Week Eight - Week Twelve

Wednesday 28^th April

Today I have made some very important changes to my character development for Ares. I spent about two hours today viewing videos from the catalogues at the library. I was in search of, and eventually found, an Aboriginal tribal dance depicting a kangaroo. I have been looking for such footage to view another interpretation of a kangaroo, and more importantly improve upon my ideas.

 The video ‘Havelock Festival’ presented an aboriginal man moving like a kangaroo. His body was bent over and low to the ground. I also noticed his hands were crossed over his body, rather than pointing out straight. The man moved slowly and created an appearance suggesting that kangaroos are not always firm and confident in their movements. What does mean for my character?

 This information allows me to formulate a different approach to my presentation of Ares. The movement and characterisation I will eventually create for Ares needs to communicate a message to the audience. The message being, that through hard work, effort and training Ares’ achieves his goal to be an Olympic athlete. The development of this character is also significant as Ares begins the play as a shy and unconfident kangaroo and as the play continues he develops self-belief and confidence.

 With the information I have received from this video, I can now revise my physical presentation of Ares by developing these new concepts on stage. I will begin the play with Ares in a slouched position, arms crossed over the body. This communicates to the audience his negative body language, indicating a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. As the play continues Ares will straighten his stance, uncross his arms and even begin to smile more often. The purpose of this development is to communicate to the audience the gain of confidence, pride and self-respect.

 The written words of the script clearly indicate the logical progression of Ares’ development of confidence. With the help of clearly defined movement the audience can build a greater understanding of the characters in the play. It is a significant point to make by saying ‘words and movement often equally communicate the dramatic experience’ (Williams, 1968:172). The movement of a character can say more than two pages of dialogue, just as a picture is said to be worth a thousand words.

Wednesday 5^th May

 Today was a fun class centring on dance and movement. This initially scared me, knowing how I lack rhythm and the ability to dance. Despite these problems, I went to have fun and hopefully learn something new and I did. Like Theatre in Education, Children’s Theatre empowers students to learn and develop new information and skills. Today we were given the opportunity to experiment and develop our own style of movement, which was very important for a number of reasons.

 Movement is a crucial aspect of theatre. Dance and movement communicate to the audience the emotions and thoughts that words often cannot. Dance is also quite an enjoyable event for children to watch, as it is fun and entertaining. For the cast, learning simple movements for the stage is an important process for actors to experience. Through practice and persistence, anyone can improve skills.

 The time I attempted juggling during the circus workshop, for instance, was appalling. Since taking part in the workshop I have thought to myself how I would love to try and learn to juggle. It was during the two-week break that I started practicing, and now I can juggle quite confidently. Similar to the way I study and learn, I identified a goal and then approached the problem systematically. After a lot of time, a load of mistakes and many, many nights I perfected the skills. For these reasons, I do not fear the addition of any dance routines in the production, as I know I will work hard to learn anything quickly and proficiently.

 One thing I did notice today was the importance of warm-ups. At the beginning of every workshop, and especially this dance class, we always commence with warm-ups. I don’t believe I have ever talked about the importance of these stretches. Just like professional athletes we practice or rehearse. If athletes warm-up before every practice and match, why shouldn’t we?

 It is crucial, as actors, to begin each rehearsal in a relaxed and easy manner. If you walked straight off the street and into a rehearsal where you are required to dance around on stage, you could inflict serious injury if you are not prepared. Warm-ups allow you to gently relax and calmly introduce your body to the movements in preparation for the up and coming work ahead.

Wednesday 12^th May

 To begin with, I would like to say how excited I was today. I was allowed to wear my completed costume for the first time. It is unusual experience as, with the exception of makeup, it completes the visual image I have of Ares. Just a simple thing like wearing my costume has made me realise and develop variations on my already full approach to the character.

 One thing I have realised is that my development of Ares will continue up until the last day of the performance. Just wearing the costume today has allowed me to realise that Ares’ knees need to be slightly parted.  The slack image of a school student (or kangaroo) is an important message to communicate to the audience. I will continue to make little variations to my characterisation, as it is important I work hard to create this character.

 The purpose of this play is to educate the audience. Every member of the cast and crew contribute to the success of this objective. For this production to be successful I must work hard to fulfil my obligations and agreements of the play. It is vital the standard of work I present is the best that I can do. To achieve this I have spent a lot of time thinking about my character, drawing sketches and developing a believable character. It is important I receive feedback on this as soon as possible to confirm that I am on the right track.

 With this in mind, today I handed in my assignment to be critiqued. I have done this for a number of reasons. I require feedback, because if I am doing something wrong with my development of Ares I need to know now. Presenting a character that is incorrectly portrayed may not communicate to the audience successfully. In fact to confuse the audience with poor characterisation could result in the plays message being lost. To loose any educational aspects of the play would be disastrous.

 Furthermore I am also here to learn. This unit is here to educate university students in the aspects of Children’s Theatre. Receiving any constructive criticism or feedback will allow me to create a better character. Any comments will also allow me to concentrate and improve before the unit is completed. Simply by taking the opportunity to be assessed, I can then create a better approach to my character development. By using a new method, the character I create will assist the play and the message being presented to the audience.

Wednesday 19^th May

Great to get my assignment feedback and with good reason, I am delighted. I placed great effort in the creation and development of Ares and I was successful in communicating this in my work. This is however not the final effort that I will put into the unit. I would like to extend my research and go beyond the set texts and view the CD Rom of ‘Shakespeare at Sea’.

