We didn't get to do that much improve but when we did I really enjoyed it. I like improvisation all over but doing ones that would involve us being our characters would help the situation even more. An example would be the scene where Marcus is confronted by Violet's daughter but he doesn't know this as he believes it's just this random 16 year old girl wanted to work in the strip club. Luckily I had a chance to work on that in Jack's lesson and found out many ways to react when she approached and how my tone of voice would effect the scene and almost change it entirely.
Thursday, 13 February 2014
acting techniques
The lessons we had with Jack in my eyes really helped a lot. I can't fully remember the names but I loved the fact that Marcus could relate to almost all of the tasks we got. I remember one scenario where my friend had slept with my girlfriend and I knew but he didn't know I knew and I realised this could be the exact same with Marcus and Violet... The fact that Violet is an ex stripper, you never know she just might go to another man whereas Marcus being a big softy would know but not say anything about it.
rehearsal tasks - happy or unhappy?
All the tasks that were given I understood to a certain extent. There were a few that I didn't really follow, like the actioning. To me I felt that doing that would create a huge barrier between me and my character and I didn't want that to happen. What I did find really useful though was the 'Approaching the Script' method which I learnt back in 2012. For me this was the best way to understand who you were on stage and what purpose you have/had. Having that in my locker definitely helped me then and will do in the future.
Tasks that I felt would've been credential to a successful performance would've been the ones where you'd have to put all your trust in another person. There was a sense of trust in the cast but only with some people. That's why in my opinion 'Our Country's Good' was by far the best performance because you can tell that everyone believed in what they were doing and there was a sense of trust all around the stage. To me, that's one of the most important things while rehearsing for a play. Being able to trust one another.
Tasks that I felt would've been credential to a successful performance would've been the ones where you'd have to put all your trust in another person. There was a sense of trust in the cast but only with some people. That's why in my opinion 'Our Country's Good' was by far the best performance because you can tell that everyone believed in what they were doing and there was a sense of trust all around the stage. To me, that's one of the most important things while rehearsing for a play. Being able to trust one another.
Developing skills
Personally I feel that I didn't get a character I could work so hard I would distance myself from some of the things I did in real life and that's what I really wanted. I wanted a part that would allow me to be completely different from myself. I can say though that I developed quite a few skills over the last 3 months. The fact that I still struggle with my articulation does hurt me but I'm getting better slowly but surely; I felt like having two sides to Marcus, one where he would be so articulate then another where he was not-so articulate allowed me to see my side along with someone else's.
My concentration skills I believe have definitely improved and that's something I'm really proud of. This meaning being more mature in rehearsal and taking things much more seriously. I was told last summer that I'm a brilliant actor but with brilliant acting comes huge responsibility and to be big you want to lead an example. In order for me to achieve this I would have to stop the all the time joking around but still getting the work done to getting the work done first then joking around. That was the most important skill I felt I developed on.
My concentration skills I believe have definitely improved and that's something I'm really proud of. This meaning being more mature in rehearsal and taking things much more seriously. I was told last summer that I'm a brilliant actor but with brilliant acting comes huge responsibility and to be big you want to lead an example. In order for me to achieve this I would have to stop the all the time joking around but still getting the work done to getting the work done first then joking around. That was the most important skill I felt I developed on.
rehearsal as a whole
From time to time I was positing updates about the rehearsals and how some were going good and others going bad but overall I felt that we made it happen. Hearing how the other casts got along and although we did argue a fair bit I believed it helped us; got all the negativity off everyone's chest and just allowed things to flow. In order to have a successful show you need to have strong belief in what you're doing and for that to come across you need to put the hours in behind the scenes and also in the rehearsal process.
There were times I felt like I was giving my character enough life and thought I was playing myself and then this led me to doubt my skills as an actor and the person I am. There would be days I came in and felt so low I wanted to leave school but there was something in air; the belief my director gave me and the reassurance from a few fellow actors that things would be positive and that drove me to have a successful rehearsal process and I know now that there's always a light at the end of a dark tunnel, you're just gonna have to fight through the things that are stopping you.
There were times I felt like I was giving my character enough life and thought I was playing myself and then this led me to doubt my skills as an actor and the person I am. There would be days I came in and felt so low I wanted to leave school but there was something in air; the belief my director gave me and the reassurance from a few fellow actors that things would be positive and that drove me to have a successful rehearsal process and I know now that there's always a light at the end of a dark tunnel, you're just gonna have to fight through the things that are stopping you.
undercover work
I spent a lot of time working on the characterisation of Marcus and as I previously stated before I would be concentrating on the show 'Bouncers' on E4. This helped me immensely with the way I pronounced words, the emotion behind the words and the tone of it all.
