10th September tuesday

 

10^th September Tuesday

To start the day we started by sitting Semi Supine to stimulate relaxation in the body and adjusting positions of the spine. Stanislavski was a big believer in an actor being able to relax he encouraged actors to feel relaxed so they could get in touch easily with their emotions and truly become the character he believed it help an actor know his surroundings and to focus on the character in more detail.

We played a game in theatre called the I DON’T BELIEVE YOU game which is where an actor is given a situation and the rest of us watch and they perform this situation to us and if we do not believe them we simply say and tell them why and they have to repeat the situation I think this is a great game as it allows us if acting the situation to find out what an audience see as realistic acting or what we can change and if we are watching then we get to still see how different actors think a situation will work out and compare to what we believe will happen.

One of Stanislavski methods was the Magic If method so in this exercise we were told to pick someone we had seen on the way to school but did not know.  Think we picked a random person to make us think more on the certain details of the person and his characteristics. We had to transform into this person physicals and remembering that we cannot actually be this person as we are only acting as them but we could change the physicals between us and the people we picked. We were given a bit of time to study the way this person moved and what they did and the weight of them. As actors we were then given MAGIC IFS to see how we thought this person would react to these situations so while walking round the room Sarah would shout out a What if for example

 ...what if you found £20 on the floor

...what if you stood in dogs shit

...what if you had a cup of coffee spilt over you

...what if you had lost your wallet

And we were to respond at first I felt a bit challenged as I did not know this persons personality only physicality so it left room for the actor to use imagination of their character for finding £20 I chose that I would pick it off the ground but do it only when people were not looking as I am a well-dressed man and should not be seen picking money off the street. The dog shit was a bit more difficult as my character has a bad leg and broken arm so thinking how he would move and where he would go to get rid of this off his shoe I chose to go to a near wall and wipe it up against it as the man I was watching may have been going to work and hurrying so needed to find the quickest place. The cup of coffee I acted as if he was angry and shouting at someone as he was on way to work and now his clothes were ruined. Lost wallet was panicked and looking round the ground and just retracing his steps as this man seems to me like he would keep a lot of money on debit card in bank and does not want to lose it. As an actor this work got me thinking about when reading a script and how much there is left for the actor to decide on how to play the character as some writers will tell you exactly what this person should be like and leave no room for the actor to make a decision.

We then got into pairs where we used the same character but this time we had to imagine what would happen if these two people met and what would the situation but during rehearsing these pieces we stopped and looked at the Given Circumstances which Stanislavski states is ‘the plot,the facts, the incidents, the period, the time and place of the action.’ Having the facts of the performance and what is happening as an actor can help you give more truthful performance as it allows the mind and body know the setting and time and this may help you understand how your character felt and why this happens.

In the scenes we made next we were told to think about WANT > DO > FEEL

The want in a scene is what is your characters objective in the scene and then the do is how are you going to do this action and the feel is what your character is feeling in our scene my objective was that my character wanted to get to work but was already late and has to deal with rude people. For Stanislavski and objective was called a UNIT and through the script if you had one you would break it down into units to show what you were doing in scene. Knowing what you want in the scene helped us keep focused on what the end goal is at the scene and you must remember what you are wanting to do as your objective to achieve it. For lines in our scene we were not allowed more than 4 lines for each character which was useful as the scenes were only to be short and the two

characters we had were not people that would normally talk to each other. While watching the different scenes we as a class were able to see the different objectives in each piece as sometimes an objective can be so simple and with these small scenes they were.

We then started a small scene called hello with characters but in different pairs and to start this piece we went through the script and at each line we were to write next to it what the objective of this line was for example to inform or to question the scene we created was a man lonely and had just had some upsetting news while his friend is trying to get him out of the house. It was mind blowing to see all these scenes with the exact same script but with all these different meaning and the chemistry between the actors.

The next we looked at the I love you script and it was the same principles of the last scene so we went through the text and found the objective and then set the scene as an actor repeating these methods is a good way for them to stick into your mind so you will always remember to do this.

The class then went on to look at the act one cherry orchard and annotated the text and split it off into units depending on the story and looked into the characters we also went into the role of the stage directions which is to inform actors on the setting of a scene and what happens when talking is happening or not happening.

Now when I look at text I am able to pull out what are facts and I can also pull out information about a character and the scene which is happening.

