Today was the day of the final performance. We had mostly set up the day before, so it was the case of touching it and getting into costume. I prepared myself before the performance, making sure I had food, drink etc. Before the performance, I went through some rehearsals with Jamie the Ring Master, to work on our individual interaction. We wanted to perfect the 'beating' he performs on my character when I 'escape'. My script was to cry "sorry ringmaster" and scream after each attack. At the end I whimpered. This is a strength of devising theatre. As long as you stick to the overall plan, small changes can be made even towards the end. It is important the changes remain in line with the whole, otherwise it can upset the flow of the story. This can also be used to keep the performance fresh, making little changes between each performance. The first visitors were difficult to get any sort of reaction from. It was difficult as you are hoping for some form of reaction, but you have to pick yourself up and carry on. Thankfully, the rest of the groups were more responsive in their reactions and many scares were achieved. Jamie did a superb job as ring master, keeping the visitors constantly on edge with his impro interactions, such as shouting at visitors for laughing. His performance made the attraction unique to other similar style performances and was integral to the immersive effect. He was able to set the tempo for the movement, trapping people in areas, or encouraging haste, hence creating an increased sense of danger. In terms of my personal performance, I felt I was able to go for it on the day and improved with each performance. There were some minor issues such as one time, forgetting the chain, curtains sticking, losing a glow stick, but regardless, I stuck to character and continued with the performance. I was disappointed after the 1st tour, due to the apathy of the visitors. However, I picked myself up and the remainder of each group turned out to be mostly willing victims or 'easy prey'. My jump scare, the speed and the amplitude of the shout, caused most visitors some shock. A mixture of pauses with awkward movement, combined with additional bursts of aggression, also caused some fear. I was able to achieve of number of additional scares when reaching into the tunnel. I believe I achieved what I set out for from the beginning, in terms of the appearance of my character, the movements and actions. The biome I created for the visitors also had a creepy visual appearance, with the use of lighting and the screen, surrounded by darkness. I was also able to achieve the required feedback from the visitors, and gave them what they came for, terror. The whole process was a team effort. Each act complimented each other. Yes I got some good scares, but each group member had their own unique acts and characters that contributed to the whole performance. We have achieved what we set out for, both with the direct feedback received via the screams of the visitors, but indirect feedback received via Sonias discussion with the visitors.
The process has inspired me and I already have some new ideas of who I can similar acts. I have visualised a dark room of terror. Visitors are given a glow stick before entering what appears to be a large, empty, well lit room. The door is locked behind them. Initially, they feel safe because there is no obvious threats. The lights go out. 'Click, click, click' the glow sticks are activated. Now the visitors are in a completely dark room with only glow sticks. The actors can then go to town on the visitors, with the use of lfx and sfx to further intimidate the guests.
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