Documentary Summary Of The Play 'The Woman In Black'
The Woman in Black
Documentary Response 1000 Words
During the first session of studying ‘The Woman in Black’ we looked at the use of space and how it can be symbolic and relevant to display the characters emotions and character relationships. We explored different understandings of the play, themes and character through this for example, in Imogen, Jade and Fliss’s group when Kipps (Jade) was asking about the woman, Jerome (Imogen) backed away from Kipps, widening the space between them to show that he was afraid and physically backing away from the issue. This gave the audience the impression that Jerome knew something, but he was holding it back in fear of a ‘new comer’ finding out, which added to the tension and suspense of the Woman herself. We also …show more content…
looked at the proxemics of the actors to the audience.
In my group Molly (Jerome) and I (Kipps) placed the audience in twos and threes around the room and as we were ‘walking to the funeral’ we involved them as if they were the villagers staring at us, which in reality they actually were. This promenade seating idea made the audience feel a more personal emotional response to the drama and in turn creating a more heightened reaction later on in the play. As Jerome became more and more distressed and dismissive, the space between them became more and more wide, and Kipps’ movements became increasingly rushed as if he was always trying to keep up physically, but also trying to keep up and make sense of the details of Alice’s funeral and family history. This was shown at its most effective when Jerome said that the area in which Alice was supposed to be buried was no longer suitable, and as Kipps started to question this, Jerome left Kipps in the middle of the room and mid-sentence there was a blackout and silence which represented that Jerome had left Kipps in the dark about the situation. This I am sure would have left the audience wanting to know more and finalised that there wasn’t something quite right with
the Drablow family and something horrific had happened.
Session two we focused on knowing and understanding Kipps’ state of mind. We were given the script of the part in which Kipps experienced his delirium/nightmare and there are voices from different parts of the play. We were told to read it and highlight or underline key words or phrases that would have the best dramatic effect. In my group I was with Jade, Charley and Imogen. I played Kipps, Charley played the Woman, and Jade and Imogen were the delirium/fear personified. This made it easier to portray how the fear was manipulating Kipps when he was alone and how it built up and followed him. We used physical theatre, wind, lighting and rhythm to amplify and create the super-naturalness and dream-like vibe.
Documentary Response 1000 Words
During the first session of studying ‘The Woman in Black’ we looked at the use of space and how it can be symbolic and relevant to display the characters emotions and character relationships. We explored different understandings of the play, themes and character through this for example, in Imogen, Jade and Fliss’s group when Kipps (Jade) was asking about the woman, Jerome (Imogen) backed away from Kipps, widening the space between them to show that he was afraid and physically backing away from the issue. This gave the audience the impression that Jerome knew something, but he was holding it back in fear of a ‘new comer’ finding out, which added to the tension and suspense of the Woman herself. We also …show more content…
looked at the proxemics of the actors to the audience.
In my group Molly (Jerome) and I (Kipps) placed the audience in twos and threes around the room and as we were ‘walking to the funeral’ we involved them as if they were the villagers staring at us, which in reality they actually were. This promenade seating idea made the audience feel a more personal emotional response to the drama and in turn creating a more heightened reaction later on in the play. As Jerome became more and more distressed and dismissive, the space between them became more and more wide, and Kipps’ movements became increasingly rushed as if he was always trying to keep up physically, but also trying to keep up and make sense of the details of Alice’s funeral and family history. This was shown at its most effective when Jerome said that the area in which Alice was supposed to be buried was no longer suitable, and as Kipps started to question this, Jerome left Kipps in the middle of the room and mid-sentence there was a blackout and silence which represented that Jerome had left Kipps in the dark about the situation. This I am sure would have left the audience wanting to know more and finalised that there wasn’t something quite right with
the Drablow family and something horrific had happened.
Session two we focused on knowing and understanding Kipps’ state of mind. We were given the script of the part in which Kipps experienced his delirium/nightmare and there are voices from different parts of the play. We were told to read it and highlight or underline key words or phrases that would have the best dramatic effect. In my group I was with Jade, Charley and Imogen. I played Kipps, Charley played the Woman, and Jade and Imogen were the delirium/fear personified. This made it easier to portray how the fear was manipulating Kipps when he was alone and how it built up and followed him. We used physical theatre, wind, lighting and rhythm to amplify and create the super-naturalness and dream-like vibe.