Final Evaluation

Overall I thought the play was a success. The energy was fantastic, I watched the audience physically jump when we all came in with the first song. The first scene was particularly good, so we managed to captivate their attention from the start. The projection of the whole cast was good, and I've had feedback saying that all could be heard. Unfortunately Tian's voice started to go towards the end of the performance, as he has a sore throat. The comedic scenes were a hit with the audience and there was laughter throughout. Another particularly good performance was the Wedding scene I feel. The energy was sustained and fantastic.It felt like everyone finally knew and understood their characters.

However the play was still too long, even longer than the dress, so we were at danger of losing the audience, especially towards the end when there was a lot of line mixing-up. Some of the pauses were too long and some of the exchanges between characters could have been snappier.

Personally, I really enjoyed the performance, and it was bizarre to finally have an audience. When I first entered, I didn't even say anything at all and there was laughter, which struck me for a moment, but I made sure not to lose focus. The timing seemed well, and I think the change in objectives made the scene finally click into place. I had a lot of fun with the role, but for Brighton I will make sure I don't toe the line between playing up to the comedy and overacting. I feel the audience responded positively to myself, Sarah and Gavin, and we had a real energy that we shared between us. A little bit more spatial awareness of each other may have improved the aesthetics of the staging but otherwise I feel my performance was a success. One more thing I lost a little was the support and I felt myself beginning to use my throat at points, however I stopped myself as soon as I realised, and I think my voice carried in the theatre. At first I was unsure on how changing the character of Trinculo to a prostitute would work, but it fitted well with Caliban being a priest and sex-deprived, and the given circumstances of the three characters created the comedy for the audience, who, seeing the show for the first time and not knowing our rehearsals, seeing  it afresh made it enjoyable and humorous in a way we could not have foreseen.

I feel the themes of drugs and colonization were presented well, and the message was passed clearly (I heard more than a few giggles from theatre students at the 'Were I European' line!). It was very different from last nights and I'm sure tomorrow nights show, it was much darker and I feel presented the more serious sides to the performance (although we still got a good few laughs!).

Dress Rehearsal Notes/Evaluation.

Today's Dress went well overall. The energy was the best we've had so far, particularly in the beginning section. We had issues with lines in the first boat scene and there was too long a pause, so we need to be clearer on who says what before the show. In one of my scenes we also had a mix-up with some of our lines, and this led to the energy being dropped. Personally, I forgot to say 'Thou liest' at the same time as Jordan so the drugs/control theme will be lost in that part if I forget that tonight. The projection was good, and we could be heard, we just need to keep that support in our diaphragms sustained.We all need to play the given circumstances more. The play is far too long, to solve this we should have more readiness with our queues and get on stage much faster, overlapping the scene changes.We could all do with a little more clarity in our voices.

The notes I received from Will include:

• I have to change my objectives in my first entrance to 'to seduce'. This means I need to practice in the break.
• The change in objective means I need to make some movement under the cloak to suggest I'm touching him up, adding to his torment! This will change Sarah's reactions in her first entrance so we'll need to get together to do that. 

•  I need to be wary of 'acting' too much. It's edging towards pantomime, there still needs to be an element of truth, the comedy should come naturally with the given circumstances. 

•  I kept wondering out of the light, so I need to look at the space and have a little more awareness of where I'm lit and where I can't be seen.
• I need to make sure I speak in tandem with Jordan when he drugs me.
• We need to get on stage quicker, the scene changes should overlap the entrances and the lines as well 

•  Before our last scene, we should splash a little water on our faces so the powder Tian and Jordan blow in our faces stick. 

 I need to rehearse the scene with Gavin and Sarah and warm up thoroughly before the performance but otherwise I'm excited and ready to go!

Review of Sarah's group performance.

Overall the performance was very lovely and extremely different.

