15.01.15

You need to write a brief reflection on the work that you did today.

 How did the scenes develop that you have been directing as a group?

Ø  In my group we have developed Tale 7 by finishing off the scene and tightening it up. We created the rest of the scene by incorporating different group member’s ideas.  We decided that when the argument starts between the cashier and one of the customers, the other customers should go behind him and make a hissing noise, to give the customer more power, and raise the tension. We then decided that gradually the people making the hissing noise would join the people behind the till, to show that we were now all on the cashier’s side.

What action have we added to Tale 5? What do you think the impact of this might be?

Ø  In tale 5, we have been working on the beginning section in the house, by someone saying things from the programme ‘weakest link’. This impacted the scene as it made it more realistic; when it talks about the volume going up, and its weakest link is scripted as the programme on in the background. We also added in the door, number 4 by using the red stalls to build to door frames either side of each other. This had an impact on the scene as it made the scene flow well, as it was nicely choreographed physical theatre. The last bit we blocked was the scene that takes place in the cafe. This had a good impact because the transition between the house and the cafe had lots of fluidity, and it was nice and simple as we only moved some stalls.  We then walked on one by one to saying our lines as the women walked about us with her pram. This impacted the scene as it symbolizes her place in society, nobody ever pays any attention, the abuse or the fact her baby twins have died.

Set yourself three rehearsal targets:

1. Commit to my characters

2. Stay focused, by not talking

3. Don’t use my script when performing

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

1. I feel I achieved this target as I thought about my character objective, and how they were feeling, which helped me play my character to the best of my ability.

2. I achieved this as when we were trying to finish off the scenes I didn’t talk, so the process could be done quicker. Also, I never missed my cues, as I stayed focused even when I wasn’t performing.

3. I achieved this, as I never needed to use the script during my tales, by doing this I feel it made me perform better, as I could just focus on the performance, and not have to worry what line I have next.

What would you give yourself for today’s rehearsal? 

Marking criteria:	Why?
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.	I think I am working at a merit but near distinction. I think this as I was engaged throughout, and committed to my characters; also I applied personal and technical skill, and I reflected on my rehearsals time to see what I could improve upon. However I feel I could have contributed more to the lesson when working on tale 7.
D2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal with consistently positive and constructive contributions, engagement, commitment, input and self- reflection.

08.01.15

Set yourself three rehearsal targets:

1. Contribute to the lesson more, by putting forward my ideas.

2.Don’t hold back when performing; commit 100% to my character.

     3. Be engaged in the lesson from start to finish.

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

Target 1: I achieved this target as during lesson when we had to create tale 7, on our own, I put forward my ideas.

Target 2: I think I need to continue working on this because even though in tale 2, I do feel I gave 100%, in tale 7, I don’t feel I was very committed as we were trying to stage the scene as well as act it out. Also it was the first time I have played that character properly not just when learning my lines.

Target 3: I feel I achieved, as I followed the instruction, and knew what I was doing throughout the lesson. Also when rehearsing I didn’t lose my focus, when the teacher wasn’t around.

What would you give yourself for today’s rehearsal? 

Marking criteria:	Why?
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.	I would give myself a merit because I made positive and constructive contribution when creating tale 7, also I feel I demonstrated personal and technical skill when rehearsing, as I learnt my lines, and remember the blockings for tales I haven’t performed in a long time. Also I used my voice to put on an east end accent and movement memory.
D2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal with consistently positive and constructive contributions, engagement, commitment, input and self- reflection.

 Make some notes of what you need to do better within each tale

Tale 2:

I can improve upon this tale vocally as I need to make sure I am projecting throughout.

Also need to work on my cues for my lines as even though I know the cues, I am focusing on what other people say so I don’t miss my lines. Therefore my whole focus is not on my characterisation.

I could work on the same details to make it more realistic, for example, as even though I am pretending to go on my phone throughout the tale I haven’t thought about what I am actually doing on it, e.g. text, Who, Calling someone, what I am talking about. This would improve it as my acting would be more believable.

Tale 7:

Some things I need to do better in this tale, is to become more comfortable with my lines. I think this because, even though I know my lines I am worried I will forget them when I am thinking about what else I need to do.

