Agents…

Time to get stressed yet again… 

 

Argh… That scary yet important time of year is just around the corner.. Writing to agents, organising our showcase, choosing the correct repertoire that will make us all stand out individually and finding an outfit that will be acceptable to wear throughout the performance. This will all be done whilst trying to write a dissertation and doing other academic things. We all might as well say goodbye to our social life for a few months but hopefully all of this hard yet exciting work will result in the majority of the year receiving representation from a well suited agent.

Below is a quote explaining what an agent is and how they benefit a performer:

‘[..] Talent agents are licensed by the state, and by law are only allowed to take a 10 percent cut of whatever you make. There are agents that deal with actors, and there are agents that deal with magicians, stand-up comics, and babies. Some specialise in ethnic talent, and some only deal with youth (under 25). You only pay them when you get work. You can “freelance” or “sign” with an agent, and usually they give you a one-year (or 18-month) contract. They may have a lot of clients, but they also have great relationships with casting directors and can push to get you in the room. Agents get the breakdowns for the big projects and submit their clients.’ (Newton, 2014)

Agents can benefit a performer in many different ways however its not necessity  to have one ‘ If there’s one thing actors obsess over […] it’s getting an agent. From the moment they get the acting itch to the day they hop off the bus in La-La-Land, visions of agents are buzzing around their heads like Sugar Plum fairies at Christmas time. They don’t know why they need one or how to get one, but they are pretty sure they are going to be on easy street once that box is filled in. […] Agents aren’t for everyone, however. The vast majority of newer actors and even some more experienced ones don’t really need to be in the market for an agent’. ( Patrick-Green, 2013)

As this process is so intense and many other drama schools will be performing there showcase around the same time as us, i need to remember an agent isn’t the most important thing and that i need to enjoy my last few months of drama school whilst working hard and been positive!

As a year we have decided to designate one individual this been ‘Jon Potter’ to write to agencies around the UK and invite them to our showcases, We have decided to do this as its a well known fact that agents are extremely busy people who dont reply to all enquiry’s therefore its much easier to send one email on behalf of all twenty six people within the year instead of irritating agencies before we actually meet them by sending twenty six separate emails inviting them to the same show. Even though Jon is the designated individual to write to agencies he is provided with support from the whole year group. We send him contact details for agencies, help him with the lay out of the emails as well as making sure timekeeping is met. I have personally done some research on agencies that i believe would be best suited for myself however i understand that at this stage of my career i cant be too fussy about which agency would suit me best.  Regardless of this fact i believe it would be more realistic to try get representation from an agent based closed to my home town this been ‘Leeds’.  ‘ Look for agencies in your hometown first, and make sure that you target smaller places instead of reaching too far’ (Acting in London,2016) I believe this as when i finish university ill be coming back to leeds and maybe it would be best to get representation from an agent who is based in the north however regardless of this i will take representation from anywhere as i am willing to travel etc.

In total we have two showcases one based in Manchester and the other based in London both shows will be performed in February 2017. A showcase basically is a short performance that enables people to show off their talents an enables agents to see the potential a performer has. ‘Showcase is another form of audition, but a much bigger one. Drama school showcases are professionally staged and attended not by the public, but only by talent agents and sometimes directors and casting directors.’ (Acting in London,2016)

As stated above this year is extremely nerve racking for us all as we dont know what the future holds and if we will receive representation or not however all i can do at this stage is make sure i am involved in enough contrasting pieces within the show that enables me to show agents what i am capable of. Before the Christmas holidays we were having slots with Robert Purvis our musical director to discuss ideas and rep to put into our performance. So far i have suggested two contrasting pieces which have been approved for now however this could change within time depending on how the rehearsal process goes and whether our director ‘Tim Flavin’ approves them or not. Repertoire i have suggested are ‘The Actuary Song’ from ‘ I Love You Because’ performing this as a duet with ‘Paige Groom’ this piece is character based which works at  Paige’s and my own strengths as character work is what we both excel in. The second piece i have suggested is ‘Someone You’d Be Proud Of’ from the Musical ‘The In-Between’ performing this as a duet with ‘Megan Miles’ however i did suggest turning this into either a large ensemble number or a girls ensemble number this been because i believe the song can be taken out of its original context and put into the context of meaning/ representing how we are feeling as this showcase so to speak could either make us or break us.  The lyrics particularly ‘It’s time that I believe, expect I can achieve, And if I fail, at least I gave it all’. These lyrics represent how many of us will be feeling throughout the showcase process.

