I just feel like it's a neccesity that I put this on my blog so he never forget this.
In todays warm up I really really enjoyed it because it was very fun and energetic and Jamie made it entertaining for us (and definitely himself) by giving us odd things to do.
The warm up was basically races, but Jamie would shout out a way to race and we had to do that. For example I had to run like Phoebe from friends, (which I'm ashamed to admit was really fun) and Ryan had to run like a dog (which he took far too seriously).
But yeah I just wanted to inform people that Jamie split his pants. And I love the fact that he couldn't sit normally because of it, THANKS FOR THE LOLS JAMIE.
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
11th of May performance at Bourne hall to the second years
Todays performance went grrrrrrrrrrreat! (frosties tiger impression)
I feel that today was a proper performance as we had an audience (the second years) which I really appreciated as not only were they there to encourage and support us, but they could also give us useful feedback after we'd finished.
Although I feel today was my best performance so far I feel like I'm still not doing my best. I'm not embaressed or anything so I don't know what it is, it's like a physical block! I think I just don't believe that I'm good enough or something.. who knows.
The baby section went a lot better than last time and I was trying to really visualise that I was holding a baby. The only thing that was a bit odd there was that I couldn't see Ryan so I didn't know when he dropped his baby or when to turn around. But other than that it was fine and I tried not to show the panic I was feeling inside!!
I can't wait till tomorrow, especially the 7pm performance because I think the atmosphere is going to be great and I want to show my friends and family how hard I've worked and to prove that I can do this. Even though I am trying really hard at the moment, I want to push myself even more tomorrow, and I really will try my absolute best (I know I say this every time) but I will!
I feel that today was a proper performance as we had an audience (the second years) which I really appreciated as not only were they there to encourage and support us, but they could also give us useful feedback after we'd finished.
Although I feel today was my best performance so far I feel like I'm still not doing my best. I'm not embaressed or anything so I don't know what it is, it's like a physical block! I think I just don't believe that I'm good enough or something.. who knows.
The baby section went a lot better than last time and I was trying to really visualise that I was holding a baby. The only thing that was a bit odd there was that I couldn't see Ryan so I didn't know when he dropped his baby or when to turn around. But other than that it was fine and I tried not to show the panic I was feeling inside!!
I can't wait till tomorrow, especially the 7pm performance because I think the atmosphere is going to be great and I want to show my friends and family how hard I've worked and to prove that I can do this. Even though I am trying really hard at the moment, I want to push myself even more tomorrow, and I really will try my absolute best (I know I say this every time) but I will!
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
What did you not enjoy?
Jamie I'm so so so so sorry, but here I go again..
I didn't like the baby section! I don't know why I dislike it so much but I do! I'm just never connected to my 'baby' and I'm not confident with the movement. HOWEVER, having said this, I know how to improve it and make it enjoyable.
I am going to rehearse the baby section with Jenny tomorrow morning cause we will be in early (as always ;}) and I will ask her to go over the baby section with me until I am 548272642381728% sure of the movement and intention I should have, also once I am confident with the movement I will be more likely to spread out and find my own space for this section. Just because I don't like it though, I won't drop the energy or make it look un-effective. I'll try my best!
I didn't like the baby section! I don't know why I dislike it so much but I do! I'm just never connected to my 'baby' and I'm not confident with the movement. HOWEVER, having said this, I know how to improve it and make it enjoyable.
I am going to rehearse the baby section with Jenny tomorrow morning cause we will be in early (as always ;}) and I will ask her to go over the baby section with me until I am 548272642381728% sure of the movement and intention I should have, also once I am confident with the movement I will be more likely to spread out and find my own space for this section. Just because I don't like it though, I won't drop the energy or make it look un-effective. I'll try my best!
What did you enjoy?
I enjoy doing the ghost line, that's my favourite bit! I just feel like I'm really there in the moment, and I tried to be creative by putting a character to this part. My story is that I hung myself, and then regretted it because I'm not ready to die. So whilst I am walking around in the library I am rubbing my neck and rolling my head to try and symbolise this. Also I like the way that me and Ryan connect at the end as if he is the one helping me into the light, and at the very end he's holding me close to him and I feel like that represents that I can't face dying on my own so he is guiding me along.
I love that part and I know that will capture the audience as everyone is so focused and has the right intention, its a great ending to the piece, we just have to remember to spread out!!
I love that part and I know that will capture the audience as everyone is so focused and has the right intention, its a great ending to the piece, we just have to remember to spread out!!
Were you in the moment?
Was I in the moment? That's a multiple answer question. Yes AND no!
I was in parts, because I know my intention for the majority of it, especially when we are doing the sqaures bit and the ghost like, I know my intention and I know my story behind what I am doing so I am feeling like I am there in the moment.
