UAL Assignment 2 - Engaging With An Audience (Year 1, 2023)
Production Diaries
FOR PRODUCTION DIARY THIS TERM SEE POST:
https://siennasactingexperience.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-production-journey-production.html
Auditions And Peter Pan Characters
FOR AUDITIONS AND PETER PAN CHARACTER INSIGHTS SEE POST :
https://siennasactingexperience.blogspot.com/2023/11/ual-assignment-2-2023-peter-pan.html
Audiences And Their Expectations
When performing Peter Pan at the Arc, we had 3 different audience types over the 6 shows: relaxed, primary school and public. Each audience made the performance go differently in an incredible way. For the general public, we had our performance go as rehearsed, making no changes unless we thought we could improve on something. Therefore it was a big, bold performance with high energy at all times and loud volume however on the other performances we had to make some small changes to it. For example, when we were informed about the relaxed performance we knew that they would be allowed to talk, leave if needed and get up and move around as it was a safe environment for people who can't usually go to theatre to be able to watch a performance without any judgement. We knew that going too big and bold like we did on the general public performance might overstimulate some of our audience members. As a result, we did our performance the same as usual, but we toned it down a little bit so it wasn't as loud or as in their faces so they didn't get overwhelmed. We also just carried on acting throughout the talking or movement as that is what we had to do. Overall they were such an incredible audience to get to perform to and i'm so glad i had the opportunity to make people smile and happy (as they all loved the performance) when they usually wouldn't get to do something like this. The other audience that we had was the primary schools. This was my favourite audience as they were so interactive with our piece! We did this very similar to how we did the general public one, however we gave them more time to react to our characters and we went and interacted with what they were saying more. They were so incredible and i loved performing for them.
Performing for these different types of audiences i learnt that there are many different type of people in the world who enjoy theatre and being entertained no matter the circumstance. Everyone deserves to be entertained and being able to perform for these people was incredible. I also learnt that not everyone will be able to handle the intensity of ''normal'' theatre productions, sometimes people need a little bit of extra support or understanding which i think is perfectly fine and understandable and should be done more often. I also learnt that children have a very creative mind, so if you put on a creative and immersive performance they will get involved in as many ways as possible as it is such an incredible experience for them. I also learnt that not everyone will be loud and get involved in the theatre and that's also okay, everyone has their own different ways of expressing their enjoyment for a piece of work.
To appeal to these audiences more in the future i think we need to do things very similar to how we did this last time. I think this because we already have a primary school wanting to come back to see us perform next year. Therefore, i think our upcoming shows should be immersive and creative - something to keep the younger people interested as well as older audience members. I also think that we should advertise more relaxed performances to make it normalised as in our society something like that would be an incredible thing to add. I also believe that we should post more on social media about our upcoming shows and what it includes to draw people in more. The venues have been amazing at helping appeal to the audiences and so has places like the BBC which i am incredibly grateful for and i think our performance went incredibly well.
Evaluation
Overall, i am so proud of myself and everyone else for the performances and i am incredibly thankful for it. The point of all of the performances with all of my characters was to entertain people with these funny, over the top, expressionative and creative characters which provide the audience with a childish, imaginative play - bringing them back to their childhood with a classic. It was meant to trigger happiness and positivity as well as humour. The motto of the play is faith, trust and pixie dust so it was all about make believe and making sure the audience really bring their imagination out by watching us on stage. I believe i met all of this very well as i was very much over the top with everything that i did, making myself big and bold therefore my funny lines made the audience laugh and you could tell that they were really enjoying the performance. For Michael Darling, i felt like the audience connected to him with his emotions because there were times where Michael was scared for example Peter Pan fighting Hook and the audience were also scared of what was going on as you could hear them with us. I also felt like they connected to his imagination and happiness (especially the primary school audiences) really well because i made him such a big character that his happiness reflected onto them and i was told by some audience members after the show they thought it was amazing and made them so happy. I think i made sure that Michael's emotions were shown very well because he was such a big character and his emotions changed at a constant therefore it needed to be big and over the top to get that message across, and i believe i did this correctly. Out of my entire performance, i think that the thing that went the best was my vocals as Michael. I projected my voice loud as well as having a microphone therefore i knew the audience could hear and understand what i was saying. I made sure to pronounce all my words in correct English so there was no ''Teeside slang'' accidentally thrown in there. I did this by reading through my scripts off stage and in between rehearsals making sure my pronunciation was the best it could be. My favourite part was my articulation, as this is what i think made my character who he is. I made sure that his voice was higher than mine so he was quite high pitched to show his immaturity level and age which i portrayed well. I also made sure that each emotion my character was feeling not only showed through his body language and facial expressions but his voice. For example, when he was happy i would have him loud with a normal pace and giggling. However, when he was in a bad mood or angry, i would have him stern with a quite fast pace to show his frustration. I believe i did this all to the best of my ability and the distinction between the different emotions was able to show my character well. My physicality i used was also good. I made sure that Michael when he got to Neverland was so in awe as he has a big imagination, the first thing he does after talking to peter about Wendy is running to the lost boys and interacting with them, shocked about what they were doing. I kept these