Monday, January 27, 2020

Benefits of Essential Oils

Benefits of Essential Oils Whenever possible, I prefer to deal with the various ailments and injuries I encounter by using essential oils rather than synthetic treatments or remedies. Essential oils are not only very effective at treating sickness and injury, but also provide the peace of mind that can only come with using an all-natural remedy. Natural substances like essential oils are easily metabolized by the body. In fact, your body knows exactly how to deal with them and thrives on them. Unlike synthetic drugs, after an essential oil performs its natural healing function, it travels on to the liver and kidney and moves easily and gently out of the body, without attaching itself to various tissues. Which essential oils have the maximum healing effect? Obviously, the essential oil that you choose will depend on the condition you seek to treat. As you experiment with various oils and application methodologies, pay attention to which of these satisfy your unique, personal needs and tastes. Here are some of the essential oils that are known to have maximum healing effects. Lavender Lavender is the one of the most known essential oils. It is used to cut down the healing time for cuts, bites and stings. The nice thing about lavender is that is does not require a carrier, it can be applied straight to the affected area. Peppermint Not only will peppermint cool you off during a fever, but it will also fight nausea and tummy trouble, whether it is morning or motion sickness. You can also pair peppermint and lavender oil up and apply it to your temples; doing so will lessen the intensity of headaches and migraines. Another use for peppermint oil is to help combat insect invasions. Doing this is simple; just add a few drops of peppermint oil to hot water and wipe any surfaces with a peppermint-infused clothe. Peppermint oil is also used to treat indigestion, respiratory problems, bowel spasms and pain, asthma, intestinal gas and more. Eucalyptus Another popular essential oil is eucalyptus. It is the most powerful antibacterial, antiviral and antispasmodic. To use it for this effect, all you have to do is add a few drops to a basin of steaming water to inhale, or add a few drops to a vaporizer. This can help disinfect and clear both your nasal passages and lungs. You can also add a few drops to a cloth, or a bandana, and inhale the oil throughout the day; doing this during cold season will also help prevent a cold. Tea tree Just like eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil is also a powerful antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic. Using tea tree oil is very simple, all you have to do is add a few drops with a carrier oil and apply it directly to the affected area. This can help treat scrapes, cuts, infections, insect bites, warts and even flaky scalp or dry skin. Also, if you have acne, you can mix tea tree oil with coconut oil or aloe vera gel as an effective acne treatment. This great oil also helps loosen chest congestion. To do so, just add a few drops to a vaporizer. Another cold-like symptom that can be treated with tea tree oil is a sore throat, just put a few drops of the oil on your tongue every hour or so and the symptoms should disappear. You can also add a few drops to warm water and gargle with it. Another great use for this oil is removal of plantar warts. To get rid of these warts, put the oil right on the wart and massage it in and when it is dry, put socks on. The best way to do this is before bed- apply it, let it dry, and put socks on for fifteen to twenty minutes, but do not wear the socks to bed. Roman chamomile This essential oil is not only good for it’s scent, but it is also a very powerful anti-inflammatory. If you are experiencing red, sensitive or inflamed, acne-prone skin, this oil can help you out. It is a lot kinder than tea tree oil, so it is ideal for those with sensitive, delicate skin. Also, a few drops of roman chamomile can be added to an antibacterial carrier oil, such as coconut oil, to help treat and soothe diaper rash and eczema. Lemon Lemon essential oil is a powerful bactericide and treats minor cuts and wounds. It is also known to brighten dull skin, help immunity and is even used in antibacterial cleansers. Lemon oil is also known for its ability to clear toxins from the body. Frankincense Next up is the â€Å"king† of all oils, frankincense. You can also combine this oil with other oils to get better results and a more effective healing. Frankincense has even been known for its ability to kill cancer cells. More simply, it is used for skin inflammation, rashes, and brings about focus and clarity. Sesame Another essential oil is sesame oil. This oil is best known for its moisturizing qualities. Sesame oil contains fatty acids, which are believed to reduce stress and blood pressure. This essential oil has even shown to assist in slowing the growth of cancer in cells as long as your diet is rich in vegetables. Rose This oil can work to improve the hormonal balance and can treat problems like PMS and menopause. This oil is also known for counteracting bedroom problems and improving the health in your skin. Geranium Geranium essential oil is known for it’s astringent properties. Apart from refreshing the skin, this oil features styptic effects, which calm inflammation and stop hemorrhaging. This oil can also be used for treating acne, managing oily skin, boosting blood circulation, and reducing bloating. Other than this, this oil is helpful in reducing scars, blemishes, wrinkles and fine lines. Pine Pine oil has antiseptic, antibacterial, and analgesic properties. Pine oil is also known to treat skin problems, such as psoriasis, eczema and pimples. You can also use pine essential oil to speed up your metabolism, aid in food poisoning, ease joint pain and arthritis, kill germs, as well as battle respiratory problems that come with cold season. Clove Clove oil also has powerful healing properties, making it useful for use as an antiseptic. This oil needs a carrier oil for its functioning, so just dilute a few drops of this essential oil in your choice of carrier and you can treat bug bites, cuts, and scrapes. Apart from this, this oil can help clear earaches, digestion problems, nasal congestion, stomachaches, and headaches. As an additional bonus, it’s an aphrodisiac. This means that it has stress-relieving properties. Rosemary Another great essential oil is rosemary oil. According to scientific studies, rosemary essential oil has been shown to help in keeping the brain optimally functional. The act of simply smelling rosemary essential oil helps in memory recall. Essential oils and their usefulness in several common health conditions Below mentioned are some of the common ailments and the essential oils you can use for relief: Hangover Pine, Grapefruit, Juniper and Cypress Rosemary essential oils Heartburn Chamomile (German), Marjoram, Peppermint essential oils Indigestion Ginger, Coriander, Cardamom and Lemon Peppermint essential oils Insect repellent Citronella, Lavender, Cedarwood, Eucalyptus and Peppermint Sandalwood essential oils Anti-Coagulant Geranium essential oil Anti-Venomous Basil, Thyme essential oils Aphrodisiac Aniseed, Angelica, Black Pepper, Basil, Clary Sage, Cinnamon, Clove, Jasmine, Pimento, Ginger, Nutmeg, Rosewood, Thyme, Sandalwood, Ylang-Ylang and Vetivert essential oils. Expectorant Coriander, Flatulence, Thyme, Sandalwood, Peppermint, Pine, Parsley, Myrrh, Hyssop, Garlic, Cedarwood, Cajuput, Bergamot, Basil and Angelica essential oils. Hypertension Camphor, Rosemary, Hyssop and Thyme essential oils Hay Fever Lavender, Eucalyptus, Chamomile and Melissa essential oils Rheumatism Cedarwood, Black Pepper, Chamomile, Coriander, Cloves, Frankincense, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Ginger, Lemon, Rosemary and Pine essential oils Tonsillitis Lavender and Tea Tree essential oils Toothache Chamomile (Roman), Clove and Peppermint