100th post

To quote Spencer Tracy...

"know your lines and don't bump into the furniture"

And to quote Jane Fond...

"As an actor you spend your life trying to do something they put people in asylums for"

Thank you and goodnight

Final Character Development

When we were first rehearsing our characters in Epsom Downs, we were mainly experimenting with who the character was, what their background was, what are their character traits, what they looked like etc. The weeks leading up to the performance we were practicing and learning more about our characters so when we came to the production week, we had a full understanding of who are characters are.

However we also noticed that it wasn't till production week that we were able to experiment with final extremities of the characters. For example, with my character Minty, I already knew that she had a very mad crazy relationships with her daughter Primrose and it wasn't until production week when we had the costume, props, lighting and setting, that I was finally able to piece together all of her character and I was able to full connect to the character.

Also for my character the derby course i felt that once we were in production week i really loosened up into the character as I felt confident to really go sexual and confident with the character. When I normally said "feared by the hardened man and animal" I would strut around the stage and stare down the audience however once I was on the stage i found my self adding a pelvic thrust the emphasis the confident and sexual mannerism of the Derby Course.

First Practice Of My Monologue

Galina - The Table Laid

When I first read this monologue I knew that I was going to have to use a Russian accent as Galina herself is Russian. I decided to start of by looking up websites and videos that would help me understand the Russian accent.

http://www.wikihow.com/Fake-a-Thick-Russian-Accent 

I felt that this resource was very helpful as it showed me where I needed to place my tongue to create the correct sounds for the accent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqKn5HXxeLA

I felt that this resource was very helpful as it allowed me to hear how certain words are pronounced and it was easier to imitate the voice in the video.

After nailing the accent, I then wanted to visualise the different areas that the character talks about in the monologue. for instance she talks about her grandmother carrying water to her house.

"In her house there was no water. she brought it from the stream, day by day. The buckets were heavy."

During this part of the monologue I try to imagine an old Russian houses that were made of wood. Since the house has no water I felt that it most likely had a very rough build for the house like wood. The way she talks about her grandmother is a happy memory so I thought that she would have loved the her family home and her old life. That's why I believe this image helps to image her home.

First Practice of My Advert

Cadbury's Caramel Bunny Advert.

In order to get a good start with this advert, i decided to watch lots of different types of cadbury bunny adverts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjQ5Yw72xtA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyDE2IojZFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giwnGGmE18s


After watching lots of  these videos I tried to manipulate the same voice that Miriam Margulies uses in the advert. It is very sultry and seductive but also clipped and well spoken. It took me a few attempts to perfect the voice however once I found it, instantly the advert became very persuasive  and I felt that the advert was complete bar the background noises. It needed to have some bird noises to emphasis the nature and calming surroundings of the advert and the chocolate itself.

Mid rehearsal review

We did a session in class where our class peers would evaluated our strength and weakness of this rehearsal unit so far and they even gave us a predicted grade of where we are at at the moment.

Some of the strengths that we said about me was that I am very punctual for rehearsal and that I am very focused whilst I or other people are on stage. I am always prepared to experiment with characters and I listen and take in the feedback that I am given. I have good variation within each of my characters and I have done a lot of research of my characters that I am able to use to help build my characters. I also give it my all in every performance I do and I respect and support others in their performances.

Some of the weaknesses that was said about me was that I need to keep practicing my dialogue as it some times gets lost within the accents that I am trying to put on. Also I sometime go into a high range when I am acting and I stay there which restricts some of the emotions I can put into my characters. I also have a tendency to get stuck in a giggle loops which can become annoying if people are trying to get on with a scene. I also have a tendency to get into sidetracked conversations with my class when I could be getting on with the work.

In order to fix my weaknesses I will try to learn all of my lines as soon as possible so I will have a better grip on them before I try adding an accent. I will also experiment talking in lower ranges in order to extract different emotions in my voice. I will also take my self out of the room to calm down from a giggle loop and overall take my production more seriously as I am confident that with the right mind set, the production could be a success.

Actioning and Targets

Targets
For each of my characters I believe that they have a specific target in their scene that they are trying to get. For my character Minty I believe her main target is her car battery. She spends most of her time in her scene dragging it to the dealers so I think her main priority is to get ride of it and to get cash in return. However her other target in the Scene is her daughter Primrose. Minty gets distracted from dragging her car battery when she notices Primroae not working and sunbathing. For the rest of her scene she nags Prim about how their work is important and the dangers of being out with men lurking around.

For my character Dorothy I thought her main target is to get noticed, whether that be by her social equals, the news or even the lower classes. She starts of by arriving in a flashy helicopter and for the rest of the time she is laughing, talking outrageously about people and she's incredibly loud, I can only imagine she wants to get noticed as she loves the attention.

For my character Loud Voice I think her target is to make money and serve drinks. She spends most of her time calling out drink orders and she even goes out of her way to shut people up so that people can drink in peace. She even get very flustered and tired by her work which means she cares.

For my character The Course, woman 3 and jockey 6 I think their target is to inform people (including the audience) what is happening in the race. The course explains the actual track that the horses will run on, woman 3 asks questions to specify when the race will begin and the jockey 6 tells people the mood of the races as he say "Mille for Mede" which means "a thousand times shit".

And finally for my character Lunatic 3, I think their target is to clean up the litter. She spends her time picking up the litter whilst the other lunatics are trying to make conversation. She does say one thing which is "lesser Piggott" but that is probably because she heard a lot of people saying "lester Piggot" through out the day and it probably got stuck in her head on a loop.

Actioning
We are doing Actioning in our scripts so that we know the meaning behind every single line that our characters say. For instance one of Dorothy's lines is "roger! Forgive us Charles. We are a bit merry". This line can be split into three different actionings. The first "roger" she points him out, the second "forgive us Charles" she plees with him and the third "we are about merry" she winks at him. The Actioning doesn't nessisarily mean that she would wink at the character Charles but it has the same meaning in the way the words are said if she did actually wink at him.

Blocking and Experimenting

Staging
For our play, we are going to have a hill/mound at the back of the stage that leads to the front of the stage. This will represent the downs itself as the whole floor including the hill will be covered in astro turf. This will put a setting of a country scene and with the back flat as a white sheet that will change colour to resemble the sunny Sumer sky to the late afternoon. Other then that there is no stable set for our play. There is a beer tent that comes on but only for one scene in act 2. To represent the barrier of the racetrack itself there is a pole that the actors hold and can move around with the resemble a different corner of the race track.

Enterances and Exits
For this play there is 6 spaces at which the actor can enter and exit from. At the back of the stage there are two on both the left and right side. They are called SR1 and SL1. Then there are two enterances in the front of the stage on bothe left and right. They are called SR2 and SL2. And finally there are two in the audience that lead onto the stage from both right and left. They are called SR3 and SL3.

For Minty, I enter SR2 and I Exit SL2
For Dorothy, I enter SL3 and I exit SR3
For Loud Voice, I enter SR1 and I exit SL3
For The Course, I enter SR2 and I exit SR2
For Lunatic 3, I enter SL1 and I don't exit as it. Is the end of the play.

