'ROALD DAHL SEASON'
TASK ONE - YOUR PRODUCTION ROLE
Since returning to college, we have began working on children's theatre, which is something we haven't really touched upon during college. We're starting off this year with a performance of 'The Witches' adapted by David Wood. For my production element of this show I'm going to be working on marketing, alongside Justin Cromack. I made the decision to do marketing as this story is very popular amongst children, but also the general public as there is two versions that were adapted for screen- I felt as though Justin and I could work together to promote the show and reel in a good audience.
To begin with, Justin and I brainstormed some ideas and how we could market the show and appeal to the public. We thought of things we could post in terms of social media and also thought about things like programmes at the show so we could then promote our next projects. We decided that posting some BTS photographs and videos from rehearsals onto our acting Instagram would be a good start, to let the viewers know what we're up to and give them a sneak peak into the show.
Additionally, we both decided it would be a great idea to speak to our college's actual marketing team. So we went to their office and explained what we were doing and they took our details to arrange a meeting with us to further discuss marketing jobs we could do for the production. Once we spoke to them in further detail, they agreed to take some footage and post it onto the college's official Instagram page, that way it would reach a wider audience. They took some clips of us rehearsing, and both Justin and I recorded a short video explaining the show, our character and what it's about, which was then posted onto the college's Instagram and Facebook.
Furthermore, I planned some things for the programme. I sketched out some basic ideas for it and what we could include within the leaflet. The first few pages would include the actors headshots and the character/s they play- but also some cast photographs/rehearsal photographs. I also thought about adding some of the shows quotes around it, and on the last page include the APTA Instagram accounts, the UFilms YouTube and some easter eggs for our next show (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
All in all, I think that marketing was a successful production role for me personally. I think I worked well thinking of new ideas and brainstorming things with Justin. If I was to do marketing again, I'd think of other platforms to promote our show on though, so it spreads to a wider audience.
Onto the next project...Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! For my next production role I wanted to branch out and choose a job I haven't worked on yet, so I can have a challenge. For this show I am going to be working on costume. Ethan Brown and Emily Peaurt have also opted for costume, along with a few first years. I thought it would be a good opportunity to pick costume for this show, as it's so bright and vibrant so we can definitely bring it to life.
Ethan, Emily and I sat together and brainstormed a few ideas for some of the main characters, and we also went around the class and asked each individual if they had any ideas for their characters. I think what's most interesting to think about is the contrast between the Bucket family's costume versus the other characters- particularly Charlie and Grandpa Joe as they go to the factory. It was really important to make sure there was a clear contrast between the Bucket's to the other families as it further emphasised how Charlie was living in poverty, and it also showed the contrast in age from Grandpa Joe to the other parents.
After we thought of the initial ideas and asked members of the cast their thoughts, Emily copied it up with sketches, which I then took home to check over and make sure everything was accurate. Since we were breaking up soon for Christmas, we decided we would message the cast during the holidays at some point to make sure everything is okay with costume.
Apart from the main cast members, we also had to think about Oompa Loompas. We did a lot of thinking about this and thought it would be effective if we had different Oompa Loompa outfits for each chant. Augustus would be a striped shirt and dungarees. Violet would be a cheerleading outfit. Veruca would be ballet like outfits. Finally, Mike Teavee would be hoodies/earphones. In theory this idea was solid, but we couldn't afford this with our budget. Instead we used Pom Pom's for Violets chant and kept the hoodies for Mike Teavee. The general Oompa Loompa outfits were bright, vibrant, patterned and very childlike. I do think the costumes made it fun and friendly despite the fact it wasn't our original idea.
Upon seeing the final costumes that each character had, I think it looked accurate and effective. I think the bright colours of the Oompa Loompas with the wigs and makeup to the kids and parents outfits, plus Willy Wonka's...worked delightfully. It was stressful being on the costume team as I was also working on a film at the same time so I often wasn't in Charlie rehearsals, but I think in the end it was worth it.
TASK 2 - DEVELOPING AND DEVISING IDEA'S FOR CHILDRENS THEATRE
TASK 2 A - RESEARCH
For my first research of Roald Dahl's retellings, I focused on the 2 film adaptations 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'.
As I was a member of the costume team, I wanted to have elements of the costume from the film's involved within the show- for example we kept both Willy Wonka's in the original purple coat, which references the 1971 version and the book too. Another factor we involved was the yellow bow tie which was also from the book and the 1971 version. Emily Peaurt who was Willy Wonka in Cast 2 had the most book/film accurate bow tie as she kept it oversized like the original, whereas Kalem Stockill opted for a regular sized bow tie.
In terms of parents, we kept the mainly all the Father's in suits which is part of the book, and both films. We tried to keep this as accurate as possible as it fits the characters the best, and by having them in suits we can show the difference in class- like Mr Salt being in a black suit with his cards on hand shows his upper class background, whereas Mr Teavee (Cast 1)had a hat which shows he's more casual, and less uptight. Something that I wanted from the beginning was the iconic Augustus Gloop look from the 2005 movie. The red striped shirt just has the element of nostalgia and it is easily recognised to be an iconic costume from the film. Daniel Cooper (Cast 1) recreated this 2005 version with a red striped shirt and blue denim trousers.
The next thing I researched was the book 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator', written by Roald Dahl. This book is the sequel to 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. In the book, it continues the story of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka travelling within the Great Glass Elevator. Dialogue from this book is used within our script, for example the description of the creatures in Loompa Land and direct dialogue between characters.
This book directly links to the story as it is the sequel so I felt as though it was important to read upon it and find out what happens next so I know the characters full intentions within our play; Willy Wonka's intention was to make sure Charlie Bucket won the competition so he could take him in the Elevator and offer the chocolate factory, and then the story continues into the sequel.
Upon doing my research, I did some investigating into Richard George, the script writer of this play. Richard George wrote this play when he was an elementary school teacher, living in New York. After he wrote this stage adaptation, Roald Dahl himself commemorated it and recommended to be published. Although Richard George wrote this stage adaptation, he also make adaptations of 'James and the Giant Peach' and 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator'. Even though he is a writer, he has had a range of other jobs too, such as: principal, youth worker, youth pastor and marriage and family counsellor.