  I have also been asked by Robert Purvis to participate in a quartet Reprise called ‘ Moonfall’  from ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’.  This defiantly isn’t something i would usually perform as its got a strong operatic sound to it however im overwhelmed to have been asked to participate therefore i will except and excel the challenge, from doing this it will also allow me to show agents that i am capable of performing more than one style of music.

So far i am involved in three snippets and once we return after the Christmas holidays and get cracking with the rehearsal process i will be involved in many more snippets of the show. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead and we will see what the future holds. I just need to remain chilled and positive as well as continuing to work hard and enjoying my last few months of a student before entering the ‘REAL’ world..

Lets create another fantastic show with these wonderful people! 

References:

Acting in London, (2016) ‘How to get an Agent 101: Acting Business How-Tos’, Acting in London. < http://actinginlondon.co.uk/acting-business-how-to-get-an-agent/> [29/12/16]

Acting in London, (2016) ‘Your Drama School Showcases’, Acting in London. < http://actinginlondon.co.uk/acting-business-how-to-get-an-agent/> [29/12/16]

Newton, M. (2014) ‘Agents vs. Managers: Which One is Right for You?’. Backstage. http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/agents-vs-managers-which-one-right-you/ [29/12/16]

Patrick-Green. D. (2013) ‘ 5 Reasons You Don’t Need An Agent’, ‘ Backstage’. < http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/5-reasons-you-dont-need-agent/> [29/12/16]

Bibliography:

Simkins, M. (2009) ‘Tips for surviving the acting industry’, The Guardian. 9th May 2009

Rutherford, N. (2012) Musical Theatre auditions and Castings A performers guide view from both sides of the audition table, London: Methuen Drama.

Audition Process.

‘What separates professionals from wannabe talent show prodigies isn’t inspiration. It’s preparation and execution.’ (Simon, 2012)

In the first term of third year we had two mock auditions every week to prepare us for our first professional audition for Made in Dagenham The Musical, As you can imagine at the time my stress level was extremely high as every week i had to prepare at least two songs for each audition as well as making sure i was familiar with the material, decide what i was going to wear, how to approach the audition, how to prepare sheet music correctly, what to and not to say and of course knowing information about the show/company that I was auditioning for. Its important as an auditionee to be prepared for every situation that can be thrown your way. ‘Prepare for anything and everything. When you walk in the door. You must communicate to the production team that you are not only talented enough for the role but also tenacious, enthusiastic, and above all professional.’ (Flom, 2009: 2)

This process was only for experience however I prepared myself as if it was a real audition as i believed it was important to know exactly how to portray myself in a nervous scenario like auditions can be as well as gaining as much as I can from this unit. Throughout the audition process I learnt alot of important information and looking back on it now I can see when and where i made mistakes.  I have attended many auditions before we did this unit and some of my experiences have been good and others not so good, however I gained enough experiences from these to gain a strong understanding on what auditions are like in general and how to impress a panel, however it was extremely beneficial learning about auditions whilst in training especially when the people who were teaching us have experiences the industry and auditions there selves.  Below is a list of some of the things I learn throughout this unit, some in more detail than others:

• How to put sheet music together properly for instance I learnt about magic tape which i didn’t know about until doing this also I learnt that in most cases its better to get sheet music printed onto ivory paper instead of white paper as its easier for the pianist to read.
• To never say ‘see you later’ when you leave the room. In the first mock audition i said this and soon as i said it i knew i shouldn’t of.
• To spend as much time as you can with the pianist, explain the tempo of the song by singing the first phrase and clapping along so they know exactly what pace you want the music to be played at.
• Dont always look at the panel when performing as for some people it can make them feel intimidated.
• Always be yourself.
• Its ok not to be perfect at all times throughout the audition process as its all about learning.
• Dont be OVER confident!
• How to cut down music however I still believe we need a lesson on how to cut down music accurately.
• That casting isnt just about talent, appearance has alot to do with it.

Looking back on the mock auditions now I believe I learnt alot and im glad that I put myself under so much pressure as it helped me make sure I was prepared, however sometimes putting yourself under too much pressure can prevent you from performing to the best of your ability. In the mock auditions I never actually got casted, when i asked the panel for feedback they said that I wasn’t the right casting type. From doing this unit it has made me more aware that appearance has alot to do with casting. ‘When a show is being cast there are definite requirements that have to be considered as to type, height, vocal ability and range, personality and colouring’ (Silver,1985:18).