essential oils Influenza Ravensara, Melissa, Thyme, Oregano, Frankincense, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Lavender, Sage, Lemon, and Rosemary essential oils How to use essential oils for best possible healing Here are some of the best ways you can use essential oils for maximum healing effect: Use in a diffuser Place about 10 drops of essential oil in a diffuser. Follow the guidelines of the manufacturer and inhale accordingly. Essential oils must not be directly burned. Inhale the steam Add 2 to 5 drops of essential oil into a bowl of steaming water. Place a towel over your head covering the bowl water and breathe deeply. It is essential to keep the eyes closed during this process. This technique is not really suggested for children younger than 7 years of age. Children more than 7 years of age can use swimming goggles to guard their eyes. Dry Evaporation Place 5 drops of essential oil over a cotton ball or tissue allowing the oil to evaporate into the air. To get a more intense dose, sniff the cotton ball. Otherwise, just keep the cotton ball at a distance of few feet from your face. Use in a spray Add five to ten drops of essential oil to water in a tiny spray bottle, shake, and then spray into the air and inhale. Massage While using essential oils topically, it is important to note that essential oils should not be applied to the skin in undiluted forms. When diluted, the concentration should not be higher than 3 to 5 percent. To put it differently, if you use 3 drops of essential oil, you must dilute it with one teaspoon of carrier oil. To be on the safer side, start with a 1% solution, or 1 drop of essential oil per teaspoon of carrier oil. The exceptions: lavender, sandalwood, ylang ylang and myrrh and tea tree oils usually do not require dilution. Add essential oil to your favorite carrier oil with 3% concentration (at most 3 drops per teaspoon of carrier oil) and apply to your skin gently. You can massage your entire body or only the area affected. Spot Application Mix 1 to 3 drops of essential oil in 1 teaspoon of carrier oil or natural aloe vera and apply to the spot that needs attention. Compress Fill a basin with water. Add 3 to 5 drops of essential oil in the water and stir briskly. Soak a washcloth in water, wring, and apply to the affected area. Do this at least three more times. Leave the last compress in place for five minutes. Bath Add 20 to 40 drops of essential oil to bath water. Also, add a few tablespoons of milk or cream to serve as a dispersant. For the reason that bath allows the oil to be easily absorbed in the skin, this is among one of my personal favorite methods. Gargle Add one drop of essential oil per ounce of water. Mix, then gargle and swish out the solution. Do not swallow. Few essential oil blends to get you started When working with blends and carrier oils, never use more than a total of 10% of essential oils in your blend. This is the essential oils to carrier oil ratio used in most commercial consumer blends. Now let’s take a look at some of my favorite blends! Muscle and Joint Blend Topical 4 drops Thyme 4 drops Black Pepper 4 drops Peppermint 4 drops Rosemary 10 drops Basil Relaxation Blend – Topical or Inhalation 4 drops Marjoram 4 drops Chamomile (German) 4 drops Clary Sage 12 drops Lavender Circulation Blend – Topical or Inhalation 4 drops Juniper berry 4 drops Frankincense 4 drops Ginger 4 drops Cypress 4 drops Black Pepper 4 drops Geranium Vein and Artery Blend – Topical or Inhalation 4 drops Myrrh 4 drops Lemon 4 drops Sandalwood 4 drops Neroli 4 drops Geranium 4 drops Cypress Sunburn Blend Topical 4 drops Chamomile 4 drops Tea Tree 4 drops Peppermint 12 drops Lavender Minor Cuts and Scrapes Blend Topical 10 drops Tea Tree 10 drops Lavender Menstrual Cramps Blend Internal 7 drops Lavender 7 drops Rosemary 7 drops Melissa Congestion Blend Inhalation 4 drops Peppermint 4 drops Ravensara 15 drops Eucaplyptus Antibacterial Blend Topical 4 drops Rosemary 4 drops Cinnamon 4 drops Basil 12 drops Tea Tree Antimicrobial Blend Topical 4 drops Cinnamon 4 drops Thyme 4 drops Lemongrass 12 drops Rosemary Antiseptic Blend Topical 10 drops Rosemary 10 drops Lavender Antiviral Blend Topical 4 drops Clove 4 drops Thyme 12 drops Peppermint 12 drops Sandalwood Headache Blend – Inhalation or Internal 7 drops Marjoram 7 drops Basil 7 drops Peppermint Immunity Blend Internal 14 drops Lemon 7 drops Thyme Arthritis Blend – Topical or Inhalation 7 drops Juniper 7 drops Eucalyptus 7 drops Basil 7 drops Cypress 14 drops Chamomile Burns Blend Topical 4 drops Tea Tree 4 drops Lavender 4 drops Geranium 12 drops Chamomile Colds and Flu Blend – Internal or Inhalation 4 drops Tea Tree 4 drops Rosemary 4 drops Peppermint 4 drops Lavender 12 drops Cinnamon Essential oils for specific diseases Essential oils that can help in the treatment of cancer Grapefruit essential oil Grapefruit oil is packed with Ascorbic Acid, which is ideal for detoxifying our bodies, and is therefore valuable for the improving the defense mechanisms of the body. You can use this oil internally. Thyme essential oil Thyme oil is really a powerful defense mechanism booster and may help fight problems like cancer. As a urinary antiseptic, it is also good for cystitis and urethritis. You can use this oil internally. Some essential oils that stimulate white blood cell production: Pine, lemon, lavender, sandalwood, chamomile, Bergamot and myrrh tea tree, and thyme essential oils can help stimulate the white blood cell production in body. Essential oils for broken bones Topically apply Cypress, Helichrysum (most significant for broken bones), and White Fir over the injured area two to three times per day. If you have ligament or tendon damage, add Lemongrass. When there is muscle damage, add Marjoram. Essential oils for broken tendons Wintergreen essential oil While Wintergreen is not a very popular oil, it is incredibly good at treating broken tendons and pain cramps. You can use this oil topically or inhale for maximum benefit. Vetiver essential oil This oil is well known for its healing effects on muscles and tendons. Use this oil topically, internally, or by inhalation. Essential oils for cold sores Roman chamomile essential oil This oil can be a powerful anti-inflammatory, so it will be the best option for cold sores. This oil is also a good bactericide that can kill the bacteria responsible for causing cold sores. Frankincense essential oil Used heavily in biblical times, this oil operates at deeper levels of the skin to deliver maximum healing. Frankincense has proven to help combat skin inflammation, rashes and cold sores. You can use this oil topically. Cypress essential oil Cypress oil is anti-antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, so that it is a powerful tool to address cold sores. Use this oil topically. Helichrysum essential oil This oil is highly anti-inflammatory and calming. This oil is regenerative and its pain reducing properties and analgesic effects make it a powerful solution for cold sores. You can use this oil topically. Essential oils for lung healing Ravintsara, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Birch and Lemon are known to give strength to the lungs. Any blend carrying these oils can fight respiratory infections and alleviate symptoms of diseases related to the lungs. Essential oils for acne and scars Lavender essential oil Lavender oil has antibacterial and antiviral properties, which could reduce the healing time for acne and other skin conditions. It doesn’t need a carrier oil. You can apply it directly on the impacted area. Obviously, topical use can get you the best results in this case. Tea tree oil Tea tree oil is powerful antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial oil. Only a few drops blended with carrier oil is all you need to disinfect the acne on your body. Manuka essential oil This oil is perfect for treating skin conditions like acne due to its antifungal qualities. It promotes faster healing of the skin. Conclusion I hope that you find whatever relief you seek in your healing journey with the incredible power of essential oils. Remember that essential oils are like water. You don’t drink just once and then never again. Instead, healing with essential oils is an ongoing process to nourish and replenish your body and soul with these astonishing elixirs. Best of luck and happy healing!

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Drama and Theatre Studies structured records

‘Use of space' explored the broad topic of social and professional satisfaction and happiness. In order to highlight the universal implications of our piece, we decided that it was necessary to use diverse characters allowing the audience to identify with aspects of each persona's issues. Initially, we brainstormed several different problems that could affect an individual's happiness in the work place, and came up with the fundamentals for five characters. The original basis of my character came from my own anxieties towards life. During devising we were contemplating university choices and starting to arrange our lives after college. As a group we all felt anxious and many felt a lack of direction. This insecurity we felt towards leaving the secondary education system, led to the creation of Pamela (the character I played. ) After discussing Pamela's initial characteristics, focusing on her feelings of anxiety and confusion we had to decide her plot. Her lack of control and direction led us to create her objective to gain a secure role in the work place to solve her anxieties. After creating the fundamentals of each character we discussed as a group their characterisation. The role of Pamela primarily emerged through a series of role-plays. Firstly, I performed as her character in different situations allowing me to develop her personality. The remaining members contributed as supporting characters in the role play and often suggested ways to present her. I feel that my understanding of Pamela's persona emerged during the staging of her box monologue. Through this monologue we hoped to communicate to the audience Pamela's feelings of anxiety and confusion towards her professional future. As a group we felt the most effective way to portray this was through the use of physical theatre, therefore, the remaining members of the group adopted the role of a maze in which Pamela was metaphorically trapped. During the staging of this sequence I had to deliver my monologue whilst struggling through a figurative maze. As a performer I was sensitive to my characters claustrophobic feelings allowing me to successfully communicate her anxieties to the audience. Throughout the staging of this monologue the remaining group members concentrated on the performing space I was given. Although it was frustrating for me to be contained to a very small performing area, it allowed me to sympathise with my characters feelings of confinement and eventually resulted in a very successful portrayal of Pamela. During devising our characters, we were aware that each individual had to adopt a dream persona in the ‘fantasy' scenes. We hoped to communicate to the audience contrasting characteristics in these persona's, to highlight their desire to escape the frustration they feel towards reality. Whilst creating the character Angela's ‘fantasy' persona we analysed the reality Angela. Angela shows boredom towards her monotonous life. Through her character we hoped to communicate to the audience the necessity of having hobbies and dreams. The fantasy Angela emerged through the improvisation of a Latin American soap opera. We created the vivacious and dramatic character Maria who starkly contrasted Angela. As a group we agreed that the performance of Maria should be melodramatic and exaggerated to further contrast Angela's tedious reality. It was important to introduce a character for Maria to interact with to inject more energy into the scene. Through discussion we settled with a clichi love story and decided to introduce a male character who Maria is having an affair with. It was essential for this scene to maintain intense energy levels to contrast with the previous office scene. Firstly, we researched typical novella characters to influences our roles. I suggested that the group members in this scene (Helia and Payam) should highlight the sexual attraction between the characters. Initially this provoked awkwardness between Payam and Helia; therefore, we felt it was necessary to introduce an activity to make the two more comfortable with each other. We used several team building exercises to make Helia and Payam more physically comfortable with one another; the most successful was the leading the blind exercise. Through this exercise the participants were forced to be more sensitive towards each other, in partners one partner was chosen to lead the other blindly by the tip of the nose. Through constant contact and reliance this was very successful in making Payam and Helia more at ease. Similarly, it helped to distance the novella character to the actor. Through exaggerated physicality and melodramatic acting techniques the actor was dissociated with the character. Costumes successfully contributed to the portrayal of my character in the murder mystery fantasy. I played a stereotypical, stock detective character originally based on the Agatha Christie character Hercule Poirot. Initially I struggled to effectively portray this character because it was such a contrasting role to my reality. Physicality was a very important aspect of this character because of the desired effect we hoped to achieve. We had chosen to use melodrama and clichid anecdotes, therefore, it was important that the audience drew parallels between my character and Poirot for comedic effect. Through further independent research I discovered Poirot's defining feature was a French trench coat, and I decided to rehearse wearing this item. Surprisingly, the trench coat allowed me to connect with Poirot's physicality and personality, through wearing the coat my characterisation improved and allowed me to successfully perform as a response to Poirot. How the group planned for a range of responses from the audience. Initially we intended to present a serious production highlighting the importance of life satisfaction parodied through working life, based in an office. However, during the initial devising stages we decided to introduce fantasy scenes to contrast the monotonous office scenes and highlight the significance of dreams and ambition. As a group we showed interest towards comedic genres and felt that these would juxtapose the natural and static nature of the office scenes. However, although many of our fantasy scenes were intended for humorous effect a few were interpreted by the audience as humorous without intent. Fortunately, we decided to perform a dress rehearsal to a mock audience to gain an understanding of the successful aspects of humour the results were unexpected. Through devising the silent movie fantasy scene, we were expecting humorous results due to the slapstick nature of the comedy, however, we had to take into account the clichi and overexposed format of the silent movie. As a group we discussed the possibility that the audience would not react well to this scene due to the lack of originality. Throughout popular culture for the past fifty years in some opinions this genre has been exhausted, therefore we had to be prepared for an underwhelming reaction towards this particular scene. In order for the humorous response to be successful we decided that the content of our silent movie had to be obviously inspired by original content. As a group we decided that we were not going to aim to be original in this scene but aimed to create a polished and skilful tribute to silent films. It was important for us to consider different attitudes towards comedic genres. In particular silent films and slapstick comedy often generate various opinions. Through