Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Wednesday 6th February
Rachel wasn't here today so as a class we decided that we would do a run through and first try and do it without looking at our scripts but we didn't really know our lines very well so there was no flow and it wasn't snappy enough, so we all sat down and read through the whole play as a class so we could remember our lines then we tried again without using our scripts.
We got a lot done in the lesson despite not having a teacher and proved to ourselves that we could be responsible and respectable towards each other, especially when we were talking about different bits in the play and everyone putting in their input. Any ideas we had we all decided as a group to agree or disagree with it.
We got a lot done in the lesson despite not having a teacher and proved to ourselves that we could be responsible and respectable towards each other, especially when we were talking about different bits in the play and everyone putting in their input. Any ideas we had we all decided as a group to agree or disagree with it.
Monday 4th February
We worked on act 3 today.
At the beginning of the lesson Sam started helping us choreograph the animal routines and started by teaching Josh M and group 1 a simple dance that he would do on his own first and then after he did that once, group one would join in behind him, to give the impression the animals were being tamed, while group 2 would be 'misbehaving' behind group 1. Eventually both groups were being tamed by josh M and we were all doing our own sequences in pairs to the music.
After this we worked on the animal routine on our own and with Elle as she is a dancer herself, so she would be able to easily show us some simple dance moves to put into the routine. We did this dance to 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' from the lion king because the song is really catchy and because it is quite slow in the middle we decided to have the music change half way through to surprise the audience when we suddenly changed into a fast pace dance, which was a remixed version of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. The first part of the dance began with Josh M and Ben doing tricks with hula hoop and then one by one pairs would come onto the stage and do their different tricks, for example Charlotte and I came on the stage juggling with scarves. After this we then decided that the music would change, the clowns would come on, disrupt our dance and then capture us, which would then lead us into the animal taming routine.
the lesson finished before we got a chance to finish everything, so we decided that we were going to finish it on another day instead.
At the beginning of the lesson Sam started helping us choreograph the animal routines and started by teaching Josh M and group 1 a simple dance that he would do on his own first and then after he did that once, group one would join in behind him, to give the impression the animals were being tamed, while group 2 would be 'misbehaving' behind group 1. Eventually both groups were being tamed by josh M and we were all doing our own sequences in pairs to the music.
After this we worked on the animal routine on our own and with Elle as she is a dancer herself, so she would be able to easily show us some simple dance moves to put into the routine. We did this dance to 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' from the lion king because the song is really catchy and because it is quite slow in the middle we decided to have the music change half way through to surprise the audience when we suddenly changed into a fast pace dance, which was a remixed version of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. The first part of the dance began with Josh M and Ben doing tricks with hula hoop and then one by one pairs would come onto the stage and do their different tricks, for example Charlotte and I came on the stage juggling with scarves. After this we then decided that the music would change, the clowns would come on, disrupt our dance and then capture us, which would then lead us into the animal taming routine.
the lesson finished before we got a chance to finish everything, so we decided that we were going to finish it on another day instead.
Thursday 31st January
Today Kim came into our lesson to show us and help us to make our ties for school uniform costume, which was made out of colleron. Kim cut us a strip of it so we then had to draw a template design on it to cut out, making sure it wasn't going to be too big to tie when we cut it, but making sure that it was still a bigger size than normal because the idea was that they were supposed to be comical.We all made a tie out of this material so that we would all have the same type of tie and make it more believable for the audience to think that we all came from the same school, therefor making it a lot better for the audience to enjoy watching. To stop it from being impossible to put on I made the bit that would be going round my neck thinner than everyone else's because I knew that it would be difficult to tie otherwise. After we had cut them out we painted them black and purple because that was the colour we decided as a class to keep the colour scheme to.
After the paint had dried and we had added another layer and used them a few times we noticed that the paint had started peeling and cracking off the ties, this made them look tacky and unprofessional so wi thought we would have a look on amazon for some ties and luckily we found the same ties we had made pretty much for £5 so we're going to get them because they look a lot better than the ones we originally made.
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Thursday 24th January
Today we did DFTA instead of WWRY and discussed act three and thr routine at the end. Lauren,Charlotte, Elle, Millie, Megan and I were in a group and had to come up with ideas for 'Clown Routine', we came up with some ideas and these were:
To have the performance as a mime and to also use hand made sculptures made to be made to look like the characters and use those to act out the performance as well the characters characters for the clown scene and we got this idea after being influenced by zero degrees. We also had another idea brought up that was to have double sided costumes against the scenery at the back and creep in the the theme tune to pink panther.
To have the performance as a mime and to also use hand made sculptures made to be made to look like the characters and use those to act out the performance as well the characters characters for the clown scene and we got this idea after being influenced by zero degrees. We also had another idea brought up that was to have double sided costumes against the scenery at the back and creep in the the theme tune to pink panther.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Wednesday 16th January
After last lesson Lauren and I decided that our characters should be goths as it would be an amazing idea for costumes and interesting to act out, because its different to everyone else.
We were put into groups and for the exercise 1 person was picked to be a show host, and the other three people were members participating in the show. Millie was our show host and we decided to make our a backstage talk about the actual show, she asked us questions and we had to answer as our characters would and behave how we decided they were going to.
It was really hard to stay in character and not to laugh which is something i'm going to need to work on a lot throughout rehearsals and lesson because throughout the play i have comical lines and will obviouslt have to stay in character when i'm performing.
The purpose of the exercise was to really get more into our character and think about getting more into a new genre that we're not used to talking about.
After this exercise we blocked the first scene of the play and for a first run I think it went really well.
What worked?
when the gang first come in, before they enter the tent, the four gang members (including myself) pop our heads round the side of the side curtain one after the other and i think it is a really funny way to start things off because straight after we start saying our also comical lines followed b everyone else so it starts off at a really good pace which will be good to watch.
