16/4/12 research

Vizier: The Vizier character I feel was heavily inspired by the character Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. I feel that he was a great template because he is old and wise, much like my Vizier character, and when he speaks he has presence even though he is soft voiced, which I somewhat tried to adapt into my Vizier character. I didnt adapt Gandalf's slow, easy pace as I feel it would have brought the pace of the seen down, so I did away with that. I think I did well but I feel if I had more time to focus purely on that role it would have been my own.

Abu Hassan: The character of Abu Hassan was an entirely different ball game. He was very heavily based off the character Borat. His mannerisms and voice were my main concern. I tried to adapt these elements while trying not to become the actual character. I think I pulled it off though and I am proud of the outcome.

Bradders signing out :)

27/3/12 Filmed Assessment

Today was our filmed assessment. I like these assessments as it really helps us voice our concerns on the project, our performance and the style of directing. I feel my contribution was good, providing some good points and opinions on the performance itself. Also my personal evaluation was good, providing fair positives and negatives on my own performance and on what I can focus and sort out next time around. I had no qualms about the style of directing I felt it was good, but I feel I needed more time and be cast sooner. Other than it everything was cool.

Bradders signing out :)

24/3/12 Portsmouth Performance

Today was our Portsmouth Performance. Instead of performing in the venue (it was too small) we ended up performing outside, garnering quite a crowd. I thought, considering we was missing cast members, we did well. It did cock up abit as we lost track of the edited performance (Ali Baba and Envious Sisters cut from piece) but i believe we held it together quite well. I feel my performance was up to the same level as previous performances which I am very proud of, having the same level of focus as in previous performances. After we went to the fair... Was awesome.
Bradders signing out :)

22/3/12

STRIKE Day: Today we striked our set as it was not needed anymore. Took quite abit of time but finally got it done in the end. Next time dont spend as much time on striking one thing
Bradders signing out :)

Performance Day 1 20/3/12

Open Dress: We did an open dress rehearsal today. I thought this performance was rubbish if im honest, especially Act 2. Focus was low, energy was low, everything was just not what it should have been.

Got a quite alot of constructive criticism today, more than expected so I need to change my portrayal of the Vizier dramatically.

Performance 1: This performance couldnt have gone any better. It was perfect. Im really happy with this. Focus was extremely high, energy was high it was just great. I feel my performance, after taking on the feedback, was much, much better than previous performances which gave me a big confidence boost. Only problem is that the cues could have come abit quicker and people need to stop forgetting to strike props, scenery etc. Other than that it was awesome
Bradders signing out :)

Rehearsals 19/3/12

Today was the tech rehearsal. Probably the most important rehearsal to date, as it sorts out lighting, sound etc. Also it helps us remember to set props and help with flats which is really good as we've had problems with them. I felt this rehearsal helped greatly, personally and generally. I do like getting the technical rehearsal completed as it restores confidence in me ready for the performance.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2.3 16/3/12

Lesson 1: Continued rehearsing, especially on Ali Baba. This helped out alot it just needs abit more tweaking. Then we continued with rehearsals.

Lesson 2: Continued rehearsing stories, working on them as we went along.

Lesson 3: Was given an extra line today in the story without an ending, so i need to learn that sharpish.

These rehearsals really do help build my confidence but at the moment I am quite worried about it. Hopefully it'll pass.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2,3 15/3/12

Lesson 1: Started rehearsals properly today. Started with act 1 (well...duh). Was ok but abit jumbled, but rehearsals are meant to be like that. I believe this helped alot in working out the kinks in the stories e.g. Positioning, working on unhooking and moving the flats etc.

Lesson 2: Continued on with rehearsing, same as last lesson, just reminding ourselves of cues and all that. Started rehearsing Act 2. QUite glad in this act that the flats are not really needed, I find them a nuiscance.

Lesson 3: Continued with Act 2. Again same as last lesson rehearsing cues etc.
2nd and 3rd lessons were less jumbled, giving me a confidenc boost and maintaining my focus. These confidence boosts are good as they help me out in rehearsals :D

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2,3 and extra rehearsal 14/3/12

Lesson 1: Got straight into work continuing on with Es-Sindibad. I feel we made good progress in this lesson with the story, got very near the end. Before we completed it though we started we returned to the Abu Hassan story. Didnt get alot done due to the fact everyone was laughing at me. Also during break I helped Johnny create movement for his Es-Sindibad character.

Lesson 2: Carried on with Abu Hassan. Basically got the whole story blocked just need to revise cues and get my lines fully learnt. We returned to Es-Sindibad and finally got this completed, just needs polishing.