discussion we discovered that in our group of five alone there were several different opinions regarding slapstick comedy. Personally, I contributed an annoyance towards the genre explaining that I found it tedious, patronising and often crude. However, contrastingly, Payam presented his enthusiasm towards slapstick comedy and defended his fondness towards slapstick comedians such as Lee Evans and Charlie Chaplin. Therefore we were initially prepared for an audience varied responses to the slapstick moments throughout our piece. This discussion led us to consider our target audience. Due to the content of our play we discussed that it transcended a fixed target audience, any age group could respond to the implications and the messages we were hoping to portray. However, because of the universality of our play we discussed different attitudes towards aspects of the play. Firstly, we evaluated that a younger audience would react better towards the humorous aspects especially ages between 12 and 19, therefore we decided to target the humour to this age group. We initially decided to do this by exaggerating our humorous stereotypes and characters physicality to the extreme. However, during a viewed rehearsal run it became apparent that our characterisations needed to be exaggerated, especially in our silent movie scene. Through discussion we came to the conclusion that older audience members would react well to the stereotypes used in out murder mystery fantasy. In particular the detective stereotype took inspiration from the fictional character Poirot. Generationally, we were aware that a younger audience member would be alienated by the introduction of this stock character because they would not be able to identify with the original. The characterisation of the detective also played a large reliance on the audience members, creating a pantomime like effect. Whilst playing the detective character I often made eye contact with the audience and projected jokes to them, therefore their reactions were very important at these stages. We used lighting to gain more audience reaction during this scene by up lighting the audience subtly allowing the performers to see their reactions and in turn play off their reactions to the humour. During the novella fantasy scene, melodrama was employed. An argument between Carlos and Maria the Latin American characters led to Maria slapping Carlos around the face. This prompted a shocked reaction amongst the audience because they were not expecting it. Difficult reactions from the audience- racist generalising Latin American, stereotyping French maids, stereotyping in general we had to be sensitive towards the audience whilst approaching these scenes. Explore the impact of social, cultural and/or historical conditions on your devised piece. – Vicki Marks. Our devised piece ‘Use of Space' is socially and culturally influenced by traditional conventions of popular culture. Foremost, we decided to exploit the familiarity of these conventions to highlight social perils. Most poignantly we decided to highlight the implications of a female in the workplace and comment on the fact that women still earn substantially less from their employment than men. We chose to emphasize this by going against traditional clichis. Primarily, the character of Nicky symbolised an ambitious business women hoping to succeed in the workplace. To highlight her characters struggle to be successful we altered the traditional female clichi. We felt that typical stereotypes of women came from medieval genres; furthermore the clichid format was a damsel in distress being rescued by her knight in shining armour. For this social comment to be accessible to the audience we simply chose to invert the roles of the typical damsel in distress and knight in shining armour. This resulted in highlighting the fact that women are capable of metaphorically ‘rescuing' themselves, in turn reaching success without help, showing the capability of women and hopefully promoting sexual equality in the workplace. Additionally, through our research into the presentation of women in conventional medieval drama, we learnt the historical relevance of female roles. In a traditional damsel in distress story women are patronised and demeaned. To emphasise the inequality between the sexes we chose to use contrasting levels. For example we chose to place the damsel on higher levels than the knight; this allowed the damsel to take a more commanding role. However, throughout we made constant references to the traditional format through humour, by showing the characters awareness of the reversed roles. I feel that this was very effective because we were culturally aware that a modern day audience would be aware of the clichi allowing it to become humorous in itself. Whilst devising another characters fantasies we settled on the concept of a traditional Latin American soap opera. We chose to use this format to contrast the tedious nature of the characters work life. This idea initially was influenced by the popular television series ‘Ugly Betty' showing clips of traditional Latin American soap opera's or novellas. This genre was particularly useful because of the melodramatic acting techniques used, to give this scene authenticity we chose to have the characters speak a few words or phrases in Spanish and maintained a Spanish accent throughout. Surprisingly, the use of accents and clichid Spanish phrases created a comedic effect, the audience reacted well to this humour. To further the humorous effect we exaggerated the Spanish personalities getting inspiration from the Mexican cartoon character ‘Speedy Gonzales' which allegedly depicts a stereotypical Mexican. Through popular culture we were aware of many of the love clichis also apparent through this scene, in particular the over poetic declaration of love using the analogy of the ‘fake red rose. ‘ Initially, we wanted to explore the format of a silent film in order to highlight the importance of communication, but were anxious to use such a challenging convention on stage and were worried that the audience would become confused. However through research we were able to adopt this style very successfully. Silent movies were made before technical advances allowed an audience to view a film with both images and sound. We wanted to make our silent scene as authentic as possible therefore through our research into silent movies we noticed the projection speed and decided to significantly slow the scene down; some scenes were intentionally slowed down further in order to accelerate the action, particularly in the case of the slapstick moments. One of the main messages of our production was the importance of job satisfaction. There have been many recent surveys and articles surrounding job prospects and the amount of people dissatisfied in their current job placements. We therefore decided to show a group of characters that want to break free from the confinements of an unsatisfying job to highlight the importance of passion and dreams. We feel as young adults embarking on our working lives and starting to make important decisions that will shape our futures, it is very relevant that we have shown our anxieties towards working life. Work related stress is also socially rife especially in western culture therefore; through one of our characters we showed the importance of maintaining hobbies outside of a job to hopefully indicate that money is not the most important thing. Use of Space is an escapist piece; the fantasies represent each character hoping to escape the constraints of their tedious, impassionate lives. Dream worlds are a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. The use of a dream world creates a situation whereby a character (or group of characters) is placed in a marvelous and unpredictable environment and must overcome several personal problems to leave it. The dream world also commonly serves to teach some moral or religious lessons to the character