Small scale theatre presentation

My script for the presentation:

--Film of presentation--

https://youtu.be/Lhfgu5rFYQY

In evaluation, I feel my pitch was delivered well and made sure I included key points of how I came to my total income, specification on exactly what it will be spent on, and how the 30% investment will go towards future shows.

17th dec - rach

Today we focused on production roles. For props, I now have created a fully detailed props list, may items of which we already have but I included anyway for when we make a props table. In the table, I included the act that the prop is used in, which character(s) use it, how many we need/have, the location it is used e.g Mark & Roger's flat, and any additional notes.

3rd dec - rach

Today we did a Rent rehearsal, running the songs that we were performing at Durrington High School this afternoon

Adaptations we have made to suit the performance at Durrington:

• Performance space: As the area we are using in the school is much smaller than our space, and there's going to be audience in there aswell surrounding us, we've had to change things to suit it. Seasons Of Love was also adapted as we all change to face the audience head on in a clump formation, rather than a long line facing opposite ways
• Length of songs: We cut down Light My Candle
•  Costume: We decided to wear all black
• Transitions: We had to create transitions between each song such as the moving of the chairs for Santa Fe

What do you want them to understand of the performance?

• Understand the relationships and mood of scenes: In example, Take Me Or Leave Me portrays anger and break up, Light My Candle portrays flirtatiousness, the start of a romance, Santa Fe portrays the dreamy phase and Will I portrays the sadness and the state of giving up

AFTER PERFORMANCE

I feel very pleased with my performance at Durrington. All the songs went particularly well and I managed to belt the high notes that I have been struggling with in 'Take Me Or Leave Me'. I also maintained good facial expressions as most directions I stood facing had an audience there (semi circle of audience surrounding us), so I had to always be aware of my body characterisation. I think I get an adrenaline rush and risk it more when I am performing in front of people I don't know, rather than in front of everyone in class. This has given me much more confidence in believing I can polish my vocals for the song and perform this on the show day without much fear. Santa Fe I felt was a bit rocky, I think it needed more power and stronger movement.

The pupils understood the contrast of moods in each scene, however as many of them had not seen Rent before it was difficult for them to grasp the contexts. But when we explained to them all the topics in the production they then quickly linked that up to the scenes so now understood why the mood was like that. 

10th dec - rach

Today we began to go through the list of scenes that take place in Mark and Roger's flat. When we got to Rent, we tested our ideas about the focus on the characters, and it worked well. I found it will also help the audience to hear clearly what I'm saying because I'm speaking at a normal volume, so the manic movement of running and jumping and shuffling of the gangs may have muffled my dialogue a bit. The Collins idea also worked out well. although he wasn't exact centre stage he wasn't right at the back out of sight.

We also went over Happy New Year B and Finale A as my character is involved in both those scenes, covering all the blocking.

Me and Sophie also did movement for 'Take Me Or Leave Me' with the help of Liam. We did an exercise similar to when me and Bryleah learned 'We're Okay', where we find a new direction to walk to each time. Because Maureen sings to me and tries to make me pay attention to her, everytime she approaches me I walk off in a different direction, making sure I use every area of the space. It's also effective as it shows my frustration and eagerness to escape her 'nonsense'. We then meet in the centre shortly before my verse starts, where we created the action of Sophie lowering to her knees in front of me, to which I reject her at "Kiss pookie" by pushing her head away. When we both start singing together from "That's it", we face each other keeping eye contact and walk around continuously in a circle. This is where Maureen has met her match, with this style of movement similar to two wild animals facing off, preparing to fight. At then end, we finish closely face to face, and as we say our last lines we exit opposite side of the stage. This concludes the relationship status after a long battle. Our movement is now all sorted for this scene, and I'm feeling much more confident about it.

8th dec - worthing high

Today we went to Worthing High School to perform the selection of songs from 'Rent'. This time I was off-cast so Bryleah performed as Joanne.

Adaptations we have made to suit the performance at Worthing:

• Performance space: As the area we are using in the school is much smaller than our space, and the audience will be lined up on one side rather than all around which is what our audience will be like, we've had to change things to suit it. We changed Will I by performing it in a slight semi circle facing the crowd. Seasons Of Love was also adapted as we all change to face the audience head on in a clump formation, rather than a long line facing opposite ways as there was no audience on the other side.
• Length of songs: We cut down Light My Candle
•  Costume: We decided to wear all black
• Transitions: We had to create transitions between each song such as the moving of the chairs for Santa Fe

What do you want them to understand of the performance?

• Understand the relationships and mood of scenes: In example, Take Me Or Leave Me portrays anger and break up, Light My Candle portrays flirtatiousness, the start of a romance, Santa Fe portrays the dreamy phase and Will I portrays the sadness and the state of giving up

AFTER PERFORMANCE

I feel the ensembles went much better than our Durrington performance, maybe because we had more space and didn't feel so closed in. Our timing for Santa Fe and the energy was much better and Will I also stayed in time and didn't go off key. Take Me Or Leave Me was great and Bryleah delivered a great performance playing Joanne. In One Song Glory, James had captivated the audience and had very convincing expressions and emotions in his performance. The audience's response was similar to Durrington's, they understood the moods but weren't sure on the actual themes. 

4th dec - rach

Today we made a list of all the scenes that take place in Mark and Roger's flat. We then chose two scenes that we were going to look at and think about movement ideas ad other suggestions on how to improve that scene. I focused on Life Support and Rent (Rent with Izzy)

For Rent, me and Izzy thought about the individual solos within the songs such as Joanne, Benny/Betty etc. and how they should be more significant, as at the moment everyone is still running around in the space while the characters are performing their solo. I suggested that everyone in the space could freeze in their current position when Joanne's solo or Benny/Betty's solo is happening. This way, the audience will direct their attention to those characters, as they are positioned in the corners which would make it more difficult to be focused on if everyone continued moving. For Collins' solo, however, the rhythm/beat underneath his dialogue is more pacier and sounds like there should be movement still going on. We thought if Collins was positioned in centre stage performing his solo rather than at the back, with everyone still rushing around the outside of him, it would be effective because he would at least be centre stage, and the contrast of him being stationary and everyone panicking around the outside and going fast will highlight that character for standing out.

