An Analysis of Pied Piper

 

Throughout Unit 4 Combined Arts I have maintained a reflective and analytical review of my progress in developing and applying skills for a Combined Arts Performance. 

The final assessed performance of our reimagined version of 'Pied Piper' took place on Monday 24th January 2022 in the Performance Space at Suffolk One. 

I will now complete a SWOT analysis of my final performance.

Section One: STRENGTHS:

Following the performance I received feedback from the audience members. The following comments are evidence of the strengths of the performance. 

An encouraging piece of feedback I have been given from our audience is that they found our modern day take on the storyline of the Pied Piper of Hamelin ,allowed the performance to become more interesting due to the realisation of how self- destructive social media can make us and found it as something they could relate to or may have even experienced themselves. They also mentioned how they thought our sequence of gestures (similar to DV8) while one of us were speaking produced an effective approach to enhance the audience and fully allow them to comprehend and actually listen to the information we were trying to express, and also referred to how focused we had to stay in order for the multitask to work. Another beneficial segment of feedback the audience gave, was when they noticed the contrast between the social media sections were we were able to almost just be ourselves, which demonstrates the how many are actually impacted by social media, and the initial connections between the children's fairy-tale of the Pied Piper, linking to the "atmospheric" , over exaggerating scenes of the children becoming completely indoctrinated by the Pied Piper. Creating similar links to Mathew Bourne's use of excessive actions.

The Teacher and Director gave me personal feedback on my performance. The following comments are evidence of the strengths of the performance.

A helpful amount of feedback was given to me by my teacher and director. Such as, to make sure I’m not disengaging with the audience and to lift my focus during my narration part. I also need to ensure i’m not worrying about messing up my lines or the gestures, which could be polished through some extra rehearsal time just to ensure I am slightly more comfortable and confident. However , I strongly incorporated the style of Matthew Bourne and his use of over exaggeration while portraying a character and his use of mime within our skipping rope scene. I had also improved my performance of our last dance in terms of my dance vocabulary especially within my extension and posture and refined the dance over and over in rehearsals. I also communicated my ideas throughout the whole of the piece.

Responsibilities :

1: placement on stage/ integration of Prop

I had the responsibility of ensuring I moved the box containing the skipping ropes so they were not in the way of our final scenes. I had to make sure that after I finished my children's skipping rope scene, we all put our ropes back one by one and joined in with the pied piper dance to show the hypnosis working individually on each child. Almost to demonstrate the innocence being removed from each child. I was the last child to put my rope away meaning I had to take the box to the chairs so it wasn't in the way of our final scenes. Also because it indicates the eradication of the children being children and their connotations of freedom, trust and purity. By successfully moving the box to the chairs, I allowed us to move on to the next scene where the children were being lured in by the Pied Piper's hypnotic tune as we created a visual representation of this.

2: Technical 

I also had the technical responsibility of checking I was in the correct positioning during our children skipping rope scene and that the lighting wasn't hidden by any of us and we were visible to the audience. This also meant we had enough space between us to complete our dance sequence without getting tangled and ended up in the accurate formation. Also during the rat duets we had to ensure we were all in the correct seats and knew exactly, what we were doing next. By successfully remembering / checking I was positioned correctly and I was on our lighting spots , ensuring the audience could clearly see me and what happens next entails the progression of the story. 

3: Costume 

 Another responsibility of mine was providing a suitable costume for the performance, ensuring I am able to freely move and my clothes are earthy colours. We needed to look fairly neutral in order to create several different scenes and to fulfil our multi-rolling. Successfully taking care of this responsibility , meant that we could engage the audience throughout the whole performance as we weren't specifically dressed for one scene.

4: Character 

In the Children's section i was responsibility of working in a group of 4 to create a mime/dance in the style of Matthew Bourne, which showed over excited young children playing games out on the streets. we each had a skipping rope, We choreographed a dance using counts and rhythm with the ropes, i had to make sure i listened to the counts as well as certain words of the song Oranges and Lemons which was being sung as we danced. This song was juxtaposed to our exaggerated movements and gestures, so they mutually coexisted together. by successfully integrating the prop inoto my movement phrase and responding accurately to the timing and counts i contributed effectively to the creation of the character of a young child with a care free life. this part of the performance was vital to the progression of the story as at the end of the dance the pied piper lured us away into the mountains. 

Section 2: Weakness 

Following the performance I received feedback from the audience members. The following comments are evidence of areas that could be developed or improved in the performance. 

The Teacher and Director gave me personal feedback on my performance. The following comments are evidence of areas that could be developed or improved in the performance. 

During the dress rehearsal, we almost messed up our skipping rope section due to the lack of organization ensuring the skipping ropes were neatly tied up in the box. This meant that it took us longer to complete the first segment of the scene as we took longer trying to untangle them instead of moving on. This meant the whole sequence was out of time and we weren't focusing on our detail in the characterisation of the children. We then discussed what parts went wrong as a group and ensured all props were organized ready to go over it again, once we all agreed on the particular sections that needed polishing.  

