This term has been extremely busy and productive, jam packed with lots of projects for everybody. That being said, in this assignment I will be recapping many tasks we covered and evaluating projects. This term was solid and very pivotal for our class.
TASK ONE - MY JOURNEY THROUGH THIS / PRODUCTION DIARY
WEEK ONE
Throughout this term I will be regularly updating a production diary to recap the lessons and projects that we will be doing until Christmas.
On Monday we worked on a range of things with Sara: clarity, projection, variety in pitch and tone. After Sara worked on these tools with us, we applied them to our monologues which were previously assigned. This lesson was extremely helpful as it gave me tips on how to improve my monologues and performances for the future.
Continuing on Monday, we also had our first dress rehearsal for panto. There was a few blips with the costumes as Kelly thought they didn't quite fit our characters right but in the end we got sorted and everybody was happy. We were due to start shooting the next day, and my lord it is intense shooting outside in this weather. It's absolutely baltic so I need to remember to bring jackets to layer with because my costume doesn't really offer much heat. However shooting went amazing and it's more than worth it.
WEEK TWO
I began this week with some more shooting of panto; its great working with the second years and being involved but the weather has been really affecting my mood. It's honestly so cold out there I can't even describe it, it genuinely hurts me. Regardless, the scenes have been going really well and everybody is performing fantastically.
We had a shooting of Act One Scene One which wasn't planned which was stressful. I mean, the short notice wasn't the stressful part, it was the fact we had so many issues on this day. There was a lot of waiting and stopping and starting- on top of that we couldn't have a lunch break because we had such a short time frame so that was great. For the rest of the day I felt sick and honestly just not myself because of the stressful environment, but hey that's life I guess. Next week will be better.
Here’s me in my costume before the rehearsal, little did we know what was gonna hit us.
WEEK THREE
Well, as it's now officially December, our class decided to get a little festive. Some of us dressed up or put on some Christmassy makeup to get into the mood, and I think it put everybody in a pretty good mood. Unfortunately, I'd been having a rough day as on my way to college I encountered somebody I used to associate with who is, undoubtedly, better in my past. It honestly affected me way more than I imagined and I had to stand outside for a while to get myself together as I was so on edge. But my mood did improve when the sign up sheet for Connections was put up! Seeing everybody so excited was really nice.
Oh yeah, Kalem also got to dress up as Pennywise as he was recreating a scene from IT with Justin. It was funny seeing Kelly running from him.
Now, we focused on our mini pantos on Tuesday and Wednesday. Cinderella is our strongest one and the blocking and scenes are coming along nicely. we have began working on A Strangers Guide and Snow White but they still need a lot more work. It's been difficult and we've needed to do some last minute role changing, as I've been out of a lot of lessons doing Babes In The Woods I felt my narrator role would be better suited for somebody else, and now Justin gets to play that character and he's amazing at it! I also was just put in as the Hero for A Strangers Guide as it made more sense for the script. We also managed to have a quick look at the costumes to get a sense of what our characters would need to wear. Kalem was so excited about this pink dress so I just HAD to take a picture of him. Doesn’t he look gorgeous?
WEEK FOUR
Now this is where things get intense. This week is our final week in college face to face as next week we're remote. We have A LOT to do.
Monday, this is probably the least stressful day of the week. Today we're doing a sort of fake audition with Sara. We perform our monologue and afterwards we get our feedback and we do an evaluation. Well, it didn't go too bad actually. I was rather nervous but I did my best and that's all I can do. I gave it my best shot and tried to deliver all my lines with meaning, and my feedback was good so I'm content. Today I started filming the Christmas Ad with Robyn too, I'm super excited. I love working with Robyn, she's a dream. Shooting went well with our refined time.
Tuesday, the day I am very nervous for. We film our self tapes today after working on them for a number of weeks. I went in with Kalem which reassured me because I knew I'd be fine with him. Tom recorded him and he was really kind and supportive. We had to do indents which I've never done before. I think it went good and I delivered my lines with meaning and purpose. I had to pull it off with vocal projection and facial expressions and I think I did a good job, I did miss a line out because of nerves and I honestly didn't realise until after but I think I pulled it off. Kalem was absolutely amazing as well, I always love watching him perform.
Wednesday! Panto filming day. We decided to scrap Snow White as we hadn't gotten the blocking sorted just yet, and A Strangers Guide and Cinderella were way stronger pieces. We filmed Cinderella first, which was interesting as we had to work around Dyl being in a wheelchair in a small green room. Filming was fun and everybody worked so well. I enjoyed the second years filming too, it was nice. Dyl and Daniel were GREAT ugly sisters and I enjoyed putting loads of makeup on them. Sorry not sorry :) Sophie was fab, as usual, she did a wonderful Cinders. Kalem as the Fairy Godmother was hilarious, he really went for it, and Herald too. Brooke was a stunning Evil Stepmother, I'd honestly be scared if she shouted at me too. Henry was the Prince and he did fab, honestly. Justin is a CLASS narrator, he just has the energy for it and I loved it. Me, Iona and Karley were the guests and we did some pretty swell dancing. Overall, everybody did amazing in Cinderella. Next we filmed A Strangers Guide, but not everybody was in this. It was me, Kalem, Dyl, Daniel, Brooke and Karley. Kalem was perfect for narrator, he put his all in and I loved it, especially the voice and his added adlibs. Dyl...where can I start. The funniest Dame ever. Can't wait to see these. It was extraordinarily funny watching Karley pie Kalem. She was so excited for it too. I also filmed some more with Robyn today, it was really fun. She has a dance in it and I loved watching it, everybody is so talented. Not much happened really, but it was good.
Thursday...last day and AUDITION DAY! Ah I am so excited and nervous. We're also having a wrap party for Babes In The Woods. I'm pumped to see it all together. Everybody worked so hard and I'm so grateful to have been part of it. It looks amazing, although the TV kept making weird demonic noises...But anyways, the audition! Nina and Kelly were at the panel and honestly it was way less scary when I walked in. I went into my monologue and I messed up a little but they were both very reassuring which calmed me down. I'm happy with it which matters most. Plus they gave us chocolate lollies, best teachers ever. Although that was the end of my college day I still had filming with Robyn for the final scene. It was so fun filming today, even though there was a bit of tension in the room. We made an alternative ending and it's literally so funny, I laugh thinking about it. I loved filming! And with that, it's a wrap!
VIRTUAL PANTO - 'BABES IN THE WOODS'
Unfortunately due to the current circumstances, we can't do a touring panto. BUT that doesn't mean we can't still deliver a fantastic show virtually. We just have to (safely) bring the panto to YOU! The second years have their own company 'Unknown Theatre Company' and with that comes directing and planning their own shows. Luckily, the first years were able to get involved. So after I sent my audition tape over I was cast as 'Alana Dale'! I actually hadn't performed a panto before this, so this was my first time and I was really excited. I was also performing alongside some of my class so I was thrilled, and the second years are fab. So the rehearsal process- we blocked each scene differently, and not particularly in order. We really focused on delivering lines so we got it down to a T and made it as pantomimey as possible. We started dress rehearsals which really amplified it I think, it gets me really in the headspace. Unfortunately we didn't actually get to block some scenes, which was stressful but when we got to filming we worked around it as best we could. The filming process was a lot more intense, especially shooting outside in the winter weather. I pushed through as best I could, along with everybody else. It was extremely difficult to perform and try not to shiver or cuddle myself, but I just had to grit my teeth and get on with it. This has helped me prepare for any future projects though, so I'm grateful for the experience. Location was quite tricky too, again due to Covid we can't go far from college so we literally had to work with any resources around us. It took a couple of weeks to film, because you need a fair few shots for each scene, different angles and focuses. The film crew did an amazing job too, they worked well around the weather outside- if it was particularly windy a crew member would literally hold a coat near the mic to try and block it. Another difficulty was when you film, the mic picks up EVERYTHING and ANYTHING; so filming outside with cars and planes was not fun, we'd often have to reshoot scenes multiple times due to this. However, we worked around any obstacles and it ended up coming out absolutely gorgeous. Sam edited it and did a splendid job, it's hilarious. Everybody adapted to quick changes and last minute filming well and everybody was flexible, each person on the team whether it was an actor or film crew were fantastic. It was an incredibly fun project to work on.
