Greek week 7

Monday we presented our presentations and dedicated the day to that and so we mainly focused on context work for that day, although we managed to run act one with Kirsty in movement development. In movement we ran act one to see what we needed to focus on, at this stage the whole act wasn't very smooth, but this was probably due to not everyone knowing lines, the fact that we were hesitant of what came next, and where we needed to be. Our biggest issue was the transitions, I felt like most of us, were not confident with the transitions and so in Kirsty's lesson we tried to smooth these out. I also managed to get some suggestions of the drum beat that I am in charge of during the closing scene of act one. I find this challenging because the pace of the way the chorus is moving differs for each person, and though it might sound like it makes sense for the chorus to follow the beat, it would be tricky for them too. I think I have decided to keep a steady beat of 1 for the first few members of the chorus, and then changing when the chorus' tempo goes. This looks good though as it up's the pace and gets the chorus' energy flowing more fluently. I am also going to drum in the chorus and drum them out during transitions, to smooth over any cluttering noises.

Things I need to focus on:
Learning my lines:
The show is less than a week away so I need to make sure I am comfortable with my lines.

Knowing what I am doing:
To be honest, I haven't been extremely confident with where I am, but I also feel I am not the only one. I have also got quite a lot to do in this show.

Putting in more time after school:
After Karen spoke to us on Monday, I realize that I need to put in more time after college in order to get the marks I want.

To ask if I don't understand something:
Sometimes I want to clarify things in order to make sure I understand them, although sometimes I'm afraid to ask because I don't want to sound stupid, and that can be extremely embarrassing!

On Wednesday, we focused on act 2, and I sang Hushabye Mountain for the first time. I didn't know the words but that is because I wasn't sure what song Karen wanted me to learn, as she had asked me to research some songs for my character, which I did and posted on my blog. I really like the song I get to sing, and I hope it will bring something special to the scene.

We finished act 2, and finally the show is coming together and starting to run smoothly. I worked on a chorus piece that I do with Yasmin, Alicia and Paige which is after the piece that we had choreographed ourselves with Reece as Orestes. We worked on the timing as Orestes shows the killing of Clytemnestra's lover.
Karen experimented with some music tracks, that really brought different energies to the scenes. I loved most of the music she played, as it brought some sort of desired tension, which completed the atmosphere that was needed. I particularly like the music she played for the very end, when it is an emotional scene and Joe (Orestes) jumps to his death with the baby in his hands.

This week was mainly about getting the show to a confident place, for example smoothing out transitions, getting people to know where they need to be and to get the right energies needed for there character. A way we did this 'new energy building' was by introducing a activity that Karen got us to do. This activity was running the play, but in a different style. For example when we ran the first act if she shouted 'Vampires' we would all have to play our character as a vampire. In act 2 when I had to sing my song, she shouted 'Musical Theatre' and suddenly I had a more vibrant, up beat energy and was using jazz hands. The activity was a lot of fun and really makes who look to see what different energies would work with your scene. I liked the 'New York Gangster' energy as it made me realize what would work between me and Joe when he is asking me for information.

My strengths this week:
I think I have been delivering my character the 'slave' really well this week.
I'm starting to believe in my ability, which is something I'm always told I need to do.

My weaknesses:
I hadn't learnt all of my lines.

What my aims are for next week:
-To have complete focus for the show
-To be fluent with my lines and with my song
-To know where I have to be to move set
-To know where my props are set
-To have costumes completed/sorted
-To give a great performance and enjoy it

Overall I have enjoyed working on the Greek Tragedy project, as it has taught me skills that I had not been able to grasp before. Though I am also looking forward to the next project, to see what I can gain from that.