Epsom Downs Context Research

Epsom Downs is a play set in 1977 England. It takes place in a racecourse situated in within the chalky rolling hills of Epsom. It insights the different classes of beings that attended the races during 1977, showing how the oxymoronic existences of each attendee at the races can vary from the farfetched absurdity of the wealthy to the incomprehensible unpretentiousness of the poor and how these human beings, no matter how different one is from the next, share the same interests in good old fashioned horse racing. The playwright plays each class, having them communicate and interact with each other and also simultaneously carry out similar tasks in completely different ways. It's basically a play about the psychology behind sociology and the playwright has found allowing for the script to have large amounts of naturally aspired comedy, drama and character.

http://www.city.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/sociology-with-psychology - Link to City University of London's sociology and psychology degree where some of my information is derived

The Queen's Silver Jubilee http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/7/newsid_2562000/2562633.stm - Link to information

The play is set on the day of the Queen's silver jubilee. The Queen is being driven through the Epsom derby crowd whilst the whole cast; the whole country for that matter, watches. It is a massively important event that happened during 1977 in which millions show their patriotic support for their Queen and come together to remember, respect and appreciate their country and all that they have accomplished. It's a moral boosting, exciting rare occurrence that everybody celebrates by closing off roads and throwing parties in the streets, coming together as a nation. It is also a time for the Queen to show her respect for her country and people which I believe humanises her which only increases the trust and respect citizens dignify her with.

This event is shown to be included in the play here;

'...as the Queens car approaches down the course'

I think that the playwright has written this event into their play because they wanted to show the audience how each of the characters in the scene react to the same situation in different ways, establishing the sociology of how everyone is different.

'the figures in the tableau raising their arms and opening their mouths...'

Here we have the part of the stage direction the playwright has left for the director and actors to follow. It is obviously important to the playwrights image of the what the play must mean to the audience for them to have made it a stage direction and not just let the director figure that out for themselves. Even then, the creative freedom of this scene is not impaired. The playwright has lead the director and actors in the right direction by telling us that they want each of the people in the scene to react to the Queen passing by. With this direction, they allow us to find and add our own meaning behind the reaction. Each character will react differently to the Queen passing by in the car as each character would have been personally effected by the Queen in some form of either positive or negative way and they will have their own blames, faults and criticisms, praise, cheer and delight to emit when the Queen comes by. What I think this all means is, as the actors, we are given the direction to react, but have been left to experiment during rehearsals, as to why our characters are reacting, asking ourselves the vital questions and then answering them in order to find truths and reasons in every action we take during this scene making it as truthful as possible. This all then portrays to the audience the humour and drama that each person being different makes to the way they react to the same situation. This is why I think the playwright has included the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Aga Kahn

The Aga Kahn is one of the biggest racehorse owners and breeders in the world. He has generated; mainly through horseracing, a large income estimated around £800,000,000. On top of horse racing, this French gentleman is a royal. Yet unlike most royals, he does not rule over any geometric land. instead he uses his power and responsibility to lead the world to equality and rid the world of poverty. Something like that any way.

I think the playwright has used his character in the play because he is upper class, has tons of money, is a massive investor and influence in horses and racing them and is absolutely contrasting to other characters like Margaret and Sandy who are lower class and rather poor and are quoted to be amateur gamblers where as Kahn is on the other end of the spectrum as a professional.

'the Aga Kahn and his detective walk away...'

Evidence is shown here how the Aga Kahn is no ordinary being. He has his own detective for security which shows he is a powerful, wealthy man that  is important enough to become a target.

With this knowledge of Kahn and his contrasts with the other characters, this tells me the playwright has included his character to create comedy from each character reacting to one another in the scene. More evidence for this is below;

Blue: 'C'est pour la gloire de la Patrie, votre excellence'
'Blue, pleased with that.'

