Social Context of Russia

Social Context of Russia

DRINKING

Abstract

Drinking alcohol is an essential and commonplace part of life in Russia. Alcohol-related problems in the general population and among adolescents in particular has become a major public health concern. The problem cannot be solely explained by the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption. The social determinants of drinking alcohol also need to be considered. These are the focus of the present investigation. The social determinants of drinking behaviour were assessed by self-reports (Social Context of Drinking Scale, Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale and Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index) in 387 secondary school students in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The factor structure for the Social Context of Drinking Scale was similar to that noted in respect of the original study [Thombs and Beck (1994) Health Education and Research 9, 13-22]. Significant gender differences in problem drinking and the social contexts of drinking were found. High intensity girl drinkers were likely to drink in most social contexts, whereas high intensity drinking boys were more likely to drink in the context of Stress Control. Furthermore, boy problem drinkers were more likely to drink in the context of School Defiance and Peer Acceptance, whereas girl problem drinkers tended to drink in the contexts of School Defiance and Stress Control. In general, the Social Context of Drinking Scale demonstrated a good ability to discriminate high from low intensity drinkers, and high from low problem drinkers. These results may provide useful information for targeted prevention programmes for adolescents. -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12003922

This was interesting as in the play Yasha comes across as someone who loves to have a drink.

THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SERFS-Interesting points
.In 1861 serfdom, the system which tied the Russian peasants irrevocably to their landlords, was abolished at the Tsar’s imperial command.
.The Russian system dated back to 1649 and the introduction of a legal code which had granted total authority to the landowner to control the life and work of the peasant serfs who lived on his land.
.many Russians, of all ranks and classes, had come to accept that reform of some kind was unavoidable if their nation was to progress.
.Data shows that the landlords retained two-thirds of the land while the peasants received only one-third.
.So limited was the supply of affordable quality land to the peasants that they were reduced to buying narrow strips that proved difficult to maintain and which yielded little food or profit.
.the landowners were granted financial compensation for what they gave up, the peasants had to pay for their new property. Since they had no savings, they were advanced 100 per cent mortgages, 80 per cent provided by the State bank and the remaining 20 by the landlords.
. To prevent emancipation creating too much disruption, the government urged the peasants to remain in their localities.
. According to official records kept by the Ministry of the Interior (equivalent to the Home Office in Britain) there had been 712 peasant uprisings in Russia between 1826 and 1854.
.


Sources-http://www.historytoday.com/michael-lynch/emancipation-russian-serfs-1861-charter-freedom-or-act-betrayal

Evaluation

The Cherry Orchard Evaluation

Rehearsal Period

The first rehearsal was very relaxed as we were introduced into our roles and scenes so i approached the lesson in a very relaxed way which looking back now i wish i shouldn't of.I should of started learning my lines straight away and thinking how i could of applied Stanislavsky ideology to my work.However i took things into my own hands and decided to just say my lines rather than performing them and looking at the objectives. 

The Second lesson was similar however i decided on breaking up my scene into objectives labeling each section with a heading as this was homework.This befitted my work as i knew my aim while speaking my lines and i understood why my character Ranevskaya was saying those lines.By choice i decided upon not even familiarizing myself with my lines.This effected my rehearsal as i was constantly looking at my book and wasn't able to engage my character fully into the scene.

After this lesson I skimmed over the play again and in detail looked over Ranevskaya's previous lines so i could gradually grow an emotional attachment.I believe looking through the characters journey and in the play and knowing what she's been through can affect how you deliver and woman who's grieving over her sons death whilst also finding out that now shes lost her house.

The question which i should of also asked myself was 'What if?' I struggled with this as i've never lost my house before and wasn't quite sure how to begin and i didn't think my reaction would be the conventional reaction  however i changed it to how would i feel if i lost something very close to me, which identifies me as a person ,carrying so much history that without it i'm lost. 

In the play, the Cherry Orchard is what Ranevskaya believes identifies her and it also carries alot of and history and its the only thing stable in her life.

When using the 'Magic If'' with the question how would i feel if i lost my house ,i should of looked at it as how would i feel if i lost my house in the role of Ranevskya knowing that the character has lost so much already.

If i was to use it in this way i would feel scared as i don't know where i'll be in the future and after loosing my house i would also feel emotionally and physically weak.This could be shown through bad posture and her speech.

When using the 'Magic If' for my own interpretation I  found out that i would be clue

In the third lesson ignorantly i familiarized myself with most of my lines but didn't know my cues so once again i wasn't able to present my character at her best.

In the extra rehearsal I knew my lines but still didn't know my Cues.

If i was to do the play again i would focus more on my lines 2 weeks before the play instead of a week before the play as i know i'm  perfectly capable of learning them in a decent amount of time,I've just have to use my time efficiently which I've done quite well in previous productions.

