One of the things I think worked was our staging on stage, I think it worked well because there were always different levels being used.
There was always someone either sat on the floor or stood up and there was always people sat on a sofa and even people laid on top of the back of the sofa.
I think it worked because it always meant there was someone new happening and it always gave the audience something to look at. I do think that I could have got up a little bit more in our performance because I feel like I was sat down for too long. I think I could have got up when Maria got pushed next to me to show that I really don't want to be near her.
I also think we used our tones of voice well. For example, when Jake is patronising Katina he says "I didn't sleep with her you dopey cow!", he changed his voice from a high pitch, defensive tone to a slow, sarcastic tone.
Also when I'm sat on the sofa and Maria falls onto Jake my voice goes from a low, not in the mood tone to a shouting, aggressive tone.
I think this worked well as it shows what each of our characters are feeling through our voices, it's especially important because the audience at the back of the hall may not have been able to see our facial expressions so by using our voices to match our moods the audience at the back of the hall would have been able to understand what each of us are feeling. However, I think what we could have done to improve this is project a little bit more just so then the audience could have heard us a little better, but I don't think our projection was too bad.
I quite like the fact that our performance was on upper stage and we had the front half of the stage blacked out, because it showed that we were in a cramped, confined space- which we were in. This helped us a lot too because it limited the amount of space we could use to show the audience where we are.
One of the things we didn't do too well is show the audience we were on a ship, for all they know it could have been in a hotel room. So I think we could have shown we were on a ship by maybe acting a little nauseous and believing we were on a ship.
However we did show that we were in a really little room, which helped us.
In rehearsals we worked in the music booth to show us how much space we would have had if we really were in a little boat cabin. However this did come to a problem as we were not using our voices properly- not projecting- so we had to keep reminding ourselves that we have to talk a lot louder so that the audience can hear us when we did our big performance.
I liked that Michelle's character was drunk all the way through our piece and made the situation more awkward than it had to have been, however I think what could have improved was when her character first comes in and throws up she should have made the throwing up part last a little longer because drunken sick keeps coming up, you don't usually just throw up the once.
I thought it was really good when Greta's character started taking the Crystal Meth because it gave the audience an insight into her characters life and showed them what she does in her life and it shows her reaction to other character's reactions to her lifestyle.
It's annoying that she had to do it on the floor though as the audience at the back may not have been able to see what she was doing or her reaction to everything that we were saying to her. But I think she still did a great job, especially when she stood up and looked at all of the audience just after she did the Meth. I think she did great at that bit because she kept a straight face- even though the whole of the audience was laughing and she acted how someone would just after Crystals, she was doing the gerning and playing with her nose a lot but not too much.
I think at the end of our performance when the alarms are going off and Beccy-(Michelle) is knocked out on the floor with Maria and I are surrounding her trying to help her and Jake-(Harry) is trying to find a way to get out of the cabin because he's scared is pretty good because it ends of a cliffhanger so the audience are left not knowing what's happening to any of us. I also like how we changed the lights to a blueish colour so there's more of an erey feel for the audience and with all of us shouting, lost and confused just makes it more tense.
However if we made that little bit last a little longer and had a bit more to say than that would have been a lot better, because the audience would think there'd be an answer to why the alarms are going off.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Thursday, 5 December 2013
While devising our performance, we used Mike Leigh's techniques.
We didn't go to quite the extremes of spending months discovering every little bit of detail about our characters, however we did do a week or two on finding out a bit about our characters and creating a history for each of them.
I find that by using Mike Leigh's technique helps me a lot because it helped us establish our relationships with the other characters we were working with.
Mike Leigh's technique
Mike Leigh's technique is him basically getting a load of actors together and spending months creating a history for each character by making them improvise it out.
By doing this he's giving the actors a greater understanding about their characters and it makes it easier for them to then act their character emotions and feelings etc.
Why I think this technique is effective
I think this technique is really unusual, however I think it's incredibly clever and well thought, it helps actors get right underneath the skin and into the core of the character they're trying to portray and it makes them truly feel what their character feels.
It's really good for when you're devising your impro piece because you know how your character would react to most things, so therefore you won't be talking rubbish while improvising as you'll have a clear idea about what your character would say to certain things as you would know their history.
