Aphrodite News Team

After today discussion and story board, just thought I'd post this clip from the 5th element of Ruby Rod, this was the idea for the Aphrodite news reader.

Enjoy,

Ruth

Ancient Worlds

Hey guys,
apologies if this programme has been mentioned before but I thought it was really interesting to watch. It explores Ancient Greek civilisation and the many factors that come under that heading such as; people, places, economics etc.

Hope some of you find it useful :)

Jess x

You may laugh but..

also look at the beliefs and ideology of rastafari

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rastafari_movement

Gem x

Aphrodite

Just a thought to the Aphroditians, i think it is important to think of our "tribe" as a religion too, there are many festivals around the world or tribes that delve into the world of music to help them connect to there God or beliefs, like a trance, the extremes of how the music effects them reminds me of our own tribe, so it is interesting to look up things like thaipusam, just thought it might help while we are devising

cheers Gem

Devising Ground Rules!

1) Respect everyone's input 

2) Don't pollute the work 

3) Be the best you can be in each moment (and if you can't step out) 

4) Avoid personal emotional attachment 

5) Take responsibility for your actions

6) Celebrate achievements 

7) Improve communication between sub groups 

8) Overall coordinator for each rehearsal 

9) More fluidity between the sub groups - all helping with writing/movment 

10) Retain your passion for the work 

Aphrodite - Introductory Dance 22/11/2010

Ayean Natura

It has been decided by the 'Artemis Tribe' that the name of our religion is:

Ayean Natura (pronounced: eye - enn   nach -ura) 

To the Greeks, Ayean means 'Herd', and Natura means 'Natural', meaning we are a natural herd. This incorporates the ties we have to Ancient Greece and the text, including the predomenance of Artemis, who is a hunter. Artemis' animal is often represented as a Deer, who travel in a herd. We are also focused on the natural world, and our individual place within the universe.

So, Aphroditeans, you have a name to hate and use!!

Suze x

Commune (artemis)

I know this is quite an old ARTICLE but it is a really good real life example of what we might have all been thinking about whilst creating our tribe/commune. Also I have heard that there is a commune somewhere between Bath and Bristol and I am just trying to find out more about it, especially as it is right on our doorstop. Hope this helps

charlotte

Meditation

Hi Everyone,

I am not sure what time we are rehearsing until tomorrow, but if the timing is right, I am going to a meditation class in Bath, held by the Amitabha Buddhist Centre. The class starts at 7 so it may not be possible to go. However..

This is my invitation to any of you to come with me on an artists date. It would particularly benefit the Artemis group, as we are using ideas of mediation and peaceful mind/body in our ensemble, and i am going because i want to see for myself how this sort of group ritual takes place. I'm not buddhist, nor do I think they are trying to convert people to Buddhism in the classes (they are self contained meditation classes) - but i think it would be a really valuable experience anyway.

Let me know,

Suze x

Hi everyone... Me and Rich accendently had a meeting the other day about the stucture and our thoughts on Unit -1. We then came up with an idea for a workshop for Douglas to hold in regards to the movement... We typed up the overal discussion that we had... and then took the workshop on Monday that went really well... i thought it might be handy for all to know...

"Going back to the description of the unit, it's not about lust, it's not about freedom, it's selfish indulgent hedonism - they don't worship Aphrodite for her own worth, but for what she represents and what she allows us personally, to live out our own fantasies and indulge, utter disregard for other people, the place and the time is what you worship. Interested in your own pleasure, other people are only good for aiding your own pleasure. IT IS THE SELF. IT IS SELFISH. IT IS MATERIAL. IT IS GREED.Fetish. Living out your fantasy. There are no boundaries. Anything goes.

After the MC battle that builds up this absolute tension, everyone is on the edge, keeping movement going. Then. There is this moment where everybody's anger reaches an ultimate high, and the music that overrides the bass drops and you are left with just the base, like outside a club, just this pulse and the room pulses, slow like a heartbeat, bass continues and the bass means that people start this disjointed popping, slow motion, it builds from the feet and increases with intense anger, contorted face, grotesque, scratching at their skin. As they reach this ultimate place of anger they begin to shake the beat reaches intense pulsing then drops into the song as they all let go, absolutely mental laying into the effigy of Artemis. The point before the break out into violence is an over whelming ache. Can play with vocal sound/song here - this guttural/throat noise - slow creates juxtaposition between the fun, fast rave feel of before, audience feel the tension. Really explains why they want to invade the Artemis camp, succinct, non-verbal communication of how they feel."

With the work that most of the group did on Monday the outcome was a really strong basis to work from and develop with the whole of the Aphrodite "camp" Emma Scott filmed this and they will soon follow. I hopw this is helpful.

Thank you,

Emma

Artemis Group

Hello

I had an idea last night after hearing the suggestion of fire from Emma for our group. Earlier in the day we found that we needed a drive and focus for our rituals, we decided this would be love for someone or something. Could the fire be our representation of this love? The fire could be in the centre of the cicle and our love could be sent towards the fire. Our belief could be that our love/prayer gets sent to that something or someone via the smoke of the fire?

What do we think?

Helen

Lust vs Purity

Hi Everyone,

This is a clip from Baz Luhrmann's version of 'Moulin Rouge' of a song called El Tango De Roxanne and I think it is a brilliant example of Lust vs Purity. If anyone has not seen the film (particularly from the Aphrodite group), then I would highly recommend watching it as there are a lot of visual images from it I have been picturing from our discussions about what sort of atmosphere we imagine there to be amongst our cult of ravers, and the way we can picture our characters to be dressed etc.

Els

tribal frog and class summary!

Hey so heres a (little long) clip showing what tribes about, the different kind of people that go etc might help us see what our club could be like possibly? blending this with a red light district of Amsterdam?

Ok so in Aphrodite group we came up with:

The Club:
Tribal frog / red light districts

cabaray of acts (that go to far) stand ups. comedy sketches, slam poetry battle

voodoo doll of Artemus

BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE

this is our safe place where we will not be judged

the music / beat is our drug / or like in Romeo and Juliet by Baz Lerman a pill with a heart on it

freedom to be what you want / do what you want

Who is Aphrodite

dj? club owner? writers came up with her being this sort of presence, who is so important she can swan around in and out of the club, poss a drag queen. The club is run by a presenter / MC or a duo

slam poetry is who we speak to one another

we (he or she included) are scared of the other tribe, we are unsure to what you do or who you are, but you are infringing on our rights to be free, and we dont like that! (could have taken key members of our tribe away?)