• One of the differences was double roles, i.e. Trinculo and Stephano, which was a very interesting take that went well, the pairings were excellent and humorous. 
• It was a very comedic take on the Tempest.
• There was a lull in the first scene which felt like it needed something more.
• The general characterisation was very good, it felt like they knew their characters.
• It made me realise how important projection is, as some of them simply were inaudible. It shows that you can't afford to be delicate.
• Detailed relationships and status battles were missing.
• There is a contrast in strength, there's got stronger throughout, whereas ours gets weaker at the moment.
• For us this means that we mustn't let the audience down.
• They weren't always playing three sides.
• The mother/daughter relationship shows a different side to the character of Prospero compared to our father/daughter one.
• We can all take example from Nina's fantastic energy as Caliban.
• Music was a bit too loud in places and drowned out talking.

Personally I was watching my own character played by someone else, which is always weird but I think it's natural to be drawn to making evaluations and comparisons. I thought Britt and Zach had a very comical and light-hearted performance. There were two of them, so they were able to bounce off each other, and they were a decent pairing. Their existence in the space was excellent. One thing I didn't like was that they seemed to rely on their accents for the humour, and it didn't feel like they knew what they were saying but rather felt that saying the words in the accent was enough, which lost some of the meaning and also made it feel a bit flat in places.

Overall the whole performance was very good, and it made me realise how individual all the productions are. I would label their production the nice and fluffy one. Whereas ours might be labelled the violent or dangerous one.

Rehearsal Notes 7/5/13

The rehearsal was interesting as Will wasn't with us and I was leading the run. Some people were excellent such as Gavin and his characterisation of Caliban which has had so  much depth added to it. Some people were unhelpful and brought the energy down by not doing a proper run. Here are some of the notes I made of the full run.

SCENE TWO

• Tian: Face the audience, stop saying erm, it's not in your character or the script.
• Gavin: Excellent, believable characterisation, using voice, physicality and playing the given circumstances, playing it big!
• The Ferdinand scene needs faster pace
• More projection from all
• Characterisation is good so far!
• When forgetting a line however, people slip out of character, just take a moment for it to come back.
• Vocal support in the diaphragm is needed.
• Jordan: Don't rush your lines.
• Don't rely on a prompt; there won't be one in the show. When you require one in rehearsal, BE POLITE.
• Tian: Occasional random shouting, but energy and vocals have improved very much.
• Gavin: Let there be a connection when Molly undoes your chain; look at her.
• Molly: Voice doesn't carry over the music, support.
• STOP COMING OUT OF CHARACTER
• Masking each other; remember the staging.

SCENE THREE

• Saffron's dragging Tom on was abysmal, perhaps need to rework that between them.
• Tom: Character & projection: More of it, I can see you taking the piss.
• Jonah: Speak up & out.
• Phoebe: More projection, otherwise good character.
• You bring down the whole scene if you pull down everyone else with your bad energy. Don't be a selfish actor, just because you cant be bothered.
• Alex: Sort out your entrance
• This is boring to watch: energy, pace, character is DESPERATELY NEEDED.
• (At this stage a few people were taking the piss so I said:) I hope you all realise that the show is TOMORROW and we haven't done a single run-through without stopping.
• Jordan: Ariel's entrance was great.
• There is a fantastic change in energy when Gonzalo leaps on Alonzo.

SCENE FOUR

No-one made notes for us but notes I'd give myself would be projection. not getting distracted by people talking at the sides and trying not to make the energy seem forced.

SCENE FIVE

• Cameron: Try not to trip up on your lines, perhaps take your time a little if you feel you're rushing for pace.
• Projection is needed, fill the space in the theatre.
• Cam/Mol: There is a much better chemistry between you too, lost some of that awkwardness.
• This scene is pleasant to watch.
• Don't freak out when you trip on a line it's not the end of the world.

SCENE SIX

(Amaya took some notes for us:)

• When Caliban speaks explore all 3 sides (steph & trinc), All way through the scene actualy.
• Sarah: More projection/ bigger character at times
• Overall generally lovely.

