Year 11s Drama Assessment
Task 1: Response
Explorative strategies: Still Image with questioning in role or hot seating
The monologues of Sideway, Liz Morden and Ketch
Task: Exploration of these monologues through building a sense of these character’s lives before they were sent to the penal colony.
Write:
Record what happened for at least one group’s interpretation of a character.
Describe the one or two of their still images. Note down particularly interesting use of movement, words or space in communicating the group’s ideas to their audience.
What new understanding did you reach about the character or the times or the themes of the play from this work? Please explain.
Task 2: Development
Mediums and Elements: The Exploration of Act 1, scene 1
1.What are the elements that make up this scene? (Check your elements list – it is attached to your assessment criteria sheet) Describe and reflect upon two of these. For example if you were writing about ‘form’, why did Wertenbakker choose 3 short monologues at this point in the play; how dynamic is this opening to the play?
2. How did your group explore these elements through the mediums of drama? (Check the list!) For example if you choose ‘characterization’ from the Elements, how did the actors use their voice, spoken words, movement and space to communicate their characters? How successful did you feel this was? How could it be improved?
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Task 1: Response - Explorative strategies: Still Image with questioning in role or hot seating
For Ketch's Monologue the group had a Ketch who was commenting on the story and what had happened while the rest of the group did still images. This was useful as it helped you to understand the still images to gain a clearer understanding of Ketchs' life before he was sent on the convict fleet. The Ketch who commented on the story and who was in the still images wore a hoody covering their eyes only to show their mouth. This helped to connect between the two Ketch's but also raised ideas of whether covering the eyes symbolised the fact that Ketch felt guilty and sorry for turning in his friends for the crime and that he was trying to cover his emotions.
The still image where Ketch is watching his friends being taken away was powerful. His friends were frowning and looking back at Ketch. I felt this showed a hatred and anger at Ketch for betraying them and was powerful because we could see there emotions but not Ketchs'. They were also a far away distance from him which I feel could symbolise the broken connection between him and his friends and also the growing space and loss of friendship.
From this work I understand the character of Ketch on the surface may seem to be an untrust worthy charcater but on the inside we can see how he regrets what he did. I also realise how during those times people would have tried anything to stop themeselves from being sent onto a convict fleet because of the horrible living conditions etc onboard.
Catriona
Task 2: Development - Mediums and Elements: The Exploration of Act 1,scene 1
In Act 1, Scene 1 the elements that make up this scene are:
Form
Rhythm/Pace/Tempo
Characterisation
Action/Plot/Content
Contrasts
For the 'form' of the first scene, Wertenbakker chose 3 short monologues at this point. I feel this works well as it doesn't give away too many answers to what is about to come but it sets the scene well and starts to introduce the story. It also raises questions about who the three people are, what are their stories, and how they are connected. It is also very dynamic for example in John Wisehammer's monologue there are a lot of long sentences with lots of comers which show changing thoughts and even a daydreaming feel to it. Also lots of different ideas and thoughts are shown through the monologues.
Another element in this scene is the 'rhythm/pace/tempo' . For Ralph Clark, I think Wertenbakker wanted his counting to be quite and slow to show the tediousness of flogging criminals and the fact that this is one of there everyday actions. This helps to show the harshness of the actions on the convict ship. For John Wisehammers monologue I think the pace was meant to be quite fast to give the audience the idea of Wisehammers thoughts continuously spilling out and a day dreamy feel to his monologue. For John Arscotts monologue he talks about food and hunger so for his I think Wertenbakker wanted a slow pace and a quiet tempo so that we can see how his hunger seems to overtake his mind.
To explore 'characterisation' in the first scene we used raised platforms for the two men, John Wisehammer and John Arscott, and a lower platform for Mary, to make them stand out as the main characters but also to show how men in the society back then were viewed as more important and a higher ranking than women. For John Arscotts monologue we had him start off in a sitting position and gradually raise as if to reach for food. This went well with his monologue because it made it seem like he was so hungry that he was beginning to imagine things. For Mary we had her looking away during her monologue but on the work 'love' faced the audience. This exaggerated the word to give a fuller meaning to it. For Ralph Clark we had him seperate to the main characters to show his actions as one of the main focuses.
To explore the 'form' of the scene for Ralph Clarks counting it started as a black out but a red light began to fade on. This was good becuase it communicated the blood and horror of the flogging. To show three seperate monologues as they began to talk a white light shone on them. This helped to seperate their monologues and showed that they werent connected in this part of the scene. There was also a blue light in the background and the sound of waves to communicate the fact that they were onboard a convict ship which worked well.
Catriona
Task 1: Response - Explorative strategies: Still image with questioning in role or hot seating
For Sideways group they had to do still images whilst people commented on what they envisaged. This was helpful as it helped you to understand what the character was about and how they lived. Also it helped to make out the personaltiy of the character and not to mention the past of it.
