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.