SMART Targets

 

TARGET 1/4: Technical Skill (1)

S: I want to improve my ability to improvise, and rapidly so. Specifically, I want to minimise pauses unless used for intentional impact; these usually occur because I am fearful of the aforementioned style of acting, and tend to feel I either speak with too long a pause or completely out of character (usually both.)

 

M: The more in tune I become with a given character I am portraying, the shorter these pauses and moments of character-breaking panic will become. I will record myself in multiple sessions throughout the course (which in itself provides ample dread), and time the pauses after watching them through. I will present these results in a way that displays the correlation of character study and pause time effectively.

 

A: I can use my acting sessions, as well as rehearsals and independent working time to improve this skill, giving myself hypothetical scenarios to record as monologues or scenes. I will repeat this action multiple times with the same scenario over a period of time, but intersperse it with other situations so that I am not continuously rehearsing the same thing. I can also develop and research my character in this time, feeling more in tune with them.

 

R: This skill will allow for a more authentic performance in the event of an error on stage. It will establish me as a figure of leadership and reliability if I can swiftly pick up the pieces (as it were) if things begin to divert from the script. For this reason, I will also ensure that I am more familiar with the text I am working from, in case the other character’s lines that they have potentially dropped are relevant to my character, and as such can be used to assist them.

 

T:  As mentioned prior, I will record myself rehearsing this skill as often as possible, as well as timing my pauses. Not only this, I already have a baseline assessment on the subject, and will have a similar style of recording for my Midterm and Final assessments.

TARGET 2/4 Technical Skill (2)

S: I want to be able to look more ‘natural’ when dancing. I have always felt that, whilst others seem to have an immediately acquired ease with the action, that I always stick out. I hope to eradicate this issue by studying others’ movements, as well as improving the fluidity and aesthetic appeal of my own.

 

M: I will record myself in as many stages as possible, performing the same tasks as both my peers and professional dancers. In between this, I will engage in a variety of exercises that improve aspects of my approach that will lead me to my goal, and show evidence of these.

 

A: Through watching interviews of professionals, I can identify the correct areas to focus on in terms of my physical improvement, and create a suitable plan of action to develop each of them over a set period (more on this later.)

 

R: I will have the time to achieve this in a combination of my in-class dance sessions and home study. Although the school environment has a more suitable place for me to show my actual dancing work, I can still effectively improve my specific skills at home, then apply them at school.

 

T: Aside from the Baseline, Midterm and Final assessments I undergo, I will also ensure that I am frequently tracking my progress in this aspect through my blog and visual evidence.

 

TARGET 3/4: Performance

S: I wish to improve the depth of my character when performing, growing more in tune with them in order to provide a more authentic, rich performance.

 

M: Linking with Target 2, I will spend considerable time analysing the text I am working with, and use time outside of learning to set myself questions regarding my character. These questions will cover a vast majority of topics, and allow me to gain a further insight on my portrayal.

 

A: My focus on these individual details of context and character will visibly improve my engagement with the scene, as well as my artistic coherency of choice.

 

R: This can be applied to all aspects of my character! Having a deeper understanding of one’s character will allow for more thoroughly detailed mapping of all artistic choices, whether singing, dancing or acting. I will display this by displaying my detailed plan for each of these (most likely in my blog and/or script.)

 

T: I will (similarly to targets 2 and 3), keep a record of this overall throughout the module, showing more broad reflection at the moments of Midterm and Final reflection.

 

TARGET 4/4: Professionalism/Mental Skills

S: I do not want to eradicate any of my excessive self-criticism. Instead, I wish to use it to my advantage and make my work towards improvement more fulfilling.

 

M: As well as keeping a general mood tracker following all further performance and rehearsal sessions, I will give a justification for my mood. I will analyse my errors, and (in link with Target 2), create a suitable plan of action to ensure they do not repeat. This may take a variety of forms, and I will be sure to document each one and evaluate their impact.

 

A: I will be highly disciplined in this conduct, and will not leave any room for contest. It will be a revealing process as I track my mental state throughout, but it will allow me to identify which flaws of my ability are the most damaging currently, so that I can prioritise these to work on.

 

R: This is a task that will apply to any situation in life, as that is how deep my critique lies. However, it is especially useful that I am tailoring it to this specific context of performance, as many aspects of performance and communication are also transferrable to everyday life.

 

T: As I have mentioned, I will track myself after every session, but my evaluation will be more broad when I approach my Midterm and Final reflections.

 

20th September 2024 - Direction Planning

Introduction

From this point, unless there is a drastic change in the structure and/or features of the rehearsal process, I will not bore you with my repetitiveness!

However, this rehearsal did indeed differ significantly! Being one of the Assistant Directors for this show as well as playing a character, I was put in charge of directing Act 1, Scene 8: the iconic scene in which Elle arrives at Whitney's student party dressed as a Playboy Bunny.

