Radio Blog

Radio Research

The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth is a Radio 4 quiz show hosted by David Mitchell. The premise is for the guests to present lectures that are entirely false besides a few hidden truths. Panellists earn points by spotting truths, smuggling truths past the other guests, and lose points by mistaking a lie for a truth. The show features new guests each week. This keeps the format fresh and encourages listeners to keep watching each week. The way panellists interrupt the lectures is by buzzing in. This method is well recognised and will be a familiar method to anyone watching, helping new listeners feel comfortable with the format. The points system adds to the comedy of the game. Many guests end on negative points due to guessing wrong about what is a truth. This is similar to the points system in QI where panellists frequently end with negative points. 

The Infinite Monkey Cage
The Infinite Monkey Cage is a factual comedy show hosted by Brian Cox and Robin Ince. Each episode focuses on a different scientific topic and a new range of guests including both comedians and scientists. As with The Unbelievable Truth the use of guests keeps the format fresh and interesting each week. The use of guests will also draw in new fans. If a fan of, for example, Dave Gorman (a repeat guest on the show) finds out he's going to be on it then they may tune in and become a regular listener. The balance between factual information and comedy keeps the program entertaining to a wider audience, both those interested in science and casual listeners looking for some entertainment. This format however may push away people who have a more in depth science knowledge or are seeking to seriously learn.

The Museum of Curiosity
The Museum of Curiosity is also a factual comedy show but it has a more niche selection of facts, less for learning and more for casual interest. John Lloyd hosts and every series features a new co-host, this co-host is always a comedian. Such co-hosts have included Bill Bailey, Dave Gorman, and Jimmy Carr. The show revolves around a series of guest 'adding' things to this fictional museum. Each guest talks about a unique and interesting topic/item to the two hosts. The use of this fictional museum is a very interesting technique, it allows the listener to imagine their own museum filled with fantastical curiosities as the exhibits cannot be limited by size or plausibility. Guests are often a mix of scientists, writers, comedians, even Dr. Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut, has appeared on the show. The familiar mix of scientists and comedians provides a light atmosphere to the show laden with complex and varied curiosities. If it were just cerebral geniuses then the show would be boring for a vast number of people, however if it were just comedians then the exhibits would have little depth and the show would be less interesting. The good balance creates a show that appeals to a much wider audience. The show maintains a casual, relaxed atmosphere and is little more that the five people talking about their subjects and making jokes, this familiar atmosphere can be welcoming for a listener. The atmosphere is created by John Lloyd's relaxed demeanour as the host and there is a feeling that he does genuinely want to be there and learn about what the guests have bought in.

The Archers
The Archers is a Radio 4 serial drama. The programme is set in the country and features a large cast of characters. The vast cast opens opportunities for the show to feature a wide range of issues and storylines. The show's timeslot of 6pm is to try and coincide with when dinner is being cooked in an average household so that the cook can listen to it during this. The primary demographic of the archers "is predominantly female (76%), white British (81%) and aged 40-59 (62%)" source. So this aiming at housewives appears effective. The show is very long running, like many soaps, its faithful audience sustaining it. 

