Pod – Teachers’ Notes Overview

The play Pod explores the nature of youth, illusion and reality, the purpose of theatre as well as the pressure young people are under in the twenty fi rst century. It also provides us with the opportunity to explore the relationship between what happens on stage and what happens in the auditorium. In fact, this is the basis of all drama, whether it is conveyed through naturalistic or non-naturalistic techniques. The play intertwines elements of Brechtian Theatre, Poor Theatre and 4D Cinema with Modern Realism acting style. It contains metadrama and the use of visual arts and music to underscore what happens to the characters.

Brecht Theatre There are strong elements of Brecht’s work in this play. Despite this, it doesn’t contain any didactic acting or preaching and it should be ensured that the performances are credible and very real. The strength of Brecht’s work is his talent to create emotional scenes and then shattering the fourth wall all of a sudden in order to shock the audience through the use of verfremdungseff ekt (alienation eff ect). If the acting is too superfi cial then this response isn’t achieved. The use of this eff ect was clearly seen in the National Theatre’s production of Mother Courage with Fiona Shaw in the title role. The performances were raw and that added further power to those instances where you get direct addressing of the audience, live singing and the use of placards. Pupils may be able to think of a Brechtian work they have seen and how the audience was drawn into the centre of action only to be thrown by the use of non-naturalistic technique in order to give them the opportunity to think about what they had just seen / felt. Pupils can explore the process of creating a highly credible scene and then shattering the fourth wall at a key moment / climax and observing and discussing the eff ect upon the actors and upon the audience in comparison with the eff ect of seeing a piece of pure naturalistic theatre.

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 1 Poor Theatre Elements of Poor Theatre can be seen in the set. Two or three chairs represent the study room and an instrument stand is added to represent the music rehearsal room. The director Grotowski believed that the actors’ performances were of the greatest importance and that a simple minimalist set was suffi cient to create a location. In this play the power arises from the interplay between the characters. Pupils can study photographs of the National Theatre’s production of War Horse to see a contemporary example of Poor Theatre – a door frame representing a farmhouse, barbed wire representing trenches in France. In War Horse, emotion and reality are added by the use of a musical score, lighting and highly atmospheric sound. With Pod the playwright also uses sound and lighting to create emotion on a minimalist stage: Callum is seen standing in front of the backcloth lighted up by the colours of the picture as he shares the truth about his mother with Liam. Elgar’s score creates a background to the words thus adding to the emotion. The pupils could choose three key moments and stage them by creating detailed lighting (including backcloth) and sound schemes. The cello plays a key part in the play. Once again this is an excellent opportunity for pupils to experiment with designing set and props. As the rest of the set style is Poor Theatre there is no need for a real cello. A slim wooden frame could represent the instrument. More than one cello frame could be made with one of them resembling Munch’s picture, The Scream. Once again, they should look at the horses in War Horse and at how Poor Theatre style, strong acting and appropriate technical elements can have a powerful eff ect upon an audience.

4D Cinema The play pushes the boundaries by exploring the use of smell in the auditorium. The playwright suggests that the space should be fi lled with the smell of petrol in the last scene in order to strengthen the eff ect of what Lowri’s character does. A number of playwrights and theatre practitioners have explored this possibility: the theatre practitioner Artaud is an excellent example to study as he strongly believes that a good piece of theatre should fulfi l all fi ve senses, and not only the audio and visual. We could also observe the work of the following theatre companies: Complicité, Tobacco Factory and Volcano.

2 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Modern Realism Although the above elements suggest an non-naturalistic theatre style it is extremely important that the performances are in the style of Modern Realism. Pupils could look at examples of productions of Simon Stephens’ work such as Motortown or Harper Regan. The acting is very convincing, sometimes bordering on Uber Realism. It would be interesting for pupils to experiment with both these techniques as they stage their scenes. During the rehearsal process they could use the techniques of Stanislavski, Michael Chekhov and Meisner to ensure the full reality of the piece. It would be interesting to discuss how an actor such as Daniel Day-Lewis prepares to play a very emotional role.

Synopsis and Theme Notes

Act One

Scene 1 The play opens with Liam addressing the audience. He talks about the structure of Elgar’s concerto and this establishes two motifs, fi rstly the relationship between character and audience and then the use of music and art to explore sub-text and emotion within the play. The use of Brecht’s technique of directly addressing the audience is clearly seen. The playwright’s intention isn’t to create pure verfremdungseff ekt but rather to make sure that members of the audience are aware that they are part of the action from the outset. Then we see Callum and Lowri in the Study Room. In this scene we see how the common-place and the extreme are intertwined in the lives of the young. On the face of it, Lowri’s main concern is to make sure that she gains an ‘A’ grade for her English coursework. Then Callum tells his lie about his mother and father’s ‘death’ on the A470. The details about chicken manure and the Danish driver add an element of both validity and absurdness to his story. Lowri soon realises that he is lying. This is an important theme in the play: the way young people sometimes use lies to convey emotion. Increasingly we see the young in our society creating an illusion of pain because facing

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 3 up to real pain is too hard. In creating an illusion, it becomes possible to convey feelings without having to confess the dreadfulness of the situation. Who knows what was taking place in Callum’s life that day? He doesn’t discuss it. All he can do is to create an illusion which corresponds to the pain he feels. That is how Callum deals with his diffi cult life. We see this a number of times in the play e.g. the cello and the chemo. Pupils could work on Callum’s background story in order to try and discover why he can’t tell the truth about his mother; why he creates all these lies. They could look at social platforms and consider the level of truth / illusion that is to be found in their use. We also fi nd another motif in this scene, which is literature – the Jewish author Primo Levi is referred to and we also hear references to historical events, such as the death of JFK, which are to be found here and there throughout the play. We return to Levi’s work later on in the play. Pupils could take a quick look at his work on the grey zone: it is a good introduction to a piece of work on devised theatre or character. It is in this scene that we see violence for the fi rst time in the play. It is important that Lowri’s violent act comes out of nowhere and without warning. This tendency should be a very natural element of her character. It is only later on that we learn that violence is an integral part of her home life. After the violent act we return to ordinary matters during the conversations: course work, submission dates, teachers and so on. This is an important element in the play, and indeed, in modern life: our ability to live in the extreme and the ordinary at the same time. In this scene we are only given a suggestion of Lowri’s real problems, and Callum appears to be an immature, attention seeking character: a bit of a geek perhaps.

