Auditions for "Cinderella Panto'

Everyone had to audition today for the 'Cinderella, The Panto'. I had prepared to audition for 2 characters- 'The Baroness' and 'The Fairy God Mother'. I was going to audition for 'The Fairy God Mother' with a group of other year 1 students. However, I was only asked to be 'The Baroness' again with another partner.

I chose to audition as 'The Baroness' as I have nearly always played the 'Evil Villan' in the past and I find that I can be more creative with such a character, as opposed to a lighter and happier character. I prepared for her by reading the script a couple of times as all the different characters and then I read only, all of  The Baroness and The Fairy godmother's lines 10 times.  Each time I tried a different approach to the character (for example at one point my version of 'The Fairy Godmother' had a Jamaican accent and at another, I changed my facial expressions and lowered my pitch to make her seem less cheerful, and more of a diva), until I found the best voice and characterisation (representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches) possible, taking into account the honest opinion of others (these were generally critical people), which is always helpful as it is difficult to objectively judge your own performance. I then set myself the task of reading the two characters' lines from my two chosen scenes at least 10 times a day each (until the day of the auditions), as I find that repetitively reading the lines on a daily basis is the best way for me to learn them.  I also took time to improvise with each character in front of a mirror, in order to view their facial expressions and physical movement as I worked to develop my characterisation for them.

My first impression of 'The Baroness' was that she was an evil woman who was extremely over dramatic (in her first scene when she faints at the sight of Cinderella) and somewhat scary. I also thought that she was very wealthy, very snobby and had a high status. I thought that she would be the type of character to stop at nothing until she got that which she wanted and was terribly jealous of Cinderella.

I chose a scene which involved 'The Baroness' and her husband, having a heated discussion. I eventually came to think that my version of the character was slightly emotionally unstable, which was especially more obvious when she came close to not getting what she wanted. I tried to show this by widening my eyes, becoming very tense and slightly shaking. For example, when I tore up the ticket I made myself tense and bared my teethe to show that my character was in an absolute rage. In addition, I thought that she could be quiet cattish towards Cinderella. For example when I said "And what about your precious Cin-der-ella....." I pronounced each syllable of 'Cind-der-ell-a' slowly, crossed my arms, narrowed my eyes hatefully and moved my head from side to side as if to make a joke of The Baron's feelings toward his daughter.

For 'The Baroness', I researched other actresses' versions of this character. For example, I observed the Ella Enchanted and Rogers and Hammerstein versions of her.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327679/ and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0128996/.
I was influenced by Joanna Lumley's posh accent, as I thought it made 'The Baroness' quite intimidating, snobby and almost unapproachable.
I also influenced by Bernadette Peters' version, as I though that her version of the character had many dimensions (jealousy, insecurity, hatred) and her physicality was perfect for this character. Had I auditioned with a different scene from the script I would have portrayed this more, with my own diva-like twist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqSArKfpSdQ

My first impression of 'The Fairy Godmother' was that she was an excessively kind, mature woman who was somewhat comedic in the way in which she spoke (especially when pretending to be an old lady). I though that she took pleasure in helping Cinderella to go to the ball and felt that that is what Cinderella deserved.

Although I didn't get to audition as The Fairy Godmother. We were asked to come up with a completely nontraditional, and creatively different version of the character. I would have made her a typical African-American 'Diva', taking inspiration from Jackee Harry's Lisa Landry Sims (Sister Sister) for the comical, fun side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgRewBKF1o0

I also looked at Whitney Houston's Roger and Hammerstein's (1997) version of the fairy Godmother for the serious, deeper side to the character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK4qTw1x2EY (from 3:39 mins)

Although I would have consistently smiled to make her seem more friendly. As when preparing for 'The Baroness' audition, I practised the facial expressions and movement in the mirror. Using ideas from other performances is known as interpreting ideas for performance material. Using these ideas and adding your own ideas to performance is known as applying ideas creatively.

After discussing with the peers that I was to do the group audition with, we chose to do a scene in which Buttons would try to cheer Cinderella up and then he would go off, for Cinderella to meet her Fairy Godmother. As I was to make my entrance as an 'old lady', I would walk to my position slowly, holding my back as if I suffered from terrible back pain. My voice was very obviously shaky and my accent became deeply southern (as 'The Fairy Godmother' was in disguise). My version of the character was somewhat overly dramatic as I would click her fingers up high and stomp the ground as she loudly stated "I AM... your fairy Godmother!" with the emphasis on the 'AM', in my African- American accent. Also when I said ,"Weave the thread from the thistledown." I would play make my hair bounce, with my hand, to make reference to the fact that she my character was wearing a weave. I addition this characters movements were very big, with a lot of attitude and confidence.

