Lesson 15 - 10/11/15 and Dance 10/11/15

Lesson 15- 10/11/15 and Dance 10/11/15

We started this lesson by going through the first dentist scene and really cleaning it so we knew exactly what was going to happen and what to say. We felt as a group that whislt the car scene was going on the people in the background in the dentist scene made the energy really low as we are silent and still so we decided that we should move a little making noises like tapping feat to creat small sound scapes within the scene, mine were gently banging my chair and sighing. This overall added more energy to the scene, made it more pleasing to the eyes and ears and was very effective. Once we had decided these we then ran through a few times till everyone had it down and could really develop there characters in that part; we then carried on doing the part where the Grandpa tells all the people what to do usually he makes it up everytime but we decided that we wanted ones that were going to be the same everytime so we wouldnt freeze on stage, the Grandpa says that we are able to talk through ur minds becuase we are siblings, Max and I as that is the pair we were sitting in came up with the idea that we start singing the spongebob squareoants tune together as we were bored of waiting, using the spongebob tune is effective as it is a kids programme therefore appealing to our target audience and  making them be able to relate to it more and our characters as well as establish who they are. We then have the transition to get into a imaginary memory scene in which the dentist area turns into a football field, Megan, Max and I are supporters in the sides i campe up wth the idea to make up chants with the footballers names and doing a mexcian wave through our stand, this gave our stand members a better vbe and more to go off of then just wooing and clapping. Subsequently we then go into the space ship scene in which we use physical theatre to create the rocket before becoming the starts/astoids before they crash on cave man island.

After this we kept rehearsing it to get it right, before continuing onto the next scene which is the cave man scene which we had redone last lesson, we had to icnorporate the rest of the group into the scene as a result we had to change it around as certain people couldn't be their parts anymore so instead of Jimmy Hendrocks we are at a frozen concert and meet Anna and Hans this definitely  appeals to the target audience as Frozen is one of the most popular kids films as well as very well known music. Once we had finsihed that we ran over the misunderstood creature a scenes a few times to make sure evryone knew how they werve involved in the scene.

Dance- 

In this dance session we went through our routine a few times going over certain sections so everyone had the right leg or was looking the right direction. Once we had done that we then went over the new sections more closely as some had forgotten their duets we had choreographed last lesson, Max and I felt ours was a bit complicated so we slightly changed ares as it made us travel to far. After that we started on the ending, we had finshed laying on the floor in the last section to represent that we had all lost our fights Bubu then comes on and walks around this kind of symbolises to see if there are any survivors/ collecting up her gang everyone slowly gets up and into a clump execpt from me once they are all in the clump i start crawling to the centre back into the position i started in the beginning tp shwo a full circle and to show how things never end, i look down before they all jump foward at me simulatneously i fall forward and the we have a black out to represent that the gang have killed me. The full circle shows violence never ends well as well as how a gang works as one, the use of levels at he end adds more dynamics to the ending of the dance aswell.

targets: practise new changes and ending.

Lesson 14 - 5/11/15

Lesson 14- 5/11/15

In this lesson we started by discussing what needed working on and we decided that we needed to work on the fairy scene and the cave man scene as they hadnt been done in a while and needed polishing/developing. I am in the cave man scene. We felt as a group that the cave man scene was a bit short and low energy so decided to add another part to it at the begining as the "Rock" concert, creating a pun as the section is based on the Stone Age, we then discussed how we could do it and came upw with the fact that they crash and land in the middle of a rock concert, we decided on a concert as it will involve music and maybe a dance number this would bring up the energy of the scene and make it more appealing for our target audience. 

We also had to incorporate one of our main characters Timmy. We decided that our rock star was going to be called Jimmy Hendrocks another pun as its like Jimmy Hendricks but instead its rocks. Jimmy and Timmy obviously we then created that there was some kind of mix up, this adds a bit of a comedy element to the scene. Timmy still being the imaginer throughout our performance he decided who all our characters are as the scene goes on i end up beign a cave woman fan girl for jimmy hendrocks with sam. Whilst all this comotion is going on Sam realises that none of this is factually correct and is like wait a minute it is then that we goback  to the original cave scene which is more factually correct this will be appealing for the teachers who will then bring their students to see our piece. 

Once we had finished devising the scene we could then go over it better this was helpful as it made it easier for me to develop my characters as i could see where they fit into the scenes clearer. In the cave woman scene i made a few changes for character being that she could undertsand both cave man language and modern day english this then easier for the children to understand what is going on making it more entertaining as a result, also then my characters interacts with both sides of the story making it more interesting and more fun to characterise. A major chage was that Max and I shortened our fire chant so that it didnt take that long becuase we didnt have to fill up as much time as we did before. 

Combining these two scenes reall adds to the whole piece in general as it adds more material but it also adds more information as well as helps all the sotry come together make the whole imagination journey story line clearer o our young target audience.

strengths for this lesson was helping come up with new ideas, weaknesses trying to merge the scenes to create one scene. 

