Fugee

https://fullfact.org/immigration/

                                                  Fugee

For our unit 8 final production we are performing a play written by Abi Morgan called 'Fugee', following the life of five refugee children in the United Kingdom and Kojo's story in particular we follow from his 11th Birthday.
  

Context

Refugee Facts

A Refugee is someone who is recognized as being forced too leave their country because of war or fear of persecution, these reasons include race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

An Asylum seeker is someone who has fled their country because of armed conflict or violence, although have not yet been recognized as a refugee by a host country.
An internationally displaced person is a person who is forced to flee their home because of armed conflict or violence but have not yet passed an international border and stay under the protection of their government.
International human rights law guarantees refugees the following rights:

• The right to housing
• The right to education
• The right to freedom of movement
• The right to work

These were the facts and statistics giving by the UN Refugee agency  UNHCR

• In 2014 global displacement reached 59.9 million, If all the refugees made their own country they would be the 24th largest country in the world.
• In 2014 8.3million refugee's were forced to flee, resulting in the highest record ever.
• 42,500 refugees are forced to leave their homes everyday due to persecution and conflict.
• 19.5million are refugees, 1.8million are asylum seekers and 38.2million are internationally displaced in their own countries.
• 86% of the worlds refugees are hosted by developing countries.
• 53%  of refugees include Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia.
• The five top countries include: Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran and Ethiopia. 
• 51% of refugee's are children, the highest figure over a decade and worse than WW11.
• In 2014 34,000 asylums claimed they were made by children alone which was the highest number. The main countries they are from is  Afghan, Eritrean, Syrian and Somali. 
• Nearly 50million children have been uprooted, 28 million fleeing because of conflict, poverty, violence and deprivation. 
• Britain holds only 0.6% of child refugees

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/latest/news/4350_top_10_global_facts_about_refugees

From this research I have realised just how many refugee's there are in the world than I originally thought. It is also upsetting to see how many people a day must flee their own country with a fifty fifty chance of safety. Also seeing this is the highest number of refugee children makes me so grateful that I do not have to experience traveling in a lorry like Cheung and Ara for months with minimal water. I also have more respect for them to see how much they have conquered at such a young age.  However the last statistic took me by surprise that only Britain only care for  0.6% of child refugees, which explains why the social worker is so determined to say Kojo was not fourteen so that they did not have to look after him. I will use this research in the production to be more bitter towards the Councillor and Social Worker as the numbers of refugees are very high and I am treated as just another statistic.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD0WBiFSCZc
This link is to the film 'The Good Lie' whereby three men from Sudan escape their civil war back in Sudan and are on the hunt for jobs in America but also rescuing one of the men sisters from Sudan. I used this film for my emotions within the play, thinking about Cheung's mother who died in the lorry and if I could go back and save her I would.

Child Soldiers  

•  The UNICEF states a child soldier is any boy or girl under the age of 18.
• Children are combatants in almost three quarters of the worlds conflicts.
• Child soldiers are mainly from Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia and south Sudan. 
• Approximately 300,000 of child soldiers are involved in combat and nearly half a million additional children serve in armies not currently in war. 
• 40% of world armed organizations have children working for them. 
• The children are easily manipulated especially under the influence of drugs and used for jobs such as scouts, messengers, minesweepers, bomb-makers and suicide bombers. 
• Child units are used in advanced troops in ambush attacks.
• Around 30% of armed groups include girls, who are used for sexual purpose and mistress to army leaders. 
• The girls can become impregnated by their leader, once they've had their child, they must go on the battlefield, with their newborn tied to their back. 
• Most of the child soldiers volunteer out of survival, others enlist for revenge of their families (being abused or murdered), poor, displaced or limited access to education. 
• Child soldiers were also common by the end of WWII, with Hitler's Youth.

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7cLApEQ35c  
The link is to the film 'The Beasts of No Nation' is a gripping drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
In the film there is a clip where Agu has to kill an Engineer, this reminded me of Kojo's dream where the child soldiers forced him to kill his father. This showed me the horrific nature of these leaders and how bad his experience really was, a child should not be allowed to go through such things and now I understand why, Kojo could be experiencing post traumatic stress such as when the man is looking straight at Kojo, this could take him back to when he had to kill and therefore his  natural instinct.

This research will help me acknowledge, how many child soldiers there really are and the horrific situations they are in. It will help me in the child soldier scene to create a visual image in my head of what a 'normal' day would look like in the camp and how the children behave.


Child Refugee Stories 
 Melody
Melody lost her parents at the age of 10 by  age 12 traveled to the UK on her own after. She was sent to the UK from her home country of Nigeria to live with a friend of the family, but was forced to live in domestic servitude she had to continuously clean the house and was beaten and shouted at if it wasn't to standard  and was repeatedly beaten and sexually abused. She got kicked out of the house because she refused to sleep with one of the men, she was homeless for 8-9months and had to beg for food. She was raped again whilst homeless and finally went to an agency to get help but none of those helped her. Melody finally got help form a Refugee Council and helped her get a status, she is now living a much happier life and thanks the people that supported her every step of the way.

Matiullah
15year-old boy Matiullah fled his country Afghanistan because of his Uncle who was with the Taliban's. Because his Dad refused to join his Uncles group his whole family disappeared, he had to travel in a lorry to the UK and it took him 3months. He barely ate or drank and there was no air, when he reached the UK he applied for the asylum and stayed with a family for almost 3 years. He got help from the Refugee Council to help him learn English, from there he went onto college and playing cricket and helping others. Matiullah has done so well he was recently presented with an award by Muhammad Ali and David Beckham for his work in the community.

Faisal 
At the age of 15 Faisal let his home in Afghanistan to flee to England after his family were killed by Taliban's. He was caught in the lorry and when questioned they did not believe his age therefore they put him in an adult detention center and were going to deport him back, he felt as if he wasn't being treated like a human. Faisals was kept there for 53 days until the refugee council came to his help and changed his life.

https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/animation

From this research I have been given an eye-opener to the traumatic childhood these children have to go through and how fortunate I am to have never experienced either of those lifestyles. From this knowledge I have gained, it has given me more insight into the world of the play. Why Abi Morgan would want to gain awareness for these subjects as they are extremely important and Morgan has done it in a very unique way. With this research, I will go onto thinking about how I use this knowledge, to benefit my character and the different emotions all the children face.


