Final Evaluation.

Today, February 12th, the company finally performed two showings of East End Tales, a series of nine stories inspired by photos and news articles from local papers in east London. The show was performed in room 415 at The BRIT School by year 10 theatre students. It was written for the Mulberry School for girls in Tower Hamlets’ Half Moon Young People’s Theatre Script works project. The story was developed by a group of Year 10 Bengali girls and it was created through improvisation and written exercises under supervision of Finn Kennedy. The project was intended for our scripted plays (page to stage) unit, in which we were assessed on storytelling as well as physical and technical skills.

In the rehearsal stages of the production of the show, we used improvisation exercises like hot seating and quick fire improv to help develop our characters and assist us in bringing the vibrant world of the East End to life on stage. The exercises helped us make character decisions that would creatively change our individual performances. For example, we did an exercise where we devised a scene surrounding the characters in a pub. The exercise forced us to create back stories to our characters which helped in the characterisation process. We also did another exercise where we highlighted the objectives of the characters. This helped us get into the mind set of our roles. I had to be very focused and alert when listening and contributing in the rehearsal as it was vital to the development period.

We used the lyrical verse format already beautifully provided by Kennedy to enhance the storytelling of the show. Because Kennedy had written the play in a 'song like' way, it enabled us to perform the show fluidly and smoothly. It also helped with transitioning of the play, the cast were almost like dancers moving to a song. The lyrical verses effected the audience greatly as the cast said there lines soothingly which not only made the show more interesting to watch, but more interesting to listen to as well.

The ensemble worked together on the night and in rehearsals brilliantly. We all added valuable contributions to the group which had an influential effect on the show and we all cooperated with one another which made the creative process clinical and effective. The ensemble worked together to help physicalise the performance as well. The ensemble also produced some interesting and fascinating pieces of physical theatre which was used throughout the duration of the show. I produced a physical theatre piece with Matilda in which we portrayed a man and a women meeting at a pub. This was then looped throughout tale 6. The use of physical theatre had a distinct effect upon the audience on the night as it made the audience think. I asked an audience member what they thought of the physical pieces and she said, "it was enjoyable to just look and think, instead of being told". This implies that sometimes by leaving things for the audiences imagination, it can be just as powerful as the lines.

I had to juggle around many different roles that were important to the scenes. I began with the taxi driver in the prologue and then again in the epilogue. I was very proud of how these scenes turned out as I managed (after lots of hard work) how to keep calm and also how to take ownership of a character. This was interesting as when I decided to characterise the character, I observed taxi drivers when I took a trip to London and how they spoke to their passengers. I felt that this was very useful to my performance and my character development. 

One of the moments that worked best in the show was when the cast came together to perform tale 3. The cast had a very positive attitude towards this scene and I felt that this was definitely one of the strongest scenes that was devised. It made the audience feel happier as well as the actors. We managed to pull off the sudden change of atmosphere very well as the effect on the audience changed drastically. One particular actor who worked brilliantly was Susannah and Aaron. Their cooperation and timing was very tight and this made the scene very powerful. It made the scene very unique as well. The effect it had upon the audience, was truly wonderful. It made the seen diverse and unique. Also their characterisation was great as you could distinguish who they were trying to portray. 

A personal weakness of mine was that I kept getting the prologue and epilogue mixed up as they were the same characters. I decided to rehearse these scenes thoroughly to make sure I wouldn't get myself confused. And on the night I managed to not get them confused. Another weakness I had to overcome was my confidence. I was very worried about how the scene would look when I just decided to be creative and go wild, I thought it would ruin the show. But after trial and error, I discovered that their is no right or wrong in character development. This helped me overcome my weakness and allowed me to perform with ease.

By being involved in this great project, I have seen many skills develop over the rehearsal period, such as my characterisation, confidence, cooperation in ensemble work, devising, spacial awareness and even physical theatre!

10.

The scenes that we developed in our group are coming along really nicely. We have improved the transitioning so that the scene is runs smoother and is more exciting to watch. We have also developed our partner movements so that they can be looped. The impact these changes have on the audience are significant as it make it more engaging and more effective.

