Btec Bullying Assembly #6

We ran through the whole of what we had of the drama already. Putting together our individual scenes plus the transitions that we came up with. We decided how we would fit it together and then ran it through quickly. We changed the idea of the corridor bit of walking around until the second bell goes. To all walking across the room together, as if needing to get to somewhere. This would then be quicker  to change scenes and maybe more effective because its a bulk of people making it visually better. We then eventually came to a stop when a scene was struggling because of the absents of one of their members. Sarah then told us to go away and polish each of our scenes. This way, with basic idea of what we are going to do we could then come back and piece everything together smoothly. We then worked out when we would rehearse out side of class ours next.

Btec Bullying Assembly #5

We had a after school session where we decided to do the transition scenes between each of the scene. (these have all been completed all other groups have worked at the same time but separately).  We decided that we should have it as a school day. and we should a have a bell continually running through the scene as though their moving through the corridors to next lesson. people should be acting normal as though their in the corridors at school. Then the bell finishes and people run of to stage left, leaving the cast of the next scene already set up in their starting positions. This we then thought would work well because it would be like everyday life, showing that bullying happens to everyday people. We need to polish this and run the scenes of it.

Btec Bullying Assembly #4

We worked on our own scenes;

I worked in group one. We decided that we should show the bully off as a stupid person. someone to be seen as ridiculous. We decided because we had two males in our group that we should work as couples. Joe went with Kate. this is when we decided that we could have the other girl being jealous of kate with her boyfriend.We decided that because we wanted the bullies to look like idiots, we decided to make them chavvy and stupid sounding. We also had a scripted bit where i described a lesson where i got sent out for back combing my fringe. this we decided showed more patheticness and idiocy from the bullies. We said all this as we walked down a road. We then went to cross a road that led to a bus stop. I then snigger and say to Abbie "look who's on the other side of the road". Abbie says that she doesn't want to cross the road because she likes Kates boyfriend. I drag her across and then read the Bus timetable in front of them. Already being intimidating. We read out times and bus routes saying places like 'Goes past Whores 'R' us straight to weight watched'. Kate then reacts to it and get down because of it. Then she tells Joe that she's "sick of it!' and that "it happens everyday after school" making the audience sympathies' for her. here is when it stops.

Our feedback was that i shouldn't block the other people at the bus stop. We should make it more intimidating when walking down the street. We should have stronger characters and make it more obvious who we are. we should get Joe and Kate a scene before hand to introduce them to the audience.

Btec Bullying Assembly #3

We wrote down on pieces of paper ideas on what we could do with the drama.We came up with this:

• The bullies point of view
• Telling story through letters
• Show it through more abstract

We then came up with a structure of how our drama would go. this is what we decided upon:

• Starts with victim and ends with bully,
• Types of Bullying; Cyberbullying, overweight, sexuality. Mental, Physical, emotional, psychological 
• Victim paranoia/vocal collage.
• Depression -Singling the victim out. 
• Symbolic self harm scene
• Funeral scene. 
• Abstract physical theatre 
• Audience imagination. 
• Balance between cringed and affective. 
• Recap, dares and names of the deceased. 
• Crucifix lift 5 scenes 
• Diary entry at the start of each one. 

We then started to block scenes in the groups that we split up into. These are the scenes that we decided on:

1. verbal abuse. Chavs taking the mick out of a  girl because the chavs are jealous of her boyfriend. 
2. Cyber bullying. 
3. Paranoia- vocal collage showing this
4. physical abuse- literal showing of this.

Btec Bullying Assembly #2

We had to come up with 3 freeze frames. These had to show the transitions of bullying. These were. Before bullying. During bullying. The consequences of bullying.
Our first scene was everyone having a laugh. People gathered around hugging.
Our second scene was people turning away and singling out one person. The singled out person then looks lonely and sad. and a little confused why people are turned away.
Our third scene was then the singled out person about to cut their wrists. We then all lent in as if cutting them for her. This was  a more abstract way of showing it.
Then we had to bring the freeze frames alive. So...
Our first scene was rachel telling a joke and people kind of laughing at it. They then start to back of and turn around.
Our second scene was me stepping in and say 'I have a joke... Rachel'. Everyone then starts to laugh and point. the laughing carries on for ages.
Our third scene was everyone still laughing. Rachel is shouting 'STOP!' She eventually screams 'STOP!'. we then all turn around one at a time, saying a piece of abuse each. As she slowly moves in to slit her wrists. we all do as one movement as if offering knives to her.
This worked affective because it showed we could show the topic through a more abstract way. If we did it again, i would try and get the first two scenes maybe a bit more abstact, maybe doing a vocal collage to show that we were singling the one person out.

