Debate

In today's session we did an exercise where we explored the debates and the views that are most commonly expressed by the guards in the play regarding punishment. I found this exercise really useful as it allowed me to tap into the mental side of my character by connecting to his political views. It also helped to create the atmosphere of debates and how people act within one. This is was really important as the debate scene in the play is long and coukd disengage the audience because of the tehnical and political language. This exercise allowed me as an actor to experience the exciting and engaging energy that can be created in a debate, this has allowed me to understand the energy that needs to be recreated in our scene to drive it and to make it exciting to watch.

For my character I always assumed that he just supported Phillips in his opinions and that redemption was the way forward. However this showed me that my character actually supports hanging as it acts as a demonstration for the other prisoners, as a threat as to what could happen to them. I found that this added a darker side to my character and that he is less modern in thought than Phillips and believed in punishment. I feel that this reflects the society that my charatcer has been socialised into. Consequently this had made me think about my how my character acts in certain scenes an to other characters, for example in my first scene when we are debating how the prisoners should be punished, I feel that the stakes would be higher as I wouldn't immediately agree and support Philips in his ideas of redemption. As a result of this I found that the tension and conflict to get my point across would be higher, driving the scene forward.