Evaluation we did in class

3 moment in the play that I thought were excellent
The beginning of the play was really excellent because it set the scene for the audience and I thought that the atmosphere was created the moment we entered. The way we moved and conducted our self in the space was really effective and it gave the audience a  good sense of the surroundings that the character had found themselves in.


I also thought that the Nazi salute that we did as a group, repeating 'skinhead' four times, whilst marching on the spot was really effective.  The energy level was  high and saying the words as a chorus amplified how the character was feeling and showed the audience the character's heightened emotions.


The other scene that I thought to be really good, was when clay was attacked by the bullies. I thought this because the movements were very precise and well rehearsed. The fight scene looked believable to the audience and when they gave us feed back, they said that it had a big impact on them.




A moment in the play that I was in, that I think really worked
I think the bit where I said my lines about trying to remember why I was in the jail cell worked. I think this because I had my objectives worked out, I delivered my lines clearly and I didn't rush. I tried to think about the posture that my character would hold and about what kind of movements he would do.

Evaluation of our final performance

I really enjoyed our performance and thought that it went really well ! I found it enjoyfull to perform and I hope that the audience found it enjoyfull to watch. 

Then audience gave feedback and asked questions at the end of the play. The feed back was positive and the audience seemed to be really interested about the process that we went through to create the play. 

At the begging of the performance our energy levels were very high and our adrenaline was racing, which meant that the audience were immediately thrown in to the story of the play. I felt that we continued to keep up our energy levels throughout and only dropped them when needed, for effect. 

Because of the ensemble and chorus exercises we have been doing in class, I felt that our ensemble work was very effective and that everything we did as a chorus was on point and engaging for the audience. 

I think that our transitions were very good, but there were a couple of points where there was a lull for no reason or there was some slight doubt about what part was next. This was only very small and I hope that it didn't effect our overall performance. 

I think the group could have improved on reserving their energy until the actual performance. When we were waiting for the audience to come in, not all the actors were taking time to warm up and store as much energy as they could before we went on stage. 

I feel that my own individual performance was good and I felt that I was focused and didn't drop my character. I made sure that I tried to take on board all my directions and improvements that I had been given, so that I could give a performance that was to the best of my ability. Before we went on I took time to warm up my voice and body. I also 
concentrated on my breathing, which is something that we do in our warm ups. This helped to keep me concentrated and start to become my character.
I would give my performance a distinction grade because I gave an engaging and effective performance and I kept my energy and concentration levels up consistently.  

learning to improve the rehearsal process for the next unit

• Costume - helps get into your character and makes the play more real 
• Poise, never pause- don't pause on your words, but poise because it keeps the audience engagded 
• Use a confident overlap in transitions - means that there are no lulls where the audience can become less engagded 
• Don't fidget- brings you out of your character and is distracting for the audience 
• Make the best use of your performance space- makes it more visually interesting for the audience
• Adapt the play when going into a different space- to make sure it suits the audience's position.
• Project - easier and clearer for the audience
•  A lull in the play needs to be earned- do this so that it has significance, instead of it just feeling like the actors have just dropped energy
• When receiving directions, don't drop energy - makes progress very slow
• When you come back from a break make sure you are in the same mind set that you were in before the break- makes it easier to rehearse

Thirteen

In my opinion thirteen was a very effective and amazing piece if theatre. The set was very exciting and the story was engaging and interesting. It was a very thought provoking story. The actors where very good and had obviously done a lot of research into their characters and the play. The objectives where clear and the lines defiantly did ride on the action.

One of the things that I would improve on was some of the actors not projecting out to the audience as much as they could have, at some points in the performance. Also the energy levels did occasionally drop, which bought the audience out of the play and into the real world. However these improvements were only minor and did not bring the whole play down because the rest of the play was so strong. 

One of the things that I really loved about the play was when after the audience came back from the interval they were bought onto the stage among the actors. This made the play feel even more real because the actors never came out of their roles and being part of the performance made you feel like one of the characters. 

Come and see Blackout !

Come and see blackout, the Brit schools latest theatre performance ! This play is a remake of the play first performed at the national theatre in 2008. Based on one boys extraordinary true story of how once left alone with your emotions, situations can quickly escalate, creating devastating consequences. Whilst the play visits difficult and painful themes, it is also heartwarming and a gripping story! It also gives you an insight into modern day skinhead culture and how youths can turn to violence or crime, when all they need is some support from the people around them. 
Come and see blackout, if you are looking to watch a powerful, emotional and physical piece of theatre. 

Review of Blackout

The play blackout, performed by the year 10 Brit school students, brings together various techniques to create a very effective theatre performance.

Blackout was performed in an ensemble, this meant that everyone in the group was able to make quick and easy transitions between characters, settings and move between different time periods. The ensemble made swift changes in their energy levels, which amplified and made clear to the audience the changes of atmosphere, setting or time. 

Blackout breaks  Aristotle's unities - the unity of time, the unity of place and the unity of action. However this did not take away from the performance but instead made it interesting and exciting to watch. The actors used the constant changes in the performance to their advantage, by making each scene individual and exciting, therefore always making it engaging for the audience despite the quick transitions between time and place. What Aristotle thought made a good play, was challenged in this performance because I thought it was a very strong performance, without following his rules ! 

The play uses no props or set, but despite this the actors were able to create a very clear image for the audience , they did this by using physical theatre. Throughout the play physical movements were always being used and they were strong, precise and always gave the audience a clear idea of the sort of space and setting the character was in, without the aid of props. This worked  very well and as an audience member, I forgot that there was no set or props being used, because the actors created such strong, visual movements. 

Some words or lines where performed in a chorus. This meant that things were said at the same time and all in unison. This was used to amplify specific details or emotions in the character and make the delivery of the lines more interesting. It worked well because the group listened to each other and were aware of each member of the ensemble, so they had no problem getting their lines in sync. 

It was a very creative, emotional and engaging piece of theatre, which bought together various techniques to build one strong performance. 

Evaluation for lesson Thursday 16th January

I felt that the group gave a lot of input and suggestions, consistently throughout the lesson. We listened to our directions, but also gave ideas to improve them. This shows that the group is improving with their personal skills, making it much easier to work  positively together in rehearsals. 

The group need to work on being more efficient in rehearsals. We have a very short time to prepare the rest of the play and so far we only have three scenes. In order for us to get everything done, the group need to be prepared for the lesson, this involves checking the physical script through the week and making sure we are clear on our queues and lines. We need to concentrate, focus and make sure that the energy level doesn't drop, because if it does it makes it so much harder to create good theatre.