I think my scene went quite well due to all the practice in the morning. I also learnt all my lines so it was easier to act without carrying a script. I was able to show my characters feelings quite well because I knew most of the objectives I was supposed to be using except from the ones near the end of the script because I hadn't got that far yet.
I think the wrestling improved at the beginning of the scene because we learnt that we should not pretend we should put enough effort into it to make it look believable. I also enjoyed running through all the scenes because we got to see other peoples work and see how the play joined together and made a great story
Next time I need to remember to bring a magazine as a prop and some books because they are vital to our scene. Me and eleanor need to also finish writing our objectives down so we know our purpose for every line we say and we need alot of practice.
Over and Out
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The Witness Summary
The Witness is a play about truth, trust and relationships.
Joseph is a war photographer whose wife died and Alex aged 18 is his adopted Daughter. Alex is originally from Rwanda, however during the rwanda genocide Joseph came over to take photos for his work and ended up taking Alex home with him, because all her family were killed. Joseph took a photo of alex as a young child crying next to her dead mother, this made him a famous artist and was his best work.
When Alex comes home from university, due to the photo of her being shown in one of her lectures, Joseph wants her to go back, but alex wants to go to rwanda to find out who she is. Joseph has also been offered to do an art exhibition which he doesn't want to do but alex thinks its a great idea.
Then Alex's brother Simon turns up, she didn't even know that he existed until now. And the truth comes out the photo was staged, Joseph left Simon behind on purpose not because he couldn't carry him and the trust between alex and joseph is lost.
Joseph is a war photographer whose wife died and Alex aged 18 is his adopted Daughter. Alex is originally from Rwanda, however during the rwanda genocide Joseph came over to take photos for his work and ended up taking Alex home with him, because all her family were killed. Joseph took a photo of alex as a young child crying next to her dead mother, this made him a famous artist and was his best work.
When Alex comes home from university, due to the photo of her being shown in one of her lectures, Joseph wants her to go back, but alex wants to go to rwanda to find out who she is. Joseph has also been offered to do an art exhibition which he doesn't want to do but alex thinks its a great idea.
Then Alex's brother Simon turns up, she didn't even know that he existed until now. And the truth comes out the photo was staged, Joseph left Simon behind on purpose not because he couldn't carry him and the trust between alex and joseph is lost.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Objectives
Objectives are verbs used to give a line meaning. They are used so that you are able to alter your voice depending on what your line is giving across. An objective is very important because it changes your tone of voice and it changes the mood depending on how you show it with your body.
You should be able to show an objective without using speech and it should be easy to understand what the character is trying to do. An objective should always be played as high as possible because then can be played down and its also easier for the audience to understand what the character is thinking.
By taking a sentence or line from a script you can mark where the objective changes. You have to look for when your characters purpose of being there and what they are actually doing or feeling has changed. A line can have as many objectives as you want, it depends what kind of actor you are and with these objectives you can experiment with your body how to portray it and then add words.
For example, this is a line from my script:
Then I'm going south to Butare to the National Museum. / Its supposed to be amazing and then back to Kigali and then north to my village to -
To Inform/To excite.
(You mark objectives with a / )
I believe this line only has two objectives however other people may interpret it differently.
An Objective is basically the reason for your presence and it is extremely important to know what the objective is for each different chunk in your script.
You should be able to show an objective without using speech and it should be easy to understand what the character is trying to do. An objective should always be played as high as possible because then can be played down and its also easier for the audience to understand what the character is thinking.
By taking a sentence or line from a script you can mark where the objective changes. You have to look for when your characters purpose of being there and what they are actually doing or feeling has changed. A line can have as many objectives as you want, it depends what kind of actor you are and with these objectives you can experiment with your body how to portray it and then add words.
For example, this is a line from my script:
Then I'm going south to Butare to the National Museum. / Its supposed to be amazing and then back to Kigali and then north to my village to -
To Inform/To excite.
(You mark objectives with a / )
I believe this line only has two objectives however other people may interpret it differently.
An Objective is basically the reason for your presence and it is extremely important to know what the objective is for each different chunk in your script.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
What have I learnt about the world of acting and how I have improved today? 12/9/13
I have learnt that it is a lot harder to be an actor than
you think it is. To portray a good, believable play or monologue there are
lots of things you have to research and think about. You should never just pick
up a script and start acting straight away; today I have learnt some of the
processes you should follow, so that it does not look like you are pretending.
Today I learnt the science of acting and how to approach my script in the right
way.
The first is to work out the given circumstances, you need
to know the rules your character is living under and what has happened in their
lives. You need to be able to pick out parts of the text so that you can learn
more about their past. By learning about their past you will know how it may
affect them in present day. You also need to know the differences between a fact
and an opinion. A fact is something that is completely true and no one can say
it is wrong, whilst an opinion is something a different person or even the character
themselves will think about but not everyone will agree with it. By knowing what
these are we can suggest and figure out ways in which we can become our
character.
