Warm Ups

• In one of our first sessions, Sharon made us lie on the floor, we then had to say difficult phrases "she sells sea shells on the sea shore". the advantages of these exercises was to focus on pronouncing our vowels correctly this would further help us when it came to Romeo and Juliet and pronouncing difficult words.
• We was also stretching our tongue and mouth as far as possible. this allowed the muscles to be more relaxed and allows us to project our voices.
• whilst in the theartre it was important for us to speak with volume therefore Rob made us do an exercise where we had one leg forward and starting down an executed with a heavy bucket whilst saying "whooaaaa". this was useful as it taught me the importance of speaking through our diaphragm rather than our throat. 
• We also play a game "yes lets", this focuses on our improvisation and help us become energized for the lesson. It was also useful.
• In Sharon's lessons we performed different exercises. The first was of all of us to stand in the line as an assemble. We then had to move down the class one at a time without moving at the same time. This warm up was beneficial as it allowed us as an assemble to work together without any communication on stage.
• The next exercise we done was 'Institution stop' where we walked around in circle and had to stop telepathically at the same time. This was also a useful exercise as it allows us as an assemble to work together, as there is no leader in an assemble we must learn to stop in a play. 
• Rob gives us an exercise where we hum and chew gum at the same time, we then over exaggerate the chews and move our tongues around. This exercise is useful as it allows us to exercise the jaw and tongue. 
• We then have different words to pronounce e.g. "D and T", "M,P,B" *get voice note*. This exercise helps us pronunciate different words properly and warm us up for when we have our lines.

For our performance of Romeo and Juliet we are determined to change it from our stereotypical version of Romeo and Juliet for the audience.
some of the things we find boring consist of

• The language
• Boring stories
• predictable
• a long play( it runs for 2hours and 50mins)
• uncomfortable seats
• Costumes
• Price (£25-£40)
• Too serious

what we want to see

• Different culture
• Humour and over dramatic
• non-typical story line
• make it shorter
• Modern (blood and krips)
• different music
• more intervals

Technical Skills
The first technical skill we could use during our performance is emotional memory, by this I mean we use a personal emotional memory and use it in the most appropriate scenes to show a certain emotion. This technique can be challenging as you must learn to turn the emotion on and off, to show great delivery to the audience. I use emotional memory in scene 13 when Romeo is banished and scene 21 where I see Romeo dead. I wanted to learn this skill to allow me to have a raw emotion during these scenes and so that it becomes believable to the audience.
You must also have good vocal projection whilst performing on a big stage. One vocal warm up which is useful is sticking our tongue out and reaching for our upper lip and bottom lip to exercise for our mouths. We also use the warm up where our tutor gives us a line and we pretend to throw our lines over a hill, which is effective as it allows us to then fill all the space with our voices. We also bend down to one side and throw our voices out, this helps with projection of our lines. I will need good vocal projection in scene 3 whereby I am behind the curtains and must shout "how now, who calls?" I must be able to project so that the audience can hear me.
Another crucial skill is being able to understand your character, this will help a performance massively, the audience will see you are not only just learning your lines but the delivery will be effected as they will begin to believe you are not your own person but the character i.e. Juliet and will feel every emotion. In my own time I focused on my own character, reading the script and understanding each scene I'm in. I learnt why my character said certain things or who she was talking to which was crucial as in some of the scenes I even changed the way I said things, for example in scene 16, before I used to plead to Lady Capulet "I pray you, tell my lord and father, madam" However after going over it, I changed my tone to angry and I was even shouting at Lady Capulet which expressed how furious I was that my parents were always trying to make decisions for me.
The next is characterization , using Stanislavski method that you can become your character in movement, and the way you speak. This is effective as you are able to engage more with the audience and once again your delivery of your character will be more believable.
You also need good stage presence, by this I mean you can 'cheat with your feet' therefore we can stand towards the audience but move our heads so that the audience are still able to see our portfolio of faces rather than our backs. When I am speaking out to the audience after I have just had an argument with my parents I say "Alack, alack that heavens should practice such stratagems", by having good stage presence I will be able to connect with the audience so that they feel the emotion I myself is going through.
It is also crucial that we have articulation, by this I mean pronouncing your lines clearly to help with this we have vocal warm ups such as 'D and T' which warms up our mouths and jaws, we also use tongue twisters such as 'unique New York, New York unique'. Having good articulation you begin to look more professional with your dialogue and the audience are able to understand what's being said with difficult language such as Shakespeare, I myself struggled to begin with, with my articulation especially with the lines " If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow". As I continued to do the vocal warm ups and go over my lines I was finally able to say them.
Lastly, having good communication and engaging with the audience is a good skill to have as you can take the audience on the journey with you and let them feel they are living the moment with you. In scene 5 where I just found out Romeo is a ontague and I speak out to the audience " my only love sprung from my only hate" the audience begin to see the frustration that Romeo had to be from the other house.

