Thursday 4th October
In this session, I developed an animal that reflects the traits of my characters personality and mannerisms. I decided that for Peter Pan the animal that I believe relates to him is a fox. This is because foxes are cocky, stealthy and conniving, all traits I think that Peter displays as well. To begin with, I had to put my mind and body into that of a fox's. So, I crawled on my hands and knees with my head held up high, with a slight tilt every now and then. This was with the intention to make my self-seem alert and curious. I moved slowly to give the illusion of stealth but would occasionally speed up as if hunting or stalking prey. Next, I started to slowly develop my animal into human-like movements. To start my development I stood up and walked around slowly, constantly look around at my surroundings, while still including the head tilt from the animal exercise. Finally, I had to now transform this animalistic person into our character, to do this I put my hand on my hips and held my head up high. I channeled the fox into my final characterization by keeping the head tilt and the stealthy movement. I used my face to convey focus and alertness. I did this by squinting my eyes and I kept looking around. The second exercise that I did was hot seating. I sat in character and had other people; in character as well, ask me questions. This helped me develop my character as a lot of the questions were very random and out of the blue so I had to think on my feet to come up with answers. Moreover, it made me think of my posture, the way I sit and the way I carry my self as I am playing a man and I do not consider my self very masculine.
Wednesday 10th October
In today's rehearsal, we did the basic blocking of scene one and two. For the first scene, we blocked how the children create chaos and are then put down for bed. We also staged how the children were first introduced to Peter Pan at the beginning of the pantomime. I initially climb up the staging and through a window, I then address the audience and interact with them whilst looking for my shadow. After a conversation with Wendy, we then wake up the boys climb back on the staging and fly to Neverland. In the second scene we experimented with levels and staging, for example, on the pirate's ship I appear on a stage block above Captain Hook, this demonstrates the power, I, Peter Pan have over Captain Hook. I also looked at my positioning on the stage and how I enter and exit for the scene.
Thursday 11th October
In today's rehearsal, I worked on my characterization of Peter Pan in scene one, the Darlings nursery. I started off by making my actions much bigger and overdramatic almost grotesque, especially when I interact with the children in the audience. This is because children can become distracted and uninterested very quickly for example when I sit down on the floor to cry, I was very loud and overdramatic it shows to the audience that the even tho Peter may seem mature and like a leader but he is still a young child and very vulnerable, I want to make sure I portray all sides of Peter Pan Moreover, I developed the way my character interacts with the other characters on stage for example in front of Wendy and when interacting with her I act confident and walk around with my hands on my hips trying to impress her, this is because Peter Pan very much likes Wendy and I want this to be obvious from my body language.
Wednesday 17th October
In today's rehearsal, we rehearsed for 3 hours. We blocked scene three (Peter pans hideout) and we also blocked scene 4 (mermaid's cove). In scene three we blocked Peters entrance to the hideout this is when he brings Wendy and her brothers here for the first time. To enter the scene I do a small jump onto the lowest stage block downstage left, I then put my hands on my hips this is to indicate to the audience that I have just landed from flying and that I feel that my entrance is very important. Moreover, Peter is very proud of his hideout and he is also extremely excited to show it off to Wendy. To demonstrate this I would puff my chest out and hold my head up high. I will also swing my arms strongly as I walk around. When I deliver my lines I have begun to over exaggerate the words and enunciate clearly. This is because I need the children all the way at the back of the theatre to be able to hear and understand what I am saying. Also, over exaggeration can be amusing and funny to children. For scene four we blocked out Peters entrance and his interaction with Wendy at mermaid cove. Once again, I enter with purpose jumping on to the stage with my hands on my hips. I have to be flirty with the mermaids but at the same time, I must be far more protective over Wendy. To show this before Wendy comes on stage I am waving at the mermaids and engaging in lighthearted conversation. However, when Wendy arrives I run over to her and grab her away from the mermaids making sure that they do not hurt her/ Moreover when the mermaids try to drown Wendy I grab her by the wrist and pull her back. I also raise my voice at the mermaids showing them and the audience that I am annoyed and care about Wendy.
Thursday 18th October
In today's rehearsal, we blocked the first pirate fight scene and also added to the movement, it needs to be sharpened and worked on, however. Every pirate will surround me and one at a time they will each come up and fight me in an attempt to capture or kill me, only to be defeated. We experimented with different movements and levels that demonstrate power and status. There are seven different pirates and each one has a slightly different fight sequence, they are all short and sweet this is because a fight should be fast-paced and entertaining to keep the children engaged, it also supplies some comedic relief as it is very slap stick-based. In this rehearsal, I also began to develop my characterization in the mermaids cove scene. I tried to make the way I walked past the mermaids more confident so I put more of a hop in my step and put my hands on my hips to make sure I assert my self when I walked onto the stage. I make sure to puff out my chest while holding my head high I also attempted to have a cheeky smile on my face to show off my flirtatious nature with the mermaids.