Scene 2 We meet Bronwyn. She speaks directly to the audience, which touches the very nature of this play. The scene strengthens the use of the Brechtian technique of making the audience aware that they are seeing a play and that some of the characters are aware that they are presenting a story / play, and not real life. In her speech Bronwyn doesn’t mince her words in dealing with the disasters of the twenty fi rst century. Pupils could discuss the relationship between the audience and a piece of theatre and look at the work of practitioners on the syllabus. The start of this process can be seen when Bronwyn leads us through the emotions /

4 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes sub-text of the play through the use of a suitable piece of art. She also mentions the Elgar piece and uses it to comment on the play’s structure. It is important that the pupils listen to the music and work to it as they study this play as well as examining the work of the named artists. The power of art and music can be discussed and how artists try to answer the age old question: what is man?

Scene 3 Once again, Callum is seen lying to Liam. This is a new set of lies. The question to be considered is this: does Callum lie depending upon who is listening or depending upon his own emotional needs? The scene sets the motif of Jacqueline du Pré, the cello player, within the play. Her relationship with pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim and the relationship of Liam / Gwen / Josh will have a big eff ect on Liam and Josh’s near future. Her story also echoes what happens to Lowri – a fl ame extinguished before its time, before reaching its full potential.

Scene 4 Here we see Bronwyn strengthening her relationship with the audience by giving a sketch to the individual she started sketching in Scene 2: she shatters the fourth wall in a very direct way. This relationship is key: the audience should feel close to the characters. The staging could be discussed and experimented with: which kind of stage would allow this relationship to grow – Thrust, Traverse, In-the-round? Again, visual art is used to highlight elements of the characters’ lives. The question is posed: does the art work refl ect Lowri’s life? Callum’s life? Or all of the characters? You could ask the pupils to create a piece of art. (This is also a good technique in creating new characters.) It is important that Lowri’s attack on Bronwyn is without warning and very violent. Lowri is accustomed to being beaten, therefore she knows where and how to hurt others without leaving any marks. Lowri doesn’t respond to the fact that she is violent – for her it is natural. The fact that she can carry on with her coursework without worrying about what she has done to Bronwyn bears testimony to this. In the conversation about ‘normal’ people there is the smallest suggestion of

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 5 dramatic irony – Lowri will be the ‘famous’ one in this school and not Bronwyn. Here Bronwyn shows us her knowledge of art, her eloquence and wit. Despite her challenging behaviour, Bronwyn is the most ordinary of the fi ve characters. She plays the role of the rebel and enjoys it. Her home life is happy as we see in Act Two when she off ers Lowri a place to stay. At this point the pupils could discuss the use of costume within a play. Despite the set being in the style of Poor Theatre, the characters need to be credible so that the audience can identify with them. Therefore, what clothes would Bronwyn wear? What about the rest of the characters? What costume style would the pupils choose? We don’t have to stay within the shackles of Modern Realism.

Scene 5 Liam again investigates the element of metadrama as he discusses the structure of Elgar’s concerto and the beginning of Hamlet. This plants the seed for Callum’s action in Act Three. Then we see Josh for the fi rst time. The audience needs to see his anger. We are also given more information about Lowri’s worries.

Scene 6 Josh violently attacks Liam. We hear about the relationship between Josh, Gwen and Liam, a commonplace situation in the lives of young people, but it is Josh’s response which raises the tension. We have the potential here to do work on Josh’s character, especially if the intention is to perform the play. Why all the anger? Why choose a love interest over a friend? Why punish Liam rather than Gwen? Role creating techniques such as those used by drama teacher Dorothy Heathcote could be employed, such as the Role on the Wall.

Scene 7 The main focus of this scene is to present the idea of ‘grey’ in what Lowri did in stealing Callum’s coursework. It is an interesting concept to discuss with pupils as most of us see the world as black and white, good and bad. It is also a good concept to use in creating a new character by recognising and exploring the character’s grey zone.

6 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes It is important that the audience sees that nothing is more important to Callum than his sister’s phone call. What happens and what his mother does colours his entire life. We hear Liam play again, shaken after the attack. Music is used to show the eff ect of his sister’s call on Callum, because the eff ect is not directly felt in the words.

Scene 8 Josh and Bronwyn meet. At the beginning of the scene the dialogue is presented speedily, showing elements of the stichomythia device, up until the pause when Bronwyn shows her confi dence by choosing not to speak. She is the most confi dent of the fi ve characters although she doesn’t appear so to us (to society) at fi rst glance. This is certain proof that we shouldn’t judge people by what we see on the outside. Bronwyn shows that she is ‘playing a game’ by creating problems which don’t exist. She is a girl who knows how the system works and is able to play that system. This raises the discussion point: how common is this? Why do so many young people concentrate on the negative, creating problems which do not exist while others, the ones who really suff er, keep quiet? Is this a new factor, one which belongs to the twenty fi rst century, or is it possible to see this kind of behaviour in earlier theatrical works?

Scene 9 Callum tells Lowri the truth about his mother. During his discussion with Liam about Jacqueline du Pré’s illness the motif of lost potential appears. Callum isn’t brave enough; had he perhaps shared his problems with Lowri she herself may have been able to confess that she had stolen his coursework and the bleakness of the fi nal act could have been avoided. Discussion point: why can’t we share our problems with others face to face in a real way? The Act closes with the fi nal notes of the Elgar concerto and a feeling that an opportunity has been lost in avoiding the play’s tragic ending.

