Naughts And Crosses Flashcards
(17 cards)
Sephy costume
- Sephy Hadley (Cross, Upper Class)
Style:
• Immaculately presented. Tailored, elegant school uniform (blazer, blouse, skirt).
• Colours: Deep purple, black, navy – associated with power and dignity.
• Fabric: Clean, expensive materials like silk or crisp cotton.
• Accessories: Polished shoes, minimal but refined jewelry – possibly a symbol of her family’s wealth.
Symbolism & Effect:
• Reflects her privilege, protection, and status as Kamal Hadley’s daughter.
• Her smart uniform contrasts with Callum’s, highlighting inequality.
• As her relationship with Callum deepens and her world becomes more conflicted, her costumes might loosen or lose sharpness to reflect internal conflict.
Keyword Focus: Status, contrast, deterioration, internal conflict, symbolism.
Callum costume
- Callum McGregor (Nought, Working Class)
Style:
• Worn, possibly ill-fitting school uniform or faded casual clothes.
• Colours: Grey, pale blue, dull green – suggest lack of power or neutrality.
• Materials: Cheaper fabrics, showing economic hardship.
• Shoes may be scuffed or unmatched.
Symbolism & Effect:
• Costume reflects his lack of privilege and daily struggle in a Cross-dominated world.
• The Nought school uniform being different (or older) than the Cross version instantly shows visual division.
• When Callum becomes part of the Liberation Militia, his clothing becomes darker, more aggressive – costume tracks his radicalisation.
Keyword Focus: Oppression, class division, transformation, character arc.
Costume general
Thematic Uses of Costume
• Division and Identity: Stark contrast in Cross and Nought attire visually encodes race and status.
• Transformation: Characters’ costumes evolve with their choices (e.g., Sephy’s neatness fading, Callum’s clothing darkening).
• Dehumanisation: Noughts might wear uniforms or prison clothes in final scenes – stripping them of identity.
Kamal
- Kamal Hadley (Sephy’s Father, Politician – Cross Elite)
Style:
• Formal suit, dark colours (black, navy).
• Perfectly groomed – sharp tailoring, clean lines.
• Wears a Cross emblem or pin – reinforcing ideology and control.
Symbolism & Effect:
• Embodies political authority, control, and patriarchal dominance.
• His costume is a visual manifestation of state power and racial hierarchy.
• Can be designed to intimidate or dominate the space.
Keyword Focus: Authority, dominance, symbolism, power projection.
Jude
- Kamal Hadley (Sephy’s Father, Politician – Cross Elite)
Style:
• Formal suit, dark colours (black, navy).
• Perfectly groomed – sharp tailoring, clean lines.
• Wears a Cross emblem or pin – reinforcing ideology and control.
Symbolism & Effect:
• Embodies political authority, control, and patriarchal dominance.
• His costume is a visual manifestation of state power and racial hierarchy.
• Can be designed to intimidate or dominate the space.
Keyword Focus: Authority, dominance, symbolism, power projection.
Maggie
- Meggie McGregor (Callum’s Mother – Nought, Moral Compass)
Style:
• Modest, functional clothes – skirt and blouse, possibly apron.
• Muted colours – browns, greys, beiges.
Symbolism & Effect:
• Shows maternal care, resilience, and her desire for peace.
• Her simpler costume contrasts sharply with Cross characters to show the emotional toll of inequality.
Keyword Focus: Maternal warmth, hardship, dignity.
Relationship through costuming
Relationships Through Costume
• Callum and Sephy: When they wear school uniforms, the differences in condition, colour, and fit show the power imbalance. In scenes of intimacy, costumes may soften to reflect vulnerability.
• Family Units: Matching tones or styles within Cross and Nought families can help emphasize their group identity or internal conflicts (e.g., Jude’s dark clothing isolates him from Meggie).
• Authority Figures vs. Youth: Costumes for adults (Kamal, teachers) are structured and dark, while youth costumes can be more relaxed, indicating resistance or vulnerability.
Theme through costume
Thematic Uses of Costume
• Division and Identity: Stark contrast in Cross and Nought attire visually encodes race and status.
• Transformation: Characters’ costumes evolve with their choices (e.g., Sephy’s neatness fading, Callum’s clothing darkening).
• Dehumanisation: Noughts might wear uniforms or prison clothes in final scenes – stripping them of identity.
Hot seating
- Hot-Seating
What it is:
An actor sits in character and answers questions from the rest of the cast or director.
Purpose:
• Explores backstory, motivation, and emotional depth.
• Helps actors understand their character’s inner world and relationships with others.
Example:
• Hot-seat Callum to explore his feelings after joining the army or before his execution.
• Hot-seat Sephy after her fight with her mother or after discovering she’s pregnant.
Impact on performance:
• Informs tone of voice and delivery.
• Adds emotional complexity and subtext in key scenes
Thought tracking
- Thought-Tracking
What it is:
Pausing a scene so actors can speak their character’s inner thoughts aloud.
Purpose:
• Reveals internal conflict or hidden intentions.
• Clarifies what characters are really feeling vs. what they show.
Example:
• During a conversation between Sephy and Callum, use thought-tracking to expose doubts or fear.
• When Kamal gives a public speech, thought-tracking could show political manipulation vs. private uncertainty.
Impact on performance:
• Enhances tone, facial expression, and body language.
• Builds dramatic irony and depth.