interactions through out the whole thing, as it shows his creative mind to the audience and that he will always want to be involved in things. I think this enhanced the story more because it shows that all of the children have the same mind about the different things on stage and it being intriguing because Michael was so intrigued by them but they were also intrigued by him. It shows that it doesn't matter where you grow up because a child's mind is always full of curiosity and imagination. Through out the whole thing i think i used my space quite well. Due to the fact i was playing a young boy, as well as going off and exploring using a lot of stage for it, i also made sure he kept with his brother a lot, meaning he was very closed in and reliant on him. This showed the difference in ages between the different characters on stage which helped tell the story. One thing i wish i did a bit better at this point with my physicality was my blocking. Overall, i did it really well however there were times where i allowed myself to get blocked by other people on stage but i realised this mistake by the first show and moved myself around so that it wouldn't happen again. When this wasn't an issue however, my blocking went exactly how i had planned it in the dance studio and i was extremely happy with it. There were parts where Michael became part of the ensemble - specifically in the ''Wendy's song'' dance. This was a big group piece with the lost boys which was full of team work and life. In the show this went so so well. Everyone was watching what each other was doing whilst also focusing on themselves. This meant nobody was getting blocked and that everyone was on track with the right part of the song. I made sure i was focusing on my facial expression and movement and incorporating the teddy bear into the dance however i also made sure that during this part Michael was interacting with every other person on stage on the parts where it wasn't dancing. I think it was a really successful ensemble piece as we had to all as a group listen to Wendy and be confused and happy to be there and we all did it perfectly by watching each other and understanding the emotions on stage. I think my costume really helped me feel the character on stage. I think this because with him being in matching Pj's that are similar to his brothers, it shows this sense of security that he has and how he is organised however it also shows he is relaxed and can also show that it is all his imagination. I took this as not only reality for my character, but it kind of showed it was like he was in a dream that he loved. However, the main thing that helped me feel and get into my character was the prop of the teddy bear. This had a great impact on the character i played as it was something i could rely on to show Michael's age and silliness. This is because with him only being young, this teddy was his favourite object and showed his childishness. I loved being able to use this in the scenes as i was making it like he was my pride and joy. I also Incorporated it into the dances, showing the lost boys the teddy and marching with my teddy as well as my body. Playing Michael, i had the artistic choice to make him very clueless and in his own mind a lot. I did this because it meant he was reliant on other characters on stage without even knowing even if he doesn't want to be. It allowed me to interact with the others more freely because he didn't care for danger or what was happening, he just wanted to be involved. It allowed me to give the vibe of the overall performance of his imagination, as that's what he was reliant on. I think the best part of my performance was definitely my facial expressions. I made sure that i was going over these a lot as Michael's emotion was very much reliant on how he looked and acted. This meant i made everything big and over the top especially on scenes where he was in awe or angry. My favourite part of the performance was definitely the very first scene where i am arguing with the father. This is because he expresses sadness, anger, and hope (from being convinced by Wendy) whilst being tired. I got to show all of this on my face and with my body language and interactions. My crossed arms and stern face showed anger, my wide eyes and open mouth interacting with Wendy showed hope, my closed body language with head in knees and crying (vocal) on stage showed sadness. I loved this scene and i think i executed it very well. However, i definitely needed to improve on where i placed myself on the stage. As mentioned before i allowed myself to get blocked quite a lot, which was not good and it was down to my physical height. I couldn't control it however if i could do it again i would work around it by asking others on stage to be wary of where i am and also trying to get myself to a spot on stage where i could be seen clearly. To improve for my next performance, i would like to be more confident in my acting from the start, as i was very much closed off before the show happened, when on stage i was fine however i was also very stressed. I would like to be able to stay calm and collected through out. I would also improve it so that my interactions on stage were a wider range of characters. I stuck with the lost boys and John, i didn't really interact with Wendy or Peter which i would've liked to do.
Peer Feedback (Part Of Evaluation) :
Sienna is extremely dedicated to her characters. While having a huge part of the youngest of the Darlings, which she portrayed incredibly, she managed to put a lot of effort into background character, one of the brave girls. She fairly judged both of the characters, giving them the same amount of affront, her 110%. This actress gives her everything to any project, despite the fact, that Sienna is just in year one, she already gives performance on the professional level. Her biggest strength — is her confidence. She knows what she’s doing, and understands how to do things. She’s not scared to ask for help, if she needs it. What is really commendable and deserves appreciation. Sienna has an amazing skill, that everyone can dream about, she easily accepts notes, realises them and changes her performance, putting it on next level. Character wise, she listens to her scene partners, and then she replies. Simple, basic rule of acting, but not everyone is really concerned about it. Sienna is an example of a true team player. Working behind the stage with her was more than just rehearsing. She always wants you to do your best, no matter who you are, she will be there to watch and tell her opinion. The supportive atmosphere around her, makes her a true friend. It was a pleasure to create this show, by her side. From notes, I’d say only one thing, Sienna needs to learn how to find the right spot for her on the stage. Physically she is small, and that’s her ace in the whole, but sometimes she gets missed on the stage, because she lets others block her. I’d say, don’t be so scared to fight for the spotlight sometimes. You chose to be on that stage, so be in the centre of it. Make yourself seen.
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment