Today we focused more on our sight specific pieces and tried to get them up on their feet as much as possible. I started to write parts of the text I am going to use in my piece and which parts are going to be said where in terms of which part of the park is going to get a certain line or quote from adult child dead child.
We then had performance practise where I ran through the first part of my monologue - Tatiana from midsummer nights dream. I have decided to play her as if she was mother nature and disgusted with what jealousy has done to the earth that she cares so much about. She's a really empowered woman who quite feisty and is not afraid to stand up to a man. Paul said that this particular speech is like an argument with her husband, arguing about all the promises he made and all the things he said they were going to do together and because of his jealousy its ruined and they're getting a divore. Thinking of the piece like that i can get a real feel of how i want the text to be said and how i can change up the tone and pacing of certain lines to not make it sound so repetitive. I really like this speech and i think its going to be a challenge for me but one i am willing to work on push through to make it a really good piece.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Wednesday 21st November 2012
Today Roxie and Rosie delivered to us their seminar on Punch drunk theatre company and based their workshop on team building. First we had the simple task of counting to ten as a group without looking at each other or giving each other hints and we all had to say a number, we did that tasks quite quickly it onyl took us about 2 attempts. We then played a few trust exercises where were put into pairs and one person was blindfolded and their team mate had to guide them from one side of the room to the other without bumping into any objects. I really enjoyed this game because you really had to focus and have trust in your partners and listen to what they are so saying so you technically don't get injured.
For the main exercise we had to make up a piece based on the game Cluedo as well as involving the Roxie and Rosie. So we based it on us all having a character each from the game Josh T - Mr Black
Josh B - Reverend Green, Alex - professeur Plum, Sam - Scarlett, Megan - Lady peacock, Hassan - Colonel Mustard and I played Mrs white. Mr Black invited the audience in and said he would be back in a moment, but as he left he died in front of them. We each had an item that was then scattered around Mr Black's body and had to go and retrieve them immediately making us look suspicious. Roxie, Rosie and Amy went round to us one by one asking us questions, then they had 3 guesses at who they think was the murderer, they picked Josh B, Lady peacock and Me - Mrs White, but they were all wrong. To put a different spin on the game and add a twist Mr black got up and said that they were all wrong and that he had killed himself and this was his ghost talking. They really liked the piece and weren't expecting us to come up with something like that in 10 minutes. We all said that everyones characters were spot on and the characters was the one thing we didn't talk about, so everyone just took their own initiative and put their own identity to the character.
Hassan and Jason also did their seminar on the natural theatre company and based their workshop on more relatable and thought provoking pieces. One of the tasks was to get into groups 2 people had to choose an object, but it had to be something else and not what it actually is e.g. i chose a balloon and used it as a ball and chain. The other two had to speak for us and we had to create a story with what they were saying. It was really funny, but difficult at the same time because you wanna make u your own story but you had to go with whoever is being your voice.
Another tasks was think about a character you have seen today on your travels and think about what they did and exaggerate it even more, I saw a woman on the train who just kept smiling and staring at me no matter how much i looked away. So we based our piece on that where Roxie played me and I was the woman staring at her. This task showed that inspiration can come from anywhere and characters can be based from someone you've met just today that you will probably never see again but their character and mannerisms has stuck with you that you can make a story from it.
I think both workshops were presented really well and had good sources of information and the tasks related really well to the companies they had researched. I think both workshops were a success and i really enjoyed participating and seeing how much thought had gone into them.
For the main exercise we had to make up a piece based on the game Cluedo as well as involving the Roxie and Rosie. So we based it on us all having a character each from the game Josh T - Mr Black
Josh B - Reverend Green, Alex - professeur Plum, Sam - Scarlett, Megan - Lady peacock, Hassan - Colonel Mustard and I played Mrs white. Mr Black invited the audience in and said he would be back in a moment, but as he left he died in front of them. We each had an item that was then scattered around Mr Black's body and had to go and retrieve them immediately making us look suspicious. Roxie, Rosie and Amy went round to us one by one asking us questions, then they had 3 guesses at who they think was the murderer, they picked Josh B, Lady peacock and Me - Mrs White, but they were all wrong. To put a different spin on the game and add a twist Mr black got up and said that they were all wrong and that he had killed himself and this was his ghost talking. They really liked the piece and weren't expecting us to come up with something like that in 10 minutes. We all said that everyones characters were spot on and the characters was the one thing we didn't talk about, so everyone just took their own initiative and put their own identity to the character.