I thought that my first audition for 'The Baroness' was the best audition I have done at college yet. I managed to do the audition the way in which I had prepared it, for the most part. However, I thought the characters voice was a little high and continuously tense (in the tonic state), which could be difficult to maintain. I used more movement than usual, but I think my moves could have been sharper.

I felt that my second audition for 'The Baroness' wasn't as good as the first. However I did manage to find a voice for the character that was lower in my register, by lowering my larynx, and speaking from my diaphragm. I thought that I used less energy and my movements were less sharp than the first audition. I think in the future I should use the stage more in an audition and develop a greater range of physical movements for the characters.

Lastly, everyone had to do a singing audition. I chose to sing the song 'Shadowland' from "The Lion King Musical". The audition was OK, but I was very nervous to the point where I was shaking and my voice was shaking. Later, when I was asked to sing scales, I did not sing as high as I could have because of my nerves. I need to learn to control my nerves when singing. I could do this by doing breathing exercises, and relieving tension before singing. A way of achieving this is by shaking my body out and stretching every muscle in the body.

Here are some diagrams, showing the position of the larynx in the body and what it looks like from a laryngoscopic view. The larynx is the hollow muscular organ forming an air passage to the lungs and holding the vocal chords in humans; the voice box. I is important to keep it lubricated by drinking plenty of water. I make sure I drink 8 bottles a day in order to achieve this. It i possible to change the position of the larynx. When singing it is ideal to keep a relaxed larynx, which makes bridging(transitioning between different vocal registers) and belt (a vocal technique that produces a high intensity, big, powerful sound in the upper middle pitch range) easier. I can do this by raising my soft palate. If you lower your larynx, the voice is at a lower pitch and if you raise it the voice sounds higher, squeakier and more strained. 

 

Here is a diagram demonstrating the position of the soft palate, which is behind the hard palate. Raising the soft palate allows you to open your throat and also keeps the larynx relaxed. It is therefore very important in singing. Lifting the soft palate also can make your vocal tone less nasal.

 

 

 

 

Singing, Dancing and Acting 2

Today we took part in singing, dancing and acting lessons. I think that in the past I have performed better at all 3, when compared to today. However, that could have been due to me putting in less effort as I allowed tiredness to affect me. In the future I must take a more professional approach and, simply warm up for longer, if I am tired.

I did not volunteer to sight read again, as once again I was worried about stumbling over my words. Now I realise that the only way to improve this is to read out loud, in in front of others. Therefore I am setting myself a personal goal, which is to volunteer to sight read the next time I am given the opportunity to do so. I also need to spend more time reading monologues or newspaper passages out loud at home.

Later we participated in movement skills, which began with a warm up. I feel that my fitness has improved as I was able to keep up much more easily. We also had to kick our legs up, while travelling from one corner to the other. Then we had to do 'corner work', which is a short dance routine, travelling from one corner to the other. I struggled as I am still slow to pick up choreography. However, I was better the second time. We then learnt a new dance routine and from this I can tell that I need to improve on timing, picking up the correct choreography and putting more energy into the dance moves.

Then we had singing lessons. I still found it difficult to sing in a group as I can't hear myself and I don't know if I'm hitting the correct notes. To improve this I will practise scales at home and sing with head phones on, as I sing along to loud music.This way I will get use too singing the correct notes when I cannot here myself.

Read Through Of 'The Cinderella Pantomime'

Today was a very contrasting to yesterday. I achieved my personal goals- to answer one question and volunteer to act. I exceeded my expectations and found that it was not as difficult to complete these goals as I had originally thought.

We began the day with some drama games and warm ups. We also tried some new relaxation exercises to relieve tension. All of these helped to make me feel a lot more relaxed and ready to perform.

Later we took part in more improvisation tasks. This time, the objective was to speak nonsense in a foreign language, or say the word 'banana' repetitively, as someone else translates for the audience as to what they are 'supposedly' saying. I believe that we did this to improve our physicality (the quality of being physical, especially when emphasised or over emphasised) on stage, as we are not concentrating so heavily on what we are saying. I volunteered to take part in the improvisation task, but I must make sure that I always face the audience, otherwise they will quickly looses interest,as you loose your connection to them.

