'13' - Week 4

Introduction to Week 4

In Week 4 of '13' we started looking at the rest of the contextual presentations. I also looked at line learning and off script explorations, and we also ran act 2 as a class and blocked the scenes in this act.

Finishing Context Presentations

After listening to half of the presentations a week before, I was excited to listen to the others in our group and the topics they have studied.Firstly, I enjoyed Issie, Sophie and Hannah's presentation because they helped me to understand more about Mike Bartlett. Their presentation showed me how the riots in London at the time relates to the protests in '13'. I also learned a brief history of Bartlett and how he studied English and Theatre at the University of Leeds. This showed me how Bartlett is knowledgeable about writing and the way its produced in the theatre. I also enjoyed watching Frank and Nathan's presentation. The research that they did for this presentation was impressive and gave a good relevance to contemporary society. The insights I got about the '12' were good, and gave me another level of character development, as I can react to different characters in different ways if I feel necessary. For example how Ruth is the voice of struggle, as Stephen this helps me to notice how I need to support Ruth because not only is she a friend but she wants the best for the country. 'I like hard work. Every minute. Every hour. To make this country great again.' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 18th October 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000020 ). This quote shows how Ruth is dedicated, and is very influential to the society at the time. 

Line Learning and Explorations

Stagecraft Triangle John, Holly and
Stephen.

In this week I also started learning my lines for Act 2, I tried to learn these lines quickly so I could start looking at how my character would say them and his objective and obstacles. I started by learning my lines for Scene 11. I found these lines quite easy to learn, as I felt what Stephen was saying I believed. This didn't just help me with my lines but also made me feel naturalistic in this scene. After I had learnt the lines to this scene, I started looking at my characters objectives and obstacles, an exercise we did last week. I found that in Act 2 scene 11 my objective is to find out where John went, and why. The obstacles in this scene are different people interrupting mine and Johns conversation, like Shannon and Holly. John himself is also an obstacle as he tries to change the subject many times. 'Do you think it's going to rain?' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 18th October 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000037 ). This quote shows how John doesn't want to talk about where he went and wants things back to how they used to be. Also In this scene when Stephen says 'reminding me of the political rallies of my youth'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 18th October 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000037 ) I, as Stephen look away from John and squint my eyes slightly. This shows how Stephen is trying to recollect the past and how those days were so good and how he didn't have the burden of lung cancer. In this scene Holly comes in to interrupt John and I. While doing this I am introduced to Holly, I thought it would be a good idea to be diagonally away from John and opposite Holly creating a triangle as shown by the image, as it links with Stagecraft and also gives the audience a view of each 3 characters. When John introduces Holly as a prostitute, I subtly scowl this shows how Stephen thinks prostitutes are below him without coming off to arrogant. I also started to learn my lines for the scene after this Act 2 Scene 12. In this scene Stephen's objective is to tell Ruth that John is back. I don't think Stephen has many obstacles in this scene, apart from how Ruth is in a rush. In this scene I tried rushing my words as I thought it would seem more naturalistic as when people have a lot to say they say it quickly. However, I delivered it this way and it didn't work as at points it was difficult to hear what I said. I quickly resolved this by saying my lines in a slower way and this helped my articulation and pronunciation greatly.

Running of Act 2

On Thursday, we finished Act 2, in this I watched many scenes and also rehearsed in a different room. From the scenes I saw, I got a greater understanding of '13', and the ways characters felt and their objectives in a certain scene. For example, in Act 2 Scene 13 Sarah is chopping vegetables while Ruby pesters her, in this scene where Hannah excellently plays Sarah I see a sadistic side to the character, A side that might not have been seen by just reading the script. I also enjoyed showing my scene with Kennedy to Karen. In this scene I tell Ruth that her dead son's best friend is back from a departure described as an 'extended gap year'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 18th October 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). This quote used in a later scene describes how John took an easy way out and to Stephen had gone off on a holiday while others feared the worst. While running through this scene with Kennedy, I lost my words, this at the time was bad but gave the scene a chance to breath as there was a pause, the pause was so tense and worked really well in the scene to show Ruth's and Stephens shared emotion of shock that we kept it in.

Conclusion  

In this week, I have progress on my lines for '13' and out of class exploration by finding new ways to deliver my lines, and also Stephen's views on other characters. I also learnt more about the context of the play, and the playwright. Next week I hope to look through Act 3 next week and learn my lines and do some more exploration on Stephen's views and how things are at the time.