Skills Audit

Before

Before starting this course, I believe there was skills that I took into the classroom myself. Some are projection of voice, proxemics, stage presence and good body movement.
To begin with I have always had a loud voice and project my voice when needed, I have never had a problem with being to loud on stage which I think is a crucial skill to have in acting. However, although the projection was coming from the throat rather than diaphragm warm ups have helped me change. Whilst performing Romeo and Juliet, some scenes are crucial to being able to project my voice. For example in scene 7 where Juliet says "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Rome?" This needs projection as to the scene must be believable and I should be expressing my new love by being exaggerate so the audience engage in a crucial scene. Projection of my voice was used in a different scene (16) where Juliet's parents force her to marry, I am shouting at lady Capulet to express my anger and frustration. I feel the scene would not be interesting or believable if I was just speaking in a quiet voice and the audience not being able to hear what I'm saying, they will disconnect.
Another skill I have is proxemics, proxemics means the amount of space that between themselves and others within a stage. It is crucial to know when to close together and far away, we improvised on the some of the scenes with this skill. For example scene 16 again to begin with everyone one in the scene was close together and everything was mainly center stage. However, We worked on this scene to make greater space between the characters, this worked because when Juliet says "and when I do marry it shall be to Romeo" I then began to walk upstage right leaving Lady Capulet downstage left. Then Capulet walks in, therefore I end up centre backstage  and Capulet is further down and the nurse next to me. This scene just added more space between up representing the division of the family and made the scene much more interesting to look at.
Another skill I had was stage presence, making sure that when I am on stage I am not corsping at any time and I am always reacting to whatever is being said. Where I had monolgue's where I am talking to myself I look out into the audience but still considering my body language and facial expressions. For example in scene 18 when Juliet is about to drink the poison I say "Farewell God knows when we shall meet again", by shaking my head, looking down at the poison and shrugging my shoulders, shows I am bringing the audience in, in almost my inner monologue and taking them through this journey I must be able to deliver the make it believable.



Now
 In addition to the skills I have, I have added a few from my time on this course. Such as articulation, emotional memory, understanding your character etc.
Articulation means having clear and distinct sounds in speech. In the past I had not really thought articulation was important and I didn't use it for myself, I never really thought about how I was pronouncing words as long as I could say them. However, beginning various exercises has helped massively especially for Romeo and Juliet. For example doing tongue twisters such as "she sells sea shells on the sea shore" This tongue twister allows us to slow down our speech focus on the letters and pronouncing them correctly which I then could incorporate in the text. In scene 10 when Juliet says " How art thou out of breath when thou hast the breath to say to me..." To begin with I could never get these words right and would get the lines muddled, but during rehearsals and being more aware of my articulation i was finally able to say my lines clearly then gather the acting behind it.
Emotional memory was an idea made by Stanisvlaski whereby you would use a personal memory that sets off an emotional trigger which is then portrayed in your scene. The first time I was told about emotional memory I had not heard of it before. Although, as I got to understand it more I wanted to try it myself the skill is being able to turn the emotion on and off quickly in certain scenes. I used it in scene 13 where I found out Romeo is banished and scene 21 where Romeo is dead. At first I did not use any memory however I did not feel the scene was believable so i decided to think more about the 'Magic if' and how i would react IF I was in that circumstance and yes It helped improve the acting of the scene but I felt it took away from the idea of an emotional memory. So I then used a personal memory that happened years ago and it did trigger lots of emotion for me, on the night my voice became shakey, I was breathing very heavily, I too long pauses etc. Which made the audience see the heartache I was going through.
Before starting the course I did not know what understanding a character was but going through lessons and getting taught about it was very useful. I did not understand some of Juliet's lines e.g. "If that thy bent of love be honorable" I was a bit lost and did not know how to say it but by going along and finding out why that allows me to then develop my lines and it will eventually become me not just learning the lines but taking it into our own interpretation and acting with them. It about understanding why your character in a certain scene is walking on, for example in scene 13 and the first line is "O come gentle night give me my Romeo" at first I interpreted Juliet as being mellow and sad however, during rehearsals I was shown that it was really that, Juliet was happy and oblivious to the last tragic event of Romeo being banished. This changed my body movement from small to big and my inner monologue whilst walking on the stage was thinking about how excited I am for my trip to Jamaica to show excitement in the scene. Being able to understand your character is crucial because it shows you are not only just learning lines but becoming the character and responding how they would now respond.

Romeo and Juliet Opening Scene


We began focusing on the chorus and finding a diverse way to do this. We decided that by making the chorus apart of the characters instead of narrating. This set the scene and portrayed the hate of the two houses.
They created different fighting freeze frames reflecting what the chorus was speaking. This was effective as it emphasizes a visual rather than vocal representation of the hatred between both houses. Speaking in a modern voice rather than stereo-typical Shakespeare voice will engage the audience more so, so that they are not bored.
However there are particular things that could have been changed. The proxemics is an issue as everyone was too close. The actors need to be more diagonal so that the audience can see.




Characterisation
We focused on Romeo's monologue and the punctuality throughout the monologue. I began thinking about facial expressions whilst reading the monologue. I portrayed I was in ore with Juliet. Using gestures such as reaching out in front,  and facial expressions e.g. my eyes focused in one position and a slight smile. Emphasizing my love for Juliet.
Whilst I was whispering I feel that I projected my voice in a specific way, which came from my diaphragm and not my throat. However I will focus more on articulating each word, I could use tongue twisters such as 'red lorry, yellow lorry' to help me concentrate on my words and focusing deeper on the punctuality.This will result in me having more time to express my emotion and also engage with an audience more.

We created freeze frames in our group of which we thought were the most important scenes in Romeo and Juliet. These two images show Romeo dead when Juliet just wakes up. We also used the wedding scene. We thought about proxemics and making sure the scene was more interesting to look at rather than in on space, we also added levels so that our freeze frames were more diverse.