Tuesday 2nd September

Performance workshop

In the morning we started off in with a roll cool where we told Will was not in for the day so are three classes were merged together which gave us a chance to interact with others outside of our class. In acting epically in a class I think it is a great opportunity to act with as many new people as you can and learn of each other.

As there was not much space in 413 we moved the class down to the lecture theatre we then were asked to walk around the space and leave no gaps of empty space then Simon would speak out Archetype characters as we were told this is what people would perform in olden theatre they would just look at the characteristic and only become these characters which I feel was lazy and not really acting for example

The Hero : body image for this was chest puffed out chin high to show status and he is important you would also place arms in position to make muscles look big.

The Damsel : would have the expression of fear or fright on face normally falling back to show they need to be saved and hands up to show they can’t fight and they are helpless.

The Villon : normally seen as gross or disformed as it was something people should be afraid of, so something not normal was wrong with it maybe a hunchback you would normally lead from the nose for you to be grotest and look like a rat.

Mother : shoulders back and proud but also protective normally holding a child and has a caring inviting face.

Henchman: near to the Villon but normally different in a big aspect maybe height or intelligence or facial expression

Prince : proud so has shoulders back and chin up and walks with the body as a straight line to show his class looks down on people.

We done this exercise to just get us into the flow of what people in that age as actors would do on stage it helped us understand the difference that Stanislavski made in the industry.

After this we were told about melodrama as that what these characters were they were over the top and nothing was left to the audience’s imagination then we were ask to make a 2 minuet piece of melodrama it could be anything we wanted as long as we had these characters.

For our show I was the damsel and was locked away in cage and a hero was coming to rescue me from the evil villain. We then went on to show all of them in front of the class. I think we did this for fun but also to see what we had been told that morning and to feel like an audience member in the time before naturalistic acting.

After the shows we were asked to discuss why they were good but there was a question that someone said it was what the difference between stereotypes and archetype is?

The answer is that an archetype is an original mould of a character that people know universally and a stereotype is just a perception of someone and may not be real and can be offensive.

After this we went onto break then after we gathered in the hut by the main building where we were going to spend the day learning about naturalistic acting

Naturalistic acting is near the opposite to melodrama you want the audience to think this is a real life situation and nothing is an act in the piece. To learn how to do this we started by getting into groups and were told just to make a normal situation. My group decided to do a family getting ready in the morning for work and school and the only problem was taking little parts of what us as kids do every morning or the conversations we have with people when showing are piece the audience said it was natural and it is what they say daily to their parents so my group were pleased after all the groups were told to shorten their pieces I think we were told to do this so the teachers could know that we were able to pull out only the key moments of the show and being able to see the difference between a short section or long section of naturalistic acting and if there was actually any difference in the acting or performance. If my group were to do the short performance again I think we may have tightened up a few parts of it but overall it was really well put together. As an impact the idea of being told to shorten a piece would be a challenge but when you break it down to only key moment it turns out to be more easy than originally before.

We were also asked to do this for the play The Cherry Orchard and only pull out key moment we believed to be useful to the show my new group decided to do still images that came to a life for a line to describe the image being made I do think that the performance we gave was poor and if had a chance again it would be much more better but during the rehearsal we did get into some great conversations and different ideas of the books and characters. As an actor looking at this old play and being able to already know key moments without re reading a play is a great trait to have I the industry as you will know points of a play even if you can’t remember every detail throughout your career.

Overall the day was really progressive and we got a lot done for four lessons work and I am really liking how lessons are going and can’t wait to carry on a grow as an actor with techniques and learning all these new things. 

29th August Friday

29^th August Friday

As today was mostly admin for GCSE results there is not a lot to talk about apart from each performances.

We started off the day with 45 minutes to run through are performance and make sure everything is sharpen and no mistakes can be made. I see this as necessary because as a performance anything you perform in you want it to be done to its best ability and to be proud of your work no matter how big or small the show is.

Group 1 Simon’s tutor

Group 1’s decisions on how to represent what freedom means in the way through different events happening in the middle of a circle so all the audience could see and hear at least part of the performance. I like how they touched on sensitive issues such as gender socialisation and how the government watching us with cameras and phones. It really made people think about life and descions they make. As an audience member I felt empowered and strong epically after Leanne part when society blogs her because of what she likes. My favourite part about the small performance was not only the meaning of being free from societies forts but also the speech at the end, delivered by Sonia as she really went for it and gave that small speech with heart and soul it helped me see how not just in Russia but the whole world are judged on petty things such as gender and interests in the world.

