Shakespeare initial responces

Monday the 3rd of December

                                                          Today, in groups, we wrote on a large piece of sugar paper with Shakespeare in the middle. And each of us in the group wrote what   Shakespeare means to us and what primarily comes to mind when we     hear his name. We then, with us and the separate groups all presented them to the class.

We also as groups, got given snippets of the scripts and then had to come up with acted scenes and perform them to the class. our groups were numbered by the 5 pieces of paper we all wrote on. My group was number four and our scene told the scene of when Macduff convinces Malcom to get an army together because Macbeth has completely lost the plot and is going to kill Lady Macduff and her kids. Then Macbeth kills them, which was our final semi - scene. I felt that our shortened version worked pretty well because it helped me understand the story, because most of use studied this for GCSE English so the story came flooding back. Also with our shortened presentation of the story, also helped convey and show off the key scenes which also helped me understand the major and important plot points. 

Tuesday the 4th December

when I first heard that we will be doing Shakespeare's play Macbeth ; I originally thought that it will be the Greek theatre stuff all over again. That its far beyond my time, and that the language would be too in-depth and far too hard to learn. I also thought if I land a role of one of the main characters, even though no small part is too small or insignificant, it would be a huge responsibility that I would feel pressure from, more so than other plays that we have done. Macbeth is a world wide known play so to muck up anywhere down the line would be embarrassing and because it is much loved I would feel I've let myself down as well as the audience and Mr Shakespeare himself. 

Thursday the 6th December 

Upon doing a class reading of the script we got given Monday, I feel a bit more ready for the hard work and the performance beginning week of March 11th. 

The script seems easy to learn, its also quite straight forward the language now that we read it, because before in English we had the full version which was a lot longer and we had to analyse the language, so now we read the shortened version and read it normally it seems a lot less complex than first impressions. 

Now that we read the whole play, I have realised that every character has their own significance whether small or big. I'm pretty fond of the play, it will be a challenge, a big responsibility but every piece of drama is a responsibility if you look at it like that because you're selling the play. 

But I do like the play, and we can make the play and characters our own because ever version is different.  

Evaluation for our performance on 29th November

https://youtu.be/usqD31cME6s

From performing our Chekov pieces, I feel it went really successfully. I feel that over the past few weeks of rehearsing this particular piece, I have improved immensely and thoroughly. Rob has taught us well and Sharon too, and I feel that their methods and support has helped a great deal to help me change and shape as a young actor.

I feel that the skills I already have adopted are;

- Confidence

-Voice projection

- Memory

- Practise

- Use of space

- Respect

- Thick skin

My own thoughts

Other Skills I feel I have developed are adlibbing. This is when you know your character too well that you can actually add little mannerisms or actions that define your character and help mould and bring it to life. It also brings your character down to earth and make them real and believable, otherwise it just shows you have learnt the script and that's it, you want to basically become that exact character. I feel that I show awareness, especially of the other characters. But when using the fourth wall, which blots out the audience, you are partially aware that the audience is there but it helps to pretend not so you are in one with your character. I am aware with the other characters around me because it makes the scene look real because you are interacting with them naturally and authentically. 

I am quite good at making a piece seem natural. Since we were using the naturalism that Stanislavsky had practised I felt that this is why I felt a lot more confident with performing this piece than I had done the previous time round. I feel that the style suits my ability really well and I felt more comfortable.

Others thoughts

Someone had thought that I did a fantastic job of portraying the, "older man",. They felt I portrayed it really well with good tonality, pitching, mannerisms and gait ( way of walking). They said I used a good range of facial expressions, and movement. I also kept in character throughout. 

Another had thought that I had great creativity and good use of my props. I had a cane so it was well rehearsed with and it didn't look over used or too much. The communication with me , my character and the audience was really good. They also said I have thick skin. This means that you take whatever the audience throw at you either abuse or people laughing constantly throughout; you take it with a pinch of salt and don't let it affect you. They said my character was very quirky but you didn't care what anyone had to say and I just got on with it. 

another commented that to work on, I should have made my walk a bit more elderly to appear fully old because it seemed that torso upwards I came across like an old man, but my legs appeared youthful. But they really enjoyed watching it and they loved every minute of it. 

Teacher's notes 

Rob said that I should keep my eyeline up. I spent a few times looking at the floor, which didn't seem that natural; to make it that little bit more natural look to the back of the room instead. I had my knees bent this time and didn't look awkward. He also said that the communication and listening with my fellow actor lucky worked really well. It appeared natural and like we genuinely were talking other than the fact that we had just learnt a script, and that was what Stanislavsky tried to put forward.  

Why improvisation is important and how can it be applied usefully

Today when working with Sharon, and most of our course we have been taught this, and that is the art of improvisation. It is a plot that devised from the very moment that it is created in. We were told as part of the lesson to ,  still playing our characters - in this instance from the seagull, create a piece improved on the spot. But because we know the story and our characters well then we will be able to tell the story back to the class in our own words.

The whole idea of improvisation is to show that you know your character like they are your best mate, like a silent companion. If you know your character well enough you can play them in spontaneous moments and play them like you are playing yourself. Improv also helps with making your character seem more natural, and more everyday like. It makes your character feel like someone you know. When you get to the point where you know your character inside out then, you will adopt the mannerisms or accent far more naturally than starting out at the beginning of the rehearsal journey. When you get to the stage of rehearsal that you know your character well, then you can come up with a scene that never was , with other cast members and that way the other actors playing the audience members will still know your character is as good as it is in the scripted scenes.

Another point of improvisation is that , some plays aren't well known and people will only know your character through what they are seeing on stage without any contextual knowledge of it. So if it be that you forget the lines, you can use improv to , using context of the scene and the knowledge of your character, come up with the gist of what is happening in the scene. Also, say another actor forgot their cue to be on stage, using your initiative you could improvise the scene to make it seem like it was meant to happen and the audience will know no better.
It is also useful to use to explore your character. improvisation can help you discover the dos and don'ts of your part. An example being that an actor whose played the role for quite a while will automatically know, that if something different is in the script that the characters never done before or, the actor may feel that it doesn't fit because they know their character inside out what's been added in the new script  is out of character or just something that don't fit the characters personality.

drawing back to our lesson, when we were told to devise a scene that weren't part of the script, but this will be used to convey the story in our own words playing the same characters though, it was quite easy because we all knew the script because we've been working on it for a few weeks now, so the actions displayed by the character and the personality seemed to come naturally .