HOWEVER
When it gets to the baby section (Jamie probably wants to slap me the amount I complain about this bit!) I am not confident about my movement and I am not connecting to the cardigan as if it is a baby. I think I'm too busy counting in my head to make sure I get the timing right and I don't want to mess up. But I will practise the baby section tomorrow morning as I know I'll be in early and Jenny will be more than willing to help me, so I will do that and then I'm sure I can improve that section.
(JUST BECAUSE I DON'T PARTICULARLY LIKE THE SECTION, DOESN'T MEAN I CAN LET THE ENERGY DROP AND LOSE THE INTENTION OR CONNECTION I SHOULD HAVE.)
I was in parts, because I know my intention for the majority of it, especially when we are doing the sqaures bit and the ghost like, I know my intention and I know my story behind what I am doing so I am feeling like I am there in the moment.
HOWEVER
When it gets to the baby section (Jamie probably wants to slap me the amount I complain about this bit!) I am not confident about my movement and I am not connecting to the cardigan as if it is a baby. I think I'm too busy counting in my head to make sure I get the timing right and I don't want to mess up. But I will practise the baby section tomorrow morning as I know I'll be in early and Jenny will be more than willing to help me, so I will do that and then I'm sure I can improve that section.
(JUST BECAUSE I DON'T PARTICULARLY LIKE THE SECTION, DOESN'T MEAN I CAN LET THE ENERGY DROP AND LOSE THE INTENTION OR CONNECTION I SHOULD HAVE.)
What feelings were conjured in the performance?
At the end of the performance I was happy to see that we had grasped the attention of the majority of the audience. I feel like we put the message across that we were trying to, and by speaking to Charlottes mum after we performed, she said she was very impressed and did understand parts of it. I know that personally I get very emotionally connected with the piece, especially at the end when we are in the ghost line. I feel like I am showing it through my face, and I hope the audience can tell the emotional journey I am taking through my body language and the way I am representing it.
How were you feeling before and after?
BEFORE:
- Before we performed I was nervous and excited, but more excited. The only section I was worried about was the baby section because I am definitely not confident in that section (and I mucked it up big time today). I think it's good to be nervous though because its natural for a performer to be nervous before they perform (Even Gaga admits that she gets really nervous! Okay I'll stop talking about her now..) and now I have experienced performing properly, I will be less nervous for the other performances and have an idea of what to expect from the audience.
- Afterwards I felt happy because the majority of it went well, but I couldn't help feeling like I'd let the piece down as I was practically the only one that made obvious mistakes. I just wish that I could be confident in what I'm doing and be able to grasp dance as easily as most of the class can. However now I have had a go at performing properly, I'm ready for tomorrow and I'm going to bring more intention and dynamic to my performance. Also at the moment I'm getting ridiculously hot when I'm performing and my hair is flying all in my face so for the rest of the performances (no matter how butters a.k.a flora I look) I will keep my hair tied out of my face!!
Class Feedback Notes
- The music was really quiet, and the speakers made an awful screeching sound at the start - This was no-one's fault and it is something that could happen at any time. At least we know now about the volume of the music and the screechy noise so we can get it fixed before the next performance, but other than that, it wasn't really a problem.
- It feels weird not performing to an end on audience - Don't get me wrong, I love the project! And it's a great experience to take part it, it's just I do feel slightly odd when I'm performing as it feels as though we don't really have an audience and it feels as if no one is appreciating all the hard work we have gone to to present them with this. However I know Thursday will be great because there will be such a great vibe from all our friends and family that are watching and supporting us. I don't dislike it, it's just something I'm not used to.
- Use the Space - At the moment Elle pointed out (and Jamie agreed) that we are all too scared to fill out into the space we have. I know what they mean as I'm definitely feeling like that! I think it's because I like to be close to the group as when I'm near them I have a sense of security, and I can sense when to move off of the others. Also I don't want to venture somewhere I shouldn't, for example go into the cafe and have sandwiches pelted at me by the evil cafe lady (lol imagine if she read this). But I will try and space out more, especially at the bits that I am extremely confident in. As for the babies section? I won't be going too far!!
So what did Nikki learn today.
NIKKI LEARNT HOW STUPID IT IS TO GO TO A SHOP AND ASK THEM TO PIERCE A PIECE OF METAL THROUGH THE SKIN OF YOUR LIP AND TRY AND MAKE IT LOOK COOL!!
So basically, since I've been home all I've been trying to do is get this lip peircing out, and it's not happening. I've seriously learnt today how stupid it is to get facial piercings, especially when you are a performer. I won't get anything else pierced until I'm at least 70. Well Elle this is a note to you,
You were right, and I am admitting that I am an idiot for getting my lip peirced. As soon as I get it out I think we should have a party or something.
Please?
So basically, since I've been home all I've been trying to do is get this lip peircing out, and it's not happening. I've seriously learnt today how stupid it is to get facial piercings, especially when you are a performer. I won't get anything else pierced until I'm at least 70. Well Elle this is a note to you,
You were right, and I am admitting that I am an idiot for getting my lip peirced. As soon as I get it out I think we should have a party or something.
