THEATRE PORTFOLIO

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Theatreclass 2018-2019 “Case Closed”

Rowen Baltus, 6vE

Brainstorming process and sketching So, we started our whole production with brainstorming, as all creators do. As our idea for the setting of the play began to shape, we started to think about our possibilities. Only after it was ‘official’ that our play was going to take place in a prison, we were able to make these possibilities come true and truly start our project.

So, as the script group revealed to us in how many settings it was going to take place, we were able to start sketching. Our idea became pretty clear early on. We decided to make a few columns that we would be able to turn, to change it together with the setting of the scene. We had three settings in our play: In a home, in the cells and at the common place.

We started sketching, and this is what we came up with:

This is the common place, which Eva sketched. It shows five columns with each a different detail added to them. We eventually didn’t add these details because it would make our whole décor too “busy-looking”, so we just left the bricks as they were.

This is a sketch of the cells, which I drew. It shows the five columns again, with each a personal detail relating to the character who is in the cell, so that each cell reflects the characters personalities.

For example, Renée has the most right cell and shows a ‘Join the Army’ poster, since she is a veteran. The marks from the days on her wall indicate that she is an impatience person, making her desperate to leave the prison.

Then comes Beau’s cell, which reflects her optimistic and funny personality.

Sam’s cell is full of her artworks, making her the artistic but introverted of all.

Robin is new to the prison, and doesn’t have much up on his wall, except for a death threat from his former cellmate (indicating his first night there, which isn’t very pleasant).

Marijn has an escape plan on hers, since she is – just like Renée – desperate to leave the prison.

Left to right: Marijn – Robin – Sam – Beau – Renée.

The last sketch, of the living room, is another one that I made. This sketch is more about the use of colours and decorations that will create the feeling of the house. The lower sketch is where I swatched a few colours, so that we could choose from any of them to put them as the wallpaper.

The decorations and colours on the walls had to indicate that the audience was seeing a happy couple, that would be hearing the greatest news of their lives before being separated. Therefore it had to create a contrast between the grey colour of the cells, where Robin would be shortly after. That is why the colour had to be a fun and bright one. It

couldn’t be a colour like red or orange, because that would look too much like the brick wall from the common place.

The decorations had to be things that almost every household has hanging at their kitchen wall or living room, so I was thinking of i.e. paintings, lights, a tv, photo frames etc. Creating the feeling of the house to be just an ordinary place.

I made both these sketches with regular aquarelle, pencils and pen.

For chairs, we would be using these wooden blocks that were already in the auditorium.

Creating the décorThe first troubles we had were regarding money. The plan that we had for the columns would have costed way too much money, and it wasn’t easy to find a cheaper solution. So we had to postpone our work, still looking for better options. Eventually we managed to find cheap wooden plates that we only had to attach together and paint, completing the work. It seemed really easy for a while, but some things took longer than expected.

We were lucky enough to have Noor’s father build the columns for using the large wooden panels.

After that, we had to start painting since the time was ticking. So we had to start with a base, otherwise the paint would not stick to the panels all that well. It took a while to find and collect these bases from our own homes, but that way we didn’t have to buy them again at least. Then we started painting, and this was the longest process.

First of all, the living room. Eva and Kim first made this green, but we didn’t like it at all. It was really fluorescent and didn’t fit the ‘cute happy couple’ vibe we wanted to go for. So when I worked on my own one time, I impulsively decided to make it a lilac colour. Then I painted on the two lights, the rectangle chalkboard and the hanging plant. Lastly we put on the photo frames and the drew on text on the chalkboard, and the living room was finished.

Secondly is the process of the cells. I painted all of them completely: the grey background, the windows and all the added details from the characters. The only cell I didn’t add all the details to, was the cell from Beau.

Third and the last of the three, is the common place. I worked mostly on the other two, but I painted the basis of 2 of these walls. Eva and Kim painted all of them a second time to perfect them a little more.

