Week review

This week we focused on developing scene 1. We were told to learn the first few pages of our script. I found this easy as I don't have slot of lines on the first few pages. We focused on using physical theatre in the play to make some scenes more interesting. I am finding it hard to learn the lines for Judy when she is reading the letter she wrote for Christopher. The letters are about 2 pages long and I seem to always miss parts about when I rehearse them without the script. I was told that I am able to have the script in front of me when performing the letter scenes but I don't want to be dependent on the script. We were able to finish scene 1 this week, but of course we need to keep on rehearsing it.

Judys thoughts on Christopher

I will always be here for Christopher. He is my son after all. I know I made mistakes in the past, but finally I can see me and him building that bond again. Christopher often has his funny moments when I see him turn into a different person, but as I mother I know I need to push through those moments. He's a lot more intelligent than people let out. Autistic people are a lot more intelligent. But only in certain things. Christopher is amazing at maths. I'm almost certain he is best in class. You see, when an autistic child likes a subject they will focus all their time on that one thing, for Christopher it happens to be maths. I'm not too sure if I quite understand it yet, but I will, in time. From now onwards I will always be Herr for my son, make no mistake about that.

Finishing the script

This week we were able to finish both scripts. We now have a rough outline of the entire play. What we need to do is learn our lines and then go into detail about the acting. So far I am feeling confident about the play. I feel like I can certainly relate to my character Judy in a way. And I can feel myself slipping into character more. Certain scenes I am more confident in than others, but the more we practise the better we will get.

Rough script reading

This week we focused on creating a rough image for the play. We read through the script and started creating small scenes of physically theatre. For example we had to split into groups and create a scene where we Judy, Roger and Christopher enter the house. We used people for doors and draws. We decided that using props would create slot of unnecessary hassal. Physical theatre was the easiest and most creative and effective way. I like the fact we were able to use our body's in different ways.

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In This Night-time

In today's lesson we started on the play "The Curious Incident Of the dog in the night Time". We started with what would be the start of the play. We walked around the room repeating mathematical terms out loud, this represented Christopher's (the main character in the play) busy mind. After a short while we would begin to walk towards each other and then rebound off them whilst doing a large pushing movement of the hand. We would continue to do this 5 times with different people. Once we had done this 5 times we would then walk towards someone and just before we touched them we would turn the opposite way whilst crouching and tucking our heads in our hands. Again we would do this 5 times, all the while we would constantly chant our mathematical equation. Once we had done all of this we would then crouch in a ball on the floor with Christopher in front of us. Once Christopher stood we all sat up. We were told to type our phone number on a giant invisible keypad in front of us. So group by group we would do this. When reflecting back on the opening scene we created, I can see how all of this is a reflection of Christopher's mind. The constant chanting of words other people say around him that he doesn't quite understand. Never touching people and the fear of being touched. The frustration that literally brings him to his knees. And then his way to calm himself down, repeating numbers over and over in his head. I did some research into Christopher's condition, to get a better understanding of how his brain works. I found a website that explain's autism in a video