28/1/15 - Rehearsal

With the actual performance in a few weeks,  I think its safe to say that everything is coming along nicely with rehearsals. Just a few more things need polishing off and changing, and then we're done!

In last Thursday's rehearsal we ran through tale 5 again, my group finished working on tale 6 and the whole cast ran through tales 1, 2, 3 and 4 again (which were just a bit rusty because we haven't gone through those tales since before Christmas!)

Tale 6 is finally taking shape, a few more runs of the ending and it will be pretty much sorted. At the end of tale 6 we get into partners and come up with a small sequence of slow physical movement. Me and Lloyd did have a sequence but we are going to think of better movements which will cause us to use levels because right now ours looks a little boring.

The main focuses of the next rehearsal will be getting all the technical things sorted.

Set yourself three rehearsal targets

1. Think of a new routine with Lloyd so it's more interesting and eye-catching.
2. Keep being persistent in my listening and focus as always.
3. Learn to be on time with all my queues.

Reflect on the targets set: Have they been achieved? How?

I have achieved one of my targets from last week which was to add more character to my voice so I don't just sound like a robot. I thought about how I'm going to deliver my lines and I'm much more confident now about doing so.

What would you give yourself for today's rehearsal? Why?

I would give myself a merit/distinction again because I know I'm working my best and my hardest in everything but I don't know if I'm for for a distinction.

- Matilda ^__^

21/1/15 - Rehearsal

We got a lot done in last week's session, we managed to plan the rest of tales 6 and 7 and finish tale 5. I've already learnt all y lines, so now I just need to remember when and where I come on and off stage.

I really enjoyed the work I did in the session because of the amount of progress we all made, it was a very productive lesson! me and my group working on tale 6 have finally finished running through the whole scene, now we just need to polish it off, it took a long time because our scene was pretty long, but we managed to include lots of physical theatre, (which is a good thing because that's the main focus this term!) We have added a lot to tale 5 because it is the longest, most complicated tale. We used different techniques, one I really like is when Jake and Sherene go in the room behind and have an argument and the audience will only be able to hear them, not see them. This will give the effect that an argument is taking place 'next door'. 

I decided to type up the self-observation sheet straight onto the computer because why not?

Unit 15 Performing Scripted Plays Rehearsal Self Observation

Marking criteria:

P2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal making a positive contribution to the process

M2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal, consistently making a positive contribution and constructive contribution to the process.

D2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal with consistently positive and constructive contributions, engagement, commitment, input and self- reflection.

Set yourself  three rehearsal targets:

1. Remember my blocking.

2. Add more character to my voice so I don't just sound like a robot.

3. Still give it my all in every lesson so I'm on the ball.

Reflect on the targets set:  Have they been achieved? How?   

Looking back at my targets from last week, I have learnt my lines well enough so I say them smoothly so I do keep the flow of the scene going. I did (like always) keep a positive attitude through the lesson, even when I was hungry and tired, and even when I wasn't in a scene and just waiting. I spoke up a little bit more in my group and some of my own ideas are in tale 6 which I like allot!

What would you give yourself for today’s rehearsal? 

For last week's session, I would give myself a merit/distinction because I feel like I tick all the boxes for those two, I make sure that I am consistently self-reflecting on my acting and others, contributing to scenes and ideas, and committing myself to everything.

12/1/15 - Recap on Tales 1 & 2/ tales 6 & 7

Last Thursday's session was mainly focussing on recapping tales 1 and 2 and creating tales 6 and 7. I'm not in tale 2 so for me and the rest of the girls we focussed on tale 1.

Going back through the tale made us realise that there are things that we could do to improve our piece, like our characters. Everybody had interpreted their own character so everyone had different accents and personalities but it didn't quite match when we said it all together so we now speak in the same typical 'East-end' accent. When we ran through it like that it sounded smoother and more fluent. Everybody has already learnt their lines so that wasn't a problem. Some cues were a bit delayed but other than that it flowed well. The tempo, however, needed a bit of speeding up because our feedback from the director was that it was a bit jagged and slow. It needed to be as if we were saying gossip, and each line was overlapping each other in fast movements to make it more exciting. Lastly, some of us had to speak up because some lines couldn't be heard clearly.