Context

This scene immediately follows Vivienne inviting Elle to the party in question, intentionally sabotaging her arrival by misleading her into thinking it is a Costume Party (hence why Paulette offers her the Playboy outfit.

In terms of staging, the general idea our main director is planning is that it is set outside (Whitney's Garden?), and as such the wings lead off into the main house in various directions; the upstage wings are all characters' main point of entrance, whereas the downstage wings can be for temporary absences.

Process of Direction and Intentions

I will separate my process for this scene into several key elements, which in turn have been effective in establishing different themes and ideas between the characters:

-Opening (principals only)

-Reset with addition of Supporting

-Introduction of Elle

-Serious (reprise)

-Altercation

-Resolve

Opening

The scene begins with Vivienne and Warner entering the party, and the former engaging in a conversation with Whitney, the host. 

As mentioned prior, all new guests enter from upstage - in this case USR - and Whitney begins CS as the host. Vivienne immediately walks to meet her friend and begin the conversation face-on (with slight angles to prevent a lack of visibility to the audience), with Warner purposefully stuck in the middle facing directly forward.

This central staging, for starters, ensures that these characters with the dialogue can be the primary point of focus with no obstructions, as well as keeping the downstage area empty (more on that later.) The placement of Warner in the middle of the conversation with his lack of dialogue begins to cement his awkwardness within the setting; Whitney is someone he is not familiar with, and he is engaging for Vivienne's sake instead of his own. This then links to his ultimate decision at the end of the show to distance himself from the Law field; he never felt it resonated with him to begin with!

Following Whitney's exit from this are into SL (where she will begin to interact with other ensemble), Vivienne unintentionally furthers Warner's issue by moving into Whitney's place and blocking him from the rest of the room to which he is facing. However, this begins t be remedied as she begins to lead him downstage...

Ultimately, this DS strip is intended for the more intimate moments between characters, as it is where the later Serious (reprise) takes place, thus creating an as of yet unknown parallel. Therefore, this direction into the more secluded are of the stage implies a softer moment between the two characters, speaking of exciting aspirations and work they can do together... 

...that is, before Vivienne unknowingly spoils it by continuing her spiel about other students and the study group. 

Reset with addition of supporting cast

Having laid out this facet of the scene and rehearsed it several times to work out the tweaks, we slotted in member of the older ensemble cast to pose as the other Harvard students. For this, I needed people (and they were allocated as such) who I knew could remain engaged and alive onstage, without drawing too much attention away from the dialoguing principals. 

I was relatively lax with this aspect of the directing process, dotting people around the stage and having a degree of trust in them to come up with their own storylines, whilst posing a few suggestions. I, as well as the main director, made it clear at the start - however - the context of the scene. More specifically, the more dignified, stuck-up characters that they would be playing, despite the setting of a house party potentially causing ulterior assumptions without the correct information.

Introduction of Elle

While I have spoken prior about the general importance of character entrances, this one in particular is highly impactful as a moment in the show as a whole.

While I was unable due to set logistics to have Elle enter through the USC doors as originally planned, she still enters from the upstage wing hidden behind students, only to be revealed in front of said doors. The rest of the students by this time have formed a sort of gangway in their clumps (whilst still leaving DS apron empty), for Elle to later walk down the middle and approach the now stunned (and slightly off-centre CS) Warner. 

The true beat moment of noticing Elle occurs when Vivienne - who had previously exited casually into what will be the house backstage - returns, and spots Elle and Warner herself. Before Elle drives downstage towards Warner, there is an audio cue of the music halting abruptly and all characters on stage blatantly staring at her in a mixture of shock, disgust and glee.

Serious (Reprise)

The interactions between Elle and Warner - who have now finally moved to the DS apron as mentioned prior - was not blocked by me; I left this task to the comfort of the actors involved, as well as the main director who already had some parallels from earlier in the show they wanted to implement.

However, it was my initiative to instruct the rest of the ensemble. I decided to have them all continue their previous characterisation and interactions following Elle's reveal (with the implied addition of conversation and motivation that came with that), with the only alteration being the speed slowing down dramatically - pun not intended... This way, as at the start of the scene, the audience would maintain their focus on Elle and Warner downstage, and the atmosphere would not be broken by disengaged ensemble.

Altercation

By the end of the song, ensemble slowly begin to converge on the downstage area, creating a sort of menacing huddle around Elle. However, they still leave the frontmost area for Elle and Warner to not break the energy generated just yet. 

That is, aside from Vivienne, who shows no hesitation in driving downstage and breaking the previous connotations of this area of the stage. Moreover, these three characters being the only ones in this section, with Warner in the middle and the two women either side, is a reflection of the current romantic turmoil that makes up one of the show's many subplots. Vivienne driving into this space is a direct representation of how Elle felt when she initially heard the news of her and Warner's breakup, followed swiftly by his announcement of his relationship with Vivienne.

