Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Wednesday 28^th June

Today my lecturer took me and another student Erin to a RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) workshop in Bristol. The workshop took place in the Bristol Old Vic in one of the rehearsal spaces. The workshop started at 5pm and ran for 3 hours finishing at 8pm.

When we arrived at the workshop, we spoke to the people running the workshop, Joan and Angela. They asked us what adaptations we may need for the workshop and told us that if we needed anything then we were just to ask. They had already printed off the scripts that we were using today in our preferred format. We had been sent the scripts previous to the workshop as well so that we had chance to familiarise ourselves with the text because it is very difficult to sight-read when you have a visual impairment.

To start the workshop, Angela and Joan told us a bit about themselves and what they were going to do with us today in the workshop. Both Angela and Joan had studied at RADA and Joan is now working at RADA as the foundation course director. We then moved onto the first set of activities which were all based around movement. We started by getting to know everyone else in the room. Some people had an advantage over others because they already knew each other before the workshop. We went around the circle and said our name and did an action to go alongside it. We went round the circle a few times so we could get used to everyone’s name. We then walked around the room and we went up to people, did our action and said our name. They would then respond with their name. We would repeat this again. Then we would have to say the other person’s name with the action and they would do the same.

We then carried out another movement exercise. We held hands with a partner and started walking around the room. We had to be holding hands with at least one person at all times. We had to then link up to other people to make slightly longer chains, however we weren’t allowed any more than 4 people in a chain. At first I found this quite difficult as I had to move around and find peoples hand but after a while I managed to get the hang of it. After a while of doing this activity, Angela stopped the group and told us that we were being too nice. We needed to start being a bit fiercer and grabbing other people’s hands even if they weren’t expecting it.

After this exercise we broke off into partners and carried on walking around the room. This exercise was now about leading and following. When walking around the room, we would have to change directions. This meant that either one in the pair would lead the way. During this exercise I found that I was mostly following the other person but this depended on who I was working with. We kept switching partners so that we could work with different people.

After all of the movement activities, we moved on to look at text. The script that we were using was a piece from the play ‘Blue Kettle’ which is written by Caryl Churchill. We went around the circle and read one line each of the text. We were told to go through the text quite slowly and to leave a pause between each of the lines because there was a boy who was deaf in the group. Therefore he had 2 interpreters in the room who needed to translate what was being said into sign language. This worked really well and when it wasn’t working so well, Joan and Angela adapted it straight away. They made the workshop very accessible. Once reading through the text a few times, we had a little group discussions about units. Joan asked us if we knew about units and how to separate a script into different units. A unit is when there is a change of direction within the script. For example, a new topic could arise or the characters could be talking about the same subject but with a different approach. We then read through the script as a group again, each person reading one line each but when we thought that the text had come to the end of a unit, we would clap. We would then had a group discussion to see if we all agreed with where the end of the unit was. Sometimes there would be a lot of debate as to where the line would be drawn but other times it was a definite decision. Altogether we separated the script into 9 units. In pairs, we were then given 2 units each to work on. We had to choose an action of which we thought our character had. An action is a verb which the character is trying to do through their speech. For example, I was working with Alison and we had units 6 and 7. I was playing the character Enid and for unit 6 the actions were ‘to test’ and for unit 7 the action was to ‘put down’. The actions that Alison came up with for her character Derek was to ‘dismiss’ and to ‘reassure’. These actions then helped us with the expression and intonation that we would use when delivering the lines.

We then all came back in as a group and showed the rest of the group what we had been working on. We had a discussion about the actions that we came up with as a group and spoke about how this has helped us to form the characters a bit more. Here is a video of us performing the section of script and then having a group discussion and feedback at the end;

Overall, I really enjoyed the workshop. I did not know what to expect going into the workshop. I didn’t think that I was going to mix well within the group but I managed to work well with everyone in the group. I was nervous as it was a completely new setting and I didn’t know any of the others who were taking part in the workshop. Therefore it built my confidence as a performer within a workshop setting. The workshop was very informative as it taught me new exercises and script techniques which I will be using in the future to improve my skills. The workshop was made very accessible to everyone including Erin and I who had visual impairments, Kieran who was deaf and Beth who was in a wheelchair. Both Angela and Joan made sure that everything was in place that I needed and also made sure that the other people in the room that had a disability were included as much as everyone else. They made sure that no one was at a disadvantage. I would like to take part in more of these types of workshops because I feel like I will really benefit from them in growing and developing my skills and my confidence. 
Here are some photos that my lecturer Cara took during the workshop:

Evaluation of duologue

Thursday 15^th June

Today was the day of the UCAN performance. The doors for the show opened at 7pm at which time the audience started waiting to see the performance.