Lesson 3: Got to work blocking the Envious Sisters story. I feel out of all the stories we made the most progress on this one, blocking the entire thing in one lesson. Also we continued blocking the story without an ending, ending up completing that. Both just need polishing and rehearsing to per-fect.

Focus was much better today and I felt i carried out my instructions well.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2,3 13/3/12

Lesson 1: Today we got straight into work, starting off with recapping the first part of Ali Baba. It was going well until the fire alarm went off -.-.

Lesson 2: This lesson we re-started progress on Es- Sindibad. Starting from the beginning we recapped and continued on from that point, ending up creating some crazy Twister-like tablo. I found this tablo quite confusing at first but after we ran through it I got the hang of it.

Lesson 3: Continued on with Es-Sindibad, nearly making it to the end of the story, with some neat steps created out of our bodies, in which Johnny used to walk on.
My focus today was good but not great, especially in the second lesson, same with my energy. Next lesson I will trya nd maintain my focus and energy at the top level.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2 extra rehearsal 12/3/12

Lesson 1: Today we got to work on blocking the story of the envious sisters. It seems to be coming along quite well we got the first few pages blocked. Also we brushed up on the "promise" interval, just polishing it.

Lesson 2: Continued on with blocking the story of the envious sisters, just polishing up the starting cues and lines.

Extra rehearsal: Worked on the story of How Abu Hassan Broke Wind. We completely recreated the main section, which I believed was of great benefit to the story. And we worked a tiny bit on Ali Baba.

Bradders signing out :)

P.S the picture attached is our work on Ali Baba

Extra rehearsal 9/3/12

Lesson 1: Focusing our entire attention on The Story of the Woman who Wouldnt Eat. Recapping and continuing in from where we previously left, we made amazing progress and blocked nearly the entire story in the first lesson. One good idea was when we pulled this tarp over Charlie. As we pulled down he pushed up, creating this eerie, creepy effect.

Lesson 2: Just ironing out the kinks in the story, which is now basically complete. Im glad we got this one out the way as I thought this was going to be a long story, but it wasnt (:D). I thought my focus was great, aswell as everyone elses.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2,3 8/3/12

Lesson 1: Todays lesson started off as usual with a quick warm-up. We then got to work on transitions between Ali Baba parts 1 and 2. This went quite well, the transitions were smooth in my eyes. I think some work needs to be done on the actual parts themselves but i feel that will be done in due time.

Lesson 2: In the second lesson we did a full run through of what we had completed so far. Some of it was messy but by doing the run-through it helped us find the weakest points of the performance and work on them.

Lesson 3: This lesson we took director feedback for praise and improvement and read The Story of the Envious Sisters. I am not too keen on this story, it just seems to drag and is too repetitive. I thought my focus today was really good and i took all instructions and applied feedback creatively, and I will continue this into succeeding lessons.

Bradders signing out :)

7/3/12 Lessons 1,2,3 and extra rehearsal

Lesson 1: In the start of this lesson we did a focus warm-up with Gavin before we got started. We recapped the prologue and Ali Baba and thr Forty Thieves, it went ok. In the prologue I kept forgetting my lines, which was embarressing, but in the end i got them down. The rehearsal of Ali Baba was better. I kept mucking up on the quartering of Kazim bit, i didnt keep my hands up high enough. Even though on the last try I nailed it I believe it still needs work. Then I went of with Daniella, Arnold and Chloe to rehearse the little breaks in the story, involving King Sharyhar, Sharhrazad, Dinarzad and the Vizier. I felt this was the most beneficial part as it helped me regain my cues and get me back on track (need to work on one of thr prologue lines, make sure i dont get it mixed up)

Lesson 2: In this lesson we recapped the Story of the Man who Broke Wind. I quite enjoyed recapping this because I enjoy all the over-the-top performances of the characters. Need to be off book soon for this as i need to learn the monologue section.

Lesson 3: In this lesson we continued on with the Story of Ali Baba Part 2, managing to get it blocked to the end, which I felt quite proud of. It just needs clearing up now ironing out the creases and improving on the cues.

Extra rehearsal: Just recapped Ali Baba and the Story of the Little Beggar, again improving on the kinks in Ali Baba. I can tell, as Gavin said, that as a class we are picking up momentum and starting to get things completed at an increased rate which i think...is just awesome.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2,3 6/3/12

Lesson 1: Today we started with a warm-up I led. It involved stretching and focus games with the beanbags (I got all of them going, beat that Gavin) and a few games just to loosen up the class. Same cant be said about tbe rest of the lesson. To me it seemed a disaster, but some good ideas came out of it e.g. We changed the movement pattern on the square house so it became easier for Demi to leave the house and gain access to it.