Ritual:

beat is in our DNA

rhythm beings us together with out it we are lost?

in euphoric movement

bring of people together for repetition

Tiff

p.s. good article about raving in Ibiza

Unit One Structure

I wasn't sure whether to e-mail this out or not, but thought the blog was the best place for it to go..
Here is what Artemis Script Team came up with today for Unit One structure:

UNIT ONE

- The audience are met outside in no-mans land. A follower of Artemis welcomes them to join prayer.
- Prayer Ritual.*
- Guru Speech, introdicing themselves (he/she) welcoming the new potential followers to the group, speaking about their beliefs.
-  Ritual prayer, dance, meditation, song and stories of the followers of the cult of Artemis then all take place at the same time, so the audience may only see or hear snippets of stories or dances. Intimate experience.
- The new 'members' (infiltraters) and the audience are then initiated, repeating the initiation prayer almost without realising what they are doing. This will involve speech of the initiation prayer, with music and dance and song- an event in itself. **


* Welcoming Prayer:

Gather, Children of the Earth.

Let the natural energy circulate freely through us all.

Allow our bodies and our planet to breathe deeply the respect of which we lend to them.

Let us look upon life kindly and appreciate this gift which we hold so dear.

Let selflessness cast no shadow upon our thought and action.

Let us become one.

Let no corruption taint our body nor our soul.

Let us guide those that take pleasure in sin, for we are their saviour.

Together we are cleansed.

** Initiation Chant:

As the deer loses his antlers,

Thus we leave our selfish world.

We enrich our souls.

We enrich our souls.

Brother, sister, hold my hand,

Unite as one, with earth, nature, the sun and the stars.

Let the universe guide us.

Enlighten our path.

Save us from self destruction.

We give ourselves to eachother.

Unite me.

Bind me.

Together we are cleansed.

Posted on behalf of the Artemis Script Team.

Middle Eastern ritual dance

Me again, sorry!
I came across this website which discusses some Middle Eastern dances which are seen as rituals. The author goes into detail about what the dances mean and the spiritual connection that the performers gain from it.
One of the rituals I found most fascinating was the 'Zar/Zaar' and here are some of my favourite videos of it from Youtube:

Zar 1

Zar 2


I think it is beautifully mesmorising yet disturbing at the same time.

Jess.

Articles

Hi everyone,

Found these two articles today that i thought are relevant to our research topics. The first is regarding a trip Beyonce took to Egypt, and the outcry from some religious leaders over her appearance. The second is about how Eastern men regard western women and culture.

Beyonce

Western Women

Hope this proves interesting!

Suzanne

Devil-Stoning Ritual

This is an article about Eid al-Adha- the festival of sacrifice, which is happening now. I think it is a good example of ritual just by the sheer size of it as well as showing how rituals cause people to collectivly come together.

Jess

Ritual

This is a clip of hotel Medea, the woman at the start says something interesting about ritual, also the whole sense of the piece, for me, is quite ritualistic.

Enjoy,

Ruth

Questions

I don't know if these will be used now, but here are our groups answers to the three questions...

What is it we want to say?
The media has too much power.

Why this story?
It best portrays the corruption of power.

What do we want to leave our audience with?
How easy it is to manipulate and be manipulated.

Hope this is of some use.
Helen

A little background research to our exec...

Just to add to what Charlotte wrote regarding the executive producer: interesting fictional characters to look at regarding this character as some research into this type of person, (as mentioned in class today), include Farley Flavors from the film 'Shock Treatment' (1981) and Christof from the film 'The Truman Show' (1998).

Particularly useful for this character I feel, for a more in depth look at the psychological workings of people with such power over others, is Gail Wynand from Ayn Rand's book 'The Fountainhead' (1943). In the first half of the book this character is, like our executive producer, an enigma to everyone, known only as an incredibly rich man with immense power and an unquestionably strong social influence, effectively deciding what the public should think and feel through his string of newspapers. As the book continues we eventually discover how he has achieved this position and, perhaps more interestingly, why he is doing it. It's a great read and I strongly recommend it, it includes a lot about manipulating people and public opinion which is of course very relevant to what we are trying to achieve.

Rich

Potentially Interesting...

Anyone who feels like doing it, have a look for a film called 'We Live in Public.' It's mainly about a series of documentaries and art pieces that came about with the rise of webcams, that looked at the effects on people who are on camera non-stop, but some of the literature about it says:

'we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire.'

I'm planning on getting it when I'm back in Bath, but just thought it could prove interesting

Executive Producer and Floor Manager Roles

Today Rich and I came up with the characters and the role of the executive producer and floor manager within the gameshow. Here is a basic breakdown.
Executive Producer

• emotionally detached after having to deal with the vast amounts of bad television that he has had to produce due to audience demand
• has bought the whole studio and created an empire including the media to create the ultimate reality gameshow that he thinks the audience want and when it goes wrong he cannot understand why
• very much an enigma

Floor Manager

• a snappy persistent woman who knows how she wants things done
• is in charge of the runners and the groomers and presenters but answers to the producer
• alot of delegation work but a very perfectionist nature
• the floor manager is the one who shouts cut and controls the studio action
• very harsh movements and clean lines

Hope this has helped!

Charlotte

Hello. This is what we did in the runner/chorus group today:



Runner/Chorus group
Wed week 5

• Robot clones of the channel
• Ex- reality TV contestants who are now contracted to work for the studio/channel
• Robotic in first act, in second act when show goes wrong they’re personal stories are revealed.

Character profiles

1. Ex-Boxer: - Bruce Denton – 40, Short fuse, twitchy, Set in his ways, regimented. Lost his girlfriend to an opponent. Bald, has a gut, likes a drink
2. Singer: - Sapphire, 31. Had a one hit wonder- L.O.V.E baby. From Cornwall. Had a child when she was 21 and gave it up for adoption. Single, free spirit. Went on the show to re-kindle her fame.
3. Teenager: Christopher, 19. Wears black, into the devil, secluded. Doesn’t talk to anyone, very quiet. Mum entered him onto the show to get him out of his room.
4. Old Grumpy Man: “Bobby 4 fingers”, 70. Doesn’t talk to his family. Jazz, blues singer. Angry man
5. Topless model: Destiny Rivers, 25. From Essex. Wears minimal clothing and lots of make-up. Contracts with page 3 and “zoo”. Married a footballer but got cheated on so she left him to show her fans she was strong. Brought out a perfume called “so over you”, it was exposed that the perfume was tested on baby chimps so she lost all her contracts with the mags. Turns out that it was her management team tested the perfume behind her back. She went on the show to prove her innocence. But that didn’t turn out right.