Another thing that worked was the fact that when missy and zack had their own conservations or a long bit of dialogue towards the gang, the gang were on different levels so it didn't look like just one big bunch.
When 'boy' come on claiming that his dad is going to shut the circus down, angel, billy and I have a 10 second part of the scene when we take the boys phone, angel throws it to me then I throw it to billy, this works well because we're all at different of the stage when this happens and looks good but just needs to be practiced so we don't drop the phone.
What didn't work?
Because there is always a lot of us on stage all the time, we all end up just standing still because we don't know what to do because we haven't got any lines to say we don't know if we should be moving or listening etc, so Rachel told us that the gang members should wander off every now and then to look at things or just to create some atmosphere and stick together so it looks more convincing that we four are an obvious gang. We also decided that some of the members whenever there is a still moment to either sit down or stand up, take their phone, just to create some sort of movement when Missy and Zack are speaking.
Lauren and I decided to change our character into goths after last lesson and it was all working well in the improv but when we started looking at our lines we realised it was really difficult to act that way and say the lines we have because our lines have been written 'chavey' so we decided to change back to our original idea and stick with it because it is easier and I personally think it will be more effective when it comes to actual performance
The aim for next lesson is to learn the next set of lines as we are blocking scene two and getting straight into it, also to remember my lines from this lesson because we are doing a straight run of the first scene straight away. COme to rehearsal with a positive attitute, remember who my character is, what the're like etc and to be able to put that into the next scene.
Circus Research
What is circus? Is it still entertaining?
When exploring the modern concept of the circus, the exhibition of acrobatics, horses, and other performances became quite popular. Many credit a Briton named Philip Astley with the establishment of the first permanent and traveling circus that illuminated Britain and Europe throughout the late 18th century.
England embraced circus performances in London, where the first exhibition is believed to have taken place on January 9th, 1768.The circus became so popular in England that large cities constructed buildings for the purpose of accommodating shows. An example of this is seen with the establishment of the London Hippodrome, which showcased a combination arena with circus, menagerie, and variety theater. Sometimes, wild animals, such as lions and elephants, decorated the ring.
http://www.jugglenow.com/history-of-the-circus.html
Circus has changed a lot now from previously, a main factor being the animal rights law, so some circuses mixed animal acts and human acts together to keep their businesses going but eventually mainly having human acts in the circus. New circus is much more choreographed and dance and acrobatic based with a lot more focus on things like special effects and lighting, when used in a performance its much more modern and elaborate and also seen much more so and a key factor to make a performance and give it its atmosphere.
Compared with the traditional circus, the contemporary genre of circus tends to focus more attention on the overall look and beauty of the performances and circus, on character and story development and on the use of lightening, original music, and costume design. To make the circus performance look better and or for economic reasons, contemporary circus productions are sometimes performed in theatres rather than in the traditional large outdoor tents. Music used in the production is often composed only for that production and animal acts appear less frequently in contemporary circus than in traditional circus.
Circuses are a form of entertainment that includes something different from just about every person. They are a traveling group, (that used to be more close families and friends but now have whole companies for anyone) of clowns, acrobats, animal acts and a lots of other performers. Because circuses are traveling companies, tents are used for much of the live performances and housing for the animals and props, while the performers and other circus workers tend to live in trailers and wagons.
The very nature of a circus is to provide a source of fun and entertainment as the company travels form one location to the next. In modern times, the 19th century through the early 20th century were considered to be a golden age for this type of traveling show. Mergers of smaller circuses created some of the giants that are still considered to have set the standard for a quality circus. Even today, many people still recognise the names of Barnum and Bailey, as well as the Ringling Brothers with the concept of a really good circus.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-circus.htm
Circus is still entertaining now as it was before because i feel that it is amazing to watch with thrilling performances and performances where we fear the unknown with the whole performance keeping the audience on its toes and on edge, people putting their own lives at risk despite years of training is fun to watch and scary at the same time.
Cultural Background
In the past, the typical circus was held within an oval or circular showground with tiered seating. In Rome, an open-air stadium served as the arena where an array of public exhibitions took place. Trained exotic animals wowed the crowds, while jugglers and acrobats amused guests before the next battle or race commenced.
Tiered seating ran parallel with the sides of the course, which created a crescent at the ends. People of rank were seating at the lower arrangements, while separate state boxes were offered to the host of the games and their friends. The circus in Ancient Rome also served as a significant event in history because it was the only public scene that allowed men and women to enjoy an event with one another.
England embraced circus performances in London, where the first exhibition is believed to have taken place on January 9th, 1768.The circus became so popular in England that large cities constructed buildings for the purpose of accommodating shows. An example of this is seen with the establishment of the London Hippodrome, which showcased a combination arena with circus, menagerie, and variety theater. Sometimes, wild animals, such as lions and elephants, decorated the ring.
http://www.jugglenow.com/history-of-the-circus.html
Circus has changed a lot now from previously, a main factor being the animal rights law, so some circuses mixed animal acts and human acts together to keep their businesses going but eventually mainly having human acts in the circus. New circus is much more choreographed and dance and acrobatic based with a lot more focus on things like special effects and lighting, when used in a performance its much more modern and elaborate and also seen much more so and a key factor to make a performance and give it its atmosphere.
Compared with the traditional circus, the contemporary genre of circus tends to focus more attention on the overall look and beauty of the performances and circus, on character and story development and on the use of lightening, original music, and costume design. To make the circus performance look better and or for economic reasons, contemporary circus productions are sometimes performed in theatres rather than in the traditional large outdoor tents. Music used in the production is often composed only for that production and animal acts appear less frequently in contemporary circus than in traditional circus.
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