Monday, 2 March 2015

Drama: Week Twenty

Monday 2nd - Tuesday 3rd March 2015



Today our lesson was very focused and productive, I really enjoyed it.
The day started with sitting in our groups and filling out a sheet we'd been given. In this we had to discuss what we hope to achieve over the last few of rehearsals.
This is what I wrote:


In the next few weeks leading up to the play I have a selection of things I would like to work on. Following on from feedback I've received and how I've felt in rehearsals up to this point, something I really want to work on is my body language as Ariel; I'd like to develop mu fluidity within my movements. I've discussed this with both Rob and Sharon recently and I've been thinking about it a lot. I hope to improve my vocal and physical projection to give my all to the role and the other actors on stage, as well as the audience.
Something which I have recently started aspiring to do more is be at ease and relaxed in my role on stage. This weekend I was lucky enough to see the SWP production of Farinelli and the King which was very inspiring to me, and I'd like to adopt a similar attitude to that of the actors and actresses who performed in this play. They were completely at one with their roles, which is what I would love to achieve. I was particularly impressed by Mark Rylance and Melody Grove, who played the King and Isabella. They were both so mesmerizing, their talent really captivated me. They had this certain aura of just being there, just being truthful and spontaneous in those moments. It seemed almost effortless because they were so wonderful, it didn't feel like watching actors... they just were the characters. I was truly motivated and inspired, I'd love to apply the bursts of energy I felt from watching that production to my own work.

We then played an improvisation game then; Just a Minute. It was hilarious and really fun.
Our next task I found particularly interesting, we had to do a fun run of the Tempest in our groups. It was fascinating just seeing how much energy everyone put into the tiny mini production, everyone seemed to be having way more fun than we do when we're working with the script itself.


In the afternoon we did some rehearsal, choosing various scenes from the play at random.
It was our job to day to observe and make notes so we could give collective feedback at the end of the session, which we did. This is some of the feedback that came up quite a few times for people in general:
  • Be more physically committed to the part.
  • Project.
  • Don't dance, stay grounded.
  • Move the voice.
  • Slow down with the lines.
  • Improve on articulation.
This is some specific feedback I received from the group:
I need to move my voice more, to make my part and what I'm saying more believable. I should make sure I don't fall into a monotone and that I'm always inflecting at the right places.

On Tuesday my group didn't do any rehearsals, it was all observation for me on this day. 


Wednesday 4th March 2015


Today we worked with Sharon again, this time focusing on our individual goals in the run up to our performances.
We did a lot of vocal work, humming, turning the hum into an "ah" sound, and then eventually into one of our lines.
Then we worked on our characters, helping and supporting each other as we took it in turns.

The work I got to do on Ariel today was nice. The whole group backed me in saying some of my lines and adding gestures to them, and I found that working with the others made it more comfortable and actually got me to feel more bold and brave with my movements. It was really good, and I think it's going to help me with being more decisive about my motions and body language. I'm going to try and apply the big, bold gestures we used today for Ariel to the rest of my rehearsal process.


Thursday 5th March 2015 


This morning we had an in class assessment; sight reading. It was actually quite fun and everyone did well, it was pretty enjoyable. 
We didn't recieve feedback today, we will be getting that next week from Rob along with the observational notes from the rest of the class. 

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