Devil in Drag

This play was performed by the other theatre class and I though it was both interesting and complicated. The play was performed with set and props unlike ours and it was very different.

I really enjoyed how we were welcomed to the play by having security check us and seat us, this made me feel already involved in the play and made it more exciting to watch. Also at the beginning all of the characters were introduced, this helped me and the audience understand who was who because in the play they did swap characters quite a lot.

I also really liked the comedy aspect of the play. Comedy is extremely difficult because you don't know if the audience are going to laugh and many people feel insecure, however I think they did it really well and it was natural not forced. I laughed a lot even though I sometimes didn't understand the Joke.

I was amazed to find out lots of the piece was improvised because it fitted well together and was very professional. The characters were portrayed excellently through body language and how they spoke. The boys who played girls didn't hold back the put all their energy into it, particularly Brinley who really portrayed his character well and was very believable because he never dropped his character. I also think the people playing the Duke were very well spoken and Katie really used her body to make herself look like her character.

The set was good because they used it to hide in and change between scene however to improve I think they could have used less set because when they were moving it around I did loose focus, or if they did keep it their transitions could be smoother. Their transitions were smooth when changing character an they found a very good way to swap costumes because I didn't see that happening. One thing I did notice was when Brinley was getting his wig bag, they could have done this more discretely because my attention was on them instead of the people on stage.


I found the story was quite confusing but I think they pulled it of very well because they had said it wasn't going to be any good. To improve this piece I think they needed slightly more time to rehearse and their transitions could have been smoother. I particularly enjoyed the ending when they got the audience to dance with them because it made the audience feel like part of the play and it made everyone happy at the end.

Evaluation

Discuss three moments in your play that you thought were excellent.

The first moment in the play that I thought was excellent was our entrance because it really set the scene for the audience and we were able to portray different objectives. There was a huge contrast between looking and hiding and the arm movement was performed together and tightly. I thought this was good because it gave the audience lots of changes in energy and many places to look. Also the arm movement was suggesting a salute and a fist which gave the audience an insight to what they play would be about.

I also believe that the fighting scene with Clay was really realistic and interesting to watch. All the hits were performed accurately so that clay looked like he was really being beaten and it grabbed the audiences attention. Also having the rest of the class watching as the fighting went on showed the audience that no one cared enough about 'James' to stop the bullies from hurting him so we can understand how alone he must feel.

The final scene I thought was really effective was when we were screaming and then the boys end up strangling the mums. I think this scene was really good because the girls transition from screaming to becoming the mum trying to comfort James changes really smoothly. Also I think the screaming really shocked the audience and the fact that James turned on his mother showed how his fathers violence, the bullying and the death of his Granddad really changed him and it also shows the audience how he became something he was not and didn't mean to do it.

How do you think you could improve your rehearsal process in the next unit?

To improve in the next unit I would learn my lines earlier on so that I would not need a script in my hand whilst rehearsing. I would also make sure the lunch time rehearsals were successful because when we called rehearsals lots of people didn't turn up so we didn't do anything. Another think I should have done is start wearing costume earlier because it gives you a reason and helps develop your character, I would also be more focused in lessons. Finally I would change my character in every rehearsal so I could find out in which way I wanted to play my objective by seeing what felt best.

Discuss in detail a moment in the play that you were in that you think really worked

I really think the moment where I was waling around the space and the school scene I was in really worked because it showed changes in energy. Having everyone talking and then go silent when I walked past them was really effective because there was a huge contrast and it really should how lonely James was. Then again there was a big burst of energy when it went into the school scene where I got injured. I think this really worked because their was a drastic change in atmosphere and the bullying I thought was really realistic. personally this scene worked for me because it did make me really get into the character and understand what James went through.



Discuss a moment in the play you weren't in that you think really worked

Due to our piece being an ensemble piece I was on stage throughout, however I am going to talk about a scene I wasn't really evolved in. I think the fighting scene with Clay, Dru and Danny really worked because the fighting was really clean and realistic. I think the audience found this moment really powerful because 'James' who they had seen put through so much was just trying to stand up for himself but in stead he got really hurt.


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?