For example, some words that began with 'TH' would be said at the tip of my tongue in an almost relaxed fashion whereas other words such as 'thank' would be pronounced with the bottom of my lip, making it a 'F' sound. I used this because watching Eastender's a lot I realised that the articulation East end of the River isn't immaculate either so I used this to my advantage.
Another factor that helped me find the truth in bouncers was going around the Clapham area and speaking to bouncers that worked at bars and pubs. One of the bouncers said to me the most important thing for a bouncer is to 'always stand firm. If you look weak people will definitely take the micky, take you for a cunt'. This was interesting because Marcus was the complete opposite, he's the type to let anyone push over him and the type to tell someone sorry for punching him in the face. With this advice I had to balance out that attribute with the subtle one that he had and then use it to greater effect in performances.
For example, some words that began with 'TH' would be said at the tip of my tongue in an almost relaxed fashion whereas other words such as 'thank' would be pronounced with the bottom of my lip, making it a 'F' sound. I used this because watching Eastender's a lot I realised that the articulation East end of the River isn't immaculate either so I used this to my advantage.
Another factor that helped me find the truth in bouncers was going around the Clapham area and speaking to bouncers that worked at bars and pubs. One of the bouncers said to me the most important thing for a bouncer is to 'always stand firm. If you look weak people will definitely take the micky, take you for a cunt'. This was interesting because Marcus was the complete opposite, he's the type to let anyone push over him and the type to tell someone sorry for punching him in the face. With this advice I had to balance out that attribute with the subtle one that he had and then use it to greater effect in performances.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
character development
Going through the script today, underlining the actions (what I'm doing to another character) made me realise that Marcus is someone that tends to inform people a lot of time. Especially Violet as that's the individual he speaks to the most. I feel that the more he informs the stronger his knowledge gets, reading the book is his hiding place, trying to get away from all the madness in Camden. More update as I keep on doing my character development to make sure Marcus is as accurate as in the play.
Saturday, 23 November 2013
character help - Bouncer
Watching 'Bouncers' on e4 has really helped me get the accent just right for Marcus, finding the balance between when he's soft and when he's tough. He hardly shows his tough side so I'm still trying my best to find the moments where he is really jokey and playful to him being serious and trying his hardest to be intellectual.
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
week 6 - act 2 on its way
Week 6 and I feel like I can still bring much more to my character - I'm firstly thinking of going around school talking in the accent Marcus has to really make it stay in my head and for it to be sustained throughout rehearsals and most importantly the play. On page 110 when things get a bit rowdy with Marcus and Cockburn I feel uncomfortable doing that stance and shouting martial arts kind of movement, it doesn't feel right but I'm more than happy to practice it whilst knowing is watching. Maybe it's just more conscience being aware of everyone in the rehearsal room watching me and I'm overthinking a lot of things.
Right now my only goal is to get this character 100% accurate and that'll be through concentration throughout rehearsals and taking on negative notes so I can make them into positives.. Another goal is for me to go away, go home and work on this character so much that I start to feel that my name is Marcus and I'm the bouncer of a strip club in Camden Town.
Right now my only goal is to get this character 100% accurate and that'll be through concentration throughout rehearsals and taking on negative notes so I can make them into positives.. Another goal is for me to go away, go home and work on this character so much that I start to feel that my name is Marcus and I'm the bouncer of a strip club in Camden Town.
week 5 - rehearsals/reflection
This rehearsal was one I look on now with so much better things to achieve rather than so much that I can't.
Within the rehearsal I felt like I couldn't reach full potential and I know it isn't possible at this moment in time but I'm trying my best to find the correct characterisation for my character and I feel like I'll get it as time goes by. Right now I feel like the more notes I get the worse I'm becoming as an actor and I feel like it's getting to me. But I've had a couple of realisation moments and talks with a close friend and now I know that the more notes I get now it's only going to push me harder and make my performance a much more effective one.
Within the rehearsal I felt like I couldn't reach full potential and I know it isn't possible at this moment in time but I'm trying my best to find the correct characterisation for my character and I feel like I'll get it as time goes by. Right now I feel like the more notes I get the worse I'm becoming as an actor and I feel like it's getting to me. But I've had a couple of realisation moments and talks with a close friend and now I know that the more notes I get now it's only going to push me harder and make my performance a much more effective one.
Thursday, 7 November 2013
rehearsing a couple scenes - week four
Tuesday was a really productive day in terms of getting things done in order to move on to better things. We started off by going straight to Act 2 as some people weren't in and that held us back hugely but as professionals we moved on and still did things as usual. I wasn't needed for the first few scenes that were being run so I found myself watching clips of Phil Mitchell from EastEnders as I'm looking for a strong East London accent to imitate. To do this I'm going to have to go down the area and study how the people sound along with watching many documentaries and how the people live and react to things in that area.