experiencing it a lesson that the other characters will be unaware of, but one that will influence decisions made regarding them. When the character is reintroduced into the real world (usually when they wake up), the question arises as to what exactly constitutes reality due to the vivid recollection and experiences of the dream world. How acting techniques or design elements and the use of dramatic form were consciously employed to achieve intended effect. The dramatic form of ‘use of space' was inspired by abstract theatre. Our devised piece does not follow a typical chronological time sequence; it has a warped sense of time due to our introduction of ‘fantasy' scenes. Dreams allow the repressed parts of the mind to be satisfied through fantasy and let the mind express things that would normally be suppressed in the waking world. Dreams may also offer a view at how future events might proceed; this is similar to running future events through the mind, for instance a work presentation or a job interview. As a group we identified dreams as an interaction between the unconscious and the conscious. Therefore we wanted to highlight the contrast between reality and fantasy. To begin with we discussed using contrasting lighting effects to show an obvious transaction between reality and fantasy. To express the abstract, fantasy scenes we felt the audience would react well to pink colour fill lighting. This was successful because, the unnatural pink lighting allowed the audience to be aware of the abstract format of the scene. We also relied on the audience's familiarity with clichi dream scenes shown in popular culture. Dream worlds are a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. Lighting is often used similarly when representing a dream, often flashing lighting is used and mists to show the audience the unreality. As a group we took this into account and decided to use soft lighting throughout the ‘fantasy' scenes by using a flood effect to fill the whole stage. Flash lighting was also used subtly during the transaction from a reality scene to a fantasy scene. We decided as a group to only use subtle flash lighting during the transition because we did not want to reproduce the clichi formats of a dream sequence, we felt that this would undermine the intended serious messages we were trying to relay to the audience. Firstly each fantasy scene is triggered by an action and a simple freeze frame to link the office reality to the dreams. This use of gestus was an acting technique developed by Bertolt Brecht which reflects the characters emotional conflict through a brief frozen action. Gestus was employed during the transaction from my characters monologue to her fantasy scene. As a group we discussed our desired effect of the gestus and decided to show an obvious link between the character's emotional conflict and the freeze frame, for the audience's accessibility. We therefore decided to each come up with a simple freeze frame highlighting the principal emotions of my character, due to the lack of direction my character was feeling we chose to physically interpret the emotion confusion. Coincidentally, each member of the group similarly replicated a curled up freeze frame with their hands clasping their heads. As a group we decided that this composition showed the audience the characters basic feelings of confusion. Sound plays a big part in our production. Our opening scene begins with a metronome to highlight the artificial nature of the office scene and the rhythm of a monotonous life. We decided to open with a metronome to cause a feeling of anticipation through the audience; the ticking rhythm exaggerates and builds tension therefore immediately engaging with the audience before the action begins. The metronome rhythm also acted as a beat to keep our opening routine in time. The beat and the routine showed the audience the typical rhythm of an unsatisfying job. Due to the intimacy of our staged environment we decided not to use microphones because we wanted the sound to be raw and natural even in the fantasy scenes to accentuate the fine line between dreams and reality. This also made the audience feel close to the actors and therefore able to relate to the performers more easily. However to contrast this effect we chose to show all costume changed on stage employing the popular Brechtian technique Verfremdungseffekt through using this we hoped to communicate that the audience's reality was, in fact a construction. During the silent movie scene we used clichi silent movie music. We wanted to stay authentic to a conventional silent film therefore we had a pianist. This music contributed to the atmosphere and gave the audience vital emotional cues. Silence is also an important tool in our production because it is in contrast to the loud interludes of music for example in the silent movie fantasy. Silence was often used after intense sections of dialogue or monologue. For example during my characters monologue the volume levels of my voice were used to create intensity building up to a climax. The silence during my characters gestus freeze frame is poignant because when the sound is taken away the audience begins to focus more on the movement and the emotion of the character, the silence intrigued them. There are many different characters and settings in our play; therefore we decided that our set should remain very neutral. We designed our set in a deliberately ambiguous way, so we could move easily between fantasy and office scenes. We decided that altering the layout of the stage and the set between each scene would prove noisy and would distract the audience's attention. We were however very aware that a permanent set would become boring and the audience would lose interest, nevertheless we decided through rehearsals and a practice production that the intensity of the action made up for the lack of set changes. We used two black oblong boxes as the fundamentals of each scene, occasionally changing the positioning of them to create a different atmosphere. We chose not to have a specific setting contributing to the representation of free-flowing images within the characters mind. However, we decided to introduce an element of decaying society preoccupied by work ambitions and promotions through the use of broken computer monitors, keyboards, mice, and disks positioned around the stage. This gave the stage an overall look of disarray and immediately introduced the audience to the conflict within the characters in the production. How research material was gathered and used within the process. – Vicki Marks To begin the devising process our group was presented with five quotes that took inspiration from different aspects of life, this supplied us with an excellent starting point for developing a challenging piece of theatre, however our initial responses to the stimuli shaped our early work and many aspects were later changed as the piece matured. Firstly each member of the group decided separately which quote inspired them and worked towards abstractly analyse the meaning of these quotes. As a group we were drawn towards the quote â€Å"fear is a dark room where negatives are developed. † We felt that this quote gave us enough scope to produce a brainstorm surrounding the analysis of it. After analysing the quote through a brainstorm we decided to focus on the idea of fear. These fear aspects of the quote lead our group to research and gain an interest surrounding common phobias. As an initial response to phobias we decided to explore phobias that restrain and dominate everyday life. As a group we were interested in the psychological effects of irrational fears, through discussion, we realised one of our member's arachnophobia and decided to research real life stories showing the influences of phobias. We began to gain an understanding of the psychological effects of living with an irrational fear, this allowed us to contemplate the way a person living with a phobia views the