I really think Clay performed extremely well in our play because he really took on his character and didn't hold back. In the rehearsals Clay seemed to be using the script a lot and not acting tough like James was supposed to be. However, as the weeks went by he really developed his character and knew his lines off by heart. In the performance his reaction to the fight scene were amazing (he really looked like he was being beaten up) and he really portrayed his hard man character by his body language and the way he spoke!!!

Discuss a moment in the play that you were in that you think didn't really work - why might this have been?

I don't think the granddad scene worked because we cut out some lines so it was quite hard to understand. Also everyone started coughing at different times and it was difficult for the gang members because lots of people were sitting in the way. I don't think this worked particularly well because we found it difficult to find a way to show the relationship between James and his Granddad so I think if we had spent more time on it it would have been better.

Discuss a moment in the play that you weren't in that you think didn't quite work - why might this have been?

I think that the bit in the play where jack is supposed to be a police officer and all of us were behind the jail door didn't work. I think this because Jack was in control enough, I think he should have been louder and more aggressive towards us to make us feel frighten. if he had made his character more powerful and acted like he was disgusted by us then I think it would have really worked.

Set yourself three specific targets for next term

• Learn my lines earlier so I don't need a script in rehearsal.
• Bring my costume in earlier so I can start to become the character.
• Be more focused in lessons and do more research on the character I am playing.

Evaluating our Performance

I think that our performance went really well and even better than it did in rehearsal, however I did think we rushed it a little at the beginning because our adrenaline was high. We all worked really well together, no one forgot their lines and all the physicality went really well, After listening to what the audience had to say I think they really enjoyed it, especially the scene where clay got beat up because they found it really realistic.

I really enjoyed the performance and did not let the fact that my braces broke distract me, I thought I could have waited a little longer before I said my lines because then the silence would have been even better, however I believe I would do that if we performed it again.

I think our class did an amazing job because no one lost character and we all worked really hard to make the play a success. Over the past few weeks I feel I have become really close to my theatre group and it has been great being able to work with different people, listen to each others ideas and work all together.

I really felt that the audience were engaged with our performance and didn't loose focus because the physical theatre we used was on point  and interesting to watch. The physical theatre I believe really made the performance because it made the piece quite abstract and unusual. I have learnt a lot about how effective physical theatre can be because I had never really use it before this performance.

The audience also commented on the use of multi role, I think that our transitions from one role to another were very smooth and also all the other transitions were good because I didn't feel my energy or anyone else's drop in the room. Doing this play has been a great experience because there were no individual parts so we got to work as a chorus and make the play work for us even though we had a lot of people in it.

I felt I was fully focused throughout the performance and I can understand how the games and exercises have helped me leading up to the performance. All the games we played were for a reason, they helped with our energy, our focus, spacial awareness, working as a group and many other things to help build the performance.

Looking at the grading criteria I believe I have achieved a Distinction because I believe I was able to perform with confidence and control. I think I was fully focused throughout the performance and I spoke with clarity and the physicality was on point. I think I used all the skills I have learnt in the past terms in my performance to make it more effective and exciting to watch. Finally I think I was able to interact with others on stage and be aware of them as well as communicating my intentions to the audience thorough my tone of voice and body language. 

To improve I think we should have learnt our lines better and been more focused during the earlier rehearsals because we started to run out of time. I also think I need to remeber to always have energy even if I am just watching something happen and if we did the play again I think it would have been great to do some of the scenes we cut out which we didnt do because we ran out of time so we wouldnt be able to do them in enough depth to be at the same standard as the rest of the performance.

I have really enjoyed performing this play and I believe I have been able to take direction well and I think the standard of acting in our performance was great. I look forward to performing it again to the other class and seeing how their performance went.

Last Lesson

This was the last lesson we had before our performance, in this lesson we ran through our piece from top to bottom in the space a few times.

This lesson we were mainly focused on perfecting the piece and getting rid of the lulls. The lulls of the piece was when energy was lost because the transition was bad or their was a long pause that had not been earned. This made the audience loose focus so we had make sure our transitions were quick and on point. However, we also learnt that some lulls could be earned, for example when everyone was talking as I walked around the space and then it turned to silence. At this moment I had earned the lull so before I began to speak I had to make sure it was completely silence so that I would have the audience focused on me, waiting for something to happen. I had to even wait until the squeak of the floor board from my shoe had been completed until I could begin my lines.

