Brighton Performance

Today was our last time performing 'As You Like It'. We were very fortunate to be able to have our last performance in the Pavilion Gardens in Brighton as part of the Fringe Festival that takes place every year. I was very excited to perform in the Fringe, as I remember seeing the previous year twelves Shakespeare production there and I loved it. 

We all knew that this show would be very different to our show last week in the New Theatre for many reasons. Firstly, there were quite a few changes to the set/tech due to location and the space we had to perform in; we couldn't have the large tree because it wouldn't travel down, so we have to use the trees provided. The main issue that we had to consider was the natural noise. Due to it being an outside performance and the weather fortunately being very warm, it was extremely busy and there was a lot of background noise. This meant that our projection had to double so we could be heard over the background noise of the park. Our teachers told us that if we didn't project to our loudest than only the people in the front row would be able to hear. Due to this we all did an extra long vocal warm up to make sure we were at our loudest. Another issue with performing in an outside space is that there is no back stage and therefore the audience will be able to see us. In the New Theatre there was a black certain covering the gaps in the set, but outside there is nothing, so the audience could see us walking to get to either stage right or left. This issue wasn't solvable, but every time I had to walk past, I remained in character and acted like I was walking through the Forest. I think this was a good instinct to make because then I won't break character and hopefully the audience wouldn't be brought out of the world the other characters on stage were creating. 

We did a voice test on stage to see if we were loud enough and ran over some new blocking, Jack reminding us that 'if when in doubt, face out' meaning to face the audience more so our voices were heard. We had to make some cuts to the first scene Rosalind and I are in due to timing issues, so we ran over those quickly before changing into our costumes and doing a vocal and physical warm up. We were performing to an audience of around thirty, as well as any passer by that fancied watching us for a while, at 1 pm. Our overall main objectives were to convey the story to a new, fresh audience who didn't know the plot line or the characters and to make sure everyone was focused and could hear what was happening on stage. It was also very important that we were loud enough for the other cast and crew members to hear their cues for scene changes/exists/entrances and any music or set changes. Above everything I really wanted to enjoy this performance and have fun playing this character for the last time. It was also a new experience for me as I  have never performed a play outside before in a public space. 

I personally felt as if the show went well, I think everyone was audible and the show ran on time. We knew from our first entrances that this was going to be a difficult show and require a lot of energy and vocal projection  which I think we all had. The show ran quickly and smoothly in my eyes and I think we conveyed the story to the audience which was one of our major goals. As far as projection and physicality, I think a few people did struggle to get themselves heard all the way to back as they were battering with buskers, other performers and general chatter from the public. I think Poppy is a fantastic job vocally and physically, even though I was standing next to her, I could feel her voice reaching the back and beyond and she was constantly living in the moment which enabled her to cover up a few line drops which I hardly noticed. I personally felt that I was loud enough and that my projection was the best it has ever been which I was very glad about. I think my physicality was bold and I made new character choices. I was ecstatic when after the performance we had the audience come up to us and compliment us on how well we had all done learning lines and acting well. I think this is a reflection of all the hard work we have all put in and I am very happy with our production.

Overall I think today's performance in Brighton was a great new experience for everyone; cast, crew and the audience. We all felt that even though we got more laughs and felt more exciting and new when we performed it in the theatre, I feel as if I learned more from performing in the Fringe about what an actor has to do, changing for each performance. I have learned so much this term about how a professional rehearsal runs, putting together a Shakespeare play, performing a comedy, performing to a large audience in a theatre and outside and having to adapt to each new performance. Most importantly I think I have discovered a new passion for Shakespeare, I have loved playing Celia and learning more about this iconic playwright who write 'As You Like It' nearly 400 years ago. 

The London set for our Brighton Performance at the Pavilion. 

Our set for London in The New Theatre.

Performance Evaluation

Our production of 'As You Like It' was on Wednesday 7th at 7pm and we had a lot to get through. We had a scheduled dress rehearsal in the afternoon, a quick run through in the morning and then the performance in the evening. 

The first run through was extremely useful because it enabled us to run through any un certain scenes and gave us a chance to become more confident in the performance space as we had only done one run through for the technical. During this run through we focused on our entrances and exits, the songs and the scenes with Phoebe and Silvius, as Hana wasn't able to make this performance Keyah from Tim's cast had to step in. We also focused on moving around in the space, working on our vocal projection and playing to all sides of the audience. My target for this run was to work on my projection because I have always struggled with my vocals and to make sure my reactions and movements were bold enough to be seen. I felt like I did this successfully because when we got given notes I wasn't told that I was too quiet which I was extremely pleased about. I think I also found a lot more of the comedy once I was in the space. The run was successful and Keyah and Phil, I thought, did a fantastic job as it was the first time they had acted together. It also showed me how far we have come from our previous rehearsals and from the tech run. 

