the space

Week 10

Lesson 10 - 3rd April

In this weeks lesson we completed blocking act 1, so the next weeks will be for cleaning up.

I think this weeks lesson was successfully because:

• I feel i was concentrated and focused 
• I new most of my lines and ran through once without a script 
• Everyone remained focused

I learnt that knowing my lines really helped me get to grips with the blocking more because it forced me to actually know what scene and line is coming next, in comparison to relying on my script. I learnt how to keep an audience engaged by keeping up the energy using my face and body.

Things i'm going to do for next week:

• Learning my lines fully, so i am confident 
• Continue to keep energy up
• Help and encourage the other chorus members to do the same 
• Work more with Willa (pip) so it is clear to the audience that the chorus are the same 

Week 6- 13th February

In this weeks lesson we introduced Miss Havisham and Estella and began working on the scene where Pip visits Miss Havisham's house for the first time. This brought new challenges as we had to work out a way in which we could bring Pip and the chorus into the house and then to have them interesting placed in the scenes

In this lesson we also were given sheets where we had to pick one person and asses there rehearsal level and characterization. Me and Leanne worked together. I watched her throughout rehearsals and could see that she was focused, learning her lines and adding detail to her character. My feedback was also positive however next week i look to improve my characterization and work with different voices and physicality. Doing this task helped us to see what we were doing well and what areas we needed to improve on, this was successful as i now know what i need to do in order to gain a distinction in the rehearsal process. 

Week 9

Lesson 9 - 31st March

This Monday we had an extra two hour rehearsal to help us along with our play.

From this lesson i learnt that communicating with the others alongside you is key in making sure you are all on track and can be fast with moving on with the play. Being part of the chorus, i have learnt that talking to one another about what were doing, where were placed on stage, what our lines mean etc. makes us unite more as one chorus, allows other people to understand what were doing and ultimately makes us better on a whole. 

On reflection from this rehearsal i also think that added rehearsals for characters and in particular chorus are needed in order for us to be confident and comfortable with our lines.

In general i have also learnt (about myself) that i enjoy helping and directing people which is a positive as i could go on to develop this skill later on.

Cush Jumbo - What I learned

Getting to read Cush Jumbos' play was really fun and exciting(as well as teaching me a lot). I loved how the play endorsed and presented the concept of value being in the man hours worked. I also felt that it was a great opportunity and example of the real theatre world/casting world.

For next lesson I know that I should not only know my lines, but find the intentions/objectives within my scenes. I am also going to put reminders in my script of exits and staging i must remember.

Week 8

Performing our show in a thrust layout has brought new challenges to all actors. Chorus in particular have to not only be a part of the performance and copy Pips actions but we also have to tell the story to the audience and keep them engaged. 

Having the audience in this layout has made me more spatially aware so that's:

• what the audience can see
• what the audience can hear 
• what the audience can feel (the context of the line, how this may may make Pip feel, followed by how the audience would feel)

I also leanrt that the main characters in the play- when they push their characters, make bold choices,speak up and dominate the stage more  the performance is made 100 times better.Seeing this helped me to realize that i need to push my voice, my physicality and my expressions.

Week 7

We began the lesson by refreshing our memory of our characters and begun to get focussed by walking around the space and doing small warm up exercises.

We then went on to run scenes we had already done in previous weeks, perfecting them and cleaning them. I personally think that although this was needed to be done on the day, it could have been prevented (with ten pages left to block) by all of us working a little harder whilst in rehearsals to remember and perfect our moments on stage. 

In order to be better next week we filled out seld assessment sheets in order to know what we had to do. I said that I had to make 100% sure that I remembered all my cue's and lines whilst on stage. 

A benefit of this rehearsal however is that I feel as if the Christmas Scene is quite strong. I think next week we need to push on and do better/get more done 100%.