not long now

Variety Show 28th February 2015

23/02/15: Stomp!:

We started a stomp workshop the ideas we had from last week we went to develop but I suggested in operating each other into each other's but keep the same. Then others started to evolve and develop the idea into the London riots and monkey with knifes. We started an improvisation with being monkeys and discovering the bins which started to become really good and had the potential of becoming really rhythmic and comical. Then Claire changed it to a waiting room which I thought looked more complex and I felt the other improv was less is more and had an element of mystery. We started doing this but it starts to be over worked in my opinion and what was originally funny was no longer because we knew what was coming even though it would work in front of an audience that we know.

We over worked and kept going over the same this so we have a structure then we started to burst into stomp for no reason and it's very basic simple beats which I don't think is impressive or stomp-esque as all! This wasn't my idea at all for stomp but the idea has formed to be similar to the video I posted, someone getting annoyed, people making noises to annoy them, then they

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NOT LONG NOW

My Strengths Enthusiasm

This week I believe that I was more enthusiastic about the acts than last week and the show in general. I have been excited to work on the puppetry piece as well as when we looked a Beyoncé again and I feel we are now getting somewhere. I also enjoyed the Laban workshop this week.

Time

When given time independently I have used it wisely by going over the puppetry piece and choreographing new sections to get the acts as finished as they can be. This is an improvement from last week as I'm trying to motivate other people to get acts done.

Imagination

During the Laban workshop I felt that this was the best thing we did as a company this week and this workshop made me feel like an actor again. I felt like I used my imagination in this workshop and really took a risk and got benefits from it. As well as adding this imagination and discoveries into my acts,


make beats. End. I feel that this is the act that would need to most work because it is just noise and a headache if it's not done right and the audience will not be happy, especially if it's the opening of our show it doesn't make it a good opening. We need to work in and have more of a story and characters because at the moment it is NOT working.

25/02/15 Uptown Funk:

Alex, Harriet and Daniella had already started to choreograph uptown fuck so we started to learn it as an ensemble and it is now our finale number. I thought there were some good moves but I think there could be more room or some dynamic I think it's to the beat the moves and the lyrics. I think it will be a good ending to the show and I think it has a happy beat to it that is also a well known song so that the audience can enjoy and join in to.

Costume:

We went to costume but this time it was more like a show you got what you were given but I fitted the costumes I just don't agree with the casual look for the puppetry piece I wanted flairs or some funky colours for the 70's but the casual denim look is not what we thought, we wanted the smart suit look so casual is the complete opposite.

Laban Efforts:

Claire ran a Laban workshop, some of us had already done a similar workshop with Denise before in first year. I was looking forward to it as a workshop but I could see where we could fit it into the variety show but not all of the time. I felt that it's more exploring the physicality but we have already built the characters so it's going backwards. I felt I benefited from the workshop because that is something they teach you in drama school. I liked exploring the physicality and learning all the different elements to laban's workshop.

•Punch - for this is was very sharp definite movements and I felt like I experimented with my body which made my body just jilt.

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My WeaknessesStamina

We have done a lot of lates this week and I have been tired and have found it hard to find that stamina to continue and when your tired the work you produce isn't as good but it's about channeling this into positivity.

Attitude

I have found myself being sucked into the the negativity of the company this week and with the vibes in the room it is hard to go against that when it is quite strong so that is a weaknesses of mine.

Work

There is so much work to catch up on and research and because the show is next week and we have only got our brief with all the work on I need to find time in-between my job as well as on the floor to get this work done and to a good standard.


• Slash- this was an indirect movement that was very fluent but harsh at the same time, it has a similar affect as punch and the same vocal qualities and it felt as thought I was a Japanese samari.

• Jab- this was a very light action as though we were touching water and I liked this one the most because I could imagine the water I was jabbing. It was a direct movement because it knew where it was

going.

•Flick- these movements were indirect as well and it was as though my whole body has an allergic reaction to something and I was having a fit. I was just harshly moving my body but in a indirect manor which was sudden.

•Press - this was one of the most challenging because

it was tension level 7, we were pushing against clay walls and when we got into pairs to weight us down I could really start to feel where that weight comes from in connection to your body.

• Wring - this was again hard because it was tension level 7 it was an indirect and sustained movement it was hard to wring your whole body being as tense as you are.

• Glide- this was my favourite just light and gliding around the space freely, this was a direct light movement because I knew where I was going and the intension was there. When we started to explore with going on the floor as well and getting back up this was more tension level 2.

• Float- this was the one where I got quite dizzy because you are more tension level 1 but verging onto 2 because you are just there floating around and could just be lifted up by a gust of wind.

This workshop was all about looking into elements we could add to characters in the variety show and the type of unconventional show it is it's more about doing that action and feeling that emotion it makes you feel. Rather than feeling an emotion and doing an action to it it's almost like the Christmas show with outlandish characters with big personalities and showing there emotions thought the physicality. There were a few efforts that I could see for example. Punch - stomp. Flick - puppets. Glide - Beyoncé.

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Company StrengthsEnsemble The Laban workshop this week I felt that as a company we all took part and had fun with this because it was a proper actors workshop and we gained knowledge and skills from this we can add to our tool belts and add to the show.

Commitment

I feel that the company have been more committed this week to getting acts prepared and trying in workshops and I feel this togetherness has improve the motivation in the company.

Determination

Having not completed a lot of acts and have half finished most things has not been good this week but as the company have been so determined to change this and bring things to Claire and try and finish acts and do as much as we can to get the show finished as we only have a couple of days left.


