Dress Rehearsal evaluation

Our dress rehearsal was possibly one of the longest anyone has ever done! The play seemed to total at about four hours! the problem was that some people didn't know a quarter of their lines so about an hour per act was spent prompting people and ensuring that they knew there lines, which was quite worrying considering we was due to perform in just under 3 hours time. however the acting was good and people were becoming more and more confident as the play went on with improvising there way out of situations when they did not know their lines. The play itself however was a massive shock improvement people seemed extremely confident and pulled out all the stops, when a scene went wrong there was never a pause because people didn't know there lines people seemed very confident in improvising there ways in and out of situations and the play ended in a very good result!

character interaction 2

My favorite scene in the whole play is the scene with the man going back. Though this seem an unlikely choice considering I only have two lines in the whole scene. I feel that it was a scene that really gave me an opportunity to expand my acting as I had to portray all of the emotions and reaction to what 'The man going back was saying' without the use of speech therefore using only facial  expressions movement and silent character interaction. I was quite relaxed for the most of his speech until it started to reach it's climatic sections where I would interact with Tom, Pa or uncle John- the characters I am closest to in the play.
When  he started talking in details about his children's death I started to approach him my face intrigued, holding his gaze after everyone else had enough. This description was affecting me, scaring me. I was becoming worried that california would tear the Joad family apart; the family that had helped me, fed me, given me shelter. So I felt it was my duty to hold my concentration and re convey this to tom at a later date; this goes on to cause out eventual argument in the next scene.

Character interaction 1

one of my favorite scenes in 'Grapes of Wrath' is the scene when me and Tom walk into the Joad house I don't speak a lot in this scene and it is mostly led by Tom's concern about the whereabouts of his parents and his interaction with Muley however there is a very emotional part of the scene when we first walk into the scene and he tells me about how one of his mums escaped through the gat and went to the Jacobs house and ate there baby, I am then left to comfort tom but my new beliefs in the human spirit prevents me from blaming it all on god and comforting Tom so I am left not knowing what to say, I therefore feel that the reason I don't speak to tom after this line until Muley's explanation that the Joads are somewhere else is because I feel I would be doing Tom an injustice by giving him any old condolence as Casey see's no use in speaking when there is nothing of importance to say.

Jim Casey writing in role

Young tom joad don' seem to of changed much, always been the same aint never wanted to hurt no fellas has tom. yeah he killed a fella but im damn sure the fella deserved what he got. aint Tom never been a fight starter unless you fret him or his fambly the way a good should be. I figger young tom is taking over from his Pa aintOl' Tom never been such a hella as young tom is, I figger young Tom was always gonna be in charge 'fore his time.

Young tom seem to take after his Grampa. I remember when I was a boy listenin' to all of grampa Joads stories 'bout how he would go aroun' fighting the injins out west! Yeah i knowed the Joad fambly for a helluva time. Knowed Ol' Tom for years he's 'bout 12 years older than me, used to let me help out on the lan' when i was a boy. An' John would always be the fella who would give me a nice long sip of is whisky.

John Joad is a nice fella, always has been, we were good pals fur years. Like ol' Tom he was a while older than me i dunno probably ten years or so. Always a fine ol' fella. I recollect this one tim he gave me a twenty packa lucky strike to me fur baylin' a ton-a-hay. he sat an' tol me 'bout all the fine girls he'd lay with back in his younger days, 'fore he got married, whilst we got through a whole damn bottle-o-factry liquor, crazy sonofabitch probably the fella who got me into drinkin' so damn much!

Revolution Arts: Images of the Dust Bowl used for the projection in...

Revolution Arts: Images of the Dust Bowl used for the projection in...

06/11/2013- first hall rehearsal

We rehearsed in the hall today for the first time and finished off act two, I found being in the hall to be a much better place for rehearsal as it aloud us more space to act in and gave us a sense of how the performance is going to be!

I felt that rehearsals went very well and the greater space aloud for much more movement in the scene, allowing me and liam to show our characters reactions and emotions to seeing each other much more effectively.

