a) What was challenging about writing a script?

The challenge about writing a script for a radio is that you have to remember the audience listening can not see anything you are doing, you can not write the script as though you have actions to do. You have to make sure everything flows and is clear because you cannot depend on your body to help you out like you would if you were on TV, because if you wanted the solution to resolve around something a character did you would be in the wrong type of show buisness. It was difficult to write a script because since there was only people, one person shouldn’t have a much larger role than the other so you had to balance out the roles properly.

b) Do you enjoy working with a partner? What were the benefits and the challenges?

Some of the benefits I encounterewhile working with a partner was how you had two sets of brains to work with, and two sets of eyes to make sure everything is okay and is heading in the right direction. It was much easier to come up with an idea to do for our radio broadcast because we were able to work off of each others idea and benefit off of that.

Some of the challenges while working with a partner were how you needed to depend on someone else to do the work as well, you could not just start doing the entire thing by yourself when you wanted to because that would not be failr to your partner and they could not working on it by their self because since it’s a group project you have to help each other and work hard together.

c) Comment on two things that you felt you did well in your broadcast and one element that you could have improved.

I thought my group did a pretty good job with the sound effects and putting them in the right spots to most benefit and enhance the performance. Also I thought that the questions we were asking each other sounded quite comparable to how a real interview which was similar would play out.

Two things I feel my group could have improved on was our vocal expressions, I felt both me and my partner could have acted more exited in certain points or outgoing.

Another thing that we should have started working right away as appose to a few days later because we might have come out with a better idea or plot.

Monologue Review Blog

a) What did you feel was best about your monologue?

I thought the best thing about my monologue was how I interpreted the character and acted in role. I felt I did a pretty good job on taking on his character and trying to act as though I was actually this boy preparing to tell him dad that he is failing. I know that I would pretty scared to tell my parents that I was failing a coarse so I was meaning to carry that through. Also I found using facial expression to be quite easy while on stage, especially because I was in character it was easy for me to take over his role.

b) What do you think you needed to improve?

I could have easily improved on my costume. I feel that I could have brought something to dwindle with as though I was nervous. And wear a skateboarding hat. I also should have brought a comb to brush my hard while my character was talking about doing so. I feel that all of these attributes would have enhanced my performance.

c) What was most difficult about the monologue performance in general.

The part that was most difficult part about my monologue performance in general was how to memorize the lines. I didn’t find it too difficult but I did have to spend a bit of time at home going over my lines and practicing them.

Romeo and Juliet Review Questions

a) Did you feel that this was a good adaptation of Shakespeare's orignal work? Why, why not?

I thought that the Sr school’s RSGC adaptation of Shakespeare’s original work was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed each scene and I liked how they were able to modernize it more with technology and bikes and still keep the same theme, which Shakespeare had. It was very cool to see how they were able to add their own elements, such as the band and props and strobe lights. You could tell this production was very well rehearsed and taken seriously by all of the actors in play. The play was a lot better than I expected it to be, infact at the end of the second performance I even heard a pair of woman say it felt like they were in a Stratford production. The lighting impressed me because they had colorful, florescent and strobe lights set to angle in all different parts of Ketchum Hall. The costumes were ok; I thought this because most of the costumes were clothes you would see people wearing on the street. But it did fit the theme of the production seeing as the idea was adapt Romeo and Juliet to a more modernized version. In compassion to Shakespeare’s original work of Romeo and Juliet the costumes were much more casual, because in the original version they were more elegant, baggy, and clothes you would see people with a lot of wealth wearing.

b) Which performances did you feel were the strongest? Why?

I thought that Romeo and Juliet had the best performances, and impacted the audience and me the most because we were able to develop a relationship with them. I find that each time I read a book at the beginning I’m not that interested if something good or bad happens to the main characters, but if something drastic happens half way through or after even after the climax I care a lot more about it and take it into more depth because I have developed a relationship with them and have gone through everything they have conquered in the book. That is why I believe that the characters, which played Romeo and Juliet, made the stronger performance compared to the smaller characters and when they died at the end for one another it meant more because you had witnessed everything they had been through.

c) Was the costuming and lighting appropriate?

