Jake Allsop
Final Performance
The final performance that took place on 12th May exceeded expectations in a performance context, whereas the technical side of things was also utilised proficiently. In the rehearsals leading up to the show day we perhaps did not have as much access to the technical equipment that was necessary to feel totally comfortable with their presence in the performance, but fortunately our tech team were able to overcome this disadvantage. As a group I think we could have worked on our scene transition as I felt they were the weakest elements of the piece. We were instructed by our Tutor and Directors to move slowly when sorting and moving props, which audience members found alienating as it reduced the momentum of the show. This odd decision did not pay off in my opinion and we should have been more efficient in our transitions as opposed to introducing a method that didn’t need to be introduced.
As I was largely focused on my own performance in the piece I will mostly be discussing the moments that I was present. My most prominent role was President Richard Nixon, which I began the show playing and continued as in the next scene. I had received contrasting notes from my directors and my Tutor, where my directors told me to perform my speeches in a verbatim style and my Tutor conversely informed me that my verbatim style sounded more like I was imitating a Vicar and to channel President Nixon. As a performer, I felt like I couldn’t win.
On the day of the performance I researched Nixon by finding any videos I could find on the man’s speeches and debates, so I could build on my knowledge of Nixon’s characteristics. Our group has defined parameters so as to create a more cohesive performance, where we all agreed not to do impressions of the famous people we were portraying so as not to appear comedic or over the top cheesy. And while I attempted to personify this ideology, I couldn’t do so without compromising my performance.
The scene I personally feel was the strongest of those that i was in (and certainly one of the whole piece in terms of emotional weight) was the scene that depicted Nixon and his wife Pat before he resigned from office. The inspiration for this scene came from our piece’s mission to observe moments from history that aren’t looked upon as much as the moments that came after them. I found a TV film called Nixon: The Final Days that contained a scene just before Nixon resigned. He was reminiscing about how he had never quit before in his life and listing his accolades before doing what he felt he had to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkChfgx51GY
Following my suggestion, Nixon’s emotional monologue was integrated into the Watergate scene after the Directors saw the weight that it carried. The use of microphones in the scene was my favourite technical inclusion, as it allowed my fellow actors and I to forgo the over the top, voice projecting style of stage acting and let us rely on a more naturalistic style of acting. I have since been informed that audience members welcomed the real world feel of the scene. This sense of the real world carried over into the scene depicting the Wright Brothers with early drafts of their aircraft, the event that lead to the Columbine Shootings in Colorado, the Queen voicing her worries before her coronation and the final scene that revealed the entire performance was a Newsroom reporting on these previously unknown historical moments.
“Changing Faces” was about using modern technology to show the moments that influence events that have transcended time. But the use of technology in the media does not necessarily equate to the truth and it’s up to the audience to decide what we have presented is false, true or a combination of both. The use of technology and the way of performing together produced a performance that reflected our ideas in an accessible and thought provoking way. The audience responded well to the piece and acknowledged the difficult subject matter that we tackled. The elements I feel we as a group could have worked on is the amount of time we could have used working with the equipment and more clear talks with our Tutor in regards to telling the Directors what was best instead of correcting the piece so close to the performance date. But despite these pitfalls, I feel we as a group more then met up to the challenge of creating an effective and intellectual multimedia piece.