18/09/14

·         WHO AM I? Sephy, 15.

·         WHERE AM I? Shopping centre

·         WHEN IS IT? In the afternoon, spring- sunny day

·         WHAT DO I NEED? To know what’s going on, what’s behind the panic and why Callum won’t     tell me the reason I need to leave immediately and who’s involved.

·         WHY DO I NEED IT NOW? I’m confused and worried

·         WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DON’T GET WHAT I NEED? Anxious, panick, curious, be bothered

·         WHAT DO I DO TO GET WHAT I NEED? Ask questions to help and clarify the situation.

·         WHAT MUST I OVERCOME? To find out what caused the explosion, may be Callum was involved with the explosion planning because he wasn’t answering my questions and what is Callum hiding?

What kind of person am I: Demanding, confident girl

What is my background: bad relationship with mum, father is not always there because he is fully committed to his work with the government, which has had a tremendous side effect on my physiological and emotional needs. Further on in my life, my parents split up. So I’m left with damaged emotions.

Likes:  Soul music, reggae, my favourite food is rice and beef stew, my favourite colour is purple, my favourite drink is shandy and orange juice, my favourite fruit is watermelon, I like to visit the beach and meet Callum, alongside that I like going out shopping. I like to be left alone.

Dislikes: Not getting my own way, my mum, hate foxes, hate most vegetables , hate when people don’t answer my questions, I don’t like running, hate when people ignore me.

Education: Heathcroft school, September starting boarding school.

Relationships : complicated with Callum, struggled with Callum's perception who later died in the end.

What has happened previously: On the phone with Callum- might be coming to the shopping centre to get stuff for school. Had an argument with my mum. Where am I going afterwards? Depending on the outcome of my shopping.

Unit 3 Acting Skills: DATE: 18/09/14

MY LONG TERM TARGET IS…

To use more physicality 

To be more confident in myself

Improve my use of space

Unit 3 Acting Skills Audit: DATE: 18/09/14

Throughout your blog you will be marked on:

P2 Present an on-going review of acting skills, describing strengths and areas to develop

M2 Present an on-going review of acting skills, describing strengths and areas to develop, setting achievable targets for improvement and reviewing progress

D2 Present an on-going review of acting skills, describing strengths and areas to develop, setting achievable targets for improvement and evaluating progress

Workshop and rehearsal observations:

Which acting strengths have you been able to demonstrate today? How?

I developed my imagination by using/seeing things that actually aren't there and having to work around that.  Blocking by knowing my movements and my surroundings and how I can use the space to portray my character better. Movement memory by having to focus and to remember if i'm in the right place at the right time, ability to think if i'm doing the right movement to match the situation. Developing characters objective by making an aim that I have to meet to and by asking the character what does my character want in the scene. I also was able to demonstrate focus and control.

Some key words: 

articulation      

projection      

breath control      

learning lines   

pitch, inflection and modulation 

tone and vocal colour        

phrasing             

pace                

use of pause              

gesture  

facial expressions     

characterisation         

staying in role             

balance                   

coordination 

movement memory       

spatial awareness       

weight placement        

focus and control 

relaxation                              

pace, energy and dynamics 

Which acting skills do you need to develop based on the workshop today? Why?

Learning lines as I haven't yet learnt any of them and it would be easier to know them so I could focus more on the movement on what I have to say. Characterisation that links back to learning lines because I need to learn the lines and understand the character before I portray the character to seem believable, and spatial awareness- goes back to the lines. So overall my lines are affecting me because I have not learnt them yet so I cannot progress until I have learnt them.

Set yourself  three targets:

1.  Read the lines and understand it, more so it's easier to be in character.

2.  Learn lines for Monday.

3.  Don't rush lines.

Reflect on the targets set:  Have they been achieved? How?  
As I read over all my targets, throughout the week before my Thursday lesson I learnt all my lines and met all my targets, such as learning my lines for Monday, not rushing lines so slowing down and realising when I speed up and reading my lines and understanding the character, I done this by exploring my character and doing a character profile.          