The result

Changementen Scene 1 naar 2:

Van celdeur naar woonkamer

Rosanne – Nynke- Rowen- Rachelle- Maaike H

Maaike D- Giada : bankje

(blokken blijven staan)

Scene 2 naar 3

Tijdens scene van woonkamer naar celRosanne- Nynke- Rowen- Rachelle- Maaike D

Noor: bankje veranderen naar rechtersblok

Scene 3 naar 4

Rosanne: rechtersblok neerzetten als tafel van JanssenRowen: blok neerzetten als stoel

Scene 4 naar 5

Maaike H: blok naar vorenGiada: tafel weg

Scene 5 naar 6

Van celdeur naar commonplek Kim- Noor- Rowen- Giada- Maaike H

Rosanne, Nynke, Fabiënne, Rachelle, Maaike D zetten blokken goed voor commonplek en gelijk spelen Benthe, Eline, Eva, Jeroen komen op van achter tussen de decorstukken door (blijft zo tijdens scene 6, 7, 8)

Scene 8 naar 9

Van commonplek naar celdeuren Rowen- Nynke- Fabiënne- Rachelle- Maaike D

Scene 9 naar 10 Na apel ; Jeroen en Eline blok naar voren (daarna af) Noor rechts op

Scene 10 naar 11

Rowen: 1 blok naar voor schuiven, andere voor cel

Scene 11 naar 12

2 naar woonkamer (rechts) 3 naar commonplek (links)

Rosanne- Nynke- Maaike H- Giada- Rowen

Scene 12 naar 13

naar celdeuren Nynke- Maaike H- Noor – Giada- Rowen

Scene 13 naar 14

Van celdeuren naar commonplek Vera- Jeroen – Eva- Eline – Benthe

Rosanne, Nynke, Fabiënne, Rachelle, Maaike D doen blokken

Scene 14 naar 15

Van commonplek naar celdeuren Rowen- Giada- Maaike H- Noor- Kim

Rosanne, Nynke, Fabiënne, Rachelle, Maaike D zetten de blokken neer

Scene 15 naar 16

Jeroen en Eline blok naar voor, daarna af

Scene 16 naar 17

Van celdeuren naar commonplek Rowen- Giada- Maaike H- Noor- Kim

Rosanne, Nynke, Fabiënne, Rachelle, Maaike D zetten blokken neer

Scene 17 naar 18

Van commonplek naar celdeuren Rosanne- Nynke- Fabiënne- Rachelle- Maaike D (doen dit tijdens de scene 17, na “Case Closed”)Rosanne, Nynke, Fabiënne, Rachelle, Maaike D zetten blokken neer

Scene 18 naar 19

Alleen Wolters op podium voor monoloog Marnix neemt blok mee het podium op (toespraak Adam), daarna weer af

Scene 19 naar 20

Celdeuren en blokkenJeroen, Eva, Eline zijn op en zitten

Rekwisietenlijst theater Scene 1

Papier+ pennen

Scene 2

bank

Tijdschrift

Make up spulletjes

pistool

Fotolijsten

handboeien

Papieren waar Robin door zoekt

telefoon

Scene 3

Rechtertafel (presentatietafel) met doek erover

Securityspullen ?

Het gevangenispak van Robin

Scene 4

Bureau + stoel Janssen

Telefoon

Computer

Papieren en spullen voor op bureau (plantje bv)

Scene 5

Alleen stoelen nodig die horen bij de cellen

Scene 5b

Bordje met presentielijst en pen

Scene 6

Bank

sigaretten

Pakje kaarten

Voetbal

Boek

Iets van tralies

Tafel + paar stoelen?

asbakken

Scene 7

Ontbijt spullen

Theedoeken

Tandenborstel

Boeken

voetbal

Presentielijst voor wolters

Stoelen nodig voor cellen

Scene 8

Tafel

Stoelen

Ontbijtspullen

Sam: sudoku?

Beau: stuiterballetje?

Renee: eten?

