Context unit 1-
During the first couple of weeks of our course we had established some ground rules for successful approaches to creating theatre for an audience. We will explore a range of different techniques and styles in devising a piece of theatre, which will be performed for a college audience. We will also be looking at how we select appropriate elements, the performance demands required as well as continually evaluating our progress and goals ahead of performance. Once we have successfully completed this unit we will be able to progress onto the full diploma
My first lesson was Acting class with Rob. In this acting class we did vocal warm ups exercises to get us ready and prepared for the work with pairs. We also played some games which helped make us all bond more a comfortable with each other. Rob told us to pair up with someone and he would give us a sentence starter such as 'excuse me I....' and from that we would need to finish of the sentence and create a story from here. We would act this out and then perform in front of our peers. These exercises would help us get to know each other more and boost our confidence which is good for drama. Teamwork skills is very important when wanting to be in the acting business. Rob then told us the topic we will be focusing on is 'Identity'. We then went into Rebecca’s class and watched some videos and wrote about the production elements behind them videos. At the end of the day we wrote a list about the skills a good performer/actress/actor needs. Rob has set homework due for Tuesday which is to write about what identity means to us or to write about our own identity. Here our some of the skills we wrote as a class.
Skills actors need?
1: Confidence
2: Voice projection
3: Eye Contact
4: memory
5:Practise
6:Creativity
7:Use of Space
8:Respect
9:Thick skin
10;Range
11:Flexibility
12:Imagination
13:Face
14;Communication
15:Witty
16;Body Language
17:Positivity
18:Integrity
19:Pacing
20:Maturity
21:Child like
22:Control
Research unit 1-
I had researched a lot for the topic , Identity and I had researched into what identity really means and topics around identity. To me Identity is who you are, how you may be viewed by the world and what you think about yourself. In our groups for the identity performance, Our main subject of the performance was about bullying and when bullying happens in a school. As I played the role of a girl getting bullied, I researched into how I would use performance skills well for my role and how I would act to present this effectively. For example I would use nervous gestures such as playing with my hands. I also researched in using voice for my character. I thought to show me being timid in this scene I would stutter a little and mumble. This would present my characters the feelings and thoughts of my characters well. I found some information on the internet about bullying and how it affects people. www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/bullying/conditioninfo/health
To begin today’s lesson we started off with some mouth warm ups as a group and we then went into a game where we had to say someone’s name in the circle then walk towards them and taking their place. That person then has to say someone else’s name and take their place so on. This game was very helpful so that everyone was familiar with everyone’s names. We then read out our homework one by one in a circle which was on identity. Mine was based on my identity and what identity means to me. Everyone’s homework was different and based around different things. Rob then split us up into 4 groups and told us to devise a short play based on identity perhaps using what someone had wrote about for their homework. Me and my group decided we shall base our short play on bullying. My next class was a movement class. Mandy wanted us to work on our body language and creativity. We were told to clap a rhythm which Mandy would do before us and we would follow. Then after we had done that we then stepped to the clap rhythm.
As a class we began to get our vocal chords warmed up with some vocal exercises. This will help to build stamina, flexibility and strength. We then did a bit of stretching to keep our muscles flexible and strong. We worked on devising. We had all played the yes and then.... game. This game was for quick thinking and definitely working on improvisation skills. Rob, our teacher had introduced us to an exercise called one word story which was great for building creativity skills. We all so did some improvisation as a class and thought of different settings such as the moon . 2 people would go up and used the setting to create a drama improvisation piece. This game had helped me to use my imagination and develop on being creative.
Today we had got into small groups and created a short play based on a picture we chose out of the five pictures. The picture we had chose was of a lady who seemed to be perhaps unconscious or dead as she was lying down in a forest/garden area somewhere. We had chose this image because we had many ideas and suggestions we could get from this image. Working with my group was very easy as we all had similar ideas which we added to our group performance. This exercise has made me develop on my creativity skills as it gets you to use your imagination and read into things more.