Before the show, each of the cast members were performing a duologue downstairs in the foyer of the Chapel arts centre. Over the past few months, Angel and I have been learning and developing our duologue and tonight we were performing it. Everyone else in the group was performing a monologue.

The duologue that we were performing is called ‘Split down the middle’ and is about 2 friends who are on a works outing. They are on a boat out at sea when suddenly things start to go wrong when one of the characters realises that the boat is leaking. The duologue involves 2 characters who are both very contrasting. Josie is overdramatic and believes that both of the characters are going to die however Fran is the opposite. She is not worried about the boat leaking and is a bit dumb whilst trying to cheer up Josie.

The day before the performance, I spoke to my lecturer and she said that there was going to be a slight change of plan. The original plan was to perform the piece on the stair landing, however the lighting and sound quality wasn’t very good in this position so we have decided to set up the boat in an area in the foyer. Because we now have more space, the art teacher Jo is making us a screen to go behind the boat. This will give more of a sense that we are in a boat, out at sea.

During the day before the show, we had a full dress and tech rehearsal of the show. This meant that we got to practice our duologue downstairs and planned how we were going to enter and exit. We came up with the idea to come round the back of the audience instead of walking through them because this means that we will be able to stay in character better. The rehearsal didn’t go as well as planned as we kept messing up our lines.

Out of all of the monologues and duologues, mine and Angel’s was first. I felt really nervous to start this off because I had to start the duologue. By having the opening line it meant that I had to get everyone’s attention with my first line which was “HOOT, HOOT, HOOT!!” I was also nervous because this is a comedy piece and I have never performed a comedy piece before. We haven’t performed this in front of anyone apart from my peers within my performing arts sessions.  Here is a video of Angel and I performing the duologue:

Evaluation:

A strength of the performance was that I managed to get everyone’s attention at the start of the piece. I was very nervous about doing this because I wasn’t able to practice shouting over a large group of people. Therefore I just had to go for it on the night and hope that I got everyone’s attention. When I did my first “HOOT” I didn’t quite manage to get all attention but by the second and last “HOOT” everyone was looking and listening to me. I was very pleased that I got all attention as I didn’t think that I could do this. By getting attention from all the audience members meant that they could all engage in the piece.

Another strength of the performance is that I managed to remember all of my lines. I was worried in rehearsals as I did mess up some of my lines within the dress rehearsal so I thought that I might mess them again in the final performance.

Another strength is that we managed to make the audience laugh. Only recently have I started to realise the comedy within the piece. This may be because I have mostly been focusing on learning the lines and not focusing on the expression and context of the lines.

I also feel like I managed to portray my character quite well. I have done some research outside of lecture time but I unfortunately couldn’t find much information on the piece. This meant that I had to make my own interpretation of the character alongside help from my lecturer Cara.

A weakness of the performance is that there were a few lines that Angel forgot. This meant that it stopped the flow of the piece slightly. However I did manage to cover up this issue because I whispered the line to her. I had learnt mostly all of the script and this came in very useful when something went slightly wrong.

Working on this duologue has made me realise that working with only one other person can be quite difficult. It makes it very difficult to learn and rehearse line if the other person does not work at the same pace as you. I encountered this situation quite a few times. There were several different occasions where I had learnt most of my lines but because I didn’t have the correct cue line present, it meant that I wasn’t able to remember my line and then go on to deliver it.

In contrast, working with only one other person on a piece of drama did mean that it was easier to meet up outside of lecture time and practice over the lines. It didn’t mean that we had to get a whole group of people together to rehearse the lines. This meant that we were able to rehearse quite a lot outside of lecture time when we were both free. 

Responding to feedback - final analysis

Updated plan - Responding to feedback

Having now prepared for and carried out some performances and conducted warmup workshops, I am now in a position to review my progress in skills with my lecturer. We have looked at my original skills audit and my lecturer has fed back on each element of the list.

Voice production techniques

I have learnt that voice production is very important within all aspects of performing arts. It is not so important within dance, but more important within acting and singing techniques. I improved my voice production skills as I attended regular lectures which helped to improve my skills. I also got to put these skills to use when we went to Theatr Brycheiniog for the day to perform our poems in front of theatre practitioner and during the singing performance within college. During lectures, I have been learning and practicing several voice techniques and exercises such as ‘pah, tah, kah’, ‘man, nah, lah’ and ‘thah, vah, zah’. Over time I have progressed with these exercises, although I do still struggle slightly with ‘thah, vah, zah’ and don’t have this up the speed of the others.

