17/10/14 - Post performance and overall evaluation

Last night my cast and I performed our 'Noughts and Crosses' play to everyone's parents. I think it went really well and everyone did their best! I gave the performance my all and instead of having a nervous breakdown, I used my nerves to fuel my excitement. The only thing I found annoying about the evening was the fact that lots of parents were late, and as the door is very squeaky, it was very loud and annoying! But everyone was very good at staying in character, I didn't see anyone break out of character.

The strengths of my performance was my facial expressions, hand gestures, body movements and my use of voice. My facial expressions, hand gestures and body movements really showed what my character was feeling, and because I found Lynette a hard character to interpret, I am proud of the outcome. I used more clarity and diction in my voice so that everyone could hear me clearly and understand every line I delivered. I know that I pulled it off well because when my family gave me feedback, that was the first thing they commented on, my voice was clear. 

If I had to change anything about my performance, I would try to raise my voice even louder if my character is supposed to be angry, but other than that, I think I did a good job!

The overall performance was smooth apart from one long silence, but that was covered up by some improvisation and no-one seemed to realize that that wasn't meant to happen, I think the audience though it was there for suspense! Our stylized opening and ending worked without any mistakes, everyone (from what I saw) was in time to the music and it was really effective. Our transitions were simple but easy to understand.  

I really liked Jamie's acting during the performance because you could really see her character's emotions. She and Oliver had a long pause but she managed to stay in role the whole time and she picked up the scene swiftly by saying some of her other lines. I found that brave of her to be on stage and sort out a problem whilst acting at the same time.

On the 18th September I wrote out some long term targets:

• Contribute more in class because I'm much shyer when I'm not acting
• To become more fit and healthy because I am losing my breath VERY quickly
• Try out different voices/accents to suit my character
• Research more into my character's feelings and show them

I didn't contribute a lot in my Theatre lessons because I like to listen to others first, but I think I can definitely say that my confidence has grown within the last eight weeks. I have done things I don't usually do in front of others because I would usually think it is embarrassing and stupid. The warm-ups and exercises helped me because we had to do silly things in front of each other, and after a while I wasn't shy or quiet about it anymore because I realized that we were all there for a reason - we wanted to act! - so there was no need to be shy.

So, the last eight weeks have been very tiring for me and I'm very glad about a two week holiday, but I'm excited to do more Theatre! 

- Matilda ^_^  

13/10/14 - Classwork

In today's lesson we did a few exercises that helped me to develop my understanding of the play and more character development.

We first did a warm up where we had to imagine that we were late for work and walk around the room. We weren't allowed to make contact with anyone because we had to be realistic, no-one would start talking to each other on a busy road. I find that this exercise helped me to think in a naturalistic way when acting. Not everything has to be over the top and exaggerated for the audience to understand what's going on.

The next task we did was a debate, the class was split into two and we had to debate over racial division and whether it's a good or bad thing and why. I didn't contribute but I listened intently to what every spokesperson had to say. The debate was actually really interesting because it made me think about the problems in the news and society today. Recent topics did spring up in the debate like the outbreak of Ebola, 9/11 and UKIP. This task also helped my character (Lynette) because when all the reasons for why racial division is good were being explained, I could really feel Lynette agreeing to every single one, so it's like I got to see inside her head of what she thought of everything politically. 

My performance is this Thursday night, I'm more excited than nervous, but still nervous. It will be my first performance whilst studying at Brit! I can really feel that my characterisation is improving and the only thing I need to work on for my performance is to be able to raise my voice so that when I shout it's much louder than when I say my other lines!

- Matilda ^_^

13/10/14 - Acting skills audit and reflection

Here is my acting skills audit for 6/10/14 and the reflection I did today.

 - Matilda ^_^

7/10/14 - Improvements and lesson work

Monday's lesson, my birthday :D (6/10/14) was a lesson that was basically just a few run-throughs and then feedback. I wasn't given any feedback except to project my voice like I'm on a stage, not in a classroom. I hope I projected more but if not then I can practise again in Thursday's lesson.

