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No 12 Middle School Performances of the plays_
Honesty Is The Best
One day a woodcutter sat on the bank of the river to rest after he had done some work. Unfortunately, his axe fell into the water. He began to cry.
The god Hermes appeared and felt sorry for him, so he jumped into the water and brought up a gold axe.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter: No, it isn't.
Hermes went under the water again and came up with a silver axe. But the honest woodcutter would not take it.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter: No, it isn't.
So the god Hermes went down into the water for the third time and brought up the man's own axe.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter: Yes, it's mine.
Hermes: Oh, you're an honest person. I'll give you all the axes!
Woodcutter: Oh, thank a lot.
Hermes was pleased with the honesty of this poor man. He gave him both the gold and the silver axes as gifts.
The woodcutter told his friend this thing. His friend was surprised and decided to do the same.
Woodcutter: Can you believe it? I lost my old axe this morning and Hermes helped me find it. But he gave me other two axes. One was gold and the other one was silver! I was very happy. I'm a rich man now!
Woodcutter' friend: Really? I can't believe that. You're very lucky! I want gold and silver axes, too. Hmm... I decide to do the same as you do. Then I'll have both gold and silver axes.
He dropped his axe into the water on purpose and then cried. Hermes appeared and dived to bring him a gold axe.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter's friend: Yes, it's mine.
Hermes: You are lying. I hate this kind of people. I'll give you nothing!
Hermes was angry with him because he was lying, so Hermes left the man's axe in the water and went away.
One day a woodcutter sat on the bank of the river to rest after he had done some work. Unfortunately, his axe fell into the water. He began to cry.
The god Hermes appeared and felt sorry for him, so he jumped into the water and brought up a gold axe.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter: No, it isn't.
Hermes went under the water again and came up with a silver axe. But the honest woodcutter would not take it.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter: No, it isn't.
So the god Hermes went down into the water for the third time and brought up the man's own axe.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter: Yes, it's mine.
Hermes: Oh, you're an honest person. I'll give you all the axes!
Woodcutter: Oh, thank a lot.
Hermes was pleased with the honesty of this poor man. He gave him both the gold and the silver axes as gifts.
The woodcutter told his friend this thing. His friend was surprised and decided to do the same.
Woodcutter: Can you believe it? I lost my old axe this morning and Hermes helped me find it. But he gave me other two axes. One was gold and the other one was silver! I was very happy. I'm a rich man now!
Woodcutter' friend: Really? I can't believe that. You're very lucky! I want gold and silver axes, too. Hmm... I decide to do the same as you do. Then I'll have both gold and silver axes.
He dropped his axe into the water on purpose and then cried. Hermes appeared and dived to bring him a gold axe.
Hermes: Is this your axe?
Woodcutter's friend: Yes, it's mine.
Hermes: You are lying. I hate this kind of people. I'll give you nothing!
Hermes was angry with him because he was lying, so Hermes left the man's axe in the water and went away.
Scene 1
The Woodcutter loses his axe in the river. The God Hermes comes and jumps into the river to find his axe. He gives the Woodcutter a golden axe and says to him “ Is this yours?” The Woodcutter is honest and tells Hermes it is not his.
Now watch the video.
The Woodcutter loses his axe in the river. The God Hermes comes and jumps into the river to find his axe. He gives the Woodcutter a golden axe and says to him “ Is this yours?” The Woodcutter is honest and tells Hermes it is not his.
Now watch the video.
Scene 2
Hermes jumps back into the river and gives the Woodcutter a silver axe. But again the Woodcutter says it is not his. So Hermes jumps into the river a third time. This time he gives the Woodcutter his own axe, but because he was so honest he gives him the gold and silver axes as well.
Now watch Scene video.
Hermes jumps back into the river and gives the Woodcutter a silver axe. But again the Woodcutter says it is not his. So Hermes jumps into the river a third time. This time he gives the Woodcutter his own axe, but because he was so honest he gives him the gold and silver axes as well.
Now watch Scene video.
Scene 3
The Woodcutter goes back to his village and tells his friend what has happened. His friend decides he wants a gold and silver axes and he will do the same thing.
Now watch scene 3 video
The Woodcutter goes back to his village and tells his friend what has happened. His friend decides he wants a gold and silver axes and he will do the same thing.
Now watch scene 3 video
Scene 4
The friend starts to cut wood, then throws his axe into the river. Hermes comes along and jumps in the river and brings out a golden axe. He says to the man “ Is this your axe?” The man lies and says it is his. Hermes is angry and because he has lied he does not give him anything.
Now watch scene 4 video.
The friend starts to cut wood, then throws his axe into the river. Hermes comes along and jumps in the river and brings out a golden axe. He says to the man “ Is this your axe?” The man lies and says it is his. Hermes is angry and because he has lied he does not give him anything.
Now watch scene 4 video.
Honesty is Best
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Discussion on Hermes play.
Feed back about the play.
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Narrators:
I think we need to either: a). have the narrators off camera, so we just hear them as a kind of voice over, or, b). have the narrators in a prominent position with almost a storybook on their laps, so that their part is genuine and determined.
General Acting:
Mr Mealey :-I thought that the general standard of acting was really impressive – I though the young lady in the green coat was really effective in her portrayal. However, I think it would be helpful if each actor set themselves an ‘Actor Objective’, this basically stems from the actor and the director sitting down together and asking ‘What do I want to achieve from this performance?’ – The objective may be something like: To make them hate (the audience) me, or to make them (the audience) feel sorry for me. With this in mind, all movement and voice can be undertaken with a more focused approach – I find this always helps to place validity behind any movement/ speech.
There was a lot of ‘side on’ acting – I think the pupils should face the camera more, and speak directly to the camera at times, as if they are asking the camera a question. I think that this would help to capture the facial expressions of the actors too, which always develops a performance.
Ms Goulding:- I think the actors would benefit from undertaking some exercises to help increase their imagination - a good game/exercise is to imagine passing a hot potato around a circle – focusing on the size and heat of the hot potato and keeping it as genuine as possible. Pupils would then be able to transfer their skills of using their imagination into the play, so that when lines such as ‘I want to have them too’ are said, they are done so with more intensity, as pupils can use their imagination to move beyond the fact that it is a paper axe!
Pupils could experiment with using very simple tools such as ‘levels’ to determine status. For example, at the end of the play where wrong doing has occurred and the axe has been lost, the actor representing this could sink to the floor – thus representing low status and a loss.
The Performance Space:
We think the quality of the acting can be much developed by the space where the performance/ filming takes place. Try using a room with no windows, a black space always seems more impressive, and stops the audience being distracted.
Costume:
Ms Goulding :- Although when people start acting they are keen to wear a costume, sometimes it has very little effect on the play, and can actually hinder the performance, as perhaps was the case for the young lady wearing the scarf on her head! When I do performances with young people, they all often wear all black, and then will just have one simple piece of costume – such as a hat, or a scarf to differentiate between characters. I think this often looks slicker, and causes fewer distractions for the actors, whilst allowing the audience to focus more on their facial expressions.
