Movement Class
In movement class we have worked on pace and our rhythm such as walking in rhythm and clapping in rhythm. This has helped me to understand the timing and pace in drama. We have spoken about how to use body language and facial expressions well in our performances. I have been taught a new word ‘Superfluous’ which means doing something extra that you do not need in your play. Or something exaggerated. Mandy had told us all to perform
Monday, 24 June 2019
Saturday, 18 May 2019
UNIT 8
Unit 8- Personal project and presentation
Context
In to progress student needs to have a clear information about their progression needs. This assignment will look at recognising the needs of the industry and building relevant materials to support that progression.
Planning
As a class we had a discussion about what skills we have developed and progressed in and why these skills are important to have.
-Confident
-Maturity
-Punctual
-Motivated
-Teamwork
-Eye Contact
-Respectful
-Body Language
-Professionalism
-Dedication
These are some of the many skills we had all come up with.
Evaluation
I have learnt many new techniques throughout this course and I have also learnt many new skills which have helped me to perform well on stage. Some of the skills which I have used in my performances and have improved my acting are, projection, confidence, creative insight, team work and motivation. These skills and more have helped me when I have performed and rehearsed. To be an actor requires many skills and you will need to have the dedication to perform. When rehearsing I will always give my ideas,thoughts and opinions to contribute in a group. It is important that we all share our ideas and listen to one another.
I have progressed to a great extent from the beginning of my acting course up till this point. I have used creativity in rehearsals and devising plays which I have performed, such as Identity, Dumb Waiter and The Container. When devising the plays and being in rehearsals, I have stayed motivated and full of energy. When I step into another role when performing, I have stayed committed to that role and resilient. Whenever I have faced any difficulties, I have always overcome them and have remained positive. I am always capable of working in a team and engaging with others, as I enjoy being sociable. I have been able to learn how to put myself into the characters I play and engage an audience. For example when performing 'The Container' I had the role of Fatima a Somali woman in her late forty's. I had studied the accent and had used the accent for when I performed my character. This had helped me to study my character in detail and get into role.
Friday, 10 May 2019
UNIT 9- UBU ROI
Unit 9- UBU ROI
Planning
Dogpile
Billikins
Queen
King
Barmpots
Guards
Soldiers
Before we begin acting, as a class, we had sat in a circle and discussed in detail the themes of the play, accents that could be used and different dictators in the world; as Pa Ubu's character is presented as being a dictator. The dictators we then began to look at were:
-Vladimir
-Hitler
-Kim Jong-II
-Donald Trump
Some accents we had all come up with which we may use were, Liverpool, Birmingham, Scottish or a strong cockney dialogue. We had also agreed that Ma Ubu should have a very strong posh accent. Pa Ubu and Ma Ubu have some similarities towards Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth and Pa Ubu are both greedy and ambitious. Lady Macbeth and Ma Ubu are both quite controlling and also ambitious. Dogpile is a good friend of Pa Ubu so as Banquo is to Macbeth.
Now, everyone has a been given a role, we have begun to read through the script from the beginning to the end. We have not started acting just yet, as we need to understand the play and analyse each scene before we begin to start blocking this performance. In a circle, as we read through the script, Monique told us to think about how we are going to portray our characters and what techniques we will use to help us. I have not got much of an understanding of my character, but I do know he is the son to the King and he is quite young.
Instead of playing the role of Billikins, I will now be playing the role of the King. Cinzia who was the King will now be playing Billikins. We had switched roles because Monique (our teacher) had thought I would suit the role of the king best. I am very happy with this decision as I also think it is a better-suited role for me.
We had started acting and blocking each scene. So to begin we had all the actors from act one to go to the centre of the class and read through their lines. When we are acting and devising this play we have to think about where we are, what we are doing and our surroundings. This will make the acting easier for us.
As I will be playing the role of the king I will need to think about what skills will help me portray my character well to the audience and how will I use these skills. I would like to portray my character as being self absorbed, bold and witty.
We had discussed how the play has similar themes to 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Peaky Blinders'.
Research
I had done my own research based on the play so I could use the information to help me during rehearsals. I had looked at some pictures of the characters in the play so I could visualise the costumes which were worn and have an idea of what the setting was like.
Problem-solving
Evaluation
Context
This unit represents the culmination of your work on the course. You should be looking now to build on the previous terms work and direct yourselves to working in a disciplined and focused manner, as we put together a performance for an outside audience. As well as a performing role, you will have to work with others in your group to complete both roles on time for your performance
Planning
We have now moved on to Unit 9 which is the play Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry. When we had been introduced to this play my first initial thoughts were that it seemed quite strange and exaggerated. The language which was used was quite unusual and bizarre. The characters also have a very peculiar name. I do not fully understand what the play is about, but I am intrigued and willing to research more into this play. I will read through the script so I have more knowledge on what is happening in each scene. Some of the characters which are included in the play are:
Pa Ubu
Ma UbuDogpile
Billikins
Queen
King
Barmpots
Guards
Soldiers
Peasants
I have been given the role of Billikins and Nick Nackerly. Now that I know which characters I will be playing, I can rehearse through my lines and study my character.
Before we begin acting, as a class, we had sat in a circle and discussed in detail the themes of the play, accents that could be used and different dictators in the world; as Pa Ubu's character is presented as being a dictator. The dictators we then began to look at were:
-Vladimir
-Hitler
-Kim Jong-II
-Donald Trump
Some accents we had all come up with which we may use were, Liverpool, Birmingham, Scottish or a strong cockney dialogue. We had also agreed that Ma Ubu should have a very strong posh accent. Pa Ubu and Ma Ubu have some similarities towards Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth and Pa Ubu are both greedy and ambitious. Lady Macbeth and Ma Ubu are both quite controlling and also ambitious. Dogpile is a good friend of Pa Ubu so as Banquo is to Macbeth.
Now, everyone has a been given a role, we have begun to read through the script from the beginning to the end. We have not started acting just yet, as we need to understand the play and analyse each scene before we begin to start blocking this performance. In a circle, as we read through the script, Monique told us to think about how we are going to portray our characters and what techniques we will use to help us. I have not got much of an understanding of my character, but I do know he is the son to the King and he is quite young.
Instead of playing the role of Billikins, I will now be playing the role of the King. Cinzia who was the King will now be playing Billikins. We had switched roles because Monique (our teacher) had thought I would suit the role of the king best. I am very happy with this decision as I also think it is a better-suited role for me.
We had started acting and blocking each scene. So to begin we had all the actors from act one to go to the centre of the class and read through their lines. When we are acting and devising this play we have to think about where we are, what we are doing and our surroundings. This will make the acting easier for us.
As I will be playing the role of the king I will need to think about what skills will help me portray my character well to the audience and how will I use these skills. I would like to portray my character as being self absorbed, bold and witty.
We had discussed how the play has similar themes to 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Peaky Blinders'.
Research
We were shown a video from the Ubu Roi play, so that we all can get an idea of how the play should be performed and also to see what the set is like, costumes, lighting, props etc. The costumes that had been worn in the play were quite bizarre and certainly different. However, it does attract you to the play more and catches your attention, which is important.
I had done my own research based on the play so I could use the information to help me during rehearsals. I had looked at some pictures of the characters in the play so I could visualise the costumes which were worn and have an idea of what the setting was like.
Ubu Roi Is a play by Alfred Jarry which debuted in Paris 1896. This play was translated to English and then had gone under a variety of names. It is believed to be very wild, wacky and bizarre. Ubu Roi is a parody of many of Shakespeare plays such as Macbeth and Hamlet. Alfred Jarry is a french symbolist writer know very well for his play 'Ubu Roi'. The play was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Oeuvre. Jarry merges parodies on many Shakespeare plays; Pa Ubu and Ma Ubu being the ambitious Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The play displays themes of power, absurd-ism, corruption and greed.