Act Two

Scene 1 Once again Bronwyn addresses the audience. She is confi dent and enjoys discussing art. When Josh enters we see that he and Bronwyn are comfortable in each other’s company

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 7 despite the leg pulling and superfi cial pseudo cynicism. We see a close relationship developing between the two; this is the closest relationship Bronwyn has ever fostered. During the dialogue between Lowri and Liam we learn of the ambition held by Lowri’s mother. Her mother lives through her daughter and wishes Lowri success whatever the cost. It is here also that Liam mentions that he is of mixed race. Although this is discussed in more depth later on in the play we should take time here to discuss hidden racism. In creating the play the author spoke with a number of young people from a mixed race background: the nature of hidden racism and open racism was discussed and there was no consensus as to which hurt the most. In this play we see both: Lowri borders on racism when she compares Liam’s instrumental style to that of Sheku Kanneh-Mason, although Liam knows that he plays in a style which is more similar to other musical instrumentalists: Liam’s playing style is more European. We see the danger of hidden racism through ignorance – there is no malice in Lowri’s words. The sad thing about the situation is that Liam is well acquainted with this type of behaviour.

Scene 2 By this point Callum has heard that Lowri has stolen his coursework and is looking for her and is very angry. He tries to threaten Bronwyn, but she responds by challenging his story about his father. Her response angers him because she refuses to play his game and Callum doesn’t want anybody to know the truth about his life – only by keeping up the pretence can he keep going from day to day. Liam’s words break across the narrative, and although they appear unimportant to the fl ow of the plot, they are key later on when Josh misunderstands. The actor playing Liam must ensure that he catches the audience’s attention and yet he must underplay the role in case he over-predicts what is to come.

Scene 3 Callum attacks Lowri. Callum’s words about her mother confi rm what the audience suspects about Lowri’s situation. Once again there is reference to the grey zone. Very often young people’s lives and emotions appear black and white: but our lives are ‘grey’ in reality. This world is very extreme and some young people respond within the grey zone when their situation is

8 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes challenging. The home lives of both these characters are extreme and we see this in the way that both of them respond to each other and to others during the play. It will be important to look at the preparations and research that the actors should undertake before playing these two roles: the eff ect of alcoholism in the home and the eff ect of domestic violence and abuse on children and young people. Information could be given about the forms of role play work used by the theatre practitioners Heathcote or Stanislavski. That is the key to playing these parts in a credible manner.

Scene 4 Bronwyn and Josh decide to buy absinthe. Bronwyn shows her knowledge of France and the French language. This is a scene that can lead the audience to foresee that Bronwyn and Josh will not have a happy ending. Here pupils should turn to the world of Toulouse- Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge and the glorious madness of artists on absinthe: this is how Bronwyn wants to appear to the world. Absinthe is the key to Bronwyn’s character, something which is true of many young artists, such as Tracey Emin. Bronwyn’s madness appears only temporary. She is playing a role, although she isn’t aware of this at the time.

Scene 5 A very short scene in which Liam speaks about the nature of the Elgar and says that kissing Gwen was a spur-of-the-moment decision. The importance of the scene lies in conveying to the audience that the kiss was of little importance: it is Josh’s response that blows the act up in a dangerous and extreme way. Other incidents in life / literature could be discussed where a small insignifi cant act is blown up out of all proportion leading to a tragic end.

Scene 6 We see Bronwyn and Lowri’s relationship develop. They discuss the purpose of exams, reports and the education system. The conversation grows as both of them start to discuss their mothers and their aspirations. Although Bronwyn claims that she is ‘not very good with people’, it is obvious that she has strong empathy skills: she is very eager to try to help Lowri. We also see Lowri’s shame and learn the reasons why she hasn’t shared her story with the school staff . This is the scene in which we get to know these characters

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 9 best. This scene could be staged in a number of diff erent acting styles in order to get to know the characters well.

Scene 7 Callum addresses the audience. He models himself on Iago, the adversary in Shakespeare’s Othello. Throughout the play we see that he enjoys showing off and getting the audience’s back up on account of his insolence. The scene draws attention to Lowri’s unhappiness and discusses her problems. The audience sees that Callum has behaved with malicious intent. Because the scene follows the sensitive conversation between Bronwyn and Lowri the audience empathises with Lowri: we begin to hate Callum. This is wholly acceptable: we don’t really know Callum until he shares his main speech with us and we learn about his mother and the eff ects her alcoholism has had on his life (Act Three). The audience is as much in the dark as the other characters and Callum’s teachers. How does this impact on their response to the play’s conclusion? Other works could be discussed, such as Oleanna, the play by David Mamet, where the audience’s sympathy shifts between the lecturer and the young woman who has accused him of sexual abuse, and they feel guilt when she is left helpless at the end of the play.

Scene 8 A scene between Liam and Lowri. Neither of them has any idea what Callum has done. The dialogue is quite light-hearted on the surface but we see clearly that Liam is aware of what people may think of him. Racism isn’t a central theme in the play but it is touched upon and should be discussed. Despite this, we must remember that this is only one element of Liam’s character, and it shouldn’t be central to the performance. As with the fi rst scene between Lowri and Callum, there is reference to an historical event when they discuss Mohamed Bouazizi’s suicide, the street vendor who set himself on fi re, an act which was a catalyst to the revolution in Tunisia. The seed is planted for Lowri’s ending. Bronwyn refl ects elements of the previous dialogue by talking about death, fame and art. She also shows the young’s arrogant attitude towards the older generation, which is a timeless theme.

10 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Scene 9 Josh attacks Liam very violently and destroys the cello. In this scene we see the theme of racism raising its ugly head. Here, the racism isn’t hidden: it is aggressive and very cruel. The actor playing Josh needs to decide whether mindless anger lies behind these words or whether Josh chooses the emotional words deliberately. Liam and Josh have been good friends for years, and therefore he knows how to hurt his friend.

Act Three

Scene 1 Liam explains to Lowri the nature of his relationship with the cello. This is the fourth time we have heard about suicide: Primo Levi, Mohamed Bouazizi, Bronwyn and now, Liam. It is a theme which runs silently through the entire play. We should consider the relationship between young people and suicide and how it is portrayed in plays / fi lms for the young. The pupils could be asked to respond to a question or statement and then to move on to create a piece of art to explore the relationship with this theme. Sometimes this will be safer than beginning with an oral discussion.

