Hotseating.

Ok guys, here 'goes.:

Dave
Loves his wife, married 12 years. No kids (wife thinks they have - kid died, would be 1 yr old). Miscarriage. Not having sex. Not much in common with wife. Very loyal "she's my life". Does suspect she's having an affair. Says he's not intimidated by Paul.

Rho
Loves her husband, though sexually frustrated, and unsatisfied. Admits to affair. Feels she deserves to be happy (justifying affair). Thinks that her being happy will make Dave (husband) happy. Also feels she needs to be happy "to bring daughter up". Needs intelligence (Paul). Feels emotionally attached to Paul - says she's not scared of falling in love with him (although paused when asked - is she telling the truth?). Thinks she needs to control her feelings about Paul for the sake of her sister Cassie (pauls wife).

'Daughter' called Abigail. Born at home, difficult birth (she died but was resucitated). Wasn't scared about this, knew she'd be ok. Believes she's fully healthy now. Feels Dave isn't giving mother and daughter emotional support. Jealous of Cassie (she has the life that Rho wants). Doesn't care that she's not sexually active with Dave. Doesn't know if she'd like another child (struggled to answer).

Cassie
Feels Paul is distant but still loves her. Thinks he 'needs' her. Wishes he'd give her more attention, although acknowledges that he's a very busy man - 'too busy' for sex. She sometimes feels 'empty'. Thinks Paul is happy with her, and feels he's too busy to cheat on her. thinks he wouldn't want to hurt her. "He's difficult to get along with, unless you know him like I do".

Thinks her sister )Rho) needs help, but knows that telling her the baby isn't real would break her heart. No kids, but been trying for a long time. Niggling doubt about fertility because of Rho's problems. Believes that Paul wants a child with her as much as she does. Clinging onto relationship.

George/Tracy

G doesn't know his father, Tracy does. G thinks his mum loves him (but not sure?), feels like he's a nuisance and never does anything 'right'. T doen't feel as though concentrating on George's emotional needs makes her a good mother, thinks providing for her son is more important than loving him. She finds it difficult when he's around, but doesn't not want him to be there. (i.e he's the best mistake I ever made....'), although wouldn't have had him if she'd had a choice.

G pretends doll is real when adults are around, looks after 'her' properly, because he really wants a dog, so wants to prove that he can look after it properly. G has seen Rho and Paul together - keeps secrets from his mother and the others, but doesn't make up lies.

Adrienne
Relationsihp to Mona : good friends. Would backstab someone else. admits she likes a drink, but doesn't think she's alcoholic.
George: Kid she's never had. Never met the right person to have a child with. Feels sorry for G, looks after him and plays with him.
Aware that Tracy doesn't like her. Worries about upsetting her but also feels that T should see the relationship with G for 'what it is!'.
She feels too old to be in a relationship, not attracted to anyone in the commune.

Mona
Doesn't believe she's an alcoholic "i just like wine". Feels like a 'floater'. not in a relationship. Knows whats happening in the commune, affairs etc, although keeps information to herself 'knowledge is power'. Might be bribed by the 'mole', quite selfish. Happy about her 'role' within the commune, although emotionally disassociated herself from the others. Doesn't have much respect for them. Thinks that Rho is crazy (daughter).




Hope that's helped. xxxx

Jess and Mary (and Dan), on Friday, instead of doing the 'party', we decided to do character hotseating to develop the characters (Kyleigh's idea!). I took notes of everything that was said, and will post them on here (haven't got them with me at the minute). Really good session, though, i think we all feel a lot better about our characters now. If you want to do a similar thing to get some substance for your chars, I'm happy to spend some time firing questions at you both.

Have a good 'reading week'!!!

xx

Here's a Youtube link to the trailer for Kneehigh Theatre's performance of Don John. Thought the I was looking at it from a appearance perspective - the idea of a run down place that used to be for entertainment and fun. People still live there but it's obviously a shadow of what it used to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DFizaErQa0

Also, I saw the trailer for their production 'Brief Encounter'. I really like their use of projected images and how they were incorporated into scenes, particularly during 0.33 and onwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgyn5O6iCuM&feature=related

The Waste Land

You can find the whole poem on http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html

Beltane Research

· Is celebrated on the first of May to celebrate the ‘half way’ point between the spring and summer Equinox.

· Normally celebrated at the start of a ‘moon cycle’ (which is around the 5^th/6^th May) but traditionally on the 1^st May.

· Celebrates the coming of summer “celebrates the arrival of light after so much darkness”.

· Beltane in Celtic means ‘fires of Bel’ and in Welsh is known as ‘Calan Mai’.

· In ancient Ireland fires were lit for this celebration, on top of the hill and drove the villages cattle through the fires to purify them and bring them luck for the harvest to come later in the year.

