Into the Woods Introduction/Bakers Costume Design

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway on November 5, 1987. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason).

The musical has been produced many times, with a 1988 US national tour, a 1990 West End production, a 1991 television production, a 1997 tenth anniversary concert, a 2002 Broadway revival, a 2010 London revival and in 2012 as part of New York City's outdoor Shakespeare in the Park series. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from "Little Red Riding Hood", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella", as well as several others. The musical is tied together by an original story involving a childless baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, their interaction with a Witch who has placed a curse on them, and their interaction with other storybook characters during their journey.

My first reaction to the play was great i loved the story line and the combination of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales and i instantly was thinking what we could do with the play and how we would portray the set and the characters. The songs are upbeat and happy and i am excited to start 'Into the Woods'. I researched into the play and looked at what others had done and how they portrayed the set design, characters, costumes etc. 

We have been given an assignment to design a main characters costumes. I have chosen the Baker. For this in preparation to this i was given a costume design to design for an eccentric chef and within this i made an over the top children's theatres hat. I made the hat myself and thought this could tie in nicely with the baker in Into The Woods. I looked at other theatre productions of Into the Woods to see how they stylised the Bakers outfit and most of them did intact have a chef hat incorporated in the costume. On the right  is a image of the hat i made from scratch. It is oversized which will capture children's eyes. Usually in children's theatre costumes are brightly coloured and bold however i wanted to stick with the originality of a white chefs hat and may be striking against the set or colours used in other characters costumes. 
The hat is constructed with white card, white material and plastic. 

The Baker should also wear a white apron this reflects his occupation of a Baker as it protects his clothing from cooking i think this should be slightly worn with some stains on to show its not brand new and portrays further his job. The Baker in the script wears a scarf i thought the scarf could be the centre piece for colour in his outfit i thought this scarf could be yellow as its a colour that isn't linked to other characters for example i wouldn't put the scarf as red as little red riding hoods outfit will be red and then this colour could over power the stage. For his shirt i think it could be a pale colour because i didn't want a bright shirt to detract away from who he is. 

Into the Woods Character Analysis

In todays lesson we were introduced to the script Into the Woods and within this we were to look at main features about each character whether that regarded the costume of personality.

STEPMOTHER, FLORINDA, LUCINDA

'Black of heart'

'Beautiful of face'

Costumes that reflect their social status, they are middle class they wouldn't be exceptionally poor nor rich.

BAKERS WIFE

The bakers wife wants a child, so has a motherly vibe about her and is caring and sweet.

BAKER

The baker wears a scarf. He is a loving character who seems down to earth and genuine.

JACKS MOTHER

Not beautiful
Worries about money problems and the state of her house and her.
Poor.
Jacks mothers clothes need to reflect her age and social status. So dull drags that might not fit her probably and the unfitting costume will reflect that she cant afford new clothes. I believe the clothes shall be distressed and her hair and makeup should be untidy and dirty.

JACK

Jack will be wearing plain clothes which are dirty, as they would not be able to afford cleaning them and buying new clothes so will appear distressed and worn just like his mothers clothes. I would suggest for Jack to have at least one item of clothing that is bright and colourful to reflect his age of being a young child.
Jack has a strong friendship with his cow who his mother makes him sell as they need the money and the cow hasn't provided milk for them for a week. They cannot afford to keep it.

WITCH

Evil, lonely and demanding.

RED RIDING HOOD

I believe red riding hood should stick to the normality of the traditional red riding hood costume, so she should be in a little cute red dress to reflect her innocence but also a flowing dress so she can skip in as the stage directions state her 'skipping'.

CINDERELLA

Cinderella doesn't have a mum and her mum is a state of her imagination.
Cinderella will wear her traditional costumes, she will start in her drags that she wears in Cinderella but she will transform into her iconic blue dress.

WOLF

Sly, manipulative, authoritative, confident

RAPUNZEL

Rapunzel is shy but as she grows older she stands up more to the witch that locked her in the tower. For her costume i think she should have long blonde hair made by string but should be artificial. I think she should wear a beautiful dress in possible royal colours like purple. Purple is also the contrasting colour of blonde so will fit in with the colour spectrum.

Comparing A Greek Audience To A Modern Audience

From my previous blog posts I have explained the Greek theatre and how they used to be built and portrayed so that they felt they had one of the best designs for theatres. In the Greek times I would agree I would think the layout of the Greek theatre is good, especially for outside. It is shaped in a horse-shoe shape making the audience around the stage in a 180 degree way. The seating was built up making it if you were in 'the gods' you would be far away from the stage, this is why the theatre was built upwards in a semi-circle, this allowed the audience to hear to actors. 'The Gods' means the people who sat furthest away from the stage, this term came from the Greek times and is still used now-a-days.