Lesson 2: In this lesson we focused on the prologue and Es-Sindibad. The energy in the class wasnt particuarly high, and i feel it wasnt one of my best rehearsals as i kept forgetting a few lines, which was really awkward and embarressing. The recapping of Es-Sindibad. It was like a bare bones recapping, it didnt have alot of energy or focus.

Lesson 3: this lesson on the other hand was the complete opposite to the others. We broke off from the rest of the class and started on the Abu Hassan farting story. We completed half the story in the lesson. The comedic value of the story is instantly obvious and we played that to the extreme. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and im glad i was cast in it.

Bradders signing out :)

Lesson 1 5/3/12

Lesson 1: Today was a slow day. We started off with a new story, The Story of the Person Who Wouldnt Eat. We didnt get alot done and focus wasnt particuarly high, which is probably why the lesson was slow. But one good idea from Gavin was using two sticks and fabric to represent a Ghoul, which I found quite orginal. I do like this story as it is really dark and it involves a zombie theme (zombies are awesome), but right now I am not too keen on it. I felt my focus personally not at its usual high. Next time I will keep my focus up high, no matter who is the main focus of the story and what story is being worked on.

Bradders signing out :)

29/2/12

Lesson 1: Today started off with a stretching warm-up that helped focus us all and we continued the Story of the Little Beggar. As Johnny was absent i stood in for Johnny and read in his place. Apart from that i only did script annotations.
Lesson 2: This lesson I started working on my Blogger, catching up with the days previous work. Then i was cast in the minor role of the King in the Little Beggar Story, and worked on the first few lines of dialogue.
Lesson 3: In this last lesson things really did start pick up for me personally. As we set and blocked the last lines (the awards ceremony) it felt like we as a class achieved something as we had completed the Little Beggar story. I also felt like I was in the award ceremony at the end of Stars Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but no one didnt pick up on it...fools.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2,3 29/2/12

Lesson 1: Today started off with the recapping of the current progress in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, which helped dramatically as it keeps my mind refreshed and on point for the rest of the day. I feel my concentration was good in this lesson and i responded efficiently to instructions

Lesson 2: In this lesson alot more original stuff was created instead of recapping. One original idea to note down was how we would quarter Johnny's character Kazim. We was given a large piece of red material to feed through everyones hands, then at the ends me and Teri would run towards each other and loop around and run behind the slats and drag Johnny in. I didnt like this idea at first but when the kinks in it were straightened I cam to like it.

Lesson 3: This was the best lesson in terms of ideas but not necessarily in focus. The best idea was one that Alex cam up with, to show the quartered body of Kazim. Me, Charlie, Becca, Paige and Johnny laid in varying positions on top of each other and had the red material draped over us and random limbs laying out to simulate huge quantities of blood. I thought this idea was ingenious and I enjoy creating this image every time. I feel my focus lapsed a bit in this lesson purely because of the fact that it was a long day and was getting restless.

Bradders signing out :)

Vizier character profile

Elements: I believe the Vizier to be Air, as he is light on his feet and his words are softly spoken

Efforts: I would say the efforts of the Vizier are Dab and Glide. This is represented in both his movements and his speech. When he moves about the space he is light-footed and soft with his movements, and he is also softly spoken, but his voice has a prescence.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1,2 and 3 28/2/12

Lesson 1: Today we started off rehearsing over Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves which. This was good as it helped us refresh our memories. Then we moved onto developing Es-Sindibad The Sailor. We started off from the beginning, ironing out and kinks in our previous work. This was good because, as before, it helped us refresh our memories and perfect the sequences.

Lesson 2: Continued with Es-Sindibad. Got some great ideas going with it which i think will benefit the performance greatly. Got abit annoyed when we had to leave the sticks behind, then go pick them up again, just before we made the soundscape. Its much easier keeping the sticks with us all the time, instead of having to go pick them up again just seems like effort.

Lesson 3: Again good productive lesson, in which we reached a pivotal point in the story. Focus in the class seem to weaken near the end of the day, but we got stuff done none the less.

I feel this was the best day of rehearsal so far, personally and performance wise, as i feel i was focused the entire day, and with everyone else being focused it helped performance-wise...and Daniella slipped and fell over, which was...was just awesome.

Bradders singing out :)

Lesson 1 and extra rehearsal 27/2/12

Lesson 1: Todays lesson was mainly focused on The Story of the Little Beggar. I didnt really do alot this lesson apart from the setting up and striking of props, but at least i did something.

Extra rehearsal: Revised the scenes of Temptation and Threat intervals, which i think are extremely successful. Also i contributed to the soundtrack via a piece from the Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception soundtrack.

