Developing Contemporary Dance Technique (17th Feb)

All black with white accents and space buns in hair

Developing Contemporary Dance Technique (10th Feb)

Wearing black and white striped shorts, black tshirt with purple logo

Developing Contemporary Dance Technique (3rd Feb)

(back right)

(all black)

THE TEMPEST Character Physicality & Song Interpretations (NEED TO FINISH)

Our aims for this lesson were to explore our characters/groupings (ie. royals, servants, magicals etc) physicality, to gain a further understanding of our characters and relationships, and to become accustomed to a physical approach to the rehearsal process without scripts in hand.

All of these points are important for our performance specifically due to it being performed at the Brighton Open Air Theatre, shown below. Because it is outside, it is easy for the wind to take away our voices, due to the lack of acoustics, usually provided by an inside auditorium. Due to the size of the space, potentially seating 425 audience members, Our physicality can be lost if it is not big and over exaggerated. This is important for our groupings, for example if one character group of a specific status has a motif or movement, the actors need to ensure all members are doing it in the same style, level of tension and in unison, to establish their relationship to the audience, even at the back row.

As part of our concept for the production, we are using Kneehigh and their stylised fashion of performance. The four main points that make a piece stylised are The 7 States of Tension, Pace, Repetition and Exaggeration.
We are pulling stylised inspiration from groups/practitioners such as DV8, Frantic Assembly, Complicite and obviously Kneehigh.

DURRINGTON HIGH SCHOOL REHEARSALS (GC1, GC2 & GC3)

GC1- For a successful ensemble in this circumstance, musical and verbal skills are all needed at equal importance, with physical just below. Musically, we need to be able to show our skills with professionalism and flair, to a high standard. This will enhance showing our audience that we can work and create as  an efficient ensemble. Our verbal skills can be used in the workshop section of our performance, to be able to communicate well with the students at Durrington High School, teaching them good ensemble skills and about the themes and plot of the Show, We Will Rock You. Our physical skills are important as we need to show our characters so that the audience can understand our relationships, for example Brit and Meat, need to have intimate postures and movements to show they are together. However because we are not performing any dance, our physical skills are not the most vital.


Tuesday's rehearsal videos:

GC2 & GC3-

We began by discussing the way we wanted the performance and workshop at Durrington to go, As a group we talked about the format of the performance.  We decided to use duets from the three main partnerships in the show, Scaramouche and Galileo,  Meat and Brit and Killer Queen, however Khashoggi (Jordy and Sam) are going to be introducing the piece, and therefore are not singing. From this we chose I want It All, Another One Bites The Dust and Under Pressure. We also chose two songs that utilise our ensemble skills as a company, We Are The Champions and Radio Ga Ga. These are also the songs that we are most prepared with, some with choreography and parts divided and readily rehearsed. I suggested splitting each duet by cast, having one cast perform one half of the song, and the other performing the next part. This allows for a more ensemble feel, and for each actor to be able to show their interpretation of their characters. For example Jaydee and I, both playing Brit, have a very contrasting take on the role, I used Meat to show her softer and more sensual side, whereas Jaydee displays her as a harsh and rough tomboy, showing off her high status at The Heartbreak Hotel.

We then split off into groups, one for the songs and one for the workshop section. Working on the song choices made, I lead the Radio GaGa discussion, because Talia and I had already choreographed for this song, and we planned to use it for the workshop. We also went through each song deciding when to switch casts and when to cut them. Cutting the songs means for a shorter snippet of each song, keeping the younger audience engaged. In terms of organisation, in the group we had at least one person from each pairing, therefore we could decide who would be singing what fairly and with good knowledge of the songs in an effective and disciplined manner. 

As seen in the videos, Talia, Olivia and myself worked on splitting and working on I Want It All, with our designated parts. We found that because of our younger audience and possible disinterest, adding choreography was vital. Talia and I discussed successfully a simple but effective routine that involves our physical skills, that also allow for audience interaction, using direct address. Splitting off in this way allows for us all to focus hard on each aspect of our own characters and performances, working collaboratively to develop each others performances. For example I helped Jaydee in showing character through her voice when singing, and she encouraged my confidence when directly singing to audience members. 

When returning to the other group, we discussed what we had so far, and performed what we had decided on. This first run through was really helpful in gaining a better understanding of what we wanted to teach in the workshop to follow, and allowed us to contribute ideas as an ensemble. 

Thursday (day of performance) rehearsal videos:



GC2 & GC3- As this was the day of the performance, we felt it was important to refine and perfect our movement and formations throughout the whole piece, to demonstrate our skills with flair and creativity. Talia and I taught the rest of the cast the rest of the Radio GaGa choreography. This involved using my communication and leadership skills in a professional manner, as it was important that everyone felt confident on the movement as this type of unison fits with the narrative of the song, the meaning behind it and also shows our professionalism when performing. 

