Today my final performance took place.

There are a few things that worked, and a few I found a little disappointing!

What I thought worked well:

The close proximity of the audience. Made to feel uncomfortable and taken away from the traditional set up of staging. The slip created in order to guide the audience into the cove created, when they heard the sound of singing and hissing was something that I thought worked particularly well. Although a worry when rehearsing and setting up Tech, the audience seemed to know where to go in order to watch the performance.

The snakes’ hissing sounds. When talking to members of the audience, post-performance, the feedback was good, with many of the members commenting the use of the sound of snakes was something that made them feel a sense of uncanny. The effect I was after! I loved the way the snakes sounded over the speakers in studio 1. Through the use of two speakers, we were able to move the sound of the hissing from the front of the room, where the audience entered, to the cove further into the room, in which the performance was taking place.

I also loved the use of the cross fade lighting, with two different intensities of green. The gradual build up of green lighting produced an aesthetically pleasing result. The shadow created on the back of the wall, was also something I was chuffed with. Again, when speaking to members of the audience present at the performance, a few mentioned the shadow being a kind of ‘performance in itself’.

I managed to get a quote from one of my flatmates about her experience:

‘The sound of snakes immediately made me feel uncomfortable to enter the room. At first there was a little confusion as to whether or not to stand where we had been guided into the room until a green light and the sound of hissing allowed us to know where to go. The performance itself was unnerving, especially the more angry Medusa became.’ (Whitwood, 2014)

HOWEVER

I feel as though this worked well as a testing performance.

The technical team unfortunately misread my script, or some kind of error occured in which my performance was cut, almost in half as the hissing sound played too early, meaning I had to launch into the final song, rather prematurely. I cant help but feel a little disappointed as I worked so hard on the monologue, and felt the end was the strongest part of the story being told. So I am posting the script on here because, quite frankly, I am rather proud of the piece I intended it to be as a whole.

Medusa

It was the kindness of your face that immediately enticed

The softness of your eye hid the inevitability of my sacrifice

Like a lamb to the slaughter, an impending little death

This is the tale of two lovers, ending in one of theirs death.

It was a bleak and cold December

As beginnings so often are,

Although long ago, I still remember

I had been roaming for hours, travelling afar

Darkening clouds began to gather ahead

As I clutched my coat, anticipating the rain with dread

The first few droplets began to fall

It was over the low rumble of thunder that I heard you call

Your hair is pretty and your cheeks are pink

And looking in to your eyes is as though standing on the brink

of the deepest oceans, looking out to in to the calm.

I told you I was Medusa, whilst placing my heart into your palm.

You took my hand and led me away

From dreary rain looming upon that day

Hand in hand we walked through the gardens

And when arriving home together by the fire we lay.

Saying, ‘your skin is soft running fingers down my spine

I’ll never leave you’, you said

‘Not even when you dead’

Then you cried out, ‘Medusa now you’re mine.’

A ruined woman now labelled fit

You fell for other women’s touch

Into the darkness and out of your clutch

As I wandered the cobbled streets unlit.

Prometheus, my love, how my heart would beat for you

The strength of your mind

You were the only one of your kind

And then you ripped my heart into two.

My being now defines me, I am truly a woman scorned

My breath now making a stench

My soul is now aching for something to quench

The longing left since the day infidelity dawned

For me, there were two options from which to choose

Anger or upset seemed to be my only choice

From the chains placed upon me I wanted to be loose

And all I needed was to have my own voice.

No one dares to look upon this face

For what was once alive is there no more,

And now I am shunned at doors

Living in unending disgrace

Immortality now unappealing after the things I have seen

I roam this world alone,

Adhering to your throne

As my skin, is slowly turning green.

You made me this way, ugly, angry and bad

My touch like that of snakes

A life full of mistakes

And now I am the one considered to be mad

They say that with power, come great responsibility

But who is responsible for you?

Returning to a normal life, is no longer possibility

As those who have looked into these eyes, if they could, would tell you that’s true.

