Cry (Second Rehearsal)
At the beginning of the dance we added in another movement because the movements that we previously had were too slow and i kept on doing this too fast and then losing my timing. We experimented with undulation of the spine, this was influenced by Katherine Dunham, i need to keep on working on this because i am not using this enough, i need to relax more into the movement so that it fits in with the style more. As well as this i need to work on my balance more, i need to be able to control my ponche more so that i do not fall, in this video i had no control over it and completely lost my balance and co-ordination. Over the next rehearsals i am going to work on this so that i can control the movement completely. I think i can also work on my performance skills - eye-line, projection and facial expressions to show the ideas behind this choreography. This is because this dance has a lot of heavy themes such as oppression and hardship, i think i can use my drama and acting skills from other units to convey this more, i think that once i become more confident with the movements and my technical skills for this performance improve i will be able to work on this more.
Friday, 28 October 2016
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Initial Ideas)
1. What character work and vocal skills/performance skills have I applied, to give an effective group performance? Explain.
I think that in this rehearsal and performance i had a good energy throughout, this meant that we were able to set ideas as everyone was enthusiastic, because of this in the performance i think i had good projection, and made made a good amount of eye contract with the audience - this is important to be able to draw them in, especially as this is a very upbeat song and a lot of the energy comes from audience reaction. As well as this i think i had good communication with the other people in my group, as part of a musical ensemble it is important to show that everyone who is part of it to show they have a connection with each other. We did this by making sure we had regular eye-contact with each other to show the audience that we are one group rather than four soloists on stage at the same time.
2. What am I finding challenging today?
At the start of this lesson i as well as the people in my group really struggled with the pitching and intonation of this song, we couldn't work it put by listening to the instrumental version, so we put on the version with vocals. After this we were still finding this challenging so we each took turns in singing the line to see if there was one person that was out however because we had sung this wrong at first it was hard to change it, therefore we asked Kim to come in and play the melody on the piano, after hearing the notes directly we were able to pick it up. After singing through this a number of times we were able to perform this right.
3. What did I learn this lesson?
Although before this lesson i knew the song "Crazy little thing called love" i wasn't 100% sure on all of the words, this lesson gave me a chance to learn them so that when we block the song for the final performance i will be able to focus on my performance skills more such as projection, eye-line and facial expressions.
4. How effective was my peer support and communication skills for the benefit of the group performances?
I liked the way how in this rehearsal each person in the group came up with ideas about how the song should be sung, who sung what parts and ideas for choreography. Firstly we played the song and each of us improvised movement that would be appropriate for the performance, each of us picked out a few things that we liked and started to put them together. This was very successful as each person in the group was very valuble in the contribution of ideas, we respected the way that everyone's contributions would be different and used this to our advantage, this meant that we were able to come up with different movement ideas that frequently changed formations that would keep the audience engaged.
5. How could our performance and preparation have been improved?
If we had, had more time to work on this we would have been able to come up with more developed choreography, we could have had more partner work and could have worked on timing that could have made the performance more interesting to watch. As well as this we could have worked on more interesting harmonies that could have improved the quality of our vocals, however i am happy with the way that we rehearsed and prepared. Considering we didn't have a lot of time to work on ideas we were able to have a full performance with basic vocals and choreography that if we were given the time could be developed further.
6. What elements of effective ensemble skills did I apply in today's rehearsal? What elements do I still need to develop? - What impact did this have today?
I think that in this rehearsal and performance i had a good energy throughout, this meant that we were able to set ideas as everyone was enthusiastic, because of this in the performance i think i had good projection, and made made a good amount of eye contract with the audience - this is important to be able to draw them in, especially as this is a very upbeat song and a lot of the energy comes from audience reaction. As well as this i think i had good communication with the other people in my group, as part of a musical ensemble it is important to show that everyone who is part of it to show they have a connection with each other. We did this by making sure we had regular eye-contact with each other to show the audience that we are one group rather than four soloists on stage at the same time.
