The Battle Sequence

I personally really liked how the battle scene has panned out as we have been able to take an artistic and creative approach to something that would usually be handled quite messily. Battle scenes on stage have the tendency to end up looking like awfully choreographed play fighting and I feel we managed to incorporate WW1 battle techniques - fighting from afar - in a way that wasn't so glaringly obvious. It's also useful to remember that in actuality, these are women in a factory, they're not going to be to stage a fully fledged battle sequence in the middle of their work space - they can however, have a pretty good artistic alternative.

By using the different levels of the wooden tables and steel-deck, we are able to explore not only the different levels that would look physically and creatively engaging, but also link back to the reality of WW1. By using different levels and having the cast come up and over the set, we're able to create a piece that's more intriguing than a boring battle sequence. The different levels also link back to the army's use of trenches back in the Great War and how they would fight using guns from afar rather than coming into contact; the way they would've fought in the Battle Of Agincourt.

As I've never held a gun before nor played a character that is both a man and in the army. It's interesting from an acting point of view to explore the different physical decisions needed to play the role effectively and creatively. It was also challenging in the sense that we had to remember to carry the male physicality whilst carrying out the sequence, because by dropping the physicality, the whole sequences loses the intended affect. The entire scene drops. The physicality needs to be held throughout the entire thing for it to be effective. So not only do we have to time the movements and walking perfectly to make it look effective, we also have to carry the male physicality throughout the entire thing - whilst holding the gun. Not only will this be a challenge for myself, as I have the tendency to forget about other things when I'm trying to focus on something certain, I feel it will be a huge challenge on the group as a whole as throughout the entire battle we have to rely on one another. We have to rely on one another to all keep the energy up, to keep with the timings and to keep the physicality up. Not only does this challenge everyone physically and creatively, but also individually because we all have to play our own part whilst trusting the entire group to make it work.