I think that it's a good thing that I didn't get any feedback because it means that I have to figure out what I'm doing right and what may need working on by myself. The director's words of advice is obviously important too but I feel like it's better to develop my skills independently.

During the second run-through Mr Warden popped in to see how we were getting on and his feedback was pretty positive! He said to remember that we are actors and we must always act like it, whether on stage or not. I also learnt a new word 'catalyst' which means something that is the 'spark' of an idea. For example, the catalyst for Lynette being mentally ill was when she got beaten up by the group of noughts.

I also took into account what my peer told me last week. Harmony told me that I should use more colour in my voice and that my facial expressions needed some work. I focused on perfecting those features and I think that on my Monday, I had given my best performance yet. 

We have just over a week until the real performance and I'm really excited for my parents to see what My cast and I have created in just a couple of weeks!

Here is my reflection from my audit:      

- Matilda ^_^

2/10/14 - Peer assessments

In today's lesson, we got into groups so that me and my partner, Rory, were with another two groups (Harmony and Benji, Connor and Taffy). In these groups we had to watch each other's performances and then write about one of them on a peer assessment sheet. On the sheet was the performance marking criteria, that explained what a pass, merit and distinction was. There was also a 'student friendly' box that just watered down the technical language so we could easily understand what we had to do to achieve the goal we wanted. There was a space for us to write where we thought the peer was at level-wise. Finally, at the back of the sheet was a big box to write in advice for your peer if you had any. 

I assessed Connor and Taffy's scene. Their scene was the very simple phone call scene. I found it very hard to assess this as the scene was so simple, but in the end they gave a pretty good performance and I was able to write both good comments and what they would need to improve on. 

Rory and I were the first pair in our group to perform and Harmony assessed me and Benji assessed Rory. I know during that I didn't give it my all that time around because my voice was playing up and I had to keep clearing my throat! (I've been very ill the past week and I'm recovering XD) Harmony's feedback is really helpful and I thank her for taking the time to write it so detailed. 

Everything that Harmony wrote I totally agree on. My hand gestures and movements are on point but I need more facial expressions and tone in my voice to compliment it. My character is Lynette and I think she is a hard role to play because of her mental illness and traumatic past/experiences. To help me perfect my gestures, I'm going to refer back to my audition role. 

To get into the Brit School, I performed a monologue from 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time'. You may be wondering why I'm referring back to this but I feel, personally, that Christopher and Lynette are quite similar. Christopher has aspergers so my monologue was of me standing there with my shoulders hunched, not really looking anywhere specific and my tone of voice was the same, almost monotone. The hand gestures and little movements I did during my scene really reminds me of what I have to do with Lynette. 

Finally, from all of this, I have figured that I need to show that Lynette is very distant from reality so she needs to be staring off into space and I think that, in my opinion, she would sound quite monotone at times to show emphasis on her spacey/dreamy personality. However, I need to be able to show this without people thinking I'm just bad at acting and that I can't use facial expressions.

I hope this all makes sense, it's just been in my head and I had to write it down somewhere, so why not on my theatre blog xD!   

- Matilda ^_^

2/10/14 - Audit (On time! YAY!)

Here is my acting skills audit for this week and on time! I will write my reflections on Monday (AKA My birthday!)

- Matilda ^_^

2/10/14 - Script progression

I have added a lot more detailed notes on my script that I think will help me perfect the portrayal of my character. I've realised that writing notes on my script or in my notebook really helps me when I'm at home and I need to practise. I have a few shots of my script and the red writing is the new writing. My script is such a mess so I had to photocopy it before writing on it again because the original was practically falling apart! The notes I have written on my script are like a step-by-step guide of my character's feelings and how she's feeling throughout the play so I can clearly see how I have to act, whether is over the top or very subtle.  

- Matilda ^_^

25/9/14 - Acting skills audit (Late I'm sorryyy!!)

Late! I know I apologize for the lateness of this audit, I'm still getting used to the amount of homework I'm getting. My school before this gave me really easy homework and now this homework is actually taking a long time, gotta start planning my time better!

Anyway! here's my audit form last week and my reflection: 

- Matilda ^_^

24/9/14 - Character profile (Lynette McGregor)

I made my character profile/fact sheet by creating my own Facebook Profile page, I have a few screenshots of the page and the link if anyone wants to visit it!