Please?
Tuesday 10th May First performance at Bourne Hall reflection
Today we had our first official performance at Bourne Hall.
Charlotte's mum was there and Ollies parents were there, so we did have a couple of people that were specifically there to see us perform. However we did manage to capture a few people's attention that were just sitting amongst our performing area.
I think for the first run it went really well, and there were only two things specifically that I noticed that went wrong, even though the audience wouldn't have noticed.
Ollie is supposed to go 'dun dun DUUUUUN' when me and dan are sitting either side of Alice, however he did it before I had even sat down so it didn't have the same effect it should have done and also I couldn't really cover it up as I was just going to sit down.
Also the music was out of time just before the gap section as we did the emotions into the squares too slowly. However everyone managed to pull it off and nobody panicked as they weren't where they were supposed to be right away.
I was confident and thought that the only mistake I made that was noticeable and can't happen again was when I ran towards to wall at the explosion and slammed a door shut. (I thought it was closed!)
At least now I know what can go wrong and I am definitely ready for tomorrow, I'm going to put more intention behind my movements, and as the second years are coming I want to prove to them how much we have improved and how hard we have worked on this!
BRING IT ONNNNN!
Charlotte's mum was there and Ollies parents were there, so we did have a couple of people that were specifically there to see us perform. However we did manage to capture a few people's attention that were just sitting amongst our performing area.
I think for the first run it went really well, and there were only two things specifically that I noticed that went wrong, even though the audience wouldn't have noticed.
Ollie is supposed to go 'dun dun DUUUUUN' when me and dan are sitting either side of Alice, however he did it before I had even sat down so it didn't have the same effect it should have done and also I couldn't really cover it up as I was just going to sit down.
Also the music was out of time just before the gap section as we did the emotions into the squares too slowly. However everyone managed to pull it off and nobody panicked as they weren't where they were supposed to be right away.
I was confident and thought that the only mistake I made that was noticeable and can't happen again was when I ran towards to wall at the explosion and slammed a door shut. (I thought it was closed!)
At least now I know what can go wrong and I am definitely ready for tomorrow, I'm going to put more intention behind my movements, and as the second years are coming I want to prove to them how much we have improved and how hard we have worked on this!
BRING IT ONNNNN!
My posts are in a totally random order because I've just taken it all from Tumblr and put it on here instead!
(sorry if it's confusing Jamie and Elle.)
(picture thanks to the beautiful Jennifer Reynolds)
This picture shows us practising our points that we do in the line. I’ve learnt this section confidently and I know exactly what I’m doing, I just now need to work on my precision and make sure every move has an intention. Like Jamie said, he doesn’t want to see the beginning of the movement and the end, he wants to see the whole journey. I need to maintain intention, especially in my face and eye contact.
This picture shows us practising our points that we do in the line. I’ve learnt this section confidently and I know exactly what I’m doing, I just now need to work on my precision and make sure every move has an intention. Like Jamie said, he doesn’t want to see the beginning of the movement and the end, he wants to see the whole journey. I need to maintain intention, especially in my face and eye contact.
Visiting Bourne Hall!
Now that we know we are going to be performing in Bourne Hall we can create material with a small knowledge of where we might like it to happen, and how it can work.
Bourne Hall is a beautiful space in which there are so many possibilities for our material to work. When we went on a college trip to Bourne Hall to see what we were going to be working with, we found that there were so many different areas to space our material over, and we could then go back to college and create pieces that we imagined would work well in a particular place.
When we got to Bourne Hall, the first thing we did was look around and read about some of the history of the place. Then we went outside to the space you can see in the picture above, and got into small groups, and then went off to five different places to create a small, minute or so piece.
In my group I was with Alice, Charlotte, Jenny and Ollie. We went into the forest area and went to a group of tree’s. When we were over there we decided we wanted to have a body part linked to the tree, so with each different tree there was a different body part you had to connect to it with. For example if one of the tree’s was ‘knee’ when you ran to that tree you could only touch it using your knee, and we tried to think of new and inventive ways in which you could do this.
From doing this activity I learnt that it is so easy to create even a small piece of movement to build upon in such a small place and in such little time. You just have to remember to always have an open mind and also be creative and don’t be scared to try abstract movements as well. After all the whole piece we are creating isn’t about realism, it is about being surreal and making abstract ideas that people have to interpret into their own ways.
The trip to Bourne Hall was really useful because it made us see what space we are going to be working in, and also we saw different things that inspired us and made us create small sections of the piece that we thought would work well when we actually perform at Bourne Hall.
Bourne Hall is a beautiful space in which there are so many possibilities for our material to work. When we went on a college trip to Bourne Hall to see what we were going to be working with, we found that there were so many different areas to space our material over, and we could then go back to college and create pieces that we imagined would work well in a particular place.