We also learnt that transitions are their to add to the performance not break it up, for example for one transition we had an overlap of lines, to add to the performance we needed to make sure this overlap was confident so that the lines could be heard and energy was not lost, when Danny was saying his line, and then the girls changed from screaming to trying to comfort James the overlap had to be slick and confident in order for the transition to be smooth.

Furthermore during this rehearsal we all had our costumes on. This was extremely helpful because it meant we were able to become the character more and it gave us a justification for what we were doing.

During the whole lesson we had to be focused, after break we lost focus which we shouldn't have done because it meant that we lost rehearsal time. We also learnt that when rehearsing and being directed we should not drop our characters and relax because it wastes time. If we drop our character then it takes time to get back into it and it is more complicated to take direction. In addition we learnt that during our performance we should not fidget because this draws the attention and focus away from what the audience are supposed to be looking at so if the braces break or your hair comes out you should just leave it and carry on with the performance.

Moreover, because we have been practising in our small drama room over the past few weeks we had to get used to the space and use it properly. We had to adapt the performance so that we did not have our backs to the audience and also adapt our voices so we could be heard. We had to 'learn the physics of the space' - this is what every actor has to do when performing somewhere so they know how to use their voice and body correctly according to the area they are performing in. Also when using our voice we should also remember not to throw away our last lines, we should sell them because even though the lines have ended it doesn't mean our acting should stop.

In this lesson I also learnt the difference between poise and pause because in quite a few peoples lines they were stopping in sentences when they should have looked like they were trying to continue the sentence. Pause is when you stop in a sentence and then carry it on, whereas poise is when you don't really stop the sentence because it looks like you are trying to carry it on. This is very useful for transitions and when a character is trying to say something they don't want to.

At the end of the lesson Sir gave us one more piece of advise he told us not to go crazy before the performance, he said we should be professional and save energy before the show so that we could give it 100%. We did some breathing exercises to calm us down, some tongue twisters and we also did this warm up where we would count from one to ten to ourselves feeling our mouth move, this was useful because it helped us with our articulation so during our performance we would speak with clarity. We also did these warm ups before we went on stage to calm our breathing and build up our energy. 

American History X

I decided to watch this film because it was mentioned in the play blackout saying that James watched it as well as other films like it. I know this film is set in America but I thought it would give me a better understanding of skinhead culture and James's character.

I found this film very interesting because the main character and James kind of related, both having a father who was very masculine and also not around for them. In American History X the father showed his views on black people which made the main character think of them in a different way to he originally did. Also because his father was killed, it meant like James, Derek wanted some masculinity and guidance in life therefore he decided to become a skinhead.

Trailer:

We can also see how skinheads acted towards blacks and how they were welcoming to younger members for example Daniel. The skinheads took advantage of Daniel because his brother was in jail and he didn't have anyone to turn to for help.

Furthermore it was interesting to see how something such as a fighting over a game of basketball could in later years turn to violence with guns and pure hatred. We can see the result of this at the end of the film when Daniel gets shot just because he told some black boys to stop beating somebody up. We can see how hatred has been passed on to the younger generation so that they will take action against each other.

I really felt that the character Daniel was very similar to James because he was trying to find his identity. Also near the end when he takes down all the posters from his bedroom, this was exactly what James did so it showed me how some skinheads can turn their lives around.

Like James's mother, the mother in American History X tried to keep her children safe, however it she wasn't always able to because she was overpowered and when they finally did leave the skinhead gang unfortunately Daniel still got shot because other people still felt hatred towards him and his family.

Plot summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_History_X

Common Ground Season

I did a big review on 13 but I would also like to talk about the other two plays I went to see.

Our Country's Good

I really enjoyed this play because it was exciting and interesting to watch. The acting was amazing because they were able to keep their characters throughout and I felt that the audience connected to their character. I really felt close to the slaves because they made the audience feel sorry for them by getting to know their characters better. I also liked that their were some funny elements to the play because it made it more enjoyable.

I especially liked the soldier that was drunk, he kept his character throughout the play and was very believable even though he didn't have many lines. Compared to the other plays I didn't like this one as much as the other two because I found that the scenes between the soldiers were lacking energy and I began to loose focus because the scene wasn't a chase scene.