Tale 6 rehearsal 

Tale 1 rehearsal 

We were split into two groups (I was tale 6) and we, as a group, had to independently come up with all the ideas and create the scene ourselves. My scene was the argument in the bar. We chose lots of creative elements which I think are going to work really well. The first creative
choice we made was for two people from the other group to hold up a sheet at the back so two people can go behind it and create a silhouette of the argument on the bar. We chose to do this because it's different and it will help the audience to focus on the actors instead of the argument taking place, it will also make the scene abstract and interesting to watch. The second creative choice we made was for everyone to do certain moves at the same time or say the same line at the same time, to give it a sense of routine and order. We thought this would work well because it would help represent that we are all actually one character.

We definitely haven't finished our piece (we are only about halfway) and the parts we have rehearsed need polishing off immensely but we are very happy with what we have done. We haven't particularly thought about what we want to do next with the dialogue, we've been working on things step by step.

- Matilda ^_^

4/1/15 - My lines and script

Before I say anything else, happy new year! Anyway, the last lesson before we broke up for the Christmas holidays, we rehearsed the rest of tale 4 and started tale 5.

My task over the holidays was to learn all my lines, I know I'm going to be prepared with them for the first Theatre lesson of the year! Learning the lines off by heart is always a good thing, especially as this is a physical theatre performance, we don't need scripts getting in the way while everyone is moving about. 

For each tale everyone is working in an ensemble and I have a character for every scene, whether that just be me or a group of people playing it. 

I have been asked to go through the whole script and summarise every character I am playing in each scene.

Prologue - I am simply one of the headlight's to Lloyd's taxi.
Tale 1 - One of the many women describing what the East End would be like if it was her friend.
Tale 2 - I am not included in this scene as it is boys only.
Tale 3 - I am one of the many witnesses to what Jack does.
Tale 4 - I am one of the many narrators to Nina's thoughts and feelings.
Tale 5 - I am playing (along with others) the thoughts that are going through the child's head while the abuse is taking place next door.
Tale 6 - I am the boy narrating what he sees taking place in the pub.
Tale 7 - I am only in the ensemble for this scene, repeating lines that the cashier clerk said.
Prologue - I return to being one of the headlights to Lloyd's taxi.

I chose three of my lines and wrote what the objective was in saying it, this will help me know actually how to say it, and with what emotion.

'All 10p of it' - The objective is to show how little she probably usually gets from her dad, so she is used to getting so little.
'No way
Not at all' - The objective is to show how against that statement we are'
'And the next
And the next
And the next' - The objective is to show that is keeps happening. It could start to get boring because of the repetition. 

- Matilda ^_^

28/12/14 - Ensemble

Finally I'm posting, now that Christmas is finished! On 11/12/14, we really started focusing on ensemble. To me, ensemble is the whole cast working together to create a piece of physical theatre for a greater impact. To create a successful ensemble, the atmosphere in the room has to be focused and everything has to listen so they can work together smoothly, if one person isn't listening, they could lag behind and drag everyone else back with them as this is a team task. My favourite ensemble moment in East End Tales so far is in tale 3, where us girls and boys pile onto the stage at different times but we all take a drink at the same time, I think its really effective.

In this lesson, we created tale 3 and the beginning of tale 4. Tale 3 is taken place in a pub, with the boys sat on stools and the girls scattered around, making the atmosphere warm and relaxing. Halfway through the tale, the atmosphere changes because it's a more serious and sad topic. The boys are at the back of the bar and the girls are him in a circle in front, creating levels.

There is only one character really in this tale, who is being played by Matteo, and everyone else is a narrator, talking about Matteo's character. Speaking of atmosphere, tale 3 differed from the first two tales because it was sort of telling a story, whereas tales 1 and 2 were more about describing someone.

Tale 4 is telling a story so everyone is moving about as an ensemble nearly all the time. We start off as pedestrians with umbrellas, then as a sidewalk and then shelves in a shop. I'm not a particular character, I am part of the ensemble to help create an atmosphere of being in the shop or being outside.

One skill that I know I've been developing is my physical theatre and my teamwork with others. This term I've had to do a lot of movement that I'm not used to doing, so I feel more fit to be honest! My teamwork with others is better because I'm getting used to being an ensemble, I usually work independently because I usually find working with others annoying and time wasting.