A few examples of improvisation in movies we know are as follows;

- Silence of the lambs - Hiss

when discussing his cannibalistic venture, with one of the famous lines from the movie, " I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti", ending the line with a scary hiss. Hopkins had been doing this as a joke in rehearsal to scare fellow actress Jodie Foster but decided to add it into the scene for a terrifying effect because it delivered a skin-crawling moment.

- Good will hunting - late wife's flatulence.

Whiz kid played by Matt Damon , with help from therapist played by late Robin Williams told a story to try and get him to open up about his emotions. When he decides to share the memory, hunting starts laughing hysterically. The entire scene was improvised by Williams mid scene, and matt Damon's laugh was actually a genuine fit of laughter. If you watch the scene closely, the camera is quite jumpy most likely because the cameraman himself is laughing too.

- The dark knight- slow clapping

As the joker (Heath Ledger) is arrested and waits quietly alone in jail, the mayor of Gotham comes to find the latest capture. He promotes Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) to commissioner.
all the officers applaud the good news, an unscripted, ledger begins to slowly clap without changing the expression on his face, it was a darkly great improv from the late Heath ledger.

who what where why when ; Guide to stanislavsky

Sharon had taught us the seven main rules that Stanislavsky went by when analysing our characters.

1.)  who am I?

You have to think to yourself who your character actually is. Picture what they look like too and that can help mould how you play them. You need to get a good idea what social class they have, that can affect the status they have over other characters. But thinking of who your character actually is will make it easier for you to play the part of them because you will have a rough idea how they act. 

2.) Where am I?

close to the first one, but knowing where you are situated around the world will help a lot when playing your character. a person acts differently from where they come from. Family values may be different and how they act around family and friends depending where they are geographically. People from England live differently to those do in America or Russia, so knowing this information will help you play your character true to life. 

3.) What time is it?

knowing the decade when your character comes from will also be very useful when coming to playing them. people from the 1960s or 1980s appear to perform differently to those who live now in present day. They will have dressed differently with different materials and things that were popular to that period , than what may be the in thing now. They would have spoke differently, slang in the 1960s would be a lot different to the street slang used today. for example during London around the time of the 50s and 60s, cockney rhyming slang was used but it still exists today just not across some youth groups, but when adlibbing in a piece of drama if your playing a chap from the 60s you may sneak a little of that in to the play you're doing to make it seem that more authentic and true. But my main point is that knowing the decade is key because that alters how the character behaves and looks.

4.) What do I want?

In other words, your main objective. your characters back story may be that their an alcoholic. Their objective may be to get over their addiction or give in to it. A more subtle example could mean that that want to find love so across the whole play, their super objective, could be that the end up married at the end. My point is that you need to know what your character wants to know why they actually wants otherwise their point in the play is irrelevant, all characters want something , some wants may be explicit and some may be vague so you need to dig deep with in depth analysis of your part.

5.) Why do I want it?

When you've discovered their wants, you then need to know why your character wants what they want.  linking back to my previous example, that someone may want to find love; do they really want to be loved perhaps because their parents never showed them any form of love or is it just so they have nothing better to do? when you realise why they want it you can think of ways to play them differently than first imagined or how you should really play them true to word. 

6.) How will I get what I want?

This is built upon the characters actions. They may commit a murder to get want they want or even theft. Or they could be shown to be hardworking and determined to get what they want. You also as an actor must think how your character will get what they want because it must also suit the character. You don't want to do something out of character that would have probably been done by another that isn't yours. you want to keep in character throughout, and its little mannerisms including actions that make up your character, so you must show this through the strategies to their wants. 

7.) What must overcome  to get what I want?

Are there any obstacles in their way preventing the character you are playing to get what they want. For example if they love someone else but is already in a relationship and they're trying to get to that person they will have to come to terms with the affair and the obstacle may be emotion as well as the anger from the other person, because trust has been lost. Another example is if they want be big in life, but their social class and financial state may get in their way , even though they shouldn't give up and should aim high. 

Context/ Stanislavski and his practises

                     Constantin Stanislavski (1863 - 1938)

- He co-founded the Moscow art theatre in 1897. He studied acting as a teen and became a highly proclaimed director and thespian. He developed a process called method acting, an example of modern day method acting would be that if an actor got a role as a surgeon or a fireman, they would take it upon themselves in their own time to study the role and maybe take themselves to the workplace of the character's profession to take notes on mannerisms and how the profession actually works so the actor can play their role truthfully.

- During Stanislavsky's reign of theatre in Russia, the communist revelation was occurring at the time also knowns as the Great October socialist revolution. Its the overthrowing the interim provisional government and established the soviet union. it was a much more deliberate event orchestrated by a smaller group of people.

- He wanted people to really put themselves out there in their roles. He wanted people to really embody and sort of become their role. He believed that it should represent natural life but that the audience should take in what they have seen, accept that it is fiction but should see that there is truth in the element and that what ever has occurred to the characters that that can happen in reality. He practised the analogy that there is an imaginary 4th wall, dividing the audience and the actors. this method was used effectively because he wanted the actors to properly feel the role that they are playing and it will help them get into the zone within the story of the script and escape reality because at that given moment they are playing a character and not themselves.
He also practised the technique of given circumstances. These are the unchangeable facts that are given to the actor like gender name and period and social class. For example if an actor was playing a female from the 19th century, she wouldn't have as many rights as the modern day woman would do maybe because of social class or in this example gender. The actors must take this on board to play their parts as truefully as they can.

- After the revolution in 1917, his factories and businesses were seized by the socialist and spread out nationally but he was allowed to keep his mansion in Moscow. As communism was the way of life hereafter in Russia for a period of time he gave up all his possessions and took up writing and directing. He became the principle director of the Moscow theatre for the rest of his life. even before and after the Russian revolution and leading into the 20s and 30s, he witnessed rivalry between his ex students. Some even immigrated out of Russia and others fought for the share of the success. His Moscow art theatre eventually was divided into separate companies. 

Introduction to professional practise

The various roles you will find within performing arts are; 

- Actor 

- Broadcaster / Journalist

- Musician

- Drama/Dance/Music Teachers

- Film/TV producer.

- Sports presenters 

- Screenwriters

- Directors

- ECT...

There are many options you can choose from within the wonderful world known as, "The Arts".

From Sports presenters to broadcasters there is one thing that they all have in common. And that is they too, are performing. Maybe not from a script or with a storyline; but they are selling themselves to an audience of who watches the specific programme. Even news presenters have an audience. And overall the common they thing they all obtain is a "Voice". it is a powerful trick all humans can use. Some ae loud some are quite but the joy is that everyone has one and can use it to their advantage. Some voices cause bad situations, but some voices change and shape the society we all live in today.

