UAL PRINCIPLES OF PERFORMANCE - OPENING DOORS

Welcome to my evaluation of my time spent working on ‘Opening Doors’ a production by Keith Badham, who is along with being a writer, a director and performer. Badham’s work is rather relatable and connects to an audience, as he portrays realistic occurrences in life, and sometimes tabooer and niche subjects. This show follows many different stories of individual characters; wavering from birth to death, and everything in between.

Scripts for this performance were given out on the 17^th of September and it really pushed our class to work as an ensemble. As a whole, this piece lasted approximately 20 minutes- though we did spend over a month devising and perfecting it. Rehearsals during college would run all week, from Monday through Thursday and often we would stay back after college hours and rehearse.

TASK ONE- WARM UPS

As an actor, you need to ensure you are fully prepared for your performances. To do so, warmups help put you in the right headspace- along with physically warming up your body, voice and mind.

An example of a warmup which was a personal favourite was called ‘Object in the Middle’, we did this with Kelly. The principle of this, is there is an inanimate object in the middle (for ours we used a small pasta pot) and when somebody is in the middle they are given an emotion- they then need to improvise a small performance of them reading the instructions with the given emotion. A few exemplars of emotions different actors used includes, but is not limited to fear, happiness, sadness and anger. This warmup is effective as it got the ensemble in a upbeat mood, while also pushing our devising and improvising skills. Additionally, it was helpful to see different portrayals of a range of emotions.

Another great example of a warmup, which was used frequently was tongue twisters, which we did regularly with Sara. This is particularly beneficial as it warms our vocals up and our voices are prepared to perform.  We studied various different tongue twisters, but we didn’t forget some of the most popularised ones: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, she sells seashells by the seashore, etc. This warmup is advantageous as it helped us annunciate words and phrases more proper- many of our fellow actors have stronger and thicker accents, as do I, this pushed us to train our vocals and speech. With certain letters, like ‘T’ it is common for us to skip the proper speech- but with the help of the tongue twisters we soon learned to focus harder on our speaking. As well as that, we had some more challenging ones, which definitely got the ensemble to engage with each other. In conclusion, I think tongue twisters are a perfect warmup, as it gets everybody engaged thoroughly and is a fantastic vocal warmup.

Now, for this last example I’m going to explain that we did together, it’s possibly everybody’s favourite…Splat. This game is simple, yet effective for literally everybody, of every age. To play this, the ensemble must stand in a circle (and make sure to distance!). The second part to this, which is crucial, is that a player must be selected to stand in the middle- this person decides everybody’s fate. They will stand directly in the middle, and point at a random person and shout “SPLAT!”. The player who is pointed at must now crouch to the floor quickly, while the people on the left and right of them must point at each other and try say “SPLAT!” before the other. Whoever says it last, is out. After that, the person who is crouched may return to stand and continue with the game. The person in the middle will continue to dictate this, until only two players remain in the game. When this is in action, the person who was in the middle will pick a random word, whether it be a fruit, a place, etc and the two remaining players will stand back to back. The middle player will say a bunch of random words and the two remaining participators will take a step with each new word, until the middle player says the decided word; once they say this the players must turn around and try “SPLAT!” each other before the other does. Who ever is fastest wins. This is a perfect warmup and it gets everybody in the zone and gets them hyped up for the day.

A task we were given was to come up with our own warm up which would benefit the ensemble. The one I went for was a classic game I used to play when I went to PQA. It’s called ‘Evolution’ and one of my theatre teachers taught our ensemble it. This principle of this game is to get to the highest level of evolution the quickest. With each stage you reach, and there is four, you must find a partner who is the same as you. You have your hands behind your back, and you both have to try hold up the same number, if you do then you level up. If not, you level down. You continue this until somebody reaches the top level. This is an incredible warmup as it gets everybody engaged with each other and you get to work with everybody in your ensemble.

TASK 2- REHEARSAL DIARY

Each week I documented the progress and events of rehearsing; from the ups to the downs and the drama to the laughs.

WEEK ONE:

I actually started the course a couple of days later that some of the class due to having to last minute enrol- which means I did miss the ice breakers and the introductions which was very nerve racking for me. Technically, this should be week two buts its my week one. Confusing right? However, when I did enter the class I had Kieran and I got put into a group with a few others, and I managed to introduce myself to them although that was our only lesson of the day. We were working on a sheet and trying to label the stage and where everything was, which was eventful to say the least. However this let me ease into the work ethic and talk to new people. During this week we also spoke to Tom and had some work with vocals and posture, which is good for me because my posture is absolutely atrocious. We also spoke about our acting experiences and what we want to do in the future, it was nice hearing everybody’s aspirations and I have zero doubt my ensemble is going to do amazing things.

