Understanding Of Character: this is the character of a guard who has seen a lot of bad things in his time from Agamemnon, although now he does not look fazed at the fact that his leader is becoming anxious from finding out that Achilles is planning to quit, alongside Briseis. I chose to portray the guard as if he was disobeying orders from Agamemnon as respect was lost for him. Bad decisions which are losing the battle made by Agamemnon. “They shouldn’t use children as human shields.” This is an example of the inhumane decisions that he is making.
Choice Of Costume: My choice of costume was a tactical vest, underneath a blue trench coat. I felt that these two items showed bravery and solidarity. It is also important to state that my injury on my leg was showing throughout the performance for the whole audience to see. It was covering the majority of my calf and really stood out to the audience, and that was my intention. Although it was a gaping wound, Agamemnon acted like it was not a big deal, and was left pretty much unnoticed. This gives the audience a sense of sympathy for the guard (myself) and makes the guard a lot more furious with his leader for not acknowledging his injury.
Use Of Semiotics: The injury suffered by the guard shows semiotics I believe. I think this because of the fact that Agamemnon has lost his human touch by not even realising the sustained injury, even though this injury was caused while fighting for Agamemnon’s army.
Employment Of Processed From Other Practitioners: During my performance, I used the ‘Magic If’ system. I felt like if I was in a situation with similar characteristics then I could employ that into this performance. The guard gives off the mood that he does not care and that he has lost his respect for his leader, Agamemnon. As I am a student I feel like this kind of scenario comes up a lot. If there is a teacher who doesn’t know what they are doing, and they may try to make it look like I have done something wrong I may choose to show disobedience to the people we have to respect in school. The Stanislavski ‘Magic If’ method can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislavski%27s_system#The_.22Magic_If.22
Use of Space: The use of space was an important part of my performance which I looked to improve on after the dress rehearsal. It was clear to see that the focus was supposed to be on the middle of the stage but I found from looking at my rehearsal that I was drifting away to the sides of the stage, which did not help to show my character as much as it should of. Changing my characters position on the stage brought a new emotion to the guard, and it really gave effect of his disrespect for Agamemnon.
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Use Of Props, Lighting And Sound: The use of props were mostly important for portraying anger from Agamemnon, such as the papers on the desk he was located at. When Agamemnon really wanted to show anger in the scene he used this prop to thrown on the floor in anger. The only lighting used was natural daylight, as the scene we developed was based during daytime, and the lighting was seen as ideal. There were no specific sounds that we employed apart from knocking on a door at the beginning of the performance.
Reflection
How successful was the project/performance?
The performance was very successful after adding differences to it that we both believed would benefit how the emotions were brought across, as that was our main objective. The objective was to show the guard’s non-compliant behaviour and also to show the sheer frustration and rage from Agamemnon. I feel like if I were to watch back my performance it would be very recognisable to see these emotions coming out.
What areas need further developing or re-thinking?
I think all of the problems we faced during the dress rehearsal were solved in ease before the final performance. The only issue I would say could be the props. Although at the time I did not want to overcomplicate things by adding too many props but I felt like there could’ve been one or two more extra props e.g a weapon for the guard. Overall I believe there was a good balance.
How well have I met the intentions of the playwright and the needs of the text?
The Greek tragedy came across well as we could see the emotions of an insane Agamemnon and the arrogance of the guard. The costumes that were used such as the rolled up shirt and sweat patches from Agamemnon showed great stress and related well back to the text. It was a decision made to change the mood that was originally intended. The original mood was for the guard to act serious and cautious about the situation. However, I felt like if the guard incorporated the mood of sarcasm, which made Agamemnon even more furious.
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