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.

 



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?

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.

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.

Wednesday 9th January

Today we did a speed run of the whole play which is picking out the most important and key parts of the story and making them into a short performance f the whole story. It is important to speed run as you have to scan read the play and pick out the things you think are most important in the play and do it as detailed as possible using less information. My group used about five sentences in total and acted it out as well, it was interesting to see all the groups when the performed and what parts of the play were most important to them

After doing this Rachel asked some questions about our characters and we had to look at our scripts to find out the answers.

What does your character say about other characters?
My character is quite negative and throws little comments and opinions to everyone, for example
"thats shit"
"pappy wear a nappy"
"awkward .. he's weird"
"pikey"

What our characters say about themselves?
"we hang in the street and they make us go home"
"the right to be bored"

What other people say about you?
"the gang wants to help"
"they can clean out the toilets"
who's they?"

What the stage directions say?
"a gang of local kids appear around the side of the big top"

Finally to really get into characterisation we were told to walk around the room and then Rachel would shout out something to do with character and we had to arrange ourselves into groups of people that thought the same as us and which suited our character.

Good relationship with parents?

In the middle relationship with parents?

Bad relationship with parents?

I choose in the middle relationship with parents because for my character i decided that my dad was in prison and I didn't know him, but i live and have a good relationship with my mum.

Do you have any relations with anyone in the group?

Lauren and I decided that we were cousins on our mums side because we were in a lot of the same groups together when Rachel shouted them out, both our characters don't know our dads, we're roughly the same age so we look out for each other and are together most of the time.

Leader?

Negotiator?

Follower?

I chose negotiator because i felt like I wasn't a main part of the gang, but I wasn't a follower, my character just wants an easy life, quite chilled, but would stick up for themselves and make decisions when its convenient to them.  

One sibling?

Two siblings?

Three siblings?

More than three siblings?

I chose to not have any siblings with the back story of 'My mums got me we don't need anyone else' and just stuck to that as to why i don't have any siblings.

We did all these questions to really get to grips with what our character is like, who they are, what they like etc and by the end of all the questions i have built up my character to be:

14 years old that lives in a council estate with my mum, I live in the same estate as my cousin (Lauren's character/gang member 3) and midge and LuLu so we are all really good friends. I'm an easy person and will most of the time go with the flow but if theres something I disagree on then i'll make my point and I love RnB music, skrillex,eminem, flux pavilion etc.

GANG

We also were put into groups and were told to think of a time when we felt as if we were in a gang or were part of a gang, or been look upon as a gang, including just being in a large group of friends. We did this to think about what we were doing when we were in that gang moment as it would help us in the play because there are alot of us in the gang and we are always together. Each person in the group went round and told us their story of their gang moment, then after we picked one and had to act it out to the rest of the class.

We picked Dylan's story when he and his friend got on a bus and just being typical boys talking and messing around being loud and an old lady shouted at them telling them to be more respectful towards people on the bus, telling them off for not doing anything and another lad on the other side of the bus stuck up for the two boys and told the old lady they had done nothing wrong!

Blog Project Proposal

Skills Audit - 

Singing - Singing is my strongest as I have been doing this the longest and I feel most comfortable and happy when I do sing

Acting - Acting is my second strongest because I enjoy acting but I don't know if I have the ability to act well as I have never acted properly or had the opportunity to act in performance circumstances

Dancing - Dance is my weakest point although I love to dance I don't have very good rhythm or knowledge of dance and find it difficult, but try nevertheless

Early reactions to Casting/Character and Script - 
In DFTA I play gang member 1 so my immediate reaction a to be a chavey, not caring person which I think is fun to act. I am happy i got given this part and there are three other gang members who I am constantly with in the play so it will be easier to act more as a gang member seeing as there are four of us all together. I am also very good friends with the other three members so acting comical, silly and sarcastic will be easily achieved as well as fun to work as a group with the other members. I am also happy with a smaller role in this play because I have a main role in the other college performance so I will be able to do my best with the part i've been given.

The script for don't feel the animals is very short but we realised it was important to not think because it was short that its going to be easy to learn. Each character in the play has very short and snappy lines which will be easy to learn but because the lines have to be said quickly we must learn quite a lot of cue lines before to ensure we know exactly when we have to say ours. The script is very comical but at the same time can be an important topic, lines need to be learnt quickly and well to ensure that the play keeps momentum as well as being funny otherwise it won't work, reading it through has made me excited to perform this and will be interesting to see what the outcome is!

Production, Role, Costume

The year 12 musical theatre are going to be designing and making/getting our costumes but the initial idea that came into mind as one of the four gang members and the whole gang was a combination of all of these together or just some of the individual pictures.