Afterwards we were asked to retell a fairy tale. We were given a few minutes to plan this in groups of 5/6. Our group decided to retell the story of 'Hansel and Gretel' in which I played 'The Wicked Witch'. Everyone put their ideas forward and I made an extra effort to do this. However, when we came to perform it, we were given 1 minute or less and so the piece was quite rushed, but I thought it worked well considering the time limit.



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We were asked to read through The NHC Christmas Production's Script. This year, Performing Arts Students will put on a 'The Cinderella pantomime'. I was nervous to read to begin with, as I was worried about how my poor reading ability might affect me in the task, but later I volunteered to read as 'The Baroness' (also known as 'The Wicked Stepmother'). I didn't I embraced the character as much as I could have, as I never understand what's going on when I first read through things. I thought that my voice was out of control and I continuously stumbled over my words. It is essential that I practise reading more monologues at home to help with my reading skills and with getting into character straight away.

My first impressions of The Character were that of an evil woman, who was incredibly jealous of Cinderella. I spoke loudly, to show that she had a high status and was incredibly confident. I gave her a posh voice, as past performances I've seen of this character have given her a posh voice. I think it also makes her seem like somewhat of a snob, who looks down her nose at everybody. I tried to use the lower part of my range (the area of variation between upper and lower limits on a particular scale- in this case the limits of my speaking voice), as I thought it would make her more intimidating and authoritative (especially towards her husband, The Baron).

I feel that I concentrates too hard on the accent of the character and less on reading the correct words and breathing where appropriate. I had no difficulty in projecting, especially as I used my diaphragm to push my voice. However I feel that I lowered my larynx too far, which gave me less control over the characters voice. I also  have a tendency to panic before my line, as I fear that I will stumble over my words, which is exactly what I end up doing. I should engage in breathing exercises before reading tasks to calm myself down. e.g. exhaling for longer than exhaling, which will make me feel more relaxed.

These are diagrams of the larynx, which is situated in the throat. You can lift and drop the larynx to speak/ sing in different pitches. You lower the larynx to sound low pitched and raise the larynx to sound high pitched.

After The Read Through at college, we were given a copy of the script, so that we could read through it at home, to decide which characters we might have liked to audition for (one of which would be a solo audition and the other, would be in a group with our peers) and to learn part of our chosen characters' lines off-by-heart. I read the script out loud twice, reading every line, in each different character, that was in the play. I did this the first time so that I could practise my sight reading and acting technique and the second time for the same reason, but also to decide which characters were more suitable for me to play.

I decided that I would audition for 'The Baroness' as a solo piece and as 'The Fairy GodMother' as a group audition. I have found that the best technique for me to learn lines is to read the lines over and over again. Therefore, I set myself a task, in which I had to read all of The Baroness' lines, from separate scenes, at least 10 times, until I decided which part of the script I would most like to act out. I chose a scene which involved The Baroness in a heated argument with her husband. I thought that this was the best scene for me because it was quite a tense scene, and I have a lot of experience of acting out arguments with other actors. I then set myself the task, of having to read her lines from this scene at least 10 times a day (until the day of the audition). I also found that reading against members of my family helped, as this helped me to remember my cues.

I did exactly the same for 'The Fairy GodMother'. I read all of her lines, from separate scenes', at least 10 times, until I decided which scene was most suitable for the group of peers that I was going to audition with (i.e. a scene which involved all of the characters we wanted to audition for). After discussing the scene with the group, they were all happy about it, as it involved 'The Fairy God Mother', 'Cinderella' and 'Buttons'. I set myself another task, which meant that I would read 'The Fairy Godmother's' lines from this scene at least 10 times a day (until audition day) in order to learn them off-by-heart. Although I was able to work on my characters physicality and speech, I had to wait until I was with the other members of my group so that we could work against each other and work out how we would use the stage.

'A Christmas Carol' Blocking and Singing

It is very important that I volunteer to do improvisation tasks and at least answered 1 question in lessons as it will build my confidence and understanding of acting in the real world. Therefore I am setting myself a personal goal, to volunteer/ answer a question at least once tomorrow and Thursday.