Andere gevangenen ook iets doen

Karretje met eten voor vip publiek

Scene 9

Presentielijst Wolters

Stoelen weer voor cellen

Koffers

Tas (sowieso voor Beau)

Boardingpassen ofzo

Zak met pillen

Scene 10a

Presentielijst van Wolters, cellen met stoelen

Scene 10b

2 stoelen

Scene 11

Stoel

Doeken

Bak om het in te doen

Scene 12

Telefoon Robin en Sylvia

Sylvia: wasmand?

Stoel

Scene 13a en b

Presentielijst Wolters en de cellen

Scene 14

Common plek dus zelfde rekwisieten als scene 6

Scene 15

Zelfde als scene 1 papier en pennen

Scene 16

Kantoor Janssen (zelfde als 4)

Prop stof of papier

Spuit

scene 17

common plek dus met rekwisieten zoals scene 6 en 14

Brief voor Robin

Scene 18

Cellen met stoelen ?

Scene 19

Presentatieding voor Janssen

Scene 20

Cellen met stoelen, papieren en pennen

Reflection questions theatre Class 6VWO 1. Why did you choose to take theatre classes? What where your expectations of this subject?

I chose to take theatre classes because I knew it would expand my knowledge about performance art and how a performance art show is created and organised. I have a huge passion for filmmaking and I expected that taking these theatre classes would give me a little insight about how a big production is established, how it feels to work together and to have a vision with a big group of people. I also expected there to be a lot of troubles between people. Like people not getting certain things done on time, people getting annoyed at each other, etc. These matters are just part of the process of creating a production anyway, so they were expectable.

2. Did any of your expectations come true? Was it manageable or not? Explain.

Yes, all of the things I expected came true. I loved the feeling of working together with so many people on a project. Of course there were also the obstacles we had to face, but I think overall we, as a group, managed everything pretty well. We didn’t have too much time to put up the production, but some people did actually get their stuff done before the deadline (some a bit later). Things were also done very last minute, like our article in the newspaper and the ticketsale, but it all worked out in the end! People also got annoyed at each other, but that is part of it all. The best thing the came true was our vision that came to life because of how hard everyone worked on it. So in the end it was all good, and so very manageable as well.

3. What was your most memorable lesson? Why?

I think my very first lesson. It was so different from other classes that we have at our school. We were doing some sort of introduction, standing in a circle, and I KNEW that I had to get out of my comfort zone to actively join in and that was really scary, but a good thing! I think that this showed me that acting a little bit ‘extra’ or crazy, while people you don’t know that well are in your presence, is not wrong. That by doing this, you don’t have to be anxious for any reason. I know that since then I’ve grown a lot more confident in socializing, also because all of the theater lessons have pushed me to work together.

4. Would you choose the subject of Theater again if you were in 3vwo right now? Explain.

Yes, I would choose it again if I could, since I had such a fun time being part of a group that were all working hard on something they were passionate about. It is a real experience to actually present the play that you created, and also the process of working on it is really special. I think that some people who choose theater are experiencing feelings of ups and downs, but they are happy that they chose it in the end. I definitely wouldn’t want to miss out on this experience again, if I could pick Theatre again.

5. Which qualities or skills did you (further) develop because of theater? (Look at the list). Explain how and to what extent.

Advising, while we were painting, I was asked many questions on how or what would be the best way for someone to use the paint, or what they should paint, etc. When I saw someone was doing something wrong or anyone aksed me a question, I would be able to advise them on that. I think I didn’t develop to a huge extent, but I learned how to explain it so I could advise someone.

Organising your own work. When we were sketching and painting, and I set certain deadlines for myself. I painted quite a lot, so for every hour I worked on it I would make myself finish for example this column, or this window, so that I wouldn’t get behind on my work, and that it would be finished on time. Hereby I learned to be even more self-disciplined, so that I could get my work done on time.

Developing a vision, was one of the most important parts of the brainstroming process. I think that I learned the most from this in the whole experience, because I now know that building on a vision with more people can make something so much better. I am used to make paintings myself, not in a group, so I only have my ideas and vision to add.