Personally I feel that the more I do the accent the weaker it gets and I'm trying my best to find the right way to make this accent work and I hope that the things I do from this day forward will help me channel an accent so strong people would think I'm from east London.
Personally I feel that the more I do the accent the weaker it gets and I'm trying my best to find the right way to make this accent work and I hope that the things I do from this day forward will help me channel an accent so strong people would think I'm from east London.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Alienation or Relation
THINGS I SHARE WITH MARCUS:
- He’s insecure about some things in his life
- He wants to change (something that I wanted a few years back)
- He’s confused as to what he wants
- He doesn’t usually fight
- He’s ‘soft’ as Violet says
- Pretends to be hard as he’s a bouncer but the soft spot is there
- Always asking about new words and the meaning of it even though he kind of knows what it means
- At times he’s impatient
- Hesitant to speak to some girls – not knowing what to say to make them happy
- He wants to make other people’s lives calmer
- He expects to be respected as he shows respect
- He’s 35
- He’s got a slight but heavy at the same time East Londoner accent
- He’s very judgemental
- He’s quite slow
Thursday, 24 October 2013
week 3 - Grace Savage
Having songs in our show is essential and to have beat boxing is just another smart way to convey words into sounds. Having Grace come in and teach us how to beat box and the basics of it really helped immensely not only with beat boxing but to do it in front of each other, after all we are performing in front of hundreds of people.
Personally I enjoyed it to the fullest mainly because I saw Grace perform at the National Theatre in a play called 'Home' and her character beat boxed instead of words. Never seeing something like that before I was amazed and in turn really excited to see her come and teach us her skills.
Having had a sore throat the last few weeks I thought I wasn't able to do the workshop but was reassured that it would be fine and it was. Firstly we started off with a clapping game, clapping around the circle to get our concentration on point. This then changed into a basic beat box sound instead of the clap and so on. It then got to a point where we would go around in a circle and each person would do their own sound and everyone else would copy. I found this really interesting because a lot of people weren't comfortable with it but it seemed like Grace had gave them this sudden boost of confidence and they did it well.
Overall a positive day with lots of things taken in. I can't wait to include beat boxing in our piece, something that I'm sure everyone will enjoy!
Personally I enjoyed it to the fullest mainly because I saw Grace perform at the National Theatre in a play called 'Home' and her character beat boxed instead of words. Never seeing something like that before I was amazed and in turn really excited to see her come and teach us her skills.
Having had a sore throat the last few weeks I thought I wasn't able to do the workshop but was reassured that it would be fine and it was. Firstly we started off with a clapping game, clapping around the circle to get our concentration on point. This then changed into a basic beat box sound instead of the clap and so on. It then got to a point where we would go around in a circle and each person would do their own sound and everyone else would copy. I found this really interesting because a lot of people weren't comfortable with it but it seemed like Grace had gave them this sudden boost of confidence and they did it well.
Overall a positive day with lots of things taken in. I can't wait to include beat boxing in our piece, something that I'm sure everyone will enjoy!
reflection - week three
Our trip to Camden was really interesting and I found it very useful in so many ways. While we were on our way I wanted to see the difference between people in South and to people in North, this was because I decided that it would be good to see two sides of people entering the play; not everyone being from North London.
When we got there we set off in groups and the first place we went to was a comic store. This isn't in our play but we wanted to find out what the owner thought of the area and how the atmosphere is during the day coming to night. "You get a different vibe each day, no days are the same, especially at night you have people from Leyton (East London) coming over just to party". That gave me a huge boost mainly because I'm considering doing an East London accent and to incorporate that with my character would be good because it shows the different people that come to Camden each day.
Another thing we found positive was the use of sitting in a park, watching the trains go past every 15 minutes and the sirens going into the block of flats - this just added to the intensity of the area and the feeling that we can bring to the play not for my character perhaps but for the others.
To continue, the feeling of going into the market was essential for us mainly because there are two stalls in our play and we wanted to see how the environment was when working with other's with the same objective as yours. One man told us "You see another stall grabbing more customers than yours and you just have to think on your feet and shout out whatever you think will grab their attention. It's a bit of healthy competition." This definitely showed me that in our piece we need to make it clear that there is competition in each aspect of the play and how we can include something that symbolises this rivalry between two or more groups.
One thing that didn't really work for me was the fact that we didn't go later on in the evening when you would've been able to see bouncers and how they worked but in all honesty I'm glad that happened because now I can go off on my individual task and look out for them myself and ask them questions that hopefully they'll be glad to answer.
