How would you direct the role of Tiresias in order to create a significant impact from his role and interaction with others? by Isabel Swift https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont Key moments en-us 2018-05-15 09:22:00 UTC 2020-03-30 11:19:19 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4a1.png https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481769673 At the very beginning of the speech, I want Tiresias to completely change moods and is completely furious with Creon. I would make him go straight into his face like the Gods are giving him a glimpse of evil in the room and it is only showing Creon and showing his true colours. Every word that Tiresias says like 'corpse for corpse' and 'the women who moves and breathes' should be spat out and almost spitting at Creon. This impact will show that he is powerful and is friends with the Gods. He is almost telling Creon that this is the last straw and showing that Tiresias is a man/woman you shouldn't mess with. Everytime he says the word 'you' or any reference to Creon, the word(s) should be said in a disgusted way and almost like an insult to say. This shows that Tiresias is appalled by Creon and that what he has been saying, Creon is just throwing away helpful information. His own future. Through the first part of the speech, the volume should be very high with high energy but once it gets to 'You made me angry, Creon' (on page 46), it should be said slowly and very monotone. At this point, Tiresias is on the opposite side of the stage to Creon and is slowly making his way to the boy and the boy is making his way to him as well. When he says the line 'You can feel them, can't you', his voice should change to snarky and his facial expressions should almost look like cocky in a way. A face of 'I'm getting to you, aren't I?'. ]]> 2020-03-30 10:26:11 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481769673 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481770939 On the line "my son listen to me", I would tell the actor playing Tiresias to hold his hand outward, to show his blindness to the audience. I would tell the actor to direct this line to Creon, and I would draw closer to him, clutching onto his arm, so that the actor could stage-whisper the line, and emphasise the word "listen" by elongating it. Creon could react in a manner of disbelief, which shows the audience that he is not used to being talked to in this way, proving that Tiresias is not like the other characters that the audience has seen. The proxemics on the stage will be close and Tiresias' body language will be open, by using wild hand gestures, which may shock Creon and invade his personal space, to show how significant Tiresias' interaction with Creon is. 
When the actor performs the line "But if he compounds his stupidity with stubbornness", I will instruct the actor to draw himself even close to Creon who may take a step back to suggest he feels uncomfortable. The volume of his voice will increase and a less calm tone of voice will be heard, to show he is perhaps growing tired/impatient of Creon's stubbornness. When saying the words "stupidity" and "stubbornness", I will tell the actor playing Tiresias to spit them out, to show that they are not well-looked upon qualities. Additionally, the actor should poke Creon's heart/chest when performing these words, to which Creon will respond by stepping back yet again, to show that he may be losing confidence in himself as King, which therefore hints that he is starting to listen to Tiresias' advice, thus proving his significant impact as he physically interacted with Creon by invading his personal space and using many hand gestures and body language techniques to show this. ]]> 2020-03-30 10:26:52 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481770939 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481771343 When Tiresias first arrives led by his boy through the chorus (showing he has no respect for the state), he shouts 'Senators od Thebes- and your new king, Creon!' I would direct Tiresias to say this in a sarcastic tone and placing emphasis on the 'new' to show how Tiresias believes that Creon is unexperienced and is stubborn like a child. I would also direct the use of almost overly clear diction to make it known to the audience that Tiresias knows that he is insulting the King, but he is not afraid of it, this instantly asserts Tiresias' authority. The Ancient Greek audience would have instantly recognised Tiresias and his blindness as he has stretched over 7 generations of plays. This means that the audience trust him and therefore they share this idea with Tiresias that Creon is not fit for kingship, therefore fulfilling Sophocles' intention of recognising the importance of the Gods and democracy. Moreover, when he states 'Oh yes I intend to' I would direct the actor to casually stroll up to Creon (following the sound of Creon's voice) and be inches away from his face. He would then grab Creon's shoulders, grasping the audience's attention as he also grasps Creon's. I would direct the actor to make his whole body rigid and to lower his tone to show the graveness of the situation. But then when he stage whispers 'But nothing would burn'  he would begin to cry and walk away from Creon into center stage of the orchestra and he would fall onto his knees. This conveys to the audience how deeply Tiresias has been affected by this, later on Creon questions Tiresias' intentions but here we can see the genuine reaction of Tiresias, emphasing Creon's paranoia, stubborness and hubris.]]