Language
We focused on Language for Romeo and Juliet by beginning to learn to articulate our vowels by whispering. This was effective as it allowed me to pronounce every single word clearly, which in the future will let the audience hear my lines clearly without seeming bored and I myself will understand the language. We then stood at the back of the stage on the theartre, first whispering to the candle, then the chair, and then the back line of the audience. This was a creative way to help me over pronounciate each vowel and work on vocal projection. However next time I perform it I will think about the emotion behind it rather than just projecting my lines. Another person I enjoyed watching was Kamal, throughout each stage in the theartre he was able to be heard by the audience and projected his voice clearly even though he whispered. One thing he could work on for the future is focusing more so on the emotion, because as he got louder his emotion become more angrier, this was shown in his facial expressions such as frowning. However he should try to keep the same emotion throughout.
We then played a game with a partner when one person says "yes it is" and "no it isn't", these simple lines allowed us to explore a variety of ways we can say this, we could be angry whilst saying this, frustrated or even happy. It allowed us to think about gestures, facial expressions and voice.



The fight scene
Sharon made us create one of the fight scene for Romeo and Juliet. we began in parallel lines but improved this by standing in a slight V shape line, this was effective as it allows the audience to see every aspect/character in the fight. In the lines me and Abe are fighting in slow motion. I punch Abe he then punches me, I duck and then upper cut him. We then had to go in partners to create our own individual fights. Me and Nikaya decided that I would knee her, she then slaps me, I slapped her, then I break her neck, she drops and as I go to stomp on her she grabs my foot. we do this once in slow motion and once fast. This shows a contrast and adds in the drama mediums of pace, it is a dynamic way to keep the audience engaged and adds climax to the scene. To expand our piece we then started each individual fight in a canon this is effective as it had layers to the fight. We also started moving in slow motion it also allows us to use the explorative strategy of  marking the moment. It brought the scene to life and it becomes more interesting for the audience to watch.

25/09/17

In today's lesson we focused on the party scene, Balcony scene and wedding. Working on the party scene, we went into different groups and our group took shots. At first it wasn't clear that me and romeo had just met, we just made a quick glimpse. However we improved this by marking the moment, we were in the center stage we paused, looked each other in the eyes. The people in the back became quiet. This was effective as this allows the audience to see the significance of Romeo and Juliet meeting. We show that we are interested in each other by our facial expressions. Romeo glared into my eyes and his body movement was still. I glared and had a slight grin, which was effective as it shows our audience that we adore each other.
For the balcony scene, we improvised with using a bench for our balcony to add levels making the scene more interesting. Romeo used spacial awareness and was able to project his voice throughout the whole theartre, this was effective as it allows Jeremy to project his emotion and allows the audience to engage more, and the scene becomes more real that Jeremy is in love with me. However Jeremy, sometimes slipped into the 'Shakespeare voice'. He can improve this by focusing on the context on why he's entering the scene rather than his voice and how he would naturally speak in this circumstance. I can also improve on the context of why I'm entering the balcony. e.g to catch fresh air, therefore I'm walking on with an objective rather than just walking on out of character. Also improving the balcony of using physical theartre of vines.

Later on in the day we focused on freeze frame, these were the three frames we thought were most important in the play, we then added another three. Unlike the first time we decided to add more levels throughout our freeze frames. for example in the fight scene I was lower down reaching for Tybalt and the fighting was at a higher height in the middle. This was effective as it draws the attention to the middle fight but also makes it more interesting to observe. Sharon then asked us to improve our freeze frames with our lines. To practice this we each took it in turns to stand on stage whilst someone sat at the back, to see if we could hear them. This exercise allowed us to channel not only our voice but emotion throughout the theartre. We also made sure each person in our group was over exaggerating their lines, we needed to see facial expressions and body movement. One person in particular who improved was Molly. To begin with, she wasn't projecting her voice and was standing still, but by the end of it I could see the anger in her face when projecting her lines, frowning her face and widening her mouth, she also began to move her hands more to show she was furious. This lesson was useful as it allowed us to focus on our spacial awareness on such a big stage, it also let me emphasise my emotion when delivering my lines.

On Wednesday, we focused mainly on improvisation. We had to make a semi-circle which was our proscenium arch 'stage'. Our scene was a park and only three actors were allowed on at one time, we had to make up a scenario and just continued to improvise anything. I enjoyed watching Elonca, she came on as a drug dealer. However, she over exaggerated her character which made it interesting, she bopped onto the scene and changed her voice so that it was deep. Elonca was going around to everyone to asking them if they wanted drugs her character was interesting to watch as it was the complete opposite of her which made it funny. The other two actors went along with it and were disgusted by her. When I came on I was a nine year old girl called Jessica, I portrayed myself as a kid by skipping into the scene my voice was very high and I was pronouncing words wrong. I was also miming playing in the park, I told a story that my mum had left me but we turned it comical my lip was trembling over dramatically. When I came off the stage my character was continued and we finished the improvisation with me running from the police. That improvisation exercise was really fun and useful as it teaches us to think as actors/actresses on the spot without coming out of role which is crucial, if we were to mess up in front of an audience we would stay calm and controlled. It also lets us work as an assemble to come up with story lines on the spot.