I also learnt today you need to ask questions to make an
acting situation real for yourself, to make a scene believable you need to be
able to visualise the room, and where all the objects are in order to make the
audience believe you really are in this environment. You need to know the date,
the time, is it late?, if so you may be tired, is it winter?, it might be cold in
the room, what era are you in? How should you be dressed? These factors all add
up to the main performance.
Today I have
learnt all these skills in order to improve the character but I have also improved
a lot. I now do not overthink as much because it makes the character seem fake.
Also, I have improved a lot on learning lines. I know now if lines are learnt
cold then they are easier to adapt and change which would not be the case if
you had learnt them in a certain rhythm or tone. Finally I have learnt in today’s
style of acting, physical objectives are extremely effective. They are needed to
show what the character is trying to achieve, by writing a verb for every line that’s
objective is different our instincts are able to portray the movement realistically
showing our purpose clearly and effectively.
I really enjoyed today’s lesson because I learnt lots of new tips about acting in a less pretending manner. It was quite difficult at times because there was lots of information to take in, however I know that these skills will improve my acting greatly and it has already began to show.
Skill Audit...
STUDENT NAME: Holly Garcia
Performance skills
· Voice (projection, control, accents, singing confidence)
· Characterisation -
· Rehearsal skills
· Movement/physical skills
· Different styles of acting (Comedy? Shakespeare? Emotional work?)
· Confidence in working with text
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Out
of 10
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Current skills and experience
Areas to improve
| |
Do you have skills or experience in any of the following?
|
Out of 10
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Current skills and experience
Skills to develop
| |
Other skills in the workplace
|
()
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Current skills and examples
Areas to improve
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Sunday, September 8, 2013
Lesson 1 Acting Skills
What is good acting?
Good acting is when someone can step into their characters shoes. It is when body language, facial expressions and voice is all combined together to portray a character. Good acting is when a person can leave all their personal feelings behind in order to bring a new character to life. It is when the audience is convinced that you really are a different person and not just pretending to be. Good acting also has to be important and worthwhile, it should try and challenge the audience to make them question themselves and take them on a journey with the character. Good acting is when a person's instincts are replaced with the character's instincts, it is when lines are said with meaning and a connection is made with the audience. It is when a person can use their personal experiences in order to relate to their character and their acting comes from the body not from the mind.
This is an example of good acting;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euFZvkAQOHk
I really love Jennifer Lawrence as an actress and in this film I believe she really did become the character. Her character is slightly crazy and angry and she really seems to be feeling these emotions. Her lines are said with great meaning to make the audience believe she is really going through a hard time right now and is slightly mental.
What is bad Acting?
Bad acting is when someone says their lines with no feeling or meaning. It is when there is no connection with the audience and doesn't make them think about the hidden meaning.It is when people don't learn their lines properly maybe making the lines easier for themselves and they don't turn up to every rehersal so they let down their group. It is when someone does not use the stages to build their character so it looks like they are pretending. It is when you don't work well with the other cast members and don't respect each other. Bad acting is when you don't listen to advice or read notes because you think you are always right. Bad acting is repetitive you should always keep your mind open. A trick for this is to remember the word rehearsal - if you break down the word down it becomes re - here - all. This means that we should always keep our ears open and not be stuck in our ways. Bad acting is when you find it extremely difficult to tackle hard issues so you can't take the step to satisfy your character's needs due to being scared of your own. Bad acting is when you are embarrassed to be playing your character, so it is unbelievable.
Kristen Stewart, I believe is an actress who doesn't use her facial expressions or change her tone of voice. I think in these films she shows hardly any emotion and doesn't really believe what she is saying. In addition her voice always sounds exactly the same and her body language is closed. I do not like the Twilight films because Kristen Stewart doesn't seem like she is putting any effort into her character.
Acting skills grading criteria
P1 Demonstrate competent use and control of technical and interpretive acting skills in practice and development.
M1 Demonstrate competent use and control of technical and interpretive acting skills, showing consistency in focus, response and effort in practice and development.
D1 Demonstrate competent use and control of technical and interpretive acting skills, showing imagination and insight and a high level of focus, response and effort in practice and development.
Assessing the lesson
In this lesson I believe I achieved a P1 grade which is a C. I think this because I was able to use technical and interpretive acting skills during the workshop, for example in the activity when we had to make our own character I was able to use the six stages (physicality, status, energy, emotional state, objective and voice) to create my character.
However I believe I could have improved my level by showing consistency in focus. During some of the activities I lost focus because some of the warm ups for example staring into somebody's eyes made me feel uncomfortable and want to hide. This meant I did not put as much effort into the activity and I lost concentration.
I also could not give myself an M1 or D1 grade because I did not participate as much as I could have. Next lesson I will contribute alot more in discussion so my ideas and thoughts can be shared and understood. Later in the lesson I did realise I needed to participate more so I volunteered to read part of the script, however I should have tried to contribute throughout the whole lesson not just near the end of it.