The Dress rehearsal was vital and a big deal for everyone because it was the first time our play had been run all the way through without stops, notes or scene skips. It gave us a chance to see how tonight may go and how we could improve. Because of this there was a lot of pressure on everyone but I personally think we all did well under this pressure because the dress went really well. We thankfully had an audience which was good because there were laughs which is helpful when you are performing a comedy. I think I can speak for everyone when I say the main target was to get the show flowing smoothly and have a good, steady pace. I also personally had to make sure my entrances and exits were bold and snappy so as not to jar the play or drop the energy levels. I was very pleased that we got all the way through the play and that the general energy was high. I think the songs were the best they've been but could have even more energy to them. I think Ashley's added character high note has helped the song become more human in a way. I think for the performance tonight I need to bring even more energy and make sure I am a good backing for Poppy to play off. During this run I muffled a few of my lines and I put that down to nerves. I'm glad we had this rehearsal because I feel less nervous for tonight because we have already done one performance which went well so I feel ready for tonight. Other mishaps and areas for improvement is the speed of the piece. I think it has a good pace but as it is a comedy it needs to be even more snappy and we all need to be on our cues so much faster, so one scene merges into the next. We all need to keep the energy levels up high and just enjoy ourselves because after all it is a funny play and how can we be funny when we are all struck with nerves and constantly thinking about our next scene. Jack also gave us some notes to work on for tonight. Mine were:

• Beat Touchstone and Corin with the sign even more
• Let the audience in on the joke when Rosalind and I take the micky out of Touchstone
• When I faint to put my hand on my forehead to make it more melodramatic 
• When I say 'I faith coz' remember it's i not eye
• Make the last song quicker
• Push and Pull between the scenes
• Play the comedy
• Bring Joden further down stage right when I plead with him
• Stay up stage right when Corin and I fall out of the caravan 
• After fake marriage sit on bench and give my reactions to the audience on the right

Our evening show was in front of an audience of about 100 which was really exciting because it's the biggest audience we have performed to all year and our first show in the new theatre. The general target for this show was to make it energetic, smooth, pleasurable for the audience and funny. My personal target was to be loud enough and bring on all the energy needed for Celia. We did a vocal and physical warm up as your body and voice are connected. This helped me get energised for the opening scene and help my vocals. Unfortunately I wasn't very well on the day of the performance so I had to work extra hard in the vocal warm up to make sure I wasn't going to damage my voice even further. 

I personally felt as if our performance as a huge success. I felt as if we all had amazing energy and all played to the comedy of the writing. I believed everyone's performance and was extremely impressed by Josh, Seamus, Phil and Jackie as I felt their performances were very energetic and they all became their characters as they were able to ab-live in the scenes and respond to the live audience. I think at some points the energy dropped, for example in the rap battle but Adam picked it back up. I was extremely happy with my performance because I got really into my character and I feel as if I was a great support for Poppy and gave her a lot to play with. I feel as if I was always alive and living in the scene which enabled me to react truthfully and with comedy. I think my volume was good but I rushed a few lines at the beginning so next week when we perform in Brighton I will make sure to slow down slightly. It was fantastic to perform in front of a live audience because their responses to the comedy gave us a lot to play off and helped us spur on with the piece. I think this is a reflection of how well we all told the story. However there were some moments we didn't expect the audience to laugh and because of this a few lines were lost. For example Seamus did a fantastic bit with the caravan door which received a lot of laughs and Poppy and I didn't realise this so we started the scene when the audience were still laughing. Next time I will be more aware of the audience. Having said this I think we all did a fantastic job, cast and crew as the piece was fast paced and energetic and we all managed to make the story known and relatable, which for a Shakespearean piece I think is hard to do. 

Technical Rehearsal

Today we had our first technical rehearsal in the new theatre. This was the first time we had run the play in the new theatre with full costume, lighting, sound, props and set and I think it went pretty well. Before the run through we all thought about what we wanted to achieve from the run. I personally wanted to focus on my exists and entrances and also on the set barbecue it was the first time we had ever been able to play around with it. We all agreed that our vocals and energy needed to be the main focus today and getting a feel of the shape of the piece. 