The mock auditions defiantly made me be more prepared for The Made in Dagenham auditions and i knew exactly how to promote myself and what to say and do if something got thrown my way. How ever one mistake I made in my MID audition was not knowing my accurate vocal range. Robert Purvis the musical director for MID asked me for my highest belt range and i said the complete opposite to what was on my CV, in future I need to make sure that I know this information off the top of my head and yet again this was a learning curve. In the Musical Theatre industry you will always be learning new things. For the audition we had to decide what part we wanted to audition for and i chose the character of ‘Barbara Castle’ who is a strong, independent, political character throughout the show, one of the most well known songs she sings ‘ Ideal World’ requires a strong belt/mix sound. Unfortunately the songs that I prepared for the audition these been ‘Maybe I like it this way’ from The Wild Party and ‘Wherever he aint’ from Mack and Mabel didn’t enable me to show off my belt/mix higher register quality. In future I need to take the style of the characters songs that i am auditioning for into consideration as then the panel will know that i am capable of  performing the sound quality/notes required. Also in the mock audition my sheet music for the song ‘Wherever he Aint’ got stuck together and that was because my sheet music wasn’t stuck together properly i had left a gap between the paper and cello-tape, ive used this sheet music on many occasions before and this had never happened. Due to this happening the timing of the song went out slightly however I managed to pull it back together thanks to a fantastic pianist who knew how to deal with this situation. From this happening it shows that nothing is guaranteed to go smoothly in this industry even if you are prepared and confident with the piece. Overall I feel as though the mock auditions have prepared me both mentally and physically for future auditions as I now have a clear understanding of what is expected of me and how in most cases auditions are carried out. If I had criticise myself I would say in the future I need to remember to take the characters song that I am auditioning for into consideration this way i can choose a song in a similar style/range, I also need to remember to remain calm and take a deep BREATH before I enter the room as well as making sure my sheet music is perfectly prepared!!

 

 

 

References:

Flom, J. (2009) Get the Callback: The Art of Auditioning for Musical Theatre. United States of America: Scarecrow Press, Inc

Simon, D, (2012) ’10 tips for a winning Audition’, Backstage <http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/10-tips-winning-audition/&gt; [15/11/16]

Silver, F.(1985) Auditioning for the musical Theatre.New York: Penguin Group

 

My Headshot Process..

‘Headshots are a vital part of an actor’s tool kit (as well as an expensive one), so the tendency to stress out about it is an understandable one’. (Fontana,2016)

Over the summer i did plenty of research about who and where was best to get my headshots done. However it was still a difficult decision as i hadn’t yet had any professional headshots done therefore i thought it was essential to go with someone who had been recommended by a friend, this been simply because i wanted to feel comfortable with whoever i decided to go with in order to get the best possible natural shot, i also wanted an honest opinion on how peoples experiences had gone, thats why i felt as though going with someone who a friend had already been with was an necessity. As im a student i also didn’t want to be paying a great mass of money. In the end i decided to go with Michael Pollard who is based in Manchester, the cost was fairly cheap and other students i know said he made them feel relaxed therefore the decision was pretty easy.

I paid £110.00 for a two hour shoot and 5 edited photos which was defiantly in my price range. I asked a friend to take me to the shoot to make me feel more at ease, When i arrived at the destination it turned out to be his house which i didn’t expect at all this made me feel slightly anxious as i was entering his home and i hadn’t yet met him. However when i arrived he made me feel extremely relaxed and welcome. He asked me a range of different questions for example what i wanted from the photos, casting type as well as asking about my career goals. I felt as though he wanted to get to know me which also helped the experience be more relaxing and enjoyable. I took plenty of different style and coloured tops with me as i wanted to try get as many different looks as possible, to help enhance this i also had different hairstyles. As i have long hair i thought it was important to have some with it up and down. Also after speaking to James Pearson in a workshop his suggestion was to make the headshots look as natural as possible and on a daily basis i tend to have my hair up. James Pearson also mentioned that its important that the eyes stand out on a headshots as the eyes do say alot about a person. When Micheal was asking what i wanted from my headshots i explained this to him therefore he decided to take photos both inside and outside as he wanted to get a range of different lights he also used reflectors to help enhance my eyes through image.

