Community Notice Board 2006 - Week Eleven

Week Eleven - Week Twelve 2006

Week Eleven

Click here... Darren to read the character profile of Caballus

here is a point raised in my essay about which I'd be interested to hear others thoughts

When completely involved in the theatre some young children may fail to make the decision between acting and reality (Pogonat, 1978). The fact that the stage is close to the audience can heighten this effect and cause conflict and arguments to overwhelm small children. Although most producers of children's theatre would be loathe to sacrifice plot by deleting scenes involving fighting or scary elements (such as witches and swords), O'Toole questions how justifiable it is to traumatise a few special cases to ensure the majority is entertained.

Selina Marciano

The bump into Nexus was interesting. I hadn't realised that we would have to do so much re blocking. It was great however to start to get a feeling for working in an actual theatre. I spent a lot of Wednesday watching others rehearse and also sticking holes in the backdrops for lights. (We
all have to help out any way we can). Thursday was much more satisfying just working our scenes with Darren and Mel. Both of them have worked really hard to take us from raw beginners to something approaching actor status and I really appreciate the help and support they have given us. It was fantastic to work on voice projection when there is actually someone standing at the back of the theatre to here you. It is very satisfying working with the fairies of the enchanted garden. Belle, Kita, Sandie, Jenny, Carol and Selina are a great group and we all work well supporting each other.

Glynis Knyvett

hi guys :) if you dont allready know we have a play on tonight that Belle, Tara s, Merideth, Danni and Lauren
in Childrens Theatre are all in.

its called chamber music and its on at the drama workshop wednesday(tonight), thurs and fri doors open
730pm and starts at 8pm it costs five bucks but its really funny so its worth it :) hehe

WE need support guys, we all worked really hard on this so it would be great if you guys could come down
and check it out :)

ok hope to see you there

Belle Toy

Remember all that elemental stuff that Salmia talked about in the movement workshop? I
highly recommend checking out http://www.friesian.com/elements.htm
If you want any ideas or inspiration for character movement, groupings, qualities or
elements, then this is the website to check out. It has everything:
Greek
Medievil
Indian
Chinese
Buddist

If you can't manage to check that out, just watch some old episodes of Captain Planet
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098763/ or http://www.turner.com/planet/

Kit Sparrow

Week Twelve

(The following is an except from Glynis' essay) You have your troupe of actors and your play and you know your audience will be children but how do you choose the venue for your performance. Is there a suitable theatre nearby, a community hall, a school auditorium, an amphitheatre, an outdoor stage or are you reduced to using a section of the school playground or the local park. When looking at your options it will be necessary to consider such things as the cost of hiring the venue, transporting all your props, scenery and the actors and also whether it is easy for your audience to get to the venue. You will also need to consider what type of stage is available at your chosen venue. There are three main types of stages, the proscenium, thrust and arena. 'The proscenium arch was the most common form of theatre building in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries'. A proscenium arch stage traditionally is like a window frame with the audience looking in through the window. A thrust or platform stage juts out into a central area with the audience generally on three sides. 'It is the oldest known fixed type of staging in the world and is thousands of years old'. An arena stage or Theatre in the Round is a central stage with the audience on all sides. It became popular in the late 1960s. Most community and school halls will have a proscenium stage. The problem with school halls particularly is that the stage is 'often awkward and inhospitable and the hall used as a dining room and for PE' . There is also sometimes a problem with both these venues in finding suitable rehearsal times as they are very often buildings used by many other groups. Amphitheatres tend to have either arena or thrust stages, which although providing greater intimacy with the audience, have several problems that need to be addressed. Sets have to be carefully sized and placed so as to not interfere with the audience's view and it is difficult for the actors to be heard by people sitting behind them. Performing outdoors may be the only option available in some areas and these are often wonderful experiences for all concerned. 'A leafy corner of your local park or the grassy banks of a river can offer you a natural setting that no designer could match'. With outdoor theatre however there are a number of factors that need to be considered; these are noise from nearby roads or industry, security for actors' belongings and sets and props, the closest nearby toilet facilities and the provision of a power supply.

Glynis Knyvett

First of all Andrew, I would like to say GREAT WEBPAGE! The Children's Theatre course has been a fantastic experience for me and I've met lots of great and interesting people in the course. Apart from having the wonderful opprotunity to be able to act as Mustard Seed in the play, I have enjoyed helping in various areas of the production. I have had an awesome time helping Jason, Justin, Irene and Prima with building the caravan and the mushroom house and helping Jennie with the props. Charcoaling and painting the backdrops was also fun! It's so rewarding to see the achievements of everyone's hardwork and dedication towards this play. It's going to be so spectacular that this play will rock!!!

Jenny Boulton

I think it's funny that I know most of everyone by their characters names. I wanna learn everyone's REAL name by the end of week 13 or even earlier! Haha!

Carol Li-an