"Afternoon Internet!
Just a weekly round off from Sw33tShopBoy. It’s been a strange
week behind the Kiosk, we have this odd young boy come in from
time to time who’ll spend up to ten minutes, that feels like ten
hours when you’re flicking mindlessly through the business pages of
the local paper, and rummage through the sweets like he's looking for a golden bar of chocolate but the buy a lolly off the counter, he thinks that I don't notice but really all he's doing is sliding boost bars into his back pockets and stealing a couple of Snicker bars. I'm standing over him and he thinks I can't see him, but I do worry about him, he's not like the other children; he never comes in with friends or after school like the rest of the children, always after dark, sometimes just before closing. This week I caught him with blood splattered up the collar of his shirt, I couldn't believe that children could be so cruel, although I don't know why I should be surprised listening to the way that some of them talk to each other in and around the shop. I tried to see what had happened but he persistently claimed that nothing was wrong, I hope the boy gets some friends soon.
In other news I'm still on the hunt for love, my date last Thursday was a disaster that ended up with meatballs all over the poor woman's new dress due to the clumsy waiter so it looks like I'll be attending the local speed dating meet again. Wish me luck all!"
- For Kurt's writing in role, I imagine him a very lonely man and so I have written Kurt as an internet blogger going by the anonymous name of the 'Sw33tShopBoy'. This entry would have been written after Oskar's first encounter with Kurt within the script, as the two have prior interactions being that Oskar regularly visits the Kiosk.
Sunday, 25 January 2015
Writing in role - Jonny
"Who do you think you are Bitch? How dare you write to me. I don't care if your sorry or if you've got daddy issues and your shit at home. You hurt me bitch and now I'm going to ruin you. My ear is a fucking wreck due to your little piss feast. No Bitch, It will not be alright, and some one's going to have to pay. You wait, you wait little pig, I'll show you, I'll show you what it's like to be humiliated, Mr Avilia wont help you and no one's coming to save you. I'm going to fucking show you bitch. I won't be alone either, who know my brother, he'll give you what you deserve."
-I found that writing in the role of Jonny was fairly difficult because he is quite a simple child whom is just confused by his anger because he's bullied by his older brother. Furthermore Jonny has a limited vocabulary, it seems that he will just regurgitate crude words that he picks up from his older brother and father; things that Jonny will say to Oskar will often be things that has been said to him before. I also found the task difficult as I find it hard to believe that Jonny can construct a basic sentence, more so towards Oskar; they have nothing in common and Jonny will continue to use Oskar as a punch bag to get his anger out. This piece of writing is in reply to Oskar's apology note in Act 2 although it's the sort of thing that Jonny would never send but possibly something that he would do when he feels he has no control over a situation.
-I found that writing in the role of Jonny was fairly difficult because he is quite a simple child whom is just confused by his anger because he's bullied by his older brother. Furthermore Jonny has a limited vocabulary, it seems that he will just regurgitate crude words that he picks up from his older brother and father; things that Jonny will say to Oskar will often be things that has been said to him before. I also found the task difficult as I find it hard to believe that Jonny can construct a basic sentence, more so towards Oskar; they have nothing in common and Jonny will continue to use Oskar as a punch bag to get his anger out. This piece of writing is in reply to Oskar's apology note in Act 2 although it's the sort of thing that Jonny would never send but possibly something that he would do when he feels he has no control over a situation.
Character relations
Jonny→Oskar
Jonny bullies Oskar constantly throughout the play for no apparent reason, to me it seems that Jonny is just an angry child from being abused as he is the easy target in his family and so picks on a just as easy target in his eyes to abuse, i.e. Oskar. When Jonny is hit by Oskar in Act II, his vague hatred begins to materialise and Jonny does end up with strong feelings against Oskar. Although I feel that if it wasn't for the reputation and presence of Jimmy, Jonny's older brother, Jonny would have simply been angry after being humiliated however have learnt his lesson and possibly gone on to bully Mikie instead of Oskar.
Jonny→Mikie
Jonny and Mikie are supposedly best friends however really, they are two lonely boys whom have had the misfortune of familiarising themselves with the 'friendship' that they share. Jonny is the most dominant of the two and teases Mikie just as much as they tease Oskar, just not to the same extent. Just like Jonny's vocabulary is an extension of his older brother's speech, Mikie feeds off of Jonny and builds his vocabulary out of Jonny's speech, although this may just be a defence mechanism to prevent Jonny bullying Mikie.
