Feedback from Ellie for park life
She liked how i used the space, in particular under the cupboard and involving the audience but she didn't like the american accent.
We then just looked at what we could do for our historical context presentation.
Monday, 10 December 2012
Thursday 6th December 2012 Site Specific Evaluation
The performance went really well individually and as a whole overall performance. My performance I felt went better than I thought it would as I didn't quite know how the audience were going to react to me and whether they would follow me. I asked someone to come and sit on the swing next to me and for someone to push them and somebody else to push me. I really wanted to keep it fresh and interact with them hence me getting everyone to get into the "cupboard" with me, you could see from their faces that they were really listening to me, because the space was so enclosed and intimate I could see them a lot better.
I was also in Josh T's wasted piece playing Charlotte, and it's just about two people who are having a conversation about the night before. Danny really wants to be with Charlotte but she wants more and wants to explore life, instead of doing the same things day in day out. Danny wants to be with her but she knows he won't change like he's saying he will. So she leaves.
We never properly rehearsed it, so when it came to performing it, it actually benefited us that it wasn't rehearsed as it felt really natural and real and not like it was being acted. Josh got quite emotional as well from just feeling the scene, because it was so simple just two people at a park bench breaking up.
I think that the "park life" piece was a success, a few kinks here and there but for our first try I don't think it was bad at all. I think everyone's ideas really broadened and showed their talents and how much we have all grown as individuals and as a collaborative group. The biggest challenge was that we spent so much time having to work the route of the park to make sure that whoever was in more than one piece had time to get changed and get to the next scene, that so many people would drop out of performing that it may it difficult to keep changing it and not make the audience feel like there were huge amounts of walking between each piece.
Feedback from the 1st years was that I took them on a emotional journey and that it was very well acted.
Feedback from the 1st years was that I took them on a emotional journey and that it was very well acted.
Feedback from Paul was that he really liked how I used the space and really involved the audience. Also that it was nothing like he had ever seen me do before. But he didn't like that I had an american accent.
Looking back on it I agree that I should have stuck to my own accent, but when putting on a child voice I have always done it american, I should have practised performing it British to make the piece more relatable to my piece and the rest of the performance.
Looking back on it I agree that I should have stuck to my own accent, but when putting on a child voice I have always done it american, I should have practised performing it British to make the piece more relatable to my piece and the rest of the performance.
Wednesday 5th December 2012
Today we had to try and run our pieces properly in our individual sites and see how its going to all come together and fit as a whole.
After an hour or so we ran it through to Amy and just walked her through what we was going to do, how and where we are going to perform our pieces. It was really cold today when we ran through it today so we were just worried for what its going to be like tomorrow. It is going to be so different performing it outside because the weather is unpredictable and so are people. Somebody could bring their children to the playground and I would still have to perform my piece around them, even though the scene is meant to be just me to make it a little more creepy with it being deserted but I would just have to deal with it. I think were also just worried about how the audience is going to handle being out in the cold, i think its just up to us to up our game and make our performances entertaining and interesting so they forget that they are cold and outside and just focus on the piece. I am pretty confident about my piece as i think the playground is such an interesting visual and so different to perform on. I have just got to be as creative as I can at involving the audience and taking them on my journey.
After an hour or so we ran it through to Amy and just walked her through what we was going to do, how and where we are going to perform our pieces. It was really cold today when we ran through it today so we were just worried for what its going to be like tomorrow. It is going to be so different performing it outside because the weather is unpredictable and so are people. Somebody could bring their children to the playground and I would still have to perform my piece around them, even though the scene is meant to be just me to make it a little more creepy with it being deserted but I would just have to deal with it. I think were also just worried about how the audience is going to handle being out in the cold, i think its just up to us to up our game and make our performances entertaining and interesting so they forget that they are cold and outside and just focus on the piece. I am pretty confident about my piece as i think the playground is such an interesting visual and so different to perform on. I have just got to be as creative as I can at involving the audience and taking them on my journey.