Refugee Camps 
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Hostility built shelters means immediate protection, the camps allow UNHCR to deliver essential resources these include food water and medical attention if needed. Refugee camps are practical during emergencies although many refugees are displaced and are often living through protracted situations. Although refugee camps aim to be short term, when this turns into long term they are often faced with challenges, these include electricity reaching to camps in the desert, children getting education and helping prepare refugees for life outside the camps with jobs and skill training. Refugee camps are no longer just rows of tents but a community and giving people the opportunity to bright futures. In 2013 8year-old boy Mahamoud and his family fled Somalia because of conflict and found a refugee camp in Ethiopia Buramino, Mahamoud says “Before I came, I was illiterate. Now I have education and I like to learn more,”  The camp has helped him so much he has big dreams planned for ahead “When I finish my education, I want to become president of my country. I want to go back to the land where I came from, Somalia. I will open health facilities, hospitals and schools that are free of charge to everybody.” Showing that it is not just a place of protection but a place of growth and creativity. Here are some additional facts about refugee camps.

•  2.6million refugee's live in camps, million more live in urban areas and informal dwellings.
• 61% of Refugee children of primary school age who are in school today.
• 22.5million refugees in the world which is the highest record.
• 40.3million refugees are internally displaced.
• 2.8million asylum seekers across the globe.
• Jordan has the largest refugee camp with more than 2.7million people, followed by Turkey with over 2.5million, then Pakistan with 1.6million and Lebanon with more than 1.6million.  

 

 https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/camps/

This research has allowed me to see how the Refugee camps can really help you, and how Cheung is lucky to be safe and under shelter. 



Immigration
An immigrant is a person who leaves their country to settle permanently in another. The UK has the fifth largest immigrant population at 8.5million and between 1990-2015 numbers doubled from 3.7million. In 2015 around 13% of UK resident population was in fact foreign born, also in 2015 it showed UK immigrant population has one of the most diverse groups of origin countries, tying with Denmark. The top 3 countries were India(780,000), Poland(700,000) and Pakistan(540,00), about a third of UK immigrants (2.9million/34%)were born in other EU countries. Although there can't be an accurate number there could be 310,000-570,000 illegal immigrants in the UK, due to being lost in the system or from hiding and keeping away from authorities. During mid 2009 there were 17,000 applications for Asylum and has grown to 250,000 last year, however 70% of these applications were refused. Illegal immigrants may try and get into different countries by the Channel ports in South England, stow away in vehicles carrying freight across the border and even walking through the Channel.
https://www.justfacts.com/immigration.asp
https://fullfact.org/immigration/




Zhongshan
The character I am playing Cheung, speaks about his hometown of Zhongshan. Therefore, I researched the country to get more understanding of the text and helps me see Zhongshan whilst performing my monologue. Zhongshan is a prefecture-level city South of the pearl River delta in Guangdong, China,  population 3million. Zhongshan was named after the leading figure of the Chinese revolution Dr. Sun (1866-1925), Zhongshan  was a pearl estuary. Zhongshan was funded as a market town in the 11th Century under the name Xiangshan. Furthermore, Zhongshan has a network of waterways connecting with all parts of delta and express highways, it is the marketing and commercial center of one of the most prosperous and densely populated areas in China. The agriculture products that are produced are collected for shipment to Guangzhou which is the main distribution. When I saw this fact I thought about my character Cheung and how he travelled to the UK in a lorry, this main port of distribution was his only hope of exiting the country other than overseas which would have probably been even more dangerous than the lorry. Zhongshan is a popular tourist attraction, one of the key foreign trade ports of Guandong. In Zhongshan moreso is a 12 to 12 work day, food markets and stores stay open until 1am or 2am to serve the community then opens at 11am. This shows what kind of loving and friendly community they are living in. After researching about this beautiful country it has helped me gain more context behind my monologue and can now have an image of what my hometown looks like. I am able to picture where I came from and be grateful for where I have come from and what I have now.

Abi Morgan

Abi Morgan is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter born in 1968, Morgan has created many credential works. Morgan lives in North London with her Husband, actor Krichefski and daughters Jesse and Mabel. Abi Morgan is daughter of Actress Pat England and theatre director Gareth Morgan, throughout her childhood she attended seven schools due to her parents profession. Morgan's first professional stage credit was in 1998 with 'Skinned' performed at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton. Abi Morgan has also written for well recognized theatre's such as The Royal Lyceum, The Royal Court Theatre and Traverse Theatre. Abi Morgan wrote a series for BBC called 'The Hour' however was commissioned for the second series this is because the series was transmitted.
Whilst working in Television Screenplay she produced,

• Sex Traffic(2004)
• The Hour(2011)
• My Fragile Heart(2000)
• Tsunami: Aftermath(2006)
• River(2015)
• The split(2018)

Morgan has written for Film screenplays:

• Shame(2011)
• The Invisible Woman(2013)

Some of the plays she has written:

• Sleeping around(1998)
• Fast Food(1999)
• Splendour(2000)
• 27(2011)

This link shows a video of her views and how it is different from writing for theatres and screenplays.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writers-lab/be-inspired/abi-morgan



 Bertolt Brecht

"Art is not a mirror with which to reflect reality but a hammer with which to shape it."

