Drama unit 1 25th september

At the start of this Lesson we did a speed run through the 2nd act of Rent . I found it challenging because its hard to sum up key events quickly and decide what elements are the most important  however I did find it very helpful . I feel as though I have a better understanding of the order of the scenes in the 2nd act . Also I have a better understanding of the order of the songs which really help me understand the overall pattern and order of the plot. Furthermore I gained an understanding of how much Collins loves his friends and relies on them to make him happy through life especially when times are tough for example his love Angels death. In addition to that I gained an understanding of how quickly Collins life changes in 2 years  from losing his job , to meeting angel , to her death to getting a new job and moving forward in life. This has helped me understand Collins love for the people around him and his strength and willingness to do well.   He grows strong as a person . He can endure being beaten by gangs and yet still find good in the world. He finds his love angle and to loosing her .Collins lives life as though every day is his last .

INSERT PHOTO OF STAGE LAYOUT 

We have decided to have our stage in the lay out in Immersive , this means we incorporate the audience into our performance space. Futhermore this means we will breaking the 4th wall . 

Also we have been assigned to work with the relevant people for a solid hour working on songs we are not that confident with . Ashley , Max and Myself have arranged to meet Wednesday 11-12 to g over songs we find challenging. 

Dance unit 50 25th september

We watched our opening scene during the song rent to see what went well and also what we could improve . I think we had some strong movements but we needed to change them up and show diversity . Also that stage look empty . We when through what we had already choreographed in our phrase groups (Luke , Kim and Myself ) . From there we integrated a another group to show interaction on the stress and also to make the stage look busy and show that there was a lot of activity on the streets , especially in gangs . We started to work with Sophie's  group to make one big group fight. From there we disperse together while other groups perform their phrase . Occasionally myself and Luke would meet in the back ground of the stage and interact to make fill up empty space on the stage and to make it look even more active . After that Luke and myself had to make our own duet phrase ( as did everyone) I thought we have some really interesting actions , our dynamics like extension where really strong and loom aggressive . To work on our duet phrase I think we need to be more aware of the space we have and extend our jump and kick to make it look bigger and more impressive . Overall as a class of the end position  we need to make our poses bigger and become more in time with the music .

HOMEWORK TASK 18th

Whats the difference between HIV and AIDS ?

REFERENCE;http://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/hiv-vs-aids#Overview1 

HIV is the virus that can then develop into AIDS. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The name describes the virus its self: it infects humans only and it attacks the immune system, rendering it deficient and unable to work as effectively as it should.  

Unlike many other viruses such as the common cold , our immune systems are unable to attack and completely clear out HIV. However medical research as increased increasing the life span of those with HIV and AIDS . AIDS stands for  Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.AIDS develops when HIV has really broken down the immune system. Symptoms of AIDS is not being able to fight the infections that AIDS brings on such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, certain types of cancer, and other infections.
 HIV virus is transmitted from one person to another through the exchange of bodily fluids.  Common infection occurs when HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex or through  contaminated needles. Less commonly, you can become infected with HIV through a tainted blood transfusion or a mother can pass the infection to her child during pregnancy. HIV does not always come with recognizable symptoms . It usually brings on flu like symptoms for 2-4 weeks after you have been infected by HIV. The immune system can fight off these flu like symptoms for years but cant get rid of the HIV infection . Once HIV has developed into AIDS all flu like symptoms and other symptoms will take effect and break down the immune system making the carrier feel extremely  unwell . HIV can be tested by a simple blood test that is then taken to a lab to be looked at. You can get tested for HIV in your local surgery or sexual health clinic . AIDS is tested through cell counts . When a carrier has low T cells they are consider to have developed AIDS .

Starving artist 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starving_artist
A  Starving artist is an artist who puts their work before their own well being . They make sacrifices in order to focus on their profession. They stereotypically live on low income this could be due to lack of business or because  they are putting all their earnings into their projects.

Homelessness 
http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/why_we_campaign/tackling_homelessness/What_causes_homelessness
Homelessness can be caused by many factors . Usually it is down to the persons own background history and situations . It could be because their friends and family cant afford to accommodate them , relationships break down leaving people besides themselves and losing failure to maintain or find a job.

• unemployment
• poverty
• a lack of affordable housing
• housing policies
• the structure and administration of housing benefit
• wider policy developments, such as the closure of long-stay psychiatric hospitals.
• Prison
• Drugs 
• Gambling 

For a lot of homeless people, there's no single event that results in sudden homelessness.  Homelessness is more then likely due  to a number of unresolved problems building up over time . 

Unit 1 characterisation and production roles 18 th sep

I have been assigned the production role of costume and set. I will need a picture of the layout of the stage space . I will also need to create a list of the character as use inspiration  from the film the script , stage directions and videos of Rent productions to put together what costumes will fit the characters.

Also this lesson we watched a high school production of Rent . This was to gain an idea of how other actors portray our charters . I will play the part of Collins. Collins is in love with Angel a transvestite and they both struggle through life every day knowing they have aids. Collins is great friends with Mark , Roger , Murine and used to be friends with Benny. He lived with Mark and Roger for a while after be fired as a university lecturer for having views that where 'wrong' and  to bohemian .