2. What am I finding challenging today?
At the start of this lesson i as well as the people in my group really struggled with the pitching and intonation of this song, we couldn't work it put by listening to the instrumental version, so we put on the version with vocals. After this we were still finding this challenging so we each took turns in singing the line to see if there was one person that was out however because we had sung this wrong at first it was hard to change it, therefore we asked Kim to come in and play the melody on the piano, after hearing the notes directly we were able to pick it up. After singing through this a number of times we were able to perform this right.
3. What did I learn this lesson?
Although before this lesson i knew the song "Crazy little thing called love" i wasn't 100% sure on all of the words, this lesson gave me a chance to learn them so that when we block the song for the final performance i will be able to focus on my performance skills more such as projection, eye-line and facial expressions.
4. How effective was my peer support and communication skills for the benefit of the group performances?
I liked the way how in this rehearsal each person in the group came up with ideas about how the song should be sung, who sung what parts and ideas for choreography. Firstly we played the song and each of us improvised movement that would be appropriate for the performance, each of us picked out a few things that we liked and started to put them together. This was very successful as each person in the group was very valuble in the contribution of ideas, we respected the way that everyone's contributions would be different and used this to our advantage, this meant that we were able to come up with different movement ideas that frequently changed formations that would keep the audience engaged.
5. How could our performance and preparation have been improved?
If we had, had more time to work on this we would have been able to come up with more developed choreography, we could have had more partner work and could have worked on timing that could have made the performance more interesting to watch. As well as this we could have worked on more interesting harmonies that could have improved the quality of our vocals, however i am happy with the way that we rehearsed and prepared. Considering we didn't have a lot of time to work on ideas we were able to have a full performance with basic vocals and choreography that if we were given the time could be developed further.
6. What elements of effective ensemble skills did I apply in today's rehearsal? What elements do I still need to develop? - What impact did this have today?
- Focus - Because i had a good level of focus throughout the rehearsals and performance, i was able to learn the song and movement easily, although this was good in today's lesson i still think this could be improved more. This is because it is very important to have this in every rehearsal and performance so that you are always aware of everything that is happening around you, rehearsal schedules are often very tight and leave little or no room to go over things that have already been rehearsed so you need to ensure that you are always focused.
- Enthusiasm - I enjoyed this process as each person was equally committed, this means that the rehearsals were more enjoyable, meaning that everyone was more willing to contribute. I have been making sure that i am enthusiastic in rehearsals as i think last year this was not a strong point for me, however i think this has definatly improved.
- Creativity - We thought about the style in which we wanted to perform this song in and figured that it sounded very fifties, because of this we experimented with jive movements such as flicks, piroettes and relevant arm and hand gestures. I think this worked well as we had listened to the music and each decision that we made, was related back to the song, which is what we needed to do.
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
Contemporary Warm-Up Development
Warm Up Phrase (First)
Watching this back, i think that my fluidity was good, each movement had a relatively smooth transition in and out and i performed this whilst keeping in time with the music, i notices this most from the jump into the roll, however think i need to work on my transitions out of rolls to make it more fluid and stand up quicker form the floor. As well as this i think that i had good extension in arms and legs when dancing this phrase, this is especially in the jump at the end, because of this i was able to gain good height on this. On the other hand i think i need to work on my focus so that my eye-line is lifted so i am not looking at the floor, also when watching this back i notice that i look as though i am concentrating too much, i need to look more relaxed so that it looks more natural. There are parts of this phrase that do not look finished, for example when i slide into the plie, i move out of this too quickly and it looks too rushed. Also i need to make sure i have a clear placement for my arms, this is because in some movements i look like i have lost control of where they should be.
Warm Up Phrase (Second)
Watching this phrase back, i haven't made progress on my target for keeping control of the placement of my arms, for next lesson i am going to work on this so that when performing this placement doesn't pull focus. I have also noticed that on the step back at the beginning, my shoulders are too high, i need to relax and drop them more, so the movement looks more natural. I also need to keep my focus up, this is because before we start it is obvious that i am not focused on the phrase, if i make sure i am more focused i think that i will naturally be able to improve my eye-line and focus throughout the phrase. On the other hand, i think my plie was better compared to last week, this is because i didn't rush through it as much and therefore i used this to prepare for the hop better. Although i think that i had good suspension in the turn at the end, i think that i could have used my arm to lean more into it so that i looks more like a rebound.
