Dramatic Techniques In Blood Brothers

We have been studying the play Blood Brothers for months before this exam. Our classes did a six-hour exam, with the main focus being this play. Blood brothers has many significant themes a few examples of the important themes are betrayal, family, power and various others. We explored these themes using different dramatic techniques for example cross-cutting, narration and use of levels. Throughout the exam the use of these dramatic techniques created more depth to our understanding of the play.

In the first task, we were asked to create a series of still images which captured the essence of the plot within Blood Brothers. Our group decided to show the first still image as the deaths of the two brothers Mickey and Eddie with Miss Johnstone

horrified at the slain brothers. One of the still images included me as a narrator, I was an effective narrator as I gave a depth of insight to the audience, through my narration. We were the only group who began our still images with the ending, as the play itself does. I thought this choice was effectives as the audience knows the ending before it has even begun, which makes what occurs all the more tragic for the audience. During our fourth still image, Varan used sound in order to create quick transitions from scene to scene. For example, after five seconds Varan would stamp his foot to indicate to the rest of our group, so we could begin to transition. The longer the transitions take the more the audience is disconnected from the still image. My narration improved the performance as it made the still image clearer. One thing I thought was quite effective with my narration was, my use of repetition of the line ‘Did you ever hear the story of the Johnstone twins, as like each other as two new pins, how one was kept and one given away, ‘. The repetition was effective as it reinforced the tragic fate for both, and what led to both brothers dying being the differences of class. This show the audience how Class can impact two brothers, who are from the same mother but have drastically different lives due to their backgrounds. This performance taught me the impact of class on people and how that will shape them, and the opportunities that that it can open and close. It also showed me how far our society has come and how class doesn’t limit people from opportunities than others due to how fortunate their parents are.
In our fifth task, we were given an extract from the play Blood Brothers.

In the extract, we are told about Mickey and his older more privileged brother Sammy. As Sammy was older than Mickey, he was allowed more freedoms than his younger brother. I tried to show the lower class of Mickey by fiddling with my shirt, rubbing the dirt off my clothes, fidgeting and hunching over. My tone of voice was high to show I was a young child, I also paced back and forth to make it look like Mickey was having a tantrum which seven year olds often do. During the performance I tried to take pause and speed up in between certain sentences for an added

effect
In the second task, we were asked to explore the differences in class between the Johnston’s and the Lyon’s. we were given the choice of two scenes and asked to use cross-cutting within the piece. Our group decided the Policeman scene would be more effective to show contrast using cross-cutting. We chose to show two events happening on opposites sides of the stage. On the left was Mrs Johnstone cleaning the floor and on the right was Mr Lyons, with his son Edward on the floor beside him. I was playing the policeman and I walked up to Mr Lyons and said ‘It was more of a prank really, if I was you I would take his pocket money’ .I chose to use this line and voice, when addressing Mr Lyons because it clearly shows the audience the importance of this scene, and show the audience the clear class divide between the two children. The scene freezes and the police man knocks on the home of Mrs Johnstone. I use a more serious and stern tone to say Mrs Johnstone this isn’t the first time your Sammy’s given me trouble is it”. I used this voice to show the anger and frustration with Mrs Johnstone and her inability to control her kids. But also to contrast how I treated Mr Lyons and my relaxed conversation with him. We continued to cross-cut between the two scenes which showed the audience the contrast between the two characters. This highlights the difference the Policeman shows joking with Edwards father, while in the same scene being completely stern with the mother of Michael. This conveys the effect of class and his way of treating the parents of each child based on this.
In the third task, to begin with we were asked to choose any character and walk around the room with the gestures this particular character has. We then were put in groups, in which one member was put on the hot-seat and asked a various multitude of questions. I decided to be Mickey in this exercise and specifically be Mickey as soon as he had lost his jobs. For example, when asked by Nafisa where would I be in five years I responded with “I hope I have a job, as long as I don’t die by then I’ll be okay”. This being the sort of response I think someone who has just lost their job start to have. I also used facial expressions to show Mickey’s depressed state by mostly looking at the floor and always responding with short open ended responses and never responding even slightly happy. During this point in the story, Mickey is juxtaposed against his brother Eddie, scenes like the Policeman scene and the teacher scenes. The two brother’s environments are shown to be vastly different. For example, the teacher has a much more relaxed tone with the teacher of Mickey and Linda. Whereas, Eddie is shown a much stricter and more formal setting, where boys aren’t permitted to wear lockets. Our scene highlighted the contrast with the line by line comparison. As we froze each scene when one line was spoken. Giving an instant comparison for the students to have between the interactions, as the audience clearly knows how differently each parent is being treated. With the comparison of ‘it was more of a prank really’ to ‘this isn’t the first time we have had to deal with your Sammy’, the difference is instantly known as Miss Johnstone is known as being of a lower class, contrasted to Mr Lyon’s who runs a successful business. Lewis (Mr Lyons) demonstrated the class divide by having Eddie (Kaneshka) kneel on the floor. Whereas, Miss Johnstone (Rosa) is shown kneeling next to her son Sammy and Mickey. This use of levels clearly demonstrates where the two are in terms of class. Also, my use of leaning in when talking to Lewis shows me trying to act in a friendly manner towards him. This taught me the effective use of levels. As it doesn’t always have to be used in a jarring manner, it is a technique which can be used in a subtle way but still have a large part in how effective it is.
In summary, throughout my six-hour exam I learnt how to use the dramatic techniques and demonstrate my knowledge of Blood Brothers.

Using techniques such as marking the moment, cross-cutting, role-play, hot-seating and various others I have been able to create pieces of drama based around the play Blood Brothers. This will help me in understanding and creating pieces of drama bases around the true explicit story but also around the metaphors, which surround and embrace the story. In the future, this will help me dramatize future pieces of drama. Creating a level of depth, which is simulated by someone who completely understands that piece of drama. Being able to watch a play and be able to create a piece of drama from

it.