Here is me talking about my views and thoughts on Collins.

Collins

18 th sep dance

Today we discussed what order of steps you need to follow to create a successful dance piece ;

• Chose a stimuli
• Research 
• Improvise and experiment 
• Add in any choreographic devises 
• Select and refine 
• Climax 
• Clear structure 

Refining your movements means you need to think about your dynamics , your performance space , timing with each other and music. 

We had ago at using some pulls and pushing movements to create a short phrase. I went with Luke , we made a phrase the involved a squat , two pushing motions a lean and even balancing movements. This meant we really had to trust each others strength . Then we incorporated these moments into the dance we have been learning for rent . My partner is Ashley so we came up with a little phrase that we will count after every one has to go through their partners legs.

We made some really good moves , for example we have a moment when we do a little ball room style dancing with eachother. Also our squats and turns look effect and strong. Also or timing is good but I do think we need to become faster within the dance. That would be our target (become faster with dynamics).

unit3 researching drama schools and courses

Here are some images from a presentation I made about researching drama schools and what courses they offer to students . I researched into 4 Drama schools and looked at courses I thought would be appropriate to suit me and what interested me about them .

For example I am looking to apply to Royal Central school of speech and drama . Also I would like to apply to Rose Buford, GSA and possibly Northbook Uni and ABU. 

At Royal Central their BA (Hons) Degree in acting really appeals to me. Here is a quote from Central giving their overview of the course "A comprehensive classical and contemporary actor training, this demanding course nurtures students through a life-changing journey, in which they are challenged to achieve their full potential as actors and acquire skills for working in the full range of acting contexts."

http://www.cssd.ac.uk/course/acting-ba

What I like the sound of in this course is the fact that they focus on classical and contemporary plays and training. Personally I like contemporary plays as they often focus on real like issues and subjects . I feel as though I can connect with a character that has a real life issues as i may myself find the issues easy to relate to . I may have tackled a circumstance that is similar to the character 

therefore I find it more enjoyable to portray in a character .Also because i am a English lit/lang student I have knowledge of analysing texts from plays and I feel with would help seeing as i'm researching texts from plays in a creative and analytical way.

I also have looked into the BA (Hons) Acting course at Rose Bruford . What interests me about this course is that really point out that is course is very vocational and practical . This appeals to me as I find it easier to convey my ideas vocally rather then by writing. Also they they grab your attention by saying how they will train you in all aspects of the PA industry . I feel that I would benifit from this course as I am very open to working in all areas from Television to the stage . You need to be open to anything in this industry and you have to be ready to challenge yourself and learn something new. I have never been taught how to act in front of a camera or in a recording studio and that really excites me, to think I will be learning new and modern skills. 

In addition to this I have look into the GSA BA (Hons) Acting Degree. What I think would be suitable for me in this course is how they like to train you and integrate students into an emsumble environment. It's always important to be able to work with anyone in the PA industry and it sounds like a very intense course which is really just giving preparation for the industry when your on your own. Also what interests me about this course is the practitioners they use . There are new names I've never heard of and new styles of acting to train with and explore.   This would be very beneficial for me as I feel that I need to explore new styles of acting, new styles that would make me stand out and bring out skills that I would of developed .

Furthermore I have looked into acting courses in universities . For example one university I really looked into was AUB. Again what I though was suitable about this course was that fact that they used classical and contemporary texts which are my favorite types of plays (especially contemporary). However they also mentioned that you work with the rest of the university for example make up and costume. What I really liked about this is that it would give you a feel of the industry . You would be constantly working with lots of different people and having to communicate all the time therefore giving you great confidence and preparation for later in life. Again this is an important skill if you want to work in the PA industry . 

evaluation of Rent audition

Overall I feel as though I did well in my audition and under pressure . I prepared well in order to portray the emotion in the song 'out tonight' . I  knew all the lines and felt confident that I could move about the stage to bring the audition to life.
I feel as though my west side story song wasn't as good because I stopped on the third verse where I fell nerves got to me. I feel that I could of been a lot calmer before my audition as I think I panicked myself on how my voice sounded during the song and that put me off.
The preparation and research I did on the characters Mimi and Anita really helped me when singing their songs. I felt that I knew the key mannerisms  of the characters so that really helped when portraying emotions in the song . Also I felt that  I portrayed Anitas accent well when singing 'a boy like that'. To improve I think I  could invested more time into 'a boy like that' because it would of helped me get back  on track when I stopped because of nerves .
I really think the whole audition in general will help me in further life because it gives me experience in different aspects of the audition process . Also it gives me confidence in myself and builds my self esteem up when singing in front of  people  . Furthermore I can learn from this and know what to do next time.

Unit 18 auditions

We discussed  proffesionalisum in auditions and how it can help you make an impression.