Hassan and Jason also did their seminar on the natural theatre company and based their workshop on more relatable and thought provoking pieces. One of the tasks was to get into groups 2 people had to choose an object, but it had to be something else and not what it actually is e.g. i chose a balloon and used it as a ball and chain. The other two had to speak for us and we had to create a story with what they were saying. It was really funny, but difficult at the same time because you wanna make u your own story but you had to go with whoever is being your voice.
Another tasks was think about a character you have seen today on your travels and think about what they did and exaggerate it even more, I saw a woman on the train who just kept smiling and staring at me no matter how much i looked away. So we based our piece on that where Roxie played me and I was the woman staring at her. This task showed that inspiration can come from anywhere and characters can be based from someone you've met just today that you will probably never see again but their character and mannerisms has stuck with you that you can make a story from it.
I think both workshops were presented really well and had good sources of information and the tasks related really well to the companies they had researched. I think both workshops were a success and i really enjoyed participating and seeing how much thought had gone into them.
Tuesday 20th November 2012
Today we went round the park and had a look at where our pieces are set and try and get a feel for the space and try and get some inspiration for the performances we are doing. As its this time of year the weather wasn't the best, rainy and cold so now is where we have to take into consideration how the weather affects our performances and the effect it is going to have the audience.
Would we need to prepare them beforehand to wear the right clothing for an outdoor performance, do we need to supply mac rain coats if the weather continues to rain as it has so far. Also our own clothing for the pieces, layering up clothes underneath our costume. As well as looking at health and safety issues and making sure everyone is aware of the space and the dangers it can cause if not handled properly.
I think taking a look at the park with the weather as it is was a good eye opener because you realise how a performance outside changes everything and how it can determine how your piece is going to go but also how you handle it as a person and a professional. There are many times that this would occur if i was touring with a theatre company and unless the weather was really severe the show would go on. It gave a perspective on how much more thought and process has to go into this and that you are fully prepared for anything.
Would we need to prepare them beforehand to wear the right clothing for an outdoor performance, do we need to supply mac rain coats if the weather continues to rain as it has so far. Also our own clothing for the pieces, layering up clothes underneath our costume. As well as looking at health and safety issues and making sure everyone is aware of the space and the dangers it can cause if not handled properly.
I think taking a look at the park with the weather as it is was a good eye opener because you realise how a performance outside changes everything and how it can determine how your piece is going to go but also how you handle it as a person and a professional. There are many times that this would occur if i was touring with a theatre company and unless the weather was really severe the show would go on. It gave a perspective on how much more thought and process has to go into this and that you are fully prepared for anything.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Friday 16th November 2012 Historical Context
Friday 16th November 2012
Today we explored a piece of text from the 1970's called Can't Pay, Won't Pay by Dario Fo and had to identify parts in the play which related to the time it was wrote and what political issues were taking place at the time. We read it through to get a feel for the piece then we had to pick out certain words and sentences which would relate to the time of the piece and what the equivalent would be today. For example Green shield stamps nowadays would be loyalty cards such as boots and nectar where you would earn points that would then lead to money off things.
Also identify the political and economical of the time such as prices going up in supermarkets on necessities such as bread, milk, sugar which is still what goes on today. Strikes, back then people would call a strike the days its happening whereas now its so much more organised and communicated and made more aware in advance which i think makes it less effective and defeats the purpose to begin with as I believe peoples reasoning becomes manufactured and unrealistic. Also men and women's relationships and how woman are now treated more equal now, whereas before the men would give the women a cut of their wages to go and pay the bills, now women earn money for themselves and most people pay their bills by direct debit, its more technology based.
I really enjoyed the piece of text we were given and would like to explore it further as the play itself is funny and witty even though it is about real serious issues, it gives you more insight into what the world was like just 40 years ago and how a lot of things have changed, but at the same time old traditions have been brought back i.e the loyalty cards, they're just no longer on paper, or that prices are still going up.
