Clay representing James who became a skinhead - In scene 9, we all march in unison in the middle of the stage whilst repetitively chanting the word "skinhead" in a loud tone of voice. After this, Clay merges away from the cluster we have created on centre stage and says his lines in the character of James who is now a skinhead. I believe that this moment was excellent as he powerfully and passionately projected his voice to produce a momentous monologue that described in detail James' change from what he was before. After this monologue, he then gets into a fight at school but askes for it, as if he wanted it. In order for Clay to successfully act out this role, he needed to learn how to stage fight and I think he definitely learnt what to do to make the fight on stage look realistic.
The opening of the play - As soon as scene 1 commenced, we all merged from two sides of the door and walked on stage at level 1 speed. Whilst doing this, we pretended to write our names with our noses in slow motion to show that we were analysing our surroundings as thoroughly as we could. I believe that this moment in the play was successful as it created a silent and tense atmosphere; you could hear a pin drop whilst the opening happened! A poise was created on purpose in order to add to the silent atmosphere formed which contributed to the feel we were trying to create at the very beginning. We all worked as an ensemble very well and that's what helped us do the opening successfully.
The ending - At the ending, James' mum has just been murdered by James. This is acted out by the female cast of the play being beaten up by the male cast whilst screaming. Eventually, all of the female cast that represent James' mum will be on the floor with James (the male cast) hovering over them crouched down. After this has happened, everyone on the stage falls dead silent whilst frozen. I believe this moment in the play worked extremely well as it created tension and suspense on stage and within the audience. Whilst being frozen without any sound on stage, it adds to the dramatic and gothic effect and atmosphere we were trying to create on stage. It allowed the audience to absorb the still image we had formed and take in and understand what had just happened. If we were to change scenes too quickly, it wouldn't have been as effective and successful. I believe we effectively did this moment in the play quite well and worked sensibly and maturely about this scene as a group.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU COULD IMPROVE YOUR REHEARSAL PROCESS IN THE NEXT UNIT? (LEARNING LINES EARLIER/BEING MORE PREPARED/ MAKING BOLDER CHARACTER CHOICES ETC):
In order to improve my rehearsal process to make sure I'm ready for the next unit, I will make sure I rehearse more at home by reassuring myself that I'm confident with my lines and movement. I will get people I know to evaluate me and see what their ideas might be and use their constructive criticism to better my acting. I will allocate at least 15 minutes everyday to reassure myself that I know what my lines and movements are. If I was to spend too much time on it, my lines and movement will feel more like a routine than a piece of theatre: I don't want to lose the feel and emotion within the piece by over-rehearsing it.
DISCUSS IN DETAIL A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WERE IN THAT YOU THINK REALLY WORKED:
Scene 13 - Scene thirteen was a scene where we spread across the stage on our knees and said scene 13 in unison as a chorus. This scene described James' feelings and emotions towards the death of his beloved granddad who was a father figure to him. Within this scene was powerful imagery created with a collection of words and phrases used to describe what he was thinking in his head. I believe that this moment really worked as this was the longest moment in the play where we all said lines collectively and worked together to make sure it worked. No one went too fast and no one went too slow; we all worked together as a cast to ensure it was successful. This moment showed how we worked together to make things a success; we all performed as one body in this scene and it was highly successful.
Saying lines in unison which everyone in the cast is quite a tough challenge - especially if what you're saying is long! However, I believe we tackled it well and gave it our best when saying these lines altogether. Whilst we projected them, we helped each other along the way by making sure we were all at the same pace and speed and guided each other with what the lines were. It's important to help your fellow peers when you have to worked as one so that you all can be successful in the outcome of it. In this particular scene, we all were one body and I believe it worked very well.
DISCUSS IN DETAIL A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WEREN'T IN THAT YOU THINK REALLY WORKED:
DISCUSS IN DETAIL A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WEREN'T IN THAT YOU THINK REALLY WORKED:
In the other classes play, they had to share different characters between them. For example, about 4/5 people played the role of the judge. I thought that worked rather well as their transitions were smooth, slick and clear whilst not making it obvious that they were about to change roles. Everyone who was a judge helped each other out by supporting each other when transitioning and always picked up right from where the previous judge who was on stage left off. This worked well as it allowed the play to flow successfully; it didn't massively hinder anyone's acting and it involved them working together to make sure everything ran smoothly. Prior to the fact that the judge plays a predominant and significant role within the play, it was crucial that they made sure the transitions between different judges was well done.
Transitions in a play can definitely create lulls. However, the other class made sure that there were as very few lulls as possible within their play by always trying to maintain character - no matter what they were doing. They rally helped each other out and supported one another with a crucial thing to do when working in the performing arts industry.
WRITE ABOUT ANOTHER ACTOR IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WERE IN THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS EXCELLENT - WHAT DID THEY DO TO MAKE THEIR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENT?:
Sam Johnson - In scene 8, Sam played the part of when James was morphing into a skinhead. From doing previous research on skinheads in class, I've come to learn that the culture of a skinhead can be quite mature and intense when it comes to some of the things they do and believe. In this play, James turns into a racist skinhead as later on in the play, you see him do the nazi salute at school. I believe Sam tackled this role in a very mature way by being sensible when portraying James' views and was committed to his role by being open minded. He showed emotion through the way in which he spoke and his body language (a loud and threatening voice with strong clenched fists and broadening his shoulders) which demonstrated he knew what he was doing. Sam also directed scene 3, organised rehearsals outside of our allocated theatre time and always contributed useful ideas to the play. One thing I've learned from Sam is to always be bold when acting and to never hold back; I should always give it my all.