When we got there we set off in groups and the first place we went to was a comic store. This isn't in our play but we wanted to find out what the owner thought of the area and how the atmosphere is during the day coming to night. "You get a different vibe each day, no days are the same, especially at night you have people from Leyton (East London) coming over just to party". That gave me a huge boost mainly because I'm considering doing an East London accent and to incorporate that with my character would be good because it shows the different people that come to Camden each day.
Another thing we found positive was the use of sitting in a park, watching the trains go past every 15 minutes and the sirens going into the block of flats - this just added to the intensity of the area and the feeling that we can bring to the play not for my character perhaps but for the others.
To continue, the feeling of going into the market was essential for us mainly because there are two stalls in our play and we wanted to see how the environment was when working with other's with the same objective as yours. One man told us "You see another stall grabbing more customers than yours and you just have to think on your feet and shout out whatever you think will grab their attention. It's a bit of healthy competition." This definitely showed me that in our piece we need to make it clear that there is competition in each aspect of the play and how we can include something that symbolises this rivalry between two or more groups.
One thing that didn't really work for me was the fact that we didn't go later on in the evening when you would've been able to see bouncers and how they worked but in all honesty I'm glad that happened because now I can go off on my individual task and look out for them myself and ask them questions that hopefully they'll be glad to answer.
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
reflection - week two
Week two of common ground went really well, we had a chance to really settle down in our cast and just get used to spending most of the school year together.
We created a timeline of when we thought the play started and when it finished. Many people had put starting at 9pm and ending at around 5am but I thought that if there are early interactions with the Christians and character Beth, wouldn't it start around 1pm knowing that's the time that Christians usually go Church, depending if you attend a Catholic Church or Pentecostal. The beginning of my timeline started with Erkenwald and Mahmoud setting up their stalls at around 1pm then it ended with Marcus and violet committing to something special at around 3am.
Looking more into my character I've decided I'd be going out during some Friday nights in Clapham High Street to see how bouncers behave, their posture and the way the speak. During rehearsals I had put on an East London kind of accent, trying to imitate Phil from EastEnders but knowing Marcus is a soft individual I toned down the aggression and I think I should stick to the accent.
The exercise we did which I didn't find useful at all maybe because I didn't like it was the Laban effort. I found it difficult to match my character's movement and the tone in which they spoke. We had a chance to experiment the movement in the circle and I believe that's where I found it most difficult because I got a lot of stick just because I did it wrong but I'm glad i received it because now I know what I need to work on.
What I did find useful was the objectives and actions. I found that you can have a different point of concentration and especially for my character Marcus, his main objective is to succeed but there's always something holding him back and that is both someone else and something else. I will update more on actions and objectives throughout the year.
We created a timeline of when we thought the play started and when it finished. Many people had put starting at 9pm and ending at around 5am but I thought that if there are early interactions with the Christians and character Beth, wouldn't it start around 1pm knowing that's the time that Christians usually go Church, depending if you attend a Catholic Church or Pentecostal. The beginning of my timeline started with Erkenwald and Mahmoud setting up their stalls at around 1pm then it ended with Marcus and violet committing to something special at around 3am.
Looking more into my character I've decided I'd be going out during some Friday nights in Clapham High Street to see how bouncers behave, their posture and the way the speak. During rehearsals I had put on an East London kind of accent, trying to imitate Phil from EastEnders but knowing Marcus is a soft individual I toned down the aggression and I think I should stick to the accent.
The exercise we did which I didn't find useful at all maybe because I didn't like it was the Laban effort. I found it difficult to match my character's movement and the tone in which they spoke. We had a chance to experiment the movement in the circle and I believe that's where I found it most difficult because I got a lot of stick just because I did it wrong but I'm glad i received it because now I know what I need to work on.
What I did find useful was the objectives and actions. I found that you can have a different point of concentration and especially for my character Marcus, his main objective is to succeed but there's always something holding him back and that is both someone else and something else. I will update more on actions and objectives throughout the year.
reflection - week one
My Initial response to The Frontline..
Firstly I love the fact that it's a fast paced play which seems to be packed with things going on stage. The overlapping theme while people talk in my opinion is just a completely different dynamic to all the other plays in Common Ground. This theme of different lives, different individuals all colliding in one night is something I really look forward to. My character has so much in common with me as well as not having much in common so I feel like that is going to be a huge challenge for me, something that I'm sure I can handle.Questions I asked about my character or others
My first question was for the character of Violet and why she likes Marcus. For example, why does she find him attractive and why is she so eager to make him her boyfriend. That tied in with my next question, with why is Marcus so dismissive when he can clearly see that Violet likes him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)