Jonny→Jimmy
Jimmy is Jonny's older brother whom is a constant bully and torments Jonny; there's little Jonny can do to stop this cycle and so allows his anger to build up until he is able to pass it on to somebody else such as Oskar or Mikie. Nether the less, I feel that their Dad is also aggressive and so Jonny looks up to Jimmy for standing up against their father as well as looking up to Jimmy for being a thug, something that Jonny admires growing up in such a strange environment.
Jonny→Halmburg
As part of his duties, Halmberg gives a speech to the school pupils warning them to stay away from the woods. Whilst Jonny isn't one to pay much attention in assembly, or the police on that matter due to his background, Jonny's character is often late to school as he walks himself and so gives himself the pleasure of stopping off now and then for leisure and to kick some snow about, and so he missed the assembly all together, although his knowledge of Halmberg is vague. Though Jonny is no where near as interested in the murders as Oskar, whom keeps a scrap book of murder and arson newspaper clippings.
Jonny→Mr Avilia
It is doubtful that Jonny cares much for his teachers although he does make a special effort to insult Mr Avilia, often making out that he is a paedophile. However, I again feel that the phrases used by Jonny about Mr Avilia are simply terms previously used by Jimmy and so are not true representations of how Jonny feels. Jonny actually likes Mr Avilia as Jonny is physically fit and so Mr Avilia is a source of praise for Jonny, something that he obviously lacks in his home life, however he has no respect for Mr Avilia ad he knows that he could get away with anything when teasing Oskar, even with Mr Avilia around.
Kurt→Oskar
Though Kurt seems agitated by Oskar's ongoing presence in his shop, Kurt likes Oskar to some extent; they're both arguably strange, lonely people with an interest in Curly Wurlys and other sweets. Kurt begins to care about Oskar realising that life isn't that great for him at home nor at school and so is sympathetic, Kurt lets Oskar get away with stealing sweets and even gives him a couple extra. Although the relationship soon sours as although Kurt is initially pleased to see Oskar making a friend, Kurt becomes the source of Oskar and Eli's jokes and so he becomes a tad short tempered with Oskar on their next interaction. It is in this next interaction that Oskar truly insults Kurt by saying that Kurt resembles a monkey and so Kurt looses respect for Oskar and asks him to leave, Oskar soon after leaves the town altogether with Eli and so their relationship ends there.
Kurt→Eli
Eli comes across as extremely strange to Kurt; it becomes clear that she is mocking him in some way but how? Kurt doesn't quite understand what Oskar finds so amusing about Eli and so he is left with nothing but suspicion about her. More so because the supposedly 12 year old was in possession of 375 Swedish Krona (roughly £30) that she just handed to him for foam bananas. Kurt doesn't know what to make of Eli.
Jonny bullies Oskar constantly throughout the play for no apparent reason, to me it seems that Jonny is just an angry child from being abused as he is the easy target in his family and so picks on a just as easy target in his eyes to abuse, i.e. Oskar. When Jonny is hit by Oskar in Act II, his vague hatred begins to materialise and Jonny does end up with strong feelings against Oskar. Although I feel that if it wasn't for the reputation and presence of Jimmy, Jonny's older brother, Jonny would have simply been angry after being humiliated however have learnt his lesson and possibly gone on to bully Mikie instead of Oskar.
Jonny→Mikie
Jonny and Mikie are supposedly best friends however really, they are two lonely boys whom have had the misfortune of familiarising themselves with the 'friendship' that they share. Jonny is the most dominant of the two and teases Mikie just as much as they tease Oskar, just not to the same extent. Just like Jonny's vocabulary is an extension of his older brother's speech, Mikie feeds off of Jonny and builds his vocabulary out of Jonny's speech, although this may just be a defence mechanism to prevent Jonny bullying Mikie.
Jonny→Jimmy
Jimmy is Jonny's older brother whom is a constant bully and torments Jonny; there's little Jonny can do to stop this cycle and so allows his anger to build up until he is able to pass it on to somebody else such as Oskar or Mikie. Nether the less, I feel that their Dad is also aggressive and so Jonny looks up to Jimmy for standing up against their father as well as looking up to Jimmy for being a thug, something that Jonny admires growing up in such a strange environment.
