral,; which for the audience was not very engaging. So we asked Amber to do it again but we told Amber to add more emotion and to use her physicality more. When she added the purpose, projection and feeling her character then became more real. The scene became more alive because she found a purpose and was using physicality to create a scene when she started to use her stage and move around you were able to get more involved in what was happening.
Comparing this to what she first did which was boring, dry and had no objective the final scene had purpose and an objective. When we directed the soliloquy completely she ended up with a more refined scene. When watching the audience the audience felt more engaged to compared to when she first started where the audience felt distanced. This helped us to realise that a characters tactic can change and throughout their soliloquy; breaking down the soliloquys can help us to use different tactics. We also learnt that Shakespeare has no subtext so what people say is what they mean and we don't have to read between the lines.

The Globe is designed so that there is a large centre stage with tiers of seating on three sides. At the base of the stage is where the groundlings would stand. We had to work out how we would reach all parts of the theatre using out voices because the Globe is also an open air theatre meaning projection is important, the actors will also have to carry on even when there is bad weather.
To help us with this we played; Oranges, cabbages and potatoes - We did this to show a thrust stage (The Globe has 3 sides) we had someone say some lines while we shouted and had to get them to look at the loudest side. This helped us to see that we need to use all the space around us and that you need to show yourself to everyone at some point. This also helped us to project our words amd to make sure that our voices filled the air.

Scene created using Iambic Pentameter

Angel: Hello, how is your dog named Sid?

Cat: My dog was ill now I must leave goodbye

A: Oh no! Don't leave I'm good with dogs you see

C: Last time I left you with Freddie he died

A:Oh no! Don't leave kill Sid; love me; stay here!

C- I can not love a maid, he died!
A- This small short talk has wasted Sid's life.

C- I must now go vet  bills to pay, pray thee.

A- Oh no, Oh dear, now I must go and grieve

This exercise helped us to work out the beat on own without the help of a teacher. It also helped us getting into using rhythm in Shakespeare

Warm Ups
Budge-

This game helped us to think faster and was a really fun game that woke us up. It warmed us up physically because we had to move around quickly. This game was good to play because it was really quick paced meaning we had to think fast and be on the ball.

African word exercise-

We used this to warm up our vocals and to figure out Iambic pentameter. We improvised using the words given and had to clap to them. This helped us to work on our own to find the beat. 

Midsummer Nights Dream Movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYknOe7OluE
I watched the trailer of A Midsummer Nights Dream and intend to watch the movie at some time. This gave me some ideas on how the play might work. I think that I won't watch the movie until I've made more character choices in case I start to compare my Puck to the movie version.

First Impression: Midsummer Nights Dream

My first impression on the play is that you would think it was a nice playful and funny play. But after reading the script I've found that it has a more darker theme then I first thought. There is a lot more evil in the play as well. For example a half man/donkey falls in love with a fairy queen after the fairy king gets mad and casts a spell on them. This wouldn't happen in everyday life and would be seriously wrong for someone to do. But because it is a play it seems to be okay.

The play as a mystical element to it and can be adapted to fit many styles depending on what you want to do with the play. The play seems interesting and will most probably make the audience want to watch it due to the amount of things that happen.

Monday Shakespeare lesson 3

We used vowels and consonants to woo or argue with our partners. We then had to decide which was easier to use in the situation we were given. I found that when I wanted to woo someone it was easier to use vowels because they showed more emotion because in real life we use them to make people feel more emotion for example; crying, anger.
We watched a scene where Darcy and Amber performed using vowels. You could hear the emotion in their voices which made the scene feel more realistic and you felt persuaded about what the scene was about. Plosive vowels were used when we wanted to show a pulse of anger because they sound more forced which was helpful to do during the exercise.

Thursday lesson

Today in lesson we worked on the beginning of the play and we created five movements that we had to link together. This created a smooth beginning which told the audience about our characters through our actions.
When warming up we used pretended to paint the walls with a colour that we thought related to our character while using our mouths to make a sound. This helped us to develop our character and how we thought of them in our heads.
We also went into partners and gave them massages and vibration massages using our mouths as a warm up exercise to get us more relaxed.

Puck Characterisation choices

These are going to help me develop the character Puck and so I can understand him more and get into the role.

Different views of the character Puck

Source; http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/a-midsummer-nights-dream/character-analysis/puck

Oberon's jester and lieutenant, Puck is a powerful supernatural creature, capable of circling the globe in 40 minutes or of enshrouding unsuspecting mortals in a deep fog. Also known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck would have been familiar to a sixteenth-century English audience, who would have recognized him as a common household spirit also often associated with travelers. But he's also a "puck," an elf or goblin that enjoys playing practical jokes on mortals. Although he is more mischievous than malevolent, Puck reminds us that the fairy world is not all goodness and generosity.

Another definition of his name aligns him with a Norse demon, sometimes associated with the devil. Perhaps it isn't surprising that he brings a somewhat more dangerous element to Titania and Oberon's seemingly benevolent fairy realm. He invokes the "damned spirits" that wander home to graveyards after a night of evil doing, while Oberon reminds him that his band of fairies are aligned with the morning dew, with sunlight and joy. Unlike Oberon who genuinely tries to create human happiness, Puck seems indifferent to human suffering. When he has accidentally caused both Lysander and Demetrius to fall in love with Helena, Puck enjoys the pleasure their folly brings him. Although he restores the proper lovers to each other, he does so only at Oberon's request, not out of any feelings of remorse. Similarly, Oberon feels repentance for Titania's idiotic love for Bottom, but Puck doesn't. While Oberon and Titania bless the newlyweds in Act V, Puck reminds the audience of the dangers of the night, graves gaping open and wolves howling at the moon. As a traditional Shakespearean fool, Puck makes us aware of the darker side of life, the underworld realm of shadows and magic and, ultimately, death.

Source: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/hi-can-someone-come-up-with-3-character-traits-301202

One of Puck's main character traits is mischievousness. We learn about his mischievous character when we first meet him in the second act. 

Monday Shakespeare lesson 3- 17/01/16

We warmed up by doing a fast pace walk while the teacher called out different characters and plays and we had to act out their trait eg- tempest we had to make a soundscape and Helena we had to be moody 

We did finger fencing where we said "do you bit your thumb at us sir" and had to reply " I do bite my thumb at you sir" and then proceed to Finger fence until we tap the other player on the cheek 
Insult generator helps us to become more confident with our diction
Puny onion-eyed maggot-pie



Hook 
Probe
Dismiss
Gestures me and a partner had to re-enact a scene between Helena and Demetrius while using the three actions to show a way of saying the line and what type of line we thought it would be. We did this to show more emotion when we said the lines and the stress words so that people were more enticed. This helped us to bring out the character more. When we didn't use the actions compared to when we did it was harder to understand what they meant and that the words were said quieter and with less emotion. But when said with the actions we became louder and added more emotion.
The effect on the audience when certain words are stressed is that they understand them more.

Archetypes and Stop in the name of love Exercises

Stop in the name of love

We did this exercise to help us get into our bodies more and to help us work together as a group. We had to work from amoeba to a fish to a bird then finally to a monkey using the rock paper scissors game. Once we had done these we had to find another monkey and whoever one that had to shout/sing "Stop in the name of love". 

Archetypes

We did this exercise to show that any character can have slightly different personalities depending on the situation they are in. We said different lines while having to choose whether we thought their personality  would be: sovereign; warrior; carer; the trickster. We also did it to show different physical archetypes to show different physicality. I think this will  help me with how I say certain things and how I will make my character act at certain moments