Group 2 Will’s class

Wills tutor used more props and staging than the other groups which I do respect and well for the performance but I think the first performance was effective because there was no set and everything was made from the body. Wills show how ever was about the new and old Russia shown through the use of movement of dance from the past and the present day and how things have changed. The order Russia was represented as dance (A time to be free.) Then power came in and this was shown through the use of different levels to suggest power which I think was very useful for audience to understand the difference between the common people and higher authorities and how Russia was taken over and the civilians were then controlled by their government and forced to work themselves to death by the end of the show. Throughout the show however there were specific movement which I believe were very truthful for example how works nearly dying but two other actors pulling them up and down to keep them working shows the characters were exhausted. My favourite part of the show was when Alice got up on the blocks and was dancing to show the difference between times and how different generations act and react as you could see all the ball room dancers starring at this girl wondering what she is doing. We would be the exact same reaction looking back at how people danced and reacted then. It made me feel a connection into the show.

All the shows performed had aspects and parts that everyone in the audience could relate to if it was being judged by society or power over throwing a weaker person or a perfect or sad memory that you always remember. As a member of an audience this makes you feel special in some way and that you are a part of performance and sometimes that’s what the audience want to feel. To be engaged in the show.

WELL DONE everyone and welcome to the family !!

28th August Thursday

28^th August Thursday

The first day back for 6^th form after a long summer ready to dive into some work.

During the morning we walk into the room I accidently went to the wrong assembly causing me to be late. Walking into the room and seeing all the new faces I had the feeling this was going to be a good two years.

After speeches and introducing to teachers for the next two years we split of into tutors for the chance to get to know more people. We started off with an exercise where we had to remember 3 interesting facts of the student standing next to us and then go tell that information to someone else. I think the reasons for this were to learn about people in the room but instead of just speaking to them after this we went onto the hugging game (very competitive) (you will get hurt) a name is shouted out and you must have that number of people hugging just to get us connected a bit more, same as the hand and feet game where a number of hands and feet touching the ground is given to a group of 6 and they must only have that number touching the floor. I’m glad we played these games as if we didn’t I don’t think we would have been as comftable with each other in the tutor and it gave us the chance to connect. My favourite part of tutor was standing in a circle and each having to RAP a few lines about yourself I’m not sure if it would have been easier if we knew the people in the room or if it was a good thing we didn’t.

We all split off into smaller groups and discussed the play The Cherry Orchard which was to be read over the summer holidays. My group discussed the main themes of the play and the character and how they were different or hidden meanings to their characters. This little group was insightful it opened me up to more ideas that I did not think of while reading the book for example The Cherry Orchard may have represented Russia and all the happy memories from childhood. We then went on into different groups to pick out lines from a different act each that linked to the thought of memories or the past.Right from the start of the play there is links to the past after the break these groups we went into devised a minute piece all to do with memories my group focused on the thought of every time you remember something you forget a little bit off that thought. My group tried to show an audience this by being the same person but going through different times and forgetting bits of stories. After the first time just going through our piece I was happy and when all the groups re-joined in tutor to share theirs I knew this was going to be a piece I was proud of, Sarah also took the idea of The Cherry Orchard and made an ensemble piece where we plant a seed and say facts about the memory at the start This was an excellent decision as right from the start it will be able to show the other tutors that we were performing to the day after that are piece was about memory. For the end of our piece we needed something and there was an exercise we had used earlier that day that was perfect to fit in with the piece where we described to someone while they have eyes closed and they must draw it with hands leaving their imagination to picture it.

After leaving that day I was really happy and engaged with the ideas of the day and excited about showing the other tutors the next day.

The Cherry Orchard over the summer

The cherry orchard

Two of the main characters

Mrs Ravensky throughout the play the elements unfold as at first we see her as a rich woman who has great estate and has the wealth to travel to the likes of Paris. As the story goes on we find she has tragedy happen to her many times from her boy who dies before the present day and then the loss of her husband. This leads her to have a face of happiness on the outside but her emotional state to be questionable and if she is capable to hold on to this estate. It is as her love confuses her at times in the play and it leads her to make bad decisions. And this is how her estate is in trouble due to her spending of money that you notice through the play. She seems to expierence visions of the past in the play ( her mother walking through the cherry orchard ) this shows audience she can’t let go of the past and the fact she returns to Paris at the end of the play reinforces this as she runs back to be with her new lover she craves the feeling of love.