Firstly we began blocking 'A Christmas Carol', so I now know where I need to be in order to deliver my first line. Blocking is a theatre term used to erfer to the exact  movement and positioning of the actors in a play. I have to deliver my line sitting in the stalls with the audience for dramatic effect. I said the line in the exact same way I had rehearsed it.

Afterwards we were set various improvisation tasks which included levels (using height on stage, for an interesting effect) and movement. I would have been ideal to volunteer for this, but had no ideas of what to add to the scenes. I need to draw from my past experiences, characters and other performances and bring these ideas to the stage.

When I did take part in the improvisation task, I found that my characters' movement was limited and I approached the situation quite timidly. In addition, when I had to change my character, I used the same tone of voice (the sound made by vibratng muscular bands in the larynx and any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength and/ ore source) and so the character was practically the same as the first. By the time I reached my last character, I ran out of ideas. In the future, it might help to think of ideas previous to improvising.

Lastly, we had singing lessons. We started by doing vocal warm ups and then we were introduced to the song 'Shadowland'. Luckily, I know this song, but the alto harmonies are different so I must work on these. I was better able to sing in this lessson than in the previous singing lesson. However, I sung much too low and I need to improve on controlling my voice, which is a lot to do with singing from the diaphragm.

This diagram illustrates the stage directions, used by the director, to tell the actors where to go.

 

Here is a diagram, that shows the placement of the diaphragm in the body. It is a dome shaped muscular partition that separates the abdominal and thoracic cavities in humans. At college, I learnt that it is, better to sing from your diaphragm to establish a better sense of control with the voice. It is also useful in acting, as if you speak from the diaphragm, you have a deeper, richer tone and you are able to project your voice better. Also, during breathing exercises, we learnt that, for a better breath capacity, you should breathe from the stomach and your diaphragm should expand when breathing in.

 

 

 

Singing, Dancing and Acting

Today we did took part in all 3 aspects of performance. It was tiring but enjoyable and I can certainly determine elements of my techniques that I could improve on from these lessons.

First we read through the beginning of the script for  "A Christmas Carol". I was given another line to say, which is as part of the chorus (A group of persons who speak or sing in unison a given part or composition in drama or poetry recitation). The first time I read this new line, I stumbled over my words again, and the second time I did not say the line with enough enthusiasm. Therefore I definitely need to work on consistency, with the way in which I say my lines.

Secondly, we worked on our movement skills. I found myself  having less energy than the last time we did this and therefore struggled more with the cardio work out. When we worked on our dance piece, I still found myself forgetting some of the dance moves we had previously learnt and not picking up some of the new choreography. I also think I need to be more elegant and my head needs to move more freely, what will help is applying the use of contractions (basic movements, based on inhalation and inhalations, which involves bending the body using virtually every muscle in the body), where necessary. I also need to work on balancing and to stop landing on the balls of my feet or I will fall over. I could improve on all this by practising at home, using tutorials or made up exercises that I believe will help.

Lastly we learnt some singing skills. I still find that when singing in a large group, where I can't here myself, I tend to go out of tune/ not hit the correct notes. Therefore I need to learn how to do this, by applying the proper technique. I must also improve on my diction (the use of enunciation to pronounce, articulate), when speaking or singing), as often, when singing, I sound like I have a cold.

Auditions for 'A Christmas Carol'

It was audition ( A trial performance, as by an actor, dancer, or musician, to demonstrate suitability or skill) day today, where everyone was told to select a few characters that they might like to play and to practise reading their lines at home. I prepared myself for the audition by selecting 5 characters and reading their lines 10 times each. However, this did not prevent me from stumbling over my words, so it is ideal that I should read each line a greater number of times in the future.

The first character I auditioned for was Belle, who is the ex-girlfriend of Scrooge. Although I rehearsed the lines many times and my original approach to the character was much gentler, this was not what happened at the audition. The character was some what more aggressive than I had planned. I read it with too much tension and too fast and I kept my eyes glued to the script. It would have been very inapproprate to adopt 'the tonic state' (A state is which, there is steady, rigid muscle contractions with no relaxation and an incredible amount of tension. Which is suitable, for aggressive, evil characters) for this character, as she is meant to be sweet and kind.  I should have rehearsed this character even more, as I found it difficult to read the lines correctly, while ocassionally taking my eyes of the script to ineract with the other actor. Also, I should have had better control over my facial expressions, to clarify the way in which the lines were meant to be interpreted. Non verbal communication is important when acting. If verbal communication (communicating by use of words- spoken or written) and non-verbal communication (communication, without use of words e.g. facial expressions, body language,gestures, posture, eye contact), people are more likely to look at the non-verbal aspect of communication (*ICS AQA Psychology book)