Set yourself  three rehearsal targets:

1.  Make sure your confidence is strong when saying lines on Thursday.

2.  Use your body fluidly.

3.  React more to situations around you.

     

Reflect on the targets set:  Have they been achieved? How?           

I have managed to achieve this by rehearsing my lines in front of an audience to build up my confidence. I have also achieved this as I have added more energy into my performances,
I have successfully shown more reactivity in my performances as well.

What would you give yourself for today’s rehearsal? 

Marking criteria:	Why?
P2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal making a positive contribution to the process
M2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal, consistently making a positive contribution and constructive contribution to the process.
D2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal with consistently positive and constructive contributions, engagement, commitment, input and self- reflection.	Today I thought I worked at distinction level as my focus was strong and my contribution was also. I demonstrated my abilities in the rehearsal effectively.

9.

Tale 2

In this tale, we focus on the male ensemble. The seen describes the physical embodiment of the east end. The cast all work together to help form a very sincere scene. In this tale I felt that I needed to improve upon my characterisation. I felt that to improve upon my character I needed to choose some defining features. For example, at the moment I feel that my character is very bland and that he does not 'stand out' amongst other strong characters in the scene. So to alter this I have decided that my character might have a small amount of rage behind each line. This supports the back story I created for my character. I shall reiterate:

My character in tale two describes his ex-girlfriend. He is talking from his old perspective on how he thought that she was the most perfect girl in the world and that looking back on it now in the present, he can see that his perception was false and that she is actually not what he wanted at all.

To be able to show this back story to the audience, it would be virtually impossible. Instead I decided to show a hint of anger and rage behind my lines to make the audience question me. Why is he angry? What happened to him? Is he okay? These questions would make my character more interesting to the audience and would also help engage the audiences attention to the scene even more.

To show the rage in my voice I had to change the projection. I had originally said my line very calmly, to fit the pace of the scene. But I have decided to change the projection so that by saying my line more loudly, I can show the anger in my character. This changes the atmosphere in the scene and
also affects the audience as well. I decided to make my character to be staring. I feel that by making my character stare, it shows that my character has been through a lot in his life and if done correctly can make the audience feel uncomfortable. I drew my inspiration for both my projection and the staring from David Tennant in his performance of Hamlet alongside Patrick Stewart. In this scene David Tennant has very sinister stare which I thought would be perfect for my character and he also projects his voice in the same way I will try to achieve.

Tale 6
creative choices

In this tale, the cast tell the story of a man and a woman in a pub. one creative choice that was made was that if any character in the scene talks, they must be in possession of the beer can, which is transported from character to character throughout the scene. We also decided that when transitioning from to each character, we must hand the can to each other in a more fluid way because we were just handing it to one another. We settled on the idea that we would each have a different way of passing over the can. For example, one may put the can to their side whereas another might pass the can behind their back.

Set yourself  three rehearsal targets:

1. To stay with the energy and pace of the scene.

2. To remember the blocking and lines and to make the piece flow.

3. Don't panic when you're on stage be more confident.

Reflect on the targets set:  Have they been achieved? How?           

What would you give yourself for today’s rehearsal? 

Target 1: I have achieved this target by putting more energy into my performance, and I have tried to stay more alert during the scene.

Target 2: I have achieved this by taking the time to learn and remember the blocking and lines in and outside of school.

Target 3: I have achieved this by rehearsing in front of people in and outside of rehearsal to help build my confidence for the show.

Marking criteria:	Why?
P2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal making a positive contribution to the process
M2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal, consistently making a positive contribution and constructive contribution to the process.	I have shown my capability in rehearsal and have applied techniques learnt to help improve upon the scenes.
D2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal with consistently positive and constructive contributions, engagement, commitment, input and self- reflection.

8.

PROLOGUE

In the prologue, I play the part of the taxi driver. I decided to characterise him as your typical taxi driver on the streets of London whose one clear objective is to earn a bit of money. I decided to show this by making my character very 'on the ball' and fast paced. This shows that my character really wants to get going to find more work and that his responses to the questions from the passenger are fairly rushed. This makes it seem like he's desperate to earn enough wage to support his family.

