Introduction
Being an exchange student and coming from a country (Singapore) where little attention is paid and given to the developments and happenings of the theatre scene, I am delighted to have taken up this module to expose myself to this topic on drama. First and foremost, I must admit that I have never attended a single theatre performance and Blue Boy was the first in the twenty three years of my life. I was filled with excitement and anticipation both at the same time, wondering if I would even manage to interpret the idea behind the whole daunting concept of Mise en Scène. True enough, I went home that night with many questions floating in my head. The following report nonetheless describes my interpretation as a first time audience. Experiences of the Performance
It was a bit tense going into the performance as a role of a student as certain expectations were already instilled beforehand. I was expected to take note of not only the space and the staging of the play, but also the aesthetics of the building itself. It was as if I had to make sure I had every aspect and element of the theatre covered. As scary as it might have sound, it turned out to be rather fruitful as I had my eyes glued onto the surroundings, seeing and experiencing what other audiences might not have even thought about- the design of the stage, the lighting, the layout of the theatre, the configuration of the seats etc.
The Blue Boy is a co-production with Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival. The publicity of the Dublin Theatre Festival is quite prominent with advertisement posters decorating the streets of Dublin city centre. However, the Blue Boy production is not explicitly advertised. Perhaps, it was due to the nature of it being a small scale production. As such, I went into the performance with hardly any knowledge of the play itself. This directly creates an area of suspense as if I was venturing into the unknown, uncertain of what is going to be presented on stage.
The location and the architecture of the Lir theatre did make a positive impact in my overall experience. Firstly, the theatre is closely situated to the Grand Canal Dock, providing an excellent view of the river. We can draw a parallelism with other established theatres situated at bay fronts. The Sydney Opera House in Australia for instance, faces the Sydney harbor, while the Shakespeare's Globe faces river Thames. The water features surrounding such theatres creates a unique experience, signifying abundance and life that is ever flowing in and around the theatre scene.
The exterior of the Lir theatre evokes a sense of nostalgia owing to its presence of the dark coloured brick walls. While it may appear old on the outside, it is a complete story on the inside- with modern furnishings and fittings. Therefore, the theatre seems to be both preserving the past as well as embracing the future simultaneously. I felt the nostalgic architecture was perfect for the Blue Boy as the performance was afterall, about the experiences of men and women who were incarcerated as children in Catholic residential care institutions. In a way, the aesthetics of the building was able to relay and enhance the meaning of the performance. Mise en Scène
Theatre critic Eric Bentley defined drama simply as: “A impersonates B while C looks on”. Every play in performance shares at least one thing in common: a relationship between actor and spectator. It is with this relationship and together with the aesthetic elements of the performance that contributes to the idea of Mise en Scène as one.

Interestingly, the performance space in the Blue Boy paved way for a term called shape as described by(Blom and Chaplin). Shapes as defined by them are created when one or more bodies are either static or moving in relation to space. Straight-edged shapes and angles can create order but when moving they can be choppy, percussive, with a strong sense of direction, and “machinelike” rigidity as seen in the movements of the actors. The rigid, exaggerated movements portray exactly the sufferings and torment faced by the children during olden times. The repetitive motions of the actors also indicate the monotonous lives that the children were going through. In addition, the pixelated masks and the dull grey uniforms that the actors were wearing contributed effectively to what the intention of the director was- to invoke a sense of empathy.

The irregular rhythmical beats of the musical instruments as the play progresses can be quite confusing for me to follow, however I was still able to feel intrigued and engaged. Because irregular rhythms are unexpected, they have the capacity to help shock, disorient and amuse the audience. As the rhythm intensities towards the end, there was heightened sense of confusion. I felt that it might have been too overwhelming and was unnecessary. Afterall, the underlying message has already been portrayed.

The layout of the stage was small. Using (Carlson, 1989)’s analogy of 5 the basic spatial structures, the Lir theatre easily fits into the proscenium stage, which “symbolises a clear division between the performer and the spectator.” Nonetheless, this demarcated distinction is broken down when the director takes his seat in between the stage and the audience. As such, the director managed to bring the audience closer and connects us to the actors themselves, with him acting as a medium.

The mediatised images projected onto the screen were a unique experience for me. It seemed as if I was watching a documentary on the historic accounts of the “survivals”. There was a factual element incorporated which made the play even more convincing. Perhaps the intention of the director was to educate or inform the audience. His intention was revealed through several carriers that provided the meaning. The documentary, the sound effects and the actor’s movements in my opinion, were the dominant carriers of meaning. Firstly, as mentioned, the documentary video reflects a true personal account which forms a basic understanding of the production. Secondly, the musical instruments used were varied as the play progresses. Wind instruments were used initially, but as the rhythm of the play picked up, percussion instruments took over and dominated the scene. The thumping of the drums was echoed through the interior walls of the theatre. Thirdly, the body movements of the actors were pretty much like robots- rigid and emotionless. This depicts the solemn and authoritative setting that was instilled back in those times at industrial schools. All in all, these dominant carriers of meaning changed from one to the other smoothly during the performance.

The creative processes driving the whole production was quite prominent. The director, music director, technicians, choreographers, costume designers, makeup artists, sound crew etc were all part of a collaborative process that ignites the performance. Indeed, the different departments are all interlinked and could not have been possible without the presence of each other. As said by Pavis Patrice, “The stage is no longer the discourse of a particular author (director or playwright or choreographer) but the visible and conscious result of a collective process”. Hence the whole performance should be seen as a collective whole and not be narrowed down to certain aspects only.

I felt that I was more of a witness than a spectator during the performance. The mediatised images as well as the documentary-like video were able to evoke my senses and it felt as though I had moved back into the past. Though it might have been seen as a distraction to what was going on at the stage, I felt it was an added touch of element that was able to effectively engage and relate to the audience.

Bibliography
Devised and Directed by: Feidlim Cannon and Gary Keegan
Music director: Seán Millar
Dance cherographer: Eddie Kay
Date of performance visited: 13/07/2011 References
Bentley, Eric. The Life of the Drama. London: Methuen, 1965.
Blom, Lynne Anne, and L. Tarin Chaplin. The Intimate Act of Choreography. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1982.
Marvin, Carlson. Places of Performance: The semiotics of Theatre Architecture. Cornell University Press, 1989.
Pavis, Patrice. Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.