Warm Up Phrase (Third)
Looking back on this phrase, i need to my eye-line, i need to make sure i am looking up more, i think this will allow me to have more confidence and therefore perform this better. I want to make to make sure that i do this more in class and in rehearsals so that when i am performing i will naturally be able to do this more.
Watching this back, i think that my fluidity was good, each movement had a relatively smooth transition in and out and i performed this whilst keeping in time with the music, i notices this most from the jump into the roll, however think i need to work on my transitions out of rolls to make it more fluid and stand up quicker form the floor. As well as this i think that i had good extension in arms and legs when dancing this phrase, this is especially in the jump at the end, because of this i was able to gain good height on this. On the other hand i think i need to work on my focus so that my eye-line is lifted so i am not looking at the floor, also when watching this back i notice that i look as though i am concentrating too much, i need to look more relaxed so that it looks more natural. There are parts of this phrase that do not look finished, for example when i slide into the plie, i move out of this too quickly and it looks too rushed. Also i need to make sure i have a clear placement for my arms, this is because in some movements i look like i have lost control of where they should be.
Warm Up Phrase (Second)
Watching this phrase back, i haven't made progress on my target for keeping control of the placement of my arms, for next lesson i am going to work on this so that when performing this placement doesn't pull focus. I have also noticed that on the step back at the beginning, my shoulders are too high, i need to relax and drop them more, so the movement looks more natural. I also need to keep my focus up, this is because before we start it is obvious that i am not focused on the phrase, if i make sure i am more focused i think that i will naturally be able to improve my eye-line and focus throughout the phrase. On the other hand, i think my plie was better compared to last week, this is because i didn't rush through it as much and therefore i used this to prepare for the hop better. Although i think that i had good suspension in the turn at the end, i think that i could have used my arm to lean more into it so that i looks more like a rebound.
Warm Up Phrase (Third)
Looking back on this phrase, i need to my eye-line, i need to make sure i am looking up more, i think this will allow me to have more confidence and therefore perform this better. I want to make to make sure that i do this more in class and in rehearsals so that when i am performing i will naturally be able to do this more.
Dance Show Media Piece (First Rehearsal)
Dance Show Media Piece (First Rehearsal)
In this rehearsal my focus was not up enough, i was not concentrating enough and this was clear as i kept forgetting movement and being out of time, i need to make sure that in my next rehearsal i am more focused so that i am clear on all movement. This is important so that i can work on performance skills such as musicality, facial expressions and eye-line rather than trying to concentrate on what movement is coming up next. Because of this i also need to work on my timing with the music and with everyone else in this piece. I noticed this especially in the quartet, i need to listen to the music more to make sure i am familiar with when i come in, as well as when we are in unison with Holly and Luke, because i missed this in this rehearsal. However i think that my co-ordination and control over my movements was good, i m able to do each movement well. In addition to this i think i have good projection, for a first rehearsal i think i am able to portray the theme well, to improve this further i need to incorporate skills that i have learnt in acting and drama units, to show the ideas behind the theme more. As well as this i need to make sure that my eye-line is lifted at all times unless the choreography is otherwise.
In this rehearsal my focus was not up enough, i was not concentrating enough and this was clear as i kept forgetting movement and being out of time, i need to make sure that in my next rehearsal i am more focused so that i am clear on all movement. This is important so that i can work on performance skills such as musicality, facial expressions and eye-line rather than trying to concentrate on what movement is coming up next. Because of this i also need to work on my timing with the music and with everyone else in this piece. I noticed this especially in the quartet, i need to listen to the music more to make sure i am familiar with when i come in, as well as when we are in unison with Holly and Luke, because i missed this in this rehearsal. However i think that my co-ordination and control over my movements was good, i m able to do each movement well. In addition to this i think i have good projection, for a first rehearsal i think i am able to portray the theme well, to improve this further i need to incorporate skills that i have learnt in acting and drama units, to show the ideas behind the theme more. As well as this i need to make sure that my eye-line is lifted at all times unless the choreography is otherwise.
