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This is my own work. Any sources I have used have been appropriately acknowledged. I understand that work copied from other sources and presented as my own will not be accepted.

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Beatrice - Much A Do

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MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING – WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE –SYNOPSIS

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy genre play written by William Shakespeare , written in 1598/99. The play was published in 1623. It is set in Italy (Messina). The plot evolves around two romantic pairings , the romance sparks when a group of soldiers arrive in Messina. A messenger brings news that Don Pedro will be arriving from a successful battle with his two companions Benedick and Claudio .

Beatrice (Leonato’s niece) questions one of the soldiers about Benedick (hence having interest in him) and mocks his attributes as a soldier.

Upon arrival , Don Pedro informs Leonato (governor of Messina) that him and his soldiers will be staying in Messina for a month. Meanwhile Beatrice and Benedick’s feud resumes. Don John ( Don Pedro’s ‘bastard’ brother) is introduced. Claudio’s feelings for Hero are reformed and he informs Benedick (his friend). Benedick is arrogant towards the idea of love and marriage and so discourages Claudio from acting towards these feelings. Claudio then informs Don Pedro that he has the purest of intentions towards Hero and that he intends on marrying her. Don Pedro encourages the marriage and agrees to help Claudio. Benedick swears on everything that he will never get married and in fact despises the idea of it. Don Pedro laughs at him and tells him that when he finds the ‘right one’ his opinions towards marriage will take a turn and completely change.

A ball is planned. During this ball , Don Pedro gives a helping hand to Claudio and woos Hero on his behalf . Don Pedro’s scheming brother Don John jumps into the picture and manipulates Claudio into thinking Don Pedro is trying to woo Hero for himself. Claudio is mad and confronts Don Pedro upon the accusations that have been made by his brother. However the misunderstandings are later resolved and Claudio is given the promise that he will be given Hero’s hand in marriage as approval is given from her father (Leonato).

During the ball , Beatrice and Benedick dance together and trade remarks towards either beneath their masks . Benedick becomes disappointed when he hears gossip about himself during the ball and hears himself being described as ‘the prince’s jester’ and ‘a very dull fool’ . Whilst waiting for the wedding , Don Pedro and his soldiers put together a plan to match make between Beatrice and Benedick. The plan consists of both Benedick and Beatrice overhearing of conversations about their undying love for each other. During this overheard conversation they talk about how Beatrice is too afraid to open up to Benedick. Both Beatrice and Benedick are happy to hear that they are objected to requited love and agree to solve their feud and declare their undying love for each other.

Don John plots against Claudio and Hero and plans to ruin the wedding with the help of his associate Borachio. Don John’s aim was to ruin his brother’s and Leonato’s reputation. He informs Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is ‘not loyal’ and a ‘cheat’. Don John arranges for Don Pedro and Claudio to see ‘Hero’ having an interference with another man in her bedroom chamber. It is realistically Hero’s chamber maid that is having an interference with Don John’s associate , however Claudio and Don Pedro are fooled by Don John’s stunt and Claudio promises to publicly embarrass Hero.

The next day , at the wedding , Claudio denounces Hero in front of the guests and leaves everyone shocked. Claudio , Don Pedro and his men storm off from the wedding after humiliating Hero. Hero faints and once awoken by her cousin , she is questioned by her father in which she denies the accusations and her father is persuaded that she is telling the truth. The friar believes that Hero is innocent and puts together a plan to send out news that Hero has passed away , to make Claudio feel guilty and make him feel remorseful for his wrong doings. After the eventful day , Beatrice and Benedick confess their love for each other. Beatrice tells Benedick that if he loves her , he would kill Claudio. It takes a while for Benedick to be swayed , but by the end of it he is slightly swayed.

Leonato and Antonio blame Hero’s death on Claudio and Benedick challenges Claudio to a duel.