When we got to Bourne Hall, the first thing we did was look around and read about some of the history of the place. Then we went outside to the space you can see in the picture above, and got into small groups, and then went off to five different places to create a small, minute or so piece.
In my group I was with Alice, Charlotte, Jenny and Ollie. We went into the forest area and went to a group of tree’s. When we were over there we decided we wanted to have a body part linked to the tree, so with each different tree there was a different body part you had to connect to it with. For example if one of the tree’s was ‘knee’ when you ran to that tree you could only touch it using your knee, and we tried to think of new and inventive ways in which you could do this.
From doing this activity I learnt that it is so easy to create even a small piece of movement to build upon in such a small place and in such little time. You just have to remember to always have an open mind and also be creative and don’t be scared to try abstract movements as well. After all the whole piece we are creating isn’t about realism, it is about being surreal and making abstract ideas that people have to interpret into their own ways.
The trip to Bourne Hall was really useful because it made us see what space we are going to be working in, and also we saw different things that inspired us and made us create small sections of the piece that we thought would work well when we actually perform at Bourne Hall.
What was the purpose of the trip to the Hayward Gallery?
I think the reason we went to the Hayward Gallery was to experience first hand what it is like to go to a space you have never seen before, and interpret your own ideas and movements from just looking and being in the space. As our project is site specific, we are going to be going to places we may never have been before, and we aren’t going to have extremely long to discover how we are going to move around this space and alter the material we have to match the space. I’m really glad we went to the Hayward Gallery as it gave me an idea as to how it feels to perform in a public place, and also how you have to have an open mind when you enter a space and be willing to alter your material quickly and appropriately for wherever you may be.
The Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is a large art/performance gallery which is completely interactive. As a college we went on a trip to the Hayward Gallery to see how we would interpret all the different pieces and what it would be like creating pieces completely on the spot with random objects.
The Hayward Gallery was filled with lots of variety of things to try, and they also varied in difficulty and concentration. For example, one of the pieces there was like a giant bunch of monkey bars all swinging from the ceiling varying in height. The aim was to start one end, and climb your way to the next without touching the floor, just staying on the monkey bars. I found this very difficult as you need a lot of body strength especially in your arms, and as I was laughing and not taking it very seriously, I couldn’t focus on moving myself across. A few of the class managed it, and I was really suprised because it was extremely difficult, although still fun!
Another thing I found interesting there was some ropes that were looped and just hanging from the ceiling. Once we had all inspected the ropes, we realised the aim was for you to stand in the rope and be still. It sounds really easy, but as soon as you step on the rope it swings about, and you have to centre your balance so that the rope does not move.
I couldn’t do this task either (I’m hopeless)! I think the trick of it was to keep your body straight and keep your head up and remaining on one level. A few of our class could do it but I found it too difficult, again as I wasn’t focused and was having a laugh with it instead of trying to work it.
I think my favourite part of the Gallery was the improvisation section.
In this section there were a number of objects placed at random on an average sized space on the floor. Me and a few of my friends decided to go into the space and start an improvisation. It was very interesting because we all interpreted the space to be an animal cage, not somewhere a human would inhabit, so we all became animals. However at one point, me and a friend Jenny stood on either end of cylinder shaped prism and mirrored each others movements. This required a lot of concentration as we tried to imitate the movements exactly and it was also quite difficult to balance.
Although a lot of the things at the Hayward Gallery required concentration, focus and agility, we didn’t fail to have a good time!
Jenny trying to balance on the ropes. (IT LOOKS LIKE SHE’S DOING IT BUT TRUST ME, SHE COULDN’T) :P
Ollie doing a great squeaker impression, however in form of a Gorilla
And me doing my own impression of a Monkey! Not too far off I don’t think…
And finally..
afterwards we went for some sightseeing in London and had a good laugh in the fake snow globe!
The Hayward Gallery was filled with lots of variety of things to try, and they also varied in difficulty and concentration. For example, one of the pieces there was like a giant bunch of monkey bars all swinging from the ceiling varying in height. The aim was to start one end, and climb your way to the next without touching the floor, just staying on the monkey bars. I found this very difficult as you need a lot of body strength especially in your arms, and as I was laughing and not taking it very seriously, I couldn’t focus on moving myself across. A few of the class managed it, and I was really suprised because it was extremely difficult, although still fun!
Another thing I found interesting there was some ropes that were looped and just hanging from the ceiling. Once we had all inspected the ropes, we realised the aim was for you to stand in the rope and be still. It sounds really easy, but as soon as you step on the rope it swings about, and you have to centre your balance so that the rope does not move.
I couldn’t do this task either (I’m hopeless)! I think the trick of it was to keep your body straight and keep your head up and remaining on one level. A few of our class could do it but I found it too difficult, again as I wasn’t focused and was having a laugh with it instead of trying to work it.
I think my favourite part of the Gallery was the improvisation section.