A director uses their "Voice" to input and change a shot, which could in-fact change the show/film  for the better and it only takes one person to suggest something that has the power to change for better or for worse. 

A singer/musician is another example. A particular singer may suit a kind of song which another may not. And its their voice that may make the song memorable and the audience love. An original singer with raw talent, will not use even think of using auto tune. If they constantly practise using their voice on its own it will begin to settle into something raw and full of talent. Olden day stars like The jam would perform in pubs/bars and backyard events before being noticed which geared them up for the real stage and Motown stars especially were used to the crowd because they weren't allowed during the 60s to perform in front of their own stage because of their race and colour. They used to perform on pirate radio stations before they were allowed to integrate onto their own radio stations and under the record label Motown. My point is that if one person never spoke up or they never fought for their rights using their talent and Voices then people wouldn't have been able to enjoy their music. I remember hearing of a story that Diana Ross and the Supremes; Miss Ross is understandably the most notable artist under Motown but one commented that she wasn't the best singer out of the whole group, not knocking her talent of course,  but what she had was charisma and charm and loved her audiences that's what got her to the top, as well as having a beautiful voice. 

In order to work as an actor my chosen career path would be to continue my studies at Westminster Kingsway until I my expected finish date of 2020.Then I hope to go to Mountview: academy of theatre arts, and possibly study adult courses at the Sylvia young theatre school. Mountview is situated within the Peckham are of south London. It was founded in 1945, by Peter Coxhead and Ralph Nossek. It was an armature Repertory staging company that launched a six day run every second week. It officially launched in November 1947, and in 1969 it started full time drama courses. The current president is Dame Judi Dench herself. The support an FdA Undergraduate in Theatre Production Arts. They also support a BA-Hons performance (acting). At Sylvia young they provide Adult part time classes. It is for any age from 18 upwards with any skill an ability. They give out acting and singing classes. At the acting classes you will learn devising and improvisation skills as well as stagecraft and performance. On Fridays the package now includes the art of camera technique.  Singing lessons are provided and you are taught vocal technique, performance and repertoire. they are given to those who have experience and to those who are completely new to the skill. Talented people like Amy Winehouse went here; she was a talented singer with an incredible talent , And actress Billie piper went here whose most notably started off with a singing career then starting acting when she was cast as Rose Tyler, companion to the 9th and 10th Doctors in the revived series of Doctor Who. 

The health and Safety aspects involved with voice for an actor are warming up the voice and supporting muscles that help with that. We as actors at West-King already use warm up techniques to help us prepare for the roles. We tend to stretch out the whole of our body. We roll our joints slowly, vertebrae by vertebrae of the spine till we cant touch the ground and slowly back up again. This helps to focus and gets rid of any tension we have within our joints and muscles. It helps us to get into "Neutral" position. This helps focus and get into the "Zone" for a good performance. We use vowel warm ups which consist of "Nah nah nah, mah mah mah, bah bah bah baaarr.". These help with pronunciation and clarity with in speeches of dialogue. A vocal warm up is necessary because it well prevent vocal strain and damage to the chords. Also overall body warm ups help to warm up the diaphragm and all supporting muscles that help the vocal ones; helps to focus the mind and voice.  

Recieving our parts ; analysing objectives. week commencing November 5th

Monday the 5th November

Today we received our individual parts that we will be playing in the play we were given. Im playing the part of Pyortr Nikolayevich Sorin in, "The Seagull". As I researched my character "Sorin" I found out that he is Irina Arkadina's older brother. He is sixty years old and lives with Konstantin Treplov on the farm, his nephew. He has bad health, which over the course of the play (possibly his through-line) his health deteriorates. He is quite jolly, he listens to other peoples woes and he's the main person everyone confides in, he is quite the patriarch. He admires his sisters and nephews work and talents. He seems unsatisfied (unsatisfaction being one of the interpreted subthemes of the play) with his life choices and how his life has therefore turned out. He wanted to find love and become a writer. My interpretation of my character is that he is very wistful and nostalgic, he tends to look back on his past and seems that he never quite accomplished what he wishes he had. Yet this doesn't really get him down, as seen by other people. I feel that he does regret, and that his predicament does somewhat get him down but he puts up a front so that others don't worry. Like with his ill health, it is hardly mentioned, most likely because he doesn't want people to fuss over him, he just wants to get on.

Later that lesson, me and my co-actors Daniella and lucky, started to think how we could start to stage the play. We thought of having me and lucky slow walk on, appearing as we had just come back from a walk. we would walk in like an S shape towards where the chairs are placed toward the centre front of the stage. We also tried to stage the beginning because we wanted to know how well we acted together and what came naturally, and it did indeed felt very natural when acting with them.


Wednesday the 7th November

Today with Sharon,  first of all, we sat in a Circle and spoke about yesterdays visit to watch the hit musical/rap play called Hamilton. it had mixed views and on the contrary had positive views. I thought it was pretty well scripted, it allowed you to follow the story easily even when the play was entirely sung with minor bits of dialogue. I liked the staging of it all, parts of stage were mobile as in they moved the stair well back and forth with a slick transition to a different setting. They also had conveyer-belt flooring , to show the forwarding of time, the consequences of actions ( especially the love affair of Hamilton and Peggy) and to show the people walking in the streets of New York.

We then started to think of subtext of our lines, and what our objectives would be. As I want to really play my part with Sorin putting up a front, hiding his true emotions behind his invisible wall, that would be his subtext.
We sat as a group with all the different plays together, had to think what our objectives would be in each line of dialogue. My characters main objectives would be that he wants to stay light hearted. If he lapses into his nostalgic regretful state, he wants to make sure that he doesn't let his guard down because he doesn't want the people to worry or feel sorry for him. we were taught that the actions, are what enable our characters to fulfil their needs and goals. So a simple sort of facial expression change shows the audience that he has realised he is showing his inner emotion and immediately lifts that guard up again so its sort of dramatic irony as the audience can see what's going on but the characters don't.

We were left at the end thinking what our character essentially wants at the given circumstances; what they want out of the whole play, and thus how they will accomplish these wants and needs.

