unit 1-4 Week 8

UAL - Level 3 PaPA - Acting Pathway - Unit 1 - 4

~Ilonka Flora

Week 8

6.11.17

Today we went through the play then took feedback from Sharon. We attempted to do the entire play with no script and no speaking. The feedback is:
 that the noise levels were relatively good. She also told us, now that we are familiar with the words, we should enjoy our role more and try and be creative with how went to express them. Rehearsal time must be used well because these are the only times we have together before the show. The balcony scene in which Juliet speaks to Romeo and the fighting scene all bring a good amount of energy. We should also be aware of each other, don't rush our actions and lines, glide through them, it's okay to pause. The first fight scene in scene 1 is great but it needs sound, noise. Scene 2 had good energy and good effort, in Scene 3, Lady Capulet should follow the nurse out instead of the nurse following her out because Lady Capulet says 'we follow thee'. Mercutio and Romeo should bring more energy and effort to the dance and perhaps consider Tango for humour. The balcony scene had good intent, we discussed maybe giving her a flower prop so she's thinking about Romeo, possibly doing the 'he loves me, he loves me not'. in Scene 8, Kenya takes her time to set the scene which is a good thing, it isn't rushed. Sharon observed that everyone began to lose focus in Scene 12 and that we should mark this and remember to stay focused, especially at this point in the play. Sharon's advice to Abdul as Benvolio is not to take too long to tell the story, seeing as Abdul has perceived his character as a peaceful and slow character, he must not confuse it with boring. in scene 16 there needs to be more physicality between Romeo and Juliet and emotion. During the end of this scene, we lost focus backstage and we need to practice to stay focused because it's normal to lose focus at one point, but we need to be aware when that happens so we can avoid disruption. In the last scene a lot of actors will be entering so there needs to be spatial awareness otherwise it's 'kiss or kill' which is when you're too close to the other actors which means that they're so close there must be only two possible motives: to kiss or to kill.


7.11.17

Today we went to the Shaw theatre to check out our stage and what space where are working with. we need to think ahead on which side we should be off stage so we can enter into our scene from the right direction, also when coming off stage think of which side you will be coming on from in the next scene and exit that way, However, we luckily have a dressing room that connects the sides backstage so if any mistakes are made, it is fixable. Many actors need to be aware of the space on stage especially when they are the main characters in the scene, they need to be able to find center stage and also cheat with their feet which is, standing with one foot facing the actor and the outer foot facing the audience, so that the voice projection is more directed at the audience and they can also observe properly otherwise it becomes a conversation between two people. We also need to be aware of our ensemble and be improvisational by filling up any empty gaps on stage.


 8.11.17

Today we planned how we would organise what we would do for the upcoming days and week before the play on a chart, discussing dress rehearsal and what days to bring suggestive clothes, and talking about how details need to be spoken about now... so it can be added as soon as possible.
We went through the play editing some scenes with little details so that they make sense such as the noise that needs to be created during the fight in the first scene in order for Capulet (Gabriel) to say his line 'What noise is this?'. We focused on the last scene where Romeo and Juliet lie dead and characters such as Capulet and Montague, Lady Montague and the prince are reacting to this, it's important that we polish the scene because this is the last scene and this is what everyone will walk away remembering, it must leave an impression. Sharon was directing Brad on how to react when seeing that his son is dead, with a bit more shock and hesitation, he falls to his knees and mourns by himself... his wife lady Montague has passed too. When Capulet pulls him up into a brotherly hug, I observe that everyone smiles, it creates this bittersweet moment. It took their children's lives in order for them to unite. That is a great example of characterisation. The prince ends the play whilst communicating to the audience that this is the story of Romeo and Juliet.


 9.11.17
Today we went over the play once with Sharon, we added details, to add humour, for example during the big fight scene that both Tybalt and Mercutio are killed, Jaychelle and I are the onlookers. When the fight begins, Jaychelle runs on stage because of the commotion and runs back pulling me towards the stage, I act clueless 'til I realise there's a fight, me and her keep on observing whilst anxious because we do not want to get dragged into this big fight. Jaychelle runs off first and I stay on really captured by this big show of violence and there's a point when I look to Jaychelle to see her reaction but I realise she has run off, so I quickly scatter off the stage too. In this scene me and Jaychelle had stage presence even though we are just onlookers, the audience can still see us so we used our body language to project the feelings of excitement yet anxiety. The play flowed very well, Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio ( played by Jeremy, Kamal and Abdul) were really engaging with the audience, breaking the wall that we had built up in the beginning of this course. Mercutio (Kamal) really understands his perception of his character, he has characterised his character well even from the way he talks when in character. In the first scene where the servants' fight evolves into an even bigger fight with Capulet and Montague, as Lady Montague, I've really been working on her character. I believe the way I've presented her time after time has changed just like how my opinion of her changes too. This time she grabbed her husband, Montague and held him tight around his arms, and she was really wrapped around him like she needs him desperately (for financial security). When the Prince enters stopping the fight once and for all, his 'long' speech instantly bores her as I look down to inspect my nails. This shows how shallow my character is. Sharon's feedback was that the play is doing pretty good except the noise levels backstage is incredibly distracting and it needs to stop.