Posting

Dear All,

Unfortunately I've been posted out in the sticks, so posting blogs has proven impossible, indeed, getting internet has been the stuff of dreams.


I hope I can post soon when I move locations back daaan saaaaff to Essex the 2nd (Hertforshire)


Speak soon,

Keep well,


Yours in Theatre


Sam

UNIT 8!

Dear All,

These are some images from Unit 8.


These take place in Cycle 4, just before the dance and kiss. Photo 10 (in portrait) is the moment before Beast & Belle begin to dance.


The total running time for the entirety of unit 8 is about 30 minutes! Very exciting.






I hope that the coming weeks treat you with equal amounts of creativity!

I'll continue to post on here, but that's all from me until March, when we have our big day in the Theatre!


See you then,

Sam

B.O.B Rehearsals 11/02/2010 UNIT 8

Thursday 11th February 2010 7-9.30 pm, UT

UNIT 8

Aim: To run over the unit eight, build on the scene by pulling the Iumentum apart and adding ideas.


*warm up*

Mapping out unit 8: Just to recap the unit, here is what the Iumentum has set so far:


Unit 8- Trapped

Belle wakes up in Beast’s house. She begins to panic. Realistic panicking, thinking hard, looking around the room, not much movement at first, slowly realizing the fact that she is not safe. Beast watches her from a distance- looking at her through the keyhole. She hears him at the keyhole, (maybe some vocal stuff here building up to this point) then she screams & he turns away. He begins to feed her- Leaving food in her room as she sleeps. Eventually he writes her short notes, she begins to respond. Eventually they meet. Beast, ecstatic, asks her to fix him, shape him. Days, weeks, months pass. This relationship is different. Belle hates him, but a softness develops, a twisted tenderness. He finds her different too. A relationship develops through the routine of eating. Beast admires and copies something as simple as the way Belle eats her food…(reverting back to the Disney beauty and beast maybe? Maybe not?) Beast and Belle develop a fragile truce. Stockholm syndrome. She realizes that she may love him. At first she tries to ignore herself but feelings override her want to do the right thing. She can give him the companionship he wants. They then spend more time together, in which the food becomes more extravagant. (Thus more time is spent eating together). Beast then trusts her to be in his presence, and she is free to roam- with some restrictions.

She then stumbles across the room where Beast keeps the letters from Belle’s Father. Beast finds her and stops her from entering- He becomes a beast. He looses control. (We see the true Beast?)

Belle is desperate to see her father again.


Development of unit 8/9 in session:

Belle (Helen) and Beast (Bijan) are the only cast members present other than Sam Grogan (Director), Kelcie (In-house script writer), Myself (blogger) and Samuel Tebbatt(Assistant Director) for this Week's session.

Thursday's session focuses on Belle and Beast mapping out the cycle of their relationship. It has been decided that the scene will have Belle in a pool of light at the side of the stage. The scene will show a series of days going by, each one showing Belle waking, being scared and Beast tending to the room in her sleep. Eventually Belle will pretend to be asleep when Beast enters the room and she will confront him.
Bijan has developed the character Beast over the past week with twitches and revealing the internal Jekyll and Hyde battle he suffers with. He battles with himself as he listens in to Belle's room and snoops around, checking she is well cared for. His character shows a little element of Gollum (Lord of the Rings) as he talks to himself 'I should kill her before she hurts me...no, she is our guest'.

(scene is divided with lights up and lights down; showing the passing of days)

(lights down, lights up)

Next Belle awakes again and has an outcry for her father and questions her keeper alone in her room. She cries herself to sleep, alone as Beast waits in the wings.

(lights down, lights up)

Belle pretends to be asleep. On the moment of confrontation, Beast is shocked as Belle pushes, shoves and screams to be let go. Beast places Belle back into bed and tells her its time for sleep. A peace offering of food is made. The cycle continues as Belle and Best go through the same routine; she wakes, her tends to her (replacing flowers, giving her food) and then she sleeps.

