Introduction to professional practice

Since the beginning of the rehearsals I have seen a great development on myself. Before the course I had never been taught vocal warm ups, now I have a wide range of vocal warm ups to choose from. This has benefited me also as I now focus on articulating my words whereas before the pronunciation of my words were not clear. I have learnt different skills which make me think deeper about my character and unlike before, instead of just learning my lines and acting. I've begun to focus on really becoming and learning my character e.g. her age would affect how she walks, speaks and stands etc. Furthermore, practicing going from neutral to my character to portray the difference from myself to my character. Whilst at the Shakespeare workshop learning the 5 crucial tips whilst 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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

 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.For example 'cheat with your feet' in scene... where the nurse tells me Romeo is banished, this then allows me to make sure everyone can see my side profile so that the audience see's the emotion and pain i am going through. 
 was also helpful as it taught me what to do and what not to do on stage, and how 5 tips can help improve my skills , also making me become more aware when performing. 


Things I need to work on

My tutor Rob, informed me on things I can work on through the development of our performance. I need to work on the projection of my voice in the theartre, this could be done by using the vocal exercises' I have learnt during this course. One that could be useful is when we pretend to hold a heavy bucket leaning down to one side, then we begin saying "whoaa" and as we throw the bucket we get louder and louder. This is useful as it helps me project my voice through my diaphragm rather than my throat. I also need to work on the pace of my monologues, making sure I take my time in each one and get every emotion across. For example in the balcony scene, I have a few long monologue's, therefore in my own time I  need to read over them and look for where the punctuation is which will allow me to pause and pace myself.


Time Frame

We've had just over two months to rehearse for Romeo and Juliet, we have been working well within the time given. Our tutors told us that we must be off script two weeks before the play which  I managed to achieve, I've also memorized all the entrances and exits and which scene I  need to come on, to ensure my scenes are on swiftly never leaving a dead stage. For example after the nurse finds out Romeo does want to marry me and they are walking off, its my responsibility to be on stage otherwise it is a dead stage, therefore learning when I need to come on it is crucial. We also need to begin to think about our costumes and how our clothes will represent us. I want to wear an outfit that expresses I am a rich Capulet, but also a spoilt young girl. I had in mind, A white blouse, with a sort of skater skirt, long socks and loathers.


Warm ups

It is important for actors to warm up physically and vocally for many reasons. It is important to have physical warm ups because it allows us to work on your focus and concentration. Paying attention to your breathing and feeling in your body and muscles. Doing a physical warm up reduces tension throughout the whole body. Tension and stress can stop you from breathing, thinking, feeling and responding which is essential for actors. Because the voice is in the body it is important to prepare your vocal apparatus.
It is also important to do voice warm ups, the goal is to release tension. It is good to prepare the vocal apparatus and work your range. Voice warm ups are also important as it helps with articulation.
One warm up I enjoy doing is, over the top chewing and humming then exaggerating chewing and sticking our tongue out. This voice warm up is useful and it warms the jaw muscles out and also by stretching the tongue it helps with pronunciation and articulation. A physical warm up I enjoy is, walking around the room, our teacher can tell us to 'stop', 'go', 'change direction' and also remembering to fill the space. This is a helpful exercise as it allows me to get my brain in focus and in gear ready for the lesson.


Sensitivity to individual needs


I've begun to show sensitivity to individual  needs, thinking deeply about what is going on in each scene and my inner monologue throughout. Two scenes that are particularly important is when I find out Romeo is banished and when Romeo is dead. I will use the technique of Stanisvlaski's emotional memory, by this I mean I will use a personal memory that makes me feel upset and therefore it will reflect and be projected through my scenes. To begin with I wasn't quite sure which emotional memory to use as I thought it didn't quite fit the scene. I also felt a bit awkward performing such an emotional scene in rehearsals and having everyone watching. Therefore, I felt I was just saying lines rather than the acting with it.  However, I'm glad I have come past that short stage, I began to use the idea that what if I saw my loved one lying there and how I would react. As I was rehearsing I felt I wasn't really using Stanisvlaski's concept of an emotional memory, although the scene and my emotions were improving drastically. I've added in pauses, screams, less facial expressions to begin with to show my shock and horror but later on in the scene we see the pain I'm experiencing. Now I will begin to use a personal memory to me of when my friend passed away and be able to channel those emotions in the scene. I can also use this in scene... where I find out Romeo is banished, to begin with I didn't use any memory but as we went through rehearsals I found using a memory was much more easier. Therefore I decided to use the same memory as before, since then I have seen an improvement on my scene. I begin to breathe heavier and quicker, my voice is shaking and my facial expressions show how devastated I was.

 Safety of the production

 It is important to have regular safety meetings with the workers identifying situations that may be unhealthy or unsafe for workers. Also considering and responding to health and safety from cast and crew. Participating in regular workplace inspections is also important.