https://youtu.be/17_d1yapIf4 - babes in the wood link
MINI PANTOS - A STRANGERS GUIDE, CINDERELLA, SNOW WHITE
We were given a project to work on three pantomimes in assorted groups of ten which would be released just before Christmas for our family. Now when I heard this, I was like WHAT? Considering I was already working on the other panto, plus various other things in lesson. But when it was explained they were miniature pantos, I was able to get my breath back. The only downside to this was the fact we would be developing them during class time, and I was out a lot to film panto. This being said, we decided to scrap Snow White and adjust the roles slightly, so everybody was happy and comfortable. We had a number of weeks to work on them and block them, so they were ready to be filmed by Wednesday last week. It was very enjoyable and a good laugh to work on these, although there was a few times when people lacked focused and this became quite stressful. However, filming went really well and everything worked out perfectly.
https://youtu.be/yRTASkVoU9g - mini panto link.
SELF TAPE - MY BROTHER
Next, Kelly assigned us monologues which we would later film as self tapes. We had roughly six weeks I'd say with our monologues. Kelly personally picked these and assigned them so we were able to perform to our strengths. The purpose of these self tapes is to be sent to the Film and TV course for future castings, which makes it a SHED load easier for both teams. The process of learning the monologue was fairly basic, reading over the lines at any moment I could, exploring the character in the ways Kelly taught us so we really understood them and their purpose. My monologue was about a young girl who yearned for a little sister, and was inherently jealous of her friends for their siblings. However, her parents end up having a baby boy and it shows the development of their relationship. Ironically, I have an older brother who wanted me to be a boy so I'd been in this boat before. No joke, he used to call me Joseph. The recording process was done efficiently and professionally. I went into the dance studio, with Kalem and Tom recording. We had to introduce our self and do indents which was new to me. All in all, I think it went well and I enjoyed working on my monologue a lot.
CHRISTMAS AD - JOHN LEWIS
This project is probably one of my favourites. I worked on a John Lewis ad which was written and directed by Robyn Mooney. We filmed this throughout the course of our last week in college, and it was adhered to work outside our timetable so we didn't miss anything, which was a lifesaver. The filming process was done with ease and Robyn directed us professionally, and darn right amazingly, like always! In the first scene Sophie and I are making fun of Josh (played by Josh Durnall) for wearing makeup, and he reacts by running out the room. However by the end of the ad, my character thankfully does get a redemption arc. Josh's class all got him a present and you see me go up to him and give him a smile as to say that I'm on his side. I felt like this advert was not only a fantastic opportunity, but it told a relatable and sweet story and I loved working on it.
https://youtu.be/WjCYag9mQDU - christmas ad link
AUDITIONS - LIKE THERES NO TOMORROW
This was probably the most exciting and nerve wracking thing I had to do. As soon as we were told about the play, I was hooked. It just sounded so intriguing and interesting. Especially considering the fact I actually haven't performed to a live audience since Halloween 2019 (and funnily enough somebody from our class was in that show and I didn't even realise). I immediately was drawn to the character Fin. I just enjoyed the vibe of the character. I reread the scenes involving Fin so I could really connect to the character and understand them. The second character I went for was Teen 1. I chose this because I feel like since the play is generally targeted for our age range I could pull it off and really adhere to this role. I spent a good few weeks preparing for this audition, I read the lines to my friends, recorded it on my phone, went through the monologue at any given chance. Now for the actual audition- I did kinda mess up once but Kelly and Nina (who were at the panel) were reassuring and honestly, I think a lot of us did forget lines or stutter. It's a huge audition after all. Although that happened, I'm still pretty pleased with myself. I tried my hardest, I used my face and my body and I pushed my vocal ability the best I could. Another little thing I did was dress how I felt both characters would dress, I went for a laid back teenager vibe, which they both gave of. Anyways, that's all.