6. Butch woman: Daisy, 44. Has short, red hair, quite fat. Lots of piercings and tattoos. From South London. Really angry. Went on the show to show the public that despite her appearance she is a good person and everyone has a right to express themselves indivually.

7. Gay/Camp boy: Crain Francis Donnelly, 20. Sensitive, camp. Catholic upbringing. Grew up in Manchester in council house with Mum Sister, no Dad. Bullied for scrawny appearance and emotional outbursts. He was secretly gay but his sexuality was revealed in the last show he went on. He suffered rejection from the church, friends and family. Has glasses. T-total, smoker, drinks camomile tea.

8. Wannabe: Juliana Forest, 18. Avid follower of anything celeb. Doesn’t have a job. Eccentric and fake. No personality. Broke up boyfriend to go on the show. Is totally obsessed with Destiny and went on the show because she heard she was on it that year.

9. Fitness Freak: Todd Fillips, 26. Loves to work out, eat healthy. Californian, moved to England because of bad break up. Works in a chain of gyms. Ex-footballer, semi-professional. O.C.D about cleaning.

10. Foreign Person: Juan Rodriguez, 26. Mexican immigrant. Thinks he’s good looking but has a big nose and is very hairy. Doesn’t speak much English, tries to help but doesn’t know what’s going on half the time. Was in low budget Mexican porno film.

Reality TV Producers

Hi everyone! Helen just informed me of what you've done today..would it be okay if someone writes the idea of the game down on the blog? i'm a little confused, just need it written down! Sorry to be a pain!

Also, one of my friends works in production on the X Factor, Britains Got Talent, Got to Dance and Must Be The Music, and i wrote to her to ask her some questions about the contestants from her perspective. Obviously, she can't give too much away as it would risk her job, but below is the questions i asked, and the answers she could give me.. hope this gives a little more insight into 'behind the scenes' on one of these shows...


- Before going on the show, are contestants briefed about what the outcome could be (eg media attention/infamy etc.) And after the contestants have been on the show, is there any post-show therapy or councilling available to those in distress or to those who have been subjected to media attention
All the contestants turn up to the pre-auditions only knowing from experience like you and me what can happen. Its only when they progress through the show at the later stages (ie. the bit where they will possibly be on television) that they do this sort of thing.
BGT and X Factor are much bigger shows obviously and basically what happens is there are appx 5 researchers on the programme who will be talking to the contestants throughout the day if they have any worries - they might not talk to everyone because even at this stage its still appx 40 people a day to be seen. There is also a child psychologist on the shows at all times who speaks to families with young entrants etc about anything and everything.
When X, BGT reaches the later stages like the live shows, each act is assigned a researcher. So basically this researcher will look after the act aswell as Cheryl, Simon etc at all times.
On smaller shows like GTD there are people called 'contestant producers' who talk to the acts when they get through to the shortlist about things like infamy and press questions.


- in the production process, how are people edited to be shown in a good/bad light, and what do the producers look for in a 'good' contestant (eg. one that is an amazing singer, or one that will cause drama/public attention)

Okay so this is where I have to be careful! Bascially they are talent shows, so producers are always looking for talent first and foremost. But what people have to remember is that aswell as it being a talent show its also an entertainment TV show. So people go in knowing what sort of things are shown on the show so yeah if someone is really really bad/funny they can be put through for entertainment value but this is NEVER children (below 18) and believe most people who is put through for this reason are generally very aware of it but go anyway. (They say things like "oh i know im put through because im the silly one") The shows are very unlikely to be mean, and im not saying that because Im biased!
If someone is put through for this reason, it is generally because although they are bad/funny the audience will like/encourage them so they will come out of it having a good experience anyway (and making good tv).

- particularly on the x-factor..how many pre-rounds do contestants have to go through before seeing the judges?3 stages. I cant really elaborate on this much!

- after the audition process, who do the contestants talk to (eg. x factor dermot o'learey.. but is there any other member of the team they can speak to if need be?)They only really speak to Dermot/Ant n Dec on camera, they dont really chat to him generally because he'll always be busy with others. Theres always people around to speak to, Researchers, Assistant Producers, Child psychologist generally. Its a massive producton team and everyone makes sure that first and foremost the auditionees are okay they are main priority and the shows revolve around them!


These are just the questions i could think of on the spot... if anyone can think of anything else then she is mroe than happy to answer more questions for us.
Hope tomorrow goes well. Miss you all!

Suzanne

'The Curse'

Group: Charlotte, Sammy, Jess, Els, Rich, Rob

Our game is called: 'The Curse'

1. Celebrities partake in the competition as a test of their mental prowess and their ability to withstand 'The Curse'
2. Each week the audience vote one of the resident celebrities to receive 'The Curse' the following week.
3. 'The Curse' is a mental manipulation implanted into the celebrity by a bombardment of sounds and images whilst they sit restrained, their eyes forced open (a-la-'A Clockwork Orange').
4. The Curse the celebrities are given changes each week and so is always unexpected. This week's theme is 'Forbidden Love'.
5. At the end of the week the 'cursed' celebrity is isolated into one room to view clips of their behaviour from over the week while the audience vote as to whether they believe the celebrity has passed the test and successfully beaten 'The Curse'. If the audience decide that the celebrity sufficiently withstood 'The Curse' they can re-join their fellow contestants in the game; if not they are ejected from the show.

It is imagined that it is in the isolation room that the Phaedra characters will hang themselves as a reaction to the video images and the audience voting against them. This is the moment that the show goes wrong and spirals out of control and the catalyst for the antagonistic and revelatory aspects of the second act.

Hope that all makes sense,

Rich

Our Game Show

Hi guys, this is our game show idea which we discussed today.

Name of game show - The story teller

1. Audience arrives and is given a questionnaire
2. Audience members fill out a multiple choice questionnaire which will create an event for one of our made up celebrities.
3. The audience member will decide the "Celebrity" which there event/story will happen too.
4. While the story is being created, the audience member will stay in there own room looking at the information and past life of this "Celebrity" on a computer.
5. The story then comes to life over live feed or a possible video post on the celebrities information page e.g. Twitter or Facebook.

Group members - Gerry, Steve, Suneil, and Katie

THIS is a really good article on Seven Days as a re-invention of the reality TV. The last paragraph is very relevant and thought provoking

Tiff

Following on from that line of research...I also came across an 'agony aunt' style of webpage that is based around the issue of forbidden love. I found it quite interesting to see what kind of relationship would be categorized as forbidden.
This website also allows the general public to reply and offer advice to the pleas. This is very apt to the discussion the year group had revolving around reality television and the increasing amount of power the general public has in determining an individuals/contestants fate.

http://www.dearcupid.org/category/forbidden_love

Sammy.