For Life support, I thought about Gina's solo where she starts off stubborn and gradually shows vulnerability. She could possibly stand up and disassociate herself from the group, by walking into the space maybe centre stage. Roger, who joins in on her solo could be looking out the window. This could show an interesting connection between the two, as they are both feeling lost and worthless. When everyone joins in for the chorus, they could all stand up too and join Gina by standing around and next to her in moral support, to show she belongs.

Small scale theatre budget form research

Research to estimating costs/income:

Ticket/programme sales: For these, I estimated around 70% of tickets are sold each performance, as well as programmes sold

https://www.kickstarter.com/ - For information on crowdfunding, I researched this website and explored projects focusing on theatre productions. 

https://www,Josef-weinberger.com/ - For information on the costs of licensing the production so you are able to perform it, I researched this site which I was able to find the royalty fee = 15% of total ticket sales

www.helloprint.co.uk/flyers‎ - I was able to find a good pricing with this site for my flyer printing

http://www.programmeprinting.co.uk/collections/programme-printing/products/a4-booklet-printing - On this site I found a pricing for printing the programmes a4 size

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover-more/welcome-to-the-national-theatre/about-the-national-theatre/finance-and-funding - Using he National Theatre as a base, I estimated a grant I would receive from the Arts Council England which would represent 15% of the total income.

Venues/technicians/equipment/staff - As stated in a previous blog, I rang each company and gathered info on the rental prices of the venues, and any additional hiring including lighting/sound technicians, front of house staff etc.

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/props-hire-store - For pricing of possible props needed, I found that the National Theatre company rent out various props from a large collection to productions which includes amateur organisations, at reasonable costs according to the reviews

Costumes - I estimated the pricing at arround  £200 as the clothing will be part self-supplied by the performers, and part supplied from small businesses or charity shops. This is because the style of clothing is fairly easy to get a hold of a a small price, unlike period plays etc.

Makeup - This was at £0 as the performers will do their own makeup, as once again it is fairly basic everyday look

27th Nov rachel

Today we focused on separate songs that we needed to work on and improve. Me, Bryleah and Paige practised 'Take Me Or Leave Me'. There are a few notes that I am concerned about and how I need to belt more confidently. We also needed to block and choreograph some movement to fit with the scene, including tense body language and an uptight posture coming from Joanne, whereas Maureen will be really expressive, explosive.

Paige peer supported me and Bryleah in improving our belting for a fuller sound, stronger projection and a wider vocal range

27th Nov kat

Working with Kat, me, Luke and Bryleah worked on the choreography for 'Tango Maureen'. This part was for the instrumental section in the middle of the song, which refers to the part in the movie. This is where Joanne throws off her coat, and prepares to outdance Mark, who also challenges her. Although the dynamics in tango dancing are sharp and strong anyway, this was especially important for this scene as they are mentally fighting each other out.

We managed to finish the choreography, we just now need to work on keeping within the pace of the music and the timing. We also have to focus on singing whilst dancing, which can be hard if you're performing fast spins and lifts. I also need to work on making my moves more steady and solid to make the dance look cleaner.

26th Nov - rach

Today we looked at our progress so far, self evaluating where we are at:

Vocal

• Dialogue: I am very comfortable picking up dialogue and using simple strategies such as reading the lines over and over, but I still need to learn all the line in Act 2
• Sung performance: The songs I find most challenging are 'Take Me Or Leave Me', because it involves majority belting, and 'Tango Maureen' as it is very fast paced and loud whilst you are having to dance . Songs I'm most comfortable with are 'We're Okay', as I've learnt all the lines and rhythm and melody, so I only need to work on the last note. Another song I'm comfortable with is 'Happy New Year' as it involves a lot of characters and my vocals stay within my comfort zone

Acting

• Characterisation: I need to improve my body expression and face characterisation, remembering that it's fine to exaggerate sometimes as it's musical theatre. I do however have a much better understanding of the vocals and how they different each song. I've also developed my accent and the style of it

Movement

• Character: I've worked on my body language especially in Take Me Or Leave Me and Tango Maureen
• Dance performance: I need to work creating choreography for the dance in Tango Maureen

Today we also gave feedback to others on what we liked about their performances and how they could develop. 

'Without You' is the scene in which Angel dies, surrounded by loved ones and other characters around the edge e.g Joanne and Maureen. Although Joanne and Maureen aren't in the hospital room with Angel, we are still present and can feel the pain as we are sat together at the back of the stage. The emotion is always portrayed really well in this scene as the situation of a loved one passing away can relate to most people, so we end up bringing ourselves through our characters.

Small scale theatre tour - venues 23rd

Today's lesson involved us phoning up different venues, to discuss the rental prices for our production and any additional costs or benefits.

We used a short opening sentence: "Hi there, my name is Amber Cameron and as part of my Performing Arts Business course I am researching information about (venues/lights/costume), would you be able to help me with a few enquiries about your venue?

We had a small selection of questions to collect our basic data:

• How many seats does this venue hold and what are your prices?
• What's your policy on selling merchandise?
• What are your prices for hiring? Deals?

Information collected:

Connaught in Worthing - 4 venues

• Connaught theatre - 520 seats
• Connaught studio - 242 seats = £555 for afternoon (2-6)
• Assembly Hall - 940 seats
• Pavillion - 800 seats
• technician available for hire

Hawth Theatre in Crawley

• Main venue - 815 seats = £2000
• Studio - 146 seats = £347 (7 hours)
• 20% commission
• technician available for hire

Steyning Grammar School:

• Drama Hall - 300 seats = £35/hr 
• +Foye £15/hr
• no commission
• Technician available for hire

I later did more extensive research on the company websites where they supply more information on the exact costing including technician prices and any staff hiring. 

20th nov - rach

Today we focused on taking photos, head-shots and filming shots for Rent. While the photos and head-shots went towards designing of the programmes and posters, we filmed bits for the promo video and for the film that is shown in the last scene; in the Rent movie, a film clip displays all the main characters as well as clips of the life support group, the homeless etc. In the last scene, we are going to project the film on a screen at the back of the stage as they do in the actual film, reminiscing on the past events.

