BTEC Performing Arts - Logs

Wednesday 4th July     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUTWreajKE0     This is the video of the extract as I performed it in lesson for my final piece for Sarah Kane. I think that it was fairly successful in portraying the intensity and anger of The Soldier, but in the moment I lost that conversational and offhand tone I'd experimented  with. If I were to perform this again I would incorporate more of that element in the speech as I think it suited his character well and would be more unsettling and fit with Kane's shocking style. However, out of the context of the scene I feel it was still effective as a monologue and exemplified the message that I think Kane was putting across; about challenging the social norm in our society of ignoring the awful crimes in distant wars because they do not directly affect us and making us acknowledge these issues are really, in all their horror.

Whilst I was rehearsing my monologue, I experimented with different intonations and emphasis and tried a range of emotions behind certain points in the speech. I felt that since his character has seen and committed unspeakable things, he would be unlikely to get upset in a choked-up way when he was talking about what happened to Col as it seems he's had a lot of time to come to terms with it and has thought about it a lot. Therefore I felt that section would be more of an angry tone as this event is what fuels his desire for revenge and the cruelty he talks about in his scene. Yet there could still be an element of pain for him when he remembers it as it was undoubtedly a traumatic experience, so I tried to incorporate that too. 1st run through of monologue Just before he says to "tell them you saw me", the Soldier says how when he goes home, "it's like it never happened"; I thought about how this is a kind of paradox for the Soldier as, in a...

Backup Link:  https://youtu.be/wOKjmsnfwQk

Wednesday 27th June Backup Link:  https://youtu.be/i144f9f_9p0

Wednesday 27th June Backup Link:  https://youtu.be/sgfXm6kGuPM

Wednesday 20th June Below are clips of analysis for the extracts in rehearsal: Full run:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oTeemMW9xY Full run:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EipA7-L9MIU Backup link:  https://youtu.be/IP19MyUbu9o

Wednesday 13th June  In this week's lesson we discussed how Brecht used the idea of 'gestus' in his work and began to think about how we could use it or how it would effect different aspects of 'Our Country's Good' (as pictured below). Gestus is the idea that the gestures, body language, movement and voice of a character should be should be deliberately used and exaggerated to heighten the social comment Brecht (or the playwright) was making by using that character. The social message is therefore enhanced by that character's costume and surroundings, for example using period uniform to show the authority and era of the authorities on the convict camp. Below are some examples we analysed in class of how Brecht used elaborate costume and sets in his work to maintain the historicism of his plays. Here are some of our own ideas on how we could possibly stage some of the scenes from 'Our Country's Good' if we had the funds and ...

Wednesday 6th June Helene Weigel - 'silent scream' as Mother Courage        Backup Link:  https://youtu.be/GThiHpoBIyo

Thursday 24th May Overall, I think that the piece was successful in fulfilling the clients' wishes as the "Survival Guide" structure of the piece and our identifying different key themes with the "chapters" allowed us to specifically address each of the main ideas they wanted us to. For example, we were able to look at small worries like getting lost or forgetting things to bigger fears around friendships and bullying, as well as reinforcing the idea that actually moving up to secondary school is really exciting and everyone is a little bit nervous so none of them will be alone in feeling these things. By using sections of facilitation such as the Game Show section that encouraged rapid problem solving and the use of forum theatre to resolve the bullying section, we also showed the Y6's that they are fully capable of coping with some of the things they may be worried about and finding positive solutions. By using high-energy and high-involvement f...

Wednesday 23rd May Backup Link:  https://youtu.be/gEH52Mwmf9Q

Wednesday 16th May Backup link:  https://youtu.be/E7iG6K9FLik

Friday 11th May Backup link:  https://youtu.be/2WBYy0cDTEE

Wednesday 9th May Backup link:  https://youtu.be/u24XDDA76NA

Wednesday 2nd May Below is an image of the revised seating arrangement for the audience to both allow a better perspective of the stage for all audience members and to break them up to make it easier for us to facilitate. Backup link:  https://youtu.be/2WBYy0cDTEE

Wednesday 18th + 25th Backup link:   https://youtu.be/rZQGyBdOQ6U

Tuesday 3rd April Backup link:  https://youtu.be/Tu_7douDsig

Wednesday 7th March Backup link:  https://youtu.be/ul9mG8vD500

Tuesday 27th February Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com All photos from Gecko's website/social media platforms

Wednesday 14th February Backup link:  https://youtu.be/YqiP2Nbco1Q

Wednesday 14th February Link:  https://youtu.be/tiqoCkTpGn4

Wednesday 7th February  Link: https://youtu.be/jX0hOMukHUo

Wednesday 7th February Link:  https://youtu.be/Ct1NobEU2k8

Wednesday 31st January Below are images of our adapted script after feedback and devising the forum section more clearly: Link:  https://youtu.be/8eKYT_B6VZU

Wednesday 10th + 17th January Link:  https://youtu.be/hJBIaFtDPjQ

Tuesday 19th December Below are some images of Siobhan's final costume as 'Amy' for the end performance. The worn and ripped clothes were very effective and we had some fun before the performance finding some mud outside to crawl around in to add to the look of Amy having lived outside in a hedge for a number of weeks. Furthermore, the smaller cut added to the sense that she had been left by herself for so long that it had begun to heal slightly and under stage lights looked very effective as it caught the light and looked quite sickly. The dirt, blood and tattered clothing juxtaposed entirely with the rest of the cast's clothing and made Amy stand out even more and really added to the uncomfortable atmosphere of the scene. Also, below is a collated version of my rough initial plan for directing and photos of my directing notebook containing some of my notes and changes as the rehearsal process progressed - refer to my previous logs for a more in-depth revi...

Saturday 16th Dec Also, for the character of Amy, I wanted Siobhan's costume to try and look like she had actually fallen down a mineshaft and been living outside in a hedge for an extended period of time. Siobhan brought in some old clothes that we then ripped and stressed using scissors to make holes and worn patches on her jeans and jumper to make her physically appear shocking to look at add to the effect of her reappearance in the play after she has been presumed dead. I also wanted to use stage make up to give her some kind of cut on her head for where the stone the rest of the gang threw had hit her, and give her bruises and be covered in mud etc to emphasise the violence she had suffered and again, clearly show the trauma and make her appearance more uncomfortable for both the audience and the rest of the gang to be able to see exactly what they'd done to this girl. I experimented with different sizes and types of wounds to give her and decided a smaller ...