First Night- Wednesday

Wow! I really felt that our performance went sooo well on Wednesday! Even though there were a few little glitches, we mangaged to cover them up and i think the audience really enjoyed the performance.

Strengths

• Delivered all my lines correctly and felt my projection was much better that on Tuesday.
• Was ready to go on in costume and hair in every scene (with some help from maddy)
• Felt that there was a strong contrast with all my characters
• Covered up dropping of hula hoop in character

Weaknesses

• Dropped my hula hoop in opening scene
• Got really nervous before i went on
• In cooking for mum i said"heavenly" to mum when it should have been directed at the girl.

Overall, it was a good night and i got some really nice feedback from friends in the audience

One more sleep to go!!!

OMG! Its the night before our first real performance night and i think the feeling in my stomach is a huge combination of nerves and excitement!

Well the last week has been testing for me fitting in the usual onset of year 12 homework and part time work, drama rehursals have been very damanding. However, i have also thoroughly enjoyed this expireince. i truly belive that we are going to be one of the top year 12 productions throughout SA. Needless to say that we have the best director and an enthused and energetic group we also have such an amazing space to perfom in so we are so luky.

Ok getting down to the nitty gritty part, i think that i have improved with my whole diversity of characters. Especially in this last week and with the feedback i got yesterday my character has seriously devolped to the level where i almost fell to pieces in my best friend scene today. I think that this play is soo deep. I feel so ridicoulously stupid when im a hula hooper, duck and mallrat but its is so much fun. I think my costumes realy help with the transition though and i feel completely different everytime of come on as a different charater.
Some might say why put a circus and anorexia together but i think it is a perfect combination. The elements of the circus balance out the dark and depressing side of the play. It has meaning and depth and i think as a group we have worked really hard to try and put this across to the audience.

I sincerely feel that even though some of our rehursals were not made use of at the start and not everyone has been able to attend that what we are about to present to our friends, families, moderators and randoms that is of excellent quality. My estimated mark from yesterday has inspired me and i am going to perfom my little heart out for the next three nights.

I'd like to mention that have felt a little consumed by this subject. A lot of people are unaware of the extensive amount of energy that needs to be continously fed into it. It can become quite tiring physically and mentally, especially doing physical theatre. BUT i am so happy that for my final year at school i got to be a part of something like this.

Finally, Sundays full run through was interesting. I learnt that i need a running sheet with notes on how to change my hair(not my costume, thats ok:) ) because it is too much to store in ones head along with our lines. Therefore, i found a little corner behind the syche, which i will now have to move, thanks ms mace, that i can put everthing i need for the performance. It was weird not being able to run to the seats and get more stuf so i officially realised that i will have to have everything i need backstage. So figuring this out on sunday benefited my performance today as i stuck up my little running sheet(along with everyone elses) and was organized. Now today i nearly threw up before i went onstage because i was so nervous but this usually happens with the first encounter of the audience but then i eventually forget the audience is even there.

Well i think thats it for me goodluck everyone we will be awsome!!!

Getting sooo close!

Wow sunday's rehursal was awsome, aside from the fact we spent more than the usual amount of hours at school on a non school day, i think it was so productive!

Firstly,the energy we put into space jump was so beneficial to our group as a whole. I felt so confortable getting up as apposed to the day we did space jump when we had just got our characters. This highlights that our ensemble as a group even when we are not performing Mirror, mirror is excellent. Also doing park bench in our characters really helped me to see the friend in a different light up until last week i had always imagined the friend being quite loud and overly exaggerated but i've realised that she is slightly like this but more of a all rounder type of person i feel she is a little bit of each kind a a friend possible. Yes, she is bright and bubbly like i always imagined but there is a whole different perspective she wants to fit in just like the girl does, with her family, frinds, boyfrind, socially,etc she too has a lot of pressure, however she is mentally healthy and has a good balance whereas the girl is caught up in her own perfection.
Sorry getting back to park bench... it really allowed me to be the friend sitting next to her and feel that connection in a non-scene of the play.

Also i was so relieved when i finally got to do my Best Friend scene i got goosebumps when i actually delivered my lines. It was such an awsome feeling to know that i can take on a character and feel what they are feeling. Oh and the last scene.... it is totally wiked!! That church music really sets the mood and i almost cried GO JOSH!. I really think the audience will be truly moved by our production, i cant wait!!!

I know that we don't have much time left and as i group i think that we wasted quite a bit of time at the beginnig but going through act one without stopping on Sunday showed me how capable we really are of pulling this off. At this point i think we are well on our way to a top performance.

My only anxieties at the moment are costume and hair changes so that i can show my diversity as an actor and truly maintain each chracter without looking similar i.e( completely changing hair each time will be a challenge) I also truly think that my sewing ability is developing because of this play lol

Ok well i think i have completely vented now, i hope!

Although just a reminder to Ali to take not on how she communticates with people as we are all doing our best to help.

Ok bibi

Rehursals!!!

Omg I cant belive we are almost at the end of week three! And we still have a whole other act to get through...