DISCUSS A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WERE IN THAT YOU THINK DIDN'T WORK - WHY MIGHT THIS HAVE BEEN?:
At the end of our play, we are all supposed to get up and scream in unison whilst walking around the room. However, I thought that sometimes the scene wasn't performed to its highest standard by everybody. Some people held back whilst some really went for it. I believe this might have happened because some people may have been confused as to why they were screaming (unaware of their objective) whilst some people knew exactly what was happening which overshadowed those who may have been confused. Others were confused as to when to get up or when to sit down meanwhile others knew exactly what to do next. In order to make sure this doesn't happen again, we must make sure that everyone knows what their objective is (apply skills we learnt from the first unit we did) and be certain that everyone is on the same page and is acting to their full potential. In order to learn from our mistakes, we must acknowledge them, move on and better ourselves! However, overall, we did outstandingly well performing the play and I'm proud and honoured to be working with such committed and talented peers.
DISCUSS A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WEREN'T IN THAT YOU THINK DIDN'T QUITE WORK - WHY MIGHT THIS HAVE BEEN?:
In the other theatre group, Sade was one of the judges. She projected her lines really well by speaking in a loud voice with clarity which made it easier for the audience to hear her. However, I feel that she didn't fulfil her role as a judge well as she just seemed to be saying her lines without enough emotion. Sch seemed to be holding back and not use opportunities given to her in her scenes to perform to her best. On the contrary, she may have just been shy to act in front of my theatre class and Mr Warden prior to the fact he is the headteacher of The BRIT School. Nonetheless, this shouldn't hinder Sade's performance as it should make her want to work harder and perform better. Sade did act well; I just believe she could've pushed herself harder as we all should be doing when we're acting.
SET YOURSELF THREE SPECIFIC TARGETS FOR NEXT TERM E.G. IMPROVE SPELLING IN WRITTEN WORK, CONTRIBUTE MORE IN LESSONS:
1. Do my blog work the night that it is set - this will help me to keep on track with all my theatre work and not be behind.
2. Rehearse at home to always refresh my memory - this will make sure that I won't be unsure of any lines or movement that I have to remember for my next theatre class.
3. Think outside the box - this will allow me to explore different aspects of theatre more, contribute to the class creatively and develop as an actress.
Sam Johnson - In scene 8, Sam played the part of when James was morphing into a skinhead. From doing previous research on skinheads in class, I've come to learn that the culture of a skinhead can be quite mature and intense when it comes to some of the things they do and believe. In this play, James turns into a racist skinhead as later on in the play, you see him do the nazi salute at school. I believe Sam tackled this role in a very mature way by being sensible when portraying James' views and was committed to his role by being open minded. He showed emotion through the way in which he spoke and his body language (a loud and threatening voice with strong clenched fists and broadening his shoulders) which demonstrated he knew what he was doing. Sam also directed scene 3, organised rehearsals outside of our allocated theatre time and always contributed useful ideas to the play. One thing I've learned from Sam is to always be bold when acting and to never hold back; I should always give it my all.
DISCUSS A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WERE IN THAT YOU THINK DIDN'T WORK - WHY MIGHT THIS HAVE BEEN?:
At the end of our play, we are all supposed to get up and scream in unison whilst walking around the room. However, I thought that sometimes the scene wasn't performed to its highest standard by everybody. Some people held back whilst some really went for it. I believe this might have happened because some people may have been confused as to why they were screaming (unaware of their objective) whilst some people knew exactly what was happening which overshadowed those who may have been confused. Others were confused as to when to get up or when to sit down meanwhile others knew exactly what to do next. In order to make sure this doesn't happen again, we must make sure that everyone knows what their objective is (apply skills we learnt from the first unit we did) and be certain that everyone is on the same page and is acting to their full potential. In order to learn from our mistakes, we must acknowledge them, move on and better ourselves! However, overall, we did outstandingly well performing the play and I'm proud and honoured to be working with such committed and talented peers.
DISCUSS A MOMENT IN THE PLAY THAT YOU WEREN'T IN THAT YOU THINK DIDN'T QUITE WORK - WHY MIGHT THIS HAVE BEEN?:
In the other theatre group, Sade was one of the judges. She projected her lines really well by speaking in a loud voice with clarity which made it easier for the audience to hear her. However, I feel that she didn't fulfil her role as a judge well as she just seemed to be saying her lines without enough emotion. Sch seemed to be holding back and not use opportunities given to her in her scenes to perform to her best. On the contrary, she may have just been shy to act in front of my theatre class and Mr Warden prior to the fact he is the headteacher of The BRIT School. Nonetheless, this shouldn't hinder Sade's performance as it should make her want to work harder and perform better. Sade did act well; I just believe she could've pushed herself harder as we all should be doing when we're acting.
SET YOURSELF THREE SPECIFIC TARGETS FOR NEXT TERM E.G. IMPROVE SPELLING IN WRITTEN WORK, CONTRIBUTE MORE IN LESSONS:
1. Do my blog work the night that it is set - this will help me to keep on track with all my theatre work and not be behind.
2. Rehearse at home to always refresh my memory - this will make sure that I won't be unsure of any lines or movement that I have to remember for my next theatre class.
3. Think outside the box - this will allow me to explore different aspects of theatre more, contribute to the class creatively and develop as an actress.
I've enjoyed doing this unit so much and cannot wait for term 4 to start the other unit!
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