Unit 1 Identity

We started the term with the Unit 'Identity' this was convenient as this gave us the opportunity to get to know and respect each other. 

First day!
The first ever lesson we had with Rob we done a exercise called getting 'disciplined' where my teacher would call out a action and we'd follow it.This was followed by a humorous exercise where we'd write out our names with our bottoms. I think this game gave us confidence as it was such a silly and weird thing to do but everyone had to do it. It made me come out of my comfort zone and it showed my creative side.

Lastly, we got into pairs and my teacher selected the opening line, 'Excuse me'. Our task was to carry on the line  and make a scene. My partner was Anastasia. We decided our scene was to be about my uncle kicking her dog in the face which escalated to me slamming an imaginary door. When we performed our scene to our class it was well executed and I was confident, very loud and I also stayed in role.

Next, we had a lesson called Project Development with Rebecca where we watched four different types of production such as: A production that was in Hindi, a dance group called Diversity, Blue man the rock band and a Ukrainian LED show formed of 56 people. Showing us different genres in production made us see that without the production team it wouldn't go on and the groups wouldn't be as popular it also gave us an insight of creativity. My favourite was the Ukrainian LED show because it was really different and I believe different means phenomenal. I liked the way they danced using the lights to their advantage to create a good show.

Finally, we had our last lesson of the day with Rob. We started off by playing a game where you can't say 'yes or no' this intertwined with our first exercise 'discipline' because you had to think of other alternatives but no matter what you couldn't say 'yes or no' or you'd lose. We then went on to play another game 'blah,blah' where we had to think fast on our feet. A person had to pick any subject for instance football, hair etc. Then there would be a translator that stood next to the person that took three questions from the audience for example 'what's your favorite football team' the translator would then speak gibberish to the person and the person would reply back in gibberish and lastly the translator would tell us a made up answer in English. This helped us with our 
communication,creativity and improvisation skills.

For the last part of our lesson we got into groups of three to create freeze frames of something that represents a country we'd chosen. Our teacher then had to guess what country we were portraying- Rob got ours in the first guess! This was followed by doing a freeze frame that represented us as people. For my group someone was measuring me which showed she had an interest in fashion, I was modelling because i'm a model and I enjoy doing it and the other person it my group was doing my hair because she liked hair and makeup. This exercise made me see that my group have many things in common and it made me feel more open and confident about my interests.

Rob gave us homework which was to do a short piece on what identity means to us.

Unit 1- Identity (Rob lesson's)
My class sat in a circle and shared their identity homework which helped us form an idea of what we were going to perform for our identity pieces.

I wrote about my background, My taste- I like the American culture I elaborated on that topic by introducing the music, fashion, films. My culture- What kind of culture I was brought up in. My gender and what it means to me. To conclude the topic, I ended with my race and the effects it has on my everyday life. Reading my homework out in a circle in front of the class built up my confidence and made me feel comfortable because I showed my true self. It also built thick skin because I thought I would be judged but my class was very supportive.

We got into groups of fives and I decided to take the lead and I asked everyone in my group 'What is something we have in common about identity?' Everyone shared there ideas and we discovered three people weren't born in England so as two of us were British Citizens we decided to do a performance based on moving to the UK and how everyone adapts to the change.  
                                                             
The Identity Piece
In our identity piece I played the role of a mean girl which I based my character off watching the movie 'Mean Girls' and their character Regina George. It helped me get into character because I needed to act like a really nasty person to immigrants. The character I had to portray was an insecure, mean, controlling person, which was easy because sadly this happens in everyday life and I hear many stories and it see it happen on social media. From this role, I learnt that bullying isn't right and everyone should be accepted despite where they come from or there circumstances. As an actor this made me tap into my darker side and build thick skin for me because sadly this was a realistic piece and I didn't know how the audience would react.


Throughout the term we were practising our lines so we wouldn't forget them on stage- by doing this it helped my memory and it helped me respect my peers because I would have to let them do their part then it would follow on to mine (for example- not speaking over them)

Also we done loads of vocal warm up such as l,m,b,n,d which would help us pronounce words clearer. Rob made us get into pairs and and make conversation BUT only using the sounds of those letters. It was really fun and it brought out our body language and facial expressions because we had to understand each other through it as we weren't speaking English I also took it upon my self to do these exercises out of lesson- I've been practising and it has helped my pronunciation! We also done tongue twister which is really annoying because you can try really hard and mess it up! That's why practice makes perfect- tongue twisters are also really good for improving speech.