My final piece of research was on the man himself, Roald Dahl as he made this magic happen...Roald Dahl was a British novelist, screenwriter, short-story writer and poet.
Before he began his writing journey, he served in the Royal Air Force. It wasn't until the 1940's that he was starting to get recognition for his books for children and adults. He very quickly became one of the best selling authors, and right now he has sold over 250 million copies of his books worldwide. Roald Dahl has won many awards for his notable work and writings, including: World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (1983) and the British Book Award's Children's Author of the Year (1990).
Many people know of Roald Dahl due to the success of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, however he has wrote many, many famous books. Some of his most notable works include but are not reduced to: Matilda, The Witches, The BFG and The Twits. His work is known for the depth of imagination and how he creates these crazy worlds and quirky characters, but all the books have none-happy endings, various villains and dark themes and moods. But what got Roald Dahl into writing? Dahl began his knew found career and passion while he was meeting with C.S Forrester, whom is also an author. Forrester encouraged Dahl to start writing and soon after he published his first short story in the Saturday Evening Post.
TASK 2 B - PLAN
While rehearsing 'The Witches', I gained the role of the 'Witch Co-coordinator'. This essentially meant that I was the leader of the Witches and had to organise the ensemble to make sure everything was correct and running smoothly. The first step I took was handing out labels, and having each Witch name themselves- this would give everyone a sense of individuality and give their character more substance to bring it to life. This also made it easier for me to organise the costumes which we had in our playing space. While we rehearsed I would note down the order of appearance of Witches during scenes. This would ensure that the scenes ran fluidly and everything remained in place. I made notes in each rehearsal to stay on top of this. During the big Witch scenes (ballroom meeting, entering hotel, final witch scene) I made lists so there was a clear order of who enters first and when. Kelly and I organised the line cue's for the Witches to enter the hotel so the pacing was on point and there was no awkward pauses or silence. Additionally, I organised the seating plans for the final Witch scene in the dining hall. The Grand High Witch had to be sat at the top of a table so the audience could see her reaction to the poison as she begins that sequence.
TASK 2 C - CHARACTER RESEARCH
As Mrs Teavee, I found it difficult to get to grips with it at first as she has few lines yet a lot of stage time. I needed to create a story for her, and a fact file so I could create a whole new person to become. I was cast as her to improve my reactions and build strong relationships with less dialogue, so I knew I had to delve deep into the psyche.
The first step I took into creating Mrs Teavee's personality was creating a fact file about her.
NAME: Michelle Anne Teavee
AGE: 37
DOB: 24th June 1985
OCCUPATION: Primary School Teacher
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Steven Teavee
CHILDREN: Mike Teavee
POB: Louisiana
The next step to creating this character was making up her backstory.
Michelle Anne Teavee is a 37 year old woman, who was born in Louisiana but moved to England when she was 15 due to her fathers work. She is a primary school teacher who works at Sunnyhill Academy, where she usually teaches Year 3/4 children. Michelle is married to Steven Teavee, and they have been a couple since Michelle was 18- they met when she transferred schools in England at 15. Due to complications, Michelle couldn't conceive a baby and therefore her and Steven adopted Mike Teavee. Michelle and Steven has struggled in their relationship due to Mike's behaviour. Michelle wants everyone to think their family is the typical happy nuclear family when it's far from it. Steven is a very angry man, and often argues with Michelle because she wants them to be perfect. At work, Michelle often wonders what it would be like to have her own children or her own happy family. Her mother passed when she was 34, and her Father has been distant while dealing with the loss and this is why Michelle struggles so much with her family because she can't turn to them for support. Her motivation is to attend the Chocolate Factory and hopefully it will help her family bond for once and they can finally start the steps to getting along and becoming a strong, loving family like she dreamed of. Her behaviour is often erratic and manic, constantly trying to make friends with the other parents at the factory but also impress them. Michelle is lonely, so she hopes she can at least make a friend or have a good day for the memories.
For additional research, I watched the 1971 adaptation of the film as Mrs Teavee didn't actually attend the factory in the 2005 version. I observed her behaviour and mannerisms. I watched for any facial expressions or quirks she had for inspiration. My main inspiration came from her scene where Mike goes into the television, and I incorporated it into my performance. I loved how her behaviour got more and more loopy as she realised what had happened to her son and I wanted to incorporate that. I was a fan of her facial expressions and how much she showed concern and worry and how they were really strong and almost comical.
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory(1971) - Wonka Vision - YouTube (for reference)
TASK 3 - PRODUCTION DIARY
THE WITCHES
WEEK ONE
MONDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER
Today I started off the day by waking up bright and early and making my way to college...finally, after some long, long months of summer we are back at Stockton Riverside and I have never been more excited to leave the flipping house!
I walked into our usual home, Dance Studio 2 and I was met by the faces of the new first years. It was really overwhelming in a sense as I just got so used to the old second years, but its time for a fresh start. I went over to my fellow second years and we started to mingle with the first years, they all seem really lovely and they're rather brave, I definitely didn't have the courage to speak to the second years when I was in their shoes.
We kicked off the day by Kelly telling us to walk around and talk to each other and mingle. We spoke to the first years and asking each other questions, just a general introduction. I have to say, they are really lovely and seem like a good group of kids so far. We then started the warm ups by playing the Lying game with the first years. I actually was in a group with a boy called Harley, whom I'd met back in 2018 and did West End with, which was honestly really nice. So I used this in the game to see if I could catch anyone out. After this we played a few games of good old splat. Really gets your blood going in the morning. It was rather funny seeing the first years get competitive, specifically Jamie who I've noticed to be a big character.
The Years One's left shortly after this and we had a lunch break. I spent my time catching up with my friends which was nice, I missed them a lot and I was glad I was back to seeing them everyday.