Freeze frames
What it is:
Highlighting a key moment in the scene using freeze-frames, lighting, sound, or slow motion.
Purpose:
• Emphasises turning points or emotional shifts.
• Helps actors and directors decide where to direct audience focus.
Example:
• Mark the moment Callum is arrested.
• Mark the moment Sephy discovers the hanging.
Impact on performance:
• Helps with staging, pacing, and creating impactful transitions.
• Can be reflected in lighting or sound design choices too.
Role on the wall
Role on the Wall
What it is:
A visual tool where actors write thoughts, emotions, and external impressions of a character on a large outline.
Purpose:
• Encourages deep character study.
• Clarifies how a character is perceived vs. how they perceive themselves.
Example:
• For Jude: outside = angry, militant, unpredictable; inside = insecure, feels rejected.
Impact on performance:
• Informs tone, gesture, tempo-rhythm, and vocal delivery.
• Useful for playing multi-dimensional characters like Sephy or Kamal.
Frantic assembly
Physical Theatre / Frantic Assembly Techniques
What it is:
Using physical movement to explore relationships, tension, or emotion without relying on speech.
Purpose:
• Builds physical awareness and connection between characters.
• Useful for abstract or high-emotion moments (e.g., when words fail).
Example:
• A physical motif to show the growing divide between Sephy and Callum.
• Ensemble movement to represent societal oppression or propaganda.
Impact on performance:
• Supports choreography, ensemble work, levels, and pace.
• Adds a visual layer to storytelling.
Status games
- Status Games / Improvisation
What it is:
Actors improvise scenes with a focus on status, often without a script.
Purpose:
• Develops awareness of power dynamics, proxemics, and tone.
• Encourages spontaneity and naturalistic interactions.
Example:
• Kamal vs. Meggie: improvised confrontation showing class and racial tension.
• School setting: Cross students vs. Noughts exploring discrimination and microaggressions.
Impact on performance:
• Shapes movement, gesture, and spatial choices on stage.
• Reveals relationship tension non-verbally.
Elements
You take a single scene or moment and rehearse it multiple times, each time focusing on one specific element, such as:
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- Voice
• Experiment with: pitch, volume, tone, pace.
• Try the same line delivered as a whisper, a shout, a monotone, or with emotional tone (e.g., sadness, rage, confusion).
• In Noughts and Crosses: Have Sephy and Callum repeat a line during an argument with varying tone to explore how anger turns to desperation.
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- Movement / Gesture
• Experiment with: exaggerated gesture, minimal movement, stillness.
• Helps to define character physicality and emotional state.
• Example: In a protest or riot scene, use explosive, full-body gestures to reflect chaos; repeat with small, internalised movement to reflect fear or suppression.
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- Levels
• Rehearse with actors consciously adjusting their height or level (sitting, standing, kneeling, lying).
• Higher levels often = more power; lower = submission or vulnerability.
• Example: When Kamal lectures Sephy, he stands while she sits or slouches — explore reversing levels to see how status shifts.
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- Pace / Tempo-Rhythm
• Slow everything down to explore tension or detail.
• Speed it up to create urgency, panic, or confusion.
• Example: The arrest of Callum – play it slowly to highlight fear and injustice; then fast to capture the sudden violence of the moment.
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- Proxemics
• Explore how distance or closeness between characters affects relationships.
• Try the same scene with characters close together vs. far apart.
• Example: Sephy and Callum’s final scene – do they hold hands? Do they keep distance? How does it change the tone?
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- Focus
• Decide who the audience’s attention is drawn to in each version.
• Use silence, stillness, or lighting cues.
• Example: In a dinner scene with Sephy’s family, shift focus from Kamal to Jasmine to explore power behind the scenes.
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Benefits of Using “Elements” in Rehearsal
• Encourages layered performances.
• Helps actors break out of instinctive or repetitive choices.
• Reveals subtext, symbolism, and dynamics between characters.
• A great way to experiment safely before finalising staging or tone.
Tone levels and proximics
. Tone, Levels, and Proxemics
• Tone: Sharp, clipped delivery from authority figures shows dominance (e.g., Kamal).
• Levels: Higher physical positions = power (e.g., Sephy seated below Kamal).
• Proxemics: Wide space between Sephy and Callum during conflict; closeness in intimate scenes.
• Keywords: Tension, dominance, status, intimacy.
Conscious alley
Scene:
Callum has to decide whether to help the Liberation Militia plant a bomb or to walk away.
• Left side of alley (for rebellion):
• “You owe it to your people.”
• “They’ve never accepted you – fight back!”
• “This is your only chance to be heard.”
• Right side of alley (against violence):
• “Sephy still believes in you.”
• “You’re becoming like the people you hate.”
• “What would your mum think?”
Impact on actor:
Callum’s actor hears and absorbs both sides, helping them play the scene with emotional conflict, hesitation, or urgency, depending on what feels truthful.
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Other Strong Moments to Use This In the Play:
• Sephy deciding whether to visit Callum in prison.
• Meggie choosing to speak out at Ryan’s trial.
• Jude contemplating revenge after Callum’s death.
• Sephy deciding whether to keep her baby.
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Performance Outcomes:
• Adds depth to character choices.
• Encourages variation in tone, gesture, and pace to show hesitation or determination.
• Can influence blocking and proxemics (e.g., showing distance when the character is feeling isolated).
• Reinforces themes like racism, rebellion, justice, and love