Expression in performing arts

During and outside of lectures, I have been learning my lines for the duologue which will be performed in June. Because I know my lines now, I am able to start to work on characterisation. I am making good progress with this and I am starting to realise the comedy within the piece between the 2 characters.

My confidence has also grown, especially in singing. At the start of the course, I was a very shy singer and was cautious about singing in front of anyone. Now, after taking part in the singing performance, I am a much more confident singer. I was then able to use these skills within the studio at college when recording songs. I was also given feedback from a sound engineer that I had very good diction and brought some clarity to the piece.

In terms of dance, I have been aiming to build in more emotion to my dances as this was my main target for this year. I started to do this once I was very familiar with the choreography. I also found that knowing the story line before and after the dance helped me to build emotion into the dance. I will be able to show my emotion through dance in the dance show in June.

Clarity of delivery in performing arts

Throughout the course of the year, my confidence for singing has grown significantly. When I first started college, I refused to sing in front of anyone. Now, I have performed in a singing performance in front of a live audience. My further target would be to maintain and gain a bit more confidence as when I was singing in the performance, I became very nervous. I will continue to build up my confidence within singing.

My confidence has also grown within dance and acting. I have come to the conclusion that I become more confident with the material once I am very familiar with it. This means that I can then start working on characterisation and/or relating to the storyline.

I also now have a better understanding of putting skills together with emotion and then connecting with an audience. I showed this within the dance performance and I know this because I was given feedback from many of the audience members.

Applying dynamics

Throughout the year I have explored projection whilst delivering my poem and other pieces of material during performing arts sessions. I worked alongside my lecturer to improve on this in my lectures. My development of projection is evidenced in my duologue which I performed before the UCAN show. I used projection to grab the attention of the audience as they were waiting in the foyer. I started the duologue with the line “HOOT, HOOT, HOOT”. I had to grab everyone’s attention and this was really difficult however I managed to use my projection techniques to do this successfully.

A further target that I should work on is to be less inhibited because sometimes I do not perform to my best ability especially in new situations. I need to start taking more risks within performing arts lessons and workshops.

Communicating performance work

Taking part in the performances meant that I needed to pick some outfits to wear. I had to think carefully about my different outfits as they needed to fit in with the show. For the singing performance I wore all black because that was the theme that we were running with. For the dance performance I wore a checked shirt as the theme of the show was western. I also wore a different costume for my ballet routine because the checked shirt wouldn’t have been appropriate. Also, for the UCAN performance, I had to pick out an outfit that symbolised my character. I also wore makeup for all of these shows and I had to make sure that this was suitable.

Teamwork

I am continuing to make a positive contribution to performing arts in terms of working as part of a team.

Dance techniques

In my dance lectures, I have been working on building emotion within the routines. This is something that I really struggled with at the start of the year but I have been working on it and managed to convey emotions well within the dance performance. One of my lecturers fed back to me after the show and she said that I looked really sad during my solo. This was great to hear!

Life skills

I am continuing to maintain full engagement with all aspects of performing arts. I attend regular sessions and I am on time to all sessions or even a bit early.

Responsibility for own learning

I have worked independently towards all aspects of my performing arts course. In my own time, I have completed blog posts which I did not complete in the lesson and also blogged about every performing arts session that I have attended. I have also blogged about any external workshops that I have attended as these have helped towards my development throughout the course. I have also worked independently to learn my lines in the duologue and other material in preparation for performances.

Communication

During the year, I have communicated with many different members of staff to arrange a rehearsal space. This has involved people in the Chapel arts centre and the local leisure centre. There have been many different occasions where I have worked independently on material and also as a group. I also had to negotiate with staff in terms of arranging extra group dance rehearsals within the college day. I had to be realistic with when I could participate in rehearsals and when I had to set time aside for revision for my other subjects. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 11^th May

In today’s lesson we were focusing on the duologue.

Over the past few weeks we have mainly been focusing on learning the script. Although I am quite secure with my lines, I am not very sure of my lines if I do not get the correct queue line which is said by Angel. Therefore, we both have to work equally as hard to learn the script because even if one word is said differently then this may lead to the other person forgetting their line.