The large space that the hall presents us with allows my death scene to be shown much more effectively than when we are in C5 as it allows the space for me to approach Jays character from a distance, showing my characters willingness for martyrdom much better than when I only have five foot of space allowed to me in order to show my characters motives, also it allows Liam the space to show Tom's rage at Casey's death and allows him to keep his attack on Jay in centre stage rather than it drifting to one side as it inevitably does in class due to the lack of space!

Diary log 5/11/2013

Today we did a run through of most of act two and i feel that all in all the rehearsal went well, people seem to now feel relatively confident with all their characters and every is getting used to acting when they have no dialogue rather than just standing silently, dead still on an empty part of the stage!

I feel that the first scene me and tom have together in act two, went well today, I feel me and Liam are beginning to really bounce off each other and understand how our characters bounce off and react to one another! I was also pleasantly surprised to realise I actually knew the majority of the script for this scene- which is always a pleasant surprise!

I think that the scene when i kick the deputy and take the blame for tom went well today because although we had to do a lot of retakes of the fightscene i feel that we now all have a clear idea of how its supposed to go and next time if all goes to plan, it should run smoothly. I think my conversations in this scene with both Tom and Al also went very well as we have rehearsed them quite a few times now and we seem to all bounce off each other quite nicely.

I now understand how best to play the scene where i get arrested which is in fact more calmly than angrily, so next time we rehearse this i believe that my performance in this scene should look better  than it did today now I understand this!

I think that the barn dance definitely needs some work, we all seem to know what we are doing its just that few of us seem to have a brilliant sense of rhythm, i feel that with a few more practices we should get it okay; however if we keep the basket we may need a few more than that!

All in all i believe that this lesson went really well and i believe that we managed to get through a lot of stuff and so long as lines get learnt we should be well on our way to having a really successful performance later this month!

Revolution Arts: Casey's Monologue (writing in role)

Revolution Arts: Casey's Monologue (writing in role)

Jim Casy character profile

Age: 35
eye colour: brown
Hair colour: brown
profession: ex-preacher

Beliefs: Casey who was once an evangelical preacher has questioned his belief in god and instead believes in humanity and thinks that what's holy is men and women working together to achieve one ideal and not relying on "god" or "Jesus" to make a miracle happen!

Family: Father- Deceased, Mother- Deceased, Brother and sister- both Deceased

Characteristics: Casey is a very independent character both in his beliefs and socially. His only real companion throughout the play is Tom who he develops a very close and unique friendship with tom that is very different from that of most characters in the play, Casey becomes Tom's mentor as the play progresses with tom acting as his protégé until Casey's death at the end when tom takes over and continues to spread Casey's Ideologies and beliefs. Casey is a listener, he hears everything that is said around him and is a very good observer of others, Casey understands people and behaviour and will take in everything that he hears. Casey only speaks when he feels he completely understands something, this is why when he speaks he generally has a lot to say and what he does say always seems necessary; Casey speaks when something needs to be said!

Hobbies: Casey plays the harmonica throughout the play, it  seems to be his way of relaxing and thinking, it also shows Casey as being a creative individual which is reflected through his music just as it is through his "sinful idears." Casey is a big drinker and always has a hip flask with him, he uses it as a way of escape and as a way of self therapy throughout the play! On the flip side Casey also drinks as a way of helping him to socialise with others as he is a very solitary person, not in a timid way, he just like's his own company alot of the time.

Jim casy Character analysis

A traveling preacher, Jim Casy was "lousy with the spirit" but troubled by the sinful sensuality that seemed to result from being "all full up of Jesus." He leaves preaching and wanders in the wild country, trying to come to terms with his own ideas about God, holiness, and sin. When we first meet him, he is still struggling with these concepts, but is beginning to narrow them down to an earthy interpretation of Emerson's theory of the Oversoul: All souls are just a small portion of a larger soul, this larger soul being the "Holy Sperit…the human sperit." Being part of this holy spirit means accepting all parts of people, thus "there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the same thing." Realizing that these ideas will not be accepted in traditional worship, Casy has declared himself no longer a preacher, although he continues to be a speaker and teacher. Specifically, he shares his theories with Tom, who is an impatient, but not unwilling listener. At various points, Casy's teachings reflect the various philosophies of transcendentalism, humanism, socialism, and pragmatism.