 

Overall i thoroughly enjoyed my experience and the process went as i expected however if i was to get more headshots done in the future i would defiantly do more research for myself and not rely on other peoples experiences and i would more than likely pay more than what i did as i hope i wouldn’t be on such a budget. I am happy with my chosen five images however i can imagine the more times i get headshots taken the more natural and easier it will be to pose for the camera.  I would recommend Michael Pollard for people who are new to going through this process as he did a fantastic job and made me feel comfortable!

Below is two examples of my selected headshots:

 

Regarding the previous post about workload i managed to get everything sorted and now i feel as though i am back on track with maintaining my workload and feeling positive. I have continued to use the method of writing to do lists as i feel as though this helps keep me organised and on top of things. I will continue to use this method in the future as it benefits me. My movement memory has also started to improve yet again however i know in order for me to succeed i need to keep going over the movement i get taught as i hate and refuse to go on stage and make a fool out of myself, i will work as much as it takes until the movement i have been taught becomes embodied but physically and mentally.

Bibliography:

Fontana,L. (2016) ‘How to relax for a headshot’, Backstage. <http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/how-to-relax-for-headshot-shoot/&gt; [5.10.16]

 

The Year Ahead…

I am now a third year student… Talk about intense…

After having a fabulous, relaxing summer break, coming back to training has hit my like a tonne of bricks. Over the summer i did continue to do abit of training for instance having singing lessons with my old singing teacher and attending some fitness classes as well as prepping for my dissertation. Despite this i honestly wish i would have kept more focused and trained much harder as well as preparing more for my final year.  I have just completed my first week back as a third year student and WOW i already feel shattered. This week has been pretty intense consisting of long days, dance classes and extra work load. Over the summer we didn’t get told what the first show was going to be or what needed to be prepared as such and this was due to directing issues etc however i wish we would of found out earlier so i could have organised myself when i had much more time.

Below is a list of things that i have had to sort out this week:

• Headshots
• Equity
• Arden Stage door
• Spotlight
• Dissertation Prep
• Online Blogging
• Recording Sessions
• Cover letter and CV for workshop
• 16 bars for audition skills

Realistically there wasn’t actually that much of a heavy workload however after having alot of free time over the summer with no concerns, coming back to some workload puts more pressure and stress on to an individual because they have forgot what it feels like to have things to sort out with a deadline. I do think i have managed to have the correct and professional attitude towards the workload pressure,one method i used to overcome the stress was creating a to do list which reminded me what needed to be done and when for. Everyday i tried to minimise the list as i knew i wouldn’t have time to do it over the weekend due to work commitments.

(I will discuss the process of the things listed above in my next blog.)

One weakness that i faced this week was getting back into dancing, movement memory has never been my strength. Over the summer i didn’t have to use my movement memory skills and this was evident in this weeks dance classes. I found it extremely difficult to get back into it and because i was struggling i ended up doubting myself which then resulted in more stress which then lead to not been able to carry out the movement that i was been taught. As a performer I would identify myself as being my own worst critic, in most cases this would be seen as been a positive as it makes a performer, myself more engaged and determined to perform to the best of my ability but there is also a negative side to this ritual. The negative sides would be that I become disappointed in myself when something isn’t perfect which then leads to a lack of confidence and tension been created. ‘Don’t beat yourself up because you drop a line, forget a word, or don’t perform as well as you wish you had. We are all our own worst critic’ (Field, 2008:175). In order to get over this i need to keep positive and calm however this is easier said than done. In an ideal word one method i know which would help overcome this weakness is to drink a full bottle of vodka before a dance class however in a realistic word this wouldn’t be acceptable  and i am one hundred percent aware of this! Realistically  I need to start thinking about why my thoughts change and possibly write these down so I can think of ways to overcome the negativity. ‘Once we learn to recognise and identify these thought patterns as they occur we can start to have a choice about how to react’ (Meli, 2013).

As tutors and peers keep saying this week was our first week back and before we know it we will get back into the routine and our stamina, fitness and ability will improve and i do believe this, but i just need to keep focused and calm in order to develop and shine in my professional year.