Today we actually got to practice the duologue where we will be performing it to an audience. We will perform the duologue before the UCAN performance on the 15^th of June. The boat for our duologue will be set on the stairs which lead up to the performance studio. Here is a picture of me and Angel sat in the boat on the stairs:

Once we had gone through the duologue, we got given some feedback from our lecturer and our peers. My lecturer, Cara said that although she was able to hear me, I need a little bit more projection because on the night when we perform this, the foyer is going to be packed full of people and everyone may not be able to hear me as well. This also means that Angel and I need to be speaking at around about the same volume. Another piece of feedback that I was given was to work on characterisation a bit more but I think this will come more naturally as soon as I am fully secure with my lines. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Wednesday 5^th April

Today we were focusing on learning the lines for the duologue. We spent all of the lesson today going over the lines so that in the next few lessons we can focus more on expression, intonation and movement. Here is a link to a video of Angel and I practicing our lines:

This is the first time that we have both gone through the script without looking at our scripts. I think that this run-through went quite well as we can now remember all of our lines with prompts from our lecturer, Cara.

We are making good progress in time for the performance. We will be performing this duologue before the UCAN performance. Outside of lectures I will go over my lines just so that I can make sure they are secure in my memory. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Wednesday 29^th March

Today we only had half of the lesson so we started promptly by practicing the duologue.

Angel was not in the lesson today so Cara took on the character that Angel normally plays. Because I am now fairly familiar with most of my lines, I am able to start adding some movement and hand gestures into the piece. As we went through the piece, Cara gave me some ideas as to what sort of movement I could do whilst saying my lines. By Cara playing the role of Josie it helped me to gage a better understanding of the character as she knows the script fairly well and is able to use different expressions and intonations. 

My target is to carry on going over the script and making sure that I know all of my lines. The sooner I learn the lines, the sooner I can start to add more expression and intonation to the lines to make them more interesting and to engage the audience more. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Monday 27^th March

Today I took part in the singing performance.

Before the show started, we were able to have a quick rehearsal of what we had come up with on Thursday. Once we had practiced through this twice, we all felt confident and were ready to start the show.

The setup for the show consisted of 5 chairs at the front of the stage where Callum, Mikey, me, Danielle and Emily sat throughout the show. When it was our time to sing, we got up and stood closer to the microphone. Behind us was Cara who was playing the piano and Tony who was playing percussion. Here is a link to the video of the singing performance:

As the singing performance went on, I got more nervous because it was getting closer to my solo part. However, once I had started singing ‘Groove is the heart’, I became more relaxed. When it came to singing my solo lines, I knew that I had to project a lot because otherwise the audience wouldn’t be able to hear me. When it got to my solo part, I was really nervous but still managed to sing all of my words clearer and projected as much as I could.

Overall I think that the singing performance went well. Although there were some mistakes through the performance, everyone covered them up well and carried on with the show. In my solo part, I projected as much as I could. This was the loudest that I have sung my solo part before. I also felt like this was the best that I have sung it. The feedback which I was given from my lecturer was that all of my words came across clearly and that it was the best that I had sung. She also said that I have vocal potential but need to work on building up my confidence. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 23^rd March

Today was the last lesson where we were able to have a full run through of the show before the singing performance on Monday. To ensure that we weren’t going to be unfamiliar with the performance space on Monday, we used this session to practice in ‘the Chapel’ which is where we will be performing on Monday. Practicing in this space also gives us an opportunity to listen to how the acoustics are a lot better in this room than the performance studio where we normally practice. We set the chairs up as they would be set up for the show. We also timed the show so that we could have a rough estimate of how long the show was going to run for.

We ran through the songs in the order of the show. I am only singing in the last 2 songs in the performance which are ‘Groove is in the heart’ and ‘We are family’. When we got to singing ‘Groove is the heart’, I wasn’t very nervous and sang quite loudly because I was singing with the others in the group. However, when it came to my solo bit in ‘We are family’ I went very shy and didn’t sing very loudly. The feedback that I was given at the end of the session was that I need to sing a lot louder at the singing performance on Monday otherwise the audience aren’t going to be able to hear my voice. Before we finished the lecture, we thought of a new ending for ‘We are family’. Once we had sung through the chorus once, Cara who is playing the piano, is going to drop out and we are going to sing acapella whilst clapping in time which will hopefully get the audience clapping too. Then, Cara will join back in for one last chorus.