Problem-solving
There were a few problems I and my peers had faced throughout rehearsals and the process of devising and performing the play. A problem I had faced during the performance was that some people took quite long to get on to the stage, as they were missing their props and had problems with costume. So instead of awkwardly waiting onstage for them; me and others had to improvise and of course stay in role. Attendance had been a massive problem throughout the process , as many people would turn up very late to rehearsals. This caused us to be quite behind in the play. However, we had spent a whole week having rehearsals everyday for long hours, and we all was able to be off script and ready for the performance. Me and Kaliyah had chose to work on the set design together for the play. We had come up with some ideas, but they were not used during our performance as Sheenagh, our teacher decided she wanted something different. However she did use our idea of having a castle as a backdrop for the scenes which were set in the castle. In tech rehearsals many people needed prompting with lines and help with costumes. This was a problem as it had slowed down the process of the rehearsals and gave us less time as the play was the next day.
Project Development-
For the production aspect of this performance, Rebecca had asked us all to pick a production role that we are interested in and we will be in charge of that role for our performance. I had picked set design and so has Kaliyah, so we will both be working alongside each other to create the set for our performance. I am very enthusiastic about working with Kaliyah to design the set. This task will be challenging, but it will be great to share our ideas and be creative.
For the production aspect of this performance, Rebecca had asked us all to pick a production role that we are interested in and we will be in charge of that role for our performance. I had picked set design and so has Kaliyah, so we will both be working alongside each other to create the set for our performance. I am very enthusiastic about working with Kaliyah to design the set. This task will be challenging, but it will be great to share our ideas and be creative.
Lighting, Costume, set, hair and makeup, marketing etc are all what makes a performance and it is very important that we all have ideas for our chosen productions roles, as this is going to improve the performance.Evaluation
On reflection of the week leading up to the performance we had many long hour rehearsals, as we were very much not prepared and had not gone through the play once, from start to finish fully. Attendance had played a massive part in being very behind in the performance. Many people did not attend rehearsals, so therefore it was very difficult to rehearse.The main characters of the play quite often would show up late to rehearsals meaning we had very little time to rehearse. Many of us had great knowledge of our roles and were comfortable with getting into our characters. The focus and effort given when acting within the group was not always there and made it hard for the actors and myself within the group. My first initial thoughts of the play 'Ubu Roi' was that it was a very absurd but a captivating play. I was not familiar with the strange language. I had been giving the role of King Wenceslas and a soldier. When playing both roles I have remained confident and full of energy on stage. I have been very dedicated towards both roles and have used body language well such as keeping a straight posture, staying in role when walking on and off stage while playing the King.
On the day of the technical rehearsal we had all chose the props and costumes each of our characters would be using. The costumes and props we had all chosen for our role had helped with getting us actors into character and had given the audience an insight to our characters. On the day of the tech rehearsal a day before our performance, we ran through every scene on stage with props and costume. When rehearsing this time on stage, we had used lighting and sound. I had worn a crown and king robe as I was the king. My costume had enhanced my role excellently and all costumes had given context to the story we had displayed. During our performance exits and entrances, when coming on and off stage had been a problem. Many were coming on stage from the wrong side or forgetting to prepare the stage in the blackout for the next scene. This would have made it confusing for the audience however, myself and the group did not let that affect our performance and acting. Lighting and sound during the performance had set the atmosphere for each scene effectively, although there were not many changes in colour for the lighting. The sound effect of Billikins and his guards chucking rocks through the window and the sound of the the bombs when there was battle helped to create the tension in each scene.
From the beginning of term 1 to now; I feel I have made great progression in theatre and acting. I have developed in many skills which I have applied to my performances.During the 1st term, I had struggled with confidence and when performing I could not step out my comfort zone, this had made it hard for me when acting and the way on perform on stage. My confidence has grown within me and I am able to express myself on stage and bring energy. I found that I feel more comfortable sharing my ideas and engaging with others whilst using my creativity. This has been beneficial when devising a performance as being able to work with people is a huge part of being an actor/actress. I was very unaware at the start of how to use the stage space, body language and keeping a good posture. During rehearsals I had practised repeatedly how to use the stage space when I am in role. I am now able to use body language when I am in character and engage with the audience. Being vocal and projecting my voice when acting makes it easier to develop my character and feel motivated. During my performance I had projected my voice and felt comfortable with using my voice to enter another character. Throughout this project, I have remained motivated and positive, even though there had been complications during rehearsals and people in the group had been quite negative towards the play. Communicating with others and learning from my peers has been very important when performing and rehearsing together. Although there were many negatives and problems devising the play, I have always been able to go into it with an open mind.
In rehearsals I had been given feedback from different teachers when acting and this has helped me during the performance and improved my acting skills. I had been told in rehearsals that I tend to speak at a fast pace and rush through lines. I have now learnt to slow down the pace when I am acting and in role, as this will give the audience a clear understanding of what I am communicating towards them. I have developed a wide range of skills and have made great progression through term 1 till this point. I have been able to use these skills to improve my performance.
Sunday, 2 December 2018
UNIT 3/UNIT 4/UNIT 5-6-7
Unit 3
Planning Unit 3- Silent movie
We worked on mime techniques as group in today's class. Rob then gave us a stimulus which would help us feel more comfortable with mime and silent movie. The stimulus was to mime painting a wall with a partner. One person would have a lower status and one would have a higher status. As I was in a 3 with Tallulah and Anastasia we decided that I should be the boss and both them two would be working for me. I was the higher status as I was in charge and gave them orders. They were the lower status as they were working for me and doing as I said. Although there was no talking involved it was important that our gestures and body language displayed what was happening very well. I have definitely learnt new skills from this exercise such as, making facial expressions bigger and gestures bigger. Towards the end of the lesson Rob then told us who were were being partnered up with for the Dumb Waiter play. My partner is Anastasia who I’m very happy about, as I think we work well together.
Rob had shown us some different silent movies from years ago. One starring Charlie Chaplin. Most of the ones showed were comedies. This was fascinating to
watch as I have never watched a silent movie and it was also interesting to see how this play was consisted of just music, sound effects and no words. It also made us understand more about silent movies and different techniques used such as facial expressions and gestures.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj_irmhl__hAhXCrHEKHcD5CAoQtwIwAHoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdLyd7v0RwNI&usg=AOvVaw35wkBQeAFn2MSNqtLjFJah
Planning/Research Unit 3- Dumb Waiter
Rob had presented us with a script which we all took turns to read in a circle. This script was called 'Dumb Waiter'. This script is a duologue and there are only two characters who are in this play throughout. I took part in reading one page with George. The 2 characters are named Ben and Gus. We were told at the end of the lesson to read the whole of the extract so we could understand the play more, as we will be acting this out in partners. I thought that this play was very different as it is a one-act play and I have never acted in a one-act play. I feel very confident with going into this new topic and also learning many different skills.
In my opinion, so far from reading the extract in a group with the class, the play seems quite funny. I am intrigued to read on.
I had done my own research on this play by watching a short video on YouTube of the dumb waiter play.
UNIT 4-
Rebecca had told us that next week we will be doing something involving Britney Spears which excites me. She did not say much else and wanted to leave the rest of the information as a surprise.
Later on today we had got into our pairs for the dumb waiter play and me and Anastasia were told what pages we will be given. Ours were pages 12&13. We then decide on who is who; so I will be playing the character Ben and she will be playing the character Gus. Together we sat down with each other and read through our given pages. I was satisfied with the pages given to us because I think that there is a bit of comedy in this scene and this reflects my personality.
