Initial Ideas From The Lesson

These are some of our initial ideas for our piece that we came up with after looking at the picture and thinking about soldiers being gassed.

Notes:

Red scarf, tied hands together,scarf wrapped around - holding onto each end. 

Wrapped around, holding hands (final image)

Hands tied, run into scarf, pinged out - eyes covered.

Start back to back, not aware we're connected. Linked moves. Other senses heightened - slightest touch makes you jump.

Sound:

Verbatim - interviews, playing in background. Sounds effects: hissing gas, gun shots, distant shouting/screaming - "Dulce et decorum est" - Wilfred Owen

coughing/choking

Coughing or choking could be heightened and used as a follow-through movement. 

Song at end - happy to contrast with piece.- "It's a long way to Tipperary" - irony.

Floaty, sheer green fabric. Bucket of water? - face comes out wet - breathe again.

Initial Stimulus Ideas

After thinking for a long time and exploring the different routes we could take with the topic of the First World War and what specific area we wanted to focus on, I found some recordings of my Grandad interviewing my Great Grandad (his father) about the war, in which he talks about how he and his friends were involved in a gas attack and he talks of his recovery in hospital and going back to war, once he recovered.

This seemed to be a perfect start to the research that we wanted and would allow us to use some information that no-one else will have and it will be very personal to our piece. Nora and I decided to focus on the theme of gassing and being gassed. I printed off this picture, so that we had something to work from in the rehearsal process.

We looked at this picture for a long time in the lesson and looked at all the detail in it. Such as, the soldiers behind with blank facial expressions because there is nothing they can do to help. The bandages over the soldiers eyes and the way they cover their faces.

We took from this photo, the idea of holding onto each other and only being able to follow and feel the other person, without being able to see where you were going. We thought we could interpret this into our piece, by doing a leading and following section, which could include something to do with the loss of senses and explore the hopelessness and confusion, they must feel.