UAL Assignment 2 - Unit 10 - Progression

Strengths and Ambitions

For myself as an actor, i would say that my biggest strength is my facial emotion/naturalism. This is something that i find myself doing instinctively, and when picking up a script and reading it, i automatically go to add emotion to the piece. I would also say that i have a good stage presence. When i am on the stage i understand my boundaries but also how to make myself seen, and i pick my moments well to when to increase the energy of the room.

As for my weaknesses, i would say a big weakness of mine would me certain genres of acting. For me, i would say my biggest weaknesses as an actor would be playing both loving and comedic roles. It is something that i don't think i do well in real life, therefore using emotional memory to perform these roles become harder. I also think one of my weaknesses is singing. I do not think i am the worst singer in the world however i would love to improve on my voice as i know i have more potential in me.

Personal Statement

If i had to describe my acting journey so far in three words I'd use challenging, collaborative, and incredible. I hope to continue my journey on a course such as yours as it would allow me to expand and flourish as not only a well-rounded actor but in turn a better, more confident person. Performing has and will continue to be one of the greatest aspects of my life, and i know this is the future for me. Over my time at college, I've achieved more than I could ever imagine. Within my first six weeks of the course i took part in an immersive piece at one of our amazing local theatres 'Stockton Globe,' in which I'd join the audience at various points throughout, helping move the story along. Not only was this a new type of theatre i hadn't experienced before, but i was given the opportunity to write and perform my own monologue during the development process, and it was a challenge to break the fourth wall and to stay in the characters headspace when you can see the audience reactions. I then moved on to performing in a musical theatre piece, 'Peter Pan the British Musical' at another local theatre - Arc, in Stockton. This advanced my skills as i had to sing, play the opposite gender and also play multiple different roles with different character motives. Within this project, i also took part in a relaxed performance, which was incredible. With the Connections project my understanding and ability in ensemble work, physical theatre and devising was developed. My class and i received a new contemporary script from the National Theatre and we had full creative freedom to make it our own. We performed it at both our college theatre and at York Theatre Royal. It was great to be a part of something that required such strong team and work ethic, and the hard work paid off as out of 260+ groups nationwide, we were one of ten selected to perform at the Dorfman Theatre at the National; a truly incredible experience and honor i will never forget. I then moved on to my final production of the year which has challenged me the most so far - 'Radium Girls', a piece that required lots of individual character analysis and research, what really made it amazing was understanding the context, this was key as it was a historically accurate piece of theatre. I enjoyed diving into my character and telling her story to an audience. Alongside all of this, i also took part in non-assessed performances - singing for the anniversary of the Beatles, writing my own one act play for the New Views National Theatre script writing competition, being a part of a rehearsal process for a student directed play 'Hunt' and finally playing a supporting role 'Lubov' in a play my classmate Alan wrote about his journey escaping from the war in Ukraine called Snowdrop.

Alongside this, i have had some work experience outside of college, getting the opportunity to work with the BFI on one of their short courses - working with industry professionals from all fields which involved creating my own short film, getting involved in every aspect of the process - script writing, acting, camera work, lights and sound to editing. I have also got involved in a local film company 'Smoggie Productions,' with them i have worked on two feature films, gaining professional film credit. As well as this, from a young age i have performed in musical theatre and dancing.

Outside of all of this, I enjoy writing, creating a story/idea and allowing it to come to life, spending time with my closest people around me, as they encourage me to be myself and make me happy. I also love my job as a barmaid as i get to meet and interact with different people, improving my social, interactive and speaking skills daily. My future aspiration for this course is to strengthen me to be the best performer and as professional as i can be, allowing me to do what i love as a profession and to make a positive impact on others. I am always up for any challenge given and i am an enthusiastic, driven person.

Uni Routes

Monologues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD1azLPcdys

King Lear - Classical 

This monologue is at the point in the play where Goneril is sick of her father, he isn't being a great house guest so she is choosing to let her servants treat him badly. 

I think my strongest part of this monologue is my use of facial expression and voice. It really helped demonstrate her anger whilst speaking, yet it was also not too much, as she isn't angry at the person shes talking to. My voice is strong and forward, which i also think shows her power and status. I think my biggest weakness for this monologue was my use of body language and movement, i stayed very much in one position throughout. If i were to do it again, i would experiment more with my body language, try moving around and exploring opening up my body more.

A Hundred Words For Snow - Contemporary

This monologue is at the point in the play where Rory is just starting her story, telling us about her father and is trying to hide her emotion.

I think my strongest part of this monologue is use of emotional beats. I think the placement of the beats and the facial expression along side it pulls the monologue together, giving the audience the ability to feel sorry for Rory, yet also allows her to continue to try "hide" these feelings. However, i think my weakest part of the monologue would be my delivery of lines, i feel like some lines could be delivered in different ways to create a different meaning and understanding to the script. If i were to do this again, i would focus on different parts of the script and really attach an emotional moment to it and try it in different ways.