Contextual Research : HAIR THE MUSICAL

   HAIR The Musical opened in Broadway in October 1967. PlayWrights James Rado and Gerome Ragni worked together to create the most controversial musical 1960’s America had ever seen. On Stage Nudity had been banned since the nineteenth century, when the law was lifted HAIR being the over sexualised production that it is, was the first Musical to take advantage of the now uplifted law.

Staging:

Stripped stage. One raked playing area intimate to the audience; very easy access to audience and back. Totem poles (scaffolding decorated with the accoutrements of an affluent society), ramps and levels, tattered clothes, hangings, hippie decorations and posters. "Love" and other graffiti painted here and there.

Costumes:

The turned-on hippie generation: Indian-like buckskin jackets, loincloths, moccasins, pants, blankets, tribal masks possible, tee shirts, sweat shirts, old military uniforms, a single sequined gown in which three girls can fit, Afro fashions, wild flower-power shirts, pants and shifts, Indian bead headbands, Levis, bell bottoms and other Now fashions. White Indian linen, gold-embroidered gown.

Lighting:

Strobe lights, psychedelic coloured lighting aimed among the audience, fireworks, tightly controlled lighting that often changes rapidly, moving light projections, sound-mixing equipment required, hand mikes. Projection of dark mysterious men, FBI, and CIA agents. Police puppets.

Historical Event : The Cuban Missile Crisis Octoer 1962

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict. The crisis was unique in a number of ways, featuring calculations and miscalculations as well as direct and secret communications and miscommunications between the two sides. The dramatic crisis was also characterized by the fact that it was primarily played out at the White House and the Kremlin level with relatively little input from the respective bureaucracies typically involved in the foreign policy process.

Aerial view of missile launch site at San Cristobal, Cuba. (John F. Kennedy Library)

After the failed U.S. attempt to overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba with the Bay of Pigs invasion, and while the Kennedy administration planned Operation Mongoose, in July 1962 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with Cuban premier Fidel Castro to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter any future invasion attempt. Construction of several missile sites began in the late summer, but U.S. intelligence discovered evidence of a general Soviet arms build-up on Cuba, including Soviet IL–28 bombers, during routine surveillance flights, and on September 4, 1962, President Kennedy issued a public warning against the introduction of offensive weapons into Cuba. Despite the warning, on October 14 a U.S. U–2 aircraft took several pictures clearly showing sites for medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missiles (MRBMs and IRBMs) under construction in Cuba. These images were processed and presented to the White House the next day, thus precipitating the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Kennedy summoned his closest advisers to consider options and direct a course of action for the United States that would resolve the crisis. Some advisers—including all the Joint Chiefs of Staff—argued for an air strike to destroy the missiles, followed by a U.S. invasion of Cuba; others favored stern warnings to Cuba and the Soviet Union. The President decided upon a middle course. On October 22, he ordered a naval “quarantine” of Cuba. The use of “quarantine” legally distinguished this action from a blockade, which assumed a state of war existed; the use of “quarantine” instead of “blockade” also enabled the United States to receive the support of the Organization of American States.

That same day, Kennedy sent a letter to Khrushchev declaring that the United States would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba, and demanded that the Soviets dismantle the missile bases already under construction or completed, and return all offensive weapons to the U.S.S.R. The letter was the first in a series of direct and indirect communications between the White House and the Kremlin throughout the remainder of the crisis.

The President also went on national television that evening to inform the public of the developments in Cuba, his decision to initiate and enforce a “quarantine,” and the potential global consequences if the crisis continued to escalate. The tone of the President’s remarks was stern, and the message unmistakable and evocative of the Monroe Doctrine: “It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.” The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced a military readiness status of DEFCON 3 as U.S. naval forces began implementation of the quarantine and plans accelerated for a military strike on Cuba.

On October 24, Khrushchev responded to Kennedy’s message with a statement that the U.S. “blockade” was an “act of aggression” and that Soviet ships bound for Cuba would be ordered to proceed. Nevertheless, during October 24 and 25, some ships turned back from the quarantine line; others were stopped by U.S. naval forces, but they contained no offensive weapons and so were allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba indicated the Soviet missile sites were nearing operational readiness. With no apparent end to the crisis in sight, U.S. forces were placed at DEFCON 2—meaning war involving the Strategic Air Command was imminent. On October 26, Kennedy told his advisors it appeared that only a U.S. attack on Cuba would remove the missiles, but he insisted on giving the diplomatic channel a little more time. The crisis had reached a virtual stalemate.

That afternoon, however, the crisis took a dramatic turn. ABC News correspondent John Scali reported to the White House that he had been approached by a Soviet agent suggesting that an agreement could be reached in which the Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba if the United States promised not to invade the island. While White House staff scrambled to assess the validity of this “back channel” offer, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a message the evening of October 26, which meant it was sent in the middle of the night Moscow time. It was a long, emotional message that raised the specter of nuclear holocaust, and presented a proposed resolution that remarkably resembled what Scali reported earlier that day. “If there is no intention,” he said, “to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.”

Although U.S. experts were convinced the message from Khrushchev was authentic, hope for a resolution was short-lived. The next day, October 27, Khrushchev sent another message indicating that any proposed deal must include the removal of U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey. That same day a U.S. U–2 reconnaissance jet was shot down over Cuba. Kennedy and his advisors prepared for an attack on Cuba within days as they searched for any remaining diplomatic resolution. It was determined that Kennedy would ignore the second Khrushchev message and respond to the first one. That night, Kennedy set forth in his message to the Soviet leader proposed steps for the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba under supervision of the United Nations, and a guarantee that the United States would not attack Cuba.

It was a risky move to ignore the second Khrushchev message. Attorney General Robert Kennedy then met secretly with Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, and indicated that the United States was planning to remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey anyway, and that it would do so soon, but this could not be part of any public resolution of the missile crisis. The next morning, October 28, Khrushchev issued a public statement that Soviet missiles would be dismantled and removed from Cuba.

The crisis was over but the naval quarantine continued until the Soviets agreed to remove their IL–28 bombers from Cuba and, on November 20, 1962, the United States ended its quarantine. U.S. Jupiter missiles were removed from Turkey in April 1963.

The Cuban missile crisis stands as a singular event during the Cold War and strengthened Kennedy’s image domestically and internationally. It also may have helped mitigate negative world opinion regarding the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Two other important results of the crisis came in unique forms. First, despite the flurry of direct and indirect communications between the White House and the Kremlin—perhaps because of it—Kennedy and Khrushchev, and their advisers, struggled throughout the crisis to clearly understand each others’ true intentions, while the world hung on the brink of possible nuclear war. In an effort to prevent this from happening again, a direct telephone link between the White House and the Kremlin was established; it became known as the “Hotline.” Second, having approached the brink of nuclear conflict, both superpowers began to reconsider the nuclear arms race and took the first steps in agreeing to a nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Contexual Research - Vietnam War.

When was the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War started in the 50's and lasted two decades, finally ending in the 70's. More specifically, starting in November 1st 1955 and ending April 30th 1975, reuniting North and South Vietnam as one country once again. Over time countries like, The United States, France, China, The Soviet Union, Cambodia, Laos and even more countries would become involved in this lengthy war which evidently claimed millions of lives.

What was the objective of the Vietnam War?

The main intent of US involvement was to restrict the communist domination that was present in  the government of Vietnam as it would soon lead to neighbouring countries adopting the same. This would result in a change of balance in power throughout Southeast Asia. The Domino Theory was a Cold War policy that the US government use to justify their involvement in the Vietnam War and it's Support for it's non-communist dictator in South Vietnam. By assuming Ho Chi Minh was a pawn of the communist giants, Russia and China, American policymakers failed to see that the goal of Ho and his supporters was Vietnamese independence and not the spread of communism. In the end, even though the American effort to block a communist takeover failed and North Vietnamese forces marched into Saigon in 1975,communism did not spread throughout the rest of Southeast Asia. With the exception of Laos and Cambodia, the nations of the region remained out of communist control.

What was the TET Offensive?

The Tet Offensive had a strong role in weakening the U.S. public support of the Vietnam War.
In late January 1968 the North Vietnamese and Communist Vietcong force, launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam during the lunar year (or Tet) holiday. A lunar year is a measure of the Moon's rotation around Earth, a lunar year has 354 days in it, in comparison to a solar year which has 365 days in it. It was Ho Chi Minh's intent to attack major cities in hope of forcing the U.S into negotiation or even withdrawal. It was a political expediency that the Hanoi leaders attacked during the celebrations of the Tet holiday as it is traditionally a time of armistice. It would also leave the South Vietnam vulnerable as Vietnamese civilians would be travelling to visit relatives at this time so this provided cover for the movement of the North Vietnamese.
There were three phases to the Tet Offensive, however the first phase proved most effective and psychologically damaging. The assault began on the last two days of January, the North Vietnamese simultaneously attacked major populated areas and places with heavy troop presence, for example Saigon.The third phase lasted six weeks, The U.S and South Vietnamese reclaimed the towns that the North had secured. By the end of the Tet Offensive, both sides claimed victory although both endured major losses and casualties. The response of the South Vietnamese completely wiped out the North Vietnamese however the Tet Offensive revealed to the American public that an Overall victory in Vietnam was not going to happen.

What were the major protests against the War?

The anti-war movement began mostly on college campuses, as members of the leftist organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) began organizing “teach-ins” to express their opposition to the way in which it was being conducted. Though most of the American population still supported the administration policy in Vietnam, a small but outspoken liberal minority was making its voice heard by the end of 1965. This minority included many students as well as prominent artists and intellectuals and members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people who rejected authority and embraced the drug culture.

The launch of the Tet Offensive by North Vietnamese communist troops in January 1968, and its success against U.S. and South Vietnamese troops, sent waves of shock and discontent across the home front and sparked the most intense period of anti-war protests to date. By early February 1968, a Gallup poll showed only 35 percent of the population approved of Johnson’s handling of the war and a full 50 percent disapproved (the rest had no opinion). Joining the anti-war demonstrations by this time were members of the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War, many of whom were in wheelchairs and on crutches. The sight of these men on television throwing away the medals they had won during the war did much to win people over to the anti-war cause.

What was some of the military tactics?

What were the mental effects on the military?

Psychological Effects:

PTSD is a development of characteristic symptoms following a psychologically distressing event.  "It begins with an event in which the individual is threatened with his or her own death or the destruction of a body part, to such humiliation that their personal identity may be lost. Vietnam veterans who experience PTSD have a feeling of helplessness, worthlessness, dejection, anger, depression, insomnia, and a tendency to react to tense situations by using survival tactics.  Combat experience remains the variable most often linked to PTSD among Vietnam veterans.  The frequency of PTSD was a lot higher among those with high levels of exposure to combat compared to the noncombatants.  PTSD was not taken seriously until the 1980's when many Vietnam veterans were complaining of similar symptoms.  These symptoms had been noticed after previous wars but there were only a couple of cases.  In some cases, veterans did not experience their symptoms until a year after they returned.  Thus, it was very easy for the government to ignore the effects of PTSD because it had such a delayed reaction.

Drugs and alcohol played a major role in the lives of the American soldiers during the Vietnam war.  In the beginning of the war, marijuana was the main drug of choice.  However, news that American soldiers were using drugs came back to the U.S., which resulted in immediate action by the military to suppress drugs, especially marijuana.  After marijuana was banned, many soldiers turned to heroin in order to get their "high".  Many soldiers enjoyed heroin better than marijuana because it sped up the perception of time, whereas marijuana slowed it down.  Because marijuana, heroin, and alcohol were so abundant and inexpensive in Vietnam, veterans used them to ease the stress and sometimes to forget what they saw on the battlefield.  As they returned to the states, drugs were not as easy to obtain.  Some of the veterans were too young to legally buy alcohol.  Other veterans actually stopped using drugs and alcohol, because it was hurting their marriage or relationships with others.  These were usually the men who had left a stable home and were a little older.  However, those young men who came back between the age of 19 and 23 had a much harder time adjusting to society.  One of the tragic effects of the Vietnam drug situation was that some men were refused employment because they had served in Vietnam and employers considered this evidence of drug addiction.  Since veterans had many problems adjusting to society, some continued to drink alcohol and do drugs not only to forget what they saw in Vietnam but to cope with the frustration and anguish of not being accepted into society.

The media had an immense effect on many individuals during the war.  The public were informed about the war's progress through the media, television, and newspapers.  Consequently, much of their opinions and beliefs about war and American soldiers were shaped by how the media viewed the war.  Photographers were very influential in forming, changing, and molding public opinion.  Some photographers were interested in showing the suffering and anguish of the soldier, whereas others wanted to emphasize the dignity, strength, and fearlessness of the American soldier.  Those at home had no experience of how the soldier lived or what he had to deal with during the war.  The media built up a stereotype of the soldier's life.  These stereotypes are formed, directed, and censored for military and political reasons, which were designed to build up morale at home or show that there was progression and production of the war.  When the soldier returned home, he was confused and annoyed to have seen that his family and friends did not understand what he had experienced and how he had changed.  What the people at home had learned and discovered about the war, they had seen mostly through the media.  Thus, whatever the media portrayed was what the public believed, but this didn't necessarily agree with what the soldier actually experienced.  Psychologists found that it was important not only to prepare the veteran for the necessary process of adjustment, but it was also important to prepare the people at home. They have to learn through the media, that the man whom they await will be somebody different from what they imagined him to be. In order to have facilitated the process of re-adjustment for the veteran, the public should have been told the truth as to what these men endured.

How did the War end?

The U.S combat troops left Vietnam as part of the Paris Peace Accords in March 1973, on the 29th.The U.S. could not stand the constantly increasing loss of American lives and the economic burden the war carried on its people and was eventually forced to leave Vietnam before the war ended. Without its direct support, South Vietnam surrendered to the North Communists and disappeared from the world map not long later. On April 30, 1975, as acting President General Duong Van Minh and his cabinet surrendered to the Communist forces unconditionally in the Independence Palace, Saigon, the Vietnam War which had lasted for nearly 20 years eventually came to an end. Objectively, North Vietnam – the communists – who achieved their goals of reuniting and gaining independence for the whole Vietnam won the war whereas South Vietnam under the U.S. support lost the war. The fact is the U.S. failed to stop the spread of Communism throughout Vietnam which led to its spread to Laos and Cambodia in 1975. However, it is arguable that the effects of the war in Korea and Vietnam that the U.S. had involved in did help the rest of South-East Asian countries such as communism. In short, in the picture of Vietnam, the U.S. failed to defend South Vietnam against the North Communists and probably lost the war politically rather than militarily as Vietnam was far from the war of major battles. In the bigger picture of containment, the U.S. did achieve their initial goals to a certain extent. It is noticeable that every party participated in the war suffered heavy losses. North Vietnam suffered approximately 1.1 million military deaths while South Vietnam had around 230,000, together with an estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians’ deaths on both sides. As for the U.S., around 58,000 American forces were killed in action while more than 2,000 went missing during the war. The adverse effects of the war were even felt in the U.S. Some $140 billion (equivalent to around $950 billion in 2011 dollars) were spent. Its role and support for South Vietnam in the war carried a heavy burden on the country’s human and economic resources. Moreover, there were massive countrywide protests against the war wherein a few students lost their lives… At the end of the day, these losses, together with many war crimes such as massacres, rapes make one wonder if the war was worth fighting

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Article Title: Vietnam War Timeline

