Journal #8: Scene Reflection

1. evaluate how well your group staged the performance (meaning, how well you used physical space, gestures, entrances, and exits, positioning in relation to one another, etc.)

I think my group wasn’t able to use physical space that well. We had Friar converse with Romeo the whole time at the same spot. It was only later on that Juliet entered the stage and there was some action. However, we tried our best in gestures and how we were posed. All my teammates made sure that we faced the audience, and tried to at least stand sideways so everyone could see our facial expressions. We tried using as many gestures as we could. When I (Juliet) entered the stage I hugged Romeo really tights and it went smoothly to emphasize our close relationship. We practiced those small details a lot of times so that on stage our audience wouldn’t think we were awkward with each other. We also tried to smile to each other as much as we could for it was a happy moment where Romeo and Juliet were getting married. However, I would definitely try to work on facial expressions next time again. We all struggled to hold a straight face when performing trying to hold in our laughs. Working on physical space so we don’t bore our audience would also be good.

2. evaluate how well you used your voice, inflection and your actions and other non-verbal cues to show what the text means.

I tried using my facial expression and eyes to show what I meant. For example, when I said, “Good even to my ghostly confessor” I looked at Friar. While when I said, As much to him, else is his thanks too much” I looked at Romeo. I made sure to understand what each line was saying and who I was saying it too so I would not confuse the audience. I looked at friar for the first quote for it meant good evening to Friar, while for the second quote I looked at Romeo for it meant I thank Romeo as well for this. I also didn’t smile as much till when I said, “Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,Brags of his substance, not of ornament.They are but beggars that can count their worth.But my true love is grown to such excess I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.” For this line was saying that meeting him and their love had made her so happy she cannot count how rich it made her.

3. discuss how satisfied you feel about the key moments your group chose and how well you analyzed those moments

I was really satisfied with my group’s tablous. Not only did we unlike most other groups just stay in our position, but we moved around to create something that symbolized the greater meaning. For example when we said the line, “These violent delights have violent ends.” Romeo was actually just standing with Friar, but we moved around so that Friar was at the front with one hand out to the audience (Feud) and one hand across Romeo and Juliet. While Romeo had a gun pointing at the audience (feud) while the other held a poison bottle. Juliet (me) was holding a gun towards my head behind Romeo touching his shoulders. We analyzed this by explaining how, “Romeo pointing a gun straight out represents when he's running into the church. At that scene not only were their angry mobs of people and cops who had found out that Romeo has entered Verona, but it created high tensions with many weapons representing violence. Romeo with the other hand has a poison bottle next to his lip, and Juliet behind Romeo touching his shoulder and having a gun against her head which shows how the feud, and how it only could end violently by the death of those two. The two couple were to represent the violence of the feud and the consequences of it. To express Fryer's role in this which is as well important, we had fryer have his hand out to where Romeo is pointing the gun at which is meant to show how he's telling them to stop with the feud but also hand out across Romeo and Juliet which explains how he wants to protect the couple as well. We made it more interesting easier to understand our actions. Our analyzation was also really deep. At first, we thought it meant that the feud and fighting led to violent deaths as well. Which we would represent by grabbing each other's hair and collars with someone dead,