After lunch we were required to do on sight Covid tests, not fun but as long as everybody is safe and sound. It does take a while but after we were done we headed back to the Studio and Kelly began to explain the following year of college. We had a work sheet with questions with stuff like "what do you want to achieve after college and how are you going to reach that goal" so I could rant on about my dream Uni (Salford) but THEN it got personal and asked what we like most about our brains and bodies...but alas I am an 18 year old girl stuck on social media so...not a lot to be honest. We then spoke about our first project 'The Witches' which we had discussed a tad in first year. I'm not sure how I feel about The Witches just yet, but I know that we are definitely doing Charlie and The Chocolate Factory which I am absolutely chuffed about.
This concludes our first official day back, and I am so happy and excited to get stuck back into all these projects after a bumpy first year and a long summer.
See you tomorrow!
TUESDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER
As I walked in I was met by the second years. This must just be a lesson with our class only. Kelly explained that we will be looking at emotion during this lesson, which is good as I'm a little rusty at the minute. We were instructed to get into teams of 3- I joined up with Justin and Emily, who are a pleasure to work with. Kelly walked to each group and we had to pick any laminated card, but without reading it. The top had a list of emotions, with one circled that we had to portray and our scene was about two friends who had thrown their other friend a birthday party. And our emotion you ask? Sadness? No. Happiness? No. Anger? No. We got NO EMOTION. I took one for the team and played the character with no emotion- it is tricky to stay fully in character for this emotion. After we dealt with this emotion, we got sad. So we didn't decide to do all cutesty sad girl lost in a city sad, no no we went full over the top hysterical sad.
When we finished this task, we were given another script. No context or backstory. There was 3 characters, and I remained in a group with Em and Justin. Justin was character one, Em was two and I was 3. A rather common route to go down with this script was pregnancy. But instead we chose something you know, casual...uh murder. So in essence, Emily killed Paul who was her husband's brother. I knew about it and am bit deranged. Justin finds out and tries to tell somebody, so we kill him. Oops, sorry Justin. We spruced it up a bit, adding a beginning and end. We are filming these properly soon so we brain stormed costume and location.
Both tasks had been finished and went well, and Kelly then gave us a presentation on Stanislavski. Very talked about, but the acting world simply wouldn't be the same without him. We spoke about his method to acting- the naturalism and how he wanted the actors to be fully in the moment. He's a clever guy, he really changed our world.
At the end of the day we had to do a tutorial with Kane about prevent. Basically warning up about radicalisation and extremism and all that jazz.
I'd say today was pretty productive and I'm getting back into the swing of things again. I'm really enjoying my lessons.
Speak to you tomorrow!
WEDNESDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER
Today we'd be doing a read through of the Witches with the first years. We started with a few quick warm ups (Splat) but golly gee, it was way too warm in the dance studio so Kelly decided to take us out by a tree in the shade.
We began our read through, and I'm thinking about going for a smaller role within this play. The script is rather comical actually, big eccentric characters. However, I think I'd just prefer to start with a smaller role and make it big. If that even makes sense. The play runs for about an hour give or take and has two acts- which is new. We've only done one act plays. A few first years volunteered to read out and you can see them really getting into it, which is amazing. There's some stars in the making.
After we finished our read through, we headed inside. We had a quick chat with Kelly who explained our Progression lesson for Uni will be with Sara after lunch. So I headed off and ate my dinner with my best friend, Robyn.
We went back into the dance studio for Sara's lesson, and we began with discussing what we know about Uni/Stage School and if anyone knows where they want to go. Within the two hours, we discussed a lot and different people spoke about the options they're contemplating. Sara set us some tasks- write a letter to your future self, research your top Uni/Stage school, and finally she handed out monologues which were due to be learned by the next lesson.
I suppose I'd better get a start on this! See you tomorrow.
THURSDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER
Today was a chill today, we had Kane who we haven't actually had a proper lesson with yet.
Like yesterday, it was too hot in the dance studio so we went back to the tree we were at yesterday. We played Splat (shock) and finally...an old game we all love...wink murder! Oh how I've missed being able to murder Daniel and Ethan when they annoy me.
When we were all warmed up, we gathered around and brainstormed ideas for the Unknown Theatre Company. We started off with genres, then the ideas just came flowing in from everyone. Our basic ideas thus far are this: Short radio drama as we haven't touched much upon this, rom-com film as this is a double genre we haven't came across so it'll be a fun challenge and finally...an immersive theatre piece which will be a murder mystery. We spoke about this most and began thinking of details. This will be really fun and an awesome opportunity.
It's all very exciting, a lot of big stuff in the works.
As always, see you tomorrow!
MONDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER
Today we have a guest speaker coming in called Samuel Jordan, who is actually an ex student of Kelly's and has made it pretty well in the acting industry.
I mean, he's been working with STEVEN SPEILBERG. And Tom Hanks! He's doing pretty damn good, and you can't deny it. In all honesty, I woke up in a pretty bad mood and he actually lifted my spirits and inspired me so that's good.
He spoke to us about Uni and what it was like, and scouting out agents and all the fun behind the scenes stuff that goes into acting. I can tell he's a hard worker and goes above and beyond. Talks like this make me realise how worth it is in the end, sometimes it does feel all like you're working for nothing but life has its mysterious ways.
It was a chill day, but a good one. I really enjoyed the talk with Sam. I hope its me in the future coming back to college.
Talk to you tomorrow.
TUESDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER
The beginning task of the day was to get into groups. I got into a group with Karly and Justin and we found a space near the front. Then Kelly explained how she’d been in a shop and found masses of old post cards and picked a few out and bought them. We then all picked a random one. We had to devise a scene based off of our post card given. In our post card, somebody had written to two people. They were staying in Hertfordshire and explaining activities they’d been up to, like finding wood and making things with it. At first we really struggled to think of something as there was so little context and we just had to literally think on the spot. It was in the 90s so we decided to go for me playing a girl who wrote the post card to her grandparents, shes claimed she’s in this countryside and she’s finding wood and frogs and being apart of nature, when in reality she is in Amsterdam with her two friends (Karly and Justin). The rave and party scene was a huge deal in the 90s, so our characters go and they’re smoking and taking drugs- however she takes it too far and overdoses. My friends then run away as they don’t know what to do. I’d say we did a pretty good job, given how much we struggled to begin with. It shocked the audience which is what we wanted- we wanted something gritty and raw and I feel like we achieved that.