Bertolt Brecht was a German theatre practitioner, playwright and poet born February 10th and passed August 14th 1956. After serving as a medical orderly in the First World War and appalled by the effects of the war, he went first to Munich and then to Berlin in pursuit of a career in the theatre. Although, that came to an end in 1933 when the Nazis came to power in Germany. Therefore, Brecht fled and during this period the Nazis formally removed his citizenship, therefore a stateless citizen. In 1941 Brecht became resident in the USA however returned to Europe in 1947. This is because after appearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee, seemingly against communism, this committee also targeted intellectuals. By the time of his death in 1956, Brecht had established the Berliner Ensemble and was regarded as one of the greatest theatrical practitioners. Some of his works included 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle', 'Mahagony' and 'The Good Woman Of Setzuan'.
In December 1918 a group called 'Novembergruppe' this represented a November group of artists who were involved in media formed in Berlin, formed by Max Pechstein and Cesar Klein.

In naturalistic theatre, the audience is made to connect to the characters and they emphasise for the characters, if a character cries we are made to feel sorry for them which  is called catharsis. However, Brecht was against Catharatic Theatre if the audience become emotionally involved they then loose the ability to think and judge. Brecht wanted the audience objective distant from emotions, they will be able to see social comments or issues, however the presentation of real life but not the real life itself. Brecht aimed to make the audience distance themselves from emotional involvement. He was influenced by Chinese theatre and Karl Marx who's perspective was from a Marxism point of view, he thought that theatre audiences "hang up their brains with their hats in the cloakroom". I use Brecht within my character Cheung, in scene six I come out of the frozen scene to explain who I am and the fact that Cheung is being played by an actor, "I can do tricks, not him because he's just an actor", capturing the Brecht theory. It is important that within my character I keep the ideas in my head, this will help me detailing switching in and out of the scene, therefore whilst speaking out to the audience I may portray different gestures or my body language will be calmer then once in the scene I'm more hyper and and my movement is quicker to really see my character in and out of the role. We also use brecht's ideas whilst using physical theatre for the trees, this is because the audience will know that we are not real trees therefore there is no realism. Our piece is also about getting a serious message across about Refugee's, so by preventing the audience from getting emotionally involved using Brechtian Theatre will not distract the audience from the harsh day to day life of the Refugee's.

Epic Theatre

Epic theatre departed from the conventions of theatrical illusion. Brecht developed drama as a social and ideological forum for leftist causes. Epic theatre is a series of loosely connected scenes that avoid illusions, interrupt the story line to address the audience directly with either analysis, argument or documentation. Epic theatre breaks the fourth wall, the imaginary wall between the actors and audience which keeps them as observers. They are active members of the theatrical experience as they are kept thinking throughout, not switching off. Epic theatre was associated with dramatic theory, by this I mean drama theory is one of the difficulties layout methods in operations research. Drama theory is based on game theory and adapts the use of games to complex organizational situations, accounting for emotional responses that can provoke irrational reactions and lead the players to redefine the game. Dramatic antecedents including episode structure and didactic nature of pre-expressionist drama Frank Wedekind and expressionist theatre director Erwin Piscator. out dynamic theatrical styles to express his views he made and shaped theatre in a way, revolutionary. In our production of 'Fugee' we definitely incorporate Epic Theatre, this is because our scenes are loosely connected for example scene() where the children are in the refugee camp and then the next scene was the train, this is effective as the speed of the transitions makes sure the audience does not get bored and they continue to follow the story. We also have freeze frames and characters interact with the audience this is so they have an understanding of the play and what it entails it is also educating the audience about refugee's and this is why we use this theory.


Fourth Wall

Fourth wall is the space which separates a performer or performance from an audience the conceptual barrier between any fictional work and its viewers or readers. In our production of Fugee we break the fourth wall, we do this by addressing the audience about refugee's and we do this frequently throughout the play. To make it clear to the audience we are talking to the audience we will wait for the freeze of the scene, the character will step out and then begin to talk. I believe breaking the fourth wall is crucial in our play, it allows us as actors to inform the audience on the serious subject of refugee's and also our thoughts that we may not express with the other characters. Whilst playing Girl One scene thirty-five I break the fourth wall to let the audience know who I am and what I do, I think was important otherwise the audience would not be able to see my characters personality and what exactly I was doing in the market. 

Themes

Friendship
It is evident that there is a friendship group that has formed whilst Kojo has been at the Refugee, particularly with Ara and Cheung. As soon as Kojo joined she gives him advice about his picture to "not put in on the wall", showing the genuine care she has for him. When Kojo first met Cheung he also gave him friendly advice to "shave your face", showing he cares for his wellbeing. As we see Ara and Kojo becoming closer she takes him to a park with trees, expressing she wants to see Kojo happy and is being a genuine friend. We all see them in scene twenty-one defending Kojo whilst he is being moved to the hotel "He's a kid. He's younger than me. Anyone can see" and "He hasn't got any money", showing this tight bond thy have formed an the frustration of Kojo being age-disputed. Although it is evident, there is a love and hate friendship between Hassan and Cheung they often use racial comments towards each other such as "Fuck off, Saddam" however in scene twenty-eight we knock fist after a ping pong fight, expressing regardless of the arguments we are the only family we have. Moreover, friendships can also become rocky and this is shown where Kojo begins to distant himself and starts his violent outbreak, however Cheung is still persistent "You need some sleep man" , Kojo responds with "Fuck off Bruce Lee". Although their friendship was not stable it is clear at the Refugee you are welcomed like family and everyone looks after each other which is so important as those friendships may be the only thing keeping the children going in the refugee. As Cheung I will ensure to show a friendship with Kojo,



Rejection
I feel rejection is a very important theme within the play, this is because these children have been through unimaginable circumstances and as they feel they are finally safe and stable they may be age disputed or even trafficked again. Kojo is told by the manager that the social worker is "age disputing you" just days after being in the refugee camp, the international law of Refugee's is the right to housing and Kojo must suffer in one of the worst housing's for his age. It also plays on my mind why Tamba, Kojo's brother is killed but they accept Kojo into being a child soldier. Why was Tamba rejected as one but Kojo was accepted? He may of had physical characteristics that Tamba did not have. Kojo also rejects his friends towards the end of the play, "Fuck off Bruce Lee" expressing his past is now affecting his present and is making him push away all the people close to him. Kojo is also rejected by society, this is evident when Kojo begins his new job and gets barged into  because "People like you are invisible to people like them", showing they dismiss his presence and reject to treat him like a normal individual.Within the theme of rejection I will show how hurt I am when Kojo tells him to "stop hanging" with him, portraying the friendship that was built was destroyed.