In this section there were a number of objects placed at random on an average sized space on the floor. Me and a few of my friends decided to go into the space and start an improvisation. It was very interesting because we all interpreted the space to be an animal cage, not somewhere a human would inhabit, so we all became animals. However at one point, me and a friend Jenny stood on either end of cylinder shaped prism and mirrored each others movements. This required a lot of concentration as we tried to imitate the movements exactly and it was also quite difficult to balance.
Although a lot of the things at the Hayward Gallery required concentration, focus and agility, we didn’t fail to have a good time!
Jenny trying to balance on the ropes. (IT LOOKS LIKE SHE’S DOING IT BUT TRUST ME, SHE COULDN’T) :P
Ollie doing a great squeaker impression, however in form of a Gorilla
And me doing my own impression of a Monkey! Not too far off I don’t think…
And finally..
afterwards we went for some sightseeing in London and had a good laugh in the fake snow globe!
This is a Prezi I made on 'Emotional Eyes'
http://prezi.com/m5yinbhptqqu/emotional-eyes/
In this Prezi I have explained what ‘Emotional eyes’ are, how to do them, and what I learnt and felt from the whole experience.
This is a Prezi I made on 'Emotional Memory'
http://prezi.com/7pp9eie39sym/emotional-memory/
This is a Prezi I created on a workshop we did at college called ‘Emotional Memory’. Basically in this prezi I have written what ‘Emtional Memory’ is, how we used it, and my thoughts on it.
This picture has been captured shortly after we have all gone from a tight clump together, to explode outwards and are meant to dilate our bodies outwards. However from this picture I can see that we need to work on our dilation and work on how we can extend our bodies properly to make this move like sharp and impressive.
#
This picture shows me and Jo shortly after we performed our Stage Combat routine we put together. Firstly she used the profile slap on me, then I punched her, then I hat punched her and she hook punched me. The routine worked really well together and to add speech helped us to feel the aggression and make the routine more convincing.
This is a Prezi I made on 'Playing Workshop'
http://prezi.com/k9rfr8qa2fti/playing-workshop/
This is a prezi that I created on the workshop in which Elle layed out a lot of childrens toys and told us just to play with them and do what feels natural. In this prezi I am just explaining what I did with each toy and wether it brought back memories or not. I’ve also done a breif explanation on what the workshop meant to me, and how it felt to realise that they child inside of me will never, ever leave.
Site Specific Project video
watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ7JxIboJcE
This is a video that I edited for Ollie, Jenny and myself for our site specific project. The aim of this video is to just describe what site specific actually means/is and find and present examples of site specific work. Also in our case we wanted to try and test it out too! These are the two pieces we found and commented on.
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aewJSPsAio8
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRN3kUJo3mI
This is a video that I edited for Ollie, Jenny and myself for our site specific project. The aim of this video is to just describe what site specific actually means/is and find and present examples of site specific work. Also in our case we wanted to try and test it out too! These are the two pieces we found and commented on.
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aewJSPsAio8
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRN3kUJo3mI
Me and Jenny improvising in Trafalger Square
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llosZI8U09A&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
This was me and Jenny performing on a wall directly next to a busy bus stop. We decided to do it here because there were lot’s of people so we thought there was bound to be a variety of reactions. It was dangerous because the wall was really high up, so we stuck to small, simple moves and tried to move our feet much as we were both a bit uneasy about performing this high up on such a small wall. I was suprised to see that not many people really noticed what was happening and just looked once and then looked away because personally if I was walking down the street and saw people performing I would most likely stop to see what was going on. However I still enjoyed doing it and it made me excited to go out and do our project!
Me and Ollie improvising on Nelsons Column
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PdXBRaWEfs&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
This video shows me and Ollie using a mirroring technique that we also tried a while ago in the Hayward gallery. Basically, we stood on Nelsons column and just took it in turns to improvise a really short phrase of movement and the other one simply had to follow your movement as closely as they could. Quite a few people stopped to watch although I didn’t notice until we had to stop. It was interesting to see the different reactions as some people just walked straight past us as if it was the most normal thing in the world to see, however some stopped and watched enjoying it! Eventually we were told to stop by a security guard patrolling around. I remember Jamie mentioning that you need permission from the council before you just go and perform somewhere so I’m not sure if maybe that had something to do with it, just personally I think you should let art take it’s form and people should have the right to perform wherever they want to as long as they are causing no harm or damage.
My improvisation in Trafalgar Sqaure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaRXI0zxE0
This was me in Trafalgar square doing an improvisation piece on the steps by Nelsons Column. We were doing this to get an idea of how it feels to do site specific work and see how the public react to what they are seeing. It was really scary at first but once I was into I didn’t really pay attention to the people around me, I just kind of got lost in the movement. Although some people did stop to watch which was a nice feeling so I think I will be confident to this for the project and I’m very excited!