Self target : find out more facts for our performance theme for example, how long have cave people been around for? What did they eat? what did they draw in caves and why? find these by next lesson. 

Dance 3/11/15

13/11/15

In this dance lesson we were going through what we had so far within our final piece, we had to change it due to fact of people who werent there or no longer in certain sections. We went through some sections and cleaned them up or changed them slightly, for example in the unison section with the original motif we did final placings so that we used the stage more efficiently we then decided after the spin and were all facing down stage right to take cues from Sam as everyone could see him then as a result everyone would be on time with eachother making our our performance more fluid. After this section the boys do their trio whilst some of us girls are sitting in a diagonal line on the other side of the stage watching them, i came up with the idea to sit in a certain way to add more characterisation and projection this also enhances the themes of the piece more.

We then ran theough the piece again before carrying it on, we then went through our two gang sections and put them in it we changed ours around in it and took out the punching moves replacing them with different arm and leg movements before continuing with our next moves, after this we then spread out and started doing partner work to present a fight after doing a lift, i was with Max. max and I had to come up with a small sequence that looked like we were fighting but we had to be linked in someway the whole time i came up with the idea that we could use things like punches and slaps to ingite turns or drops to create levels as well as dynamics this section was good becuase it allowed us to use physical skills as well as performance skills such as projection and co-ordination.

My strengths for this lesson was Choreograph my duet, with Max as well as rembering all the material. My weaknesses were my stamina and strength, to improves these i need to do exercises to tone and strengthen my muscles this could then help with my control.

Lesson 13- 3/11/15

Lesson 13 - 3/11/15

We started this lesson by warming up, we then gathered around the board and discussed what we were doing for todays lesson. This lesson was focusing on devising and adding more material to our childrens theatre performance. We then split up into three groups and were ech given a situation in which had to take place in oujr scenes, i was with Max and Megan. Our situation was that we found a misunderstood creature wither from space or under the sea, this was so that it linked with our themes but specifically with the space, the key stage two national curriculum. As a group we decided that it should be from space as that was more efficient for the piece as it slipped in easier than if t was an underwater scene.

I came up with the idea that we each think of an animal and combine them to come up with our strange creature i came up with an Ostrich and then the other two came up with a jelly fish and a sloth so overall i came up with the name of the Jelliostroth, a creature that was one of the last of its kind that lived on space, had the head of a jelly fish, legs of an ostrich and arms of a sloth, to make it understood we decided that becuase it had been apart from others for so long it had its own language so no would undertstand it. This would appeal to our target audience as children like weird and crazy things especially if they are funny. I was then nominated to be the creature as i was the smallest of the group, we also decided that we should structure the scene like it was a documentary of the going extinct Jelliostroth. The scene has to be around 5 minutes this was so that it wouldnt drag as with our target audience you have to make it energetic and dynamic so they dont lose interest, becuase of this we decided that the creature gets a bit of time at the beginning by itselfs before they creep up on the creature and start talking about it beofre they go to capture the creature in a net ti get a closer look at it however the cretaure notuces them to soon and scares them they then try again but this time the creature grabs the net and chases them back before catching them this is effective for our audience as it adds a bit of comedy to the scene so it doesnt get boring, within our scenes we had to incorporate skills in which had been scene in another childrens theatre group called imagine menagerie. One of these features was the use of silence we included this in our piece when they the creature and the people meet to show the shock as well as put a hint of comedy in the scene. 

At the end of the scene they  have become friends and we had to involve a dance routine of some sort within our scene so we decided as a group that it would fit best at the end so then everyone could be in it and it would give our scene a climax. The creature leads the dance and the others follow just after using canon as well as a bit of action reaction. The dance is effective becuase its a bit of fun and creates an upbeat and happy atmosphere within the audience. My character really impacts this piece as the creature adds comedy elements to the scene but also helps tell the story, my character starts off not liking the new people but then once they come to an understanding it forgives them for what they tried to do. 

I think that within this lesson my strengths were my focus and my characterisation, my weaknesses would be my projection as i need to involve myself with more lines and be more open for lines and to be more confident.

Next time i think we could add more dialogue into the scene to give it a more detailed storyline to malke it more interesting and so it could then go further.

Assignment brief questions - 3- What are the key features of a theatre production that make it more suitable for younger audiences?

Assignment brief questions - 3-

 What are the key features of a theatre production that make it more suitable for younger audiences?

I looked at many different children theatre companies the majority say that they want to encourage imagination, broaden learning as well as entertain. Polka Theatre think the way to do this is by being ' resonant, engaging and fun,exciting & entertaining' therefore as a result getting the kids ' to provoke ideas, thoughts, questions about yourself and the world'. Unicorn Theatre think the way to do it is to inspire young people 'empowering them to explore the world- on their own terms- through theatre'. All these elements make it suitable for a younger audience as they are at the point where they are very impressionable and becoming their own so not only do the companys entertain the younger viewers which is a key feature for them as they usually have short attention spans but they also are informing the kids with life morals as well as facts.