Our Performance

We chose to perform a version of the radio show The Brothers Faversham by The Penny Dreadfuls. It is a period satire, each episode focusing on one son of the fictional Faversham family of the 1800s. We chose this because we thought it was very funny and it would allow us to show vocal diversity as it is designed for one performer to play multiple characters, most with exaggerated, silly voices. The original structure of the show is with five performers: the main three men (originally The Penny Dreadfuls: Humphrey Ker, David Reed and, Thom Tuck) who would play all of the characters except for one female character, Alexandra Faversham, the main character's mother (originally played by Ingrid Oliver); and a narrator (originally Miles Jupp). We asked for India's help to play Alexandra Faversham as to stick to the source material as much as possible, otherwise we assimilated the role of the narrator into that of one of our performers. We went for the use of many sound effects and music because they are featured in the original, however we chose to add and omit some as we saw fit for practicality and clarity. The episode we chose, we chose because it has the most happening within the first ten minutes (which was our time limit) and featured one of the widest range of characters that would allow us to show our vocal diversity. We started our rehearsing by listening to the original a few times together and from that dividing up the roles, each of us ended with at least three each. We chose each according to our strengths, for example, we chose Will for the narrator because he has the calmest, most even voice that we thought would fit a narrator well, he also got a drunk character as he can do the best drunk impression of the three of us. After I had copied out the script from a recording, we were able to start rehearsing, we simply read through the script as many times as we could, experimenting with our characters and getting familiar with the words. After a good number of run throughs we felt like we had what we wanted it to sound like and we went through the script together to add in sound effects. I copied the effects from the source but we added our own input to what sounds we thought necessary or otherwise. If I could have changed anything from our rehearsal period, I would have firstly, had more time to rehearse with India, she did very well in the recording however we only had one or two opportunities to explore the scenes together. Otherwise I would have just liked no time restriction because I believe we could have performed the entire episode with the time provided if there hadn't been a restriction on performance length. All in all, I really enjoyed the unit and the opportunity to explore a different method of performance and get to know both sides of it, both the acting and the production. 

Restoration Blogs

Restoration Blogs

Week 1

I'm very happy about being cast as Blunt. He was the character that I most wanted as the fop seemed like a very fun part to play. I like the idea of playing a foolish character that is the object of ridicule. I was also drawn to playing the fop because I was inspired by Aidan's presentation in 'The Country Wife' last year. His presentation affected me because I was surprised to see any depth to the ridiculous character. I had thought of him as a subject of comedy only and seeing him break down and remove his wig, a key symbol of the character's foppery and foolishness, engaged me in the character. My goal for Blunt at the moment is to create a character that is a hilarious symbol of ridicule but also have moments of seriousness beneath the foppish façade. I think the key moment for that in this play is the second attempted rape of Florinda. I am also very excited to be double cast with Jason, we spent a while together highlighting lines and discussing them and it seems like we will both be able to learn from each other's characterisations. I also feel like there wont be any sense of competition between us which will allow us both to fully explore the character to how we wish without any worry of us competing to have the 'better' Blunt.

We started by starting work on the prologue. I think it's quite a task having to open the play with the first line. As I learned in Panto it's very hard to meet a low energy line with a high energy one, as such it will be my job to get the ball rolling and offer a high energy line for the next person to pick up from. If I give a weak open to the play then it could have a rolling effect reducing the energy of the entire prologue. The effect is worse given many lines are continuations of the same sentence of the last line. We also started to block the staging of the prologue, with our entrances and the places where we stand. It's very difficult to be able to get to our positions in the current formation because we keep almost bumping into each other this slows us all down, creating a gridlock effect, and makes it look awkward. To solve this we need to work out the path that we have to take through people and try our best to stick to the timing of it each time.

We also started blocking my first scene however we ran out of time and I wasn't able to go through it. I was able to see Jason playing Blunt however and I really like his take on the character. His characterisation lends itself to his size. He acts like the biggest person in the room which is made more funny by how he is considerably shorter than Will, Rufus, and Matt. I feel like for my characterisation I shall have to focus on the foolishness as opposed to the bravado of Blunt, because of my height. Jason acts like the biggest person in the room and I act like the stupidest. I think my characterisation of Blunt 
will end up with only very subtle differences to Jason's but they will separate the two takes and, hopefully, work more according to who we are. I do have faith that Blunt will be a very fun character to explore, with both the foolish side, the cocky side, and the serious side.

Week 2

This week I was able to play in the first scene. Blunt, with Frederick, starts by teasing Belvile about his melancholy attitude. Blunt then goes on to lament how he and Frederick haven't got the skill with romance that Belvile appears to possess by his yearning for Florinda. He then discusses his taste for an honest woman over a courtesan because they aren't out just for his money. This line foreshadows his later deception by Lucetta who appears to be an honest woman in order to steal all of his money. Blunt then makes fun of Belvile and Frederick's loss of money and power through being Royalists, also condemning politics in the process. Then for a considerable amount of the scene he offers unimportant throwaway lines until Lucetta appears. He is surprised by her paying him the attention she does and says that he must be more attractive than his mirror at home tells him.