Scene 2 A scene between Bronwyn and Callum. Bronwyn challenges Callum and he confesses that he has told senior teachers about Lowri’s situation. He boasts about his actions. Once again, the audience fi nd it diffi cult to like him or to sympathise with him. They are still unaware of his home situation and his emotional fragility. We could discuss whether or not we have to like characters: what is the audience’s relationship with Miss Julie, the main character in August Strindberg’s play of the same name, and with Blanche DuBois in the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire? The pupils could be asked to think about contemporary fi lms in which it is diffi cult to like the main characters. What is the challenge facing the actor who play’s parts like these? By the end of this scene the truth about Callum’s father comes out. Does this change our relationship with him – for better or for worse?

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 11 Scene 3 Lowri addresses the audience directly. Like the rest of the characters she challenges them: why do they persist in watching the play without intervening? The truth is that she is talking about the reality of being in the child protection system. How this makes the audience feel should be discussed. Which other playwrights have tried to motivate the audience to intervene? Do audiences intervene in other countries? Why does the playwright wish to make the audience question why they don’t intervene? Is this a symbol of society’s lack of response towards individuals who need help?

Scene 4 Callum tries his best to persuade Liam to tell the head about Josh’s attack. He uses their ‘love’ of music to infl uence Liam. The audience sees Callum’s mentality clearly: he is cruel and very sly. He has nothing to gain from Josh being punished. This is also the point where the audience see the eff ect of Josh’s racist words on Liam.

Scene 5 Lowri is alone. The music refl ects her mental state. She rings her father but has to leave a message: the father doesn’t answer. Here, Bronwyn and Josh discuss the fact that he is about to be expelled for attacking Liam. Once again Bronwyn shows that she knows how to play the system and off ers to cut Josh’s skin in order to suggest that he has mental health problems. They both start to drink absinthe. The audience should feel very uneasy during these scenes as there are several climaxes – Bronwyn and Josh, Lowri and Callum. In rehearsing this scene the cast should work with the music in order to feel the same emotion as the audience.

Scene 6 This scene uses a cross cut to highlight what’s happening. Callum is hurt when he hears what has happened to Lowri. He had not rationalized the consequences of his action. While Lowri talks of her pain, Bronwyn is seen cutting Josh’s skin so that he can persuade senior teachers that he has ‘problems’. The music and the silhouette of Bronwyn cutting Josh’s fl esh add to the audience’s understanding of Lowri’s inner pain.

12 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Bronwyn then threatens to start a fi re in school. This increases the tension, especially as she has petrol in her bag. At the end of the scene, Lowri again tries to get in touch with her father and fails. She sees the petrol.

Scene 7 At last Callum shares his pain with the audience. The meaning of his statements in Act One that nobody worries or cares about him becomes clear to the audience: for once, he was telling the truth. This is a very emotional speech and the lighting and Liam’s musical performance add to the scene’s emotional power. Callum stands by the backcloth and is illuminated by the colours. This should be staged so that Callum almost looks as if he were part of the picture. The pupils could be encouraged to experiment with diff erent pictures to see what the eff ect would be on the audience. Despite all this, the moment Callum feels that the audience is sympathising with him he becomes boastful again and says that he subscribes to an American psychiatric magazine. This raises the question: do we have to like a character in order to sympathise with them? Once again Liam appears to be a caring pupil who wants to help his friend. From this kind off er onwards we know that Liam will be alright, that he will be able to deal with what Josh did to him. Unlike Callum and Lowri, he has not dealt with a diffi cult situation by being cruel and cold.

Scene 8 The fi nal scene is very challenging from the point of view of the actors and the technical elements. The playwright notes that the auditorium should be fi lled with the smell of petrol. Several theatre practitioners and companies have tried similar things. The works of drama companies such as Complicité, Volcano Theatre and Tobacco Factory and the playwright Artaud could be looked at, as they all push the boundaries with regards to staging and off ering the audience 3D and 4D experiences. Lowri again tries to talk to her father, and once again, has to leave a message. Inwardly she is full of remorse for what has happened, despite it not being her fault. This is a very emotional moment and the audience have to believe completely in the moment – quite a feat for any actor. Only if the character’s integrity is activated can the

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 13 power of Josh’s speech become obvious: he shatters the moment and the fourth wall by sitting near the audience. Josh speaks directly to the audience for the fi rst time. Here we see the Brechtian use of action narration as he tells the audience very clearly what is happening / what happened to Lowri. He ends his speech by shaming the audience for their inability to respond to the play and have an eff ect on Lowri’s fate. In reality he is castigating them for their inability to change society.

Characters

Lowri This girl would have studied Drama and Music in the sixth form if it were not for her mother’s wishes, who wanted her to study Law. Lowri’s mother beats her. An actor who undertakes this role should research the eff ect of violence / abuse in the home on young people. Although Lowri is aware that people are talking about her, she hasn’t admitted the truth to anyone. When Lowri attacks Callum and Bronwyn in Act One, the ferocity of her attack refl ects the violence which is part of her everyday life – it is very natural. Because of this she doesn’t realise its eff ect on others and she is able to move on to a totally normal act immediately after a moment of violence. Her reality has changed because of her mother’s behaviour. (See Callum’s long speech in Act Three: like Callum, Lowri’s behaviour stems from what happens at home.) Lowri lives for others. She lacks the inner confi dence to be self-reliant. She needs the certainty of examination results, reports, praise from her teachers and her mother in order to feel good. She doesn’t steal Callum’s coursework because of any malice or anger, but because of her fears. She fears failure and disappointing others, especially her mother. She can’t understand Bronwyn’s self-confi dence, and without a great deal of help, Lowri would never be able to choose ‘diff erent rails to yours’. Her fi nal act is the climax of all her inner doubts, and her whole guilt bears testimony to how fragile she is. More than anybody, Lowri represents the diff erence between illusion and reality which fl ows throughout the play.