References:

Field, S. (2008) Managing your Career in Theatre and the Performing Arts. New York: Ferguson

Meli. (2013)  ‘The four Keys to Overcoming Negative Thinking.. For Good’ MrsMindfulness http://mrsmindfulness.com/the-four-keys-to-overcoming-negative-thinkingfor-good/ [28^th May 2016]

 

15th October rehearsal

I missed Tuesday’s rehearsal this week as I haven’t been feeling too well. However in Thursday rehearsal I still wasn’t feeling 100% but I was determined to make the most of the rehearsal as the show is only round the corner. In this rehearsal we set the musical number ‘Perfect young ladies’. The choreography is simple yet effective. Tim has decided to use a few geometric patterns. For example we are all stood in a V shape at the beginning of the number and then at the end we change the shape into a inverted V. I believe I will need to recap this musical number a few times but then I believe I will nail it as I have jotted all of the steps down and I have also been rehearsing over the week. In this rehearsal we was also running the scene before ‘The Rivera’. This was difficult as people kept forgetting there lines and due to keep running the scene I started to forget my lines as we were overdoing it! However this was essential as we hadn’t ran the scene before the number. I honestly believe in next rehearsal we need to run the show the whole way through a few times so we can see what the pace is like etc. The performance is on Thursday 21^st, im looking forward to it but like I said I believe its essential to just run it from now on as we need the pace to be quick and snappy in order to be a successful performance. I have also sorted my costume for the performance, I will be wearing a black bodycon dress with black dance tights, my character shoes and a red and gold neck scarf. I personally believe the neck scarf makes the whole outfit as it makes the outfit look like it’s a 1920s outfit. I was going to purchase a proper 1920s style outfit but Tim had told us not to waste money for this show therefore I decided to just use what I already have.

This scarf is rather similar to the one ill be wearing for the performance.

8th October rehearsal

In Thursdays rehearsal we went over the set choreography, I found this rehearsal extremely beneficial as i started to self identify where i was making mistakes for example in the Rivera, we do the Charleston a few times which was a popular dance step within the 1920s. However i kept starting with my left leg instead of the right and this was because it felt much more natural to me, when I had identified this i started to try prevent starting on my left leg, by the end of the rehearsal i had overcome this! In this rehearsal we also ran the scene before the musical number ‘The Rivera’ however Tim got slightly annoyed as some people didn’t know there lines confidently. In the next rehearsal we will be running the whole show from top to bottom therefore its important that i make sure i know my lines as i dont want to let myself or other people within the cast down, rehearsal time is crucial as the show is in a weeks time! I have also annotated my script completely now, adding the choreography i have done this as i explained in my last post that my movement memory isnt that strong therefore before rehearsal i can read through the steps to remind myself of the steps and rehearsal time wont be wasted!!

6th October Rehearsal.

In today’s rehearsal we started to choreograph the musical numbers ‘Rivera’ and ‘The Boyfriend’. We also sang through all of the musical numbers with our MD Rob.  I found the choreography simple yet challenging this been because the steps are rather quick especially in the Rivera. The Boyfriends choreography is also simple yet challenging because it involves a lot of partner work which I haven’t done much of before therefore I find it slightly uncomfortable as I have to put a lot of trust into my partner who is Liam. Im sure I will soon pick it up and feel 100% confident with it but in order to do this I believe I should record the routines so I can watch it in my spare time, as my movement memory isn’t that strong. Ill record it all in next lesson. When we sang through the songs Rob started to give us a lecture on taking chances when it comes to our character, I totally agree with what he said and I will remember what he said as I found everything that he was saying true and essential in order to become a stronger performer. We listened to all of the solo and duets within the show too which was good as we got to see how our leads within the show actually portrait there characters. I intend to keep going over my lines for the show so I don’t forget them as well as going through the routines.

29th-1st October Rehearsal Process

On Tuesday we had a rehearsal with our Musical Director ‘Rob’ we covered all of the songs throughout the play starting with the well know ensemble numbers:

• Perfect Young Ladies
• The Boyfriend
• The Riviera

After we had covered these numbers some of us got sent off to work on our own thing and people with duets and solos stayed to rehearse their number. These 3 musical numbers are the only numbers I am involved in throughout our production of The Boyfriend. I felt confident when singing perfect young ladies as I think this is a lively and enjoyable number also that tuning, harmonies aren’t too difficult. In relation to The Boyfriend I didn’t know I had a solo so when it came to it I was abit blown away as I didn’t expect it, however after singing through my solo a few times I felt happy and confident to perform it in front of the class. The Boyfriend score is actually written for sopranos therefore Rob has decided to add extra harmonies for the altos which also results in our version of The Boyfriend been slightly different compared to the original. I found The Rivera quit difficult to sing this been because it has a staccato tempo, basically meaning its fast. I need to work on my diction and breathe control in order for me to be successful whilst singing this song. We all need to work on adding characterisation to each song to make it have a better sound. For example we need to sing in RP as that’s how people would have spoken in the 1920’s, we also need to focus on certain vowels to make the diction much clearer and characterised. For the next music rehearsal Rob wants us all off book, so I will be rehearsing in my own time until I feel confident with the lyrics.