Jonny→Halmburg
As part of his duties, Halmberg gives a speech to the school pupils warning them to stay away from the woods. Whilst Jonny isn't one to pay much attention in assembly, or the police on that matter due to his background, Jonny's character is often late to school as he walks himself and so gives himself the pleasure of stopping off now and then for leisure and to kick some snow about, and so he missed the assembly all together, although his knowledge of Halmberg is vague. Though Jonny is no where near as interested in the murders as Oskar, whom keeps a scrap book of murder and arson newspaper clippings.
Jonny→Mr Avilia
It is doubtful that Jonny cares much for his teachers although he does make a special effort to insult Mr Avilia, often making out that he is a paedophile. However, I again feel that the phrases used by Jonny about Mr Avilia are simply terms previously used by Jimmy and so are not true representations of how Jonny feels. Jonny actually likes Mr Avilia as Jonny is physically fit and so Mr Avilia is a source of praise for Jonny, something that he obviously lacks in his home life, however he has no respect for Mr Avilia ad he knows that he could get away with anything when teasing Oskar, even with Mr Avilia around.
Kurt→Oskar
Though Kurt seems agitated by Oskar's ongoing presence in his shop, Kurt likes Oskar to some extent; they're both arguably strange, lonely people with an interest in Curly Wurlys and other sweets. Kurt begins to care about Oskar realising that life isn't that great for him at home nor at school and so is sympathetic, Kurt lets Oskar get away with stealing sweets and even gives him a couple extra. Although the relationship soon sours as although Kurt is initially pleased to see Oskar making a friend, Kurt becomes the source of Oskar and Eli's jokes and so he becomes a tad short tempered with Oskar on their next interaction. It is in this next interaction that Oskar truly insults Kurt by saying that Kurt resembles a monkey and so Kurt looses respect for Oskar and asks him to leave, Oskar soon after leaves the town altogether with Eli and so their relationship ends there.
Kurt→Eli
Eli comes across as extremely strange to Kurt; it becomes clear that she is mocking him in some way but how? Kurt doesn't quite understand what Oskar finds so amusing about Eli and so he is left with nothing but suspicion about her. More so because the supposedly 12 year old was in possession of 375 Swedish Krona (roughly £30) that she just handed to him for foam bananas. Kurt doesn't know what to make of Eli.
Multi-rolling - Jonny & Kurt
In the second scene of LTROI we meet my first character, Jonny whom is introduced by bullying Oskar, the scene leads nicely into the third in which Kurt, my second character, is introduced; due to the fact that these scenes are consecutive and that Jonny is a fairly important role, not to be confused with other characters, it is intensely important that I clearly differentiate between the two characters.
Physically, Jonny is very open, he pushes out his chest and will allow his arms to hang creating a very big, dominant, image, that is until the end of the play where Jonny crawls into his shell revealing that he actually is just a child, especially in comparison to his elder brother Jimmy. Kurt on the other hand is much more casual in his posture, he has little, and cares little, to show off. Kurt is also fairly effeminate in how he holds himself, this is down to his soft nature and the fact that he feels hidden all day behind his Kiosk and so can simply relax.
Vocally, again Kurt is soft, I feel it is in ways similar to Oskar's tone, confident yet playful. On the contrary Jonny's voice is deeper and more powerful, pronouncing each word correctly and adding emphasis on crude words, more regularly when he is angered. The voice is difficult to explain however I feel the paths that I have chosen for the characters are alternating and effective when viewed side by side.
Visually costume wise, Kurt makes up the base of the costume with a white collarless shirt and a red sweater vest to create a smart image with glasses possibly to show ageing and maturity. He may be noted for having his hair swept to the side, one of his traits. The bottom half of Kurt is fortunately blocked from audience view by the Kiosk and so is less important, although given a proper time to change outfit, Kurt would be dressed in suit trousers and formal black shoes to complete his middle aged smart look.
However he actually remains in Jonny's snow boots and dark jeans, these are casual wear for Jonny's character and worn with the intent of staying warm in the cold weather more than anything. Kurt's once sweater vest is made to look like a red jumper for Jonny under his winter coat that covers the lack of sleeves. He wears no glasses and his hair is arguably scurfy finding its way over the right side of his face from underneath his winter hat to help fight off the cold conditions. Finally, the collarless white shirt becomes less of an intelligent look and so blends in with Jonny's casual winter wear.
