DPA- Dr. Faustus -1&2

Today we were told what we are to be working on for our next unit, Dr. Faustus! When I discovered that this is what we are to be working on I was over the moon as it is one of my favourite plays due to the many various different endings and different approaches you can take towards it, whilst still always telling the ever so intriguing story. We are to be using Cristin McAuleys and Kyle Andersons adaptation of Christopher Marlowes Faustus. I decided to do some research into the play, as although I am already pretty familiar with it due to seeing different performances of it, its still important to refresh the memory and provide information for those who know less;

(Within our actual lesson, we were cast by our teacher and then we read through the script so that we could start to become more familiar with our characters and the text of the play.)



Faustus - Oliver  Kelly
Mephistopheles - Rhiannon David
Murdock - James Borg-Clancy
Cornelius - Rob Andrew
Valdes - Lewis Fisher
Evil Angel - Charlie Sanderson
Good Angel - Lorna Clark
Scholar - Charlie Sanderson
Lucifer - Lewis Fisher

Summary of the play;
Doctor Faustus, a talented but embittered German scholar, rails against the limits of human knowledge. He has learned everything he can learn, or so he thinks, from the conventional academic disciplines. All of these things have left him unsatisfied, so now he turns to magic. A Good Angle and an Evil Angel arrive, representing Faustus' choice between Christian conscience and the path to damnation. The former advises him to leave off this pursuit of magic, and the latter tempts him. From two fellow scholars, Valdes and Cornelius, Faustus learns the fundamentals of the black arts. He thrills at the power he will have, and the great feats he'll perform. He summons the devil Mephistopheles. They flesh out the terms of their agreement, with Mephistopheles working on behalf of Lucifer. Faustus will sell his soul, in exchange for twenty-four years of power and to have Mephistopheles by his side as his servant. But as he begins to revel in his new powers, the world around him starts to collapse and the clock inexorably counts down to the final moment of reckoning.



Character Synopsis';    

Doctor John Faustus A learned scholar in Germany during the fifteenth century who becomes dissatisfied with the limitations of knowledge and pledges his soul to Lucifer in exchange for unlimited power.

Valdes and Cornelius Two German scholars who are versed in the practice of magic and who teach Faustus about the art of conjuring.

Lucifer King of the underworld and a fallen angel who had rebelled against God and thereafter tries desperately to win souls away from the Lord.

Mephistopheles A prince of the underworld who appears to Faustus and becomes his servant for twenty-four years.

Good Angel and Evil Angel Two figures who appear to Faustus and attempt to influence him.

Seven Deadly Sins, Alexander, Helen of Troy, and Alexander's Paramour Spirits or apparitions which appear during the course of the play.

Chorus A device used to comment upon the action of the play or to provide exposition.
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Within our second lesson of working on Dr. Faustus we decided that we want to try and in-cooperate physical theatre into our piece as much as possible. We feel that physical theatre would be the best form of performance to use as the use of movement and physicality of the body has a predominant part in the narrative of our piece. I believe that the main focus of Dr. Faustus is based around the capabilities of us human beings and more importantly if we realise and then fulfil whatever each individual persons purpose is. Lucifer and all of the other fallen angels spend their time waiting for people who are blinded enough by their desires to essentially give their lives to the dark side. Our free-will (which is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action, and use our judgement of what is right and wrong when making these decisions) is seen through religious texts and in Faustus to be Gods gift to us. Every movement we make, every word we speak and everything we do, we have decided to do, regardless if these things come naturally to us (such as walking, chewing or laughing) are all choices that (though are automatic) we essentially still have control over, so as we've decided to incorporate physical theatre into our piece I think that our movement should be focused around control as the story of Dr. Faustus is essentially a struggle for power.


We decided that the best place to start working on physically would be the seven deadly sins. The sins are Pride - Which is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity. Envy - Which is the desire for others traits, status, abilities or situations. Gluttony - Which is an inordinate desire to consume more than which one requires. Lust - Which is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. Anger - Is  manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury, it is also known as wrath. Greed - Is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm or spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness. Sloth - the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

The first sin that we managed to finish devising was Sloth. For Sloth we start in a heaped pile of bodies in the middle of the treverse. Those on the floor then inhale and exhale slowly and loudly and lines from the sin are divided between those involved and spoke in a slow, slurred, sleepy way along with movements of the same sort to personify this sin. Each person lazily brings themselves to the front of the pile when saying their line. The collection of bodies along with explanation of sloth is always nonchalantly rolling, rolling into the next sin which is Gluttony.
For Gluttony we decided to use self-evident movements as that is what would best explain this sin. I walk through the treverse with the others stumbling over each other in an animalistic way to reach me as I hold down a bucket of food for them. They all take as much as they can and then dart to different areas in the treverse, positioned so that they can guard their food, whilst annihilating it as quickly as they can. Each person comes to the centre when they have their line and then returns to Vulcher their food until we stroll into the next sin, Pride.
For Pride we have decided to style it to that of a catwalk, as this is the best modern familiar representation of this sin that we could think of. We start this with us all going to one end of the treverse and posing in a way that would suggest that one loves oneself. So Lorna stood in a way that pushed her assets out, she then continued to pout and wink down the treverse as if she were looking in a mirror, whilst the boys stood flexing their muscles, winking at members of the audience and pointing as if they're 'them boys'. They then proceed to walk down the treverse to a heavy beat, that of a catwalk and strike poses when at the end of the treverse.
I feel that this was a good start to our physical lessons as we actually achieved our tasks and now have a positive and productive mind-set for the following lessons so hopefully will be as productive as we were today.