Blue is the chief of police who doesn't really speak French that well and has to try really hard in order to come off as intelligent and to impress Kahn. The stage direction states tat he is pleased with himself showing that he is a chuffed little man. Any way the point is, by the playwright introducing this real world influence into the play has created funny little reactions by characters of different classes; some that are trying to impress and some that are completely ignorant, which really increases the effect of humour of each character. I believe that the comedy is increased even more as the Aga Kahn is a real person in reality and for anyone to have met or have been influenced by him, may find the version of him in the play to have heightened idiosyncrasies making him a clowned up version of the real Kahn.

Overall, the playwright has included an important historical event; the Queen's silver jubilee, to show the audience how different classes and people react to the same situation but using a heightened sense of expression creating humour and drama within the scenes. They have also turned a real life public figure/royal into a character in the play; the Aga Kahn, keeping him pretty much the same but just heightening his idiosyncrasies and personality to make it comedic for the audience members that are familiar with him and also to create humorous reactions between characters in his scene.

Individual Audio Recording Blog

Human Planet
Link - http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/humanplanetexplorer/collections/hp_web_exclusives

The Human Planet is a BBC documentary that focuses on human beings that live across planet Earth. It is narrated by Sir John Hurt.

Storytelling Techniques
Documentary narration is not just about reading facts off of a script into a microphone. There are important factors that need to be decided before narration can start such as subject matter and target audience. The subject matter for Human Planet is human beings and how we live, coexist and cease to coexist. Doing this correctly helps Hurt to understand the setting and tone of the narration and also engages the audience by neither under or over indulging them with either too boring or overly complicated information, therefore enhancing the viewers experience and journey through the series. I believe Hurt fully understand his subject matter to an expert level as he is fully engaging to listen to and positively enhanced the programme as an exciting way of learning about the hidden gems of our own species.
Something else that Hurt has done successfully is understand his target audience. Human Planet reaches out to students, adults and educators. It has managed to capture a large demographic and one of the reasons why is due to the choices made with the narration. Firstly, the narrator themselves must suit the style of the documentary. For example; if the narrator was a ten year old child, they would not be suited for the narration of this documentary in my opinion, due to them not having been in education for long enough, nor having much life experience which means that to the target demographic, they are not going to be very trustworthy; and trust is very important when it comes to human beings and education, on has to trust someone before they can believe what that someone is saying. This lack of rapport created by the lack of trust would make the documentary unwatchable and uninteresting. I believe that Sir John Hurt was chosen to be the narrator because he is a very substantial actor with years of experience whether it be life experience, vocal experience or education. He has been on this earth long enough and is widely known as having one of the most amazing sounding voices in the industry all giving him the credibility to be both enjoyable to listen to and a trustworthy educator for the target audience.

http://www.desktop-documentaries.com/storytelling-techniques.html - link to information about documentary storytelling techniques

Audible 'Where are you' Radio Advert
Link - http://www.campaignlive.com/article/top-10-radio-ads-2016/1418495

Advert Recording Do's and Don'ts 
When recording a radio advert such as the one in the link above, the actor is expected by the employer to already know the basics of what to do and what not to do. Below are some of the more basic yet important techniques that voice actors can use:

Do's:

• Staying hydrated by drinking a healthy amount of water will help keep your tubes lubricated and your brain oxygen fuelled. It will help improve concentration and also prevent dry throats which may restrict the voice and inhibit the actor from hitting the right tones and energy damaging the performance and therefore the advert itself.
• Treating any sinus impacting illnesses such as the common cold using the correct medicines and remedies before and during recording should help clear the throat and nose preventing any distortion in the voice. Recording with a blocked nose or a cough would produce unwanted noises and an unappealing sounding voice which would prevent the advert from being listenable or engaging.  
• Staying fit and healthy and maintain a sound cardiovascular system will allow for better breathing which is a major factor when it comes to the voice. Good breath control is important for controlling the pitch or loudness of the voice and also for how long the actor can talk for without having to breath again which could prevent the actor from reaching curtain timings in the dialog or prevent them from talking at speed if the advert is of high pace and energy reducing the impact the advert will have on the radio. Also staying fit will help improve the posture which in turn increases airflow and also betters breathing.