We didn't go to quite the extremes of spending months discovering every little bit of detail about our characters, however we did do a week or two on finding out a bit about our characters and creating a history for each of them.
I find that by using Mike Leigh's technique helps me a lot because it helped us establish our relationships with the other characters we were working with.
Mike Leigh's technique
Mike Leigh's technique is him basically getting a load of actors together and spending months creating a history for each character by making them improvise it out.
By doing this he's giving the actors a greater understanding about their characters and it makes it easier for them to then act their character emotions and feelings etc.
Why I think this technique is effective
I think this technique is really unusual, however I think it's incredibly clever and well thought, it helps actors get right underneath the skin and into the core of the character they're trying to portray and it makes them truly feel what their character feels.
It's really good for when you're devising your impro piece because you know how your character would react to most things, so therefore you won't be talking rubbish while improvising as you'll have a clear idea about what your character would say to certain things as you would know their history.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Stimuli
For our new assignment, we were given lot's of stimuli to get us started for our new performance.
The stimuli we were given was;
. Two poems
- Sea Fever
- Brighton beach
. Three songs
- Four sea interludes- Benjamin Britton
- La Mer- Claude Debussy
- La Mer- Charles Trenet
. One painting
- The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Each stimuli related to the sea, so obviously we based it on the sea.
In my group we decided to use the painting- The Great Waves off Kanagawa, "Four sea interludes" and "La Mer"- Debussy.
We used the painting because it shows men in the middle of a storm with waves going crazy and it gave us the idea to set our performance in a boat just as the storms about to begin.
We chose to use the music, "Four sea interludes" by Benjamin Britton because it starts off slow and slowly gets faster and more exciting, we thought this would be good because we wanted our performance to start off quite early off in the storm and at the end of our performance we wanted it to be really exciting and fast and then the storm to really kick in.
All of the stimuli inspired us to come up with our ideas for our performance, however those two helped us the most.
We came up with loads of ideas with those two bits of stimuli,
some of our ideas were;
. Two have it on a party boat... We came up with this idea from the stimuli we were given because in the painting they're on a boat and also in the bit of music- "Four sea interludes" it's quite exciting and sounds quite busy, so we thought of having it on a party boat so because there's always something new happening when there's a party happening.
. We thought of our performance happening just as the storm begins because as our performance goes on the storm will get worse which means our characters moods change and all this matches the bit of music- "Four sea interludes" because as the music goes on it becomes faster and more exciting and that's what we wanted to do in our performance.
We didn't change too many of our ideas while devising our performance.
We kept our initial ideas, aka; starts calm and slow and as the piece goes on it gets more fast and exciting and we kept it just as the storm is about to begin and at the end of the performance we had it so the storms at it's worst.
However, we did change how each of our characters met.
For example;
. Harry's character- Jake met Greta's character- Maria met a few months before the boat party and had a one night stand. We changed it so then the two characters met on the boat and had the one night stand.
. We also changed mine and Harry's character's relationship. At first our two characters were close friends, but then we changed it so then we're a couple so then there could be confrontation between Greta's character- Maria and mine- Katina.
We kept Michelle's character- Beccy and Greta's character-Maria's relationship the same all the way through, so they stayed best friends all the way through devising our piece because we all felt like that was a good match to have because they're both into going out and having a good time and also so it made sense when they get pushed into the cabin together when the storms about to begin.
The stimuli we were given was;
. Two poems
- Sea Fever
- Brighton beach
. Three songs
- Four sea interludes- Benjamin Britton
- La Mer- Claude Debussy
- La Mer- Charles Trenet
. One painting
- The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Each stimuli related to the sea, so obviously we based it on the sea.
In my group we decided to use the painting- The Great Waves off Kanagawa, "Four sea interludes" and "La Mer"- Debussy.
We used the painting because it shows men in the middle of a storm with waves going crazy and it gave us the idea to set our performance in a boat just as the storms about to begin.
We chose to use the music, "Four sea interludes" by Benjamin Britton because it starts off slow and slowly gets faster and more exciting, we thought this would be good because we wanted our performance to start off quite early off in the storm and at the end of our performance we wanted it to be really exciting and fast and then the storm to really kick in.