Next, parts of the scene will have 20 seconds of music separating them.

*20 sec music*

Beast enters the room with a food offering. There is an awkward silence as Belle slowly eats. She asks when she can go home. He dismisses the hurtful question and pushes her to bed telling her its bed time.

*20 sec music*

Scene repeats but Belle is more submissive this time.

*20 sec music*

Next Beast gives food again. Belle eats and compliments the food. Beast is overjoyed and insists to getting her more. He bounds out of the room in such a rush of excitement that he foolishly leaves Belle's door open..Intregued, Belle leaves the room...

Next scene ideas

The cast maps out the idea for the walls to be constructed out of dead bodies. Belle moves through the corridor, not seeing the dead bodies. She finds a red ribbon (used to belong to a special previous victim). She picks it up and runs back to her room.

Beast rushes back in, explaining before even entering the room about his journey to retrieve his guest's wonderful dish. He is like an excited child, eager to give every last detail of his trip. He unwraps the delicacy, offering it to Belle. She begins to enjoy the food and Beast switches quickly from happy to outrage when he spots the red ribbon Belle is holding. He outbursts hysterically over Belle breaking his trust by leaving the room. He buckles to the floor to illustrate the pain Belle has caused him, after all that he has done for her, he if left weeping in a heap. Belle melts her usual guard and tends to him, apologising for the incident. Both agree to sort the situation out 'tomorrow'. This key conclusion shows that the couple have begun their future.

The end of the scene will show Belle climbing into bed and handing the symbolic red ribbon back to Beast. He quickly snatches back but, after a thought, he decides to rebuild the friendship by handing the ribbon back to Belle. The couple have reached a new level in their relationship.

The final part of unit 8 is to show flashes of 5 second pictures, posed by Belle and Beast on stage. There are 10 poses which show an almost montage build of their relationship. There is toying with the idea of gifts building up in the room with each scene; the whole room glowing warmer and more homely as the two grow closer together. Sam G pulls focus onto the two characters mapping out the ten scenes and leaves the building of props as a question for the production team.

Belle and Beast practice the 10 images and the final part moves into an intimately slow dance. The couple kiss and as Belle pulls out she states 'I want to go home'..

(full scene takes approx 30 mins)

**Please see the pictures Sam T has kindly posted on the blog which show the ten shots of Belle and Beast's relationship development!***

Overview of session

The cast run through the whole scene from start to finish. The progress has been good and every member in the room has put their ideas and opinions in to shape the scene. All leave on a high note and look forward to tailoring in the rest of the cast.

Next session's aim: To map out the rest of the cast into unit 8 and move onto the next unit. Sam Grogan hopes to do a full rehearsal two weeks today and from then on perfect the play.

B.O.B Rehearsal 04/02/2010 UNIT 8

Thursday 4th February 2010 7-10 pm, Room UTGO6

UNIT 8

Aim: To run over the unit eight, build on the scene by pulling the Iumentum apart and adding ideas.

*warm up*

Recap: Wednesday session was a vocal build up of lyrics and development of unit 7.

Mapping out unit 8 : Just to recap the unit, here is what the Iumentum has set so far:

Unit 8- Trapped

Belle wakes up in Beast’s house. She begins to panic. Realistic panicking, thinking hard, looking around the room, not much movement at first, slowly realizing the fact that she is not safe. Beast watches her from a distance- looking at her through the keyhole. She hears him at the keyhole, (maybe some vocal stuff here building up to this point) then she screams & he turns away. He begins to feed her- Leaving food in her room as she sleeps. Eventually he writes her short notes, she begins to respond. Eventually they meet. Beast, ecstatic, asks her to fix him, shape him. Days, weeks, months pass. This relationship is different. Belle hates him, but a softness develops, a twisted tenderness. He finds her different too. A relationship develops through the routine of eating. Beast admires and copies something as simple as the way Belle eats her food…(reverting back to the Disney beauty and beast maybe? Maybe not?) Beast and Belle develop a fragile truce. Stockholm syndrome. She realizes that she may love him. At first she tries to ignore herself but feelings override her want to do the right thing. She can give him the companionship he wants. They then spend more time together, in which the food becomes more extravagant. (Thus more time is spent eating together). Beast then trusts her to be in his presence, and she is free to roam- with some restrictions.

