Final Skills Audit

Full Skills Audit

STUDENT NAME: Sam Johnson                

Performance skills ·      Voice (projection, control, accents, singing confidence) 8/10 ·      Characterisation 7/10 ·      Rehearsal skills 9/10 ·      Movement/physical skills 8/10 ·      Different styles of acting (Comedy? Shakespeare? Emotional work?) 6/10 ·      Confidence in working with text 7/10	Out of 10
Current skills and experience: This term I have definitely grown more confident in my skills to do naturalistic style acting which is something that is actually new and more complex than I would have thought. I have constantly used physical objectives and I always knew what they were so even though it may not seem like physical work it was simplistic and natural physical work. I've learnt new ways in how to rehearse like from now on I will always learn my lines cold, constantly change things and make sure my vocals don't fall into a pattern. I've learnt how much depth I need to go into in order to fully make a 3 dimensional character like researching the given circumstances and creating a whole history with little things. I always had little things that made Simon human in the back of my mind much like we all have little memories in the back of our own minds. I don't think we went into as much detail in voice as we did other areas but especially in our warm ups with Mr. Hughes we learnt how to properly warm up our instrument and how to make sure everyone could hear us. I now feel even more confident working with text as I am now able to annotate each sentence and even deeper. I've learnt how to mark on a script where each thought changes and that even though it's written on paper it's not set in stone. Areas to improve I could still improve on all the areas that I have aforementioned but specific areas of my performance skills I could improve on is my control of my voice. I also would improve on accents again. Even though Simon was Rwandan nobody attempted to do an African accent which was obviously for the best but in other situations I would like to try and work hard on develop a strong accent so that my character seems even more real to the audience. I could also have done more than 3 outside of class rehearsals to put into practice all of the skills I was learning. I could have added more to my script e.g. notes from different teachers and notes not just for myself but from other people so I learn from other people's work just as much as my own.
Do you have skills or experience in any of the following? Stage combat 8/10 Stage Makeup 2/10 Directing 5/10  Stage management 3/10 Set Design 2/10 IT skills 7/10	Out of 10
Current skills and experience Previously I have done a course in stage combat. I know now how to make realistic fight scenes on stage whilst being safe which is very helpful in creating high intensity scenes. In my Drama group being the older ones we had to work with the younger students and sometimes even pitch in help direct their scenes so I have some experience in directing. I have good IT skills so I can use social media to advertise shows and promote people. I have  now learnt to run a successful blog and using other media (Photosnack) to make them even better. I can also use my IT skills for help and advice like our Theatre facebook group which we all have used to help each other and improve each other's work and email to send work across to each other. Skills to develop I need to develop skills in many other areas of Theatre. I need to learn how to use and apply stage makeup effectively and make sure I include factors like how much light will be on them. I need to develop my effectiveness of communication, usually I'm a pushover when it comes to directing others, I need to learn to be more assertive and masterful when it comes to giving fellow actors direction. In all the other aforementioned areas I've never had an opportunity to learn or try these particular skills so in fact I need to learn these particular areas of Theatre. (Highlighted = from previous audit)
Other skills in the workplace Communication 8/10 Organisation 8/10 Team work 9/10	()
Current skills and examples I have developed new organisational skills which is present in the blog. I have always brought a notepad, pen, script, and other material to our workshops. I have also organised my time well by making sure we had enough rehearsal time to fulfill a confident sensibility in our piece. As a class we all worked together perfectly and we always left any issues we had outside the room. As scene partners we worked well and had few arguments and we were always willing to tell the truth about eachothers performance even if it was hard to hear. Areas to improve In communication I could improve by making sure I have the focus before I even open my mouth so no words are lost in my explanation. I should also make sure I slow down my points so that my scene can keep up with my train of thought. I could annotate my script more and add notes from others and myself to remind myself what I need to improve on. Lastly I could improve my team working skills by allowing myself to be completely submerged in other peoples thoughts and ideas and take them on board.

 

Final Performance Evaluation

At settling in evening I performed my scene from The Witness, before I even get into evaluating my scene and dissecting my performance I want to say I have a new post show feeling of accomplishment.  Not accomplishment  for me as an actor but I feel as if I finally accomplished my objective in my scene and that I fulfilled my characters needs and that feels with a sense of contentment and that I did my scene justice! 