Today we explored a piece of text from the 1970's called Can't Pay, Won't Pay by Dario Fo and had to identify parts in the play which related to the time it was wrote and what political issues were taking place at the time. We read it through to get a feel for the piece then we had to pick out certain words and sentences which would relate to the time of the piece and what the equivalent would be today. For example Green shield stamps nowadays would be loyalty cards such as boots and nectar where you would earn points that would then lead to money off things.
Also identify the political and economical of the time such as prices going up in supermarkets on necessities such as bread, milk, sugar which is still what goes on today. Strikes, back then people would call a strike the days its happening whereas now its so much more organised and communicated and made more aware in advance which i think makes it less effective and defeats the purpose to begin with as I believe peoples reasoning becomes manufactured and unrealistic. Also men and women's relationships and how woman are now treated more equal now, whereas before the men would give the women a cut of their wages to go and pay the bills, now women earn money for themselves and most people pay their bills by direct debit, its more technology based.
I really enjoyed the piece of text we were given and would like to explore it further as the play itself is funny and witty even though it is about real serious issues, it gives you more insight into what the world was like just 40 years ago and how a lot of things have changed, but at the same time old traditions have been brought back i.e the loyalty cards, they're just no longer on paper, or that prices are still going up.
Thursday 15th November 2012
Thursday 15th November 2012
Today Josh and Megan did their seminar on Dream think speak, where they gave a brief history of what the company do, their shows and reviews of each performance, but they stated that whoever sees their performance they don't like them to discuss it outside of the theatre as they don't like people to know anything about what new audiences are to expect from their performances.
I really liked the practical side of the workshop as they based a lot of it on spacial awareness and how to use the space creatively. So the first exercise was to be blindfolded and try and find the bottle places somewhere in the room before the other participant who is also blindfolded with you. Having the outsiders look out for you, making sure you don't knock into anything.
Another exercise was we had to be blindfolded and walk to the wall and stop when we think that we are close to it, we each took it in turns to do this and then we had to guess who got where. I really liked this exercise and it really tests your impulses and awareness as you really have to focus on where you are and whether your going to hit the wall or not.
I really enjoyed the workshop and thought it was good to relate it to the company as best as they could but adding something new to it also.
Today Josh and Megan did their seminar on Dream think speak, where they gave a brief history of what the company do, their shows and reviews of each performance, but they stated that whoever sees their performance they don't like them to discuss it outside of the theatre as they don't like people to know anything about what new audiences are to expect from their performances.
I really liked the practical side of the workshop as they based a lot of it on spacial awareness and how to use the space creatively. So the first exercise was to be blindfolded and try and find the bottle places somewhere in the room before the other participant who is also blindfolded with you. Having the outsiders look out for you, making sure you don't knock into anything.
Another exercise was we had to be blindfolded and walk to the wall and stop when we think that we are close to it, we each took it in turns to do this and then we had to guess who got where. I really liked this exercise and it really tests your impulses and awareness as you really have to focus on where you are and whether your going to hit the wall or not.
I really enjoyed the workshop and thought it was good to relate it to the company as best as they could but adding something new to it also.
Wednesday 14th November 2012
Wednesday 14th November 2012
As Alex and I were paired to research the theatre company zap art it was our turn to facilitate a workshop based on the company and what they do. It just so happened that there was only a few people in our group that day to participate and the 1st years had to end up joining in due to room scheduling and the workshop went better than anticipated. There was more people to perform the certain tasks that i had created that were intended for a bigger group.
I think the workshop went really well, people responded to it with positive attitudes and a lot of them said that they even took it upon themselves to research more about zap art theatre and were interested in performing a flash mob which was all part of one the tasks set. I really enjoy facilitating workshops as I am so used to doing them at the youth organisation I work for. Its really rewarding to know that I have inspired somebody based on the information and tasks I have set them in the workshops.
Feedback was also that we seemed really confident delivering the workshop and that we seem really comfortable in front of a big audience. Combining theory, with tasks that relate in someway to the company as well as combining it with the business side of things.