To summarise each tale with one line from each, I would say:

Prologue - 'which turnin then? Eh?'

Tale 1 - 'even the traffic stops for him when he crosses the road'
Tale 2 - 'and her pillow is wet when she wakes'
Tale 3 - ' you can see all of this if you look in Jack's eyes'
Tale 4 - ''nobody's ever helped me before''

- Matilda ^_^

6/12/14- First rehearsal

So this Thursday's lesson we began bringing the script to life and directing the first three tales: the prologue, tale 1 and tale 2.

Staging we are using for the performance

The advantages of using this stage space are:

• You can connect more with the audience because the stage is 'thrust' towards everyone
• You have to use your imagination more because scenery will get in the way so it's more effective with just raw acting
• The audience has a '3-D' effect when watching the play as the actors don't just walk side-to-side

The disadvantages of using this space stage are:

• The audience will see every actor at a different angle which could possibly ruin the effect of the performance for some viewers
• If you're not careful when acting, you could end up having your back facing a large amount of the audience for an extended period of time which is unprofessional

As an actor, I think that the challenges that I will have to face when being directed in this space is to make sure my back isn't facing the audience for a long time and that everyone can see my facial expressions as best as they can. I also will have to make my movement bigger and bolder so everyone knows what I am doing even if my back is facing them.

I will need to learn these off by heart, it will come in handy!

For the prologue (the taxi driver scene) we have staged it so there are 7 'taxis' scattered around the stage, facing every way so that the audience can see at least one taxi properly while we perform. I find this very effective because it makes everything more stylized and the use of the torches makes it look very unique. 

After working on the prologue, I was grouped with all the other girls and we all worked together to create tale 1. My role in the tale (as all the others) is a normal girl who is describing what the east-end would be like if it was her friend. The lines are being said in a different ways, so either as a text or as a phone call. 
It has been staged by everyone starting off sat down and then to create effect, everyone walks off in different directions at different times using different routes, like to show that we are all separate people, and then finally we all turn around and speak at the same time like we are all one person. These choices have been made because it combines the dialogue with a lot of physical movement which includes lots of levels and techniques. 

The strengths of this piece so far is that when all the lines are spoken fluent, it sounds very smooth and very organized and snappy which suits the context of tale 1. Finally, the developments that need to happen during this rehearsal is pace and timing as sometimes some of us don't get to the right place in time or one of us will read a line too fast or too slow.

4/12/14 - (late) Monologues

I apologise profusely for this late blog post!

So, last Thursday's lesson we focused on monologues, we chose our favourite characters. I chose the abused girlfriend. 

Monologue

We had about 20 minutes to come up with our monologues, by ourselves. We then worked in pairs to stage the pieces and I worked with Sherene. We were both really supportive of each other and we gave a few improvements so that our performances were to the best of our ability! Sherene said that my main focus was to make sure I keep the same emotion in my voice so it's not just everywhere, so it's planned and sounds planned too! When I performed my piece I used a light, cheerful and excited tone while delivering my lines because my character had a new boyfriend and so she didn't know how abusive the relationship would get, I was playing her when she was still completely oblivious. I tried to make my physicality comfortable because I felt that my character was content with her life at that moment, so she is relaxed in her body language.

The monologue task helped me to understand the play further because the situation and character I created can be quite common nowadays, especially as it was set in the east end, so I was able to imagine it clearer. It also helped me understand how difficult a situation like an abusive relationship can be and that it is very hard to get out of. 

Once we had all performed to each other we were given feedback from the cover teacher, Chris. One of the monologues that really stood out for me was Rory's because he didn't hold back in his acting. At one point he got really angry and knocked over the chair. You have to be careful when doing strong emotions because it can look over-exaggerated but Rory managed to make it look naturalistic and it let his character's emotions pour out of him. Rory had written about the abuser of the girlfriend, and his was set in the police station, answering questions about her death.

We didn't actually get onto the research task as we didn't have enough time and I didn't get another developing assessment sheet so I'll just write it here!

I think I worked at a merit level because I used some of the research I found out about relationships to help me with my monologue. I understood every task that was given to me and I stayed focused and ready all lesson.

- Matilda ^_^