Bibliography

Aristortle. (2000) Poetics, ProQuest Ebook Central, Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Poetics-Aristotle/dp/1605203556 (Accessed: 29 April 2020)

Katja, K. (2020). Translation And Adaptation In Theatre And Film. [online] Available at: <https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NEt8AgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=theatre+and+film&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirj46Nj4vpAhUeSBUIHYqDBNsQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Kübler-Ross, E. (2020). On Grief And Grieving. Google Books, Available at: <https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0TltiT8Y9CYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=five+stages+of+grief&ots=S0i2RGH6_Q&sig=9f0LDI2FMy2012j187T9RLAfMRo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=five%20stages%20of%20grief&f=false> [Accessed: 29 April 2020].

Lonergan, P. (2009). Theatre And Social Media. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lempereur, V. (2020). Jacques Lecoq, Physical Theater, And The Clown. [online] cultureXchange. Available at: <https://culturexchange1.wordpress.com/2017/01/24/jacques-lecoq-the-physical-revolution-of-theater/> [Accessed: 29 April 2020]. Taunebaum, J. (2020). Steampunk As Design Fiction Proceedings Of The SIGCHI Conference On Human Factors In Computing Systems. [online] Available at: <https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/2207676.2208279> [Accessed: 29 April 2020].

Our group was formed because of our mutual love of DC & Marvel. Looking deep into this we saw how much these characters were connected to mythology. Upon research we settled upon Greek mythology as it not only interested us, but the Greeks are responsible for the origin of western theatre. Most of the tales seemed focus on the Gods but the story of Icarus focused on mortals which we thought had more potential. I also looked at plays by the three great tragedians being, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. These included Agenemnom, Oedipus Rex and The Bacchae. Aristotle's Poetics was also very instructional on creating a Greek tragedy, discussing things such as catharsis and the 6 elements of drama. Homers The Odyssey was also useful for looking at myths but also for using poetry for Hades. The steampunk material we looked into had a great emphasis on the ideas of man and machine merging which led us to Daedalus, being the great creator he is to design items of steampunk and ultimately merge man and machine. Similar to how Daedalus merged and beast to create the minotaur in the myth.  

With respect to devised storytelling centred on renewal of classics, what do I need to do next?

In order to improve on devised storytelling skills going forward I need to learn to be more flexible with ideas. Upon reflection I can see that we were too married to ideas early on. This caused issues that meant we came to a standstill with devising early on. For example we were dedicated to Greek tragedy and didn’t consider any other style, which may have prevented us creating something more interesting. This restriction is evident in the fact that the script is mostly adapted to screen with few changes while adding social media elements into it. By doing this and not getting more experimental it may have hindered the effectiveness of the story, especially when the world is experiencing social distancing. Another way to improve would be to explore more niche classics. Many people know of the story of Icarus so the liberties we took may be alienating. By picking something a mainstream audience are less likely to recognise it would allow us to create something slightly more intriguing. With us all knowing the story as well we felt quite comfortable in our knowledge of it, which may have closed off routes when researching. Finally I would look at expanding my own mind and skillset in order to be able to bring more elements into a performance that would be engaging for an audience.

What was my key learning ‘block’?

With exception to covid-19, the main obstacle when creating our piece was developing an engaging storyline. As this was a Greek myth we decided to create it in the style of a Greek tragedy. Having read Aristotle’s Poetics as a guideline we knew we had to entice the emotions of pity and fear to allow the audience to experience catharsis. Greek tragedies are also meant to deal with important figures whose actions have an impact upon the world. We had initially tried to use the 5 stages of grief as a template however this proved strenuous as it only showed a man grieve over his son with no emotional or intellectual high point for the audience at the end. We therefore knew that the script had to be readapted. We had the idea of cyberpunk involved but didn’t really develop it in a way that complimented the piece as it was just there. While we weren’t able to show off the costumes as we intended we did take the idea of man merging with machine. This allowed the script to develop into Icarus being resurrected as a half-man half-machine abomination, this was inspired by Daedalus being responsible for creating the Minotaur who was half-man half-beast. With these ideas in mind it was a case of building on the Greek tragedy anatomy such as the Deus ex Machina, hamartia, peripatia and scene of suffering to accomplish the goal that we had set out to achieve.

What was my key learning point?

My key learning point from this experience is how to be a deviser. We all brought our own skills to the table when creating this piece but particularly in the wake of quarantine I had to step up as writer and director in order that we may complete the piece. Being given control over the digital project that we devised pushed my creative skills to new heights. I have learned how to create a story that resonates on a contemporary level through the use of parallels. Icarus ignoring the warnings is meant to mirror those that ignore those who ignore social distancing rules. I’ve found that creating a coherent script is something that takes time and requires a lot of self criticism in order to generate something that works well that explores key ideas and themes. Having a great level of control I found enabled me to create a piece that is distinctive in style by comparison to when we all took our own scene to write out and create for the play version. While being strong in style it does mean the final product will have lost a certain level of creative influences than if we did the stage piece. Learning all the skills as a deviser while creating the stage version prepared me for adaptation and flexibility when it came to creating the digital product. It’s allowed me to think outside the box and find interesting and new solutions.

Jaques Lecoq

We attempted to use different types of social media in our piece including youtube news, online blogs and FaceTime. The news reports were treated as the chorus to tell the action rather than show it as typical in Greek tragedy, but also provide humour.

Katja Krebs

Paul Longeran

Planning to adapt to film

William Shakespeare 

As Covid-19 forced us into quarantine, it meant that what we had developed would become obsolete. We therefore had to take a step back with a new perspective, and attempt to create a digital product incorporating social media.

Final scene concept

King Minos scene storyboard

Opening scene I created for stage version utilising symbolism.

Stage Layout

Aristotle 

Robert Oppenheimer 

Oppenheimer

The play on Oppenheimer is based on the real story of the creation of the atomic bomb. The tale of how a man made a deadly weapon that affected the entire world was a huge source of inspiration for the direction of Daedalus’s story, including the monologue at the end.

Having decided to mix steampunk with A.I, we decided that Daedalus would bring Icarus back to life as an android. We devised a physical theatre piece to show this resurrection.