Luckily i didn't have many lines and i'm a fast learner so i was able to learn them for the next rehearsal however i wasn't confident enough to be onstage without my book as i was scared i would mess up and maybe even get shouted at .My aim next time is to just believe in myself and know that it's better to be able to show to i tried learning your lines and messing up then standing in rehearsal with my book not being able to play my character well and also in life your always going to make mistakes its just how you learn from them that counts.

In the rehearsal the night of the show i added on some physical movements which could portray a aristocratic woman. I did this by her focus always being very far out in front of her and that she doesn't look down below her unless talking to someone which makes her very uncomfortable.

I also narrowed it down to the way she sat. When sitting her back is always straight bending her knees still keeping her focus outwards.

 What went well

On a whole i think i made good physical choices when entering the room i made it clear of my high status by having quite a prestigious look on my face,walking proudly with purpose and taking a split second before sitting to look out into the distance at the Cherry Orchard.

During my scene when i was upset after i found out the Cherry Orchard was sold i was able to capture that moment of sadness but trying to keep composure;this was done by my character slightly slouching in her chair and her sense of focus is completely gone and she begins stroking/touching the chair beside her which shows loss and by me not completely crying and trying to prop myself up after slouching i show slight composure.

Eventhough this is expected,i did remember my lines and spoke confidently when saying them.

What I could of done better

If i were to do the performance again i would of maybe slowed down on some of my lines to make a bigger impact so the audience had time to take in what i was saying however in my scene my character is building up into a nervous wreck so naturally your words become faster and more snappy.

I should of worked on my Circles of attention as i did make the mistake looking straight into an audience members eyes breaking the fourth wall.This was usual as i didn't do it rehearsal but on the other hand there wasn't really a big audience.

Analysis of Niaomi 

What i really admired about Niaomi was that she was the first to know her lines and whilst also knowing them she was able to perform them during rehearsal period making interesting physical choices portraying her character Dunyasha as quite timid,soft-hearted and slightly naive.

Her character is often slightly hunched over in shyness unless she's with people she knows and her pace of walk keeps changing to suit her objectives. Her tone of voice is fairly high pitched with hints of maturity which suggests her late stages of youthfulness.

I was definitely impressed by how well she played her character,bringing her words to life.

Response to Text

Response For Text

Sorry for the pencil writing it says

The actor is meant to utilize his/her memory finding a comparable life experience which is similar to the characters.This technique helps portray realistic natural emotions. The question the actors ask themselves is 'What would I do if i was in this situation?'

This question has the actors brain storming emotions.This helps influence theatrical choices however this technique has...(carries on next page)

...(Carried on) it's disadvantages such as each person thinks different and may not recover the conventional reaction.

This technique may also be exhausting.

Breaking up my scene

Breaking Up My Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeyI4-1SehY

looking into the subtext

looking into the subtext

sub·text  (sbtkst)

n.

1. The implicit meaning or theme of a literary text.

2. The underlying personality of a dramatic character as implied or indicated by a script or text and interpreted by an actor inperformance.

Just random pictures relating to subtext

In Class the theatre teacher wrote a blunt piece of text which you could turn into anything.

We had to choose what situation it was in.

Key

Stage directions-Black

Person A-Green

Person B-Red

Subtext-highlighted in violet/purple

B.is on stage.A enters

A.Hello.

B.Hello.

    Pause

A.Are you coming then?

B.No i don't think so. 

    Pause

A.Oh,ok.Bye then.

B.Bye.

From this piece of writing me and my partner came up with the scenario that A and B were at a weekly park run event which happens every Saturday Morning.

B which was me is quite tired so has stopped and is huffing and puffing out of breath then A comes along and questions whether B is going to carry on and run and B simply replies with'No i don't think so' and the conversation ends there after quick Goodbyes.

After practicing this we then asked to add subtext where the pause is.

The first time we're meant to act the subtext then the secondly time say the subtext as lines.

Before doing this me and my partner decided to give our characters a background and personality.

Person A and B don't get along because A is rather snobbish and arrogant when it comes to running and takes pride when beating people.She constantly annoys,talks and complains about the other runners at the park run especially Person B.

We worked off this and wrote a subtext.

The subtext will be where the pauses are written and will be highlighted in violet/purple.

B.is on staage.A enters

A.Hello.

B.Hello.

A.Oh look who's down again...fatty?...

B.here we go...(kisses her teeth)it's always him

A.Are you coming?

B.No i don't think so.

A.Typical

B.Lord have mercy on my soul

A.Oh,Ok.Bye then.

B.Bye.

The subtext could be portrayed through a physical reaction.

I could use this for my scene in the Cherry Orchard as could help develop my character physically.

What also helped Develop my character in this short scripted piece were these 5 questions.
Who am I?
When am i here?
What do I want?
Where have I come from?
Where am I going?

character research

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Character Research

Lubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya

A Character Timeline in short

Lubov returns to her childhood home in Russia after five years in Paris. She was involved there with a man who bled her dry financially, then cheated on her.

She learns from Lopakhin that the estate will be sold in three months. She and her brother Gaev reject Lopakhin's suggestion of turning the orchard into vacation lots.

