Week 48

 Monday 3rd February 2025 

We started the day off with a few warm ups, just getting our thoughts flowing by focusing on some improve using a game specialised to encourage it. I personally found this warm up to be really effective as it was the job of the individuals to put themselves in the scene and move the activity forward. This was also a very good character game, and encourages us all to accommodate the scene with a suitable character  quite quickly and rapidly.

We then moved onto our main activity of the day, focusing on group devising and characterisation- the stimulus for this activity was the song yesterday by the Beatles and we were encouraged to think outside of what we initially assume the song might be about (this being the end of a relationship). At first when approaching this activity our group were struggling to settle on a fixed idea, and for me when it comes to devising I find it quite stressful in the begining because I panic and want to make something I'm 100% happy with straight away- instead of taking the time to experiment with trial and error. We all had some great ideas, although all very different, so instead we decided to push them all together following a concept of reflection, focusing on one individual remencing on past/current relationships that have changed as they've gotten older. This concept not only included all of our ideas and allowed us to really collaberate, but also followed a clear relatable message which made the piece more emotinal. Personally I feel that devising is something I need to get more used to it in a way, because I find that I get too fixed on the end result that I forget the journey it takes to get there which courses me to initially dislike the process. 

Tuesday 4th February 2025 

Are session begins later on a Tuesday, so I spent the morning in the LRC just catching up on some blog work, before continuing to focus on my People Places and Things work. My action plan when it comes to my showcase work is to learn all of my dialogue and then later on build the scene around it. This is because the other actors in the scene don't really say much at all, with the whole scene being fuelled by my character whilst they react around me. So i spent the first hour focusing on my lines. 

The cast of Bright young things then had a read through scheduled so i went and met up with the cast and cracked on with the read through. Bright young things is a project being directed and run by two of the actors in the class, and is something I decided to audition for at the start of this term. This is a new project that I'm really excited for, as the character I play is quite fun and energetic- which are my stronger suits so I'm looking forward to delving into them more throughout the process. The character work for this character is also quite complicated as they have OCD so i'll get to delve into and do some focused research on the condition as well. 

Wednesday 5th February 2025 

We started off our session today by organising our separate cast/groups for both Normalised and DNA- highlighting both production roles and character subtext/relationships. This also included rehearsal schedules and deadlines for being off script, basically just figuring out an action plan for how we are going to approach our projects to get the strongest and most efficient out come. I'm currently spread across three different productions, which I'm really grateful for but it does mean that I'll have to use my time very wisely to make sure I'm ready and prepared for rehearsals, but also so I can be a team player within each individual cast I'm in. I'm actually quite excited for this challenge, because I know that having to switch between three different roles continuously, along with my showcase character is no easy task- but I know that because of it I will become a stronger performer who is more equipted  to take on the stress and the anxiety of being a performer, which is definitely something I want to work on as overthinking and anxiousness is something that impacts my joy when performing. This challenge will also allow me to build up stronger time management and memorisation skills- overall making me a stronger and more prepared performer. I then shifted my focus from my DNA cast to normalised- doing a read through with my group, and then blocking the second scene in the play. This scene is a really fun one for both Rosa and Bo and because it's centred around a game of football between the two characters, although it's also made quit complicated because we don't actually have a football,  and instead rely on trust and focus to create the illusion of one. This scene also explores quite a few emotional layers and the journey throughout is something thats going to require a bit of practise to nail. 

I then moved back to my DNA cast as they began blocking the first scene. My character of Brian in DNA isn't massive and doesn't deliver loads of dialogue instead the emotion and his story line all comes through on his face and dynamic with the other characters he interacts with throughout. I'm the assistant director on this project so sat out out  for a couple of sections just to help smooth out the blocking and placement. This production role is also quite a stretch for me as I'm not a natural leader in the way of controlling a cast of people so getting a chance to push myself with this element of responsibility and creative freedom is another great opportunity for my progression.   

We then finished the session with a little look at a new practitioner called Rudolf Laban- a dance practitioner that's created techniques, helpful for creating physical theatre.