Dance Show Media Piece (Second Rehearsal)
Dance Show Media Piece
My focus and concentration in this lesson was a lot better than the previous one, this allowed me to have much better timing throughout the piece. I noticed this most when the secret is being passed on, Me and Luke turn to roll at the exact same time, we need to make sure that we can keep this because this will look really powerful in the final performance. In this rehearsal we added arms into the transition into the roll, this makes it look more explosive, although it is smooth if the arms are extended enough, it looks unexpected to the audience. I need to make sure that my posture is upright and my shoulders down, i have this some of the time but there are some parts of the dance where i lose it, i need to make sure that it is more consistent.
My focus and concentration in this lesson was a lot better than the previous one, this allowed me to have much better timing throughout the piece. I noticed this most when the secret is being passed on, Me and Luke turn to roll at the exact same time, we need to make sure that we can keep this because this will look really powerful in the final performance. In this rehearsal we added arms into the transition into the roll, this makes it look more explosive, although it is smooth if the arms are extended enough, it looks unexpected to the audience. I need to make sure that my posture is upright and my shoulders down, i have this some of the time but there are some parts of the dance where i lose it, i need to make sure that it is more consistent.
Seven Seas Of Rye (Second Rehearsal)
Seven Seas Of Rye (Second Rehearsal)
I think that my character development in this dance is going well, i have used eye-line and extension to be able to portray my character. For example although my eye-line is lifted it is moving around, this is to show that my character is confused and is looking for a way to escapes. I have used extension to help me show this by fully extending my arms to show that i am reaching out for help, this is especially when we are in the circle reaching out as well as the arm swipes and reaches in the main phrase. However i think i can improve my overall performance by making sure that i have more developed facial expressions that show the audience about how my character has been taken and is looking for a way out.
I think that my character development in this dance is going well, i have used eye-line and extension to be able to portray my character. For example although my eye-line is lifted it is moving around, this is to show that my character is confused and is looking for a way to escapes. I have used extension to help me show this by fully extending my arms to show that i am reaching out for help, this is especially when we are in the circle reaching out as well as the arm swipes and reaches in the main phrase. However i think i can improve my overall performance by making sure that i have more developed facial expressions that show the audience about how my character has been taken and is looking for a way out.
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
What is a costume bible?/What determines a costume design?/What is a costume plot?
- Costume plot - This is a chart of all of the costume changes within the show, it could include the time a person has to get changed and how realistic and practical this is.
- Initial and final designs - How your designs have dveloped over time.
- Must include accurate measurements of characters - Bust, Waist, Hip, Hieght, Arm length.
- Where to source materials and the prices of these - Considering your budget, what materials are both affordable and relevent.
- Sketches and drawings of costume ideas - Making sure that each character has a specific style that is appropriate for their characters personality.
- Detailed information about specific add-ons - Jewellery, Zips, Buttons, Head pieces.
- Complication of all costume information - Everything about any costume in the show is in the costume bible.
- Research - Characters and the show you are working on
- Fabric samples - Ideas for which fabrics are going to be used for costume.
- Practicality
- Budget
- Time period
- Personality of character/character profile
- Personal preference
The actor needs to feel comfortable on stage in the costume, this helps them feel confident and be able to play their character better on stage.
- Status of the character
- location
Where the play is set determines what costumes are going to be designed, for example if the play was set on a beach on a sunny day the costumes need to be appropriate, it wouldn't work if the characters were wearing big coats, hats, scarf and gloves.
- Social, historical, political context
If the play is a historical or classical piece then the costumes need to be historically correct.
- Size/figure
Costumes need to fit the actor well so that they feel comfortable on stage as well as there being no risks of costume malfunction on stage.
- Colour scheme
Some colours carry different connotations for example rich colours like deep purples and blues mean weath and royalty, on the other hand more dull colours like browns and beiges suggest that a character is poor.
- Lighting
- Other characters costume
It is important the all costumes in a show are as developed as each other, it wouldn't look good if one persons costume is carefully designed where there has been a lot of attention to detail and one costume that is just a t-shirt and jeans. This would suggest that the budget has not been split very carefully.
- Who are your audience?