Link: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lynette-McGregor/100007187117268

Screenshots: 

I have written in the 'About me' section and chosen all the 'Likes' that I think suit Lynette's character, I've also added in other details that you can look through. This homework doesn't have a deadline so I can keep adding to this if I feel the need to, as it could help me get into my character more.

- Matilda ^_^

23/9/14 - Reflecting on my acting skills audit

Let's recap on the three targets I set myself on this audit:

1. Learn to relax my body
2. I need to work on my characterisation
3. I need to project my voice louder whilst acting

First of all, I wasn't particularly able to work on the first target as we didn't actually do any tough/thorough warm-ups or physical activities. I'll work on that this Thursday!

I feel that I have really refined my character's traits in the last lesson (22/9/14). I understand more of my character and how she would be feeling at the time of my scene. I am more confident (especially as I have learnt all my lines) in pulling off a good performance.

The small, stuffy classroom was very loud at one point with every student working on their scenes so I really had to raise my voice. I realised that this was helping me with my projection. I felt that I was saying my lines slower, louder and clearer. I also felt myself using my diaphragm.

- Matilda ^_^

21/9/14 - My script and targets

 UNIT 3 ACTING SKILLS AUDIT 21/9/14

























                           

 LONG TERM TARGET

WORK ON STANISLAVSKI

MY SCRIPT/NOTES ABOUT FACTS AND OBJECTIVES












- Matilda ^_^

14/9/14 hw 2 - Questions and research

Task 1

We started the lesson with a physical warm up. It was called 'Clear the space', inspired by Frantic Assembly. This exercise helped me to warm up because I had to do a lot of moving around so it got my heart pumping. Also, the instructions were given to us at any random time so it helped me with my reflexes and how fast I respond with an order.

Actors need to warm up physically before a rehearsal so they don't get tired quickly. It loosens up their muscles so they don't hurt afterwards. It also gets you feeling pumped and ready for a full proper rehearsal.

After the warm up, my body felt much more relaxed than it was before, the only exception was that my heart rate was higher. It was good to have my heart rate high because it made me ready to do anything asked of me. Although I was nice and relaxed, ready for the lesson, I was a bit sweaty!

We explored warming up our voices through a series of exercises. The voice is a very important tool for actors because, obviously, we need our voice to actually say our lines! If we didn't warm up our voices for rehearsals, we wouldn't be ready to deliver our lines and our voices will get strained and to be honest, it won't pleasing.

After the vocal warm up, I felt much more confident in using my voice. I know that my voice can waver a lot and break and after doing my warm up it felt smoother when I delivered my lines.

We then explored STATUS. Status is the relationship between two or more characters. Quite simply, status is figuring out which character has a higher rank (in society, a group of friends, or in general) than the other. Status is like showing who is the boss, or the most popular in a group of characters.

We explored a 'Hello' scene with a partner focusing on how we could show status. My partner was Daniella and the mini script went like this:

A: Hello
B: Hello
A: Are you coming then?
B: No, I don't think so.
A: Oh, OK
(Pause)
B: Well I'll see you then.
A: Yes
B: OK bye

In mine and Daniella's mini performance we chose B to be in the higher status compared to A. We showed status successfully by creating two completely different personalities for A and B. We gave A a happy bubbly personality, and we gave B a rude personality, so when A asked the question, B just brushed it off. A felt intimidated by B because B decided not to join A herself, whether A liked it or not.

Other pairs showed their statuses differently from ours and it still worked, a lot made B the higher status like us, but a few made A the higher status which still worked. I guess that a simple script like that is good for experimenting different techniques (like status) because A or B could be anyone and they could be anywhere, it needs our imagination.