Friday 2nd November
In today's rehearsal, we have begun to learn the song for the pirate's cove, scene 8. It is the song "it's going down" from the Disney film descendants 2. We started off singing it through as a group, apart from the solo parts. I found the solo fairly difficult as I had never heard the song nor have I seen the lyrics. After singing it through as a group we were split into separate groups of the people who had solos and the peoples who did not. We ran through each of our solos while trying to add more characterization to our separate parts and voices. As it is the first time I had ever sung this song there is a lot I need to improve on, such as I need to learn the timing as well as the lyrics them self. To improve I must learn the lyrics as well as listen to the song multiple times so that I can know my timings and when I need to come in to sing my solo.
Wednesday 7th November
In today's rehearsal, we blocked the last scene which is scene 9 and we also began to learn the dance routine in scene 8. First, we started with scene 9. It is the last scene in the Pantomime. I enter stage right, as we all enter we begin to pick up toys in the nursery, cleaning up the mess that we had left behind. I stay in the center of the stage as I tidy up. I am unaware the children want to stay so I begin to exit stage left. I then realize that something is wrong as the lost boys do not proceed to follow me. At this point, I begin to realize that the lost boys want to stay with Wendy to grow up. To show my confusion and disappointment I will slightly hang my head and change my voice from the usually confident and cocky tone to a quieter and timider voice. I will also change the way I walk to portray my disappointed nature. I will no longer have my hands on my hips, I will move slower and look at the floor as well as my feet more often. When Mrs. Darling enters I will walk over to her. When I realize that Mrs. Darling is the first Wendy from ages ago, I will widen my eyes and open my mouth slightly while pointing at her. This will help demonstrate my amazement and realization. After speaking with Mrs. Darling, I still believe that the lost children would want to come back to Neverland. So I jump up onto the lowest stage block that is on the left, I regain confidence before coming to the realization that no one is going to come with me. I start walking around slowly hugging and waving to all the lost children, saying goodbye to all of them. After saying my goodbyes to the lost children I walk to the center of the stage with Wendy and Mrs. Darling. Wendy gives me a kiss on the cheek. To show that I am happy and slightly startled I smile and widen my eyes. As I deliver my final line I will put my hands on my hips look out to the audience, use and confident and strong voice. After we completed blocking scene 9 we learned the dance in scene 8. When I am not playing Peter Pan in the other cast I will be a pirate so I must learn the dance routine.
Thursday 8th November
In today's rehearsal, we blocked scene 7 at Peter Pan's hideout. I come in halfway through the scene once Wendy and the gang have been kidnapped. I enter stage left panicked and running around the set looking at the destruction that had been left behind from the pirates. I am distraught and to show this I will run my hands through my hair while having a distressed facial expression. I decided that before we do anything we must find Tinkerbelle first. I walk along all of the staging looking above and below it for Tinkerbelle, exaggerating my movements to fit the traditional style of pantomime. Once I find Tinkerbelle I get on the floor, crouching so I can hear her speak. For her to be able to get well again I need to engage the audience. I need to get them to clap, stamp and shout. I will do this by going up to the audience and making them feel immersed in the play. Before she regains her strength I am worried for her and I am feeling at a loss. To show the sadness that I am feeling I will squint my eyes and rub them as if I am clearing my face from tears. Also, I will not use my confident and cocky voice but a soft and sorrowful one. This demonstrates my love for Tinker Bell and how I do not want her to die. Once she has come back to life, we all rejoice before exiting to save Wendy and the gang.
Thursday 16th November
In this rehearsal, we attempted to do a full run of scene one through five. We go to scene four and we had to stop. It fell completely flat. There was no energy, people had not learned their lines and it looked as if no one even cared, or wanted to be on stage. After this people went into the studio to run and polish the first scene in the nursery. We ran through it trying to use more emphasis on our words as well as just generally using higher energy. To ensure that this does not happen again, everyone must, first of all, learn their lines. This is because you can not properly act with a script in your hand. Secondly, the whole cast must start attending rehearsals because when people do not attend, it makes it far more difficult to run and block scenes. Also when they do attend it makes the run-throughs messy as they are unaware of where they should be or what they are doing. Finally, everyone needs to start using much higher energy, the same amount of energy they would use as if they were on stage. This is because if we keep doing low energy runs when it comes to the real performance, we will either not be entertaining or some people will be high energy and some won't and it will just look of a poor quality.
Friday 18th November
In today's rehearsal, we blocked the scene in Tinkerbelles cave. In this scene, I find out that Tink has lied to Wendy. Initially, I begin to enter stage right but then I here Tinkerbelle speaking about Wendy so I hesitate and start to listen to what she has to say. When she finishes speaking I storm in. To demonstrate that I am angry my arms will be crossed and I will furrow my brow (screwing up my face). As I tell her off and decide what her punishment is, I back her into center stage. My voice will be low and have a slightly disappointed but angry tone. Once I have decided that she may not return to my hideout until she apologizes to Wendy, I storm off stage left. After I ran through this scene a few more times I went into the studio and worked on polishing and putting more energy into the first pirate fight scene. We added shouting and cheering as well as putting in more effort into our facial expressions to make it actually look like we are fighting.
