25/2/16

In this lesson we blocked the prologue to the tinman scene.

I think blocking these scenes really helped my character develop as a lot occurs that bases her emotions for the rest of the show, this script says Dorothy is 13 however going through the script I think she's a lot more mature than that so I have applied this to how I execute her and what she says. This makes it easier to interact with the other characters otherwise my character just looks a bit stupid compared to the others. Dorothy is a very emotional character by this I mean how her moods easily change this will be because she is younger but also a stereotypical girl, to add to this with the other characters she has a different relationship with each of them so these progress as well as they go through different obstacles. I like to write down all the blocking as when I learn my lines I can consider what movements I'm making which will influence the way I say my line as well as using the lines to remember the movement and vice versa.

In this rehearsal I feel that my strengths were focus, when blocking I like to get things done quickly so that we can then perfect it. My weaknesses in this rehearsal were probably not knowing my lines and as a result couldn't perform the scenes to my best potential, I also could have given more ideas within this rehearsal. To improve these I will start to learn my lines I will do this by going through them everyday for a couple of hours until Easter holidays so then I can concentrate on the scene itself as well as inputting ideas.  

Dance 23/2

In this lesson we did work on the practitioners DV8.

Targets: I think that are strengths were working as a team to create the material, I think we needed to improve on our focus and timing with one another because we had changed it last minute it went slightly wrong so everyone lost their focus and it wasn't as effective so to improve this we need to make sure we practice it exactly as it is going to be so nothing goes wrong in the performance we will be able to do this when doing numbers in the wiz.

Dance 9/2

In this lesson we did a warm up and rehearsed and change the number Y'all got it.

In Y'all got it we slightly changed it nearer the end so that it was more choreographed and not too messy, so we put more postioning within it as well as a lift.

In this number I will be in it both on Cast as Dorothy and off cast as an Ozian so in this lesson I focussed on learning the off cast part as I hadn't done it as much as Dorothy. As an Ozian their main focus within this number is to adore the Wiz and be able to get his attention as if he is this huge superstar, because to an Ozian he is so I incorporated this into my movements so that they were more characterised. However even though that is their main focus they also are having a party of sorts so having fun is also a big input to this number because it is a celebration.

In one section the friends act as a barrier to Dorothy and The Wiz from the Ozians as we try to get to them like fangirls, I really like this bit as not only does it show the relationship between The Wiz and his people but between Dorothy and her friends which is really effective. This also shows the journey that they've taken and how the friends would do anything to protect Dorothy.

Once I learnt the Ozian section I then taught Jess the Dorothy section, This was quite easy as Jess picked it up quickly and the Dorothy section isn't too complicated. There are certain sections within this dance that are characterised improvisation for Dorothy so we discussed the kind of things that we could do and came up with that we were presenting the Wiz in a way as if we were his glamorous assistant as it worked with the song as well as the relationship between Dorothy and The Wiz.

In this lesson I think that I did well on teaching Jess the other section and one of my strengths would be characterisation, my weakness would be remembering the changes and new section to improve this I will come and rehearse in lunch times for the next fortnight until I have got it down. Overall I think that this number is going really well and will be really good once we have practised it more.

Wiz 11/2/16

In this lesson we just continued to work/read through our scripts and then the second half of the lessons we blocked the prologued with Liam whilst the others started the crow number.

Blocking the prologue helped my develop my character as I found out that she is quite unsure of herself and very self conscious, so I could then show this through the scene. I like that she is like this at the beginning as it really shows her development and journey she has taken by the end of the show and how her confidence has improved. I wrote down a lot of things Liam said so that when I go over my lines I can use them to influence how i portray the lines/scene.

In this scene my character clashes with the other characters as it is like a parent/child bicker until nearer the end of the scene where she realises the things that Aunt Em is doing is only in her best interest which then makes her even more conflicted through the story as she doesn't know what she wants.

In this lesson I feel my strengths were being adaptable to any suggestions and suggesting ideas. My weaknesses were getting into character quicker I think that once I learn my lines which I will do by reading the script and my scenes a few times a week I will find it easier to slip into character.

Wiz 9/2/16

In this lesson we did some character exercises, we then allocated people for certain sections within the show like chorus and then we read through the script.

