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Supporting Notes Section 3 - 4.48 Psychosis
- Institution
- AQA
Section 2 of the Supporting Notes for Year 12/AS Drama and Theatre Studies Performance Exam, based on Sarah Kane's '4.48 Psychosis' and Antonin Artaud.
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Section 3Rehearsal Process
Throughout rehearsals, we worked on emphasising the Artaudian features of 4.48 Psychosis,
effectively managing our rehearsal time to cover and perfect our chosen extract. On finalisation of
our script choice, we identified that to capture the essence of Artaud’s work and style; we would
concentrate on research and practice of his methods, as well as key themes of Sarah Kane’s work.
We researched various different elements of Artaudian theatre separately, before coming together
to collaborate on a fact-file of useful information and relevant techniques and style for our piece to
aid our rehearsal. We also used ‘role on the wall’ using the information and context, finding out
about the struggles and rough treatments of mentally ill patients, allowing us to identify the
emotions and personalities throughout the play, as they were important for our ‘characters’ in the
extract.
After finalising the extracts of the script for our performance, we knew that in Artaud’s work it was
essential to understand the deeper meaning of the scene before being able to present the emotions
and characters properly. This led us to detailed discussions and ideas about how our individual
characters should feel or react, and what their motives are for the scene. We sometimes had
conflicting ideas during rehearsal, such as speed of movement or pitch of voice required, however
we easily worked together to find the best and most poignant solution, in accordance with Artaud’s
teachings, often rehearsing each scene in more than one way to help us decide. Another method
which helped us to agree on the interpretation of a scene was use of mirrors, which greatly
improved our choice of views and angles to help us see which would be most effective.
One area which we improved throughout the rehearsal process was our actor-audience relationship
and use of the ‘4th wall’, so in later rehearsals we concentrated intensely on making the experience
as uncomfortable and inclusive for the audience as possible, entering the auditorium space and
intimidating them, ensuring the whole extract retained interaction between us and the audience, a
key feature of Artaud’s style.
Finally throughout the whole rehearsal process, an important method that we used to improve was
peer feedback. After becoming confident with the blocking of our scenes, we performed to our
peers, setting the auditorium in the same format that we wanted for the final performance. We
asked for and received critical feedback on areas to improve such as diction and clearer movement,
the feedback allowing us to make the improvements required and strengthen our rehearsal of
scenes with conflicting sounds, rapid movements and gestures. This was evident in our final scene,
as it allowed us to develop the most effective way to end the play, our peer feedback helping us to
decide on the use of darkness and remaining on stage to end with awkward silence, which is
effective in summarising the dark and cruel themes throughout Kane’s work.
Personal Progress
One personally challenging aspect of the rehearsal period was adapting to the Artaudian style of
performance. Being previously more familiar with Stanislavski’s naturalism, it was hard to adjust to
the exaggeration required for Artaud, particularly with over-emphasis and reliance on emotions. This
was at first difficult, however through repeated practice, I felt comfortable with the style and
became part of the ‘mind’ of clinical depression, especially with emotionally-influenced characters
and clear motivations in every scene, further developing my ability to act under Artaudian
influences.
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