One thing we have been learning about for the entire term is not repeating and having a brand new scene to show every single time we rehearsed it. I felt like I finally understood the purpose of doing this. We had been studying the same 5 minute scene for the past 8 weeks so it was probably inevitable that we would stop listening to each other but we didn't! We weren't just saying our lines on stage and evidence of this is that we made a mistake in our line order and cut out a piece of text but it was virtually unnoticeable, we didn't even have to think about how to save ourselves from our mistake we just spoke. We responded differently to how we would if the line was correct and that's one of the moments that I felt I was truly 100% Simon and that I wasn't just playing him anymore. 

Another example of how I was now living as Simon on stage was when I went over to my bag instinctually and simply put on a jacket which wasn't normal for this character. Simon is from Rwanda in Africa which would be a climate a lot hotter than the one he is in for the scene. I didn't plan or rehearse it - when I was Simon, I was feeling cold so I went and I put on a Jacket but I didn't "act" cold, I felt cold. This made me feel as if I was truly in tune with my character's innermost thoughts because something as common and remedial as putting on a jacket has become something as natural as breathing.

Another thing was I never felt awkward or out of place as an actor on stage. I could always find something to be doing when I wasn't part of the action instead of just standing there with my hands in my lap looking at the ground. In my performance I felt like we communicate the means of our scene fluently and competently without overacting or playing to please the audience. 

The areas of the piece that I could work on is my use of adapting to the stage space. Because our set kept on changing, one week it would have full sofa set with a chair as a coffee table then the next it would be a couple of chairs and tv so we would have to learn to change in the space we were in. Usually the coffee table would be closer to the sofa but that changed so I couldn't distract myself with any items. I could have improved by exploring my environment more and to start off with move way more cautiously through the set eventually becoming comfortable and dancing my way to the final line! 

Another thing I could improve on was my articulation. The previous day I had my braces tightened so my mouth was a little sore but that shouldn't have stopped me from producing every single syllable and making sure to use my entire mouth to sound out complex vowels that Simon would have had trouble saying. I also think that I could have gone even bigger with my singing to Alex at the end and that I could have really played my objective (to entertain) to it's extremities.

Overall I think this term I have improve ten fold as an actor and that I am confidently and consistently using all of the skills that I have been learning in order to become a trained professional actor. I feel as if I have given 100% focus into my character creation so that I could be a 3 dimensional being on stage and not just a cliche! I am glad that my performance went well and that I met the creative potential of the piece.

Work for Ms.Lee

Character Sheet 

Name: Simon Adeyao
Age: 21 
Present Job: Unemployed 
Personality: Pleasant, Friendly, Enthusiastic, Polite, well spoken and slightly vengeful  
Interests: Hip Hop, Singing, Reading, History, Family 
Attitudes towards other Characters: 

• Resentful - Joseph 
• Brotherly - Alex 
•  Angry - Joseph 
• A new sense of belonging - Alex 
• Challenged - Joseph 
• A new purpose - Alex

 LIST THE EMOTIONS YOUR CHARACTER FEELS IN THE SCENE

• Nervous 
• Awkward
• Enchanted 
• Mesmerised 
• Welcomed
• Excited 
• Threatened 
• Happy 
• Disgusted 

EXPLAIN WHY YOUR CHARACTER IS IMPORTANT IN THE DRAMA

Simon is important to this play because he is "The Witness" and he holds the secret that could tear the lives of our other two "protagonist" lives apart. As I've said before he is the trigger to the bomb that can be detonate at any point during that play and when he decides to push the button that's the complete climax of the play. He gives a charge and energy to an otherwise remedial piece about the trials of an awkward family. He causes trouble and that's what an audience wants to see in a play. No one wants to watch a play with no dynamic to it and Simon is the cause of all the dynamic in this play in my opinion.

WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER WANT IN THE PLAY? OUTLINE THEIR OBJECTIVE IN ONE SENTENCE

To take back his sister and expose her "kidnapper".

OVERLEAF GIVE DETAILS OF HOW YOUR CHARACTER CONVEYES THEIR OBJECTIVE THROUGH VOICE AND MOVEMENT:

Voice: In my scene Simon is a new place for the first time. He wants to impress Alex so she'll like him so his voice needs to be engaging, exciting and energetic but simultaneously he is nervous and awkward with her because even though they may be blood related, as of this moment they are strangers. I use my chest voice to make sure Alex hangs on every answer I give her whilst giving a pleasant tone. I make sure to enunciate every syllable because Simon is a very well spoken young man! 