Receiving our parts and studying Stanislavsky. week commencing October 30th

Wednesday the 31st October

I am part of the group that will be performing the 1896 play The Seagull, written by Chekhov.
On Wednesday, the class went at our designated times to meet with Sharon. We discussed what we thought the play could possibly be about. We as a group had realised it is definitely Russian; given the name of the playwright and the characters. Now researched I never expected it to be late 19th century, we thought it would be possibly the 1920s, especially how the characters spoke.
We decided we would take the original script, but make it our own. Make it modern; maybe not 21st century to keep with the context of how the characters are speaking but early to mid 20th century, I.e; latest 1960s. We in pairs, with pieces of sugar paper and a marker, wrote down ideas of what comes to mind when we think of The Seagull. We came up with themes of freedom, and wanting to take off with their ambitions.  I suggested that when we see seagulls migrating, you never really see one specific among the crowd, they all tend to blend; one of the characters feels dissatisfied that nobody sees him for himself but for his mothers sheer fame. Seagulls are also seen as scavengers, they scavenge for homes and food; this is another sub-theme we thought the play could be about.

We then discussed what Stanislavsky had studied and practised and what made him renowned in the arts industry;

He practised Naturalism within the industry. Everything was natural. It was family orientated, and focused within people and their families, similar to soap operas today. But it is known as naturalism because the passing of time was applied, e.g; if someone was to bake a cake, they would have to make it from scratch, these plays could be up to 2 hours long. He wanted people to watch the play and be-able to connect with it fully because everyone has a family, unlike Brecht who later would create pieces with hidden meanings behind them, yet you emphasise with its characters.
He stressed that that actors really delve within their characters. This brought in the terms ,    Through-line , objectives and actions. The Through-line is the journey the character has been taken on throughout the play. they may have started off jolly and innocent, and in the mundanity of their family world. Yet across the play, the character may have had life thrown at them in disadvantages and soured and decomposed in personality.
The objective of the character is what the character essentially wants within that given circumstance. It is what motivates them and gives them drive to complete a goal they want to achieve. So, say they feel dissatisfied and incomplete, they will want something to complete and fulfil their given needs. But it is the Action, that allows the character to complete their need. So they will go off to find that certain something that completes that need. A Super-objective is what the character wants out of the whole play, so across a timeline. The character may want to settle down and have a family and that may be their direst goal that want out of everything.

We finished off Sharon's lesson, with what we feel that we get from the play and what overall theme/s the play withholds. we all realised that each character is some-one what dissatisfied within their predicament. And they all want something more from life than what they have; alike a seagull, wants to scavenge for their true meaning of what they want and and their ambitions, and soar away from the pack to fulfil their goal.


Thursday 1st November

Today the main topic of our lesson was Subtext. Subtext is the two way meaning of a line within dialogue. The simple line, "Oh... its you", could take the actor on a two-way street when delivering it. It could be said with dread, and disgust. It could also be said with compassion and sheer love. The art of subtext is that the line is subtle and appears as though it should be said how it is written, yet due to the given circumstance and context of the relationship between the two characters, is delivered in an unexpected manner.
Rob gave us an exercise where the duo pair are a shop assistant and  customer. The customer had to be very edgy, picky and most of all annoying as hell, but the shop assistant has to keep their cool for the whole entire time. The purpose of this exercise was that the characters had to have a hidden meaning behind what they said while delivering them, without giving the audience the impression of rudeness. But with next being given the circumstance of the shop closing at 5 and the customer comes in 5 minutes before shop closing, which the audience knew the character wants to be somewhere else.

we used what we learnt here and applied to the scripts and parts we had been given today.

Hamilton, "Review" / Evaluation

1.) What did you find out about the background production? Characters, themes, etc...?

      Its set in the 18th century; Hamilton is an orphan from the Caribbean. There is an economical war regarding taxes. He talks to everyone and reassures them that it will be fine . At the start there are many colonies who talk about Hamilton through a rap like song, One even talks of loving him.


2.) What did you learn about the skills to be part of the production? 

You need to be on the ball 100%. You cannot lack focus, because the directors or your employers won't want to employ you again. They are most likely going to employ someone whose punctual, learns their lines and who are completely savvy with what's going on because if you miss a trick, you might not get as far as you want to. You also have to do your best for the role. Some of the actors who are apart of Hamilton went to extremes to get the role. The lady had a sore throat, and lost her voice when it came to last audition day , but she managed to persevere with it and land her role. One of the male stars, had injured himself, and this was because his wife was in labour and a he was on his motorbike , he crashed into a side of a lorry but still performed the next day.

Goes to show that if you put your mind to something you can achieve and if you are in extreme circumstances like them, you can pull through it.

3.) What did you find out about the challenges of working as a performer in the industry?

Sometimes times, things don't exactly go to plan. But there are ways around these situations. The lady told us that she was so exhausted , she went out of focus on stage and forgot her lyrics and lines. But she pulled through and managed to pull it off, But it goes to show that despite having draw backs you can get through things. Everyone is human, people make mistakes. But its how you get over them and work around them that makes you more skilled , I believe, because then it doesn't ruin the whole show. Another challenge, was that casting can be a very sticky business to dabble in. You may not hear back from an audition, as one of the actors were saying to us, for a whole year. You can't let this set you back though because in the mean time you could try for other roles or paths into the industry. Gladly, for the actor, they got the role, but you may not always be that lucky.

4.) How can this inform your own approach to your training?

This knowledge I've gained from this talk is that,  You must persevere with what you have got. You should always go for the first opportunity you get. It could be a while before you launch you big break. It has taught me that you must essentially, play yourself  within roles and embody the character on how you perceive it. It then makes it more unique. You can play characters more exaggerated but, I prefer to go subtle approaches within my characters on first auditions, I like to play it safe then that way it's not overbearable or too much.

                                           Evaluation 

1. What techniques were used to make it appeal to a modern audience and how well did the story sell?

They used song/rap to convey and tell the story. They used lots of lights and set to make it more exiting to the audience and to not make it boring. They used a lot of levels to show who had power and who was inferior. The ensemble all worked together, there wasn't a dull moment with the whole cast on stage, without their grit and constant keeping within character then the production wouldn't have been as successful as it was. They never spoke within the period it was set. They mainly spoke American because it was set in new York, but they spoke modern to fit the modern audience. They tended to only mention the key dates that included pivotal points within history and the most important, to always keep the audience engaged within the story and so the play doesn't drag and become boring. The only period part they donned were the costumes; everything else was modernised.

2. How did particular performances standout? what made their performances special?

I really liked all the parts in which Rachelle Anne Go's performance of Eliza Hamilton. Every single time she was on stage it lit up. She didn't dish out a dull moment nor did she perform of a low standard either, she was a complete phenomenon. She even cried real tears at the end, so it was clear that she put the upmost effort into her work. She had previously explained that it was hard for her growing up in the Phillipeans, a career in performing was un heard of. So she tried for finding musical theatre jobs in London. One of her jobs was most notably playing Ariel in the Disney show on stage "The Little Mermaid" and other works including Hamilton. On one of her applications to joining the cast of Hamilton she never heard back from them for a year,; so she is a symbol of determination and resilience because although she never heard back for a year she kept going and then it all went in her favour because if she just gave up she probably wouldn't be where she is now.