Once everyone had finished (and smashed!) these tasks, it was time for Emily, Justin and I to film our scene i mentioned the other day. The Paul murder scene. We filmed with Kane and his fancy camera and we decided to not go to location as we were short on time and thank God because it was wet. We worked pretty fast and got it done within a matter of minutes- even though I whacked my back pretty hard which was funny.
All in all, it was a successful day and we got big chunk done.
See yall tomorrow.
THURSDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER
As our usual routine goes, we began with some fun warmups. Quiz splat, the Action Game and Wink Murder. The classics.
This lesson we focused mainly on two things- The Murder Mystery and our auditions for The Witches.
I’m giving everyone massive credit here because we’ve worked extremely hard this lesson and gotten a lot done, especially for the murder mystery. We’ve worked on characters and we’ve created the audition sheet. We’ve settled on the main characters and the murderer.
I was considering going for the Boss’ daughter but I changed my mind. I’m going for the Lazy One. For the auditions we will be doing some hot seating and I think I could work a lot more with this character.
When we finished up with the murder mystery we got on with audition prep. I ran through my small scene myself in the mirror to work on the minor facial expressions and little moments. Then I went around and helped some classmates with theirs and gave some feedback.
Very productive day today- got a lot done all in all and I am mega proud of the class.
Until tomorrow!
MONDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER
Today is the big day…AUDITIONS!
Finally, after weeks of preparation, the big moment of auditions commences. However, that is in the afternoon and we have a whole lesson before then.
Today we were working on devising and touching upon mime. Kelly instructed us to pick a partner- and I was with Karly. Kelly was giving us some stimulus so we could mime and devise. First off, we were told to imagine we are going on a holiday. Where are we off to? What will we pack? What type of bags do we have?
Karly and I were packing for a girls holiday in Vegas. So we had suitcases and backpacks full to the brim of clothes. You have to look glam for Vegas.
But then we were packing as if we were very spiritual zen people- we had yoga breaks and I asked Karly about 90 times if she packed my Midnight Scent Starry Night Moon in the Sky Yankee candle. It was rather fun if I’m honest.
Once this task was finished, we were told to walk around the room as somebody you are familiar with. And for some reason, I instantly thought of my brother. He’s a strange guy- sometimes he skips like a fairy and just bounces about. He’s extremely tall so he’s always looking down and he always has this silly little smirk on his face, because usually he’s walking around to come wind me up.
After we walked around as people we knew, we had to get to the other side of the room as if we were entering a theme park. A lot of people sprinted and chose the excited side of things, however I walked hesitant and slow- I went for somebody who feared it. But THEN we had to repeat this task but as the opposite. So now I was excited. When I tell you I’ve never sprinted so fast or pushed through so many people. I zoomed!
After that task, we had to partner up again. This time I partnered with Dylan. Kelly told us to choose who would have high energy and who would have low. I opted for the low energy and Dylan chose high. The scenario was that we had lost our dog- Dylan’s running around screaming for Bob, practically pulling his curly locks out, whereas I’m absolutely chill and telling him to calm the heck down. Then, we swapped energies- I was running about, looking up and down and under desks. Dylan was just strolling with no cares in the world. I really enjoyed these tasks as it really helped with devising and we got to explore a lot of different characters.
Once this task had subsided, we remained with our partners. We had to tell them something we liked about them- and I was with Dylan and i adore the bones off this boy so it was super hard to pick just one (I did end up giving him a huge list) but I settled with his smile, because genuinely it makes my day. He’s always positive and seeing him smile, it’s like a puppy. Dylan said he liked my eyes, which I was shocked at. I think they’re a bit boring- but I’ll take it because Dylan was so hyped up. We had to walk around the room displaying this feature- so I just walked around with my eyes quite wide remaining solid eye contact with others. A bit odd, but funny.
Then we were instructed to walk around displaying our favourite feature of our self’s that we picked- in the least depressing way i don’t really have a favourite, but I went with my hands because I’m double jointed and it’s unique and it freaks people out which I find funny. Sorry guys. So I just walked around, flexing my hands and fingers, scaring some people off, as usual.
The final task was to display our favourite feature while covering our least favourite feature. I may as well have gotten in a bin bag and hidden my entire being. Anyways, I walked around holding one hand out and using the other to cover my stomach. Standard.
Now. The moment we’ve waited for…AUDITIONS! Finally. I’ll be auditioning for the doctor within this play.
To be fair, I wasn’t that nervous for this audition. It was a small duologue, and Justin would be performing it with me- and Justin is a fab performer so I was ready to go. I learned my few lines and thought about why I wanted this role- which was the fact it had comedic timing and strong physical attributes. My audition was about half way through the whole list, so I had quite a while to wait. I just rehearsed a bit, making sure not to overdo it and stress myself.
Once it was time for my audition, I walked in with Justin with a smile on my face. Kane and Kelly were on the panel and we had a quick chat before I began- asking me why I wanted this role and informing me Ill be a witch in the other cast as well. And then we got on with our little duologue.
I’d say it went as well as it could have, for a small scene especially. I spoke clearly and projected- I remembered all the facial expressions I’d worked on and my stern attire. Kelly and Kane give their little applause at the end and gave their after audition chat saying well done and I left with a smile on my face. I felt confident (which is odd for me).
I know everybody else smashed their auditions and this show will be amazing. I cant wait to get to work with my casts.
Until next time!
TUESDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER
Today we began our day in 224. We were completing our ILPS onlineand just filling out questionnaires about what we do with our free time and what we want to do after college etc. It’s a chill start to the day, which is good because I can just relax and focus on one thing for a while.
Once the film students arrived to 224 we cleared off. Kelly had prepared a PowerPoint with specialism subjects what we wanted to focus on the most. There was stuff like: improvisation and devising but also writing and directing- which I absolutely do love I just don’t get much of a chance. But when you’re best friends with a film maker, it gets better.