Portfolio Week 4 - Articulation

What is Articulation?

In this week of voice we learnt about articulation and different exercises to do to help articulation. Articulation is the movement of the tongue, jaw and other speech organs in order to make speech sounds. articulation is key for actors when presenting or on stage so the audience can become more engaged and find it easy to understand. The sound is produced from the lungs and the way to articulate is by certain mouth organs like the lips, tongue, jaw and others. For example to pronounce a 'T' sound you would put your tongue on the upper mouth know as the hard palette, and blow air from your lungs to release your tongue making this sound. where as an 'M' sound, I would exhale and push my lips together. As shown by the image the mouth is the area where articulation takes place. The soft palate located behind the hard palate is used to retract and elevate during speech to separate the mouth from the nasal cavity.

Vocal Warm Ups

In this week we also did vocal warm ups to help our voice with articulation. We stretched muscles and motivated the joints, this help to warm up my muscles so articulation would sound crisp. In our group we also did an exercise called 'why fly so high', in which we used our head voice which was high, then our nasal voice which was medium then our diaphragm voice which was low. This helped our resonators to find different frequencies. We also did some tongue twisters to get out tongue exercised so it could articulate quicker as its one of the main organs used to articulate. These I found fun to do and I felt my tongue responding quickly.

Conclusion

Overall I think this week on voice helped me to learn to articulate when performing as it could be crucial information that the audience may have to hear. I think my voice has developed from the first week and that I'm ready for performances coming up. 

'13' - Week 3

Introduction to Week 3

We started the week off by developing our characters, I found this to be very useful as I had not developed Stephen much at this stage. We also looked at positions our characters would be in, for a public pose, and private pose. Both movements gave me a better understanding of the character, and how he may be when addressed by other characters in '13'.

Character Development

Harrison Ford who I interpret Stephen
to look like.

We first looked at character development. I see Stephen with glasses, as I find him intellectual yet, he only needs his glasses for reading. In my interpretation Stephen looks like Harrison Ford. I also think he is quite a tall man and is 54 years old, however he looks older because he is dying of lung cancer. I did some home research and found the symptoms to lung cancer, for example coughing and persistent breathlessness. This is very helpful towards my development as I can use this in scenes to show how Stephen is dying. I also found out the death rates in lung cancer to give Stephen another level of emotion to use in scenes. In 2012 near when '13' was set, lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, this may worry the character of Stephen because he knows this will probably kill him.

Objectives and Obstacles & 'I......... You'

We talked about different characters, and how they have objectives in a scene and how some obstacles can get in the way of that ambition. I volunteered to do a practical where my objective was to leave the room, however Hannah was my obstacle trying to get me to stay. This exercise I found worthwhile to do, as it gave me an insight as to Stephens goals before he dies, and the obstacles he may have to face. I think Stephens main objective in '13' is to persuade people about how god isn't real, one of my obstacles is that he is dying and he only has a short time to persuade people. Another thing I did was called the 'I........You'. In this I think of a word to fill the gap that works with my motive in different scene. For example In act 4 scene 8 I support Ruth, as I tell John how 'She's doing her best'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved October 14th 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057) This quote shows how Stephen's objective is to show John how Ruth is trying to sort things out, but it is a struggle. However John is my obstacle as he is oblivious to Ruth's efforts. I also learnt in this exercise how an actor should never go straight for the end result, for example in act 1 scene 6, my objective is to persuade people that there is no god. However. I won't go straight for the final objective. as there are different steps I need to take. in order to get to my objective. Stanislavski describes these steps as units, I can relate this to Stephen's speech because before I can try and persuade people about my beliefs I will have to get their attention. This is what Stanislavski describes as a unit or bit.

Contextual Presentations 

A slide from mine and Joe's presentation.

In context we were assigned to pairs, and looked at different elements in the context of '13'. I was paired with Joe and we decided to present economic struggle of the time '13' was set. I did research at home and put it into a powerpoint. I found the things I researched interesting for example the links with '13' and how Cameron much like Ruth found it difficult to cope. To find it easier to understand the context, others from our group presented what they had found out about the context of '13'. I found Donna and Phoebe's context findings good. As they talked about Iran's nuclear weaponry and linked it to '13' with Ruth's dilemma.