Communication
I believe communication is a very big theme in the play as it varies from a lack of communication and good communication. It is evident that Ara and Kojo have gained good communication skills as when he is getting kicked out she says "Do they know what happened Kojo?", highlighting Ara has gained Kojo's trust and therefore have conversations, however when Kojo is being spoken to by officials he seems to never tell his story expressing the lack of trust and therefore communication. Ara tells us "there are lots of fights" because "no one understands each other", showing that not being able to understand people can leave to the wrong interpretations and results in the worst outcome. We also see the refugee kids help one another so that they are able to communicate, "Mian, sleep in Mandarin", they are their "own school", so that they can enjoy each others company and get to know and learn about each others culture. I also saw mis-communication whilst Kojo stabbed the man, "He's staring at me", Kojo says but what exactly did those mans eyes say to Kojo for him to retaliate in that way?



System 
Another theme is system, this is because the children are kept under a systematic setting and also the system that they have is affecting innocent children's lives for example Kojo. When Kojo has his first meeting the social worker is adamant to prove Kojo is not fourteen because he has "hair on his face", in this unjust system their job is to "keep numbers down", in fact Britain only take 0.6% of child refugee's which explains why the social worker was so persistent in proving them wrong. The children at the refugee go on to explaining what age disputing is, working with children who are assessed to be over 18 years of age. The consequence of this is that they cannot access the correct support from social services and are treated as adults by the asylum system. This puts a lot of children at risk of their safety and well-being, as a result of this Kojo is forced to leave the camp and stay in a hotel with five other male adults. The educational system was also included into the play where we see Ara gets the "proper refugee status" so that she can attend school however it takes up to months. From reading this play I am frustrated at the way they have treated Kojo and abandoned him with no practically nothing, I will use this frustration when needed in the play to show I do not agree with the system that has been created.

First Initial Discussion
As a whole we found 'Fugee' interesting, this is because it gave us a lot of information about children refugee's such as "If you're not sixteen, then they don't have to look after you", which some of us didn't know before reading the play. We also liked the short scenes because it kept us engaged in the play as every scene was different. I also felt sorry for the children in the play and thought about the actual children who have to suffer with things such as neglect like Kojo. On the other hand, we were all hoping that there would be a big build up to the final event, although it was just developing the flashbacks throughout the play and I thought we would see the events after. Furthermore, some of the flashbacks were confusing as they changed time and setting a lot, for example in Scene Three there is an 'Urban Street' and in Scene Four 'Heathrow Airport so reading through the play and adjusting to that is important. I also liked the scenes where a lot of the cast were involved like on an 'Urban Street' it was engaging and lots of characters talking over each over, therefore it will be full of energy when put on its feet. I'm excited to put the play on its feet and exploring ways we can make it our best production yet.

Problems we may face 
 There are a lot of short scenes throughout 'Fugee' so it is important we come up with a solution to solve this. One idea that came to mind was having multiple scenes on stage creating split scenes and once that scene becomes alive it moves into action. The setting in those short scenes also change frequently therefore we need to make it clear to the audience what setting we are in. One way of doing this is adding in sounds to each setting for example an Urban street could have a typical street with murmuring in the background or the Burger place could have old American music. We could also have a significant picture projected onto the back screen e.g. trees to represent the park. Another scene that may be difficult is scene eighteen and thirty when the children are in the trees, one idea I thought of was projecting the top of the trees of the back and the sky to represent them being high in the trees. Furthermore, we could create physical theatre to become the trees and we could hold tree branches in our hands to make the scene look realistic. We also thought about how we would create the bunk beds in the refugee camps, and physical theatre was an option again whereby our ensemble would create the bed for the character to rest on.



Skills  

Understanding a character 
Understanding your character for a play is crucial, you understand why a character is behaving in the way they do, the thought process behind the character, different ages will have different mindsets and mannerism therefore learning and understanding your character to have the best performance possible. To help me get to understand my character i first of all read through the script and gathered my initial first thoughts of Cheung which was, bold, energetic and funny. I then went through the script again and highlighted anything that related with my initial thoughts and how I would portray them. I also wrote down actions and objectives to add more layers to my character and make Cheung more interesting, furthermore I researched about Zhongshan so that I had an image in my head of what I'm talking about. Lastly, when I went to see my cousin which is fourteen I spent a bit more time with him and his friends, to remind myself of the energy and conversations between them. I feel that by the end of all of this research I really got to understand Cheung which will benefit me massively when it comes to the performance. 


Articulation 
Articulation means the formation of clear and distinct sound in speech, and is essential for us actors to have. At the beginning of the year I struggled with my articulation but after doing many tongue twisters such as "She sat upon the balcony mimicking him hiccuping" and "The quick witted cricket". These have helped me, as I am able to pronounce all my words correctly and it allows me to take my time whilst performing. For Fugee I will continue to warm up with these skills I have learnt to ensure that I am ready for the lesson, furthermore, allowing the audience to understand everything that I am saying so that they don't loose interest in me as a character.

Vocal Projection 
Vocal projection means the strength of speaking or singing whereby the voice is used loud and clearly. Vocal projection is extremely important it can depend on elements such as the characters emotions, setting and space. It is also crucial to have good vocal projection for the audience's sake, so that they can follow the story clearly and enjoy the performance. For my character Cheung he is energetic, bubbly and loud therefore whilst performing I will have a louder voice to show my confidence and ignorance. I have great vocal projection towards Hassan as we have a love and hate relationship so when we are arguing I shout in his face, expressing my anger much more clearly.

Stage Presence 
Stage presence refers to the certain charisma and charm that a theater actor or performer possesses that draws in an audience and commands their full attention.Whilst playing Cheung I want to be able to make the audience connect with me and connect with the story being told, as Cheung has a bold personality I feel by using my facial expressions and body language with this will bring me great stage presence, being able to relax however, being alert on stage and completely become the character rather than actor trying to remember lines or cues because that is not good.

