Metamorphosis Exam Notes

Style/Influences

  • Total Theatre & Physical Theatre
  • Expressionism & Kafkaesque elements
  • Artaud: Theatre of Cruelty (ritualistic movement, gestures, sound effects)
  • Brecht: Archetypes, spass, rejection of realism, breaking the fourth wall
  • Peter Brook: Abstract set designs
  • Kabuki Theatre: Mie, Makeup, Mime influences
  • Mime influences: Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Marcel Marceau, Jean Louis Barrault, Jacques Le Coq
  • Berkovian Features: choral speech, contrapuntal delivery, distorted dialogue, stylised/synchronised movement, rhythmic gestures, mechanical routines, image creation

Performer Considerations

  • Casting: Physical & vocal skills
  • Contextual understanding of play themes
  • Spatial relationships:
    • Eye contact
    • Physical stance
    • Facial demeanour
    • Picking up cues for vocal and physical integration
  • Physical Appearance: Age, Height, Build, Colouring, Facial features
  • Vocal Qualities: Volume, pitch, pace, tone, accent
  • Delivery: interaction, eye contact, spatial relationships, physical contact, use of space
  • Style: Berkovian exaggeration, caricature. Use of costume, make up, props and accessories
  • Movement: Mime, Freezes, stylised expressions of emotion, facial expressions, gestures

Designer Elements

Set

  • Staging: proscenium, thrust, traverse
  • Design fundamentals: scale, texture, shape, colour
  • Levels: ramps, revolve, Gregor's cage, entrances/exits
  • Furnishings: set dressing
  • Projections: screen positioning, color/monochrome, stills/film

Costume

  • Period features: style, cut, condition, fit, fabric, ornamentation, colour palette
  • Footwear, jewellery, accessories
  • Berkovian white faces or alternatives
  • Ageing where appropriate
  • Hair styles

Lighting

  • Diegetic/non-diegetic sound
  • Focus, intensity, angle, colour
  • Use of gauzes, gobos, lenses, floods, washes, gels, specials
  • Barn doors, Irises, Lasers, Holograms, Strobes
  • Wash hard/soft edged light, blackouts

Sound

  • Microphones, Amplifiers, direction/location
  • Surround sound, live/recorded sound
  • Use of metronome, sound levels, reverb, echo
  • Actor generated sounds

Sound Terminology

  • Diegetic Sound: Audible to characters.
  • Non-Diegetic Sound: Audible to audience only.
  • Fade: Gradual increase/decrease.
  • Handheld/Hanging Mics: Types of microphones.
  • Levels: Sound intensity (1-10).
  • Live Sound: Created in real-time.
  • Pre-Record: Pre-recorded sound.
  • SFX: Special effects (echo, reverb).
  • Soundscapes: Layers of sound.
  • Spot Cue: Sudden sound change.

Lighting Terminology

  • Fade: Gradual increase/decrease.
  • Flood: Uniform illumination, not focusable.
  • Fresnel: Soft-edged lantern.
  • Gobo: Shaped light.
  • Lighting State: Different lighting looks.
  • Natural Lighting: Mimics real life.
  • Parcan: Harsh lantern.
  • Profile: Highlights features.
  • Snap Cue: Sudden lighting change.
  • Spotlight: Tight, hard-edged light.
  • Strobe: Pulsing lights.

Costume Considerations

  • Functionality: Movement, footwear, Gregor's transformation.
  • Fit: Conforming to the body, communicating meaning.
  • Shape: Altering silhouette.
  • Colour: Communicating aspects of character.
  • Texture: Tactile quality conveying status/time.

Set Terminology

  • Proscenium, Thrust, Traverse: Stage types.
  • Scale, Texture, Shape, Colour: Design fundamentals.
  • Ramps, Revolve: Stage levels.
  • Set Dressing: Props and decor.

Performance Techniques

  • Choral Speaking: Group speaking.
  • Distorted Dialogue: Altered tone.
  • Marche de Place: Rhythmic movement in limited space.
  • Mie's: Gestures without words.
  • Mechanical Movement: Stylized, deliberate movement.
  • Mime: Non-verbal performance.
  • Physical Theatre: Emphasizes physical expression.
  • Synchronized Movement: Coordinated movement.

Total Theatre Elements

  • Dynamic and Experimental design and performance.
  • Exaggerated and Stylized Mime and Facial Expressions
  • Sparse Dialogue
  • Graphic and Grotesque Sound Effects
  • Choral Speech and Movement
  • Physicalisation of Objects
    *Third Person Address
    *Rhythm Through Voice and Body
    *Abstract Use of Chorus and Ensemble Playing

Social, Cultural, and Historical Context

  • Prague: Setting with cultural history.
  • Existentialism: Life's meaning and disconnection.
  • Industrialization: Factories and loss of humanity.
  • Family Structure: Family dynamics and problems.
  • Literary Modernism: New storytelling methods.
  • Alienation: Feeling alone and misunderstood.
  • Jewish Identity: Author's influenced by Jewish background.
  • Theatre of the Absurd: Surreal, dreamlike.
  • Physical Theatre: Body movement for storytelling.
  • 20th Century: Retains Kafka's ideas.
  • Expressionism: Intense character feelings.
  • Theatrical Innovation: Pushing theatrical boundaries.

Berkoff’s Aims for Theatre

  • Physicality
  • Gestus (Brecht)
  • Vocal experimentation and character voices
  • Exaggeration
  • Distortion
  • Psychological character portrait
  • Provocation and audience engagement

What Berkoff Aims to Achieve:

  • Intense performances
  • Engaging the audience on multiple sensory levels
  • Creating thought-provoking experiences
  • Challenging conventional theater norms
  • Immersive theatrical worlds
  • Psychological exploration of characters
  • Shocking the audience