THAT FACE MARTHA

vocal skills

terminology to use

examples of when i would use vocal skills

rising intonation - a rise in the pitch of the voice

falling intonation - a fall in the pitch of the voice

staccato speech - speech that is fragmented or punctuated by pauses

pitch - the height and depth of a sound

pace - the speed at which lines are spoken or movement is made

articulation - the clarity or distinction of speech

inflection - a change in pitch or volume

projection - how well the actor's voice carries to the audience

timbre - the distinctive character or quality of a musical or vocal sound apart from its pitch or intensity such as in a nasal voice quality

tone - the feeling behind the words

emphasis - ‘Highlighting’ a specific word or phrase, by changing at least one aspect of your vocals

"baby boy... so good. sorry. (beat) sorry. sorry. sorry (beat)

for the first line i would change my voice to have a seductive tone, and a lower pitch at the word 'sorry' to express her regret and her embarrasment of 'last night' and i would add a nasal quality to show to the audience how they have both been sleeping in the same bed together

"don't be cruel. i mean it (sobs)"

I would change my voice to a near sarcastically high pitch, to show her desperation her pitch is a child-like voice to express to the audience how, even though Martha is Henry’s mother, how the roles have been switched in this mother-son relationship as he is having to look after her.

this is the audiences first interaction with martha and with the set up of the scene and words used in the type of tone express it is clear that the audience could mistake their relationship as a woman and a lover rather than a mother and a son. Martha acts in this scene in a very sexual manner with Henry and he, when woken up even finds it uncomfortable

wider play - this unusual relationship is consistent throughout the whole play such as on page 49 as she 'buries her head in his chest and after leaving his chest 'there is now another love bite' showing the audience the lack of her maternal capacity by the majority of the play involves her being spoilt, childish, immature and spiteful.

"you look so handsome. like a russian solider"

I would emphasize the word 'handsome' and smile when saying it, however not in a maternal way in a perverse. I would as the word soldier is used, I as the role of Martha would add the first few times saying this word a posh victorian British accent and laugh after saying it to convey that this descriptor is a kind of an inside joke between her and henry. however, towards the end of the play, i would drop the accent to express how her mental health starts to deteriorate she starts to believe this fantasy

wider play - as this 'joke' seen by the audience starts to become out of hand, shown by Henry eventually playing along with this role given to him by saluting her on pg 62. this fantasy starts to spiral by in scene 8 she has dressed him up 'war spoils for my soldier. he glitters. look how he glitters.' it conveys how her fantasy of him starts to overtake her reality similar to how her additction and mental health problems are overtaking and controlling her life.

"my baby boy, my baby boy (gasps) scaring me. (henry gets up. exits. when he is gone he hyperventilation calms noticeably. when he re-enters it increases in volume and speed)"

wider play - as Martha acts like a child she treats henry like a toy, shown by the repetitive use of the word 'soldier' like a doll, and how she cannot share him, which is shown by her having a tantrum and ruining his clothes when henry leaves the house for a night on page 46 how 'revealed are a pile of his clothes, all cut up into teeny tiny strips.' her obbessiveness with him is shown by putting her own mark on him, like a child with their favourite toy.

i would as the role of martha, i would use staccato speech to clearly show the exaggerated 'episode' martha is having. i would have my articulation would have less clarity to show how she is 'struggling' with speaking infront of Henry. i would, as the stage directions stated, have overly dramatic and loud audible breathing, hoping for henry to have a sense of panic for me. when leaving the room i would have still have over dramatic breath, however not as quick and loud and have a emotionless expression when henry is not there.

using vocal skills this can shows as well as Martha treating henry like a lover she also reverts to behaving like a child infront of him. this specific moment as the audience you can through vocal skills further see the lengths Martha will go to get Henry's attention and full focus, like in scene four when Martha cuts u all of Henry's clothes from leaving her or at the end of scene seven when she tries to trick Henry into thinking she ate cat food. it is clear tha she craves attention from him through her childish acts throughout the entirity of the play showing her lack of growth even after all the promises she made to Henry to be better.

interactions with set/design

performance skills

terminology to use

gait - the manner in which a character walks

gestic acting - a performance style which embodies a social attitude

stance - the way a character stands

gesture - any movement of the actor's head, shoulders, arms, hands, legs or feet to convey meaning

mannerism - a peculiarity of either speech or movement

mirroring - copying the movement of someone else

posture - postition in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting

beat - a momentary pause or delay in which there is a subtle shift in mood, thought or feeling.

levels - the height or the positioning of a character compared to others. Levels can also refer to parts of the set that have been elevated or lowered to vary the height of the playing space.

motif - any element of the drama that is used repeatedly to convey symbolic meaning. Examples might be a gesture, a spoken phrase, a snatch of music or a technical effect.

posture - physical alignment of a performer’s body, or a physical stance taken by a performer, which conveys information about the character being played.

proxemics - ‘spatial relationships’, referring to the physical distances between actors on a stage that communicates the relationship between different characters. also applied to the distance between a performer and elements of the set, which conveys information about character and circumstances.

signifier - visual clue that conveys a particular meaning to an audience. Examples are often stereotypical in nature, for example spectacles (intelligence), a suitcase (imminent journey).

tempo - the speed at which the action on stage proceeds. Often combined with rhythm in dramatic contexts such as in ‘tempo rhythm’. It has a very similar meaning to pace.

status - importance relative to other characters.