14 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Callum Callum is a very talented pupil. A very diligent boy, an ambitious boy and a very confi dent boy at fi rst glance. Like Lowri he has terrible problems at home (see his speech in Act Three). This is perhaps why Lowri’s betrayal hurts him and why he reacts so angrily. He thought he could trust Lowri and discuss his mother’s alcoholism with her: Lowri undermines the only true strength he has, the admiration of his teachers, especially in the English department. Callum tells sad lies about his life in order to conceal the truth. By gaining the sympathy of others on account of his father’s ‘death/PTSD’, his mother’s ‘cancer’ and his aunt’s ‘MS’ he avoids having to tell the truth about his mother and discussing his true feelings. The illusion he creates is a mechanism which allows him to keep on living his life from day to day. The real pain he feels is hidden behind an illusionary pain he is able to control. Callum certainly prides himself in his ability and can’t understand Bronwyn’s attitude towards the educational system and exams. It is typical that he refuses to consider he could be a member of the ALN class when Bronwyn challenges the story about the court order against his father. Even when he addresses the audience and shares his plot to take revenge on Lowri, he can’t keep himself from appearing self-important and overconfi dent – although it is all an illusion once again.

Liam Like Bronwyn, Liam is one of the play’s most ‘ordinary’ characters. He is confi dent of his talent, is certain of himself but he is afraid of the violent behaviour of his former friend, Josh. We see this clearly in the scene where Callum praises his ability to play the cello: although Liam knows better than Callum, he doesn’t have to belittle Callum to make himself feel good. Apart from the cello being destroyed, it is the actions bound up with young people’s everyday lives – love, friendship and violence – that worry Liam. He has secured a place at a famous college to study the cello and comes from a middle-class family who support him. He is a loyal friend to Gwen and does his best to help her with her Drama work. Liam is totally honest when he says that he isn’t interested in a romantic relationship with

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 15 Gwen. We also see his kindness when he talks to Callum in Act Three – Josh’s violent actions haven’t turned him bitter nor made him cruel. He is an aff ectionate and loyal character. Perhaps this is how Callum is able to persuade him to tell the headteacher about Josh’s attack. Liam has no personal agenda, and therefore doesn’t realise that others, like Callum, can be crafty and malicious. It is rare that open racism touches him, and yet he is aware of it. He shows this in his response when Lowri compares him with Sheku Kanneh-Mason. In reality, he doesn’t play like Sheku Kanneh-Mason, but because he is from a mixed race background Liam is well acquainted with the comparison. It is Josh who hurts him most with his vile words about ‘your own type’. Even after Josh’s brutal attack, the audience can be confi dent that Liam will go on to college and will survive.

Bronwyn Bronwyn is a rebel, artist and character who, on the face of it, requires the help of several counsellors. It is all an illusion. Bronwyn is playing a role. She presents herself as an individual full of angst, anger and frustration towards the shackles of society. We see the truth about Bronwyn when she off ers to help Lowri. Although she doesn’t know her, Bronwyn off ers her refuge. Bronwyn states clearly that she ‘is not very good with people’ but this action proves the opposite. Indeed, despite her extreme action in cutting Josh’s skin, she knows how to keep him from being expelled from school and, in a very odd and extreme way, she helps him too. Bronwyn is the one who challenges Callum’s lies. She does this in a very comical and eff ective way. Her direct speeches to the audience are a way of exploring the cliché of the angst fi lled young person. Her interests are all familiar: provocative art, the Père Lachaise cemetery and dying at 27 years old. From Robert Johnson to Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, the myth of the tortured artist has always appealed to the young. In trying to be ‘diff erent’ Bronwyn proves that she isn’t diff erent at all.

16 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Josh Although the audience doesn’t come to know Josh as well as the other characters, his fi nal speech ensures that he clearly states the aim and purpose of the play. His character is typical of the talented, popular boy who manages to avoid being punished for his actions because of his academic strength. His reaction to Liam refl ects the anger and violence in his character. Josh will need assistance in order to control his feelings for the rest of his teenage years. His violent emotions usually simmer but they explode suddenly and violently when he comes to believe that Liam intends to steal Gwen away from him. The power of the play is that we never see Gwen: despite this she has a key role to play in what happens to Josh. She doesn’t leave Josh: Gwen, like many other talented young women, enjoys spending time with the bad boy. As with Bronwyn, she will also turn her back on this ‘act’ when she is older and when she feels ready to taste success and middle-class life. Josh can appear relaxed and confi dent at times, as we see when he is in Bronwyn’s company. This provides the audience with the opportunity perhaps to understand why a girl like Gwen would have a relationship with him – he’s very witty. His relationship with Bronwyn is signifi cant: on the face of it, she is the mad and wild one, but the reality of the situation is that it is Josh who suff ers from elements of mental illness. In contrast to Callum and Lowri, external matters don’t appear to be responsible for motivating him to act or feel as he does. The play doesn’t connect strongly to this element, but we must remember that more young men between 16 and 24 die from suicide than die from cancer. Without help, this could be Josh’s fate.

Performing Techniques

Although Poor Theatre is the playwright’s chosen stage style, the power of the play can be seen in the characters’ individual stories and the interaction between them. The nature of the scenes inspire performances in a Modern Reality style. Moving towards Uber Reality could be a way of challenging pupils. To this end the pupils must ensure that the audience are close to the play area, that the characters are as credible as possible

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 17 and that the situations are underplayed so that they resemble real life. Performing in this style can strengthen the Brechtian elements therefore the characters shatter the fourth wall and step out of the scene to address the audience directly. There are several techniques which could be employed in preparing for a performance of this kind. E.g. the techniques which are found in the acting methods of greats such as Konstantin Stanislavski, Michael Chekhov, Uta Hagen and Sanford Meisner. The young actors should focus on discovering Given Circumstances (facts about the characters which can be found in the script), as well as securing a credible Back Story.

Role on the Wall (Dorothy Heathcote) This technique can work very eff ectively either before or after a Hot Seat session. The pupils could be asked to lie on the fl oor, breathe rhythmically (in for four, out for six) to ensure that they are perfectly relaxed. The teacher could question them about their character and they could respond in the world of imagination. They are asked to get up, go to the Role on the Wall and start fi lling it with colours, words and images, in order to create an x-ray picture of the character’s emotions. It is very eff ective as part of the pupil’s Log and eff ective with pupils who struggle to express their views in written form.