She then stumbles across the room where Beast keeps the letters from Belle’s Father. Beast finds her and stops her from entering- He becomes a beast. He looses control. (We see the true Beast?)

Belle is desperate to see her father again.

Development of unit 8 in session:

The cast sit round a table and discuss unit 8. To feel the reality of the scene, they pull apart the realistic reaction of someone (Belle) waking up in a strangers home. The cast toy with light rising and dropping to illustrate days passing as Belle lies in her knew home. Mini-scenes are thought best to show Belle's first few days and her relationship with beast. A 'ground hog day' theme is discussed, Belle is to have a bunch of flowers left in her room each day, she will tear them up in despair yet each day the room and the flowers are re-set, the same music plays and the emotional cycle of Belle is shown; anger, despair and then finally drained acceptance.

Joesph (in house composer) discusses how he is able to use the same strand of music but use it in different ways. He considers starting with a few key notes in the first scene to set the music, then gradually building it up and then warping the end scene's music with echos and the tune slightly out of sync.

The scene will show Belle pretending to be asleep, Beast enters to place a fresh bunch of flowers, she wakes asking him who he is. Beast is shocked and as Belle confronts him. He is not used to human contact. Beast is to show he is scared, more scared than Belle and very humble when he next enters Belle space, knocking on the door first. There will be a cycle for Belle and Beast's relationship, they will meet and it will be awkward. Belle will ask questions that will anger Beast. She will eventuallyknow not to ask questions again.

The cast discuss stocholm syndrome and that Beast needs to share a part of him with Belle; like a real friend. The whole scene is mapped out but still yet to be set in stone, the directions are to be put up onto the blog.

Overview of session

Possitive development has come from tonight's session. The cast had alot to get in unit 8 but have managed to map it out. The final agreed unit 8 scene will be released on the blog soon.

wednesday’s Aim: To run exercise unit 8 and the scene discussed.

B.O.B Rehearsal 02/02/2010 Lyrics Unit 2 and 3; Belle's songs

'Broken, broken, empty, empty, plagued,
This is not enough, I can't change,
Let me out, let me breathe, let me feel, happiness,
Rivers of time, wasted in longing,
I can't change,
Let me out, let me breath, I am numb, numb, numb, numb *build up and repeat numb*'

(street scene with beast's monologue)

Part 1:

'I see you in the street as you pass me by and in those five seconds you wasted on a mundane thought, in my thoughts I have shared drink with you, I have shared a meal with you, I have shared a lifetime with you. You all move around like pawns on a chessboard. Your eyes are gifts from God that you fail to use. Instead you choose to stare at the floor. You need a friend. You need me.'

'Every door in my house, slams on me,
slams on me,
slams on me..'

(street scene with beast's monologue)

Part 2:

'Digest me completely. Take every part of me. Regurgitate me, but don’t let me go ‘til I am satisfied. ‘Til you have used me and I have used you. Completely spit me out so I leave my mark on everything and I take away all that is good of you.'

'Golden days turned grey, (I have no-one..)'

(street scene with beast's monologue)

Part 3:

'Look at me, look at the sun; look at the universe that summands you. This is what mankind has degraded to, dead stares, animated movements, living in the recyclable, self-absorbed lives; passing the same faces and street everyday.'

'Clinginging to Ghosts, haunted, haunted'

(street scene with beast's monologue)

Part 4:

'Eyes front, strong jaw and canines, before incisors; I was built for the hunt- but I don’t want the kill- I want the cure. I want a friend.'