The audience are sometimes in this way for a modern theatre. For example most west end theatres are still in this horse-shoe effect. However, more modern built theatres are designed in a Brecht style meaning that the audience would be straight on, facing the stage. The idea behind this setting was to alienate the audience so they don't become attached to the storyline. However, this is usually assisted with the style of play and acting performed on stage, because it doesn't completely alienate the audience.


In the Greek times if the actors got something wrong, or the character was not approved by the audience (antagonist) they would show this by throwing rotten foods at them; often tomatoes. The red from the tomato when thrown was seen as similar to blood so connotes 'killing the character' from the perspective of the audience.


This would never happen in a modern theatre because of health and safety. Furthermore, a modern audience are usually quiet in theatre, this is because its a rule of courtesy in theatres. It would be regarded as rude and unacceptable if you started throwing rotten vegetables at the actors. Furthermore, this would class as common assault, which wouldn't be classified as common assault in the ancient Greek times.


In modern theatres, there is an interval for the actors and the audience to break and get refreshments. This wouldn't occur in the Greek times as lighting was natural light and by elongating the performance this could effect the timing of the show, suggesting that they savoured the light times, and they couldn't perform in the evenings. On the other hand, modern audiences can view performances any time around the clock as lighting is ambient and theatres don't rely on natural light.

Theatre Artistic Policies

National Theatre's Artistic Policies

National Theatres Artistic Policy


The National Theatre is central to the creative life of the country. In its three theatres on the South Bank London, its presents an eclectric mix of new plays and classics, which seven or eight production s in repertory at any one time. It re-energises the great traditions of the British stage and expands the horizons of audiences and artists alike. It aspires to reflects in the repoertoire the diversity of UK culture, and through touring, the national shares it work with audiences in the UK and around the world.

National Theatre at the moment are producing works such as War Horse which is based on a novel by Michael Murpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford. The First World War is the backdrop for this tale of bravery, loyalty, and the extraordinary bond between a young recruit and his horse. This production is 2 hours and 35 minutes long.

Another production they are doing at the moment is The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett. As much about theatre as it is about the poetry of Auden and the music of Benjamin Britten. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion’s spent: ultimately, on the habit of art. (2 hours 40 mins.)

National Theatre is both a touring theatre company and a based theatre company. Which allows to get there content to more people so they can really widen their audience members.

DV8 Artistic Policy

DV8 Physical Theatres work is about taking risks, aesthetically and physical, about breaking down the barriers between dance and theatre and, above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously. It is determined to be a radical yet accessible, and to take its work to as wide an audience as possible.

Dv8 is motivated by artistic inspiration and creative need rather than financial, organisational and touring demands dictate the creation of new works.
Great emphasis is placed on the process by which new work is created. The company has fought successfully for funding to cover lengthy research and development periods in order to maintain rigorous artistic integrity and quality in each new project. The focus of the creative approach is on reinvesting dance with meaning, particularly where this has been lost through formalised techniques. 
Dv8's strong commitment is to film and video and there name stands for Dance and Video 8. This reflects its ongoing interest in how two primarily visual media can enhance one another and reach a cross audience from within both forms. 

The company's reputation relies on pushing its own boundaries and on the constant re-examination of the roles and relationships of men and women in our society. Its policy insists on the importance of challenging our preconceptions of what dance can and should address.

The National Theatre's target audience is usually broad as they want to attract a wide audience. They attract mainly the younger generation though as they encourage youth actors and often look to educational sources who can put on some of there own productions on, as it is a production house. However, they also equip for an older audience as they do put on some more well known productions which attract all age groups, mostly.

Greenwich Theatre, London - Artistic Policy

Some companies use Greenwich Theatre as a home, using the office, rehearsal space, performance space; some companies use us as an artistic sounding board and an outside eye in rehearsal; some use us as an industry mentor, taking guidance on everything from prop-buying to touring strategy. All are enhanced by their relationship with Greenwich Theatre.

That ethos runs throughout their work, whether it means casting exceptional graduate performers in their Christmas shows, creating showcase moments for young companies as part of the Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival, running an annual Emerging Artists festival or ensuring that the seasonal programme on stage features a number of high profile performances by emerging companies.

Children's Theatre

Theatre for young audiences is a huge part of their work at Greenwich Theatre. In 2008 with support from Royal Greenwich and the Docklands Light Railway they launched the Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival with 10 performances across 2 venues. In 2012 the festival included 60 performances across 8 venues.