They filmed me and Sophie as Joanne and Maureen, interacting with eachother such as hugging and laughing with each other. The films would be silent as well as the song 'Seasons Of Love' will be played over the top. This meant we had to be clear with our actions and gestures so the viewers would understand our relationship (that we are partners)

Everyone was also filmed walking into the woods, and on the floor in on line, laughing and smiling with each other. As everyone was involved in this it showed the friendship group's bond and unity, which cancels out all the issues and fights by reminiscing their happy moments.

Shots of specific scenes

1. Roger playing guitar against wall ~ Roger & Mark
2. Homeless shot ~ 1 shot for both casts ~ by smoking area in woods
3. Mimi between Roger's legs ~ on industrial steps
4. Angel & Collins on top of steps
5. Benny/Betty by principals car
6. Joanne at sounddesk
7. Life support - in classroom
8. Mimi dancing ~ dance studio
9. Group shot ~ mucking around as bunch of friends (summer time)
10. Homeless shot
11. Maureen & Joanne getting ready for show
12. Cafe shot
13. Mark avoiding camera ~ Maureen stealing camera
14. Angel in a frame by tree
15. Solo shots in order 
16. All characters in line 
17. Walking away in distance - all characters

20th Nov - Kat

In this lesson, we used a music stimuli to create a dance piece. The music my group was 'Brother' by 'Matt Corby'. As seen in the title, our dance was about sibling relationships, between brothers and sisters etc.
We wanted to show the highs and lows of the relationships, the rivalries and also the bonds/connections. The song starts very upbeat and fast paced, in which I had the idea of running around the space through each other, dodging and spinning around one another. I was attempting to show the chaotic and manic environment of siblings playfighting, and simply just a bunch of children having fun.
We then go into pairs, performing slow contact movement to reflect the loving times shared between them. Me and Danni used an action of wrapping arms around the other to signify the care and protective nature of brothers and sisters.
In the middle section, we created 2 lines parallel to each other, and pass through the gaps, mirroring the person opposite's actions. This portrays how siblings often imitate the others behaviour.
In one part of the piece, we are in a tight formation, in which we perform actions in unison. This symbolises the strength and power of a connection, an unbreakable bond.

I think we interpreted the music stimulus well and applied appropriate movement to it. We considered effective ideas and delivered the context of the piece well. To improve, we could of worked on the timing of the last section and emphasised our movement a bit more. 

19th Nov - Rach

Today in the 1st half of the lesson, we discussed career roles and choices. We explored a wide range of different job opportunities available in the performing arts industry.

• Sales - Skills we could take from our musical theatre course are our confidence and good communication and social skills, to be able to persuade and promote. Our enthusiasm as well as our professional attitude could also contribute
• Holiday rep - Skills for this job would be maintaining a high energy and being very approachable as well as having good leadership skills

In the 2nd half, we focused on a selection of songs in Act 2 we hadn't gone over properly yet.

I'll Cover You Reprise
 I prepared by the lines for the songs in addition to watching videos of the songs, to understand the melody for 'I'll Cover You Reprise'. This song is dedicated to Angel, following his death from AIDS. It is a memorial scene in which characters closest to Angel share some heartfelt words about her, which then leads into Collins' song. It seems that in this scene the whole Act, the whole musical has come to a standstill. Time slows down and really gives the attention this scene deserves. After Angel dies of the AIDS, it draws everything and everyone back to understanding the horror of living with the disease in the early 1990s, and the devastating effects.
The choice to make a reprise for 'I'll Cover You' is really effective as Collins is revisiting his happiest memory he had with his loved one when they arrived in Santa Fe, however now the lyrics appear to be deeper and have more significance, supported by the change of tone and accompaniment. The first 'I'll Cover You' was more of an introduction to their blossoming relationship, whereas the reprise is the tragic ending to their relationship.

My character Joanne sings the verse "With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you" about 4 times with off cast Maureen (Paige), while Collins sings separately and the rest of the cast sings a verse from 'Seasons Of Love'. The fact that 'Seasons Of Love' is intertwined with the reprise links back to how the song, which opened Act 2, foreshadowed these oncoming events. What I need to improve on is my projection, as there are many others singing different verses which means I need to reach their volume level to be heard even though I am singing with Paige. I also need to continue practising my breath control so I'm able to hold the notes for longer.

Goodbye Love

'Goodbye Love' follows the previous song, in which the sad empty atmosphere gradually erupts into a full blown argument between the characters (Joanne, Maureen, Benny/Betty, Roger and Mimi). My argument is with Maureen, as I snap at her and bring up our relationship problems. This triggers Mimi to go for Roger and Benny and vice versa. The emotion in our voices as we sing needs to really give the impression we are all arguing and fighting, so it requires a lot of power and characterisation. We need strong exaggerative facial expressions as well as vigorous body language. Another analysis of this scene, it is the first time Mimi and Joanne show some sort of bond and come together, as what they have in common is a partner who doesn't put in the equal effort to their relationship e.g "I'd be happy to die for a taste of what Angel had, someone to live for unafraid to say I love you". We learnt our harmonies which sound really good together. I feel Joanne's emotion slightly adjusts to being more upset and disappointed than angry when she says the previous line, unlike her earlier line "We used to have this fight each night, she never admit I existed". I need to work on being more aggressive when singing to make my lines more purposeful, and also need to practice the belting high note "Never gave an inch when I gave a mile", which is very explosive. When I start to get more anger in my voice and when we practice it in the space with some movement, it will boost me and I will find it easier to jump to the high note.

Take Me Or Leave Me

This scene depicts the ultimate break up between Maureen and Joanne, in which Joanne reached boiling point and finally hits back. This is my favourite song as I like how punchy and belty it is, and I imagine if this wasn't a song it would be both characters basically screaming at each other as they stomp around. Maureen starts off which isn't surprising as she is seen as more dominant in some aspects (Joanne does everything for her, and is always trying to make the relationship work). She dominates the song as she expresses her need to be free e.g "a tiger in a cage can never see the sun". However Joanne finally snaps and takes control. Although Maureen believes she is in the right, she has wanted Joanne to stand up for herself and let herself go, which is exactly what happens. I like playing Joanne in this state as she becomes fierce and shows off her potential.

For today, me Kim and Sophie practised our harmonies. Because mine are a lowered harmony I need to work on this as I find it harder than if I had a higher harmony. I also need to project more and work on belting, which Sophie has said she can help me as well as Paige. This song is definitely a challenge for me but I am determined to really deliver this duet performance as I do enjoy the song and scene in general.

