Unit 2 Part B: Plan for Arts Event

Unit 1 Part B: Proof Of Wizard Of Oz Participation

Here is a letter from my drama teacher outlining my involvement in the Wizard Of Oz

Unit 1 Part B: Reflections 3/12/18

It has been a month now since I last reflected upon the progress I am making on the play and a good deal has happened since then. Due to the fact that my character does not appear on stage until near the end of Act Three I have been spending my time studying the going ons off the back stage crew. I have made friends with a few of the lighting designers and the band in order to get a better understanding of the backstage complexities of the making of the play. This should help me when it comes to the making of my film and will improve my skills when directing actors in any films  make in the future. In the same vein as this I have spent a fair bit of time working with the actors of the Lion, the Witch, the other Wizard and Oz woman in order to improve our collective performances. Because only myself and one other of my group have much experience in acting and the other is really rather shy I have spent much of the time watching people’s performances and offering suggestions on exactly how they might look to improve them. For example, I helped the lion by telling him to drop an accent that he was putting on in an attempt to make some non-rhyming words rhyme when he sings, if he listens is up to him, and I worked closely with the other Wizard in order to make sure that whilst our performances echoed each other they were both distinct and separate. The last week or so has seen me become a little more important to the rehearsals however because it has finally reached the point in the play where I am required for a number of scenes. This has been a great relief as whilst helping other with their performances will improve my leadership skills and directorial abilities it does not compare to actually rehearsing myself. Although the actress of Dorothy is making it hard to do any rehearsing because she doesn’t know any of her lines.

Unit 1 Part B: Reflection 3/11/18

I have been to a couple of rehearsals now and at the moment am yet to have actually officially rehearse anything. The first rehearsal was spent mostly outlining exactly what we would do and teaching everyone the songs and the dances. Unfortunately I cannot sing for toffee and have about left feet. I attempted everything but it was soon decided by mutual consent by myself and the director that I would not appear in the songs or dances. This is probably for the best because I am about two feet taller than the rest of the munchkins who are all played by year sevens. This also gives me more time to improve my performance as the Wiz and to learn my lines. I will also be spending a couple of rehearsals assisting others in their preparations as I have more experience in acting than a good chunk of the cast and I get along with a good deal of the rest of them.

I have also decide upon a couple of different theatrical skills that I’d like to develop over the next few weeks. I’d like to find new ways of interpreting a character. The past few characters I have played have always been fairly by the numbers. The chance to play a character such as Oz will give me an opportunity to experiment with different ways to portray a character on stage. Plus because it isn’t being graded for GCSE Drama and I don’t have Jasmine Evans telling me not to do anything interesting then I can do what ever I want. Along with this I’d like to improve my ability to act physically. Oz is a very theatrical character and so I should be able to use my body to emphasise this, running around the stage and holding myself up high. Becoming better with this skill will help with my film as at the moment it is planned as a massive romp that will take place over miles of land. I might have to cut a bit away but it isn’t like it’s just gonna end up with me sitting in a chair talking to myself or anything.

Unit 1 Part B: The Placement

I have auditioned for the play and I was cast in the role of the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz. This is pretty much the best role as I don’t have to sing and yet I have a particularly large presence even though my number of scenes is minimal compared to a few other characters.

Rehearsals will take place over the next few weeks leading up to two performances on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st of December, the last week before the Christmas holidays. Leading up to this point I will be attending at least one rehearsal per week with an after school rehearsal lasting one and a half hours every Wednesday. As well as this there will be a couple rehearsals at Wednesday lunch time, about 4, and 2 full day Saturday rehearsals where we will run through everything right at the end of the process.

The total number of hours in rehearsals will therefore be around 44.5 and that doesn’t include all of the solo rehearsals where I learn my lines and practice my performance which should add a couple of extra hours on bringing the total time spent preparing for the play to around 49 to 50 hours.

Unit 1 Part B: Potential Learning Events

We have to find somewhere that we can get experience in the art forms that we have chosen. I have already chosen what my work experience shall be but because this is a requirement I will list a few places rather than spend time on the actual project.

QEGS PLAY

My school is holding a production of The Wizard of Oz open for all years with auditions in a few weeks. I would get a part in this and act on stage alongside the other actors. This would improve my skills as an actor and help with my film as I am to star in it. The better my acting abilities and the wider range of acting abilities then the better the performance I could give in the film and the better it would be.

WORKSHOP

I work for a local primary school as a breakfast club assistant. It would be easy, therefore, to get the headteacher to allow me to come in during a free period and lead a  workshop teaching a small group students the basics of acting with some activities and group work. This would improve my leadership skills and help me with the drama club that I will be running in a few months for this award.

LION THEATRE CLUB

In my home town there is a theatre club that I have been looking into for a while now. In this club I would be appearing in a couple of plays per year (I’d talk about the process behind one of the plays for this blog) and, from what my friends who go there tell me, be helping the younger members with their lines and running mini-games. This would help me with both my acting skills, the learning bit, and also communication and teaching, bonus teaching bit.