The ensemble continue to converge, now breaching the edges of this space, and react with according spite and teasing towards Elle at each of Vivienne's comments (and also partially towards Vivienne when she is insulted, but this is slightly less defined as Vivienne still holds status within the scene at this point.) 

Resolve

However, the atmosphere is rapidly shifted when Elle springs into action, taking the glasses of Enid (who is slightly further forward than the other ensemble and positioned centrally), and insisting that her costume held a more intellectual value.

This is a significant moment, as Elle begins to strip away Vivienne's authority in the scene and bestow it upon herself. Therefore, as Elle delivers her final target towards Vivienne, she storms away in the opposite direction, with people actively parting before she even walks through them! Meanwhile, Vivienne is slowly squashed into the DSR area, before eventually storming off, thoroughly beaten down.

18th September 2024 - Theatre Trip (+Accessibility Link)

Introduction

In a surprising turn of events, I was invited at short notice to attend a school trip to the theatre! Wonder Boy is currently touring at the Bristol Old Vic, and it is a delightful yet heart-breaking experience on the whole. 

However, I am not writing with the intent to review, I have a much more specific task at hand! 

I have recently begun my journey on the path to making music (and the theatre industry in general) more accessible to those who love it the most! As such, I was very lucky that my teacher involved was able to obtain a spare audio description headset, commonly used for the blind. In this report, I will detail the features of this particular play's facility, compartmentalising it into several categories:

-Pre-Show

-Content Covered

-Narration Style

-External Feedback 

Report

Pre-Show

Although I didn't receive the headset until just before the show, I was still able to catch a small amount of information from the narrator. Specifically, she was describing each member of the cast for those using the software to visualise:

The narrator would give the name of the character and the actor, as well as their main costume (more on this in Content). They would also identify each actor's gender and sexuality (if specified), and whether they embodied a more masculine, feminine or neutral 'energy' (or a combination of these, as I heard!) Finally, they also highlighted each character's common idiosyncrasies and gestures for the audience to visualise!

Additionally, there were also general pleasantries, with the narrator wishing the listener an enjoyable experience, followed by approximate waiting time for the performance to start when it drew near (not to mention any justifications for the slight delay: some of the audience members had not yet taken their seats.)

Content Covered

There were certain aspects of the piece that were described in incredible detail, whilst not being overwhelming (more on this in Narration Style). These aspects were both Character  and Technical  based:

Character

-Gesture/Movement - specific action, direction/to which character, emotion behind it 

-Direction in which they were looking/facing

-Facial expressions

-Subjects/objects being referred to indirectly/non-verbally

-Ensemble movement/actions

-Actor location on stage

-Captain Chatter (non-verbal character)'s dialogue on screen read out loud 

Technical

-Props - specific size, colour, material (as well as interactions with them)

-Costume - specific colour, item, style

-All changes of lighting, including colour

-All changes of set (although set was minimalist)

-Colour of each character's subtitles (the first time they appear for each)

-Any significant changes in the style of the on-screen writing (e.g. abnormally large, elongated, central placement etc.)

Narration Style

Our audio descriptor for the evening had a clear, methodical voice, meaning that every word could be clearly be heard. It was a more feminine voice, and they spoke at a steady pace, that allowed for all information to be clearly understood without delay between stage and transcript. If anything, certain features (mostly character gestures/actions) would be described just before they actually happened!

Moreover, the descriptor maintained the impact that silent moments in theatre possess, by ensuring they did not speak during them. This was able to be achieved even with each action being described in perfect time with the performance: a true feat!

Finally, and most notably, while the narration remained the same speed and level of clarity, their tone and dynamics were altered to match the energy and atmosphere of the scene. Whether it was the upbeat opening comic-book style sequence with Captain Chatter, or Sonny's frantic attempts to fight off the fears of his stutter, or the more slowed, desperate conversations between Sonny and Wainwright... every moment was matched. Every moment was just as captivating as it would have been without, it was almost as if the description wasn't there at all, which is the perfect way it could have been laid out!

External Feedback

As it happens, we also had a visually impaired student with us on the trip, who was using the facility! I was lucky enough to catch Evie after the show, and ask her what she thought of the descriptions; ultimately her view on the matter is tenfold more valuable than mine!

She told me that she thought the system was very well presented, and that it was of great help to her! Not only this, I know that the team behind Wonder Boy were able to give her a 'touch tour' before the show, allowing her to feel all of the props and set, experiencing them as if she were an actor herself!

Speaking of the actors - this was not a part of the tour - each of them, understudies included, came out to speak with her personally! They introduced themselves and talked about their characters, even using their character voices as an example to identify them by later!