Given Circumstances (Stanislavski) An important element of any actor’s work is to explore the character’s given circumstances. This is the starting point to understanding the character. This task can be begun by asking the pupils to lie down on the fl oor and breath in through the nose, and then out through the mouth to a count of four. It is important that they relax. The teacher can then ask them a series of questions – the fi rst half of the questions will arise out of the play and will be more factual. But the second set of questions will ask the pupils to use another Stanislavski technique, The Imagination. In this section more searching questions can be asked about the character’s fears, dreams, family, childhood memories, and so on.

18 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Background Story (Stanislavski) There are several ways of processing what the pupils have learnt about the character in earlier tasks. The process of forming the background stories so that they are clear in their minds is important – this will be the basis of creating the character’s reality on stage and they can be included in the Log. Sculpting is an eff ective technique. Diff erent materials can be brought to the studio – paper, pieces of wood and metal, material, ropes, costumes. The pupils should choose and play music which suites the character they are concerned with before moving on to create a sculpture of that character. This work could be developed by asking them to adapt the sculpture to show how the character matures during the play. The pupils should place the sculpture in a chosen spot in the studio and light it as they would wish the audience to see it. A display enables the entire class to discuss each other’s work (i.e. the characters in the play). They could be asked to use a projection (if this is possible in the studio / classroom) and to choose an appropriate work of art to strengthen the message their sculpture conveys. A slightly easier task would be to ask them to create an artistic portrait of their character. Once again, the choice of music is important as it will create the right emotion for the task and will coincide with how the Elgar is played throughout the play. This task could be coupled with the artists named in the play e.g. creating a portrait in the style of Munch, Bacon, Picasso: they can choose which artist suits the character. Once again, a display allows pupils to decide where they wish to place the work so that the audience can see it. This is a technique which could lead to a very eff ective discussion intensifying their understanding of the play’s characters and themes. Other techniques include asking them to create a poem, a diary, a series of photographs, letters, a memory box, lists of things to do / shopping list. All of these could be a means to create a reality for the character.

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 19 Stanislavski’s Units and Objectives The pupils are asked to read a scene / monologue out loud, two or three times. Then they are asked to think where the emotion, the meaning and the objective develop / change throughout the monologue. This could occur when another character comes on stage or when the scene’s atmosphere changes suddenly. It is important that the units aren’t too long so that they can be rehearsed in detail. The pupils should draw a line where the unit comes to an end, number it and write the objective clearly by the side of the unit. This will ensure the objective, the emotion and therefore the tempo, the pitch and the tone and the interaction are more credible. This can be done with the entire script – it is an eff ective homework exercise and one which could be used in studying the other set texts.

Monologues The play has several monologues. Some of the monologues, the ones discussing the nature of the play, could be performed in a more Brechtian style – although it is important to remember that it is the character and not the actor who speaks directly with the audience. A great deal of preparation and practice is required for performing the other monologues, such as Callum’s powerful monologue towards the end of the play. One of the more eff ective techniques in preparing a performance of that monologue is Stanislavski’s Units and Objectives. The pupils are asked to read the monologue aloud, two or three times. Then they are asked to think where the emotion, the meaning and the objective develop throughout the monologue. The pupil should draw a line where the unit comes to an end, number it and write the objective clearly by the side of the unit. This will ensure that the objective, the emotion and therefore the tempo, the pitch and the tone, the stance, the facial expression, the movements and the interaction with Liam / the audience develop naturally throughout the monologue. It is more eff ective to rehearse it in units rather than as one long piece. It is important that the young actor discovers an objective and focuses in each part of the monologue especially if he is performing in the style of Modern Realism / Uber Realism.

20 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Lecoq’s Seven Levels of Tension The play opens on a high level of tension. Lowri is full of angst as she hasn’t fi nished her coursework and is under increasing pressure to succeed. Callum is in a high state of tension because of his mother’s alcoholism and his eagerness to be the best in school. Liam is afraid of Josh and Josh is angry because of what happened between Liam and Gwen before the play begins. To this end the students could experiment with Lecoq’s Seven Levels of Tension. These levels of tension should be practised step by step, and the pupils should be encouraged to move from one level to the next by adapting the stance, the facial expression, the posture and the breathing. When they are confi dent enough, the pupils can experiment by performing diff erent scenes within the various tension levels. This acts as a means to ensure that they are aware of the choices they make as performers, and help them as they consider the questions in Unit 2 and Unit 4.

Level 1: Exhausted Level 2: Laid Back Level 3: Neutral Level 4: Alert / Curious Level 5: Suspense Level 6: Passionate (Opera) Level 7: Tragic

Level 1: Exhausted There is no tension at all in the body. To an exhausted or catatonic character moving or speaking is a strain and is trivial. Think of an amoeba or jellyfi sh to prepare the body.

Level 2: Laid Back This is a very comfortable level in terms of existence. Although not as inert as Level 1, a character existing at this level of tension isn’t very awake to the world. Everything is acceptable and without strain. We may think of the California mindset, or people on Bondi beach – a character with this level of tension has the mantra, ‘Mañana, mañana’.

Level 3: Neutral The term neutral comes from the language of Modern Dance. It is important that every young actor discovers this state of being. This is the starting point of all rehearsals and live performances (before stepping onto the stage). This is the level of tension felt

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 21 before something happens. The mind should be emptied of what has happened and is about to happen and should exist only in the present. This state requires a lot of practise but is very useful throughout an actor’s career. Begin with breathing exercises or yoga. The correct stance and mentality should be developed over a number of rehearsal sessions.

Level 4: Alert / Curious This level of tension calls for energy. The character can’t sit still for long before getting up and investigating. The character requires answers, needs to solve things, needs to discover and this keeps him from relaxing and existing in the present. Nervousness and excitement are central parts of this tension level.