Stage Awareness 
Stage awareness is the ability to be aware of oneself in space. It is an organised knowledge of actors and props in relation to oneself in that given space. Also Stage awareness also involves understanding the relationship of these actors and props when there is a change of position. We have a big ensemble for our production therefore, whilst on stage we must be alert at all times to ensure we are not blocking other characters or bumping into others or props. To ensure I am aware of my surroundings at all times, I will be watching the stage space at all times, if I feel I'm about to block a character or all the characters are in a small space I will use my initiate to move out of the cramped space so that the audience can see everything at all times.  

Physical theatre
Physical theatre is a form of theatre which emphasizes the use of physical movement, as in dance and mime, for expression. In our production of Fugee we are using physical theatre the main one is the park where the ensemble becomes trees, we stood on chairs to add levels and make it interesting. we also used physical theatre to create the soldiers tuck, we done this by huddling very close together and moving side to side as the truck moved to represent a real truck and the cramped conditions the soldiers would be in. Moreover, we created a train some of the ensemble were standing whilst others sat down to bring dynamics and made it more believable. 

Script analysis 
After finding out I am playing Cheung, it was now time for me to go off and do some independent script work. I began by going through each scene and writing in my actions and also when there is a change in conversation. I also wrote down my objective for each scene e.g. In scene eight's objective is to get to know Kojo and help him out, I chose that objective as Cheung says "How long did it take you to get here?" and "Shave your face" indicating hes looking out for Kojo. Moreover, in scene eleven Cheung's objective is to be one step ahead of the counselor as the counselor asks about Cheung's auntie, "This is where they try and trip you up", showing Cheung is prepared for the questions and knows the right thing to say. I also underlined what everyone said about me, this is important to do as it allows me to see Cheung through the other characters eyes and how I interact with other characters. I then went through the script and wrote down all my actions, this benefits me as it shows me how I should project certain things and showing me in detail how I will speak to others as it could also determine my facial expressions. I also have to keep thinking about in scene
Who am I ?-Cheung a child refugee
Where am I ?- A park
Why am there?- Because I have gone to find Kojo and find out what happened

Stanisvlaski's System 
 


Magic If 

The magic if is having the ability to imagine yourself in fictional circumstances and how I would react to that situation in real life. It is important to put myself in the shoes of the character to determine how I would react. If a new child entered my refugee camp I would make sure that child feels welcome and comfortable therefore when I first meet Kojo I will be friendly and warm to reflect a good heart. If I was to see my friend stab a man, I would be horrified and urging my friend to leave the scene immediately, pretty much what Cheung done. I have to remember to add in my reality off what I would do to make the scene more realistic, I could also link this Magic If with emotional memory. The Magic If has taught me to see the world of the play through my own imagination and mind, putting myself in the body of the character however keeping parts of me that will determine how I react which is crucial.

Emotional Memory
Emotional memory is the recall of physical sensations surrounding emotional events, this could be used in various ways during this play. For instance whilst the Councillor is discussing my aunt with Cheung I could use a memory from school, whereby the teacher is having a serious talk and I am not interested, therefore sitting sluggish and rolling my eyes. The memory is effective as it took me straight back to school and getting into role will be much easier. Because Hassan and Cheung have a love and hate relationship I could present that through sibling rivalry, the memory I could use is of  my sister and I play fighting when we were younger and the feeling of wanting to win. I can use that memory with the same energy I had then into this scene. Emotional memory has taught me how to be able to switch my emotions on and off quickly, giving me the ability to carry on my acting without the emotions distracting me. Emotional memory has given me an easy way to lock in with my emotions on stage.

Given Circumstances   
Given circumstances is the total set of environmental and situational conditions which influence the actions that a character in a drama undertakes. Therefore, when Cheung is in an urban street which is full of people, because of that environment and the little money he has I could begin to do tricks for money, adding layers and more interest to my character. Given circumstances has taught me that I can behave differently due to different environment/situation to give detail and a through line for my character, it is also taught me how to work with any challenges in my set but rather making it my own. 

Subtext
The underlying personality of a dramatic character as implied or indicated by a script or text and interpreted by an actor in performance. The Script would be referred to as the text and the characters voice, body language and facial expressions would be the subtext for example when I first meet Kojo i say "hey new boy", depending on how I say it the subtext could be two different things. On one hand I could be smiling, walking quick towards Kojo showing I am kind, on the other hand I could be very still, no facial expression showing me as intimidating. I could also use great subtext whilst Cheung is in his meeting with the Councillor, yawning whilst they are speaking, talking under my breath and mimicking expressing how desperate I want to leave the room. Subtext has taught me that just by changing the way you stand could effect the subtext and how powerful it truly is. I am also able to just sit and use facial expressions to show the subtext. 

Objective
An objective is the reason for our actions, what we want to achieve during the play. The characters, setting and situation can all put barriers in our way, these barriers are the objectives presenting a way to get through them. My objective in scene six is to introduce myself to the audience as I give them information about my life. I have learnt from objectives that it gives the character a purpose in each scene and what they want to achieve, it keeps adding detail to my character. 

Super-Objective

The super-objective is the over-reaching objective, probably linked to the overall outcome in the play. However, I would not say there is an Super-objective for Cheung regarding to his character in the play or many of the characters for that matter, I believe as there are so many flashbacks we are already aware of the last event in the play. I would say Cheung's character itself super-objective is to bring awareness to child refugee's and their daily life. If that journey is perceived as a clear path to the super objective, then you have your through line.I have learnt form a super-objective that identifying your super-objective is important to determine how you act throughout the play and your objective in each scene. 

Through Line

The through line is one method used by actors and directors to give a performance direction. It is linked to the theme or central idea of the play. This idea of a textual spine is a useful editing tool for the writer, too. Through line has taught me that it is important for us as actors to use it carefully, I may behave differently with a particular character because they may disagree with the main idea of the play. It helps me have a sense of direction, and where I'm going as a character in the play.

