Vocal practise routine

Vocal technique	What I’ve done	How to improve	Target for next time
Range 16/01/2015	Today I practised an octave scale.	I need to keep practising the octave scale to build my voice up.	Keep working on the scale and maybe find a new warm up to practise with.
Diction 16/01/2015	I have practiced tongue twisters with a pencil in my teeth.	To improve I need to practise at different speeds.	To find new tongue twisters to practise.
Articulation 23/01/2015	To practise articulation I have practised the octave scale using different vowels like A, E , I ,O , U.	To improve I could practise the scale working my way through the vowels and then doing them backwards eg. U,O,I,E,A	To find new exercises for staccato and legato.
Flexibility 23/01/2015	jumping from scale to scale each week.	Keep jumping randomly.	To practise this technique every week.
Breath control 16/01/2015	To practise breath control I inhaled for 10 secs held for 10 sec then exhaled for 10 secs.	I will increase the secs from 10 to 20 .	To take in a bigger breath.
projection 23/01/2015	To practise projection I took a deep breath and hissed out for as long as possible.	To improve I will keep practising this warm up.	Find new warm ups for projection and read some text out to someone who can give me constructive feed back on my projection.
Internation 23/01/2015	I used the octave to practise jumping scales (note to note) but staying in tune.	I need to improve this as I find it really hard to jump scales.	My target is too keep practising so I find it easier to jump the scale.

Vocal technique	What I’ve done	How to improve	Targets for next time
Range 30/01/2015	This week I’m practising a scale of 10.	I need to keep going back to an octave scale and building it up to 10.	I would like to get to a 16 note scale.
Diction 6/02/2015	This week I have practised my diction with a pencil in my teeth to the tongue twister ‘how much wood could a wood chuck , chuck’.	To improve my diction I’m going to stick with this warm up and get faster when repeating it.	My target is to get really sharp with this the tongue twister then find a new one to practise with.
Articulation 30/01/2015	I have practised I a,e,I,o,u on a scale with 10 notes .	Keep practising on a 10 note scale .	To get to practise the a,e,I,o,u, scale up to a scale of 16.
Flexibility 30/01/2015	Jumping from scale to scale each week.	Keep jumping randomly.	Practise this technique every week.
Breath control 6/02/2015	This week for breath control I have practised panting .	To improve my breath control I’m going to keep practising this warm up for a week .	Find a new warm up for next week to do with breath control.
projection 30/01/2015	Practise saying HA! – expel all the air out of my lungs in one “pop” by saying “ha!” This should get louder as I keep practising.	Keep practising this new warm up.	Keep going with this new warm up.
Internation 6/02/2015	Practising jumping and hitting the right note on a 10 note scale.	Keep practising on a 10 note scale . Listen to a 10 note scale on a piano to help.	Get to a 16 note scale.

Vocal technique	What I’ve done	How to improve	Targets for next time.
Range 27/02/2015	I’m still practising my scale up to 10.	Seek some peer support on how to get to a 10 note scale.	To work way my way up to a 16 note scale.
Diction 20/02/2015	This week I have worked with the tongue twister ‘she sells sea shells by the sea shore’	This tongue twister has been the hardest to I need to keep practising.	To find a whole new warm up.
Articulation 27/02/2015	I have kept on practising my vowel scale up to 10 this week.	To Improve I need to practise with my peers to build more confidence with articulation.	Build my vowel scale up to a 16 note scale.
Flexibility 27/02/2015	Jumping around the scale.	Keep jumping randomly	Practise this method every week .
Breath control 20/02/2015	Practising inhaling for 20 , holding for 20 exhaling fro 20.	Keep practising.	Try holing for 25 secs next week .
projection 27/02/2015	I have been practising the ‘HA’ method.	It’s been working well. But I’d like to find a new method	To find a new method.
Internation 20/02/2015	I have kept practising on a 10 note scale.	Practise with peers.	Get to a 16 note scales.