Tuesday 4th December 2012
Today we went outside and had to try and change the order of the pieces as certain ones were taken out so we had to think of a way for the order to be easy to follow but try and make it so those who were in more than piece had enough time to get to the next scene they were in.
I went to the playground area and really wanted to get used to the weather and how cold it's going to be performing outside, as it is something I'm not really used to doing in the winter time. Practicing my projection and voice as it's something that can really get interfered with due to the cold. As I rehearsed my piece I was really glad that I chose the playground and found that part of the play area out because I think it's going to be a really cool way for the audience to get involved with me and make it more intimate so when they hear the story it will hopefully feel like they are there with me.
I went to the playground area and really wanted to get used to the weather and how cold it's going to be performing outside, as it is something I'm not really used to doing in the winter time. Practicing my projection and voice as it's something that can really get interfered with due to the cold. As I rehearsed my piece I was really glad that I chose the playground and found that part of the play area out because I think it's going to be a really cool way for the audience to get involved with me and make it more intimate so when they hear the story it will hopefully feel like they are there with me.
Friday 30th November
First we did a bit of sight reading to help prepare us for drama schools in case this is asked of us in an auditions. We were put into groups and had to skim read a piece of text from Charles Dickens and one by one had to read the paragraph we had to look over. I think it was really helpful because you don't realise how much sight reading apply's to everyday life i.e presenters, teachers, politicians. It's not an easy task if you've never done it before, so it was quite difficult to engage with the audience as well as trying to find your place at the piece of text, as well as keeping it interesting and knowing not to cut off certain words or say them with a certain tone that could change the whole meaning of a word.
I particularly found it hard to find my place once i would look up at the audience and then look back down i ended up reading the same line again. Ellie taught us to keep our thumb beside the words and follow the text so each time you look down you know where you are. It's definitely a skill i'd like to perfect in the future and i think it will be really beneficial.
We went outside again to our individual sites we had chosen for the performance and just had a play around the space and see if we can get more inspiration of how we can use the space completely and just get a feel for the piece and how it's going to be performed.
We also then had another walk around as some of the group decided to change where they wanted their pieces set so we just had to make sure that the route we were taking the audience on makes sense and is easy to follow.
I think we've made a lot of progress in the past few days because it got us to see how the performances were going to be, but it also opened our eyes to how hard it is going to be as it is very cold, and there is quite far to walk from one piece to the other. We were just a bit worried because of how long it had taken us to walk the route as it was 50 minutes just walking without any performances. We don't want the audience to get bored and also freeze.
Thursday 29th November 2012
We went outside again to our individual sites we had chosen for the performance and I explored the playground, to see what apparatus would be a good visual for my piece. So I started off using the swings, I wanted to start of swinging on the swings as the audience walk up to give them a hint to who I was. There is a part in the text that talks about being put in the cupboard and the playing apparatus underneath the slide had little alcoves either side that felt like a cupboard because it was so enclosed. I thought it would be a good way to get the audience more involved by getting them to come into the cupboard with me. The more I got more to grips with the text the more inspiration I got to use the space completely, in different ways and this really helped me get a feel for the piece and how it's going to be performed.
We also then had another walk around as some of the group decided to change where they wanted their pieces set so we just had to make sure that the route we were taking the audience on makes sense and is easy to follow.
I think we've made a lot of progress in the past few days because it got us to see how the performances were going to be, but it also opened our eyes to how hard it is going to be as it is very cold, and there is quite far to walk from one piece to the other. We were just a bit worried because of how long it had taken us to walk the route as it was 50 minutes just walking without any performances. We don't want the audience to get bored and also freeze.
We also then had another walk around as some of the group decided to change where they wanted their pieces set so we just had to make sure that the route we were taking the audience on makes sense and is easy to follow.
I think we've made a lot of progress in the past few days because it got us to see how the performances were going to be, but it also opened our eyes to how hard it is going to be as it is very cold, and there is quite far to walk from one piece to the other. We were just a bit worried because of how long it had taken us to walk the route as it was 50 minutes just walking without any performances. We don't want the audience to get bored and also freeze.
