La Mer - Charles Trenet
Originally, we were thinking about having our scene so, that this would be the first time the characters would all meet together, just having Xanthe as the link between two different groups of people. After thinking it trough, Lucy suggested that perhaps our characters should already be friends and the boat trip they were on would actually have some meaning to it. This song right away had more of an happy and festive feeling to it than the other two, which really inspired me to the idea, that perhaps our characters could be on a some kind of a holiday-trip or something that they have done before and created a tradition within their friend group. This song really helped to get the sense, that these people should actually be friends
There is also a part at the end of the song that somewhat gave me more inside into Vera character and her feelings towards Rick. The song is in French, but if you translate the last three lines you can see how they relate to Vera's love and how the sea has affected her:
"And with a love song
The seaHas rocked my heart for life"
The song probably meant these lines to be interpreted, as the sea helping you fall in love, but for me it sounded a bit different. Sure, probably this tradition of getting together to go sailing on the sea has had an affect on Vera's love towards Rick, deepening it and maybe even helping her realize her feelings, but the sea has also ripped away the change of her ever getting to be with Rick.
Benjamin Britten - Four Sea Interludes
This piece really has a certain calm but at the same time uncertain and ominous feeling to it. In my original response, I talked about how sea is somehow unpredictable, at first calm and safe, but then can quickly turn into something dangerous. Especially with this symphony, the serenity has a dire inkling to it. Anything could happen. This really lead our group to the idea of being becalmed in the middle of the sea. Four Sea Interludes really has the feeling of slow drifting, like when you are becalmed with no wind, only the currents of the ocean pulling you forward, perhaps into something unknown. Our characters are feeble in the hands of the sea. This symphony also inspired the storm at the end of the scene, since it has an 'emerging danger' feeling to it. Claude Debussy - La Mer also helped us shape this part on our devising, but in a lesser extent, since it has more of an unstable sensation, especially as the song progresses it gives out an image of a storm, rather than a calm sea.
"Sea Fever" by John Masefield
In one of my earlier blog posts, I mention a part of this poem having a strong influence in developing Vera's feelings towards this boat trip:
""I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,"
- a segment from John Masefield's 'Sea Fever' This first line of the poem really felt close to what is going on in Vera's head, when she decided to participate on the boat trip. On the other hand, she sees the closest friends might have ever had in this group of people, which is why she has hope to their future together, but at the same time Vera realizes the fact, that she hasn't felt like a part of group in a long time any longer. But rather than like the poem, which seems to admire the sea and the journey it will take the person, Vera dreads the outcome of this trip, because she knows deep down that what ever happens, the result won't be pretty. "
To add to this, the poem also talks about" gypsy life", travellers heart, wanderlust, which I feel Vera very much is. when improvising this character there was a lot about Vera travelling her whole life, living in two different countries when growing up, and the year before our devised scene happens, she has been travelling and trying to find herself. But rather than finding herself during this trip, she has realized some things about her friends, or rather, how they might not be her friends at all. This uncertainty is very visible in the final piece, since Vera's main focus is to explore the possibility of having any future with these people.
"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Katsushika Hokusai
In my initial response to the stimulus, I thought that this painting had a sense of loss and defeat to it, but after researching the painting a bit more, I have to say that I am taking my words back. When before I only saw the powerful waves taking away the lives of these poor fishermen, now I am not so sure if the fishermen are even completely bothered by the waves. They are experienced and most likely know what they are doing, and so are confident that they will get home by the end of the day. This contrast between the terror of the waves and the empty placid sky over the mountain create a balance of confidence to reflect out of the fishermen in the picture. All of the characters in our piece have this kind of trust and confidence towards Craig, the person sailing the boat, as they ask for his help in getting the boat back to moving. Some of the characters also have this trust towards Xanthe, the one who arranged the whole trip, and so is in a way responsible for everyone. Unfortunately, this trust is broken in the end when they fail to secure the boom and Rick gets killed.
"Vera" Person from your own life
When I originally started thinking about the four possible people I would like to create my character for the finished scene, 'Vera' was the one I knew least about compared to the other three people. She was always a mystery to me, and so when she was picked for me to start working from, she was initially given the name "Deep and Mysterious". I kept this in mind when I started doing the improvisations, but as I started to work with different character dynamics, Vera's character really shaped into something a bit different. She wasn't any more that mysterious, but rather closed. I wanted her to be more than just the 'Deep and Mysterious'-girl, so I started to think of, what if she used the mystery as a front and is actually starting to want to get out of it? I felt that this was a more interesting way to portray someone, someone who is in crossroads in their life, and it is very visible in the final piece, with Vera's uncertainty with her friends and some lack of confidence in defending herself. Still, at the end of the scene, she is able to let it all out and take a step forwards, closer to knowing herself.
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