Performance Evaluation

I think our contemporary performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest, was very successful. I could definitely feel the energy all the way through  it felt completely different from doing it in rehearsals, because we had an audience to play off. I think we played the modern context and we definitely told a story through performance.

As a group right from the beginning we had created this energy, and it was sustained through out, I felt the energy through a result of physical fatigue, because everyone around me was so pumped and enveloped in the zone, it lead me to work even harder. I think the lost as a group within the play worked well together, through all the physical hard work everyone sustained this high level of energy. I think the ensemble moments were great, from the perspective of being on stage, I could see no one slipped out of character or fell neutral, and it helped me to stay in role all the time, especially the ending scene, where everyone was on the stage. I think the proxemics, of the Europeans and the island natives, gave a clear story and the relationship between the two groups were so clear, and the energy was kept strong right until everyone had left the stage.

In terms of my physicality throughout the performance, I always attempted to push through the physical exhaustion; if I had let my energy drop, I would have instantly felt the effects and I wouldn't have been able to pick it back up.If I had let myself slip out of character that could cause the whole performance to fall flat, because as actors we bounce off each other and if the other actors thought I was slipping out of character it may have sub-consciously lead them to do the same. A lot of this play was about physical gestures, giving and receiving so I had to make sure my energy was kept up, so the other actors could feed of me, even if, I didn't have any personal interactions with any of them, I made sure to play my objective, because everyone played a key role within the development of the play. What I learnt from rehearsals that I brought to the stage was playing your character right until you come off, I think you should be in character right until you enter a backstage area. I made sure to play my relationships with some of the other characters like Prospero and some of the Europeans, so the audience could read the tension and feel the mistrust that ran right throughout the performance. I think the transitions were good, because they overlapped, and even through the transitions, I made sure to play my character, with the minor things I did, like bringing the logs off stage, my character wouldn't have just picked it up and walked off; my character was a former slave, so I made a distinct choice in the way I carried them. If I could make any improvements to my performance I would say that in some of the scenes where the lost attack the Europeans, It should be quick but in that quick moment I need to make sure I play the objective, because personally I felt like I was running from one exit to another, so I just need to make sure even in a quick moment like that, I need to make a distinct decision on what I'm doing rather than just moving on and off stage.

In terms of our Brighton performance, as a company we need to be thinking about the environment we're in and how we can adapt and give an as strong performance as we did in the theatre. What we need to consider is:

• The outside space, and playing the setting of the play even though we won't have the aid of the lighting, we need to play our objectives regardless of where we're performing. If we believe it, then the audience will believe. 
• Our voices, we need to all make sure we're practicing our diaphragmatic breathing, so we're keeping our voices safe, because in a open space your voice can just get lost.
• The energy is what will make this performance a success in Brighton as well as the character work, because we won't have all the things we did in our theatre performance, we need to make sure that then energy is sustained throughout, and that our character relationships are fully developed so the audience in Brighton can get a full understanding of the story and the audience in the theatre did.
• The audience can leave at any time, so we need to make sure we keep them interested throughout, by keeping the pace up, so people don't lose interest in what's going on.

Overall I think the performance was a success, and I think the modern context of the play worked so well, interweaving these two worlds worked as one performance. I think our performance informed, and we had all taken on the roles with a level of maturity that made our performance enjoyable as well as informative. If there was anything I would improve, it would have been the costumes, I think it could have been more visually interesting in terms of fusing both the British and African fabrics and patterns, but I  don't think the costumes took anything away from the performance. My costume helped me to get into character, I just think from an outside perspective the vision behind the costume wasn't very clear.

Physicality

My character comes mostly through physicality, and It's what will tell the story of my character. My character doesn't speak throughout The Tempest, so the story of my character will come through my physical relationship with other characters, it will also come from the given circumstances, of my character based from the Sierra Leone Freetown Colonization period.

My character was a slave before he came upon the island, so my physicality should be read as protective of myself, always on guard, and very observant of what's going on around me. I believe my character would be a very alert character, because he had previously escaped from his slave masters, which would have taken a lot of energy, strength and courage to do. There is a mistrust between my character and the Europeans because my character was enslaved by people like them, it's should be read as if my character has a vendetta against them, I want this to be read through my eyes and face. The way a person looks at someone can tell a lot about their relationship, and this is what I want to show through my facial expression, I want people to see the mistrust, but on a bigger scale the history between the African people of Sierra Leone and the British.

