Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Evaluation of Performances
The first performance at Broadwater CofE primary school was very successful. The staging was smaller than we anticipated however we adapted to it well and pulled through. With the children there we found that it was easier to have a lot of energy and make everything bigger and bolder because it drew a reaction, we also felt better whilst performing because they would actually laugh at the majority of our jokes showing that we had done our research well and that our performance did appeal to the target audience.
I felt that a lot of the movement sections in which we went in to the audience worked well as it was quite a large hall, this also meant it was a challenge, as we were used to smaller spaces. Therefore, I think that we did well with this, as the kids seemed to love it, so it showed that our last minute ideas to add in sections, where we went into the audience, was a good decision.
Overall this performance went extremely well, my personal strengths for this performance were my energy and my enthusiasm, my weaknesses would be speaking too fast and balance. To improve these for future purposes practice my dialogue slowly going through where to add pauses and inflection and to improve the other make sure all freeze frame positions are sensible, to be standing in for a while.
Our second performance at college was also very successful, but in a completely different way. Within this performance, a lot more of the comedy was noticed due to our audience being older, therefore they understood the adult humour within our piece.
To add to this, we were used to this staging more, so I think that we felt more confident in our own theatre, because of this I feel that we all felt we could be bigger with our movements to make it more over the top. Also we could include the wheel barrow within it as there was more room, this meant that the gnome scene was more visual and effective, which would appeal to our target audience.
Overall this performance was good, I think that the added use of lighting, smoke effects and music really helped everyone get more into the performance and made the overall performance more fun and interesting, which appeals to our target audience. My personal strengths for this performance was use of space, energy and focus, my weaknesses would be even though my focus was good I could still improve on my corpsing as well as my stamina. To improve these I could practice the particular scenes that get me laughing, so that I get used to the things that make me laugh and improve my stamina by doing more exercises.
I think that it was really effective doing these two performances as they contrasted nicely in different ways. I think that with the children the performance was louder and silly in a comical way, whereas the college performance was still funny and upbeat, but in a more mature tone. To add to this the contrast in performance spaces really made you think as a performer, what I mean by this, is when we on the smaller stage you had to think about how to make your performance big and lively, even in the small space so by making your gestures bigger or your voice louder. Also with the change of space, we had to change how we did the sections in which we went into the audience, as we had different styles of seating, which meant we had to perform more up and out at the college performance, but more down and out with the children.
Overall I think that both performances went really well and that our research had shown that our performance did appeal to our young target audience and did work well as a performance on its own.
Lesson 24 - 10/12/15
10/12/15
To improve the overall performance :
Today we did a tech run through.
Things that I can have been improved:
- I need to learn the order more confidently so that my performance becomes more fluent I can improve this by writing the order down from memory and what each section entails for my character.
- I need to learn my narrators lines so that i can execute them with more dynamics and inflection to appeal to our target audience more.
- I need to add more music in certain scenes to make the performance more fun and upbeat to get this done go over with megan.
- I need to interact with the audience more to make it appealing for the target audience, to do this practice delivering the lines to friends or family.
- I need to improve my focus within scenes so that I do not corpse or get distracted within a scene to improve this I will make sure that I am prepared and in the zone.
To improve the overall performance :
To improve overall we need to develop our transitions between scenes for example between the spaceship and the cave scene, to do this we need to keep walking through the order so that everyone knows it as a result the piece would be more fluent and the goings on within the storyline will be clearer which suits our target audience as they are of a younger age, therefore the fluidity and structure will appeal to them because they need to be able to understand to enjoy our performance.
To add to this we need to improve our use of audience interaction like when someone asks them a question, for example the gnome scene, to do this we need to discuss which sections will involve this more dynamically and which just need more to improve the atmosphere making it extra lively. This will appeal to our target audience as they are stereotypically known to enjoy things that are more high energy and upbeat therefore it will keep their attention. This links with the last improvement which is enthusiasm, which is lacking in the piece and needs to be lifted due to it being boring for the children therefore them not being intrigued, to improve this we just need to be well rested and make sure that we pace ourselves within the performance.
Lesson 23 - 8/12/15
Lesson - 8/12/15
Today we had to come in at 9 am so that we could do production roles form 9-11 so that we could then do a full run through from 11 onward.
Megan and I had already sorted out all the music so we were helping out with props, within this session I finished the pirate flag, made the fishing rod and fish for the gnomes and helped with the sides of the pirates ship. Getting these done will help because we will be able to fit in everything so our performance is much smoother and everyone knows what they are doing.