Method of Physical Action

Stanislavski developed the "method of physical actions," to solve the dilemma of spontaneous emotion in a created environment. By this I mean, the actor performs a physical motion or a series of physical activities to create the desired emotional response for the character. Therefore whilst playing Cheung In scene Ten when Hassan trips Cheung up I go to fight with him to reflect on my emotion which is anger. It is important to use methods of physical action, as it allows me to explore different ways of using my body language to show certain emotions.
 https://www.dramaclasses.biz/the-stanislavski-system

Rehearsals 

Covering the play as a whole

In today's rehearsal we focused on creating a scene covering the whole play Fugee, we got into groups and talked about the most significant parts of the play. My group decided to choose ours in chronological order so that it was less confusing. We had Kojo's eleventh birthday when his family get murdered, becoming a child solider and his uncle giving him the fake visa and getting on the plane. Furthermore, Kojo entering the camp meeting everyone, kojo being age-disputed, Kojo living in the hotel, then getting a job and finally stabbing a man. We used mime in our scenes to focus more on what we were doing rather than saying. This is because we wanted the audience to see, their minds have been corrupted what horrific things they have learnt, at such a young age. For example Abe and I were the child soldiers teaching Jeremy (Kojo) how to smoke and use a gun this was effective as it showed the beginning of Kojo's violent outbreaks. Our transitions were also good, we all multi-rolled so that each scene had near enough everyone on stage to keep the audience engaged. We also tried to create the bunk bed by one person lying on the chair and the other on the floor, creating levels and making the scene more natural. From today I have learnt a bit more about the play in whole after putting it on its feet, I have scene relationships between characters and who wants to help the children (Manager) and who doesn't (Social Worker).

Themes of the play

In today's rehearsal we were split up in groups to focus on a section of the play Themes, scenes and

characters. Our group had themes, we came up with many and these include:

• Friendship
• Lose
• Culture
• Diversity
• Violence
• Death
• Love
• Ethnicity
• Rejection
• Upbringing
• Street wise 

It was useful writing all the themes as we were able to reflect on how much that really goes on in the play and the importance of each theme. 
From this exercise we had to create a scene where we chose one of the characters and a theme, I chose Cheung, Kamal chose the market trader and Jeremy chose Kojo and our theme was upbringing. We decided to set our scene in Kojo's work place with the market trader sitting down, I then came in after a little while just to catch up with Kojo. As the market trader was being horrible to Kojo and I, I pulled to one side and began telling him the type of work I did in China and what I did afterwards. Explaining how I was a fisherman for my uncle and how I would practice martial arts, Kojo also told me how he would walk for hours carrying water on his head. This exercise was useful as it allowed me to create more of a story for Cheung and what I thought his upbringing was, I also saw a better connection between Kojo and I, in like a normal friendship you get to know each other. If I were to play Cheung I would show he is disciplined and I would have this exercise as my evidence.


Improvisation of themes
Today was near enough the same exercise as yesterday's, instead we had to play the character we want to be and turn it into a short scene. I would like to play the role of Cheung, reason being he is a lively, energetic and fun character. I also haven't played the role of a boy yet, which would be a big contrast to what I have usually done and that's what I was hoping for in this last unit. Jeremy played Kojo, Ilonka played Roza and Molly played Ara. We decided to pick the theme of streetwise to make our scene, we began by pick pocketing people of the local area, all having distinctive moves so it was clear to the audience we were stealing. My move was bumping into someone, then whilst turning around putting on the watch I stole, this was effective as it showed me this is what Cheung and his friends would do in their free time just to make ends meet. However, as the rest of us ended up with an item and some money Kojo only had 1p this portrayed he is not streetwise yet and that he has a lot to learn to survive. We then all went into the shop and got some sweets and ended by smiling at the shopkeeper.
Another group I enjoyed watching was Abdul's group where they had the Manager, Councillor, Cheung and Hassan. The two children were in counseling as they continue to keep arguing, I found it comical as both Hassan and Cheung had two different versions of the argument and we were able to see it in a flashback. Although they both lied about being racist to one another, I also liked the Councillors facial expressions and movement such as taking deep breaths, shaking his head, putting his head in his hands to highlight  he was getting sick of seeing Hassan and Cheung. To me it really captured the youthful feeling of the play and the silly arguments that children tend to have.  
I have learnt from this exercise more about the children in the house and how quickly they all have to get to know each other to the point we stole together and depend on one another, seeing Cheung in each scene showed me different dynamics to the character but what I saw most was his humour and bold personality.

Scenes 1-12
In today's lesson we worked from scene one to twelve, we made sure that in every urban street scene everyone was on stage, before the Man is stabbed all the actors are spread out on stage although once stabbed all actors turn their focus to the man, everyone's face in horror of the event some actors come to help and others don't showing the contrast to those characters that are willing to help and those who gossip. We also created the passport scene Brad played the Passport and I was security, the other actors queued up and one by one had their passport checked, once Brad made the phone call as Kojo did not have a visa I took him and brought him center and then transitioned into scene five with the manager.