We continued to work on the Dumb Waiter play today and I read over my lines with my partner Anastasia. After we had read over the lines a few times we were told to each perform in front of the class. As each group performed Rob gave his feedback which was helpful for us all in order for us to know how to be better. He told me that I should work on body language in this scene making my actions bigger and bolder.
Context Unit 4-
Following on from the work we have done from the previous assignment and weeks of work, we will identify roles within the performing arts industry as a group and individually to find roles, production values, and ideas required to put on a concert for our chosen pop star.
UNIT 4- In project development class today, we were told by Rebecca that we will soon be put into groups and will have to decide on a musician, which we will have to study on. Today we looked at Britney Spears and watched a documentary about her day-to-day life. We were then given questions
to answer about what we have watched.
We were told to come up of a short performance about ‘something that goes wrong’. This was for a silent movie piece. At first me and Anastasia struggled a lot to come up with with an idea. Then I then decided that it would be interesting and to do it about a pregnant servant who gives birth, she then hands her baby over to her mistress/boss and runs away. Although it seems strange we would try and add comedy to it and humour. We then acted it out and combined more of our ideas together. Rob had then told each group to perform what they have come up with and he also filmed each one. We all watched each other’s and some gave feedback to each other about our performances. I think that the feedback given to me was very useful as I will now learn from this and progress. One feedback given to me is no coming out of character and always stay in role.
In acting class we began to continue working on our silent movie pieces we had come up with. This time me and Anastasia had added more movement and gestures towards our play. Rob had told the class that we need to now add some comedy into our silent movies. As our silent movies will have no
speech we needed to think of how to make our body language and gestures funny and also our facial expressions. In this exercise I learnt how to express myself much more and use body language to help exaggerate my acting more.
We began to work on characterisation, Listening, Memory, Physical and
reacting skills. Rob told us that instead of simply just saying your lines you need to have THOUGHT
behind your lines. We then got into our pairs for Dumb Waiter. This time instead of just reading our
lines whilst sitting; me and Anastasia decided to starts adding movement and make the scene come alive. I now feel very confident with the extract as, today me and Anastasia have developed our skills much more within the play. As we continue to rehearse more and more I am feeling very confident and I am enjoying the role I am in. Rob helped me and Anastasia on our silent movie and gave us some new
ideas which we will add to our piece and will also turn our silent movie into a comedy. He also spoke about how me and Anastasia will perform this piece and props we could use.
As my partner was not in today, I was not able to rehearse properly for the Dumb Waiter play. Rob then told us to get into our partners and I had been partnered with Dani. We were told
to create a one word story based on the dumbwaiter or something related to it. Me and Dani’s one word story was about a businessman whose office gets robbed and he then gets knocked out. We were also told to turn that one word story into a piece of acting. We then all performed them in front of
and was given some helpful feedback. My feedback from Rob was that I had great facial
expressions but I should make sure I don’t come out of character.
As a class we had done a dance warm up game where Rob played some fast upbeat music and
in a circle, each person would come up with a dance move or gesture and the rest of the class would
copy. I really enjoy doing this warmup as it gets us all comfortable with each other and confident. I
also find it fun that we can all be silly together. In rehearsals today me and Anastasia had gone
through our piece without stopping a couple of times before we presented it to the class. Today when
we rehearsed it, we worked on the movement and what is going on in the scene as of just staying in our seats. We were then all told to perform in front of each other and were given feedback by our peers and Rob. Robs feedback for me was that me and Anastasia lifted the lines of the page and were very much in role at all times. Another bit of feedback from Rob was that I need to learn my lines and go over the script more out of lessons.
We had then played a game of wink murderer which I enjoyed. This game was beneficial for working on eye contact skills and focus. We then went through our dumbwaiter play but with a twist. As each pair got up to perform their part of the extract, Rob would call out a genre such as romance, comedy, horror, musical etc. We would then have to perform our pieces in this genre given to us. This was very exciting and interesting, as it took me out of my comfort zone and it was nice to experiment with the different genres.
In our last acting class we were in the theatre to run through the dumb waiter play whilst working on the projection in our voices. Each group that performed was given feedback by others including me.
I feel that I am comfortable with reading my lines without a script now and I can now portray my
character well. Some feedback which was given to us is to slow down the piece a bit more which I
understood and me and Anastasia shall work on that.
As our performance is next week, in acting class we have been rehearsing constantly and making changes which will better our play. Rob did not alter anything in my piece but he did change some
things in others. I think that the rehearsals have been going exeptionally well so far as everyone has almost
learnt their lines and the play has seemed to be running smoothly.
In a movement class today, we rehearsed our dumb waiter once again in front f Many. She had given us all a sheet of paper and we were told to write on it everyone’s names and give feedback for each person. For each person I wrote one thing they done well and one thing they could improve on. We
gave this to Mandy. I had felt very confident when performing this and felt I had expressed myself and the character a lot.
This is the week of our dumb waiter performance and we are all working extremely hard on each of our roles. I am feeling very confident now as I have learnt all my lines and Anastasia has learnt all of hers, as this makes it easier for me and her for our performance to flow. We have continued to rehearse making sure we put on an engaging performance.
Research UNIT 4-
In project development class today me and my group have finally decided that the musician we will be picking for our project is the band QUEEN. We all decided on this as we thought it was different and he is definitely a legend. Also since the movie Bohemian Rhapsody has come out recently this was quite relevant. We then watched a video which was about how to promote an event. We were given a sheet to write down some key facts such as:
• Who is the audience?
• sort of venue
• Who are you putting the event on for?
• ticket price
• your budget
• staff/production
• demographic is different to music which is released today
I had researched many different Queen event posters so I can get some inspiration for when I design my own.
At the start of the lesson we were all given sheets and we had to write on them what performance skills/techniques we had used in our dumb waiter performance and why we were good at using them. Rob then gave us all feedback individually to write down about our performance. For me and Anastasia he said that we were good at making eye contact and he liked that we used accents. We had good projection and stayed in role throughout our scene. I am very happy with the feedback given to me as I feel like I did all them thins well also.
UNIT 4- In our groups for our project we started designing our posters for our musician/band we have chosen. We did this on laptops but my group did this on the computer. Chintzia had a lot of great ideas so she was in control of the designing, but we all have our own ideas and opinions. Rebecca then told us all to move around the class to the others laptops so we can have a look at the others designs. We
were also told to give feedback for the designs we have seen. The feedback my group had got from one of the groups was that our poster design was very eye catching and contained a lot of information, but we have too many colours.
In our last acting today, Rob told us to get into pairs and pick some props from the prop box. Two pairs at a time went to the green room, next door to our class and were directed to do some piece of acting by Rob, using the props. This would then become a silent movie comedy. As we were running out of time I didn’t get to do my one but I’ll be doing it next week on Monday.
Planning UNIT 4-
Today in project development we used laptops or our phones to research convert/event poster designs for our chosen musician or band. This is so we can get some inspiration and ideas for when we design our own. I also researched some tips on how to make a good poster for the event. I found many different designs for the band I am doing , Queen. I found many different styles, some old and some new. Me and my group decided we want to design our posters making them look new from this
time. We began to design our posters. I used power point for mine. I haven't quite completed my poster meaning I have not put any information on it just yet.
Planning UNIT 4-
In today's project development class we focused on what our stage model is going to look like and how we will design it in our groups. We were given a big sheet of plain paper and Rebecca told us to sketch out what we want our stage to look like. In my group we all took part in adding our own ideas and sketching them on the paper. I had drawn some lights and thought it would be a good idea that our stage had some colourful red, green and white lighting. Sketching our design was very beneficial for us so that when it is time to create our real one, we will know exactly what to do.