Throughout the week we continued on building the foundation for Romeo and Juliet. We were able to get through the whole play. We used an explorative strategy of Forum theatre when rehearsing suggesting different ways to make the scene more engaging. Rob also done this whilst working on the Mercutio and Tybalt fight we were able to add in choreography, Kamal and Abe worked together to perform a slick fight. I enjoyed watching this because I loved the way they portrayed their characters and the hate towards one another, this was shown through projecting a stern voice, facial expression and body movement. They used another explorative strategy of marking the moment when they moved in slow motion this was effective as the different dynamics kept me engaged throughout and adding climax.
Another actor that stood out to me was Gabriel who is playing Capulet. Whilst demanding that I (Juliet) must marry Paris, his delivery of the monologue was fantastic. He looked me straight in the eyes, showing the audience how intimidating he is, Gabriel also projected his lines through his diaphragm so his voice was stern and furious. Because he believed in what he was saying I myself on stage believed it as well. He also used a drama medium of gestures, he was pointing his finger, this emphasised how demanding and in control he was. However to improve this scene, he could add body movement and begin to walk towards me to almost threaten me to build more tension.
In the last bit of the play with the death of Romeo and Juliet, whilst Jeremy(Romeo) he is over me performing his monologue. However for the future rehearsals I believe he needs to have more emotion and more movement. For example, holding my body whilst delivering his lines, he could also begin to cry, to emphasise his dying love for me .I could also improve my monologue when i see Romeo dead by potentially screaming "Romeo!" to project the pain I am experiencing. Throughout the rehearsals I will begin crying with my dialogue to show the audience I have truly lost the love of my life.



week 2/10/17
Character Development
 Konstantin Stanislavski
He takes the approach that the actors should inhabit the role that they are playing. The actor shouldn’t just know what lines they need to say and the motivation for those lines. However they also know every detail of that character’s life offstage as well as onstage. This idea is very effective so that the character becomes reality. The way we speak and move should be reflected on how well we know our character. I am learning how to develop my character now in my own time I will look over the words and understand why Juliet is saying what she says, for example in the balcony scene to begin with I thought I could already see Romeo however as I was going through rehearsals I realised I could not see Romeo until the middle of the scene meaning this changed the whole way I began this scene. It emphasises to the audience the secrecy and risks Romeo is willing to take for me.


 movement and body language
Because I am Juliet and only 13 years old, my characters body movement should not be the same as how my parents would walk. My movement will be more immature than others around me, I will not have a complete upright posture. When the nurse calls me and I walk on stage, stomping my feet and I roll my eyes. I would say I have a teenage mentality  throughout the play, through the different facial expressions and mannerism.
We focused on improvisation throughout the lesson to grow a background information on our characters. We started with the first fight scene Nikaya and Shamsaul, had great characterisation. They portrayed the hatred between one another strongly, this was done by projecting their voices, their eyes were locked to one another and they used strong facial expressions e.g. frowning. They also used a good spacial awareness, getting in each others faces to show the hatred but then moving back to add dynamics and making sure other characters can be seen. We then also added in a short fight scene between Tybalt and Benvolio. They also all used their voices very well, they spoke at a steady pace and often fast to add a contrast between the characters, they also had a stern tone to express they're anger for one another. This is effective as it goes straight to the action and keeps the audience engaged.


3/10/17 Characterization and Improvisation
In today's session we focused on our individual characters, we were given the questions of who we were, where we lived and who our friends were. 

We then made an improvisation piece with Capulet, Tybalt, Romeo, Benvolio and Paris. Me (Juliet) and Malcom(Paris). We decided we would show a scene of how we first met. Paris was very forward with me, reaching for my hand and trying to make conversation and I was reserved as I didn't know I was going to marry, when the news gets broken to me I immediately leave whilst Paris is still positive. This exercise was useful as it helps me portray how I feel about Paris behind the scenes and throughout the play. Now that we have done this exercise, how I speak and feel about Paris can be related to our piece and will develop us as performers. This relates to Stanivalski idea of naturalism and builds a 3 dimensional character, instead of just acting/speaking our lines we now build a background story so that we can portray our characters more effectively.


4/10/17 Character Development
In today's lesson, we focused on improvisation skills to develop our characters. Me (Juliet) and Friar Lawrence showed a background story of how we met and our relationship. The first time I met her I was a little girl confessing my "sins". I had a high pitched voice and moved around a lot. The second time I came, I was a little bit older, asking the Friar why my mother said that I cant speak to the Montague's. I can use this for the play as I can show that I can express I don't have a problem with the Montague's at all. Finally, the last time I asked, I told the Friar I had fallen in love with a Montague. I can show in the performance I trust and care for the Friar as I say "Give me some present counsel I long to die", showing that I am quite dependent on the Friar's help.This exercise helped me as I can portray in the play the love and respect I have for the Friar through my gestures and the tone of my voice whilst speaking to her.

5/10/17
In today's lesson, we looked deeper into character development. We were given a piece of paper and we had to describe ourselves. Where I live (Mayfair), what I would wear (shirt, skirt,socks), what I dislike(the Capulet feud), who my friends are(Nurse and Friar Lawrence). We then took it in turns to be introduced, this was effective because, by using the Stanivalski idea we begin to get to know our characters ins and outs. We use the information we have created and we can then develop our character on how they would behave, speak to other characters and their own mannerism. We then focused on our 'objectives' as characters, my objective was to be happy and loved by Romeo. However, my supreme- objective is to be happy in general. A line in the play which supports this is "I have bought a mansion of love but not yet possessed it", emphasizing that I have so much love to give and I'm so loving, but yet unable to be with Romeo and have his love freely. Objectives are useful as they turn into actions which develops our characters behaviour, how we walk on and off stage and how we speak to other characters. We began to look at different theories that could help us whilst we are in role and developing our character. One idea is an emotional memory, whereby we would use a personal memory that triggers a certain emotion to perform our scene. I believe this is very effective as it allows the character to project real emotion in the play, they are able to connect with the audience more and it again links to Stanivalski's idea of bring the character to reality. Another idea was the magic 'if', this idea is to make us as actors think, what if this was to happen in real life how would we react to it. For example how would I react if my parents were forcing me to marry someone I wasn't in love with and channel that emotion to the scene. This is useful as we can emphasize each scene and make it a reality, therefore the play will begin to look like not only have we rehearsed our lines and added techniques, but begin to add in natural reactions which will make the play much more believable of every emotion. Finally, we have to think about our objectives coming on and off stage. This will ensure that we are not just walking on the stage neutral, but are already in role. For example, in the past when the nurse told me that Romeo wanted to marry me. After she finished her lines, I would just walk off. However, after thinking about my objectives I have improved this scene. When I walk off I have a massive smile on my face, a little skip and I talk to myself out of excitement. This improves the scene as now it doesn't just look like we've done our scene and then leave the stage but that I'm ecstatic about the news and I'm smiling with joy as I'm going to be a wife.