Vocal technique	What I’ve done	How to improve	Targets for next time.
Range 20/3/2015	This week I have managed to get up to a 16 note scale comfortably.	I need to keep practising to get better and more confident.	I would now like to try and get to a 20 note scale if that’s possible.
Diction 3/4/2015	To practise diction I have tried saying the tongue twisters as if I have a sticky toffee in my mouth.	Practise this method with new twisters.	Find new tongue twisters.
Articulation 3/4/2015	I have been trying to practise my vowels scale on a 16 note scale.	Keep practising until I feel confident.	I would like to be able to practise the vowel scale up to a 18 note scale.
Flexibility 20/3/2015	Jumping around the scale with different notes.	Keep jumping the scales randomly.	Practise this every week.
Breath control 3/4/2015	I managed to inhale for 25 hold for 25 and exhale for 25.	Keep practising this.	Find a new warm up .
projection 20/3/2015	I have found a new method to practise with ‘Ahhh’ – is a variation on the hiss, again I held until I couldn’t exhale any more.	To improve I will keep working with the ‘ahhh’ method.	To ask my parents to see how my projection is when reading a passage out .
Internation 3/4/2015	I have practised jumping on a 16 note scale, it’s been hard but I’ve managed it a couple of times.	Keep practising the 16 scale .	work up to a 18 note scale.

Vocal technique	What I’ve done	How to improve	Target for next time
Range 17/04/2015	I have been going back over the 10 note and 16 note scale as it has been really hard to build it up to a 20 note scale.	Keep practising and maybe practise with peers.	Get to a 20 note scale.
Diction 17/04/2015	I have found this new tongue twister to practise Ugly vampires wear extraordinarily yellow zippers.	Keep practising this tongue twister for next week when I find a new one.	Find a new tongue twister.
Articulation 17/04/2015	I am going to try and do the vowel scale up to a 20 note scale. I have been practising a 16 note scale.	Keep practising the 16 note scale.	Try and get to 20
Flexibility 17/04/2015	Jumping the scale.	Jump randomly up the scale as high up the scale as I can.	Keep practising this every week.
Breath control 24/04/2015	I have found a new method ‘the balloon’ you practise blowing up a balloon and you should have your mouth in a kiss position or shape .	Keep practising this.	Find a new method.
projection 24/04/2015	I found a new method ‘Count it out’- a steady count as a group for as long as I can on just one breath. I make sure the numbers are strongly projected and I use a good amount of air each time.	To improve I need to practise this new method.	My target will be to see how many numbers I can count up to.
Internation 24/04/2015	I’ve been practising jumping the scale on a 18 note scale.	Practise this for  a couple of weeks.	Maybe see If I can work my way up to a 20 note scale.

Vocal technique	What I’ve done	How to improve	Targets for next time
Range 8/05/2015	I haven’t managed to get to a 20 note scale on my own but I can do it with the rest of the class as they complement my voice.	I need to continue practising with my class to have a feel for it on my own.	To get to a 20 note scale comfortably.
Diction 8/05/2015	I found this new tongue twister to practise with Beckoned Becky, boasted Bobby, believed babbling Brooke.	To improve I need to try this tongue twister at different speeds.	To be able to say this tongue twister at a good speed.
Articulation 8/05/2015	I haven’t been able to get to a 20 note scale so I’ll just keep going with the a 16 .	Keep practising the 16 note scale maybe work up to 18.	Try and get to a 18 note scale reciting the a,e,I,o,u.
Flexibility 8/05/2015	Try jumping from 10 to 20 scale.	Start off lower down the scale .	Practise this every week.
Breath control 8/05/2015	I have gone back to panting.	To improve I need to keep practising new methods.	Find new methods and keep practising this one.
projection 8/05/2015	This week to practise projection I have practised this warm up ‘Yawn – I yawn while reciting “a,e,i,o,u.” This exercise opens up the back of the throat and helps the breath control you need to have when projecting	To improve I will practise this method for a week.	Find a new method.
Internation 8/05/2015	I haven’t been able to jump up and down a 20 or 18 note scale well and get the notes right .	So im going to stick with a 16 note scale and practise that .	Eventually be able to jump  a 20 note scale and get the note right.

Cats evaluation

Overall I think Cats went really well ! The peaks and the pollicals dance was the best we have ever performed . On the night we ended up changing changing some of the choreography to make it look less messy. For example there's a section where we dropped to the floor and rolled in a formation. We found that the space wasn't enough to make it look professional , it just looked messy and all over the place. So we replaced it with some camera actions whist stooping low and moving our upper bodies from side to side. This related much better to the role of the paperatzi and look a lot neater and polished . We delivered this new change really well and it made the piece come togther. I think my extension had really improved for this performance. I have really been trying to improve my extension to make my mores and gestures look stronger and bolder . Also I think my memory for the dance moves in this particular dance was very good. I remember all the right moves and felt confident when dancing . Also I feel my facial expressions where bold and animated . Epically when we have to fight eachother . I had an angery and aggressive facil expression during that phrase and I think my characterisation came across well in this dance .