Evaluation Unit 4
Although we was not able to complete our models of the stage, I did learn and develop on many skills during this unit such as, creativity, teamwork, communication and self motivation. When designing my poster I had learnt how to work independently, as this not something I often do. It was also interesting for me to learn new IT skills when creating my poster on the computer. I have gained the skill of being imaginative when creating, designing and working within a group.
Silent Movie- In acting class we filmed for our silent movie. Rob had instructed us what to do and had picked out what props he wanted us to use. I did my silent movie with Kamille, Shevell, Shabir, Irene and Elie. We went into the green room to film. This is my first time filming in a green room so I was intrigued to see what its all bout. We didn’t have much practise as Rob only had told us what we were going to be doing about 10 minuets before filming it. It was definitely a very strange piece of
acting and quite peculiar. I did enjoy being able to express myself and stepping into the green room.
Evaluation- Unit 3 Dumb Waiter
Thursday 29th November was the day of our Dumb Waiter performance. This play is a one-act play and is performed by the 2 characters Ben and Gus throughout. We were put into pairs to do this and each pair was given 2 pages of the extract each to perform as we did. This play is set in the same scene also throughout which is the basement room. I had never been in a one-act, paired performance, so this was very interesting to perform.
Me and my partner Anastasia spent weeks rehearsing together on our short piece. During rehearsals we had to come up with ideas to make our piece engage the audience and also entertain them. Although it was quite short we wanted the audience to experience the comedy out of it. The scene we was given was that Ben had told Gus to ‘light the kettle’ but, Gus thinks the phrase is ‘light the gas’ and so on they continue to debate on the phrase whilst Ben is becoming enraged towards Gus. Gus then uses these matches he found in an envelope and tries to get them to light but, Ben just wants him to put on the kettle. Gus then goes on to annoy Ben even more in this scene by sitting on his bed. The argument is very back and forth between the both and continuous. Me and Anastasia had read our piece of the extract around 3 times before adding the movement. Reading the extract a couple of times was important so we could have a good understanding of the context and what is going on. We both agreed that I would play Ben and she would play Gus. Ben's character is very bossy as he is the senior partner so I needed to present this to the audience in my body language and tone of voice. We also had to consider the accents they used which were cockney and we thought we should so then read it in a cockney accent, which would show off our skill and bring out a bit of comedy. My
character did not have much movement and in fact stayed in the same place during my scene which
was the bed.
In rehearsals we had to consider many performance skills to use during our piece which would help
us put ourselves into the character we are playing and this would capture the audiences interests. My character Ben is getting very agitated by Gus in this scene so it was important to display this to the
audience in my voice and the gestures. In order to understand the roles we had watched a clip of the play and also I did my own research online. This was beneficial for me to understand the
characteristics of the role I am playing. At first me and Anastasia were reading the script quite fast
which was not good as it looked rushed. We then began to slow the pace towards the end, which was much better as it flowed well and was seemed more realistic. I projected my voice with my character and used a harsh tone in my voice. This would show to the audience the role I wanted to portray very effectively. In rehearsals when reading the lines, facial expressions was also a very important thing to consider and they had to be used well. For example my role of Ben is quite irritated in this scene, so to show this I would roll my eyes at Gus when he talks.
During the performance I came across as confident and stayed in role at all times. It was very
important that I did not break focus even when members of the audience make comments and are
laughing. Although the role was out of my comfort zone I put myself in it and was motivated. I
understand my characters feelings, thoughts and emotions which made it easy for me to communicate the character of Ben to the audience. My costume which was a white shirt and a striped tie helped me
portray my role and tell the story. I used one prop which was the newspaper the character Ben had
been reading and this was another thing that brought the play to life. The bright natural lightning had
also set the scene and the audience was able to have a clear image of our performance. My lines were
read at steady pace and loud volume. The pace did begin to speed up when arguing with my partner Gus to show the energy of the scene. As a whole group performance including my class the transition from group to group was neat and ran smoothly. The play was told accurately and each group had good memory of lines in order to make the play understandable.
Problem Solving- Dumb Waiter
Overall during our performance there was one problem that had happened during our performance. This was that, because Altin had turned up to the theatre late due to traffic; We had a late start to our performance, as he was meant to start off our play. To solve this we had the group who went after him to start our play. Although the began may have been a bit confusing; the play seemed to get better and was understood.
END OF THIS TERM.
Immigration- The Container
Planning
We had found out today that the topic we will be focusing on is Immigration. When we were first told this topic I thought it is a very powerful, downhearted topic but, would be very fascinating to explore further.
We were all given scripts for the play we will soon be performing, The Container. This play is about a group of asylum seekers who are being smuggled into a shipping container which is travelling across Europe. I had been put in a group with Kaliyah who will be playing my daughter, Asha. Elie who will playing the role of Mariam, Karla will play a business man named Ahmad and Altin who will play an agent named Jamal. I will be playing the role of Fatima, a Somalian women in her late 40's.
Shenagh, our temporary drama teacher told to sit in a circle and one person at a time spoke about where there grandparents are from and also where they are currently living. I spoke about my grandparents being from Montserrat an Dominica. My granddad came from Montserrat to the UK because of a volcanic eruption which was a disaster. The rest of the class had spoke about their background. It was very interesting to know where my classmates had come from and their background. It felt very comforting sharing our stories. I think its quite important that everyone knows their roots. Sheenagh then put us into groups of 4 and gave us a big sheet of plain paper. On this paper we had to write what immigration means to us and what we know from it. Some things that me and my group put down was War, better jobs and better lifestyle. Each group shared what they had wrote down. I was engaged by what others had come up with.
As a class we were directed to get into groups of 4 and create a short piece on the topic which is Immigration. In my group it was me, Shevell, Kaliyah and Elie. We all decided to devise a piece about a mother and daughter having to leave the country because of the war. We had presented our short play as a split screen which showed two of the same stories. Me and Elie were together and went first. We then froze and Shevell and Kaliyah began there piece which was similar to ours. They then froze and me and Elie continued our piece. I was the mother and Elie was the daughter. We were showing the audience the conversation between the both of us. I decided to use an African accent to show where my character is from and the current setting. We then all performed our short plays. I felt that we had presented a very detailed play and it came across clear to the audience. Presenting it as a split screen was very effective towards the audience. Feedback I had received from members of the class was that I demonstrated my character well and was very creative as I used an accent. I was very happy with this feedback.
We have started to focus on writing a monologue based on immigration and being an immigrant. I thought this task would be quite hard, because I have never written up a monologue, but I then had many ideas spiralling through my mind. We all sat in a big circle with a pen and paper writing our monologues. Although some of the class did not get to complete theirs today including mine, we heard one monologue which was Shabir's. Shabirs story was very touching and powerful to all of us. As it was related to his life and what had happened to him, it was a real eye opener. I had not been able to write my full monologue down but, instead I have wrote down a rough idea about what it will be about. My monologue will be about a girl who's mum has left her and gone to another country to find work and live a better life. The girls mother has left her with her aunt, but the girl then runs away to search for her mum. This girl I'll be writing about is from Haiti.