This time was mainly dedicated to running the performance as a whole, and as for the weaker parts, out of lesson we decided to develop these. Also, we looked heavily at the format and logistics of the workshop. We decided who was saying what and our groupings efficiently. In exercises in lessons, we normally work without pairings in relation to the narrative of the show, however for this workshop we felt it would be contrasting and more interesting for the students if we worked with people we would not normally work with, also showing them to work with anyone and everyone, which is a vital aspect of a successful ensemble. 

The most beneficial part of this rehearsal for me was being able to sing through the whole piece with the backing we will be performing with. Beforehand we had used the original soundtrack as it was much simpler for rehearsals, however when being accompanied live, it allows for easier cuts, and for a more fluid medley feel to the piece as a whole. This gave me a lot of confidence for the performance, as my character and audience reaction had improved massively since working on it with Jaydee. However, this is going to be very different to the students as i do not know them, and they may not be as likely to join in and clap etc. Before leaving for the school, Talia and i took time to rehearse our part of the song, recapping the physical and musical aspects to ensure our performance was well rehearsed and showed us working as a successful ensemble. 

SO SING! PERFORMANCE (GC4)

GC4-  Overall I really enjoyed the So Sing! performance and thought it went really well. I used my confidence and connections with the group to show emotions for the songs, for example in the finale song we improvise clapping and simple dancing just having fun and because all of our smiles were genuine it makes for a better performance. I used focus in my facial expressions to show seriousness in the lower parts of the medley which created a contrast. During the split sections using countermelodies I kept my beat and to my lyrics really well and had no trouble being able to project enough to hear myself over others singing the other part next to me. This is the same as the harmonies, especially in the final couple of lines of the piece, we sang the chorus of 'Keeping Your Head Up' accapella, which included some really smooth harmonies, which was really effective and had a massive impact after the performance.

This contrasts heavily to when we performed this same piece again at a meeting with all of the staff at college, presenting the department because of the impressive reputation we have developed. The audience were less involved, didn't clap and smile along like the previous audience, which was slightly off putting, however I and my ensemble maintained our composition and flair. This is due to them not being the type of people that would normally be involved in the arts, however we wanted to show them our skills and impress them. I found it harder to make eye contact with this audience whilst performing my solo, which meant it may have looked as though I lost focus throughout. 

SO SING! REHEARSALS (GC1, GC2 & GC3)

GC1- For this performance, I need to focus on my musical skills the most, followed by physical. Verbal is not necessary as I am only singing and doing some simple choreography.  I need to ensure my physical and musical skills work well together for myself and also with the rest of the company as this performance is based on creating exciting medley work in a large group, using harmonies, countermelodies and different types of accompaniment.

GC2 & GC3- So Sing! is a performance we have been given the chance to perform in, organised by our college which invites schools, colleges and theatre companies or artists to come and perform and enjoy others performances throughout the night. For our piece we are doing a medley of modern and well known songs. It is important we show our expertise as we are hosting and want to show what we are capable of.

Initially, we began with doing some counter melody warm ups to get used to singing contrasting parts at the same time, as some of the cast had never done it before. This is really helpful for developing a successful ensemble as it needs you to all work together but separately at the same time. I helped my peers by explaining why and how counter melodies work from my previous experiences with it; this gave me and them more confidence in rehearsal.

When rehearsing with the lyrics we found it hard to develop well because we were being held back. Therefore we split into groups to rehearse the songs we were least confident on. My group and I chose 'Tears Dry on Their Own' and 'Keeping Your Head Up', as these verses is the ones we were least confident on. We began by decided to split the time equally and work as a group, repeatedly singing through parts and trying out our own harmonies to suggest to the rest of the group. I found this rehearsal really useful because it allowed me to voice my ideas and discuss them further rather than proposing something to the whole group straight away. It gave me confidence running the songs with people I am comfortable and confident around whilst helping me learn lyrics. When returning to the main group, we all knew our lyrics much better and this allowed us to consider some movements and work on harmonies and vocal accompaniments during some solos.
For the coming rehearsals I made sure I was contributing and being engaged throughout the session, I was prepared with my lyrics now learnt and harmonies practiced alone and with groups in my spare time. 

As for my solo, I received it quite late in the process so I worked on it out of rehearsal a lot, disciplining myself to at least practice once a day. As I have one of the verses from 'Tears Dry on Their Own', the octave was quite low due to Amy Winehouse's style. I struggled a lot to reach these notes and project my voice enough to be heard well over the piano and guitar. Other soloists and I from the same song all worked together trying our different ways of sing our lines higher, making them our own. This allowed me to perform it with much more creativity and personality, creating a better performance for the audience.

As for the movement, we all developed some simple gestures directly linked to some of the lyrics, including reaches and hands on our hearts, all of which look really effective as an ensemble, but not as a solo. We also rock slightly t the beginning of the first song, during solos, again this would not look right as a solo, however when the whole company is performing such a simple movement all in unison it creates a wholesome feel, making it aesthetically pleasing for the audience. This also displays our skills sets. I worked with our choreographer to try out moves, in a discussion of trial and error during runs of the piece.