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Theatre HL

Collaborative Project

Internal Assesment
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Table of Contents

Title Page ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

Journal-Style Collaborative Theater Project ............................................................................................ 3
Section A ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Personal Context and Preparation ......................................................................................................... 3
Professional Theater Company .............................................................................................................. 4
Section B ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Formation of the Group .......................................................................................................................... 6
Exploration of the Starting Point ........................................................................................................... 7
Section C ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Reflection on the Collaboration Process ................................................................................................ 9
How I Led Specific Explorations ..........................................................................................................10
Section D .....................................................................................................................................................12
Evaluation of Contribution to Final 13-15 Minute Performance and Artistic Choices ..................12
Analysis and Justification of Artistic Choices .....................................................................................12
Final Evaluation .....................................................................................................................................13
References...................................................................................................................................................14
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Journal-Style Collaborative Theater Project

Section A

Personal Context and Preparation

Journal Entry: I do not have any prior experience in theater as I get into the collaborative project.

My interest in theater developed only during high school when other students participated in

theater-related activities. One of my friends used to read the book, Theories of the Theatre during

his free time. My interest in understanding what he read from the book saw me start reading it

when she was not using it.

Inside the book, I read about the theories of theater by Stanislavski and Stella Adler.

Despite the two theater theorists having diverse theories on theater, they believed that an actor

must always rely on their imaginations and external research and avoid digging up moments and

memories that have traumatized their personal lives before (Carson, 2020). Their theories about

theatrics helped me think critically and admire theater work. My admiration for acting plays soon

saw me get time to watch themes such as Red Ball and fellow students' performances, but I could

not join them, considering my role in the school basketball team at the time. I am glad that I got

the chance to study theater in my post-high school years.

After joining my current course, my knowledge and interest in theater have been enhanced,

and most of my curiosity has been settled. For instance, my previously developed thoughts that

theater work is done without preparation have been challenged since a lot of work is done before

the final presentation and production. A complete theater process involves at least script writing,

recruitment of a team, preparation of costumes and necessary accompaniment, and location

selection before final production.

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In my current course, I have attended classes, performed mock presentations, reviewed

professional theater work, and worked on many assignments seeking to analyze and discuss scene

extracts from professional works such as Progression in Secondary Drama. Currently, my

knowledge and performance of actual theater work have significantly advanced. I have skills and

knowledge such as screenplay writing, vocal dynamics, body language, team building, role-

playing, using language, and storytelling. As an audience member, I have witnessed how easy it is

for a member of the audience to judge an actor's work on stage. According to the imagination of

the members of the audience, acting is simple and straightforward (Walmsley, 2019). They are not

aware of the stage fright and the inevitable preparation that is done before they enjoy the final

staging.

My theatrical taste has been enhanced by the experience of acting or performing an actual

theatrical piece of work. I experienced the role of an actor and understood how interesting theater

work is, especially when it is successful. Currently, I am interested in making plays. Plays perfectly

depict theater work and can be manipulated and modified to suit the prevailing circumstances

(Gaunt & Treacy, 2020). In the collaborative project, I will use my experience and skills, such as

screenplay writing and team building, to help my ensemble develop a script, consolidate a team,

present, and produce the final video.

Professional Theater Company

Journal entry: I have watched Red Ball and experienced how the PUSH Physical Theater Company

performed the short theme perfectly. Also, the company has appealing devising techniques that

can help me in my collaborative project.

My childhood exposure to theater presentation videos such as Red Ball enhanced the ease

with which I identified myself with theatrics. I only related the presentations with what I used to
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watch to theatrics, but I did not understand the theater aspects of the play at the time. The extremely

talented and ward-winning ensemble, PUSH Physical Theater Company, performed Red Ball. The

creative and innovative performance of the short-term theme, Red Ball, and my previous

experience with the short theme influenced my research choice of the PUSH Physical Theater

Company.

PUSH Physical Theater Company's productions and performances are guided by beliefs

and its quest for unparalleled perfection. The company was established in 2000 by Darren and

Heather Stevenson and has earned an international reputation among top physical theater

companies (Evans & Murray, 2023). The company is defined by soulful artistry, athleticism, and

acrobatics that defy acrobatics. The company's creative process is based on the belief that

performers must bring their unique life experiences to the stage and use their movements to

communicate to the audience (Jepson, 2016). They invent perfection where its existence was

previously non-existent.