We then decided to add the new narration sections so that it all made sense otherwise it would confuse our target audience as they are of a younger age, I had written part of my the narration so we just had to slot it in so that the performance ran smoothly. To add to this we created a new opening as the dentist scene did no longer fit within the story line so we decided to change it, we now have Megan narrating and introduce different characters this then gives the performance a more clearer start and makes it have a stronger structure.
In this new scene we included three physical theatre actions these were; a roller coaster, synchronised swimming and the can can. These worked effectively as we could include a range of sound scapes and make the beginning more upbeat and entertaining, with these ideas we decided that on the roller coaster it should go around the audience to create more energy within the scene, this helps the overall performance as it gets the audience really enthusiastic and therefore makes them want to see the rest of the show.
Another thing we decided was that within the jungle scene that when Bu came in she came in as her mum character hovering to show how she can change into the game by using her imagination this enhances our theme and reminds the audience of our storyline as well as adding elements of comedy into it. These elements are also reprised again when we all join in to the bad singing of In the jungle the mighty jungle this also adds song into our performance giving a break from just acting it also gives people who are playing trees more to do within the scene.
Overall the improvements have really helped developed our performance overall and it now appeals more to our target audience by make the piece more lively. My strengths of today were finishing the props and adapting my lines to fit with the narration as well as learning my narration, to improve learn my cues better I can do this by writing down each scene with each cue.
Today we had to come in at 9 am so that we could do production roles form 9-11 so that we could then do a full run through from 11 onward.
Megan and I had already sorted out all the music so we were helping out with props, within this session I finished the pirate flag, made the fishing rod and fish for the gnomes and helped with the sides of the pirates ship. Getting these done will help because we will be able to fit in everything so our performance is much smoother and everyone knows what they are doing.
We then decided to add the new narration sections so that it all made sense otherwise it would confuse our target audience as they are of a younger age, I had written part of my the narration so we just had to slot it in so that the performance ran smoothly. To add to this we created a new opening as the dentist scene did no longer fit within the story line so we decided to change it, we now have Megan narrating and introduce different characters this then gives the performance a more clearer start and makes it have a stronger structure.
In this new scene we included three physical theatre actions these were; a roller coaster, synchronised swimming and the can can. These worked effectively as we could include a range of sound scapes and make the beginning more upbeat and entertaining, with these ideas we decided that on the roller coaster it should go around the audience to create more energy within the scene, this helps the overall performance as it gets the audience really enthusiastic and therefore makes them want to see the rest of the show.
Another thing we decided was that within the jungle scene that when Bu came in she came in as her mum character hovering to show how she can change into the game by using her imagination this enhances our theme and reminds the audience of our storyline as well as adding elements of comedy into it. These elements are also reprised again when we all join in to the bad singing of In the jungle the mighty jungle this also adds song into our performance giving a break from just acting it also gives people who are playing trees more to do within the scene.
Overall the improvements have really helped developed our performance overall and it now appeals more to our target audience by make the piece more lively. My strengths of today were finishing the props and adapting my lines to fit with the narration as well as learning my narration, to improve learn my cues better I can do this by writing down each scene with each cue.
Sunday, 13 December 2015
Lesson 22 - 3/12/15
Lesson - 3/12/15
Aim - reflect on ten minute direction lesson, full run through - compare the two
In this Lesson we did another run through.
From the run through we decided that the story needs narration otherwise it will get to confusing for our audience who are of a younger age so getting the concept is quite important. To add to this we need to add specific goals to each section so that each story has a structure and a moral to it this will benefit not only us the actors but the audiences understanding and the story in general. To add to this we decided that we should start with the end pose and then start from the beginning to make the beginning more official and give the performance a good flow and circular structure.
In the performance we need to improve referring directly to the audience more so they feel more included which will appeal to our young target audience as they like to feel involved and important. We also need to improve the links within the scenes otherwise the story line is corrupted and does not make sense.
I decided that it was a good idea that i wasn't a cave woman anymore so i had more time to get ready for the misunderstood creature section also it gave Megan a better part within this scene, this was an effective choice as it helped develop my Jelliostroth character as I had to think of an entrance/ how it would enter as well as it gave me more time to get into my character.
Within the jungle scene the use of sound scapes worked effectively making the scene more dynamic and interesting it also gave the scene more imagery which appeals to our target audience as they have very big imaginations this also links to the theme of our performance.
We decided to split the performance into 4 sections with four different narrators, I was chosen to narrate from after Gorilla Island to the last pirate section. This was a good idea as it helped add anything in that couldn't be shown through acting or didn't fit this appeals to the target audience because it makes it simple.