Costumes (First thoughts)

• Joanne: Me and Bryleah have two ideas on what to wear for Tango Maureen. In the film, Joanne wears black trousers, a white shirt, a tie, braces and a blazer. However later on in the dance she wears a dress. From searching up videos of the performance some of the Joannes wear a dress and others wear the smart outfit. As I have an idea of a dress I have and Bry has the smart outfit items, we are going to bring them in and discuss it
• For the homeless, we are going to wear winter clothes including hats, gloves, scarves etc.
• For Mrs Jefferson, I was thinking of a blouse and a skirt, on a simple long sleeve top and skirt. I think Mr and Mrs Jefferson's clothing will be fairly plain as their lifestyle and the career they encouraged her daughter to pursue (lawyer), I think they would be smart looking.

pab - 16th Small scale theatre research

Today we began devising our small scale theatre tour which we will be presenting as we will pitch our idea to get a 30% investment to fund our production.  

Company name

Amberly Theatre Company


2)What play/musicaL/production to be toured?

Sunshine on leith


3)Who's involved?

15 performers


4)Where to tour?  (+how many venues - about 3 - 5 locations)

3 local venues


Rules to budget 

10% contingency

Only spend within your means

At least 20% of your income toward important payments/contributions to help secure financial foundation

http://www.josef-weinberger.com/musicals/musical/sunshine-on-leith.html

13th nov - kat

Me, Josh and Ashley created a dance based on a text based stimulus, which was on a poem titled 'Park Bench'. We interpreted this poem as someone who is revisiting their memories of them and their late lover, reminiscing on little elements of their relationship, such as focusing on a simple object which has underlying meanings etc.

We highlighted specific words that we feel should be emphasised, and made brief notes on what we could feature in that area such as: For the word 'statue', we could have one of us standing in fixed positions and subtly moving around the space. We thought we could make the statue the 'sad man' of the couple, who has a walking stick prop to show his age. As it is in 1st person, this person could speak the words of the poem as the other two perform and act it out, as they narrate the story. Ashley and Josh switched the roles of the statue to both perform movements, while the statue role looks on as his recollection of events are relived, as if he his a ghost watching over two people. We also discussed dynamics which would change throughout, for example 'pigeons' we would use elegant, light jumps to show the flight of the birds. We also considered emotions. For the words 'public argument', our feelings would represent humiliation and anger, so we incorporated those into our choice of actions, e.g pushing against each others' hands to turn away from one another.

As the park bench is what everything revolves around, we used two chairs as the bench which we would work with in this piece. I.e in the last line "an empty, broken bench", the narrator separates the chairs which we fall to the ground from, signifying the ending of the love story.

In evaluation, I think we chose the right movement and structure for the stimulus. I believe we were creative in using only vocals as our sound, and linking our movement directly to the text read aloud. We could have improved by including more dance-style actions, and it could have flown more into each section. But overall we paid attention to detail in the text.

13th nov - rach

Today we did a full speed run of Act 2. We haven't done a speedrun for Act 2 in a while, nor have we done a proper run through, so this was refreshing to our memories of performing it before.

The feel to this act is exceedingly contrasting to the 1st act in terms of emotion and the oncoming events. Juxtaposing Act One, the majority of Act 2 portrays a negative vibe, sad, tense and an air of melancholy which carries through most of the scenes. The act opens with 'Seasons Of Love', which is a very purposeful song for the beginning scene. 'Seasons Of Love' contrasts from the last scene in Act 2, 'La Vie Boheme' which was very upbeat with high spirit. The lyrics in this song heavily foreshadow the events to come, specifically the last verse "In truths that she learnt, or in times that he cried, in bridges he burned, or the way the she died". "She died" gives the warning of death that could indicate to any of the female characters, for example Mimi comes close to dying, but in the end it only applies to Angel. "He cried" could also refer to Collins mourning over the death of his loved one.

The song "Happy New Year" I feel is where Act 2 officially begins, returning to the characters who are in slightly different positions after the new year. This song seems to mislead and confuse what is to come in the rest of this storyline, as everyone is back in high spirits and celebrating the new year. If anything, "Happy New Year" is simply ironic as it soon after spirals downhill as the following scenes completely oppose this song.

The feel to my character, Joanne, is mainly aggression and frustration. She has finally had enough of Maureen's attitude to their relationship and clearly exhibits this especially in the songs 'Take Me Or Leave Me' and 'Goodbye Love'.

A technique used in Act 2 is Luke's character, 'Mark' steps out of that character, and narrates some scenes as if he's a journalist observing the scene. For example, in 'Take Me Or Leave Me', he begins the scene briefly recapping on the whereabouts of the other characters, as well as introducing our characters (Joanne and Maureen) and our situation e.g "Valentines Day...Maureen and Joanne are rehearsing".

9th nov - pab 3 non-performance roles

Lighting Technician
This role involves producing the lighting effects for the theatre productions. They set up and operate the lighting equipment. They also must be always conscious of health and safety requirements.

The lighting technician works under the lighting designer and the master electrician in theatre productions.



Stage Manager
This role is about the coordination of all aspects of a theatre company to ensure the successful delivery of the performance. They will do activities such as setting up and running rehearsal schedules, distributing information to other theatre departments, running the backstage and on-stage areas during performances and so on.

They often give practical and organisational support to the director, actors, designers, stage crew and technicians throughout the production process.




Theatre Manager
This role is responsible for the personnel, financial and administrative aspect of the theatre.

Duties include developing fundraising and marketing strategies to ensure that productions are sufficiently funded and gain large audiences to generate ticket sales.

The theatre manager reports to the Director of Production and Operations on front of house and operational matters; Communications Director on all trading matters

6th nov - rach

Today we sang through Act 1, simply going through each song which gave everyone a chance to practice their songs with the live accompaniment of the piano. It also allowed us to evaluate ourselves and get feedback from others on what went well and what we need to work on. In addition, as we were with our double cast we were able to see how one another performs it and talk through certain lyrics/keys/harmonies we want their opinion on. Me and Bryleah have work really well together so far and share our ideas and different approaches to each of Joanne's songs, solos etc. In Act one, songs I'm involved in where I have a significant part in are Rent, Tango Maureen, We're Okay and La
Vie Boheme B.
For Rent, me and Bryleah strongly delivered our lines in a punchy dynamic. Our only challenge with this song was figuring out the ryhthm and speed of the lines which don't always match with the music melody.