Forbidden Love.

I have been researching the concept of forbidden love (that derived from unit 1) and came across an article written for the Guardian a few years ago. I found this article particularly interesting as, for me, it highlighted the link between forbidden love and what an individual's opinion of what normality is. The two are intrinsically linked as love could only be considered to be forbidden if a certain sect in society believes that love to be abnormal.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2002/jan/09/familyandrelationships.features103



Sammy.

Hey everyone, Just a quick message to the drivers! Just wanted to know if anyone wanted to meet up tomorrow before the lesson to talk over ideas. If you could text me this would be good cus' im off out. Thanks

Bella xxx

The Celeb Diaries

Me again..
Just came across this article about the book: the celeb diaries .. It was written by the ex-editor of Heat Magazine, Mark Frith, and having read the book myself i think it provides a really useful insight into the minds of journalists, particularly those writing for celebrity magazines who thrive from the reality tv culture.
If i remember correctly, Big Brother was the original topic that sold Heat magazine, and Mark stepped down as Editor when he saw the downfall of Jade Goody at the hands of the media. He says of this:

"The democratisation of fame has led to some of us going too far. When you see celebrities as your playthings ... how much do you play with them?'  -- this, coming from a journalist who does manipulate celebrities is a scary idea..there is no line drawn anymore.

There is another extract from the autobiography HERE

Suzanne x

Voting Power

Thinking about the reasons why we  as an audience vote in reality TV contests...We discussed in class that we vote because it gives us a sense of control, even in a society that is a democracy. However, I realised that in countries that do not enjoy this sort of political freedom, voting for reality shows could literally be the first vote people ever cast, and the only time they experience voting for something that has an effect on other people's lives. This would definitely be a reason to vote- reality tv gives these people the control and power they crave and do not get in their own oppressed lives..

On this point, I wondered if it would be an idea to first create a situation for the audience in which they feel like they have no power (for example, if they came face-to-face with the "Phaedra" character and this person was very dominant/over powering), how would they react to then being given the opportunity to play and manipulate this person's life? If they felt they were gaining some control back over this person, i think that the audience would be much more likely to want to see the downfall by manipulating the forbidden love interest.
It could also be interesting to create a media hate figure out of the "Phaedra" character (perhaps through newspaper articles etc.) so that the audience have pre-conceived ideas before they manipulate/play god..and only find out afterwards that this information was distorted by the media, and therefore realise the consequences of their actions on an 'innocent' person who the media have latched onto and destroyed. 

Just a (long-winded) general thought...I would have put this forward next week in class but won't be there, so thought this was the next best way :)

Why do we watch reality TV?

Hey guys,

I found this great artical about why we watch reality TV, it focuses a lot on Big Brother but it is definately worth a read. Enjoy. Its a bit long but its all relevant.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2000/jul/17/broadcasting.mondaymediasection

zimbardo experiment:footage

Hey guys, I stumbled accross this great website which has clips from the zimbardo experiment. The behaviour is extremely interesting to observe and the participants comments also. Take a look. Haven't put a link on before so I hope it works. Rosie xx

Dear All,

Hope you are having a productive rest of the week. Just wanted to let you know about a few things.

Firstly here is a link to a workshop class based in Bristol that specializes in Meisner technique. I have done quite a bit of Meisner technique and some of you might find it beneficial.

http://www.studiofilm.co.uk/content.php?page_id=4246

Lastly you can get £5.00 tickets for the Globe Theatre, if you are under the age of 25. It is great to see shakespeare as it is and outside you may want to take a look.

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

See you next week.

Becca :-)

Shifting the blame

Here is a story from America about how a member of authority is trying to shift the blame onto an innocent party in an accident. I thought it would be relevant as one of our new stripped down units is about "the blame is shifted". Hope you find it useful :)

Jess

Media Manipulation

Hey guys, I've just come across this image and it struck a chord with me, especially as we have recently been discussing the impact the media can have on society and different kinds of manipulation.

Jess

Stripped back units of Hippolytus

Units for Hippolytus: These are the original 10 points of the story, taken from the play-

1. Aphrodite secretly curses Phaedra, to fall in love with her step son, Hippolytus, as revenge for his impiety towards her.

2. Phaedra confesses her love for her step son to her Nurse.

3. Nurse confides in Hippolytus, about her mistresses love for him

4. Hippolytus confronts Phaedra

5. Phaedra kills herself, leaving an incriminating note, laying the blame on Hippolytus.

6. Theseus returns home to find his wife dead, along with the note and believes it to be true.

7. Theseus banishes Hippolytus, and curses him with death by Poseidon

8. Theseus realises, with the help of Artemis, that he is wrong

9. Because of Poseidon’s curse, Hippolytus dies anyway.

These are the stripped back version on these units-

1. A person in manipulated into a forbidden love.

2. The person confesses their forbidden love.

3. The confession id betrayed/ leaks

4. The person is forced to face up to the consequences of the leaked information

5. The person kills them self.

6. The blame is shifted, through a suicide note, to the object of forbidden love

7. There is a public outcry/ response over person’s death and action is taken against the object of the forbidden love.

8. The truth comes out/ the manipulation is revealed.

9. Regardless, the object of forbidden love’s fate is sealed.

Other ideas from our discussion after making these units include-

- Audience manipulation/ or there subservience and enjoyment over the manipulation.

- Audience agreeing with something morally wrong

- Subtle game show, new in existence.

- Watching the persons fall when she is manipulated, then her rise after death

cannon routine

there we go! if anyone has any issues with watching the videos let me know & i shall see what i can do format-wise

Suze x

different directions

hey all- having a few technical difficulties, i've had to change the format because it was upside down and i didn't know how to rotate it...if this video doesnt work on your computer let me know and i shall try to find some other way of uploading (although uploading is taking quite some time, sorry!)

Suze x

Dance In Unison Facing Front

Suze x

THIS is quite funny the radio times forum to "why we watch big brother" real responses quite interesting to see peoples responses.

Tiff

Brilliant Documentary

Hi again.

CCTV was a major theme in all of our thesis ideas and it reminded me of this... I watched this documentary "ERASING DAVID" a few months ago. It is about a man who is trying to dissappear for a month. He has hired professionals to see if they can track him down.
It talks about (and shows) the use of CCTV and highlighted to me just how much we are being watched in our day to day lives. It reminded me of George Orwell's Big Brother in his novel "1984". Is this fiction or becoming a modern reality?

Helen

Hi
I found this website that talks about a new reality tv show in America which has celebrities doing normal jobs, therefore confusing the public. It has a clip of Paris Hilton working at a petrol station. I thought it was an interesting mix of what we have been discussing in class. Take a look click HERE.