I also need to work on my character, as I haven’t studied the tale in depth before. So I don’t know my character background, or objective, and I think knowing this will help me play my character better.

I also need to work on my cues, as in the tale it is important for me to be at certain points of that stage at specific times.  I think knowing my cues will help me do better in the tale, as it will flow better and I can just focus on my character.

You then started working in two groups on Tale 6 & 7.

Write some notes on the creative choices that were made.

Ø  We are using the red stall to make the till.

Ø  We start the play with half of us on one side of the stage and the rest the other, apart from Benji who is behind the till. When he starts speaking we all stay frozen until, he said, ‘my brothers stacking selves’, then we all acknowledge him and start stacking selves.

Ø   Another choice we decided to make was that once you have said your line you then go behind the till. We did this because we were all symbolising the mains character’s family joining his side and not the side of the racist customer. We did this as one of the lines towards the end is ‘my family by my side’.

Write about the work that you need to develop further

Ø  We have only got to the middle of the play which is when the argument starts. We need to figure out how we are going to build tension, and make it engaging. We also need to work out staging, that isn’t majorly blocking off any parts of the audience but also make it interesting.  One idea we did have to build the tension was when the cashier describes the customer as being an ‘angry pissed bulldog’. Then everyone who wasn’t behind the till apart from the customer would turn in to an angry dog. Then when the lines ‘family by my side’ is said they would join the rest of us behind the till. We would do this to show that now everyone is supporting the cashier in the argument.

1.   Go through your script tale by tale and work out the character that you are. Write about each character briefly. 

Tale 1- I think I and the rest of the girls are all playing the same character and we are the main character’s internal thoughts.

Tale 2- (I am not in this tale.)

Tale 3- In this tale I play a punter in the pub who witnessed the fight between Jack and someone else.

Tale 4- In this Tale I play the elderly one who is being helped with her shopping.

 Tale 5- I Think I play the teenager in the house who is telling the story for what happened to the family next door.

Tale 6- (I am not in it).

Tale 7- In this tale I play someone who is working night shifts at a corner shop with his family, at their own family run business, who is talking about the different types of customers that come in to his shop. 

2.   Next, write out some of your lines from each tale and next to the line write your OBJECTIVE for saying the line. Think about why you are saying the line and this will help you with finding how you might say this.

Tale 1-  ‘ Cos his hard.’ -  He  doesn’t show his feelings because he thinks it would make him weak.

Tale 1- ‘ Even the traffic stops for him when he crosses the road’ - Everyone finds him intimidating.

Tale 3- ‘ But his past is where it’s really snowing’ – He has had a really bad past.

Tale 4-  ‘ Nobody’s ever helped me before’- I don’t see many people any more, no one comes to visit, so thank you for helping me, it means a lot.

Tale 5- ‘ Puts the volume back on, cranks it up’- He thinks if he can’t hear it and ignores it, then it’s not really happening.

Tale 5- ‘ We, we, we, we live next door to you, we, we ,we we hear things’- We know he hits you please just ask for my help and I will give it to you.

Tale 5-  ‘ And the next, and the next, and the next’- It keeps happening, I know I should do something, but I can’t.

Tale 7- ‘seven forty-one please’- I don’t have time for this, you heard what I said.

Tale 7- ‘You picked um up’- Why are you trying to cause an argument?’

Tale 7- ‘that’s seven forty-one please’ – Don’t come to our shop and try and cause trouble, you got it?

11.12.14

In today’s lesson we started blocking Tale 3 and 4. Both tales are performed as an ensemble piece, and the lines are split up between us.

Write your own definition of what ensemble means in theatre.

In my opinion the definition of ensemble means in theatre when a group (3+ people) perform a piece to theatre with several people acting as the same person. Also I think some of the lines have to be said all together, and some actions.

What has to happen in the rehearsal room to develop a successful ensemble?

I believe that to have a successful ensemble in the rehearsal room, everyone has to work together and ‘give it their all’. I think this, because if someone is not listening, so therefore they don’t understand what they are doing, the rest of the cast will have to do it again, which will waste everyone’s time, and you would get less things done. Also if you don’t try hard and give it your all, you will be letting down the rest of the cast as their performance will look bad because you are not trying.