(Levels 1–4 exist in most of our everyday lives. Levels 5–7 are more dramatic. It would be eff ective to try and discover where Callum, Josh and Lowri should be placed along these levels.)

Level 5: Suspense Nineteenth century melodrama should be used in experimenting with this level. Everything is very dramatic. This tension can be created in the way someone breathes. By breathing heavily through the mouth the correct tension level can be created. The character expects an extreme / dramatic event and already it can almost be said he is eager to face it. Josh, Callum or Lowri at the beginning of the play could be considered at this level of tension. Another question to consider is where we fi nd the characters at the fi nal climax. The opening scene and fi nal scene of Miller’s The Crucible could be considered. The play opens in a high state of tension which develops to an extreme during the play. What is the eff ect of this on the actors / audience?

Level 6: Passionate (Opera) Level 6 is full of tension. Imagine a bomb about to explode or an aeroplane about to fall from the sky. The emotions are impossible to control and the actor’s whole body and breathing are on fi re. Once again the secret lies in the breathing: fast and deep

22 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes breathing should be practised. This will increase the actor’s heart beat and strengthen the tension level. This is a very eff ective tension level for Callum and Josh during Acts Two and Three.

Level 7: Tragic This is the most intense tension level. The character’s fears are about to be realised. The bomb explodes, the gun is aimed at his forehead, the aeroplane is within feet of hitting the ground. This state of tension is often described as the state in which King Lear carries Cordelia onto the stage or John Proctor’s state when he signs his name in the fi nal act of The Crucible. The young actors could experiment with this tension level as they prepare for Lowri’s fi nal phone call, Callum’s fi nal monologue or the scene where Josh smashes Liam’s cello.

Improvisation In order to ensure credible back stories and performances the pupils could be asked to use their imagination and improvise additional scenes. As they prepare, they will need to make sure they have a clear objective, an element of confl ict and a serious event to play / perform. Only by ensuring these elements can eff ective improvisation work be created e.g.

Characters: Callum and his mother.

Callum’s objective: Completing his course work.

The mother’s objective: To try and get money off him to buy more alcohol.

Event: Callum writes by a desk. (It is important to start with an ordinary event to enable the scene to develop gradually. It is vital that the actors keep to their objective. The tension arises from the fact that the two objectives create natural confl ict.)

An additional layer can be added to this improvisation work by starting the scene within one of Lecoq’s tension levels. Overleaf are the descriptions:

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 23 Moni Yakim Exercises Moni Yakim explores characters by asking actors to consider their animalistic nature. It is a good technique in considering stance, movements, posture and interaction between characters. Begin the task with a yoga session to ensure that the pupils have warmed up physically and are breathing without tension. Every pupil should explore a diff erent character. The task should start by lying on the fl oor and then gradually moving a hand, arm, foot, back, head, torso until an animal has been created. The actors should then move the animal around the studio. Gradually they will become aware of the other animals in the space and start to react to them – they will need encouragement from the teacher to facilitate this. It is important that the task continues for about forty minutes to give time for the animals to develop and interact with each other. Props and various materials can be scattered around to off er tasks the pupils could undertake in order to develop improvisation skills. E.g. build a den, create a means of escape, try and make a comfortable place to sleep… this is a means of ensuring that they move about and interact as the animal / character. During the rehearsal sessions which follow the animals should be revisited. Each session begins at the animal’s highest level (10) and then takes the physical work down gradually until we reach the level that better suits the character in the scene in question. E.g. Josh is far more animal-like than Liam, as Liam is a master at concealing his real emotions. They could explore how this will eff ect the movement and interaction between the two within the same scene.

Staging / Directing The original staging style is that of Poor Theatre. Before beginning to consider how the play should be staged they should study / go to see War Horse. This production uses a skeleton set, backcloth and puppets in order to create emotional reality. If the class hasn’t seen the production, material is available from the National Theatre and the DVD The Making of War Horse is also useful when considering the set.

Creating a Presentation The pupils are asked to think about productions they have either seen or studied, images

24 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes of famous sets such as Peter Brook’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as the work of revolutionary designers such as Bunny Christie, Bob Crowley, Es Devlin, Anna Fleischle, Tim Hatley, Mark Thompson and Robert Jones. They are then asked to create a presentation where they use images from other sets to explain their ideas for staging this play. It can be presented as a ‘pitch’ for a job as a designer.

Ideas Board The pupils are asked to collect material before starting upon this task, or to complete the task as homework and to present it in front of the class. They are asked to create an ideas board / collage of ideas. On the board they should present their choice of stage, colours, materials (as close as possible to those they wish to have on set), images and quotations from the play. The board should explain their choice of stage, set style and the atmosphere they wish to create.

Set in a Box This task can follow the ideas board. Here they can work on a set in a box, or if one isn’t available at school, in a cardboard box. They are asked to create a 3D model of their set. They should ensure the model can be adapted for the four diff erent types of stage or diff erent pupils should be asked to create sets for a Proscenium Arch Stage, Thrust Stage, Stage in-the-round and Traverse Stage. Once again the pupils should present their ideas in front of the class and receive feedback in order to adapt and develop their original ideas. Clips are available on YouTube where National Theatre set designers explain their vision – it is a very good way of allowing children to understand how designers create models of the sets they make.

Creating a Set Plan Once the pupils are given the opportunity to explore their ideas, they can be asked to create a detailed set plan. A fl oor plan can be presented for a Proscenium Arch Stage, Thrust Stage, Stage in-the-round and Traverse Stage. The fl oor plan should show the position of the audience, entrances and exits, any levels such as rostra, fl ats, furniture, backcloths, fl oor sheets and the lighting set-up. They should be encouraged to work on the four kinds of stages and to trial their sets by staging a scene.

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 25 The above task can be developed by using a tablet as a backcloth and small fl ashlamps to create and display the pupils’ lighting designs.