Overall I learnt alot in the lesson, I learnt the six techniques used to make a character, the difference between being the character and pretending to be and I did some written work, so I learnt how to put my thoughts onto paper. I really enjoyed the lesson and have gained alot of confidence so next time I won't be embarrassed I will go straight in there ready to work. When I first walked into the drama class I felt shy so I didn't put alot of energy into the workshop, however throughout the session I did become more confident. I realised I was in exactly the same position as everybody else so there was nothing to be afraid of and my views were important to.
I had alot of fun during the session, I learnt a few theatre words and I also learnt how to know what I'm good at and what I'm not. I know I'm good at script work because I find it easy to learn lines, however my improvisation, voice and research of the character needs to improve. There's always going to be things you are good at and things you aren't, but that's why I'm here,I'm here to learn and become the best I can be!
Over and out
Good acting is when someone can step into their characters shoes. It is when body language, facial expressions and voice is all combined together to portray a character. Good acting is when a person can leave all their personal feelings behind in order to bring a new character to life. It is when the audience is convinced that you really are a different person and not just pretending to be. Good acting also has to be important and worthwhile, it should try and challenge the audience to make them question themselves and take them on a journey with the character. Good acting is when a person's instincts are replaced with the character's instincts, it is when lines are said with meaning and a connection is made with the audience. It is when a person can use their personal experiences in order to relate to their character and their acting comes from the body not from the mind.
This is an example of good acting;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euFZvkAQOHk
I really love Jennifer Lawrence as an actress and in this film I believe she really did become the character. Her character is slightly crazy and angry and she really seems to be feeling these emotions. Her lines are said with great meaning to make the audience believe she is really going through a hard time right now and is slightly mental.What is bad Acting?
Bad acting is when someone says their lines with no feeling or meaning. It is when there is no connection with the audience and doesn't make them think about the hidden meaning.It is when people don't learn their lines properly maybe making the lines easier for themselves and they don't turn up to every rehersal so they let down their group. It is when someone does not use the stages to build their character so it looks like they are pretending. It is when you don't work well with the other cast members and don't respect each other. Bad acting is when you don't listen to advice or read notes because you think you are always right. Bad acting is repetitive you should always keep your mind open. A trick for this is to remember the word rehearsal - if you break down the word down it becomes re - here - all. This means that we should always keep our ears open and not be stuck in our ways. Bad acting is when you find it extremely difficult to tackle hard issues so you can't take the step to satisfy your character's needs due to being scared of your own. Bad acting is when you are embarrassed to be playing your character, so it is unbelievable.
Kristen Stewart, I believe is an actress who doesn't use her facial expressions or change her tone of voice. I think in these films she shows hardly any emotion and doesn't really believe what she is saying. In addition her voice always sounds exactly the same and her body language is closed. I do not like the Twilight films because Kristen Stewart doesn't seem like she is putting any effort into her character.
Acting skills grading criteria
P1 Demonstrate competent use and control of technical and interpretive acting skills in practice and development.
M1 Demonstrate competent use and control of technical and interpretive acting skills, showing consistency in focus, response and effort in practice and development.
D1 Demonstrate competent use and control of technical and interpretive acting skills, showing imagination and insight and a high level of focus, response and effort in practice and development.
Assessing the lesson
In this lesson I believe I achieved a P1 grade which is a C. I think this because I was able to use technical and interpretive acting skills during the workshop, for example in the activity when we had to make our own character I was able to use the six stages (physicality, status, energy, emotional state, objective and voice) to create my character.
However I believe I could have improved my level by showing consistency in focus. During some of the activities I lost focus because some of the warm ups for example staring into somebody's eyes made me feel uncomfortable and want to hide. This meant I did not put as much effort into the activity and I lost concentration.
I also could not give myself an M1 or D1 grade because I did not participate as much as I could have. Next lesson I will contribute alot more in discussion so my ideas and thoughts can be shared and understood. Later in the lesson I did realise I needed to participate more so I volunteered to read part of the script, however I should have tried to contribute throughout the whole lesson not just near the end of it.
Overall I learnt alot in the lesson, I learnt the six techniques used to make a character, the difference between being the character and pretending to be and I did some written work, so I learnt how to put my thoughts onto paper. I really enjoyed the lesson and have gained alot of confidence so next time I won't be embarrassed I will go straight in there ready to work. When I first walked into the drama class I felt shy so I didn't put alot of energy into the workshop, however throughout the session I did become more confident. I realised I was in exactly the same position as everybody else so there was nothing to be afraid of and my views were important to.
I had alot of fun during the session, I learnt a few theatre words and I also learnt how to know what I'm good at and what I'm not. I know I'm good at script work because I find it easy to learn lines, however my improvisation, voice and research of the character needs to improve. There's always going to be things you are good at and things you aren't, but that's why I'm here,I'm here to learn and become the best I can be!
Over and out
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