Movement: Using movement and voice as one I link the fact he is nervous in his new environment into the way he explores the new living room he is. I touch things a lot and explore them when no other character is looking and as I become more familiar with my environment the more I use the space around me and the bolder I am with my actions. At the start I move carefully and cautiously by the end I am dancing round the space meaning I have now grown comfortable.

Peer Editing Questions

http://alexpotteruniversitydropout.blogspot.co.uk

1.  Q: What do you think is the strongest part of the blog? This could be a certain post, the writing style, the graphic design, the use of alternative media, the images, etc. What makes this element so strong?

A: I really like the writing style it really portrays the character, it feels like she is really in tune with her characters emotions and disposition  It made me really believe in her. The picture she uses to represent herself which shows a high level of dedication. The background she uses makes me feel as if she really was Alex. The use of music and video links shows she has taken the time to research into the indie genre which is Alex's. 

2.  Q: Is there a part of the blog you find confusing? A part that doesn't seem to quite match the rest or the character for which it was designed? A link for which you don't understand the connection? Can you give some suggestions for how to improve that part?

A: When Holly put in her character description she was black I felt like no one would bother to put their race on their profile but other than that everything seem to fit the mould.

3.  Q: After reading the blog, what would you like to know more about? Is there a post that leaves you with questions? Write down at least two questions to help your partner further develop this blog.

A: What does Alex like to get up onto on weekends?

     Write something political? 

 4. Q:  Did you notice any major misspellings or grammatical issues? Please note down anything.

A: Nothing major, Her grammar was good for her character

5.  Did your partner fulfil all the requirements on the Character Blog Requirements handout? 

Q: Yes she's completed the task to the full!!! Well done Holly

Self Evaluation

I think I am working at Merit 1, I feel this because I am doing a lot of work on evaluating mine and others strengths and weaknesses on the blog and reviewing all the work I have been doing over the term in order to improve my skills. I I feel as if I'm communicating the themes and ideas of a scene as the playwright would have wanted but also adding in my own to the piece. I don't let my character slip and I consistently "play" him with confidence. We have been working hard to not repeat in our rehearsals and we've put into extra hours of rehearsal to fine tune the rough edges . I've been very focused in my work and I make sure that my scene partners are working well with. I feel like I've got to the level where I feel natural on stage and that I really am just living. 

To get to a distinction I need to reflect on every single lesson and start to writing up evaluations on individuals in the class constantly 

What have I learnt this lesson?

Today's lesson with Mr. Rennison has been a very effective learning lesson where I was giving long periods to observe and reflect on the scenes we were doing. Two groups I found very effective were Eleanor's Molly's + Mr. Rennison and Chloe. They both had qualities that made their performance engaging and interesting. Some of the reasons they were so great were; Their objectives weren't concrete but they still had solid purpose and if it needed to be changed it did. Even though the scene may have not felt quite right they stuck with it and played around and changed 'till it was just right.  They weren't afraid to get something wrong but go back and re-mould 

Some of the wise quotes I got from today included: Every single scene is a chase scene, They moment you catch your partner the scene dies so I know I should highly refrain from doing that! A gram of action is worth a ton of text. This parallels with actions speak louder than words. You can tell way more about a character through the way they move, bodies can't lie but the mouth can, no-one talks the truth about themselves. I must act like I've got something to lose (this does not need explaining). Working with my scene partners: I am doing them no favours by pretending. Have patience when starting a scene, give the audience time to soak up every little morsel on stage!! Always have chemistry even if it's negative chemistry. Slowly warm up the scenes engine.

I feel sometimes simply watching others create can be more rewarding than reflecting all the time

Year 10 Term 1 Skills Bank

Evaluation of exercises

In the first term of Theatre at the Brit school I have learnt a whole host of new skills, exercises and abilities. The exercises for character creation are paramount to making an effective piece and character  We must research a character's time period densley to work out the given circumstances. You do this by searching the web for key historical events e.g. a war, political changes, government changes, olympics at the time to get a real sense about the worries or hopes of your character. Society and culture changes every single day so if the play is set yesterday or 40,000 years ago you must see what's happening in their present day and how it would affect their behaviour. Hot seating provides a way for you to speak as your  character and be asked question of relevance that doesn't just make you think what would my character say but I am the character what would I say? Because I am the character! It also unlocks a character's innermost thoughts. Take for example Joseph, he is very emotionally closed off especially in the text so when we can find out what's really going on in the brain of your character! 