With ten companies currently working with the theatre as associate, supported or developing companies, no less than four are working to create new theatre for young audiences. Their Inspiring Spaces programme focuses on creating accessible family theatre in non-theatrical space.

Greenwich Theatre on Tour

Greenwich Theatre is one of London finest off-West End theatres, but the company is far more than the building. Their beliefs in pursuing excellence in theatre and supporting emerging work transcends the bricks and mortar of our building, so whether they are offering mentoring support to a new company, creating a new piece of theatre on a boat or curating a borough-wide festival, their ethos is the same. This has now developed further with the launch of Greenwich Theatre On Tour, a programme of work which has seen them work with emerging companies to co-produce theatre at a range of national and international venues, with performances in London, Brighton, Edinburgh, Dublin, Madrid and New York in the last two years.

Ultimately, theatre holds something for everyone, and Greenwich Theatre is promotes equality of opportunity across all aspects of its operation. This applies to audiences, performers, practitioners, young participants and staff alike. In education, they strive to use theatre to tackle the barriers which prevent young people from accessing education, employment or training. For theatre makers they strive to offer developmental opportunities unavailable elsewhere. In programming, they offer a broad, diverse selection of productions to satisfy a wide audience. For staff greenwich theatre encourages training and personal development, both inside and outside of the industry. 

  

Akram Khan RUSH Review

Khan won the Jerwood Foundation Award for choreography last year and its easy to see why. Rush is stylised around the idea of skydiving and free falling this is the motif of the dance. Akram Khan combines a form if Classic Indian dance called khatak with contemporary which created his own hybrid of dance. 

He shows his style of free falling by using a parachute-shaped arm line, reaching across the body to pull the chord. That's only in the beginning of he dance so it shows that Akram has thought through every move to perfectly capture the free falling effect. Akram Khan wanted to explore each sense that is alerted when free falling; look, touch, smell, feel and taste.

Dressed in black, the three stand with their backs to us as the music begins like swishing water sprinklers then splits the ears. As in Kathak, the power is focused above the waist, from the chest, arms and hands - and here the dancers perform the gestures and motifs either in sequence or together, calling outrhythm changes in the traditional way. Even the music used in Rush composed by Andy Cowton fitted perfectly the style and motif of Rush. Akram Khan was interested in the contrast between stillness and speed and therefore portrayed this using different tempos within the dance. He also thought about space as when free falling of course you have all the room in the world but you're restricted by force so you also can experience feelings of claustrophobia. So he allowed the dance to have moments if spacial restriction and spacial freedom. 

Greek Theatre

The Greek theatre was built in the open air and were usually quite large; the Theatre of Dionysus at Athens , for example,

had more than 17,000 seats. The theatres were usually built in hollowed-out hillsides, and despite their size had excellent acoustics, so that words spoken by the performers could easily be heard in all sections as the sound travelled upwards into the space of the audience.

The theatron was the area in which the audience sat. It was shaped like a horseshoe and had rows of stone seats rising upward and backward in tiers. In the first row were stone thrones for the principal citizens and the priest of Dionysus.

I gathered this information from Justice Antigone, Greek Theatre,  http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/creating/justice/pages/greektheatre.htm [Last Accessed 9th September 2014]. This information gave me an understanding of how the Greek stage and audience is usually designed. It also gained me keywords which widen  my vocabulary. It also gave me an understanding about the size of the theatres, which I only could have gained from resources or going to Greece itself.

The city-state of Athens became a significant cultural, political, and military power during this period. It was institutionalised as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus. Three genres within theatre became established at this festival these 3 genres were tragedy which came about in the late 6th century BC, comedy which is thought to have established in 486 BC, and the satyr play. Athens exported the festival to its numerous parts of Greece in order to promote a common cultural identity. At the end of the performances in the Dionysia festival the actors would give their stage masks to this god as a sign of recognition.


As i  was not around in the ancient greek times i had to gather some research together so i could explore the boundaries that the greeks went to within the theatre. I gathered my information from Wikipedia, Theatre of Ancient Greece, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece [Last Accessed 9th October 2014]

 MASKS

 The Ancient Greek term for a mask is prosopon and was a significant element in the worship of Dionysus at Athens, used in ceremonial rites and celebrations. Most of the evidence comes from only a few vase paintings of the 5th century BC . No physical evidence remains available to us, as the masks were made of organic materials and not considered permanent objects, ultimately being dedicated to the altar of Dionysus after performances. Nevertheless, the mask is known to have been used since the time of Aeschylus and considered to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre. Even though most masks got destroyed some got saved which allowed us to see an insight to what the Greek masks looked like.

