Timeline

WEEK 1:
During week one, I plan to investigate into verbatim theatre as a whole, finding out about the practitioners who use the technique, and how they approach it. I want to find out why writers decide to create verbatim performances and how they come to the decision of what topic or event to focus on. It would be interesting to find out how the actors rehearse a verbatim performance, because I hope to go into acting after school, and would be very interested in being involved in a verbatim show. Therefore it is important for me to find out about the performers, to give me an insight into the rehearsal and performance technique. I also plan to refine my definition of of the style of theatre.
I will try to find this information using interviews on youtube and internet blogs. I will also, try to find some informative books in the library.

WEEK 2:
On week two, I will write a short review on a verbatim play I went to see recently, called John, by the theatre company DV8. I will need to do this on week 2 because it will still be fresh in my mind, where as, if I write it a few weeks down the line, my memory of it will be faded. I will also ask my friend, who came to see the show with me, what he thought of it; it is important for my research to have a second opinion, as it enables me to think of new ideas about the play that I perhaps hadn't thought of before. I will then try to find some other, short public reviews on the play, to improve my understanding of the play and further my own opinions. Obviously, most of this information will be from my own mind and recollection of the play. I will find out what my friends's view of the play were, by word of mouth, and the public reviews I will look for on the internet, using youtube videos and perhaps blogs.

WEEK 3:
During this week, I hope to research into a verbatim musical called London Road, which I went to see a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed. The show was incredible and i'd love to find out more about the creators and how they came up with the idea. I would also like to find out what issues or problems they had to face in the creative process, as the devising of verbatim theatre is something that really interests me. I will look for this information on the internet, on the national theatre official website and hopefully i will find some interviews with the writers and directors.

WEEK 4:
In this week, I hope to find out more about how the music director for London Road composed the music for the show. I want to find this out because the music for this particular show was incredibly unique and I've never heard of anything like it before. I think that it must have been very difficult to translate the verbatim speech into music and it is something that I find deeply interesting. Again, I hope to find an interview with the music director for the musical to find out some reliable, first hand information.

WEEK 5:
On week 4, I plan to find other people's reviews on London Road, including public reviews and press reviews. It's important for me to get a number of different opinions to mine, to expand my horizans and open my mind to new ideas that other people thought of. Press reviews are interesting because usually, the people writing them are professional critics and know what they are talking about; they can comment on the style in much more detail than someone who doesn't know much about verbatim. This will greater my understanding of the show as a whole, and the verbatim technique. I will look for this information on the national theatre's official website and on online blogs and newspapers like the Evening Standard etc...

WEEK 6:
I would like to find out some information on Recorded Delivery, which was the theatre company who put on London Road. I would be interested in finding out about their previous productions and how they went down with their audiences, because it will give me an incite into how verbatim has previously been received and how it is received now.  This information will hopefully be sourced on Recorded Delivery's official website, and I might look for blog reviews on their past plays.

WEEK 7:
This is the week when I will arrange an over-the-phone interview with Claire Moore who was an original cast member of London Road's stage production. I'm excited to hear about what she has to say about her personal experience with being a performer in a verbatim show, because I hope to, some day, be involved in one too, so It will give me an incite into what the experience is like. I Want to ask her about the rehearsal and audition process because verbatim theatre is ver unconventional and new so I don't know much about these things.

WEEK 8:
Because I will be recording the interview with Clair Moore, I plan to attempt a bit of my own verbatim using the recordings of Claire's voice. This will be a very perceptive experience because it will give me a chance to have a go at the technique for myself and find out how difficult or easy it is.