Experimenting
I have now started to experiment with some of my characters. Firstly I know that Dorothy Delaune is a very posh, loud and snobbish woman so I thought that I would start to experiment with some of her voices. For one take I tried to take inspiration from the character Janice from friends TV show. I push my voice to a very high, sharp and nasal quality. I thought that this voice was very effective as people seemed to laugh at the voice, which she is meant to be rediculous. However after doing that rehearsal I went home and I imediantly noticed that my throat was hurt. I now know that voice, while it may be effective for the character, it would not be able to be sustained for the whole production as I would have a damaged voice by the first show. Therefore I have had to look at other voice. I have tried a voice that is in the same high pitch however this time it's more snotty then sharp. I feel that this voice is more effective than the first one as it doesn't hurt my voice and it still has a redicoulous quality to it that may even be more grotesque than the first one.

I have also been experimenting with voice for the character Minty. We decided that we should make the gypsy travellers Irish. This is because at this time there was the IRA attacks which meant that many people were scared or looked down on the Irish and in this play both the gypsies (Minty and Primrose) are not overly welcomed by people. So I have been experimenting on a southern Irish accent. I think I have it pretty much nailed however since I did not know my lines, I noticed that every thing I said in the rehearsal was on one tone and it very boring. I think I was trying so hard to focus on the accent that I forgot about tonality. To improve this I had a one to one with one of our teacher who was Irish. She went through each line with me highlighting on some of the tonalities and even pronouciation of words.

I now know:
. Irish people speak very fast and they sometimes slur over their words
. Some of their words join together, for example "lead in you" would become "lednya"
. The letter T sound more like SH. They make this noise be placing their tongue as if the were going to say L but instead they push their breath through whilst the tongue remains up against the hard palet of their mouth.
. Irish people also don't say ING instead they just say N, for example "going to" becomes "gont"

One of the tonalities I do is when I say "won't he give you a wallop". When I say "you" I go up in my voice and then I let my voice descend natural with the rest of the sentence.

Character Research - Lunatic 3

Name: Betty Hicks
Age: 20
Birthplace: London, Buckingham
Parents: Olivia Hicks, Jeremy Hicks
Relations: the other Lunatics
Occupation: community cleaner

Appearance:
She wears a boiler suit and trainers. She wears her hair either in front of her face or she wears it in a ponytail.

Favourite Song:
"the laughing gnome" by David Bowie  in 1967. She likes it as it is very childish like her personality plus she knows David Bowie is popular so she thinks it will make her popular.

Based On:
. Drippy (Juno Temple) from Wild Child
. Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson) from About Time

Character Research - The course

Name: the Epsom downs race Course
Age: First recorded race was in 1661
Birthplace: Epsom downs
Occupation: this character is a metaphor the actual course itself" the land is portrayed as a human who does a monologue about the race track course.

Appearance:
This character would be dressed in a suit and tie with a smart shoes and a white shirt. They also would have a walking stick that becomes the racetrack barrier and they would be smoking a cigarette.

Favourite Song:
"Gold finger" by Shirley Bassey in 1964. This is their song as it talks about a very strong and dangerous man just like the course itself. Also they are very swerve and classy like James Bond.

Based On:
. James Bond for his class and seduction
. Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's for the glamour

The character of the Course is also involved in an ensemble piece where she is also portrayed as Woman 3 (Janet) and Jockey 6.

• Woman 3 is called Janet and she is a teenager who has gone to the Derby with some friends and is their for a good time. Her favourite song is "She la la la lee" which was written by Small Faces in 1966. The song is about a girl who goes out with a boy to have a fun night out.

• Jockey 6 is called Gérard Dubroeucq and he is a french horse rider in the Derby. his favourite song is "la mer" which was written in 1968 by Charles Trenet. It is his favourite song as he is feeling patriotic as he has had to travel across the sea to be apart of the Epsom Derby. 

Character Research - Loud Voice in a tent

Name: Rachel Gidins
Age: 24
Birthplace: Essex
Parents: Connie Gidins, father unknown
Relations: two drunken colleges who she doesn't really like
Occupation: Bartender

Appearance:
I imagine her to have flared blue jeans with a grey v neck top that she tucks into the jeans. She also might have a shirt rapped around her waist and she wears blue trainers. Her hair would be short as she works tierlessly so she doesn't have time to deal with her hair.

Favourite Song:
"Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac in 1975. The song relates to her as she has just broken up with her boufriend who drank way too much, that is why she is also shouting at the two drunk men. The song is helping her get through her break up.

Based On:
. Roxy Mitchell from Eastenders
. Sally Hawkins from Happy Go Lucky
. Claire Skinner from Outnumbered

Character Research - Dorothy

Name: Dorothy Delaune
Age: 52
Birthplace: Westminster, London
Parents: Harrold Delaune, Charlotte (Fairclough) Delaune
Relations: Roger Coyle (rich friend), Charles Pearce (Horse trainer)
Occupation: Derby Horse Owner

Appearance:
She wears a very posh dress to her knee and matching stilettos that always get caught in the grass at Epsom. She also wears a jacket that matches her dress and even a floppy hat. She may also have a small handbag that she make people around her carry like Roger.

Favourite song:
'the Nutcracker suite' written by Tchaikovsky in 1892. The song reminds her of the Christmas ballet that she would see with her mother and father every year.

Based On:
. Janice from 'Friends' for vocals
. Mr Snot from University challenge from 'the young ones' for manirisums
. 'To the manor born' for the social class

Research for Epsom - TV and Film

To the manor Born:
This programme was originally made in 1979. It is a British sitcom TV series that only had 22 episodes. I think that this programme is very relevant to our play Epsom Downs as it is an extremely British idea of what the upper class were like in the 1970's. since it is based around very upper class characters, it would mainly be relevant the characters Lord Rack, Charles Pierce, Roger Coyle and Dorothy Delaune.














What ever happened to the Likely Lads:
This programme was originally made in 1973/1974. It is also a British sitcom TV series but it was a spin off from the series The Likely Lads. I think this programme is also relevant to our play as it is an accurate representation of British workers and lower class. I think that this TV programme would mainly relate to the characters Jocks, Sandy, Margret, Bobby and Sharon. It also relates to the horse races as in many of the episodes the character Terry often paces bets on the races even though he can't afford it.

Research for Epsom - Music

I have picked some songs that I believe would be each of my character's favourite song. Also some of the songs link to their background or the journey their character goes on.

1. Minty
"Let no man steal your thyme" it was originally written in 1903 but was known as "sprig of thyme". The version that I am using was remade in 1963 by Anne Briggs and Pentangle in 1968. The song is a folk ballad which is about warning young girls to stay clear of fake love and horrible unloving men. I have chosen this song for minty as in the play she is warning her daughter primrose not to go near the men and to stop day dreaming. I think this song would resinate with minty as it not only has a folk quality but it also relates to her life as a gypsy and her being put into marriage not of her own choosing.

2. Dorothy Delaune
"Nutcracker suite" it was written in 1892 by Pytor Ilyich Tcheikhovsky for the ballet. It is a very old classical music piece. I have chosen this piece for Dorothy as I believe her rich upbringing would have meant she wouldn't have been into the modern pop music. Instead she would have gone to the ballet as a child and the music would have stuck with her as a fond childhood memory around Christmas.

3. Loud voice in a tent (Rachel)
"Landslide" it was written in 1975 by Fleetwood Mac. There is nothing really said about this character, she doesn't even have a name. So I have decided to call her Rachel. In the play she shout a lot at men who are drunk so I thought that perhaps she had a bad relationship with a man who drunk. I think she was in love with a man but she left him because of his drinking. That's why I have chosen this song as it is about someone who has left their lover and is trying to move on.