This lesson the focus was devising. We had to get into groups- I was with Magen, Justin, Karly and Dylan. Then one of us had to go choose a random object from the film studio. Our object was a bunch of red roses- Karly chose these. We then had to devise a scene which incorporated this object. We went down the depressing route. It opens with Magen receiving a phone call from a doctor (Dylan) and he explains to her that she has cancer. When she leaves she decides she will display random acts of kindness with her remaining time- and hands out flowers to random people (Karly, Justin and I) at the end- when she has passed away the throws her flower down and runs off. Then the rest of us come place our flower down to show the grief of losing someone. I think it was really clever and emotional- I mean poor Ethan cried. Bless him.
THURSDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER
Well today is the day we find out the cast lists for The Witches. Cast list days are always like a fever dream. My heads always in a really odd place- lots of shouting and celebration but sometimes it can be naff when you don’t get what you want.
As soon as it was out, everyone sprinted to see it. I just let the crowd simmer before I went out. The cast list is amazing and pretty much everyone got the role they auditioned for- including me! Whoop.
Big congratulations to everyone- especially Magen and Kadie. The Grand High Witch is not easy to tackle. And especially some of the first years really getting involved in the first show, it’s seriously immense. Feel like a proud mother.
We started going into it- blocking it page by page. We don’t have long to do this so we’re really diving head first.
We also discussed our production roles for the show. I’m going to be doing marketing with Justin so we talked about what we can do to promote the show and how we can get audience reach.
After our lesson we had Sara- we are working on monologues and giving context to characters and giving them backstories- The time where they are speaking the monologue, where they are, their family and home life.
All in all, it’s been a successful day and things are starting to patch together. The show is well underway and it’s going to be fabulous.
THURSDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER
Today we kicked off by playing Partners which Sara introduced us to- basically a person will stand at the side and the rest of the class will walk around. Said person at the side will shout ‘2’ for example and you have to find a partner. And then the numbers go up- it’s absolute chaos. I run around like a headless chicken, I’ve never felt more panic or terror in my LIFE. Let’s just say, it definitely wakes you up and gets your blood pumping for the day.
We played some improv games- where 3 people are in the middle and everytime someone taps another performer out the scene changes. I didn’t expect Kane to join in but boy was it funny.
Then, we began discussion on the murder mystery and how it will all work. A few people wanted to do the production element for this rather than the acting so we decided to include the Year Ones. We discussed important things like the prices and location (which will be in college).
After making progress on the murder mystery we began to sort out production for the Witches- which is where I do my marketing. Justin and I discussed how to get more people to see the show and promote it- so we thought we’d go see the colleges actual marketing team and they spoke to us and wrote our contact details down so we can have a meeting and discuss things further.
We got A LOT of production things sorted today. Things are really gelling together for our projects.
MONDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER
Today we’re working with the Year Ones on the Witches.
We did a few warm ups- including the clap game which was new to the first years. It’s a good game to get you focused and get your brain ready.
After we warmed up we went through the Hotel scene and the Ballroom scene with the Witches. I’m the doctor for cast one so I got to sit back and watch the other people perform, writing notes and such. We’re still in the beginning stages and it’s such a huge show with big characters so mostly people were working on the reactions and the energy of the witches, which is really hard to do, especially given a lot of the first years haven’t done a stage show before.
After refreshing the scenes we headed to 224 to finish ILPS and sort out smart targets and such. It was a nice chill end to the day after all the hard work put in during the performances.
TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER
We have a busy day ahead of us today- so we decided to do a nice, relaxing warm up game…Joking. We did partners. And yes, I screamed a lot. I refuse to lose.
Kelly spoke to us today about our assignment- Unit 11. One of our main tasks is about specialisms within acting- improv, devising, characterisation all that good stuff. We have to present a TED Talk at some point, which I’ve never done because I hate presentations- but Kelly said to look at it as a performance, which made me feel better.
Then Kelly set us off for some improv tasks- people in a dentists office, friends arguing about a holiday, a parent and a child in a supermarket, students getting exam results and boxers talking before a match. I partnered up with Justin, which is always good as he’s amazing at improv and I’m not afraid to go all out with him as he always gives the same energy back. I’m getting better at improv (I think).
After this partner task, we were instructed to walk around as Kelly shouted out some stereotypes to play. We had: an old person, a nosy neighbour, a business executive and a bully. Once we’d warmed up to these roles we had to get in groups and create a presentation on how to play one of these characters. I worked with Ethan, Magen and Justin as a four. We settled on doing the nosy neighbour. We split the presentation into 4 parts and we all led our own section. For my part, which was the first one, I got the class to sit/lay down and shut their eyes. Then I asked them to think about the background of the character- who are they? What’s their name? Their age? Do they have a partner? Do they have kids? What’s their career? Then Justin did his part- where he gave his own example of a nosy neighbour so everybody could see the different portrayal. Ethan got the class into partners and had them doing an improv scene given the backstories they created and a few people performed it and they did really well. Lastly we had Magen doing some hot seating, which I took part in. Everybody really got into the characters and created some funny stories.
I think our group did a really good job, and we organised it well.
WEDNESDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER
Today we are rehearsing the Witches with our fellow year ones. The MUA’s came into to watch both casts do the Ballroom scene as all the Witches are in it- so they know the movement and blocking so they can brainstorm how they’re going to do the hair and makeup for this show.
I’m a Witch in cast 2 so it was fun to get up and play a big character, but a small one at the same time.
After lunch we got straight into our projection roles. Justin and I were to go speak to marketing and brainstorm ideas. I spoke to Ethan about his production role as he was contacting schools, as it’s children’s theatre we were trying to get schools in to see the performance. I asked how it was going and gave him some suggestions on local schools.
Shortly after, we had a LAMDA workshop. Which was scary and exciting. Some ex students, Milly and Stu came in to speak to us about the school and do a Q&A. They spoke to us about the school, the benefits and stuff we’d need to know about money and travel. Actually, quite exciting, we’re part of some pathway programme so we can actually audition for LAMDA for free. Pretty cool. We did some bodily warm ups, to loosen us up and walked around the room.
They gave us scripts, in partners. I was with Justin. We had to analyse and annotate to script, picking out the verbs, ajectives, nouns, facts, options etc. I really enjoy analysing and annotation- that A in English really came in handy today.
