We have decided on the play Beauty Manifesto, by Neil Leyshon. This takes place in a world where you are expected to have plastic surgery in order to be the most beautiful version of yourself you can be. The Beauty Manifesto, that specifies why such a system would be in place, is 'applied to all', 'there are no exceptions'.

In this lesson we began to decide our staging, which is four tall rostrum pushed together in order to create the surgical table. We decided we wanted the immanency of the surgery to be apparent throughout, as well as implying the omnipresence of the Beauty Manifesto.

Typical performance spaces-

A semi-circular area, with a round orchestra on a flattened terrace at the foot of a hill, the slope of which produced a natural theatron, (watching place). These spaces were very large, and there could be up to fourteen thousand audience members.

Size of casts-

Initially, the chorus was made up of 50 members, but this was reduced to 12 or 15 in tragedies and 24 in comedies, as time went on. All cast members were male, and the performance was competitive, with awards being presented at the end.

Settings-

Back drop later on- skene- changing area.

Props-

There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre:

-          Machina: a crane that gave the impression of a flying actor (also referred to as, deus ex machina, meaning, 'the god from the machine').

-          Ekkyklema: a wheeled wagon used to bring dead characters for the audience to see

-          trap doors, or similar openings in the ground to lift people onto the stage

-          Pinakes: pictures hung to create scenery

-          Thyromata: more complex pictures built into the second-level (3rd level from the ground)

-          Phallic props were used for satyr plays, symbolizing fertility in honor of Dionysus.

Costume-

Masks were made for the actors and for the chorus, who help the audience know what a character is thinking. The chorus all wore the same mask, because they represent the same character. The masks brought the characters' faces closer to the audience, as they had exaggerated features and expressions. This also meant that an actor could appear and reappear in different roles, since the audience did not identify the actor with one character. Their variations help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status. Also, they could show a change in a character’s appearance easily, for example, Oedipus after blinding himself.

Actors that played tragic roles wore boots called cothurni that elevated them above the other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock.

Lighting-

As the stage was open-air, the performance relied on natural light. Plays were performed at certain times of the day, so the height and angle of the suns natural light could enhance the scene. They also used large mirrors to alter the lighting.  If they wanted to establish any type of moods then there would an intermission until the time of day was right, so that the position of the sun would suit the need scenes atmosphere.

Typical themes-

-          The impact of war

-          The state versus the individual

-          The state versus family

-          The nature of "barbarism"

-          Pride and the polis

-          The role of the gods in human affairs

-          Gender roles and relationships.

Intentions-

-          Was there typically a meaning or message?

Tragedies often conveyed the immorality of pride, and showed the downfall of those with hubris.

-          Did playwrights tend to have political or cultural motives?

Political satire was common, suggesting they had a political motive but not one that supported the contemporary politics. They also had a cultural influence as plays were often used as means for honouring Dionysus. 

Were the plays influenced by society?

Yes, due to religion and satire.

Did playwrights use typical plot/ structural techniques?

Tragedy:

Aristotelian theory suggests that the following factors contribute to a tragedy;

Fatal flaw- a trait in the character that leads to their downfall.

Hubris- excessive pride (in Greek tragedy this is specifically in defiance of the Gods).

Hamartia- the act, fuelled by the fatal flaw, which causes/ accelerates the downfall of the tragic hero.

Tragic hero- a literary character who makes an error in judgement that inevitably leads to their destruction.

Malcontent villain- a character who is discontent with their social status and manipulates the situation to overcome this.

Machiavellian villain- a character who will use any means possible to get what they want, regardless of how their actions affect others.

Mimesis- the audience recognises actions/ character traits, and finds a “truth” in what they are experiencing.

Peripeteia- a dramatic change in fortune.

Pathos- the suffering.

Agnorisis- the moment of realisation when a tragic hero recognises the source of their tragedy, and/or the way to be released from it (often death).

Catharsis- the audience are cleansed of their emotions, and feel satisfied by the end of the tragedy.

Comedy-

Although innovations occurred, a comedy play followed a conventional structure. The first part was the parados where the Chorus of as many as 24 performers entered and performed a number of song and dance routines. The second phase of the show was the agon which was often a witty verbal contest or debate between the principal actors with fantastical plot elements and the fast changing of scenes which may have included some improvisation. The third part of the play was the parabasis, when the Chorus spoke directly to the audience and even directly spoke for the poet. The finale of a comedy play was the exodos when the Chorus performed another song and dance routine.

We began the lesson with a warm up that centred round the importance of exaggeration in Berkoff styled theatre, taking everyday activities such as getting up in the morning and making them more dramatic. We also looked at a section of a Berkoff performance (see Zoë’s blog) and recognised the robotic nature of Berkoff that we felt really complemented the section of Beauty Manifesto we were then given. We then devised around the section of script:

Berkoff is a British practitioner whose career has spanned from 1965 to today.

His physical, exaggerated style of theatre is both popular and controversial, defying the norms of naturalistic theatre.

Background History:

Steven Berkoff was born in Stepney, London in 1937, and is still an energised actor, playwright and director. His grandparents left Russia for England in the 1890s. Diary of a Juvenile Delinquent, written by Berkoff, is an informative insight into the Jewish young man, growing up in the east end of London.