3. How Successful was communication between the audience and the performers?

There was one particular actor in the ensemble cast that he would start up the audience. He would roll his tongue when he raps, like modern day rappers would do. He was also very comical which also geared the audience's reactions. The king also, did this thing where he "milked" one of the tunes he sang to get a reaction out of the audience. I thought the whole production was to get something out of the audience to be honest. The whole story was moulded around getting a message out of the audience which was that a nobody can make something out of their lives. Hamilton was an immigrant from the Caribbean, and became one of the most successful leaders of the USA within history. What the actors want, is to show that everyone can be similar to Hamilton in many ways. He was an orphan, he had no one to support him but became somebody through his own work and determination. Not everybody has support in their lives. I myself have many people,  from family and friends,who support what I do, but not everybody can be as grateful and as fortunate as I am, yet the people who I am surrounded by will help me push into being somebody and making something out of myself. But the actor who played the murderer, I feel he represented that there will be jealous and spiteful people in the world who will cause drawbacks but you must over come them; Hamilton's Legacy proved that he over came his enemies and people whom never liked his Ideas because he spawned a whole new nation and he changed the country for the better, the USA we know to day (even beyond the grave).  

  

Evaluation 22/10/2018

                                                         
           EVALUATION

Looking back on my performance,  I felt that on the whole it had gone quite successful. I feel that my skills as an actor over the past four weeks, with the help of mentors Rob and Sharron, have progressed a great deal. I feel that the practise that me and my partner Chloe , did the piece justice and reflecting on it it wasn't as bad as I had thought.


Ill admit , that I was nervous a great deal, doing my performance. I had never performed in front of people I had never met, only perhaps at GCSEs, but all productions at my old school were performed in my comfort zone. But , I never forgot any lines, they just came out in an unexpected order, but with improvisation skills me and Chloe worked together to overcome it.
I had managed to project my words out without coming across shouty, and even when I am meant to come across angry toward my final monologue I just projected my words a little louder without shouting. Because my character is meant to be a little psycho, psychopaths tend to come across shady and use subtle ways in manipulation, so that's how I intended to portray my version of the character.

My main objective was to ship Chloe's character off to serve a master. I portrayed it with a calm approach , more like a headmaster having a conversation with a student. She had no choice as she was a woman at the time and women had to be submissive at that period of time. That's how I had to come across. The character was quite snappy with words, as in he would always be quick on his feet with a comeback , sort of like he knew how the conversation would go before he had had it. His super-objective, being how he will make his goal happen, would be to slyly manipulate Chloe's character, Hecuba, in believing it to be her duty to serve. As it was unusual for a woman to plea with her fate, he sort of snapped at the ending monologue. But to make it come across more menacing , Rob and I agreed it to be said like , "  Oh enough", like a reminder of who's actually in charge here.

What I could improve with my skills , is that remember what Rob and Sharron had taught me within neutral stance. That walk and stand with knees slightly bent. I did , however it looked as tho I appeared to walk without any kneecaps at all. It came back to nerves and I slightly made my body uptight, but I now know with experience with performing in front the audience at west king, that I can act  more loosely and freely.

I feel that I had used my skills effectively. I used the right expressions and used the right gestures appropriate to my character , and all-in-all , It came across a quite good performance.

Rehearsals and feedback sessions before final show

Thursday the 27th september 2018

Today, Me and my partner Chloe practised our pieces of Greek theatre. I was still on script but the words were coming much more naturally. However I did learn the last half monologue, as I thought that would be the most challenging. Even though the saying goes, "Don't run before you can walk", I decided to jump straight in because , as I had said, it seemed more harder to master.
My approach to the role was more to make my inferior, who is Hecuba ( played by chloe), feel a lesser status to me , which I originally thought o getting close to her almost sort of looking down my nose to her. I circled her , from when when I entered from the point of my open paragraph, " As an emissary from the army of the greeks", with later rehearsals and the final performance I always kept that in as it is almost that my character is mocking her , telling her she's going to be sold as a slave to someone of higher of authority. He almost circles her to make her objectified, like he's admiring her in a museum, eying her up , see if shes good enough to be a slave, unknown to her at the time being.

In these rehearsals, I came to struggle with the pronunciation of the greek names. this is what I found most challenging even other than the acting itself. My original approach was to belt out my last monologue to make it seem more powerful; the character more fierce and more menacing, And to show a more furious and horrible side to him.
But with Robs feed back today, he helped me with pronunciation of the names, which sets a fundamental improvement to the acting immediately because now I will sound like I know what I'm doing and it will seem less slap-dash and un-bothered to learn the script, which wasn't the case at all. 
He told me to under play it a little, most primarily to not belt out the last line as it's really meant to be conversational , it can still have same effect if said more with spoken-anger than aggy and over the top emotional anger, which I took these notes on bored for a different approach next rehearsal.

Thursday the 4th of October 2018

Today, I attempted to totally switch things around with my approach to the acting. First of, I tried a comedic approach. But not for the reaction of laughter, but more to look like I'm properly mocking the other character , Hecuba . The gestures were bigger , the expressions were more jester like. I wanted to try this approach because , the character of Talthybius is essentially mocking her but this time round I wanted that to be more obvious.
However, to the audience this came across the complete opposite. I appeared kore like a fool , and people couldn't exactly take my character seriously. I appeared to me more musical-theatre like , than appearing in a greek play. But on a more good and confident note I had learnt my lines, and pronounced the names much more better and clearly, than previous attempts, which was a perk.
Robs advice , was to keep your eyelines up. You are essentially engaging with the audience at points as well, Like on the 24th when he told us about using the 4th wall usefully and engage when needed to be to add extra effect. But you are telling the audience the story, so eyelines up is a good tip.
He loved the energy, but upon my entrance I have big hand gesture which comes across similar to jazz hands , which wasn't my intention whatsoever. I was told to under play enough , a subtle approach is the better option and can still have an equivalent effect. He said to keep the stillness of the piece as it adds the more conversational , natural feel to our take on the play.