examples of when the use these performance skills

"martha wakes up" ... "nestingly into her warmth"

i would use levels during the interaction between henry and myself. when i sit next to henry i will be on top of pillows so that i am slightly raised in comparison to henry sleeping who is more vulnerable, lying flat. i would also roughly take a pillow from under his head to show immediately who controls this relationship. this would juxtapose the 'gentle' stroking of Henry's hair as he sleeps conveying to audience immediately Marth's erratic, unstable nature in addition to the unusual relationship with her son that at the start without knowing the characters, could be misconstrude to be a woman and her lover.

this use of performance skills emphasises the unoredictable nature of Martha and the strange behaviour in the first scene we see of the two characters. to the audience, the relationship of Martha and Henry emphasised when Martha shreds Henry's clothes in scene 4 and gives him a love bite. through these actions it furthers conveys not only Martha's obession of Henry but also the control and possesion over henry as after all these thing she does to him he still forgives her, as they are both dependent on each other, martha more dependent of henry however still dependent

"yur room's nicer. better light"

I would use the bed in henry's room when saying this line as a signifier to the audience. I would as saying this line I would have myself crossed-legged on the middle of the bed and after saying "your room's nicer" I would lay down onto my elbow with my stomach facing the mattress and my legs kicking constantly back and forth. I would then get under the covers rest my head on a pillow. the repetitive use of Martha always wanting both of them to be in the bed is not only a signifier but also a motif as the bed to Martha is a significant, safe space for her and henry to be alone but is also a way of physically having henry closer to her by proxemics communicating the tpye of relationship they have.i would also create a habit as whenever Henry tries to leave the bed bar from getting Martha pills and water, she always pulling him back into the bed and starts something to physically attach herself onto him like stroking his arm or hair, cuddling him ...etc.

wider play - this use of performance skills enhances the need for the bed and how comfortable she is in this room with Henry. later in scene 2 when Mia arrives you can see how Martha clearly doesnt want her here "she's not staying" conveying further her obbession with henry and how only Martha and Henry are wlecome in the flat as that is the only person she feels comfortable with, so she can have him all to herself

‘don't be nasty to me, i beg you'

I would change my voice to a near sarcastically high pitch, when saying the line "don't be nasty to me" to show her desperation through pitch is a child-like voice to express to the audience how, even though Martha is Henry’s mother, she is the one who normally needs Henry’s support and looking after. In this quotation, I would use physicality to show my intent for where I want this scene to go. I would at the start of this paragraph, i would sit up on the bed having my posture straight with my arms crossed, to convey my anger to Henry for not forgiving me ‘don’t be nasty to me’ then for the next line I would rest my head on henry’s lap looking upwards towards him with my hands in a prayer position, firstly to add levels into the scene as I ‘beg’ Henry to forgive me, therefore he has the upper hand in this particular situation as Martha is praying that he forgives her. To carry on this monologue, I would continue throughout this part to unrealistically and overdramatically fake cry using gestures of wiping tears away to guilt trick Henry into pardoning me from my actions of last night. This ‘beg’ for mercy from me can express to the audience how Martha is very much dependent on Henry.

further down in the scene when Henry is rather ‘cruel’ to Martha you can see the roles reverse, as he says ‘Mummy… OK. I’m sorry. Martha… Are you my Mummy? Take me home?’

in the role of Martha I would sit up in the bed, looking down at Henry, who could be in a foetus position to show how he is a child who needs his mother; so as before we just saw that Martha was very dependent on Henry, we see how in fact, the relationship is co-dependent the do need each other in different ways. In this part, even though I do not have much to say, when I nod after Henry says ‘Are you, my Mummy?’ I would use a softer, forgiving tone and a lower volume to show how Martha sometimes has moments of lucidity and has motherly attributes. I would have a falling intonation to give a caring and gentle side to Martha as she can express to the audience the co-dependency of the relationship. I would also stroke Henry’s hair in a gentle, caring way in contrast to at the start of the scene that was sexually just to express how quickly the roles reverse in this relationship and to show her maternal characteristics also.

using these vocal skills can show the true and 'normal' relationship between a mother and son and Martha's moments of lucidity such as in scene 4 when she says "don't get cheeky. I'm your mother. not one of your mates" however these examples directly contrast to when before she was touching in a "peverse" way and after the moment in scene 4 she gives him a love bite, further emphasising her sporadic nature due to her mental health issues

this scene and use of physicality allows the audience to see how manipulative Martha is towards Henry and how over and over again, after everything she does wrong she knows that he will forgive her. shown in scene 8 when Henry says 'i thought i could fix her. thought i'd do anything to fix her' showing that Henry can never give up on her and has this need to make Martha stable again

'i do too. let's spend the morning in bed. be lazy'

playing the role of martha i would use gestures to create a motif for my character. when saying 'i do too' responding to Henry's promise to being better andreally try. when saying this line i would bite one of my nails then tuck my hair hair behind my back and would cary this one every time she promises henry something that she knows she will break. to represent that even though she is completely mentally unstable, even she knows that she can't keep her promise to Henry of staying sober and getting her life back together. this can allow us to see a childish side of henry in believe and hoping that Martha is telling the truth even though subconsciously, he knows that she can't.

this would be shown at the end of the play saying 'but i have to go now. i have to go away' would be only only time she wouldn't bite her nails or tuch her hair behind her ears as she knew how bad she has become in her moment of lucidity in addition to knowing that there is no other way out

the repitive holding of this homemade soldier pillow on henry's bed. i would interact this this when i miss henry or when i am mad at him. for example in scene 4 when Martha is left by herself in the flat waiting for henry to come back i would be holding onto the pillow tightly to clearly represent her obession with Henry as she cannot live without her 'soldier boy'

bed - i would have Martha constantly comfortable in Henry's bed bar when he has left her to be with Mia and Izzy. this can bed can be a signifier to the audience that Martha feels safe and is comfortable in this room with herself and Henry