Don'ts:

• When moving the script or turning a page, make sure everything is gentle and silent so the noises of the paper flapping around don't get picked up in the microphone which would make the problem of either having to be re-shot, or edited which could be time consuming, or if left in would show the company is unprofessional as their advert has mistakes in it.
• Remove any clunky jewellery and clothes that could make a noise and also interfere with the acting that is happening. It will have to be edited or risk the audience hearing the mistake and being drawn out from the engagement.

Acting is always a good start too. The voice actor is not just reading the script in front of a microphone, even if the script only has a few words of dialog in it. The actor still has to research what the company is about so they can decide whether they like what the company stands for and is promoting so they can confidently commit to their performance without letting any negative beliefs get in the way and half assing the job, reducing the quality of the acting. The actor also has to understand what the text means, and if there's a character, then delve into the realms of character research, asking questions and rehearsing and answering them to play a truthful performance.

http://directvoices.com/plaza/voice-acting-tips-dos-and-donts/ - Link to information above

I listened to the Audible radio advert and I really enjoyed it. It made a rapport with me because I believe the voice acting followed the basic techniques above as well as the actor using her splendid, soft and easy to listen to and drift away voice. She inflicts the perfect amount of emotion onto every line and is superbly clear and informative. The edit is really nice as well. They have used sound effects to compliment each line of dialog to which set the scene for the listener and paint a vivid picture of each book scenario that she is enticing us to read. An example of the script painting this picture is;

'Are you praying those red eyes in the darkness cant hear you'

This line is obviously enticing someone who is into thrillers and horror books and therefore will probably be successful if that listener also happens to like listening to books.

As far as comparing these two types of solo audio performances goes, the Human Planet takes the audience member on an educational journey with Hurts voice being suitably chosen using similar techniques used in radio adverts such as finding a voice that suits the target audience and someone who is interested in the topic. This I guess, shows their similarities and that voice acting is all about using all of the techniques to their full potential, to achieve an engaging solo performance no matter what the type of audio recording the actor find themselves partaking in.

Audio Ensemble Blogs

The Archers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08q60pm#play - link to BBC I Player 

The archers is a British radio play aired on BBC Radio 4. It's on everyday at 14:00pm and 19:00pm. Each episode is 13 minutes long. The Archers is the worlds longest running radio soap opera and with episodes daily, has had an incredibly long time to experiment with different audio techniques to perfect it's own unique and professional process. 

Foley Artist

An interesting technique that is used to get the sound effects from a scene is using a foley.  For example; when there's a scene of The Archers set in the kitchen, say the actors are sitting around the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea, the FoleyArtist is the person who uses the tap top fill up the kettle, then flicks the switch to boil the kettle and pours the cup of tea. They make all of the sounds that the actors would be making but can't due to the recording space. All sound effects which are recorded and then placed on top of the voice recordings during the edit. The foley is only in charge of creating specific sounds such as the ones exampled above and would not be in charge of creating sounds of explosions or car crashes. These would be created separately as they are larger projects to record requiring more people, money and time to complete.

Link to Foley Artist information - http://www.mediacollege.com/employment/film/foley-artist.html

The Art of Building a Farm Inside a Microphone
I was listening to an episode of The Archers and during the episode one of the characters was driving a tractor on a farm whilst exchanging dialog with another character; or at least that's how the creators of the show expect you to picture it. Inevitably, being a radio play, there is not an actor driving a tractor outside in a farm whilst shouting to another actor who is on foot, whilst a technical crew insert voice recorders here, there and everywhere. Although this may be the case with film acting, there is no need for the 'creatives' to waste time, money and energy recording on an actual farm, in the actual countryside when the only thing being seen by the audience is the mug of steaming coffee laying next to their small, portable radio on the living room table. Instead, the recording is done in a studio of which the actors have their microphones and that's just about it. This means that; to set the scene, the actors have to change and inflict different tones, pitches and energies into their voices in unison with what their characters are doing at the time, which along with all of the sound effects produced by a Foley artist sets; in the imaginations of the listeners, the scene.