Assignment Brief questions- 2- How can we link our production to the national curriculum effectively?

Assignment brief questions

How can we link our production to the national curriculum effectively?

Our performance links quite effectively with the national curriculum in various ways. In key stage 2 they study both the Stone Age and Space. Within Science they study Animals inlcuding Humans in this they have to know that humans 'the right types and amount of nutrition' from the national curriculum, this links with our piece as within in our Stone Age section we show that the cave people require the fire as it supplies things such as food and warmth which as a result gives life. Also within science they look at Rocks by doing the Stone Age we show how rocks were used for back then and how old they are the national curriculum says that they should be 'exploring how and why they might have changed over time' therefore we help provide this information by showing them the life circle of rocks from an early start. Furthermore in science they study light, for this one thing the national curriculum says is that the children need to 'recognise that they need light in order to see things' this is also shown through our fire scene as fire was the only source of light they had within the evenings or dark places closed of from the sun.

Within history, for the national curriculums purpose of the study they said it 'should inspire pupils curiosity to know more about the past' i feel that we do this by showing how exciting the past can be through our perfomance, by making it more appealing to them through song and comedy as it is more memorable. To add to this also within the purpose of the study they have to 'understand historical concepts such as continuity and change' this is shown through the exchange between the cave people and modern people who introduce flint to the cave people shwoing that change can be a good thing, flint obviously being a large part of the Stone Age.

All quotes are from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/425601/PRIMARY_national_curriculum.pdf 

Lesson 11 - 20/10/15

Lesson 11 - 20/10/15

We started this lesson by doing warm ups to wake us up, once we finished we then split into two groups to go over two different scenes to improve/develop them. My group consisted of Jess, Max, Megan and myself, we were going through Max and I's cave scene and incorporating Megan and Jess through physical theatre, Max and I came up with the idea that they should be the fire and as our chant progresses and we add the star dust their movemnt gets more vigourous to represent the fire building. This is effective as it makes the scene more exciting and makes the children use their imagination more as well as add more thetare skills within this particular scene. We then discussed how we were going to intergrate the facts within our scene to make it infotainment, so i said that we should write them on a chalk board acting as cave paintings then as a result it would all appeal to our target audience as they in our target age category they are doing the Stone Age at school in their curriculum so they will benefit from the facts. 

Once we did this we had to slot the scene back into the whole piece working with our new material and added in the other guys who were doing the other scene, we decided as a group that it would be effective if we got them to act as the cave surrounding us so it is more realistic. After this we through around some more ideas as a group in which we could imbibe more Stone Age material using the whole group so we came up with Woolly Mammoths, to represent this we split into two Max and I had to ride a mammoth each so the others became the mammoth through the use of physical theatre, we then came up with that we should be on someones back to emphasize the the size of a mammoth, this was not a final decision so we just kept playing around with different ideas until break.

After break we went back through the first scene the dentist scene to make it more precise and have more energy. With the new introduction of Jordy's character Timmy's Grandpa whose aim is to make Timmy believe in imagination, so we came up with the idea that the dentist room is quite dull until Grandpa clicks his fingers in which we then in our pairs in the waiting rooms did chair duets. I was with Max, Max and I came up with 9 movements but in sets of threes to give it a rhythm, my first three movements that i came up with were me snatching Max's magazine, looking at it and then licking it, my second set were me standing up, stepping to the other chair and then stropping in the other chair as Max had taken the magazine back, I chose these movements as they fit in with my characters demographic profile of a stroppy nine year old girl. 

When everyone had finished creating their chair duets, we went onto the next Grandpa idea which was that he got choose someone and they would say what they were thinking, in Max and I's case I spoke about Peppa Pig and the latest episode that my character had watched, this once again linked with my characters demographic profile will also appeal to our target audience, I think with my characters profile impacts our piece as it makes us able to add elements such as Peppa pig that really appeals to our audience.

After this we went back through all our scenes and then added more to the space scene as only three were involved in this scene so we had to think of ways to incorporate everyone we eventually came up with that everyone should become the space ship with physical theatre so the audience could envision it better also will be more effective then a prop, Sam then says that we have hit a astroid belt at this we all (people as rocket) disperse and start spinnning and running around them as stars and astroids this worked effectively as it really got the space vibe across the scene and made this particular scene more dynamic.

I think that in this lesson my strengths were coming up with movements for my characters within the scenes we rehearsed as well as adding factual elements and more making it more efficient and appealing for our target audience. My weaknesses were trying not to corpse within one of my scenes and to keep focused, however i feel that towards the end my focus did improve.

self targets- improve my focus by practicing different techniques.

self homework- do research on my characters demograpahic profiles so i have more material to base my movements/words in scenes on.