'FEC' lesson
9/10/17
In today's lesson rob gave us an objective 'FEC' which stands for focus, energy and concentration which we should be using throughout every rehearsal. We began by doing tongue twisters which are important to help articulate our words/vowels. Today we focused on building on the beginning to the party scene, we began adding in more detail throughout. Whilst the chorus is speaking we improved our still images to portray the hate between both houses from the beginning. Two people our holding Romeo and I apart, others are biting their thumbs whilst others are ready to fight. This is effective as the different freeze frames add interest from the very beginning and shows the story in just an image, resembling the feud. Actors are also showing naturalism through the scene and showing great character development e.g. Tybalt to begin with in the fight scene he would have anger in his face but I didnt believe this was his enemy, however as we have been going through I now see the anger in his facial expressions frowning constantly at Romeo, looking him dead in his eyes and his body language has improved using gestures such as pointing straight in Romeo's face, pushing him also, this is effective as the audience can now see the amount of anger Tybalt has. They change the tone of their voices sometimes quite to build the tension and other times raising their voice, highlighting the feud between both houses. Tybalt and Benvolio also improved their fight scene by having it at different paces, they begin in slow motion marking the moment, then speed up. These dynamics are entertaining as an audience to watch as it is building climax. Furthermore, for the party scene, once Romeo and I start talking everyone else freezes, this emphasises and important moment for the both of us and that the audiences attention should be to us only. We then practiced in the theatre with the lights at the beginning to begin making progress on the lighting.






Visit to the Conway Hall

We went to the Conway Hall to do a group workshop with members from the Shakespeare's school festival. We first started with two warm ups. The first was to over exaggerate saying different foods. For example Cucumber, Pineapple, Banana and Orange. We added an action with these and this exercise was helping us to articulate our words and allow us to pronounce them properly, also allowing us to warm up the body. We then played a game where William would call out an order and we would follow. These actions consisted of go, stop, clap and jump, these then got harder as we had to do the opposite of each. This exercise was to switch our brains on and have a higher attention spam and also stay focused.
The members then gave us 5 top tips on performing:

• The first was 'Land the line' therefore we must be able to project our voices whether someone is sitting in the front or sitting at the back but not forgetting to articulate our words. For example in our play when I say "O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?" I need to be able to project my voice to the back row  landing my line in this scene will express my emotion and seeing a variation of emotions which is more interesting for the audience.
• Secondly 'stay in character', this means when we are walking onto the stage we should already be in character and even when we are leaving the stage. In scene 7 I would walk on stage in neutral and then begin my lines, however I needed an objective to be going towards the balcony so I changed it to me going out to get some fresh air and I am also yawning, this now looks more professional as I am not only acting when I have lines but also an inner monologue throughout.
• Then there is 'Embrace the audience', letting the audience be our magnet, that way we are not at the back of the stage performing but rather closer to the audience so they can engage more. In scene 5 when Romeo and I first meet in the party scene, we should be centre downstage to show the significance of our meeting and we can pull the audience into our scene.
• Fourth is ' Avoid the kiss and kill position' whereby the characters are standing opposite each other very close; but they are not going to kiss or kill anyone. It is useful to avoid this as by moving further way from one another it makes the dialogue more exciting and the audience are able to see their facial expressions. In scene 10 when I am waiting for the nurses news, when she eventually comes we are standing right next to each other which didn't look interesting to watch. However, we changed it by me pacing up and down the stage it shows the audience how impatient I am to hear the news, rather than us both standing still.
• Finally, 'Cheat with your feet', therefore your feet face the audience and you just move your head which allows you to say your dialogue towards the audience, this also allows the audience to see your facial expressions at all times. In scene 17, at times I had my back towards the audience, but we changed it so that although I was speaking out towards the audience my face would sometimes turn so that you could still see my reaction and the fact I cant stand Paris.

I enjoyed this workshop as I have now learnt 5 simple tips that makes a big difference on a performance, I will definitely focus on these and use them as much as possible. I found these 5 tips extremely useful as it will develop me as a character, this also taught me how to engage with the audience more whilst performing my monologue.

We then both showed our pieces to one another. I enjoyed watching the other schools performance of Macbeth, there use of physical theatre was used well whilst creating a tornado for the witches. They also used slow motion well during the fight scene it added a more intense feeling and I was waiting to see what happened next. They also started with Lady Macbeth lying dead first, which was a diverse way of starting the play as we are all intrigued to know who is on the floor. However, one thing they could work on is emphasising their facial expressions during the fight scene to emphasise their hate for one another.
We then went on to developing the first few scenes of our scene. So instead of walking on from the back of the stage into our freeze frames, We were already in character walking the streets of Verona and then once the chorus started talking we move into our images. This improvement was also effective as it sets the scene clearly and lets the audience know our characters a little before the play starts. We then focused on our freeze frames, particularly our facial expressions and body movement exaggerating our facial expressions to emphasise the hate between each house. I improved mine by placing my hand on my heart, staring into Romeo's eyes, this if effective as you can see the love I have for Romeo in just one image. Once the Prince starts her monologue all the citizens rather then just the characters in that scene go onto the stage, we then either agree with what the prince is saying or we disagree, through quite sound and facial expressions. This was also useful as it shows the audience a bit about the character, whether they want to keep the piece or just want to cause chaos.

