The Piece as it stands

At present, our main way of working is to prepare scripts before lessons and then work with them, making amendments as we feel fit during lessons. In this way, we are now at the point of being half way through the black section, having finished the white one. We all have our clear jobs to do over Xmas, and when we get back we are going to start compiling our mediums (i.e. props, set, design, costume, scripts) so we can make the piece more of a whole performance than a rehearsal process.
Over and out.

The structure of the piece

The structure follows three colours:
White- the beginning. Liesel and her brother are travelling with their mother to their foster home. The bother dies en route and there is a quick burila before Liesel is taken away from her mother and put into the care of Hans and Rosa. Rudy arrives and we see the start of their friendship.

Black-the middle. Nazi Germany is causing problems for the German people, including Liesel and her family who are now settled in Molching. There are Hitler Youth Meetings, Book burnings and other Nazi propaganda events. A pilot crashes in a nearby field, and dies as Liesel and Rudy reach him.

Red- the end. All is quiet on Himmel Street as the bombs fall. Liesel is in the basement, having just finished her life story. The bombs tear apart Himmel Street, and Liesel is the only survivor. There is a lot of emotion as she says goodbye to everyone she loves, and leaves the street for the last time. Death finds her book and takes it away with him.

The three colours are the three times that Death meets Liesel. Death is the main narrator to the story.

House Scene

House Scene:

Liesel is clinging to gate, crying but not screaming. It’s like she can’t stop herself. Hans is standing near her, quietly talking to her. Rosa is behind her in the street trying to herd her indoors.

Hans: Come on Liesel, come with me

Rosa: Was ist los mit diesem kind? Come on! Into the house child!

Hans: It’s warm inside; perhaps you’d like to see your bedroom?

Rosa: Komm! Komm! What is this dummkopf?!

Hans turns to Rosa and gives her a look

Hans: Be quiet, can’t you see she’s terrified as it is?

Rosa: Well if the little saumensch won’t come inside…!

            (To audience) What are you arseholes looking at?!

Hans ignores Rosa and turns to kneel by Liesel

Hans: Come on, ignore her, I’ll walk with you Liesel?

(Extend hand to Liesel)

Liesel slowly accepts and starts to move

Rosa: That’s right, inside you arschloch! Schnell! (Quickly)

Creepy Clown Music

Rehearsal: 27/09/12

We had a lesson and a longer, after school rehearsal today, where we continued on the montages. In the lesson, we worked on our appalling stage combat skills (leading to numerous injuries) and eventually choreographed the playground fight scene. At this point we had 3 montage moments/scenes mapped out:

• Liesel wakes up
• The classroom
• The fight

In the post-school rehearsal, we continued 'montage-ing' and mapped out the scenes of:

• The 1st book stealing
• Liesel and Rudy's race
• Liesel and Rudy cloud watching

Rehearsal Lesson: 26/9/12

Today was a typical rehearsal lesson. we all brought in stimuli, mainly photos of the 1940s German Education System or the Nazi Book Burnings, and there was also a video entitled Hitler's Children: Seduction, highlighting hiw Hitler brainwashed the children of Germany in his years in power.
Practically, we re-created the classroom scene using a naturalistic style, which then stylisticly cut into the next scene of Liesel and Ludwig fighting in the playground.

Accordians!

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