After we did this, we had to stand in a space. Envision some sort of bubble of energy- and pick a word from the script. We had to say the word (I picked ‘Sam’) and say it 5 times over with the 5 senses. So we said it a total of 25 times. It was really helpful actually, I could visual the different senses and give context to the character. I’m going to keep using the method.
We then discussed self tapes and the process of them. I’m quite familiar with the process due to research and other work shops I’ve done, but I can say I’m definitely going to audition for LAMDA now.
THURSDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER
Today we have our lesson with Kane and we will be doing the auditions for the murder mystery. We will be doing hot seating, Kane had a sheet with questions which I read out to the people auditioning. Everyone’s auditions were really strong and fun to watch. I auditioned for the Lazy One, and I am quite content with my audition. I got quite a few laughs from my class which made me feel good.
We then had to do the first years- so we decided to do a panel. It was Justin, Tamara, Magen and myself. The rest of the class went to the studio to rehearse scenes from the witches.
I have to say, I’m really impressed with the first years. There was some really strong auditions, and they are all fabulous actors. Kadie really stood out- her audition was well paced and comical. We want to make her a bigger part in this production for sure.
After the auditions and some recalls were done- we discussed who should play which part. However we had to do some chemistry reads- between the person who would like to play the Boss and his daughter, then with the daughter and the lazy one as they will be a couple within this project, and finally the receptionist who will be a double act. I had to do a couple of chemistry reads- and I think they went amazing. Ethan was also going for the Lazy One and he did really well too. After some long thinking, we settled on Dylan as the boss and Sienna as his daughter, and finally I am the lazy one who will be Sienna's partner. Justin and Emie will be the receptionists.
We’ve accomplished a lot with this project so far and I’m really happy with the outcome at this point.
MONDAY 4TH OCTOBER
We started today off with Splat. We did it a bit different- where we shouted names as we had a new student called Trinity. She is super cool, and she has awesome style. We did a dabble of quiz splat- then partners. Do I even have to describe the chaos that took place?
After warmups, we got into groups. I was with Emie, Sienna, La Toya, Justin, Sophie, Kadie and Tamara. We had to devise a scene from beginning middle and end of a group preparing for a marathon. We all chose quirky characters and began working. I decided to be the ‘flirt’ who was only there for the boys. It was actually rather comical, and I enjoy these tasks as it’s quick thinking which definitely improves us with improv and devising.
Kelly then had us run in slow motion as our characters, so I was twirling my hair, winking at people, just being the epitome of a 15 year old girl really.
We then got on with the Witches- the restaurant scene. This is where we essentially all get turned into mice. A LOT of screaming, coughing, gagging.
The cast list for the murder mystery was released- I saw a lot of happy faces so thank God for that.
We had a break and then continued blocking this huge scene from the start. We managed to block the whole scene which is a relief as it is a massive piece.
Roll onto lunch time, where I had an audition for Robyn's horror film. It’s based off of the seven deadly sins, and hers is about Pride. My audition was last, I could hear the other people and they were good. A bit of healthy competition keeps you going. I was really impressed by Emily’s screams- I was pretty much convinced she’d already got it.
However I still went in and played around with it taking directions off of Robyn. And my god. I’ve never screamed so loud in my life. I was flinging myself on the floor and kicking my legs to the high heavens.
After the audition it was time for lesson with Kane. We basically just went over the death scene- figuring out what works best. I don’t think I can physically scream anymore than I have today.
I got a lot done today, and the show is coming together nicely.
TUESDAY 5TH OCTOBER
Like yesterday, we went over the witches death scene again. I’m trying to get more physical with it and move around more and do more with my face rather than just screaming- also interacting with others, like the waiters.
After we ran through the scene a few times, we went off to run lines separately. I helped Emily out with a few others, reading in lines for her scenes as Bruno. She’s such a talented girl our Em, I love seeing her perform.
After lunch we went back to the Dance studio, and Tom was there! Tom is currently on adoption leave as he’s just adopted the cutest little kid ever, and he’s here. Oh my god hes adorable- he’s called Logan. Tom was in to talk to us about the degree course here at college. I am putting it down as an option in case I have to stay local for some reason- Tom is a great teacher and Kelly also teaches us which is great.
After tom left, we got into groups. I was with Justin, Karly and tamara and Emily soon joined after an audition. Summary, we have to devise a scene based off of the backstory of somebody’s character. We chose Karly who is witch one- it was hard to think of context and a backstory so we took some time thinking and getting it on its feet. Emily came up with the idea- Karly has a baby, and she summons us witches as she’s a stressed single mother, however to become one of us she must kill her baby.
Now. It was rather difficult to perform. Karly is an eccentric character, if you know Karly you know this. However she couldn’t hold her fake baby and it sent me upwards I couldn’t stop laughing.
I thought I’d get it together by the performance but…Karly accidentally said ‘cult’ instead of society and I think my head almost exploded trying not to laugh. But it wasn’t just that she said ‘to join our cult-cul-thingy!’ Karly, you never fail to make my day.
Afterwards I just pottered around thinking about some new marketing ideas to push the show. I briefly spoke to Justin while I planned the programme.
A lot done today- successful. Bring on tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY 6TH OCTOBER
The main events of today’s lessons considered of running through both casts scenes from Act One.
Act One is pretty much dusted- theres only one big ensemble scene with the witches. The only problem is when Justin (as Boy) gets turned into a mouse cast one lifts him. Mark who plays boy in cast two had an operation, so we don’t want to hurt him. We had to think of what to do- instead were going to trap and circle him until a black out happens, screaming and cackling. Really menacing. I’m not sure who’s idea this was but it looks spooky so, creds to you.
Today Justin and I were to meet with the marketing team. We met up with them and thought of some ideas for marketing. We filmed a few clips of Justin and I explaining the show and then the two lovely marketing girls came into our class to get a few clips of us rehearsing to make a promotion video. Score for me and Justin!
Everything is piecing together lovely. I’m so excited to get this on stage.
THURSDAY 7TH OCOTOBER
Today we did our regular warmups- partners, quiz splat.
After our warmups Ethan, Emily and I helped Daniel with his music role for the production. Daniel was ill for a while and Kalem took over his job.