Targets:
I need to finish and add music into the scenes to make the performance more fun and upbeat to make it more entertaining for the target audience I need to do this by next lesson. I also need to write my narration sections so that we can change them or develop them if we need to, this also needs to be done by next lesson.
Aim - reflect on ten minute direction lesson, full run through - compare the two
In this Lesson we did another run through.
From the run through we decided that the story needs narration otherwise it will get to confusing for our audience who are of a younger age so getting the concept is quite important. To add to this we need to add specific goals to each section so that each story has a structure and a moral to it this will benefit not only us the actors but the audiences understanding and the story in general. To add to this we decided that we should start with the end pose and then start from the beginning to make the beginning more official and give the performance a good flow and circular structure.
In the performance we need to improve referring directly to the audience more so they feel more included which will appeal to our young target audience as they like to feel involved and important. We also need to improve the links within the scenes otherwise the story line is corrupted and does not make sense.
I decided that it was a good idea that i wasn't a cave woman anymore so i had more time to get ready for the misunderstood creature section also it gave Megan a better part within this scene, this was an effective choice as it helped develop my Jelliostroth character as I had to think of an entrance/ how it would enter as well as it gave me more time to get into my character.
Within the jungle scene the use of sound scapes worked effectively making the scene more dynamic and interesting it also gave the scene more imagery which appeals to our target audience as they have very big imaginations this also links to the theme of our performance.
We decided to split the performance into 4 sections with four different narrators, I was chosen to narrate from after Gorilla Island to the last pirate section. This was a good idea as it helped add anything in that couldn't be shown through acting or didn't fit this appeals to the target audience because it makes it simple.
Targets:
I need to finish and add music into the scenes to make the performance more fun and upbeat to make it more entertaining for the target audience I need to do this by next lesson. I also need to write my narration sections so that we can change them or develop them if we need to, this also needs to be done by next lesson.
Lesson 20 - 26/11/15
First run video analysis:
At the beginning I think that we need to add a song or something to emphasize the start of the piece so its more official for our target audience. I thought that the dynamics within the first dentist scene were effective and made the first scene come to life more which as a result draws the attention of the audience which is what we want to do. However when we do the sponge-bob song I feel that we should make the ending sharper to show the real contrast of when Grandad is controlling us/our imagination and when he isn't this also adds more dynamics and makes it more professional. When Grandad is choosing what the last pair do I thought that the macarana worked well so when we do it to make sure that it is a upbeat action to keep the piece entertaining it also adds elements of comedy which appeals to our target audience of 5, 6 and 7 year olds.
Within the football scene I liked how the audience members grouped at one side because it made it resemble a audience type of group more, although when Grandpa falls the group need to freeze quicker so all attention is on Grandad. Next is the space ship scene I think that the physical theater of the ship works well and really shows imagination enhancing our theme, anyhow I think that when we disperse into asteroids that we should do it a bit longer before we stagger off as I think that it happens to fast and may be confusing for our audience.
In the Frozen concert Timmy(Ash) needs to be more obvious when he is announcing/creating the different characters as I feel it is not clear enough and would then confuse our audience. To add to this we need to clean or change the transition to the realistic cave scene as it is messy and isn't well structured.After this is the misunderstood creature scene within this I just had personal improvements which were to try not to laugh at myself and keep in character throughout also to tone down my creature noises when Megan is talking so that what she is saying is clearer,the rest of this scene i thought ran well.
The next scene was the gorilla Island scene, I felt that this scene went okay however was a bit chaotic as people were confused with cues and who was doing what, to improve this we need to make clear who is turning into gorillas and on what the exact cues are this will make the comedy elements in the scene more effective and obvious. Within the Fairy scene the only things i felt needed improving was to elongate the I do believe in Fairies part as it was quite rushed and I felt that we could make more of it and the audience participation as it appeals to our target audience.
The start of Pirate section was good as the physical theater movements worked effectively really adding imagery to the piece making it more fun for the target audience, the characterization was also quite good within the Pirate scene, however we need a more specific cue to freeze when Timmy leaves the pirate ship as everyone freezes at different times and its quite messy. In the under the sea scene they just needed to sort out spacing as they were quite closed off to the audience and if they cant see out target audience will lose interest or start talking as they are younger and have short attention spans, to add to this they also just need to make it more official that they win the competition and who announces it. The Mermaid scene was good but The mermaids just need come further down stage as their dialogue is key to the story line and is lost when they are that far back, the only other thing for this section was that the octopus needs to calm down when the mermaids are talking otherwise it distracts the attention away from the mermaids.
