Poor vs Rich exercise

This was fun. It was interesting experiencing a character that was at each end of the wealth board - rich and poor - as personally I am neither but in the middle.

When I was playing an upper class rich character, I immediately went to the stereotypical idea of someone like that: straight back, high head, sour face, pinky fingers out, looking down on anyone and everyone. When I became the poor thief and pick pocketer, my physicality went the completely opposite way: bent backs, eyes to the floor, dead expression. It was interesting as both classes are in the play and although my character is also in the middle, I find I can now relate to both my superior officers in the play and the peasant convicts and understand them better.

A day in the life of

I found the exercise "A day in the life" very interesting. As we did this exercise at the beginning of the process of our play, I was not confident with the plot of the play or any of the characters, including mine, so I found I was a little lost.

By the end of it, I learnt much more. My character is a Second Lieutenant officer, a low rank within the colony, so I figured he might be engaging in day-to-day corporate activities like desk work and prioritising appearance and patrolling the area. Knowing the nature and relationship between the guards and convicts, I think he might also spend some time annoying and terrorising the convicts. It was beneficial speaking to the actors who play a character similar to mine as we could exchange knowledge and I got some ideas off of them, and this added to my research.

Laben technique

Today I think really helped with my character by walking around the space and trying out the different Laben forces and seeing which fit my character the best.

I realised that my character, although there isn't really enough of him featured in the play to find he has different aspects of each force, he does actually cross into an few in my opinion. Basing the forces on time, weight, space and flow, I think Second Lieutenant William Faddy is a pressing character as he sustained, heavy, direct and bound. He's sustained in the sense that he's not a slow mover but he's not fast either, he's just... in the middle. He's heavy with his authority although I think he might forget he's of the lowest rank within the ship as he often, in his scene, let's his mouth run a bit and is often warned by the higher authorities to be quiet. I think he's direct - like pressing but at the same time a little indirect with some of the things he says, like with the force of Wringing. It's quite obvious who he is referring to when he says the line "unlike some" in reference to Ralph Clark, but he doesn't directly address that to him. However, it's contrastingly very direct when he claims he "doesn't trust the director" when he is asked why he is opposing the play. 

He's a mixture of wringing and pressing.

London 1700s

In 1760, 75000 people were living in London and by 1850, the numbers crept to 1.4 MILLION. In just a 50 year gap, a massive number of people came to England so it meant cramped conditions, high mortality rates, low fertility rates aaaaand low life expectancy.

There was a big difference between high and low class status. More buildings were being built but usually, for the poor people, the houses would just collapse and cause a large number of fatalities. No training was given to carpenters and builders so they didn't really know what they were doing.

London was jail capital of Europe in 18th century; it was the place with the most crime and convicts. No established police force operated in London except for a self created group called the Bow Street Runners in 1949,

 Thief Takers were bounty hunters employed by people who sought safety from thieves, so they would employ and pay the Thief Takers themselves.. 

Australia 1700s

The convicts would have sailed on a cramp boat in sickening conditions for 8 months, travelling from the UK to Australia. It was wondered whether Australia became the new America back then. 

Transportation would have started in 1650 when felons were sent to America to work on plantations. 125 years later, 50,000 women and children were shipped off to 13 colonies. The American War of Independace ended this when they decided that they no longer wanted our criminals because it contradicted with their want for new land.

Even now, but especially in the times this play was written, no type of transportation was designed to specifically carry convicts. The quarters were extremely cramped for the marines and the crew, let alone for the shamed convicts. 4 convicts were squashed in a space seven feet by six feet and there was very little head space.

The convicts had to bend at the back, the men were doubled over whilst the woman had to stoop. They remained like this for the full 8 months and had to the their toilet duties in the exact same spot they had to stand, sleep and eat. These conditions are hard for me to even imagine, let alone having to deal with it. This also makes me sad as, especially in the 19th century, some of the crimes labelled as ‘horrific’ back then really aren’t worth the punishments they received, in my opinion of course.

On Sunday May 17th, 1787, a fleet of ships left Portsmouth Harbour with 16000 miles and 8 months of open sea ahead of them.

There were 1500 people on board, 746 of them the convicts. By the time they docked up in Australia, 48 had already died on the boat because of how insane the conditions were.

Even for the marines and crew, it was tough dealing with the boat for 8 months, which made them more frustrated and angry and eager to take it out on the convicts. The ship was infested with rats, lice, cockroaches and fleas. Food and water was scarce and the sea climate was hard for them to deal with.

What does my character say about myself?

My character does not mention himself at all. Instead, everything that comes out of his mouth is a snide, rude sarcastic comment aimed at somebody else, mostly aimed at Ralph Clark. I think, looking into it deeply, this might show how insecure he is with himself; he wants to pass all attention on to someone else and point out all of their flaws rather than focusing on his own. Alternatively, I think it's more to do with the fact he is just a careless character: he doesn't care what others think about him and he doesn't care whether the things he says affects anyone else. I believe he gets a bit carried away with himself and his words, as he has to be reminded by a guard much higher than him in ranks to be quiet with his unhelpful comments.  