Author:  History.com Editors

Website Name: HISTORY

URL: https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-timeline

Access Date: 8 June 2019

Publisher: A&E Television Networks

Last Updated: February 22,2019

Original Published Date: September 13,2017

Website Name: History Net

URL: https://www.historynet.com/vietnam-war

Publisher : World History Group

Last Updated : April 2019

Article Title : U.S. Involvement in The Vietnam War : The Tet Offensive,1968

Website Name : Office Of The Historian

URL: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/tet

Article Title: Who Won The Vietnam War?
Author: Alan Rohn
Website Name: Vietnam War
URL: https://thevietnamwar.info/who-won-the-vietnam-war/
Access Date: 20 June 2019
Publish Date: Nov 28 2012
Last Updated: June 4 2014

UNIT 12 : Reflective SINGING Blog 3

SONG DEVELOPMENT : 'DEAD END'/'LET THE SUNSHINE IN'

Vocally I feel like “ Dead End” is our strongest vocal performance, although its not as demanding as the others we still need to represent the frustration and alienation the tribe would be feeling and we have to show that in our facial expressions and the way we deliver the lines. Some feedback was to make sure we got to the end of each line and emphasised the last word of each line because it means something to the tribe and audience needs to feel and understand that. Originally in the musical the song is performed by the black cast members only and this implicates the black segregation and inequality in the late 60's that 'HAIR' wanted to touch on. I feel like our harmonies are strong, one thing we did change was the lower line, which I am apart of. In order to sing ' Dead end, deaaaaaaad, dead!' we had to cut the line before which was ' No parking..' this was so we had a chance to breathe and fit in the beginning of our harmony line.


Let The Sunshine In:

Click Here To View The Film Version of This song!

Click Here to see the Musical Version!

Above is our final performance version! (just a snippet)

Dynamically I think our performance shares similarities with the musical version. For example their blocking, we stand spaced out on the stage looking out to the audience, legs shoulder width apart and sing out as do they. I do believe our vocals sounded much better than theirs and it is a very vocally demanding song so we did our best to project and articulate whilst implementing emotion and a sense of lost. Initially, like all the other songs I sing on the lower harmony line, but my singing lecturer needed wait on the soprano line and although I am not really comfortable with that high pitched range, he said that I am good at belting out a note. So it was my job to then take that on board an practice with Ruth (the other girl on that harmony line) and ensure my intonation was correct and that I was projecting and not screeching.

UNIT 12 : Reflective SINGING Blog 2

Independent Development and Characterisation of 'Air'

The three of us were really excited to have a song to ourselves. Before this rehearsal we watched videos of how other people who have performed this song in a musical played this.

The song was very easy to learn, lyrically, because it was only a small section of the original - just like a nursery rhyme. With that being said it gave us a chance to incorporate our own harmonies and movement and characters. Evidently this song is the introduction to our scene and our characters, so it gives the audience some insight on the type of girls we are. The lyrics are very sarcastic so the way we perform it is very confident because we are very attention seeking girls however the underlying more serious problem is the fact that we are singing about how the war is effecting us. Further on in the rehearsal process some feedback was that as a group we do need to project and articulate our words even more because we won't have any mics so we will need to vocally project. Our movement was also changed by our choreographer so that we could implement the gas masks we would be using during the song.

UNIT 12 : Reflective SINGING Blog 1

                                                   DEVELOPMENT OF 'AIN'T GOT NO'

Throughout the rehearsal process, our group struggled severely with successfully delivering the song 'Ain't Got No'. I feel like this was because we didn't understand the context of the song and the frustration embedded in the lyrics and it was also a song where every one was responsible for their own line so it would really bring light to those to are going home and doing the extra rehearsal that is needed in preparation for the next rehearsal session and who is not. To be fair the song is very different and something as a class we haven't looked at before. In the link below you can see we were short casted as auditions to higher education drama schools were still ongoing and we were also very under rehearsed it is highly cringe to watch because we don't know our lines and we are not performing as a company or delivery at the higher level that second year students should be.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR REHEARSAL...

In the second clip below you see our acting lecturer Justin trying to help us with our characterisation and understand of the song because we were just singing the song meaninglessly. We lacked authenticity, we needed to really display the frustration and alienation we felt as a tribe and think about our motivation and responses. The only way we can resolve this problem is by knowing the words off book because then we can focus more on characterisation and it can stop sounding broken apart.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE SECOND SHORT CLIP