• You should always stay calm 
• You should be polite to everyone 
• Always responded positively 
• Be punctual 
• Prepare your self by learning song / script 
• Have good upright posture 
• Deliver what is asked of you 
• Never be negative 
• Having a willing to learn 
• Respect for other performers 
• Be ready to do your part straight away with no 'minuet to compose yourself'

Here's some audition questions I came up with to prepare myself underperssure .
What do you think you can bring to the production ?
What character do you see yourself as and why ?
What do you know about the production ?
What past expirence have you had ?
What would you like to gain from the production ?
What do you think the main themes of the play are ?

These questions will get you prepared for what they may ask you . It's important to have researched the part you are auditioning for as it shows character understanding and intelligence for the production . Also by following the auditions tips it will help you to remain calm and appare professional in front of directors and casting directors .

Unit 1 entrance to rent 11th sep

Today in the theatre we worked on an enterance to Rent . The opening scene is et out side on the streets of down town New York . We got back into our groups of 3 (Luke , Kim and myself) and put our sholl of fish phyisical theatre phases into the enterance along with the music . We also adapted and change our phrase slightly . For example we had to run through our movements 2 times across and around the space . So on the first time around we based our movements around the centre of the stage and outsides near where the audiaunce will be sitting . On the second time we went in the opposite direction to perform to the other side of the stage . We also change one of our kick moves to a single jump kick . Myself and Luke will hold Kim under her arms and swing her forward while she jumps and kicks out whilst we are holding her . This adds diversity to our piece . 

Over all I think we have great energy within our piece and have adapted well to the music I'm the opening Scene . Also I think the changes we have made to our phrase looks a lot more interesting and diverse. To improve our opening I think we can exaggerate our actions and make them look a lot bigger and sharper . As a class I think more of us can be on the stage at one time to fill up the stage and make it look more active . 

We also watched the entercne from the film Rent to get some ideas on how to improve and Change our dance. I think the enterance would look good with high up set to make the entercne look bigger . Also I think the idea of every one at different levels throwing paper would look really effective . 

11th September Movement in performance

Today we discussed what Stimulus means and its importance in dance . Stimulus is a starting point or an idea that you develop.
You can have all shorts of stimulus for example ;

• Visual ; Film , colour, photographs, shape 
• Auditory; music, sound, rhythm, dynamics
• Theme ; convey idea or story , message 
• Text ; scripts, poetry , news, literature 

     Q; what text based stimuli have you used before in drama/musical theatre?  

In musical theatre I used stage directions (text based stimulus) to understand how my character the 'witch' in 'Into The Woods ' moved . This helped me get an understanding how her personality and mannerisms just by the way she held herself.

Also in dance today our stimulus was a visual stimuli. We watched the scene from Rent where they sing the song La ve Bohem . We then started to compose the beginnings of the dance . We start sitting on a run way of chairs facing each other and end up with a partner dancing around the chairs which is meant to represent the table at the restaurant  they sing la ve bohem .

Movement 10th of september

We have learnt to use a technique called sholl of fish . This is where you closely group togther , this is a type of physical theatre . This can create the effect of  aggression , protection a force. We experimented with the idea of a gang as this is relivent to Rent and West Side Story as there is the jets and the Sharks in wss and Rent is set in down town New York where it's likely that there is gangs hanging around with nothing better to do . I worked with Luke and Kim within the sholl of fish . We then had to come up with 8 moves .We had some jumps , pushing movements and intimidating poses. We then had to create a physical theatre motif inspired by parole  , intimidation and attack. As a class we performed them one after the other to aggressive music . I think ours had some really good movements for example the leg kick was a great attack movement it showed alot of aggression and also looked intimidating . However I think  the structure of the piece could of been neater and sharper to create more of an impact.

10th of September first Lesson Auditions

Today we made notes on how auditions work in the industry. The difference between an audition and casting is that casting is where you go straight to reading through the script with other actors . For example johnny Deep wouldn't  do an audition because his work is recognized in other films as he is a successful actor. An auditions is when you not a well known actor and they need to see your acting skills for the first time.

We then made some key notes. 

• You start the audition from the moment you enter the building showing good posture , a confident persona and a keen willing to learn . 
• For an open audition you should turn up about 3 hours early to secure a place to audition.
• When waiting for your audition you should scan a script to fit in that final preparation and familiarisation  with you character.
• You should always be prepared to improvise so they can gain an understanding on how you work on the spot.
• You should always wear appropriate clothing to an audition  , for example neutral (black) works well because they can then find it easier to picture you as the character.
• You should research the part and background of what your auditioning for . For example research the script the casting director and company . 
• You should be very clear on your own availability. 

Why did you choose your audition songs? 

For Rent I have chosen Out Tonight which is sung by Mimi. And for west side story I have chosen A Boy Like That . I think these songs are very similar in comparison as they are both sassy,wild  and aggressive. They tell alot about the character , for example Mimi is a confident , exotic dancer with alot of passion and attitude. And Anitia is a strong ,loud women who is a leader figure for Maria . 

I think these song suit my voice as they are comfortably within my range. Also my voice is powerful and suited to attitude rather then long drawn out high notes . The other options where Will You Light My Candle from rent and Somewhere from West Side Story and these songs are soft , elegant and have a high range.