4. Woman 3 (Janet)
"Sha la la la lee" it  was written in 1966 by small faces. Once again there is not any thing written about this character in the script so I have created her character called Janet. She is a teen who has gone to Epsom for the fun of betting. This song is about a girl who goes out on a Friday night with a boy to have fun. So I think it relates to Janet as she is just there to have a bit of fun at the races.

5. French jockey (6)
"La mer" it was written in 1968 by Charles Trenet. All that I know about this character is that they are a French jockey. So I believe that they would have travelled by sea to get to Epsom downs for the races. I don't think that this song would have always been their favourite but perhaps this was the first time they had been abroad so it felt patriotic for this jockey to listen to a very French travel song.

6. The course
"Gold finger" it was written for the iconic film gold finger in 1964 and it was performed by Shirley Bassey. I have chosen this song for my character as they are meant to be a swerve and dangerous being like James Bond. The course character is a metaphor for the actual race course itself. The character talks about the turns and directions the horses take in the race. Therefore since the character is a metaphor I feel that it wouldn't be stupid to over emphasis the James Bond aspect to the character as they are not a real living object.

7. Lunatic 3
"The laughing gnome" it was written in 1967 by David Bowie. I haven't got much information to this character However I know that they have some form of tarrets. I think this would mean that they wouldn't be spoken to directly by people and they wouldn't be in popular culture. So feel that this song is incredible wacky and probably not popular to most people as it has a weird smurf voice in the background. I also feel this song emphasise the lunatics character as they are very wacky themself.

First view of the play

Epsom downs
Epsom downs is a play written by Howard Brenton in 1977. The play follows the Derby day in 1977 at Epsom downs at which Lester Piggott won the Derby. The story does not have a main character nor does it follow a certain story, instead there are multiple role of race-goers, horse trainers, jockey, bookie, gypsies and more. There are a few recurring characters such as the cockney family, Charles Pearce a horse trainer, Lord rack an ex politician, blue an officer of the law, primrose a gypsy traveller and jocks a stable boy. However the rest of the characters only appear in a single scene.

I think that this play is very suitable for our class as there are multiple role so everyone has an equal amount of stage time as everyone else. Also each of these characters are completely different from each other so it means us as actors can have the opportunity to express many different abilities to our acting styles whether that be through a sent of emotions. I also really like this play as it gives a very accurate representation of British 70's society for all age, social class and cultures. I think I will defiantly learn a lot of history in this project which I always find very enjoyable.  I feel that this play will also be well received by a modern audience as the social classes haven't changed that much since 1977 and some of our audience may have lived through this time period so it will be interesting to see their reactions to the play now.

Character Research - Minty

What I know about Minty from the Play:

• ·        Her name is Minty
• ·        She is a gypsy traveller
• ·        Her husband is in Lowestoft prison
• ·        She is the mother to Primrose
• ·        She feels separate in this world – “the gypsy got no friends in this world”
• ·        She travels to big events and sells things like lucky heather

What I have decided about my character:

• ·        Her real name is Arminta O’Donnell. Minty is only her nickname. Arminta is quite a traditional Irish name and it can be a derision to Minty
• ·        She was born in 1944, so that means that in 1977 (which is when the play is set) she is 33 years old
• ·        She had her daughter Primrose when she was 18 years old, that means in 1977 Primrose is 15 years old
• ·        Her family are originally from Glengarriff, Cork, Ireland. As she is a traveller I felt that they would have travelled far from whence they came and I feel that Ireland would be a very traditional place for them to start at.
• ·        Her husband’s name is Shayne O’Donnell.  He is in Lowestoft Prison as he was caught stealing lead off of church roofs. He did this in order to get money her husband would sell the lead to scrap yard

Minty’s object:

• ·        Minty’s key object is a Hessian bag.
• ·        The bag is important to Minty as she is a traveller so she doesn’t have many possessions that she can call her own.
• ·        Everything she does own (like money, jewellery and clothes) is kept in her Hessian bag.
• ·        The bag enables her to have something of her own that no one can take away from her in a world where she already has nothing.
• ·        Minty first got the bag when she was 8. She was at a festival in her home town Glengarriff and her mother told her to fetch her father for lunch. She found her father getting beaten up by a country guy called Sheamus. Sheamus gave her 30p so that she would go away. She went and bought her bag from a stool and it is the last possession she has from her hometown and it is a reminder that she must protect the things that are her’s.

What I am basing her off of:

• ·        Molly Weasley – the mother of the Weasley family from Harry Potter
• ·        Maggie McCarthy – Irish actress from Leap Year
• ·        Sorcha Cusack – plays Mum O’Neill from Snatch
• .    Ezmarelda - a gypsy woman from Hunchback of Notre Damn

Minty’s Appearance:

• 
  
  
  

1970's Research

1970's Playwrights:

• Howard Brenton - Epsom Downs
• Edward Bond - The Pope's Wedding, Bingo
• Joe Orton - What the Butler saw
• Mike Leigh - Abigail's Party

1970's British TV programmes

• To the Manor Born
• On the Buses
• Faulty Towers
• What ever happened to the Likely Lads
• Last of the Summer Wine
• Love Thy Neighbour
• Are you being served

1970's British Movies

• Monty Python: Holy Grail
• Carry On: At Your Convenience, Matron, Loving, Up the Jungle, Don't Lose Your Head
• James Bond: Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me

1970's Music

• Rod Stewart
• Marvin Gaye
• The Eagles
• ABBA
• David Soul
• Queen
• The Beatles
• The Sex Pistols
• BEE GEES
• Pink Floyd
• Black Sabbath
• The Rolling Stones
• Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

1977 British Events 

• Queen Elizabeth II silver jubilee
• first Brit Awards
• Last Natural Smallpox case
• Red Rum wins the national for 3rd time
• Star wars opens

Rehearsal Proposal Plan

Epsom Downs

Performance Dates:
Monday 24th April - Get in and Fitting set
Tuesday 25th April - Tech Rehearsal
Wednesday 26th April - Dress Rehearsal
Thursday 27th April - Matinee + Evening Performance
Friday 28th April - Matinee + Evening Performance + Get out

Starting the text:
In order to start getting into the play, I will need to first look at getting used to the text. The text will be my main source of information that will help me understand the play. It will give me backgrounds to my characters, give me an era and setting that it is set and it gives me more ideas of the mood and emotions with in the play. The rehearsal process will help me in discovering the hidden emotions, characteristics and aims of my characters but the text is going to me the main plot of the play.

I will need to:

• read through the text, making sure I understand completely what happens within the play
• I should understand every word, this means I may have to look up certain words if I don't understand there meaning or the context they are in. This may require some research in order to full understand some words especially if they are political or key to the plot of the play.
• I need to familiarise myself with the characters I am playing. I would do this by highlighting lines of my characters, making sure I understand what happens to my character and start to learn my lines.