Btec Bullying Assembly

Sarah introduced the stimuli to us: Bullying assembly.

We then were showed three stimuli. The first one was a video. The video was on people who had committed suicide due to bullying. After watching the video we shared our thoughts. these are as follows:

• Left us speechless
• Felt guilty for unknown reasons
• Shocked at how young they were
• Very touching to see their real names and pictures

The next thing we were shown was a poem called "I am". 

I am the person you bullied in school
I am the one who didn't know how to be cool
I am the person you alienated
I am the person you ridiculed and hated

I am the person who sat on their own
I am the person who walked home alone
I am the person you scared every day
I am the person who had nothing to say

I am the person with hurt in their eyes
I am the person you never saw cry
I am the person living alone with their fears
I am the person destroyed by their peers

I am the person who drowned in your scorn
I am the person who wished they hadn't been born
I am the person whose name you don't know
I am the person who just can't let go

I am the person destroyed for 'fun'
I am the person, but not the only one
I am the person who had feelings too
..and I am a person, JUST LIKE YOU!!!

Our response to this was:

• Really effective how they used the repetition. Made it more impactuous. 
• It made you realize that that would be how you'd feel if you were being bullied. 
• It uses really strong powerful words like scorn and hated. 

The next thing that we looked at was a newspaper artical. It was about a girl who hung herself with a tie because of bullying.

Cherelle Ardle was having "extreme problems" with bullying at her school and was finding it difficult to interact with other pupils, the hearing was told.

She had been locked in a cupboard and dragged down the stairs and once needed hospital treatment after a playground fight.

On the evening of December 3 last year, her lifeless body was found by stepfather Dale Evans in her bedroom at her home in Kennard Street, Ton Pentre, South Wales.

The inquest heard how the teenager wrote a suicide note on a blank page of a maths exercise book.
The note ended with the words: "I'm about to hang myself. If I keep writing after this, it hasn't worked."
Mr Evans told the inquest in Miskin, South Wales: "She was being bullied at school. There had been some trouble at school that day and I picked her up early.
"She went up to her room and had a bath but then stayed in her bedroom. I went to check on her at 8.30pm and found her hanging."
Trudy Robinson, a respite foster carer, who looked after the girl one weekend each month, told the inquest: "She was having extreme problems with bullying at school.
"She had been dragged downstairs and locked in a cupboard and had been taken to hospital on one occasion."
She described the girl as "exceptionally gifted academically and beautiful to look at", adding: "She was a joy to look after and liked to help in every way she could.
"She had just joined the Air Cadets and she had told me she wanted to be a pilot which I thought was a fabulous idea."
The inquest heard the Treorchy Comprehensive School pupil went to her bedroom after a row with her mother Deborah Evans over missing money from a money-box, which she eventually admitted taking.
Det Insp Nigel Cottle said: "Cherelle was generally the victim of bullying at school but on certain occasions she was the assailant in her own right. She had no problems with teachers but she had difficulty interacting with other pupils."
In a statement to police, her mother spoke of concerns about the bullying and said she felt it "impacted on Cherelle's quality of life".
The inquest also heard the girl was involved in a relationship with an older man, which was subject to an ongoing investigation by South Wales Police.
The coroner Philip Walters described the girl, from Ton Petre, Rhondda, as an intelligent and articulate teenager.
Recording an open verdict, Mr Walters said: "I really don't know why this has happened. It might be due to one thing, it might be due to a number of things.
"What I am satisfied is that I honestly don't think that this young lady intended to end her own life."
He said he was convinced the suicide note was a "cry for help" or was possibly to draw attention to herself.
Mr Walters also issued a warning to others who might be similarly tempted.
He said: "Young people are often not aware that if you tie a ligature around your neck it takes as little as five seconds to render you unconscious.
"Thereafter, death can occur any time up to quarter-of-an-hour.
"If you go down this route, this is final. There is no coming back."

We then discussed how this made us feel. This is as followed:

• Thought it was ridiculous how it made her out to be the person in the wrong
• Thought it was outrageous how it said she was only wanting attention. 
• Thought that we should be careful to not bring across that same message