Final evaluation

Little peoples day is a community based project that all performing art departments of the brit school do/take part in. This year our focus was on the well known story The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Many strands took part in this major event including: BDC, art, theatre, musical theatre, music and dance. The challenge was on this term, especially knowing that our performance will be alongside many other people who we may not have seen perform yet and most importantly to our young audience who range from the ages of 2-5. The idea of this project was to bring the world of the tiger to life for the little children and have them experience the tigers life in a school. A very exciting day was ahead, after weeks of practising for this final performance of the year, we finally came round to it and aced it (if i must say). This was a fun and highly educating project that was hands on at all times!

When rehearsing a week in advance alongside all of the other part taking stands we noticed some key parts in our own and other peoples performance that needed to be improved. For example, transitions had to be clear and slick in order to keep the pace and the energy levels up in the room. We also noticed that within our own performance we needed to have bold and sustained energy throughout our entire piece and to add in parts that would entertain our audience (this would include songs made as an ensemble). On the day of our actual performance we went through a que run through, switching from one part to another where we could practise our clear transitions. After this short time in doing our final, most needed run through, it was time for the performance to take place!

Outside the playground was decorated and had many activities including a bouncy castle and facepaint for our young audience to get involved with and feel like a real tiger themselves. The young audience had eventually taken their seats in the New Theatre where the lights were dim and the performers were quiet, holding potential energy to begin their pieces. Starting off where group one Theatre who had opened the piece with an explorer vibe. This was interesting and educational for the young audience however i believe it would have been better if the performance was more adapted to be understood by the little people. Costume had made the children understand the roles of the performance and as an ensemble the cast worked (particularly in the human pyramid which captured the attention of everybody immediately). 

Following on was my theatre group who i believe sustained their energy throughout, keeping the fun vibe within the space we used. We faced out to our audiences, however i feel like some characters could have spoken louder to be heard across the entire theatre. Likewise in the previous group, we had used ensemble speaking, moving and singing which had worked extremely well as vocals were projected perfectly and we were seen from all angles. The second performance worked better for me as the ensemble work was clearer and had more energy. Costume wasnt a major part in our performance as we played many parts varying from cooking machines, clothing items and characters of who could be knocking at the door. However, the idea of pyjamas fit in perfectly with the context. 

Following on after our performance was dance who i learned from previously because they had a highly energy burning task to fulfill and they did this stunningly without fail. Shortly on after dance were musical theatre. Musical theatre stuck out to me the most because of their use of commedy, actions, dance, singing and high energy level of acting. I learned from them particularly how they hold their energy which speaking and dancing (as i had to do this during the beyonce dance part). Costume also added humour, for example in the brussle sprout part. Ending the performance were music who provided songs that got the audience involved with, which kept them entertained throughout. As an entire year group we sung a final song to fairwell the tiger which rounded up our performance. 

The second performance had come together a lot better because we were able to sort things out that needed to be done (minor mistakes). After our mind blowing performance created as a year group i was congratulated by one of the primary school teachers on how well we had impressed the young children, which was the aim of the performance! This term has been a hard working however highly delightful and educational experience I was glad to take part in along with all of my peers across the year group who had some form of input into this community project. For the future, i would only suggest reaching for the highest energy we possibly could to liven up our audience throughout as they are young and can get distracted, howevwe we pulled off what we had amazingly and the aim of the game was targeted!

Week 4 - Questions and answers

Do you think the material you have created today will be suitable for little people? Why is/is it not suitable?

The material we created was fun and lively which created an interesting atmosphere for 'little people' to be captured by. I feel like to make our performance more interesting costume and sound is quite vital. When thinking about costume, colour is important for children to be interested and captured by. They like bold and bright colours that attract them straight away and changing, flamboyant movement to work along side this. We haven't yet got to the fleshing out of key parts that need to be changed to add interest, however when we do bright costume will be a major part of it.

For the performance we need to make sure our transactions were swift and clear along with bold and sustained actions and character choices throughout (this includes the correct volume of speech and clear singing). When costume and music is put together and we have a run through in the new theatre we will be able to polish up anything that is needed.

 

 

Week 5 - Dress Rehearsal

The dress rehearsal took place in the New Theatre. We ran through transitions between each strand and learned a song to sing at the end of our entire performance. It was crucial that we listened clearly so that we were able to get all of the transitions clear and slick and to work fast and effectively.