The lighting was very impressive, before I attended the play I figured that there would be one light facing the stage, which might have had different elements of brightness. But, as I was watching the production I found out that not only were there lights facing the stage, but also the middle of Ketchum hall and in-between the two stages. The costumes worn by the main characters were quite casual, jeans and a bike shirt. But, some of the costumes weren’t as casual, Romeo’s fathers’ priest outfit.

d) Do you think the music enhanced the play? Why/why not?

The music was definitely a big factor to the play, which enhanced it greatly. Many of the songs were by Jimi Hendrix and some of his most famous songs. I thought it was very cool to have a live band playing music as appose to listening to music off of a stereo for a computer or cassette. While intense scenes were taking place; like the fight between Romeo and Marcutio it made to the scene better by having music playing in the background. I felt that the music chosen for each scene was a good choice and fit the scene perfectly.

e) Give a rating out of 5 for the play.

I would rate the Sr school RSGC production of Romeo and Juliet 4 stars out of 5. My reasoning for this is because I thought it was a great play and it definitely exceeded my expectations. The music, lighting, and costumes were all good and made the play present to the best it could be. The acting was excellent; the characters were all using pantomime movements and expressions and at all time were in character. It was easy to understand, even if you don’t have a back round with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which I liked a lot because I have only seen the new version with Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes. If I were to give some constructive criticism I would say that if they wanted to take it a step up they could have used more props or scene backgrounds. Over all I thought that it was a very good play and I would have recommended it to people grade 9 and up because Shakespeare’s literature can be hard to understand at times.

Olympic Tableau Journal Reflection

a.) What was the most challenging aspect f working in a group to create your tableau?

I found that there were not really any challenging aspects of working in a group. I am very good in groups and co-operating with others so there wasn’t really hard to do accept the only problem was tossing ideas around. It was sometimes challenging to compromise because we all had different ideas and wanted to go our own ways. We ended up putting all our ideas together so everything worked out nicely. Other than that our group was great and we worked well together.

b) What was the easiest element of the Tableau?

The easiest part of my tableau was thinking about how I should move my body, and make the picture look. I was able to have fun with this assignment, which was also easy because I felt comfortable and at ease. Figuring out how much kinishpere would be appropriate to take up was also easy because I knew which amount of space to take up would look better in the tableau.

c) Are you nervous about your performance on Tuesday? Why or Why not?

No, I am not nervous to perform on Tuesday because I have never had stage fright and not felt perfectly fine in front of an audience. Also, I feel fine about these presentations because I know what post I am going to be in and I am good at standing in a position for a long time.

d) Do you prefer working alone, in pairs or in groups when preparing for a performance? Why?

I prefer working in groups because it lets you be more social, and working with more people allows more ideas to be heard. Because you are working with more people there is a greater chance you will come up with a much better idea because there are more people contributing to it as appose to 2 people or 1 person.

Drama Reflection 12/11/09

1) Why do actors spend time in their training learning to role play in pairs and small groups? How would this help them in a stage or film performance?

Actors spend their time training learning to role play in pairs and small groups so that when they are in a play presenting it to an audience or filming a show they can use the techniques they have learned and be able to apply it. Actors also learn how to role-play small groups and pairs so they can learn other techniques from other actors and improve their acting.

2)Which roles were the easiest for you to play today?

The easiest roles for me to play today were the roles that most resembled me, for example; the 14 year old boy on the beach with his family. That role was quite easy for me to play because I am a 14 year old boy so I know how they would think and act. I know that acting similar roles is easier because it does not enquire me to go out of my comfort zone or to think harder about what I need to do.

3) Which roles were the most difficult? Why?

The roles, which were most difficult for me to play, were the ones, which I was not easy to relate to, or opposite of me. The roles which I was asked to play a 45 year old women was not as easy as playing the 14 year old boy because I am not an adult, nor a women. It took me a little more effort to come up with a proper role to play, because I had to think about what to do based on the things I have seen from other women of that age. This role was harder as well because I had to go out of my comfort zone because acting like a girl is not something I am used to doing.

4)How much of your "self" did you put into your role?