All of the stimuli inspired us to come up with our ideas for our performance, however those two helped us the most.
We came up with loads of ideas with those two bits of stimuli,
some of our ideas were;
. Two have it on a party boat... We came up with this idea from the stimuli we were given because in the painting they're on a boat and also in the bit of music- "Four sea interludes" it's quite exciting and sounds quite busy, so we thought of having it on a party boat so because there's always something new happening when there's a party happening.
. We thought of our performance happening just as the storm begins because as our performance goes on the storm will get worse which means our characters moods change and all this matches the bit of music- "Four sea interludes" because as the music goes on it becomes faster and more exciting and that's what we wanted to do in our performance.
We didn't change too many of our ideas while devising our performance.
We kept our initial ideas, aka; starts calm and slow and as the piece goes on it gets more fast and exciting and we kept it just as the storm is about to begin and at the end of the performance we had it so the storms at it's worst.
However, we did change how each of our characters met.
For example;
. Harry's character- Jake met Greta's character- Maria met a few months before the boat party and had a one night stand. We changed it so then the two characters met on the boat and had the one night stand.
. We also changed mine and Harry's character's relationship. At first our two characters were close friends, but then we changed it so then we're a couple so then there could be confrontation between Greta's character- Maria and mine- Katina.
We kept Michelle's character- Beccy and Greta's character-Maria's relationship the same all the way through, so they stayed best friends all the way through devising our piece because we all felt like that was a good match to have because they're both into going out and having a good time and also so it made sense when they get pushed into the cabin together when the storms about to begin.
Saturday, 30 November 2013
Staging and improvisation
In my group's performance we were locked in a little cabin because the storm was about to begin.
However, when we first started devising our piece we wasn't too sure about the amount of space we should have been using, so what we did is ask if we could start working in one of the music booths so we could start getting more of an idea of what size we would actually be in if we were stuck in a cabin in real life.
By doing this it allowed us to feel more isolated and it also helped us build tension and awkwardness because we were all in a very enclosed space.
There was a problem with working in the music booth though, the problem was that we were not projecting our voices loud enough, because we got so used to working in a music booth where we didn't really need to project, so when we'd perform in front of our class we'd forget to project.
What we did to stop ourselves from talking too quietly is we'd also rehearse in the drama studio as well as rehearsing in the music booth-(we mainly rehearsed in the music booth) so that we then got used to talking loudly and also being spatially aware of how to move around thing etc.
Before we even started devising our actual end performance we had to do a lot of improvisation to see how each of our characters would react in this scenario-(Jake cheating on Katina with Maria while they were on the party boat and then they all end up in a little cabin together for ages with Maria's incredibly drunk friend who isn't making the situation any better.)
One of the first things we improvised was all of us on the top deck at the party and then Jake and Maria catch eyes and Maria recognises Jake from the other night and Jake doesn't recognise her.
Once we had done that two or three times, we then came up with the idea of us all being locked in a cabin together, we improvised this loads because we decided quite early on that we wanted that scene to be our final performance.
In the process of making this scene, we changed all of our entrances on stage, we also changed the staging- almost every lesson because we wanted the audience to see everything we were doing on stage so they got the full benefit of our performance.
When we first started devising our performance we all sat on the floor quite far away from each other, so it didn't really look like we were stuck in a cabin instead it just looked like four people all sat on the floor, so what we did to change that is we tested a few things out.
One of the things we tried out is all of us sat next to each other on the floor, ridiculously close to each other to see how that would work out for our piece. Once we'd done that we sat ridiculously far away from each other to see how that would work.
In the end we decided that sitting really, stupidly close to each other would be the most effective, because it makes the situation even more awkward and also it shows that we're in a very small, enclosed space so we have no choice but to sit so close to each other.
Also while we were in the process of deciding where we all should be on stage, we came to the conclusion that we definitely shouldn't sit on the floor because it just kills the performance completely. So what we did to change this is we managed to get hold of a sofa and we used that instead, it ended up working a lot better as well because it gave us no choice but to sit close together.
And another thing that was good with having the sofa was the levels we could have on stage to make our piece look more interesting, because we could have someone sat on the floor- (Beccy usually) and we could have some people on the sofa and we could have someone stood up, so by having the sofa it made our performance look a lot more interesting and busy, but in a good way I think.