Going back to my experience of listening to The Archers and studying the scene containing a farmer and his tractor, I found that the actor; who I now had to picture behind a microphone inside a studio, did a very believable job indeed. The actor has used the microphone technique where they take a few steps back away from the mic and angle their head away from the mic and shout the dialog that is set as they drive their tractor. By moving away from the mic, it makes the shout more distant and less clear which it would be if they were actually driving a tractor and having all of the noise in the way. The dialog is friendly and pleasant so the actor has been tasked with inflicting a positive energy into their voice. I believe they have managed to do this whilst maintain the loudness of having to shout over the noise of the imaginary tractor by making eye contact with the other actors in the room who have interacting dialog. From my research on phycology of eye-contact, I found that by using this technique, the actor felt the positivity of being acknowledged by the other actor in the room; both being in character of course, which can cause the actors to smile at each-other and raise their eyebrows. All of these small by natural expressions that the actors are feeling just by making eye contact have produced a natural and subtle emotion to flow from the actors voice which makes it very believable that their character exchanging dialog whilst driving a tractor.

https://www.psychologistworld.com/body-language/eyes - This is a link to an interesting site which goes into more detail about the everyday uses of eye contact and how it effects peoples emotions, something that I think this voice actor during a scene of The Archers has used to enhance their performance.

Ray Bradbury - Tales of the Bizarre
Link to the Play - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jpx2

Tales of the Bizarre by Ray Bradbury is a series of thriller episodes on BBC Radio 4 that are each 30 minutes long.

Creating the Atmosphere
I came across this on the BBC website linked above and started to listen as I had never heard a thriller radio performance before. This contrasted majorly with The Archers, a soap opera, a rather light hearted drama compared to Bradbury's piece which is very suspenseful and eerie to the ears. The aspect that I found so contrasting to the two radio plays was the soundtrack. The Archers has an opening piece of music is very giddy and up beat. Tales of the Bizarre however, does not start with any music. Instead, we hear a light, chilling breeze and almost instantly hear the chattering voice of an 80 year old man who sounds isolated, fragile and lonely. By this point already, I found myself feeling sorry for this character as his voice sparked some sort of inner guilt as if it was my fault for him being left alone on Mars for 50 years; which we know by reading the introductory paragraph left by the playwright. The fact that I was already starting to become emotionally involved with this character this soon shows how the actor is using the same technique I have discussed when analysing The Archers; the technique of inflicting different tones and energies into the voice to achieve different emotions, although the actor in this play has used this technique to create very contrasting emotions and atmosphere. I believe that this actor is very close to the microphone and is talking very lightly, almost a whisper. This picks up all of his nervous breaths, swallowing and noises the mouth and throat make to add to the atmosphere and show the worry this character is feeling. I think that the actor may have used meditation to find the energy which will produce the inflictions and tones in the voice. I think the actor has used this technique just before recording. The technique goes a little like this:

• Sit down in a comfortable yet supportive chair
• Focus on a point in the room
• Raise the shoulders towards the ear and gently breathe in, holding this position
• Slowly breathe out gently releasing the shoulders and relaxing any tension
• Now focus on the hands, curl them into fists and clench, holding the tension as you take a breathe in
• Slowly release the breath and the tension, relaxing your hands in an open position
• Take a deep breath in and focus on the tensions in the face, neck and jaw, breathe out and release
• Do the same with the lower body, slowly and gently breathing in, holding the breath and holding the tensions, then gently release, letting go of any stress or tension
• Feel your eyelids become heavy and relax them yet still focusing on that point in the room, imagining how nice it would feel to fully close them
• As you blink, extend the time it takes you to open your eyelids
• Extend that time longer and longer
• Let the eyes close fully, keeping them closed and sleepy

This is the meditation device which allows the actor to enter a place where they are so in focused and weary, any non related thoughts to do with the real world are temporarily forgotten allowing for the actor to concentrate only on their character. I believe the actor was in this state, questioning who he is becoming, who he is embodying. Allowing details from his character to fill up the emptied space of his mind fully preparing him for recording.