End of Act 1 Run Through

To finish the week off we as a class ran through the last couple of scenes in Act 1, starting with the Alpha group, for this, I volunteered to be a member of the chorus, this helped me to gain a greater understanding of the play, and also how I can react in more of a naturalistic way. In this scene I showed disgust to Donna's character Holly, this is because what she was saying was controversial to the groups beliefs. I also joined the scene where John has a speech. I acted as a member of public watching John speak. This helped develop this scene as it showed how John was gaining an audience from protesting in the park.

Next Week aims and Conclusion

This week, I think my work on context and character development was good, as it was my aim from last week. I believe I am at a good stage with Stephen as I know a good amount about this characters illness, beliefs, status and more. For next week I hope to have developed my character and also start to look at scenes with other members of the class in different acts. I also hope to learn my lines for Act 2, so I can be ready for when the performance starts.

'13' - Week 2

Introduction to Week 2

To start this week off, we looked at one of the three styles in Greek Theatre, Tragedy. We looked at this so we could use different features in our own postmodern play '13'. 

Brief History of Greek Theatre

Greek Festival of Dionysus.
Showing the audience, orchestra and the skene. 

In Ancient Greece, Theatre was at its dawn. The Theatre flourished between 550 BC and 220 BC. There were 3 different styles in Greek Theatre, Satyr, Comedy and Tragedy. Tragedy theatre is the one I am studying, in order to add certain aspects of it into '13'. 

From research I did in class, I have learnt that Greek Tragedy was about confronting problems, and how it was very political. I also picked up on how Greek Theatre has an impact on today, for example The Olivier Theatre is in the same structure as a Greek Theatre would have been in. Many of the Greek plays are still relevant, as they have been described as how "the basic themes still speak to us today". This quote I agree with, as many of the themes in Greek Theatre such as love and difficult decisions are still around today, and these topics can be shown through the Chorus. 

The Chorus' Impact

A typical Greek Chorus.

In Greek Tragedy, a Chorus was used. The Chorus were a group of people. I believe the Chorus represents society, reacting to the actors on stage, this also helps the audience to form their own views on what is happening between the actors. 

The Chorus stay visible to the audience throughout the whole production, I think this is good because it shows how someone always has an opinion on what's happening. However the Chorus were never on for the Prologue. As a class, we decided to use the Chorus in many parts of '13', including Ruth's Speech. In Ruth's speech, she is saying how she deserves praise, so I would show a reaction of empowerment. To do the action of empowerment I was kneeling on the floor with my arms out straight, I did this to show how I was under the power of Ruth as it showed my status and I was on a very low level and Ruth was high up speaking to the people below her. Another part of Ruth's speech says "we have moved on from the days of Thatcher". I may show a reaction of hate, because I have conservative attitudes. These movements or reactions are very stylised as the Chorus would react in a melodramatic way.  I suggested that the Chorus could be used in the Alpha Group, as the people without dialogue in this scene could be reacting to the group but in a more naturalistic way as the audiences focus would be in a confined space. 

Running of Act 1

From the previous week, I had learnt my lines for Act 1 so I would be prepared for the running of the act. To start off we had the 12 lying down in bed. After a beat, we would all rise up and start panting loudly, as if we had a bad nightmare. I found this fun to do, as I used Stanislavski's system of affective memory to show how the dream had affected me. Affective memory is an element of Stanislavski's system and 'requires actors to call on the memory of details from a similar situation'.(Wikipedia.org. 2014. Affective Memory. Retrieved October 14, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_memory). I used this to relay a bad dream I had some months ago, I find affective memory difficult to use, as I feel I forget emotions and how I react to them. I also find it difficult recalling certain emotions. This helped me to get into character, and feel like I had just had a bad dream. In the scene after this, set in an airport, I put myself forward to be a member of the chorus, however this time it was more naturalistic, from looking for the next taxi to going on my phone, this I found quite challenging. I felt I wasn't naturalistic as I found it difficult to relay an emotion. Despite this I think I found a solution, as I imagined I was texting my friend, I soon became the character of a businessman , arriving off a plane. In another scene in Act 1, we see a protest and a policeman trying to keep the rioters back. For this scene, I pretended I was filming the protest on my phone, this gave a naturalistic style to the scene and also gave it the link of social media which we see from John later on in '13'. The next scene I was in was my speech, I felt I had projected this speech well, and that my movement was good, but could be improved. At one point in the scene, I come off the box I am standing on, to address the chorus in a more intimate fashion. I was getting off the box quickly, and nearly stumbled, I noticed this and thought 'would Stephen do this?'. After consulting this issue, I noticed how by maintaining my composure, I would make a bigger impact to the audience, and the chorus while still staying in character. I am happy I resolved this problem as it has developed my character further.