Also another thing we did in our improvisations was take notes about what we thought went well, so in the end we ended up with all of the lines and movements we liked for our end performance.
For example we kept the line/movement Jake and Beccy do, Jake leans over Beccy to talk to Katina and before he even starts to speak Beccy interrupts him and says "Hey! Just because you got on them two, don't mean you can get on me!"
When Michelle first said that line straight away we all said that we have to keep it because it's funny but it doesn't sound stupid because it goes well with her character.
However, when we first started devising our piece we wasn't too sure about the amount of space we should have been using, so what we did is ask if we could start working in one of the music booths so we could start getting more of an idea of what size we would actually be in if we were stuck in a cabin in real life.
By doing this it allowed us to feel more isolated and it also helped us build tension and awkwardness because we were all in a very enclosed space.
There was a problem with working in the music booth though, the problem was that we were not projecting our voices loud enough, because we got so used to working in a music booth where we didn't really need to project, so when we'd perform in front of our class we'd forget to project.
What we did to stop ourselves from talking too quietly is we'd also rehearse in the drama studio as well as rehearsing in the music booth-(we mainly rehearsed in the music booth) so that we then got used to talking loudly and also being spatially aware of how to move around thing etc.
Before we even started devising our actual end performance we had to do a lot of improvisation to see how each of our characters would react in this scenario-(Jake cheating on Katina with Maria while they were on the party boat and then they all end up in a little cabin together for ages with Maria's incredibly drunk friend who isn't making the situation any better.)
One of the first things we improvised was all of us on the top deck at the party and then Jake and Maria catch eyes and Maria recognises Jake from the other night and Jake doesn't recognise her.
Once we had done that two or three times, we then came up with the idea of us all being locked in a cabin together, we improvised this loads because we decided quite early on that we wanted that scene to be our final performance.
In the process of making this scene, we changed all of our entrances on stage, we also changed the staging- almost every lesson because we wanted the audience to see everything we were doing on stage so they got the full benefit of our performance.
When we first started devising our performance we all sat on the floor quite far away from each other, so it didn't really look like we were stuck in a cabin instead it just looked like four people all sat on the floor, so what we did to change that is we tested a few things out.
One of the things we tried out is all of us sat next to each other on the floor, ridiculously close to each other to see how that would work out for our piece. Once we'd done that we sat ridiculously far away from each other to see how that would work.
In the end we decided that sitting really, stupidly close to each other would be the most effective, because it makes the situation even more awkward and also it shows that we're in a very small, enclosed space so we have no choice but to sit so close to each other.
Also while we were in the process of deciding where we all should be on stage, we came to the conclusion that we definitely shouldn't sit on the floor because it just kills the performance completely. So what we did to change this is we managed to get hold of a sofa and we used that instead, it ended up working a lot better as well because it gave us no choice but to sit close together.
And another thing that was good with having the sofa was the levels we could have on stage to make our piece look more interesting, because we could have someone sat on the floor- (Beccy usually) and we could have some people on the sofa and we could have someone stood up, so by having the sofa it made our performance look a lot more interesting and busy, but in a good way I think.
Also another thing we did in our improvisations was take notes about what we thought went well, so in the end we ended up with all of the lines and movements we liked for our end performance.
For example we kept the line/movement Jake and Beccy do, Jake leans over Beccy to talk to Katina and before he even starts to speak Beccy interrupts him and says "Hey! Just because you got on them two, don't mean you can get on me!"
When Michelle first said that line straight away we all said that we have to keep it because it's funny but it doesn't sound stupid because it goes well with her character.
What worked?
Today we started working in the music booth, this helped us get more of an idea of how big a boat cabin would be- so we know how much space we'd have to make it seem more realistic.
Also we started using one of the sofas, this worked because when Maria gets pushed onto it, it makes us even closer which makes the awkwardness build up and it's easier for the audience to get that tension.
I think the gags in our piece work well as one of our characters are drunk; Beccy- (Michelle) also it adds some light hearted humour to a relatively serious piece
What do you need to do to improve it?