Jim Casy is the moral spokesman of the novel and is often considered a Christ-figure. The initials of his name, J.C., are the same as Jesus Christ, and like Christ, he wanders in the wilderness. In Christ-like fashion, Casy sacrifices himself when he turns himself in to save Tom after an altercation with a deputy. Prior to this point in the novel, Jim has been primarily a speaker, more worried about figuring things out than acting on his ideas. His sacrifice for Tom marks the first time that Casy acts. For his sacrifice, Casy in put in jail, where his experiences with the positive effects of group organization lead him to a more complete realization of his beliefs. He leaves jail and begins to put his theories into practice. He dies a martyr's death, paraphrasing Christ's last words ("Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do") when he cries, "You don' know what you're a-doin." And, like Christ, his teachings are delivered to the rest of the world as the result of this death. Tom, who must be considered Casy's disciple, vows to spread his message as he works toward greater social justice.

Evaluation of Casy

One of the characters in Grapes of Wrath that experiences a departure from the “I” form of thinking, towards the “we” form of thinking is the ex-preacher, Jim Casy. Jim Casy is seen as much of a philosophical character, relating much in a biblical sense to Jesus Christ, revealing his thoughts on life and human nature to the other characters. Although he does not portray any form of selfish behavior at the start of the novel, he is nevertheless portrayed as an independent character, initially insignificant and unlinked to the rest of the characters. It is learned that before the start of the story, Casy had disappeared into the wilderness to think about his life and about his role as a preacher. He begins to learn the true meaning of life and the human spirit. He explains that the human spirit is just one great being and the human soul is a member of a larger soul that is formed by the love between each person. Tom recalls that “one time Casy went into the wilderness to find his own soul, an’ he foun’ he didn’t have no soul that was his’n. Says he foun’ he jus’ got a little piece of a great big soul…his little piece of a soul wasn’t no good ‘less it was with the rest, an’ was whole” (70). This is the basic philosophy that the togetherness of the migrants is based on. Yet, at the start of the book, Casy only seems to be stumbling upon these ideas. He appears to be experiencing doubts about his former life and his lifestyle and beliefs as a preacher, rather than any doubts about the nature of mankind. His thoughts seem to be more focused around himself than the condition of the migrants. For example, Casy tells Tom that he is “just Jim Casy now. Ain’t got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears—but they seem to be kina sensible” (27). His scepticism regarding the true meaning of the sins that mankind commits is more centred on his duty as a preacher, than on human nature. He starts to present some philosophical ideas at the start of the novel, but it is not until later that he reaches a complete understanding of such ideas. 

writing in role rev casey

35 years I lived here, walked off a little bit east or a little bit wes’ but I always come back here. This is my home, my fambly’s home, this is the place my father lived and his father before him and dammit I thought it’d be the place where my son an’ his son ‘ould live aswell. Guess that just aint the way, the world has all kinda changes, guess some are good an’ some bad. A man’s gotta get on with ‘em all the same aint no point in wining ‘bout stuff a man’s gotta adapt. It sure is nice of the Joad’s to take a guy like me along with ‘em on this journey, I feel kinda bad if truth be told I always knowed they aint got the money to take me with ‘em, it’s just I can’t stay in Sallisaw no mor’ aint got nothin’ left here for me, aint no crops, aint no rain, there aint no nothin’ here no more ‘cept hunger an’ death.