The last three weeks have been so exciting getting scenes blocked in and i think everyone kinda thought we had heaps of time but now its like two weeks til were on and i felt sick when i realised that to day. I dont mean to state the obvious and make eveyone stressed but i really think we are going to have to be so focused to polish this thing up!

I think as a group we are working well trying to encourage and keep people on the ball and most have really made a commitment which is so good. But i think there is still a slight bit of negativity in the group , in regards to when someone has an idea or is trying to help ,people get defenssive and make people feel guilty for expressing their thoughts.However, i think this cannot be avoided as our group is filled with so many talented and strong minded people that there are bound to be some power struggles.

I would also just like to say that josh is doing a fantastic job!(Everyone else is too with acting!!!!) But for someone to put so much thought and effort into the music for our play it is so awsome!
In the past few rehursals i have really enjoyed the "Dancing Ponies" scene because the music is so compelling and easy to get into which gives makes me want to put all my energy into not only this scene but all the ones i am involved in.

The only thing im nervous about is that i am going to loose my hoola hoop on stage lol i hope i get one soon so i can practise.....

Well know that i've put all my random thoughts down im going to add in a few pics i have found to help with character development

Holidays... Character Development

I found the work we did on both tues and thurs was very helpful in developing our character. The 'hot seat' in the round activity was particularily beneficial!

As i was the first to go up i didnt know what to expect but i really enjoyed experimenting with my character. The only challenge that i see myself facing is trying to steer away from being MYSELF but i know i can overcome this...

Soo far i know that my character....

• does ballet
• loves horses
• has a boy friend
• wants to gain back the relationship she used to have with her best friend
• is a happy strong character
• is satisfied with her body image

I found some of these web sites useful in understanding how people cope with their close freinds having anorexia

• "TEENVOUGE" - http://boards.teenvogue.com/message.jspa?messageID=927798
• Reality reads.."Anorexia nearly killed my best friend"-http://dolly.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=253717

I really like my character i cant wait until we start blocking!!

Week Ten....Casting

I am the girls best friend. When i first heard this i was slightly shocked as i hadn't even really considered taking on her role. However, i am really excited about the challenge of playing a straight character. I know it will be a challange because i will have to dig deep to develop this character. I have to really become the girls best friend. I have to portray to the audience how the girls illness affects me and her social life. I am a representative of all friends who witness their friends suffer through eating disorders. I will do my very best to portray this character and carry out the neccessary research to get a better understanding of eating disorders.

I cant believe how much i am looking forward to working with everyone in rehursals!
Will see everyone in the holiday rehursals.. have a great holiday!

Del~

Week Eight and Nine... Ideas

Mirror, Mirror is a play which explores the ideas surrounding the seriousness of eating disorders. It is important that as a group we work towards creating an atmosphere which represents the girls mind as well as displays the impact she has on her surroundings.

Some suggestions that have been discussed in class that i agree would work well are:

• theatre in the round
• material positioned on the ceiling to create a circus tent like feel
• carnival stands in the front of house
• smoke machines

I think that this play will be amazing and if we sustain our characters as well as utilize these suggestions our audience will really feel as if they are a part of the girls' journey in her world of dellusion.

Week Seven... Waiting

While we have been waiting for our skripts to arrive we have been focusing on "Extreme skinny celebrities". This, i think, is the start to our very long journey of learning about eating disorders, as it is the main theme of 'Mirror, Mirror'.
It is helpful to see the effect the media has on eating disorders throughout society in order to portray this in our production.

I really don't have a specific character that i have my heart set on at the moment as they all have great potential however, i think it would be amazing to play the 'girl' or even the 'mother'. But charaters like the school girls and show girls interest me aswell. I think i would be happy if i get a few smaller characters so i can experience capturing each personality but i would also be happy with one main role.

So there's my vauge request Ms Mace, good luck casting:)

Week Six... Expression!

This week was extremely ispirational it really showed me the potential and talented people we have amongst our group!

I really feel that working with music helps me to come up with better ideas when experimenting with physical theatre. When our group put our ideas to music we were able to express ourselves much more elaborately and the piece tied together but in an alternate way to how we first imagined it.

This proves that in our group production we will really need to communicate with each other and also be confortable enough to work physically with one another and work towards doing this without the music ,so we can portray our ideas to the audience not just through dialouge but especially through physicality and expressionism.

I think the play Mirror, Mirror is going to be extemely deep and make a huge impact on the audience if we all stay focused and put as much energy into it as we have been with physical activities. The theme of anorexia has the potential to move a lot of audience members and give them a better understanding of how an anorexic mind works, as well as us.
I am so relieved that Ms Mace thinks this also and it was so moving to see her reactions to our presentations on Friday.

WE WILL BE FANTASTIC!!