Another responsibility was to achieve a controlled version of our dance sequence in one of the final scenes and make sure my facial expressions clearly illustrated terror and uncertainness. During our rehearsals, I wasn't able to complete the dance sequence as I couldn't achieve the different floor spins and travel back up on time (a lack of control within my dance skills). My movements were also slightly floppy rather than strong and sharp to indicate the fear within all of the children and the compellingness of the Pied Piper. However, with some more practice I competently completed the whole dance during the final performance in a more focused manor.

A responsibility for the whole class could be for us to confirm that, before we perform the rat duets, the chairs are silently positioned instead of all the clattering noises so the audience are not distracted from the performer that's talking at the time. This would give the audience a chance to apprehend the information that's being expressed, in order for them to fully understand the progression of the story. I think for us to complete this successfully we all needed to become more confident of where particular chairs were supposed to be positioned and become more certain on our cues especially when the chairs needed to be moved. This would have meant that the audience would have barely even noticed the movement of the chairs due to the focus on Beth , who was talking and progressing the story at the time.

To ensure we were confident with learning our lines was a clear responsibility towards the a majority of the class. For instance , a way of expressing we were confident with all of our lines and the story of the Pied Piper could be worked on through our vocal techniques. For instance , some of us could work on our projection and our intonation to actually present the story in an engrossing way. I also need to ensure I was confident with my lines due to the affect it had on my focus. For example, during the scene we talk about the origins of the Pied Piper with all of the gestures, I need to sustain my focus on the audience rather than down. This needs to be improved on by not having to worry about my lines or the way I project them and just focus on the clear gestures I am trying to emphasise and naturally remember the words. 

Section 3: Opportunities

Unit 4 Combined Arts and the creation and performance of the reimagined version 'Pied Piper' has provided e with many new opportunities to develop my range and versatility as a performer. 

A particular opportunity could be the influence of Matthew Bourne's work, that we incorporated throughout our whole performance . Especially within our child segment with the use of the skipping ropes. We had taken inspiration from his version of Nutcracker in 1992 and tried to recreate their characterisation of the orphanage children when they first see the toys given to them. It was challenging to maintain the over- exaggerated facial expressions throughout that whole segment as we had to focus on our positioning to ensure we could move about and we’re in the correct place for the next scene.

In our skills workshop, we also spent a lot of time concentrating on the work of DV8. We focused on the more profound themes we figured society could relate to. For instance , we linked the brainwashing addiction of social media to the hypnotisation of the pied pipers tune and portrayed it in a more sinister manor than the children’s fairytale. DV8 also include a range of gestures they contrast with the naturalism of their monologues. They come up with a sequence of subtle , gentle movements to intrigue their audience into what they’re talking about yet ensure they’re not distracting them. We tried to incorporate this into our piece when I am expressing the authentic tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Although I believe we expressed this skill and part of the story strongly, I need to ensure my focus is on the audience and I can confidently perform the actions and information at the same time.

We also took some time analysing the techniques skill fully presented throughout the work of Pina Bausch. Bausch’s work consists of the broken boundaries between acting and dance. She also competently shows the use of repetition , which we tired to add in to our own work. Particularly during the rat duets, after they were all completed, we came up with a movement we could repeat and become faster to the point it looked as if we were uncomfortable, similar to Bausch. I think this was successfully achieved as we all stopped one after the other we could perhaps just work on our timing to ensure we were stopping and moving in the correct order and the movements we created in our duets were in unison. 

Section 4: Threats

During Unit 4 Combined Arts and the creation and performance of the reimagined version of ‘Pied Piper’ there were possible THREATS to the success of the performance.

A particular threat that could have cause health and safety risks or break the mood of the piece if used incorrectly is the integration of our props. For example, with our scene that includes the skipping ropes one of us could potentially trip over a rope while full filling our sequence or become hit with a skipping rope. This is why it was so significant we were spaced out accurately and in the correct places to overcome these hazards. We took several of our rehearsal time to ensure the sequence was effective , we were in unison and correctly positioned to therefore overcome any health and safety risks the props may lead to. This created a sense of group awareness while we were performing this scene as we became more confident with it. 

I think absence was one of the more relevant and serious threats within our performance due to the impact the lack of our group members had on the whole piece . Missing the creation or rehearsal of sections of the piece meant people would get confused and we would mess up because they weren’t sure on what was happening next or if anything had changed , due to missed lessons. This also lead to uncertainty over the placement of our chairs and affects all of the group work and dialogue if your partner is absent. It also damages the flow of the rehearsal as we had to keep stopping from certain points when we realised it wasn’t correct due to the absence of some of our class. As a way of preventing any damages to the piece that the lack of attendance may create, we had to become prepared and familiarise ourselves with the whole piece and many of us had to learn new material. We also had to be aware of changes incase we had to edit any parts of we couldn’t complete it due to absences.

Memory was a considerable threat throughout the piece. If we couldn’t remember anything from as little as cues and our counts to our lines and positioning the whole ensemble would be at a disadvantage. Inaccuracy of our performance would lead to the failure of sustaining the appropriate mood and breaking the flow of performance and the clarity of the story. The lack of memory also disturbs all of the contact and ensemble work as one person is unsure and misses a cue, it disrupts the whole piece. In order for us to prevent this, we had to develop confidence during our rehearsal time so everyone was aware of what was actually happening. We even filmed a few of our rehearsals to post them on our blog to analyse and remind ourselves if we needed any additional rehearsal time outside of lessons to learn lines or movements etc.