Tuesday 20th November
In today's rehearsal, I worked on my characterization. To do this I ran through the first scene and I asked my drama teacher to stop me and pull me up when she believed I could develop my character. I decided that I need to develop my interaction with the audience. This is because children enjoy audience participation and need it in order to keep them engaged. To do this I changed my tone to a more inquisitive one and I also decided that I will repeat questions I ask them to put them on the spot. I also tried to exaggerate my movements, I made them a lot bigger, put more emphasis and energy into them. This is because children are not going to be as entertained by realism as they will be by over the top, whimsical and humorous production. Children can lose interest very quickly, so the way I interact with them is crucial to there engagement and reactions. To develop my character I had to remember that I am playing someone much younger then I am. I needed to put myself in the mindset of a 12-year-old boy, to do this I need to be mischevious, cheeky but at the same time, I need to display that despite my cocky exterior I am still a vulnerable child.
Wednesday 21st November
In today's rehearsal, we learned the choreography for the final song which is for the curtain call, as well as the rest of the choreography for the big pirate song in scene 8. The first dance we learned was to the song "don't stop believing" by Journey. To make this dance effective everyone must be synchronized and put energy into each and every movement. It must be crisp and well executed. To ensure that this happens everyone in the cast must come to all the rehearsals and do extra practice in there own free time. For the pirate's dance in scene 8, we learned the rest of the choreography, as well as the blocking of where people enter and exit as well as where they stand for the dance. As I am Peter Pan, I come in halfway through the song on the right hand highest stage block. I jump down and make my way to center stage, weaving my way through until I face off Merlin (one of the pirates) after that Hook and I square up to each other and commence a sequence of fight moves that will end up with Captain Hook and me on the highest middle stage block with his hook to my throat. There is some dialogue in the instrumental of the song between me and Hook. This will eventually lead to Hooks demise. To improve this dance routine we must work on sharpening it and cleaning it up. To do this everyone must show up to rehearsals and we must practice outside of lessons in our own time.
Wednesday 27th November
In today's rehearsal, we went through the pirate dance from scene 8. We then proceeded to do a full run of the play. When we were rehearsing the pirate dance I had to learn the choreography for the lost boy, this is because for one performance I will be playing the role of the lost boy, not Peter Pan as the show is double-casted. The first half of the choreography for the dance I had already learned but I needed to learn the new routine for the second half of the dance as a lost boy. This means that at the beginning of the song I enter with the fairies once the music starts. We then gather on the left-hand side of the stage creating different levels and acting as if we are cheering on the other lost boys who were fighting the pirates, we also tried to be as intimidating as possible. This meant that we screwed up our faces with our shoulders back and our chest pushed out. After this, there is a series of fight movements that are choreographed to go together. This includes two sets of the same movements that last for 8 counts each. After we had done this we went on to do the full run of the pantomime. After we had done the full run our director gave us some notes for each scene.
Overall:
- Improve projection
- Increase movement
Scene 1:
- More energy
- To remain in character
- To let the audience react more to what I am saying.
- I need to not rush my lines and not run them together.
Scene 2:
- To run through this scene with props.
Scene 3:
- Must work on positioning.
- To learn my entrances and cues
Scene 4:
- Stop skipping peoples lines
Scene 5:
- I must go through this scene so we can all learn our lines and cues.
Scene 6:
- I was not in this scene so there were no directors notes for me.
Scene 7:
- We must rehearse this scene as it was poor quality and needs work.
- We must learn our lines.
Scene 8:
- It is looking good.
- It needs more energy.
- The person who plays Captain Hook and I must rehearse the final part and work out what we are doing.
Scene 9:
- NEEDS POLISHING
In order to improve the pantomime as a whole cast, we must use much more energy. This means with every run with must use as much enthusiasm as possible every time, it means rehearsing as if you are performing to an audience every time as well as remaining in character. It also means for as a cast as a whole we all need to learn 100 percent of our lines and cues, this will result in a far more smooth and clean run. For me personally, I need to run all the scenes that include the mermaids and fairies this is because I think these were the worst ones, we need to learn our lines, blocking and use far more energy.