On the night of Don Johns success, the local watch overhears Don John’s associates (Borachio and Conrade) talking about the scheme their master had pulled off and are arrested and questioned. Dogberry manages to manipulate Conrade and Borachio to confess to their wrongdoings and Leonato is informed of Hero’s innocence. Once Don John becomes aware of the news that his associates had explained all his schemes , and so flees the scene. Soldiers are sent to capture him. Claudio , devastated after Hero’s death , agrees to Leonato’s offer to marry Antonio’s daughter who is said to be ‘almost a copy of his dead daughter’. After Claudio promises to marry this other daughter , the bride is revealed to be Hero. Claudio is filled with joy. Benedick and Beatrice openly confess their love for each other to everyone in the wedding. Don Pedro suggests that Benedick shall become a married man , and Benedick agrees. As the play comes to a close, Don John is announced to be captured by a messenger , giving the play a cyclical structure (as it starts and draws to a close with a message) and Benedick suggests that Don Johns punishment will be decided the next day to allow the newly wedded couples to enjoy their newfound matrimony. The couples celebrate as the play is brought to an ending.

REVIEW: Much Ado About Nothing is a very intriguing play. It allows actors to reach out of their comfort zone and broaden their creativity throughout each and every scene performed . It is a very enjoyable and diverse play written by Shakespeare. The set and costume adds quite a lot to the piece , as well as the characters presence. I have extremely positive opinions based upon the play , and think is a great project to help develop my personal skills as an actress.

REHEARSALS:
One thing that we constantly worked on during rehearsals for this project , was becoming familiar with the way people spoke in the Elizabethan era. This was a challenge for a lot of us as the language used then is very different to the language used now. Nevertheless as a team, we overcame this challenge using resources we had access to. By looking at modernised transliterations , we were able to understand the play and the characters we were acting as further. Before each rehearsal , we would do vocal warmups , during these warm ups , we would work on projection , articulation , and work on our chest voice and diaphragm. Another thing we would do , is practice saying certain words or phrases , applying emotions to these phrases, in order to grasp how different emotions can be applicated for different sets of speech. If there were certain words or phrases that we didn't  understand , we would go over them and apply modern text to make sure the whole text is completely understood and wrong context is not given when the lines are delivered. We also worked on physicality within characters. An exercise we would constantly work on , is walking around the space in character. This was extremely helpful, as it allowed us actors to become aware of the space we are working in, as well as gaining an understanding of how your characters movements enhance the delivery of your lines. This exercise had also meant we were able to understand the relationships between characters , based on how we would move around a certain character and our status compared to another character. All these warm ups ensured that when we actually got on stage to perform a scene , we were walking on and off stage and delivering in character. All  emotion shown in our voices , faces and body came from these repetitive practices.

My character was not only male , but also not a character that I am used to working with. However , due to these warm ups and my research into the character , I believe I was able to gain a better understanding into my character, his status and his relations with the other characters. My first time rehearsing the scene , I was not the most comfortable , as the language was unfamiliar and my character was not within  my comfort zone. I began to gain more comfort within the character as I picked up the comedy aspects within the character also within myself. Relating to aspects within the character had also meant I could make him my own , whilst keeping the Shakespearean aspect of the character , yet more naturalistic in a way or two. Articulation was something that I constantly worked on , this was extremely valid for my character as he is made out to be an 'idiot' so some words would have to be mispronounced , yet my character believes he is saying each and every thing right , which is what brings out the comedy aspect of the play , for this reason it was extremely vital that each line delivered was understood clearly , as it is what brings the audience to laughter as well as present my character for what he really is . Another thing that I worked on that also worked well during my performance , was tone, emotional and facial expression. Dogberry is often misunderstood by his peers , his mouth may deliver one thing , whilst his face is delivering something completely different. So ensuring that both things were delivered to such levels was mandatory to inhabit my character.

Evaluation :
What went well with the performance ?
I believe characterisation was shown throughout the play by all actors , whilst walking on and off stage and also throughout scenes. Due to this , the story of the play was not only told but shown to an extent which it deserved. The audience was able to not only understand what was going on, despite the language not being modern, but also enjoy each and every bit of the story line. Actors were also aware of the space and used it well. The knowledge we gained throughout our research enabled us to inhabit our characters on stage.

What could have gone better?
I believe as a team , we could have projected our voices more and another thing that could have enhanced the play further is if we were more physical. A lot of the time , we do not tend to move around the stage space and tend to stick to one spot on stage, this restricts us as actors and restricts the characters we are acting as. Physical movement and acting allows us actors to show a lot more than what delivering lines can. The aspect of physicality in acting is definitely something that we can all improve on.