When running through our part of the performance we had to make sure that our energy was high and focussed throughout. Although we didn't make any changes when we were in the New Theatre, it was clear for us as performers to see the things that needed improving. For example refining songs that we sing as a unison and any transitions to be made clearer. It would be a better rehearsal next time as we will have props and costumes to bring the performance to life and engage our young audience. The dress rehearsal was performed clearly however it wasn't overly effective as the energy levels could have been higher. Confidence could have been higher, although it was a bit daunting to perform in front of our peers for the first time. However in the next dress rehearsal we will be over this fear and be able to get on with it effectively.

It was useful to watch others perform as we were able to use the power and energy other strands had bought to the performance area. Some strands had costume ready so their performance looked at its best already. For us it is a matter of being slicker and refining movements with our energy suited to what we are doing. Our costumes are mainly focussed around pyjamas. However for me as a Beyoncé dancer, I am going to make my pyjamas look as if I am a dancer too. Overall our performance now just needs refining to be made clearer. Our work was controlled and sustained throughout and would engage children to watch our work, it is useful that the stage is always changing with movement. From one moment there are discoverers to breakfast cereals and at other times there are musical theatre moments going into dance routines and finally ending in music to end the piece. This idea of always changing will keep our young audience engaged at all times.

Working in The new theatre

The performance space is large and can seat up to 260 audience members. To stand as a performer in the space as a performer it made me feel like I have to largen all of my actions and voices. In order to make my performing skills work in such a large space I must turn my head at a opposite angle to my chest and keep diagonal most of the time as the performance space would be directly ahead and to my left and right so the audience get the maximum benifit. My actors instinct was to make my voice loud too. We did activities such as breathing to fill the space along with sounds such as 'sh, zz, and ss' and speak chants which reach out to the entire audience. Through my instinct i knew that along with the correct body language and vocal use i had to make this realistic without it being crackly or quiet and to instead act assured, sustained and comfortably. The idea of a torch beaming out of our chests and face keeps us to understand where our bodies need to be positioned to keep our audience aware at all times. A performer that captures their audience into the 'alert and aware state' has the audiences attention in the palm of their hands and to do this involves correct body language, spacing as appose to other actors within the space and vocal use. 

Week 2 Questions and answers

What did you do in the lesson today?

During the lesson today we started off with an activity where somebody is turned away from the class and when they turn to face us we all have to freeze, the person who reaches the other actor turned away wins. This tested our ability on how alert we are and able to remain in positions that may not necessarily be comfortable. I think this was a good way to test our bodies as we were able to hold positions for an amount of time and test our effectivness of doing so. 

I missed the rest of the lesson where I was told the group acted out horror stories using noise and no lighting. I would assume this would of been affected by testing the way we speak in certain contexts and how we portray meaning through voice. It helped to have the lights off so that people can just hear the voice and the vocal energy it had instead of physically watching it. 

I was back in the lesson when we started to put together ideas for The tiger who came to tea. This included us being alert and ready to follow instructions given by the teacher. Ideas included using physical theatre to act out objects of the kitchen and ensemble work on knowing when to do voices, actions and movements at specific times as a unison. 

How did it contribute to the performance?

This lesson was very much about testing ideas and concepts we can use to enhance our performing skills. For example when thinking on the spot and being able to freeze and remain in that position for an amount of time tests our ability on how alert we are and able to sustain a position of a character. I think this was useful as we were able to actually use our energy to remain in a certain way, this would help when sustaining a bold character. 

The use of voice without action tested our ability on how we can enhance our voices to hold the attention of a young audience. Perhaps adding humour or scare to our voices would help our young audience keep interacted and intregued. If i was in the lesson this would have been a good way to express motives and emotions through voice without necessarily using paralinguistic features to show our audience true meaning.

The final task was actually putting ideas together that contributed to our performance. We managed to put together our begining of the play which included ensemble work on moving, speaking, doing actions, going into groups and making voices at the correct times. This was useful as we were able to know what we were doing for the play and adjust any ideas that didn't particularly work as well. For future lessons we just need to add onto our core piece and adapt our ideas further to keep our young audience entertained. 

Beautiful thing evaluation

I watched an online performance called A Beautiful thing. The play focussed on a family and their neighbours living in what seemed to be East London in the 1980's, the area was runned down and the family evidently didn't have much wealth. The idea of the play was to introduce 'old fashioned' thinking of not excepting gays however how these ideas have slowly changed.

