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/
Sunday, 30 September 2018
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 18 September 2018
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.
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.
Sunday, 16 September 2018
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.
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.
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