SCENE 7

• Be aware of your Queues 
• More volume
• Energy is dropping because you're bored of rehearsing is ridiculous in my opinion, get over it and get on with it.
• Jordan: Fantastic characterisation and everything, the monologue is fantastic.
• Bigger reactions from the rest
• Lost: Carry on screaming for a bit longer
• Jonah: Superb acting, nice character.

SCENE 8

• It feels and looks like no-one can be bothered.
• It's painful to watch in places.
• We need to rework the transition between rhythms at the wedding for the Lost.
• Moyo: Fantastic, this is the energy we need, with one scream she picked up the whole scene.
• Losing some energy from the Lost.
• Bigger movement from Goddesses on Juno's enterance.
• Cam/Mol: Good chemistry.

I ceased to make notes as it went on to my scene and then after that the whole thing went down hill if I'm honest. It was irretrievable. However, I know that we can all do it because we all saw moments of brilliance in everyone. The only issue here was laziness, which I'm sure won't be a problem when we are in front of an audience. I am slightly worried about the show tomorrow, but I am going to stop myself, as the only person I will worry about from now is myself, and my own character. 

Rehearsal Plan

Tempest Rehearsal Plan: 3/5/13

1. Set up in 905
2.  Motivational chat time/circle of love
3.  Warm up – Sing Becky Jelly
4. Characterisation: Walk and Talk like your character. Who do you interact         with, STATUS, little things made bigger.
5. Vocal Support. Do some voice exercises.
6.  Block the last 10 pages of the show.
7. Ship scene
8. The wedding
9. Cameron and his logs
10. Anything else people want to work on.
11. Run the show (at least from page 30)

RULES

·        Listen to each other

·        Patience is a virtue

·        No negativity, it’s not constructive at this stage

·        Honesty

·        NO PHONES

·        Don’t slip out of character

·        Don’t talk when people are acting

·        Focus, even when it’s not your scene, TAKE NOTES.

Tech Notes

The Tech was an interesting experience. Being in the space for the first time was quite daunting, so we warmed up and walked around it so we could get used to it. It was exciting to get into costume as well, as it got us pumped and into character. The start I felt was fantastic and exciting, especially getting to perform with the sound effects and lighting! However the end was appalling as people weren't confident on their lines, which I don't understand how that can be happening a week before the show. I felt embarrassed and it wasn't even me who forgot the lines. When Will started reading in for people who were already on stage and should be able, I thought the Tech team must think we are a bunch of idiots, we really need to sort that out, and I hope the people responsible work really hard to get that. I'm sure they will as it was Quite a wake up call for us all that perhaps we've been needing.

I think Will gave up on notes eventually but these were the few we got combined with the stage manager's.

• The start is a brilliant, exciting and engaging atmosphere that we create.
• The last ten pages were absolutely appalling.
• It was embarrassing for us all.
• We are letting down the tech team by not being ready on our part.
• After the exciting, atmospheric start, the story begins to lose value and it lets it down. 
• Lack in vocal clarity.
• We all need to be much, much bigger with our character, energy, voices and movement. Fill the space, it is massive!
• Don't walk over the ships wheel at the start.
• The whole ship section needs work 
• In the dress rehearsal, Will wants us to over-act.
• The drug-theme needs pushing much further
• Take control of the show, don't let it slip out of our hands, it's OUR performance.

On Friday we need to start with the last ten pages, I will find Will, see what he wants completed and draw up a rehearsal plan. The last ten pages are of utmost priority, as that was an embarrassment.

Expectations in a Tech

The Tech is on Wednesday so we sat down and discussed what we need to have and what is expected of us as actors in the tech. Here is what we came up with.

• Efficiency: The ability to do what is required of us well and with speed.
• Concentration: We must know where we are in the text and what we are doing without getting distracted by the technical team around us.
• It's a bit like making a film, having all the elements come together to make the production work.
• We will see how the performance grows with all the technical things in place.
• Don't worry too much about mistakes just carry on.
• This is the tech teams time, it is there rehearsal rather than ours. 
• Some may not be as good as others, they are our age and learning just like us.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions.
• This is a good time to get used to the space and practice filling it.