The beginning of the Gnome scene was effective as it was quite funny which will appeal to the target audience, we just need to sort out what questions we are going to ask Timmy so that we don't take too much time or blank also need to make the props for the gnomes but mime also works for the scene.
Lastly we just need to improve the transition back into the dentist scene as it is messy and confusing and we don't want to lose it right at the end, the poem at the end is good as it ties it all together as well as being fun which appeals to our young target audience and then the final position is effective as it signifies the ending making it clear we are at the end.
In the Frozen concert Timmy(Ash) needs to be more obvious when he is announcing/creating the different characters as I feel it is not clear enough and would then confuse our audience. To add to this we need to clean or change the transition to the realistic cave scene as it is messy and isn't well structured.After this is the misunderstood creature scene within this I just had personal improvements which were to try not to laugh at myself and keep in character throughout also to tone down my creature noises when Megan is talking so that what she is saying is clearer,the rest of this scene i thought ran well.
The next scene was the gorilla Island scene, I felt that this scene went okay however was a bit chaotic as people were confused with cues and who was doing what, to improve this we need to make clear who is turning into gorillas and on what the exact cues are this will make the comedy elements in the scene more effective and obvious. Within the Fairy scene the only things i felt needed improving was to elongate the I do believe in Fairies part as it was quite rushed and I felt that we could make more of it and the audience participation as it appeals to our target audience.
The start of Pirate section was good as the physical theater movements worked effectively really adding imagery to the piece making it more fun for the target audience, the characterization was also quite good within the Pirate scene, however we need a more specific cue to freeze when Timmy leaves the pirate ship as everyone freezes at different times and its quite messy. In the under the sea scene they just needed to sort out spacing as they were quite closed off to the audience and if they cant see out target audience will lose interest or start talking as they are younger and have short attention spans, to add to this they also just need to make it more official that they win the competition and who announces it. The Mermaid scene was good but The mermaids just need come further down stage as their dialogue is key to the story line and is lost when they are that far back, the only other thing for this section was that the octopus needs to calm down when the mermaids are talking otherwise it distracts the attention away from the mermaids.
The beginning of the Gnome scene was effective as it was quite funny which will appeal to the target audience, we just need to sort out what questions we are going to ask Timmy so that we don't take too much time or blank also need to make the props for the gnomes but mime also works for the scene.
Lastly we just need to improve the transition back into the dentist scene as it is messy and confusing and we don't want to lose it right at the end, the poem at the end is good as it ties it all together as well as being fun which appeals to our young target audience and then the final position is effective as it signifies the ending making it clear we are at the end.
Lesson 21 - 1/12/15
In this lesson we were each given a scene to direct ourselves.
Jordy directed the space scene, for this he fixed up our physical theatre space ship section by making people turn into stars and planets, this made our scene more visual which appeals to our target audience. I think that this really improved the scene becuase it made the scene more relevant also it added more factual elements which really benefits our target audience.
Sam directed the rock scene, he changed it so that everyones characters wre announced he did this by getting ashley to say who is who as if he is creating the characters this as a result makes the scene clearer and more understandable which benefits our audience as they are of a younger age. I think that this works well as it adds more devising elements within the scene and make its more manageable for the actors. This change really impacted my character as it give her more of an importnace and reason to be there and not just an extra to fill room, it also gives me more to play off with what ashley says about my character.
Megan directed the misunderstood creature scene, in this she decided that she wanted all on stage to do the dance at the end so i had to teach it to everyone, including everyone within the dance gave the scene more energy giving the performance more dynamics. I liked including everyone in the dance as i feel that it makes the scene more fun for the audience but all in the scene as well.
BuBu directed the jungle scene, for this she also wanted everyone to have more of an involvement so when she mentioned gorillas the trees turned into gorillas for a second, this gives the scene more comedy which works well as our target audience like things and remember things that are funny. I liked this because it made the scene more entertaining. This change also gave my character more to do making my presence more effective and impacting on the scene.
Jess directed the Fairies scene, she decided that the trees could talk aswell to add more mythical elements so that it appeals to our audience more. She also decided to change around the song to we will rock you, she did this becuase firstly it is easier and more well know so therefore the kids will be able to join in, also it made it a lot more simpler this meant that everyone could join in better making it overall more effective. I like the change of song as I knew it better it is also more catchy, therefore the children can participate more.
Ash directed the transition into pirates from fairies, he decided to make it that it is timmys idea to leave the fairies, this worked the best as it shows the direction of the story more also it highlights how it is timmys imagination that is creating all of the story. He also decided that we should make everything bigger to keep the scene more interesting so it doesnt lose the high energy. I think that this was effective as it keeps the scene simple but effectual.