WEEK TWO:

We have received a script! I’m super excited to start working on this, as it looks and sounds brilliant so far, everybody is performing amazingly. We began casting it and reading through and everybody began coming out of there shells more. For this performance, I have been given the role of the Bully and the Girl. I also am Customer 2 and unnamed Door Keeper. The characters are all diverse which is a good push as an actor, as I have to portray many emotions and backstories to the audience. Kieran took us to the LRC and we all created character profiles for the people we play which definitely helped me shape my characters. We were also allowed to direct and block some of the scenes ourselves which was challenging and fun- it allowed us to really work as an ensemble and bring any visions to life.

WEEK THREE:

A lot of hard work and dedication is being put into the show as the date creeps closer. We have been working in the theatre and Tom came and cut out some parts as the transitions weren’t running smoothly- so nobody left stage. This cut the time down and made it run a lot more professionally. Kelly and Tom both gave us tips and pointers and after a good few hours of rehearsal it ran much more efficient and looked miles better. Within this time, Kieran also began to work on the lighting for our scenes, which really brought it to life.

WEEK FOUR:

At this current point, practically everybody is off script which has made running it a lot easier and more focused. We have been working with Sara on vocal warmups which has been very beneficial due to our heavy accents. We also did some line run throughs which was really effective. We have been rehearsing in the theatre for a few hours before musical theatre need it- it has been helpful being in the theatre as it feels like I’m performing in front of an audience. However, when we went upstairs things went south. And I mean it went completely wrong. We had went upstairs into the dance studio to rehearse, with the notion we would just run the show. However- calamity ensued. Drama. So much drama. People lost focus, and I was sick of it and tried to get people back on track, nothing was working. Things blown out of proportion. People were taking the rehearsal serious and some people weren’t and it was putting a damper on the run. Unnecessary comments were made, and digs were being thrown at people. It got too far out of hand, and I was particularly overwhelmed and had to remove myself from the situation. In the end, Kelly had to be called from her class to help sort the situation, which definitely wasn’t ideal for her. We then found out this wouldn’t be a live performance, but a film, due to COVID-19.

WEEK FIVE:

This is the final week of Opening Doors, and we are now filming it. In my opinion, I think given the obstacles faced with the drama, stress and now having to film it, it went successfully. The filming process has been long but fun. It was good to get to know the filming process and get more familiar with it, especially in times like these. Everybody performed amazingly, and it went brilliantly. I am so excited for our next project and cant wait to keep working with my ensemble.

TASK THREE- CHARACTER STUDY

For this task, we had to create character profiles for each of our characters. Personally, I loved this task as I have always enjoyed writing, and that’s why I managed to grab an A in English. Its always been a passion of mine, so it was nice to put it to use and get creative. It was also helpful in terms of being able to really bring our characters to life.

Unnumbered Door Keeper:

Name: Fleur Harrison

Age: 36

Date of Birth: June 14^th 1984

Place of Birth: Manchester, UK

Current Residence: London, UK

Occupation: CEO of her own company

Personality Traits: Hard working, fun, loving, dedicated, sociable, reliable.

Likes: Hard workers, clean desks, opening new packs of pens, paperwork, travelling, 80s jams, Robert Downey Jr, her daughter Kayley.

Dislikes: Slow walkers, pigeons, heights, being told no, chewed up pens, messy rooms.

Hobbies: Cooking, going on runs, reading.

Backstory:

Fleur was born to her father Richard Harrison and her mother Angela Harrison. She was brought up in Manchester, and attended Abbot Community Primary School. From a young age, she exceeded in her classes and had big dreams, however her family struggled financially. She dreamed of making it big and helping her parents out so they wouldn’t have to worry or stress. When she graduated school, she continued onto college where she studied a business course. Slowly over the years she began planning her own- she knew what she wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. Unfortunately, both her parents were killed in a hit and run car crash while on their daily walk. With her grief, this pushed Fleur to work even harder to prove to everyone she could get through anything and make her parents proud. When she finally established her business, strange things began happening. Little camera clicks, small notes being left around. She had a stalker. Hence the ‘locking them’ line for the door. She felt trapped in her own existence. Years went by, but she couldn’t physically prove the person existed. She fled to London to get away from them. This character doesn’t appear again, signifying how she left everything behind.

Bully:

Name: Maddie Astoria Black

Age: 15

Date of Birth: January 28^th 2005

Place of Birth: London, UK

Current Residency: Bristol, UK

Occupation: Student

Personality Traits: Stubborn, cold, closed off, trust issues, struggles to open up, secretly soft, turns sadness into anger.