For Tango Maureen, I am really confident with the lyrics and the timing and rhythm. However, I am still struggling with hitting the high notes and projecting with this song. It requires a lot of breath control, and as some notes are very close to the 'break' in my voice, I need to practise some improvement techniques or slightly adjust the way I use my voice for these bits, as I found I was cracking particularly on the lines "And to top it all OFF....As a matter of FACT" (Capitals highlight the high notes).

"We're Okay" is coming together more as I am picking up the way the song and vocals interact. One thing I want to hopefully achieve is hitting the last note of the song, which is a long belt of the line "We're Okay". For now I have been singing it in a light airy voice, which doesn't seem to have enough power for this song or for Joanne's character. I believe I am able to hit it, but for me I find it hard to rehearse around others when I am experimenting with my vocals. I am going to look for some videos and research information on belting techniques and ways I can improve.

In La Vie Boheme B, I still need to go over this in my own time as we haven't really practised part B altogether. I need to watch footage of performances of this song, to see how I sing it as I'm unsure of this.

For christmas bells, I need to learn al the lyrics as I still need to use my script for most of the song. I haven't really focused on this part as we haven't all performed it together yet in rehearsals. As I am still relying heavily on the script for this song, it will affect how I perform as I will be trying to remember the words which are actually narrating the scene, as for every other song.

5th nov - rach

In today's lesson, we focused on the practising the song 'Christmas Bells'. This scene is located on the street where a variety of characters are involved, including the homeless and junkies. Me and Bryleah when off-stage to each other will be a homeless person in this section. We worked on creating some movement that would reflect those of the homeless, for example we chose to have our heads tilted down and body shrugged over, 'shuffling' rather than taking big steps. This symbolises how they feel uncomfortable with their surroundings and the judgement of others; that they don't belong and are simply existing. We also created gestures of us reaching our trembling hands out as we beg for change, and regularly tugging at our clothing to highlight the fact that it's winter season and they are living out on the cold streets. I feel we have made a good start, now with a handful of characterised movement that can be communicated to the extras that will also be performing as homeless people, so we can clearly portray the type of character.

We briefly discussed possible props that could be included in this scene, which will come under my production role as I manage props. We suggested a trolley could possibly be added, for a homeless person to push around the stage which is hoarded with worn out clothing and tacky belongings.

When we come back to this song, we need to further work on the whole song with the other roles involved, as it has an inconsistent rhythm and melody.

PAB - 2nd Nov

For my presentation, I simplified the powerpoint slides more and transferred the greater information into my script, so that I wasn't just reading everything off the slides as they appeared on the screen.

SCRIPT notes

My power point presentation is on the National Theatre company, which was established in 1962

First director was Laurence Olivier ~ was named after one of the 3 auditoriums = Olivier theatre

Production staff

Rufus Norris was involved in productions such as London Road and Market Boy. In the west end he also directed The Country Girl and Cabaret. He also won 4 awards.

Ben Power

He was selected in 2015, where this role had not previously existed, as he originally was employed as an associate director in 2010

Paule

who won the 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design.

Tessa Ross

Ross specializes in the design of facilities for the performing arts, equipment for those facilities and the operation of theatre.

The director

The Director is in charge of the overall practical and creative interpretation of a dramatic script or a musical score, being involved in the whole process through to the final performance

Work closely with creative and production teams. Some directors are also writers, designers and performers. ~ for example some will also write plays alongside

Here is a short clip of Rufus Norris explaining his artistic choices and direction for the play ‘Death and the King’s Horseman. Here you can gain an insight into what this role’s responsibilities involve.

Requirements

Although degrees and HNDs (Higher National Diplomas) aren’t essential to become a Theatre Director, they can be very helpful and could provide a few of the necessary skills. Related subjects include

Gaining reputation and experience in other positions such as an actor, assistant director, designer, producer, stage manager or writer can also progress to this particular role

 Postgrad courses are only really recommended if you don’t have a relevant degree or a certain extent of practical experience.

Executive

They work towards the theatre’s success financially and artistically. They supervise the designing of the programmes and are overall responsible for the finance, staff and the actual building.

---culture

This presents the highest standards in presentation, both in performing the artistic vision and in management practice

Requirements

•       Similar to an Artistic Director, experience in theatre etc. is important.

Show’s output

Genre/style

Range from classics (Greek tragedy & Shakespeare) to modern productions, some of which are written by contemporary writers etc. The National Theatre aim to cover a wide range of theatre, creating an extensive target audience

600 actors

Each production determines the roles by auditioning

-Box office receipts (2013-14, 65% of income at NT, on tour, in West End & internationally)

Fundraising (2013-14, 7% of income)

-Exploitation of National Theatre productions; for example, transferring them to the commercial sector in the West End

Public financial aid from Arts Council England (2013-14, 17% of income) – received grant of £17.4 million

Also, to make ticket prices more affordable to attract a wider-range of audiences, in 2003 the NT introduced Travelex Tickets Seasons, where many tickets are offered for only £15 for all productions

pab - 26th oct

Today we continued creating our powerpoint presentations to present on 02/11/2015

Below is my powerpoint slides with my collected information for my company

23rd October - Kat GUERNICA EVALUATION

Today we focused on looking at a visual stimuli. This was a painting called 'Guernica', created by Pablo Picasso. This was painted in response to the frequent ongoing bombings that targeted the town Guernica in the Spanish Civil War, caused by the Nazis. This had a very destructive impact on the town, which led to the creation of this piece which portrays the affliction and suffering war has especially on the innocent.

The painting depicts an equal jumble of both humans and animals, suggesting Picasso wanted to express how both animals and humans both share fear and death. 2 important elements in this image are the bull and horse. These 2 animals along with the man with the sword fit together well when explaining bullfighting, a popular tradition that is a big part of Spain.