Lubov sees Trofimov, her son's old tutor, and is reminded of Grisha's death.

In the second act, Lubov still refuses to come up with a plan for the estate. She continues to spend money unwisely.

The third act finds Lubov waiting anxiously for the result of the auction. Gaev's been sent with far too little money.

She learns that Lopakhin has bought the estate. She is crushed.

In Act 4, Lubov is leaving home again, with the intention of returning to her lover in Paris.

A character timeline is useful as I can break down how my character would feel at each time of the timeline.This will give me more time to think how I would portray the characters emotions.

Workshop on Character

To help develop our character we were asked to walk aroud in the space as our character would.

                                                                       

From my point of view i see her to walk at a moderately slow tempo so she can gloat around her house and observe what she owns.Being at such a high-status she doesn't feel the need to rush however she doesn't look very proud or obnoxious as she has respect to her inferior workers.

She has immaculate posture.

                                                                

Sitting down she looks rather composed but still gloats around with her wondering eye.

When sitting down she also has great posture.
Below is a link on how to sit properly.I might use this when my character has to sit down.
How to sit down

 
we were then asked how would your character act at a party.
I see my character to be alot more lively at parties joining in with the dancing however the tempo of her walk stays the same to represent her status in society.

We were then asked how our character would act when upset.For example when the cherry Orchard is sold.
This relates to me as i'm in the scene when we're told that the Cherry Orchard is sold.
I imagine her to feel quite sick and lost when thinking but trying to hold it together.
I'll try and portray these feelings and emotions when i do it.This can be done through breaking down my cenes into objects so i can in depth understand how the characters feeling then i'll my posture and voice to show sadness and loss of words.
I would like to hopefully cry on cue however i think i'll find this hard as i'm not playing her in the previous scenes and i'm jumping straight into her character so i'm not emotionally completely connected with the character.On the otherhand by reading into her previous scenes in depth i may be able to cry on cue.
I would use a Stanislavsky technique of connecting with emotional memory but something like this has never happened to me before.

Circles of attention

Circle of attention

Stanislavski was concerned with actors getting distracted by the audience while performing on stage. He sought ways to counteract this distraction. He however did not advocate that the actor forget the audience, or tries to believe it did not exist. That, he felt, would be contradictory to the art of theatre, because the audience was an important ‘co-creator’ of the performance.
Stanislavski’s main need was in finding a way to get the actor sufficiently interested in something (for example, an object) on stage so as to not find the presence of the audience a crippling factor. He felt that if his actors observed the object intensively enough, a desire would arise in them, to do something with it. This would, in turn intensify the observation and help develop an action with it.
Importantly, Stanislavski realized that actors lost control of their basic faculties on stage, and had to be re-taught how to achieve this in public. According to Sonia Moore, on stage an actor’s ‘natural psycho-physical union’ is broken, causing ‘paralysis of faculties’ 30). This is especially apparent in beginning actors. Stanislavski realized this early on in his experiments:
All of our acts, even the simplest, which are so familiar to us in everyday life, become strained when we appear behind the footlights before a public of a thousand people. This is why it is necessary to correct ourselves and learn again how to walk, move about, sit or lie down. It is essential to re-educate ourselves to look and see, on the stage, to listen and to hear.
Believing rightly or wrongly that concentration was the key to ‘re-educating’ the actor, Stanislavski created ‘Circles of Concentration’(of attention). These circles varied in size and had different -Microsoft word-Stanislavski textbook 

Circle of Attention Exercise

we were made to close our eyes and imagine we were at a bus-stop ear where we lived.I chose the only which  stand at while waiting for the bus to come.

We were told that we were chewing gum and we were holding our backpack over one shoulder.

I imagined chewing all sorts of different flavored gum and wearing my purple back pack.

Here My attention is solely focused inside of me.Concentrating on the flavor of the gum and chewing it.

My circle of attention is rather small.

We were next informed that there is a newspaper by our feet.

My reaction was to pick it up but to start brushing it along the floor with my foot as naturally i would be very bored waiting for my bus to come.

My circle of attention has slightly expanded.

Next we were told that you could see your bus coming but when it reaches its very packed and the back door of the bus opens but the front door doesn't and once some people get off it drives off not letting anyone on.

This would certainly annoy me.

When seeing the bus coming my Circle of attention would of expanded as i look out into the distance spotting the bus.

Where the train is in the picture above that's about how far i would look into the distance and recognise my bus.

We were then told that on the other side of the road a man and a woman are arguing in a car.We don't know what relation they have to each other and then she suddenly gets out the car and storms off.The man doesn't chase after her but after a couple of minutes drives off in a different direction.

Opposite my bus stop is another bus stop so above is a picture of another bus stop near where i live.

As you can see its rather packed so not only would this of caught my attention but it would of caught other peoples who were around the us stop.

I would spontaneously look at whats happening across the road but also do secretively so that involves making sure people at my bus stop aren't watching me watching them.

My Circle of attention would dramatically keep increasing and decreasing. 

4 Circles of attention Model