What does my character say about others?

On page 19, my character implies that Ralph Clark - the man he has undeniable but unexplainable hate for - as a man who "suffers from greed and ambition." He's doesn't directly say it but makes it obvious by claiming 'unlike some' and staring at Ralph accusingly.

Further down on page 19, my character has another dig at Ralph by mocking his ideas of changing the nature of society if he was able to put the play on within the prison. He claims: "Second Lieutenant Clark Change Society!" in disbelief, as if the thought is a joke.

On page 20, my character further mocks Ralph but this time is shunned by the Captain. Collins mentions how there is a character in the play who was called Sergeant Kite: "The devious ways he used to serve his Captain..." Faddy announces that this would be a fitting part for Ralph, implying that Ralph and that character are similar in their ways.

Faddy also claims on page 24 that he does not trust Ralph Clark, which figures after all of the comments he repeatedly dropped regarding him just minutes earlier.

What do other people say about me?

I am mostly ignored in my scene and no one directly replies to my sarcastic comments except to tell me to be quiet. After one of my cheeky comments, Captain Collins orders me: "if you can't contribute anything useful to the discussion, keep quiet." Having been told by someone so much higher than me in terms of ranks, I do keep my comments to myself... for a couple of minutes at least. No one else says anything about me which I think highlights my irrelevance within the prison.

Assistant Director!

I have had the honour of becoming an assistant director for Our Country's Good! I am pleased as this has come in the point of the play where I am beginning to become immersed in Wertenbaker's work. The more I learn about the play and come to terms with the main subjects and themes, the more I can see what a good play it's going to be.

I am looking forward to having a significant purpose in this play now. I don't intend on taking full control and acting as if my opinion out weighs everything else - obviously - but I am interested in keep fully engaged in every rehearsal from now on, taking notes for our director, writing down my own possible ideas, and helping the actors when they are not needed on stage.

Boat improv

This was fun. I finished the exercise with carpet burn and missing hair but that was so fun and beneficial.

Sarah created a small box on the carpet which represented the cramp conditions of the boat and placed students inside as the convicts and others surrounding as the guards.

We were told to imagine the smell and how uncomfortable we'd feel and how much we wanted to talk, but 5 minutes into the exercise I did genuinely FEEL these feelings. I had Sophie sitting basically on top of me and I felt so cramped and my legs were hanging out of the box which I appreciated but the guards decided this wasn't allowed and made me squash up even more.

Inside the box - on the boat - I wasn't allowed to look up, look left, look right, cough, sneeze, even move my body just a FRACTION, if I did the guards would hit me or taunt me with nasty words, the same with everybody. This put into perspective for me how I and the other students had to do this for 30 minutes, yet realistically the real convicts had to experience this for 8 months. 

About 15 minutes into the exercise I was taken out by one of the guards, I can't remember exactly why, probably for something stupid, but I found I appreciated the simple movement! Although I knew i was on my way out to get 'beaten' the feeling of stretching my back and moving my legs was beautiful. I love the commitment we all had to our characters and our improvisation. The guard Layla literally dragged me outside and at one point I lost my balance and fell to the floor which was actually quite funny, but no one even cracked a smile - not even myself - because we were so into the exercise.

This improv was very beneficial for each character. Although in the improv I played a convict and I've been cast as a guard, I feel I got a good understanding of how the convicts would feel and also got a good further understanding of the play. 

I've been very judgemental and skeptical with the play but I think this is all due to a lack of understanding of it. The more independent research I do and the more exercises and tasks we're given allows me to grasp the idea of it further, and I'm getting a more appreciative and positive vibe towards the play and I'm beginning to enjoy it.

Who am I:

 Second Lieutenant William Faddy.  Because I am a ‘second’ lieutenant, that makes me the lowest rank within the marines on the ship, along with Ralph Clarke, who I have an intense dislike for. I’m very insistent on the things I want in life, and if I don’t like someone I make it apparent. I think I often forget I am of a lower rank as my opinions are always made clear regardless of the recipient. I liked to run my mouth until I get a reminder I need to be quiet, like when the Captain orders me to be quiet: “If you can’t contribute anything useful to the discussion, keep quiet!” Once I get that reminder I’m quiet again… even though I’m right. Especially when it comes to Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark.

Where am I:

It’s late at night and I’m drinking with my fellow marines in the office. We’re all very rowdy and high on the alcohol and authority, all talking over each other in a bid to get our point across but still having a laugh anyway. I’m eager to get my own opinion across although it’s not favoured by the others and as a lower rank marine, I am aware I shouldn’t be so flamboyant in my actions.

What do I want:

I want to put a stop to Ralph Clark’s plans of putting on a play. I have an unexplainable dislike for the man so, without even taking it into consideration when the discussion arises regarding his play, I immediately shut it down. I don’t want him to do anything that might create a positive atmosphere on the ship nor do I really believe he could actually achieve this.  Every comment is a sarcastic snide or an insult directed at Ralph and the other guards pick up on this, often feeling the need to quieten me as I try and quieten Ralph.