Write about your favourite ensemble moment so far.

So far my favourite ensemble moment so far is in Tale 2, when all the girls turn to face each other and all say the line ‘even the traffic stop for him when he crosses the road’. This is my favourite ensemble moment as I feel it gives the lines more meaning and power as we are all saying it at the same time. Also while saying the line we shine our torches away from us, I like this as it creates a bit of an eerie atmosphere, as it’s only our faces which are lit up. We also make the movement very sharp and clean, I think this is effective as it makes the audience get more involved with the performance as it grabs their attention.

TALE 3

• How have we decided to stage Tale 3? 

We decided to stage tale 3, in a typical East End pub, which was filled with loads of loud punters. We did this, as in tale 3 it talks about a fight breaking out in a pub. Also we used red stalls instead of actual bars stall, which were left on stage from tale 1. I think that looked effective as because the stalls were all exactly the same it made the performance look more ensemble. We also used music in the tale in the beginning, I liked this as I think it created the feeling that you were actually in a busy pub and helped me perform better.

• What characters do you play in this tale? 

In tale 3, I played one of the punters in the bar, me and the rest of the class all acted as typical pub punters. By this I mean I had a pint in my hand and I slouched a lot. We all had to give ourselves an occupation as in the monologue it talks about the main character being a ‘jack of all trades’. I decided that my occupation would be a boiler repairs man. I did this by going up to someone in the audience and telling then their boiler was broken and I talked about the cost.

• What is the atmosphere of Tale 3? How is this different to what we have created for Tale 1 & 2

In tale 3, I think the atmosphere was very informal and busy but also the mood was quite light and not dramatic. This is very different to tale 1 and 2, as the atmosphere they had contained a lot more tension in them and were spookier. I think this as in tale 1 and 2, the scenes were quite quiet, and sparse and doing this automatically creates tension. Unlike tale 3, where there is a lot of noise and there is conversation everywhere, which makes the scene more relaxed.

TALE 4

• How have we decided to stage Tale 4? 

For tale 4, we decided to split the stage in two halves,  half of it was outside in the rain, while the other half was inside the house and in a living room. This is effective and you can clearly see what is going and it makes the scene flow nicely. In the living room we made a couch chair out of the red stalls for the dad to sit on. I really liked this idea as I think it kind of made it abstract and made it interesting and unique to look at. Then, outside, it is raining so we have a load of people walking around with umbrellas. This works really well as it creates the atmosphere of being outside in the rain especially because we have the sound of rain playing in the back ground

• What characters do you play in this tale? 

In this tale I played a teenager walking with my friend to the shop in the rain with my umbrella. I was also used to create the atmosphere that they are walking across the road as me and the rest of the class all kneel down facing each other, in a diagonal line.

  Further questions...

• What acting skills have you continued to develop over the past few weeks? Is there anything new you have discovered about your own skills?

Over the past view weeks I have continued to develop my characterisation skill as each lesson I am working on a different character so I don’t have weeks to study my character. So therefore I have to be able to adapt to a new character, and be able to make quick decisions about my character. Also I have discovered that I am capable to help create scenes using only movements and sound.

• Return to all of the sections of the text we have staged so far. Select a line from each that sums up that tale.

Prologue: ‘That when you see the real East End shadowy. ‘I picked this line as I think that the prologue is summing up what life could be like in the East End, and I think that explains it.

Tale 1: ‘Even the traffic stops for him when he crosses the road’  I selected this line as I think what the tale is trying to tell you is that the main character is quite intending and thinks that he is ‘all that’.

Tale 2: ‘She’s bold cold, but warm on the inside’.  I picked this line as I think that tale is saying that everyone already had their preconceptions on what the East End is like. But in fact it’s nothing like that and the people who live their like it, and I think that that line describes it well.

Tale 3: ‘Cheers London pride’.  I chose the line as throughout the tale it talks a lot about typical East End men, and I feel a lot of them would be really proud of where they come from.

Tale 4: ‘Nobody’s ever helped me before’. I picked this line as I think that the tale is making out they are helping an elderly lady across the road which is something very uncommon.