Plenary

Overall, this is an incredible example of how theatre can easily be adapted to incorporate a much larger audience! I believe that we should all aspire to be more inclusive and loving in an already exploratory industry; as such I am going to continue this on as a new thread on this blog to see what I can do for my school and the wider community in the future!

18th September 2024 - Vocal Lecture and Baseline Assessment

Introduction

This session has differed from previous ones; not only was it our first full-length singing lesson, but our specification was not so much on the practical element to begin with, but moreso the general science and technique behind singing!

Written Notes

There are three main aspects to successful singing technique:

-Primal Sound

-Breath and Support

-Posture and Alignment

Primal Sound

-This is most informedly defined as any type of 'emotional response sounds'

-We are born knowing exactly how to make this kind of loud sound and sustain it for hours - think of a baby crying!

-Other examples include: groans, monkey noises, loud calls/yells, crying, whines, laughter and sobs

-The muscles heavily involved with Primal Sound are known as the 'diamond of support':

--> Top of diamond = Xiphoid (process) - moves in and up

-->Sides of diamond = Transverse Abdominis - push out 

-->Bottom of diamond = LAPS (Lower Abdominal Pubic Symphysis) - moves in and up

-These muscles 'fire' automatically t create loud, resonant sounds and add characters to our voices

-Certain sounds in particular, especially sobs and yawns, are very helpful in lowering the larynx too!

Breath and Support

-We are all metaphorically a Pump, Valve and Amplifier!

--> Pump = Abdominal muscles, diaphragm and lungs

--> Valve = Pressure in the glottis causes vocal folds to move against each other - sound is produced"

--> Amplifier = Mouth positioning; distance between the back of the tongue and roof of the mouth                                    especially. Straight alignment of the neck and shoulders, as well as the hard and soft                                palates in the mouth.

Posture and Alignment

-You must ideally have a wide base (feet shoulder width apart), and focus on five main points being in line with each other:

--> Ankles

--> Knees (not as important, more freedom of motion/relaxation)

--> Hips 

--> Shoulders

--> Ears (prioritise these positioned over the Shoulders to help combat ''tech neck''!)

-Don't remain in a fixed position with posture, always have some degree of movement

-This is a magic combination between flexibility and strength, that helps in reaching maximum level!

Evidence of Assessment

Results

17th September 2024 - LB Rehearsal

Warm Up

Our preparations for this session was the same as usual! General mobility and stretching procedures to begin, followed by SOVT exercises and melodic arpeggios to ensure we were warmed and ready for the following activities!

Characterisation Work

Once we broke away into our respective groups, we began a small character-based task. This was primarily targeted towards the new chorus members who would be participating in the scene, but I will always take an opportunity to continue my own personal development!

The task was carried out very similarly, however, to one of our activities in the first acting session: participants would walk around the space as their normal selves, before altering their manner to suit that of their characters. This time i found this much easier to slip into, as I had previously mapped out each of Vivienne's tendencies, thus meaning that my rehearsal has displayed ample progress for my fluidity and confidence in character!

Main Rehearsal

There were two distinguishable halves to our main chunk of rehearsal:

-Recap

-New Content

Recap

Before we moved onto new content, we spent considerable time consolidating our previous learning by rerunning The Harvard Variations - with both song and blocking simultaneously - several times. This was actually very useful for my progress, because I was already familiar with the technical details, and as such could develop the scene by adding more characterised details, rather than just ''going through the motions'' of the scene, so to speak.

New Content

The next section we blocked was the subsequent song, Blood in the Water. Having already learned the vocals in a previous session, this was the final stage of solidifying this number, before I could admit the same confirmatory treatment that The Harvard Variations received.

Although my counterpart began the blocking process, this was ultimately more useful for me, as I was able to take notes on each motion I was given, and begin to establish character before I attempted the blocking! Therefore, the later process of adding in the characterised elements would be swifter, because I could plan them as the scene was unfolding, without any disruption to my focus!

In terms of movement, my main activity is a series of four freeze-frames (thinking, writing, toying with clothing, listening intently), as well as a few leaning motions and nods at specific moments. Aside from this, I am somewhat restricted; I remain in a chair for the entirety of the song (as we are in a lecture room), although I am on the front row which gives me some freedom of changing my seating position comfortably (e.g. crossing one leg over the other.)

Plenary/Next Steps

Due to all of these aforementioned factors, my priority for independent coverage will be regarding my facial expressions and upper body movements. I need to ensure I appear engaged for the full scene, and am always reacting to the situations unfolding, without drawing attention away from the dialogue and vocals of the other characters.