Likes: The dark, smoking, drugs, partying, boiling showers, late night walks, the stars, ripped fishnets, music.

Dislikes: Herself, her family, school, the government, hot weather, non platform shoes, bright colours.

Hobbies: Drawing, sleeping, annoying her twin, singing.

Backstory: Maddie was born in London, to her parents John Roberts and Molly Roberts. She has two siblings called Lavender Black (25) and Freddie Black (15) who is her twin brother, Lavender no longer lives at home but lives with her husband, Percy. Maddie and her siblings moved to Bristol at a young age due to her fathers work. All through primary school, Maddie was bullied badly, and so was her twin. Her parents weren’t in love and were only together for money; there was constant cheating and arguments. This lead Maddie to not understand love, and be very shut off. When Maddie turned 12 she was diagnosed with anxiety, OCD, BPD and psychotic depression, she also struggles with an eating disorder. Maddie turned to partying and substance abuse to escape her reality and find a happy place- she was often treat bad by boys and used. As Maddie continued to spiral, she began projecting her hurt into anger, which progressed into her taking it out on others. Maddie was stuck in a constant cycle of pain and not even her twin could pull her out. They both struggled silently, as they had nowhere to turn.

Girl:

Name: Rosie-May D’Lacruise

Age: 18

Date of Birth: 26^th October 2002

Place of Birth: Donacaster, UK

Current Residency: Donacaster, UK

Occupation: Barista

Personality Traits: Shy yet social, friendly, intuitive, kind, reliable, intelligent, comforting.

Likes: Astrology, cats, Brooklyn-99, Johnny Depp, the smell of new books.

Dislikes: Unnecessarily rude people, slow internet, diet coke, country music.

Hobbies: Painting, playing piano, braiding her sisters her, making coffee with pretty designs.

Backstory:

Rosie-May was born and brought up in Doncaster. She was adopted at birth, and brought into the D’Lacruise family- which consisted of her, her older sister Kennady, her brother Luke, and her mother (Cindy) and father (Arthur). Rosie was always a happy kid, and was always making people laugh. She graduated schools with straight A’s and went on to do A Levels (philosophy, law and art) while also working as a Barista. Rosie met her love via a dating game at a party, which she thought would be a laugh but she ended up falling in love. Eventually, at 20, she moved in with said boyfriend (Steve). They shortly after got engaged at 21 and married at 23. They raised two beautiful, healthy baby girls called Lacey and Melanie.

Unnumbered Mourner:

Name: Charlotte Jessica Valdez

Age: 22

Date of Birth: August 3^rd 1998

Place of Birth: Newcastle, UK

Current Residency: Newcastle, UK

Occupation: Works in a book shop

Personality Traits: Warm, accepting, kind, naïve, bubbly, energetic, interesting.

Likes: Green tea, the beach, listening to The Smiths on repeat, late night driving, watching the sunset.

Dislikes: Bullies, America, white jeans, beige carpets, alcohol, flip flops.

Hobbies: Reading (duh), planning outfits, record collecting, vintage shopping, finding new coffee shops, planting flowers.

Backstory: Charlotte, also known as Char, Charl or most preferably- Charlie, is a 22 year old book shop worker. She was born and raised in Newcastle by her mother Anna, her father was not present. She was bullied through school but decided to have a positive outlook on life and use it as motivation- she is the opposite of Maddie. She was close with the deceased person from the scene, hence the ‘She was a good friend’. The recently deceased was her girlfriend Luna, who she met through the book store. She was a regular customer and they would regularly discuss their favourite novels, until they finally got the courage to ask for each others number. Luna and Charlotte’s relationship was not a public thing, which is why Charlie only referred to her as a friend. Luna’s dad was abusive and therefore for the sake of her safety it had to be a secret; however Luna’s dad got the best of her and resulted in Luna’s death by suicide.

TASK 4- WHO I ADMIRE IN THE INDUSTRY

One of my biggest inspirations is Tom Holland. He is one of the most outstanding actors and his performances are always breath taking. He is in fact one of the main reasons I got into acting.

Thomas Stanley Holland was born on June 1^st 1996 in Kingston Upon Thames (thank you Nic and Dom for creating this man). Tom has three siblings, Paddy and then the twins- Sam and Harry. Tom began his acting career as a young child, starring in the West End performance of Billy Elliott in 2008.  