Out of Class Exploration

Proteus Theatre's Stephen.

After developing my character to a minimal degree this week, I felt I needed to find out more about Stephen, and so I did some research. I wanted to find out what others interpreted Stephen as, and so I searched the Internet for inspiration. I found a video of '13' done by a theatre group named Proteus. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fZSCULj1xw    Link to video) In this we see how the actor has decided to dress Stephen very formally, I agree with this actors interpretation as I believe Stephen is high class. This interpretation also shows how Stephen has long hair, however I interpreted Stephen as having shorter hair to show his formality. I think this exploration was good because it gave me the chance to be influenced by others who have played Stephen and then develop my own character.

Overview and Aims

I believe this week my work on my character and the play was good, I feel I have learnt something new that can be added to '13' to make it better. I also am pleased with my character development, however I still feel it needs work and this will be my main focus for next week. My other focus is to get a more in depth understanding of Stephen's condition and the context of the play.

Research on University - Course Option 3

I'm currently on the BTEC Extended Diploma Level 3 Performing Arts (Acting). I have 6 GCSES; 4 at B and 2 at C. In addition, I am with a local theatre group named Petersfield Youth Theatre (PYT). I have confidence to put myself forward for different opportunities and I am eager to learn and work on different productions/projects. I also have experience on TV and Stage. I feel that I need to work on Naturalism as well as the financial side of Musical Theatre. Furthermore, I need to join an agency in order to get more publicity for myself. As my aspiration is to be an Actor on Television, this involves being in an agency so it’s crucial I join one. The skills I need to become a good actor can be learnt through University and College.

I am hoping to do a BA (Hons) Acting degree at Mountview. There are different modules on this course. In the first and second year there is: contemporary writing, Shakespeare, European and American drama. In the final year of the course, I will be in public performances in the last year which will be showcased the agents, casting directors and other industry figures. This is advantageous to my career as it could mean I get noticed. Also, in the final year, I will get the opportunity to engage in film work and a musical. This will prepare me for a diverse performance career. This course at Mountview will also help me to develop knowledge on the business and will help me in my progress towards my future acting career.

The course costs £11,950 which is an annually. I am not eligible for a DaDA, but I am for a student loan; however, the student loan won't cover the whole fee so I will need to earn some money by getting a part time job. The maximum fee at the moment is £6000 which is approximately half of the full fee. Mountview is in London, so i will either have to commute or get a small flat. The grades needed to get on this course are not specified but I am aiming for 3 distinctions at Level 3, which should be sufficient.

In order to audition for this course at, I will need to present one Shakespeare monologue and one monologue from a modern play. The monologues must not last longer than 2 minutes each. They must also be from a published play and must be the same gender and close to my age. There is no cost to apply.

I think this course is ideal for me as I want to pursue my ambition of being an actor and this course will give me a great opportunity to achieve this. It will also give me a chance to develop my skills on stage, which is great because then I will have another option if screen acting does not sit me. The location is prime as I am able to commute. The financial side is achievable as I can aquire a part time job and also apply for a student loan. This looks like a perfect course for me and Mountview have a good history of high achievers, some of which include Amanda Holden, Brendan Coyle, and Douglas Hensall. After Mountview I will hope to join a respectable agency and start looking for auditions as well as joining a local theatre group. 

'13' - Week 1 Reflective

'13' Initial Thoughts

When first told what play we would be doing, I was excited for a new challenge. As a class, we were told that we would be doing the play '13', by Mike Bartlett, as I first heard this I was enthralled, as I had never heard of this play, or the playwright. I was ambitious to learn about this new play and its style. I thought the play could be about how '13' is an unlucky number and how a story of tragedies and bad things happen. I also have the idea the play could be about 13 different things or thirteen different people.