Context Unit 2-
During the first four weeks, we will be establishing the ground rules for successful approaches to the production aspects of a performance. Exploring a diverse range of rules and responsibilities within the performing arts sector.
Evaluation Unit 2-
I found that the research I had done for my essay had helped me a lot when writing it up and preparing for it. I enjoyed focusing on costume design and writing my essay based on it, as I have learnt new information and discovered new things whilst researching.
Research/Planning
In project development class we were all instructed to think of a production role we are interested in as we will be writing an essay on it. Once we all decided on one, we had the option of either researching on phones or laptops. I had used a laptop to do my research on costume design.
Some of the production elements were:
Set Design
Costume design
Hair and Makeup
Sound technician
The production role I have chosen is Costume design. When researching into this, I have been very intrigued and I feel this would be very interesting to write about. On a piece of paper, I began to make some notes about information I had found about costume design. I myself will also learn new things about costume design that I did not know before. I found many research resources for the production role I have chosen. artsalive.ca/collections/costumes/designer_role.php?lang=en
This website had been very helpful for my research and planning how to write my essay.
We put ourselves in groups so we are with people who are doing the same production element in their essay a us. This made research easier, as we all shared our ideas to one another and shared information we have found.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLW45yeCoNA
I have also watched a video on costume design in theatre which has helped me gain more knowledge in order to write up my essay.
Costume Design
A costume designer is someone who is an expert in fashion. They are in charge
of creating the look and mood for actors and actresses in television, film and
stage productions. As a costume designer you will need to make sure that the
costume choices will fit the character/actor/actress and they will also fit the
feelings of each scene. Costume is very important because actors in a play
dress to present who they are. The designer must also construct the characters
Costume/outfit and make sure each scene is balanced with colour and texture
Etc.
A designer will be in control of making the costumes or hiring them for
everyone who is involved onstage or in screen production. On a daily basis a
designer may have to sketch costume designs, research fabrics and different
costume styles and study the script. When costumes are ready, the designer
would have to do some fitting and altering. This job can be stressful and you
will need to work under pressure to meet deadlines. The costumes that are
designed must provide flexibility and comfort for the actors wearing them
onstage. The design must also have relation with the story and context of the
play/production. A costume designer should have a good understanding of
different cultures. The designer would do a lot of research into the costumes
which means knowing the history of them. They specialise in film, theatre or TV
but, may work in both of the areas. The costume designer must make sure that
any of the props used must display or reflect the story that is being told. It
should also portray the characters personality, age and culture etc. Not only
do designers create the costumes but, also the accessories that go along with
the look. If a production is set in a certain historical era, the costumes of this
period will need to be researched. Costume designers will have design a
costume plot which will show costume changes of each scene and the
characters movements.
According to the national careers service website the salary of this job is
£13,000 to £35,000 average per year. When you start of as a trainee, you will
receive £13,000. When u are experienced(qualified) you will receive £18,000 to
£28,000. When you then get highly experienced (senior), you then receive
£35,000. Hours of work are usually quite long and usually involve working on
weekends and in the evenings.
Costume designers work alongside with the production team and the director.
When meeting with the director visual sketch designs are shown to them from
the costume designers work.
This is so the ideas and designs are with what the director visualises as this will
be reflected in the outfits/costumes. When the director and production team
approve of these design/sketches, the designer will then draw up the final
sketch/costume design. They also work closely with light, designers, set
designers and the actors. You may also work with the wardrobe staff when
getting the costumes in. The producers are also involved as the costume
designers will also have to show the producers their work and designs.
Costumes may be constructed by a tailor or dress maker.
There are many skills involved with being a costume designer. You’ll need to be
creative and skilful in drawing as the job involves drawing and sketching for the
costumes. You need to be able to work under pressure to make sure you meet
the deadlines. Research is a skill you should be good at, as it is important to
have knowledge of the history of costumes and modern fashion.