Understanding Sideway before he went to the convict fleet. Sideway was an amazing pickpocket. He was really full of himself and one day he got caught for stealing from a woman. He thought that being a pickpocket was life and even when he got caught still believed it was an art. He had simply stolen his entire life and even when in Austrlia he would still do it he thought it was better than acting in a play even thpugh he believed he was good at that to. The people that played the still images of him really enacted the first part of his life, meaning where he firsst got caught and when he was shipped off, etc.
The still image where Sideway was being caught was the most powerful for me. I found that the expression on the actors face as he was caught really showed the depth of despair that Sideway must have felt.
From this excercise I feel I have a better idea of how some of the convicts must have felt when they first left for Byron Bay.
Task 1: Response - Explorative stratgies: Still Image questioning in role or hot seating
For Liz Morden's monologue the group had a Liz who was narrating and a Liz in the still images. narrating was a useful thing becasue it helped you yunderstand what is happening in the still images and give an understanding of her life before she was sent away. Both the Liz's the one that was narrating and the one that was in the still images were the only girls in the group so you coyuld have an understanding that they were conected and that they were the same person.
The still image that was most powerful to me was the image that you see Liz standing behind a guy and she has her hands on him while lokoing down and not ahed with two more guys at either side of her. Having her eyes down symoblises that Liz was a bit a shemed by what she did and didn't like doing it but she had to do it becuase there was no other way for her to get money.
From the still images i understand the charcter of Liz more because on the outside she might seem tough but on the insaide she is weak, and hurt by her father and by some of her brothers and that she peobbly prefers to be in the colony then back home.
Amit
For our first task, we had to use still images and hotseating to try and understand and explore the characters Ketch, Liz and Sideway. My group (consisting of Zak, Amit, Emi, Nat, and me)looked at Ketch. We decided that we should have a narrator out of the images who speaks Ketch's thoughts and his point of view, as this would help people understand the still images better. I think this method worked really well, as people got a clearer idea on Ketch. We also had both the Ketch of the image and the the Ketch who narrates to wear hoodies (so people knew they were the same person), and make it so the hoodie covered everything except the mouth. Our idea to do this was so that people would concentrate on the speech, not the facial expressions of the speaker. But some of the audience also intepreted it as Ketch's guilt as he had turned his friends in so he wouldn't get hung, but at his friends expense.
I thought one of the strongest things about our still images was the link with all the images. The contrast between the image where ketch was having fun beating the sailor up to the one where his friends were looking at him with hate and disgust for him betraying his 'friends'. This contrast shows that Ketch may have done this as a spur of the moment thing, not because he is nessisarily a criminal. We can further see this as he does show guilt in getting his friends onboard the ship, but cares more about his own life. He may not be the most loyal or the most law-abiding person, but he isn't exactly a criminal either.
Task One:
The interpretation I found most interesting was that of Ketch’s monologue as the group presented some very powerful still images.
The group had Isla narrating in first person as Ketch, dressed in a dark hoodie, covering her face. Zak played Ketch in the still images and by dressing him in the same way, we were able to see a clear resemblance. This ‘costume’ was also effective as it represented Ketch’s character. As Ketch had betrayed his friends in order to save himself, he felt full of guilt and remorse and this was shown through the way his face was hidden. Another way of looking at it is the way that he can be seen as an undertaker – killing off his friends. This could also be why his face was covered - to represent the traditional costume of an undertaker.
The most emotive still image the group assembled was the last one in which Nat, Emi and Dennis portrayed Ketch’s friends being led off to the gallows and glaring back at Ketch. I think this image really stunned the audience as the disappointment and anger in their eyes set off mixed emotions in our head. After hearing Ketch’s story, you had sympathised with him and understood why he did what he did. However, watching him sacrifice his close friends for his own life contradicted the pity, and the resentment in his friends’ eyes unmistakably showed it.
I think this exercise helped us all in gaining a deeper understanding of the characters as, by simply reading the play, we weren’t able to see how the characters truly felt and we didn’t explore their lives before entering the penal colony.
Task 1: Response
Explorative strategies: Still image with questioning in role or hot seating
The group that explored the monologue of Liz Morden is the group that I found to be most interesting. Although I found Ketch’s monologue was better interpreted to the audience, I found Liz’s story more interesting as they portrayed it in such a way that I was able to see the reason for her committing the crimes she did. The group explored the monologue of Liz Morden by using still images and some speech to show what her life was like before she was sent to the penal colony, and also explored the reasons for her being sent there. They used three still images, each showing three stages in her life, which eventually all caused her to be sent to the penal colony.
The most effective still image they used involved Liz and her father. Her father pick-pocketed a man and then blamed it on Liz. Liz was then stripped and whipped in the middle of a street. The group used this part of Liz’s life as one of the still images in order to portray Liz’s hate for her father and her humiliation. They did this by exploring facial expressions and the space between Liz and her father, to show the broken/destroyed relationship between them, and to show that this was the incident in her life that triggered the rest of her crimes.
From this work, I now see the reasons behind Liz’s actions and for her committing the crimes she committed. I also now see that while Liz seems like a woman who committed the crimes because she was a criminal, in fact, it seems that she committed the crimes because of the circumstances she was faced with and how here life came crashing down and it was her only choice.
Olivia
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