world. This topic particularly appealed to our group because three of the members were studying a course in psychology and took a specific interest in phobias. Through research we were drawn to highlighting different perceptions of the world, this is initially why we decided to show a dream or fantasy of each character. I was currently studying Margret Atwood's dystopian novel â€Å"A Handmaid's Tale. † And inferred parallels between dystopian societies and living with a life altering phobia. As a group this led us to discuss the concepts of normality and initially directed us to create a dystopian society to base our phobic characters in. However, we felt that through creating a dystopian society we were overcomplicating the piece and decided in order to create an accessible message we would have to simplify the plot. Many of our responses to the quote were detached and impersonal; therefore we decided to take a more personal approach to the analysing the quote. We wanted to create a more abstract approach to analysing, consequently, rather than brainstorming we played a word association game. Our earlier research indicated to us the potential of exploring fear; for that reason we opened by associating responses to the word ‘fear'. This resulted in a discussion of our apprehension and anxiety towards our futures, each member of the group was in the process of applying to university and planning the next step of their lives. It was important for us to follow our dreams and mistakes in choices at this stage worried us and we were sensitive to the idea of being stuck doing something we were not passionate about. This discussion allowed us to infer parallels between our fears towards losing our passion and job satisfaction in the work place. This led us to create a work place scenario, highlighting different characters problems with the way their lives have transpired. Although we had created an initial scenario we had to decide how to highlight the importance of job satisfaction and dreams. This is where our ideas surrounding an exploration of dreams and fantasies linked in with our running idea. How group skills contributed to the development of the drama. – Vicki Marks As an ensemble, we had many different approaches to the production of our devised piece. Firstly, after the initial discussions of the basic structure of ‘use of space' we decided that each member should separately prepare an initial suggestion for a fantasy scene. Subsequently as an ensemble we modified each member's idea to fit the characters objectives incorporating each group member's requirements. Two of the four fantasy scenes required only two characters, therefore allowing the two remaining members to direct. This particularly put pressure on the team and initially certain members of the group did not respond well to being directed, however, we had to be flexible whilst blocking a scene and be open to criticism and changes. Considering the ensemble approach to devising we wanted each member to experience directing each scene, this also allowed us to incorporate more than one member's objective for a particular scene. Therefore, we often resorted to switching roles mid scene to appreciate the way each member would perform certain characters and situations. I feel that this successfully allowed us to create two dimensional characters and by including aspects of everyone's ideas created an overall satisfaction towards each scene. Each member of the group had a monologue allowing the audience to understand each individual characters state of mind. The preparation of a monologue is often very personal, initially, Helia and I scripted each monologue, but we worked as a group throughout the blocking and performing, however, this proved difficult. Due to the individual approaches of a monologue, taking control of scripting them was ineffective. This approach resulted in confusion and the monologues were less emotionally effective, because members struggled to connect with them on a personal level. Therefore, firstly, we each took our monologues separately and worked on the content through closely analysing our characters objectives and intentions. After we were happy with the essential content of our monologues we worked as a group to develop them. Group timing was essential during the silent movie fantasy, due to a lack of dialogue the scene required carefully choreographed action, which required the group to work carefully in relation to one another. At one stage of this scene, Helia was required to jump on Payam's back and knocked to the ground. In order to prevent any injuries we applied a partnering system, involving a free member of the group shadowing Helia, providing support during the initial stages of rehearsals. During the later stages of devising the murder mystery scene we became uninspired with the outcome An evaluation of the ways in which ideas were communicated to the audience. – Vicki Marks Throughout the devising process we focused predominantly on comedic genres, to allow the audience to access the central messages through humour. Although we were aware of the comedic value of each scene it was difficult to predict the audience's reactions, therefore we decided to perform it to a small audience during our rehearsal to evaluate which areas of humour were successful and which were less effective. Consequently, we realised that many of the melodramatic fantasies such as the silent movie were physically being underplayed resulting in a misrepresentation of our desired style. This resulted in a member of our group to employ a technique that we had used on a physical theatre work shop. Performing our characters physicality on levels from one to ten, ten being the most physically expressive allowed us to evaluate which level of physicality was successful. As a group we decided that the audience reacted best towards the silent movie scene when we employed a physicality level of ten. Due to lack of dialogue, physicality and expression allowed the audience to follow the storyline whilst also creating humour. As a result of working with a limited number of actors it was necessary to multi-role; however, through multi-rolling it is often easy to confuse an audience. We therefore decided to employ the Brechtian technique of changing our signifying costumes on stage. This allowed the audience to understand the style of our piece, and the abstract nature of the fantasy scenes. We also decided to place each change of costume on stage from the opening scene to intrigue the audience and allow them to become more involved in the action. We also had to take into account the wide range of characters we used. For example in one fantasy scene Payam took on the role of a Spanish soap character and during the next fantasy scene his character changed to a medieval knight. As a group we realised that a change of costume would not be sufficient to demonstrate to the audience a change in character, therefore we had to ensure that each actor varied their physicality according the role they were playing. As a group we consciously casted many of the characters as stock characters and stereotypes, allowing us to successfully communicate to the audience a significant change in role. Naturalistically it was difficult to vary each member's character therefore by using melodramatic genres we were able to separate each members character. Originally, we intended to highlight the importance of job satisfaction through juxtaposing the office scenes with the fantasy scenes. We hoped to communicate to the audience the monotonous routine of being unsatisfied in a job. In order to convey this to an audience we decided to use opposing theatrical styles for the fantasy and office scenes. We decided on a naturalistic approach for the office scenes to highlight the dissatisfaction of the characters, similarly we decided to use abstract and melodramatic genres for the fantasy scenes to show the positivity. The accessibility of the humour in our piece relied