The creative process of the company is enhanced by the company's mastery of storytelling

and exploration of human-defining attributes such as humor, sorrow, joy, and tragedy. The

company's sold-out works have earned it international recognition and reputation, as well as

collaborations with companies such as the Rochester Institute of Technology and the National

Institute for Deaf (Knight, 2018). The collaborations played a key role in producing the Red Bull

performance using iPad technology. PUSH Physical Theater Company collects audience feedback

through its social media platforms, such as Facebook, through reviews (Jepson, 2016). Analysis

of audience feedback is based on grouping customer responses depending on the nature of the

feedback. For instance, they are grouped as suggestions, questions, and complaints and acted upon

accordingly.
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Acrobatics is the dominant style used by PUSH Physical Theater Company in the

performance stage of its works. The themes are developed from the performer's life experiences

and those around them (Varbanova, 2016). The company's objectives are to entertain and influence

human feelings in the best way possible. The company also signs contracts with televisions and

theaters to use their recorded performances to entertain their audiences. From this research, I will

carry the creative aspect of storytelling and the definition of human attributes to help develop a

catchy and quality script and video. The research will make me handle the collaborative process

more confidently since I have learned about the art of inventing perfection where there is none.

Section B

Formation of the Group

Forming the group requires the selection of working individuals with diverse skills in

theater work. Such helps them take unique roles and combine them while playing diverse

characterization or actor roles (Itzin, 2021). However, the ensemble members must have a similar

work ethic that can help them work together and deliver quality work. Theater work is about

collaboration since some actors can play multiple roles in the same performance.

In my previous theatric experience, I worked with many fellow students who performed various

roles excellently. Azra was such an avid performer, making my performance with him magnificent

and more fulfilling. However, he was not available for our ensemble this time around. Our

ensemble members were selected depending on their unique ability in play preparation and

performance. We convened our first meeting before script writing for initial bonding and

understanding of the group activities such as script writing, role-playing, rehearsing, and

performance. Our play was based on justice, and we had to assign seven roles to five performers

allowed for each ensemble.

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Other than working on our roles as performers, other roles such as set and costume design

were assigned depending on our ability. In the initial stage of the group formation process, we

learned how to communicate efficiently with each other, resolve conflicts, make group decision-

making, and time management. Then, we worked on the screenplay as a group and assigned

ourselves roles. Less dominant roles were combined and assigned to one performer.

I made several suggestions on how extra roles should be assigned to ensure that our

ensemble was strong. For instance, I used my theater knowledge from The Viewpoints Book to

advise my members to focus on collaboration rather than hierarchy. Our ensemble was forced to

develop extra skills for our chosen theatrical style. For example, we had to assign some ensemble

members extra roles. Hence, they had to multitask and distinguish the roles properly at the

performance stage. Multitasking can be confusing as the performance of some pieces interferes

with others (Norrthon, 2019). Hence, constant rehearsal and use of the 'magic if' is key to

breathtaking performance. We had early discussions before we started working on our

collaborative project. We met to discuss the starting point and brainstorm roles and the script's

nature.

Exploration of the Starting Point

Journal entry: Justice is among the goals of the United Nations organization. Justice is also not

efficiently served in the criminal justice system due to mistaken identities.

The starting point is developing or selecting the major theme of our team's production. We

had every group member suggest and defend their choice of starting point. Justice is my initial

suggestion but everyone, especially Erik, believed that something else, perhaps economics, would

suffice. However, everyone considered justice once I outlined my script and how it would justify
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the starting point eventually. I considered justice since a there are so many people who face the

wrath of the law in the world for mistakes they never committed.

Mistaken identity ensures that victims do not get justice, their perpetrators get away with

their atrocities, and innocent people are jailed. Also, I gained interest in the starting point from my

reading of the play, Pipeline, by Dominique Morriseau, where justice was not served to the students

of color in an inner city school. I also used accounts from the play to demonstrate and convince

my members how justice required attention. Justice is among the global goals of the United

Nations, and the world organization would like to see everyone entitled to it (Fleetwood, 2020).

Justice is important for every society since it gives everyone what they deserve according to their

efforts and contribution.

Theatrically, my ensemble explored the starting point by brainstorming and outlining how

it could work. We devised a short story, imagined how a script could look and assessed how the

story would fulfill the starting point. Our target audience is the police, including forensic

investigative agencies and the police. The role of police investigative agencies in the criminal

justice system is to investigate crimes and bring criminals to the book (Rowe & MacAuley, 2019).