As this rehearsal was for the production team we all needed to be on our ques and our lines which thankfully we all were. This rehearsal really helped me to see our piece as a performance that people have paid to come and see and also as a whole play. I had to change certain movements due to the set and the three sided seating. For example after Celia fake marries Orlando and Rosalind, I used to go lean against the tree, but as we didn't have it in rehearsals I wasn't aware that The tree was on wheels and would therefore move. Jack then changed this to me sitting on the large log stage right and facing out to the right sided audience so that they got my reactions. In the first scene I say 'Let us sit' and then Poppy and I sat, but there aren't any chairs for us to sit on, so Jack changed the line to 'Let us stand' instead. 

This rehearsal's utility was enormous and it helped us all realise the energy we need and how vocally loud we have to be. Although it was very exciting to be on the stage using the set and props, I felt as if some of our entrances and exits were very sloppy and brought down the energy of the piece. I think we all need to wok on this and organising our props to suit us so that we don't miss an entrance. A positive that came from today was how well the piece looks and flows when we are on our ques and lines. If we all give the maximum amount of energy then I think our performance this week will be a joy to watch. 

Rehearsal Notes

These are a few pictures from our last rehearsal before the tech run this afternoon. We ran through some of the scenes which lacked energy and just did a quick line run. Poppy, Hayden and I practiced the scene where Orlando and Rosalind meet for the first time in the forest because this scene in particular was the weakest of our scenes and it is the most crucial. Jack blocked certain movements with certain lines so Poppy and Hayden had something to play with. We decided that Celia would be eating an apple so we asked Ellie, our stage manager, to get one by this afternoon so I could rehearse with it.

                                                                       

I noticed during these rehearsals that Poppy and Oisin had fantastic energy and enthusiasm which enabled them to take on board Jack's notes and make them their characters own. I was really impressed by Josh's performance throughout all of the rehearsals because I think he has made bold character choices and brought them to every rehearsal never once dropping his character energy and physicality. I think our tech run will go very well if we all just remember our exits and entrances and keep them snappy. We need to double our vocal and physical energy as the new theatre is a massive space and we are used to rehearsing in the small room 411. I think this could possibly be one let down to our rehearsals as we haven't had a set room we haven't had markings as to where our set will be, so I think the tech may be slightly chaotic in the sense that we will still be getting used to where the set is and getting used to the space so we do't get lost in  it.

 We have had many rehearsals for our production of 'As You Like It' and every week I have seen the progression of the play and how it all links together. I have really enjoyed these rehearsals because I've had a glimpse into what a professional one looks like, with the production team sitting in and having a read through. I've learned and gained so much from these rehearsal that will help me next year in Common Ground but also for my future as a hopeful professional actor. I have noticed that some people are good at rehearsing, meaning they listen and are on their ques, knowing their lines and when not on stage going through them, working on their character or watching quietly. I think some people find concentrating hard and therefore disrupted a few of the rehearsals. Even though it was annoying at some points, it was  a good learning curve for me, because no matter what's going on off stage you have to stay focused in the scene and listen to the director. Jack's direction has really helped me feel more comfortable performing Shakespeare and rehearsing. I've learned that you need to constantly bring energy to every rehearsal and to get your lines learned quickly because you can then play in the scene and give the director and your fellow actors more to play with. 

Personally I think I have been very focused and awake in our rehearsals. Even though I wasn't always on my ques and sometimes held back to start of with, I quickly changed that and I hope I was good to direct and that I brought lots of energy and sustenance for the rehearsals. As I said before, I really enjoyed the rehearsal process because there was always a good vibe in the room and I enjoyed the independence of going of with Devan and going through certain scenes, this also helped me a lot with my charaterisation to get a fellow actors view on my take of Celia.

Titus Andronicus

Today I went to the Globe on South Bank to see Titus Andronicus at the Globe. This was the second play I've seen at the Globe and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very useful to see a live performance of a Shakespearean play because it showed me how much energy is required and with that energy his plays can be extremely entertaining and relatable. I loved how the actors used the audience to ab-live occasionally and this is defiantly something we would like to include in our performance, as it is a comedy every night should be different according to who your audience is. 

Just before we went in, I found a timeline of all of Shakespeare's plays and when he wrote them on one of the walls outside the theatre. 'As You Like It' was written in 1599 the same year it was performed. This was a very busy period for Shakespeare as he was vastly popular and his plays were in demand, so he wrote a lot of his well known ones around this period.