The staging was very minimilistic, there isn't any use of vibrant colour, infact the colours used were extremely dreary and depressing (using the colours black and grey mostly). The staging was indicative of the families wealth, some features stood out to express this such as a rusty door and simple plastic chairs for outdoor furniture. This added to the atmosphere as it clearly explained the families wealth and area in which they live in. Setting had changed from the outside passage of 3 flats and to a bedroom, the changes were quick and simple. The use of lighting helped to indicate to the audience there was a set change. 

The clothing used throughout was basic and quite shabby (again to show the lack of wealth). I had come to the conclusion that the performance was set in the 1980's by the dungarees that had been worn by a teenage girl. Some characters offered more masculinity than others by being topless and showing their bodies off confidently. Props such as food, largar and ciggarrettes were often used, this indicated the family of being quite 'common'. The costume didn't have any specific detail to depict wealth and some characters wore the same clothes regularly. 

The lighting was dim and dark, it was also dimmed when there was a scene change which was accompanied by 1980's music. If the set had gone darker during scene changes it would have been more effective. Lighting could have been pitch black to highlight in the bedroom that somebody was asleep. There was a complete blackout on stage when it was the end of part 1 which was effective as we knew when something was finished. The lighting remained the same through out most of the performance, i found this quite boring as the lighting could of gone warmer at happier moments and colder at angrier moments. However the lighting made natural shadows to add to the grunge and dreary effect. 

All characters had been assigned one role to perform throughout, so no double casting took place. Each gender had played their own gender. 

Sound effects that stood out to me were: the girl singing, other characters acted mesmorised by her voice. Music to change scenes, specifically 80's music (fit in with the story line). Background noise coming from other rooms (great as no extra characters were actually needed), complete silence after fight to add to the anger and destraut effect. Shouting to show anger and stress along with the wivvering of voices to show clear emotion. 

Music was played at the start which was accompanied by the girl singing, this added a twist to the play even though it wasn't a musical. The atmosphere was hightened as the other characters were shocked by her good voice. Music (from the 80's) was repeatedly used when the scene was changed and the lyrics had fit in with what had happened in the previous scene. 

The use if typical East London language and slang  where swearing was often used, this added to the reality of the play. Singing was used by only one character on numerous occasions. The effect of all characters speaking cockney common made the entire play seem like it was actually set in a specific place. A lot of shouting was used which showed that the family were not a very emotionally centred family and a lot of their speech was based around anger. If there wasn't as much shouting the performance would have been more interesting to watch at the times when the shouting was needed most. The acting was naturalistic and sustained. 

Words used: (missing out letters, swearing, pronounciation and slang)

- cheers

- bird

- 'ere

- muva

- pucca

- init

- 'leave it out'

- geezer

The moments which were most menorable were the parts where there were emotional pauses/silences for example when the two boys kissed. The reason why these moments were most memorable was because of the reactions of other characters such as the mother finding out her son Jamie was gay and having to accept that. It was acted very realistically and confidently making each part more enduring to watch. 

The majority of the play was slow paced to make key moments such as up beat arguments stand out. Parts of the play picked up pace, for example when people were arguing there were quick, loud responces to signify fast movement. I think the director had wanted the slow pace to highlight the key moments such as the boys kissing, arguing and the characters all coming together at the end dramatically. 

Sound was often used to switch from scene to scene which was also accompanied by singing at times, i think this had worked as it was interesting to watch as it broke up the pace. The designers would of had to take into consideration what had happened in the previous scene to have matching lyric and pace. I think this worked however the snipits of music inbetween scenes could have been longer. When talking about vision i thought it was very minimilistic and basic however suited the atmosphere of run down East London. 

At first i would have thought that the young girl was the main character as she was the most ellaborate, loud character however as the performance as the performance went on it was apparent that the young boy Jamie was the main character as the story was based around him falling for his neighbour and being accepted as gay by his family and friends. The main character was indicated by the amount he had to say and his strong, sustained use of body language. All characters remained a strong, cockney, East London accent to highlight where they lived, class, background and wealth. The characters were loud throughout which didn't introduce key moments as well as they could have. Body language was confidently used to highlight areas such as arguing, fighting and going in for a kiss. Gesture was used in some areas which stood out more for me such as the mother shoving her boyfriend off to show uninterest or at the end when the two women had hugged to signify coming together. 

Overall the play was better than expected as it was modern day issues we can still relate to and how things were really different back in the 1980's. Some areas i felt could have been highlighted more effectively by the use of vocal change (tone, pitch and loudness), body language and gesture. Despite this it was a good performance to watch.