Today we started the rehearsal by performing our answers to the question- find an historical person who would have influenced my character? We had to present our answers to the class in the accent of our character. I enjoyed doing this as an RP accent comes rather easy to me and also I enjoyed acting as my character but not having to follow a script. I also believe people enjoyed listening to my answer as a few people laughed at what I was saying, how I was speaking etc. After this we continued to block the rest of the musical. We started from the begging therefore I performed the first scene without script, this was successful however I did skip Dulcie’s line which was ‘Oh how thrilling’. But I did identify this immediately so we went back to a few lines before and ran it again. I found this rehearsal extremely beneficial as we have now set the whole of The Boyfriend, I also felt confident with everything that I was involved in. Tim has decided to add a rewrite at the end of the show which results in myself having a few extra lines too which is nice! I need to continue to rehearse in my own time though as in the next few rehearsals we will be focussing on choreography.

15th-17th September Rehearsals.

In the first rehearsal of the boyfriend we had a few read through’s of the show. I firstly read the character of Maisie followed by the character of Madame Dubbonnet and finally I read the character of Fay. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the character of Maisie as I found the character portrayal to be rather humours at times however due to this been my first read through of this show, I did struggle with keeping the pace flowing at times. When I read as Madame Dobbonet I did feel rather nervous and this was because she speaks a lot of French and I can’t fluently speak it never mind read it. On the last read through I played the character Fay and I felt extremely confident I believe this was due to the fact that I now felt familiar with the script and the language used throughout. From the first lesson I gained an understanding of what the show was actually about and I started to get a feel for all of the characters. I had read the musical before the first rehearsal but you never get a realistic feel for it when you’re reading it to yourself especially when you are reading all of the characters. If I had to criticise myself from the first lesson I would say that I need to make sure I feel more relaxed about reading aloud in front of people on the first attempt. However I do believe that the majority of people don’t thoroughly enjoy reading aloud because it can be embarrassing when you can’t pronounce a word correctly etc. Tim did mention in the lesson that it’s important that you treat a read through as an experiment and try something new on each read through as it’s about getting to know the show and just having fun with it. When Tim was discussing this he made me realise that people aren’t actually judging one another and it is about the things he mentioned. In this lesson we got set some homework which was to research historical events from the era in which The Boyfriend was set this being the 1920’s.

In the following lesson we was all casted so we knew who was playing what. We started the lesson by presenting our homework to one another – I have discussed this is a previous post.  Once we had all presented our work to one another we cracked on with blocking the first few scenes. My character is in the first few scenes a lot therefore I was involved a lot. Tim briefly went over stage directions and how to annotate a script so we can remember where to go and at what time, this is listed below:

UST-Up Stage Right

USL-Up Stage Left

DSL-Down Stage Left

DSR-Down Stage Right

CDS-Cross Down Centre

IN 1- 1^ST Wing

IN 2- 2^nd Wing

IN 3- 3^RD Wing

In 4-4^TH Wing

When we first started to block I felt slightly nervous as I had never worked with Tim before and I didn’t know how he would react etc but as time went on I started to feel more and more confident. We blocked from page 1-7, which is rather good considering it was our first official rehearsal. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Tim directs as I felt as if he was actually educating me as well as directing me on the show. I now know what to do for the first few scenes that I am in and ive annotated my script so I can work on this for next lesson, he wants us off script for the scenes we have covered in today’s lesson for our next rehearsal. I believe I will be able to do this as I don’t have that much dialogue. The method I will use to learn the script will be asking people to test me as well as using the look, cover, write, check method. We also got set homework for next lesson which is to research a historical person from the 1920’s and explain how it would influence, effect my character of Fay.

<– This image shows what I have stated above about stage directions.

Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle

The reflective cycle basically is a cycle that help people with reflective writing which is what i will be doing throughout my posts about ‘The Boyfriend. The cycle includes 6 fundamental techniques in order for the reflecting writing to include all the essentials, these are listed below:

1. Description ( What we did in the rehearsal)

2. Feelings (How did I feel about what we was doing)

3. Evaluation (initial evaluation, what was good what was bad)

4. Analysis ( what did I take away from the rehearsal, experience)

5. Conclusion (what have I learnt)

6. Action Plan ( how I plan to improve)

I intend to use this cycle to prevent repetition but also so i can reflect on the whole rehearsal process.