I am quite nervous for the singing performance as I haven’t sung by myself in front of a live audience before. This singing performance will build up my confidence because although I only have a small singing solo, this will build up my confidence for singing in front of a live audience. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 16^th March

Today we went to the Hereford College of Arts to watch a small theatre company perform their show. The show was called ‘As the Crow Flies’ and it was performed by Pentabus Theatre Company. The play was about a crow stealing different items from the main character, Beth’s garden. However, the crow was hurt and Beth helped the crow to heal its wing so that it could fly again. There were only 3 characters in the play which were the crow, Beth and young Beth. Young Beth and Beth spoke to each other throughout the play at different points which made the play quite interesting. Before the show started, we had a touch tour with the actors so we could see up close and feel pieces of the set. This really helped us because we were able to see where different props were and we were able to hear the actors talking before the show so that we knew which character was speaking.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. I wasn’t particularly interested in going to this show because this wouldn’t be a piece of drama that I would normally go and see but, I really enjoyed it so I am glad that I went to see it. All of the actors in the show were very strong as they had very good projection and clarity. They all suited their characters very well.

Once we got back to college after we had seen the performance, we went to the performance studio so that we could practice the songs that we will be singing for the singing performance in a few weeks times. We ran the songs in the order of which they will be performed in the show. ‘Groove is the heart’ and ‘We are family’ are the last 2 songs in the performance. Once we had practiced through the songs, Cara gave us some feedback. The feedback which she gave me was that I still need to be singing louder and clearer so that everyone will be able to hear me. At the moment I still feel very shy when I am singing in front of people, especially on my own. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 2^nd March

Today we were focusing on singing and preparing for the singing performance.

We carried out a warmup which consisted of major scales, the intercostal diaphragmatic breathing exercise and arpeggios.

We ran through a lot of material during this session. Firstly we looked at the small solo parts that we each have in the song ‘We are family’. I was given the first solo bit and at the moment I am still quite shy and unsure about singing in front of other people. However, I am not as shy as I used to be and I am slowly building up more confidence to be able to sing in front of others.

We then went through the whole piece a few times to make sure that it flowed nicely and that everyone is sure of what they need to be singing.

My target is to keep practicing over my solo bit so that it becomes louder and clearer and I become more confident. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Wednesday 1^st March

Today we carried out an in depth warmup ready to think about leading our own warmup.

We started the warmup with some gentle stretches. Firstly we bent over, keeping our legs straight, to create a table top position. We also put our arms out in front of us. After this stretch we did a side stretch when we bent over to the right lifting our left arm and bending over to the side. We then repeated this to the other side.

After the stretches we shook out the parts of the body from head to foot. We also patted the muscles from the feet working up to the stomach and then up to the head. This makes sure that all the blood is flowing to the muscles faster. After this we then had a discussion as to why this is important. It is very important to warm up areas such as the head, ribs and neck because we will be using these parts of the body a lot during voice production.

Next we moved onto the intercostal diaphragmatic breathing exercise. For this exercise we breathed in for 4 counts, held for 6 and then breathed out for 12. If I was to carry out this breathing exercise with another group outside the performing arts lectures I would probably get the group to breathe out for 8 counts instead of 12 because it is easier. We also carried out a different variation of this exercise. We breathed in for 4, held for 6 and breathed out for a random amount of counts. This required more concentration as we had to think more carefully about exhalation. We then carried out the extension to this exercise which is the abdominal press. Carrying out this exercise enables us to feel the ribs swing out and feel the lungs filling up with air.

For the last part of the session we carried out some diction and travelling exercises. As a group, we are now quite confident with ‘pah, tah, kah’, however we do need further practice with ‘mah, nah, lah’ and thah, vah, zah’. Once we have got these exercises up to speed we will then be able to apply these to our performance material. Other exercises which we carried out where ‘ma, may, mee, mor, moo’ and several tongue twisters. All of these diction exercises could do with some work. My target for next week is to go over these diction exercises so that I know them without having to look at the sheet. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Work experience

From the 6^th of February till the 10^th of February I went on a work placement with the organisation LOOK UK. Throughout the week I was working alongside director, Charlotte carrying out several different tasks and activities. The main thing that I was doing throughout the week was helping to organise a beauty and fashion event that is to happen later this year. During the week I was able to develop my event organising skills. These organisation skills are transferable to many other areas. For example, they can be used when you are organising an event as an actor. When organising an event as an actor there are several things that you need to do to make sure that the event runs smoothly such as booking a venue, employing other actors and advertising the event. During the work placement I also made a list of jobs that would need to be done to make sure that the event is successful. Other existing skills that I used were punctuality (being on time to the placement every day and looking presentable) IT skills (working with spreadsheets and blogs) and confidence (when talking to people about problems within the partially sighted community).