100 Years

100 Years was the last play I went to see and it was a piece made up by the students. I really enjoyed the piece because it made me feel emotional and connected to all the character.

The beginning of the piece was really effective because it showed how people have different opinions about the war and how we can learn from each other. I really liked the pub scene because it showed a funnier side to the war and made me laugh. I also liked he bit where there were partners together and it showed how war effected them and their relationships.

The movement was all in unison during the soldier march and it made me realise how many people were involved in the war and how so many people died for our country. Finally I really liked the part when all the women were reading their letters and dancing with the jackets because it really showed the audience that many people lost their husbands and it showed how difficult it was.

The sound and lighting was really affective setting the atmosphere and all the movement performed was clean and exciting to watch.

Review of lesson (9-2-14)

In today's lesson we managed to finish the play and run it all the way through. We did scene 15 which cuts between James speaking in the jail cell to it actually happening, therefore we have two James'. We then have a transition from everyone acting drunk, to disorientated to fighting each other, this is happening around Danny who is explaining what happened. Then all the mums are attacked by the sons being strangled. We were contemplating of finishing the play here but we decided to use part of the last scene. We cut a couple of the scenes and then said part of scene 20 ending with us all saying blackout. 

Today's lesson was really fun because we got to run through the whole play and fix the things we weren't shore on. We also were able to practice in the space where we will be performing so we were able to get used to it because it is a lot bigger than the theatre rooms.

I am extremely excited and looking forward to performing next week.

We also planned our costume which will be:

Advert

Blackout! A new, modern, exciting play performed by year 10 theatre students. Blackout is the story of one young boy who becomes something he is not. Based on a real story, blackout gives an insight to the skinhead head culture and dangers of a young person trying to find their identity. IMAGINE! James has had a hard life, having to deal with Domestic violence, bullying and the loss of a family member, all he needs is someone to talk to and to listen but that is not available. Therefore he takes matters into his own hands which make things even worse. IMAGINE! James ends up in a jail cell and he doesnt know what he has done. Come watch us perform on Thursday 13th February so you can enter James's mind and life.

Blackout review

I recently went to see the play Blackout by the Year 10 theatre students. It was exciting and interesting to watch, filled with great techniques and physicality. All the actors are constantly on stage and their is never a blackout so you can watch it straight from start to finish with no interruptions.. 

Blackout is performed in the theatrical configuration thrust so that the physical theatre is clear and clarity is not lost. Whereas if it was performed in the round it might have been difficult to fully experience the extent of the actors physicality. Also the use of music helped the audience understand skinhead culture a lot better and it brought the scene to life.

The play was performed in an ensemble which enabled the actors to change roles easily and it showed that they were able to work well together to make the play a success. Having a ensemble meant that no one was important than the other because everyone played the main character and were able to quickly change characters, emotion and energy.

Locations were changed in the play quickly by adapting the body language of the character and also by changing the atmosphere, for example when the space transformed from a quiet home with a sofa made from actors to a loud and noisy school. Having the actors be able to change location quickly means that no set is needed so locations are determined by atmosphere and physicality.

As well as having no set the actors have also decide not to have any props. This shows the audience that the play is supposed to be simple and all of the attention should be on the actors.

Furthermore the play involves a narrator. This helps the audience understand what James is feeling inside because the actors may not be showing this through their movement. It also helps us understand the exact events that took place and what James used to do in the past.

The play also beaks Aristotle's three unities:

1. The unity of action
2. The unity of place
3. The unity of time

The unity of action is broken because Blackout goes off the story to get a better understanding, For example the play doesn't just talk about his crime it also talks about what made him do it and things that happened in the past to make him become a skinhead, therefore it does not follow one main action. Also action pauses and then other action takes place or someone speaks. 

Secondly Blackout breaks the unity of place because it moves quickly to different locations and the stage represents more than one place. The actors use the stage to represent, home, jail, school and other places by changing the atmosphere through movement and sound.

Finally it does not follow the unity of time because it does not take place over 24 hours. Blackout skips back in time to the past to see what he used to be like and how things affected him to make him who he is now. Then it skips forwards to the jail cell where he is presently at and this happens throughout the play.