Research for the Play

In order to understand to play, characters and the plot, I must research some key features to the play. Without researching the play, I would only have the script itself to guide me, but I may not know what some of the words mean or what the setting would look like or character's. Therefor I need to do research for things like:

• 1970's British culture, society and history. This could include political views like reds and it could also include race course information 
• 1970's social classes which could be anything from upper class horse trainers to bookies to gypsies and slang from this era depending on which social class they are in.
• 1970's style of clothing and hair depending on which social class they are from
• 1970's popular music, technology and media
• 1970's TV programmes and movies that are British 
• Certain words that I may not know the definitions or the context they are in.
• 1970's figure head like political leaders and TV personalities
• research other adaptations of the play and the playwright

Character

To better understand my characters I will need to do character studies. It is important to do character studies as it helps find everything out about my character that may not be clearly stated in the script. It also helps to find what our characters look like and even what they like. most of the facts about our characters will be in the script however some of these thing I will have to make up myself as it won't be in the script. With the character study I will have to think about:

• the character's basics i.e. age, date of birth, gender, name, occupation, relationships 
• the background of my characters i.e. where my characters live, who are their family, ethnic origin and social class
• the character's morals i.e. what they believe in, whether they are a good or bad person
• the character's style i.e. clothing, hair, favourites and dislikes
• what happens to the character within the play
• what emotions the character feel during the play 
• how the characters feel about themselves
• what others think about your characters
• consider what the objective of the character is in the play

Rehearsal

The rehearsal process is the most important part of the production as it is the time when the parts of the play are decided on. they help finalise of the stage setting, blocking, props and it even is the time when characters are found. Without this process there would be no decisions made on the play. In order to use my rehearsal time well I will need to:

• I must be punctual, be on time and ready to work when the director is ready to start
• to take note on blocking and extra information about the character like emotions and opinions
• not talking during peoples scenes, instead take notes, learn lines
• treat each rehearsal like it is the real performance
• be enthusiastic about everything and be not afraid to experiment with my characters
• be prepared to try new things
• note down my  rehearsal process and developments in a blog so i can report my progress of my characters

Our Audio Ensemble Play

"People Snogging In Public Places" by Jack Thorne

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/people_snogging_in_public_places.pdf

"People Snogging" is a radio play that was first broadcasted in 2009.

This play is a bold and funny coming-of-age story that follows a young boy called James Mathews who's disabled uncle Patrick has moved in with his family. This play confronts the themes of cheating, bullying and the mental toll of a disability on family life. The play continually jumps through time of James' and his family's life and through this time jumping the plot and characters are slowly revealed.

I play the character Angela Matthews. She is the second of four children to Phyllis, sister to Uncle Patrick, wife to Tim and mother to James and Alice. During the play Angela is faced with main difficult choices and experience such as at the beginning of the play we learn that he husband Tim as cheated on her but she brushes that of. She was also knocked unconscious by her brother Patrick who was trying to hit Phyllis instead and she now has to take care of her brother and her son who may also have some kind of disability as well.

Personally I believe that When Angela was younger she was bold, clever, determined and had a life planned ready for herself. But when her mother died she was left to look after her brother Patrick and that completely stopped all of her dreams. Her life was put on hold and she began to lose herself within her family. In a scale of hierarchy I believe that Angela would probably be at the bottom to the whole family as she is suppressed by the disabilities that have stopped her life plans and her children have a higher priority over what she wants.

I think the most challenging part for me about playing this character is the time jumping. She is the only character that we see the whole timeline of her life from child to teenager to adult and I think this makes it a challenge to be able to show a lifetime span within a hour or so and to make it believable as well. In order to over come this challenge I have decided to change my voice to suit her age. As this is a radio performance I will not be able to show a change of age through her clothing so I have changed the pitch of her voice to show an ageing to her character. When she is her younger self at 13 I tried to used a high pitch voice and Angela's voice wouldn't have dropped yet and in the scene she is meant to be excited so I think it works quite well. Then when she is 17 I have used a middle range but I have also been more relaxed in the way I deliver the lines and she is complaining to her mother and so she isn't overly formal anyway. And finally for her present self I have tries to use a lower pitch in my voice to show age but also to she how the stress of life has got to her. I dialogue is also more formal I feel then when she was 13 and 17 so I think this also helps to age her character.

I also found it easier with this character in some scene to move my arms and act our the scenes in the space rather then just say the lines into the microphone. There is a scene near the end of the play where Angela and Tim have an argument about having Patrick stay with them. When doing this scene it seem that me and Pau both really act out the scene as if we were directing it to each other even though we are standing next to each other facing the same way. I think helped us both get into character better and it allowed us both to really feel the anger come through in our performance.

Example of audio ensemble - Cock

What is a Radio Play
A radio play is some kind of story, acts, scenes or even full length musicals that are broadcasted on radio. these types of plays rely completely on the voice of the actors or sound effects to help portray the play. there are no visual aspects to the play and so a variety of voice, music and sound effects help create the image of the play. Most of these play are recorded in a studio however there has been some that record live from a theatre so that the listener can here the audience reaction to the play.

Cock - Radio Play

https://soundcloud.com/delilahdevinkaufman/bbc-radio-3-presents-mike 

Cock is a play written by Mike Bartlett that was released as a audio production on BBC Radio 3. It is a play based around a man called john who decides to take a break from his longtime male partner when he accidentally meets the girl of his dreams. This version of the play started Ben Whishaw, Andrew Scott and Katherine Parkinson.

With this production they have clearly indicated the passing of time through a simple bleep sound effect. The noise initially starts of loud the it sort of decays within a second or two. It is played in between the end of one time and the beginning of a new time. I think this noise is very helpful to establish a scenes of time passing as it so regular like a chime on a clock. It also is the only sound effect that is heard in the first 5 scenes which I think is effective as the audience become a fly on the wall because they can only hear the two characters voices. This play also uses no sound as a way of creating an atmosphere. Between the actors dialogue there is long silences to help indicate to the audience that the actors are thinking. It makes there acting more realistic and again it reinforces the idea that the audience are a fly on the wall as there is awkward silences.

This play does included quite a lot of bad language that would not be suitable for young children. Also it tackles some very difficult issues such as someones sexuality and sex itself. I feel that this play may be suitable to older teens as a way of education. However the play is not overly energetic so it probably would most likely be listened to by adults as it would not old the attention of teens as well as adults. I therefore feel that this programme would be better of played on a station like BBC Radio 3 or 4 as these are channels that mainly adults listen to. I also feel that because of the context and language this play uses that it would be better played at night when children are most like to be asleep.

I believe that the characters in this play are very naturalistic as they do take long pauses to emphasis the use of thought and they do overlap over other peoples dialogue like normal people do in real life. I also feel that the relationships between the characters are very believable as they take the mick out of each other and they are very relaxed in the topics that they talk about which shows a sense of comfortableness around each other. I think this is mainly due to the fact that this production was originally a play so the actors had already been working with the characters and actors for a long time so they were comfortable with the material. But also they have brought that relationship very clearly to the audio setting as well.

I would say that this play is a drama as it does tackle very controversial and challenging themes through out the play. However there is also funny qualities to the play through the dialogue. For example when we find out that John has been dating a woman and he gets confused he says "I need some straightening out" him ex gay partner then says "You've already done that". This comedy is witty and sort of lightens up the play to make the themes seem less threatening.

Techniques for Audio Performances

The Body:
When performing any audio piece it is important that your body is...
. Loose, if the body is loose there is no restriction for your voice and the actor will be relaxed behind the microphone
. Have your body weight on the balls of your feet, that way your weight pulls you closer to the microphone and makes you voice more direct
. Have your legs spread shoulder width apart, this means you are grounded and the voice is supported by the body
. Released your arms, this means your are able if you want to use gestures to help you get your text across to the microphone.