In this scene, Vivienne is generally content, in her own reserved, cold way. She is excited, certainly: it is her first day at the prestigious Harvard Law, and she is partaking in a lesson with an equally infamous professor, where she has front row seats! This, accompanied with Elle being thrown out of the class after admitting to not completing the assigned reading prior to starting, fills her with a great sense of justice and satisfaction, as she believes at the time that these things are all positive (she does not know Elle personally at this given time.)

Therefore, I will need to display as much of these things as I can without the use of voice or the lower half of my body (for the most part), and as such I will also lean into my interactions with other characters beside me.

13th September 2024 - HIIT Workout Design

HIIT Workout Plan - Homework

General Information

-45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest

-6 exercises, each repeated twice (12 mins total)

Exercises

-Jumping Jacks/Star Jumps

-Pulse Lunges

-Bicycle Kicks

-Floor Push-Ups (hands together or seperated)

-Leg Lifts

-Russian Twists

11th September 2024 - Dance Lesson

 Introduction

Being our first Dance session of the year, there was a small degree of introduction involved to what our course would entail. Primarily, we were informed that our next session be a Baseline Assessment, consisting of a Warm Up, HIIT Workout, Corner Work and Centre Phrases. More on all of these t follow, but each aspect (minus centre phrases) was studied in this lesson.

Warm Up

Here, we learned about the three main stages that accumulate to create an effective warm-up, as well as putting this into physical practise. The core phases are:

-Cardiovascular

-Rotations

-Stretches

Cardiovascular

Also known as the 'pulse raiser', this facet is the start to any successful warm up. The main objective is to engage in exercises that raise one's heart rate in order to pump a greater amount of oxygenated blood around the body. This all means that your muscles are effectively supple and ready for more intense activity without causing strain or injury.

Our main cardiovascular exercise for this lesson involved bobbing our knees in time to a musical track, four times with our feet together and four times in a wider position, with either foot alternating between stepping out. This was rapidly then repeated with a repetition of two bobs, followed by one. Not only this, the exercise was repeated multiple times in order to ensure an impactful task. This is a very useful activity, and a lot more energetic than one may initially expect: our teacher's resting heart rate was 76; by the end of the exercise it was 124!

Rotations

More commonly referred to in this context as 'mobilisations', this stage draws focus to the joints in various areas of the body, giving them ample time to also feel malleable. This too prevents any potential injury, particularly zooming in on the ball-and-socket joints of the ankles, shoulders and wrists.

Our chosen activities mostly involved rolling these joints in circular motions in time to music, in order to reach the full expanse of their structure suitably for the following tasks. The shoulders most notably, were rolled both forwards and backwards on their own, with the hands touching them and the elbows out, and with the full arm in motion to conclude.

The section of this element that activated the wrists and ankles also used a great degree of mental exercise, in the sense that our brain was challenged on the basis of coordination. We first rolled alternate ankle and wrist joints in the same (and then opposite) directions, but later switched to the same arm and leg at the same time, rotating in opposite directions only. As the left hemisphere of the brain controls all motions on the ride side of the body and vice versa, this proved a challenge due to the conflicting signals n the one side each time. Therefore, a task for me to improve my general coordination in the future would be to strengthen this brain function by repeating the activity.

Stretches

This final piece of the puzzle is rather self-explanatory: you need to stretch out any muscles you may require for a session thoroughly now that they are warm, so that the risk of pulling them or injuring yourself in other ways is minimised. We made use of both types of stretches consecutively for each one that we completed. Static stretches are where you stretch continuously without moving, whilst dynamic stretches involve gentle movement that is maintained throughout the stretch.

In our case, we made use of stretches that incorporated all vital muscles involved in any style of dance, including (but not limited to): triceps, biceps, hamstrings, quadriceps etc.

HIIT

HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, is an activity which entails sets of rigorous anaerobic exercises separated by short moments of rest. These exercises are always segmented into 1-minute chunks, so however long you exercise for within the minute, the remainder is used as rest (although there should be no more than 20 seconds of rest used per minute in HIIT). This is a task that uses a variety of exercises chosen by the participant, but each of the (approx.) 5 should focus in on a different part of the body, with one or two being all-rounders. In our case, we used:

-Running on the spot (all rounder)

-Squats (legs)

-Plank (core)

-Burpees (all rounder)

-Crunches (core)

It is advised that you spend at least 10 minutes in any HIIT session, as that is the minimum duration that hold any impact; mostly this involves improving your stamina and endurance, but also strength! 

In terms of the rest times we mentioned prior, we repeated the loop f these activities twice so that we achieved the ten minutes, and began steadily: 40 seconds on and 20 resting. In later sessions, to further heighten the benefits from HIIT, I will personally increase my total time participating, as well as my activity period in relation to my rest.