Thursday 28th November
In today's rehearsal, we first worked on the beginning of scene 8 which includes my entrance and Wendy and the gang's forced entry onto the Jolly Rodger (Captain Hook's pirate ship) as well as continually rehearsing the pirates dance. This is because at 5.00pm after college we had to perform this dance at the start of the ART auction. I let Rhys (the other boy playing Peterpan) perform as Peter in this performance of the dance as it gave him an opportunity to perform the same amount times as me. We spent almost the whole rehearsal practicing this dance over and over again. I think people were not focussed and were not putting in as much effort as possible. Although we did polish this dance and it was far better than when we last practiced, I still think that the performance we gave at the auction was not as high a standard as I would have liked it to be. I hope it gave the cast a shock as we need to be at a much higher standard by now. In order to improve we need to put far more effort in and learn to project our voices, this is because the in the audience you could not hear us particularly. This may, however, of been due to the poor acoustics that was in the atrium where we performed as it was not a proper theater.
Friday 29th November
In this rehearsal, we ran through scene 2 and scene 9. First, we practiced scene 2, we needed to work on the choreographed first fight scene, it needed to be made smoother and look more fluent. To do this the first thing we did was to mark out where everyone is running across the stage in order to surround me in an attempt of kidnap or murder. Then we sharpened our movement each pirate comes up to me with a movement but all eventually fail. Pirate one runs up and after we strike swords three times I hit her on the head with the but of the sword and she falls into the arms of another pirate. The second pirate runs towards me but I grab there arm turn them around and push her away. The third pirate runs up to me and I just punch them in the face, the fourth and fifth fall over my legs. The sixth pirate runs and falls through them, the seventh runs up to me gets face to face, I just gesture and she gets to her knees. For the final pirate which is Smee he runs up to me I say "do not even try" he runs away feebly apologizing. After this to make it more effective we added in sounds, screaming, shouting and grunting. This helps make the whole fight far more immersive and effective. After practicing this scene about three times we moved on to scene nine. For scene nine we first blocked it out just going through the scene slowly and going over lines, we did this at lunch. I worked on making my character come out more, I did this by making my facial expressions bigger and more exaggerated as well as my movements. The only people that did this at lunch was Wendy and I. The next time we ran it was in the full run we did in our last rehearsal of the day after school. Yet again after the full run, the director gave us more notes again:
Overall:
- The first full run with limited mistakes.
- We must amp up our energy.
- We must amp up our characterizations.
Scene 1:
- GOOD!
- Try and be slightly louder.
- I need to practice the window entry with the props.
Scene 2:
- Try to not mix up my lines in order to keep the rest of the people on stage not confused and able to complete there own lines.
Scene 3:
- Needs work.
- The volume needs to be louder.
Scene 4:
- I need to face the front
- I need to let Olivia (one of the mermaids) pull Wendy more off the stage block before pulling her back. I need to let the moment last for longer.
Scene 5:
- Very good!
Scene 6:
- Do not rush this scene.
Scene 7:
- Needs work.
- Do not speak as I am exiting the stage.
Scene 8:
- Well done!
- Best run of the dance yet.
- Good energy.
- Rember some of must not lose character.
- Do not be too loud when cheering in the fight scene.
- Work on the ending.
Scene 9:
- Good!
In order to improve, I must run over the mermaid and fairies scene as they seem to be the worst and least smooth running scenes of the play. However, I believe that in scene 7 I had run out of energy, I felt very pressured and forgot my lines. I think if I had been less tired and remembered my lines that the scene would have run a lot better, to ensure this doesn't happen again I am going to re-learn the lines as well as make sure I drink lots of water and eat before rehearsals so I do not become tired.
Monday 3rd December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we worked on scene one, scene three and scene seven. For scene 1 we took our directors notes and we tried to slow down the scene and put more emphasis into what we are saying. It is the opening scene so it needs to grab the audience's attention in order for them to stay engaged throughout the rest of the pantomime. I need to work on my relationship with Wendy, to do this I need to relax my body and be more comfortable and confident in my self and my character. For scene three we ran over it quickly to solidify our lines and our ques. We went through it twice fine-tuning the movements and the dialogue. When practicing scene seven, once again we quickly ran through it stopping when we found any part of the scene we had difficulties with. We then clarified what we were doing and we went through it over and over again until it ran smoothly. To improve my characterization for the whole play I reflected on today's rehearsal and realized that I need to be more fluent in my speech and movement so that I can show the audience I have confidence in my character. I hope that it will make me look more natural on stage. To do this I will stand up straight with a good posture and have my shoulders dropped, this should make me look less uptight and uncomfortable.
Tuesday 4th December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we tried to polish scene three, scene four and scene five. I worked on scene four and five while Rhys (the other Peter Pan from cast 2) worked on scene three. This is because I believe I know that scene practically inside and out. For scene four, Mermaids cove, we ran through it with the director stopping at points that were causing problems. The main issue was when I had to pull Wendy away, I was moving to fast and it looked very anticipated. To fix this while the mermaids lure Wendy away, I look around not paying attention to them and when Olivia (mermaid 1) says "swim" that's my queue to turn around and pull Wendy back. It makes it look and feel less rehearsed and more spontaneous. For scene five we did the same thing again essentially troubleshooting the scene and fixing the issues. I found that my main issue is that I was not being over the top enough I really need to exaggerate my anger at tink. To do this at the beginning of the scene when I run in and see Tink telling lies I cross my arms making the movement big and obvious I also screw up my face and furrow my eyebrows to show my anger and finally I tap my right foot to demonstrate that my frustrations are growing. Also when I am speaking to Tink I need to gesticulate more rather than just stand with my arms crossed. This is in order to give the audience something more entertaining to watch. A teacher from outside the Drama department came in to watch us rehearse. She gave us some feedback, which was:
- There is one person in each scene not putting in 100% effort and it lets the rest of the scene down.