Lopakhin we instantly find out due to a flash back at the start of the play that this now business man use to be a peasant but has always been with the estate as before laws changed his grandparents owned his family. He seems to be very on his feet when around Mrs Ravensky as if he is self-conscious of what she think of him as both character go back to their past it shows a contrast of how he as a peasant was worse off than Mrs Ravensky. The fact he buys the estate and marries Varya is to spite Mrs Ravensky as he is now a part of the upper-class family even though their family were rude and cruel to his parents and their parents. It is like he hasn’t got gratitude to Mrs Ravensky for what she did for him as a young child or her kindness.

 A student at the university in the local town, who knows Mrs Ranevsky from tutoring her son Grisha before he died.  He has spent most of his adult life at university studying new things. He is concerned by human health as he studied peasants and their life of low income. In ways he is an outsider so brings a different view to events happening in the show and this allows the audience to consider new views and ideas of the paly just through one character.

My opinion of the play is that it is structured and well written but some of the story did not make that much sense to me, I don’t know if that is because I am from a new generation and we have had open access to much more tragic stories and events. Meaning we don’t pity the characters as they are losing an estate. I would not have believed this was meant to be a comedy as I didn’t really see or maybe understand any humor in the play. But past the negatives it is a strong story and has a lot of details and great characters that can be brought to life in many different ways as they are only described briefly in the play.

Stanislavsky over the summer

Stanislavsky

Constantin Stanislavsky was born with the real name of Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev, which really shocked me but reading further into this I realized many actors did this just like performers today as a stage name. His lifer started in Moscow Russia in 1863 but started getting into theatre when he came into his teenage years. He then went on to be one of the most recognized actor and director due to his methods of acting.

I was intrigued when I read that in this time as an actor in Russia the director did not really have a say in how the show went but it was more the actors and the director just overlooked the show to make sure it came together.

The name Stanislavski came about from a ballerina that he had watched as a young boy. It was no wonder he got into acting as his family were frequent visitors of the opera and at a young age they converted a room in the house of the family into a theatre for the kids to perform and them to entertain guest.

Constantin wanted to know the difference of the character and the acting and personality acting and how could he be creative on stage with characters. He was also responsible for founding the Society Of Art and Literature. He fell for a teacher and as they married she helped pursue the question he had about acting with her husband. He also opened the Moscow Art Theatre with the desire to make it different to theatre around the world at the time. With plays such as The Petty Bourgeois, An Enemy of the People and The Blue Bird. And had prominent roles in several works, including The Cherry Orchard and The Lower Depths. The theatre company went on to do tours and would later be recognized by the community of acting as a fresh perspective of acting. Although there was criticism after the 1900s that he did not perform communist work in the theatre.

The Stanislavski System/ The Method was brought about in the early years of the Moscow Theatre and trying to teach actors deep and meaningful acting on stage to give the audience a thrilling show and for people to believe the story. He believed actors could achieve this by reaching real emotions on stage that related to the character or were the same way the character would have been feeling He tried to come up with methods that actors could train to find the Motivation of the character this would give the show a depth and an unassuming naturalistic act. It was to show natural people on stage , to make it so hard for the audience to know the difference between an act or real life.

Some of his methods were:

The Magic what if method: where an actor would ask them what would I do if I was in this situation and work on the difference or similarities between the characters reaction and their own

Re-education: an actor would re-think or re-educate how they should walk look and sound on stage in front of an audience.

Observation: This was to people watch and focus on how others act and try and adapt what they do to your character, if needed.

Motivation: This was to ask you self what is my task right now as my character what am I doing on stage at this point.

Emotional memory : For an actor to actually feel the same emotion that the character would feel and to perform this on stage by going into your past and picking out different emotions you felt at certain times

The book holds much more and towards the end of the book goes into how to work on these methods and skills through the use of information for example facts or by demonstration with pictures and step by step guides. Some of the techniques and thought are amazing to read and to learn.