I think what we need to improve on is our projection. Even though working in the music booth is good for our special awareness, it doesn't help us with our projection because where it's so small we don't need to use our proper performance voice as it's so small, so we need to remember to speak louder.
I also think we need to improve on mine and Harry's little argument at the beginning, because it's too short and it doesn't really show what kind of relationship our characters have.
We desperately need to work on the big argument scene with me and Greta because it's too mess and all over the place.
We all need to stop talking over each other, because the audience can't hear what's going on and they also won't know who they're meant to be listening too.
Another thing we need to work on is Michelle's death and what happens after that.
How are we going to improve it?
To improve our projection we're going to practise in the classroom and in the music booth, by doing this we'll still know how big our space should be and we'll get used to using our performing voices.
To improve mine and Harry's argument scene we're going to think of how his character would react-(we all decided silly, then when he realises it's not working he'd then start trying to manipulate me), we also made it longer by doing this.
For our big argument scene between all of us we staged ourselves and then we decided what everyone would say at a certain part. We also changed the bit where Greta puts her leg over Harry- instead she was just pushed near Harry but at that point my character loses it and starts accusing her of putting her leg over him instead.
Once again when we would talk over each other we just decided what we'd all be saying so we weren't talking over each other.
When Michelle's character dies, Greta and I go over and start screaming for help just as the alarms start going off and while that's happening Harry's character is also screaming but only because of the alarms.
Today we started working in the music booth, this helped us get more of an idea of how big a boat cabin would be- so we know how much space we'd have to make it seem more realistic.
Also we started using one of the sofas, this worked because when Maria gets pushed onto it, it makes us even closer which makes the awkwardness build up and it's easier for the audience to get that tension.
I think the gags in our piece work well as one of our characters are drunk; Beccy- (Michelle) also it adds some light hearted humour to a relatively serious piece
What do you need to do to improve it?
I think what we need to improve on is our projection. Even though working in the music booth is good for our special awareness, it doesn't help us with our projection because where it's so small we don't need to use our proper performance voice as it's so small, so we need to remember to speak louder.
I also think we need to improve on mine and Harry's little argument at the beginning, because it's too short and it doesn't really show what kind of relationship our characters have.
We desperately need to work on the big argument scene with me and Greta because it's too mess and all over the place.
We all need to stop talking over each other, because the audience can't hear what's going on and they also won't know who they're meant to be listening too.
Another thing we need to work on is Michelle's death and what happens after that.
How are we going to improve it?
To improve our projection we're going to practise in the classroom and in the music booth, by doing this we'll still know how big our space should be and we'll get used to using our performing voices.
To improve mine and Harry's argument scene we're going to think of how his character would react-(we all decided silly, then when he realises it's not working he'd then start trying to manipulate me), we also made it longer by doing this.
For our big argument scene between all of us we staged ourselves and then we decided what everyone would say at a certain part. We also changed the bit where Greta puts her leg over Harry- instead she was just pushed near Harry but at that point my character loses it and starts accusing her of putting her leg over him instead.
Once again when we would talk over each other we just decided what we'd all be saying so we weren't talking over each other.
When Michelle's character dies, Greta and I go over and start screaming for help just as the alarms start going off and while that's happening Harry's character is also screaming but only because of the alarms.
. Chloe walks in, pissed off as she's just found out about Harry cheating.
. Harry enters, he attempts to make Chloe happy, but fails. They are sat in an awkward silence.
. Greta enters after a few minutes, pacing up and down the room in curiosity.
. As Greta goes to exit, Mich comes stumbling in, drunk as anything and informs all that they cannot leave the cabin until the storm has gone.
. After a while, Harry becomes more aggressive to all.
. Mich tries to clear the awkwardness by telling jokes and doing "funny" things.
. Greta starts doing Crystals, Chloe's anger begins to build even more as she's finding out more about the girl Harry cheated on her with.
. Everyone is sat on the sofa, Harry gets up and falls over due to the large wave that has knocked the boat, as he falls Greta falls after and lands on top. After a few seconds, sexual tension rises between Greta and Harry, Greta starts lifting her leg so she is completely on top. While this is happening Mich is asking Chloe to help her up.
. When Chloe realises what is going on between Harry and Greta she then stands up and drags Greta away from Harry.