Max directed the Pirate scene, his overall choice was that the scene needed more set to then involve the mermaids more, he chose this as first of all it involved everyone but it also showed the location making it more understandable for the children it also made the scene more creative and fun which appeals to our target audience. I like the adding of set becuase it makes the scenes more sciting and captivating for our target audience, it impacts my character as well as it makes it more obvious of where she is from/who she is.
Olivia directed the mermaid scene, she decided to change around some of the dialogue within the scene becuase some of it didnt link, this makes the storyline more clear. After that she mainly just cleaned the scene so it was more slick making it more professional.
I directed the Dance off scene, For this I just wanted make the transition into it clear so that it wasnt confusing for the children. I then decided to clean the spacing so that they were more open towards the audience as they were quite closed making it hard for the audience to see. I also changed the ending slightly as it was rather random, I made so it was obvious they won as they were now a team this gives the scene a moral teaching the audience that working as a team is good.
The Gnome scene wasnt re directed as it was new so it was how everyone wanted also because it was so short there wasnt much to be changed. I like this scene as its quite simple and mainly comedy so its like a small break within the performance and is refreshing for the audience.
Jordy and Ash then directed the end scene, this consisted of us coming in pairs as our characters and bowing, they decided what order and what characters, this works well as it firstly gives a range of characters throughout and gives the kids reminders of what has occured within the performance.
Lesson 19 - 24/11/15
Lesson - 24/11/15
In this lesson we did a full run through and filmed in so that we could then do video analysis in the next lesson.
I felt that doing a full run through was really helpful because it really helped my knowledge of the order which then as a result helps improve the fluidity of the performance. To add to this it really highlighted to us that we needed to improve the transitions between scenes or at least develop them so that all the scenes fit together and make sense because if it is too confusing it wont appeal to our target audience who are of a younger age and if they don't understand they will lose interest which is something we do not want.
Throughout the run through i feel that my characters really developed as I could easily see where they were coming from, how they fit within the scenes and where their particular stories were going.
I think that most of my characters one way or another impact the scenes that they are involved in whether they help with the story line its self or just add more elements/dynamics to a scene, for example the Jelliostroth adds elements of comedy to the piece making it appeal more to our target audience as well add more movement aspects to the performance.
In this rehearsal i felt that my strengths were use of energy and focus, I showed these through keeping my enthusiasm up in a scene as well as keeping in character. My weaknesses for this lesson were knowing the order of the piece as it then affected how prepared I was for each scene whether it was words or props to improve this I need to write down the order how they link and what I need for each scene and go over it.
I think that the piece is progressing quite well and is really coming together, I think that once everyone is confident with the order and the final story line it will be stronger, I think that the piece will really develop once we include all our props and costumes as everyone will start to really get into character and the performance will become more upbeat and animated which appeals to our young target audience. Doing the full run through was really beneficial for production roles as it helped everyone be able to finalize everything within their role for example with a stable story line / structure to the piece, Megan and I were able to block the music to the performance and work out what sounds or music we still needed for the performance.
In this lesson we did a full run through and filmed in so that we could then do video analysis in the next lesson.
I felt that doing a full run through was really helpful because it really helped my knowledge of the order which then as a result helps improve the fluidity of the performance. To add to this it really highlighted to us that we needed to improve the transitions between scenes or at least develop them so that all the scenes fit together and make sense because if it is too confusing it wont appeal to our target audience who are of a younger age and if they don't understand they will lose interest which is something we do not want.
Throughout the run through i feel that my characters really developed as I could easily see where they were coming from, how they fit within the scenes and where their particular stories were going.
I think that most of my characters one way or another impact the scenes that they are involved in whether they help with the story line its self or just add more elements/dynamics to a scene, for example the Jelliostroth adds elements of comedy to the piece making it appeal more to our target audience as well add more movement aspects to the performance.
In this rehearsal i felt that my strengths were use of energy and focus, I showed these through keeping my enthusiasm up in a scene as well as keeping in character. My weaknesses for this lesson were knowing the order of the piece as it then affected how prepared I was for each scene whether it was words or props to improve this I need to write down the order how they link and what I need for each scene and go over it.
I think that the piece is progressing quite well and is really coming together, I think that once everyone is confident with the order and the final story line it will be stronger, I think that the piece will really develop once we include all our props and costumes as everyone will start to really get into character and the performance will become more upbeat and animated which appeals to our young target audience. Doing the full run through was really beneficial for production roles as it helped everyone be able to finalize everything within their role for example with a stable story line / structure to the piece, Megan and I were able to block the music to the performance and work out what sounds or music we still needed for the performance.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)