In groups we devised movement to reflect and communicate the theme/stimulus. For example, the action of reaching out with our hands to show desperation and suffering that would have been endured. We also switched the dynamics between slow/delicate and strong/fast. Strong/fast represented the struggle and panic, whereas slow/delicate showed the exhaustion, and the effect on the mood/energy of the ongoing bomb attacks.

More movement used involved contact with the other dancers. 2 of us were pulled up by the other 2 off the ground, which again links to the desperation of the innocent, and how everyone is trying to aid and support each other, physically and emotionally.

An action that myself and Sophie do, is in unison where we rush backwards covering our face with our hands. This can reflect the inside panic of the individuals, as there is no way to escape the trauma in their town or their own minds.

My contribution to the movement was I suggested we begin the dance in a confined clump of all of us intertwined. This slowly unfolds, one by one peeling out and breaking off into 2 duo motifs. I also proposed the idea of 1 duo performing a floor phrase and the other performing a jumping phrase.

Examples of the physical skills I used in this performance was contraction, extension and posture. We used extension in mine and Sophie's duet when we step back and fully extend our arms and toes to stand on point, with a high up posture. We used contraction in the beginning when we were all curled over each other, and at the end when we join on the ground in a half-foetal position in the centre.

Interpretive skills used included timing and focus. We needed to use timing to know when the start and finish certain phrases/motifs, where we would sometimes end up joining onto the other duo or breaking off. I used focus by deciding on directions my head would be positioned when performing the different sections.

A strength of this piece was we all had good timing, and interacted well with each other when needed. We also showed various levels throughout such as the low/medium/high clump at the start, the floorwork and jumping phrases etc. Weaknesses were we lacked characterisation i.e facial expressions, and stronger emphasis with out movement.

I would have applied more choreographic devices, and more body and facial characterisation to further highlight the stimulus in order to improve. Also, I would have improved my synchronisation with my duet partner, for example identical movements to strengthen the pair dance.

22nd oct Rach

Today me and Bryleah focused on the movement for We're Okay with the help of Liam.

This scene, which is only in the Broadway version really magnifies Joanne's feelings and lets you take a closer look at her contrasting life to the other artsy characters. The song seems to isolate her and uncover her busy mind and schedule, as she attempts to juggle her social and work life. In a past lesson where we made decisions on our characters, one of Joanne's was that she seems to be living a double life with her law career and social relationships. Now I wonder if she actually lives three different ways of life; one being her with her co-workers, one with her parents and family and another with her other friends and her partner Maureen. This is supported especially in this scene as she is on three different phone calls; one to Maureen, one to a co-worker (Steve) and one to her father.

The song is a mixture of dialogue and singing in which the mood jumps around significantly depending on which conversation she switched to. For example, her call with Maureen rapidly grows into a frustrating argument, soon drawing attention away from the two other calls until she reaches boiling point. Throughout the song Joanne repeats the the words "We're Okay" in between conversations, as if she is reassuring herself that everything's going to be fine, and to stay calm and positive despite all the dramas her busy schedule. Nevertheless, this line is vocalised with the sound of growing fears and panic as the conversations become more hectic and Joanne loses control, until the 'boiling point' is reached and she belts a loud high note of "We're Okay", displaying obvious irony and concluding the whole meaning of the song that really, Joanne is not okay, and hasn't been for a while.

With Liam, we began discussing our blocking of the scene and how we would incorporate the payphone, which will be attached to a long extending cord into it. We chose to enter on our first line of the song, from DSR towards DSL where the payphone would be. As we are already on the phone, we will have a cell in between our shoulder and ear and possibly be carrying a briefcase. We did some movement excersises where we practiced changing direction everytime we switched to another caller. We even practiced it together, so we had to dodge and cross past each other which was useful as we had to improvise a new direction to proceed. To improve, we need to be snappier in our turns to clearly show the switches. I also need to practice my lines more to ensure I confidently know them, so when practising the movement I can understand exactly what I'm doing and where I'm going. With the payphone cord, we decided on becoming entangled near the end when the song is picking up intensity and the conversations are constantly changing, by spinning round towards the payphone and only realising at the end we have gotten in a twist when we say the last line "I'm on my way" as she attempts to leave.

This lesson was very beneficial to us as we have sorted out all the movement, even practising with a long piece of string we tied to the blocks in that area. Now we just need to start to rehearse the rhythm, timing and vocals of "We're Okay".

pab -19TH oct Theatre company structure

Today we looked at theatre company structures, creating a mind map of the hiearchy of the job roles. Below is a mindmap of our theatre company 'Livambrykim', and it's structure:

Short description of roles:

CEO - Manages theatre, oversees the planning of theatre's programmes and overall responsible for finances, staff and building. They report to the theatre's owners/trustees

Producer - finds money to finance show and manages financial risks. They find the performers and team for the show

Artistic Director - They create the artistic vision of the production, usually directing productions. They report instructions to the stage manager

Production Team - Co-ordinate the technical and staging necessities of a show. They will work with the artistic director, director, musical director, choreographer and engineering team

Finance - Managing financial aspects, ensuring it's smooth running

Company Manager - Deals with all aspects of staff's welfare and dealing with pay. 

Marketing Manager - Promotes and sells tickets. Manage publicity and advertising material inc. flyers, posters, brochures, websites etc.

Stage Manager - coordinating and organizing the production and communications between various personell

Set Construction - Creating and building set pieces

Props Construction - Creating and building props

Makeup Artsist - Doing performers' makeup 

Hair Stylist - Doing performers' hair

Sound/lighting technician - Controlling and operating sound and lights

Costume creator - Creating costumes

Set Designer - Designing the set, reporting to set constructors

Lighting Designer - Organising lighting, reporting to Lighting technician

Sound designer - Organising sound, reporting to Sound Technician

Then, we worked in partners to begin putting together a power point presentation where we discuss 2 different theatre companies, in which we include:

1) Production staff structure/key roles (hierarchy table)
2)shows output - how many productions annually? What genre/style of pieces? audience numbers? Permant co or auditioned roles?
3)Focus on 2 job roles

Me and Paige are focusing on the 'National Theatre' company, and the 'Rainbow company'. We individually would work on one of the companies to gather up information.

