Understanding of character: The character I am playing is the ghost of Briseis’ father, the character ghost has come back from the dead. He is  trying to help his child from making a big mistake. The character is telling his child about her boyfriend Achilles and he is telling her to leave town and to take refuge in Troy. In the play it does not say how he died in the play so it is hard to really understand the character truly. In the play I say “Achilles may have struck me down but I will never leave you” suggesting Achilles was the one to kill me and why I so angry my daughter is still with him and why I want her to leave.                                                                                                                                                   Choice of costume: It was hard for find a suitable costume for the character I was playing because it didn’t let us know how he died.I wanted to make it look to the people watching that the character i was playing was dead. so I decided were  white shirt with a stab mark and with blood, and I was wearing  black bottoms and black shoes. I done this so it will make the people watching wonder how the character died.                                                                                                                                                           use of space: when I was acting I made sure I was think about how fast and where I would be moving to. When i was walking on to the stage I had to make sure i was moving slow and with less movement in my body and i had make sure i was not moving a lot when i was speaking to Briseis. The reason i decided to do this is because you would really so a ghost moving fast and with joy and life. 
Use of props, lighting, sound The use of the sound of bombs at the beginning of the performance were to make the audience aware of the war. Briseis wakes up and goes to the window to see what’s happening outside and shuts the window and tries to sleep. This was to show how she was both tired physically and tired of the war. We used two blocks for Briseis’ bed and a dressing gown to show this was her bedroom. I emerged from behind a curtain so that briseis couldn’t see me. Coming out from the curtain from nothing into view was to represent crossing the bridge from death to life.
Employment of processes from other practitioners. I decided to put myself into the shoes of my character. I thought he would feel scared and angry because I told Briseis to flee because Troy wasn’t safe for her. I wanted her to leave Achilles and never come back. As I am dead and Briseis hadn’t listened to me, I feel my character would feel furious because he could no longer protect her, because he is a ghost, and there is nothing he can physically do. To show this, when speaking to her I shouted her name and when she later replied “I love you father, forgive me…” I cut her off to show my anger. I was also close up in her face to try and scare her into listening to me and fleeing. Even though I was angry, i still listened to what she had to stay and keep telling her to leave because she is my daughter and I still want her to be safe.
Use of semiotics The biggest use of semiotics in my piece was the window. When Briseis closes the window she is showing she is tired of the war and all the fighting and all the people dying. The window acts as a reflection of what’s going on in her head about the land being destroyed, the people dying and how she’s tired of all of it. Another use of semiotics was the blood on my shirt. The blood goes to show that I am dead, that I could have been murdered in the war. I chose blood because blood is always thought of in violent deaths and is an obvious symbol to the audience.

1. What is the social, historical and cultural background to the text? (Trojan War, Israel/Palestine Conflict)
2. What are the particular artistic features of the text, the genre, and any implied performance style? (Greek Tragedy)
3. What is the background of the playwright? Brian Wolland
4. Why have you chosen this particular extract for performance?

According to Benny Morris, among the first recorded violent incidents between Arabs and Jews in Palestine was the accidental shooting death of an Arab man in Safed, during a wedding in December 1882, by a Jewish guard of the newly formed Rosh Pinna.^[7] In response, about 200 Arabs descended on the Jewish settlement throwing stones and vandalizing property.^[8] Another incident happened in Petah Tikva, where in early 1886 the Jewish settlers demanded that their tenants vacate the disputed land and started encroaching on it. On March 28, a Jewish settler crossing this land was attacked and robbed of his horse by Yahudiya Arabs, while the settlers confiscated nine mules found grazing in their fields, though it is not clear which incident came first and which was the retaliation. The Jewish settlers refused to return the mules, a decision viewed as a provocation. The following day, when most of the settlement’s men folk were away, fifty or sixty Arab villagers attacked Petach Tikva, vandalizing houses and fields and carrying off much of the livestock. Four Jews were injured and a fifth, an elderly woman with a heart condition, died four days later.^[9].By 1908, thirteen Jews had been killed by Arabs, with four of them killed in what Benny Morris calls “nationalist circumstances”, the others in the course of robberies and other crimes. In the next five years twelve Jewish settlement guards were killed by Arabs. Settlers began to speak more and more of Arab “hatred” and “nationalism” lurking behind the increasing depredations, rather than mere “banditry”.^[10].Zionist ambitions were increasingly identified as a threat by the Arab leaders in Palestine region.^[11] Certain developments, such as the acquisition of lands from Arab owners for Jewish settlements, which led to the eviction of the fellaheen from the lands which they cultivated as tenant farmers, aggravated the tension between the parties and caused the Arab population in the region of Palestine to feel dispossessed of their lands.^[12] Ottoman land-purchase regulations were invoked following local complaints in opposition to increasing immigration. Ottoman policy makers in the late 19th century were apprehensive of the increased Russian and European influence in the region, partly as a result of a large immigration wave from the Russian Empire. The Ottoman authorities feared the loyalty of the new immigrants not so much because of their Jewishness but because of concern that their loyalty was primarily to their country of origin, Russia, with whom the Ottoman Empire had a long history of conflicts: immigrant loyalty to Russia might ultimately undermine Turkish control in the region of Palestine. This concern was fomented by the example seen in the dismantling of Ottoman authority in the Balkan region. European immigration was also considered by local residents to be a threat to the cultural make-up of the region.^[13] The regional significance of the anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and anti-immigration legislation being enacted in Europe was that Jewish immigration waves began arriving in Palestine (see First Aliyah and Second Aliyah).^[14] As a result of the extent of the various Zionist enterprises which started becoming apparent,^[13] the Arab population in the Palestine region began protesting against the acquisition of lands by the Jewish population. As a result, in 1892 the Ottoman authorities banned land sales to foreigners. By 1914 the Jewish population in Palestine had risen to over 60,000, with around 33,000 of these being recent settlers