Harmonica

I have  decided to learn to play the Harmonica because throughout the play there are points where Casey starts to play the harmonica, I think this is how Casey thinks and it helps him to build his thoughts. For these reasons I will ensure that i carry my harmonica with me at all times and when i am thinking and relaxing I will start to play just as Casey does, as a way of getting that little bit further into the mindset of Jim Casey. I feel that this shows Casey as being quite a solitary character who uses his music to keep him company when out on his own in the wilderness.

Jim Casey's accent

I want to ensure that I perfect my accent in time for when we perform Grapes of Wrath in November, I feel that this will be easier when i know all of my lines by heart as it allows me to focus much more on my character.

Because I have quite a deep voice normally I find it quite easy to achieve the southern drawl however i feel that in order to perfect my accent that i must refine my pronunciation of words in the right way and a ensure that the pitch of my syllables go up and down accordingly(something i believe needs to be rather subtle)

In order to get the accent i want, I though that it would be a good idea to find an accent that I liked done by another actor, then build around it and with it to make it my own. Making the accent my own is something i feel is completely key as I believe that the accent should reflect a persons life experiences and way of being for example a person who is a with schizophrenia may talk in a very quick, almost hysterical voice, whereas a philosopher may talk slower in a more calming and though out way.

I feel that Casey is a very self assured and enlightened man and doesn't tend to speak fast and higher pitched because he likes to convey his points of view so they affect people and because Casey knows that people will listen to him and what he has to say, the preacher isn't in a rush to get his words out.

I would like the basis of my characters voice to be  similar to that of tom Hardy's voice in lawless as I feel that it fits very well With both characters generally mellow and wise way of being http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOl0wRIIsWc

Family leadership changes in grapes of Wrath

When the novel begins, the Joad family relies on a traditional family structure in which the men make the decisions and the women obediently do as they are told. So invested are they in these roles that they continue to honour Grampa as the head of the family, even though he has outlived his ability to act as a sound leader. As the Joads journey west and try to make a living in California, however, the family dynamic changes drastically. Discouraged and defeated by his mounting failures, Pa withdraws from his role as leader and spends his days tangled in thought. In his stead, Ma assumes the responsibility of making decisions for the family. At first, this shocks Pa, who, at one point, lamely threatens to beat her into her so-called proper place. The threat is empty, however, and the entire family knows it. By the end of the novel, the family structure has undergone a revolution, in which the woman figure, traditionally powerless, has taken control, while the male figure, traditionally in the leadership role, has retreated. This revolution parallels a similar upheaval in the larger economic hierarchies in the outside world. Thus, the workers at the Weedpatch camp govern themselves according to their own rules and share tasks in accordance with notions of fairness and equality rather than power-hungry ambition or love of authority.

Jim Casey or Jesus christ?

Reverend Casy is a martyr, he's basically killed because of his beliefs. When we think long and hard about this preacher's life – how he disappeared from Sallisaw for a while and wandered around, how he loves people and being among people so much – we realize that he reminds us of someone. He reminds us of another martyr who wandered in a wilderness for a while, developing his own philosophy, and who loved people so much. He reminds us of Jesus Christ. Jim Casy even happens to share the same initials as Jesus Christ – J.C.

Tom Joad encounters Casy on his way home from jail. Casy sits under a tree and talks on and on about all of the times he slept with women when he was a practising preacher. He has some serious guilt about this, and this guilt does not go away. At the same time, however, Casy is drawn to life and to the people who live life. While he was a preacher, Casy was put on a pedestal and was distanced from the people around him. He doesn't want to be isolated from mankind ever again. It's too lonely and too unnatural. Casy has realized that being with people what life is all about.

Though this isn't quite how i would like to play Casy, i believe that this is a very relevent way of interpreting this character. To me Casy's role in this novel isn't so much about him having how he was a preacher, to me Casy is a clever man but not in an academic way, Jim Casy is clever-i believe- because he listens and takes in every word that is said by everyone some times from up close and sometimes from afar, he then will then sit around and mull what is said so that when he gives an opinion it is relevant and poinient, Casy doesn't speak for the sake of it, he speaks when he feels he has a point worth speaking about; which is why many of his lines are long and deep, because he doesn't believe in small talk and general conversation!

