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
Wednesday 17 May 2017
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.
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.
Thursday 4 May 2017
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.
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.
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.
Thursday 23 March 2017
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.
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.
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.
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.
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