· The fires were also jumped through to increase fertility.

· People would often jump through the fires to bring the purity and luck to themselves.

· Other rituals would often include courting:

° Young couples collecting blossoms in the woods and lighting fires in the evening.

° The rituals would often lead to matches and marriages wither immediately or in the coming summer/autumn.

· Another ritual was the ‘bless’ your garden by making love within it. Young people would spend the entire night ‘a-maying’ then dance around a phallic maypole the next morning.

· The largest Beltane festival celebrations are currently held in Edinburgh.

This information was found at:

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane

· http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/beltane_1.shtml

Yayyy I managed to join the blog : )

More of Diwali... This year to be celebrated on the 5th November 2010.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/diwali.shtml

Some Diwali legends

Two of the legends of Diwali show the triumph of Good over Evil and tell of the destruction of two monsters that preyed on humanity.

The killing of the demon Narakaasura

The demon Narakaasura was the evil king of Pragjyotishpur, near Nepal. He ruled with a reign of terror, abducted 16,000 daughters of the gods and stole the earings of Aditi, mother of the gods.

The gods asked Lord Krishna for help and after a mighty battle he killed the demon, freed the girls and recovered the earrings.

The rescue of the 16,000 girls is said to be the origin of the story that Krishna had 16,000 wives. After his victory Krishna returned very early in the morning and was bathed and massaged with scented oils. Taking an early morning bath with oil is still a Diwali tradition.

The killing of the demon Ravana

Ravana, who had ten arms and ten heads, was the wicked king of the island of Sri Lanka, who kidnapped the wife of Rama. Rama had been in exile for 14 years because of a disagreement as to whether he or his brother should be the next king in Ayodhya.

After a great battle Rama killed the demon and recovered his wife. Rama's return with his wife Sita to Ayodhya and his subsequent coronation as king is celebrated at Diwali.

When Rama and Sita first returned to Ayodhya it was a dark moonless night and they couldn't see where they were going. Their people put little lamps outside their houses so that the new king and queen could find their way, thus beginning the tradition of the festival of lights.

Sikhism and Diwali...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/holydays/diwali.shtml

Diwali, the Festival of Light, comes at the end of October or early November. It's a festival that Sikhs, Hindus and Jains celebrate.

Guru Hargobind - mid-19th century miniature from Punjab ©

For Sikhs, Diwali is particularly important because it celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, and 52 other princes with him, in 1619.

The Sikh tradition holds that the Emperor Jahangir had imprisoned Guru Hargobind and 52 princes. The Emperor was asked to release Guru Hargobind which he agreed to do. However, Guru Hargobind asked that the princes be released also. The Emperor agreed, but said only those who could hold onto his cloak tail would be allowed to leave the prison. This was in order to limit the number of prisoners who could leave.

However, Guru Hargobind had a cloak made with 52 pieces of string and so each prince was able to hold onto one string and leave prison.

Sikhs celebrated the return of Guru Hargobind by lighting the Golden Temple and this tradition continues today.

The Festival of Lights

The name of the festival comes from the Sanskrit word dipavali, meaning row of lights.

Diwali is known as the 'festival of lights' because houses, shops and public places are decorated with small earthenware oil lamps called Diyas. These lamps, which are traditionally fueled by mustard oil, are placed in rows in windows, doors and outside buildings to decorate them.

In towns in India (and in Britain) electric lights are often used in Diwali displays.

In India oil lamps are often floated across the river Ganges - it is regarded as a good omen if the lamp manages to get all the way across.

Fireworks are also a big part of the Diwali celebrations, although some Sikhs prefer not to use them because of noise, atmospheric pollution and the risk of accidental deaths and injuries.

Like Christmas in the West, Diwali is very much a time for buying and exchanging gifts. Traditionally sweets and dried fruit were very common gifts to exchange, but the festival has become a time for serious shopping, leading to anxiety that commercialism is eroding the spiritual side of the festival. In most years shopkeepers expect sales to rise substantially in the weeks before the festival.

Diwali is also a traditional time to redecorate homes and buy new clothes. Diwali is also used to celebrate a successful harvest.

Another really interesting site to check out is http://members.tripod.com/jennifer_polan/diwali.html

It's got a lot of info on the story and legends of Divali

Eid al-Adha

I found out that the slaughtering of a goat is a Muslim tradition. It is called Eid al-Adha which is the Festival of Sacrifice. After researching I found out that this year the festival begins on November 16th and it will last for three days.

They slaughter sheep, camels or goats.

A little on the regional significance of Divali or Diwali as it is otherwise known...

Found on http://www.diwalifestival.org/

The origin of Diwali festival is not known, but it has gathered a number of legends around it over the centuries. In the northern and the western regions of India, its origin is attributed to the return of Lord Ram to his kingdom after defeating the demon king Ravana. The joyous people of Ayodhya, his capital, celebrated his arrival. In the eastern states, Diwali is associated with the story of Narakasura who had menaced his people with tyranny.