http://www.innerhealthstudio.com/meditation-for-acting.html - Link to meditation for acting where I found this device and technique

Going back to effects. This play has a waft of chilling breeze in the background almost constantly yet quietly behind the characters dialog. I felt this helped set the scene for me as I quite obviously have never been to Mars and there is no visual image for my mind to process on screen, and yet by listening to this breeze effect, I know that Mars must be a desolate and empty place where the only sound to be heard is a vague wind passing through the character. It also seems like they have put that effect in to symbolize not only the planets desolation but the characters emptiness. He has been left alone for 50 years after all.

From what I have found by comparing these radio pieces, is that they have very contrasting atmospheres, plot and characters and played with my emotions as the audience member in very different yet successful ways; one being a soap opera and the other being a thriller. Although contrasting in this sense, they also do not contrast in another sense. That other sense being that they still use a lot of professional audio techniques and devices such as microphone techniques, music, sound effects and the actors themselves portraying their characters image through a microphone.

Overall, this has been an insightful and interesting experience for me, educating my on different variants of radio genres and ways that the creative and technical ensembles use a numerous amount of audio techniques and devices to make the play believable and engaging whilst only being heard and not seen.
I hope that with this knowledge I will be able to use these new skills during our ensemble piece, working together in a group and to better my own individual characters and interactions with the microphone.

Epsom Downs Action Plan

Step 1
The first step I will be taking as the rehearsal process begins will be to study the script. This study will include reading the whole play; including all stage directions and instructions the playwright has produced to start imagining the playwrights world on our stage. I will also make notes on any hints to historical context the playwright has written in which will allow me to partake in a thorough research of the time period of the play's setting and society of the time. This knowledge will be used to develop character. I will also evaluate the location of each individual character within the play and their dialog; including details of who they interact with, indications of age and appearance and the language in which they speak which will all help my character development and choices I make during the rehearsal period.

Step 2
The next step I will take is to use my notes I have made from reading the script to research the historical context of the play to understand the time period of the setting, the political and social contexts, to learn about the real Epsom Downs and the Queen's jubilee. All this information gathered will allow me to start working on character development as I can start asking questions based on the facts and knowledge I have produced such as;

• What are their names?
• How old are they?
• Where do they live?
• Who are they related too?
• What is their job?
• What do they wear?
• Who do they interact with?
• Why are they interacting with these other characters?
• What caused them to be there at this moment in time?
• How would they walk and talk?

These are some of the questions I will be trying to find answers to during rehearsals.

Step 3

This step will be to put to practice what I have found in research. The physical rehearsals where movement and voice are imaginatively experimented with to start answering them, understanding motives and actions, making decisive choices when discoveries are made. During this time of creation and personalisation of character and interactions, it is imperative that I learn all of my lines, cues, positions, entrances and exits. I will also need to play around with props and costumes to choose what works and what doesn't to prevent last minute decision making and rushing which may lead to negative side effects such as not knowing where I am meant to be, not knowing where I'm meant to go on or off from or not knowing the props I'm supposed to be using for each character and their location.

Step 4

The last step in rehearsal before performance night is to ensure all of my character work has been fully completed to the highest standard I can achieve and that I have practiced and rehearsed multiple times to ensure only a positive outcome when performing. I will also have to make sure my lines are all completely learnt to the point where they become my characters natural dialog and naturally flow; this will be achieved my multiple line runs in and out of character. I will also be making sure all of my props and costume decisions have been made and that each item is easily accessible and in the correct place. Lastly, as an ensemble, use the theatre space too do a dress run of the play to realise any final changes that need to be made before the evening show.

Disclaimer
This is but an 'action plan' produced by myself before the rehearsal period has started. It's purpose is to make the process more efficient and to allow me to keep track of my targets. Due to the being but a 'plan', I expect this to adapt or change in order to better the rehearsal process.