Proscenium Arch Stage Thrust Stage Stage in-the-round

AUDIENCE AUDIENCE

Stage Stage AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE Stage Apron AUDIENCE AUDIENCE AUDIENCE AUDIENCE

Traverse Stage AUDIENCE Stage AUDIENCE

Interaction on the Set The pupils should work as a group. One set should be chosen to be trialled. Using tape, an outline of the set is put on the classroom fl oor (if there is uncertainty, the fi lm Dogville can be shown). It should be measured and created to scale. The actors are encouraged to divide the chosen scene into Units and Objectives, then to work on the set concentrating mainly on the interaction between the characters and the relationship with the audience. This task can be developed by encouraging them to work on a range of diff erent stages.

Lighting Lighting, especially through the use of a backcloth, is vital in creating atmosphere in this play. This is especially important in the scene where Callum performs his fi nal monologue. In this section he grows into being a part of the backcloth, and part of the artwork.

26 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Every piece of art has been chosen carefully by the playwright, on account of the piece’s content and because of the colours. As they will be on a digital backcloth the colours of the paintings will colour the faces / bodies of the characters and the atmosphere of the scene. A lighting workshop could be held where the pupils choose diff erent paintings and experiment with how the colours eff ect the acting / atmosphere / actor’s heart beat and the audience (e.g. how warm lighting speeds up heart beat, a more blue light such as steel blue slows the heart beat down). Because of the importance of art in every scene it must be ensured that the lighting doesn’t aff ect the power of the paintings, e.g. what are the lamps used, what is their strength, where will they be positioned on stage? On the next pages are a selection of lamps the pupils may use. The pupils could be asked to create a lighting scheme for the various scenes. Once again this will help in performing the play and in preparing for Units 2 and 4. Lighting the theatre has three main purposes: • Lighting up the actors so that the audience can see them. • Creating location, season, time of day. • Creating mood / atmosphere.

In this task you will have to describe how you will light a scene in order to create location, mood / atmosphere. You will have to include the following: L, C, S, L: Lamp Colour Strength (%) Location (where the light stream hits the stage)

E.g. PARcan lamp, blue gel, 45%, centre stage. 14 Fresnel lamps, pink and straw, 80%, whole stage. 4 Fresnels, blue, 60%, stage left, window shaped gobo at front of lamp. 1 spotlamp, straw, 70%, stage front. 1 Fresnel, straw, 30%, barn doors almost closed to light up Josh’s face.

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 27 Lamps

Name Purpose Image Fresnel The Fresnel lamp is called ‘wash’ as it is open and lights up a fairly large area of the stage. 14 Fresnels can light the whole centre stage: more would be required for a large stage. E.g. Fresnel, red, 60%, centre stage on Lowri’s chair. 14 Fresnels, blue and straw, 70%, whole stage. Profi le This lamp is good for lighting a particular part of the stage / set. By using the shutters a tighter stream of light and specifi c shapes can be created e.g. a door, corridor. Sometimes this kind of light is called a spotlight as the fl ow of light can be closed so that it focuses closely on an actor’s body / face. E.g. Profi le, straw, 30%, on Josh’s face. Profi le, red, 70% on Liam, stage left. Profi le, blue, 60% closed and tightened to make a door shape, back stage left. PARcan The PARcan lamp was developed by the Rock Industry in order to create strong, wide fl oodlight to light stadiums and large rock concerts. It is used for non-naturalistic lighting and is great for symbolic lighting. It can create a column of round light or light shaped by using barn doors. E.g. PARcan, red, 80%, front of stage from the gantry. PARcan, steel blue, 70%, shaped to create a long corridor on centre stage.

28 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes Birdies Small lamps with a very narrow spotlight. They can be hidden on set to light a specifi c part of the scene. A number of them can be used to create a special eff ect e.g. bars of a cell. E.g. putting 12 Birdie lamps, steel blue, 80%, from the gantry to suggest a prison cell. Barn Doors At the front of lantern lamps and can be open or closed to create special shapes e.g. door, corridor, room. Barn doors are to be found on Fresnel, PARcan and profi le lamps. Gobo A gobo template is set inside or in front of Fresnel or profi le lamps. The shape cut in the gobo is thrown onto the stage, the backcloth or set. Diff erent types are available e.g. Les Mis Sewers and French Doors Leaf Dapple. It is a good way of creating location and mood. Fresnel, straw, 80%, front of stage. Window shaped gobo inside or in front to suggest the sun coming in through school window. Church Window Projection / Location can be created with ease by Digital using light and projection. It can be an Blackcloth image or digital projector. E.g. blue sky turns grey as storm approaches; or a wall with graffi ti suggesting a street in a deprived area. Projection can also be used in a more Brechtian way e.g. by projecting the name of the location, the date or a message. In this play paintings by Bacon, Sutherland and Bronwyn colour the atmosphere and create meaning. Partly visible A term describing how lighting designers sometimes avoid having a character in full view, keeping them in shadow in order to help the narrative or to create a particular mood. This could happen in the scene where Bronwyn cuts Josh.

Pod – Teachers’ Notes | 29 Costumes Before starting on this task, pupils would benefi t from seeing the National Theatre’s fi lm on costumes. It can be found on their website and on YouTube. Having seen it they could go on to create detailed costume designs, labelling them carefully and using the appropriate terms for the clothes. They should concentrate on the style, the period, the materials used, the colour, the condition and how they would help the actor to convey a character to a contemporary audience. It would be a good idea to work on A3 paper in order to be able to glue elements such as pieces of material and the choice of colours around the various plans.

The Catwalk This task develops the ‘costumes’ task further by asking the pupils to create some of these costumes and exhibiting them. Real clothes can be used, as well as large pieces of paper, cardboard or rolls of kitchen paper, and their labels, in order to create the costumes. The exhibited costumes should be introduced verbally (as in a fashion show) using the correct terminology and appropriate music for every character. If there is lighting available in the studio / classroom this layer could be added to the task by choosing appropriate colour gels for every character and a backdrop projection.

Each of these tasks can be trialled with pupils and could be a means of leading on to whole class discussions. Hopefully they will strengthen the pupils’ understanding of staging styles and ensure that they will have the confi dence to create credible characters.

Rhian Staples February 2019

30 | Pod – Teachers’ Notes