Orientation

 All workers must be given an orientation for things such as:

• fire exit route/ marshaling areas
• Location of first aid kit
• Fire extinguishers 
• how to report accidents

Safety inspections

Inspections should be conducted by supervisor and a work health and safety representative

• Emergency equipment and safety routes
• Backstage lighting
• Tripping hazards
• Platforms and stairs
• Flown items
• Electrics
• Crew and work practice 

Risk assessment- Risk/solution

1.  Electric shock- regular maintenance of equipment. Check wiring, plugs, sockets.Ensure power is off when replacing fuses. 
2.  Circuit overload-Technicians and teaching staff must be familiar with power ratings of luminaries and circuits. .
3.  Burns-Use protective gloves when focusing luminaries.When replacing Tungsten halogen lamps, handle new lamp in its plastic sleeve to avoid damage to lamp from finger sweat/grease.
4.  Overhead objects- Regular check on suspension of luminaires, projection screen etc. Safety chains/secondary suspension systems must be in place.Wire rope suspensions to be correctly fitted. Colour frames to be fitted correctly. Luminaires not be moved/adjusted or colour frames fitted when people underneath. 
5. Working at heights-o not work at height if you suffer from vertigo. Wear safety helmet. Take care with low beams in the roof. Should be insured to work at heights. No alone working. Catwalk must be kept tidy, any cables neatly secured to avoid risk of tripping. Only certified persons may use the tallescope.

     We also need to use safety for our own production of Juliet here is a list:

• We must know where the fire exits are in case of an emergency.
• Being careful at the wings of the stage as it will be dark on the night, so making sure not to bump into anyone. This can be avoided if the people back stage stay in a line away from the stage.
• There is going to be, three different schools on the day and it is going to be packed backstage, so its ensuring  everybody keeps a steady pace and pays attention to where they are going. 
• Also the we will not be able to see the end of the stage because the light will be so bright.Therefore, on the rehearsal at the theatre we must learn how far down stage we are going to so we do not fall. 
• There are also lots of buttons back stage, so making sure we do not touch any as we do not know what that button is controlling. 
• If there is a blackout and we have to come off stage sometimes it is hard to see the wings, to solve this we can stick white tape on the floor to direct us. 

      The national Theatre   

    The National Theatre company have a variety of warm up  videos to help performers. These                were two I picked, a voice resonance warm up and a breathing warm up. The first is working on      a voice resonance, resonance means the quality of a sound being deep, full and reverberating whereby th  the majority of the video was based on humming. First they just hummed, patting their chest, ribs, ba back and hips, which gave them a buzz through their bodies and fill voice. They then shaked their ent entire body continuing humming to loosen up the voice through the body. Next they dropped their he heads to their chest, humming sound to the floor and playing around with the pitch then lifting their head and into the distance. Lastly, was a high head hum sliding it down and changing pitch throughout the body, they were told to think about the sound going into the audience. I have found this video useful as it has taught me different exercises to us on my voice not just for the throat, jaw or diaphragm but also, loosening up your voice through the entire body and working on a range of pitches for the performance.
       I use some of the warm ups that are given in the first video. One is when you drop your head           to your chest and start by saying sounds to the floor. For me I say random lines from the script,           one in particular I use is the balcony scene. Learning how to project my voice through the whole          theatre, " Tis but thy name that tis thy enemy" this warm up allows me to focus on projecting my        voice, so that although my head is at the floor my voice still carries. I am to doing  this exercise          in my free time( rehearsals at home) or before we rehearse at college.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBoOyCLlCcU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-_hoG4nec

 To begin, they put their hands above their heads and stretched side to side and rotated, which opens up the ribs. Then they leaned over from waist upwards, which allowed them to focus on the breath and breathing. Then crouched down on his knees, focusing on deep breaths through the body especially in the stomach and back. To continue, they took three long breaths on a 'S' sound. Which was useful as it allowed the organization of breathing muscles. They then lied on their back and used their fingers to massage the jaw and muscle in front of their ear. Which allows them to contact lung breath. Whilst on the floor the made a 'Z' sound making the voice come through the body until it reaches the tip of the tongue. Finally, to make sure they feel the support of breath they count to ten to feel the difference. From this video I have learnt, that breathing warm ups organise the breathing muscles and extend capacity of the breath. This will be useful in the play as will relax my breathing before I go on sage as I will be slightly nervous. As these exercises allow you to focus on your breathing it may also help with my longer monologues, taking breathes at the right time and knowing how to pace myself. I will defiantly will be using some of these techniques.
 One warm up i can use from this video is when they are crouched down on their knees and three long 'S' sounds. As this exercise helps you focus on your breath around the body, this is useful to me in scene... when Juliet sees Romeo dead.  In my monologue I say "what's her closed in my true loves hand", I am sitting next to Romeo therefore I need to be able to focus on pouring out emotion but also my breathing so I deliver. Likewise, I do these warm ups in my rehearsal at home or at the college. 


References
 http://www.nsg.northants.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/10/Theatre-Performance-areas-Risk-assessment.pdf
 RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THEATRE PERFORMANCE AREAS - Theatre-Performance-areas-Risk-assessment.pdf