Revolution Arts: Link to music for the start of Grapes of Wrath

Revolution Arts: Link to music for the start of Grapes of Wrath: http://www.tim-baker.com/grapes-of-wrath/audio.html

Revolution Arts: Video clip of the New York production

Revolution Arts: Video clip of the New York production

Reverend Jim Casy

after looking at this character originally and thinking of him as no where near as good as tom Joad is as a character, i have realised now that Casey as a character has far more potential in some ways because Casey can be however i interpret him to be, his description in the play is far less specific than toms, this means that as an actor I could play around with him much more and therefore look at his dialogue more blankly, then acting it how i feel it should be acted rather than playing tom and having to read the lines in a certain way due to there general shortness and the way there written, for this reason i feel that Casey is a character that still has a lot of work to be done to complete him as a character  when performing meaning he will be a more challenging deep and far more rewarding character to play than Tom.

If I get the opportunity to play the character of Jim Casey, i can guarantee I will play his character in a less conventional way, focussing much less on the fact he was a vicar and focussing much more on the fact he now isn't, for this reason I intend to gain character influence from tom hardy's character of Forrest Bondurant in the film Lawless, adapting some of his mannerisms and way of dress to the character of Jim Casey I also intend to get into a work out routine to bulk up for this role as I feel Casey should be quite a big man in order to highlight his dominance as a character. 

first thoughts on grapes of wrath and future aspirations

I am really excited about our performance of grapes of wrath. the script is much longer than what i am used to and the dialogue far more advanced, this gives me the oppertunity to challenge myself and enhance my skills as an actor. I also believe that the characters in this script are far more advanced than the characters that i have performed as before, i feel that because of this i can really spend time understanding and becoming my character far more than i have in previous productions. I intend to method act this piece; providing I get one stable character rather than multiple different characters. the reason i intendend to do this is because I believe that it is the best way to become and understand your character, this means I intend to spend the week leading up to the performance using no modern appliances i.e. mobile phones, TV etc as I feel it will give me an empathy with the character im portraying, furthermore I intend to maintain the accent of my character the the week prior to and the days of the show to make sure it is done to the best of my ability.

Why i want to be tom joad

For out production of "the Grapes Of Wrath" I would like to play Tom Joad, this is because i feel he is a character that I can empathise with yet at the same time I feel he is a complicated character and therefore feel that it will be a nice challenge to have the opportunity to portray him. I have read one of his monologues in the play and am considering using it for my NYT audition piece, for this reason being the character beforehand will mean i know the character well enough to perform the monologue better than if i had never played the character before, also i would know the character well enough to discuss him with confidence in my interview.

dust bowl of the 1930's

The most visible evidence of how dry the 1930s became was the dust storm. Tons of topsoil were blown off barren fields and carried in storm clouds for hundreds of miles. Technically, the driest region of the Plains – southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas – became known as the Dust Bowl, and many dust storms started there. But the entire region, and eventually the entire country, was affected.

The Dust Bowl got its name after Black Sunday, April 14, 1935. More and more dust storms had been blowing up in the years leading up to that day. In 1932, 14 dust storms were recorded on the Plains. In 1933, there were 38 storms. By 1934, it was estimated that 100 million acres of farmland had lost all or most of the topsoil to the winds. By April 1935, there had been weeks of dust storms, but the cloud that appeared on the horizon that Sunday was the worst. Winds were clocked at 60 mph. Then it hit.
"The impact is like a shovelful of fine sand flung against the face," Avis D. Carlson wrote in a New Republic article. "People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk... We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions. It is becoming Real."
The day after Black Sunday, an Associated Press reporter used the term "Dust Bowl" for the first time. "Three little words achingly familiar on the Western farmer's tongue, rule life in the dust bowl of the continent – if it rains." The term stuck and was used by radio reporters and writers, in private letters and public speeches.
In the central and northern plains, dust was everywhere.