on the audience's knowledge of the common clichis we drew inspiration from. I feel we did not fully take into account the age range of our audience and miscalculated the universality of the clichis. After discussing with our audience their reactions towards our piece many of the younger members did not understand the humorous aspects on every level. For example in our murder mystery fantasy we took inspiration from the popular detective character Poirot, however many of the younger To open our piece we decided to have each character on stage the composition involved my character facing the audience frozen in a spotlight and a visible shadow of the four other characters in the background, to show individual stories and the universal message that applied to each character. t. How rehearsal and the production process contributed to the final performance. – Vicki Marks During the rehearsal process, we encountered many difficulties with the staging of certain idea's and aspects. Initially we had decided to each perform a separate monologue as our office characters to highlight the objectives of each individual, we felt that it was important to portray to the audience an interesting insight into the characters feelings and wanted each monologue to project different forms. After the initial scripting of the monologues, we brainstormed the different approaches to staging them. Fortunately, each monologue adapted distinctive structures which allowed us to manipulate and create visually appealing scenes. During the staging of Payam's monologue initially aimed to block the physical placement, this required him to be free to travel across the stage, and therefore, a remaining member of the group read his monologue whilst he attempted to block it. Surprisingly, this created an interesting effect of daydreaming; therefore we decided to continue having his monologue projected from off stage. At one stage during our rehearsals we were challenged to find an original and inspiring way to present our idea. We had already decided that we wanted to contrast reality and fantasy. We had devised the fundamentals of ‘office scenes' created to depict our original character Dylan's disconnection with a dystopian society. Because we had created a leading character we struggled to introduce equal roles. Therefore, we decided to create a structured brainstorm addressing our themes and the ideas we hoped to communicate. Through this we discovered a situation where Dylan's disconnection with society linked to a modern day scenario. Dylan's alienation towards an unfamiliar society was transformed into a group of office workers unsatisfied with their situations. Luckily, through former improvised scenes we had created characters which fitted this scenario. Throughout the devising process we were interested in developing an interpretation of parallel universes. We were initially drawn to this idea through different interpretations of phobia's and the way an individual interprets fears. This idea led one member of the group to compare parallel universes to dreams, and fantasies. As a group we decided that we were interested in highlighting the importance of following your dreams, therefore began to research different fantasies and dream scenarios. We began to discuss different genres and settled initially on medieval clichis drawing on the typical female fantasy of being rescued by a knight in shining armour. As a group we decided that our acting techniques should mirror this genre therefore we settled on melodrama. Previously, we had only attempted naturalistic acting techniques, and as a group we were aware of the contrast between naturalism and melodrama. In order to familiarise ourselves with this acting technique we attended a physical theatre workshop, it was apparent to us that in order to effectively portray a melodramatic genre we would have to introduce exaggerated physicality. Initially this felt unnatural to most of the group members due to our back ground in naturalism, therefore, the support we received from the workshops group leader was very helpful. We benefited from the group leader knowledge surrounding physical theatre and he introduced us to a technique which allowed us to exaggerate the physicality during rehearsals. How the influence of ideas of other playwrights and/ or directors, designers and performers have been used. Originally, we hoped to achieve a depressing and desolate office scene highlighting the impassionate emotions of the characters. We initially decided that the characters would remain deadpan to express their negative attitudes towards their work environment; however, we wanted to employ a more exciting abstract format to express this further. We therefore turned to ‘Machinal' by Sophie Treadwell which one of our group members had previously studied. The opening scene to Machinal is a powerful expression of a monotonous office scene. Treadwell uses an expressionist form employing repetitive dialogue and action and harsh audio effects to create a tedious and mechanical impression. Inspired by Treadwell's use of repeated dialogue and action we began to improvise scenes using similar techniques. Firstly, we chose words and phrases linked to an office environment and repeated them, overlapping each other and increasing in volume throughout to create an intense atmosphere. Unfortunately, due to the small group, this did not achieve our desired effect. This then lead us towards a more physical representation, as an alternative to repeated dialogue we chose to highlight the routine of the office through repeating typical office actions. The use of stylised actions reminded a member of the group of a performance of ‘absolute beginners' through which the director had expressed the rigidity of the office through women typing in unison creating a routine effect. Considering the size of the group we were not enthusiastic to have each character simultaneously performing one action, we therefore, took inspiration from the over exaggerated nature of each movement. Instead of using a routine we highlighted a sense of artificiality by introducing a metronome to emphasise the mechanical and artificial nature of the scene. Characterization was very important to the success of our performance. Because we had chosen to show many stark and stereotyped characters throughout it was important to exaggerate the physicality of the characters in certain places. Physicality was expressed most poignantly through the silent film fantasy. Because this was such a challenging format to express due to the lack of dialogue it relied fully on each actor's physical representation of the character. Inspiration was originally taken from Charlie Chaplin. Through research we learnt that as a Silent film actor he emphasized his body language and facial expression so that the audience could better understand what his character was feeling and portraying on screen. However, simply watching and attempting to replicate Chaplin's style was not enough. As a group we decided to participate in a ‘Jet' physical theatre company workshop. This not only allowed us to work on our physicality as performers in general but gave us excellent scope to improve our silent film scene. Costumes were not hugely significant in our performance. We did not want to over complicate things and circumstantially our performance consisted of many short scenes and an array of different characters, similar to the conventions of epic theatre employed notably by Bertolt Brecht we decided to do all of the costume changes on stage. These changes only consisted of small variations to costumes such a hats a jackets that symbolised each character Brecht employed the use of techniques that remind the spectator that the play is a representation of reality and not reality itself, which he called the Verfremdungseffekt. Such techniques included changing costumes on stage. Through this Brecht hoped to communicate that the audience's reality was, in fact a construction