The Promise:

I'm starting to get the moves to the promise now and as it is a opener for act two I need to have magic and I think our dresses help but Harriet doesn't want to use the feathers now. It's fitting the movements to the singing and for me I've got harmonies which I'm suppose to be doing with Alex but she isn't doing them so it sounds odd with one voice against four. We need to work the singing and then the moves and putting them together. We moved onto working with Claire and the feathers, we nailed the movements more and made them definite and more of the showgirl style. We started to choreograph with the feathers and change bits of the routine which I would say is more entertaining and somewhere to go with it now. It's all about drilling and learning the words to fit with the routine so that we can all sing it, in tune with the feathers in our faces as well.

26/02/15 Puppetry piece:

We worked on ideas in the morning about how long we should have the music on for and ideas where to cut it and w lift section. When we worked on it with Claire she got the audience to establish us as puppets with a longer sequence at the beginning to the mechanical sound music. I think this is a good way to start because it does go into our section but the audience get that we are puppets and the technique we are suing there we have started to add into the dance like in places where we fall to the floor we need to have wrists leading. I felt I worked my body more into it and I'm using more of my limbs and knowing what levels of tension can be used for different sections but we are starting to add in characters and playing the story that we don't know what's happening to us as puppets and we have come alive

Variety Show �4

Company WeaknessesNegativity

A lot of negativity always hovers in the air in the company. It's about the show and being worried about looking like a div because some people don't want to do the acts they have been given as they thought it was their choice what acts to do. So there confusion and frustration.

Energy

Again having lates this week moral has been low in the company and this has been a weak point of the company as we have not had energy and its most of the company so it drains everyone else.

Attention to detail

We need to go over the acts that have heavy choreography inside it and make it look bigger and more impressive as well as refine what foot is what and hand if we really want to be in sync and look good as far as ensemble numbers go.


like we are humans. I think we need to look into character and maybe adding some more vocal qualities to the routine. The big thing is to work on the lifts which there is room for two and one big one which we wanted to get on trapeze and do. We need to do it along with the music more and perfect the movements but it can look slightly scrappy being puppets and being floppy, tension level 1/2 so I think there is scope to be muddled and can add a nice quality to the dance. At the moment this is the piece I'm most proud of because I choreographed most of it and I'm really having fun with this piece. We also spent a lot of time editing the music which we managed to do and have got done today which was productive.

Uptown Funk:

We looked at our finale number which Claire adjusted to make our movements strong and definite I felt this helped us drill the piece. We are more of an ensemble and making the piece fun for ourselves, being in sync and making sure we are doing the right arm movement all together will look really affective. We added lifts in as well which I felt my groups challenged me personally because I'm not normally the person getting lifted but I took a risk and didn't think about it and went with it which I think makes the piece better. It was a lot of fun to do but we have only been working on it for a few days so we haven't over worked it but we are genuinely laughing inside it, we are not faking it. It's not really long as well so we have fun and then we bow which I think is a nice ending and getting the audience up on their feet and dancing with then as well.

I think I need to be more free entering and really have fun but I find it hard not to mime or sing the song because it's so catchy but to wool instead is harder because it doesn't seem like it goes with the track. We still need to perfect it but I think it's the best ensemble number in the piece so far, I think there is dynamic and the main thing is we are having fun, it will be a great way to end the show.

27/02/15: Puppetry Piece:

Claire started working the puppetry piece again and then told us it wasn't working and she started to change it and I wasn't confused about what worked so well yesterday that didn't work today when it was the same piece. Claire then changed the idea to Lewis coming in already a puppet without strings and cuts Daniella and I's strings, just to add context to the suddenly going into 70's. I understand that it didn't make complete sense but I thought that was the absurd thing about it, so Lewis didn't get it and then Claire changed the idea again and got Daniella to be the puppeteer to me, but then she would be a human to the audience and it would look strange. We went on lunch because Claire asked

for Lewis's opinion and he thought the idea had changed not evolved which I agree it was still the idea of puppetry but disregarding all the work we had then done which made me feel like anything we do is not good enough. Later on carleigh wanted to see our original and she agreed there needs context but likes what we have done. So together we came up with the idea of a toy story theme that Alex is a young girl

Variety Show �5


with puppets and she goes out the room and this is what the puppets get up to when she's not in the room. I prefer this because I understand there's more of a story now which is evolving our ordinal idea and still keeping everything we had, just adding more to it unlike in the morning when it was just being changed.

Beyoncé:

We looked at Beyoncé which we haven't done in ages so I was a little sceptical because I know Levi wasn't comfortable inside it anymore and I wasn't sure how we'd all feel about the piece. Surprisingly Claire was positive about the piece and said it has potential. She added in a concept of having the cast one stage as an audience so we can play with them and I wasn't sure about the idea at first I must be honest and it was hard to visualise with them not being there in rehearsal. I just rolled with the idea and we went from there but then Levi raised the issue of not wanting to be in the routine anymore but he wasn't given the option to op out so his part was given to me to do all the major vocals which I don't mind if I know what I'm saying. I feel more like my OWALW character but in present day running a whore house. I don't mind this because I am the dominatrix and I prefer as an actor to have an atmosphere being built more instead of just dancing and characters are starting to develop. When trying it with the cast in the routine I found it really fun to be in which I haven't felt for a long time with this act. I feel it's now more sleazy then classy because we are giving actual lap dances, I think especially the way Erol was reacting to what we were doing made me feel more in power as my character and had something to play off. Although I do now want a whip! I think it could get a little bit near the line and we need to distinguish the line between when we are doing choreography and when we are improvising with the cast because I think that this is a nice moment. However one rehearsal Claire and Levi spoke and he sat out which looked odd for us and at the end we couldn't do all the lifts and it all got messy. I prefer the audience there to react but I think what line from classy to sleazy it is and where not to cross it.

Variety Show �6

Action Plan: - Get good rest

- Have a good diet to keep healthy - Positivity

- Catch up on work - refine details in the acts

not long now

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