Using improvisations as an actor we have to think on our feet making us instinctually be the character. We play off each other like we really are the character. We are alive as the character! A specific exercise we did was the 3 word improv. Which limits us to what we can say giving us a bigger opportunity to use "physical lines" through the way we move revealing more about character making us even more so in tuned into what our character is thinking about. Using 3 words makes us hack down the characters thoughts to the bare essentials and that's where you find the truth in a character  Creating the previous scene gives us context in the scene that we are performing. It gives us a sharper objective because we actually know what has driven us to this point in time. It's an excellent way to find out why things are the way they are caused them to be this way. There has been a very huge influence from Mr. Rennison to always be working with our physical objectives he always make sure we have a rough idea even though it may not be the right one but to simply try a physical objective. It has to have an effect on an object or person so under no circumstances can it be cerebral or selfish. It gives something for the text to ride on and makes a scene 10x more interesting and believable. 

Taking direction has had very important role in us getting better as actors. If we take constructive criticism on board with no fuss and move on we will improve much faster. If someone points out something even if you think it's wrong just try it. Taking direction is letting your ego go and just letting yourself be molded by people who want to help whether that be peers, a teacher or a director. Before we even start class we are always instructed and assisted to warm up in the appropriate manner to get our muscles, brains and voices ready for the demanding challenges we are getting ready face. 

Muscle warm ups:
Cat stretch - Loosens up the hips and lower back stretching out the muscles we use to rotate our bodies and walk naturally so we don't have knots when we move around.

Rolling down the spine and breathe exercise - One of the most important thing an actor needs to be is in tune with his breathing and movements but even more better is when they beat as one. This exercise not only unlocks the spine vertebrae by vertebrae  teach coordination and stretch almost the entire body but it makes you use your breathe simultaneously with your movements helping you onto that stage where as an actor you can naturally breathe as well as move.

Shoulder Rolls - A lot of status and subtext can be shown through the shoulders so it's very good to make sure that they are loose and not locked up. It can stop us from hunching your shoulders which is bad for us and anyway and melt away some of that tension that is within our being that naturally comes from our shoulders. 

Vocal warm ups:

Tongue twisters/Tongue rolls - The tongue is probably the most important muscle an actor has at his disposal. It is responsible for creating different and exciting sounds and should be thoroughly warmed up. If we roll it round our mouth push it out 'til it aches we get used to a constant strain and it makes using out tongue much easier. Tongue twisters are also good to help us with enunciating and to get the muscles in our mouths buzzing and alive ready to project and make noise! It also helps to focus the mind in prep for the work.

Sirening - Sirening help us warm up and gage our vocal range. It makes us dive down to the deepest noise we can make sharply bringing us up and through to the top sounds we can manage. This is very effective warm up considering that different people speak in different key registers so if we can learn to effectively use the top of our range and the bottom the more we can master every single pitch in between.

Breathing - As I've mentioned before breathing is very important as an actor and you should always have absolute control over his breathing. We did an exercise involving pretending there was a light feather on our lips and lightly blowing it to different heights. At some points we were restricted only blowing it a few inches off the ground but then we took it up to the ceiling using a mixture of staccato breathes and long breathes. This helped to physicalize our breathing so we could physically see how I breathe could affect our environment and controlling how little and how much air we let out of our lungs. 

Energy, Status, Emotional State, Physicality 

Those are some of the key things that we need to create a character. We need to to know about the energy levels of your character in the scene because this affects the way they talk and the way they move and how they interact with the other characters. Status shows who's in charge on stage. Your status can change depending on who the scene is with. Things that could give you high status are puffing out your chest, lifting your chin above everyone elses, looking down upon others. Status is very cerebral but it still has a physical effect on others. Emotional state simply means the state in which someones emotions are at. If you're doing a scene which saddening and the character is experiencing emotional trauma you're not going to have them going round smiling and using a high energetic voice because it was clash and the scene would become mediocre. I've been told many times that actions speak louder than words and that we get so much more from a characters actions than we do from the text. Text lies but actions don't. So because in this particular unit we are looking at being a naturalistic as possible our physicality has to be purely human. Physicality is the root of characters purpose. A character should not move without purpose so as actors we must suse out what that purpose is and use it to enhance out movements.

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