. There is then a fight between Chloe and Greta. Harry is watching, loving every second of it. When Mich tells him to stop us.
. When Harry gets involved and attempts to break Chloe and Greta up, he knocks Mich in the face and she passes out.
. Harry does a runny while Chloe and Greta are worrying about Mich.
. Harry enters, he attempts to make Chloe happy, but fails. They are sat in an awkward silence.
. Greta enters after a few minutes, pacing up and down the room in curiosity.
. As Greta goes to exit, Mich comes stumbling in, drunk as anything and informs all that they cannot leave the cabin until the storm has gone.
. After a while, Harry becomes more aggressive to all.
. Mich tries to clear the awkwardness by telling jokes and doing "funny" things.
. Greta starts doing Crystals, Chloe's anger begins to build even more as she's finding out more about the girl Harry cheated on her with.
. Everyone is sat on the sofa, Harry gets up and falls over due to the large wave that has knocked the boat, as he falls Greta falls after and lands on top. After a few seconds, sexual tension rises between Greta and Harry, Greta starts lifting her leg so she is completely on top. While this is happening Mich is asking Chloe to help her up.
. When Chloe realises what is going on between Harry and Greta she then stands up and drags Greta away from Harry.
. There is then a fight between Chloe and Greta. Harry is watching, loving every second of it. When Mich tells him to stop us.
. When Harry gets involved and attempts to break Chloe and Greta up, he knocks Mich in the face and she passes out.
. Harry does a runny while Chloe and Greta are worrying about Mich.
1) We filmed 3 minutes of our work in class. However, I do not know where I'm meant to find it.
2) Explain what is happening and how it fits with the full scene.
In the 3 minute video it shows us what the rest of the scene is going to be about. Which is; Jake having an affair with Maria and Katina finding out ad to top it all off we're isolated in a room together for ages with Maria's drunk best friend.
The short clip of our performance shows the very beginning where Katina has just wondered into the little cabin because she has just found out about the affair Jake has had.
This works well, because straight away the audience can tell something has happened and then made curious as to why someone has just stormed on stage in an upset/angry state. However, to improve this scene, I could pace around more and maybe sigh a few times to show that I'm more stressed out and angry about the situation.
When Jake comes in after Katina, he tries annoying her into going back to the party, this shows the kind of person Jake is, annoying and inconsiderate but also playful.
It also shows the kind of relationship they both have, which is bit of a joking around one. I think to improve this part of the scene Harry- Jake could try to annoy me more and when he realises that it's not working he should sit there for a second and then try something else to get me to go to the party
When Jake eventually sees that Katina is in no mood to joke around they then sit in an awkward silence until Maria stumbles in making the situation more awkward and uncomfortable to be in.
The part when Maria stumbles into the cabin fits in with the scene because that's when we all find out that we are stuck in the cabin for ages until the storm settles down... Also, it makes it more awkward as Jake slept with Maria and Katina can sense it.
2) Explain what is happening and how it fits with the full scene.
In the 3 minute video it shows us what the rest of the scene is going to be about. Which is; Jake having an affair with Maria and Katina finding out ad to top it all off we're isolated in a room together for ages with Maria's drunk best friend.
The short clip of our performance shows the very beginning where Katina has just wondered into the little cabin because she has just found out about the affair Jake has had.
This works well, because straight away the audience can tell something has happened and then made curious as to why someone has just stormed on stage in an upset/angry state. However, to improve this scene, I could pace around more and maybe sigh a few times to show that I'm more stressed out and angry about the situation.
When Jake comes in after Katina, he tries annoying her into going back to the party, this shows the kind of person Jake is, annoying and inconsiderate but also playful.
It also shows the kind of relationship they both have, which is bit of a joking around one. I think to improve this part of the scene Harry- Jake could try to annoy me more and when he realises that it's not working he should sit there for a second and then try something else to get me to go to the party
When Jake eventually sees that Katina is in no mood to joke around they then sit in an awkward silence until Maria stumbles in making the situation more awkward and uncomfortable to be in.
The part when Maria stumbles into the cabin fits in with the scene because that's when we all find out that we are stuck in the cabin for ages until the storm settles down... Also, it makes it more awkward as Jake slept with Maria and Katina can sense it.
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