21/10/16 - Dance

In this lesson i was camera women as I had previously dislocated my knee the day before so could not take part within the movement aspect of the lesson which is quite tricky as it is a dance lesson, however I still gave my input within ideas and developments for all pieces in which took place in this particular lesson.

tbc...

14/10/16 - Dance

In this lesson we worked on our media group dance piece for the dance show and continued to look at numbers within We Will Rock You.

We started with a warm up that Kat created, which was contemporary based comping from the corner here : Warm Up

In this warm up, I really liked the range of contemporary moments within it as it made it a more challenging and dynamic warm up. Int the first round we face the wrong direction on one move but sort it out for the final moved then do it correct the second time round, from watching the video i really need to work on my transitions and the height of my jumps, however i did remain focused and controlled throughout the warm up.

After this we then worked on our dance show piece, The Media. As we have already started this piece we were just developing and adding to it. We went through what we had already created which was up to the group union section which was repeating ambers solo piece as a group, after this we added on Emily,Jaydee, Megan and I group secret section here --> secret group

We then developed it so that the whole group could do it, this worked effectively as they're were more of us now so the story made more sense of passing the secret/rumour.

We then added a section in which we included the warm up we had learnt at the beginning but changing it slightly, we did it in a progressive canon where one starts and then more come in and join in and so on until everyone is performing it, I described it like a pack of wolves. This also enhances the ideas and themes of the group and how all the information and secrets are spreading and how easy it is for them to spread.

Here was the final outcome for this lesson for the media group dance --> group dance

We then added more to the Seven Seas Of Rhye number from WWRY. As my double cast wasn't here in this lesson I had to contribute to both casts which allowed me to have more practice for the dance we made the decision the previous rehearsal that Liv and I would be in it off cast as well so then we didn't have to change places and get confused.

When we first set the number we had us doing jumps cross the stage both ways before going into our positions however this came across quite chaotic and disheveled so we decided to make it a run the first and a jump the second so it wasn't too overwhelming and untidy. In this rehearsal we were able to get to the end of the number but didn't finish it properly as the ending is quite big.

We added a section in which were are in the centre of the room in a tight group like at the beginning but we kind of repeat the jagged reaching movements cutting across one another to make it have more levels and more interesting and then we repeated the chorus dance motif facing the other direction as our staging is traverse so we have to make sure that we perform to both sides otherwise one side will get bored of looking at backs and bottoms. I think all the new material we added is really effective and adds to the dance because it gives it more dynamics and pathways so it wasn't all the same, i quite enjoy this piece as it involves a lot of characterisation as well as dance content. I think for this number i need to work on where i am going to place my focus and projection within the dance so that i perform to all parts of the audiences.

here is the final run for SSOR in this lesson - SSOR 14/10/16

7/10/16 - Dance - Seven Seas Of Rhye

In this lesson we started on the Seven Seas Of Rhye. Kat had asked Emily, Luke and myself to think about some ideas before hand as we happened to be at college early that day so we went into the theatre and started o come up with some material.

In this number Khashoggi is singing about how he has control over all of the bohemians and how he will get what he wants from them whether they like it or not. As the show has a sort of technology sci-fi feel to it, I came up with the idea that the imprisoned bohemians would be in forcefield like beams which would be like a spotlight in theatre aspects and that their movements should be jagged and manipulated by him including reaches like they can't control what they are doing and need help. This fit well to the beginning section to the music as it has a obvious beat within it that could fit.

We also came up with the idea that at the end we should all go a bit loopy as if we have finally been brain washed spinning and looking around within the climax of the song before falling back into our zones and sitting on the floor dazed singing oh i do like to be beside the seaside swaying. We couldn't really think of a main chorus section but luckily Kat had done that and she liked the sound of the ideas we had com up with so we combined them and then added some other small bits to it.

As my character is involved in this song I got really into making sure my dynamics were effective within the isolated movement and reaches as well as showing that was lost and didn't know what to do, showing how we were losing control to khashoggi which is the theme of this particular number.

Here are the targets we set at the end of the lesson:
 SSOR Targets

18/10/16 Costume

-What is a costume bible?

 Is a compilation of all costume information and where all the information should be for example :

• Need to include lots of research, what I mean by this so that if it is a historical piece it needs to be factually correct or be the developments of the initial ideas.
• They are created by the costume designer for a show.
• It must include accurate measurements of characters
• Costumes inspirations and starting points. This is basically the initial ideas but the more raw side so like the first mind map
• Sketches of the costume and drawings.
• Include all costume changes in a chart.
• samples of fabric they want to use.
• detailed information about specific add-ons eg: buttons, zips, jewellery and pockets.

 What determines a costume design?

Size - Measurements of the actors size to suit both practicality and effectiveness of the costume.


