Task 2: Development - Mediums and Elements: The Exploration of Act 1, scene 1

In Act 1, Scene 1 the elements that make up this scene are:

• Form
• Rhythm/Pace/Tempo
• Characterisation
• Action/Plot/Content
• Contrasts

For the 'form' of the first scene, Wertenbakker chose 3 short monologues at this point. I feel this works well as it doesn't give away too many answers to what is about to come but it sets the scene well and starts to introduce the story. It also raises questions about who the three people are, what are their stories, and how they are connected. It is also very dynamic for example in John Wisehammer's monologue there are a lot of long sentences with lots of comers which show changing thoughts and even a daydreaming feel to it. Also lots of different ideas and thoughts are shown through the monologues.

Another element in this scene is the 'rhythm/pace/tempo' . For Ralph Clark, I think Wertenbakker wanted his counting to be quite and slow to show the tediousness of flogging criminals and the fact that this is one of there everyday actions. This helps to show the harshness of the actions on the convict ship. For John Wisehammers monologue I think the pace was meant to be quite fast to give the audience the idea of Wisehammers thoughts continuously spilling out and a day dreamy feel to his monologue. For John Arscotts monologue he talks about food and hunger so for his I think Wertenbakker wanted a slow pace and a quiet tempo so that we can see how his hunger seems to overtake his mind.

To explore 'characterisation' in the first scene we used raised platforms for the two men, John Wisehammer and John Arscott, and a lower platform for Mary, to make them stand out as the main characters but also to show how men in the society back then were viewed as more important and a higher ranking than women. For John Arscotts monologue we had him start off in a sitting position and gradually raise as if to reach for food. This went well with his monologue because it made it seem like he was so hungry that he was beginning to imagine things. For Mary we had her looking away during her monologue but on the work 'love' faced the audience. This exaggerated the word to give a fuller meaning to it. For Ralph Clark we had him seperate to the main characters to show his actions as one of the main focuses.

To explore the 'form' of the scene for Ralph Clarks counting it started as a black out but a red light began to fade on. This was good becuase it communicated the blood and horror of the flogging. To show three seperate monologues as they began to talk a white light shone on them. This helped to seperate their monologues and showed that they werent connected in this part of the scene. There was also a blue light in the background and the sound of waves to communicate the fact that they were onboard a convict ship which worked well.