TASK TWO - SELF TAPES
Attached above is the self tape I worked on titled 'My Brother'. The storyline is about a young girl called Lucy who really wants a little sister, and she's jealous of all her friends who have sisters, until one day her mother falls pregnant. Then she finds out she has a little brother instead, however they grow close and bond.
Looking back at my self tape I think I used my line delivery for comedic lines well. I think I added the right amount of pauses and emphasis on certain lines and phrases. My character was quite young so I tried to present that in tone and pitch, and also the speed of my speech so I seemed like a younger girl. I tried to use my face as much as possible as there wasn't much movement, apart from my hands/arms.
Reflecting on this, I know which areas to improve on as well if I were to redo it. I definitely need to work on how to use my upper body more, as I envisioned a bit more movement that I couldn't use. I would think of more creative ways to show changes within the scenes without the use of the movement I were to include.
I asked a friend of mine, Kalem Stockill, from our class for some feedback on my self tape. He was also present in the room while this was filmed. This is Kalem's feedback:
“When watching Megan’s self tape, I could tell that she had looked over the monologue a good bit, and that she knew the monologue in detail. I knew when to laugh and I think that Megan gave great comedic effect in the lines of the self tape. If I could give areas to improve on (if any) it would probably be to try and immerse yourself more into the character, as there were the odd times I could see some nerves and that starting to bring out Megan rather than the character she was playing. But apart from that, I think she acted this monologue really well!"
Self Tape - My Brother - YouTube
To find a contrasting monologue, I searched through any that had to do with sibling relationships. The monologue I performed was generally light-hearted, with moments of comedy and love. So to find an opposite one I looked for ones that were more dramatic and had the opposing emotions like anger and upset for example. I found a monologue called 'Brighton Beach Memoirs', from a play. The first thing to point out is this is a dramatic monologue, and the age range is also late teens as opposed to a younger girl. The summary of this monologue is about a girl called Nora Morton. She is described as a beautiful and ambitious 16 year old girl; who dreams of being on Broadway. However she is often resentful towards her sister, and angry at her father for dying. The emotions within this monologue are very strong and raw- they show a girl who is lost and insecure, which is the opposite of Lucy who is a happy young girl. https://www.dailyactor.com/monologues/brighton-beach-memoirs-nora-future/ - the monologue.
TASK THREE - AUDITIONS
The thing to top off our term was the highly anticipated audition for the Connections play 'Like There's No Tomorrow'. I put my name down for two characters- Fin and Teen 1; however I only read Fin's monologue. There was a fair few who audition for Fin, and they are all absolutely amazing actors. I chose these two characters as I felt like I could embody them well, and develop them into something big. I enjoyed both their personalities, and found it rather relatable as they're both young people in a world that's kinda crumbling around them. I believe I could portray the range of emotions and give an accurate portrayal.
To prepare for this audition I regularly studied my monologue. I read it at any given chance I could, in bed, before sleep, after tea, on the bus...the list goes on. I recorded my monologue on voice notes, then progressed to videos and then finally performing it to friends over calls, so I at least had a taste of what it would be like in the real audition.
The day of the audition, wow. I can't explain how many nervy b's I had. At one point Ethan and I went to rehearse for a while, and as usual he was fab. My audition was later in the day so I tried to remain as calm as possible. Justin was before me so we went up together. And that's when the nerves hit. I mean full force punched me in the gut. I went into the toilet to go over my lines because it was the quietest place, as there was a congregation of people waiting as well. I went in and spoke to Nina and Kelly who were on the panels, and they were very sweet and reassuring. I completed the monologue with one error, when I'm nervous I stutter and when it happened my brain just went completely blank. However after Kelly and Nina gave me some time I carried on and completed it. It was a little disappointing to mess up, but I know I tried my best and still did a good job. I will be more than grateful with whatever role I am given for this, and I can't wait for this to start.
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