Bradders signing off :)

22/2/12 Lessons 1,2 and extra rehearsal

Lesson 1: Todays lesson we got straight into it and started rehearsing Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves and the prologue. We got some scenes done but I believe more could have been established if the class was more focused and less talkative.

Lesson 2: Same as last lesson, working on the same scene (arrival of the 40 Thieves). Again same as last lesson, got less done than we could of due to lack of focus. I think a target of mine for next week is to learn my lines for the characters i have been given.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1 and 2 21/2/12

Lesson 1: This lesson started off pretty well, with Jamie introducing us to the lower half of our costumes. We then went on to try and create a bird for the Es-Sindibad story, but the idea Jamie presented never came to fruition.

Lesson 2: In this lesson we started right at the beginning of the Es-Sindibad story using masks. As it began to take structure i was involved, helping keep Es-Sindibads house in place, made (at the moment) out of broom handles. I thought i worked quite well in the lessons today :D.

Bradders signing out :)

20/2/12

Lesson 1: Rehearsals for the performance have now started and this lesson we worked on the prologue. As i was absent previous lessons it was abit difficult having me integrate into the scenes but I feel in the end i got back into the groove fairly well. I was pulled up on my effort though, which was mainly because i was feeling off. Next time il try to be in a better mood for lessons.

"extra-curricular activities"

Thought id blog this seeing how this somewhat relates to Arabian Nights. Over the half term ive been playing Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception on my PS3. Now before you make assumptions hear me out, the plot of the game is to search for the city of Ubar, which appears in the original translation of Arabian Nights. The game I believe would help me personally to capture the atmosphere of the Golden Age of the Middle East. Even though it is set in the present day some levels really do represent the times we are portraying. Read this teachers and if you want il explain more in class

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1 and 2 1/2/12

Lesson 1: Todays lesson was completely different with Jamie giving me a piece of chalk and telling us to write out our past feelings and future ambitions down on the floor. It was kind of relaxing but i felt like i was in a mental asylum.

Lesson 2: This lesson was much more energetic. At first we started with ballet (which i did NOT like), then we moved on to creating landscapes with our bodies. The second activity was much more fun than the first in my opinion. Maybe next time i feel i should pay more attention to all exercises instead of just the ones i like.

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1 and 2 31/1/12

Lesson 1: In todays lesson we explored the idea of creating landscapes with our own bodies e.g. The sea, a cave etc. We was divided into two teams and given different things to create, and the best team got points (that sounds so childish). We were then tasked, as a whole class, to create a house with our bodies. This carried on into the second lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed this activity though so its all good. Next time i think i should give more creative input, instead of being someone elses bitch.

Lesson 2: House creation activity continues on, but we finally got it finished (was a headache). Then after we observed each individual classmates blogger. I felt i had more input in the second lesson (completely destroyed my shoulders though).

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1 and 2 30/1/12

Lesson 1: Today's lesson, due to mix-ups, was purely business today, working on our CV's and Application Forms etc. It was ok kind of boring
but it has to be done.

Lesson 2: Exactly the same as the previous lesson, same opinion as previous lesson

Bradders signing out :)

Lessons 1 and 2 25/1/12

Lesson 1: From this date til production week, work will be focused on entirely on our FMP, Arabian Nights. The first lesson started off with how we can explore the Four Elememts (Earth, Air, Wind amd Fire) through movement. It was quite an interesting exercise, as many people came up witj different movements to suit their individual element.

Lesson 2: In this lesson hardly any physical work was created, as the lesson was mainly focused on exploring physical skills and mainly listing down what special skills we each individually have. It was quite a laugh seeing what weird yet awesome skills people have

Bradders signing out :)

24/1/12 Lessons 1 and 2

Lesson 1: Lesson 1 was a very active, with the lesson starting with our usual warm-ups with rolls and leg swings. In the second half of the lesson, we was taught a motif which became useful in the next lesson.

Lesson 2: In this lesson we explored The Effort Graph, explaining the lowest and highest limits of the factors of dancing (weight, time, space and flow) and the Eight Basic Efforts Actions (Dab, Slash, Wring, Press, Flick, Glide, Float and Thrust). Then we had to apply each of these to three Harry Potter (dont have a clue why Harry Potter).

23/1/12 Lessons 1 and 2

Lesson 1: Today's lesson was very similar to the story-telling warm up exercises from last week, with one-word story and prop involvement, which i found entertaining.

Lesson 2: This lesson we focused on Performing Arts CV's and personal statements. I feel i am gona find this task quite hard, not because it is difficult but just finding what to say will be a challenge in itself.