After leaving Billy Elliott, he got the role of Lucas in The Impossible (which is the movie I first saw him in when I was younger thus causing me to fall in love with him). He starred along Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. This debuted in 2012 and everyone adored him. This was his first on screen role, and it was a major hit; he was interviewed by companies such as Vanity Fair and Hollywood Reporter. He began to gain more and more roles, like his portrayal of Isaac from How I Live Now, which was alongside Saoirse Ronan. Tom received the London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year for his role as Lucas. Fast forward a few years, after working in movies such as The Lost City of Z alongside Robert Pattinson, The Edge of Winter and Pilgrimage, Tom landed the famous role of Peter Parker. This boosted his career by miles and he began to gain more recognition, as his performance was astonishing. He portrayed Peter in a way which was so accurate to the comics and created a strong connection to the audience with his quirky yet emotional story. Since working on Spider-Man stand alone movies and The Avengers, Tom has also been casted in: Dolittle along side Robert Downey Jr, Chaos Walking, Cherry, and the most recently released The Devil All The Time in which he again stars with Robert Pattinson. Not only that, Tom and his younger siblings have a charity ‘The Brothers Trust’. It was created in hopes to bring light to smaller charities- with their platform they bring attention to important topics and use it for good. Tom has some upcoming performances and its just been announced Spider-Man 3 is in the making. Overall, Tom is one of the most inspiring and influential people to me- he is extremely hard working and he never fails to give me goose bumps with his performances; he is also an amazing role model and a great person to look up to. I have no doubt Tom will have an outlasting career. His impact on so many people already is astounding. He brings people together and helps thousands of people by just being him- and of course bringing these amazing characters to life. As silly as it seems, in times of need even I find myself rewatching his movies for comfort, I mean how could you not love Peter Parker? He’s a sweetheart. Tom is a funny, kind, friendly and hardworking man who undoubtly deserves the world. I am unbelievably excited for his upcoming projects and I don’t doubt that it will leave me breathless, this man’s range is insane! Tom has so much to give and I’m so thrilled for what else is to come. Thank you for being you, Thomas Stanley Holland.  

(An Official Spider-Man Poster from 2017)

Tom as Cherry, in Cherry

Tom as Arvin, in The Devil All The Time

Tom as Isaac, in How I Live Now

Tom as Jack, in Lost City of Z

Tom as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Avengers

TASK 5- EVALUATION

Over the span of these weeks we have completed a wonderful project. Despite some of the blips and troubles and downright disasters that haven’t taken place; I don’t think our ensemble did too bad of a job. Scratch that- I am certain we did a fabulous job and it made us a very strong and solid team. Watching it in its final glory, edited and put together was dreamlike. I undoubtedly felt very proud of myself, my ensemble and the rest of the amazing crew that have put their heart and soul into this project. On that note, I should move on to my final evaluation of the ensemble piece of Opening Doors.  

Scene One- Prologue (Door Keepers)

I both enjoyed performing this scene on stage and screen; I think it looked rather exquisite both ways. It was a challenge on screen to make sure you had the perfect timing to get to the door, enter and close it- and if you’re like me who ended up crying in the wings because you kept tripping on the door- you can understand the pain. On the contrary, our final take was strong and smooth- everybody spoke with grand emotion and delivered their lines with meaning and confidence.

Scene Two- Jack’s Dead Dates

Although I was not a participant in this scene, I thoroughly enjoyed the casts performance- it was comedic and light hearted, which always engages the audience. For the most part I think this scene was amazing, however there was a small problem when the door didn’t shut properly when it was Henry’s part- though everybody stayed in character so props to them.

Scene Three/Four- Jack and Jill’s Silent Love

The whole ensemble was apart of this scene, though Leah and Ethan were the main characters. We brought this scene to life with not just acting and staging but music too- as this was mimed. Leah and Ethan did a lot of directing and staging for this scene, and they really brought it to life- each scene is staged and blocked accordingly and the audience can always see what’s happening. As part of the ensemble, my job was to act in the background. I believe I performed well for the wedding with my partner Justin.

Scene Five- The Bully and The Head Teacher

For this scene I performed the role of the bully, which honestly was a challenge because I’d never played a character like this before. I think it pushed my boundaries and challenged me as an actor. Cleverly, Kieran put a red light on me which definitely helped me get into the role and made my character seem more menacing and ominous. I think I delivered my lines well, and I added enough snarky undertone, especially in the ‘Or what?’ line. For my body language, I tried to make myself seem bigger and bolder, which by the way is quite difficult when you’re 5’2 and have a baby face. Leah performed amazingly, she projected her voice clearly to the audience and delivered her lines with emotion- you could definitely sense what she was feeling.  I think the Bully Gang did great, although we did have to re-block and restage a couple things for them.