and, as such, was changeable. Another Brechtian technique used in our performance was the use of song. We decided that this allowed the audience to distance themselves from the action hopefully making the social comments throughout more accessible and setting the abstract theme from the beginning notably the entire performance was strictly episodic and many scenes were in isolation from each other. Each fantasy scene is triggered by an action and a simple freeze frame to link the office reality to the dreams. This use of gestus was also an acting technique developed by Bertolt Brecht which reflects the characters emotional conflict through a brief frozen action. Gestus was employed during the transaction from my characters monologue to her fantasy scene. As a group we discussed our desired effect of the gestus and decided to show an obvious link between the character's emotional conflict and the freeze frame, for the audience's accessibility. We therefore decided to each come up with a simple freeze frame highlighting the principal emotions the character. The initial idea to dress each character in their own variation of full black was inspired by a performance of ‘attempts on her life' at the national. The director Martin Crimp chose to dress each character in their own interpretation of completely black. We adapted this idea to our performance because it allowed each character to show their own individuality whilst still highlighting the monotony and dull nature of the office and their negative emotions towards their situations. We took a large amount of inspiration from the melodramatic acting techniques employed by soup opera's. We particularly focused on the style of acting used in traditional Novella's or Latin American soups. Whilst approaching this style we researched the soup opera ‘Days of our lives. ‘ To help us adopt similar persona's. How the stimulus material was developed through the drama process. To begin the devising process our group was presented with five quotes that took inspiration from different aspects of life, this supplied us with an excellent starting point for developing a challenging piece of theatre, however our initial responses to the stimuli shaped our early work and many aspects were later changed as the piece matured. Firstly each member of the group decided separately which quote inspired them and worked towards abstractly analyse the meaning of these quotes. As a group we were drawn towards the quote â€Å"fear is a dark room where negatives are developed. † We felt that this quote gave us enough scope to produce a brainstorm surrounding the analysis of it. After analysing the quote through a brainstorm we decided to focus on the idea of fear. These fear aspects of the quote lead our group to research and gain an interest surrounding common phobias. As an initial response to phobia we decided to explore phobias that restrain and dominate everyday life. As a group we were interested in the psychological effects of irrational fears, through discussion, we realised one of our member's arachnophobia and decided to research real life stories showing the influences of phobias. We began to gain an understanding of the psychological effects of living with an irrational fear, this allowed us to contemplate the way a person living with a phobia views the world. This inspired us to contemplate feelings and emotions surrounding living in a different mindset to the norm. We therefore decided to create five different freeze frames, abstractly exploring the physicality of emotions.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Administrative Matrix

Associate Level Material Appendix C: Administrative Matrix Instructions: Complete the Administrative Matrix located below. You are expected to identify and explain the functions and roles of management. This information is based on the four functions of management. By providing an example, you demonstrate an understanding of each management function. | | | |Function |Role of Management |Example | |Leading |This includes interpersonal roles, subordinates within the |A manager has the responsibility to lead by example within the | | |organization, and persons external to the organization. Three |organization.It is important to model the behavior subordinates| | |interpersonal roles include figurehead, leader, and liaison |are expected to fulfill | |Top managers |Individuals who are responsible for making |In my company these are 7s they make sure that all policies are | | |decisions about the direction of the |signed by staff and that everyone knows what is going on in the | | |organiz ation and establishing policies that |company. They are rarely ever seen unless a situation needs | | |affect all organizational members. addressing and they are normally the voice of the HR department | |Middle Managers |Individuals who are typically responsible for |In my company these are called 6s they usually are in an office | | |translating goals set by top managers into |setting and do not have to take care of the individuals, but | | |specific details that lower-level managers will |they do make schedules, make sure everyone shows up for work and| | |see get done. also make sure that when overtime is available everyone works | | | |accordingly | |First line managers |Supervisors responsible for directing the day-today |In my company these are established by numbers they would be a 5| | |activities of nonmanagerial employees |someone who works directly with us doing the same work, but also| | | |overseeing what we do and doing all the daily paperwork to make | | | |sure we d o what is best for our individuals |

Friday, January 3, 2020

The Dark Beauty Of Pi And Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy...

Discoveries are defined as new understanding that alter our lives and add richness and value through contemplation of others and ourselves. This helps underpin the concept that ourselves and others around us are constantly changing, and while through these discoveries occurs. Realistic poet Robert Frost through his poems â€Å"mending wall† and â€Å"stopping by the woods on a snowy evening† contract traditional standpoints between the contempary film â€Å" life of pi† by Ang Lee conveying the capacity for discovery to be universal. These are explored through the themes of nature, companionship and death, which develop upon our new understanding to alter life’s perceptions. Death alters the way we perceive discovery, which can ultimately vary our†¦show more content†¦Captured by the tranquility and beauty of the woods that offers ease of disregard responsibilities although he has â€Å"promises to keep†¦ ad miles to go before I sleep†. Here frost focuses, with the use of fist person perspective, on the external choices people make as natural beauty is juxtaposed by the demand of responsibility. Holding sleep as a metaphor of death emphasizing the pull of life over death. Life of pi however extenuates the proximity of death as it provides a means of survival through fantasy. Lee’s film is structured to portray an experience of great suffering and great joy. Pi cannot be free to discover himself while he exists within the comfort zone of his family. The sinking of the Tsimtsum casts him into the ‘ocean of life’ signifies his discoveries through death. The aerial shot of his head, dwarfed by the vast, dark ocean emphasizes his vulnerability as he is cast adrift. His intense suffering is revealed most powerfully in the storm scene where wide shots again portray his vulnerability in the wild sea and Christ-like imagery shows him screaming at his ‘God’, arms spread in prayer: â€Å"Why are you scaring him? I’ve lost my family. I’ve lost everything. I surrender. What more do you want?† . Pi’s life raft is swept away, symbolizing the loss of his haven and material possessions and a high angle shot of Richard Parker shows that even the tiger – a symbol of Pi’s braver and more primitive self – is afraid. A s scene that cuts between