Corner Work

The final stage of this session focussed on corner work: where you (in pairs) move from one corner of the room to the other in time with music. We began with one, but soon developed the task to include all 5 core aspects of Dance:

-Travel

-Jumps

-Turns

-Stillness/Balance

-Gesture

At first, we completed this task as instructed by a teacher, but later on we were instructed to split into groups and create our own phrase encompassing all facets. We then taught this to the class (although another student was mostly directing my group throughout this.) 

Plenary

I am generally confident in terms of my timekeeping and rhythm, so this last activity was not a challenge. However, as mentioned in my soon-to-be-published audit, I am not yet the most conventional looking dancer (my movements compared to others always seems strange and unrelaxed.) As such, my following tasks are not only to design my own HIIT as a Homework, but also to study others' movements and emulate their techniques to appear less different in terms of my manner.

10th September 2024 - LB Rehearsal

 Warm Up

We started with our usual SOVT exercises - specifically using sharp staccato renditions - as well as primal sound activation (loud shouts of 'hey', 'ha' etc.) These things all come together to assist in strengthening our abdominal muscles, which play an integral role in our breath control and dynamics, including projection.

Following this, we applied our projection skills into a call-and-response of 'hello there', emphasising the long vowel 'o' sound and playing with ascending pitch. Not only this, we also played around with tone and laryngal placement, similarly to the previous rehearsal.

Main Rehearsal

As before, we separated into various groups in order to cover as much content as possible, but this time I was based in the main hall. Having covered the vocal aspect of The Harvard Variations in the previous rehearsal, we now went to put it into practise! With another member of the class directing, we pieced together the number; our rendition has similarities to the original, but our main director ensured that there were certain artistic differences that differed us.

Personally, I do not enter the number for a lot of the time, but when I do it is my first entrance on stage. Therefore, similarly to in our acting session prior, I needed to focus on my characterisation more than ever. In our rehearsal video we were primarily going through the motions, but now that I have learned the blocking I can now begin to plan my physicality and interactions with other characters. I have shown thought about this below as a plenary of the rehearsal:

I am entering with two characters who I am already close to at the start of the show: Warner and Whitney. For Whitney, my best friend, this was much easier, as we can openly be presented as comfortable with each other and excitable: smiling together and talking/pointing at items around the new environment (more on that later). 

However, although Vivienne is dating Warner at this stage, it is unknown (and is supposed to be) to the audience, in order to generate the greater shock later on. Thus, I need to ensure that I do not interact with him as much, whether that be through silent speech or body angles. 

As mentioned prior, I also need to show consideration of the space around me to create - alongside the rest of my cast member who will ideally be doing the same - a more authentic atmosphere of buzzing, eager new students in an illustrious school. Consequently, despite my more closed-off, composed demeanour (displayed via. a closed posture, imposing wide stance and gait etc.), I still need to use enhanced states of micro-reactions (particularly in my face) to convey the underlying joy she feels, as well as maintaining the Musical Theatre style of slight exaggerations.

Evidence of Rehearsal

Plenary

In preparation for the sessions to follow, I will implement my aforementioned plans for characterisation that I have planned in hindsight of said rehearsal. Not only this, I have been assigned as an Assistant Director to block an upcoming scene, which I will elaborate on in detail when this has been orchestrated!

9th September 2024 - Industry Interview

Context

Today's lesson consisted of an interview with a former student, who is now more heavily involved in the Performing Arts industry, and is growing very close to being able to pursue it as a fully-fledged career! 

The link below shows a recent example of Des' theatrical achievements!

National Youth Music Theatre sets costume change world record - BBC News

Interview

 

The session began with Des giving an insight on his recent experience working with the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) in the lead role of Joe Casey in the musical Our House. 

Despite being with this group for several years, he explained how this show in particular (especially considering his role), required rigorous planning and orchestrating. The rehearsals were incredibly intense for every member of the cast, with sessions in the two-week final stretch being as long as 9am to 9pm with minimal breaks. Every moment of time during the show - Des' in particular - was meticulously plotted in a 'scaffolding session' so that the technically complex show ran as smoothly as possible with the copious amount of costumes, lights, sound cues and set changes.

A large piece of advice he gave us as aspiring performers on a professional level regarded health and maintenance. Similar things to what we always hear in amateur theatre applied, including eating as well as possible (''being aware of what things you're putting in your body'') and vocal steaming; his response gave us more specific tips that perhaps some of us had not heard before. I now know that shots of ginger are very beneficial for the health of the voice, and - most notably - it is crucial to plan out when eating and drinking certain things during the day so that you have the appropriate energy needed to complete all tasks, whilst preventing any 'crashing' partway through. Of course, there is also the matter of dealing with burnouts, and his main guidance was to take the moments of rest as much as possible, and use them wisely.

