Show Week!! week of the 9/1/17

Show weeekkkk!!

In this week we did our four performances of We Will Rock You, on cast and off. This is what all our hard work and effort paid off for.

In the first 2 shows I was off cast this meant this in these shows i performed as a yuppie, bohemian, guard, teen queen and cop. As the first show theres always going to be a few mishaps here and there however I felt we overcame them well as a group and encouraged each other to keep in character and going whenever something occurred.

Like in the dress runs we still struggled with the quick changes. This was due to everyone being in their when world of what they were doing they were just chucking things, this then as a result meant others couldn't find what they were looking for! so this was key memo within the meetings after the first performance leading into a discussion about how we could resolves the problem at hand, after listening to one another the best idea was to create allocated sections for the different items like the wigs always go back in the box so we knew where to get them from.

I think the stress from backstage came through in our performance when people started to lack enthusiasm and energy so had to really and try and build up the ending so that we could really complete the performance to our best.

Within the evening performance and all problems were resolved people had a lot better attitude towards it creating a more lively energy among us as an ensemble. Within certain numbers people still weren't 100% on either choreography or words so a lot of us snag backstage so that it would boost the sound as well as the performers confidence within the numbers especially with the year 12s.

In this show only tiny mishaps occurred like props and late transitions. However somethings could have been avoided such as people getting the wrong timing, which caused injury for another person, this will be something which will have to be gone over before the next performance.

 Overall I feel we performed a lot stronger as an musical ensemble, working off one another to create the right energy and really performing for the audience.


--

In the next set of shows I was on cast playing Meat, this made me a lot more nervous for the shows as the guys really relied on me in my bigger scenes, a lot of the cast were really supportive on another which all gave us a positive feel about the shows.

As my role takes on part of a leadership for the bohemian numbers I felt i had a lot of responsibility to create the moods for the scenes therefore I made sure to have lots of energy to keep them all up there with me and devise the right atmosphere for the audience.

I really learnt that people take from one another so if you set the right disposition they will follow.

Energy is Key. I think throughout the two shows the energy grew with the adrenaline of having the audiences making everyone perform with 110%.

In my first show, I hurt myself due to a contact section with commander khashoggi resulting in me hitting the ground with a previous injury this made me then fall slightly behind within the next umber as couldn't work to my full potential however didn't stop, my cast mates kept me going, encouraging me to get through it. This was resulted for the second show when we changed it slightly so he didn't shove me down the stairs but just dragged me to my place, and as a result I could work more efficiently within Seven Seas of Rye without worrying others or myself. As this happened I made sure to focus a lot on character if my physical elements weren't up to 100%.

However by the last show my injury was ok, I feel that as a musical ensemble by the last run, we really worked powerfully creating a strong ensemble; even when things went wrong we contrived together to overcome those errors and making our performance even better. All of our time and effort had been used efficiently in the end, achieving all our goals and creating a audience pleasing performance. Supporting one another and listening to each other, we conquered all the queries and coming together as an successful musical ensemble.

week of 2/1...final prep week

This week is the final week before the show, but there is still a lot to be done.

A big thing that hadn't been completely decided and refined was set ideas so we had started with them, however we had help from a fellow student who was currently doing set design at university and was using our show as an project/work experience. He was mainly focusing on the killer queen side, so that gave us more to do with the bohemian side. Our director had quite a vision she wanted for the bohemian side so gave us the gist of it and then let us work whilst helping. 

The two sides being complete opposites we had to really define this with different elements such as colour, lighting, set up and size. Focusing on size, by this i mean the amount of set that is included for that scenario for example the bohemians end is meant to represent like a memorabilia filled, rock and roll club, rebel hangout so would be filled with loads of items most people would consider junk but to the bohemians it all had a story and a purpose. Whilst helping out with the bohemian set others were sent off into different groups to work on the other set and props. Splitting up is always effective as it allows us to get more done more quickly saving more time for rehearsals, it also helps us work and bind as a team even more.

Whilst styling all the different parts of the bohemian side, we gathered each others opinions on what we were doing to make sure that others like it because in the real situation it would be a group event.  This task took along time as there were many items to go through however eventually we did come to a final setting of all the props. This took a lot of commitment from myself and everyone as a team and was a achievement at the end. As this is my main characters home and kingdom as I call it I really wanted it to feel that way and give off a certain vibe so made sure that was hinted where it could be really communicating ideas with my peers.

If we were done and there weren't other set things to be done then we could work on things like scenes, lines and numbers, so some of us split off into small groups to do so.

 This day was a very big day for independence as a group, really highlighting our ability to work efficiently as a team to get work done and to create the best performance possible.