- Original Costume
What is a costume plot?
A costume plot is a rundown of all of the costume changes in a show, this is not a creative thing it is a key tool used for practicality and organisation. The dresser needs this to show which costume is in which scene and how many changes they have.
Tuesday, 11 October 2016
How to promote/network yourself?
- Research areas that interest you - Before starting a new project it is important to research into it in depth, this is because it is important to understand everything about it before you fully commit. For example before portraying a character you need to know the time period, including the social, historical and political context so that you can know the social status of this person, which can help you to be able to know how she would react and act in certain situations. If you are going to an audition it is especially important to know everything about the project and character you are auditioning for, this means the casting directors know that you are serious about the role, this could also put you ahead of any other candidates as you can tell them everything about the project.
- Meet more artists - This is important as every single artist will have original ideas, meeting new artists can help to inspire you to try new things and branch out into other ideas and projects that you may have not thought of. As well as this, each person has different ways of doing things and some may be willing to share tips and hits to help you, for example different ways of learning and memorising lines for a play etc.
- Amateur Dramatics - This is a good way to become more confident and familiar with performing and can allow you to learn songs, choreography and shows, as well as giving audition practise. In addition to this some companies have connections with working professionals so it can be an opportunity to get your name and face out. However it is important that you do not only become an am dram performer and this is all you can do, if you are involved in this, you must be doing other projects and auditioning at the same time to continue to promote yourself and give yourself other options other than this.
Monday, 10 October 2016
Seven seas of rye (First rehearsal)
Seven Seas Of Rye (First rehearsal)
In this rehearsal i though that my performance skills, for example facial expressions began to be developed, the general mood for this dance is that we are trapped and want to escape. I think i did well in the section where we are showing positions that change, however our feet are stuck and when we are being pulled into the circle and trying to leave. I think that i showed this also through reaching out and looking around to show that i am lost and don't know where i am. I think that i had a good range of dynamics in this dance, however i think that this can be developed even more, for example in the beginning when we are running across the stage i had a fast fluid pace, this was good as it showed the ergency of the scene. However there were times like before the lift with Emily that i am not reacting fast enough, i think that the dynamcis need to keep fast but fluid throughout to show this. In this recording i am pausing too much beofre this and it looks as though i dont know what i am doing, so i need to work on this so it doesnt look like this.
Target setting
In this rehearsal i though that my performance skills, for example facial expressions began to be developed, the general mood for this dance is that we are trapped and want to escape. I think i did well in the section where we are showing positions that change, however our feet are stuck and when we are being pulled into the circle and trying to leave. I think that i showed this also through reaching out and looking around to show that i am lost and don't know where i am. I think that i had a good range of dynamics in this dance, however i think that this can be developed even more, for example in the beginning when we are running across the stage i had a fast fluid pace, this was good as it showed the ergency of the scene. However there were times like before the lift with Emily that i am not reacting fast enough, i think that the dynamcis need to keep fast but fluid throughout to show this. In this recording i am pausing too much beofre this and it looks as though i dont know what i am doing, so i need to work on this so it doesnt look like this.
Target setting
I want it all (Initial ideas)
What character work and vocal skills/performance skills have I applied, to give an effective group performance? Explain.
In this lesson we split off into our casting groups and worked on ensemble songs, we chose i want it all as it is a duet between Meat and Britt, we started by singing through the songs so that we knew where each part was coming in and just making sire that we knew the words and tune etc. We then started devising musical ideas such as harmonies, there was a harmony that we tried on the first chorus that me and Emily were going to sing, however we later realised that it is was easier for Meat to sing the harmony line and we were going to have to change melodies and they were not. As well as this we tried out another harmony at the end, this ended up going really well and was successful in the performance. We then worked on movement and how we were going to perform it, we decided to start on the rig and walk down, this is so we could make more of an entrance onto the stage. We sang this to each other and experimented with trying to intimidate each other, even though this isn't going to be how it is in the show as we are both the same character, it allowed us to start to get ideas about how our characters act.
What am I finding challenging?
I am finding it hard to show the relationship between Meat and Britt, however I think if I continue to work with Liv I will able to do this the more that we work together. I also think that as rehearsals continue I will be able to get more into my character because I feel that at the moment I am not into it as much as I could be.