However to improve I would set some targets for the final , closing dance. I feel that my confidence and memory for the choreography needs to be improved . So my targets for if I had another chance to do this dance would be to rehears the last dance to a confident standard , and even though I wasn't confident on the dance I needed to look more confident to make it professional .

However overall I am really proud of the peaks and the pollicals dance , I really enjoyed it and I'm proud of my progression . I feel as though my stamina has improved and also I feel as though my extension is alot sharper and straight.

Variety performace

It was a brilliant night . We all had great fun and all pulled through to deliver successful perfromances. I fell that myself and Jess did really well . Our projection was loud and imposing on the audience and or pronounceation of the lyrics was clear . We had great facial expressions showing the bitterness we felt towards eachother . Also we used the stage space well . We swapped sides to give each side of the audience and chance to see us in our rage at eachother . This made the peice look more interesting and professional . Also I was very proud of how we hit the high notes within the song and also how we managed to get the harmonies to a good standard . The only thing that I would need to improve on for next time would be the first harmonie. I felt that my voice went wobbly however I playe this off by making my characterisation bigger. I was slightly nervous for the performace however the fun of it took over and I really enjoyed it . We got great Responses from the audience too . For example when I said the line "short" that I had changed for "blonde" to fit Jess we got a great response of laughter .

I think my body language portrayed the frustration Elphaba has towards Galinda . I had my arms folded in fustration and my facial expressions looked miserable and angery at Galinda . I think this showed how the two character really loathed eachother.

I was also really proud of holly , max and luke . They really brought our song alive with their onsumble . It was fun and brought movement to the stage .

Variety rehearsing

myself and Jess always make good use of the rehearsal time. We agreed that togther we would work on the song 'what is this feeling?' From the musical wicked together during variety lesson time . We often find our selves in the practice rooms with Luke,Max and Holly Hos. We find that constructive criticism from our peers is very benifical and they give us great support . Also we have asked kim to help us out on our song. She has given us some harmonies to incorporate in our song . For example on the line "it's so pure, it's so strong " I sing the higher harmonie and Jess sings the lower harmonie .

To reflex on our college time rehearsals when I get home I practise my harmonies with the backing track to the song. I feel this gives me extra practise and helps my voice vocaly prepare for this song and the challenges within it . To mentally prepare I think about the character of Elphaba and what she must be feeling during the song. This helps me get into character and show emotion through my singing. I interpriate Elphaba as an outcast , shy and underminded person .

A challenge within this song has been the timing . At the beginning of the song there is a large pause . In this time we have to correctly say our spoken lines "my dearest father" . It's hard because there is no bit of music to que our entrance. The pace in this song is very fast and snappy , we have to take into consideration where it's best to fit a breath in so we can hold a long note like 'my whole life long' which is also another harmonie !

Variety lesson 12th

Today we used a drama lesson to rehearse variety . We all discussed what our act was and what lighting we'd like . Also we disused the blocking for out staging . Me and jess said that our act will defiantly be of the two witches Galinda and Elphaba from the musical Wicked  and we are singing the song 'What is this feeling' . I play Elphaba and Jess plays Galinda . We are going to have Luke, Max and Holly Hoskinsons are our student onsomumble.

Myself and Jess discussed that we would like to start the song off standing on either side of the stage with two spot lights on us . After I say the que line 'short' we want a general wash of purple and green. This will represent that two witches personalities . Always we will add abit of movement to add depth to our performance . We decide we will walk towards eachother and argue the song in the middle of the stage facing eachother then at the ending turn back to back to show the stereotypical conflict between the two witches.

Here is our planning sheet .

After our break we had to perform what we had so far to the rest of the class and vice versa. We gave eachother feed back on what we thought worked really wel with in their act and we also gave them constructive criticism to help them improve . Positives for myself and Jesses perfromance was we had good characterisation , good use of the space , showed confidence with in song , lyrics and characters and that our hourmerneys where inpressive. Our constructive criticism was that we need to block out the onsomumbles movement to make it look neater and professional . 