I found that character exercises were quite hard as we had to walk in character and as Dorothy is a average teenage girl it was difficult to create a walk that differentiated her from the others however eventually I created a walk in which I wanted to be for my Dorothy which was more upbeat as she is determined to meet the Wiz. Once I had my walk and mannerisms for Dorothy it was a lot to easier making decisions on how she would interpret things and situations and how she would show her emotions with body language.

With the allocating the people it worked well as we really thought about the year 13s different strengths and then put them with a group. I have the number Rejoice for this I have the majority of the cast I have many ideas for this number. I really like the Rejoice number not just because its a large group number but as its very lively and largely dance based which is one of my strengths so im excited to choreograph that.

Lastly reading the script was fun and really effective as it helped everyone understand the storyline more fully and get into character more as they could see where their characters were going. I like this version of the Wizard of Oz as it is more exciting and the songs are more sassy, entertaining and modern.

My strengths of this lesson were making decisions, coming up with ideas and characterisation. My weaknesses were my accent and even though I said characterisation was a strength it was also a weakness as I found it quite hard but I still improved throughout the lesson to improve these i will practice my accent going the script a few times a week and do more research on my character.

Dance 2/2

In this lesson we had Bu and Jordy do their presentation on Frantic Assembly.

I learnt that Frantic Assembly are more physical theatre based than dance and that they try to make things feel more contemporary by taking old stories and making them newer.

Frantic are known for Chair Duets, Chair duets are usually use three beats which can either be basic or complex depending on the scene or atmosphere. They aim to create thrilling, engaging and enthralling theatre for all ages and have high energy.

We then did a chair duet activity in pairs, this was fun as it was based on conflict, Megan and I based it on between a police officer and a criminal to give it different dynamics.

I really liked doing chair duets and I think that they are really effective within physical theatre or theatre in general as they add a different element to it, I think when we performed it Megan and I did well on our coordination but really need to improve on our energy and focus to do this we need to try and not laugh when performing.

Wiz - 4/2/16

In this lesson we started by going through different ideas everyone had for set with like actual set and colour themes for each section. This was good as we got to hear everyone's different ideas and how we all envisioned scenes to look. For the colours we came up with :

• Munchkins  - Pink, orange and yellows.
• Addapearl -  Royal blue
• Scarecrow - earthy colours and tones
• Tinman - Silver
• Lion - Sand/beige
• Wiz/Emerald city folk - Metallic emerald greens
• Evileene - Dark green and dark purple
• Glinda - Pink and Gold
• Poppies - Red
• Crows - Black
• Monkeys - orange/brown

After allocating colours we could then focus on specific elements like costume and set as we knew the colour schemes.

For set we felt that for emerald set it is mainly going to be metallic/sparkly/shiny green set/furniture to give it the wow factor that it is meant to have. For the Wiz max came up with the idea that we should have a piece of set like a board on wheels and project "The Wiz" on and then when the song starts it turns and the actual Wiz is there so either Max or Jordy, we all like this idea as it would be effective as well as easy for us to get off and on.

For Kansas we decided that it would mainly be projected set as it is going to have to have a fast transition for when the tornado arrives. The scarecrow would mainly be projection screen, a few hay bales and a metal stand in which the scarecrow can stand on.

We then decided overall as a suggestion that we have wheel bases and then we change the bits of set upon the wheels so the set firstly takes up less room but also so that the transitions are smoother and more professional.

The Tinman would just have a few random items in which would be found in a scrap yard like tyres and metal frames as well as having a projected screen to make the supposed scrap yard to look bigger. For the Lion we only need one or two physical trees as the rest can be projected this not only gives us more space to perform but the projection will help the audience envision it more clearly and help them get into the mood of the scene. Lastly for Evilene, she is going to have a dragon for her entrance to represent her evilness as well as her status within the storyline, this will probably be made from chicken wire or something similar and wheeled on.


After break we then got given a rough copy of one of the scenes as the script hasn't arrived the scene were given was the one in which Dorothy arrives in Oz and meets the Munchkins and Addapearl. We read through it and then Jade and I had to direct the others and block it how we would like it to look and go. As we went through we wrote down on our script different ideas and movements we ended up doing.

After we went through it we then performed it and liam filmed it.
My strengths of this I think were picking up the movement that we were blocking quickly and coming up with ideas.
My weaknesses were that I kept losing my accent to improve this I will practice the accent a few times a week and watch things which include the accent so that I get used to it.