Risk Assessment.

Production:          13

Date:                      30/6/16

Company:              Revolution Arts – The Howard School

Completed By:      Kyle Starkey (Cast Member)

Hazard	Involved	Likelihood	Severity	Control Measures in Place
Uneven tunnel floors, resulting in trips and falls	12 cast and 18 audience	Even	Mild	Cast well-rehearsed in space            Pathways kept clear of equipment            Hazards clearly marked           Main pathway well lit and audience accompanied by guide at all times.       Warning given to audience prior to performance about wearing suitable footwear       Make sure speed of moving from scene to scene is slow enough for audience members to judge the floor space
Items falling from height	12 cast and 18 audience	Very Unlikely	Medium	No items left/used at height       All items at heights are fixed in properly
Fire	12 cast and 18 audience	Unlikely	Severe	No fire/naked flames utilised in performance       Any fire used would be in an enclosed space with fire extinguishers at hand and the locations of them known to everyone
Strobe lighting Getting lost in tunnels Chair Breaking	12 cast and 18 audience 12 cast and 18 audience 12 cast	Possible Likely Possible	Medium Mild Medium	Warning given on material and at entrance to performance           Strobe restricted to 10 second intervals       Ensure cast knows the way around the tunnels and guide is present in the tunnels at the same time.       Ensure chairs being used are of a decent and safe standard for their purpose of lifting       Practice with the same chairs before hand to identify and problems

Site Specific: Day 10


We finally began to make progress today. Again, we looked at different pictures that we had taken in the tunnels and began to devise from there. We split into groups depending on our characters with the Doctor, Nurse and Psychiatrist in one group.


We thought it would be wise if they set a scene between them explaining the story of an unmarried mother in the mental asylum, as in the 60's unmarried mothers would have been sent there as they deemed them insane.

We decided on coming up with a soundscape into a physical theatre piece based around one of our characters. Originally, I thought it could be good to do a piece around the religious connotations again, but as we had already done something like that we decided to base it around the schizophrenic character, using the soundscape to show the different voices going on inside his head. We wanted to show his struggle between the different personalities in his head, trying to reflect how he battles with the multiple personas that taunt him throughout his life. This is what we came up with.

Site specific: Day 12


Today, we focused on devising some of the scripted scenes. As part of the electric chair scene, we worked on scripting that, paying careful attention to how we would show the doctor and nurse not actually being real. The scripts are below.

After this, we worked on polishing the two movement scenes we had devised. One for the schizophrenic piece and the other for the patients in the hospital ward which we are calling the "Seven Devils" scene. The idea behind the schizo piece, as previously discussed, was to show how the main character is trying to shake off the voices in  his head and his constant battle between them, which we hope is shown below. Personally, I like it. I think it will flow better the more practice we get in and know what we are doing.

The second piece, we wanted to show how the patients are completely crazy. The idea being to spook the audience out by positioning them between us and immersing them in the dance. What we have, I think, is pretty good and I'm sure it will creep and audience out. Especially how we jump into life in the beginning.

Site Specific
Over the last couple of days. we have been merely running through scenes and splitting off into groups in order to finish the scenes we are in. As the scenes I was in had been finished I decided to research a condition for one of our other characters. I think the main idea behind our character here was that he doesn't visibly appear in any way mental or show any major signs of it.

Therefore, I came across the condition of Intermittent Explosive Disorder. This is a mental condition that results in violent outbursts of rage and anger that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. It is also described as not easily characterized and this was a trait that fit the bill perfectly. Of course, I put this idea forward but whether it was used, I don't know, as it wasn't my character ultimately.

In addition, I also began working on the ending to the "Jesus" scene, the majority of this was already done, however, it required a few tweaks in the lexis and a new ending. In which I wrote in lines from the bible where the patient in the scene is trying to expose the fake doctors by reciting lines about lies and deceit, before they break into argument and leave the scene this was done in order to give the audience yet more clues as to the doctors not being real.

Site Specific


We set about finally decided a running order of our scenes and where they would take place in the tunnels today. At first, this was difficult as we weren't really sure on what the best spaces for different scenes were. However, one space we were certain to perform in was the church area, which was home to our original first scene, after the entrance scene. This scene was about the patient who thought he was Jesus and recites the bible endlessly, however, there was one problem with this being our first scene inside the tunnels. This problem being that the church area came quite away into the tunnels, so trying to fill the gap between scenes would be rather difficult, hence we decided to add scenes in before that.


Such a scene was my electrocution scene, which we are yet to devise. One main aspect we focused on was the fact that we didn't really have a particular storyline or reasons as to why particular things happened. For example, why is there a psychiatrist visiting the asylum? We came up with a few ideas.