This is a Prezi I made on 'Bertolt Brecht'
http://prezi.com/abaufuvcllyi/bertolt-brecht/
This is a Prezi I made containing some information into the practitioner Bertolt Brecht. We found most of our information here: http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc15.htm
I enjoyed learning about Brecht because I find his work very interesting as it’s not something you see everyday and doing his work I found that I could do a lot of different things that are surreal and comical.
I enjoyed learning about Brecht because I find his work very interesting as it’s not something you see everyday and doing his work I found that I could do a lot of different things that are surreal and comical.
This is a Prezi I made on 'Stage Combat'
http://prezi.com/qjcx4ckr5jqx/stage-combat/
This is a Prezi that I created to show what I learnt about ‘Stage Combat’. In this Prezi you can see all of the moves we learnt and created, and what moves I found particularly difficult and also which ones I found easier. I really enjoyed doing Stage Combat and it’s definitely something that I can take into future work as it can be used in serious scenarios, or slapstick comedy.
Monday, 9 May 2011
I hate to admit it but..
I'm really scared about performing on Tuesday!
I'm just worried that we're going to forget the order, like what comes next after a certain phrase.
Of course I have faith in my group, but I am scared for us all.
I will just try my best and hope that's good enough, we all know dancing isn't my strong point! But I'll still put in the effort and make sure I believe in the movement I am doing and remember to keep my intention and character.
I'm just worried that we're going to forget the order, like what comes next after a certain phrase.
Of course I have faith in my group, but I am scared for us all.
I will just try my best and hope that's good enough, we all know dancing isn't my strong point! But I'll still put in the effort and make sure I believe in the movement I am doing and remember to keep my intention and character.
Aaron must look like a right thug
I feel sorry for Aaron because he’s always almost getting into trouble!
Yesterday when we were practising at Bourne Hall a police officer saw Aaron playing football and went to walk over and say something to him, but luckily before he could say anything the boys carried on with their routine and I think the police officer then realised that they were performers! The look on his face was hilarious! I think the boys handled it really though because Ryan didn’t break out of character when the Police officer asked what was going on, and also Aaron didn’t stop the routine to explain himself!
When you are doing site specific work, you have to be aware that some people won’t understand it and won’t realise that you are actually part of the performance. You just have to always think on your feet, and if you have to react to a question being asked, give the smallest gesture and nod or shake your head.
Although I’ve been really lucky so far, I haven’t got in trouble yet!
Yesterday when we were practising at Bourne Hall a police officer saw Aaron playing football and went to walk over and say something to him, but luckily before he could say anything the boys carried on with their routine and I think the police officer then realised that they were performers! The look on his face was hilarious! I think the boys handled it really though because Ryan didn’t break out of character when the Police officer asked what was going on, and also Aaron didn’t stop the routine to explain himself!
When you are doing site specific work, you have to be aware that some people won’t understand it and won’t realise that you are actually part of the performance. You just have to always think on your feet, and if you have to react to a question being asked, give the smallest gesture and nod or shake your head.
Although I’ve been really lucky so far, I haven’t got in trouble yet!
5th of May Run through at Bourne Hall Reflection
Today was our final day of being able to practise properly at Bourne Hall. We had the whole day, from 11:00am till 5:00pm to practise, and I think we got a lot of use out of that time.
We needed to work a lot on the revolve because we hadn’t even inserted that into the piece and a lot of us were panicking as to how we were going to add that in and remember the order of each section. However although I do feel much more confident I am slightly worried that I haven’t had enough practise in the space and I don’t want my movements to be hesitant or unsure because then they are not precise and they won’t have intention.
When we go in on Tuesday we will have time for a run or maybe two and I’m glad because that will re-jog my memory and I will feel much more confident for the performances on that day.
The thing I am most nervous about is the babies section, however we did work on that today and I think what we have changed makes it much more effective and it has much more structure.
I am not worried about any accidents with the public because so far I have done pretty well in avoiding any trouble with them! When we doing the sqaures section linking on to Gap, I was running at Charlotte and an old woman was walking to a table with drinks, I ran past her because I didn’t want to break out of the piece, however I made sure I wasn’t extremely close to her, and I was visually aware of whereabouts she was.
I have learnt from practising in the public that people really aren’t used to change, and they don’t particularly like it either. However you have to just roll with whatever happens and try not to show any uncertainty in this piece. If someone sits in your chair you have to think on your feet and creatively work around it.
I am really excited for these performances because although they are abstract I think they will really speak to people and I like that I am doing something so different because I’ve never done anything like this before so it’s a great experience and I love the fact that we get such odd and different reactions from the public.
We needed to work a lot on the revolve because we hadn’t even inserted that into the piece and a lot of us were panicking as to how we were going to add that in and remember the order of each section. However although I do feel much more confident I am slightly worried that I haven’t had enough practise in the space and I don’t want my movements to be hesitant or unsure because then they are not precise and they won’t have intention.