Overall, I found this workshop very useful as it helped me develop more understanding to use the stage, space and voice. It also taught me different warm up exercises that I am able to use before a performance and I will definitely develop my character deeper through this, I am excited to see the tips we have gained from this workshop used in rehearsals.

Back from half term we continued to build on the play after the party scene. For the balcony scene we added in physical theartre where Abe and Dillon are kneeling with their hands in front to create a balcony. This has added more reality to the scene and I am no longer just standing but have something to lean over. I've also added in stage whisper on the balcony, this scene has now become more realistic as I'm trying to hide from everyone.
In today's lesson we ran through the whole play to recall everything, we were then given feedback to n focus on. First was the assemble, to have care on and off of stage and being able to focus on rehearsal without talking. Furthermore, being able to use our eyes more by this I mean looking at who we are speaking to and also looking out towards the audience. this is effective as if we were not acting we would be looking at the people we were speaking to therefore it should be the same in the play. The next is pace, when we are performing our dialogue to not speak to quickly because the energy can be lost. It is better to take our time so that the energy and meaning is behind the lines. Moreover, we need to be thinking by this I mean playing the moment and being able to react off what each other are doing. We also need to work on our articulation, as well as pronouncing our words right we must be able to maintain not falling back into Shakespearean voices. We also need to take responsibility by playing around with our roles and adding in our interpretation rather than just the directors notes. Finally, we need to cheat with our feet, spacing and not standing directly towards the character and also look forward. In the second half of the day we received more feedback after running from the top. We all need to become more confident with our roles and become are character even more. In the next lesson we are going to run it 'over the top' because that's how we can bring more life and energy. In one of my scenes when I say 'my only love sprung from my only hate' and 'O ancient damination...'  I need to direct that to the audience so that I am engaging with the audience.


As I've been,  rehearsing and observing everyone there is a few scenes that have enjoyed watching. Tybalt's fighting scene has developed from when they first started, they have added in slow motion in some of their moves. This is effective as it marks the significant moment of when Mercutio dies. Tybalt and Mercutio also use good facial expressions when they are fighting, gritting their teeth looking into each others eyes, they also move around in a circle slowly before getting into the action, therefore the audience is waiting for the climax to come and it adds tension. The other scene I also like is Mercutio's dancing before the party scene, I believe its adds to  his character as he is confident and self-centred and believes he is the best. He  is also good in his last fight scene,  he looks Tybalt dead in his eyes to be intimidating and he begins to frown which shows the anger in his face.


I also like working with Jeremy in the balcony scene as he gazes into my eyes at all times, emphasizing that he is in ore by me. When the nurse calls me I begin to then stage whisper at Romeo so that the scene becomes more realistic that we don't want to get caught.  I have also improved on my articulation and take my time when saying my monologue so  that the audience can feel every emotion that I am feeling.  I also enjoy Friar Lawrence's' first scene, Kenya has shown great  character development. When Romeo explains his love for Juliet she looks out to all the audience mouth wide open with her hands on her face, this is very effective as it shows she is engaging with an audience and breaking the fourth wall. At all times Friar Lawrence's facial expressions are reacting to what Romeo says at all times, which shows she is thinking about her character at all time and the body movements that they have. I have began to develop my scene when I find Romeo dead, at first I would just say my lines with emotion in my voice, which I myself didn't believe that I had just lost my one and only love. Therefore develop this scene, I have begun to cry out Romeo's name I also lay on his chest and weep to make it a more believable the audience and I want them to also feel  the heartache I am experiencing.




The visit to the shaw Theatre 

Today, we were given the privilege of performing in the Shaw Theatre. We ran through the whole play and I saw a big improvement. By this I mean I myself was beginning to project my voice throughout the theatre. Taking Rob's feedback I learnt not to just wonder with my eyes but rather look out into the audience whilst delivering my monologues to make a connection with the audience. Friar Lawrence, also projected her voice thoroughly throughout the audience, she also shows she is breaking the fourth wall by making eye contact with the audience, which is effective as she allows the audience to see her every emotion. I also improved scene 15 where my parents were forcing me to marry Paris. Instead of just standing there I now respond to every bit of aggression Capulet gives me. I also go towards my parents for comfort and they walk away from me, this has improved the scene as we now see the reality of a child who has no relationship with her parents. We also worked on spacial awareness in the theatre, we were avoiding the kiss or kill position at all times, by this I mean standing closely next to a character when they are not about to kiss or kill. Because we are acting we feel we need to stand close to one another but whilst performing the further away we stand we are focusing on spacial awareness and fills up the stage.




Plan for the last rehearsal
We have now arranged a plan for the next week coming up to our rehearsal *get picture* this is helping us as an assemble to become more professional an organized. We also worked on the last scene to make it more believable that the city has just witnessed a tragedy. Friar Lawrence, Capulet and Lady Capulet are on their knees next to me in freeze frames before they speak. The levels are effective as in real life parents would not just be standing there in a line speaking but rather in emotionally agony. It is also more interesting for an audience to watch. The freeze frames are effective as it captures the emotional agony that the parents are experiencing and the shock that Friar Lawrence is going through. We also thought  about spacial awareness in this scene we needed to make sure that nobody was being blocked. Making sure everyone's power in the scene is equal as if you are standing down stage you usually have more power (more concentrated on)and if you are upstage you have less power in the scene. Therefore, because all the main characters are equally spaced in the middle, representing the unity of the two houses.