- Be more eccentric to fit into the pantomime style.
- Be more out there.
- Peter Pan is doing well, however.
To make sure all these points are improved upon as a drama company we need to improve our focus and ensure that we are working together. 100% effort needs to put in at all times, we need to be rehearsing as if we are performing to an audience every single time. We also really need to play into our characters making them over the top, the audience especially the children will respond really well to this.
Wednesday 5th December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we practiced scene six and scene seven. However, I am not in scene six as it only has Captain Hook, Tinkerbelle, and Smee in it. So during this, I watched it and helped by giving constructive criticism and feedback so that they can improve the scene. I observed that Tinkerbelle needed to learn and polish her lines as well as this every one needed to put more energy in and they need to over exaggerate their characters this is because they need to engage the audience and keep them entertained. For scene seven I had decided that in order to improve I needed to pump the scene full of energy as well as needing to be more confident with my lines so it sounds more convincing to the audience. I need to speak with more conviction. This is the scene in which Tinkerbelle comes back to life so I need to show that I really care about her and that I do not want her to die. To show this passion that I have for her I need to demonstrate our empathy for one another. When I find her I get straight to the floor to comfort her, to show my worry an concern I will use facial expressions such as slightly opening my mouth to show my shock. When I find out how to bring her back to life, I leap to my feet with much enthusiasm, this is to show how eager I am to get Tinkerbelle well again. Overall this scene is much better then what it was last week. It still needs a small amount of fine tuning but overall I am happy with it.
Thursday 6th December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we prepared all of the set, props, and costumes. We turned the studio into the backstage area with a prop table, an area for the set, a costume rack, and a changing room. We also ran the scenes we did on Wednesday but with cast two rather than cast one. While they did that I focussed on making sure all of backstage was ready while also running over my lines attempting them in different styles and tones in order to find out what sounds the most effective, also running them through over and over again helps lock them into my head to ensure that I am ready for the performance on Tuesday night. In order to improve my characteristics before the night of the show, I am trying to develop the way I speak and move on stage. When it comes to my movement I am trying to be more over the top almost grotesque this is so my acting fits into the traditional pantomime style which is over the top and overly dramatic. Pantomime is full of light-hearted humour, to make the jokes have the impact I want I need to slow down my lines and pause for effect.
Friday 7th December 2018
Today we had the full day of timetable in order to be able to do a full tech, costume, makeup and set change run. We started off doing a top and tail run of the whole production just so that we could do the lighting and sound effects. After this, we had an hour break to get into costume, makeup and to be ready to do the first full run with every element of the play. Cast one (the cast that I am in) went first due to our performance being first. We went through every scene with full set changes and lighting. We had issues with tech as our lighting person was not in. This meant that we could not run through it as quickly or as smoothly as I would have liked to. Furthermore, the set changes were long and messy this is due to us never of doing a full run with set changes before as well as people were not paying attention to the set change list that had been put up. I think that the attitude backstage was extremely unprofessional. were speaking, had no focus and were not paying attention to basic ques. It was a frustrating environment to be in as I was trying my best to give full energy and focus. In order for the backstage environment to improve as a cast, we must keep focus we could do this by doing a simple focus and vocal warm-ups such as the one, one, two, one exercise. This is good as it will help our focus as well as warm up our voices. As for the scenes them selfs they need to be louder and have more energy. To improve our projection we need to envision the words coming out of our mouths and hitting the walls on the back of the theatre. We could also do different projection exercises such as reading famous speeches while opening your mouth widely and once more envisioning our words hitting the walls on the other side of the theatre. This will not only help our projection but our enunciation as well. With regards to costume and makeup, my costume did not fit as it was too big. So I needed to go and speak to the art students to get it altered. I did a simplified version of my make up then what I would do on Tuesday so that I would not take to long while getting ready. One specific piece of advice/feedback we were given was that the song from scene eight "it's going down" needs to be louder and be performed with more confidence. In order to have more confidence we need more energy, this is because without energy it will be slow and boring to watch. I believe that one thing that will improve energy is the buzz of performing in front of an audience. This is because no one wants to let them self down or embarrass them self on show night. However, this is not the best attitude to have as we should be rehearsing at full energy from day one.