Upon my feedback, I decided to give the character a more militant like authority, as he is an actual soldier. I decided to get rid of the "posh" accent I put on to make him seem more authoritative because in reality , like i mentioned on a previous post , the audience will find it more effective coming from the truthful meaning behind the character. So I just used my own accent, because virtually I'm playing myself as the character not someone else playing him. And with this approach i came across far more menacing and powerful than previous approaches.
I received feed back from peers, who all liked this new and original portrayal of Talthybius and they  deemed that this take on the character will be far more effective and successful.   

Inspiration I had in mind for my contribution to the project.

- https://youtu.be/mI8NHJh7RUU



- https://youtu.be/VyaeQe8DJVw




These two links are my main inspiration for the scene I will write for my character.
Of course I will tone down the language, but the click-beat-esque of the firing insults and row the characters have made me think of how I could write my scene. It's sort of realistic reaction of what would happen if someone was in that predicament too.

As my scene will tell mickey's storey of being cheated on , the latter link is more inspiring.

Papa-tango project 25th/26th September 2018

Tuesday the 25th September

Today with Sharron, we made our groups to work in so we can start writing our plays for the      Papa-Tango project. My group consists of Chloe, Danielle, and Elena. We created a Soap opera for our play, Nicknaming the project as West-Enders, taking inspiration from the Show Eastenders, Which is a modern form of tragedy, our topic of learning for the past  4-5 weeks of being at the college. Today we had come up with character names an objectives of all of us. The present day is set in 1987, But the flashbacks take place in 1970.

My character is, "Mickey Fowler". He just wants someone to trust. He was cheated on by his wife of three years ; who also was pregnant, without mickey's knowledge. He works in the cafe, and is as common as everyone who lives in the area the characters live in.
Chloe's Character is , "Claire Hardy". She wants power. She works as a secretary for an up market finance company at the back end of the area they live in, the more posher area. She looks down on everyone, even her husband, hence the reason she cheated on him. She thinks that she comes from a more upper class than everyone, than what she actually comes from. She gets pregnant, It still would have been shameful to have been a single mother in 1970, so she decides that once its birthed, she will put it up for adoption. Although it is mickey's she won't tell him because they had just split up.
Elena's character is "Mary-Rose Hardy". She wants Love. Not in a Romantic way, but for a family to love her. She came to Sudford (the fictional area they live) to find her real parents.
Lastly, Danielle's character is Vera west. A friend of Mickey and Claire. she's the adoptive mother of Mary-Rose Hardy. She has a gambling problem and constantly takes out her problem and anger out on poor Mary. She cant have kids, and another reason she took in the daughter of Claire.


Wednesday the 26th September 

Today we worked with karis, Who is part of Papa-Tango. She lead us through the various stages of writing a script.

                                                                                   
Exposition: The introduction to all the characters. The                                    beginning of the story, sets the scene well.

Build up:     This is when the plot thickens. Perhaps a row/fight                      occurs and tension arises between characters. Or a                     secret comes loose and the main plot begins to set                        in mould.

Climax:       A stranger comes to town (mainly appears in                                western style films).  Something happens like a                            murder or someone who was never meant to make                      a return , returns.

Consequence: Be-it a murder has just happened, the                                           consequence would be guilt or the other                                       character is arrested. it is a bad outcome of an                             action of what they just did.

Resolution: The villain is driven out or fights have been                                 resolved. The ending of the story and gives a finale                     from heart break to a happy ending.


We came up with consequences of each of the characters;

- Mickey wants someone to trust. People always mislead him in some way, like his wife. He hardly lets anyone in close , that's his downfall because he now never knows when hes got it good.
- Claire wants power. She'd do anything to get what she wants, even cheating on her husband with another bloke because she feels the place she lives in is too common for her liking.
- Elena , escapes her adoptive parents home, however she realises she was just a love child and still thinks no body loves her until her parents unites again to come together for her.
- Vera loses not only her friendship with the people who thought could trust her                                    , but her credit card had been declined due to all the money she owes.

We all decided the script should be called , "the abuse of trust" , as in a way trust has been exploited by every character , either too them or by them.
By the end of that session we had with Karis, we had almost a completed script in notes.

Monday the 24th September 2018

Today Rob led us through an Improvisation exercise in which we had made an excuse to our boss leave work early to meet our girlfriend at a concert. This was also to see how greatly we can be lead with direction. we each had to follow the scenario narrated by rob, for example "the train was delayed" or " you were on the wrong platform". The final one was the best , which was that our boss had "just entered the platform"; everyone had to try and rush and cover our faces around the space hoping that the boss wouldn't see us and consequently, and most probably have given us the sack.
Another exercise was that we had all been instructed that we had too choose someone in the group that we liked and didn't like.  and whoever we chose the conversation we had completely contrasted with each other. This was to explain the meaning of Subtext ,which is the hidden meaning behind the  conversation and interaction you as a character has with another character on stage. For instance; saying "oh it's you" can be said both with excitement and pure happiness , and in contrast can be spoken with dread and pure disgust. A simple line can be said with two completely different meanings or expression , thus changes the whole mood of the conversation of the two characters.

We also learned to give our characters objectives. An Objective , is the goal that your character wants to achieve throughout a given situation or script. For example, during the improvisation exercise our objectives were to try and reach our destination without being caught out by our boss. A             Super Objective is then what you do to make that goal possible , be it murder or betrayal of one of the other characters. An acting practitioner called Staford Meisner quoted that "Acting is behaving truthfully in given circumstances." As actors we may be acting in circumstances that we never experienced or never will experience. An example is that someone may have committed a brutal murder. Now you are either playing a family member of the deceased or a witness. Either way no character will be acting happy or jumping with joy... that wouldn't be acting completely truthfully. The actor playing the witness would be really distressed , outrage or completely hysterical seen as they had just witnessed a Gorey murder.
The actor playing a family member of the murdered will be completely infuriated mixed with being grief ridden. My point is that You want to the piece seem real , and the reactions need to be real, or else the audience wont be able to empathise with the characters affected.  The key word is empathy. That's is what actors have to to do with the very characters that they are playing.This is because the script may require a situation the actor may have never encountered before; the actor must try make the reactions and feeling as genuine as ever or it wont work. Certain thought processes drive our behaviour and basic emotion, Its a psychological fact. The actor has to empathise how the character will cope with what information or circumstance they are currently digesting. However, no two people are the same. On stage it is good to see a range of different reactions. You can then see the contrast of how the actors portray their character. Some actors may feel appropriate to show how the character is at wits-end , yet another actor may feel that subtle acting is the better way of acting to show how their character is completely drained on how the situation could have affected them physically as well as mentally.