The head teacher and pupil scene only required Sophie, Brooke and Justin- and they pulled it off perfectly. Justin clearly portrayed fear when he first entered, with the quivering of his voice and body language. When his tone turns to relief and pride, you can see a clear shift as he walks out more upright and joyfully. Sophie depicted the emotions of courtesy to a quick change to defensive- she did the amazingly with her fast change in tone- speaking more frantic and loudly is an example of this. Lastly, Brooke did an outstanding job with this role, she perfectly shown the emotions of proudness, to anger, and sass. She delivered her lines with meaning and her facial expressions were spot on.   

Scene Six- The Boy, Girl and Commentators

Within this scene I play the role of the girl. I think this scene was difficult to grasp at first personally as it required a lot of strong eye contact, and I didn’t know Bradley too well. Additionally, everybody had to engage with a high level of energy and if even one person wasn’t, it brought the whole scene down by a notch. In this scene I used my body language to portray my shyness and nervousness, especially with the fluffy, cutesy scene it is. Additionally, I used to facial expressions to represent the joy I’m feeling- but also the twinge of anger at the ‘much nicer last week’ comment. Bradley performed well in this scene despite the ruckus it caused to get there in the end. He put meaning into his lines and used his bodily and facial expressions cleverly. Moreover, the commentators also performed excellently. They projected their voices well and gave the scene the energy it needed- along with the crowd.  

Scene Seven- The Father of The Bride Speech

In my opinion, I think this was one of our best scenes. The whole ensemble was apart of it, and got to add their own tinge. Kalem and Emily’s performance in this was breath taking. Kalem really brought the character to life, and it shows in his vocal, facial, and body expressions. Emily really portrayed her emotions of boredom and sass, despite only having one line. Each member of the ensemble spoke their line with emotion and purpose and really brought the scene to life. It was hard acting in this scene with no line, despite being the bride herself- however Kelly complimented my performance and it brought me confidence.

Scene Eight- Laundrette, Small Person, and Prime Minister

The laundrette scene took quite a few rehearsals to perfect, as most people our age don’t have much experience in this field of work. In the end we all managed to perfect our washing, folding and general laundry-doing. The robbers performed fantastically, and made the scene nice and clear. I really enjoyed mine and Ethan’s two liner in this, as I find it hilarious and he’s amazing to work with.

The cinema part was fabulous-although in the end I wasn’t part of the scene I loved watching it. Emily’s portrayal of the small person was comedy gold- she nailed the vocals, the face, the body…literally everything. Magen’s performance was perfection, she used all the correct tones and expressions in her voice, body and face. It was definitely one of my favourite scenes and I loved how the ensemble reacted.

The final part to this scene was probably our strongest scene as an ensemble. The Prime Minister scene was very loud, heckling and energetic which I think we all enjoy, I mean we are theatre kids. I think I portrayed my role of the reporter well, using levels to show the franticness and chaos. Kalem was a fantastic Prime Minister, his speech was amazing on another level, and his facial expressions were divine. The ensemble as a whole performed brilliantly.

Scene 9- Romance Kills

This scene was literally just Karley and Aaron but they gave a wonderful performance. When filming it, it really developed and became a fantastic scene. The difference in Karley and Aaron’s tone is magical- Karley’s mania and Aaron’s fear meshes together perfectly.

Scene Ten- The Voices and the Door

Although prior to this being filmed I had a speaking role in this, I much prefer the screen version. It was a lot easier to perform and was a lot smoother. Everybody’s performance in this from 1-6 was splendid. The emotions were raw and real, and you could really feel it. The tension and dramatic pauses created a really wonderful effect.

Scene Eleven- Old Ladies

Prior to the old ladies entering, there is a few lines spoken by the Door Keepers, there isn’t much to say as it isn’t too dramatic or in depth, however it did create a nice transition and gave some context to the scene.

This scene was glorious- and it looked amazing on screen. I think filming this worked out better, as they could speak softer and quieter to really delve into the old lady role, without it being unclear to the audience. 

Final Scene- The Funeral

I strongly believe every member of the ensemble delivered their final line with purpose and emotion- and there was a wide range: grief, anger, disgust, solemnness. I think it was extremely clear what everyone was portraying, and this is a very strong and raw scene. I wanted my line to be said, softly, yet sadly; a beautiful sort of melancholy, when the pain is numbing. That’s what I was going for anyway.

Wow. And just like that it's over. It's been an absolute pleasure; a pain, but a pleasure. It's been filled with laughs (mainly from Kalem's one man show), crying because I can't walk through a door AND Ethan almost broke my foot, and lots and lots of beef. Even though I'm vegetarian. Anyways, until next time!

- Megan <3