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Derek Bentley new work

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Let Him Have It

Today I finished watching the film Let Him Have It! It was so moving, it made me cry. Its a very simple story following the short life of a boy, Derek Bentley. It focuses on his relationship with his “Friend” Chris Craig. I really liked how you see Derek change as he becomes closer to Chris. From appearing like his dad at the beginning, he starts to dress differently, trendily (for the time-1950s). He also stays out late and eventually gets involved with crime that he’s tried to avoid. He eventually is involved in a burglary that goes wrong, and his friend Chris shoots and kills a police officer. It is what happens next that really is the point of the film. Derek is sentenced to death, whilst Chris goes to prison, because Chris is a juvenile (under 18).

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WW1 Work

Today we worked on the scene set at coal house fort. I played a soldier

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Here is my group rehearsing the scene at the beginning of our play. The main character (second from the left) is with his online friends. This is at the beginning of the game where they are all equal and are all friends. That is why we had everybody sitting on the floor. As the game goes on, he becomes better and better than the others and uses the levels to show he has higher status, yet in his real life, he falls further behind, and gets in trouble with friends, parents and teachers, because of his addiction.

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Gaming and it's affects

"Other long-term effects of video game addiction to consider are the financial, academic and occupational consequences involved. Video games and video game equipment can be very expensive, especially when factoring in recurring costs such as the high-speed Internet connection required for online multiplayer games. These games can also be very time-consuming, leaving addicted gamers with less time to focus on their education or career."

This quote is taken from the website: https://www.psychguides.com/guides/video-game-addiction-symptoms-causes-and-effects/ 

I like the fact it shows a range of different affects the compulsive disorder has on those addicted. This would be a really good topic to share with a TIE audience as lots of people spend too much time on games consoles.

The play would help them to identify with the character and look at ways to try and seek help, or at least identify that they too might be having similar problems?

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One of the websites where I found useful information to help me start to base my character on the friend of a gaming addict.

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Columbine Research

We have been studying a new topic in Performing arts, but exploring the Columbine school shootings in America. This work looked at issues such as Peer Pressure, bullying, gun crime. We did some role-plays and created work looking into the themes. We were then put in groups. I initially didn't like my group, because I felt they would not always want to work, but we got on alright.

The first thing we did was decide to branch off from school shootings. We all decided to set the play in the UK, rather than America and that for our TIE piece, we would explore a topic linked to the main topic, but allowing us to create something more original. We looked at OCD and compulsive behaviour in general. We researched by looking at various websites and I came across a good website that looked at the potentially damaging affect of online gaming and the compulsion around this.

The article went on to look at mental health issues surrounding gaming, and the long term affects. I felt this would be a good topic to explore. I brought the idea into class and the group all agreed it was something we could work with.

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Unit 3 Acting Skills Posts

For all of you wanting to keep up to date with your blogs, here is a summary of some of the work we did in class:

Characters using body language, facial expression, gesture to create different physical states: Cold, Hot, Old and Sneaky.

Gum and Goo, with the characters G, P and M, who played piggy in the middle, we explored positioning (proxemics) and the difference with the age of the characters, and the height of the victim, moving nearer and further away, to create tension.

Next up was preparation for Bouncers looking at how we used stereotypes of different groups and looked at transitions and morphing between characters. Then the work on Bouncers itself.

We looked at breathing, using our diaphragms and practising holding our breath for 5,10 and 15 seconds. We used the speech from Richard II looking at using punctuation to help with phrasing and breathing, breaking up the speech.

We used different tongue twisters to help with articulation, and chewing imaginary chewing gum to help warm up facial muscles and finally looked at Lord Cut Glass from Under Milkwood to dramatise a lyrical poem, emphasising the sounds.

We then looked at the difference between How a character says lines such as "Give me the money" and "You won't believe what I've just seen" with why a character says the lines, creating contextual scenes.

Finally, we applied this in a dramatic exploration of "Kiss Me Like You Mean It", with Tony's speech. We had to explore different motivations or reasons why he would say these lines: To impress, to explain, to seduce, to seize life.

Please add as much detail as you can about how you used these exercises to help you develop your own acting skills.

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TIE Rehearsal Andy's Zoo Trip

Today we made some positive changes to our play. We used to start with Ethan and Fahima meeting, but now we have a stylised opening, where everybody starts with their backs to the audience, and one-by-one make animal noises. Then Ethan turns and starts to explain that he is in the Zoo and is looking at all the different animals that live there. This scene then develops with all of us walking across the stage, one at a time, or in pairs, to be different characters at the zoo, visitor, workers etc. Then the scene ends with Harry announcing that the Zoo is closing. Ethan then sits as he is exhausted and this is when Fahima enters as the Flamingo. We got her to develop her character more, by walking differently, With her leg extended she takes a step then brings her other leg next to the first, taking slow deliberate steps, this was suggested by both Harry and Jordan who were experimenting walking as birds.

This then lets her stop and look at Ethan who is sitting in her spot. She talks to the audience, asking who the boy is, and what is he doing there?