Helen

Petition

Also this is a petition to try and stop the snooping plan, seeing as the Conservatives have disabled the e-petitions section on number10.org!

Jess

Shock Treatment (1981)

Following on from Suzanne's thoughts about The Truman Show, the 1981 film 'Shock Treatment', a quasi-sequal to the Rocky Horror Show also tackles the subject of reality TV, interestingly serving as a warning against it before the boom in that genre of television even began.

It shows how one member of the public is corrupted by the fame of appearing on a reality TV show thanks to false praise and documents the increase in her egoism as she starts to believe in her own hype. It also shows how the entire audience, viewing public and familiy and freidns of another contestant (the first's husband) is branded insane showing how 'reality' of reality TV is often false or misleading, but readily accepted by those who view. In further submersion into the genre, the audience, effectively an entire village stays in the TV studio at all times, sleeping in their audience seats.

It is a very interesting film though not very well known, and certainly very strange coming from the mind of Richard O'Brian, but it deals with some great material regarding reality TV and may be worth looking at I feel. I have it on DVD if anyone would like to borrow it.

Rich

Big Brother Government

This article has made feel sick to my stomach.
Being watched continuously and letting the Government have the power to track every email and phonecall that we ever make terrifies me. I can see some benefits of the scheme by making it easier to track down and catch criminals and paedophiles etc, but I feel your own privacy should be respected.
What steps will happen next? Will we become restricted on what we can and can't do, say or read?
Is this Big Brother style Government going too far?

Jess

The Truman Show

Morning,

In regards to reality tv research, the film 'The Truman Show' is about a man who lives his life watched by millions of people as star of his own reality tv show, but he does not know it. This shows how dangerous it could be to toy with peoples lives for the amusement viewers and an audience.
I have this on DVD if anyone hasn't seen it and would like to borrow it!

Suzanne

Hello from Emma

Hi all,

I just wanted to say hello and say that I have been following all of the recent posts with interest. I have now posted your weekly tasks on Minerva and email, and I am looking forward to getting back to you this week.

For your interest, Pina Bausch's company is performing their production of 'Iphiginia Auf Tauris' at Saddlers Wells next week. Click here for more information.

Good luck with the tasks and see you on Wednesday!
Emma x

Frantic Assembly Ignition Project

Date of performance is 29th october. the performance is being held in Toynbee studios resident theatre. I don't know how to book tickets independently but I can reserve them, but I need to know by monday ifyou want me to reserve a ticket but you have to be sure you can make it.

Regards,

Suneil

More disgusting behaviour from the human race...

I just wanted to bring this article to the attention of everyone. It gives just a short overview into the horrific treatment that civilian detainees in Iraq by Iraqi soldiers and police, as well as including similarly brutal examples from British and US military, who engage in abuse, rape, torture and murder or 'lethal force'. This is just another example of how badly the human race are capable of treating each other. It was a while ago now that videos and pictures of similar abuse at the hands of the US military in the Abu Ghraib prison first came to media attention (2004). It was striking to see that not only were people sent to 'civilize' the middle east as some claim can not only engage in such abhorrent behaviour but that someone could stand and watch it while documenting it onto digital video without doing anything about it.

That similar stories of abuse are still hitting headlines is very disturbing. Perhaps most disturbing is that nothing is being done to investigate and deal with such incidents by the relevant authorities and the insistence that there are no records of civilian casualties while logs indicate over 66,000 non-combatant deaths! The documents detailing these occurrences only came to public light through internet leaks, it makes me question what other things are going on out there that we may not hear about for several years to come, if at all.

I feel this resonates with what we've been looking into regarding abuse from those in power; in these incidents it comes from both the police and military ('protectors of the people') who engage in such horrific acts and those in authority who just sit and fail to stop such incidents occurring when they may have the power to do something about it.

Zimbardo Prison Experiment

Hey Guys......

Just thought you might like to look at the Zimbardo Prison Experiment, there is a video about it aswell. My group talked about it in our presentation

Enjoy,

Ruth

death statistics Iraq

Hi guys, heres a link to a good page which has good graphs and information on the death toll of soldiers and civilians in Iraq. It may be a lot lower in 2010 however its still going on- innocent people are still having their lives taken away!

polly xxx

Agamemnon Reinvention

Discovered this current reinvention of Agamemnon at the Cambridge Arts Theatre- worth a read!

click here !

Suzanne

Youth

I know this story is quite old and doesn't have much reference to the plays we are looking at but it is insane. Nine year old boys were caught and suspended from primary school for dealing cannabis!! I don't know about everyone else but when I was nine I deffinitely wasn't getting stoned in the playground. It makes you wonder just how many children are still children nowadays.

charlotte

Control

It is ridiculous how much control is placed over ordinary people these days. If it isn't politically correct or absolutely stupidly safe then you can't say or do it. This story obviously wasn't hard hitting news but it made me laugh at how stupid our society has become, that people with a tiny bit of power feel the need to exercise it over others clearly doing nothing wrong. A woman had taken her kids to feed the ducks when she was told to stop as she was giving them the wrong type of bread. I wasn't aware that ducks were counting their calories!

charlotte

I have been researching the Stanford prison experiment because of one of the pitches yesterday. For those of you who don't know it, look at THIS article, it's really interesting. :)

Ok everybody else is alot cleverer than me and has worked out how to put links on! If I was clever I woulf have put a link of the Chilean miners release. Absoloutly amazing the work and complete determination of the engineers who for 17 days solid drilled without even knowing if anybody was still alive down there. But on the otherside having discussed this with someone, they made a very good point, he said: "We as a human race are strange, they spent so much money, millions of pounds and days of work on saving these men, which of course they should. But no one is spending millions of pounds on the thousands of people who die down mines each year in China." This discussion opened my eyes and just made me realise that it's true we spend millions of pounds on saving people when disaster and tragedy occurs, but what about the long term tragedys? Like the people starving in Africa, and The Soldiers dying through lack of equipment, hostages which have been held for over decades and many other issues. Have we just forgotten that they are tragedies because they have gone on for so long?

On a less deep note, can some on show me how to do this link thing? x

LONDON?!

GIRLS AND BOYS! I have had a rather cracking idea!

(This is on hoping we have Friday with self directed work)

After talk to some people about this I think it would be really beneficial to take a trip to London! And what a better time to go than next Friday when we can also go and see Suneil's show (if he wants us to come watch!! if we can get tickets etc even if we cant i think its worth popping up)

SO I'm thinking we go for the day leave here at 8 ish get in to the South bank by ten, have a look round the National, WE CAN BOOK TOURS! Also the BFI (British Film Institute ) is right next to the theater and has its festival on at the moment always worth a look in, it has amazing avaunt guard work as well as independent films.