--

After creating our set, a lot of time following this in the week was focused on blocking within our new staging and set, especially, with musical numbers that required a lot of movement or cast members. As we had been rehearsing using the majority of what space we had we were used to using a lot of room compare to the smaller amount we now had due to the set this required a lot of patience from everyone as we had to make sure that the numbers still worked effectively within the set and that there were no problems. 

The bigger numbers were particularly hard to work through especially with the year twelves who hadn't had as much time on the songs and material as we had. So we really had to support them so they didn't lose confidence. Within the rehearsal we did a lot of songs like we will rock you, bohemian rhapsody and we are the champions, so helping the twelves took place a lot in these segments. In bohemian rhapsody our class had worked on our own sections with harmony and practiced a few times so was harsh on the twelves to throw them in the deep end with new harmony and timings as well as choreography, so once split into our groups we could work individually with them installer amounts getting it done a lot faster than we had gone through it one group at a time.

However i was more concerned with the bigger dance numbers, as with these we have had cases of, not everyone at every rehearsal so numbers were always off and then so was timing. So adding all that to new set it was a challenge to get through it but with a lot of patience and listening to questions we got through it as a group and helped each other out where we could. 

After a lot of runs with the different numbers I feel we had really developed our numbers as well as using the staging to create more dynamics in the performances. I feel that everyone felt very well accomplished at the end of this run due to a lot of productivity, even though everything wasn't  perfect it was improved and we had all supported one another in the process.

In this session I feel that my peer support was effective with helping out with choreography in the dance numbers helping those who weren't used to going with the counts, which were essential so that we could work more in unison giving off that robotic feel in the gaga numbers. Our performance could have been improved with more energy as a group however i feel that we had worked efficiently through the day so may be a need of changing the dynamics of our timetable. I learnt that when more than one person puts their mind to it, things can develop smooch faster and effectively. 

--

DRESS RUNS!!!!

Dress runs are always one of the most essential things when creating a performance as it structures such a large percentage of the show and really is the finishing touch to telling the story. Our key situation with our dress run was test timings it took for quick changes and if they were achievable because if not they would have to be adapted and then whether or not a costume was suitable/practical for their character and scenes.

An example of testing all of this, is within some of the Killer Queen numbers, some of us off cast members act as several characters, when off cast, so have a lot of changes, we discovered one of our changes was just too crazy of a change to fit in time so, as a group we decided to come on in the next song as they follow one another and make sure to go on when everyone was ready. This was a very effective group decision as it created less stress and didn't have any repercussions on the scene.

However a good part of dress runs is that it seems to get people into character a lot more than just when in their own clothes, I especially feel this when performing, it gives that final edge in your character. This as a group creates such a buzz giving people more energy as whole when performing making the numbers more dynamic for the audience and really giving off the right atmospheres.

I feel that in this session my peer communication was effective when making group decisions about our quick changes and transitions between scenes. I feel I used a range of performance skills within this such as facial expressions and musicality to help portray my many personas within the show. To improve I still need to develop my lines knowledge so I'm 110% confident so that I can perform without the worry of forgetting. The challenge of this session was trying to stay calm and focused with all the chaos going on backstage with changes in costume and set, this we have resolved as a group so won't occur again in the future.

 

Tempest audition

For our auction we had to learn one of the given monologues from the play and then familiarise ourselves with one other from the selection.

The part I was hoping to get was Ariel, therefore I chose my learnt monologue to be the Ariel one. In this monologue, it is split up between different parts of speech y ariel within the play to make one monologue. Its split up into her/him describing how they hid the sailors and confused them all and dispersed them around the island, then they start talking to the different groups slowly getting more aggressive showing the myriad of emotions that ariel portrays in the play.

when performing the monologue i decided that i would make it quite airy and mystical as ariel is a magical sprite, using a lot of movement then voice change to portray her, i also decided to pretend that Prospero who ariel is talking to is there, miming around them.

When doing my audition, I forgot a few of the words, which put me off but I kept going until I got to my ending. I incorporated my movement ideas. As we had a short time to learn the words for the audition i had really focussed on the movement for the purpose that if i forgot so to use for dramatic pause, in the future I will find more techniques to remember the lines.

Audition File - PAB

Audition File

In this audition file I will show you my headshot as well as my chosen materials in which I would perform when required in an audition.  





This is my chosen headshot, this was taken in a shoot I took place in for a local photographer, in many head shots they prefer you not to smile but as this was for just for their shoot and could be used in my college programme so I decided to smile. 

Songs:

In auditions contrasting songs are usually the recommended option as it allows you to display your range of skills to sing a variety of genres so they see that you can perform all categories and not just a ballad or comedy singer for example.

My choice for an uplifting song is Say Goodbye by Scott Alan.

This song is all about a girl who has lost her way on her way to fame and has decided to change the way she is and be a better person saying goodbye to her old bad ways and saying hello to her new way of life and starting again. For me this song, is in my range and displays my skills but is also a slight challenge to show that I can keep progressing as a performer.