Death Movement
The penultimate scene of LTROI sees the death of my character Jonny as well as the characters Mikie and Jimmy whom are viciously killed by Eli during an attack on Oskar. Thomas Alfredson's depiction of this scene in his 2008 cover was amazing; the screen is mostly covered with Oskar's face whilst the action takes place behind him completely oblivious. In honesty,the audience miss the majority of the action however are allowed to let their imaginations run free as what they do see are limbs falling and legs flying revealing Eli's true power, not to mention the gruesome sights one blood after Oskar is rescued. Similarly with the Apollo theatres adaptation of the scene the audience aren't able to see much other than the odd movement of a body being thrown in the red strobes however again the audience could quite clearly see Oskar, again under the water and well lit in a blue uplight. Though the scene still manages to keep the audience engaged as a large tension build up before the scene means the audience are on the edge of their seats asking who is Oskar's savour? Will Oskar survive? and simply because it's difficult to see, what's happening?
Revolution Arts has taken a different approach in that we want to reveal to the audience as many gruesome details as we can to the audience about Eli's malicious killing of 'the bullies' therefore the stage shall be lit blue, to create the effect of the pool, with red strobes for added atmosphere and hopefully more tension. When choreographing this movement, myself and Jake Kavagner had a large amount of input. In doing so I tried to add a lot of throws and lifts instead of kicks and punches because I felt it was important to show that Eli was almost torturing them; in short she could simply feed on them and that'd be that but instead she takes a brutal turn, in the film for example, as previously mentioned, she rips them limb by limb. Furthermore I felt that the movement had to be fluent, because Eli is a fantastic swift killer, which is why I often suggested Amanda, Eli, throw us, the bullies, placing us across the stage ready for the next sequence of movements.
At first the scene simply ended with Eli circling Jonny, then snapping his neck however this wasn't nearly dramatic enough for the final death and so we later developed the killing eventually ending with Eli about to sink her teeth into Jonny's neck but realising that she isn't there to feed and that Jonny isn't worth feeding on, instead she is there solely to save Oskar.
At first the scene simply ended with Eli circling Jonny, then snapping his neck however this wasn't nearly dramatic enough for the final death and so we later developed the killing eventually ending with Eli about to sink her teeth into Jonny's neck but realising that she isn't there to feed and that Jonny isn't worth feeding on, instead she is there solely to save Oskar.
'Closer' Movement
Act One, scene eleven; Eli kills an innocent and Hakan watches on sadly, the two are thrown into an argument surrounding their relationship and dependency with the impression being that Hakan is much more dependant on Eli than she is on him. There is much strain on their relationship at this point of LTROI, however further scrutiny reveals much intensity among the other characters too; Oskar seems to be at the peak of his humiliation and bullied state despite the Act two, scene seventeen, where he ultimately is the victor by any means because of Eli, furthermore Oskar is confused by this point by Eli and the issues surrounding her. Due it to this, it may be natural to assume that Jonny is hitting a high of his bullying by his older brother Jimmy as previously explained, and hence Mikie is also hitting a high of his bully chain by Jonny although I believe they hit their peaks sometime later; Mikie at the lake in Act two, scene four and Jonny at Act two, scene sixteen. Halmberg is also under alot of stress due to his extremely asking job, he is faced with the utterly difficult task of catching the Hakan, a talented killer with plethora of experience behind him, and Eli, the ever so swift, supernatural bloodsucking '12 year old' with a great deal more years of experience behind her. On top of this, Halmberg may have even more pressure laid on him by his superiors and is in great risk of loosing the case, which not long into Act two does happen.
It is at this point we have choreographed a movement that I believe expresses all of these emotions although it flows well from the previous scene of Eli and Hakan's despair and, much to my liking, takes more of a focus to them and the strains on their relationship expressed through movement; other characters partake in much more repetitive movement which I worry may get abit too tiring for the audience although I hope the movement by Eli and Hakan is interesting enough. The movement takes a much more interesting turn after an intense change in the guitar, as pointed out by Liam, which ques the company to synchronise and all represent Eli then drop to the floor followed by other violent movement to the beat, much of which I'd like to think I heavily influenced. The movement is closed by myself and Harry attacking Oskar; at this point I feel that me and Harry are not Jonny and Dad or Kurt and Halmberg but the embodiment of Oskar's fears and complex issues.
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