Finally we explored a scene between Callum and Sephy. We had to take it form the page to stage using the skills developed in the exercise before. We were asked to focus on status. In my group it was me and Lloyd, I obviously played Sephy and he Callum. We chose Callum to have the higher status in this scene because the scenario was of Callum scolding Sephy, and telling her not to do something. We showed Callum's higher status by making him never break eye contact with Sephy, so he seemed more confident. Sephy kept looking away, or not looking right in his eyes. We also showed the status by our tone of voices, Callum was very angry so he was louder than Sephy and and again more confident in what he was saying. Sephy sounded desperate for his forgiveness so she kept repeating the same words over again because she knew she was in the wrong. This is the script we were acting from:

We played the scene by them both sitting down by the beach. We carried on sitting the whole way through the scene but as things escalated, body language was clear enough for the audience to see who was higher status. Our tones of voices escalated as the play progressed, up until one point where they both physically seemed to calm down.

We were asked to think about our character's objective. Sephy's adjective was to have Callum's forgiveness. Callum's adjective was to teach Sephy a lesson. Knowing my character's adjective helped me a lot in playing them because it made me change the way I delivered my lines. If I hadn't worked out her adjective, I wouldn't of had so much emotion or desperation in my voice.

Throughout the sharing we were asked to write some notes on other pair's work. My notes are quite messy so I'll type them up on here (Easier to read!)

Alex/Sara- There was good tension between each other
                  - Their dialogue was very spaced out and they controlled their voices well
Eric/Susanna- Their anger built up to create tension
Alabama/Jake- The differences in their personality and tone of voice was clear so we could 
                             easily see who had the higher status
Jamie/Jed-Their body movement and hand gestures showed their personalities
                   -Callum was sarcastic in this scene
Tim/Anya-Their was a humorous tone in their voices the whole time
Tara/Will- Callum looked very annoyed which was good because he delivered his lines 
                    quickly. Sephy was somewhat cocky but desperate for his forgiveness
Rory commented on mine and Lloyd's performance. He said that our use of facial expressions gave a good effect for the scene 

The acting skills I have developed in this session are finding out status and good physical and speaking warm-ups. 

Task 2


So obviously, we are working on the scripted version on 'noughts and crosses' by Malorie Blackman. The story itself is set in an alternate universe where society is split into two racial groups - black people (cross) and white people (nought). This is an alternate universe because the crosses are a higher status than the noughts.

Callum is a nought and Sephy is a cross and the story is about how their relationship progresses whilst they find out about how bad everything thing is in reality and how they handle it. Overall it is a deep book and it covers a lot of complicated and adult problems. 

As a class, we have been discussing these topics. We are living in a world where racism is very small and we don't see it as often and as harsh as 'noughts and crosses' does. We have been talking about how much the difference would be if the problems in the play were brought to this day and age in 2014. Would it be as harsh? Would there be more ways to stop the racism? These are a couple of questions that we asked ourselves. 

We will continue to discuss the world of the play as the term unfolds.

-Matilda ^_^

8/9/14 hw 1 - Acting skills audit

During this first week at the Brit School, I've noticed that all of my Strand classmates all have their own stronger and weaker skills, everyone is different. But we're not talking about them, this blog is about me! 

I find it quite hard to point out my strong points in acting, seeing as I haven't had a lot of classes or practise in the subject of theatre. I feel like I'm a rookie (but the Brit School will change that!)

Okay, so on to the positives. I think that I am a pretty decent group leader. I make sure that everyone in my group has at least one line and that they always have a role to play. I don't deal with slackers and I get down to business and take every task and project seriously. I try to achieve the highest grade I can in every exam or even practise. In terms of skills I know that I can easily adapt to any character that is given to me to play. I can quickly analyse the character and find out their traits by looking at a few of their lines. This helps me to adapt the way I use body movement, hand gestures, facial expressions and sometimes my voice (although my accents are quite rusty!) Finally, I think that my improvisation is good. I did a lot of it in my old school so I know a few tricks about how to get the hang of it. 

There are a few acting skills that I do need work on. One of these skills is my spacial awareness. I know that when I am in the middle of a role, I tend to stay in the same spot, or just walk up and down (this habit is because I have done a lot of monologues in my time!) I'm going to need to learn to move around the set to suit the scene that is playing and what my character is saying and feeling. For example, I could move to a chair and sit if my character is feeling fed up or sad. 

I think I have covered everything for now, I can always add to this because of the trusty old 'edit' button!

- Matilda ^_^