Wednesday 28th November 2012
Continuing with site specific we went outside again as there were a few people not present to yesterdays outing so we walked around the park to see where those who hadn't marked out where they chose to perform.
Ran through my lines for my piece and picked out more of the text from adult child dead child that i felt related to where i wanted to take the piece.
Ran through my lines for my piece and picked out more of the text from adult child dead child that i felt related to where i wanted to take the piece.
Tuesday 27th November 2012
We worked on site specific and had a walk around the park and map out the route of each of our performances. Just to help give us an idea of how long the performance is going to last and how long it will take from each persons performance to the next. It also have us an insight to how cold it's going to be outside when we perform and all the necessary precautions were going to have to take i.e extra layers of clothing, prepare the audience for the weather, health and safety.
I came up with the idea of creating a life size mind map of the park so we could mark out on the floor the route of the performance. I took leadership of this task, making sure everyone was clear about what they were doing. We wrote down on pieces of paper the names of areas around the park e.g. my area was the playground, wrote our names next to them and stuck pictures of ourselves onto the areas of the pieces we were in. Once we figured out the order each piece was going to go in, we connected it altogether using string.
I also decided to be another tour guide alongside Josh B to help carry the performance and keep the performance interesting and not make the audience feel like they were just walking from one piece to the other. Josh B would tour the first half of the performance and I would tour the second half. I wanted to do it like an australian tour guide who's used to touring in the outback so she treats the tour as if the audience are at a tour of a zoo. I wanted to do it australian because it's one of my strongest accents I can do very easily and to show off my range of different accents, and make it a complete contrast to my piece in the playground.
I came up with the idea of creating a life size mind map of the park so we could mark out on the floor the route of the performance. I took leadership of this task, making sure everyone was clear about what they were doing. We wrote down on pieces of paper the names of areas around the park e.g. my area was the playground, wrote our names next to them and stuck pictures of ourselves onto the areas of the pieces we were in. Once we figured out the order each piece was going to go in, we connected it altogether using string.
I also decided to be another tour guide alongside Josh B to help carry the performance and keep the performance interesting and not make the audience feel like they were just walking from one piece to the other. Josh B would tour the first half of the performance and I would tour the second half. I wanted to do it like an australian tour guide who's used to touring in the outback so she treats the tour as if the audience are at a tour of a zoo. I wanted to do it australian because it's one of my strongest accents I can do very easily and to show off my range of different accents, and make it a complete contrast to my piece in the playground.
Friday 23rd November 2012 Historical Context
Today we learnt more about Dario Fo and about his wife Franca Rame and a lot of the struggles they faced throughout the years with the controversial pieces they would put out to the public.
I think they are two very inspiring people and the fact that they were making plays about the darkest times in peoples lives and making them comedic and satirical to help people forget for an hour or so what was going on in the world. Franca Rame herself going through such a horrific ordeal and to then only a few months later write a play about her experience and basically saying up yours and have one over the people that did this to her.
You would think 40 years ago the limits of theatre would be unlimited but it was actually a lot harder back then to break the barriers of performance as nowadays people get so offended so easily by everything but its actually the opposite and you can take riskier choices in what you choose to perform and put out there.
Theatre is meant to be controversial sometimes and push the boundaries, why not see how far you can push your audience, it makes it that much more exciting and rewarding when the response is what you want it to be.
I think they are two very inspiring people and the fact that they were making plays about the darkest times in peoples lives and making them comedic and satirical to help people forget for an hour or so what was going on in the world. Franca Rame herself going through such a horrific ordeal and to then only a few months later write a play about her experience and basically saying up yours and have one over the people that did this to her.
You would think 40 years ago the limits of theatre would be unlimited but it was actually a lot harder back then to break the barriers of performance as nowadays people get so offended so easily by everything but its actually the opposite and you can take riskier choices in what you choose to perform and put out there.
Theatre is meant to be controversial sometimes and push the boundaries, why not see how far you can push your audience, it makes it that much more exciting and rewarding when the response is what you want it to be.
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