To improve their performance cues need to be know so that their are not long silences and also transitions need to be perfected. The actors need to also make sure they know all their lines and  are able to say their lines in unison. However, overall it was a great play and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

What have I learnt about acting?

From being in this play I have learnt that transitions are extremely important because if you have a bad transition energy is lost and also the audience loose focus.

I have also learnt that body language and physicality is extremely important because actions can speak louder than words which can be seen through the physical theatre.

Furthermore I have experienced how difficult it can be working as an ensemble because it is difficult to keep everyone focused and make sure everyone learns their lines so that the play runs smoothly.

Finally I have learnt that energy should not be dropped in a play, you can have a silence but if it goes on to long then the play's energy is not consistent. If there is a long pause then we know movement should be taking place or lines need to be said so to make sure this doesn't happen, we need to make sure we all know our cues.

James

I decided to go through the play and record the key facts about James - (I got this idea off of Chloe Harris's blog.) I have highlighted the most important points.

• He is a young offender.
• He is from Glasgow.
• He has been to jail.
• He witnessed domestic violence - (Dad beat up his mum)
• His parents got divorced.
• His mum cared about him.
• He loved his granddad.
• His granddad got cancer.
• He lived on an estate.
• He didn't have many friends.
• He was bullied.
• He was shy, quiet and nerdy.
• He liked horror films.
• He read about serial killers.
• He became a skinhead.
• He wore Doc Martens, bomber jacket and braces.
• People thought he was a Psycho.
• He smoked.
• He listened to punk music.
• His granddad died.
• He was angry.
• He committed assault, arson and attempted murder.
• He took drugs.
• He nearly killed somebody.
• He got a 3 year probation sentence instead of 10 years in jail.
• He started to talk to people and got help.
• He got rid of his Nazi posters and Knives.
• He changed.

Techniques

Improvised sequence of gestures

In scene 14 we use this skill whilst Charlie and Courtney are saying their lines. We repeat the same 3 actions over and over again whilst kneeling on the floor. You can use any actions but the ones we use are:

1)clasp the hands together
2)Push hands along thigh towards knee
3)placing hands on the floor in front of you.

However instead of doing it altogether in exactly the same way we are allowed to personalise the gesture which show our emotions through how we do them. This is very simple but looks very effective because the movement changes and you can feel your own emotions so you don't have to copy everyone else. This represents James being confused and thinking about different things and have different thoughts. It is so simple but it draws the audience to what they are doing and I know this because they used it in 13 and it made me focus on everyone, not just the people who were speaking.

Frantic Assembly are a theatre group that creates pieces using movement, design, music and text. This is similar to our piece because they use a lot of physical theatre.

http://www.franticassembly.co.uk

Here are two of their trailers for their pieces:

These are two trailers for their pieces the first one like blackout flashes from past to future, it shows the couple when they are young and then way the are old similar to the play blackout because it flashes from the jail cell to his past life. Also at some points they are talking about themselves in the past which is similar t blackout because James remembers himself being bullied.

The second trailer little dogs I chose because they use lots of physical theatre and they also use improvised scenes of gestures for example when the girls fall they all do it differently. The pieces involves dance and movement as well as music which makes it similar to blackout because we dance to punk music and involve a lot of physical theatre.

Transition through emotions

We used this technique at the end of scene 12 when changing into a new scene. We begin by stepping back saying 'Don't Mum' and walking backward as Lauren walks toward us, at this stage we are starting to become upset. We then say 'Mum don't' taken another step back becoming more upset and angry. We then shout


'Don't!' dragging out the 'O' in 'don't'. We use this as an opportunity to become really upset and start crying and becoming angry with ourselves so we can go into the next scene which we speak in unison. This is a good transition because it shows James emotions and it is not sudden so you can see the anger and upset building up it doesn't just suddenly happen.

Transitions

Transitions are extremely important and they need to be seamless otherwise the play is broken and the audience loose focus. The above transition is good, however lots of our transitions need to be neater. Lots of the time people forget what they are supposed to be doing so the transition looks messy because it is being done at different times. One that needs to be better is when we are at the door and then we back away when jack comes to it, we are supposed to be walking backwards but still a few people walk forward ruining the transition. Also we need to work out better transitions between some of the scenes but I am sure we will work that out when we run the play all the way through.

