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