The Microphone:
It is also important to consider the microphone in comparison to the body...
. Stand sideways to the microphone, this will help the actor to avoid popping. (Popping is when letters like P re overly emphasised on the mic and you can distinctively here a pop noise)
. Don't stand to close to the microphone as your voice will sound to loud for the audience. It is best to stand about a hand size away from the mic.
. Breathe in threw your nose and mouth, this will help depress the noise of your breathing in the recording

Extra noises:
With in you audio performance you may have extra sounds like...
. Sound effects, these are often used to help indicate where the actors are set or what time era. It can also help describe the actors actions and what is happening around the actors. For example there could a noise of a kettle boiling so we know it is probably set in a kitchen or there is the sound of a gun so we know someone has probably been shot.
. White noise, this is used just so that there is no silence in the audio piece. It is helpful to put as a background noise whilst someone else is talking.
. Music, this is used to indicate the passing of time, a time era in which the piece is set or even to set the mood of the scene or play.

The Rover - Costume rehearsal

For my character Florinda I wore a long black skirt that covered my ankles as that was seen as indecent to show off ankles in the restoration period. I also wore a front lace up bodice that had a front corset, puffy sleeves with sliver lace on the shoulders and it had very large hips that fell down to my shins. I think doing rehearsals in this costume was incredible helpful for getting into character. The corset meant that I was naturally sitting and standing up right were as when I was releasing in normal clothes I would have a tendency to slouch in my scene. The large hips also help me know where to place my other hand. My right hand would usually hold my fan but I never knew what to do with my spare arm so having the hips meant to could rest my arm on the hips. There was also some body restriction due to the costume as the corset made it harder to breathe through so I had to be very calm on stage and remember to take long deep breaths in order to feel comfortable on stage. It also meant that the fan became very useful in keeping me cool with in the costume as well as heightening the character.

The Rover - Modernisation

Whilst looking at the text and play itself, we decided to try a modernisation of the text. It meant that we took every single line and turn the language into contemporary language.  This also meant the we had to change certain setting. For instance we originally sit up right on two wooden chairs however in the modernisation we were sitting slouched on a sofa. The directions we the same but we modernised the environment we were in.

When it came to changing the language, it defiantly helped that we knew our lines off by heart and that we understood what the lines were saying. As if we didn't we would never have been able to modernise the text and show the right emotion in the text. For instance my first line in the original text is

"What an impertinent thing is a young girl bred in a nunnery. How full of question. Prithee no more Helena. I have told thee more then thou understand'st already."

And due to the fact I knew what florinda was saying I was able to change it to...

"Helena, you are going to become a nun. So stop asking me questions about sex because there is no point in me telling you"

True, this is not an exact translation of what Florinda originally says but it is the gist of the line with the subtext behind Florinda and her sister's conversation. I think that this exercise  was extremely helpful as it proved that we understood the context and subtext of the scene. It also shows how we understand the emotions and meaning of our scene. Mainly it meant that we were able to relate to the characters as we put them in a modern scenario.

First practice of Children's Story

In our lesson today we started to have a first look at performing an extract of our solo performances into a microphone. I decided to work on my children's story Disney's Atlantis - The Lost Empire simply because I think I will have to work on this piece as it requires extra character voices.

I started of by running the first page of the book so that I would become familiar with the text and I could start experimenting with different voices. Because all of the voices in the extract were men and I am clearly not a man, I had to try and find something that would resemble to voice of a young enthusiastic man. I think the voice sounded very husky as I think if I was to make him sound well spoken I would either make him sound quite feminine or it would become too old for the character. With his lines I would also added a lot of inflection to certain words like "Atlantis" as this is a keyword in the story that the children would need to be able to hear.

Then we got to perform the extracts into the microphone in front of everyone so that we could get some constructive criticism. We started talking about were the best place would be for the actor to stand in front of the microphone so that their voice would be picked up and not muffle into the microphone. For my piece I decided to stand a hand distance away from the mic as I thought I would be loud enough to be picked up by the mic and I would not hear my popping onto the mic. I then had to adjust the microphone to the perfect height and also find a good position in which to hold my book so that I could read from it whilst talking into the microphone.

Once I had performed the piece, the class said I had the right narration inflection in my voice that meant keywords were clearly notice and it was slow enough so that people were able to understand what was going on. I did get some constructive criticism that said my man's voice could have been deeper in tone to make him sound more like a man however the husky quality seemed to work for the character.

We then had a few minuets to practice and improve upon the criticisms we were given and then we would re-perform the extracts again one last time with the new improvements. We I added the deeper tone to the voice I defiantly heard the difference to the character and I believe it did sound more like a man. However I believe that I must keep the inflection in the character's dialogue, otherwise the character starts to sound a lot older then it should be.

The Rover - Character Profile

Florinda:

Florinda is the older sister to Helena and the younger sister to Don Pedro. They live in Naples and are a rich Italian family. In the beginning of the play their father has died and in his will he wishes for Florinda to marry a rich Indian lord called Don Vincentio.  However her brother, Don Pedro wants Florinda to marry his best Don Antonio. But Florinda has madly fallen in love with a British colonel who saved her from being raped in an attack. His name is Belville and at the Carnival him and Florinda plan to run away.

Her sister Helena is told that she is to become a nun so she also plans to go to the carnival so that she can have her way with men as a celebration of her freedom. Because Florinda is the older sister she is expected to marry for wealth however Helena is seen as a burden and trouble maker and would be better of in a nunnery where she can't destroy the reputation of their family.

Unlike her sister, Florinda is very much a typical woman of the restoration period. She is subservient to men and she often is seen as an object to be sold onward. However her sister very much defies all conventions as she is very head strong and she is not afraid to stand up to the men. Due to the close relationship between Florinda and Helena, Florinda often has spurts where she defies her brother as her sisters has a big influence on her however she then remembers that she is the lesser to her brother.

Since the play, the Rover, is written by Apha Behn, who was the first female playwright, the women and men's roles are almost reversed as the females are very boisterous compared to the men who are more seductive and sensitive. I therefore think that both Florinda and Helena are very amazing characters for the modern mannerisms compared to the society they live in.

Women on the Stage:

It was until Charles II was in power in 1660's that women were finally allowed to start acting on stage. Originally all of the female parts in plays had been performed by men. These men went to special acting schools in which they were stripped of all their masculinity and instead they were turned into women. They would learn special gestures that were viewed as feminine and they were taught to speak in a feminine pitch and tonality. However when the women actresses were allowed on the stage, the men actors who had forever been taught to be women, had no jobs as they could perform as woman and they no longer had the ability to present as men.

When the news actresses started, playwrights started to write their play where women were seen as sexual objects rather then equals to the men. This is because the females aroused the attentions of audiences in more ways then just the ability of being able to act. Many female actresses were also prostitutes so an audience member could watch their performance and afterwards have their way with them after wards.

One of the most famous of these actresses was Neil Gwyn. She was originally an orange girl who would sell oranges during the plays and she would send messages between audience members. She started her acting career when she was 13/14.years old and she was considered to be a very beautiful actress to watch. There was even rumours that she was King Charles II's mistress.