Scene 12 and onward
In today's rehearsal we focused on scene twelve and onward, bringing energy to scene and working on transitions to make them run smoothly. We made sure in each scene to have everyone involved as they are in the United Kingdom so it can be very busy, therefore in scene thirteen we all created a vertical train as the Man was speaking we were rocking to make the train look as natural as possible. We transitioned into scene fourteen by breaking out into a busy street, our ensemble were spread out frozen whilst the Man was speaking. Although once Kojo stabs him we all react with our bold facial expressions such as gasping mouths, our body language such as moving around the stage quicker to represent mayhem and our vocal projection to represent panic. We capture the fear of the public. In scene seventeen at first it was just Ara and Kojo in the Burger place however, we decided to add more people as it needed to represent an everyday restaurant whereby two children would not be alone. The transition between scene seventeen and eighteen was effective, this is because Ara and Kojo walked downstage whilst they done this our ensemble used physical theatre to create the trees and adding levels to allow Kojo to feel he is in a grand space. Scene Twenty is where we see Kojo captured by child soldiers, at first it was just soldier one and two, however on the cue "truck" our ensemble tuned into a cramped truck. Then, once Kojo said "Football" we all broke out and started playing, whilst Kojo describes his experience as a child soldier, in two groups we had to create three freeze frames that we felt showed Kojo's time here and showed this whilst Kojo spoke. This was effective as we didn't have to show everything literal, instead short but effective images captured the horrors Kojo faced. From scene twenty-seven scenes twenty-eight and twenty-nine were frozen on stage, this was useful as each scene bounced of one another and it saved us coming on and off stage loosing the energy.  Hassan and I (Cheung), were frozen in the position of ping pong, after beating Hassan in ping pong we knock fists we froze until the end of scene twenty-nine. In scene thirty the children were in the trees and once again we added in physical theatre, I thought it was really useful to see us working together as we had to decide whether or not it was day or night, we decided for it to be night as if Kojo and Ara have introduced us to their special place. I felt this lesson was effective as we were able to work on our transitions and how our whole ensemble can be involved at all times.


Scene 21-31
In today's rehearsal we worked on scenes twenty-one to thirty-one, perfecting the scenes we done yesterday we made sure we polished up the scenes we had already worked on and the transitions. Therefore from scene twenty-one to thirty-two the children from the refugee bring their chairs to the center of the stage so that the audience is engaged and ready at all times. One scene I liked was scene thirty-three as Kojo was asleep and Mother sang to kojo, her soft voice reminded reflected her love and warm heart, as Kojo was smiling it showed the loved they shared for one another. Because Kojo and Mother proxemics were close it showed that his mother is still his comfort and protector even if she wasn't there.

Thought Process
In today's rehearsals we were thinking about the thought process of the scenes and why we said and moved how we did, these are important as it gives the play more of a drive and a reason fr being on stage. Where some scenes were slow and had a loss of energy it was crucial to stop and ask the actors whey they are talking and what is their purpose in this scene. We also continued working on our scene changes and making sure our transitions were as slick as possible this meant everyone had to be alert at all times and know there cues and also when coming on  and off stage, not just wondering off stage but to know where we are going and what is next. To help us with the difficulty of transitions we could write down each scene whilst practicing our lines and also keeping an eye on all the scenes up on the wall and continue to familiarize ourselves. Furthermore, some scenes were lacking vocal projection, the actors in scene nine were particularly quiet because they were in a meeting layout and had to be serious they may have lost concentrating on their vocal projection however, this cannot be the case in the performance or the audience will not be able to hear them. We must also think about articulation, making sure we pronounce all our words correctly for the audience to hear. To help with this before we go into rehearsals we should always do voice warm ups, breathing in and out then changing the pitch of our voice with 'hmm' and then going onto tongue twisters such as 'red lorry, yellow lorry' to avoid bad vocal projection and articulation. It is also crucial we know why we are doing this play and the message we want to get across, if their is a scene with the child soldiers and the audience cannot see and feel the fear Kojo has then the audience may not see his family being killed as such a big deal, If we don't see the frustration within the children as Kojo is being sent to the hotel the audience will not see this as a big deal and how dangerous it will be for Kojo. From this lesson I have learnt the importance of focusing, we have to be focused at all times as there are many scenes and many ensemble pieces within, we all have to be ready at all times and  continue to work on making our transitions slick and the energy high.

Speed run through 
In this rehearsal we done a speed run through which means we would do every scene really fast including our lines. This was very useful as it allowed us to see when the scene is weak and when our transitions are slow. Overall  we done a good job as an ensemble and our transitions were quick.

Tech Run
In today's rehearsals we started our first tech run, finding where on stage we needed to be so that the tech team could mark it. Throughout this rehearsal, we had to be very patient as there was a lot of stopping and starting to get it right. We done the end of each scene into the next to see how our transitions would fit in with light and music, at the end we were able to do a run through. It was crucial, we thought about our spacial awareness at all times so that we were under a light. The lighting and sound were very good and this rehearsal was very important as now are getting closer to the performance, it is all coming together and gives the play a sense of setting, whereby if the audience hear a plane sound they will know we are in an airport.

 Technical Theatre

Hair and Make-Up


I have assigned myself with the production role of hair and make-up this is because I am very interested it and have recently been doing hair and make-up for others and wanted to put into practice within the production. I have gone round our company and asked for their permission to do this for them, everyone that I have an idea for has said yes and this is my first initial ideas for the character

Unfortunately due to there being thirty-six scene's and not enough time to do everyone's make up, as they were different character's. I wasn't able to do everyone's make-up, although I was able to do Ara, mother and girl with buggy.

• For Ara I done a subtle but glam look and gave her a side parting back into a bun for her hair.
• For Mother I done a very subtle look again showing her modesty, I also slicked her hair back, to allow her hair to be appropriate for all of her characters.
• For the girl with buggy I straightened her hair but gave it a slight wave.

Costume

• For my character of Cheung I wore a burgundy tracksuit to represent I was a bold and daring character.
• For my other character of Girl one and ensemble, I wore actors black so that I did not stick out to the audience.
• For mother, Ilonka/Molly wore a long flowered dress to represent her modesty and maturity.
• The child soldiers wore army jackets and hats to make the scene more realistic and believable.
• Kojo wore various outfits, a dashiki to show his heritage, old broken shoes to show he was living in poverty. Furthermore, he wore a black hoodie that highlighted the stereotype that people will assume he is a dangerous child. 

Sound 

The whole point of having sound was to give a sense of setting throughout the scenes

• For the airport we had a plane sound.
• An African song to show Kojo is home.
• We also had Live sound, which was Abdul banging on the floor for the man trying to get in.
• On the train we had the announcement voice so that the audience knew we were on the train.
• For the park we also had the sound of wind and birds chirping illustrating we were in nature.
• There were also gunshots for when Kojo's family were killed, the loud sound even made the audience jump to show how horrific the events were.
• There was also the X-men theme tune within the refuge.