In regards to the audition process, Des provided us with plenty of insight on what it looks like on a more professional scale, with the various 'rounds' beginning as casual workshops and eventually ending up with a select few people. Not only this, but he emphasised heavily the importance of maintaining personal qualities, and holding true to yourself, regardless of your ability; being able to withstand the audition is fine, but casting companies are also very much looking for people with character and charm - people who will be professional and enjoyable to work with. Similarly, his main advice to us on this front was to go into each stage, ''knowing you aren't going to be the best person in the room.'' While this is often a major challenge for me especially, it was an encouragement when he reiterated the point of everyone, ''being on their own journey.''

One last notable aspect of the interview was his address of the business itself: how to manage and conduct yourself in the every day slog. What resonated with me was his insistence of finding those key moments during the process that remind you why you love the industry and hold such a passion for it. We who have worked on productions before know that the endless rehearsing can often be draining, especially in the later stage, and the exhaustion can lead to questions of whether we still are enjoying our work. Late nights and long sessions take their toll, but we all also know that the final product can be intensely rewarding; holding onto those small reminders of your drive and enjoyment will be enough to keep you going in the meantime.

 

6th September 2024 - First Legally Blonde Rehearsal!!

Start of Rehearsal

Being the first official rehearsal of Legally Blonde, as well as one involving various different activities for different cast members, an introduction was involved, to ensure everyone in was familiar with one another.

Simply enough, this consisted of all cast members (although we do not have a chorus involved as of yet) sitting in a circle of chairs. One by one, we said our name, year group, and our role in the show (character, stage crew, director etc...)

Warm Up

Physical

More thorough physical warm ups will occur in later rehearsals, when more than a select few people will be dancing or engaging in more physical activity. However, as many people broke off to focus on more vocal work that mostly involved being seated, it was not necessary on this day. 

I will go into further detail when a full physical task is carried out, but the beginning of this warm up did contain a small bodily exercise. It was executed very similarly to that in my first Vocal Session blog, including the Wake Up and Mobility Drawing exercises (see the aforementioned post for details.)

Vocal

We began to warm up our voices with various staccato (short and sharp) and legato (longer and sustained) SOVTs (Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract). These are sounds such as 'shh', 'zzz', and 'vvv', that are excellent for improving both the alignment and stamina of the vocal folds, and as such reduce strain and fatigue.

We also used a melodic call-and-response riff exercise on the word 'yeah', experimenting with varying tones and dynamics as we ascended chromatically with each repetition.

Finally, we added a few sirens to ensure every aspect of our range had been suitably accessed and warmed up in a smooth scale.

Main Rehearsal - Breakaway

For the main part of the session, each group broke off into various places to learn and practise different content. Personally, I went to learn the chorus elements for two new songs: The Harvard Variations and Blood in the Water. 

These songs are played almost back to back in the show, and are in a similar style of theatre mixed with the instrumentation of Classical music. Therefore, the tonality and timbre required must emulate the same high-end elegance that this form of music implies. 

Both songs have challenging passages that I will now have time to work on independently. The Harvard Variations contains certain higher passages that tap into my operatic whistle range (as far as I am aware, I am the only person on this line). Therefore, I will need to spend some time working with and warming up in this passage so that i can effectively switch into it fr the small amount of time that it is used. Blood in the Water, although mostly call-and-response, houses the more difficult technical details of the changing tempo and heavy chromatic notations. I will need to ensure I take time to exercise these notes, as the are very close together and can easily sound dissonant if misinterpreted.

Evidence of Rehearsal

5th September 2024 - First full timetabled lesson

Contrary to the previous post, this was the first of what will be full 100-minute sessions!

Start Of Session

We began this session by playing two introductory games, in order for the class to get to know each other. These were:

-Look Up, Look Down

-On The Bus

Look Up, Look Down

For this game, all players must stand in a circle, and they begin looking at the floor. When the leader tells everyone to 'Look Up', they must focus on another person in the circle immediately. If two people end up looking at each other, then they are out of the game. This continues until only one person remains and is crowned the winner. (By a stroke of luck, this was me in our rendition of the game!) It is a useful activity to develop quick thinking, as well as assessing the risks of what other people are planning at the time; it is also effective in a team building context to establish silent communication and a more friendly atmosphere.

On The Bus

This game begins with two lines of chairs set out for the number of players, making sure there is an aisle in the middle to simulate a small bus. One player (or the leader in our case), will act as the driver, who welcomes each passenger onto the bus. However, each passenger who arrives will secretly decide a character, archetype or emotion that they will portray - as each new person arrives, those already on the bus (including the driver), will have to present the same emotion, whilst still maintaining their own character. Therefore, this exercise is very beneficial for reading characters and thinking on your feet, as well as interpreting emotions and how they manifest depending on the character you are playing.

We played this game twice, first as a random personality, and then as our characters we had already been cast as for our upcoming show, Legally Blonde (in my case, Vivienne Kensington).