Today we also began piecing our scripts of Greek plays together and sharing them with the group. It was the development of how we began from just reading through our scripts to beginning to block it and see in different areas how we can tone down certain parts because we feel that its too much, or even act out parts with more emotion because we felt we lacked energy first time round. We gave and received constructive criticism from the audience members and Rob which will help us further better our performances ready to be performed on the 8th of October.


  

Thursday the 20th september

Today we worked with a lady called Blandine Martin ; using her art work for the inspiration and use of improvisation within our acting.  We worked with the whole acting course ranging from year one  level 2 to year two level 3. It was very interesting and fun to work with people other than just our class because as me and my group have now known each other for just under three weeks we are comfortable working with each other and now know everybody's strengths and weaknesses; yet when working with people you have never met before was quite challenging at times because you don't know their strengths and aren't as comfortable working with a stranger. Also, the art of improvisation is the spontaneity of it all. You can let your imagination run wild with improvisation but the hardest thing is that you aren't meant to discuss with the other actors before you begin to act on stage.

One exercise we did was called "It's not a book". There were several objects on the stage and you as an actor had to use the suspension of  disbelief , a Brecht technique for making the audience believe in the unbelievable,  to pretend the object was something else than what it actually was. For example , Kieran from my group pretended the marker pen was a dog and the hula-hoop was a dog agility ring. It was quite convincing.

some members of the group got called out to do specific improvisations by the artist and Rob. One most notably was Maya and Ben Taylor's pretend dispute on what happened to Maya's novel. They improvised with the chest and shredded pieces of paper. Ben Taylor memorably tried to convince Maya her novel was shredded by the dog, which Maya pointed out didn't even exist, which added a comical effect that worked really nice.
Another example which sort of tugged at our heart strings was when Pedro improvised using the box. His scenario was that the box was in fact his Granddad's Jack-in-the-box. The Granddad had supposedly passed, so he acted in a hysterics of crying.  It was a well acted out scene , and was especially good because he had only thought about it on the spot.

We then did a series of silent-film acting. In which we improvised only using our actions and facial expressions only to tell the story. When I was on stage me and five other actors had to hold a sheet.This Improvisation exercise. was called "granny's footsteps" in which we had to sneak up on the other actor and put the sheet over her. This was very challenging because a few of the audience members got confused with what message was trying to be conveyed. 

It was a slight interesting but challenging experience. To be able to perform in front of strangers and especially if it hasn't been rehearsed can be quite daunting when on the stage especially if the actor is on their own. Some improvisations in the silent-movie exercises were very confusing and unclear of what we actually doing because we were given the freedom of our own imaginations but sometimes we weren't told what to do and just use our own creativity.

The link below leads you to Blandine Martin's artwork.

https://www.blandinemartin.com/

wednesday the 19th september 2018

Today when working with Sharron, our other co tutor, me and my group worked on adding movement to make the piece less bland. We added a lift to make the transition of coming onto the stage  and moving into our freeze frame. The use of Absent focus gave the impression that we were outside Madea's house. We used levels, for example I stood on a chair and used my hands near my face to make it seem that I was peering through a window.


Feeding back from the rest of the group , we were told our levels were good and convincing. The use of Tableau in our group worked well as we all became p[art of the cast; everyone looked like they were doing what they were meant to be doing. Everyone came together as an Ensemble and made the piece look as realistic as possible.


However , we could have projected at certain points vocally especially when there were points of anger between the characters exclaiming how Madea kidnapped her own child and locked herself in her house. We could have developed our character types to make ourselves look individual other than blending in with everyone else.


What I learnt in todays lesson was that Teamwork is essential. If one person pulls the weight like everyone else it can let the side down. It is known to man that "many hands make lights work" ; it works for a performance wise as well. If the weight of effort is distributed equally then that can make a difference on the quality of the piece.

Taking a look at Greek theatre.

* Greek tragedy came about in the time period of 530 - 550 BC in Athens. It mainly became                   popularised from 700 BC onward. A man named Thespis was the first ever recorded actor to               perform on a stage .

* At the height of Greek theatre in ancient Greece, many believed in gods and Goddesses. A festival     called Dionysia was established in honour of Greek god Dionysus; in which performances of               tragedies commended. After 487 BC , comedies began being performed.
   It's the second most important festival after Panathenaia.

* Examples of certain playwrites at the time were ;
- Sophocles (497-450 BC)

He was second of the three tragedians whose work has survived over time. According to the 10th century Encyclopedia, He'd written over 123 plays in his time alive, But only 7 survived in a completed form. For example; he wrote Oedipus (409 BC), Antigone (442 BC).

- Euripides (480 BC)

19 of the 72 works he produced are safe (18 Tragedies and 1 drama)
a few of his notable works are ; Hecuba (424) and Andromache (427 - 416)

*Certain Greek dramas had a recurring theme of investigating the world they lived in and what it          meant to be human. The three genres of drama were; Comedy, Satyr and importantly Tragedy.
  Comedy mocked men in power for their Vanity and Foolishness.
  Much later he made comedies out of ordinary people and they became more like sitcoms.
  Tragedy took on big themes of love, loss, pride, abuse of power and the fraught of relationships          between men and Gods. Typically the main protagonist commits a crime without realising he has        done so due to his arrogance. This is know as the characters Hamartia as a result of the character's      Hubris.

* The themes were socially relevant, Typically in one of Euripides' plays. What you tend to see acted     out on stage is living life abiding by the social norm, which hinders you from giving into desires         which are inhumane or unconquerable.

* The themes present in Talthibias is the abuse of power. Talthibius is telling Hecuba that her and           many other  women that they are to be taken prisoner and serve many masters, including one that       has deceased. He seems to take great pride in telling her because he sees the women as objects.

Greek plays assignment ; 17th September 2018

Today we were told what we will be doing for then next few months on our course. we were spoken through all the pointers we must meet to gain the most marks.
We received our assignment of a Greek play to perform in a few weeks. My partner is Chloe and we are performing the play "Talthybius", as part of the collection of plays called, "The Trojan Women". we read it through as a pair to familiarise ourselves with the play so we could start spacing it out adding action and character to it. It felt more than, that we were just reading a script, when we acted it out because you start to embody the characters. I feel that for actors it is essential to read through your script first before jumping straight into it. That way , you can really understand the story and thus understand your character that you are going to play. it gives you a rough idea of how you can play the character and how you would stage that scene.

As we read the script it helped us with further understanding our characters.
We took into account of  who had the most status.

For example , in this scene while I am trying to silence the chorus and Hecuba shows that I am of a higher status. Previously , Hecuba had stated how she would rather tear the very hair from her head than become servants to these masters, showed how she was rebelling and gaining status before I abruptly stopped her in her tracks.