Here is our peer support sheet . 

Variety lighting and costume

Myself and Jess agreed that we would like half the stage to be green to represent Elphaba and her envious personality and half of the stage red to represent Galinda and her passionat , boastful persona. We will stand on the side relivent to out characters colour . Men of example will be the green side. In the middle of the song we would like there to be a general wash of the two colours to show the two personalities clashing .

For costume I have decided to wear a smart , fitting , green dress . I want to take a modern and original approach to the song and how we portray it. I don't want Elphahba too have the typical green face , I want to show more of a realism approach about two girls clashing because of an emotional difference and not just her typical green face . However I will have the green dress and green makeup around my eyes and lips to give the audience a relatable link to the character and one they will recognise .

Rehearsal in class room .

Sometimes myself and jess practise In the class room with Kim and she lets us know how it's sounding and how our harmonies are . This rehearsal we decided that we'd like to involve luke , max and holly as and onsomble. There are two verses where the rest of the students at shiz university take Galindas side . I think this will give a lot of energy and fun to our song.
Also in this rehearsal we helped luke and max get a feel for the pace and timing of the song as it can be tricky . Also I think they find thigh notes hard to fit togther as they have very different singing voices .

Remote connections National Theater

Plot

"A girl called Antler steps out of her front door and throws her phone on the ground. She stamps on it. She then climbs the tallest tree in the park. She doesn’t want to be found, not by anyone. 7 teenager’s lives all intertwine over the course of a single evening as they make their way through the park on a seemingly normal Autumn's night.
Remote is a play about protest, power and protecting yourself." - Bodens.co.uk 
I am taking part in the national theatre connections work shop . The play is called Remote it was written by Stef Smith . Youth groups , young actors and students get a play written by Smith and perform it in their own interpretation . I play a narration part in the acting chorus. To give my part of a narrator their own persona an status to the play I gave my character a name 'Biscuit' .I feel as though Biscuit is a dopey character and likes to break out of her job of being a narrator however is serious when is nessiasry. For example 'I have no idea what going to happen next'. This line may suggest she is a cheeky character and I would direct it to another member of the chorus which broke the relationship that a narrator has with the audience. Development for a narrator can be hard as they are just telling a story . However I have made my narrator have their own silly persona when telling the story. My movement as a narrator is slow and calm to not draw attention away from the main characters. My projection is loud and strong and I have decide to always look directly at someone in the audience to tell the story to as this will help show develop my in persona as a narrator in serious parts of the play.

In rehearsals the most feedback I have been given is pace on lines . Pace is really important . It helps bring the piece together to make it flow and  move . And also line confidence was a big target of mine . I found line learning particularly challenging in remote as the lines are minor sentences / one word lines. Also they are spread out all over the script and can go from a lot of collective lines to random lines in the middle of scene. This made line learning particularly hard because there was no strong link to keep dialogue flowing . Your que line could be the start of a new subject so it's very hard to grasp . Unlike Dissocia where you had dialogue and subjects to bounce off of , even though it was a crazy , mad , surreal play there was still a strong subject you could easily improvise on. Both Dissocia and Remote where non-naturalistic however they where both challenges for very different reasons . Lisa in Dissocia had some depth given to you as an actor , like how she was a women in her 30's who had been distant from her friends and family and was suffering from a dissociative mental disorder . Where as in remote you are purely just given lines to develop further on . 

Overall I think my performance was good . My projection was clear and strong . I walked with perpouse onto the stage to reflect my persona and role as a narrator . My facial expressions where appropriate for the scenes . For example in the very first scene my face is neutural when telling the story however when I said the line "smashed screen" I looked confused or puzzled by frowning . Also my body language was frozen still to create an imposing , aggressive mood to the line.
There were times where I could break from a neutral narrator persona and give some depth into my character by using facial expression , obvious change in body language and string gestures . 

To improve I think I could of concentrated even more on my projection . The Capitol theatre is a lot bigger then the sea light so there was a lot more room to fill . Also the pronounction of my words . I feel as though I could of slowed down my lines to say the words clearer and sometimes I felt I would stutter on my words . However I did deliver my 
lines confidently and with power .