On Thursday we began going from the party scene on wards and developing and detailing every scene. We added in a dance to the party scene, boys on one side and girls on another we then cross over each other and I begin to dance around Romeo. This development is effective as it now sets the scene, it also brings it to life and a better reason for me to see Romeo. I believe within the scene the transitions are much better, for example when I dance past Romeo the nurse is already in position to be asked the question, which not only makes it cleaner but allows us to cut down time overall and that can be used in other longer scenes. We also added in a bit more detail for the balcony scene, although Romeo is in complete ore over Juliet, this wasn't being shown, therefore Romeo began to be over dramatic in his movement and body language. When i began to speak he feel to the floor, rolled over and placed his head in his hands. This was effective because not only did it add a comical side to the scene but is now believable for the audience to see how much he adores Juliet already. To finish the characters began working on the fight scene, thinking about their spacial awareness on stage and making sure each character was not blocking. We will carry on that scene in our next lesson.
Later on, Sharon wanted us to run through the whole play with everything we had added in. She said that the play was very good overall and that it was coming together very nicely. Sharon also mentioned that the energy in each scene was rising and great character developing. However, what I need to work on especially is the delivery of the lines and looking closely at the punctuation. This mean that a comma or a full stop etc. was when i was meant to pause or that is the end of the sentence, not the end of the line on my paragraph. Therefore, over the weekend I will read through my script and begin to start training myself on when to stop and pause rather than just speaking the lines.

In Monday's lessons we continued to work from the fighting scene to the end, focusing on each scene in detail. The first scene we worked on was scene.. where Juliet is told Tybalt is dead and Romeo is banished. To show a contrast of emotion through this scene, when i first start my dialogue "O come gentle night", my facial expressions is full with smiles and big body movements. However when the news gets broken, I loose every happy expression in my face and now my face is in shock. I done this by opening my mouth slightly, my body is still, I am staring and then slowly move my head to face forward. This scene is effective as up to that point, I have been happily in love then at this point we begin to see another side in my character begin to come out. This scene is also effective, as it is now more believable to watch, the pauses are now adding more realism to the scene. I am also beginning to use the 'O's' more effectively to express the pain and heartache I'm experiencing. The Nurse also shows much more expression and emotion, for example she is shocked by my words and pulls me to one side "will you speak well of him that is your husband", adding a pause I am able to build up emotion to then say my next lines and the audience are able to see the heartache. In scene... When Romeo and I have spent the night together, we have now expressed that in this scene by me starting off on the floor doing my hair and fixing myself as Romeo creeps up behind me. This little scene before the dialogue gives the audience some understanding of what is going on and it also brings the scene to life.We've also added in levels where Romeo is on the floor and we are messing around, highlighting are fun love we are experiencing. the levels also make it more interesting to watch for  the audience. In scene.. where Capulet and Lady Capulet force me to marry Paris, I am beginning to show my immature features and characteristics in my monologue. I shout "He shall not make me a joyful bride", my body language is very strong, throwing my arms back, stomping my feet and moving my head more. This is effective as the audience can see my anger but also realize by my immature actions I am too young to marry anyone. We then added tension, as I begin to storm out my room Capulet comes in and everybody goes silent, I stand dead still as if I'm frozen by his authority. He begins his Monologue and as I go to speak he always cuts me, this emphasizes he does not care about my opinion on my life, but rather just listens to himself. we also thought about the spacial awareness in this scene having each character at different places on the stage, which is useful as it lets the audience in to this scene and becomes more tension filled.

In Tuesday's lesson, we ran through the play until scene 13 where I find out Romeo is banished. We were working on coming on stage swiftly, we were also working in the theatre with the lighting to allow us to become more comfortable with the queues and light changes. We were also working in costume to allow us to also get comfortable in moving in our costume.
On Wednesday we worked on individual scenes that we as a class thought needed working on. We first focused on scene 12 where Tybalt and Mercutio dies. We felt the scene wasn't realistic enough and that the characters were not reacting well enough to what was happening. Firstly, when Mercutio says "O calm, dishonourable.." He pushes Dillon did not react to this therefore, we told him to go and run into Mercutio then Benvolio pushes him back which then gives them a reason to have tension by looking at each other in the eyes and moving around slowly, which is effective as it is growing climax and the audience will be waiting for something to happen. We then worked on both death's first by mercutio and Tybalt running into each other and Romeo leaps in front, It gave the scene more energy and became more interesting as before the death looked a bit awkward. We then worked on scene 21 the final death scene. We focused on making Jeremy become emotional  instead of just speaking his lines. He improved massively in the rehearsals, he now picks me up, touches my face and he holds me. This is effective as it shows the audience how much he is hurting and how much he cares for me, it now looks believable that he has lost his wife.




On Thursday we were just going over the play and making sure our entrances and exits were slick. We were also performing in costume and using props so that we were getting use to the queues and working with them. For example in scene 7 which is the balcony scene, where I use flowers and before I would just say my line "what's in a name that which we call a rose" I can now emphasize this by picking up the rose and smelling it. Also at the end I throw the rose to Romeo, this is effective as it adds a more realistic feel to the scene and the rose is symbolic of my love for Romeo which he uses for the wedding scene. However, the people backstage needed to work on being quite because they were able to be heard and some were missing their queues which was slowing down our rehearsal. Although I think as we get closer peoples focus will much better.




