Tuesday 12th May 2015 - Peaks And The Policles Evaluation

Tuesday 12th May 2015
Peaks And The Policles Evaluation

Physical Skills - What Went Well

I think in this performance my extension was better than my last dance performance, this is good as this one of my targets to focus on. This was especially good in my arms as when we had to reach out to the models, during rehearsals I had worked on this a lot so that in the performance my extension would have had improved.

Even Better If -

This performance would have better if I had better balance and co-ordination, especially during the freeze fames , if my balance was better I would have been able to stay in the same position rather than having to put my foot down. This would have looked better as I would be still with everyone else as we were supposed to be in a freeze frame.

Interpretive Skills - What Went Well

When watching my performance back I thought that my facial expressions had improved a lot from the last performance, this meant that I was able to portray the theme of the dance to the audience better. This was also one of my targets and therefore I focused on this during rehearsals by using the mirrors in the dance studio so I could see what I was doing more clearly.

Even Better If -

My performance would have been better if I had better focus throughout, this is because I didn't have great special awareness, during the dance I occasionally bumped into other people and some of the set. This could have made the dance look messy to the audience, If I had worked on this It would have made the performance more fluid and clean.

My targets are -

• Balance and co-ordination - For my next performance I am going to work on my balance so that I can keep in one place for a longer amount of time without having to move. I am going to do this by doing different exercises regularly, such as standing on one leg and hold it for as long as possible and then on the other leg.
• Focus - This is particularly in terms of special awareness as when dancing it is important that you don't bump into anyone or anything. I am going to do this for my next performance and work with other people who are dancing around me to make sure that we can work around each other without bumping into each other.

Thursday 7th May 2015 - Set, Colour, Sound and Lighting

Thursday 7th May 2015 
Set, Colour, Sound and Lighting

Set And Props - In scene 3 we used bamboo sticks to represent the guns, these were taken off of the aborigines at the start of the play, this represents the English colony coming over to Australia and taking the land off of the original occupants. It suggests taking things that are not ours and thinking that we have the right to keep it. Throughout the play we used minamilistic simple props, this shows the audience that they didn't come over with a lot of things as there wasn't alot of space on the ship, this also suggests why all of the convicts were cramped together in the opening scene. In scene 6 we used a bench which was later used in the rowing scene and other stalls which were also reused. These were everyday items in the 1700s and so it wasn't unusual to have them, as they were reused it shows that because they were the first colony in Australia they had to make do with the simple items that they had. As well this we used a bamboo stick with ribbons attached to it to form the tent in which Harry sleeps in, this helps the audience visualise the scene. We didn't have a set to base around, this also shows the audience how little they had at this time.

Sound - In the opening scene when the audience were walking in, we had music playing, this is to create an atmosphere and also adds energy to the beginning. Then when we arrived Australia we heard some aboriginal music, this contrasts with the opening music, this also suggests the difference between the English people and the Aboriginies, there was also music in Harrys tent. In the tech run we decided to add in a gunshot into scene 3 when i shoot my gun, this is because without it, it didn't really make sense as the audience couldn't see that i had shot and the other officers comment on it. When the scene is based in a prison sound effects were used to sound like water droplets, this suggests that the environment is dirty with no plumbing, this makes it seem more realistic to the audience.


Lighting - The blue light represents the coldness on the ship and how the convicts all have to keep close to each other to be as warm as possible. In contrast to this the red represents the blood of the convicts after they have been punished, it also represents the fear of the convicts as they are terrified of all of the officers. We also used a UV light to enhance the aborigine marks, this gave a difference between them and the English. As well as this everyone has some paint on them, this represents that everyone is part savage, as it is a part of human nature.


Colour - All of the characters have different colours associated with them. For example all of the convicts ear a dull white/cream with brown and sometimes dull red. This symbolised all of the mud and dirt that the convicts have to live in as they are having to build things with their hands as there are no tools available to them, as well as this they probably don't wash and don't get given new clothes to wear so they are never clean. The dill red represents blood if the convict has been flogged, they would have been given no medical equipment and the wounds would have just been left. All of the officers wear red apart from the governor, who wears navy blue, this is because of his status. They also wear beige, white and black, their whites are not dull and worn out like the convicts as they do not have to work the land. The difference in colours represent the difference in power between the officers and convicts have, the convicts have the most basic clothing whereas the officers have expensive, fine clothing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Cyclorama


We used the cyclorama for two different concepts and was part of our set and background.