Through the history of Slavery we see that slaves were worked really hard, and I want this to be shown through my physicality and movement. I don't think my character would ever stand fully upright, and I think at some points it would be quite animal like. Even with the minor things like moving rocks or lifting wood, there is a certain way a slave would carry a pile of wood, because it's what he's been exposed to for so much of his life. I think physicality is something all the lost have to take into consideration because of who our characters are and where we come from, and a lot of the moments we interact with the Europeans there needs to be a story, and it needs to be read through our faces, and also how we interact with them, there has to be distinct choices made on how we move around them.

My Relationships with other characters

Propsero	I have to follow Propsero's orders for the mere fact, that he got rid of Sycorax after her evil works here on the island. Sycorax had power beyond any belief, and Prospero defeating her has proved to me the extent of his power. I have never actually come into an encounter with Prospero alone. I am always on guard around him as you never actually know his full intentions, however if he ever gives me and the rest of my people the chance we will strike, I am tired of being under the control of his sorcery but however for the time been, I have to do what he says until the time is right to do otherwise
Miranda	I do not have a personal relationship with Miranda, I am frustrated with her relationship with her father, she knows the extent of his power, and I see it’s evident she doesn't agree with his actions but she never attempts to do something about it. Whenever she is around I try to avoid any personal encounter with her, as Prospero would be aggravated by our interaction, leading to my demise
Caliban	I have a personal hate for Caliban, because of his mother Sycorax. Every time I see Caliban I want to put him through the same ordeal that his mother put me and my people through. If ever we are given the chance, he will get what he deserves. I have never felt sympathy for Caliban as I believe if he was ever given the chance he would get rid of Prospero take control of the island and continue the works of his mother.
Ariel	Ariel is the strength of the spirits. I know without Ariel I will never have the chance of freedom, I follow in the footsteps of Ariel and I do whatever he tells me to, as I know his orders are actually those of Prospero. Ariel has taken so much punishment in the name of the spirits. We all respect Ariel because he is our chance to gaining control but also gaining freedom.
The Eurpoeans	I despise these outsiders, more people on the island just means less chance for freedom, for a long time our homes have been plagued by outsiders. When I see the Europeans I am weary of them, I feel their fear, but I will never let my guard down, I am a deterrence for them so they will never set foot back on this island

Monologue

I came to this island in search of ownership of myself, and my people. For years I have been on the receiving end of such profligacy. I was beaten so much, that my body bears the scars of my ordeal. I had attempted escape three times, and eventually when I escaped and I put my trust in those same people who has enslaved me, except now they needed my help. Again I was disregarded treated like an animal, but I put my faith in god, and he carried me through. I fought for my people, I was the voice for many like myself. Eventually I arrived on this island with many slaves like myself, and we attempted to rebuild our lives. As bad as I was treated, I am trapped in an internal battle with myself; my trust for others has been tampered with so much I never know who to trust or what will happen next. I will continue to fight for freedom of me and my brothers, and those who put us through hell will undoubtedly suffer in the afterlife. 

Who am I?

In the tempest I am playing a spirit. The spirits work under the orders of the Prospero who has taken control over the island after ousting Sycorax, a very powerful witch that was banished to the island for practicing very powerful sorcery. When Sycorax came to the island she tried to take control of the spirits, which lead to the imprisonment of the leader of the spirits Ariel. Ariel was imprisoned for twelve years, where he was freed which lead to him serving Prospero along with all the other spirits.

In the modern context of the play, we are a group of African and European slaves, who were moved to Sierra Leone by the British to settle in the new Freetown colony. My character is based of Thomas Peters a black loyalist who fled to North Carolina with the British during the American revolutionary war, and later became one of the leaders of Freetown.

Thomas Peters
Thomas Peters was born in Nigeria, and was an ethnic Yoruba of the Egba people clan.Thomas Peters was captured at the age of twenty by slave traders and sold as a slave to Colonial America on a French ship, the Henri Quatre. Upon arrival in North America, Peters was sold to a French owner. Peters tried to escape three times before being sold to an Englishman or Scotsman in one of the Southern Colonies. Peters escaped from his owner's flour mill near Wilmington at the start of the American Revolutionary War and joined the Black Pioneers, a Black Loyalist group made up of runaway African American slaves. The British had previously promised freedom in exchange for helping the war effort against the colonies that formed the new United States. During this time Thomas was married to Sally Peters, a slave from South Carolina and he had a son called John (born in 1781) and a daughter Clairy (born in 1771). There is a possibility that Sally and Peters were once slaves together in South Carolina and that they reunited during the war.