Taking direction

Taking direction is something I think everyone has been doing very well in. I personally believe I am quite good at taking direction because I listen to what the director says and if I don't understand I ask him questions to make it clearer. Some people do forget what the director has said and do it differently however I prevent this by making notes on my script so that it can remind me what I am supposed to be doing, I would recommend other people do this because it really helps as well as looking at the physical script.

Scenes 4 - 15 ( 23rd & 30th January )

In the last 2 lessons we have made a huge amount of progress completing nearly all of the scenes with only five left to go. We have been focused throughout the lessons which is why we have managed to get lots more done.

In scene four and five I have been given quite a few lines and we have also added a bullying scene which I get to take part in. I think I have been focused throughout the past two lessons and now over the weekend I need to learn my lines.

I think the material has been great so far and it will look even better when the transitions are made smoother (I talk more about this in the techniques post), when we have all learnt our lines and the piece is polished. We are normally focused and keep high energy levels however sometimes when sir is directing a small group of people the class sometimes looses focus and leans on the curtains which is wasting time and making this more difficult to create.

We have added techniques such as stairs, movement, marching and unison which make the play interesting throughout. I think that we have all worked well together but so that we can work with full energy we all need to be off script by next week.

I think we are all aware of our other performers because we are all as important as one another so we all have to work together to make the play a success. We do quite a lot of physical theatre so we do need to be aware of what is going on around us and care for each other to prevent a fall or somebody getting hurt. For example when we are doing the stairs we have to make sure the right part of the back is stepped on and in the fighting we have to make sure we don't hurt each other. Also during Toby's lift everyone has to be careful and work together and even when just walking around the space we don't want people bumping into each other.

I believe that we all listened to sir and each others lines so that we new our cues and our blocking. Our vocal is good because it is loud and clear, however as I said before we do all need to learn our lines. Also we have to say scene thirteen together in unison so we are all going to have to listen to each other and learn the lines in order to perform this in unison and make it affective.

I think that most of us had high energy throughout but some of us did become a bit lazy and start loosing focus, this is something we need to improve on otherwise people might miss things that are going on and then in the next rehearsal they wont know what they are doing because they were having a conversation with somebody.

Thing we need to do to improve:

• Always have high energy, don't become lazy.
• Learn all lines by next week.
• Don't loose focus even if you are in the background and are not the main focus.
• Look at the physical script blog so you can know your blocking.
• When working in unison practice makes perfect.
• Always listen to the director.
• If you have ideas let the director know.
  

I am really looking forward to performing blackout and with practice I think it will be great.

Review of 13

I went to see three out of the four plays however I have decided to review 13 which was the first play I went to see. 

The beginning of the play was amazing, it gave me shivers, all of the characters having a nightmare but they were all reacting to it in different ways. I really enjoyed the first bit because it was really believable and also quite frightening. I also liked that the Prime Ministers office was above the stage, this gave the audience another place to look at and also suggested that the Prime Minister was more important therefore higher up  compared to the normal citizens.


I also really enjoyed the end where they were saying their stories but different people were cutting in and out and they repeated a hand gesture but personalised it to their character. The play was quite complicated however because I had already read it I understood it a lot better than other people might have for example lots of people didn't understand what had happened to the little girl ruby where as I did.

Another two things that stood out for me was when Johns speech was put onto a screen, i thought that was really clever because then it looked as thought it had been filmed and put on the internet. Also the alarm that went off to stop the nightmare was really good and believable. The bit that I really liked was when we came back in they used Immersive theatre so we became part of the play. This was really enjoyable because lots of the actors were actually talking to us and giving us leaflets and we got to join in and feel part of it.

The lighting was really good adding to the actors and all the characters were really realistic. I was watching the performance on the side so they had adjusted well to using a three sided stage because I could see most of the actors all the time.

Two things that could be improved on is the lawyer character, his character was amazing and he was really realistic however lots of the time I couldn't hear what he was saying. Finally I really liked the use of the white box because it changed the set and made it interesting however when it was moved lots of the time it squeaked, this sometimes meant the character speaking couldn't be heard so my focus was lost.

However, overall it was a great play and I really enjoyed it.