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.