The roles which I could easily relate to, of coarse I put a lot more of my self into it because it was easier and felt more comfortable because I am often taking on those roles in real life. They also required me to put myself into character though so it was not as though I wasn’t acting, I was still doing it, but it just did not evolve me going full out acting something different from my usual self. The scenarios, which I had to act something that I would typically, not, I believe that I did a good job taking on those roles but I definitely could have gone more to an extensive rate, into character. By changing the level and pitch of my voice more and the way I moved (how fast, slow, crouched, etc) would have definitely helped me out, which is what I will do for next class.

Journal Reflection: Romeo and Juliet

1. What kind of research do you think the lead actors in the film had to do to prepare for their roles?

I believe that in order to prepare for this part the actors had to get a good back round of the character they were playing. In order to do so I think they would have to watch other versions of the Romeo and Juliet plays and movies, which would also help them figure out what the audience is looking for. Also, they might have acted out their parts while off stage in order to really understand how their character thinks and acts, like Heath Ledger did when he was playing the Joker in the “Dark Night.”

2. What were the most effective aspects of the setting/set design, use of music and costuming for the film?

I thought that the most effective aspects of the settings were from the angle, which the camera caught it in. Any setting can look a lot better or a lot worse depending on the view the camera films it from. I thought that the settings fit this movie for the updated version quite well because they had certain scenes, which were in front of a club, and I do not think that in the first version of Romeo and Juliet that they would be there.

I found the use of music good in every scene because it set the tone and helped you know the motion, which was being felt and the aura, which described weather the scene, was going to be sad or happy.

The costume in this film, to my personal opinion I thought felt the part to a degree. In the original play both sides of the family were very wealthy but judging by the clothes they were wearing you would not be able to tell that. You would have thought that they seemed a little more gang like, although you did know that Juliet’s side of the family had a great deal of money because of the size of her house.

3. How did the actors effectively use pantomime expressions and how did they alter their voices to fit their roles.

I noticed that Leonardo DiCaprio’s pantomime was very good in the scene which he had just killed Juliet’s cousin because when the camera zoomed in on his face he was very slow and had a lot of facial expression. It was very easy to tell what he was feeling. Another scene I thought he used a good job of pantomime was where he was getting in a fight against Juliet’s side of the family because of how he used his body to portray his actions to an excessive amount and his voice was very loud too.

4. Overall, do you think the film was a good adaptation of Shakespeare's original play?

I have not scene any other versions of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare but based on this version alone I Think that it was a very good adaptation. The characters were all in role at all times and it seemed easier to understand because of the back rounds and sets they used as well as the use of props. I thought it was a good movie.

Pantomime Review

I thought the pantomime project was a fun and enjoyable project because it let us experiment with certain situations, which we will most likely encounter in our lives. It lets us imagine that we were actually going through these scenarios, and I believe that it helped us all become more comfortable with pantomime. I found all four scenes we had to act out were both difficult and easy because of certain aspects. For instance the movie scenario I found getting past the four audience members was quite difficult but purchasing the food was not. I wanted to be as creative with this assignment as possible and I did not want to do the ordinary of what I expected other kids in the class to do. Which is why I pretended to watch a cooking show while I was cooking the pot of chilly.

The first scene I did was the scenario, which I was pretending to make a pot of chilly. I had to pretend it came out much to spicy, and figure out what I would do with it. I know that with chilly when it is too spicy you put more tomato sauce in it, so I acted out as thou I was doing that. At first I found it difficult to pretend I was opening the can of tomato sauce, so I decided to make it seem as thou I was using a can opener on the can and dumping it in the pot. The second scene I was acting out was a walk in the park. I was suppose to pretend as thou I was taking a stroll in the park and I found a purse and inside were a few various items, including a wallet. I decided to pull out a few items, which you were not likely to find in a purse. That is why I pulled out a baseball bat, instead of makeup. I was thinking about how to be creative with this scene and thought about going either way, I could keep the items in the purse or leave them in the purse where I found them but I thought it would be much better if I pretended the owner of the purse saw me rummaging through their bag and made me give it back and leave.

I liked this project and am looking forward to starting our next unit.