You also need good organisational skills which means being very organised and
prepared. Having paid or unpaid work experience in a theatre or film industry
will be quite beneficial for this job. Communication skills are key for this job as
you would need to be able to communicate to a lot of people who are also
involved in the production or film. The main thing in this job is being artistic.
This is important when creating the designs and making the costumes.
Places of work would usually be in a theatre, from an office, studio or even at
home. Some costume designers may sew costumes themselves, whereas
others may research and purchase the clothing. When a production begins the
costume designers job is done, although they met still assist around in set
in case any troubles happen with costumes.
In a self directed learning lesson we were told by Rob to create a small piece surrounded by the word identity in pairs or alone. I chose to do mine alone and chose a song to sing. The song I chose was 'Who you are' By Jessie J. The reason I chose this song was because I think the message of the song is about being comfortable in your own skin, believing in yourself and as the titles says to be 'Who you are'. I think this song relates to who I am. I then rehearsed the song so I was ready to perform it in front of the class in the next lesson. After the self directed learning lesson We then performed our short performances we had come up with in the theatre in front of one of another. Singing this song in front of my classmates had made my confidence grow and I was able to sing with the passion I have. As I have stage fright when singing at times, doing this helped a lot with my nervousness. Rob gave me feedback which was if I mess up a line during the song I should not stop but carry on performing.
Playing games such as 'SPLAT' has helped the class bond even more and feel familiar with one another. We had been introduced to a game I was not very familiar with. One person would leave the class. This person who had left would be a celebrity who the rest of the class decided on. When the person returns to class, one by one we would go up to the person and give them clues about which celebrity they are by acting/or improvisation. Towards the end of lesson we got into our groups for our identity performances and performed them in front of one another. This time we performed them we were then given feedback by Rob. The feedback he gave to me was to stop 'dancing' back and forth when I play my character and instead just freeze then walk then freeze. He had also us to not block each other and instead use the method of 'cheating'. Our last lesson was movement class with Mandy. We started of the lesson with some physical warm ups such as some stretches which will increase our flexibility and make us have good posture. We were then told to think of something we enjoy and turn it into a freeze frame, but then step by step make the image bigger and bigger. We then presented our freeze frame images to our class. Mandy then showed us a video of a group of men in a pub. The video had no talking but just movement. This video was about how men stereo typically act in a pub. The actors in the video used big movements and used their body well to portray this.
In an acting class lesson the main focus was learning some tongue twisters. One by one in a circle each of us repeated a tongue twister "red leather yellow leather". These tongue twisters help with practising pronunciation and improving fluency in our voices. When acting it is important that the audience can hear every word you say so these vocal warm ups are very important to do.
Planning unit 1-
A lot of planning has to be done for when we perform Identity. Before planning for this performance we have all taken part in vocal warm ups and also warm up games. These vocal exercises will help us keep our voice in shape and help release any tension. This is also beneficial for loosening up the muscles. When I was first put into my group for this identity performance, we all had no clue what we could base our play on. So we all sat in a circle sharing our ideas with one another. This was very helpful as we all listened to one another and more ideas were occurring. After planning and negotiating our thoughts and ideas, we all decided to do our short play on bullying. As bullying is always happening and especially to young people I think it is a great idea to do something based on the topic. This performance hopefully will give a message to the audience and it will make them think about what we have presented to them. Also as part of planning for our play we have done many rehearsals where we had to change things and make adjustments. For instance we decided that at the end of our performance we wanted to leave the audience thinking and we would want to give them a message. We came to the conclusion that we would say 'STOP BULLYING!' one by one in a line to show the true meaning of our performance. Rob thought that it would also be a good idea that Tallullah,Joey,Renee and Tiana, who were playing the role of the bullies should be even more mean and go bigger on the bullying. This would make the performance seem more realistic and engage the audience showing the harsh realities of bullying. We worked on how we should stage our performance and where we would stand. Staging is a very important part in doing a performance as it shows a clear understanding of our play to the audience. As some of us could relate with our topic of bullying it was quite easy to put together our play and come up with ideas. We had decided we wanted to set our play in a school as that is wear bullying occurs the most. We all chose who we wanted to play in this performance and all came to an agreement on it. I will be playing the girl who will be getting bullied, Joey, Tallulah, Renee and Tiana will be the bully's. I think we are all happy with our roles and we are ready to start building our play to make it as intriguing as it can be.