What did I learn this lesson?
In this lesson I became more familiar with this song, I already know it but testing out ideas and having a chance to perform them gave me more of an insight of what the song is portraying to the audience. Now when we rehearse this more I think that I will be able to perform it better and with more energy and enthusiasm as I have already had a chance to try things out.
How effective was my peer support and communication skills for the benefit of the group performances?
Especially in this type of rehearsal I felt as though it was very important that everyone contributed ideas and listened to each other enough to be able make progress devising material. I think that as a whole we worked together well and we all shared ideas about what we think should be included in our performance. One example of how we all supported each other was when we were testing out harmonies, we all had to be patient with each other to give a chance to find these and see whether or not these work or not, i think i did this well as did the others in my group.
How could our performance and preparation have been improved?
When Meat enters the stage we had to flirt with her, this is to show their relationship, however i think I need to work on this as you could not see the relationship clearly enough at this stage. I think overall our performance was good, however we need to focus on the general movement in between choreographed material, this is so the energy doesn't get dragged down because there is always something happening.
In this lesson we split off into our casting groups and worked on ensemble songs, we chose i want it all as it is a duet between Meat and Britt, we started by singing through the songs so that we knew where each part was coming in and just making sire that we knew the words and tune etc. We then started devising musical ideas such as harmonies, there was a harmony that we tried on the first chorus that me and Emily were going to sing, however we later realised that it is was easier for Meat to sing the harmony line and we were going to have to change melodies and they were not. As well as this we tried out another harmony at the end, this ended up going really well and was successful in the performance. We then worked on movement and how we were going to perform it, we decided to start on the rig and walk down, this is so we could make more of an entrance onto the stage. We sang this to each other and experimented with trying to intimidate each other, even though this isn't going to be how it is in the show as we are both the same character, it allowed us to start to get ideas about how our characters act.
What am I finding challenging?
I am finding it hard to show the relationship between Meat and Britt, however I think if I continue to work with Liv I will able to do this the more that we work together. I also think that as rehearsals continue I will be able to get more into my character because I feel that at the moment I am not into it as much as I could be.
What did I learn this lesson?
In this lesson I became more familiar with this song, I already know it but testing out ideas and having a chance to perform them gave me more of an insight of what the song is portraying to the audience. Now when we rehearse this more I think that I will be able to perform it better and with more energy and enthusiasm as I have already had a chance to try things out.
How effective was my peer support and communication skills for the benefit of the group performances?
Especially in this type of rehearsal I felt as though it was very important that everyone contributed ideas and listened to each other enough to be able make progress devising material. I think that as a whole we worked together well and we all shared ideas about what we think should be included in our performance. One example of how we all supported each other was when we were testing out harmonies, we all had to be patient with each other to give a chance to find these and see whether or not these work or not, i think i did this well as did the others in my group.
How could our performance and preparation have been improved?
When Meat enters the stage we had to flirt with her, this is to show their relationship, however i think I need to work on this as you could not see the relationship clearly enough at this stage. I think overall our performance was good, however we need to focus on the general movement in between choreographed material, this is so the energy doesn't get dragged down because there is always something happening.
Cry (Solo)
Cry (Solo)
In this lesson i have been working on the development of Cry, this is a contemporary solo choreographed by Alvin Ailey. This was the first time i tried out the movement and learnt the dance, taking this into consideration i think that i learnt this quickly giving me more time to be able to think about the performance and make it stronger . For a first rehearsal i think that i had good timing throughout the majority, however there are still parts where this can be improved, this will come with more rehearsals when i become more familiar with the movement/music correlation. I am happy with how i performed some of the movements, such as the hinge and the Horton T, previously when i have done these i have struggled to keep control and balance, again, with more rehearsals these can be improved even more. I need to work on my balance, posture and alignment of the ponche, when watching the recording back, i noticed that my upper body is leaning too far forward, to improve this i need to use my leg to tilt forward rather than my upper body, this should allow me to gain more control over it. This needs to be something that i focus on during rehearsals as i am finding this difficult. In addition to this i need to contract more into certain movements, such as when i turn to the floor, this is because it shows more of the style that i am performing, i think i will be able to improve this as i rehearse more and become more confident with the movements. I need to do this to help convey the themes to the audience more and show the style of Ailey more, this is because contractions are a key feature of his choreography that were influenced by Martha Grayhem.