Blunt is the outsider of the group, he is one of their friends but Belvile and Frederick are much closer. When Willmore shows up he is still excluded because Willmore is old friends with the two cavaliers. I think there may be an aspect of them only liking Blunt for his wealth, he's the friend they don't really want tagging along but he does anyway. As such, I think in this scene, Blunt is trying to impress all three of them, and the way he goes about it is to act intelligent, important, and to flaunt his wealth. Of course Blunt is only so effective at the first two, he does appear a little obnoxious and flaunting his wealth only leads him to become a target of Lucetta. He doesn't appear too much of a fool at this point, he appears to have valid knowledge and opinions on politics. However he is fooled by Lucetta's advances, he thinks so highly of himself that he doesn't doubt her immediate infatuation with him.

We worked on the prologue again with our lines learned and I think it went very well, it had impact and form that I think would open the play well. When Adam gave us advice and guidance on it however he really made the prologue bounce out. He taught us about how to make our actions definite and boost the momentum of movement into our voice. This made the prologue really stick out and I think if we can keep improving on our clarity of speech, synergy with the lines and impact of each one it can really open the play with a great deal of power.

We also started work on Act 2 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 1, Blunt's next two scenes. Act 2 Scene 1 has Blunt gushing about the greatness of Lucetta, his foolishness breaks through more when he details how he traded one of his diamonds for a bracelet she gave him. This shows his obliviousness to how she is just there for his money and allows the audience to realise that he's going to be swindled adding a sense of dramatic irony to improve the humour. They then go on to discuss Angelica but Blunt maintains his low opinion of courtesans by choosing to have nothing to do with her because of her cost. The gentlemen then leave for a while and come back into a sword fight because Willmore stole a poster of Angelica. Act 3 Scene 1 has little for Blunt besides throwaway lines however he does get called to Lucetta's which sets up the next scene which revolves around Blunt and Lucetta.

Blunt is completely infatuated by Lucetta, given he has known her for less than a day, it can be inferred that he rarely has much luck with the ladies. He is completely enthralled by her to the point that he is talking of uprooting from England and moving here after one day. This is the part where I want to start really playing up Blunt's flamboyance and resultant foolishness. I think being aware of the dramatic irony for any line is very important, helping the audience be fully aware of how ignorant to Lucetta's designs Blunt is. Blunt unquestioningly charges into a sword fight alongside Willmore. I don't think this is due to sense of loyalty to his friends, or a sense of hurt honour that he is threatened, nothing noble at all. I want to play this as Blunt just loves swordplay and sees it as a noble practice that will make him seem gallant and honourable in front of everybody.

I think I'm making a good start into exploring Blunt's character. I'm starting to make specific choices with him and as I explore the further scenes and these scenes more, I think these choices will become more defined and I will start to explore the character much more.

Week 3

This week we did a scene more focused on Blunt. It's the scene where Blunt is tricked and robbed by Lucetta, Sancho and Philippo. I think the scene has a lot of potential for humour in it, Blunt's first line is an aside lamenting how he has no skill with talking to women which I think is very funny if it contrasts with his outside, calm and collected, smooth demeanour. Blunt seducing Lucetta is funny in itself, the scene is dripping with opportunities I just have to keep exploring it to find them with the aim of making it one of the funniest scenes in the play. The main opportunities for humour I think are, the dramatic irony that the audience knows he's being tricked but he doesn't, his apparent ineptitude with women, and the discrepancies between how he acts and how he acts in an aside.