I enjoyed this placement as I feel it has given me an insight as to what job role I could go into in the future. Also, the placement enabled me to maintain my current existing skills such as organisation, punctuality and confidence. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 2^nd February

Today we were focusing on singing.

We started off the session with a warmup including major scales, arpeggios and the ‘va va vi vi’ exercise.

Firstly we spent some time working on ‘Groove is the heart’. In this song I am joining in singing the chorus and the line ‘I couldn’t ask for another’. We ran through the song once just as a reminder. We then had a discussion with our lecturer about getting into the song a bit more. We need to be moving to the beat of the music and also joining in with specific words in the verses. Cara also asked me if I knew where some of the lines come in such as ‘Sing it baby!’ Because I knew where they were in the song, she asked me if I could sing them.

We then worked on the transition, which we learnt last week, from ‘Groove is in the heart’ to ‘We are family’. We didn’t need to spend a lot of time on this because we spent a lot of time learning this last week.

For the rest of the lesson we worked on ‘We are family’. We mainly worked on the solo parts because I was quite shy and didn’t sing very loudly. After a few practices I was able to sing louder however, it still wasn’t very loud so I was set a target for over the holidays. The target is to practice my solo part so that I am more confident with it so I am able to sing louder. At the moment I do not feel very confident singing in front of the others in my group, however over time as I keep practicing in front of them, this will get easier. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Main aspect within performing arts: dance

Before I moved away from home to come to college I used to attend regular dance classes each week to improve my dance skills. These dance classes would take place at both my school and a local dance school. At school, I took part in a weekly contemporary dance class and at a local dance school I attended classes on a Saturday in ballet, tap, jazz, freestyle and cheerleading. I was able to achieve several grades in these subjects by working towards a dance exam which would take place every few months.

When I moved to college in September 2016, I was eager to keep up my dance skills and to improve these but I had to look for a dance school that suited me in terms of ability. It took me a while to find a dance school that offered the subjects that I was interested in and had achieved grades in already. Most of the dance schools around the local area offered classes that I wasn’t interested in or classes in the subjects that I was interested in but not for my ability. Eventually I did find a dance school that offered ballet, tap and jazz. After attending one ballet class with this dance school I made the decision to not attend again as the other pupils in the class were a lot younger than me. I also felt like the class and the steps in the class did not stretch me enough, therefore I started to look elsewhere for lessons. I sent a few emails out to local dance schools who I thought would be suitable for me. After a few responses I gathered all of the information I needed and spoke to my dance teacher within college who teaches us dance improvisation within the performing arts course and she recommended a dance school to me. The following week I attended a grade 5 ballet class on a Monday night. I felt like I fitted in well to the class and the steps and combinations that they were teaching stretched me. I still continue going to this dance class on a Monday night to improve my dance skills within ballet. However, I am also looking to start classes in jazz and tap sometime soon.

I have also been able to find a contemporary dance class which is suitable for me. This class takes place on a Thursday night in the performance studio here at college. My dance teacher within college, Laura told me about this dance class as it is part of her own dance school. She thought that I would fit in very well to the class because it was for people who were similar age to me and similar ability. After the first dance class I really enjoyed it and decided to start regularly attending these classes.

Another class that I have been able to find and attend is a street/jazz class on a Wednesday night. I have never done street dance before but I went along to the lesson to see if I liked it or not. I found the class quite difficult and it took me a while to pick up the choreography but I did enjoy it. I will now be attending this class regularly. Street dance is a new skill for me and I will hopefully be able to develop this throughout the upcoming months. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Tuesday 31^st January

Today we went to Brecon in Wales to visit Theatr Brycheiniog. We were going to Brecon to visit the theatre and to perform some pieces that we had prepared to perform in front of a professional practitioner. This enabled me to gain a new skill as I have not performed in front of a professional practitioner before.

When we arrived at the theatre, we were greeted by the theatre development manager Martin Green who we were going to be working with all day. He gave us a talk about the theatre, what his job role is and what we would be doing throughout the day. Once we had finished the talk, we went for a tour around the theatre. I found this quite interesting as I have performed in theatres before and tours of a few too. After the tour we headed into the performance studio where we would be performing our poems and monologues. Before performing my poem I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I managed to stay calm and remember all of the corrections and feedback that I had been given about my poem throughout the past few performing arts sessions. Here is a link to the video of me performing my poem:

After my poem, I was given some feedback from Martin which is also shown in the video. I felt like I performed the poem well because of the feedback that I was given from Martin. The main thing that I was focusing on whilst performing was the pace and when I was given feedback, Martin said that I did this very well.