Background research for RENT

http://www.oncenter.org/event/covey-theatre-company-presents-jonathan-larsons-rent

Rent is rock opera musical by Jonathon Larson. An opera by Giacomo Puccini was partly an inspiration for this production, with one song even called 'La Vie Boheme'. Larson wanted punky, poverty and struggles as the foundation of Rent. The musical is set in the 1990s in New York in a rough urban of the city, following the storylines of a small communnity of young, broke artists who are all linked together in some way or another. All these characters share the similar struggles of surviving; the lack of money or a job and trying to pay 'rent', and troubled relationships both romantically and with friends. They all have individual issues on top of bigger issues involving others.

The main topics explored in Rent are HIV/AIDS (which had become an epidemic, spreading like wildfire unable to be well managed/treated like it is today), drugs (and the addiction to them with strong side effects) and sexuality (most of the characters are homosexual and one character (Angel) is transggender).

Despite the devastating and serious issues that have structured Rent, it's a very upbeat and enthusiastic musical with heaps of comedy and happy moments. This masks the darkness, showing they make the best of it and what they have. This is shown through the close bonds some and msot of the characters have with one another.

16th oct - rach

Today we did a run through of Act 1 up to the song 'Out Tonight'. I feel the Act is slowly coming together although in 'Tango Maureen' we still need time to create the choreography etc. I managed to learn all the lyrics to this song and now I just need to continue working on my vocal ability for it, as well as harmonies with Luke. Furthermore, I need more power in my voice which I think links to confidence. If I'm more confident in myself it will reflect in my singing. My characterisation needs improving by showing the tension between my character and Luke's, with the feeling of awkwardness (as Joanne's never really conversed with her girlfriend's ex, understandably) and annoyance (as Mark attempts to meddle with her and Maureen's relationship).

'Rent' still needs more energy and emotion in our performance. We still need to make the whole section more violent and convincing as it's the most aggressive scene of the whole musical and it will be that first impression of the production to the audience. We need to start strong to engage everyone

Next week, Me and Bryleah are going to be focusing on our solo 'We're Okay'. I need to practise my lines for this as it is quite difficult in terms or rhythm and timing.

12th Oct pab - jobs in theatre

Actor CV

We looked into what should be on our future CVs that we will apply with for auditions.
It should contain past work in acting, directing, film, theatre etc. You should include the role you played, the production name, the Director, the company and the year.
Your key information should include your name, address, phone number etc. and biometric info
Education and training should also be stated, as well as any special skills. This could be anything from stunt riding to spinning plates, as you never know what could actually come in handy.
I have started a draft of my CV below:

9th oct - rachel

Today everyone focused on certain songs their characters would perform either in a solo, duo or small group. One of my songs is 'Tango Maureen' which I perform as Joanne with Luke as Mark. Tango Maureen is about Joanne and Mark, who don't usually associate with each other for obvious reasons over Maureen, coming together in a snappy, intense duet. What begins as a conflicting debate about the behaviour of their shared love (Joanne's girlfriend, Mark's ex girlfriend who dumped him for Joanne), with taunting remarks from Mark such as "As she keeps you dangling", "Have you ever doubted a kiss or two?", turns into them uniting as potential friends concurring about the flirtatious Maureen.

Today we started with simple blocking of space which may need to be refined as we add proper movement.

What went well:

• The timing is going well in the singing, as it is very back and forth 
• Our facial expressions were good as Joanne's reactions to Mark's suggestinos about Maureen initially with many frowns, raised eyebrows, switch to looks of concern and panic, supported by lines like "She cheated!"
• I interacted well with Luke even though we hadn't created any choreo yet. I reacted well to the part when he bursts into a crazy dance movement in which, startled, I slowly walk back wide eyed as he approaches me
• When blocking areas of the space we managed to use most of it. This was led most by my character as Joanne repeatedly stomps away from Mark who is trying to get under her skin.

What to work on:

• More confidence with lyrics - Once I know all the lyrics, the whole scene will make even more sense as the song is an intense, frustrating conversation with the other character. 
• Hit notes better and stronger - there are certain notes that I am still uneasy on and need to practice them so I confidently project them
• Stronger harmonies with Luke - Me and Luke need time to practice the harmonies, possibly with the help of some others to go through the script of the scene and pinpoint where the harmonies are and what each of ours are.
• Creating movement for Tango dance and blocking movement
• Accent - I want to work on my American accent which I feel will then give me more confidence in the scene as well as other scenes I am in
• Blocking

Next run through

• We can start adding some choreography for the dance with Kat
• By then I want to have learnt the lyrics at least, so when we run through we can practice the harmonies

9th oct - kat

Today we continued working on Santa Fe, thinking about the actual beginning of the scene before the singing starts. The non-main characters in each cast would enter the train in clumps whilst the main characters are already on stage. This makes it more natural as opposed to everyone entering at once, also giving the focus to them.

In addition, we added simple pedestrian movement at the start e.g reaching for briefcase, reading newspaper, checking the time on watch etc. which would gradually build in movement to the trios section. However, we removed the duets with the other group as it was too overcrowded with activity. These changes benefited the main characters to make it not too busy all the time, as this could distract from their performance.

What to work on

• More pedestrian movements - although it doesn't need to be exaggerated, we need to involve more actions, even if it's as simple as tying a shoe lace or checking the time.
• Stronger movement - when performing any of the movement, big or small, it needs to still be significant, that we are performing an action with a purpose, not for the sake of it
• Learn lyrics - when we know all the lyrics it will help us to get into the mood of the scene
• Better synchronising - in our trios, when we do synced pair movement we need to be more in time with each other which will neaten up the look of the movement.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/303290909832426/permalink/491864420975073/

8th october - rachel

Today's lesson we focused on a new song 'Santa Fe'. In the film, this song's scene takes place inside a train, revolving round the developing relationship between Collins and Angel.

We were put into trios, in which I was placed with Izzy and Sax. We each had a chair we began by sitting stationary on. We then had to think of and perform 3 counts of movement to perform one after the other, overall having 36 moves between us. These movements also involved contact between people next to me on the chairs, for example Izzy manipulates my body by heavily pushing my shoulder so I lean down to the left. I also manipulate her by taking her arm and wrapping it round my shoulder. As we developed more actions we synchronised some movements such as me and Sax stand on the chairs etc.

After this, we paired with another trio and figured out ways we could intertwine with some sections of our movement. We also added in switching seats with the opposite people in various fashions.