Date of review: 25/09/14

Chatacter OBJECTIVE what your character wants in the scene: To find out what's happening and why callum won't answer my questions and he is in such a rush.

Facts of the scene:

In the spring- afternoon 'sunshine'

In a shopping Centre

Sephy is annoyed with her mum and is grateful for the time alone

Explosion happens

11/09/14

The exercise at the start off the lesson called 'Clear the Space' helped us concentrate, use space well and  tests our listening skills.  Actors need to do a physical warm up so they're stress free and their muscles will be more relaxed in order to assist them to portray their characters and focus better.After the warm up i felt calm and ready to work I released all the tension out of my body and it was easier to make movement.

Warming up your voice as an actor is really important because obviously acting includes speaking and articulation and making sure there's no tension in your jaw or you're not struggling to move your mouth so warming up your voice makes you articulate better and project more. After the exercise my voice felt clear and there was no tension in my jaws and I felt that my voice could project easier.

 By status it shows  if they are high class which includes being confident and overpowering the low statuses, the low status have a low class so they're uncomfortable, intimidated, shy and quiet depending on the scene/ play.

 In the ‘Hello’ exercise, my pair and I decided to make B to have a high status rather than A. In this scene we thought about the setting and decided to make the scenario about character A knocking at character B’s house asking if they want to come out and play ‘’ Are you coming then?’’

 Some of the pairs made either A or B as a high status which was different to watch and see how they made it clear who was which status.

In the Callum and Sephy scene my pair and I made Callum, have the highest status, because we wanted to make it clear that Callum really didn't want to have anything to do with Sephy and that Sephy really mucked up everything in hers and Callum's relationship and now Sephy has the low status because she is now pleading for Callum to accept her apology we set the scene by Callum and Sephy sitting down on the beach in silence and Callum looking at Sephy and then their eyes lock together then Callum looks away. 

 My character as Sephy had the aim of getting Callum back and wanting the relationship they had before to continue, before Sephy called him a 'blanker' in front of everyone which is in another scene, and making him realise that it was a mistake and she wasn't referring to him. This helped me play the character successfully because I knew in this scene that Sephy would be playing apologetic towards Callum without trying to start an argument. 

 During the pair performance's I wrote notes on two of all the performances I watched which was-

Sarah and Alex's performance :

Different types of tones were used throughout the performance

used the space well

good characterisation, overall was a really good scene

They could of improved by Callum (Sarah) not already being off stage in the middle of Sephy (Alex) talking when the scene wasn't finished and Callum had more to say.

Benji and Rosebee's performance:

climax/ tension was built up when Benji and Rosebee stood up

as Rosebee was playing Sephy, her emotion changed at the end and made it seem like she has actually realised what she has done and the effect it had made on Callum

They used the space very well

They could improve by, using the pauses when needed instead of rushing.

In the session I developed to use voice more and to use different types of tones and I learnt more on proxemics and imagination, so getting a dialogue but having to set the scene thinking about where I am, who's around me, if I'm sitting or standing etc

Themes of the play.

I did research on the play and found a summary about it:

A Book of Love

‘Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be. Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make out time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope.’

‘Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone.’

‘Radical superiority is a mere pigment of the imagination.’

Sephy is a Cross – a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought – a ‘colourless’ member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses.

The two have been friends since early childhood. But that’s as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Cross schools… Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum – a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger.

04/09/14

 I am good at using my body language and facial expressions, I'm mostly better at physical theatre such as  Steven Berkoff style because you mostly exaggerate your movements and your facial expressions, I'm really good at projecting my voice and articulation but it depends on the character I'm playing to determine the way I speak, the emotion and the accent I will need to do to create the character to see if I'll need to project my voice or articulate my words.

I struggle mostly learning my lines in a short time, I'm also not very good with my movements, so instead of opening my body language or using more space which I'm suppose to do I confine myself to small space. Also I'm not that confident with characterization like improvising on the spot which I find difficult sometimes. In addition, I always feel scared when I'm about to preform particularly when I am about to express myself or suggest ideas.