Performance Day
We had to meet at the Shaw Theatre for 8:45am for our tech rehearsals. I enjoyed the tech run it was fun to get to finally run through with all the lighting and it gives me feel of what I could be potentially doing in the future. We then done a dress rehearsal and ran it from the top, I felt we all done very well as everyone was projecting their voices and using the space well. The feedback we got was that some actors needed to be louder, to have more intent whilst coming on and off stage. For example, when I come on stage with "O come gentle night" instead of just walking in neutral onto the stage, I must already be in character as I must show my intentions at all times, we were the last to perform and I was so happy with the performance.


Things that went well:
Everyone projected their voices clearly one person who projected their voice was Abe who played Tybalt in scene 12 he shouts "Thou, wretched boy, shalt with him hence." Tybalt is shouting in Romeo's face which expresses his anger and hate towards Romeo and I truly believe his hate for them. Gabriel also projected his voice in scene 16 Capulet says "Speak not, reply not, do not answer me." As we are halfway through the play some of the audience may be beginning to switch off, however this scene had a lot of tension, Gabriel's excellent projection of voice draws the audience in and we see how cruel and not understanding Capulet really is.

Everyone used the space well and was closer to the front of the stage but before we used to be more to the back of the stage. In scene 17 Friar Lawrence, Paris and Juliet where we are in Lawrence's cell. To begin with we struggles as we always ended up in the kiss or kill position although, we cheated it by as I walked on the stage I'm trying to get away from Paris so I stood downstage left. Friar Lawrence was more center stage with Paris just in front. This made the scene more interesting as we were all spaced out and it expressed that I didn't want to be near Paris.


We were all swiftly on and off stage never leaving a dead stage. For example in scene 11 when Romeo and Juliet just marry we exit upstage left and then the beginning of scene 12 Benvolio and Mercutio entered downstage left therefore there is never a dead stage so that the audience is always engaged and never waiting for another scene.


One of the workers for the Shakespeare school festival Louis also gave us feedback, he said the emotions throughout the performance being able to switch from comedy to heart ache was very good. This could be shown in scene 13 where I have just found out Tybalt is dead and I showed a lot of heartache and pain whereas it was quickly changed in scene 16 when me and Romeo have just spent the night together, he also said we projected our voices very well.


What we could have improved:
The way people came on and off stage, making sure that as a character is going off another character is not coming on the same was as them so that they never cross. We could also use more props such as in the fight we could of had knifes to bring the scene more to life.



From this experience I have learnt a lot as an actress. I was taught different techniques such as stanisvlaski's ideas of emotional memory's to help me in scenes. It has given me the confidence to go forward and hopefully perform in other theatre's. I came into this course with only a few skills but have been able to gain more knowledge and built on my skills. I have proven to myself that I am able to work within a given time frame with things such as lines, costumes etc. I will use everything and take it on board such as the 5 tips from the workshop, I'm excited to see what we do in the future.





Practioners  

Antonin Artaud
Artaud, is considered one of the most influential figures in the evolution of modern drama theory. He is associated with surrealist writers, artists and experimental theatre groups in Paris 1920s. When political differences resulted in his break from surrealists he founded the theatre Alfred Jarry with Roger Vitrac and Robert Aron. He created the Theory of cruelty- this is an intense theatrical experience combined elaborate props, magic tricks, special lighting, primitive gestures and articulation.
He used various themes with his work such as: Rape, torture and murder to shock the audience into confronting the base elements of life. One of his plays were called 'Les Cenci', where a man rapes his daughter then, the father was murdered.
This practioner links to our production of Romeo and Juliet as it captures the harsh reality of life. Tybalt and Mercutio are murdered, Artaud showed the reality of what was happening in everyday life of murder. A purpose of a play is to have some sort of meaning, Artaud liked to capture harsh reality that some audience members were not able to handle. His theory has stayed relevant throughout generations as although Romeo and Juliet were set up in the Elizabethan era, murder and rape was happening during those times, and even in modern theatre stories of murder are still being shown.

Bertolt Brecht
Epic theatre departed from the conventions of theatrical illusion. Brecht developed drama as a social and ideological forum for leftist causes. He was influenced by Chinese theatre and Karl Marx, he brought out dynamic theatrical styles to express his views he made and shaped theatre in a way, revolutionary. When naturalistic theatre was at its height he wanted to make his audience think and famously said that theatre audiences "hang up their brains with their hats in the cloakroom".  He was against Cathartic theatre. By this I mean... If the audience become emotionally involved they loose ability to think and judge. Brecht wanted the audience objective distant from emotions, they will be able to see social comments or issues, however the presentation of real life but not the real life itself. Brecht aimed to make the audience distance themselves from emotional involvement. In our production of Romeo and Juliet, I aim to do the opposite of Brecht's ideas I want the audience to come on this journey of emotions with me. When me and Romeo begin to fall in love and get married, I hope the audience will feel happy for us. Then as the play goes along I want their emotion to eventually turn to sad, this is because I want my character to be as natural as possible and believable, therefore if my character is believable the audience should feel some sort of emotion.

Augusto Boal
Brazilian director, writer and politician Augusto Boal created the theory of Theatre of the oppressed which provided tools for people to explore collective struggles. Theatre of oppressed is a range of theatre techniques and games that seeks to motivate people, restore true dialogue and create space for participants to rehearse taking action. Boal use of visual techniques help bond the audience with performer. He uses complex issues around oppression social and political change and isolation. The aim of Augusto's theatre was to energise participants so they become more than just spectators but rather exploring and transforming the reality in which they are living. I agree with Boal's idea and I will begin to research some of his techniques which I can  then use myself to bond with the audience. In the production I sometimes have to talk out to the audience therefore not  only will I act but now begin to think about the skills I will use behind it.