Workshop Plan
As Alex and I were paired to research the theatre company zap art it was our turn to facilitate a workshop based on the company and what they do. It just so happened that there was only a few people in our group that day to participate and the 1st years had to end up joining in due to room scheduling and the workshop went better than anticipated. There was more people to perform the certain tasks that i had created that were intended for a bigger group.
I think the workshop went really well, people responded to it with positive attitudes and a lot of them said that they even took it upon themselves to research more about zap art theatre and were interested in performing a flash mob which was all part of one the tasks set. I really enjoy facilitating workshops as I am so used to doing them at the youth organisation I work for. Its really rewarding to know that I have inspired somebody based on the information and tasks I have set them in the workshops.
Feedback was also that we seemed really confident delivering the workshop and that we seem really comfortable in front of a big audience. Combining theory, with tasks that relate in someway to the company as well as combining it with the business side of things.
Workshop Plan
Business Proposal
You are writing to the head offices of private funders Pendleton and Booth Limited asking them for a donation to your organisation convincing them why they should invest in your company, presenting them with your proposal. Your proposal will represent what you have just illustrated in your flash mob. Good Luck!
Company Name.........................................................................
Company Address..................................................................................
...................................................................................
........................................................
What your company wish to achieve:
How you plan to obtain your goal:
How much funding do you require and why? (Minimum £5000, maximum £50,000)
I really wanted them to explore the Business side, as I know what is required as an organisation to apply for funding and hard it is so I really wanted to see how they would respond to something like this as well as learning the difficulty of it.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Wednesday 7th November 2012
Today we prepared for our vocal seminars which are due next week on the 15th, gathering information with our partners and finding out which parts we are going to research and touch on. My partners is Alex and we have been given Zap Art to research, from what I have found out so far they are a charity that works as a theatre company that puts on plays within the community.
We decided to also research about invisible theatre and how the company apply that to their performances as they love to shock their audiences every time and re invent themselves as a company. I am also going to research where they get their funding from and who donates to them and why they have so much success with funders because I am a drama mentor at a youth organisation myself and we find it very difficult to get granted funding for drama and performance projects, so i thought it would be interesting to touch upon that, to find out what makes them so different for people to want to donate to them.
We decided to also research about invisible theatre and how the company apply that to their performances as they love to shock their audiences every time and re invent themselves as a company. I am also going to research where they get their funding from and who donates to them and why they have so much success with funders because I am a drama mentor at a youth organisation myself and we find it very difficult to get granted funding for drama and performance projects, so i thought it would be interesting to touch upon that, to find out what makes them so different for people to want to donate to them.
Tuesday 6th November 2012
Site specific
I was able to look at the text for adult child dead child and see which parts of the play really related to my piece and see if it fits the direction i want to take it in. I went through it a few times noting down extracts that i thought would be really good and beneficial to my piece. I want to keep the piece original and make it my own with my own original ideas and use the text as a guide, quoting the play from time to time. The dialogue is so interesting and descriptive and sharp that i found it really hard to choose, so i'm going to keep reading over it and find the right one that makes sense to where i want the play to go.
Singing
I really enjoy singing because i feel its something i have always been interested in doing as well as acting but i have never really had the confidence to do more with it. So i am really pleased that we have got singing this year, as i'm always interested in learning new skills and vocal techniques to improve my singing ability. We did various vocal and breathing exercises that really help you identify and locate the right place to breathe and sing from to only better your skill and ability. I think all the exercises were really beneficial and Im really excited to sing next week so i can get feedback on my voice, find out about my vocal range and what i can do to improve and better myself.
I was able to look at the text for adult child dead child and see which parts of the play really related to my piece and see if it fits the direction i want to take it in. I went through it a few times noting down extracts that i thought would be really good and beneficial to my piece. I want to keep the piece original and make it my own with my own original ideas and use the text as a guide, quoting the play from time to time. The dialogue is so interesting and descriptive and sharp that i found it really hard to choose, so i'm going to keep reading over it and find the right one that makes sense to where i want the play to go.
Singing
I really enjoy singing because i feel its something i have always been interested in doing as well as acting but i have never really had the confidence to do more with it. So i am really pleased that we have got singing this year, as i'm always interested in learning new skills and vocal techniques to improve my singing ability. We did various vocal and breathing exercises that really help you identify and locate the right place to breathe and sing from to only better your skill and ability. I think all the exercises were really beneficial and Im really excited to sing next week so i can get feedback on my voice, find out about my vocal range and what i can do to improve and better myself.