Our research revealed how they maltreated and subjected innocent people they thought were

criminals to the law. People who are arrested mistakenly suffer in remand prisons or end up in jail.

We intend to show the police how real criminals can escape their intelligence and ensure that the

wrong people are arrested and charged on their behalf.

PUSH Physical Theater Company establishes starting points by exploring human attributes

such as sorrow, happiness, and humor. In addition, they consider the real-life experiences of their

performers and the people around them. In my society, illegal gun possession and handling are

crimes. The public has developed a fear of illegally possessing guns since they are used in capital
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crimes such as robbery and murder. Those using guns illegally are also aware of the implications

should the police arrest them. Hence they escape, and police arrest anyone around the scene upon

arrival.

According to Bacchini and Lorusso (2019), face recognition technology has failed terribly

to enhance the elimination of mistaken identities, and people have a high risk of being wrongfully

convicted. Such has contributed to the fear of being arrested wrongly. The cultural fear of mistaken

identity and the severity with which police handle suspects helped develop the theater piece. The

audience would feel relieved since the theater material would send a message to the police to arrest

the right people and charge them (Lopez et al., 2021). We agreed to stage the justice starting point

by a majority vote of three against two. Such will help a majority to focus on the collaborative

theater work and contribute competently towards making it excellent.

Section C

Reflection on the Collaboration Process

Journal entry: I loved and enjoyed how challenging, and informative the collaborative project has

been. My research and experience have helped me contribute significantly!

After we finally settled on our starting point, we focused on making individual

contributions toward narrowing down the starting point. The starting point was described broadly,

and the final theater piece of work needed to focus on a specific aspect of the starting point. We

developed the ideas for the final piece by selecting the best course of action from the brainstormed

ideas in the starting point stage. Then, we outlined the structure of the presentation and decided

we would have eight scenes for the collaboration project. There was a conflict between the number

and length of the scenes. Erik thought three scenes of four and a half minutes would have served
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us better, but Dilçen thought that we use many short scenes. However, I am glad we settled early

enough on the two issues and moved on swiftly.

Focusing on collaboration rather than hierarchy helped our work move forward relatively

easily. With collaboration, it is easier to get member contributions, consolidate suggestions and

develop a blended idea to help the ensemble deliver quality work. Brainstorming, summarizing,

and outlining were some of the processes that helped the group shape and structure our material

(Ledger, 2019). After the processes, we added detail and elaboration to the outline. Working in a

group using the collaboration approach hinders or slows the decision-making process since every

ensemble member must be consulted before making a decision. Hence, the process was long and

slowed the ideas' development. Despite the elongation of the decision-making process, the

decisions made eventually produce the best and most prestigious work.

The main problem we encountered during production was the process of decision-making

and sourcing costumes and performance equipment. Solutions to the elongated process of decision-

making included giving members with conflicting ideas chances to prove their points then a

decision is made by a majority through a vote. We tackled the issue of costumes and performance

equipment by improvising instruments such as guns or using our clothes for performance.

How I Led Specific Explorations

I am one of the group members who contributed most to the development and execution of

the collaborative process. I made suggestions in the group formation, the starting point, the

presentation, and during the play's performance. I largely utilized research and my experience in

theater to contribute to the project. In the group formation stage, my skills in role-playing helped

delegate some tasks, which eased the decision-making process. I am glad that I let the selection of
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the starting through vigilant research and justification of my choice. The starting point enhanced

the ease of the collaborative process.

I played the role of the driver who came out and rescued the homeless man mistakenly

arrested by the police. During the performance, I witnessed the murder of the gun dealer by Raven,

but the homeless man is implicated instead. Acting the driver's role would have been almost

impossible without the prior work I did during my rehearsals. In my research of the PUSH Physical

Theater Company, I noticed how they invented perfection where there was none. I had to look for

books and study Stanislavski to make a significant breakthrough. Method acting and Stanislavski's

'magic if' techniques helped me invent perfection and play the role of the driver (Graham-Jones,

2020). Using the 'magic if' and method acting, I could achieve expressive performances that made

me naturally assume the driver and the eyewitness roles. Such was important in convincing the

police to pardon the homeless man.