In a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, the classical masks were able to create a sense of dread in the audience creating large scale panic, especially since they had intensely exaggerated facial features and expressions. They would usually get an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, this prevented the audience from identifying the actor to one exact character. Their changes in characters help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character’s appearance, these conventions are portrayed with the masks, and that's how the audience would distinguish these features.  Only 2-3 actors were allowed on the stage at one time, and masks allowed quick transitions from one character to another, when on stage. There were only male actors, but masks allowed them to play female characters.
The actors faces were never allowed to be revealed to the audience if wearing a mask as they thought this totally ruined the effect of why the mask was their in the first place to hide that actors identity, creating the character from the mask.
The masks allowed the audience to see facial features which you would lose from sitting far away from the stage. This meant that the narrative and storyline would not be lost to the audience, it helped them engage with the theatre productions. The researched helped me gain knowledge but also allowed me to realise the use of the masks, and their importance. 
I gathered my information from Wikipedia, Theatre of Ancient Greece, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece [Last accessed 9th October 2014]

Photo 1:http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Theater.html
Photo 2:http://www.lhsdramaclub.com/greek-theatre.html
Photo3:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece

The Process of Choreography

The Choreographic Process

• Stimulus

• Decision on type of dance and how your are going to present the stimulus through thorough research

• IMPROVISATION around initial ideas

• Select and refine your best ideas of apporpriate movement material

• Create a motif

• Motif development and use of choreographic devices.

Motif and Development

Motif: a motif is a movement or short movement phrase that forms the basis of the structure of a dance.

It can convey the theme/idea of the dance in physical form. It can also mark a recurring feature of the accompaniment, e.g chorus of the music. You also may want the motif to convey the character and reflect the initial visual stimulus.

16 Ways to Manipulate a Motif

1. Repition - Repeat exactly the same

2. Retrograde - Perform it backwards. Start at the end and follow it back through space - like a movie running in reverse.

3. Inversion - Upside down inversion, you may have to lie on the floor or stand on your head.

4. Size - Condense/Expand. Take the motif and do it as small as you can. Try even smaller. Now take the movement and make it bigger, as big as you can.

5. Tempo- Fast/slow/stop. Take the motif and do it as fast as possible or as slowly as possible.

6.Rhythm- Vary the rhythm but not the tempo. The variety and pattern of the beats should be altered, not the speed or length of time it takes to accomplish.

7. Quality - Vary the movement quality. Try the same movement quivery, drifting, with erratic tension etc.

8.Instrumentation- Perform the movement with a different body part; try several different parts of the body. Let another performer do it. Have a whole group do it.

9. Force- Vary the amount of force you use in producing the movement. Dot it with a great ideal of strength, from beginning to end. Now repeat it again, with very little force, gently, weakly. Carefully try to keep the change in force only.

10. Background- Change the desgin of the rest of the body from its original position and repeat the motif. Let the rest of the body to do something while the motif is going on. Sit instead of standing. Try prehaps twisting all the rest of you into a knot while still performing the regular motif. Add another person. Add to or change the set, the lighting.

11. Staging - Perform it at a different place on the stage and/or with a different facing to the audience, sideways or on a diagonal.

12. Embellishment- (Ornamentation). The movement itself can have the embellishment, or a part of the body can be embellished as it is involved in the movement; or try embellishing both the body and the path of movement at the same time.

13. Change of Levels - Change the motif to a different level: the horizontal, the verticle , the sagittal level or any other slice of space. Do it on a different level. Trace the path of the gesture and use it as a floor pattern.

14. Additive/ Incorporative - Additive: while doing the original motif, simultaneously execute any kind of jump, turn, or locomotor pattern (triplet, run, slide.)
Incorporative: make the original motif into a jump, turn or locomotor pattern. Although this can be though or impossible with some motif.

15. Fragmentation- Use only a part of the motif, any part. Use it as an entity in itself. Use it to attend to a detail, a part worth isolating that might otherwise be overlooked. Or use several parts of it, but not the whole thing -such as the beginning third, a tiny piece halfway through, and the very, very end.

16. Combination - Combine any of the above so that they happen at the same time. This lets you combine affinities (faster with smaller) or antagonists (faster with larger) for choreographic interest and technical challenge. Fragmentation us particulary effective when combined with others. You may combine three or four manipulations at the same time. Variety and complexity grows as you combine more and more manipulations.