When we go in on Tuesday we will have time for a run or maybe two and I’m glad because that will re-jog my memory and I will feel much more confident for the performances on that day.
The thing I am most nervous about is the babies section, however we did work on that today and I think what we have changed makes it much more effective and it has much more structure.
I am not worried about any accidents with the public because so far I have done pretty well in avoiding any trouble with them! When we doing the sqaures section linking on to Gap, I was running at Charlotte and an old woman was walking to a table with drinks, I ran past her because I didn’t want to break out of the piece, however I made sure I wasn’t extremely close to her, and I was visually aware of whereabouts she was.
I have learnt from practising in the public that people really aren’t used to change, and they don’t particularly like it either. However you have to just roll with whatever happens and try not to show any uncertainty in this piece. If someone sits in your chair you have to think on your feet and creatively work around it.
I am really excited for these performances because although they are abstract I think they will really speak to people and I like that I am doing something so different because I’ve never done anything like this before so it’s a great experience and I love the fact that we get such odd and different reactions from the public.
What do you think will be difficult to create in Bourne Hall?
I think that the babies section might be quite difficult to recreate in the space as our babies can’t be obviously in view and I think we have to try a new space to perform this in rather than just the same place the love duets are taking part.
How can we overcome this?
I think maybe we could use our cardigans/jumpers we are wearing as the babies because then there aren’t any random items of cothing lying around, and also this makes it impossible for somebodys ‘baby’ to go missing incase a member of the audience moves it. Also I think we should just get it fresh in our minds again and then try it out in 2 or 3 different places and see which place it suits the best and how we can interpret it differently and more creatively in each space.
How can we overcome this?
I think maybe we could use our cardigans/jumpers we are wearing as the babies because then there aren’t any random items of cothing lying around, and also this makes it impossible for somebodys ‘baby’ to go missing incase a member of the audience moves it. Also I think we should just get it fresh in our minds again and then try it out in 2 or 3 different places and see which place it suits the best and how we can interpret it differently and more creatively in each space.
What section works best in Bourne Hall?
I think the line on the stairs looks really effective. I also love the fact that it is a winding staircase because in my opinion it adds more dynamics to the piece and as we are all on different levels and have enough room to be on every other step we aren’t all squashed up against each other. I think we could improve on this though because we could try and extend some movements to be over the banister as again this would add more dynamics and I think it would make the audience feel more involved as though we are communicating to them. Also we just have to make sure everytime we aren’t doing something we just practise going over our points so we are extremely certain of what to do and there is no one that looks unsure or is really out of time with anyone.
Wednesday 4th May run through at Bourne Hall reflection
Today we had another run through at Bourne Hall and I think it went much better than yesterday. For starters everyone was much more focused and I think that was due to everyone having more sleep and being more patient and focused.
We got to go over the few bits we have devised in the space and I feel confident with the order and what I am doing now. Also I think when we are not performing and have to just blend into the public it works really well. I like to use the library to drift through as their are lots of different ways you can experiment with things in there.
The only negative thing I would say about today is that we didn’t actually add anything new in and we only have one more day to do so. However I’m sure as we are in until six tomorrow we will be able to get much more done as long as people remain focused and don’t do anything half-heartedly.
I am enjoying what we are doing and I am very certain and confident with what I am doing in the line which is performed on the stairs. Tomorrow I will remain focused and make sure that if I have any ideas I will just try them in the runs and then ask Jamie and Elle if they thought it worked or not.
We got to go over the few bits we have devised in the space and I feel confident with the order and what I am doing now. Also I think when we are not performing and have to just blend into the public it works really well. I like to use the library to drift through as their are lots of different ways you can experiment with things in there.
The only negative thing I would say about today is that we didn’t actually add anything new in and we only have one more day to do so. However I’m sure as we are in until six tomorrow we will be able to get much more done as long as people remain focused and don’t do anything half-heartedly.
I am enjoying what we are doing and I am very certain and confident with what I am doing in the line which is performed on the stairs. Tomorrow I will remain focused and make sure that if I have any ideas I will just try them in the runs and then ask Jamie and Elle if they thought it worked or not.
Tuesday 3rd of May run through at Bourne Hall reflection
Today we had our first ever run through at Bourne Hall. When we arrived at Bourne Hall I was very open-minded and really interested and excited as to how we were going to make our material work in the space we had. I thought what we did manage to do today was productive and the line swirling round the stairs looks great in my opinion.
I think a lot of us were very stressed as we were all tired and it’s hard to sit around and be patient when you are not being given instructions. And from today I’ve learnt that I have to put 100 percent effort into everything I do and not let my energy levels drop. I think you pick up on everybody else’s energy, and if one person isn’t focused or commited then it ruins the whole piece.
One major thing we need to improve on is not making Jamie do all the work. We need to speak up and try out ideas in the peice so we are all having an input. Elle told us that if we have an idea we should just try it, and if they don’t like it they will soon tell us.