> 2020-03-30 10:27:04 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481771343 I would have Tiresias take on a reasonable tone at the beginning of moment 3 as he tries to bargain with and convince Creon. During the line " My son, listen to me." He would reach out and place a hand defiantly on his shoulder , looking directly into creons eyes as if he could see, creating an ominous tone and making him seem mystical. As his speech continues his tone would become more mocking as he says "But if he compounds his stupidity with stubbornness" I would have him do this to show Tiresias's anger and fury with creon's refusal to listen. He would point sharply out at Creon as he says the line as if his words were daggers spitting them out at him. https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481771774 2020-03-30 10:27:18 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481771774 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481772357 I would have Teiresias change from a very calm speech to a stressed more direct voice on the line, "listen Creaon. This is the truth!". I want the change between his voice from calm to direct to be quick and powerful to create an impact on others showing them that he has another side to him and if creon doesnt listen there might be trouble. The quick chnage of emotion creates a powerful impact due to the fact that before, he has spoke calm and used reasoning instead of power to work with creaon but after losing his patience he breaks and gets angrier, creating that impact.  On the line "You will have made your payment, corpse For corpse, with a child of your own blood." I would have Teiresis spit this line out through gritted teeth and furrowed brows, he would push at creon with his finger into creons shoulder to suggest that what he has spoken about has power over creon and since teiresis is more morally correct than creon at this time, the fact that creaon will have his own childs blood on his hands shows that morally, creaon is lower in power, he doesnt deserve to be liked or treated well. Teiresis spitting this line out through gritted teeth suggests how angered he is by what he says, he is disgraced that he would even have to say this to anybody.
Finally, on the line, "The suffering you inflicted upon others, will be inflicted upon you, you will suffer, as they did." I would have teiresius go back to his original calm voice for this line and have his stance very calm and not tense, this creates an impact of fear for creaon because of how odly calm he is. It creates a chilling feeling for anybody around as they dont know wehat could happen next because there is no indication from facial expressions or actions from teiresius. It allows creon to overthink and allows Teiresius to scare creon easily, to have that power over him and create an almost silent fear.

]]> 2020-03-30 10:27:36 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481772357 When Tiresias says “my son listen to me” it is almost like he is trying to plea with Creon. I would make him have a quiet tone but with desperation in it, this would create an impact because it shows that he is trying to tell Creon something important but Creon isn’t listening. Whilst he is saying this I would have him reach out his hand towards Creon. This will have an impact of expressing to the audience his blindness but also they will realise that Tiresias is not going to let his blindness get in the way of trying to get Creon to listen to what he says. https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481773465 2020-03-30 10:28:11 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481773465 Teiresias entrance should be powerful and should show his influence, to do this he should enter from the audience this would automatically draw the audience to him and show the impact he has on them. His entrance would be memorable to the audience as it is unique and different to the other characters entrances. As his says the line ‘senators of Thebes- and your new king Creon’ he could split the chorus into a corridor for him to walk through showing power and influence. Teiresias’ tone of voice should be deep and his pace should be steady and slow to show his confidence towards Creon making the audience realise he has some sort of power over him, he would nod to who he is greeting with a grin on his face to show his respectful nature as he greets creon who will be down stage left and the ‘senators’ who will be down stage right. Within the quote ‘if you’re wise you’ll listen to me’ Tiresias could look Dow at Creon who is Down stage right so Creon is aware that he is talking about him, he would say this is a deeper tone as the the quote is of importance and his eyebrows would raise to show his seriousness about creons actions. https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481773701 2020-03-30 10:28:18 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481773701 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481773775 When Teiresias first arrives, led by his boy, into the presence of Creon and the chorus, he addresses the room 'Senators of Thebes - and your new king, Creon'. On the line 'Important news , that can't wait', I would direct Tieresias so that when he says 'that can't wait', he hastily struggles free of his boy's supportive grip on his arm, have him slam his walking stick firmly on the ground  and furrow his brow to emphasise there is a great deal of importance in what he has to say. On the word 'wait', I would have him lower his tone to show the gravity of the situation and the importance of this news which he brings before Creon. On the the line, 'Then for god's sake, listen to me now', i would direct Teirisias to lower his tone and soften his voice so that it almost becomes a stage whisper in order to show that he desperately needs him to hear these words of wisdom. Furthermore, on the word now, I would direct him to look Creon directly into the eye and then quickly away to the audience in the theatron to give a sense of unease and uncertainty, henceforth implying that the words are of grave importance. ]]> 2020-03-30 10:28:20 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481773775 I would direct the actor playing Tiresias to say his lines in this section looking upwards, as there are several references to birds. However, on the line 'singing