The 'train' will be represented by having 2 diagonal parallel rows of chairs down the centre of the stage, where Collins and Angel will sing as they parade down the middle. Our interaction with the opposite row happens when the song climaxes and everyone on the train is practically dancing and going wild. It's very uplifting and lively which we need to convey through our movement and facial expressions. We also agreed on actions we'd do as a group to decorate the scene, e.g we began swaying left to right when Collins says "now you're talking" and continued throughout to reflect the motions to those similar of a train.

For the first time putting it all together, it went really well. Sometimes however there can be too much going on at the same time. Possibly, the beginning could be less manic and calmer, gradually building up in the amount of people performing. We want to show the busyness of the train but we don't want to take much attention away from Angel and Collins.

Santa fe run through

5th October - pab 2 student funding organisations

Today we had work with a partner to create and present a powerpoint on a specific funding company. I worked with Abi and we focused on the 'Student Loans Company'. Below is the powerpoint slides

Another Student funding organisation I researched was Lawrence Atwell's Charity

Lawrence Atwell's Charity

What they do:

They offer grants to young people who cannot afford to get training by themselves. 

What they cover:

Grants towards vocational training :

Training courses like BTEC, NVQ Level 3. Qualifications to work on railways, drive trucks, security services etc. & Art Foundation Courses and Access Courses

Grants towards 'First Step' Courses (people with no formal qualifications)

courses that get you on the right path to control your future

examples: NVQ Level 1, BTEC 1st diplomas etc.

Eligibility:

• Have to be aged between 16-26
• Have to be either a British Citizen, asylum seeker/refugee, or have lived in UK 3 years before starting course
• Parents' income must be less than £26,000 net per year for some time
• Have to be undertaking training that is vocational or a 'First Step' as described

2nd oct - rach

Today, we focused entirely on our ensembles in which we grouped up with other cast members that were in those particular songs. This included 'Seasons Of Love', 'Will I' and 'Life Support'. For 'Will I', this song represents the HIV/AIDS support group, who join together in an emotional performance of full expression. It shows how they feel empty, worthless and trapped in a never-ending nightmare, clearly shown in the lyrics "Will I wake tomorrow, from this nightmare".

The song consists of the overlapping and cross overs of vocals, so we sectioned ourselves into 7 small groups. The number of groups will possibly reduce for the actual shows as not everyone will be on cast. For example, me and Bryleah are double casted to play 'Pam', who is a member of the life support group. So only one of us will be on for each performance. The number of the group you were in was in order of when you will come in and begin singing. In order for the structure to flow well we have to concentrate on our timing of coming in and of keeping the same pace as everyone else.

What went well in 'Will I' was we managed to stay in time with every other group meaning our crossing overs combined well and sounded really good considering it was our first proper rehearsal of it. What we need to improve is our vocal power, that each individual in each group is producing the same volume and projection as the rest so each group can be heard. When we further practice this song, we also need to think more about the context of the situation and apply it into our body language. Although we most likely won't be using obvious movement, we still need to give off the subtle, dispiriting yet powerful feel of the scene. This can be displayed through neutral or low facial expressions and body language. This hopefully sends a message to the audience of how it feels to have something such as this hanging over you for the rest of your life, which affects your way of living especially socially.

2nd oct - kat

In our dance lesson we watched both our 'Rent' and 'La Vie Boheme' performances we had filmed, so we could analyse ourselves and the dances as a whole to pinpoint areas we needed to work on as individuals and as a group. In this we would consider elements such as our technical accuracy, rhythmic control, spatial control, dynamics, relationships, projection and interpretation

Rent (opening scene)

What went well:

• The sequence of our movements particularly the duets section went in the right order, in which the timing was also really good.
• We used a large amount of the space, especially in the last section where everyone joins on stage. We made sure we were crossing through each other as well as spreading around the whole space.
• Good relationships between each other, whether it's in the duos or just coming in contact with other passing characters, As the song involves us all coming together and uniting as a community who refuse to pay up, behaviour such as eye contact with each other when singing shows this

What to improve on:

• Energy is something we all need to work on increasing to further display our anger and frustration which supports the topic
• Our movements could also be performed larger for reasons stated above
• Our dynamics could be stronger, for example when running around we could be more low and rougher to reinforce the mayhem

La Vie Boheme

What went well:

• Our timing was very good throughout this performance
• Me and Kim's duet is strong in terms of dynamics, actions and relationship
• In this song, the high energy is maintained throughout. Our good bouncy dynamics supported the upbeat melody and joyful fun-loving atmosphere

What to improve on:

• Our transitions could be smoother, especially when returning to the seats. 

1st oct - rach

We then did a run through of half of the 1st act, up to the voicemail dialogue from Joanne's parents, the Jeffersons. Movement was also figured out too for songs included in this section. For example, 'One Song' ideas of movement were that Roger (James) should stretch to all corners of the space, as the song grows into a hard hitting melody. So, making sure to use all parts of the stage will reflect the frantic pace of the music. We also worked out specific entrances for main characters. In 'Rent', as Joanne I will enter from downstage and stay in this area, as I perform my solo. It makes sense for me to stay in one area as my character is talking on the payphone, which would be unrealistic for me to pace further down the stage. In addition, other characters that have solos such as Collins start from different sections of the stage, which is effective as it keeps the audience engaged as they have to continuously change their focus. Once again, this exhibits the frantic busy atmosphere of the whole song.

Me and Josh who are Mr and Mrs Jefferson in our offcast, also performed our voicemail dialogue. Although we still needed our scripts as it was still fairly new to us, we kept a steady flow of the lines back and forth. We still need to focus on making the lines more comedic as they are more sung than simply spoken. I also am going to read over the lines to really understand the conversation we are having with each other and directed at Joanne through the voicemail. This will also help alter our tone of the lines, our facial reactions and pace change of each set of lines.

We started practising 'Seasons Of Love' with Kim for the first time. During this time we sorted out the harmonies by being put into groups (high, mid and low). I'm in mid which comfortably fits my vocal range. What went well in this rehearsal was I picked up the melody of the song well as well as the harmony. What I need to improve for next time is making sure i have better breath control, as there are many parts in the ensemble where you hold long notes, mostly on lines including 'love'

Video of Seasons of Love run practice