Practicality/suitability - A costume that enables you to move freely and how you need to within your performance for example if you need to be able to move a lot across a stage, tight jeans would be an inappropriate choice.


Characters personality/what they are trying to portray - costume will reflect the mood and personality of character eg with colours someone sad wearing cool colours. Also characters can be illustrated from using stereotypes within their costumes so goths stereotypically would wear all black.


Context/time period - If doing a historical piece the costumes need to be factually correct for that particular time era, otherwise it will be incorrect and not make any sense.


Budget - Strategically using your budget to create effective costumes. There are other ways to create
character and status without the use of expensive or elaborate materials/costumes.


location - For example, if they're not performing on a usual stage but doing a site-specific performance for example performing Into the Woods within a woods, the costume would need to be correct but also suitable for a forest. Also if a scene is set in a desert it would be odd if the character was wearing a winter coat unless there is a justified reason within the play/show.

Staging eg lighting - Changes the colour of the costume and therefore links with practicality in terms on what it can reveal what an actor is wearing underneath and whether it is intended or not. An example would be that when someone has a sequined costume it can be difficult for a lighting designer as it disperses the light and messes with the patterns.


Status - How a character is measured against another character
social and political status


Audience - The costumes have to be appropriate for the target audience for different performances. For example with children it would include all sensory features such as texture, colour, lighting and more, and for adults may be more mature such as costumes in The Rock Horror Picture Show they wear costumes which are not suitable for children at all as are more mature based themes.


What is a costume plot?

A costume plot is a break down of the costumes throughout the show, it is a way of organising all of your costumes including clothing, jewellery, headwear, footwear and accessories for when you need them and where you need them so if there is a allocated quick changer they know exactly what to do.

Here is a draft one in which i created for my character:

The Character Analysis is of my character Meat and says:

 I think that Meat is very different and quirky and doesn't really care what others think about her and her beliefs. She is very alternative and outgoing, and being a rebel and bohemian reflects through her choice of sassy and expressive clothing such as corsets and denim hot pants layered with other materials such as lace as well as other accessories like bracelets.

What makes a good CV? / CV evaluations - PAB

In this lesson we discussed what makes a good CV and evaluated a few musical theatre/dance based examples. Here is the video of the discussion and below my notes and findings from the discussion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ua0PA4H77M - Discussion


Evaluations:


Cathy Marston - http://www.cathymarston.com/cathy-marston-cv.pdf

Good points

Negative Points

-          Content is good she incorporates all her skills and awards in which she has received. - showing achievements is always a good way of expressing yourself as it shows viewers that you have excelled in this area highlighting how good you are and the best for the job. -    The headshot is very effective as it allows to put all the information to a face - also if looks are a key element for what someone is looking for then they will be able to consider you a lot quicker than someone who hasn't demonstrated a photo.

-         The writing isn't laid out very well and makes it difficult to read - this wouldn't work well for someone who has to skim many cvs in a go and select promising ones as you would instantly be discarded as wont have time to try and read it. -          Hasn’t stated any clear references therefore not got examples and a back up to their skills - References are always important as it is physical evidence in the form people usually to show you have achieved all these things, and if they're positive then it is definitely going to be a favourable thing for you as a performer.

Leon Poulton - http://www.leonpoulton.com/dance-cv

Good Points

Negative Points

-          Very personal, makes it easier to understand him and what he is about - This is always an effective thing as it really showcases you as a person as well as a performer and people these days have become very interested at knowing someone well before hiring them as they don't want to make a wrong decision. -

-         The design isn't very formal - This can look unprofessional and automatically make people discard you as an option within their selection, which definitely isn't what you want in this industry, giving it more of a structure and better headings could make it more bold and attract more attention in a positive way. -          No headings makes it confusing - like the previous point i mentioned headings this cv is very bleak for them, this will make all the information blur into one for someone who has to browse them quickly so you want it to be easy to ready but still effective and stylised so that you look like you have put time into it but still professional simultaneously. -

Wolfgang Mwange - http://www.wolfmoves.com/dance/dance-cv/

Good Points

Negative Points

-          Has stats, very effective for a dancer as normally hired through aesthetics of a person, usually casting have a certain image in mind so aesthetics are very important with first impressions because it can be all about how you look or perform. -          Has a lot of experiences shows he is professional, experienced performers are a more popular choice due to knowledge and know that will do exactly what is required, making every team members life easier. -          Very consistent layout - consistency is always effective allowing the performer to show they are dedicated and starts a professional reputation. -          Tidy dates and information - shows he is an organised person which is a good skill to have, especially in a active business like performing, you've always got to be on your toes and ready. -          Good to show who he has worked with -  as can contact them for reference and within the business it is very much who you know as well as what you know.