Unit 5- Research- Immigration
In a lesson covered by Rebecca, we were shown a clip of a show called 'Come fly with me' which was based in an airport.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjDk___k__hAhWtUxUIHWuBAYoQtwIwAXoECAsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdCk6fSQ21rY&usg=AOvVaw1sy6kBV8LXi1s4l1qbYc4m
The video we had watched was about a man who had just arrived to the UK from his country and he was racially abused for his skin colour by the staff. This is a comedy so it was quite funny but, at the same time it is showing the harsh reality of the world we live in. It was quite sad to watch, although it may have been funny, this does happen in real life. After watching the video Rebecca had told us to go on our phones and search up some real stories on immigration from people. When we had found the information we had to go to the front of the class to share it. I had looked up some information on Barrel children. Barrel children are children who are left behind by their parents or abandoned. These parents are seeking for a better life abroad. I presented this information to the class.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&ved=2ahUKEwiV1eWClv_hAhXVqHEKHfabDBcQFjAMegQIARAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.childhoodexplorer.org%2Fexploring-the-barrel-children-cycle-parentchild-separation-due-to-migration&usg=AOvVaw1gjcYOxdNDMvsaAt4TN16A
We have been performing many breathing activities. This helped us to relax and it is helpful in lowering the stress in your body. We then began humming which clears our tone of voice. When the warm-ups were done we were given the task of creating a short play based on immigration. We were split into groups of fives and fours to do this. We all decided on making our play about someone who has been abused by school girls, because they are an immigrant. Me, Kaliyah and Elie had played the bullies who would say rude and nasty things to Shevell, who played the immigrant. We decided that Jorge should play as a police officer who steps in to stop the tension. He then sat with Shevell and spoke about him being an immigrant too and gave her some kind words. We did not get enough time to present these to the class.
Today in class we concentrated on how being persuasive towards someone. To start this Ahmed and Altin were chosen to sit opposite each other. Ahmed had to play the role of a man in a job interview to work in a sports shop. Altin was the manager who was interviewing Ahmed. Sheenagh had a sheet of paper with a list of ways to persuade someone such as manipulating them, flirting and threatening. She had whispered one of them to Ahmed and he had to use that to persuade Altin to give him the job. As a class we had to guess what way of being persuasive he is using on Altin. Ahmed had used threatening against Altin. This game was very entertaining and entrancing to see everyone express themselves. I was also chosen to go up to the front with Tallulah and was also given the same scenario with the job. I had been given the role to persuade tallulah to give me the job by making her feel sympathy for me. I found it quite hard to get into it at the start, as I am not the best at persuading someone, but I finally felt comfortable enough to do this. I began speaking about me living on the streets and started crying to get her to feel sorry for me. Tallulah eventually gave me the job. Doing this activity made me feel more expressive and creative.
Who is Konstantin Stanislavski?.
WHO AM I?
WHAT DO I WANT?
Unit 7- Producing to and performing to an audience
Context
On a big sheet of paper me and my group had written what kind music, lighting and props we will need for our performance. Together we had decided that we want a dim yellow light throughout our play. The props we will be using is, a bucket for my character for when I need to urinate in the container towards the end. We will be using a chocolate bar, a suitcase and a book. I will be wearing a headscarf as part of my Somali clothing. We thought that the container should be closed in and small, as this would emphasise the drama of the situation. We did not want much sound in our performance, but we did want a sound for when the truck moves then immediately stops. For hair and makeup I began to look at some makeup from Somali women to get ideas.
This makeup look is quite traditional from Somalian women. I have decided I might wear winged eyeliner, red lipstick and red eye shadow.
Problem solving
On the day of my performance I had forgotten to bring my makeup so, therefore I did not wear any makeup in the performance, this did not affect my performance and I was still able to portray my character to the audience well. Also the sound technician had problems playing the Kosovo music, so we had no choice but to continued our performance without music.
As Karla who was playing Ahmed in my performance did not turn up, we were missing a character which had stressed us all out. However, Anastasia was able to step in and play the role of Ahmed instead.
Altin and Anastasia had forgotten some of their lines on stage and began improvising. This made it hard for myself and the rest of the group as we were slightly puzzled.
Evaluation
Lighting, costume, props, set and sound had worked excellently during our performance. The dim lighting we had chose had really set the scene in our performance by presenting the suspense and mystery. The sound effect of the trucking moving had set the scene of where we are and this made the audience. When the dazzling light had flood the stage as the character Mariam enters, this had captured the audiences attention, as there was a change in the scene which had built up tension.The pallets
Unit 6- Performance
Evaluation- The Container Performance
Thursday 4th April was the day we had performed the play 'The Container'. This play is an intense drama about people-trafficking. This play is set inside a container throughout. These immigrants have been smuggled into this container and they are on their way to the UK. Asha, Ahmed, Fatima, Mariam, and the agent are all the characters included in this play. I played the role of Fatima, a Somali women in her forties. This play is very powerful, but also displays to an audience the terrifying, grim experience in this container lorry.
We had performed this play in two groups; the first group performing the first part of the story and the second group performing the second part of this story. We all had rehearsed for weeks, devising this play and incorporating all our ideas. I had performed the first part of this performance with Altin playing the agent, Kaliyah playing Asha, Elie playing Mariam and Karla playing Ahmed. When performing on stage I have
been very confident in taking on this role and putting myself in the character. I have explored and researched the original play thoroughly, to have an understanding of how myself and my group will act and how we will portray our characters on stage. Although I had faced some difficulties on stage such as, others forgetting lines and improviszing which had me bewildered; I was resilient and had still enaged with the audience.
Planning Unit 3- Silent movie
We worked on mime techniques as group in today's class. Rob then gave us a stimulus which would help us feel more comfortable with mime and silent movie. The stimulus was to mime painting a wall with a partner. One person would have a lower status and one would have a higher status. As I was in a 3 with Tallulah and Anastasia we decided that I should be the boss and both them two would be working for me. I was the higher status as I was in charge and gave them orders. They were the lower status as they were working for me and doing as I said. Although there was no talking involved it was important that our gestures and body language displayed what was happening very well. I have definitely learnt new skills from this exercise such as, making facial expressions bigger and gestures bigger. Towards the end of the lesson Rob then told us who were were being partnered up with for the Dumb Waiter play. My partner is Anastasia who I’m very happy about, as I think we work well together.
Rob had shown us some different silent movies from years ago. One starring Charlie Chaplin. Most of the ones showed were comedies. This was fascinating to
watch as I have never watched a silent movie and it was also interesting to see how this play was consisted of just music, sound effects and no words. It also made us understand more about silent movies and different techniques used such as facial expressions and gestures.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj_irmhl__hAhXCrHEKHcD5CAoQtwIwAHoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdLyd7v0RwNI&usg=AOvVaw35wkBQeAFn2MSNqtLjFJah
Planning/Research Unit 3- Dumb Waiter
Rob had presented us with a script which we all took turns to read in a circle. This script was called 'Dumb Waiter'. This script is a duologue and there are only two characters who are in this play throughout. I took part in reading one page with George. The 2 characters are named Ben and Gus. We were told at the end of the lesson to read the whole of the extract so we could understand the play more, as we will be acting this out in partners. I thought that this play was very different as it is a one-act play and I have never acted in a one-act play. I feel very confident with going into this new topic and also learning many different skills.
In my opinion, so far from reading the extract in a group with the class, the play seems quite funny. I am intrigued to read on.
I had done my own research on this play by watching a short video on YouTube of the dumb waiter play.
UNIT 4-
Rebecca had told us that next week we will be doing something involving Britney Spears which excites me. She did not say much else and wanted to leave the rest of the information as a surprise.
Later on today we had got into our pairs for the dumb waiter play and me and Anastasia were told what pages we will be given. Ours were pages 12&13. We then decide on who is who; so I will be playing the character Ben and she will be playing the character Gus. Together we sat down with each other and read through our given pages. I was satisfied with the pages given to us because I think that there is a bit of comedy in this scene and this reflects my personality.