My choice song for a sad song is Im Still Hurting from The Last 5 years by Jason Robert Brown.

This song is about a women who mourning over her failed marriage of five years which need with her husband cheating on her. This one is good for me as allows me to show that I can express a more somber emotion as well as use more of my voice, using more of my head voice but both my head and chest voices. This song is more gentler than my other choice showing a contrast.


You can find my sheet music here : https://www.scribd.com/library



Monologues:

With monologues you also have to contrast but with one contemporary and one classical, to show your range of performance skills.

For my contemporary monologue I chose:

Enigma (She) - By Floyd Dell

The scene : Te woman asks the man if he even remembers when he fell in love, but goes on to certify that he didn't fall in love she did.

My classical monologue choice is :

Anthony and Cleopatra ( Cleopatra) - William Shakespeare

The Scene : Anthony has died, everything is beginning to crumble. She is preparing for her final exit of the world.

PAB - CV

CURRICULUM VITAE

I am a polite, well-presented individual who is highly creative and hardworking seeking for a part time job. I have good communication skills and I work well in a team due to my background in performing arts. My experience on the stage has also given me the confidence to work independently and communicate easily with others.

I have a methodical approach to working, as well as good time management and an eagerness to learn. I believe that I am reliable, trustworthy, adaptable and hard working.

Name:    Talia May Murphy                  

Address: 75 St Lawrence Avenue, BN14 7JL

                                   

Tel:      07788292751                             

Email: t.murphy98@hotmail.com                      

DOB:   20/10/1998                   

Education & Qualifications:

2011-2015 Durrington High School       GCSEs taken in 2015

Grades:

Art – B                              Performing arts – Distinction (A)            Maths – B

Dance – B                         Media Studies – B                                 Spanish – C

Science – B                       English Literature – C                            English Language – B

Statistics – C          

           

2016 – TBC

ALEVELS/AS/BTECS-

Musical Theatre BTEC –(first year) - D*     Dance AS – to be taken 2016

( Distinction star )

Creative Media BTEC – (first year) – Merit

Art AS - D

Other Qualifications              

Passed all dance exams with mainly distinctions in tap and modern (ISTD)

Employment History

Work experience at Northbrook College within the Theatre Department. During this role I viewed lessons, helped out with the technical team by fixing up the theatre in Lighting and Set, as well as working in the office completing administrative tasks.

I currently work as a Sales advisor at the weekends at F. Hinds Jewellers, in which I have had to learn many skills about the job specifics as well as overall working in sales such as handling doubts and situations as well as compromising and working effectively as a team.

Positions of Responsibility                

National Citizen Service

This was a 4 week course which was focused on helping the local community by doing   actions such as renovating homes for teenagers in need, raising money for them and volunteering at other charity works.

The Chanctonbury Play Scheme.

This was a 1 week voluntary work-scheme in which I looked after and played with children with disabilities. This helped me to be able to work in a fast paced, busy environment.

Children’s Theatre

This was a unit within my college course where I helped to create an audience appropriate performance which we then performed to the children at Broadwater C of E Primary School.

Skills & Attributes

                                                 

I was a regular member of the Durrington School Dance Team in Rock Challenge Uk from year 8 which I have continued at my college.  This has helped me develop both team work and independence, throughout this I have contributed through being a dancer as well as assisting with choreography.

I was a member of Team England for the Dance World Cup 2011 and 2013 which taught me discipline and taking responsibility for my actions.

Choreographing Dance Routines – this requires organisational skills and an ability to communicate to the dancers to get them to carry out my directions.

Interests                               

Dance, Choreographing, Art, Reading, Singing, acting and Films.

Durrington High Performance and workshop - evaluation

I think that overall our performance at durington went really well as well as the workshop.

A few things that went wrong were transitions and timing due to changing choreography at the very last minute. An example of this was when we did radio gaga and had changed that morning so some people hadn't remembered the change and therefore did it wrong however I don't think it was too noticeable of a fault and can easily be worked on as a group with more practice. 

As a group we worked really well with projection and working with our audience which was quite difficult them being high school kids, I personally found it very intimidating as I knew a few of them from high school as well as the teachers. We worked off of each other boosting one another confidence so that we performed the best we could.

The simple costume ideas worked effectively as when with my group in the workshop segment I asked them about what they thought and one said they thought the little bits of colour and material were cool as made it more rocky, so showed that our planning and ideas were effective in our performance.

Within the workshop the kids really enjoyed it as they knew some of the devices we were getting them to use in the workshop which made them feel more included and more confident, it may have worked better if we had described the story more as a lot of them were confused at the story line and why they had to act very robot like.

Overall I think we really pulled it together creating an educational and entertaining workshop and performance for the durrington high kids. Using all our skills combined to be an effective ensemble.