6. Are these qualities favorable for your future study and/or job? Explain

I want to study filmmaking, and when you are working in the film industry, qualities and skills like developing a vision, innovation, advising and organising your own work are essential, since film is about having a vision and developing it in a movie, you need to organise your own work to stay on track and you need to advise other people about certain things. These qualities and skills are things that I further developed working on Case Closed. Other things I learned are accepting critique and taking the lead when necessary, since these are also vital parts of the process. People will comment on your part, both positively and negatively, and you must incorporate those visions as well. In the end, when you feel like there has to be something done or something is wrong, you must take the lead in things.

7. How did you experience the whole proces of creating a theaterproduction? Are you satisfied with your part? If you would do it again, would you do it differently? Did you feel like you had enough support during the proces?

I experienced it as a fun learning experience. I think that I grew closer to some of the people in the group, which was nice of course, but at the same time I learned so much. I feel like I could have always done more, if I had to do something differently, but overall I am very happy with the outcome of the play. In some occasions, people weren’t as actively working on the production design like others from our group. Which was something that happened to be quite annoying sometimes. Otherwise, there were lots of other people who weren’t in our group that helped us, which was so helpful! So yes, in the end I think we had enough support.

8. Could the level of the production have gotten any better? What had to be done to achieve that?

I think there is always room for improvement in everything that is made, but I don’t think it was possible for us because, 1. for some of us this was the first time doing something like this and 2. we didn’t have that much time, because we are still in school besides making this production. To have achieved that, I believe we should have had more time, but I am not sure if we would have used that time efficiently enough.

9. Would you have wanted to do a different part of the production if you could?

I think all other parts of the production would have been fun to join, but what I would have liked the most was to be part of the script writing group. Not sure if I would have been able to outdo other that were in the group right now, but I would have loved to know how writing a script works.

10. Do you think the subject of theatre is important fort his school? Why?

Yes, I find the subject of theatre important for our school. Our school is known to be very focused on cultural subjects. For example, all around the school you can find art projects from students (we also have a separate part of the first floor dedicated to art) and our school arranges a lot of exchanges between students worldwide. Theatre also fits perfectly in this, so why not? It is a nice opportunity for children who are interested in theatre, acting or even filmmaking (like me!) to taste a little bit of that at school.

ConclusionAs I already said, my whole time spend in theatre classes, repetitions and performing the play itself was an incredible and fun learning experience for me. I have made many new friends throughout this, and I am just happy that 17 year old me decided to take 2 hours of extra classes besides school.

The brainstorming process was probably the hardest time for me to stay motivated. It took a little while for everyone to agree on the topic and storyline, and for the script to be finished. I didn’t really know how to start on this all, so I just started sketching and thinking of interesting concepts of decor. Apparently this was the right thing to do, and people liked my ideas so that is what we worked with. Not saying that everything was all my idea, my décor group was also very innovating in their ideas.

The process of actually creating the décor was mildly stressful and caused a bit of a clash between some us in the group. First of all, the issue with money. Finding a solution that would be cheap and would make our vision possible, was difficult. Since we were looking online for alternatives and asked family members and Meriam for advice, we managed to build a décor that was of low-cost and perfect for our idea. Regarding to the painting process, we felt like we had to do a lot besides school, and one of our group members, Noor, was not always present while painting the columns. Which was a shame, but she had her personal issues as well, and she apologized for this later. Luckily we also had some help from people outside our group, like Rosanne and Eline, which was so nice! As we did not have all that much time, we (Kim, Eva and I) also used a few of our in-between hours and afterschool hours, and even a weekend to finish it.

When the décor was finished, it was time for a few run throughs and to learn the changements. This was also a bit tricky, as a lot of alterations had to be done to make it perfect and smooth. Doing the run throughs and repetitions was sometimes a bit boring, but could also be really fun other times. It was just a long needed process.

THEN, it was time for the performances! This was my favourite part, just because it was all super exciting and enjoyable for us to show our family and friends what we have been doing for the past 1,5 years. This time also really made me feel as if we were a close group, doing each other’s make-up and eating dinner together.

After it all was over, I was relieved and happy. The whole experience was intense, but our hard work has paid off. We had a lot of fun, many relatives had a nice evening and overall I am just really glad that it all worked out.