Interpretation

Interpretation is how a person views a piece of creative work and how they change it to suit how they believe it should be produced. For example, in plays a director will take the script from a playwright and use this to see how the playwright wanted the play and will interpret different things such as dialogue and stage directions differently to how others might. They will take the script and direct the actors depending on how they think each character should act considering their interpretation of the script.

Page to Stage

Playwrights            ------>             Director            ------>            Actor            ------>            Audience
(ideas)                                           (script)                   (script, characters, director)          (performance)



                                            Development                                 Conflict



Introduction                                                                                                                       Resolution


My interpretation of Kid

• Angry
• Spontaneous 
• Feels betrayed
• Knows he has complete power
• Fast speaking pace and movement
• Deep down he is scared-doesnt know how his future will pan out-realises this later

Stanistlavski Techniques

Stanislavski created many different techniques to make actors think more about their characters and how they are feeling during a performance. These techniques are not only effective but also help enhance an actor or actresses performance and the audiences experience. 

The first technique I used was 'given circumstances'. This gives your character some unnamed emotional and physical feelings that should affect how they react to certain things. For example I had a physical cough which changed the pace of my dialogue by breaking up my speech. I also used it to make the character get angry over his cough and therefore changed my pitch as I got louder and more vicious towards the 'kid'. 

I also used the technique of sub-text to investigate what the characters were actually thinking when they spoke their lines. This helped me more than my performance as it allowed me to think about the character and how they were feeling. The only downside is that it can be difficult to work out whether a character really means what they say or not. Therefore you as an actor have to decide, including your "given circumstances" and "the magic if", how they would react in different situations and how they would feel about certain things. 

Gotcha - Set, Sound and Costume

I believe that the best possible staging for Gotcha is 'in the round' because it offers various benefits to the actors and also to the audience. For example, having this staging means that different audience members will come away with different views on the play after having different perspectives. This will leave them with questions about how other audience members perceived the performance as well as even leaving them wanting to return just to see the show from another angle. I also think that 'in the round' is perfect for 'Gotcha' because it creates an artificial square which can be used to present the walls of the store room. This means that the audience and actors get a really strong feel about how close these characters in terms of space and also shows that they really do have no where to go. The only problems with this particular staging is that some items can obscure peoples view unless they are moved to the corners however as long as the set is large enough for people to se through it - for instance a door frame - then it can pretty much go anywhere. For example in my diagram the window and door are I front of the audience however I believe that this will cause people to get different perspectives with the ability to look through the window or door frame.

In terms of sound I would have various punk or school related songs playing. I would keep the songs that Barry Keeffe has used to keep the play as close to how it was written as possible however I would add a few different ones such as 'Baggy Trousers' by Madness to offer a more of an educational theme to the music choice but without steering away from the rebellious side of the play. I think that with this song also being popular and well known it will stay in people's minds and therefore hopefully so will the performances.

In terms of costume I would like the Kid to be wearing a typical school uniform of the time however obviously scruffy as he enters the room. I would like the boys uniform to not be completely untucked with his tie off as I would like the actor to be able to experiment with the uniform as he progressed through the play, for example he might untuck his shirt fully when he gets agitated during the performance. As for the three other characters I believe they should be dressed smartly and in the correct time period clothes. 

Reactions To 'Gotcha' By Barry Keeffe

‘Gotcha’ is a short, unique play of around 20 minutes which explores the issues that many young adults and teenagers faced during the 1970’s, when the play is set, and even to this very day. This sets up a recipe for a great play that has managed to span over generations and make links with education both now and 30 years ago meaning that all can relate in some way.

Although the problem is still around today, the issue of many 16 year olds having nowhere to turn in life - once they had left school – was very common in the ‘70s. The attitude of many schools and universities at the time was that only the academic had a future, leaving the rest to fend for themselves. Trying to find work was difficult and Barry Keeffe himself said that teenagers were either “academic or sporty or anomalous.”  

The kid in ‘Gotcha’ represents the students who aren’t always in trouble but equally aren’t noticed and Barry Keeffe wanted to give these people a voice in theatre because at the time they didn’t. The play is also set around the beginning of Punk music and more rebellious material started to be published. The teenager was moody and attitude became common with many speaking out and not letting people treat them badly. The ‘Punk’ had been born and ‘Gotcha’ reflected a punk record: short, angry and screamed “what about me?”