We continued to work on the Dumb Waiter play today and I read over my lines with my partner Anastasia. After we had read over the lines a few times we were told to each perform in front of the class. As each group performed Rob gave his feedback which was helpful for us all in order for us to know how to be better. He told me that I should work on body language in this scene making my actions bigger and bolder.
Context Unit 4-
Following on from the work we have done from the previous assignment and weeks of work, we will identify roles within the performing arts industry as a group and individually to find roles, production values, and ideas required to put on a concert for our chosen pop star.
UNIT 4- In project development class today, we were told by Rebecca that we will soon be put into groups and will have to decide on a musician, which we will have to study on. Today we looked at Britney Spears and watched a documentary about her day-to-day life. We were then given questions
to answer about what we have watched.
We were told to come up of a short performance about ‘something that goes wrong’. This was for a silent movie piece. At first me and Anastasia struggled a lot to come up with with an idea. Then I then decided that it would be interesting and to do it about a pregnant servant who gives birth, she then hands her baby over to her mistress/boss and runs away. Although it seems strange we would try and add comedy to it and humour. We then acted it out and combined more of our ideas together. Rob had then told each group to perform what they have come up with and he also filmed each one. We all watched each other’s and some gave feedback to each other about our performances. I think that the feedback given to me was very useful as I will now learn from this and progress. One feedback given to me is no coming out of character and always stay in role.
In acting class we began to continue working on our silent movie pieces we had come up with. This time me and Anastasia had added more movement and gestures towards our play. Rob had told the class that we need to now add some comedy into our silent movies. As our silent movies will have no
speech we needed to think of how to make our body language and gestures funny and also our facial expressions. In this exercise I learnt how to express myself much more and use body language to help exaggerate my acting more.
We began to work on characterisation, Listening, Memory, Physical and
reacting skills. Rob told us that instead of simply just saying your lines you need to have THOUGHT
behind your lines. We then got into our pairs for Dumb Waiter. This time instead of just reading our
lines whilst sitting; me and Anastasia decided to starts adding movement and make the scene come alive. I now feel very confident with the extract as, today me and Anastasia have developed our skills much more within the play. As we continue to rehearse more and more I am feeling very confident and I am enjoying the role I am in. Rob helped me and Anastasia on our silent movie and gave us some new
ideas which we will add to our piece and will also turn our silent movie into a comedy. He also spoke about how me and Anastasia will perform this piece and props we could use.
As my partner was not in today, I was not able to rehearse properly for the Dumb Waiter play. Rob then told us to get into our partners and I had been partnered with Dani. We were told
to create a one word story based on the dumbwaiter or something related to it. Me and Dani’s one word story was about a businessman whose office gets robbed and he then gets knocked out. We were also told to turn that one word story into a piece of acting. We then all performed them in front of
and was given some helpful feedback. My feedback from Rob was that I had great facial
expressions but I should make sure I don’t come out of character.
As a class we had done a dance warm up game where Rob played some fast upbeat music and
in a circle, each person would come up with a dance move or gesture and the rest of the class would
copy. I really enjoy doing this warmup as it gets us all comfortable with each other and confident. I
also find it fun that we can all be silly together. In rehearsals today me and Anastasia had gone
through our piece without stopping a couple of times before we presented it to the class. Today when
we rehearsed it, we worked on the movement and what is going on in the scene as of just staying in our seats. We were then all told to perform in front of each other and were given feedback by our peers and Rob. Robs feedback for me was that me and Anastasia lifted the lines of the page and were very much in role at all times. Another bit of feedback from Rob was that I need to learn my lines and go over the script more out of lessons.
We had then played a game of wink murderer which I enjoyed. This game was beneficial for working on eye contact skills and focus. We then went through our dumbwaiter play but with a twist. As each pair got up to perform their part of the extract, Rob would call out a genre such as romance, comedy, horror, musical etc. We would then have to perform our pieces in this genre given to us. This was very exciting and interesting, as it took me out of my comfort zone and it was nice to experiment with the different genres.
In our last acting class we were in the theatre to run through the dumb waiter play whilst working on the projection in our voices. Each group that performed was given feedback by others including me.
I feel that I am comfortable with reading my lines without a script now and I can now portray my
character well. Some feedback which was given to us is to slow down the piece a bit more which I
understood and me and Anastasia shall work on that.
As our performance is next week, in acting class we have been rehearsing constantly and making changes which will better our play. Rob did not alter anything in my piece but he did change some
things in others. I think that the rehearsals have been going exeptionally well so far as everyone has almost
learnt their lines and the play has seemed to be running smoothly.
In a movement class today, we rehearsed our dumb waiter once again in front f Many. She had given us all a sheet of paper and we were told to write on it everyone’s names and give feedback for each person. For each person I wrote one thing they done well and one thing they could improve on. We
gave this to Mandy. I had felt very confident when performing this and felt I had expressed myself and the character a lot.
This is the week of our dumb waiter performance and we are all working extremely hard on each of our roles. I am feeling very confident now as I have learnt all my lines and Anastasia has learnt all of hers, as this makes it easier for me and her for our performance to flow. We have continued to rehearse making sure we put on an engaging performance.
Research UNIT 4-
In project development class today me and my group have finally decided that the musician we will be picking for our project is the band QUEEN. We all decided on this as we thought it was different and he is definitely a legend. Also since the movie Bohemian Rhapsody has come out recently this was quite relevant. We then watched a video which was about how to promote an event. We were given a sheet to write down some key facts such as:
• Who is the audience?
• sort of venue
• Who are you putting the event on for?
• ticket price
• your budget
• staff/production
• demographic is different to music which is released today
I had researched many different Queen event posters so I can get some inspiration for when I design my own.
At the start of the lesson we were all given sheets and we had to write on them what performance skills/techniques we had used in our dumb waiter performance and why we were good at using them. Rob then gave us all feedback individually to write down about our performance. For me and Anastasia he said that we were good at making eye contact and he liked that we used accents. We had good projection and stayed in role throughout our scene. I am very happy with the feedback given to me as I feel like I did all them thins well also.
UNIT 4- In our groups for our project we started designing our posters for our musician/band we have chosen. We did this on laptops but my group did this on the computer. Chintzia had a lot of great ideas so she was in control of the designing, but we all have our own ideas and opinions. Rebecca then told us all to move around the class to the others laptops so we can have a look at the others designs. We
were also told to give feedback for the designs we have seen. The feedback my group had got from one of the groups was that our poster design was very eye catching and contained a lot of information, but we have too many colours.
In our last acting today, Rob told us to get into pairs and pick some props from the prop box. Two pairs at a time went to the green room, next door to our class and were directed to do some piece of acting by Rob, using the props. This would then become a silent movie comedy. As we were running out of time I didn’t get to do my one but I’ll be doing it next week on Monday.
Planning UNIT 4-
Today in project development we used laptops or our phones to research convert/event poster designs for our chosen musician or band. This is so we can get some inspiration and ideas for when we design our own. I also researched some tips on how to make a good poster for the event. I found many different designs for the band I am doing , Queen. I found many different styles, some old and some new. Me and my group decided we want to design our posters making them look new from this
time. We began to design our posters. I used power point for mine. I haven't quite completed my poster meaning I have not put any information on it just yet.
In today's project development class we focused on what our stage model is going to look like and how we will design it in our groups. We were given a big sheet of plain paper and Rebecca told us to sketch out what we want our stage to look like. In my group we all took part in adding our own ideas and sketching them on the paper. I had drawn some lights and thought it would be a good idea that our stage had some colourful red, green and white lighting. Sketching our design was very beneficial for us so that when it is time to create our real one, we will know exactly what to do.