Main Tasks

Character Development

To make a start on our journey into developing our characters, we split the class in half and created a series of freeze frames for one of the characters from the show at key moments of their childhood. From the first birthday, to discovering their parent's clothes and trying them on, to their 18th birthday, we considered all of the tumultuous moments in a character's life. Although we focussed on a different characters to my own in our group, it was very useful in encouraging our focus on our own persona's life as a whole, and how their backstory has shaped them. 

Vocal Skills

Following these games, we used a video resource to remind ourselves of how to use what was referred to as the 'generic American accent', as it is commonly used for characters in our upcoming musical, Legally Blonde. As a group, we studied each individual facet of the accent from the source, and then attempted each of the practise sentences that incorporated certain features more heavily. Not only this, but our teacher gave further insight on where each sound was positioned in the mouth and how the shape of the mouth aided this, in order for the sound output to seem more genuine.

Physical Skills

The main body of the session was centred around this work. We began by walking around the space in random directions, while being instructed to pay attention to each detail of how we usually walk as displayed (more on this in a moment). 

We then stood in a space and began to unpick each facet of the posture, by creating the presentation of our characters from Legally Blonde. I chose a wider stance with no evident rest on either hip, straight but not locked knees, tense and upright shoulders, and a head position slightly tilted down and forwards. These traits - alongside my idiosyncratic gesture of the arms folded over the chest and one hand twirling a lock of hair - aptly showcase my presentation of the character at the start of the show: intimidating, untouchable and cold in her manner.

Progressing directly on from this, we began to walk around the space again, but paying attention to each of these characteristics that we had given ourselves. Moreover, we began to focus in on our gait - the way n which our characters walk. I myself chose a moderate-slow, calculated pace, but with ample stride length and the slightest sway in the hips and shoulders. Additionally, my turns were sharp and measured, always looking in the direction I wished to go before my body faced that way. Again, these attributes installed a sense of pride and composure within the character and those who observe her, as well as that unease and intimidation.

Application

To conclude the session, we used our acquired skills to focus of two last things:

-Character Entrance

-Improvisation

Character Entrance

A very important aspect of any actor's performance is how they make their way onto stage, particularly in the first instance, without saying anything. Especially if you are the only person on stage at a given time, the audience will be assessing you intensely, and forming impressions based on how you wordlessly introduce yourself to them.

Therefore, one of our final activities of the day was to take it in turns to each make our entrance from an upstage point, travel to centre stage, and promptly exit. We used our previous analysis of our posture and gait to channel this into an individual and compelling performance, even if it were only for a few seconds.

Improvisation

Last but not least, we were given a short list of scenarios to experiment with in our characters. Not only does this kind of technique improve an actor's understanding of their own character and strengthen their portrayal, but it also provides a degree of connection between actors and how they and their characters interact with one another.

Next Steps

Our assigned independent task to further the work we completed in this lesson was to conduct our own research behind contextual elements of the show, in order to add depth and detail to our own performances.

4th September 2024 - First lesson of the year!!

Although this session was cut shorter than anticipated due to complications with the first day of school timetable, a lot of work was still able to be completed.

During this session, we covered several warmup techniques that can ensure one's vocal and physical health is suitably maintained at a basic level.

These were:

-'Wake Up'

-Mobility Drawing

-Ballerina Breathing

Wake Up

This exercise involves gently tapping various parts of your body rapidly with the tips of your fingers. The general pathway is to begin with the face and back of the neck, before traversing down the body into the shoulders, arms, torso and so on. This gentle stimulation encourages the muscles to become more alert and for the participant to feel more energised for performance. It is commonly used in warm-ups before performances to ensure maximum energy, but can also be applied to a rehearsal setting.

Mobility Drawing

Another physical exercise, this activity entails drawing one's name in the air with their dominant hand finger, in the most cursive and flowing way possible. Following this, the task is repeated with other parts of the body (on both sides to maintain an even balance), such as the nose, knees, hips and feet/toes. This allows for the mobilisation aspect of any successful warm-up t be achieved, especially is the pulse-raising and dynamic stretching phases do not include it very much.

Ballerina Breathing

While not inherently a vocal exercise, Ballerina Breathing is very useful in reinstating one's posture and centre of balance that is imperative when singing; it also, being a breathing exercise, grounds the participant and eradicates any possible performance nerves if being used in that context. For this activity, one stands with their feet shoulder width apart and their arms comfortably resting alert in front of them, similarly to a standard ballet position. With each inhale, the participant will gently bend their knees to lower themselves, as well as slowly reposition their arms to be outstretched horizontally at their sides. Following this, during the exhale, they will slowly realign themselves to their original pose. The exercise can be repeated for as long as a participant may require, and can be done at any speed, but preferably a slow and methodical one.