Some other famous actresses in the Restoration Period were:
. Anne Bracegirdle
. Elizabeth Barry
. Margaret Hughes ( she was the first ever female actress)

Example of Audio Ensemble - Just A Minute

What is a Radio Panel Show
A radio panel show is a broadcasted show that has a group of celebrities participate in a variety of questions either aimed at them or at a certain topic. In a original panel show it is usually performed in front of an audience however in this modern world some panel shows use prerecorded reactions from an audience. It means that the show is not completely quite and it can become even funnier when the contestants mess up in front of an audience.

Just a Minute - Radio Panel Show:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qp1mh#play

The idea of this show is that there is 4 contestants (who are some kind of TV personality) who are give just 1 minute to talk continually without hesitation, repetition or any other incorrect words. If they do break the flow some one can buzz in an take over the talk until the minute runs out. The contestants win points by butting in correctly or if they are the last person to talk in the minute.

The shows uses the sound effect of audience laughing and a buzzer. I think these sound effects clearly state what types of show it is (a comedy panel show) but also it helps indicate when the contestants are interrupting and it also helps show who is speaking as they start to talk after the buzzer goes off. in the beginning of the show it plays a short theme tune that is light and jolly. The music does resemble the type of jolly and light hearted nature of the show and its content. I think that this show is effective as it does make enjoyable comedy that any one can listen to and could even join in the game as the audience will also listen to the talker to see if they make a mistake.

This programme would most likely be played during the daytime as it doesn't contain any strong language or controversial themes. Therefore it would be suitable for younger and older views. However younger children may not find it something as interesting that they would sit down and listen to the whole episode therefore I think the show would most suitably be aired on an adult radio station like BBC radio 2, 3 or 4. I think the main interest of the programme comes from the continual interruption from the other contestants as it brings the humour when they get annoyed or they make fun of the other contestants. The show however is light hearted and the contestants don't get offend by the comments and the audience laughter helps create the light hearted atmosphere.

My Choice Children's Story

My choice Children's Story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Icj_g-5po

This is a Disney children's story called "Atlantis - The Lost Empire". The story follows a man named Milo who is looking for the city of Atlantis. He is looking for the city as his father tried to find Atlantis when he was younger but he died and Milo wants to carry on his legacy. There is music used through out the story. There is a main voice over narrating the story but there is also other actors playing the characters and there is sound effects to help heighten the story.

This story would most likely be shown in the day time since it is based for children and it doesn't have any controversial themes or bad language in it. Also it would be aired on child friendly or family programmes like radio Disney or even some music stations like heart or Kiss as a one off special. The story however starts of with a war which could become quite scary so perhaps it may be played more in the afternoon or evening so that older children will listen to the story rather then young children and it could be used as a bedtime special.

All of the actors need to have clarity and good projection as this story is based for children and they may not be able to understand the story if it is quiet or muffled. The actors must also be able to have energy and enthusiasm in their voice in order to captivate the children. I feel that all of the actors are standing away from their microphones as they are fully immersed into the story however the narrator sounds like he is right up to the microphone. This could be so that he is talking directly to his audience and he is not a character within the story.

The background music starts of being quite sinister as it is in the middle of a war but as the story progresses and the characters start to go on their adventure, the music becomes more exciting and captivating. I think this is done to make the children be able to create images in their head of the story. There is also many sound effects that play through out the story. For example the story says "Milo turned on a slide projector" and at this point there is a sound effect of a switch turning on. It starts to set the scene and characters for the children and allows them to create images of the story in their heads..

My Choice Monologue

My choice Monologue:

This is a monologue from a play called "the table laid". The character is a woman called Galina who is a Russian refugee and she is talking about her life before the revolution that made her a refugee. In this version of the monologue their is not music in the background  instead there is a very subtle white noise in the background underneath the actors voice. This is done so that we focus only on the actors voice and are more likely to emote with the character's story.

I think this monologue would most likely performed on adult channels because it deals with mature themes like death, war and the worth of life. It would be suitable for channels like BBC radio or even some regional stations however it wouldn't be played on music stations as it wouldn't relate to that style of station. I also believe because of the context of the piece it would mostly likely be on in the evening as the context is mature so children would need to be in bed.

The actor must have clarity in their voice as they want their audience to be able to understand what she is says but also there is white noise in the background which could drown her out is she isn't clear in her speech. Also she mightbe slightly further away from the microphone so it will be even more important for her to have good projection as the microphone may not pick her up and she could get lost in the white noise. The piece is very intimate as it is just one person is talking so the actor defiantly needs to be clear and loud but more importantly emotive with her word otherwise the audience won't hear compassion in the piece.

Personally I think there should have been more background sounds or music to show either where she is set or what feel the monologue is meant to have on their audience. By just having white noise it could become quite dull as nothing changes to the sound. However the emptiness could be deliberate in order to show the emptiness and carelessness for her inevitable death. The white noise also allows the audience to her her breathing and shuffling during the monologue which make her some more real as they are simple human sounds. Therefore I think it depends on how you decided to intemperate this monologue to whether you like the silence of the piece.

My Choice Advert

My Choice Advert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brgwPMSJ2QM

This is an Advert on TV and Radio for American Express. The advert Targets at people looking for financial services in credit card, charge card and traveller's cheque business. The advert is done with one voice over that promotes the "helping your world run smoothly" service. It is all placed on top of a jingle with sound effects mixed in the heighten certain parts of the text.

This advert would most likely be played during the daytime as it is very light in its context and it has a jingle. However it also could be very useful to be played in the late afternoon or evening when people are driving home from work as they notice the advert more when they are stuck in traffic or relaxing for the day. It is aimed at adults so it also would be more appropriate for adult radio programmes like BBC channels or even regional music stations.

As the advert is mainly the voice over, most of the delivery and advert relies on how persuasive and effective the actor's voice is. This actor has clarity in their voice and they have great pronunciation. however it is not an overly energetic voice as it is more seductive as it is trying to sell their service as relaxing and easy. They do this by having the voice over very low and slow rather than having lots of noises and high pitched.

The Background music to this advert is quite gentle and relaxing which means that the music also is used to give a sense of relaxation or easiness when customers use American Express. However this advert uses a lot of sound effects that link to some of the things that are said by the voice over. For example in the advert is says "like when intelligent security systems can help protect you from fraud" During this line they have sound effects of lasers that are rebounding off of walls. It reinforces to the audience the protection of their service against fraud. Also the use of sound effects slightly in-formalise the advert so it is more appealing to the audience as it is not all facts and figures. This inform way of advertising makes it more repeatable to everyone as it makes their service seem relaxed and easy and something that anyone could do.

Example of audio ensemble - Cabin Pressure

What is a radio sitcom
A radio sitcom is a show that either involves sitcom elements, sketches and various other types of Comedy. It usually follows the same characters and it will be broadcasted either once of a few times a week at the same time each week. most of these sitcoms are usually 30 mins to 1 hour long and it is continually filled with gags and sound effects that enhance the comedy of the show. these shows are not usually recorded in front of a live audience but some of them do have laughter written into the script to once again enhance the comedy of the show. This type of show can be recorded in a large room all together as it allows the actors to bounce off of each other with the gags. However sometimes they may record each character separately as they may want to edit in the extra sound effects of cut some of the dialogue in the final cut.

