Grotowski

Drama Essay How theatre is made interesting by the way it is staged is by using a variety of techniques to intrigue viewers and audience members from just a platform stage and some actors to something unique and interesting. Grotowski believed to be interesting it did not need lighting, effects, costumes, makeup, props, costumes or scenery. This was regarded as poor theatre as funding was barely needed and stuck to its name still today.The minimal use of props meant that the same prop could be used as many different things; He also encouraged the use of music especially ritual music because it was successful in affecting the audience is different ways. Another technique Grotowski and Artaud taught his actors to portray real emotions to their scene as opposed to pretending. In my performance we created a series of small scenes directed and played like a poor theatre play would have been in Artaud and Grotowski time. Using the techniques learned in class of Artaud and Grotowski.Our sce ne developed through the idea of the word power trying to deliver a message to the audience. The several little scenes we developed with smooth transactions in between them without lights on /lights off like Growtaski did between his scenes. In each scene portraying the different aspects of power. In positive ways and negative ways. We did not wear costumes as we were playing many different characters in a short period of time and costume change would of taken to long as we were on stage at all time like Artaud actors where. So we simply wore black clothing to make us neutral and easier to believe the character we were representing.To come up with the our theme of power our teacher made us create a mind map of the Phrase â€Å"back in the day† and bounce off ideas of what it meant to us. We use this phrase for our first scene which had no script. We took the characters of apes in a time before humans and showed how power and dominance existed before human time. Having the use of no costumes, no stage props and no custom lighting. The audience focus is directed all towards the actors. So it is all through the actors that the audience can understand the play and believe it the way we want them to. We used one prop that had no use or meaning by itself until it was used.A fabricated simple ball that we used differently in every scene. We did not want to show a clear description of the object and wanted to let the audience imagine what it is for themself. For example in the first scene we made the audience believe the object was just a significant and important item to the apes and they could then imagine what the item was themself, Each ape wanted to hold on to the item and the ape holding the object would of had power over the others. The item was then transform as a microphone in the scene of a president speech and then transform again as illegal drugs to be then used into a fashion statement in the end.Why Artaud and Growtaski techniques of staging were successful was the involvement of the audience. The people coming to see the play where part of the performance and where all on their toes not knowing was going to come at them. Our group goal in involving the audience was to surprise them in every way we could. The scene opened with one of our member Connor in the character of an ape playing with the object while audience attention was drawn to him they did not expect the two other apes sneaking up behind them to sniff them pull their hair and reowr at them. This was successful as we created surprise and laughter.The audience where sited towards the stage with a gap in the middle to make our new entrances. How to interact with the audience are not only the actors coming to audience but the audience on stage. We even dragged audience members on stage to be pretend slapped and humiliated in not a mean way and of course we did not hurt the audience in anyway. In conclusion even though poor theatre is harder for the actors to portray a character without the use of a costume, props, lighting or stage design. This raw theatre is easily just as entertaining for an audience through the way it is created.