As we are setting the piece in the 1960's, we know that All Saints hospital, in Chatham, was in existence before being closed in the early 2000's. Hence we devised the idea of the psychiatrist taking a particular interest in mental illnesses and needing to complete his PHD, he is placed to study patients in the fort.


Another idea we thought about was the idea that the characters of the doctor and nurse were not actually a doctor or nurse at all, in fact, they were quite the opposite and perhaps just as mental as the others, merely putting on an act. Throughout the piece, we decided we would add subtle clues from the patients to the audience trying to reveal how the doctor and nurse were dangerous and fake. Below is our first attempt at a running order and the basis of ideas for scenes that we need to develop and bring to life.

Site Specific: Character Development

As part of agreeing on an idea, I wanted to begin to develop my own character that I have chosen to play. As previously decided, I opted for playing the mysterious silent character of the group, however, we didn't really think of a reason as to why he was silent. Was he born that way, or has an event occurred in his life that led to him being unable to speak.

I tried searching for potential diseases or disorders that are linked to speech loss or the inability to speak, however, the only links I cold find were to brain tumours, Alzheimer's and dementia. Therefore, the idea of the electric chair to force information out of my character leading to trauma seemed like the best option. I think, the best idea I have conjured is to have my character suffering from some form of post traumatic stress disorder, leaving him unable to speak, provoking the use of the electric chair to try to reboot his memory so he can talk again. However, it only worsens the situation. The definition fro PTSD is below.

 Post-traumatic stress disorder, often abbreviated as PTSD, is a complex disorder in which the affected person's memory, emotional responses, intellectual processes, and nervous system have all been disrupted by one or more traumatic experiences. It is sometimes summarized as "a normal reaction to abnormal events." The DSM-IV-TR (the professional's diagnostic manual) classifies PSTD as an anxiety disorder.

PTSD has a unique position as the only psychiatric diagnosis that depends on a factor outside the individual, namely, a traumatic stressor. A patient cannot be given a diagnosis of PTSD unless he or she has been exposed to an event that is considered traumatic. These events include such obvious traumas as rape, military combat, torture, genocide, natural disasters, and transportation or workplace disasters. In addition, it is now recognized that repeated traumas or such traumas of long duration as child abuse , domestic violence, stalking, cult membership, and hostage situations may also produce the symptoms of PTSD in survivors.
   
A person suffering from PTSD experiences flashbacks, nightmares, or daydreams in which the traumatic event is experienced again. The person may also experience abnormally intense startle responses, insomnia, and may have difficulty concentrating. Trauma survivors with PTSD have been effectively treated with group therapy or individual psychological therapy, and other therapies have helped individuals, as well. Some affected individuals have found support groups or peer counseling groups helpful. Treatment may require several years, and in some cases, PTSD may affect a person for the rest of his or her life.

Of course, it doesn't really matter what the back story to my character is, as the piece will feature too many characters to explore it in such a depth. However. the main idea behind my character is him suffering a form of PTSD, leading to the electric chair, forcing him to become a mute and very secretive.

Site Specific: Day 9


Today we discussed ideas we previously thought up as a group and began to think up a storyline of how a physciatrist is shown around the asylum by the abusive doctor.



We printed out some photos of the fort and began devising a scene in two separate groups. Our group went for the picture of the church area in order to create piece for the man who thinks he is the second coming of Jesus. In this scene, he and three of us are praying to the Lords Prayer, begging for sanity. We really wanted to show our desperation in our praying and the insanity of the person who was playing Jesus' second coming. The nurse showed the physciatrist around before the fake Jesus gets angry for him interrupting, showing his unstable mentality.



We then discussed the possibility of the electric chair and how we could incorporate the electric chair in our piece. I thought it would suit my character well, as he is silent, so they may have used it to try and trigger him into speech.


Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the head and leg.


I searched for what the electric chair may feel like for someone to experience and came across this...


The current surges and is then turned off, at which time the body is seen to relax. The doctors wait a few seconds for the body to cool down and then check to see if the inmate's heart is still beating. If it is, another jolt is applied. This process continues until the prisoner is dead. The prisoner's hands often grip the chair and there may be violent movement of the limbs which can result in dislocation or fractures. The tissues swell. Defecation occurs. Steam or smoke rises and there is a smell of burning. (Hillman, 1992 and Weisberg, 1991) U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan once offered the following description of an execution by electric chair:
...the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on [his] cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire....Witnesses hear a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber. (Ecenbarger, 1994)




I know that the use of this chair was to kill, but we can incorporate this into our piece as it was used to help try to cure mental illness by essentially passing a current through the brain to jump start it. Therefore, we can use the same principle of the electric chair, and also have some factual information in the piece to explain to the audience why the electric chair is being used.