• Shadows - We did this twice, one when Ralph Clark is thinking about his wife Betsy Alicia, Amber stood behind the screen with someone holding out her skirt. This represents his lady and his thoughts towards her. We also used this at the end when Arscott goes out to say his first lines of "The Recruiting Officer".
• Projections - During the opening scene we had a projection of the see, we also used this when Harry is sick and the prison scene. Because we had minimalist set it helped the audience understand the difference between each scene. 

Tuesday 5th May 2015 - CATS Evaluation

Tuesday 5th May 2015
CATS Evaluation

Designer In The Jelicle Ball - During the jelicle ball I was a designer, this meant that I had to stand on the stage blocks holding my folder. I decided to have a confident attitude compared to some of the others who were shy and nervous. This meant that i had to use facial expressions to keep an expression that shows the audience that i have no nerves at all. We then had to walk up to Deuteronomy one at a time and show her our designs, when doing this i opened my folder and pointed at specific things, although this was part of the scene it was in the background. Therefore we ha to make sure that our movements were not too big and consequently draw attention from the main performers, as a result of this we had to keep our movements at a reasonable size. When walking i made sure that kept my head up and held my folder our on my arm, this also shows the audience that i am confident. We also had to sing in the ensemble parts, in rehearsals i found it harder to learn the "practical cats, dramatical cats..." part as there is no set tune to follow and there are a lot of different words to remember in order. To make sure that this was okay we had extra singing rehearsals where we just continually ran through it so that we would be able to remember. I thought that my singing in these ensemble parts were good as i knew the pitching, words and rhythm well so i could sing it confidently, i felt as though my diction was good especially when singing "cats" as i was making sure that i annunciated my "t"s. However i think that my breath control could have been better so that i wouldnt have to take so many breaths in the "practical cats, dramatical cats..." section, this would have made my performance smoother.

Journalist In Peaks And The Policles - I thought that this dance looked better in rehearsals as we had enough space in the dance studio, compared too the theatre where we were in a more confined space. However i thought that it looked okay, because of the spacing we had to change our tablos, as we didnt have enough time to change to our original places, this still looked good as we all kept to our original aims which was to fight to get the front so that we can reach the catwalk. Because of the change, this looked different on the first night compared to the second. I found it difficult when doing the motifs in our groups either side of the runway as when i had to roll there was a wall right next to me so i had to change my direction to make sure that i didnt bump into the wall or anyone else. Then we had to change into our partner bits, this wasnt as good as in rehearsals because my partner who was supposed to come behind me, didnt therefore this made it look like we were missing a person in the dance. We then had to sing "there are dogs out of every nation..." this wasnt as good as in rehearsals as well because in both shows some people didnt sing and therefore wasnt a strong and loud as it could have been. On the other hand i thought that i sung this well, i could have improved it by rehearsing more whilst dancing at the same time, this is because when i started dancing i noticed that my singing became weaker. In the first show i was supposed to move to the front for our solos, however i couldnt get through and i ran out of time so i had to stay in the same place to do it, on the second show i had enough time so i was able to move in time. I thought that when we did the barks, they were in time and were sung well, as a class we kept on the correct pitch as well as this i thought my extension was good as i fully stretched out my arms in this section. I also thought that my extension also good when we had to sink down and then rise up when Sophie was singing to us. As well as this i think that i had good dynamic variation especially when we finished fighting with each other, we were all supposed to freeze, i thought that my transition from that was quite quick and therefore looked good. At the end when Sophie sung "scattered like sheep" i thought that we all ran off quickly and therefore this didnt drag on the transition between the two scenes.

Singing And Dancing At The End - In the last part if the show i thought that the second night went better than the first this is because on the first show some of the ensemble singing at the end wasnt good as not everyone knew all of the words. However inbetween the two shows we has a singing rehearsal where we learnt all of the words and kept on running through them to make sure that we all knew what we were singing. In the second show our singing was all in time with each other and everyone was in time and on pitch. The dance wasnt as good as it could have been as there were so many people dancing in a small space. In the finale the year 12s were at the back doing a simple repeated motif, i thought that i performed this well as i used over the top facial expressions that fitted with the theme of the song. As well as this i fully extended my arms and kept my eyeline and focus up making my projection better.

Monday 4th May 2015 - CATS Research

Monday 4th May 2015
CATS Research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_(musical)

CATS is a musical that is based on "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by  "T. S. Eliot", in 1980 it was turned into a musical that was produced my Cameron Makintosh and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical has no dialogue and each song tells the story of a different type of cat. It opened on the west end in 1981 and with the same creative team on Broadway the following year, it was later revived in 2014 on the West End. Orginalli in London it ran for 21 years and 18 in New York. The musical has been translated into more than 20 languages and has also been made into a film.

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/cats-the-musical/images/234201/title/victoria-photo

Characters include...

• Gus the theatre cat, one of the oldest of the cats who used to be an actor.
• Grizabella, A former glamour cat and only wants to be accepted.
• Jennyanydots, an old gumbie cat
• Old Dueteronomy, The leader of the jelicle cats.

Andrew Lloyd Webber - He has composed many different plays including:

• The likes of us
• Joseph and the amazing technicolor coat
• Jesus christ superstar
• Evita
• Cats
• Starlights express
• The phantom of the opera
• Love never dies

He has also gained awards including, seven tony awards, three grammys, seven olives, a golden globe and an oscar as well as many others for his work. As well as this he owns six theatres includes the London Palladium and Drury Lane. In 1992 he was also knighted.

This information was found at http://www.andrewlloydwebber.com on 7th May 2015

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brainpickings.org%2F2013%2F04%2F11%2Ft-s-eliot-old-possum-book-of-practical-cats-gorey%2F&ei=Ak9KVauAN4HfU_fvgMgL&bvm=bv.92765956,d.bGQ&psig=AFQjCNGwBXSXu-SeDnYvzJg8TJXb6GWrUw&ust=1431019626145278

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresellerbajudisoloshop.besaba.com%2Fold%2Fold-possums-book-of-practical-cats-harvest-book-t-s-.html&ei=Q09KVYDdFcWsUcCOgPgK&bvm=bv.92765956,d.bGQ&psig=AFQjCNFm3rvb4BqB3k0gOU2F-VWe4SgLLg&ust=1431019708134704

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.afterellen.com%2Fpeople%2F215526-the-afterellen-com-huddle-our-favorite-poets&ei=dVBKVb2VAYnxUr3cgNAK&bvm=bv.92765956,d.bGQ&psig=AFQjCNFm3rvb4BqB3k0gOU2F-VWe4SgLLg&ust=1431019708134704

T.S Elliott - He was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1888, he attended Harvard university earning an undergraduate, a masters degree and a doctorate in philosophy. Later he lived in London working as a teacher and then for Lloyds bank. Ezra Pound recognised his talent for writing poems and assisted him in the publication of thee poems in a number of magazines. In 1927 he became a British citizen and was associated with the publication house, Faber and Faber. In 1948 he received the nobel prize for Literature and later died in London on January 4th 1965.

These are some examples of the poems that in the book of practical cats written by T.S Elliott, they were written in the 1930s and were published in 1939 by "Faber and Faber". The original book was illustrated by T.S Elliott himself but when it was republished in 1940, it was fully illustrated by "Nicolas Bently". However other versions have also been illustrated by "Edward Gorey" in 1982 and "Axel Scheffler" in 2009.

This information was found at 

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/t-s-eliot on 7th May 2015

Directors Interpretation - In Worthing colleges version of CATS the concept was changed, so that instead of cats the characters were people who worked in the fashion industry. For example "Old Dueteronomy"  wasn't the leader of the Jelicle cats but the top editor of Deuteronomy designs.

London Fashion Week - This is a clothing trade show held in February and September as well as New York, Milan and Paris. It is organised by the British fashion council it first took place in 1984. It is attended by over 5,000 press and has estimated orders of between £40-100 million. The UK fashion industry supports around 797,000 job. The show is currently hosted at Somerset House and features over 150 designers.