Bradders singing out :)

19/1/12 Lessons 1,2,3 and 4

Lesson 1: Started off today with an introduction to the day, with warm-ups and basic acting exercises for the first half of the lesson, with the second half focused on The New World by Harold Pinter.

Lesson 2: In the second lesson we explored the element of soundscapes and how a combination of different sounds can help someone envision an enviroment e.g. A forest.

Lesson 3: In this lesson, we started learning about the art of storytelling, through the re-enactment of a story called The Bird, The Mouse and The Sausage. We were told to incorporate movement into and show how our bodies could before our given characters.

Lesson 4: In the final lesson we continued the idea of storytelling but with our own personal stories. We each had a partner and had to swtch and tell the next partner the previous partner's story, but with exaggeration.

Bradders signing off :)

Lessons 1 and 2 18/1/12

Lesson 1: Did not turn up to college til 9:45am. The first lesson was mainly troubleshooting about blogger.

Lesson 2: This lesson was more physical than the previous one. We learnt a new motif and revised an older one. The lesson was not necessarily focused on a project, it was more a technique building lesson

Bradders signing out?

Lessons 1 and 2 17/1/12

Lesson 1: Lesson 1 today was not what i expected. I expected to get straight into the physical work but instead we watched clips of some dancing films and analysed them. I watched 3 in total; The Car Man, Yesterday (Lullaby segment) and Cool Rooster. I analysed them using 5 criteria; Action (types of moves; stretches, leaps etc), Dynamics (Staccato, Fluid etc), Space (how big the space is, how it is used) and Aural Setting (soundtrack, setting, props etc). I got notes on all three, especially the Yesterday: Lullaby sequence. Next time I could pay attention more to all the dance pieces, not just the one that interests me the most.

Lesson 2: In the second lesson I was tasked to pick one of the three dance pieces we analysed and create a short dance piece based around a selected dance piece (Yesterday: Lullaby). I feel the piece created was'nt all that, due to the fact i didnt rehearse it enough in the given time and i corpsed halfway through. It wasnt the greatest piece of work I have had part in in the long term not every work I create will be of a good quality. Targets for next time would be less talking, more movement.

Review: Rooster

Choreographer: Christopher Bruce
Year of inception: mid 1960s

Rooster was quite and intruiging performance due to the lack of a full ensemble performance. At most there were three dancers at one time, which I thought was quite new and original considering the apparent large scale of the performance. The first performer's actions seemed quite rigid and staccato, with sudden head and arm thrusts, and even though his legs showed massive activity, the performer always kept his torso rigid. The space around the performer is vast, with stage front only populated by the main performer. The rest of the stage is populated with other in-character performers observing the main performer. Unlike the second segmanet of the performance the main dancer has very fluid, watery-like movements and being a female she may well be portraying a chicken. In the first performance there doesnt seem to be a relationship between the main performer and the other performers, the focus is solely on the "Rooster", while in the second performance the female has a relationship with two other males, which I like to show contrast between genders. The aural setting was quite interesting in terms of lighting and soundtrack. They were very contrasting I feel, with one static light creating a somewhat street affect, conjuring thoughts of hustle and bustle, while the music (The Rolling Stones-Little Red Rooster) even though its a rock song, is quite calm in its pace providing that contrast of senses. In conclusion i enjoyed the idea and the thematic messages behind The Rooster
***

Principles of Acting lessons 1,2 and 3

I found todays lessons the most fun and enjoyable of its kind in a long while at college. Purely focused on acting, my favourite out of the 3 aspects of Performing Arts, we researched into the Stanislavski technique of acting, it really helped me understand the qualities of being an actor and the effort it needs to complete your task. Throughout the day we was drip fed parts of Stanislavskis' 10 Elements of Acting, which cover all different aspects of acting, two being Concentration and Imagination. This mix of theory mixed in with exercises expressing these elements I thought provided a great layout on the lesson, which will hopefully be replicated in the future. Gavin has done us proud :)

Bradders signing off

Lesson 1: Creating Dance

Today was a somewhat interesting day and hard day, not in terms of work but how to interpret it. Starting off with learning a motif of moves involving rolls and handstands, then learning to create movement through through the interpretation of text. I found the latter quite had, not necessarily the actual move set but finding the moves proved to be a challenge. But when it came together i found the excercise quite exciting (if i hadnt have mugged myself up halfway through then it would have been better). The first excercise was simpler in a way, maybe because we did not have to come up wth the movement set we was taught it, but it was still moderately hard to grasp. Hopefully my technique will impreove over the coming weeks as i feel its kinda rubbish right now

Bradders signing out :)