Here is a link to the group having a discussion with Martin after we had all performed our monologues and poems:

In the video he gives us some useful tips as an actor who is going in for any audition.

After we had performed our poems and monologues, we had a lunch break. After lunch we would be carrying out some improvisation tasks on the main stage.

When we got onto the main stage, we spoke to the stage manager who told us a bit about the staging. We then carried out a warmup ready to carry out the improvisation tasks. The first improvisation task that we were given was to create objects using our bodies. This improvisation task was set to be in the style of Grotowski because he was a theatre practitioner who focused on psychical theatre and movement. Here is a video to us carrying out this task:

As you can see from the video, we did struggle with this task in some places. We spent too much time talking about how we were going to make the object rather than making it. Towards the end of the video you can see that we did start to get better at the task but we still spent too much time talking. If we were to do this task again we would spend less time talking and start to make the object straight away rather than standing around chatting.

The second improvisation task was the main task and we had been asked to prepare for this. This improvisation task was carried out in the style of Stanislavski which is a naturalistic style. Last week we were all sent an individual description of a character that we had been asked to play. We were then given a scenario that we were at a school reunion after not seeing the others in the group for 20 years. One of the people in the group has committed a crime and the others had to figure out who it was. However, this had to be as naturalistic as possible. Here is the character briefing which I was given prior to the day at Theatr Brycheiniog:

You are ashamed because your career went downhill. On results day you did fairly well in you’re a levels and went to university. However, you suffered mental health problems during your time there and dropped out. Since then, you have moved between various office jobs. Currently you work as a secretary at the local school. At this point in your life, you are starting to think about attending a part time course in social work but still lack the confidence. You would like to know what the others think about this. You need to be very pessimistic and downhearted. Try to shoot down any positive encouragement you are given. Also, try to avoid starting conversations and give fairly short answers unless someone prompts you for details.

Here is a link to a video of use carrying out the improvisation task:

As you can see from the video, we found this activity quite difficult. We didn’t know how to come to a conclusion and try and figure out who was the criminal. We all had traits that made us seem like we were the criminal so it made it harder for us to establish who actually was the criminal. I found the task especially difficult because, as you can see from my character brief, I relied on the other characters a lot which meant that they had to lead the improvisation. This made it quite difficult for me because not everyone in the group was truly solid with their characters which then meant that I was able to fully portray my character. If we were to do this task again we would listen to each other more carefully as this would have helped us to move forward in the story. We should also do some more research before the task. If we had all carried out some research then we would have had a clearer understanding of how to perform our characters and therefore would have meant that the improvisation would have gone smoother.

For the last improvisation task we were able to try and redeem ourselves. For this improvisation we were given the scenario of being involved within a therapy circle. This improvisation was being carried out in the style of Artaud which focuses on theatre of cruelty. This exercise gave us a chance to carry out a longer task of spontaneous improvisation because we had had no planning for this and had to think of a character on the spot. The character which I played was very shy and quiet and didn’t like to talk about their problems but had been forced to attend the session. Throughout the task I rocked forward and backwards to show that I was nervous and to make the audience a bit unsure of what was going on. After a while of being quiet, someone else in the group was talking about their problem and I suddenly screamed at them. Here is the link to the video of us carrying out this task:
The feedback which I was given from Martin about this was that this was really effective as it made him, as the audience, feel very uncomfortable and wanted to know more about the situation. The feedback that we were given from Martin was that we carried out this task very well. We were able to deliver our characters very well and we all made the audience feel uncomfortable which was the main aim of the task.

Overall, I found the day very useful as I was able to learn and develop a new skill – performing in front of a professional theatre practitioner. I performed my poem well as I was able to remember it and I was able to remember all of the corrections and feedback that my lecturer gave me in the weeks following up to this day. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Monday 30^th January

This was the last session which we had to practice our poems before we go to Brecon to perform our poems in front of a professional.

We started this session with a quick warmup which consisted of the intercostal diaphragmatic breathing, diction and travelling exercises.