Cabin Pressure - Radio Sitcom 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cqhr3#play

Cabin Pressure is a radio show that was broadcast on BBC radio 4. It was a comedy series that last 28 minuets per episode and it was based on eccentric crew of the single aeroplane. The series stared Stephanie Cole, Roger Allam, Benedict Cumberbatch and John Finnemore.

At the beginning of the show there is the use of a intercom before any off the actors speak. This sound effect is incredible effect as it sets up the style of the show as we instantly know that it has something to do with air planes and it is also a clear way to start the show. There is also the use of audience laughing that it used through out the play after any funny or sarcastic lines. I think this is effective as it shows the comedic theme of the piece and it means that the listener doesn't feel as odd laughing to the jokes by themselves. there is only once us of music at the beginning of the play that introduces the piece with the title of the play and the writers of the script. The music is light and bubbly which I think is very suitable to the show as it resembles the light comedic theme to the script. plus it also could resemble the type of music you may hear whilst travelling or in an airport.

When I first heard an episode of this show it was during the night at around 9 o'clock, however I feel that this show could also be shown during the day as there is no foul language or controversial themes that may upset people and it is a comedy so it could be enjoyed by all. It also could be a good show to be played for when some one is travelling as the show itself is about travel and it would keep the travellers amused on their journey.

The itself does hold the audiences interest as the story is continually moving by switch between characters so regularly and their isn't any scene that goes over 5 minuets. This means that the scenes are always changing but the comedy and story travels through the whole show. I think the main bulk of the comedy comes from the collisions between the characters. There are four main characters who all are working on a single air plane. carol who is the head strong leader of the group and as she is the only femLe she likes to hold her ground against them. Then there is Douglas who is the oldest male who is usually the most cynical of all the characters. Martin is the captain of the air plane and he is quite a pathetic character as he is the captain but carol and Douglas some how out rank him. And finally there is Arthur who is considerably dumber and kinder then the other three characters. Because of he outrageous differences between each character, they butt head a login the show and the comedy usually comes for one of the characters teasing the other character. I. Think this makes it entertaining for the audience as it is just like a normal family when they bicker. Therefore I think the show does have the right atmosphere as the comedy comes through very clearly and effectively.

The Rover - Research

Alpha Behn

She was born 14th December 1640 and she lived until she was 48 (16th April 1689). She was a playwright, poet, translator and fictional writer form the restoration period. She broke cultural barriers as she was one of the first females to earn a living wage for her writing. She belonged to a coterie of poets and famous libertines like John Wilmot and Lord Rochester.

Theatres had been closed under the rule of Cromwell but we reopened under Charles 2nd.She wrote 3 plays but none of them thrived so she stopped writing for 3 years then when she returned, she decided to take a comedic course for her plays. One of her most popular plays was the Rover.

 She caused scandles due to some of the subject matters she wrote about often alluding to sexual desire. She knew that the works would not have caused a problem if they had been written by a man. She was ambitious, desiring fame and literary prestige, which for a woman is often regarded as suspect. She wrote the play the Rover in 1677. She was a royalist and her work frequently treated Puritans roughly.

The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers

The play was written in two parts and was first premiered 24th March 1677. The play is set during Carnival time in Naples Italy during the English Interregnum. The story has multiple plot line, which deal with the amorous adventure of a group of Englishmen in Naples at Carnival Time.

The Rover is a man called Willmore and he has fallen for the beautiful courtesan Angelica however he can not buy her as she is too expensive so instead he decides to steal her picture at the carnival. When Angelica knows this, she is drawn to Willmore and she gives herself freely to hi. But she falls in love with him. Also in Naples, a woman called Helena is robe sent to a convent but she wants to experience love before she goes to become a nun. So she goes to the carnival as well and she falls in love with Willmore. this makes Angelica swear revenge on Willmore for his betrayal.

Meanwhile Helena's older sister FLorinda attempts to marry her true love Colonel Belvile, rather than the man her father wishes her to marry (don VIncentio) or Don Antonio, the man her brother (Don Pedro) wants her to marry. both FLorinda and Belvile plan to run away with each other at the carnival. Elsewhere a wealthy gentleman called Blunt, is charmed into the arms of Lucetta. Believing that she is in love with him, Blunt is humiliated to discover she is a thief and prostitute.

English Cival War
During 1642 and 1651 there was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between parliament (Roundheads) and royalists (cavaliers) over the manner of England's government. The first (1642-1646) and second (1648-1649) was pitted the supporters of King Charles 1st against the supporters of the long parliament and the third (1649-1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles 2nd and supporters of the rump parliament.

The Overall Outcome To the War:
. The retail and execution of King Charles 1st (1648)
. The exile of his son, Charles 2nd (1651)
. The replacement of English monarchy at the first with commonwealth of England (1649-1653)
. And then the protectorate under the personal rules of Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658)

King Charles 1st had hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into one single kingdom but many parliamentarians had suspicious regarding such a move because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy.


Oliver Cromwell:
He was an English military and political leader and later Lord protector of the commonwealth of England. He was a Puritan and so he was on the Roundheads during the Cival war. He signedKing Charles 1st death warrant in 1649 and father that he dominated the commonwealth of England until 1658 when he died of natural causes and was buried in west Minster abbey. The royalists then returned to power in 1660 and they had Oliver's corpse dug up, hung in chains and then beheaded.

The Interregnum:
It was the period between the execution of Charles 1st in 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles 2nd in 1660 which marked the starts of the restoration. During the interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government like commonwealth of England, rump government, Oliver Cromwell and Barebone's parliament. After the parlimentarians victory in the Civil War, the puritans views of the majority of parliament and its supporter began to imposed on the rest of the country.

The puritans advocate an austere lifestyle nod restricted what they saw as the excesses of the previous regime. Holidays, like Christmas and Easter were suppressed. Pastimes  such as theatre and gambling were also banned. However, some forms of art that were thought to be virtuous such as opera, were encouraged.

Exile of Cavaliers:
A cavalier was described as a reckless nonchalant attitude, although still with a suggestion of stylishness. As consequence of their support for the royalist cause in the English civil war, several hundered Cavaliers, often accompanied by their families, went into exile in Europe for periods ranging from a few weeks to twenty years. These exiles lasted within the year 1640 and 1660. Cavaliers living in exile in Europe had to become familiar with a variety of different currency's and with 2 calendars (the Georgian or the new style) in use on the continent and the old style, which was ten day behind, still used in England.

Restoration:
It began in 1660 when Charles 2nd was restored to the throne after the interregnum from 1649-1660. During restoration Charles instated the cavalier parliament and it lasted from 1661 till 1679. Many royalists (cavaliers) who were exiled returned to England and they were rewarded. The men who signed Charles 1st death warrant were put onto trial due to the new law the indemnity and oblivion act instigated in 1660.

Theatres reopened after having been closed during the protectorship of Oliver Cromwell, purtitism lost its momentum and the bawdy restoration comedy became a recognised genre. In addition women were allowed to perform on the commercial stage as professional actresses for the first time ever.

Restoration Comedy:
Started in 1660, it was notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles 2nd and by the rakish aristocratic ethos of his court. The socially divers audiences included both aristocrats, their servants and hangers-on and a substantial middle class segment. It also introduced the first female paid playwright Alpha Behn and female actresses like Elizabeth Barry.