Monday 10th December 2018
In today's rehearsal cast 2 did a full run through with tech as they did not get a chance to do it on Friday. I am only in scene 8 in this cast so I stayed backstage making sure that the prop table was organized and that the other person playing Peter Pan knew his lines and ques. Once again the attitude backstage was unprofessional, noisy and messy. No matter how hard you try people backstage would not be quiet. It meant that people again could not focus were missing cues and the set changes were sloppy. The feedback from the director and other people who watched was:
Monday 3rd December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we worked on scene one, scene three and scene seven. For scene 1 we took our directors notes and we tried to slow down the scene and put more emphasis into what we are saying. It is the opening scene so it needs to grab the audience's attention in order for them to stay engaged throughout the rest of the pantomime. I need to work on my relationship with Wendy, to do this I need to relax my body and be more comfortable and confident in my self and my character. For scene three we ran over it quickly to solidify our lines and our ques. We went through it twice fine-tuning the movements and the dialogue. When practicing scene seven, once again we quickly ran through it stopping when we found any part of the scene we had difficulties with. We then clarified what we were doing and we went through it over and over again until it ran smoothly. To improve my characterization for the whole play I reflected on today's rehearsal and realized that I need to be more fluent in my speech and movement so that I can show the audience I have confidence in my character. I hope that it will make me look more natural on stage. To do this I will stand up straight with a good posture and have my shoulders dropped, this should make me look less uptight and uncomfortable.
Tuesday 4th December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we tried to polish scene three, scene four and scene five. I worked on scene four and five while Rhys (the other Peter Pan from cast 2) worked on scene three. This is because I believe I know that scene practically inside and out. For scene four, Mermaids cove, we ran through it with the director stopping at points that were causing problems. The main issue was when I had to pull Wendy away, I was moving to fast and it looked very anticipated. To fix this while the mermaids lure Wendy away, I look around not paying attention to them and when Olivia (mermaid 1) says "swim" that's my queue to turn around and pull Wendy back. It makes it look and feel less rehearsed and more spontaneous. For scene five we did the same thing again essentially troubleshooting the scene and fixing the issues. I found that my main issue is that I was not being over the top enough I really need to exaggerate my anger at tink. To do this at the beginning of the scene when I run in and see Tink telling lies I cross my arms making the movement big and obvious I also screw up my face and furrow my eyebrows to show my anger and finally I tap my right foot to demonstrate that my frustrations are growing. Also when I am speaking to Tink I need to gesticulate more rather than just stand with my arms crossed. This is in order to give the audience something more entertaining to watch. A teacher from outside the Drama department came in to watch us rehearse. She gave us some feedback, which was:
- There is one person in each scene not putting in 100% effort and it lets the rest of the scene down.
- Be more eccentric to fit into the pantomime style.
- Be more out there.
- Peter Pan is doing well, however.
To make sure all these points are improved upon as a drama company we need to improve our focus and ensure that we are working together. 100% effort needs to put in at all times, we need to be rehearsing as if we are performing to an audience every single time. We also really need to play into our characters making them over the top, the audience especially the children will respond really well to this.
Wednesday 5th December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we practiced scene six and scene seven. However, I am not in scene six as it only has Captain Hook, Tinkerbelle, and Smee in it. So during this, I watched it and helped by giving constructive criticism and feedback so that they can improve the scene. I observed that Tinkerbelle needed to learn and polish her lines as well as this every one needed to put more energy in and they need to over exaggerate their characters this is because they need to engage the audience and keep them entertained. For scene seven I had decided that in order to improve I needed to pump the scene full of energy as well as needing to be more confident with my lines so it sounds more convincing to the audience. I need to speak with more conviction. This is the scene in which Tinkerbelle comes back to life so I need to show that I really care about her and that I do not want her to die. To show this passion that I have for her I need to demonstrate our empathy for one another. When I find her I get straight to the floor to comfort her, to show my worry an concern I will use facial expressions such as slightly opening my mouth to show my shock. When I find out how to bring her back to life, I leap to my feet with much enthusiasm, this is to show how eager I am to get Tinkerbelle well again. Overall this scene is much better then what it was last week. It still needs a small amount of fine tuning but overall I am happy with it.
Thursday 6th December 2018
In today's rehearsal, we prepared all of the set, props, and costumes. We turned the studio into the backstage area with a prop table, an area for the set, a costume rack, and a changing room. We also ran the scenes we did on Wednesday but with cast two rather than cast one. While they did that I focussed on making sure all of backstage was ready while also running over my lines attempting them in different styles and tones in order to find out what sounds the most effective, also running them through over and over again helps lock them into my head to ensure that I am ready for the performance on Tuesday night. In order to improve my characteristics before the night of the show, I am trying to develop the way I speak and move on stage. When it comes to my movement I am trying to be more over the top almost grotesque this is so my acting fits into the traditional pantomime style which is over the top and overly dramatic. Pantomime is full of light-hearted humour, to make the jokes have the impact I want I need to slow down my lines and pause for effect.
