Metamorphosis – reflection

Having now completed the metamorphosis scripted performance, I think that our performance went very well. Some of the successful elements of it were:

– Variations in pace, not only pace of our actions but also at the speed we talked. It created very good contrast and made each scene distinct to one another. Our use of pace also helped portray the image of our characters, for example Mrs Samsa sipping her tea at a face pace, or Mr Samsa strolling steadily, with one foot in front of the other.

– Our use of lighting also helped create atmosphere and mood in each scene. For example in the opening scene, the indoor nighttime blue light used in the beginning and mostly throughout the performance, really gave the image and atmosphere of Gregor’s transformation into the bug. The dark tone and shadiness provided the audience an insight as to how dark and creepy Gregor’s story is, and perhaps an idea of what was going on in his mind.

– Our use of the stools. Although we did not use it very aerobically, we used the stools partly for Mr & Ms Samsa as a tool for us to act out our designed actions. It would always recall our ritual actions and was well associated with each of our character’s sitting posture, for example Ms Samsa cross legged and Mr Samsa upright. The stool was also used for several sound effects throughout, especially when Gregor would slam the door open to reveal his body to his family, in which we used for the ending. It was used also to mark specific moments such as him turning over, or even used by Mr & Ms Samsa to indicate the importance of a line we had previously quoted, or to terminate a scene.

– Our use of music & sound effects. Alike the lighting, music reenforced our piece by really setting a suspicious, mysterious atmosphere. Especially in the beginning scene when the family repeatedly did their actions, the music in the background focused the audience’s attention as to what the theme of the story would be, and gave them a little mysteriousness and suspicion as to what was to come next. Other tracks were used to really embody Gregor’s transformation into a bug, the track’s roughness and gloominess giving the audience extra insight as to the certain atmosphere we were trying to portray. A beeping sound effect was additionally used throughout the Gregor! Cash! scene, the repetition of this effect revealing a static, robotic mood. This was the case as everyday Gregor’s family had so many expectations from Gregor and he simply had to bear with them. Nothing would change about their attitude and requests and the beeping effect was well associated with this scene to portray the lack of change, and constant inhumane behaviour and torture Gregor had to be put through.

All in all, I am quite happy with our performance. These are only some elements in which I thought played very good effect on our overall performance, but one strong element we all did very well on was characterisation. Throughout, we used maximum energy and over exaggerated every single of our lines to match the expectations of Berkoff. Having used such good characterisation extensively throughout the whole performance, this sustained our roles and whilst sounding totally inhumane, some of our phrases appeared humorous and appealing towards the audience, hence interpreting our performance in the best way possible.

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