Once the first years arrived, we went through the ballroom scene and restaurant scene with both casts. These scenes are really starting to come together now, everyones starting to really get into their witchy characters and the reactions are becoming more intense.
Some of the first year film students are filming rehearsals and such as they're making a documentary about the show- which is pretty ace if I do say so. Freya seems to be a filmmaker that stands out to me. She knows what she's doing.
For the last part of the lesson we went off to rehearse our own scenes- I ran through my doctor scene- perfecting the projection and diction.
Today was a good day. Lots of improvements, but theres always room for more!
MONDAY 11TH OCTOBER
As the day commenced we started with warmups, took a bit of time if i'm being transparent. Monday mornings are sometimes a bit sluggish. I did attempt to get everyone in a circle, alas I was ignored.
We started with a new game- red light green light. If you've seen squid game you'll know. Since it was new, and trending it got everyone pumped up. And I didn't die. Bonus. After playing this, we played partners. Always a good game to get the blood pumping.
We rehearsed with cast one today. So I did my small role, then wrote notes and took photos for the other cast members. Magen is doing such a splendid job- the accent, the faces, the body language. She is AMAZING!
Mainly, our next focus will be transitions. Bringing props and set on and off is always a bit of a tackle- most people don't like doing it. Make it a performance! We also need to work on bringing our energy up as the Witches- it' always a struggle on Monday mornings. People are tired and grumpy- but we need these scenes to be huge. It needs to have an impact.
After college, I stayed back to help out with the open evening. Its an extra job, and its fun. I like getting involved in this stuff- especially since its my last year I want to make as many memories that I can.
TUESDAY 12TH OCTOBER
I had a pretty late night last night, as I was filming Sam Luke's horror film. Great script by the way.
We played ninja as a warm up...and god almighty if you thought partners was intense you've never seen ninja. I'm fairly decent at it, but Henry always targets me. He looks at me with such a smug little smirk. Count your days Henry...just kidding. Don't ninja roll at me.
For todays rehearsal, we did cast two, where I am a witch. I think I'm doing alright at it, I just need to remember the smaller actions and to keep acting while others are too. It's hard sometimes to not sit and watch when there's big characters in the scene.
We got a lot of rehearsal done, but I had to stay back as I was filming with Sam again. I am filming with Emily and Jason. I love filming with Em, she's a best friend and a great actor. And I love the crew as well. So I'm happy.
WEDNESDAY 13TH OCTOBER
Another chaotic game of Ninja to start the day. I'm not even going to mention Henry. He targeted me, as per. But today we played a new game! Not sure of its official title, so i'll say the Name Game. Basically, you choose a celebrity name (Harry Styles was mine, of course) and you tell everyone your name. Then somebody is elected a super fan. The celebrities walk around, and if the super fan comes over you must say "Don't get me get *insert other celeb*", but if they touch you then you're the super fan. This is actually a new favourite- its fast and requires a lot of remembering.
Today we had to bring in at least one costume, some people's haven't arrived yet as they'd ordered it. I had both of mine- a simple white shirt, black leggings and a black and white blazer for the doctor, and a black dress and scarf for the witch.
After our lunch, we had a zoom call with a friend of Kelly's, David. David also attended this college, and now he's acting in West End's 'The Play that Goes Wrong'. Hats off to you David. He was really chill and super funny- he gave us a pep talk and motivated us. He advised us on how to keep going and keep up our energy.
Kelly had a meeting, and when she returned we got on with cast one rehearsals for the ballroom scene.
We worked on the death scene as it was just a bit too face paced and needed to be slowed down a bit.
Kane stepped in as Sara was rehearsing a show and we'd normally have her. I don't know what went wrong because I left for a film reshoot with Robyn but apparently it wasn't good.
THURSDAY 14TH OCTOBER
Like usual, we kicked off with Ninja. Henry...you're on thin ice buddy. Kane said we should play the number game, which is infuriating. We had to get upto 27. It took a while. A lot of frustration, but at least it gets us to focus hard.
I did have to leave to film (well get makeup) with Emily, but before we left we worked on the witches death scene. It was still just a bit too fast and it needed to be lengthened to get the music correct. We did this for a good few minutes, but Em and I had to leave shortly after.
We headed down to makeup, we needed lots of bite marks and cuts as in Sam's horror, were murdered by a cannibal. The MUA's are immense- it looked so realistic, I was a bit terrified.
We had a slight change in crew, as Tom is off sick. Poor Tom. Instead Bailey will be joining us. We had to sit and wait for a while for continuity reasons- as it needed to be dark. And... Sam ordered us pizza. He is a gift from the Gods.
We only had a few small scenes to do- basically me finding Emily dead and us dead at the table with the Chef (Jason). The scene looked really cool, I have to admit. Jack had a field day chopping up beef and putting it everywhere covered in fake blood. Never seen the boy so excited. The scene took a while, but it was so worth it. Sam was super happy with it, and I'm proud of him because it looks awesome.
Although I spent most my day in makeup and filming, I really enjoyed it and im really proud of the projects we've accomplished so far.
MONDAY 18TH OCTOBER
This marks the beginning of show week. Stressful. Tiring. Draining. Yet so worth it.
We really have to drill these scenes and get as much rehearsal done as possible. Which is what we did.
We tend to rehearse cast one more, so were trying to balance it out here.
Kelly requested I do an accent for the doctor- an RP posh accent. I don't do much of this, but I cracked down and learned it and I think it added a whole new element to the character and made it much more of a bigger scene. I don't know how, but it just did.
I'm not going to lie, I've had a bit of a day. Just stressed, very anxious and burnt out. I had to take some time to gather myself because I just wasn't feeling like me. I didn't perform as well as I could've.
But tomorrow will be better hopefully.
TUESDAY 19TH OCTOBER
Okay. Time to really knuckle down. The first show is tomorrow.
I made sure I had everything- my costumes, safe and sound. Props are all in. Extra things like gloves that people will need for the witches scenes. It's all starting to feel very real now.
We're rehearing in the theatre, sorting lighting and cues with the help of Kelly, Kieran and Kane.
Were in the middle of cast two's death scene. It's going great. I'm on the floor dead.