Week Five....Direction

This week (which was really last week now.. woops) was quite interesting actually....
I have never really taken part in physical theatre before and it was really fun to experiment with! I found the activities we did during the last few lessons were helpful in displaying emotion in a creative way. It really forced me to move in a way that i was feeling not thinking. The partner work was a challenging yet beneficial task for me as it forced me to communicate with my partner without talking. This was difficult, however turned out to be relaxing and made me feel even more confortable with the group as we all felt as ridiculouse as one another.
I think more physical activites will be really helpful in preparing for our production and im soooo excited to actually get the script!
Hopefully it will be very soon! (hint hint Ms Mace)

K BIBI !

Week Four...EXCITEMENT!

This week has really reminded me of what Drama was like last year... full of impro and hilarious class discussions. It was really nice to have a less stressful week as i was begining to feel a bit anxious , as expressed in my last blog entry.

Aside from the more enjoyable lessons i am also relieved that we have chosen a play for the year 12 production with such enourmous potential. I am so looking forward to working together as a group to produce an impactful and impressive piece of 'Mirror, Mirror'.
I really hope that i have to the opportunity to be more involved in the play this year, than i was last year. However, i trust that Ms Mace will make good decisions whilst casting and try to make the roles as equal as possible keeping in mind how she thinks we will handle it.

I also look forward to SACE Drama day this Tuesday i think it will be quite beneficial towards the skills we should be developing throughout Drama this year.

Ok im off to fill out my excursion form hehe

Adele

Week Three...Worries

Today we got our essay question on Jack Davis, which was slightly concerning as it is due Friday. Although i was a bit stressed about doing it at first...i totally agree with Ms Mace and how the only way to get motivated is to just start it as soon possible. I have recognised this through my own experiences aswell in essay writing and the hardest part really is getting on a roll.

However, after starting the essay tonight i realised that i need alot more in depth class discussions on both Honey Spot and Dreamers so i can become more familiar with each. I noticed this when i was continously reffering to the book. I would very much like to be able to know the plays inside out so when it comes down to our major assignments on Jack Davis it would be a lot easier to write about. The other thing i noticed was that both plays actually present a lot of ideas and it is a little daunting to think about how much we will be taking in. As Ms Mace said today

"we haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg/mountain that we will be covering". -That is a scary thought as i got a little overwhelmed when it's put like that. But I do know that if I focus and manage to stay on track it will all work out.

I am really looking forward the year 12 production next term!! I hope that Ms Mace chooses a play soon(hint, hint,) because i am very eager to tell people what we will be performing for them. I would really love to have a fairly main role in the production too, i just thought i would mention that.

Okay i'm off to write some more of my essay
Bibi

Adele!

Week Two...Focus

Well i would just like to start of this entry by saying that i am really enjoying this whole blog thing! Its a lot easier to get motivated to articulate our feelings on here as aposed to in a notebook ,as it enables us to display more visual aspects of our emotions, photoes, pictures etc.

This week i think was really a lot more of a serious week ,in comparison to last week as we had to really start concentrating and focusing on the two plays we will be studying this semester, "The Dreamers" and "Honeyspot" by Jack Davis. I must say that in reading these through, at first were quite boring and difficult to just sit and read through. "Dreamers", in particular was challenging to read but after i took Ms Maces' advice on really visualising which movements the characters would be carrying out i found it much better to understand the messages being put across.

Further more, once we actually started to go through the scenes of "Dreamers" individually and then analysed the stage directions ,as well as the dialogue it began to get more interesting. I have recognised though that i am more of a visual learner. Hence, i get a lot more out of a play when it is performed and not just read out loud. However, i do understand both elements are important to cover all aspects of the storyline and directors intent. And i hope to improve on my play reading skills.

Well i think that's about all i have about this week so far... i'd just like to add that i think our drama group is great to work with and i reakon were headed for a really positive year!

Adele:)

First Week... Goals

Hey hey all!
Well if you are reading this right now you are probably either Ms Mace checking to see if we have done our homework or someone from my Drama class just being plain nosy. Just kidding! you're free to have a read at my entries at anytime if you like.

Well as a part of year 12 Drama this year, we are all expected to keep track of our thoughts and feelings regaurding our expiriences over the year. I think this will be very helpful and will assist us in communicating with to the group if we want to make comments but not feel confortable to express to one another. Also it is an interesting way to record the eventas of the year and how we develop as a drama student.

Week one was a really good start to the year! Over the holidays i was feeling a bit anxious about the subject ,as it is one of the most demanding one out of my five. However, reuniting with most of the people who were in my class next year was very reassuring and i felt confortable being amongst them instantly!
The first week also gave us the opportunity to just sit in a quiet place and think about what we really want to get out of this year and how much we are willing to work for in order to achive our goals.

My ultimate score for drama overall would be somewhere between a 17 and 19. I feel it is impossible for me to get a 20 as only one person out of the whole of South Australia last year managed to get one! However, I am willing to work to the best of my ability this year and fully commit to the year 12 production later next term.

I think we have a really lively and energetic group which will benefit the performance enormously in the long run as we all need to work together to produce an awsome production. This can be seen in the "zip zop zap" games we played last week. The were very humerouse even when we weren't trying to be!

Okay well I have nothing else to report, i hope i havn't bored you too much.
bibi

Adele :)