the secret language' I would direct Tiresias to look out into the thereon making sharp eye contact with audience members in the front line (which in this time, would've been only men as women were made to sit at the back behind the slaves and only attended theatre performances if they were wealthy) this would establish Tiresias as a significant character because he is able to develop an emotional relationship with the audience through eye contact, even though he is blind. This shows us how wise he is as a character. I would direct Tiresias to almost sing the sibilant 'S' sounds while maintaining open and relaxed body language and natural facial expressions with a slight smile. However, on the line 'like the babble of a barbaric language' I would direct Tiresias to screw up his face and clench his fists. The sudden change in movement from gently looking upwards to becoming tense creates a significant moment as we see Tiresias to be a powerful character who is able to confront Creon, as well as having many capabilities, to be an emotional and loving character as well as standing up for himself and to the king. He would spit out the plosive 'B' sounds. This is a big change to the sing-songy way he delivered the last line. The sudden change in the way he delivers his lines once again reinforces the magnitude and depth of his character. https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481774226 2020-03-30 10:28:36 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481774226 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481776976 Tiresias is a liminal character who I would direct to act in a suspicious and confident character when he talks to Creon. The actor/ actress would project their words into the audience this would demonstrate to the audience his blindness due to the way he is facing away from Creon but still talking to him.I would have Tiresias interrupt Creon as he announces "Important news, that can"t wait," this needs to be a shocking statement in which the character of creon would react abruptly and walk behind the character of Tiresias (he would be too frightened to interact with him). Tiresias will continue to hold a dominant posture to show the confidence in his knowledge. Finally he would reach out for Creon's hand to then occupy his attention, this would both entice Creon and the audience due to Tiresias' urgency and shocking movements. Once Tiresias has gravitated the attention towards his prophecy i will have him fall on his knees as if to beg Creon as he says "you're like a man balanced on a razor." This action would help the audience understand the desperation of Tiresias
.]]> 2020-03-30 10:30:03 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481776976 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481777222 As he said "I knew the birds were at war" I'd direct him to look towards the audience and proclaim it with a deathly tone with raised arms]]> 2020-03-30 10:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481777222 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481790447 As he says “Any man can make a mistake, or commit a crime” I would have Tiresias lounden his voice in quite a Sturn, stubborn way this will show that he is loosing patience with Creon but also shows that he is not afraid of Creon and he is happy to stick up for what he thinks is right. When he says this line I would make his have a very disappointed look on his face which shows that he thinks Creon has made mistakes that should be corrected. 

]]> 2020-03-30 10:37:40 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481790447 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481794576 In this particular time era, Greeks had strong beliefs, particularly that one should be strongly religious and honour and respect the Gods. Teiresias shows the level of disrespect Creon has the for the Gods yet lack of power against them by using the quotation: “The Gods themselves are disgusted”. Therefore, on this particular line I would direct the actor to create a God-like character to physically show Creon’s current disrespect for the Gods. In order to show Teiresia’s wisdom and knowledge, I would use staging to create levels. Teiresias would be stood on a raised platform above Creon to demonstrate his slight immortality that slightly makes his character god-like himself. Teiresias is the clear voice almost sent from the Gods, to show Creon just how wrong he is. On the line “My son, listen to me”  I would direct the actor to walk towards Creon and place his left hand on his shoulder, and force eye contact between the two to portray the heightened seriousness of the situation. In order to show Teiresias’s desperate pleading to Creon, I would have the actor exaggerate the word “listen” by dragging it out at a slow pace, a pleading tone and a raised pitch.

-Sophie]]> 2020-03-30 10:40:01 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481794576 https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481796756 As Teiresias begins and says "I was sitting in my usual seat" i would direct him to gesture for the boy to get him a chair, before he carries on speaking, his tone relatively calm at the moment as he talks about  the birds. As he talks about the birds, he could possibly move his hands around him to symbolise the birds flying around him like messengers. He could even bring his hands to his ear to create the image of the birds communicating with him. 
When Teiresias says "a terrible new sound" he could cover his ears as he delivers his next line, standing up quickly, his speech quick and hysterical, as if he is reliving the moment. The boy could just be standing and watching Creon as the chorus look at Teiresias with panic and slight horror, Creon keeping an unphased posture but his face has panic written all over it as his eyes widen, mouth slightly open as he watches Teiresias.

]]> 2020-03-30 10:41:20 UTC https://padlet.com/issyswift/ajwiq7ybmont/wish/481796756