-          Doesn’t need the extra dance within the title as you are already in dance makes it very confusing and overcrowded. - you don't want it to lose focus from the main information when people are browsing your cv, especially if it is in a speed look situation. -          PDF version isn’t as effective too complicated and changed the fonts too much makes it hard to concentrate on one aspect - trying to be modern isn't always the best way to do things, also sticking to your theme is always best as it adds to your repetoire as a person, so creating many different ones may show your very undecided as a person and messy which is not the vibe you ever want to emit in this industry. -          More like a Wikipedia page than a cv not very personal - you definitely don't want it to look like a wiki page as it will give off the element that you've just copied someone else, just a carbon copy and not original, also shows no personality if its too factual and boring people won't feel interested in your experiences if you overload with extras that are unnecessary.

Bernie Allcock - https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/Bernie-Allcock-Performance-CV-2016.pdf?token=AWyi_U2lHYBycWFfXDOlYP2y9QcIaQ9BHXvYFT8g4ftpNw0SkVmmzlrYXGbBshQuTl013ouVs4J3rrDD6DiU7quDuTp0jBVNUsj--xtgiXN4ecnvh_u6XZ7oZo0SNQRdPopOH_TqN_-R9A1F7roxsjxJ

Good Points

Negative Points

-          Expanding in detail on her projects/experiences - doing this is very effective as it allows you to widen your repertoire by displaying many skills you have acquired through the experiences, also showing that you can work efficiently in different environments and are a very diverse person/performer. -          Amount of information is good - with performing cvs, you always want a good amount of information, because either too much is overloading and will be overlooked in many cases and too small may exude that you are not experienced enough so you want a suitable amount that gives you a efficient representation. -          Including all experiences that are relevant to her job specifications - This is always a good idea as anything can be relevant in the performing industry as you never know what people are looking for as their is such wide range of performance displays today.

-          Add more space to the writing as makes it all slightly blur - As the writing is too close together it makes it quite difficult to read this could also be solved with changing the font as that could also slightly be to fault as well. Obviously being able to read the cv is a very important part of the hiring process, so definitely something that is key when creating. -          Change the order for the sections - Maybe put the personal qualities at the top, so that they get to know a bit more about you before just the factual information, like I've mentioned previously personality can be very important when displaying yourself within a cv as people like to know who they're really hiring and what they are like personally so know that your exact for the job. -          Should mention the DBS check earlier on - This should be a definite decision as it is important especially if applying for a teaching job, you want to show all skills that are very important and training supported hire up as it displays your specialities and why you are different to others as well as more qualified. -          Have not put any references - references are such an important key to  success as people like a second opinion and you get to choose the references so put ones you want them to hear and think will be effective for the jobs you will be applying for or hope will find you.

13/10/16 - A Kind Of Magic

Within this lesson we discussed the question. What should be considered when planning, rehearsing and performing an ensemble piece? We then all wrote don our ideas into a mind map and then talked about what we put and how it contributes to making an effective ensemble. After this we did another mini devising of an WWRY number in groups as well as singing exercises including counter melody.

When conversing the question we came up with ideas for the mind map some of these are here:

Going through all of these and hearing everyones ideas was efficient as it gave everyone a broader idea of what kind if thing we should each be contributing within our show and as an ensemble and how there are many more than everyone thought there were. It really showed everyone the key elements of creating a successful ensemble. 

We then had to use some of the skills we had learnt within our singing exercise with Kim, within this we had to split into two and sing two different songs at the same time but with the same base music. I found this really fun and challenging at the same time. The first two sings were Someone Like You by Adele and Dont stop Believing by Journey, I was on the adele side as I knew that song better out of the two. 

The second one we did was Just Give Me A Reason by Pink and You're Beautiful by James Blunt, this one was harder to do as i was a part of the James Blunt group, we had to start singing first and before the music kicked in which was tricky but working as a group and focus was a key skill we had to put into practice when performing the song, to add to this we found that the volume for us was a challenge as it was a higher pitched song which meant a lot of us were using our head voices therefore had to really operate our diaphragms so that we were still powerful and didn't get lost against the other group. Within an ensemble the first line is always key as it is the first impression to the audience of that particular song therefore we had to make sure we were strong and confident and in time. 

As a group we really need to work on focus among each other as well as interaction so that we can create a more successful music ensemble.  Within this exercise I found that pitch and timing were my strengths as i knew the songs quite well my weaknesses were similar to what i said with focus and interaction.

In the second part of the lesson we were split into small groups to do another devising performance of a WWRY number for this we had to do lucky dip for a song In my group we got A Kind Of Magic. The only person in our group who was actually a part f this number was Jordy who plays Khashoggi so he obviously would be portraying that character, as there were only four of us I came up with the idea that we split into two so the two other girls wee the Killer Queen and I worked with Jordy as Khashoggi. 