First Thoughts with the Script

As a class we started this new project by reading Act 1 of the script. My first impressions of the script, was that the play was quite modern, I got this impression as there is current technology, this is justified by "an alarm clock flashing. 7:13 am".(BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 4th October 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000008 ). This gave me the impression that '13' was set in the late 2000s, and how it could be in a busy environment, as people are getting woken up early for work. After reading the script for a while I met a character I was fond of in Act 1, Scene 6. A man called Stephen Crossley, my first impressions told me that he had very strong beliefs on the presence of god. I assumed this because Stephen is a lecturer and seems to have superiority as he has his own speech. "I want to talk about God". (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 19th 4th October 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000008 ). This quote shows how Stephen is using his power to talk "I want".  After being asked to read the lines of Stephen, I quickly fell in love with this character, because Stephen is so different to the other characters in this play, and is well known. I felt this role would suit me as I feel I have a lot in common with Stephen, in that we both strive to be unique.

Character Developing

I was asked which character I would like to play, the first that sprung to mind was Stephen. Fortunately, I was given this part and would go on to develop this character. My first thoughts on Stephen was that he was superior and well spoken. Because of this, I printed off the scenes that Stephen was in, and started to underline the words, that would need emphasis in different lines, or a speech.  I did this for a speech, as it can help to develop naturalism. I also used a forward slash when a new topic had begun, this helped me to recognize where to take a pause to make Stephen seem well spoken. For example "I have here a box. Inside is the Lord Almighty himself. / You have a choice". (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 4th October 2014
from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000013 )  I put a forward slash here as Stephen has gone from talking about the box to addressing the chorus directly. 

First Practical 

In my first practical exercise, I rehearsed Stephen's speech in Act 1 Scene 6. I encountered a problem, I tried to make Stephen sound angry when delivering my first line, "At least some of you have bothered to turn up". (BartlettM.2011.'13'.  I thought this would work with Stephen as I saw him as an arrogant man. However, when delivering the line I didn't feel engaged. So I looked for a solution to this, I tried saying the line slower but that didn't work. After trying many different methods, I found by putting the emphasis on "turn", instead of "bothered" made the line sound softer, and I believe will give a good first impression to the audience. From this practical, I learned about how Naturalism can make Stephens character seem more superior and more believable. At the start of the practical I was trying too hard to be superior, but when I was natural, it came across more believable because of elements like the dialogue. 

Research on Context

After being excited about this new production I decided to research context, I found out how '13' is set in 2010-2011 in London. I researched what was happening at that time and  learned about the general elections and how David Cameron was appointed the new Prime Minister. This was helpful to '13' as it gives me a brief background and will help me to understand my characters beliefs on politics. I also research about the economy of the time and how Britain was in a recession. 

Reflection and Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe I have made the right decision asking to be Stephen, as I feel it suits me, but at the same time will give me a challenge. I'm looking forward to the coming weeks working on my character development, for example things like costume and status. I'm also excited to work with others to achieve good scenes, including the Prime Minister, Ruth in Act 1 scene 17. For next week, I hope to learn Act 1 of '13', and learn the context of the play.

Portfolio Week 3 - Vocal Organs

Portfolio Week 3 - Vocal Organs

This week in voice, I learned about the Vocal Organs, I learned about the Larynx and its position in the body. The Larynx is a vocal organ in the body used for breathing, resonating sound and to also protect the trachea. The Larynx contains the vocal cords.

What do the Vocal Cords do?

The vocal cords adjust pitch and tone by altering their position and tension. The sounds we make is due to the vibration that occurs on the inner edge of the vocal cords also known as the mucosa. The vocal cords open during inspiration, and close when holding your breath, the image to the right shows the vocal cords open and closed.

Where are the Vocal Cords located?

The Vocal Cords are located in the centre of the Larynx, below the vocal ligament and at the top of the Trachea. The Larynx is a long and quite wide organ that is situated in the throat. As shown by the image the Larynx is also made of bone.

Practical Exercise

After I had filled out a questionnaire based sheet which helped me with my understanding of the Larynx and Vocal Cords I did a practical exercise the Exercise sat down with my hips feet knees and shoulders aligned. I first moved my larynx from side to side, this made my larynx tickle and I didn't like it as it was a peculiar feeling. In addition to this, when moving my larynx I felt it click this shows the tension on my larynx and how this simple exercise can help with the progress of my voice and larynx. After doing this exercise spoke and my voice felt a lot softer and calmer, I felt as though my voice was on cruise control as it felt so easy to speak. This exercise I will do from time to time but not everyday as it could cause permanent damage to my larynx.

In week 3 I also did another exercise, in this I visualised my larynx was a basket, and it was attached to a hot air balloon which I imagined was my head. This helped to keep my posture when doing certain exercises. I found this easy to visualise as I was focused on my body and had no distractions.