Devising Faustus script

Devising Faustus script

In this lesson we did an initial exercise of walking round the room and then Rachel said stop and get into partners with the person who is closest to you. Once we did this my partner was then Magic. 
When it comes to our group performance we are going to have a simple set of having 7 stage blocks in a semi circle to replicate the 7 deadly sins that are seen in the play of Faustus. There are 14 members to our class and all of us in partners will cause to be in 7 pairs. Meaning that each pair will be put on one stage block. 

This is what our set would look like positioned on the stage

In our partners we were asked to create a modern parallel for our Faustus scene. Magic and I decided to have a male celebrity/actor (Faustus) and have him feel that he has got everything out of life and his career and wants to have a new high to take him places new. A drug dealer (Mephistopheles) tries to tempt him with the idea and what he could gain out of being tempted into this new experience and high. The location that we would have is on a street corner as this where realistically a dealer would be met to do some dodgy deals.

Once we decided what we would like to use as our modern parallel we then looked at a breakdown of all the scenes of the play and chose which scene would be appropriate and fit our idea. We decided to chose Act 1 Scene 3 as in this scene Faustus is seen to be bargaining with the devil and demanding that Mephistopheles do whatever that he commands. We thought that this would be appropriate as it would be in our modern parallel that our celebrity is telling a dealer exactly what he wants out of him and for the dealer to do exactly what he commands. We decided that the celebrity/ Faustus in the scene will be power hungry and have that presence that he feels that he is better than anyone else. We also decided that dealer/Mephistopheles would be sly and have a sinister presence and almost have a inner knowing what is yet to come but does what Faustus asks but keeps it to them self and just have a presence about them that is sly and knows more than Faustus does about what is yet to happen.

We decided that Magic would be Faustus and that I would play Mephistopheles as we originally decided for our modern parallel Faustus to be male so we decided that Magic should play that character. After we sorted out our background story for our modern parallel and who was to have what part it was time for us to devise and cut down our chosen scene into a 5-10 minute piece. As a result to this we managed to do this quite well as we understood what is being said in the script meaning that we just needed to cut the bits of dialouge that were dragging it out and weren't very important and then kept the bits that were important to our plot of the scene and was also withing the 5-10 minute time bracket.
Our editing the script came for it to look and read like this:

[Act 1 Scene 3]

Enter FAUSTUS [preparing] to conjure.

FAUSTUS

 [Draws a circle.]

Within this circle is Jehovah’s name

Forward and backward anagrammatized.

By which the spirits are enforced to rise.

Then fear not, Faustus, but be resolute

And try the uttermost magic can perform.

That canst command great Mephistopheles.

Enter MEPHISTOPHELES  

MEPHISTOPHELES

Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?

FAUSTUS

I charge thee wait upon me whilst I live,

To do whatever Faustus shall command,

MEPHISTOPHELES

I am a servant to great Lucifer

And may not follow thee without his leave.

No more than he commands must we perform.

FAUSTUS

Did not he charge thee to appear to me?  

MEPHISTOPHELES

No, I came not hither of mine own accord.

FAUSTUS

Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee? Speak.

MEPHISTOPHELES

That was the cause,

For, when we hear one rack the name of God,

Abjure the Scriptures and his Savior Christ,

We fly in hope to get his glorious soul;

FAUSTUS

Tell me, what is that Lucifer, thy lord?

MEPHISTOPHELES

Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.

FAUSTUS

Was not that Lucifer an angel once?

MEPHISTOPHELES

Yes, Faustus, and most dearly loved of God.

FAUSTUS

How comes it, then, that he is prince of devils?

MEPHISTOPHELES

O, by aspiring pride and insolence,

For which God threw him from the face of heaven.

FAUSTUS

And what are you that live with Lucifer?

MEPHISTOPHELES

Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,

Conspired against our God with Lucifer,

And are for ever damned with Lucifer.

FAUSTUS

Where are you damned?

MEPHISTOPHELES

In hell.

FAUSTUS

How comes it, then, that thou art out of hell?  

MEPHISTOPHELES

Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.

Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God,

And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,

FAUSTUS

What, is great Mephistopheles so passionate

For being deprivèd of the joys of heaven?

Go bear those tidings to great Lucifer:

So he will spare him four-and-twenty years,

Having thee ever to attend on me,

To give me whatsoever I shall ask,

To tell me whatsoever I demand,

And always be obedint to my will.

meet me in my study at midnight,

And then resolve me of thy master’s mind.

MEPHISTOPHELES

I will, Faustus.

Exit

Mine and Magic's task now is to learn this piece and hopefully be able to learn some of the lines so we can get into the true essence of the character rather than directly read off the script as i feel i can't personally get into character properly if I don't at least know some of the lines and have a vague idea of what I a, doing, so that will be my challenge for this week to learn some of my lines.