Friday 7th December 2018
Today we had the full day of timetable in order to be able to do a full tech, costume, makeup and set change run. We started off doing a top and tail run of the whole production just so that we could do the lighting and sound effects. After this, we had an hour break to get into costume, makeup and to be ready to do the first full run with every element of the play. Cast one (the cast that I am in) went first due to our performance being first. We went through every scene with full set changes and lighting. We had issues with tech as our lighting person was not in. This meant that we could not run through it as quickly or as smoothly as I would have liked to. Furthermore, the set changes were long and messy this is due to us never of doing a full run with set changes before as well as people were not paying attention to the set change list that had been put up. I think that the attitude backstage was extremely unprofessional. were speaking, had no focus and were not paying attention to basic ques. It was a frustrating environment to be in as I was trying my best to give full energy and focus. In order for the backstage environment to improve as a cast, we must keep focus we could do this by doing a simple focus and vocal warm-ups such as the one, one, two, one exercise. This is good as it will help our focus as well as warm up our voices. As for the scenes them selfs they need to be louder and have more energy. To improve our projection we need to envision the words coming out of our mouths and hitting the walls on the back of the theatre. We could also do different projection exercises such as reading famous speeches while opening your mouth widely and once more envisioning our words hitting the walls on the other side of the theatre. This will not only help our projection but our enunciation as well. With regards to costume and makeup, my costume did not fit as it was too big. So I needed to go and speak to the art students to get it altered. I did a simplified version of my make up then what I would do on Tuesday so that I would not take to long while getting ready. One specific piece of advice/feedback we were given was that the song from scene eight "it's going down" needs to be louder and be performed with more confidence. In order to have more confidence we need more energy, this is because without energy it will be slow and boring to watch. I believe that one thing that will improve energy is the buzz of performing in front of an audience. This is because no one wants to let them self down or embarrass them self on show night. However, this is not the best attitude to have as we should be rehearsing at full energy from day one.
Monday 10th December 2018
In today's rehearsal cast 2 did a full run through with tech as they did not get a chance to do it on Friday. I am only in scene 8 in this cast so I stayed backstage making sure that the prop table was organized and that the other person playing Peter Pan knew his lines and ques. Once again the attitude backstage was unprofessional, noisy and messy. No matter how hard you try people backstage would not be quiet. It meant that people again could not focus were missing cues and the set changes were sloppy. The feedback from the director and other people who watched was:
- More body language
- More facial expression
- Stay in character
- Think before you say your lines
- Solos need far more energy
- Projection
- Work off each other
- Interact with one another if you're in a group
- Pirates need to be more aggressive
- No running in transitions
- Fairy's need to be more girly and giggly
- Captain Hook needs to be more comically evil
- Don't just walk into positions
- No smiling while fighting
- React more
- Bows need to be in sync
- We as a cast need to work together and believe in ourselves
Cast 2 notes
S1-
- If someone doesn't come on we need to fill in
- Peter pan needs to bring on his shadow
- Mrs. Darling song need improvement
S2-
- Don't mess around side stage or on stage
- Bring props all on
- Must be responsible for all your own props
- Look at the setlists
- Wait for the music for the fight
S3-
- Set change needs to be much faster
- Lost boys were much better, things bounced off each other better
- Needs to be louder
- The argument needs to bigger
- Wendy's song needs to be improved
S4-
- Mermaids were much better
- Don't make obvious that there are costume issues
- Peter come in when the jig music starts
- Don't make it obvious if you miss your cue
- LOUDER
S5-
- Peter came in too soon
- LOUDER
- The song needs to be stronger
- Best the fairy scene has been done
S6-
- Really good
- Really nice energy
S7-
- WAY MORE ENERGY
- The hook needs to be faster coming on
- Peter pan was on the wrong side
S8-
- Scene change was awful
- Pay attention
- Be responsible
- Exit way faster and in character
S9-
- Wendy must learn lines
- Curtain call needs to be much better
- Step it up
In order to improve cast 2 must work on improvisation. This is because if someone misses there cue and does not come onto the stage or does not say a line, the rest of the cast on stage need to either prompt the person by saying something that may help the person remember what they are doing or improvise a new scenario to propel the scene forward. Furthermore, the whole company needs to work on their professionalism. This is because not only were there people speaking backstage but side stage as well, it is not acceptable as sound travels around the theatre very easily so the audience would be able here if it was a real performance. We need to learn that if we are rehearsing we should do it as if it is to an audience every time.