Evaluation Unit 4
Although we was not able to complete our models of the stage, I did learn and develop on many skills during this unit such as, creativity, teamwork, communication and self motivation. When designing my poster I had learnt how to work independently, as this not something I often do. It was also interesting for me to learn new IT skills when creating my poster on the computer. I have gained the skill of being imaginative when creating, designing and working within a group.
Silent Movie- In acting class we filmed for our silent movie. Rob had instructed us what to do and had picked out what props he wanted us to use. I did my silent movie with Kamille, Shevell, Shabir, Irene and Elie. We went into the green room to film. This is my first time filming in a green room so I was intrigued to see what its all bout. We didn’t have much practise as Rob only had told us what we were going to be doing about 10 minuets before filming it. It was definitely a very strange piece of
acting and quite peculiar. I did enjoy being able to express myself and stepping into the green room.
Evaluation- Unit 3 Dumb Waiter
Thursday 29th November was the day of our Dumb Waiter performance. This play is a one-act play and is performed by the 2 characters Ben and Gus throughout. We were put into pairs to do this and each pair was given 2 pages of the extract each to perform as we did. This play is set in the same scene also throughout which is the basement room. I had never been in a one-act, paired performance, so this was very interesting to perform.
Me and my partner Anastasia spent weeks rehearsing together on our short piece. During rehearsals we had to come up with ideas to make our piece engage the audience and also entertain them. Although it was quite short we wanted the audience to experience the comedy out of it. The scene we was given was that Ben had told Gus to ‘light the kettle’ but, Gus thinks the phrase is ‘light the gas’ and so on they continue to debate on the phrase whilst Ben is becoming enraged towards Gus. Gus then uses these matches he found in an envelope and tries to get them to light but, Ben just wants him to put on the kettle. Gus then goes on to annoy Ben even more in this scene by sitting on his bed. The argument is very back and forth between the both and continuous. Me and Anastasia had read our piece of the extract around 3 times before adding the movement. Reading the extract a couple of times was important so we could have a good understanding of the context and what is going on. We both agreed that I would play Ben and she would play Gus. Ben's character is very bossy as he is the senior partner so I needed to present this to the audience in my body language and tone of voice. We also had to consider the accents they used which were cockney and we thought we should so then read it in a cockney accent, which would show off our skill and bring out a bit of comedy. My
character did not have much movement and in fact stayed in the same place during my scene which
was the bed.
In rehearsals we had to consider many performance skills to use during our piece which would help
us put ourselves into the character we are playing and this would capture the audiences interests. My character Ben is getting very agitated by Gus in this scene so it was important to display this to the
audience in my voice and the gestures. In order to understand the roles we had watched a clip of the play and also I did my own research online. This was beneficial for me to understand the
characteristics of the role I am playing. At first me and Anastasia were reading the script quite fast
which was not good as it looked rushed. We then began to slow the pace towards the end, which was much better as it flowed well and was seemed more realistic. I projected my voice with my character and used a harsh tone in my voice. This would show to the audience the role I wanted to portray very effectively. In rehearsals when reading the lines, facial expressions was also a very important thing to consider and they had to be used well. For example my role of Ben is quite irritated in this scene, so to show this I would roll my eyes at Gus when he talks.
During the performance I came across as confident and stayed in role at all times. It was very
important that I did not break focus even when members of the audience make comments and are
laughing. Although the role was out of my comfort zone I put myself in it and was motivated. I
understand my characters feelings, thoughts and emotions which made it easy for me to communicate the character of Ben to the audience. My costume which was a white shirt and a striped tie helped me
portray my role and tell the story. I used one prop which was the newspaper the character Ben had
been reading and this was another thing that brought the play to life. The bright natural lightning had
also set the scene and the audience was able to have a clear image of our performance. My lines were
read at steady pace and loud volume. The pace did begin to speed up when arguing with my partner Gus to show the energy of the scene. As a whole group performance including my class the transition from group to group was neat and ran smoothly. The play was told accurately and each group had good memory of lines in order to make the play understandable.
Problem Solving- Dumb Waiter
Overall during our performance there was one problem that had happened during our performance. This was that, because Altin had turned up to the theatre late due to traffic; We had a late start to our performance, as he was meant to start off our play. To solve this we had the group who went after him to start our play. Although the began may have been a bit confusing; the play seemed to get better and was understood.
Immigration- The Container
Planning
We had found out today that the topic we will be focusing on is Immigration. When we were first told this topic I thought it is a very powerful, downhearted topic but, would be very fascinating to explore further.
We were all given scripts for the play we will soon be performing, The Container. This play is about a group of asylum seekers who are being smuggled into a shipping container which is travelling across Europe. I had been put in a group with Kaliyah who will be playing my daughter, Asha. Elie who will playing the role of Mariam, Karla will play a business man named Ahmad and Altin who will play an agent named Jamal. I will be playing the role of Fatima, a Somalian women in her late 40's.
Shenagh, our temporary drama teacher told to sit in a circle and one person at a time spoke about where there grandparents are from and also where they are currently living. I spoke about my grandparents being from Montserrat an Dominica. My granddad came from Montserrat to the UK because of a volcanic eruption which was a disaster. The rest of the class had spoke about their background. It was very interesting to know where my classmates had come from and their background. It felt very comforting sharing our stories. I think its quite important that everyone knows their roots. Sheenagh then put us into groups of 4 and gave us a big sheet of plain paper. On this paper we had to write what immigration means to us and what we know from it. Some things that me and my group put down was War, better jobs and better lifestyle. Each group shared what they had wrote down. I was engaged by what others had come up with.
As a class we were directed to get into groups of 4 and create a short piece on the topic which is Immigration. In my group it was me, Shevell, Kaliyah and Elie. We all decided to devise a piece about a mother and daughter having to leave the country because of the war. We had presented our short play as a split screen which showed two of the same stories. Me and Elie were together and went first. We then froze and Shevell and Kaliyah began there piece which was similar to ours. They then froze and me and Elie continued our piece. I was the mother and Elie was the daughter. We were showing the audience the conversation between the both of us. I decided to use an African accent to show where my character is from and the current setting. We then all performed our short plays. I felt that we had presented a very detailed play and it came across clear to the audience. Presenting it as a split screen was very effective towards the audience. Feedback I had received from members of the class was that I demonstrated my character well and was very creative as I used an accent. I was very happy with this feedback.
We have started to focus on writing a monologue based on immigration and being an immigrant. I thought this task would be quite hard, because I have never written up a monologue, but I then had many ideas spiralling through my mind. We all sat in a big circle with a pen and paper writing our monologues. Although some of the class did not get to complete theirs today including mine, we heard one monologue which was Shabir's. Shabirs story was very touching and powerful to all of us. As it was related to his life and what had happened to him, it was a real eye opener. I had not been able to write my full monologue down but, instead I have wrote down a rough idea about what it will be about. My monologue will be about a girl who's mum has left her and gone to another country to find work and live a better life. The girls mother has left her with her aunt, but the girl then runs away to search for her mum. This girl I'll be writing about is from Haiti.