That scene develops into Blunt's monologue, disgraced and left penniless in the street. He laments his foolishness, Lucetta's cruelty, and how his friends will react. I think there are opportunities for physical comedy here, starting out on the ground crawling, then sitting for some time and displaying Blunt's frustration with small outbursts of petty violence against the floor (this I got from Jason's interpretation, then standing up with a possible stagger. I need to explore this scene and work out key moments of emotion in the monologue to find a place for these physical and comical moments.

At the end of the week we had a workshop on stage combat involving rapiers with Adam. I thought this was a fantastic opportunity, it was very interesting to learn and I wish it could be a more regular thing. I am very excited to piece together a fight from these moves but I am unsure as to if we will remember the moves over the Easter break. Karen said in voice that I should take up some form of movement exercise like dance to gain some grace in my movement and develop my stage presence and range of skills. I think that some form of stage combat or fighting training would be a good way of doing this so I may even wish to continue it outside of college.

Over Easter I was looking at my lines and I was having trouble with where to put pauses and breaks in the line. Because of this I decided to separate each thought that Blunt has, I have put dashes where I think that Blunt has a new thought and this has helped to slow down my lines and give them more direction and purpose. I think it's much clearer as to what I'm saying, this is particularly important for a Restoration Comedy as it is hard to follow the immense amount of dialogue and the subtle changes in language as it is. I feel like this is something I shall do for any script I have in the future, it's very helpful for character and line delivery and I feel like it will have a very positive impact on my performance. 

Week 4

This week we did very little with Blunt. We tried to run through the play but we only got to Act 2 and only did two scene with Blunt in. I was still unsure on my lines but I think the thought breaks definitely helped. Running the few scenes we did, I felt like we were starting to sink more into the roles and the play, the scene felt more familiar and with a number of weeks left before the performance I am very confident with the amount we have left to do and the time we have left.

We attempted to create fight scenes using the skills we learnt from Adam but, as I feared, we had forgotten all but two of the moves. Trying to piece together a fight was nigh on impossible at that point but Sally showed us some stage combat videos from Lamda. This gave us the inspiration to create something ourselves and Jason and I got to work. Most of our moves are simple ones interjected with simplistic sword clashes that wouldn't be done with the thrusting swords like what we are using however it looks and sounds okay and without proper training that's all we can hope for. We worked out that the key element is speed, if it's quick then the audience barely knows what they're seeing but with the swords clashing, as such it will look like a real fight to an untrained eye. I hope we have a lot more time set aside to practice because otherwise we will definitely just forget what we did again and the more practice we get, the safer and better looking it becomes.

We did some short work with Sebastian, this involved simply standing around in the scene, listening, following orders, and delivering one/two lines. I have an idea on the characterisation of him but it's awfully simple and essentially a stock servant due to his unimportance in the play. I do plan however to put weight behind his lines and make him at least slightly memorable.

Week 5

This week we started work on the scene where Blunt attempts to rape Florinda. When I first read this scene I was very eager to find some serious dramatic depth with Blunt, showing a real dark side to his character. However we are being directed into making it funnier, losing the sinister edge to the scene. Our director told me to find the frantic desperation of Blunt in the scene. I can definitely see that as an aspect of the character in the scene however the sinister, darker edge is much more obvious for me. I find it hard to apply the humour to the scene as a whole but I’ll have to find a way. I think approaching every line like a false threat will help, if I present that Blunt is really bad at these threats and definitely won’t follow through with them. I do think that Blunt would follow through but I’ll need to find a reading where he wouldn't. I think that Jason find the humour in the scene much easier than I do, however I don't think he would be as comfortable with the sinister side. Despite the development of the feeling of the scene we didn't get too far into the actual blocking of it. We’re going to continue that next week.

We also tried a run through of Act 1 and 2. I think it went well for Act 1, there were very few, if any, scripts and the pace was good for just coming off book. We can definitely improve our pace, but it's a good start for moving forward. Otherwise, I think there could have been a greater sense of comradery between the lads, something I noticed in my scenes. I think this will improve as we become familiar with our lines and familiar with each other's characters on stage. Act 2 went less well, more scripts appeared and many more prompts were needed. The scenes suffered but they still went relatively smoothly. Overall, I think it was a good step in the right direction and we'll be off book soon enough.