In the regions of Maharashtra and Mysore, Diwali is linked with the legendary king Bali who was immensely popular with his subjects for his generosity. However, king Bali had become arrogant and conceited, and provoked the wrath of godly people. His generosity was put to test by Lord Vishnu who appeared in the disguise of a dwarf, and asked him for a piece of land equal to three steps. When Bali granted his wish, Lord Vishnu took the form of a super giant person, and with his two steps covered Bali's entire kingdom. With his third step he pushed Bali to the underland. Since then, his people celebrated his arrival on this day, locally called Bali Padyami.

In the north, most communities observe the custom of lighting lamps. However, in the south, the custom of lighting baked earthen lamps is not so much part of this festival as it is of the Karthikai celebrations a fortnight later. The lights signify a welcome to prosperity in the form of Lakshmi, and the fireworks are supposed to scare away evil spirits.

In Punjab, the day following Diwali is known as tikka when sisters make a paste with saffron and rice and place an auspicious mark on their brother's foreheads as a symbolic gesture to ward off all harm.

Likewise, on the second day of the month of Kartik, the people of Maharashtra exchange gifts. In Maharashtra, it is the thirteenth day of Ashwin, the trayodasi, that is observed as a festival commemorating a young prince whom Yama, the God of Death, had claimed four days after his marriage. Filled, however, with compassion for the luckless youth, the legend goes, Yama promised that those who observed the day would be spared untimely death-and so the lamps that are lit to mark the festival are placed facing south, unlike on other festive days, because south is the direction mythologically assigned to Yama.

For the Bengalis, it is the time to worship Goddess Kali , yet another form of Durga, the divine embodiment of supreme energy. Kali is the Goddess who takes away darkness. She cuts down all impurities, consumes all iniquities, purifies Her devotees with the sincerity of her love.

Meaning and Significance..

Deepavali is a festival where people from all age groups participate. They give expression to their happiness by lighting earthen 'diyas' (lamps), decorating the houses, bursting firecrackers and inviting near and dear ones to their households for partaking in a sumptuous feast. The lighting of lamps is a way of paying obeisance to god for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace, valor and fame.

It is one time in the whole year that children volunteer to leave their beds long before the day begins. In fact, the traditional oil bath at 3 a.m, is the only chore that stands between them and the pre-dawn adventures. They emerge, scrubbed clean to get into their festive attire, and light up little oil lamps, candles and scented sticks(agarbathis), the wherewithal for setting alight crackers and sparklers.

On Diwali night, little clay lamps are lit in Hindus homes, but now a days colored electric lamps are also used. What is the significance of lighting a lamp? There is a logical answer to this question. It is through the light that the beauty of this world is revealed or experienced. Most civilizations of the world recognize the importance of light as a gift of God. It has always been a symbol of whatever is positive in our world of experience.

To Hindus, darkness represents ignorance, and light is a metaphor for knowledge. Therefore, lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces- wickedness, violence, lust, anger, envy, greed, bigotry, fear, injustice, oppression and suffering, etc. Competition is stiff, and even the little girl in silk frocks and their finery are watching out for the best sparklers and flowerpots, the rockets and Vishnuchakras, which light-up the night sky like a thousand stars. Grown-ups are the soul of generosity. Festive bonhomie abounds.

Heres a few links to Hanukkah

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/hanukkah1.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hanukkah.htm

http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm

http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/g/chanukkiyah.htm

hey

Hi all :D

I am now posting :D

I am now, posting.

The Puritan Ban on Christmas

In the mid-17th century, a wave of religious reform transformed the way in which Christmas was celebrated in England. Oliver Cromwell -- a statesman and General responsible for leading the parliamentary army during the English Civil War -- took over England in 1645. Supported by his Puritan forces, Cromwell believed it was his mission to cleanse the country of decadence.

In 1644 he enforced an Act of Parliament banning Christmas celebrations. Christmas was regarded by the Puritans as a wasteful festival that threatened core Christian beliefs. Consequently, all activities relating to Christmas, including attending mass, were forbidden. Not surprisingly, the ban was hugely unpopular and many people continued to celebrate Christmas secretly.

The Puritan War on Christmas lasted until 1660. Under the Commonwealth, mince pies, holly and other popular customs fell victim to the spirited Puritan attempt to eradicate every last remnant of merrymaking during the Christmas period.