The biggest change is to harry's character. He is playing the tiger. Where previously he was a "vegan" now, to build up tension, we have Jordan's Meer-cat character tell Ethan that Tony might help, but he also might eat him, so it creates added tension for the audience. We also now add narrators who tell Ethan and the audience that they've heard Tony eats zoo keepers, or that no-one has ever survived being locked in the zoo at night, because of Tony. At the end of it, Ethan is left a nervous wreck., he turns and meets an old man in a wheel chair. Harry, taking inspiration from Shark's life, he plays a Mafia boss type tiger, who is now past his best, but is very keen on respect. This was where the idea came from, that Ethan should respect his mum. It also allows Harry to have a bit of humour, as he uses his sense of smell to find Ethan's mum, picking up her scent, he smells, "Cheesy feet", "Boiled sweets" and "Hot dogs with onions" before finally getting her scent. They also have a Little red riding hood moment of inspiration, when Ethan realises he is talking to Tony, with a "Your claws are rather sharp, and you are a bit hairy, are you Ginger ? And especially when he says, "The names Tony". It builds up good comic tension. Even the end allows Fahima and Jordan to play to contrasting characters, Ethan's stressed mum, and a "Jobsworth" rule book wielding manager, who won't re-open the zoo until the morning, as it breaks "rule number 267, look here in the book". He then ignores the waiting Ethan as his mum gives him a description, just adding to the annoying characteristics of his character and makes the adult look a bit silly. He apologises to his mum, and thanks Tony, who is watching from the distance, then tells his mum about the talking animals. It was an excellent rehearsal all round, everyone committed throughout.

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This was a really useful site that gave us information about child literacy, especially for pre-school/infant pupils. It gave us the idea of having the kids help the main character to read her letter. So we used this directly in our play.

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Unit 2 TiE

All students need to have evidence of Production meetings. This can be in the form of minutes (NOTES) of meetings, a video of a production meeting, or at the very least, a mention on your blogs as to a discussion about :Props, Costumes, Lighting and Sound. Even if you have ended up not using any of the above, THERE MUST BE EVIDENCE THAT PRODUCTION ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED.

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Unit 2 TiE

As you write your blogs for your Unit 2 TiE (Theatre in Education) unit, apart from analysing what you do in lessons to help shape the material into a play, there are two key elements that are easy to forget:1 Research. 2: Production elements.

Research- Put links or even content from web pages, or post pictures or titles of books/magazines/other research you have done.

Importantly say what you gained from this information and how you have used it. If you can show a direct link to parts/themes/scenes in your play then all the better.

https://astridlindgrenmemorialaward.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/children-need-art-and-stories-and-poems-and-music-as-much-as-they-need-love-and-food-and-fresh-air-and-play/

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Blog must have for Blood Brothers Unit 3

Pass- Notes on Blood Brothers the play

Notes on your character

Notes on work done with Mr Knight

Notes on your scene that you are dramatizing- what is going on.

Merit- Character analysis- who the character likes/dislikes age, mood, break down of speeches/lines/dialogue.

Where the tension is in your scene. How you are using your acting skills to create this tension- voice/movement.

Distinction- On going dialogue/discussion on how you have used your acting skills. Review of targets, short and long term with reference to your scene/work on blood brothers.

How you have created an original characterisation. Where have your ideas come from?

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Elvis Costello/ Let Him Dangle. We used this today in our Yr 9 Lesson.

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Unit 3

Today the class worked on bringing their scripts to life. We started off doing some vocal warm ups. We did the P,B,T,D,C,G, sounds warm up. This helps with articulation. The second warm up was tongue twisters. These included Peter Piper, Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry and Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop., again, affecting diction and articulation. We also had to pretend we had a piece of chewing gum, which grew in size, to warm up our muscles in our jaws.

Then we worked in pairs. Lots of groups were attempting to run their scenes with some lines learned. This was useful as you could see what needs to be done.

Acting is much more skilful, when you don't have a script in your hand. You can start to focus on bringing the character to life, with subtle looks, expressions and gestures, which you don't think about, when you are either reading, or remembering lines.

We watched Arron and Jack's duologue (Sophie wasn't in) when they are 7. They play the two brothers, Mickey and Edward. Arron knew his lines (mostly) so was able to concentrate more on characterisation. He showed good use of facial expression and tone of voice, especially when showing surprise at being allowed a sweet. Jack needs to be more secure with his lines. Overall it is progressing well. Everyone was working at showing their acting skills, through dramatizing Blood Brothers scenes.

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Not Charlie's best work, no mention of what he did specifically- only use of We, not I, it did get better over 2 years. Charlie now studies Performing Arts at Palmer's college, taking a level 3 Diploma- worth 3 A Levels.

breathing and speaking

this lesson, sir gave us excersises to help our breathing when performing, we had to hold our breath for 15 seconds, then breath out for 15 seconds. then, we had to do weird facial movements to warm our mouths and facial muscles up. then, we repeated tongue twisters to help us with speaking. also, we touched on physicalisation, were we had to do freezeframes within a small amount of time

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Useful evidence of research for Unit 2-Theatre in Education.

in mondays lesson we watched a stage version of the popular childrens story ‘the gruffalo’. although it was aimed at at target audience of primary school children therefore it wasnt really that appealing to me, i could understand its relivence to our projects and courses. the story was very poor to me, however the acting was strong and the characterisation and multi roling was powerful.