Project lessons

Grounding

We often use this exercise in our lessons. It is about finding our roots in order to ground ourselves. Handsour centre, breath into our find and fire our cord of energy. It goes up through our torso, neck and head. It goes into the sky above so we can look over the whole of Southend. It can be any colour you like, mine is usually bright orange. We have to feel, see and hear our surroundings, heightening our senses and imagination. We take in specific details such as how the sea moves and how different people walk. After this, we activate our vocal vibrations and stand on the edge of a sea of water. This has an effect on our breathing and makes us feel calm and relaxed. We then walk around the room, feeling grounded and relaxed. This prepares us for the lesson.

Timeline

This is a very useful exercise for going into detail. This also gives makes memories a lot clearer and makes it feel real. We create a timeline on the floor and decided which direction our past/future is in. We step into the exact moment in our life the memory happened. We tell our peers where we are/what is happening as if it is happening in the present. They ask lots of questions in order for everyone to have a clear/detailed understanding of the setting/emotions you are experiencing. This really helps me connect to a place/memory and brings the world of the play to life.

Passion

We were asked to talk about something we feel passionately about. This could be anything you want, from a hobby to a life motto. I created a mind map and wrote down various things such as friends/family, football and making the most of everyday. I chose to talk about mthe most of every day because it is such an important thing in life. We were asked to included the sense to talk about how this affects you. I spoke about how we should take all the opportunities that we get and how we should have no regrets. This worked well because it is a wide topic and I could talk about it for ages. I felt happy and confident to express how much it meant to me. It was lovelyinteresting to see what everyone was talking about. It was a great bonding exercises and also helped us become confident performing around each other. Furthermore, it allowed us to become loud/clear when speaking to everyone. Eye contact and pace were hugely important when trying to engage with everyone.

East 15 experience

-Asked to discuss time at East 15, present in any way you like

- Limited time- think quick on your feet

- Include senses/how these effect your time here

- Decided to present in the form of an advert

- Talked about lessons/town/uni square

- Made it comedic

- Presented it confidently

- Making eye contact/being relaxed gave me status/ made it easier for others to connect/put audience at ease.

- If something is original/creative, it can be risky but it can be very interesting to watch

Inner/outer characteristics

- Worked on our inner/outer characteristics

- Walked around the room in character (John), interacted with others/chatted to them

- Thought about how we present ourselves on the outside/want to be perceived (outer) compared to how we feel on the inside/really are/what we think (Inner)

- Discussed how these characteristics affected the character we portrayed/how well they were shown.

- Showed shyness/politeness/snappy attitude when talking to others/head in the clouds

- Hard to show inner characteristics- want to make them hidden to others, yet allow audience to see them

- Need more character research- find the depth to the character/motivation/inner characteristics.

John- 'Cock' by Mike Bartlett- inner/outer characteristics

Inner: Anxious/confused/frustrated/broken/insecure/sensitive/romantic/bored/dependent/vulnerable/imaginative/friendly/outgoing

Outer: Kind/friendly/romantic/short-tempered/optimistic/on-edge/polite/shy/snappy/blunt/calm/defensive/comforting/warm

Violence and Son

- Chose scene to work on/perform

- Me: Liam, Elysia: Jen

- Discussed play/scene/context/circumstances/characters/atmosphere

- Read through/discussed thoughts on scene

- Interesting to see different interpretations/perspectives- makes scene feel more real/honest/interesting to play around with

-Showed to class- good feedback:

- Comedic opening

-Clear/shocking contrast/beat changes

- Castable/suitable character choices

- Needs polishing

- Needs character research

Circles/status

- 1st circle = Shy/timid/struggles to get a say/doesn't want to talk
- 2nd circle = Middle- talks/listens
- 3rd circle = Doesn't listen/acknowledge what other people say- maybe rude/obnoxious/in your face

 Performed improvisation exercise based on circles
- In partners, one person is first circle, one is third cicle
- Improvisation with stimulus of returning a kettle to a shop
- Interesting to create a character/see how their circle effects how they interact with others
- Often difficult as it restricts the dialogue used in the scene
- First circle was shy/quiet/low status
- Third circle was annoying/obnoxious

Second improvisation

- Scene about returning hoover
- I played a third circle/low status character
- Was rude/bored/lazy/didn't want to listen

Circles have a big effect on how we interact with others, often we can switch in between circles depending on the given circumstances/ who we are with. It is useful to create a back story to explain why you are in that circle.

Improv exercise- news presenters- job interview

- Got into groups of 5, had to create a short improvisation based around a job interview

- Each person must have their own individual status/circle/character/relationship to others, these must be made clear

- Set as an interview for a news presenter

- I played a third circle/mid-high status/ arrogant & rude TV presenter

- Made this clear

- This was a fun exercises- could be good stimulus/ a good base for a play

Whispering

- Whispering helps us find the truth in what we are saying

- Strips away all the 'acting' to make it honest and believable

- Feels more personal/direct/important

- Got into pairs, whispered monologues to each other as if we were having a casual conversation

- Extreme naturalism

- Made me rethink the way I perform my monologue/experiment of new ways to perform it

- Gets us out of the pattern of performing a speech rather than delivering words for the first time.