Berkoff trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy in London and studied movement at the Ecole Internationale de Theatre de Jaques Lecoq in Paris. These two disciplines are key to his creative work. He worked as a mime and physical theatre practitioner at Webber Douglas and first experimented with The Trial using an ensemble of students. In 1968, Berkoff formed the London Theatre Group and like another influential actor/director, Laurence Olivier, proceeded to write, direct and perform with his own company.

The 1970s were a time of rapid change. With the end of censorship, a new writing culture permeated British theatre. Berkoff featured in his own experimental adaptations of Kafka’s The Trial and Metamorphosis, Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, as well as appearing in iconic films of the period.


Features of Berkovian Theatre:

What sets Berkoff apart from theatre is his focus on non-naturalism, his attention on movement rather than voice.  As an actor, director and playwright and general non-conformist, Berkoff wanted to shake naturalistic theatre and encourage experiment using the idea of Total Theatre. He believed that the only purpose of a script is to help minimalize and physicalize the story; stripping it down to the bare components.
Total Theatre maintains that every aspect of theatre must have purpose: every movement, that is choreographed; to each line, that is learned perfectly; to each lighting effect, that is used to convey a mood or message; to each sound effect, that enhances the audience’s experience; to each prop that has a use. 

The aim of Total Theatre is to create extreme moods to give the audience an overwhelming experience and to shock, amuse, scare, or amaze them. Berkoff particularly embraced this in his Kafka adaptations such as Metamorphosis, The Trial and In the Penal Colony. As a result of Total Theatre, performances are often minimalist, with bare stages and little language so that the focus remains on the physical movement and not on all the effects or the creation of a scene. This serves to detach the audience from the play and make them think about what was being said (much like Brecht, who greatly influenced Berkoff as a practitioner).

"Total theatre is a use of the imagination. Actors express the genius of the body. Express the story without a set".

Steven Berkoff said that his career owes much to his training as a physical theatre practitioner, but perhaps equally, to his working class origins, which, he maintains, give him a different perspective to those around him in a predominantly middle class profession.

Berkoff’s work is influenced by Greek theatre, Japanese Noh and Kabuki, Shakespeare, East End music hall and his Jewish heritage, as well as using the techniques of practitioners like Artaud and Brecht. His own actor training would have included Stanislavski and the techniques used by Lecoq. The use of mime, stylized movement, exaggerated vocal work, direct asides and improvisations within an ensemble environment are all key features.


Characterisation:
Berkoff was a Marxist and so often his politics would be mirrored in his productions. All parts of a play were created like a ballet, a Greek chorus as the actors became the style of the play. 

He tends to use actors as "malleable shapes and forms." 

'Decadence' is a satire - ungovernable prejudices performed by very upper class people. Berkoff used techniques in decadence such as: miming smoking and pouring champagne and making his own sound effects. He said that "like smoking, naturalism can damage your health." 

In Metamorphosis he used ritualistic miming in the scene with the eating family, which was mirrored in the ritualistic beetle/boy character. As an insect, he moved with sharp motions, staying completely still save for the short and snappy movements. 

Berkovian actors use techniques such as background movement, repetitive actions, and mime to explore further the ways in which Berkoff approaches exchanges between two characters. Berkoff said that it was important to see how he could bring mime together with the spoken word as its opposite partner, creating the form and structure of the piece.

Examples:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZQOEZO1n10

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X1hh8mPE9tw

We found our four themes could be separated into groups:

-          Lack of diversity and absence of personality, and

-          Liminal and Sonder

Lack of diversity and absence of personality:

Berkoff’s style was heavily influenced by Kabuki theatre. This implies he focuses mainly on physicality as opposed to voice, due to the fact that Kabuki actors would assume monotonous tones of voice, and convey emotion with body language. This has inspired the idea of using masks. We are considering the use of masks during transitions as, whilst there may be no speech, we will still be able to evoke a strong reaction in the audience.

Also with Kabuki theatre, the topics ae usually centred about a deep moral conflict. This combined with Berkoff’s Marxist influences has encouraged our ideas surrounding societal expectations and the discriminatory behaviour that can sometimes result from this. Berkoff’s theatre often has misogynistic elements because, as Berkoff says, “there are a lot of sexist people”.

Berkoff often uses ritualistic, exaggerated, repetitive movements; which would fit well with our idea of physicalizing compliancy.

Liminal and Sonder:

We felt like a liminal setting would support Berkoff’s style due to the shock he aimed for the audience to experience. Being in an in-between setting implies a generalisability to the performance. We were considering a sea/ river or crossroads setting.

In regards to Sonder, we have interpreted it as an extreme empathy, which we may pursue within our performance or as what we want from the audience.

Having chosen the image 'Another Place', we refined our ideas to the following key points-

- Lack of diversity 

- Sonder (the feeling of acknowledging that strangers/ other people's lives are just as vivid and intense as your own)

- Eliminal 

- Absence of personality

We found that the themes could consistently be applied to society and societal pressures. Of which, we discussed-

- Education (ref. 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, Pink Floyd music video)

- Laws and Rules

- Your conscience and the difference between what you say and what you think

- How people look and present themselves

- Religion

- Sexuality and gender (in particular we discussed the change in acceptance from generation to generation; and how "casual"-isms still seem to be prevalent, as demonstrated by toilet signs which not only encourage gender expression conformity, but also discriminate against those of a non-binary gender)