We done improvisation in some lessons to wake our brains up and remind them that in this kind of industry you have to be creative! Improvisation helps me as an actor because if I forget my lines I can quickly think of something along the lines without the audience knowing.  In one of my classes we had to get into groups of four and the theme was consequences. We had to create a scenario and improvise the scene- My group did people stealing and the consequence would be them getting caught and facing prison or charges. We later on, had to perform to our class so we had to be weary of the use of space- we couldn't have our backs the audience which later helped me when I performed my Identity piece as it made me aware of my space which I think is important because if the audience doesn't see your facial expressions because your back is turned they would feel as connected to the character.

In another lesson, as a class we listed skills actors need to have to reach there full potential. Having this list reminds me what skills I need to focus on and what skills I should use in my performance so I can reach to my full potential as an actress. The skills list really helped in my evaluation for my Identity performance because it showed me what I done well and what I need to improve on.

Unit 1 -Production Roles (Rebecca's Lessons)

For the first term Rebecca taught me that the people behind the scenes are as important as the actors because without a production team there would be no production.

She taught us about the people that are behind the scenes of what is normally shown to us (a movie or a theatre production) such as:

• Set Designers
• Hair and Makeup
• Lighting and Sound
• Costume Designer
• Movie Editor
• Composer
• Choreographer
• Prop Master

Rebecca asked us what we had an interest in and I was very fond of set designer because I like how they create the scene and although you have to be creative and have a very vivid imagination in every department- this department controls how the actors and audience feels for an example- A set of the Eiffel tower in Paris will create the theme of Love and as a set designer I would have to portray that by making it a sunny day or a starry night which is really exciting because its a set designers decision of how the tone is going to be set.

We were taught how other departments help each other, for example: Set Design and Hair and make up would work together because if set design wanted a sad,melodramatic, heartbreaking scene of a girl going through a bad heartbreak hair and make up would make the persons face look dull and the hair would look messy. Also costume design would get involved by making the girls clothes look like they haven't been washed to express her pain( it would mean she can't do anything properly because she is so heartbroken).

My class were given an assignment which was to research the role you would want to play in production. We had to research on

• What experience or things you would need to get into the job role.
• Skills required
• What you'd do 
• Your salary
• Career path and progression
• Qualifications needed
• Working hours, patterns and environment

Learning about the roles in production made me understand how important the people are behind stage are. It also helped me have a better understanding of how the theatre functions and how a production wouldn't be good without everyone helping in the background. I also gained knowledge of other roles in the film/theatre industry which has given us an alternative if we still want to be in the industry but not as an actor or actress.

Unit 1- Movement Sessions (Mandy)

In my movement sessions I was also being taught discipline. We done exercises where Mandy would call out an action and we'd have to do it but as time went on we had to do the action as if we were in a scene it was really fun and you had to just improvise on the spot so the disciplinary exercises were good for being creative and imaginative.

Furthermore,my teacher would call out emotions and we'd have to show them which helped my facial expression and body language for example if she said sad- I would frown and cry and my shoulders will be tense.

In one of our lesson we had to make beats with our hands and as we went around the circle when we received the beat we had to give it the other person by doing a action for example- if the beat was hot I would act like i'm holding fire and throw it to the person. This exercise made me tap into my fun and fast thinking side as an actors because I could do anything but I had to think of it quickly which was really thrilling.

To help us with our identity pieces Mandy told us actions and asked us what the character we played is most likely to do. Mine was: Punch, Dab and Grab. I used these actions effectively in my role by: 

• Punching my friend to show dominance and to show that I was the main bully and so my character was portrayed as controlling, bossy and insecure.
• I dabbed someone on the shoulder which showed a change in my character because I would just go and interrupt the conversation but instead I dabbed the persons shoulder to show respect for their conversation and to get there attention without disrupting it.
• I grabbed someones phone to show my status and how cruel and manipulative my character was

Putting actions for our pieces really helped our body language and made me understand my character more. It made me realise that body language plays a big role in acting and it can speak for you...which helped me in the next unit: Silent Movies