What happens next? I ONLY GET ASSAULTED BY A TROLLEY.
Essentially, the soup tureen trolley thing is pushed at the Grand High Witch, who dodges it, and it sweeps Mr Jenkins (Daniel) off his feet. But no. Of course not. My big head just happens to be in the way and I got walloped. I've never been more embarrassed. All I can hear is Kelly from the top shouting asking if I'm okay. I mean, it didn't hurt that bad I was just embarrassed and wanted to crawl in a hole.
Nevertheless, rehearsals went pretty well and I feel a lot better today- nervous but excited for tomorrow.
Bring on the show!
WEDNESDAY 20TH OCTOBER
AAAH! TODAY IS THE FIRST SHOW DAY! It feels amazing to say that. After last year, and not being able to do consistent shows through the year, I've been rearing to just get onto stage. Props to Kelly for banging out a huge show like this in term one.
This morning is exciting, because Kelly is on BBC radio tees. SO we all gathered pretty early (well, Magen, Ethan, Kalem, Emily, Justin and a few others) in the theatre because we were so excited.
This show is a bit harder to tech on the day as people are in and out of makeup, and theres the bald caps. This takes AGES.
So I spent most my time gathering myself, practising my little scene and making sure everything is where I need it to be.
Time moves really fast on show days, everyones got lots to do and sort out.
We rehearsed as much we could with missing witches and people but as soon as it hit 6:00pm it all felt real. All systems were go.
And, get this...WE HAVE A FULL HOUSE! In the whole world of acting history at this college its never happened. EVER. I felt so proud of everyone and it just amped it all up for me. I'm waiting in my spot back stage. Listening to the music as people get seated.
The lights go down. Opening music starts. Everyone goes stark silent.
IT'S TIME.
The first few scenes we're amazing. Everyone was doing a fab job. Now it's time for my scene. I walk on. Head up high. I did everything I planned. I speak my lines, remembering the accent, clear and loud. Even got a few laughs in there.
Now, last night Kelly informed me I should be a waiter at the end. I've never rehearsed this. So literally the entire end restaurant scene was improv. I think I pulled it off pretty damn well, considering I didn't know anything.
Before I knew it, it was the bows. You never get bored of the feeling at the end of the show. There's so much adrenaline and passion.
In a conclusion of todays show:
I think everybody performed amazingly. There was a few blips with projection but some of these actors are new to this.
I think my scene went as well as it possibly could've- I did everything planned and made it my own scene. That's all I wanted to do. Take a small character and steal the scene.
Considering the whole end scene, for me, was improv, I'm pretty damn proud of myself.
We're an amazing team and we're capable of amazing things. Tonight proved it.
BRING ON THE NEXT SHOW!
THURSDAY 21ST OCTOBER
And here we go again! Show day number two. Bring it on!
Today is my witch day- thrilling. A bit nervous for bald caps, latex is awful to get off. However, we can start makeup later now as the MUA's have a clearer time frame after yesterdays show.
We kicked off with some quiz splat to warm us up. Nice and calm. Then ninja. Henry. I swear on my life. P.S. sorry for getting you out Rebecca. Love you.
We really needed a fair amount of rehearsing as cast two didn't get as much as cast one. We had to stop and start to perfect transitions and the smaller things, sorting out which side we start on and that good stuff.
Then came bald capping.
I have really thick hair so I was a bit worried, but the MUA's are insanely good so that was squashed down. We had a bit of trouble because none of the bald caps fit my weirdly shaped head, then one split. So they worked their magic and finally got it on- then the makeup began.
Now, never in my life did I want my boyfriend to see me in a bald cap covered in spots, but here we are. And no I didn't hear the end of it off him. Thanks, Samuel.
Most of my time was spent in makeup, by the time it'd finished it was around 6.
When I was finished, the majority of the cast were still getting ready. To alleviate the nerves we put some music on. Nothing like a good bit of One Direction to calm you down. I don't think Daniel and Sam were too amused when I forced them to dance. Sorry.
We did a final bit of rehearsing and then it was time to head backstage.
Not a full house tonight, but there was probably 7 seats left. I'm still just as excited to have a big audience like this.
And like yesterday, the lights go down. Music begins. Everyone is silent.
Let's do this!
For the first part, with Ethan and Mark it was going really well. I know Mark has struggled because he missed pretty much all of last year, but I'm rooting for him.
Now I have a very small scene being a witch.
Basically, Em's character (Bea) is a brat and won't let me past. I remembered to cover my nose, and scratch my head. That's ticked off the list. I could bounce my energy off of Em's which helps massively. I think our little scene went really smooth. Few laughs. Score.
Now. The big ballroom scene. This was going great- I spoke in my witch voice, cackled, just basically acted like a menace. Then Magen and I could not for the life of us get my wig back on. I've never panicked more. I think we salvaged it with some improv though. Thank God. The ballroom scene went swimmingly, Boy's death scene was definitely haunting like it was supposed to be.
Now I'm backstage waiting for the death scene. I can hear onstage and it all sounds awesome. Go team! (little stuff reference there).
Act 2 soon rolls on, and it's time to become a mouse. All I'm thinking is. Make it big. Remember timing. Don't rush. I hear the cue to start transforming, I'm coughing, then gagging, falling over, screaming my head off.
Actually, rather sweet, Kalem and I died holding hands. Awww. And my head wasn't punctured by a trolley.
And like yesterday, the bows begin. Justin is screaming from the audience. Bless him.
All I can say is, wow. I am so utterly proud of this cast and crew. To bang out a huge show like this, in the first time, while selling out one show and almost selling out the second...it's hard to put into words how amazed and thrilled I am.
I think this year is off to a fab start and I can't wait to continue. I worked with small characters and made them big- which was a challenge I set myself. To steal the scene with a small role. I have felt my confidence burst since beginning this show and I feel so much better in myself in my abilities.
Next up, I'm going to go for a bigger role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I know what I am capable of and I'm confident. But I also know I need a new challenge, an eccentric character which I can pick apart and make my own.
This show was amazing. I'll never forget it.
I'm signing off now, until my next project.
Talk to you soon x
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
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