Lesson 1 (Thursday 10th September) Physical Theatre

In our first lesson, we spent sometime looking at the physicality of different characters and how we can use our bodies to create interesting characters without using a script or text to respond off of. We split up into groups of three and we had to come up with 8 movements that would make us come off as aggressive or thuggish. Our movements had lots of different styles, that ranged from very big aggressive attacking movements, we made these sharp and really in your face. Where as some of the others were a bit more subtly aggressive and more intimidating. One movement that we did that fitted an intimidation style was a brush of the shoulder and a head movement.






We then took this routine of movements and put then into a technique known as they known as a shoal of fish, this is where you parole an area but staying in a close group and when ever someone in your group moves off, so do you and you have to stay together. Once we had our routines of the movements, we started to add more depth, making some of the movements, attacking and then categorising the other movements into intimidating and then parole. For intimidating and parole we did some subtle gestures to show our status compared to others in the scene. To get more of a story to our routine we gave our characters a purpose for being there, we came up with that this was our territory and we felt a high status being in this area. Once we put this to music, it picked up the pace and brought our characters to life.




Over all in this lesson I found it quite easy to come up with lots of different movements that would fit the character, which ranged in different levels, dynamics and speeds. I think that having all of these different styles gave the routine some depth. My target for next time we work on these routines is to think more about my physicality and how a thug would hold themselves differently to I do. I would also like to look at changing some of the timings towards the song, to see if we can do somethings on certain beats and some on off beats.

Audition Evaluation 18th September 2015

I feel very positive over all with my audition, and feel that I responded well to the feedback and the questions asked during the audition. I first went in to the audition and sang my prepared rent song 'One song Glory'. I felt that this went well as I thought about what I had done before the audition when preparing for my audition. I was given advise to think more about the start note and then it set me off for the next song. I also thought a lot about the character of the story and really sold it out to the audition-er. I felt that this bring more to the song and brought it to life. I then went on to sing a bit of my west side story to show my softer side and what I could do in my slightly higher range. We then began our interview bit and i was asked some questions about what characters I liked in the play? I said that i was interested in the part of Mark, he was character I thought best suited me and my style, but i also saw a challenge in the character with his views and what he went through and why he loves to film. I was then asked to sing any of the mark songs that i knew from the show, so i sang 'What You Own' as i thought that i could show the style that i would like to give to the character.

I feel that i could have done better is my response to the questions about the themes and meanings behind the play. I thought that i could have answered the questions with more detail and imaginative answers rather than the basic yet correct answers to do with the play. I felt prepared when going into the audition as i knew a fair bit about the themes and plots and the characters of the play, and when i was asked my thoughts i had some answers prepared. I felt that this audition was a very different style to what i had done before as it was a different style, as it was quite relaxed. But it meant that we could work on my audition and try out different things during it. And i think that this is a good experiences to do different auditions that might come up in the future. 

My Top 4 Drama industry choices

I have made 4 cards of drama schools that I would like to apply for, I have included entry requirements and what the courses offer over the years.

Auditions Friday 11th September

An audition starts when you enter the room. The moment that you enter the audition room, the directors, casting team and everyone is making judgments of what your doing. This can also include when you enter the building as even a receptionist or as doorman may be in contact with the directors. If you are rude or unprofessional towards anyone that can effect your audition as a director would only know you from a negative note, instead at your potential in the room.

One of the key things for an audition is to be punctual for everything, its always worth turning up at least an hour early for a scheduled audition. This will show willing and may also be able to be seen early. If you turn up early you then give yourself time to relax and think about the audition and what your going to do in there, if you turn up later and your rushed you don't have time to prepare and settle in. In audition rooms, when waiting, you should always look at the information provided, often scripts will be in the room and it is worth having a read through as they may be referred to in the audition.


We then did a role play of audition interview. This went well for me, I played the part of the person being auditioned. This I felt was mort of a challenge as I had to think on my feet to answer the questions that were being asked. I was being asked questions as if I was being auditioned for the part of Mark Cohen in Rent. I felt that what I replyed with was well structured and I showed a passion in what I was saying, and answered in a range of different ways. If I was to do this again I would have liked to be more prepared with my answered as I wasn't sure on some of the facts about the play.

 

My Mock Audition Interview

 

 

Prior to an audition it is always essential to do some prep work and the main play/musical, directors and creative team. also about the company and their past shows. It is also worth thinking about your past experiences and how they can be linked to the show.

We then wrote some prepared some questions that we could answer in a audition or could imagine ourselves answering them. these are my mock questions:

1. What was your first impressions of the play when you did some research or watched?
2. Does any of your past experiences help you with the role?
3. Which skills do you think that you have would be suit this show and character?
4. Which characters do you feel best suits you?
5. What do you think of the themes of the play?
6. What was the last performance that you went for?
7. What do you think you can bring to this productions?
8. What can you gain from this performance?
9. Who is you favourite actor and why?

Once we had prepared our own questions we did some role plays of an auditions interview, I was answering the questions as if I was auditioning for the part of Mark in Rent. Prior to the lesson I had done a fair bit of research on the musical and I knew a lot about the plot and characters. But I did not think about the themes and messages of the play, so when I was asked the questions about themes I felt a bit stumped. In the few days up to the audition I will look into themes and what think that they mean and how they would effect the characters.