The Rover - Second rehearsal

In today lesson we showed back our newly blocked scene from the Rover and started to change either some of the stage directions or some of the emotions involved in the scene.

For instance we originally had a table centre stage that my character Florinda used to sit behind but now it has been moved the up stage right and is a drinks table that Mike's Character Pedro uses when he enters the scene. We also have two single chairs that are place at the centre back of the stage which was originally were we had the table situated. we use these chairs when me and Katrina first enter as we sit on them to gossip about the man that Florinda loves. We also have moved the chaise lounge closer to the centre so that once Helena had got all worked up she can collapse into it without being too separated from her brother and sister.

We have also added more, or analysed deeper into the character's emotions within the scene. For instance I started of by thinking my character wants to try and keep the piece between her brother and sister but now I see she is more scare of the confrontation and that is the reason why she stays quite through out their argument. I also use my fan as something to hide behind and the calm myself down so that I don't upset myself. It means that I can make some perhaps comedic facial expressions within this scene to ease the situation for the audience.

For Helena's character she started of just hating the fact that she would become a nun and that her sister would be given away to a man she didn't love. However Helena now feels that she must argue to save her sister even though she is the younger of the two. But also she feels that her brother is deliberately saying these things to annoy her so her anger is also built up to try and show her strength as a woman against her brother.

The Rover - First Rehearsal

When we first started looking at the rover we did a quick read through of the script in order to start getting a handle on the language and what our scene is about. 

In our scene, my character Florinda has been told in her father's will that she must marry a man called Don Vincentio, an old Indian man. However Florinda's brother (Don Pedro) wants her to marry his best friend Don Antonio. But Florinda is madly in love with a British man who saved her in siege of Pampalone called Belvile. At the same time, Florinda's younger sister (Helena) has been told by her brother Pedro that she must become a nun and Helena is very annoyed with both her's and her sister's situation. At the end of the scene both Helena and Florinda decided to escape their apartment and go in disguise to the carnival in order to have some freedom before they are both tied down. 

After looking at the scene we then decided to do a movement workshop that would help us discover the social etiquette of this era. In the exercise we all had to walk around the room as if we were our characters from the rover. We had to stand correctly like we were wearing corsets and we had to try to glide across the floor. I found this quite hard as I was in a pair of large boots so gliding did not come naturally to me. We then had to improvise a party scene where in which me and Katrina were the party hosts and we had to make conversation with people in the same way in which they would have in that era. I found this helpful as we had music in the background that gave the mood of the era but also once we knew some of the mannerisms with the fans, I felt that I could start to see the character coming to life.

Then we went back to our original scenes and started to block the scenes whilst adding more to our characters. We decided to stage our play with a desk in the centre stage at which Florinda would sit at. We had a chaise lounge put on stage left in which Helena would rest on but she mainly was standing in stage left. And on stage left we had a chair that Pedro would sit on it but he also mainly stands in the scene. We then added some more of our characterisation to our characters. For example Florinda gets very anxious when her brother and sister are arguing so i tried to use the fan as a shield to hide behind. Helena also gets very angry and flustered so she uses the fan to cool herself down after she has worked herself up. 

Example Children's Story for Solo Audio

Example of Children's story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtXGmnR9F5Y

This children's story is Roald Dahl's "Revolting Rhymes - Cinderella". The story follows the traditional romantic story of a girl who was tormented by her step mother and sisters but she married the prince due to a fairy godmother who transformed her into a beautiful princess. However since it was a revolting rhyme the prince cuts of the step sister's heads and Cinderella doesn't marry the prince instead she marries a simple man with a good heart.

This story would most likely be play in the daytime and early evening due to the fact that it is a children's story and most children would be able to listen to the recording during the day. Also it would most like be played on a children's channel or family show due to the fact it is based for children.

For this type of acting, the actor must be able to create separate character voices and be able to sustain these voice through out the story. They must use clarity and projection so that the children will understand what they are saying and they must be a lot slower with their delivery of their lines due to the fact the children will not always understand what is said and they have a better chance of understanding if it is slower.

There is no background music to this story however there is sound effects that appear through out the story. For example at the beginning of the story it says "while darling little Cinderella, was locked up in the slimy cellar" at the same time it has a sound effect of a drop of water/slim that echos each time it hits the floor. This sound effect enhances the fact it is slimy and in a cellar but also it breaks up the text and helps create the story images for the children.

Example Monologue for Solo Audio

Example of Monologue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfcqSXKS-ic 

This is a monologue called "The belt" and it is from Robert Katz on a series called Blue Jam Monologues. The monologue is based on a man who is homeless and he sleeping in large operation buildings like BBC. A taxi driver calls into the building looking for some and so the man gets into the taxi as no one seems want the taxi. The man gets dropped off to a party hosted by a famous comedy actor. The actor asks the man for his belt and so he gives it to him but he realises that later the actor has accidentally killed himself through asphyxiation with his belt. Through out this monologue there is two pieces of music played underneath the voice over.

This monologue was most likely performed in a late evening show simply due to the fact that it contains strong mature content with death and sex. Therefore it would be based for an adult audience due to the mature content.

The actor for this monologue obviously has very good rhythm with their voice as the monologue is 6 minutes long so they have to sustain an engaging performance that will not bore its audience. Also they must be very clear with their words other wise the listener will not know what is going on. I don't believe the actor has to use must projection as they sound as if they are very close to their microphone. I think having the actor so close to their microphone is very effective as this monologue is quite sinister so have the actor close makes the words pierce into the listeners ears. I also noticed that the actor as a small reverb to their voice. I think they have done this to once again enhance the sinister sense to the monologue.

The background music at the start is very basic as it is a simple run on the piano that only lasts for a few seconds but is continually repeated. I think they have used this to show the simplicity of the homeless man's life by have a simple sound. However when the homeless man then goes to a more exciting environment the music changes to a quite lively sound. When the comedic actor finally dies in the monologue the music doesn't change. Actually everything stays the same. I think this was a conscious decision as it kind of show that the actor's death didn't matter, it wasn't important and it wasn't anything anyone cared about because nothing changed.

Example Advert for Solo Audio

Radio Advert Example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEbQdIu7h14

This is an advert on TV and Radio for WE BUY ANY CAR. The advert targets at car owners who want to sell their cars. The advert starts off with a first person directly talking about how they sold their car and was able to spend their money on better things. It then starts to play a jingle that underlines a voice over by James Cordon talking about some statistics of the company.

This advert would mostly be played during the day time or evenings since its target audience is people who own cars however I think it would be best to be shown in the evening as people would have finished work and already be driving home ready to listen to the radio. It would mostly be played on adult TV channels simply due to its adult audience and it doesn't really appeal to children.

Within this advert, both the actors have been able to use clear pronunciation and sustain clarity within their voice. They have also been able to portray high energy and enthusiasm for the advert which makes the piece a lot more engaging for the audience.

The background music also enhances the advert as it is quite a light heartened and relaxing tune which will make the audience relate those feeling to the audience each time they listen to the advert. The advert includes the sound effects of the woman laughing whilst she throws money into the air. you can distinctively hear the money falling and hitting each other. These sound effects of laughing is quite an effective device as it simulates joy or success to the audience and therefore could make them feel that the company would bring the customer joy and success. I also think the money falling is also a key selling point as the customer wants money to be the outcome of using their services but it also it reinforces the idea of joy as they would be getting what they want.