After researching the starting point, we highlighted the key things we would like our

audience (the police) to get. After highlighting mistaken identities and how they hinder justice, we

suggested using gun dealers, their clients, murder, and the implication of an innocent homeless

man. The homeless man was arrested mistakenly by police while Raven almost got away with the

murder. However, the driver witnessed the whole incident and came to the rescue of the innocent

man.
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Section D

Evaluation of Contribution to Final 13-15 Minute Performance and Artistic Choices

I evaluate the impact of a piece of theater has on an audience by assessing the reactions of

the audience towards the performance. An audience always reacts accordingly as the performance

of a theater peace is ongoing on stage (Sestigiani & Pechenkina, 2022). The reaction may be

positive or negative, that is, in the form of applauses, ululations, murmurs, claps, and laughs, and

always signal audience engagement. The PUSH Physical Theater Company evaluates its

audiences’ reactions to its performances by collecting comments on platforms such as YouTube

and Facebook where they post their content (Jepson, 2016). Also, the company records the

audience’s reactions during their live performances.

I chose to remain relaxed and focused on the message and audience throughout the entire

presentation. Relaxation and focus helped me deliver my message to the audience without

distractions or overwhelm by theater stage fright. From the audience’s feedback, I discovered that

the audience has specific parts of the performance that touches their feelings. For instance, the

audience felt relieved when I assured the homeless man that I was to get him out of the police cell.

He would be free at last! Generally, the feedback of the audience to our performance was positive

and we were sure that our message on justice was home eventually.

Analysis and Justification of Artistic Choices

During my presentation, I utilized diaphragmatic breathing, body language, and vocal

dynamics. For instance, I lowered the tone of my voice while assuring the homeless man that I

was going to get him out. I varied the tone to enhance the delivery of the message. Also,

diaphragmatic breathing was imperative to avoid nervousness, relax, and focus on the presentation.
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In addition, I was walking back and forth facing the audience to use the body language to

communicate how disturbed I was with the murder I had witnessed.

Final Evaluation

My experience of presenting a piece of original theater to an audience was exciting and

fulfilling. I learned that justice is not an easy find for the underprivileged in the society. Working

with others requires individual contribution, trust, and responsibility (Sestigiani & Pechenkina,

2022). One must ensure that what is assigned to them in a group effort is accomplished punctually

and competently. Moreover, making original theater is a long and bulky process that requires a lot

of thinking and planning. From brainstorming the starting point and getting started with the project

focus and due diligence are imperative. About general theater, I learned that creativity is the skill

that keeps it alive all along. The way we established the starting point, laid down the project, and

performed was a reflection of our creativity as a group. I was excited about the impact my

contribution had on the success of the collaborative project for my group. I learned that I can

compose myself and explore and rise to the occasion irrespective of my previous experience or

competence.
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References

Bacchini, F., & Lorusso, L. (2019). Race, again: how face recognition technology reinforces

racial discrimination. Journal of information, communication, and ethics in society.

https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-05-2018-0050

Carson, D. (2020). Beyond method: Stella Adler and the male actor. Journal of film and video,

72 (1-2), 98-100. https://doi.org/10.5406/jfilmvideo.72.1-2.0098

Evans, M., & Murray, S. (2023). Mime into Physical Theatre: A UK Cultural History 1970–

2000. Taylor & Francis.

Fleetwood, J. (2020). Social justice, food loss, and the sustainable development goals in the era

of COVID-19. Sustainability, 12(12), 5027.https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125027

Gaunt, H., & Treacy, D. S. (2020). Ensemble practices in the arts: A reflective matrix to enhance

teamwork and collaborative learning in higher education. Arts and humanities in higher

education, 19(4), 419-444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1474022219885791

Graham-Jones, J. (2020). Translation and/as theatre and performance historiography: Towards a

reconsideration of a neglected but omnipresent challenge. In The Routledge companion to

theatre and performance historiography (pp. 307-324). Routledge Publishers.

Itzin, C. (2021). Stages in the revolution: Political theatre in Britain since 1968. Routledge

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Knight, R. (2018). Mime the gap: Techniques in mime and movement. Crowood Press

Publishing.
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Ledger, A. J. (2019). The Director and directing: Craft, process, and aesthetic in contemporary

theatre. Springer Nature Publishers Limited.

Lopez, M. J., Kearney, G., & Hofstadter, K. (2021, Oct. 29). Enhancing audio description:

Inclusive cinematic experiences through sound design. Journal of Audiovisual

Translation, 157-182. https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i1.2021.154

Rowe, M., & MacAuley, M. (2019). Giving voice to the victims of sexual assault: the role of

police leadership in organizational change. Policing: an international journal, 42(3),

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Norrthon, S. (2019). To stage an overlap–The longitudinal, collaborative, and embodied process

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