Week 6

This week we continued with Blunt's scene with Florinda and Frederick. I feel like I'm getting closer to being able to play the rape scene humorous but I'm still finding it hard to see that side of the script. We managed to block the first half of the scene though and continue on to start and to finish the second. Our blocking is quite clever in that it can work for both the sinister side and the humorous. There are actions like the spin that can easily have little qualities like the brutality or the lack of commitment of the action. We have been directed to make the second half of the scene more like how I saw the first so that part came more natural to me. I don't like having the same side of Blunt throughout the whole play and lament the loss of my character's sinister side but I'll lose it for the director's vision.

We then blocked the last scene. This scene had very little to do with Blunt, only really providing a few comic interludes. The beginning of the scene has a frantic Blunt, afraid of his friends entering his home to see him in his state of undress. He is thinking what he says off the cuff, quickly and desperately to keep his friends outside. There is also a distinctive change between Blunt talking to his friends and the audience, the section includes many asides to add a lot of the humour to the scene, showing Blunt's desperation. I think a lot of the comedy available in this bit can be achieved with physical gags such and funny facial expressions. The rest of the scene, Blunt is very background, as the scene is set in his house I decided it would be within character for him to just sit down and watch the goings on, perhaps bored. Blunt then exits and re-enters later in the scene, dressed ridiculously and clearly annoyed about it. 

It was very good to finally finish the play. With only the epilogue left to block I'm quite excited to get the play finished and start going back over it. I think we have a lot of progress to make but plenty of time to do it. I am very confident that we can get the play in order by the time of the performance. I think there is still a lot of room to explore in many of the scenes, for me, I want to do a lot more with the Lucetta scene and the rape scene. I think those are the most interesting scenes for Blunt and I look forward to having other chances to go over them.

Week 7 & 8
These weeks we started to wrap everything up. We got costume done, we finished the epilogue on the day I was ill, and we started run-throughs. 

My costume for Blunt really helps me with the character and especially the posture. As soon as I put it on I find myself automatically falling into Blunt's posture, showing off the frills of the costume and straightening my back. This will be very beneficial for my performance, having my posture come more naturally. It also reinforces my idea of Blunt losing more of his fop-like persona when he loses his outfit. Blunt's posture revolves around showing off his finery, so I think that when he loses it he becomes more down to earth and human. He regains the original attitude when he is dressed in the Spanish habit at the end of the play, though he does not like it, it does give him something to flaunt. I will try and bring these ideas into the character but I don't see them lasting very long, as our director doesn't see it the same way.

The run throughs are getting smoother and I feel like as I'm starting to get more off book my performance is becoming more refined and how I would like it. There is a clear difference between the scenes where I have a script in hand and those where I don't. I feel like lines train and last much longer than they should, actions are forced and repeated a lot but without a scrip things become more natural and free. We all still have far to go to get off book fully but I do think it will be done after half-term.

We also blocked the epilogue, it bears little difference to the prologue and I wasn't actually there for the session where we blocked it so I'm waiting for an opportunity to see and try it properly.

All in all, the play is making good progress. The state of set and props is becoming slightly worrying but I have no bearing on props and I know the set can't be continued with until we have more wood. So there is little to do now but rehearse and prepare for the final show of our second year.

Jaques - Character Study

Jaques Character Study

In our work on As You Like It I play Jaques in act 3 scene 3. We are making our scenes contemporary, choosing a modern setting over a traditional one because of its increased relevance today. We chose to place the scene at a music festival, we thought it would fit the scene and would give us an opportunity to play our characters inebriated. My vision of Jaques is of a 25 year old man. He doesn't have any contact with his immediate family, choosing not to speak with his parents and being an only child. How I imagine Jaques looks is with long, straight, black hair and a thin figure. At the time of our scene he is in the middle of a field, at a festival. It is set in the present day, specifically, I imagine in late summer. I picture a modern Jaques wearing casual clothes, a plain black T-shirt, jeans, and because he is at a festival, walking boots. I don't see Jaques with any props though, I don't think an emotional attachment to an object fits the character.