It's key to know what status of authority you are on because when it comes to blocking the scene, you can determine what body language the character will adopt or what certain levels the character will be on. Status can change everything because then the audience can tell who has the amount of power in the scene or play. It shows a sense of importance for the character, and the audience can physically see who is in charge.
To be able to know the status of the character can help understand the story better because you will be able to see a characters downfall a mile off. For instance; A certain character is bad and evil at the start or throughout the play they will tend to have their comeuppance toward the end , defeated by  good.

Thursday the 13th of September 2018

Today Rob , our tutor, lead us through several vocal exercises to help us become better actors in ourselves as well as outwardly.
Sometimes as actors we act out parts that we believe to fit the character based on location or status; or the form of script it is in. But that isn't always the case.

The whole point of these exercises was to experiment with our range and see how loud and quiet we can essentially go. It is almost a habit to read an older text and simply assume it must be completely projected and spoken in a "posh English accent" because that is "what they spoke like back then", but that isn't true. The whole point of plays to be performed were to have meaning behind them, later an idea came up with by Russian practitioner Stanislavsky.They're meant to reach out to the audience and truly make them understand through the text. They don't want to listen to someone shouting big and mighty because the text sounds sophisticated; they want people to sound like them. Ordinary and most of all Human. This is because as actors , our aim is to make a performance feel as real as possible to them. For example, the most modern form of tragedies are soap operas. Television shows such as ,"Coronation Street "or "Eastenders" ; aim to connect with audiences with story-lines that are current in today's society. Watching Dot Branning run the famous launderette and fill our ears with all the gossip from Albert square since the mid 1980s may be boring to some , but to others more effective because that way she is as real as they come.She is simply a common Londoner (and we all know a Dot Branning or two). It is then more entertaining to the audience because the character feels more closer to them.

There is, however, a fine line between sounding neutral toned and ordinary than  monotone and completely without expression.
A task put forward by Rob was to read an older poem. The exercise was to read it out to the class as you would read it. Quite a lot of us fell victim to the whole "must sound posh" drama syndrome and also quite a lot of us just simply read it out. But now, feeding back from the lesson , I now realise  that what we were directed to do was perform it as ourselves but how everyday people would react upon reading it. That is why so many modern television shows are popular and what makes actors skilled and brilliant, is because they have that somewhat ordinary about them that people can relate to, otherwise the audience cannot connect or delve into the story with ease.

Conclusion

* What audiences want is something that they can feel empathy or sympathy with. It is all good and       well acting out a part with a good vocal belt, but the clarity of the piece is speaking with slowness       and with diction.
* Don't put on a voice unless the purpose is to present social status or location , otherwise make it           your own , and by meaning that you still act out with expression but in a way that people would          normally do , That's what makes it more successful.

First week at Westminster Kingsway

Monday 10th September 2018

during our introduction to the course we were led through a few of the various rules and counterparts we must abide by or refrain from doing in order to become successful with our acting. for example; when standing in a circle with the rest of  the group we are reminded to stand in neutral. This helps you to relax and focus. Constant fidgeting causes distraction to the audience but halters the actor to fully embody the character they are playing because you are slipping into your own natural habits.

In different groups we came up with three different topics. These were ; Skills, Fears/ Hopes.
All three are very vital to an actor. you require them all to help one become better at their job. You use your skills to shape you as an actor but must overcome your fears to make you more successful and to strengthen that mould. You then use your hopes to  those set out a goal you want to achieve.

Skills

The most important skill one can ever obtain is Confidence. Without this you wont be able to achieve anything. Everyone gets nervous, even the big stars you see today; but this big fear factor sets you back as an actor if you let it swallow you whole. If you have confidence in your self, so will all your employers. You will also look more appealing on the stage if you show you have confidence, people will then know that you know your stuff, and you will come across more entertaining because you are selling the show. Let your Imagination and Creativity run wild. These two skills will help bring the character who you are playing to life. Plus collaborating your ideas with other actors can develop into an actual production or make the characters in the play really strong.
To have discipline as an actor is really skill-full. It helps when taking direction from more experienced actors and people. If an actor is well disciplined it can enable them stay focused in the part they are playing. It stops you from slipping into your natural self other than how that character acts. Also, if an actor is disciplined and hard working, they may be required to research the part they are playing. the more research gathered will give an insight in how the character should look or , for instance, where they came from. The part may require an accent or knowing the residence of the character will help decide the social status or class of the character.
Having a voice and being able to voice your opinion is another vital skill. If you give your opinion on something people are most likely to respect you more. You will send the group with a bit of direction and help lead them with confidence and give the production structure. But listening to others is equally as important, because all ideas are Valid. what people don't want to work with is someone who is self-centred; you must be able to respect others and incorporate others ideas with your own.

Fears

One of the biggest fears for an actor would be of failure. Nobody wants to fail. But if an actor is constantly in the mind set that "they will fail" , then they won't succeed because they will always have that thought holding them back. Being shy can also be a major set back too. If one is shy , then your body becomes quite tight and causes you to feel embarrassed from performing in front of people. Drama requires the body to be loose and free so when you are performing you are very open and also gives off that confidence that will give you success. Some people also can fall into natural habits when shy. Someone may constantly touch their face or Play with their hair or with their hands. It shows that you're nervous and can be quite distracting. It also shows that you are slipping out of character, because on stage you are playing someone else not yourself. Your own fear is seeping out, and is taking away the character whom you are playing.
The main hopes when involved with in acting is making friends with the cast. Nothing can be worse when working with tension in the room , it makes the job hard and less enjoyable. It's a bonus when you get on with everyone and become good friends within doing something that you love.

The Rules!   

1.) Accept 
Always be accepting. Everyone is different and sometimes different personalities may                          clash. But you will appear more professional if you simply put your differences beside.                        Because on stage you won't be playing You on stage. On stage the characters won't have                      the same opinions as you, so it would be best to keep them off the stage.

2.) Don't Block  
Blocking is when an actor is blocking the view of another actor to the audience on stage. whether you are a smaller character to another, doesn't mean that the audience wants to see any little of the whole cast. It makes the production look shabby and less polished. It also comes across rude and selfish if you are blocking another character because they are apart of the cast too.

3.) Don't put down
similar to acceptance; you may not necessarily like someone but you don't have to keep making a point out of it by refusing to work with them or flying insults at them to get a rise out of your friends. they are in cast same reason that you are , to enjoy themselves and it would make it extremely hard if someone is putting them down in a profession that they love. you will always work somewhere where there is someone that you don't like, but you have to overcome that.