Tube it over the the Royal court and blow some student loan on some plays!

go have some food some where, china town, convent garden etc, see the show then all go home!

It might be a costly day but i think a cracking one!

The train will cost (with a student rail card) : £30 ish if we book it soon!!! (a lot I know but this does included travel card for the tube and I think if there's more than 10 of you, we can get a group ticket)

So let me know what you all think, if we want to go ahead i can also call the national and see how we go about booking a tour etc.

We can put all this in to our project books as an ensemble activate or just as a trip to the theatres, for our reference to industry!

Ok so yer let me know either via the blogg or email (tiffany.jackson@bathspa.org)

Tiff

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7708169.stm

"Stoned Victim begs for mercy"

Hi guys, for the group work we've been focussing on the theme of duty, especially womens duty and how their loves are in the hands of others - this page Is tragic. I was really moved by how helplss this woman was and the lack of mercy within religion.

PostSecret

I'm afraid this isn't a link to a news story but this website is one of my favourites.

When we were doing our newspaper gallery and getting an insight to what people are thinking, I was reminded of this:

PostSecret

Some of these bring a tear to my eye every time.

Enjoy :)

Theme of unrequited love

I've just been researching into some of the results of unrequited love and if there are any major stories in the news at the moment; as the serious consequences and results of the unrequited love in 'Hippolytus'strikes a chord with me. To me personally love is meant to be something beautiful that brings happiness, however, we all know that isn't always the case. The fact that Phaedra thinks it would be better to kill herself rather than express her love (although dangerous) I think is heartbreaking, love should lead to new life not make you end your own.

I've stumbled across these, although some of the articles are fairly old, I thought it was interesting to see how rejection, unrequited love and love in general affects the human psyche.

1.

2.

3. This story reminds me a little bit of how Aphrodite controls the situation of love- toying with people's emotions for a specific outcome.

4.

5.

A local Reinvention

I couldn't find loads of information about this production, but from what I have read I assume it is a modern reinvention of the Medea story.
It is called "Jason and Medea" and is at the Bristol Old Vic in November. It is performed by the Bristol Old Vic Young Company. So it will be interesting what they create from it.
As it is basically on our doorstep I think it might be a good idea to go and see what it's all about.
Click here for the link.

Helen

URGH!

THIS REALLY GETS ME SO ANGRY!! I really cant stand it when people in power ABUSE THEIR POSITION OF TRUST AND RESPONSIBILITY TO GET KICKS / GLORIFICATION! It really makes me angry and people who did this sort of thing need to go away for a long long time!!
URGH! Read it and you will see what I mean.

I think this could relates to Hipp' as Aphrodite abuses her potion to get her own back and make a point, which just isn't fair!

Tiff

Socrates

Reading the guardian online today, there is a news item about Socrates- an ancient Greek philosopher. I thought I would share, as it includes some detail about life at that time, particularly for outspoken citizens (such as philosophers and playwrights). Good for if you want to delve into some basic Greek research!

HERE you go :)

Suzanne

...a little off topic...but not .....

Hey, so this might be a little off topic! But this VIDEO is amazing. I have a strong belief about live music and movement, for the ensemble and the audience experiencing it. This video i think is beautiful! (cause of the song) but mainly the movement that accompanies it. I think working with live music is something we should explore as, I defiantly feel it has HUGE connection with tapping in to the human condition, and basic emotional impulses!

hope you enjoy

Tiff x

sorry me again!

I was looking at reinventions today and came across Charles Mee's Iphigenia...he decided to look at the cost of war and the loss of innocence, i thought this was an interesting concept as there has been a lot of talk of war and the concequences...it was in 2007 but its worth having a read heres the link ....http://www.totallykate.com/iphignia/iphignia.html

Celebrity Culture

On Wednesday we discussed obsession with celebrity culture, and how this links to the idea of catharsis (we watch people's lives who are worse/better than ours, identify with their plight a bit, but enough distance to psychologically remove ourselves from the situation.)
Cue, the Chilean Miners. It seems that even in the face of complete devastation and crisis, we as a culture find it important to make famous the ordinary people who have gone through hardship. This week, after emerging from the mine, 33 ordinary people were catapulted into fame- something they didn't ask for. In some cases, the media exposed their private misdemeanours (such as the miner who's affair was publicised after both his wife and mistress arrived.)  So, this article poses the question that we asked on wednesday- has our obsession with celebrity gone too far? Should we be making ordinary people face the gruelling, cruel world of the media?

Ordinary people are fascinating, and much more 'real' than red carpet walking celebrities. Perhaps that is why we 'need' to know about people who have come through tragedy: their lives are infinitely more identifiable to us than Angelina Jolie's (for example). They are real- what happened to them could happen to any of us, and we have much more respect for their stories. We can identify with them from a distance, but because they are 'real' people it makes it that much more human- we feel like we have been through their story with them. This article discusses the effects the media may have on the Chilean Miners ascent to fame:  

Chilean Miner Celebrity Status

Suzanne x

hotel medea

Hi guys if anyones interested i found a clip of hotel medea...looks pretty cool and i found it inspiring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0soIo4-OJLM

Human Behaviour

Hi guys,
In class a lot of people were asking the question why do we as humans act the way we do? i came across this website and it discusses human behaviour in a way of science...it is interesting to think about whether human behaviour is caused because of the way we are programmed or the situations we go through in life cause us to act this way...but everyone acts differently, but why? this question really grabs me and i find the subject really interesting...have a read and a think and let me know what you think

http://library.thinkquest.org/26618/

In other news.....

THIS is an article and person stories related to it. I found one personal story that just shocked me. I really can get over the statistics that the article gives on slavery in modern day England.

Sex trafficking: Locked up and forced to have sex with 20 men a night

"Thippawal, 36, from Bangkok, paid an agency to bring her to Britain for restaurant work in 2008 so she could send money home for her daughter's schooling. But when she arrived in the UK she was locked up and made to work as a prostitute.

"When I got to Heathrow, the man that met me took my passport. He took me to a house in west London and said I had to work as a prostitute. I showed them the contract which said I had to work in a restaurant, but they just laughed. They said if I tried to leave I would die. They made me work 24 hours a day saying I had to pay off my debt to them for bringing me over – which they said was £65,000. I had to have sex with 20 men a night and some of them would hit me.

"I tried to escape three times and when they caught me they stabbed my ankles with a knife. I was never paid. After a month I managed to get out and called the police from a hotel who saw my cuts and bruises but didn't take photos or interview me. So in court, there was not enough evidence. Now my family have been threatened."