'Coatless hooks, unread books, cigarette ends, aching chairs..*repeated untill office scene starts, approx 8 times*..'

Beastly?

Stuff I found..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPpDyIJdasg to view video please copy from title and paste in a new tab as I couldnt post video

...right then, please ignore most of the dorky video, the first few opening scenes paint an image of what Beasts flat/house/castle could look like as a visual stimulus, but after that vid not relevent...but I decided to post the song more for the associations that the lyrics gave me and the feel of the accompanying meloncholic dispair and tormented sound.


sum more stuff i found...

Down in his basement, black as night The tools to perform his heinous rite The walls are lined to block the sounds Of frightened pleas of the tightly bound Little bodies, and innocent minds The unresisting he hopes to find His thoughts are filled with unspeakable acts With those defenseless against his attack (by dadapriest,

(http://www.gspoetry.com/pedophile-warning-adult-theme-hate-poems-373788.html)

The one time the red leafmakes sense is mid April, when it is held not completely unfolded yet to the naked green bones of a four-foot sapling crossed arms on the chest of cold skin

(Tom Riordan, http://www.poetrycircle.com/index.php?action=printpage;topic=12499.0)

No one knows who I am,
know one cares who I become,
my life is a dark empty room yet to be filled with memories, with friends
I always wanted to be known, to be loved, so when he entered my life the darkest night temperarily turned into the brightest morning. He told me he cared, he said he would be my friend, he filled my empty room. So when he left, all that I had, all that I am went with him.

(Parts from katherine parent, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-darkest-night.html)


---
Beast and Bells relationship not looking to hopeful...

long lost words whisper slowly to me, still can't find what keeps me here, when all this time i've been so hollow inside. I know you're still there, watching me wanting me i can feel you pull me down, fearing you loving you, i won't let you pull me down. Hunting you, i can smell you - alive, your heart pounding in my head. Watching me wanting me, i can feel you pull me down, saving me raping me, watching me. I tried to kill the pain, but only brought more. I lay dying and i'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal, i'm dying praying bleeding and screaming, am i too lost to be saved, am i too lost?

My wounds cry for the grave, my soul cries for deliverance, will i be denied?
(again, evanescence lyrics...)

another side of Beast

The fear in their eyes,
I want to see their pain,
The sight of torture motivates me,
The quiver in their voices,
I want to hear their terror,
The sound of bones splintering moves me,
The shame in their hearts,
I want to humiliate them further,
The smell of blood excites me,
The panic in their minds,
I want to imagine their dismay,
The thought of flesh ripping fascinates me,
I sharpen my knives,
Then go seek my next victims,
Am I taking lives? No, I am giving them away.
What’s one more life?
There are plenty of others.
I feel no shame.
There is no time to feel it.
Life is short.

By Kymberly Roger, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/intoxicated-by-death.html


Perfect by nature, icons of self indulgence, just what we all need more lies about a world that never was and never will be. Have you no shame don't you see me, you know you've got everybody fooled, look here she comes now, bow down and stare in wonder. Oh how we love you, no flaws when you're pretending, but now i know she never was and never will be. You don't know how you've betrayed me and somehow you've got everybody fooled, without the mask where will you hide, can't find yourself lost in your lie i know the truth now. I know who you are and i don't love you anymore it never was and never will be, you're not real and you can't save me, somehow now you're everybody's fool....

Beast's oppinion on the people he saves, then kills, among the rest of them that were supposed to be his new friends?

...those people who wont be his friend, do they they think they are all to good for him? They are all so perfect, they dont care, they dont want to be his friend, they just want to get out of there...now he just doesnt care, move on to the next one

B.O.B.Videos, UNIT 3 (dance) and UNIT 5 (father and beast)

If any of you guys have any more videos or recorded material of rehearsals/ singing/dancing etc, please feel free to upload them too, it all adds to the blog and helps reflection!

Film Noir Images

Dear all,

This is the kind of image I've had in mind for the units surrounding Unit 5.

Sam T