To improve for tomorrow I am going to be completely focused, commited and engaged and I will bring a new intention into every movement I do. Also I will be patient when I am not being instructed to do something as it puts other people off in the class when some people are messing about and not paying attention.
When we are performing at college, it is only a small room, and so the entire space is filled with our energy. However as Bourne Hall is a much bigger and different space, we need to be inventive and creative and learn new ways in which we can interpret movements into this new space as we need such a powerful atmosphere to keep our audience engaged in what we are doing.
Overall I think today was definitely useful because we became re-aqainted with the space we are going to be performing in and I learnt that I need to pull my socks up and keep up a good standard of energy!
Tomorrow my aim is to prove to Jamie and Elle that I am 100 percent commited and I am going to fulfil my roles in this piece to the absolute best that I can do them.
I think a lot of us were very stressed as we were all tired and it’s hard to sit around and be patient when you are not being given instructions. And from today I’ve learnt that I have to put 100 percent effort into everything I do and not let my energy levels drop. I think you pick up on everybody else’s energy, and if one person isn’t focused or commited then it ruins the whole piece.
One major thing we need to improve on is not making Jamie do all the work. We need to speak up and try out ideas in the peice so we are all having an input. Elle told us that if we have an idea we should just try it, and if they don’t like it they will soon tell us.
To improve for tomorrow I am going to be completely focused, commited and engaged and I will bring a new intention into every movement I do. Also I will be patient when I am not being instructed to do something as it puts other people off in the class when some people are messing about and not paying attention.
When we are performing at college, it is only a small room, and so the entire space is filled with our energy. However as Bourne Hall is a much bigger and different space, we need to be inventive and creative and learn new ways in which we can interpret movements into this new space as we need such a powerful atmosphere to keep our audience engaged in what we are doing.
Overall I think today was definitely useful because we became re-aqainted with the space we are going to be performing in and I learnt that I need to pull my socks up and keep up a good standard of energy!
Tomorrow my aim is to prove to Jamie and Elle that I am 100 percent commited and I am going to fulfil my roles in this piece to the absolute best that I can do them.
Visiting Bourne Hall!
Now that we know we are going to be performing in Bourne Hall we can create material with a small knowledge of where we might like it to happen, and how it can work.
Bourne Hall is a beautiful space in which there are so many possibilities for our material to work. When we went on a college trip to Bourne Hall to see what we were going to be working with, we found that there were so many different areas to space our material over, and we could then go back to college and create pieces that we imagined would work well in a particular place.
When we got to Bourne Hall, the first thing we did was look around and read about some of the history of the place. Then we went outside to the space you can see in the picture above, and got into small groups, and then went off to five different places to create a small, minute or so piece.
In my group I was with Alice, Charlotte, Jenny and Ollie. We went into the forest area and went to a group of tree’s. When we were over there we decided we wanted to have a body part linked to the tree, so with each different tree there was a different body part you had to connect to it with. For example if one of the tree’s was ‘knee’ when you ran to that tree you could only touch it using your knee, and we tried to think of new and inventive ways in which you could do this.
From doing this activity I learnt that it is so easy to create even a small piece of movement to build upon in such a small place and in such little time. You just have to remember to always have an open mind and also be creative and don’t be scared to try abstract movements as well. After all the whole piece we are creating isn’t about realism, it is about being surreal and making abstract ideas that people have to interpret into their own ways.
The trip to Bourne Hall was really useful because it made us see what space we are going to be working in, and also we saw different things that inspired us and made us create small sections of the piece that we thought would work well when we actually perform at Bourne Hall.
Bourne Hall is a beautiful space in which there are so many possibilities for our material to work. When we went on a college trip to Bourne Hall to see what we were going to be working with, we found that there were so many different areas to space our material over, and we could then go back to college and create pieces that we imagined would work well in a particular place.
When we got to Bourne Hall, the first thing we did was look around and read about some of the history of the place. Then we went outside to the space you can see in the picture above, and got into small groups, and then went off to five different places to create a small, minute or so piece.
In my group I was with Alice, Charlotte, Jenny and Ollie. We went into the forest area and went to a group of tree’s. When we were over there we decided we wanted to have a body part linked to the tree, so with each different tree there was a different body part you had to connect to it with. For example if one of the tree’s was ‘knee’ when you ran to that tree you could only touch it using your knee, and we tried to think of new and inventive ways in which you could do this.
From doing this activity I learnt that it is so easy to create even a small piece of movement to build upon in such a small place and in such little time. You just have to remember to always have an open mind and also be creative and don’t be scared to try abstract movements as well. After all the whole piece we are creating isn’t about realism, it is about being surreal and making abstract ideas that people have to interpret into their own ways.
The trip to Bourne Hall was really useful because it made us see what space we are going to be working in, and also we saw different things that inspired us and made us create small sections of the piece that we thought would work well when we actually perform at Bourne Hall.
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