Later, I was asked to read Mrs Crachit's lines, who is the wife of Bob Crachit. I decided to give this character a cockney accent ( an accent is a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class). I read her lines about 20 more times as I waited to be called, which allowed me to read, without constantly looking at the script (the written text of a play, film, or broadcast) more easily, but my eyes still remained on the page most of the time. Also I thought that I read my lines in quite a monotonous way (read in adull, tedious, and repetitious fashion; lacking in variety and interest) and so thought that the character needed more energy.

From these auditions I have learnt that I need to be more consistent with the way I read from scripts. I need to make sure I keep a balance between having too much energy and very little. I need to really sharpen up on sight reading, which I could do by practising at home.

Sight Reading Task

Today we had to sight read (reading a new script out loud, while immediately getiing into the new character) both Christmas Carol scripts. Although I read both scripts twice over the weekend I did not make enough effort to participate in class at first. I must volunteer to sight read faster, despite my reading ability.

When I finally did read as part of the chorus, I frequently stumbled over my words and did not read enthusiastically enough. I therefore need to work really hard to improve on my reading skills, especially when it comes to reading out loud. I also need to put more effort into acting as the character, when sight reading.

I must be more confident and participate more in class. I have to read out loud more, even if I stumble over my words as it is the only way I will become better at it. Sight reading is an important skill to learn, as it can often be the differece between being chosen for the role or not in an audtion. Volunteering to sight read is also an aid to getting to the next stage in the audition process.

General Induction weeks post

The first two weeks of the performing arts level 3 course were focused on introducing the students to the course.

On Tuesday I went on a trip to see Lenny Henry being interviewed about his career and how he came to become an actor at the theatre. He explained that he had a lot of contacts and also that while he loved comedy, he had recently found a great passion for acting and so went to pursue his dream. He went into detail about how the director works with actors during rehearsals. He mentioned that, depending on the director, sometimes the actors input can be just as important as the director's.

Wednesday was the day that we rehearsed for our induction task. We decided to act out teaching an aerobics class, where we would bewilder our audience with a choreographed dance routine and a peculiar bunch of characters. I played a strict dance instructor. The group worked really well at developing our piece and everyone had a chance to put their ideas forward. By the end of the day we had worked out what we were doing, it just needed polishing.

Thursday we went to see 'Matilda' and 'The Phantom Of The Opera'. The musicals had contrasting themes but both were very enjoyable. We were able to observe the actors and I was especially taken back by their ability to complete each scene so cleanly, without many mistakes.

Friday was the day of our induction task performance. Before the task we watched the year 2's performances, which were incredible as, although we'd briefly met them, most of us were terrified by their frightening characters and their well devised performances in general. I can learn from there ability to remain in character despite problems and obstructions that could have put them off.

The first time we performed our piece to an audience a lot had gone wrong- from the music not being loud enough, to not running through it very smoothly. However our second performance, I believed, was a vast improvement. I thought I got into character a lot better this time and it ran more smoothly. From this experience, I know that I need to get into character on the first performance, not the second or third, so I could do more improvisation (to invent, compose or perform with little or no preparation) with these characters in the future.

On Monday we did some warm ups and breathing exercises and Thursday we learnt some movement skills. From this, I learnt that I need to better my fitness and I am still very slow at picking up choreography. I also need to remember to strengthen my core when necessary and let go a bit more.

Later we performed a freeze frame titled 'Chocolate Underwear Works Well'. I thought the group worked really well, especially with keeping everything tight and running smoothly. However, I now know that, in a freeze frame my facial expressions and movements need to be much bigger to clarify what is happening to the audience.

I have found the induction weeks very interesting and informative. Mostly, we have done physical warm ups in order to develop movement skills. I have learnt a lot about myself and I have already noted elements that I need to improve on.

NHC Performing Arts Blog

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This is my NHC Performing Arts Blog.

Today we did some warm ups and breathing exercises, to help us to relieve tension and feel more relaxed. I manged to exhale for 45 seconds, which is not as good as my record of 70 seconds, so I will need to practise more to improve on this as it will better my breath capacity. Breath capacity is `important for acting as well as singing as it will allow me to hold notes for much longer.