The Trapeze Scene - Swing Girl with Red Hair

NICA Excursion 29/11/2012

What worked and what didn't work:

The trapeze scene/ swing girl with red hair

The transition from the scene before was a very quick one because it required no setting up of props. As there was no story line throughout the whole play they used two 'security guards' during the transitions of scenes. The two security guards also helped to keep the audience interested throughout the piece. Also the costume used in this scene was clearly well thought out because it was the same colour as her hair making it blend in and not distract the audience to much from the actual act. The actor started on the ground with no trapeze by doing flips and intricate twists. So far everything has worked really well and has merged together with no stopping and starting.

After about one minute of being on the ground a trapeze was slowly lowered towards the actor, this worked well because it was slow enough to not distract the audience but fast enough to not take forever to come down. The actor then started to swing the trapeze to add some motion which also worked quite well. After a little it of playing with the trapeze on the ground, she was slowly lifted off the ground into the higher parts of the theatre. When at the highest point of her piece the man supervising at the top clipped her trapeze onto a stationary rope so she would not be moving up and down accidentally. She also then discreetly attached a safety rope to her harness as there was no safety net to catch her if she fell.

The actor then slowly got momentum on the trapeze to start her more advanced tricks for the piece. Once she had gained the momentum she needed, she instantly started with one of the best tricks performed throughout her piece. She scared the audience as it was a trick where she completely jumped off the trapeze and landed by wrapping her legs around the trapeze. This worked really well as a first trick because it got the audiences attention and kept them wanting more tricks that gave that scare.

The actor successfully kept the audience oblivious to the emotions she was feeling with a continuos smile so they had no idea if she was scared of heights or scared of falling. When the actor had finally finished her tricks at the top, she then started to loose a little bit of momentum so the guy at the top could reattach her to the ropes that moved her up and down. When she got close to the ground they started the transition for the next scene ( gym scene ). The transition started with the two security guards ordering pizza and then doing some acrobatics while trying to keep in the storyline of the transitions.

Overall it was a rather successful piece with few flaws and it kept the audience on the edge of their seat throughout the piece, also making it my favorite