Jaques is melancholy but seems to revel in it. He is cynical, always looking for the negatives; judgmental, but not to an unreasonable degree; and passive, never looking for positivity or trying to better anything. Jaques does, however, come across as very passionate about what makes him melancholy. The famous speech "All the world's a stage" shows a passion about these thoughts. He speaks about the futility of life but shows a stark fear of death with his last line "Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." The repetition of "Sans" is what brings the sense of fear into it, it shows a side of Jaques valuing life that he is afraid of losing such thins as taste and sight. The speech also specifically deals with aging going through the "seven ages". This focus on aging may represent Jaques having a fear of growing old and by extension death. His melancholy attitude born out of this idea that life is just a cliche that is repeated by everyone is countered by his appreciation of the sensory satisfaction gained from life, that of taste and sight. Jaques passes judgment on other people, in my scene he is judging Touchstone. His first line in my scene is, referring to Touchstone, saying that "Knowledge ill inhabited is worse than Jove in a thatched house". This essentially means that he thinks Touchstone has knowledge but doesn't know how to use it. The line is an aside to the audience and he works to entertain them. This refers back to a sensationalist reading of Jaques, he tries to make the audience laugh because the feeling of laughter is a key component of life, it makes us feel good. His passivity involves him staying impartial and excluded from the action. This act of staying on the sidelines and avoiding being involved is his way of staying impartial, he can observe life better from outside it and feel melancholy about how it is because he is only watching it and not experiencing it.

Jaques doesn't have a specific space on the stage, I think he is comfortable anywhere. This comfort stems from seeing himself as an outsider. This is demonstrated when he barges in on Touchstone and Audrey's false wedding. This idea also links in with the speech "All the world's a stage" because all the world is his stage. Despite this, Jaques prefers to stay on the sidelines, observing the action as opposed to in the midst of it. Without a space of his own, with no props and no family, Jaques is not tied to the world in any way. Again he remains an outsider. This may be why he is melancholy, he has reached his age without anything to show for it. He was a lord but that was stripped of him and now all he has is his thoughts and contemplation. Like his lack of attachment to any object he lacks much attachment to other characters. The only characters he interacts with are those he takes interest in and Duke Senior. Jaques takes an interest in Touchstone in my scene, he finds his wooing of Audrey interesting. At first Jaques thinks that he is just a fool but he grows to discover that Touchstone is, in fact, more intelligent than he thought.

Jaques' super objective is to contemplate, to think. He wants to observe the world and all it has to offer, not experience it but just see it. He spends his time in quiet reflection doing this, occasionally interacting with what interests him such as Amiens, the "fool i'th forest". He often favours engaging with what he finds frivolous, foolish, or what he seeks to understand better. Studying frivolity and foolishness gives him satisfaction, it makes him feel smarter. He thinks that due to all of his reflection and observation he will never be as foolish. Jaques' objective in my scene is to understand Touchstone, he seems to accomplish this, he appears to learn Touchstone's motives with Audrey and leaves the scene wanting to 'council' him.

Jaques is a very interesting character. Shakespeare gives him a few monologues and some strong wit. Jaques is a friend to the audience, the one who directly converses with them about the scenes, offering them his jokes and insight. Shakespeare gives such a high place to a character so melancholy, cynical and with a low opinion of life when the rest of the play is about love. Perhaps Shakespeare wrote a kindred spirit, Shakespeare himself was always observing life, his plays are an observation of life. Jaques may be melancholy but his approach to life is honest and inquisitive. He studies and takes an interest in people. He is partly tragic in his fear of life and his final choice in the play to stay in the forest, alone, rejecting a return to society in favour of the freedom given by the forest.