In a lesson covered by Rebecca, we were shown a clip of a show called 'Come fly with me' which was based in an airport.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjDk___k__hAhWtUxUIHWuBAYoQtwIwAXoECAsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdCk6fSQ21rY&usg=AOvVaw1sy6kBV8LXi1s4l1qbYc4m
The video we had watched was about a man who had just arrived to the UK from his country and he was racially abused for his skin colour by the staff. This is a comedy so it was quite funny but, at the same time it is showing the harsh reality of the world we live in. It was quite sad to watch, although it may have been funny, this does happen in real life. After watching the video Rebecca had told us to go on our phones and search up some real stories on immigration from people. When we had found the information we had to go to the front of the class to share it. I had looked up some information on Barrel children. Barrel children are children who are left behind by their parents or abandoned. These parents are seeking for a better life abroad. I presented this information to the class.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&ved=2ahUKEwiV1eWClv_hAhXVqHEKHfabDBcQFjAMegQIARAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.childhoodexplorer.org%2Fexploring-the-barrel-children-cycle-parentchild-separation-due-to-migration&usg=AOvVaw1gjcYOxdNDMvsaAt4TN16A
We have been performing many breathing activities. This helped us to relax and it is helpful in lowering the stress in your body. We then began humming which clears our tone of voice. When the warm-ups were done we were given the task of creating a short play based on immigration. We were split into groups of fives and fours to do this. We all decided on making our play about someone who has been abused by school girls, because they are an immigrant. Me, Kaliyah and Elie had played the bullies who would say rude and nasty things to Shevell, who played the immigrant. We decided that Jorge should play as a police officer who steps in to stop the tension. He then sat with Shevell and spoke about him being an immigrant too and gave her some kind words. We did not get enough time to present these to the class.
Today in class we concentrated on how being persuasive towards someone. To start this Ahmed and Altin were chosen to sit opposite each other. Ahmed had to play the role of a man in a job interview to work in a sports shop. Altin was the manager who was interviewing Ahmed. Sheenagh had a sheet of paper with a list of ways to persuade someone such as manipulating them, flirting and threatening. She had whispered one of them to Ahmed and he had to use that to persuade Altin to give him the job. As a class we had to guess what way of being persuasive he is using on Altin. Ahmed had used threatening against Altin. This game was very entertaining and entrancing to see everyone express themselves. I was also chosen to go up to the front with Tallulah and was also given the same scenario with the job. I had been given the role to persuade tallulah to give me the job by making her feel sympathy for me. I found it quite hard to get into it at the start, as I am not the best at persuading someone, but I finally felt comfortable enough to do this. I began speaking about me living on the streets and started crying to get her to feel sorry for me. Tallulah eventually gave me the job. Doing this activity made me feel more expressive and creative.
Who is Konstantin Stanislavski?.
Stanislavski was a stage actor and theatre practitioner from Russia who had developed the naturalistic performance technique 'Naturalism'. Also known as the 'Stanislavski method'.
We then were given a sheet about the object exercises which wrote-
WHO AM I?
WHAT DO I WANT?
WHY DO I WANT IT?
HOW WILL I GET IT?
WHAT MUST I OVERCOME
Objectives-The fourth wall.
We used this guideline to make 4 separate mime performances.
-Cooking your favourite meal at home
-Cooking for annoying kids
-Cooking for someone who has betrayed you
-Cooking with Gordon Ramsay.
In the second acting class we had continued on from what he had started earlier.
Sheenagh chose 5 people to go to the front of the class and pick one of the miming scenes to do. The class would then have to guess what each of us were doing. I had been chosen to go up to the front and I decided to mime a person cooking for annoying kids. When doing this I had shown anger in my body language and facial expressions. For example, stomping my feet on the ground and clenching my fist. Also frowning at some points of my miming to present to the audience I don't want to be cooking. I enjoyed this part of the lesson; using body language and facial expressions to express who my character is. Towards the end of the lesson, Sheenagh asked us all to think about a time when something dramatic had happened to us all from the age of 10 and below.
What- climbing up a tree then falling down. I then had scraped my knee and left with a scar i still have.
Where- In a park near my house
Who- Myself
Why- My friends had climbed up the tree so I wanted to go up there and join them.
Weather- Warm
Feelings- downhearted and annoyed.
Outfit- Leggings and a T shirt.
Unit 7- Producing to and performing to an audience
Context
This unit represents the beginning of the culmination of your work on the course. You should be looking now to build on the previous terms work, and direct yourselves to working in a disciplined and focused manner, as you put together a performance for an audience. As well as a performing role, you will be given a production role where you will have to work within your groups to meet the deadline for the performance . Using various production values you will explore all the production values connected with the performance.
Research
I will be playing the role of Fatima in this performance, Fatima is a Somali women in her late 40's. In order to present this role to an audience well, I have researched what the traditional Somali clothing for women is and I also have researched into the culture of Somali women.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Somalia
Doing my own research has helped me to understand the culture better. I have decided that my character will be wearing a headscarf as that is what many Somali women wear. This will give the audience a better understanding of where I am from and my religion.
As me and my group didn't quite understand what the container should look like, I had done some research on the play and had watched some videos which would help me gain more ideas and have an understanding of how we shall set our play.
Research
I will be playing the role of Fatima in this performance, Fatima is a Somali women in her late 40's. In order to present this role to an audience well, I have researched what the traditional Somali clothing for women is and I also have researched into the culture of Somali women.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Somalia
Doing my own research has helped me to understand the culture better. I have decided that my character will be wearing a headscarf as that is what many Somali women wear. This will give the audience a better understanding of where I am from and my religion.
As me and my group didn't quite understand what the container should look like, I had done some research on the play and had watched some videos which would help me gain more ideas and have an understanding of how we shall set our play.
Planning
On a big sheet of paper me and my group had written what kind music, lighting and props we will need for our performance. Together we had decided that we want a dim yellow light throughout our play. The props we will be using is, a bucket for my character for when I need to urinate in the container towards the end. We will be using a chocolate bar, a suitcase and a book. I will be wearing a headscarf as part of my Somali clothing. We thought that the container should be closed in and small, as this would emphasise the drama of the situation. We did not want much sound in our performance, but we did want a sound for when the truck moves then immediately stops. For hair and makeup I began to look at some makeup from Somali women to get ideas.
This makeup look is quite traditional from Somalian women. I have decided I might wear winged eyeliner, red lipstick and red eye shadow.
Problem solving
On the day of my performance I had forgotten to bring my makeup so, therefore I did not wear any makeup in the performance, this did not affect my performance and I was still able to portray my character to the audience well. Also the sound technician had problems playing the Kosovo music, so we had no choice but to continued our performance without music.
As Karla who was playing Ahmed in my performance did not turn up, we were missing a character which had stressed us all out. However, Anastasia was able to step in and play the role of Ahmed instead.
Altin and Anastasia had forgotten some of their lines on stage and began improvising. This made it hard for myself and the rest of the group as we were slightly puzzled.
Evaluation
Lighting, costume, props, set and sound had worked excellently during our performance. The dim lighting we had chose had really set the scene in our performance by presenting the suspense and mystery. The sound effect of the trucking moving had set the scene of where we are and this made the audience. When the dazzling light had flood the stage as the character Mariam enters, this had captured the audiences attention, as there was a change in the scene which had built up tension.The pallets
Unit 6- Performance
Evaluation- The Container Performance
Thursday 4th April was the day we had performed the play 'The Container'. This play is an intense drama about people-trafficking. This play is set inside a container throughout. These immigrants have been smuggled into this container and they are on their way to the UK. Asha, Ahmed, Fatima, Mariam, and the agent are all the characters included in this play. I played the role of Fatima, a Somali women in her forties. This play is very powerful, but also displays to an audience the terrifying, grim experience in this container lorry.
We had performed this play in two groups; the first group performing the first part of the story and the second group performing the second part of this story. We all had rehearsed for weeks, devising this play and incorporating all our ideas. I had performed the first part of this performance with Altin playing the agent, Kaliyah playing Asha, Elie playing Mariam and Karla playing Ahmed. When performing on stage I have
been very confident in taking on this role and putting myself in the character. I have explored and researched the original play thoroughly, to have an understanding of how myself and my group will act and how we will portray our characters on stage. Although I had faced some difficulties on stage such as, others forgetting lines and improviszing which had me bewildered; I was resilient and had still enaged with the audience.
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