Othello Journals

Journal #1

Act 2

Scene 1

Lines 163-173

"She that was ever fair and never proud, Had tongue at will and yet was never loud, (Iago shakes his hand in a motion when he says "never" -- to indicate he is drawing the line; saying she is never loud) (He is on a rant to Desdemona -- moving all these gestures at a quick pace) Never lacked gold and yet went never gay, (He brings hand around neck as if he had jewelry around him -- to show she was always presentable wearing gold/shakes his hand in a motion when he says "never" (again)) Fled from her wish and yet said “Now I may,” (Iago runs out of breath and takes a slight pause) She that being angered, her revenge being nigh, (He is looking towards Desdemona with a soft, sincere voice) Bade her wrong stay and her displeasure fly, (Iago raises his hand to show the serious emotion he is containing) She that in wisdom never was so frail (He taps his finger on his head -- indicating the brains/knowledge that he is referring to) To change the cod’s head for the salmon’s tail, (He looks at one hand, then looks at the other -- showing the two options: cod's head or the salmon's tail) She that could think and ne'er disclose her mind, (Iago brings his hand to his head again in a stern voice, while making eye contact with Desdemona) See suitors following and not look behind, (Iago continues to be on a rant. He is making motions fast, trying to collect words quickly. He is on the verge of running out of breath) (Iago turns his head around slightly and softly gestures his hand behind him) She was a wight, if ever such wights were—" (He looks at Desdemona and raises voice. His voice becomes stern and solid. He stops in the middle of his sentence because he is interrupted by Desdemona)

Journal #2

Emelia has been in scenes where she usually pops up when certain situations happen. For example, in act 3, scene 1, page 113, Emelia is talking to Cassio. He wants to speak to Desdemona and is asking for permission from Emelia. They end up all having a conversation about Cassio and Othello's relationships. As well as how Emelia and Desdemona's husband’s are acting. Emelia also appears in this scene later on in the play where she is trying to convince Othello that nothing is going on between Desdemona and Iago. In act 4, scene 2, page 193, Emelia and Othello are having a back and fourth conversation about Desdemona. This causes Othello to demand Emelia to bring Desdemona in the room so they can discuss it.

Emelia is trying to be as helpful as possible throughout the whole play. I think she is consistently trying to communicate with her fellow peers about all the situations that came up. She seems to be that extra person hanging around that perfectly ties into the moments when the characters need a second opinion. Or, when Emelia feels like butting into the situations, and speaking her voice. 

I feel like all the other characters can see Emelia as the same thing that she sees herself. The characters communicate back with Emelia and you see some fluid conversations between them in the play. This shows that sometimes what Emelia is saying is relevant. However, they could also see her as someone who isn't necessary and hasn't tied into any of the events.  The characters in the play see her as a very bittersweet character. The things that she says can either help or hurt everyone. This is because Emelia tends too say or do too much or too little. For example, Emelia was pretending that she didn't know what Desdemona was talking about when they were on the topic of the handkerchief, when she should of told Desdemona what was really going on. 

We can try to focus on how she says all the things that she does. I feel like the tone of what she is saying and her body language will come in a lot of use. If Emelia is trying to be secretive, sneaky, and blunt, she might talk in a slow, soft, or low tone. If Emelia is trying to get her opinion across to someone and convince a character (like Othello), her voice might be loud and her body movement might be drastic. Since Emelia is a minor character, I don't think it would be obvious things that give away what she is trying to portray. If we focus on her physical addition to the stage rather than any other factors of her character, that might help us figure out what Emelia is really thinking. 

Journal #3

Cassio was always a fair and sincere man. He always wanted the best for others and tried to avoid drama as much as possible. He tended to never really get what he wanted. He was always chasing after women who had no interest in him. Cassio was consistently turned down by all different types of women. Whether he had friends to support him or even a wing-man, Cassio had no chance. He was always a nice man; sometimes too nice. He never knew what was always right in front of him, whether it was good or bad. He tried to stay away from all the drama between friends and peers but it never really worked out.

  It all started when Cassio fell madly in love with a girl in middle school. Day after day, Cassio would sit and cry over her. The girl had no interest in Cassio from the day she met him. From that point on, Cassio felt that he would never be happy because of this one girl disappointing him. He then assumed that all the others would disappoint him too. Then along came Othello, Desdemona, and the others, which caused him to rediscover what he already knew: disappointment. Before meeting them and after, Cassio saw that he was just someone that was meant to sit in the crowd, watch, and wait till something or someone came his way. 

Journal #4

During my performance as Cassio, I am going to try to act as sincere and heartfelt as possible. Cassio is upset with Bianca in the scene because of the handkerchief. I am going to be making a lot of gasp noises, throwing my hands in the air, and talking loudly yet genuine at the same time. This is because I want to convince Bianca to not leave me (Cassio). 

In my scene, I am going to have a sword with me. The sword represents who I play (because I am apart of the military in the play). Also, in this scene, my actions aren't as dramatic as the others; all I am doing is talking to Bianca. Therefore, the sword is a sweet, soft, yet necessary touch to my role in the scene. I say this because it adds on to  the actual person Cassio is playing. He is a lieuteant. The sword adds some power to his character without the prop taking over and distracting the scene. 

My group's presentation is going to stand out because we have some dramatic conversations going on in our scene. Iago is trying to be sneaky while Othello ease-drops on my conversation as Cassio with Bianca. Bianca is furious with me, and I'm trying to convince her that what she thinks is wrong. Our group has agreed that we all have something dramatic to say, and we are going to use that to the best of our ability. Whether it is with the way we talk, walk, or simply appear on stage; each of us are trying to get our point across to one and other. We are going to use all the tools we learned in class, to bring the scene alive. 

Journal #5

“How now, my sweet Bianca! How now! How now!”. I had a very limited amount of lines. However, this line stood out to me the most because the was the line that I saw and felt the most emotion in. This line gave me a view and hint on how sincere and willing Cassio is as a character. He is really caring, and only wants the best for everyone. He was one of those characters who was noticeable enough to be labeled as a main character yet he wasn’t one of the more dramatic ones. Cassio was always trying to mend situations and be the peace maker. Bianca was really mad at him for the wrong reasons and Cassio was trying his hardest to make sure she didn’t storm out the room. This line showed me his true characteristics that made him who he is. I feel like this line was important in my performance because it gave me a chance to use a lot of emotion. I got to be that character that is basically innocent and is one of the fair players in the game (or in the play as you could say). I delivered this line by acting sad, surprised, and somewhat begging towards Bianca. I was offended and disappointed in her that she was willing to say such foolish things. I was trying my best to make her stay. 

The performance went as I planned. No matter how many times we practiced, there was some characters that lacked emotion more than others. This is what made me think that the show must go on whether they put in the emotion needed or not. Overall, I was happy with the finishing product. I am proud of the effort we all put in and how well we used the time given to use to practice. We brainstormed even the slightest ideas to improve our scene that made all the difference for the better. If I was to do this performance again, I personally wouldn’t of changed anything for myself. I am proud of the way I performed. However, as a group, I would have wanted more emotion and a little more projection in our voices for some of the characters. All in all, I’m happy with what performance I was apart of. 

Performing the play really improved my understanding of the play. Simplifying and compressing the play, highlighting all the main events, really gave me a clear timeline of the whole plot of Othello. I got to see who was the good and who was the evil. I also got to see which characters were more important than others. I witnessed so many different things when seeing the live performances. All in all, it was just helpful because I already knew what was going on in the play before we started acting it out; the live performances just took my understanding to a whole new and improved level.