Thippawal was sheltered in a safe house by the Poppy Project."

What got me about this story is that she was doing it as a duty as a mother (coming over here to earn money for her child's education) . Somebody exploited her duty and role as a woman , for there own means. This idea of duty is something I'm really finding i have a passion for. Stories like this just make me feel outraged!!!

Tiff

Just days after the Chilean miners are rescued, I read today of a mine blast in China that has killed 20 people and left 17 missing. It's shocking that this sort of thing keeps happening but I wonder if this latest incident would have been given so much coverage had it not been for the Chile mine accident. How many more of these kinds of tragic events happen every day that we're not told about over in the UK just because it doesn't affect us? I may be being cynical but it's issue that I've been wondering about for a while now...if it doesn't affect the UK, do the British press care as much?

Anyway, here's the link

Something that struck me whilst reading the Independent.

I have read so many stories as we all have regarding death, suffering, murder etc etc but this story about a porn star testing positive for HIV made me feel really sad - the fact that a. the Industry Is rising and b. That he id facing a limited lifetime. Have a read - for me this Is one element of

tragedy.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/porn-titans-stop-production-after-star-tests-positive-for-hiv-2106116.html

News Article found today.

Typical, now the police are raping people. It’s sick! There is so much rape and murder in the news today, and the people we should be able to rely on is the police, and now even they are raping people.
Seriously what has happened to our world???
Click here

more news

i dont know if anyone watched this, i think it was on a few days ago. this story is about the DR of Congo and how boys 9, 10 and 11 years old are snatched and trained to kill and rape people and if they do not they will be killed themselves.

click HERE

news

THIS really got to me. it is about a farmer supposedly murdering someone by squashing them between two 4x4's.

News Article found today.

Oh my god. I couldn't believe my eyes when i was reading this article.
A father killed his own baby, who was only 6 weeks old just because he has had a few arguments in his life, and spilt up with his girlfriend.
Just think, that baby won’t be able to take its first steps, say it first words, have first day at school, have a partner, go to university, or get a place of its own. All these things which I have and will take for granted, this baby will never have.
Just have a read for yourself....

Click Here

I read the paper this morning and all it was focused on was budget cuts, pay cuts, uni cuts, money money money! in the smaller sections there were storys about human lives, (well... Human deaths). what makes money more important than a human life? Has Murder and rape become comon place in our scoiety? These were the stories that affected me. What do you think? Perhapse im wrong maybe a human life dosn't matter.

Steve

Reading The Times newspaper today left me feeling a mixture of emotion. I would read article after article about death, murder and suicide and just think to myself how can our world be so disturbing?? One of the articles I found was about a drunken woman who stamped on an innocent train commuter's head with her stillettos after he had asked her to be quiet!!Where does all of this anger and violence come from?? Why can't people communicate successfully in our society?? Why is abuse the only way forward for most people? It sickened me to read of such a horrendous act and considering the circumstances, enabled me to see how unjust it was, he had not provoked her or attacked her, this was a blatent act of disregard for human wellbeing, law and order and a clear 'moment of madness'. It seems as though this is a re-occuring theme in our society today, there is no escaping the lunacy of human kind. We are the only species to destroy our own in such horrific ways. The second story was about a 'Crossbow Cannibal' a psychology student accused of murdering three prostitutes...the striking thing about this is the word student!A well educated and intelectual human being, conducting his own investigations into 19th century killings. There must be a contageous chemical imbalance of the brain which is causing educated and respectable human beings to commit such disgraceful crimes and acts. I cannot for one moment understand these actions. The world is a hostile place and negativity is dominating our papers and our lives. The last article is one which finally restored my faith in the justice system as a rapist is 'indefinately jailed' thank god!!Finally we are being protected from these vile people and justice is being served. It's about time!

News Just In

This story actually maid me well up. The sheer determination and sense of duty this man had was incredibly moving. How is comrades talk about him is with such respect and honour is incredible. this for me echos themes from Alcestis , duty to her husband and for her role and how this is honoured by her world.

Read it HERE

Tiff

Definately did the link wrong...I'll try again!

Click HERE

How far people will go

I read this article in the Guardian on online and the first thing that struck was the fear and pain that this young boy's mother must be experiencing. She doesn't know for sure that her son was abducted to join the Taliban but even so there is nothing she can do.
At the same time it's also striking the extent the Taliban organisation will go to prove their love for their religeon. They are willing to die for their God. To me, this is a similar (although slightly extreme and twisted version) of the main theme in Alcestis. She loves her husband Admetus so much she is willing to die for him.

Click HERE to see the article :)

Ceri

'I can't believe the news today'

Following on from Charlotte's story that highlighted those in authority abusing their power, this story that has recently come to light tells of a police officer raping a girl while in custody. The girl, a heroin addict, was told by the man that no one would believe her story over his due to her history of drug abuse and his position as a police officer. This is a sad and disgusting story, but what makes it worse is that it has taken so many years for the truth to come to light for, I expect, the precise reasons the police officer gave to the abused woman. This is reflected in Hippolytus not only in the abuse that the Goddess Aphrodite inflicted upon Hippolytus' family, but also in Phaedra's death note - she a woman who held a parental position to Hippolytus as stepmother, a position of power and influence, to Hippolytus' father if no one else. In her death note accusing Hippolytus of rape, she abuses her position and her version of events are trusted without second thought leading to Hippolytus' eventual death. Those in power have a responsibility to care for those they wield power over who are often vulnerable; the police have a duty to serve and protect the public but several articles suggest police officers abuse their position to meet their own selfish desires as my example shows. This is a worrying revelation just a few days after the Met chief calls for it to be made harder to take legal action against officers in civil actions - if police officers cannot be trusted not to abuse their power, giving them more rein to act above the law without as much fear of legal repercussions is a dangerous direction to take.

Rich

News

Click HERE to see the article.

I was reading this and was appalled that someone in such an official and responsible position as a police officer could have such blatant disregard for victim care. The paragragh explaining how he fabrigated letters to female crime victims about their cases took me by surprise as it never crossed my mind that someone in that position would do that. For me it also realates back to the story of Hippolytus; whose family was torn apart because the Goddess Aphrodite got jealous and wanted to make her presence felt.
As a nation we put our trust in authority figures such as the police, not expecting to be duped and treated badly; just as the Greeks did in their Gods and Goddesses.

Charlotte

News

THIS is a story i read today that has shocked me, and i think has resonance with the plays and ideas that we have been discussing.