In this lesson i have been working on the development of Cry, this is a contemporary solo choreographed by Alvin Ailey. This was the first time i tried out the movement and learnt the dance, taking this into consideration i think that i learnt this quickly giving me more time to be able to think about the performance and make it stronger . For a first rehearsal i think that i had good timing throughout the majority, however there are still parts where this can be improved, this will come with more rehearsals when i become more familiar with the movement/music correlation. I am happy with how i performed some of the movements, such as the hinge and the Horton T, previously when i have done these i have struggled to keep control and balance, again, with more rehearsals these can be improved even more. I need to work on my balance, posture and alignment of the ponche, when watching the recording back, i noticed that my upper body is leaning too far forward, to improve this i need to use my leg to tilt forward rather than my upper body, this should allow me to gain more control over it. This needs to be something that i focus on during rehearsals as i am finding this difficult. In addition to this i need to contract more into certain movements, such as when i turn to the floor, this is because it shows more of the style that i am performing, i think i will be able to improve this as i rehearse more and become more confident with the movements. I need to do this to help convey the themes to the audience more and show the style of Ailey more, this is because contractions are a key feature of his choreography that were influenced by Martha Grayhem.
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
Spice girls presentation evaluation
What was my contribution to the project?
We all knew about our spice girls, for example I researched Geri Haliwell who was my character in this project, I needed to do this so that I would know who I had a good relationship with and who I didn't. As well as this we all had individual questions about the history of the band, this meant that we could all answer questions about the history of the band in character. For example I had to answer questions about how we auditioned for the band, this was a relevant question for me as Geri auditioned later as she had originally looked over the advert in the stage. My original idea for this project was that we as the spice girls could audition a new member for the band, however after reading into the assignment more we realised that this would not work as we had to show the bands actual history and not a made up scenario. When we decided on the interview idea, we all got given a question that we had to know the answer to as well as all know what we were doing before the spice girls.
What were our devising strategies?
Once we had decided to do an interview process we worked out that Megan was going to be an interviewer in her own TV show. We spoke about the history of the band from auditions to how they split up. We started by lip-syncing to the song wannabe, we decided that this was an important part of the sketch as it was their highest selling single, where they gained a lot of fan reaction and recognition. However we though that this would be better at the end rather than at the beginning. Throughout the scene we had an underlining theme of rivalry between some of the girls, this is to show how they broke up. By having the song after the fight we showed how the spice girls were professional even when there were problems in the dynamic of the band.
How was our research content?
We each had different questions to research, i found that my research about ginger spice allowed me to tell the audience information about who she is and how she would act. This was especially helpful to form the relationship i had with scary spice, there was a clear history that the two did not get along in the band and therefore to show this, everyone in the band was arguing but it was the friction between us two that initiated it. As well as this because i knew that she was the first one to leave the band during their tour, it was appropriate to explain what she did after, when they were speaking about what they did after the Spice girls. I feel as though my research for this project was helpful and allowed me to gain all of the information that i needed to portray this character.
What have I learnt about working as a musical ensemble?
Through working on this project i have learnt that communication in a musical ensemble is essential to be able to be successful, The Spice girls did not have good communication as towards the end of their career, they had a lot of conflict, that eventually led to the band breaking up. This is essential part of a musical ensemble as you have to be able to trust each other when trying out ideas and performing with each other. For example Geri Haliwell left the band in the middle of their tour, this meant the remaining members of the band had to carry on without them, maybe if they had had better communication this could had been avoided. As well as this i have learnt that everyone has to have an equal commitment to the project, this is because everyone has a responsibility to bring new ideas and put energy into devising things so that everyone has an idea of how the performance is going to go.