As we are getting quite close to our performance day we have been rehearsing a lot and going over our performances. In my group we have altered things and have also added things to our play. For example, we thought it would be a good idea that Tallulah, Joey, Renee and Tiana go bigger on the bullying and make it nastier. We want to leave the audience thinking about how harsh and vile bullying is. I also had an idea that, as I am holding a paper in my hand which will be a timetable for me, Tiana playing one of the bullies should come towards me and rip it up. I will then turn around to the audience with a sorrowful look on my face and walk slowly into the next scene. I want the audience to sympathise with my character.
As the performance is tomorrow we only have today left of rehearsals which means we need to work extra hard, making sure everything is clean and our performance runs smooth. Rob had given us some tips which was- whatever you do, do it with conviction.
don't undersell anything.
EVALUATION- UNIT 1
Wednesday 10th October 2018 was the day of our performance based on identity. This play was made up of 4 groups. Each of the groups, including mine had spent around a month creating this short play on identity and we have all progressed a lot from the start of creating our performances till this point.
My performance was based on bullying and to present this me and my group had shown this in a school setting, where bullying mostly occurs. I played the role of a student being bullied by a group of other students. When playing this role I had to convey my character as being timid and show I had low self esteem, while projecting my voice for the audience to hear me. I wanted the audience to understand the true meaning of my play and look beyond what we are presenting to them. At the start of my performance my character is lost and unaware of where her class is. My facial expression skills were on point for this as I wanted to show the audience I was lost by the look on my face and through my body language. I then bumped into a few students and asked them for some help. Instead of helping me they were mean and began to shout rude comments at me. I think that I had thick skin during this part of the play, as members of the audience were laughing I continued to portray my character and stay in role. At the end of my performance my character decided to stand up for herself and face up to the bullies. I used good projection in my voice when doing this as I wanted the audience to understand my characters emotions. We ended of my groups play with a message we said one by one which was ‘STOP BULLYING’. As I said this I gave the audience deep eye contact with a very serious face so they could take in this message. I portrayed my self to be very confident throughout this performance and definitely had a lot of trust in my group.
I used a wide range of skills during my performance such as positivity which I’ve worked on a lot. Even when there had been a slip up , I still hold my head high and carry on. That’s a skill all actresses and actors should have. I think that everyone was very mature including myself when performing in each group although some members of the audience did have their comments to make, not once did myself or anyone join in and come out of role. I think I communicated my character well during the performance as I used the stage space and didn’t stay in one place. I found that doing this I was I felt more comfortable in showing off my character. At the end of the performance I sang a song”Rise Up”. My time management skills were good personally, as I did not rush through the song and instead kept it at a slow but steady pace. This was so the audience could understand the words I was singing and take in the meaning of the song. Although towards the end of the song I slipped up and got out of character, I never stopped and gave up, but instead carried on singing and this showed that I am determined and positive.
I would say I have progressed quite a lot during the 5 weeks of rehearsals till this point. My classmates have also said the same and I have also gotten better at using more skills and including them in the play. My classmates have said that I have developed in my imagination skills and have included many of my ideas. They have also said I have been very creative when rehearsing this performance. The transition from group to group was very neat and tidy which made it easier for us and the audience to understand what is going on.
Some problems that had occurred during our identity performance was that we had started a little late, as Renee who had to start our performance off, had difficulties getting to the theatre on time. However that didn't change the way we did our performance as we were able to finish successfully on time. Another problem I faced was that when I sang at the end to finish off our performance, I had forgot some lyrics and panicked, but I managed to continue the rest of the song without stopping and had shown resilience.