Lighting

• There was red light for Kojo whilst he was in Africa to show the hot climate but also a dangerous territory.
• The airport had a white light to represent the amount of space it has.
• a subtle spotlight on the actors at night, to show the isolation from others character.
• At the end of the play when the characters said their facts there was a spotlight on one by one to highlight the importance of each fact. 
  
  
  Props  
  

  • Crates
  • Buggy
  • Baby 
  • Bottle
  • guns
  • Football
  • Radio
  • Clipboard
  • Suitcase
  • Bowl
  • Towel
  • Knife 
   

Evaluation  
We performed our final production of Fugee written by Abi Morgan from 30th May-31stMay, throughout the two days we done a fantastic job for ourselves and as an ensemble, which I gathered an overall response from. We had very good transitions, ensuring the stage was full at all times, this was effective as the audience did not have a chance to disengage and stayed connected throughout. Whilst playing Cheung I made sure I kept my energy levels high, reacting to everything on stage such as when Kojo was getting kicked out, I frowned, used gestures such as raising my arms and shaking my head to show the frustration of this news. Furthermore, whilst performing Cheung's monologue I ensured to show my thought process on stage, by this I mean when Cheung changed to a new topic I would either move around the stage with new gestures or pausing to think and then continue to show the excitement in explaining to the audience. Also as an ensemble we had a lot of energy, this was shown through our vocal projection and variation in our speed and tones, this was especially shown in the street scene. Before the man got stabbed the ensemble was slow and relaxed which was a contrast to afterwards as we were all shouting and talking over each other, and moving quickly which represented fear and panic. There was also a very good relationship between characters, such as Kojo and his brother, Tamba continuously asks Kojo to play football showing he enjoys his company and when they laugh together showing the brotherly bond. I could also see a growing relationship between Ara and Kojo, the audience were able to see them grow closer and their intimate moments. 
Whilst playing Girl One and Cheung it was crucial to be bold and confident, because girl one was always at the market she was confident with her surrounding she and Girl Two are both stuck up so being over the top with the monologue and moving my body a lot was essential. Cheung performs tricks and performed in front of many people that's why I chose for him to be confident, this was shown between the fight between Hassan and I, highlighting Cheung is not afraid and will speak if he needs to. I felt as a whole we took the audience through a journey of these kids in the play, we were able to see where Kojo has come from and the horrific things he went through. Our physical theatre, was effective we created a great truck and train with the movement of our bodies swaying side to side and the contrast to the train bring spacious however in the truck we were very tight to show the reality of our setting.  

Other Characters I enjoyed watching was Gabriel as Hassan, from the beginning he had a big personality "I'm the good looking one", showing the audience straight away his cockiness. He was also able to really show the audience his anger as to when Kojo was getting kicked out the refugee, he had great vocal projection, " And you take away Ping Pong", expressing his frustration and had a variation of voices throughout, when he spoke to the audience he would speak much slower so that they could take in the information, but whilst he was talking about the Beast in X-men he spoke quicker, highlighting he was in his own world. Another Character I liked was Abdul as the brother Tamba, he really changed his mannerism from the serious social worker with barely any facial expression apart from frowning and as Tamba he is smiling constantly. Abdul also jumps from excitement for his brother to play football to show his child like mannerism. I also liked Ilonka as Mother, the relationship between him and his mother is very special and even though she is no longer their physically her love for him lives within him. Her soft voice, beautiful songs and the way she holds Kojo shows the nurture and care she has for her son, I saw a real connection and was sad to see her leave him.

Although our performance was brilliant there were slight things I would've worked on for next time, these things include performing more downstage at times we got to close to the chairs, which did not help at all times with the light so really focusing on performing downstage is crucial. I also noticed in Kojo's street scene, in the freeze frame he would slightly block me, so ensuring we focus on spacial awareness.   


If I were to perform Fugee again, there would be a few extra things I would try, such as projecting pictures onto the back wall e.g. a market place or pictures of bunk beds for the children, to give each scene more setting and a visual representation for the audience. I would have also included sound for the market and the refugee camp, this is because both settings are filled with people and busy so having background noises will make the scenes a little more realistic. I also feel we could have added in more actors for the refugee whilst they are having lunch, to make the room look like what it would probably look like in real life and showing just how many nationalities are in there.  

Going back to the proposal I believe I have covered all areas of the proposal, I managed to research in depth about refugee's and many things linked to the play e.g  Zhongshan. My aim from this production was to bring awareness of child refugee's and what they face, I felt we done this effectively as one of the audience member said "I didn't know much about refugee's but it was an real eye opener", showing our play was fun to watch but also educational. I also used all of the skills I said and how it helped me to develop my character, also following our project action plan so that we were on task at all times. The proposal was very useful as it gave me something to work from and kept us on track, I was able to really understand and develop my character, however I think the main thing our ensemble struggled with was being completely off script because of how many scenes there were and how short. Although we solved this problem by writing down every scene and what happens in that scene so we were fully aware which helped massively.  I also didn't get to record our rehearsals however we still reflected as a group at the end what went well and what we need to work on. 

To conclude, I believe our production was brilliant, although we had a long  and busy days leading up to our performance we all managed to pull together as an ensemble and work together. We were able to interpret all the skills that we have learnt over the last year and really bring our final performance to life. This unit has also been an eye-opener to me and what is really going on the world which we don't hear about everyday, the pain and suffering these children have to go through  just to survive made me really appreciate everything I have. I love the way Abi Morgan has written this play by this I mean the ability to go back and fourth in time but they link so that the audience still understands whats going on, also making a play which is so educational so that people who are unaware of these issues can learn in an enjoyable way. The amount of detail and subtext that is in it and so glad I was able to perform one of her many works. This year has been such a learning curb for me and finding out skills I didn't even know I had I hope next year will be filled with more interesting plays and gaining even more knowledge.