My eyes once deep, now turn you to stone

My affections are spare

As lovers are rare

And there is no place I happily call my own

I want you to hurt, Promethius, the way that you hurt me

And be desperate to understand the definition of ‘free’

I want you to know what it’s like to be left alone

For it was you in this escapade, that set the current tone

The beginning of a story, beginning in good form

Shelter underneath a Willow Tree away from an approaching storm.

You should be terrified Prometheus, totally afraid

My hatred now for you now burns

Thoughts of you makes my stomach churn

I promised to make you regret the choices you made.

In my ears the sound of hissing

Remembrance on my skin of times spent kissing

You made sure I knew what I was missing

So now Prometheus, how is life treating you as stone?

The way you begged in your strife

Making promises of a new life

Now no talking, whispering, no ability to moan

Hissing and shrieking, the monster you made

My longing for children, something you forbade

For me it is too late, but never for revenge

It’s you who is mine Prometheus, do you comprehend?

You are no longer that sweet young man, which took me by the hand

You were exceptionally ordinary, despite my hope that we would be grand

Here you stand before me, not in spirit, but in stone

I’ll place you in the Gardens we once walked, just like me, you’ll be forever alone.

_________________________

I have LOVED this experience, and it has given me a new found confidence in performance, knowing that I can go it alone, write my own mater

It’s now really time to focus on what my performance is all about. Here is a synopsis:

Medusa: Betrayed my her lover, Prometheus, Medusa tells the sad tale of her demise. With snake-like skin and green matted hair, it is impossible to see her for the beauty she once was.

Set: I would like there to be a feature on stage, to the side of Medusa, to allow the audience to feel as though they are watching her in her natural, unexpected, environment. It is because of this I have chosen to use candles. As my original idea involved an outdoor performance with a fire pit, the idea of having an open flame on stage, burning through the duration of the performance and being abruptly extinguished at the performance’s conclusion, is something I have decided to keep.

Lighting: Of course I have to have green! I would like the stage to be lit with two floor lights. On of which should be a light green on one side of the stage, lighing the area of the chair and the candle. On the other side of the stage, also lighting the chair and the candle, would be a floor light with a much more insense shage of green. Throughout the duration of the performance these two lights begin to cross fade, lighting Medusa with a more intense shade of green as the performance progresses. Through the use of the cross fade, I am also able to create a striking image as the shadow of myself moves slowly across the wall behind. I would like a pastel green spotlight, gradually becoming increasingly more intense until completely green on me. As Medusa’s story progresses, I would love to create more intensity through the subtle use of lighting.

Sounds: I am going to have the sound of snakes playing as the audience enter and possibly subtle use underneath the duration of the performance, only increasing in volume towards the end (again, to create intensity). There is something unnerving about the sound of snakes. I feel as though the use of the sound is very important as I have chosen not to use the cosmetic approach of Medusa’s traditional snakes in the hair.

Adding Colloquial language to create accessibility for the audience. Intention to shock the audience with menace.

For a love now lost my sorrow sings

No promises kept of golden rings

No desire to possess worldly things

No excitement for for what the future brings

AND YOU DID THIS

I blame you, Promethius that all

I

CAN

DO

–

is hiss.

I love the idea of Medusa’s anger being prominent in the piece reflecting the imagery of a woman scorned.

I don’t want to post too much of the material that I may use in my performance, as I am now compiling and putting together a structure for the performance.

The element of surprise. 

It’s time to start seriously considering staging and how  am going to be able to create the claustrophobic setting in which I want this piece to be performed!

I have been exploring ideas for my makeup and the costuming of Medusa.

Throughout this creative process I have had the phrase ‘Evil Glamour’, something I picture as beautiful to the eye yet devious, possibly harmful, to the soul.

I have a vision in my head of medusa, but when I see her, it is without the snakes for hair. I think the appeal of medusa’s skin resembling a snakes in of a more iconic nature, one which I have chosen to look into. Here’s a mood board.