E Group 1 Notes

3a. Select a passage from a novel you have chosen to study which deals with despair and euphoria. How might staging, design and acting combine to register one of these experiences for an audience?

Pg 117

Sacred whale beached. Could spell end of their connection with this other world or establish its reunion.

“It is a reminder of the oneness that the world once had...if we have forgotten the communion then we have ceased to be Maori.”- Koro

Set in meeting hall- open archway with Maori prints on the arch

Dark and stormy weather- deciding moment-dramatic

Circled around him- fluidity of motion but clearly frustrated

Scared of him- excited by connection to whale

Chants, tribal score that sounds excited- show that the culture should be celebrating

The score should become mournful. The whales should “sing” for their dying leader

Koro should fall to his knees with tears on his face.

Bow to the whale

Stormy- dark in meeting house

By firelight

Shadows across Koro’s face as the men of the village sit on the ground away from him

Images of the gods are projected on the back of the stage

Koro in robe- further connection to his heritage







3b. Select a passage from a novel you have chosen to study which deals with loss. Discuss how you

would stage this in order to convey to the audience the meaning of that loss.

Chapter 3, Paragraph 2

-Koro loses his boy.

- “A girl,” Grandfather, Koro Apirana, said, disgusted. “I will have nothing to do with her.”

- Italicised girl- it’s a dirty word

- “She has broken the male line of descent in our tribe.”

- sets stage for her trying to prove herself

- “stomped out of the house.”

- Nanny Flowers - Koro’s “growly ways”

- tragedy of mother getting sick

- theme- girls aren’t good enough

- patriarchy clear from the introduction of the human characters

- humbug- Nanny’s fed up- normal occurrence

- sets Koro up as growly

- costuming- traditional Maori clothing- see immediate connection with Maori people and how he respects and observes old traditions

- when Nanny confronted Himyarites fcdr, he’d stand still in strong- unmoving in his resolve

- Rawiri- used as example of manliness- “from my side, not yours”

- Short with Nanny- curt responses

- Storms out- Nanny would follow him

- would cross across stage- waving Nanny off