I think that the abuse of power by authorities is something that is hidden from public knowledge, until something as drastic as this happens. Considering that authorities are supposed to maintain a "firm but fair" approach to the holding of detainees-where is the line?  Is it okay for deportation officers to restrain people "firmly" to the point where they cannot breathe, and end up dying as a result of their treatment?

This, i think, links in with the theme of abuse of power, and how far people who have power will go with it (Such as Iphigenia being given the right to sacrifice upon the altar of Artemis). In Iphigenia in Tauris, Iphigenia is asked to sacrifice any foreigner that arrives on her soil; therefore using her power and being driven by the will of the gods to kill anyone who is "not supposed to be there" (on a superficial level, the ancient Greek version of these immigration officers, perhaps?!) If, in that time, the gods gave people the right to sacrifice anyone who was 'foreign' to the land, is this the same as an executive officer giving the go-ahead to use "reasonable force" to hold a detainee- and, in this case, excessive force to the point of man slaughter?
It certainly would seem that way.

Just thought i would share this, as it shocked me that this has been able to happen in a "civilised" society.

Suzanne

some more of the gallery pictures

Some of the gallery pictures

Hello all,

I hope you have had a productive day. You may wish to look up Ex Graduate company Hammerpuzzle Theatre Company. They specialize in reinvention and work in a similar way to you. They are also doing a workshop day with you in November, and performing their newest work The Spare Room.

This is the current promo video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiXiSoJBYz4

look up www.hammerpuzzle.co.uk

Also you should definetely see if you can catch this

http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=11059

Complicite are masters in ensemble

http://www.complicite.org/flash/

See you all Tuesday... Happy researching.

Becca :-)

The Wooster Group

Hi all,
You should know about this exciting New York based company who have a glittering history of reinvention since the 1970s. The Wooster Group - one of its founding members is Willem Defoe. The website is excellent, and has daily video updates.

Enjoy,
Emma

Have I done It?? I hope so :)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39432969/ns/world_news/

Just thought this highlighted the desperasation and the length that people would go to just to make money, could be linked to the length people would go to for the ones they love a theme in todays lesson. For example the men on these ships wanting to support their families at any cost even if that means working in slave conditions.

hey, i found this, it makes what were were chatting about look a little easier to understand about orestes and agamemnon etc: its from:http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mythology/section11.rhtml

In the newest generation, Agamemnon, Menelaus’s brother, sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia to placate Artemis and procure favorable sailing winds during the Trojan War. Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, takes a lover—Aegisthus, son of Thyestes—while Agamemnon is away in Troy. Outraged at the sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia, she plots revenge against her husband, while Aegisthus vows revenge for his father. When Agamemnon returns from Troy with Cassandra, the prophetess everyone always ignores, Cassandra foretells her and Agamemnon’s deaths but is unheeded. The two enter the palace, and Clytemnestra and Aegisthus kill them.

Two of Agamemnon’s children still live to perpetuate the bloodshed: his daughter, Electra, whom Aegisthus and Clytemnestra treat cruelly, and son, Orestes, whom a family friend has taken to protect him from Aegisthus. Orestes sets out for vengeance when he comes of age—even though he knows this means the terrible crime of matricide—and the Oracle at Delphi confirms him in this path. Returning to Mycenae, he runs into Electra, who is overjoyed and eager for him to avenge their father. Pretending to be a messenger bearing news of Orestes’ death, Orestes is welcomed into the palace, where he kills his mother and her lover. He instantly sees the terrible avenging Furies pursuing him, and he begins years of frenzied wanderings. Finally, with Apollo’s aid, he appeals to Athena, who pities him and turns the Furies into the Eumenides, “protectors of the suppliant.” The curse of the House of Atreus finally ends.

In another version of the story, Artemis grows horrified just before Iphigenia’s sacrifice and rescues her. Artemis brings Iphigenia to the land of the Taurians and makes her a priestess of her own temple. Regrettably, this job involves sacrificing humans, so Iphigenia goes about her duties very reluctantly. In this version, Athena has not completely absolved Orestes of guilt. The Oracle at Delphi tells Orestes that for his last cleansing act he must go to the land of the Taurians and procure the image of Artemis from its temple. Orestes and his friend Pylades set out on the quest, but the Taurians capture them almost immediately and intend to sacrifice them.

Orestes is taken to Iphigenia, the priestess, but the siblings fail to recognize each other because they have been separated for so long. Preparing Orestes and Pylades for death, Iphigenia asks where they are from. On hearing they are from Mycenae, she asks them about her family. She offers to set Pylades free if he takes a message to her brother, Orestes, telling him that she is alive and that he must rescue her. Orestes jumps up and reveals his identity. The three begin their escape with the image of Artemis. King Thoas of the Taurians pursues, but lets them escape when Athena says they are fated to do so.

hope this helps it broke it down for me
tiff xx

Iphigenia

Today when we were discussing Iphigenia, Bella spoke about the link to modern day women under the Taliban regime; they do know of another life but there is nothing they can do to leave the life they are in, and just have to make do with it..
on that note, there is a really good film called 'Persepolis' which is about a woman during the Iranian revolution. It's animated in black and white, and i think highlights how women have lost their rights during such wars/revolutions etc, and modern day mistreatment by men- how in some countries women are expected to become subservient to their male counterparts. (not that i'm becoming a femenist here!!)

thought i'd share with the group :) i have it on dvd if anyone wants to borrow it-
see you tomorrow! x

Today

Extraordinary - Human Sacrifice TODAY

Read THIS

Emma

Past Productions - Links

Hi all,
So it is very useful to start researching around the plays and see what you can find out about past productions, and reinventions. I have set the ball rolling here with 7 links to reviews, articles, images etc. Have a read and then add your own discoveries.
Emma 

Click HERE for reviews of Katie Mitchell's 2004 National Theatre production of Iphiginia in Aulis (another name for Tauris), set in 1940s. Click HERE for an interesting critique by 'Culture Vulture' of same production

And HERE for a Bloody staging of an opera in Berlin

And HERE for an Evening Standard review of a modern day production of Hipplolytus


And HERE for a very thorough review/synopsis of a recent Fringe production of Hipploytus at The White Bear in London, including a short youtube clip.

And HERE for production images of Alcestis by Iris Theatre, at the Actors Church in London in 2008.

And HERE for an interesting essay on a reinvention process of Alcestis by a feminist student theatre group in the US.

Some useful sources for today's session!

'The Death of Hippolytus' 1860

Click HERE for a useful link to a Who's Who guide to the Greek Gods:

I hope you have a a fruitful session with Becca today - and I shall look forward to catching up with you tomorrow...

Emma x