Torture

I believe the use of torture is necessary in some cases to protect lives. However, yet again innocent people are being tortured by terrorists and even killed but for what reason? Thousands of people are being tortured just because of their beliefs and just to make people scared of terrorists. An example of this is Isis, a group of militants from Iraq. They have been going around parts of Iraq and have been killing people like they are animals, just because they believe in different things. Isis have even been capturing news reporters and have been torturing and killing them on live TV leaving families without their loved ones just because of what has been going on between their own countries. This torture is disgusting and unnecessary.

Another example of torture is when the American government torture the terrorists they have captured. This is the torture I believe is acceptable as it isn’t just to scare innocent people, it is required. The American government are torturing them because they need some information about the other terrorists, and trying to get information to stop any further attacks on the county and its people. However over the years there has been many complaints of human rights breaches in places such as America’s renowned prison called Guantanamo Bay, where on many occasions people held there have accused the Americans of torture. Three British Muslims who were detained there said after they were released that U.S forces tortured them, this included beatings and forced drugging. This is just one of many examples of people claiming they have been tortured at Guantanamo Bay. The issue with torture is that everybody has human rights and torture is a breach of the human rights act, and the government are breaking one of the nation’s rules. George Bush, when he was president, said only 30-40 people were ever subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques”, one of these was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the organiser of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre’ “I believe this is when it is acceptable to use torture as he killed almost 3,000 people”. This was a statement made by the then president of the USA, proving that he went against the human rights act for the gain of his country’s well being. I believe that this is an acceptable way to gain information, however many may argue that

You could argue that when they have tortured someone but then released them that maybe in these cases torture wasn’t necessary, maybe it was a case of mistaken identity.

Torturing a terrorist may not be right, but surely saving thousands of lives must make it ok. Torturing someone is not something we should encourage, however in some cases I believe it is justified because you need to get information from these people in order to save many more lives. Although i do believe that torture should only be used to prevent future attacks. It is hard to argue with this when you consider in some countries they use the death penalty. In conclusion I think torture should only be used if it is to get information that could save many lives. However it is a breach of human rights act which is breaking the law.

 ""said by miss Maudie.we,re the safest folks in the world said mis muadie 
"We are making aistep it just baby steps but it is still a step " 
Miss Muadie is saying that the white people taking a step to see black people in a different light.

“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away”.  It was Christmas Eve of the year 2012, I was so excited because I hard remembered the plans my mum had for me today. I couldn’t wait to see my brand new, shiny electric helicopter that my mum was getting me for Christmas. I was up and ready in no time, all I could think of was tearing open my presents and flying my helicopter on Christmas day. For the whole journey I all I did was day dream about the good times I would have with my new toy. Finally, my mum and I were down the West End. There were Christmas lights everywhere you looked, it was amazing, it was lighting up the sky. There were thousands of people, pushing, rushing and grabbing things, all I wanted to do was get home as soon as we had stepped foot in the. I thought about asking my mum if I could go back home but I knew she would not have it at all.

We went from shop to shop and my mum brought me lots of things, clothes, trainers, computer games, you name it I would be opening it on Christmas day. I was so happy I had even forgotten about the crowds of people and I thought to myself that nothing can ruin the rest of the day. But I was very wrong!

As we got home my mum’s phone started to ring, it was a call from the hospital in Jamaica that my grandma had been in for a couple of weeks. Suddenly my mum, started to cry. I did not know what was going on, I knew my grandma was ill, but every time I had asked my mum how she was she always replied “she’s ok” so at this point I felt very confused. It made me up set watching my mum cry, I knew I was not good news. I ask my mum what was wrong and she mumbled to me, with her eyes full of water that my grandma passed away 10 mins ago. I felt a lump in my throat and instantly started to cry I could not stop. My eyes turned blood shot red within seconds I could not believe that my grandma had gone; she was the only grandparent that I still had left. I tried to comfort my mum and let her know that it would be ok! But was it really going to be ok?  My mum would now have to find enough money to book both of our tickets to Jamaica, and at Christmas time this was not cheap. Then there would be the money for the funeral, my mum would also have to think about time off work and school for me. Was it really going to be ok? I was starting to doubt it and think that a good day was now one of the worst days of my life.

The day to fly to Jamaica had finally come. The flight was 9 hour but it felt like the whole day I got put off the food, it was not well cooked and I could not fall asleep because all I could think about was my grandma. I was finally in Jamaica and my mum and I met up with our family in Jamaica. By time we arrived at my grandma’s old house it was very late. It felt weird not having her greet me with a big kiss, a tight bear hug or a few gifts. My family told stories of my grandma and the good old days while eating and drinking some delicious traditional food. We laughed and some cried for hours, I ended up falling asleep while to stories and jokes continued.

The day came when my mum and I went to see my grandma’s body. It was horrific to see a dead body.  My grandma’s skin was very pale and when I touched her hands they felt extremely dry and cold. The body did not look like my grandma, the body looked like a different person. I burst into tears, reality had hit me, she was dead and gone, gone forever.