In the first half of the 17th century Christmas was an important religious festival and a time when the English population would indulge in a variety of traditional pastimes. The 25th December was a public holiday, during which all places of work closed and people attended special church services. The next eleven days included additional masses, with businesses open sporadically and for shorter hours than usual. During the twelve days of Christmas, buildings were dressed with rosemary, holly and ivy and families attended Christmas Day mass. As well as marking the day's religious elements, there was also non-stop dancing, singing, drinking, exchanging of presents and stage plays. The population indulged in feasts of roast beef, plum porridge, minced pies and special ale. Twelfth Night, the final day of celebration, often saw a fresh bout of feasting and carnivals.

It's no surprise that the daily celebrations often led to drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling and other forms of excess. Sixteenth and seventeenth century Puritans frowned on what they saw as a frenzy of disorder and disturbance. In the Late 1500's, Philip Stubbes, a strict protestant expressed the Puritan view in his famed book The Anatomie of Abuses, when he noted:


'More mischief is that time committed than in all the year besides ... What dicing and carding, what eating and drinking, what banqueting and feasting is then used ... to the great dishonour of God and the impoverishing of the realm.'
As well as disliking the waste and debauchery that went along with the celebration of Christmas, the Puritans viewed the festival (Christ's mass) as an unwanted remnant of the Roman Catholic Church and, therefore, a tool of encouragement for the dissentient community that remained in both England and Wales. They argued that nowhere in the Bible had God called upon his people to celebrate the nativity in this manner. They proposed a stricter observance of Sundays, the Lord's Day, along with banning the immoral celebration of Christmas -- as well as Easter, Whitsun and saints' days. Preferring to call the period Christ-tide, and thus removing the Catholic 'mass' element, the Puritans reasoned that it should remain only as a day of fasting and prayer.

King Charles I had largely supported the existing traditions and festivities but, as control passed to the Long Parliament in the mid 1600's, Parliament set in motion their idea of completely eradicating the celebration of Christmas.

Shortly before the Civil War had begun in January 1642, Charles I had accorded Parliament's request to make the last Wednesday in each month a day of fasting.

In January 1645 parliament enlisted the help of a group of ministers to create a Directory of Public Worship establishing a new organisation of the church and new forms of worship that were to be adopted and followed in both England and Wales. According to the Directory, the population was to strictly observe Sundays as holy days and were not to recognise other festival days, including Christmas, since they had no biblical justification.

Parliamentary legislation embraced the Directory of Public Worship as the only legal form of worship allowed in England and Wales. Two years later Parliament reinstated the law by passing an Ordinance affirming the abolition of the feasts of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun.

Oliver Cromwell regarded Charles I as an insurgent secret Catholic who was subverting the Protestant faith. The Stuart King was deposed and executed by Cromwell in 1649 and for the next four years England was run by Parliament. But Cromwell had other plans. He regarded the current system as ineffective and damaging to the country. Supported by the army, on 20 April 1653 he led a body of musketeers to Westminster and forcibly expelled parliament. He then established himself as Lord Protector and moved in to the Palace of Whitehall. The spectacular Banqueting House is the only complete building of Whitehall to remain standing to this day. The Palace was famously taken from Cardinal Wolsey by Henry VIII and acted as the Royal residence until the ascension of James I.

The Puritans believed that you would be welcomed in to heaven as long as you worked hard in your lifetime, thus, enjoyment for enjoyments sake was highly disapproved of. Cromwell ordered for inns and playhouses to be shut down, most sports were banned and those caught swearing would receive a fine. Women caught working on the Sabbath could be put in the stocks. They had to wear a long black dress, a white apron, a white headdress and no makeup. The men had an equally sober appearance, dressed head to toe in black and sporting short hair.



All shops and markets were to stay open throughout the 25th December and anyone caught holding or attending a special Christmas church service would suffer a penalty.

In the city of London things were even stricter as soldiers were ordered to patrol the streets, seizing any food they discovered was being prepared for a Christmas celebration.

Despite imposing such rigid measures on the common people, it appears that Cromwell himself didn't quite live up to his preaching. He liked music, playing bowls and hunting and, after becoming Lord Protectorate, soon took to the high life. For his daughter's wedding he even permitted a lavish feast and entertainment fit for royalty.

In 1656 legislation was passed to ensure that Sundays were more stringently observed as the Lord's Day and, thus, a day of rest. The regular monthly fast day had always been hugely unpopular and impossible to enforce and was subsequently dissolved.

Despite the threat of fines and punishment many people continued to celebrate Christmas clandestinely. The ban had never been popular and many people still held mass on the 25th December to mark Christ's nativity also marked the day as a secular holiday. In the late 1640s Cromwell tried to put a stop to these public celebrations and force businesses to stay open. As a result, violent encounters took place between supporters and opponents of Christmas in many towns, including London, Canterbury and Norwich.

Cromwell was Lord Protector until his death in 1658, whereby Charles II was enthusiastically welcomed back to England to take the throne as the country's rightful heir.