The majority of the lesson was then spent on making sure that we knew our poems and could perform them to their full potential. After one run-through of my poem, my lecturer gave me some feedback. I am still not projecting enough so that she can hear me clearly at the back of the performance studio. Also, I need to make sure the pace at the end of the poem is slowed right down so it keeps the audience hooked. Taking into consideration this feedback, I performed the poem again and afterwards my lecturer said that I performed it a lot better. When we go to Brecon I need to be able to perform it like the second time but I will only have one chance of performing it tomorrow. This means that I will have to be really focused and make sure I think about all the corrections and feedback that I have been given over the past few sessions. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 26^th January

In today’s lesson we were focusing on practicing the 2 group songs which we will be singing live at the singing performance. These 2 songs are ‘Groove is in the heart’ and ‘We are family’.

We started the lesson with a short singing warmup. We then moved onto looking at the transition from the first song to the second song. Our lecturer, Cara played us the instrumental piece of music that will be connecting the 2 songs together and showed us the part at which we had to start singing again. It took us a while to pick this up as a group but we eventually got it right. We then had a recap over both of the songs and we were given some feedback and improvements to make on both songs. The main piece of feedback that I was given was that I need to project my voice a bit more because I am quite quiet compared to the others in the group. This is because I am shy and not a very confident singer. This is due to singing being my weakest aspect within performing arts. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Monday 23^rd January

We carried out a quick warmup at the beginning of the session which consisted of the intercostal diaphragmatic breathing exercise and some diction exercises.

For the main part of the lesson we were focusing on our duologue and our poems. Firstly we went over the duologue. We are currently in the process of learning this duologue so we are not really performing this yet. We are mainly focusing on learning and perfecting our poems because we will be performing these in front of a professional at Brecon theatre next week.

For the next part of the lesson we focused on learning our poems and making sure that we could perform them to the best of our ability. After I had performed my poem the first time, I was given some feedback from my lecturer. She said that I needed to work a bit more on my projection as at the moment I am not projecting to my full potential. Another piece of feedback which she gave me was to think more about the pace of the poem because in some parts of the poem the pace needs to be faster but in other places it needs to be slower. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Thursday 19^th January

Today we were focusing on improvisation. We looked at a type of improvisation which we haven’t covered yet in this academic year – role swap in improvisation.

The first task that we were set was an improvised scene set in a hospital. I was acting as a patient and Danielle was acting as a friend from school who had come to visit me. After a few minutes the roles would swap so that Emily would become the patient and Angel would become the visitor. Role swapping can be quite difficult because the same atmosphere and characters must be played otherwise the scene could go completely off track. However, we managed to carry out the role swap successfully as the atmosphere of the scene did not change. Here is a video of us carrying out the exercise:

We then carried out another role swap exercise but this time Danielle and Angel were the beginners on stage. This scene was set in a girl’s bedroom and the 2 girls are getting ready to go to a party. A few minutes into the scene, the roles swapped so I was then playing the part of Angel and Emily was then playing the role of Danielle. Here is a link to the video of us carrying out the exercise:

The last exercise that we carried out was acting out the story of ‘Cinderella’ in the style of a soap opera. This also included role swapping for a few of the characters. This was an improvised task and we were only given a small amount of time to decide who was going to play which character/characters. Here is a link to the video of us carrying out the exercise:

The feedback which we were given by our lecturer was that although it was a good improvised version of Cinderella, it wasn’t really in the style of a soap opera. To make it more in the style of a soap opera, we could have made it more dramatic and a bit more lively. 

Unit 1 - Skills development in performing arts

Monday 16^th January

The main aim of today’s lesson was to focus on improving our improvisation skills. During the lesson we were set 2 different improvisation tasks which we carried out.

The first task that we carried out looked at contrasting characters within improvisation. We focused on the features that were needed to define these contrasting characters such as facial expressions, body language, gestures, etc. We then applied these to our characters and the situations given to us by our lecturer, Cara. Here are some links to the improvisation tasks that we carried out:

After we carried out each of these short improvised scenes, we were given some feedback from our lecturer. Some of this feedback is included within the videos. The main piece of feedback that I was given was to try and explore the situation a bit more. I need to be more confident and react a bit more realistically to the situations.

The second task which we carried out was short one line improvisations. For this our lecturer, Cara gave us an opening line of the scene which one of us had to repeat and then we both had to carry on the scene. Here are some links to the videos of us carrying out these tasks:

After each task we again had feedback from our lecturer. The main piece of feedback which we were both given was that we were making these scenes too long. The aim of these tasks was for them to be no longer than 2 minutes long, however most of our scenes exceeded this. We did manage to start and make these scenes shorter towards the end. Cara did also say that although we carried out both tasks very well, we carried out the one line improvisations better.