TALE 2

In this tale, I play the part in the male ensemble. Even though I'm in an ensemble, doesn't mean I don't have a character. I decided that my character is an ex boyfriend to the girl he's describing and he shows the audience that he thought this was the perfect idea of a girl. But in matter of fact he's talking from his old perspective and showing us that he was wrong. My character shows signs of guilt that he did something wrong and that he is still scarred from his relationship with the girl as she had problems that were under her skin which he could not see.

TALE 3

In this tale I play the typical pub punter. My character is a potty mouthed Londoner, who relishes the idea of spending time with his mates and downing a pint in 'record' times. He likes to be in the pub because he's a social person. He is always outside and he always gets home late from a night out with his friends.

TALE 4

In tale four. I play the part of a Londoner who lives a fairly quiet life and has never really experienced anything out of the ordinary. That's why when he see's the women 'crying' and struggling on her own. He's confused as this isn't really what he's used to seeing. He would like to help, but has never been in a situation like this, so he has no experience in what to do.

TALE 5

In this tale, I play the part of the neighbour who lives next door to the abusive couple. My character isn't really a nosey person, but because of the volume of the neighbours, he is forced to have to listen to their conversations. By hearing the neighbours arguments, my character becomes invested in what's going on. Sort of like watching your favourite TV show. Upon hearing the experiences of the couple, my character changes from a nobody into a caring and sympathetic man. He learns about the truth about what happened and is changed forever. I show this by saying my lines slower and anxiously. I also have a little sigh at the end of my lines to symbolise the relief that the women would of had from the end of her rows.

TALE 6

In tale six, I play a man who has gone to the bar to meet up with his old friend (played by Alabama). He is a man who caring and hates to see others in pain. That's why my characters sort of soliloquises about how much he doesn't want the women to be hit by the man.

EPILOGUE

In the epilogue I return my original character of the taxi driver. This time he is showing the opposite views to his original. He has had enough of his job and is desperate to just return home. This is why he gets so agitated by the passenger looking for a lift. I saw this scene as the end of his career whereas the first scene I saw it as his first day on the job.

Line obkectives

Yeah 
Some people
Some people think the city sleeps at night
Bollocks
That's when its most awake              ------ His objective is to prove that the stereotype is wrong.

Yeah I see a lot
Not all of it nice
People all over the place
In my face
I put my foot down sometimes
I ain't havin it 
Yo gotta draw a line
Knoworramean?   ------ His objective is to show to the passenger that he's experience and that he's                                              wise.

She's bold.
She watches the news but it makes her depressed.
She's crazy about this guy at work. ------ His objective is to tell the story of the girl and describe the                                                                      girl to the audience.

So about a week after he moves in
early evening
Were trying to watch the telly
and this big row starts
next door
at number four
don't think too much of it
just a domestic
these things blow over 
you know how it is ------ His objective is to block out what he's hearing next door.


And I'm thinking
Hoping
Pleading
Praying
Reaching out with all my inside
Don't hit her!
Please don't hit her!
The whole pub can see you've had a bad day!
But don't you hit her?
Don't you dare hit hit her! ------ His objective is to try and stop the man from hitting the girl.

Look
D'ya mind takin yer hand 
Off the
Off the thingy 
It's just that ------ He's trying to get the person to remove there hand of the car window.
Yeah I can see that
I'm not feelin to well myself as it goes
Touch of mornin sickness I reckon
Nah
Didn't think you'd believe me ------ He's trying to prove a point and get out of having to take the                                                                  person as a passenger.

Set yourself  three rehearsal targets:

1. Remember the blocking.

2. Add a distinct character feature to your taxi driver.

3. Have fun with tale 3.

Reflect on the targets set:  Have they been achieved? How?           

1: I have written on my script the blocking and transitions to help me remember.

2: I have made it that my character is very loud and the epilogue and also quite intimidating.

3: I have learnt to relax and have fun in tale 3 now since I have gone through the transitioning.

What would you give yourself for today’s rehearsal? 

Marking criteria:	Why?
P2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal making a positive contribution to the process
M2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal, consistently making a positive contribution and constructive contribution to the process.	I demonstrated constant contributions to the group work and stayed focused and alert throughout the lesson.
D2 Demonstrate personal and technical skills in rehearsal with consistently positive and constructive contributions, engagement, commitment, input and self- reflection.