Peters became disheartened when he saw promises of land by the British government had not been carried through and he decided to travel to England to demand the land promised to him and others. Peters gathered the signatures and marks of African American settlers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick before getting funds to travel to London (with the risk of being re-enslaved) and convince the Government to settle the blacks in Nova Scotia elsewhere. In 1791, Peters went to London, where he helped convince the Royal government to allow them to settle a new colony in Sierra Leone that was to be Freetown, Sierra Leone. It was decided in London that Peters and others would assist in recruiting blacks to settle in Sierra Leone.

After convincing about 1,100 of the 3,500 American blacks to return to Africa, in 1792 they arrived at St. George Bay Harbor. Thomas Peters soon became at odds with the newly established Governor John Clarkson and he called himself the "Speaker General" of the Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia settlers. Eventually the overwhelming majority of Nova Scotia’s chose John Clarkson as their true leader and Peters became disheartened. Peters died of malaria in Freetown, in 1792. Peters died leaving a wife and seven children.

The Temne people of Sierra Leone

The Temne people are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, their neighbours the Mende people having roughly the same population. The Temne and Mende both account for slightly more than 30% of the total population. The Temne are predominantly found in the Nothern Province of the Western area, including the capital Freetown, while the Mende are found primarily in the Southern Province and the Eastern Province.

The Temne are rice farmers, fishermen, and traders. Temne culture revolves around the paramount chiefs, and the secret societies, especially the men's Poro society and the women's Bondo society. The most important Temne rituals focus on the coronation and funerals of paramount chiefs and the initiation of new secret society members. During the 16th, 17th, and 18th century hundreds of thousands of Temne were shipped to the Americas as slaves.

Today the Temnes are mostly Muslims who interweave Islamic beliefs with traditional African practices. About 15-20% of Temne are followers of Christianity.

This video shows a traditional Temne dance, and I think it's interesting to see the atmosphere created through music and movement. From this video I can see how the music is felt throughout their bodies, there is a collective energy and spirit and it's like a possession. The energy is passed through even when there's a switch of the person dancing, they interact with each other. I think when we open our play, this is the the type of energy and cultural atmosphere we should try and create, a lot of the movement is directed towards the ground like a summoning or praising and we should aim to re-create this sort of spiritual feeling, ultimately aiding us in immersing the audience within the world of our performance. 

The Freetown Colony

The basis for the Freetown Colony began in 1791, when Thomas Peters, an African American who had served in the Black Pioneers, went to England to challenge the British for not acting upon their promise to the black population. Peters met with the directors of the Sierra Leone Company, and it was there he learned of proposals for a new settlement at Sierra Leone. The directors were eager to allow the Settlers to build a settlement at Sierra Leone; the London-based and newly created Sierra Leone Company had decided to create a new colony but before Peters' arrival had no colonists. Lieutenant John Clarkson was sent to Nova Scotia to register immigrants to take to Sierra Leone for the purpose of starting a new settlement. Over 1,100 former American slaves from Nova Scotia sailed in 15 ships and arrived in St. George Bay. The Nova Scotians were to build Freetown on the former site of the first Granville Town which had become a "jungle" since its destruction in 1789. Though they built Freetown on Granville Town's former site. The women remained in the ships while the Settler men worked tirelessly to clear the land. Lt. Clarkson told the men to clear the land until they reached a large cotton tree. The Settler men were scratched and hurt by the shrubbery and bush. After the work had been done and the land cleared all the Nova Scotians, men and women, disembarked and marched towards the thick forest and to the cotton tree.

From this video I learned the importance of Freetown and it's historical significance to slavery. The people of Freetown, treasure the land, because it has so much meaning to them and who they are today. You can see how much pride they take in their history in just the minor detail and preservation of certain things that reminds them of who they are, such as the chains in the wall. It has also given me an insight into what some of the slaves may have gone through, as it's something I will have to take on in the potrayal of my character as slavery was something he was exposed to, throughout his lifetime.