FREELANCE (Working actor wisdom)
Working Actor Wisdom
This website is for conservatory and studio actors who need to bring up their business, social media and audition skills up to the level of their performance skills. It also helps actors who are at the co star level who wish to step up to a lead and regular roles, as well as this helping actors who are new to either New York or Los Angeles who are building a career from scratch.
They offer auditioning coaching, this gives a performer to opportunity to "set your performance apart" this may help an actor who is worried that they are not being original in each audition. It also helps actors become more confident in their preparation for auditions and keep calm so that actors only have to worry about their actual audition and not about stress. Career coaching helps actors who feel overwhelmed to organise more efficiently
This website is for conservatory and studio actors who need to bring up their business, social media and audition skills up to the level of their performance skills. It also helps actors who are at the co star level who wish to step up to a lead and regular roles, as well as this helping actors who are new to either New York or Los Angeles who are building a career from scratch.
They offer auditioning coaching, this gives a performer to opportunity to "set your performance apart" this may help an actor who is worried that they are not being original in each audition. It also helps actors become more confident in their preparation for auditions and keep calm so that actors only have to worry about their actual audition and not about stress. Career coaching helps actors who feel overwhelmed to organise more efficiently
Monday, 3 October 2016
Using text to create movement
We started todays lesson by doing a contemporary warm up, Emily peer assessed me and said that my extension was good, especially in my legs. This has been something that I have really been working on as I want each movement to look completed before moving on, therefore I am happy that this has been noticed and has been improved. She also said that my hop and roll was good, I am happy with this as it means that my transitions in and out of these was smooth. However she said that I need to relax my back, head, and shoulders down more so that I do not look as rigid specially when I drop down, this is necessary especially for the contemporary genre as it is very typical of this style. As well as this I need to concentrate more when dancing so that I do not forget parts of the phrase, I need to focus so that I am aware of what is coming up at all times.
In todays lesson we each looked at different pieces of text and annotated the words that stood out to create different dynamics and movements for a short phrase. For example I highlighted terrible and decided to use a drop to the floor to show this. This is because I wanted to show how when someone feels alone or isolated it is hard to keep upbeat and it can feel as thought you are falling, the arms after this are supposed to show someone hiding as they do not feel as though they are fitting in enough. I then chose to use an inward round kick, this is because with the arm placement this created an interesting shape that represented the word "different".
We Will Rock You Song List
Song Name
|
Solo/Ensemble
|
Who?
|
Radio GaGa
|
Ensemble
|
GaGa kids
|
I want to break free A
|
Solo
|
Galileo
|
I want to break free B
|
Solo
|
Scaramouche
|
Somebody to love
|
Solo (backing singers)
|
Scaramouche (GaGa kids)
|
Killer queen
|
Ensemble
|
Killer queen, Super Yuppies, GaGa girls, offstage singers
|
Play the game
|
Ensemble
|
Killer queen, super yuppies
|
I want it all
|
Ensemble
|
Britt, Meat, youth
|
Headlong
|
Ensemble
|
Britt, Meat, Galileo, Scaramouche, offstage singers
|
Crazy little thing called love
|
Ensemble
|
Britt, Meat, Galileo, Scaramouche, Offstage singers
|
Under pressure
|
Ensemble
|
Galileo, Scaramouche
|
A kind of magic
|
Ensemble
|
Killer queen, Khashoggii
|
No one but you
|
Ensemble
|
Meat and Bohemians
|
One vision
|
Ensemble
|
Galileo, Scaramouche, Consumers
|
Who wants to live forever
|
Ensemble
|
Galileo, Scaramouche
|
Flash
|
Ensemble
|
Khashoggi, Bohmemians
|
Seven seas of rye
|
Ensemble
|
Khashoggii,
|
Don’t stop me now
|
Solo
|
Killer queen
|
Another one bites the dust
|
Solo
|
Killer queen
|
These are the days of our lives
|
Ensemble
|
Galileo, Scaramouche
|
We will rock you
|
Ensemble
|
Pop, Galileo, Scaramouche
|
We are the champions
|
Ensemble
|
Galileo
|
(Fast) We will rock you
|
Ensemble
|
All
|
Bohemian Rhapsody
|
Ensemble
|
Galileo, Scaramouche, Killer queen
|
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