Friday 2nd November 2012 Historical Context
Today we marked out a huge timeline starting from 500 BC to the present day and had a number of facts relating to theatre, politics and events that have happened through out the years. We had to work together as a group to figure out where these facts would go on the timeline. Testing our knowledge of history and how much we actually know about things in life, theatre wise and general historic events in the world.
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| It was really interesting because it kinda made me realise how much
i dont really now about where theatre all began and what the foundations were back then to how it has evolved now. It really makes me want to research more into the history and find out what theatre was like 2000 years ago. I thought it was really beneficial and mind blowing to find out all these facts about what greek theatre was like and how they came to perform, to then see what it is now and how much it has changed.
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The 20th century was where the most facts were, it really showed how much we have evolved in the last 10/20 years and how much has changed, including technology; computers, sound and lighting boards, staging. Everything has advanced so much in such a small space of time considering for at least 1000 years everything was practically the same.
I really enjoyed all the information that was given and it really inspired me to get more educated and know the roots of theatre since it's what i want to do, so how can i really appreciate something if i dont know the foundations of which it was made.
Monday, 5 November 2012
Thursday 1st November 2012
Thursday 1st November 2012
We continued on site specific pieces gathering more ideas together to get a clear outline of what we are actually going to do. I researched A bit about the text from claire Dowie adult child, dead child and part of the characters story is to cope with the lack of love from her parents she makes up an imaginary friend, therefore i thought about maybe making the audience her imaginary friend since i wanted to involve and take them on my journey anyway.
I wanted the ending to not be so predictable and that is quite a shock to find out, i want the audience to get so involved in her story that when they find out the ending it will really make them think and experience emotion from it. I had the idea that she's playing in the park and she has lost her mom, but in the end she is in fact dead and can't leave the park. Almost like she is a hologram that is programmed like she has to go back to the beginning again and tell her story again to another set of people. So whatever position she starts off she will go back to that ready for the new set of people to come by.
We continued on site specific pieces gathering more ideas together to get a clear outline of what we are actually going to do. I researched A bit about the text from claire Dowie adult child, dead child and part of the characters story is to cope with the lack of love from her parents she makes up an imaginary friend, therefore i thought about maybe making the audience her imaginary friend since i wanted to involve and take them on my journey anyway.
I wanted the ending to not be so predictable and that is quite a shock to find out, i want the audience to get so involved in her story that when they find out the ending it will really make them think and experience emotion from it. I had the idea that she's playing in the park and she has lost her mom, but in the end she is in fact dead and can't leave the park. Almost like she is a hologram that is programmed like she has to go back to the beginning again and tell her story again to another set of people. So whatever position she starts off she will go back to that ready for the new set of people to come by.
Wednesday 31st October 2012
Wednesday 31st October 2012
Today we got started on our sight specific pieces, so we all went outside to the park and had a look around and find inspiration and locations for where we want to perform our pieces. I decided to base my piece around the playground.
I thought it would be a really cool place to get the audience involved with maybe even get them in touch with their inner child. One of my strongest characters is playing a child and being able to do the voice of a child, which i have never really performed so i thought it would be really interesting to see how this character fits into a piece that is not only improvised but follows a specific piece of text as well. I decided that my piece of text is going to be based on Adult child, dead child because my original idea was to keep it quite light in the beginning but have a darker meaning behind it, and once this piece was recommended to me i thought it would be perfect.
Today we got started on our sight specific pieces, so we all went outside to the park and had a look around and find inspiration and locations for where we want to perform our pieces. I decided to base my piece around the playground.
I thought it would be a really cool place to get the audience involved with maybe even get them in touch with their inner child. One of my strongest characters is playing a child and being able to do the voice of a child, which i have never really performed so i thought it would be really interesting to see how this character fits into a piece that is not only improvised but follows a specific piece of text as well. I decided that my piece of text is going to be based on Adult child, dead child because my original idea was to keep it quite light in the beginning but have a darker meaning behind it, and once this piece was recommended to me i thought it would be perfect.
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