Firstly we listened to it and worked out the lines and then as I knew the song started to think about the harmonies available within the song as there were quite a few possibilities. As I wasn't actually Khashoggi, Jordy and I came up with the idea that I will harmonise with him on bigger notes so he could sing the lower harmony, as Jordy wasn't confident with some of his notes. We then went over the whole ensemble harmonies, this was fun as we were able to split it into three making it more dynamic. Jordy and I worked a lot on our lines and what we were going to do with them blocking wise, I got Jordy to explain his character to me so that I knew more about him and we decided that he would be very sharp and very strong as he feels he has a lot of power and status not as much as the Queen but next in command. 

We then came as a group to block the majority of it, we decided we would start within our pairs n opposite front corners of the stage facing the front eminating status. On the section which we repeat after each other we decided that the pairs should face each other as they are responding to one an others lines creating more of a relationship between the characters. 

In the instrumental we crossed before singing Its A Kind Of Magic repeating this before then dancing between our pairs before the singing kicks back in facing eachother on a diagonal and just singing to one another. We kept it quite simple because we felt that the characters are really focusing on the idea they are singing about so would be in their own state of dreaming and envisioning their plan. However we had to make smaller as we took most of the time focusing on harmonies and characterisation. 

I think that our performance went quite well we could have included more movement but as I said we ran out of time so in future we need to work on time management, the harmonies went well and everyone liked it, they said could always add more movement with the chorus members as these particular characters wouldn't move much more than we had set as they exude power and status throughout.

In this lesson I think that i worked well with peer support working with Jordy on his sections and the harmonies as a group, I think I need to develop my time management as well as focus.

11/10/16 - Blocking

In this lesson we had started to block certain scenes and numbers within the show. Luckily for me it happened to be some of my characters scenes and songs so had a bit to do for the first half of the lesson.

However before we got into it we all sat and discussed the seating and staging of the show. Kim said it was going to be traverse so that each side would represent a side e.g.: Killer Queen/Gaga and then the other side would be the bohemians. I think this is really clever and effective it will be challenge to block to the two sides but we will work through so that it is impressive and efficacious.

We did the scenes just before Emily and Mine in which we are hiding, we then come out looking for different objects we can make instruments out of. As our Brits are going to be girls we had to change a few lines as they no longer made sense, throughout the scene we discovered that Brit and Meat were a very affectionate couple and quite humorous pair, and could see the history and chemistry through this introductory scene to the characters. Some people would struggle with showing that much chemistry that quickly but Em and I are close anyway so made it a lot easier for us to play around with it and try out different ways of executing things.

We then did light blocking of the number I Want It All which is also Meat and Brits number, anyone off cast were sitting in traverse so were able to perform and test things out to the correct seating. Some of the people who weren't on at the time came on and represented the other bohemians, this was helpful as it allowed us to get a more dynamic atmosphere and characterisation as a result.  We blocked it so that as we were singing at the beginning there is only two of us, so we circle the stage so that there is one of us at a side at a time, so the audience have something to look at and not just a back, which is one of the hardest obstacles to face when using traverse staging and will be constant challenge throughout the process of blocking the show. I feel that I applied a lot of characterisation within this so that we could give an effective group performance as well as focus.

After this we swapped casts for the other scenes, throughout this i wrote down the blocking we did as well as what they were doing in the moment, I also wrote down any ideas I had about my character or what she was doing and what it meant and why she would do something or say something and maybe how i would say it.  Also considering costume in this particular scenes, they're are in way like scavengers mixing this with the bohemian side they would have different items of clothing put together that in normal everyday look people wouldn't consider putting together also very rough and edgy as they've been on the run and in hiding as well as with a hint of rebellious teenager in there. I feel that the bohemians costumes really illustrate the characters personality and story because none of them remember who they are so they have built their new selves with these items and looks.

In the second part we just read through the last scenes within the script so we could all get an idea of how it ends and where the story goes, this was a good idea as allows everyone to plot their characters story within their minds so they know the journey in which their character needs to travel physically and emotionally. Subsequently we then went through the number We Are The Champions. This song starts with just the characters from the scene within it, and then the rest of us slowly feed into it. We decided that the extra bohemians who come on later will come forth upon the tops of each sides across like an army with the characters in the centre This worked effectively as made sure we weren't all squashed in the middle and more interesting to look at for the audience to look at as gives them more to view as well as giving more energy to the number. Throughout the number we performed to the audience as well as each other with a sense of achievement and honour as we had finally won the fight, we were the champions! Its a celebration dance/song. The blocking for this was really effective and we all got very into the number as well as working as a team which allowed the performance to be even better creating a successful ensemble.

In this lesson i think i had good focus, communication with my cast members and characterisation, I need to develop my monitoring of process making sure i write everything down and consideration of the audience when blocking numbers. I think if as a group we develop on the last one our numbers will be a lot more effective, dynamic and successful.