Tuesday 11 December 2018
Today I got into collage at 9am so that I could be in the drama studio all day to rehearse and prepare for the show in the evening. I started off with tidying backstage and reorganizing the prop table. I also hung up all the costumes so they did not get ruined or creased as well as cleaning up the changing room. I did this because I believe that you need a tidy workplace in order to do effective and progressive work. Once some more cast members arrived to the studio we begun hot seating to help us get into character. We asked and answered questions in character, this helps everyone start to get into the mindset of our characters. After this, we ran through scene nine which is the final scene in the Darlings nursery. We ran through it and got the director to stop us when there was an issue and tell us how to develop it to make sure we can improve in time for 7.00pm that same day. Overall the feedback that was given was that I need to be bigger and more over the top. So the second time we went through the scene I really emphasized my movement and exaggerate my lines. I really tried to fit into the traditional pantomime style. I did this by making everything bigger, projecting my voice more and making the changes in my emotions very obvious. I did this by changing the tone in my voice dependant on my mood. When I was happy and excited to be going back to Neverland with the lost children I speak in a happy and joyous voice with a light-hearted undertone. But, when I realize the lost children do not want to come with me the undertone in my voice turns to one of disappointment, I will also look down and lose the enthusiasm that is in my voice. After we completely polished scene nine. I went up to art to get my costume, from after it had been adjusted. When I got back to the studio I got one of the girls who was doing hair and makeup to braid my hair into two plaits that kept the majority of the hair of my face. I then got into costume and put my make up on. I had to do very heavy makeup due to the stage lights, I did not want to be washed and I also thought it added to my character of Peter Pan. I did green eyeshadow with black eyeliner and green gems to accentuate and enhance my look. Once the whole cast was ready we did some warm-ups which consisted of: lip trills, many men, sirens, going through scales and singing one of the songs from the pantomime.
Wednesday 12th December 2018
Today we had a matinee performance for children from a local primary school. This means that this performance needed to be even higher energy than the first night. As it was an early performance at 11.00am as soon as I got into the studio I put on my costume and did my make up as the same night previously. To warm up once again we did lip trills, sirens, one one two one, scales and we also sung its going down from scene eight in the pantomime. The children seemed to respond very well with lots of enthusiasm.
Thursday 13th December 2018
Today it was cast two performance, so I was only in scene eight. This meant that the way I prepared and prioritised things was different. My costume was simplified as was my makeup to suit the character of a lost boy more. My priorities consisted on making sure backstage was organised and quiet instead of knowing my cues and lines. I also helped out the other boy playing Peter Pan so he knew his lines and what he was meant to be doing.
Tuesday 11 December 2018
Today I got into collage at 9am so that I could be in the drama studio all day to rehearse and prepare for the show in the evening. I started off with tidying backstage and reorganizing the prop table. I also hung up all the costumes so they did not get ruined or creased as well as cleaning up the changing room. I did this because I believe that you need a tidy workplace in order to do effective and progressive work. Once some more cast members arrived to the studio we begun hot seating to help us get into character. We asked and answered questions in character, this helps everyone start to get into the mindset of our characters. After this, we ran through scene nine which is the final scene in the Darlings nursery. We ran through it and got the director to stop us when there was an issue and tell us how to develop it to make sure we can improve in time for 7.00pm that same day. Overall the feedback that was given was that I need to be bigger and more over the top. So the second time we went through the scene I really emphasized my movement and exaggerate my lines. I really tried to fit into the traditional pantomime style. I did this by making everything bigger, projecting my voice more and making the changes in my emotions very obvious. I did this by changing the tone in my voice dependant on my mood. When I was happy and excited to be going back to Neverland with the lost children I speak in a happy and joyous voice with a light-hearted undertone. But, when I realize the lost children do not want to come with me the undertone in my voice turns to one of disappointment, I will also look down and lose the enthusiasm that is in my voice. After we completely polished scene nine. I went up to art to get my costume, from after it had been adjusted. When I got back to the studio I got one of the girls who was doing hair and makeup to braid my hair into two plaits that kept the majority of the hair of my face. I then got into costume and put my make up on. I had to do very heavy makeup due to the stage lights, I did not want to be washed and I also thought it added to my character of Peter Pan. I did green eyeshadow with black eyeliner and green gems to accentuate and enhance my look. Once the whole cast was ready we did some warm-ups which consisted of: lip trills, many men, sirens, going through scales and singing one of the songs from the pantomime.
Wednesday 12th December 2018
Today we had a matinee performance for children from a local primary school. This means that this performance needed to be even higher energy than the first night. As it was an early performance at 11.00am as soon as I got into the studio I put on my costume and did my make up as the same night previously. To warm up once again we did lip trills, sirens, one one two one, scales and we also sung its going down from scene eight in the pantomime. The children seemed to respond very well with lots of enthusiasm.
Thursday 13th December 2018
Today it was cast two performance, so I was only in scene eight. This meant that the way I prepared and prioritised things was different. My costume was simplified as was my makeup to suit the character of a lost boy more. My priorities consisted on making sure backstage was organised and quiet instead of knowing my cues and lines. I also helped out the other boy playing Peter Pan so he knew his lines and what he was meant to be doing.
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