 From this additional research I hope to confirm my knowledge of Theatre in Education. I hope the information will assist me in understanding the concepts and purposes of Children’s Theatre from a different perspective. This inturn will develop my confidence in myself and in the presentation of my character. In this area, there will always be further development to be done of Ares. For example the learning of lines is again important.

 This week I have been able to learn the lines to all of the songs in which I take part. Just like learning the script, it was important that I memorized the lyrics as quickly as possible. Knowing the songs means I can now focus on my dance, stage positioning and any other movements. This week, placing the emphasis on the learning of the lyrics has insured I can feel more comfortable on the stage, and therefore stay in character.

Also today, as a group, we went to have an introduction to the Nexus Theatre. Although I have been there before, it was an important experience. It allowed people unfamiliar with the venue to look around. It was also good to get a perspective for our upcoming performances in only four weeks. The main purpose of the introduction was to do with safety issues.

 It is crucial to go through the safety procedures associated with the theatre. Simple issues needed to be said in order for everyone to think of not only themselves but also the group. Dealing with so many crewmembers, it is important to clarify the procedures and aspects of the theatre to ensure everyone stays safe.

Wednesday 26^th May

 Today was our first rehearsal in the Nexus Theatre. It was really interesting to perform in the correct venue, as it adds a different dimension to the production. Now I have a concept of the space and area to perform in, as well as the need to project clearly and communicate properly to the whole audience. Soon the theatre will be filled with many children coming to see us perform. With this in mind, I thought it was important to revisit some of the concepts associated with Children’s Theatre and Theatre in Education.

 The Production – The themes of the play are important, as there is a need for the production to present ‘subjects of social significance’ (Fotheringham, 1987:44). To gain the audiences interest and in fact educate them, the themes need to be current and appealing. ‘Theatre inevitably reflects the culture of the society in which it exists’ (Brown, 1971:167). The themes of bullying, sportsmanship and cheating are all present in our community and in the play ‘Athena Emu at the Olympics’. The setting itself, the Olympics, is a current subject, as the event will be held later this year. A good story will hold the audience’s attention. Through observation, the audience can understand and react positively or negatively to the characters and situations that occur.

 The Production Team – Now that we are so close to the presentation of the production, the cast and crew need to work as one. The cast need to respect the work that has been put into the sets, the stage, lighting and costumes. The cast is required to value the wardrobe and properties departments’ work, as it would take a lot of time to replace any damaged items. The cast also needs to watch out for each other, assist with costume changes, remind performers of stage cues and keep quiet backstage when others are performing.

 The Audience – In a Theatre in Education production, the audience learns in two main ways. The initial presentation allows the audience to observe the characters and situations on stage. The observers may know the situations or they might witness events that are foreign to them. Theatre ‘can introduce us to a range of experiences that lie outside of our normal lives’ (Brown, 1971:167). Through these experiences the children can learn ways to interact with similar situations and these skills can be developed in their school’s workshops.

 The workshops are an extension of the production. With help from the education pack being developed, children can interact with the themes presented in the play. Children can take part in role-playing, discussions and other activities that allow the themes of the play to be further explored. Role-playing enables children to re-enact and manipulate certain situations from the play. It is important ‘to let children invent problems and their solutions’ (Neelands, 1992:39). These activities allow children to develop their problem solving strategies and other skills crucial to the aspects present in Theatre in Education (O’Toole, 1976). This production offers the audience a way to create and develop life-improving skills.

 Today before the rehearsal, I sat in on the production meeting. I found it quite useful to see how they were progressing. A number of issues were raised and I was able to help with suggestions I may not have mentioned at other times. At the end of each cast rehearsal we are normally asked if there are any questions or problems, although most things are forgotten as the day rolls on. As each separate section was brought up in the production meeting, I was welcomed to contribute ideas and concerns of the play.

Friday 28^th May

 Today in Nexus Theatre we had a workshop for the Australian animals and the cockatoos. The purpose of the class was to develop the beginning of Scene Three, Act Two. The scene calls for a number of circus skills and focuses on the presentation of Athens, the new location in the play. This scene needs to present Athens and the Olympics as the place of fun, energy and the area to develop skills.

 We began by discussing the inclusion of circus skills including cartwheels, handstands and human pyramids. The concept of the pyramid gave me the idea of how to include the Olympic rings into the scene. I suggested that we begin the scene constructing a human pyramid and holding the Olympic rings in front of ourselves, we workshopped the idea as a group.

 The ensemble worked together to create and develop the idea and as a result of everyone’s input, we have now created a fantastic scene. This result showed how these actors bring teamwork and the right attitude to this production. A cast should always focus on the message and purpose of the play and how to communicate it to the audience. These are fundamental Theatre in Education concepts and are important for the play to succeed. The ensemble works together to communicate the message, demonstrates knowledge of the scene and discovers a way to achieve it. The Olympics are an important aspect of this play, even though they don’t appear visually anywhere in the production.

 The idea combines circus skills, teamwork, unity and the Olympic rings, which not only represent the games themselves but also the Olympic spirit. The rehearsal today showed a commitment from the cast to develop their characters and improve the scene. The workshop was hard (I have the bruises to show it), yet extremely crucial and rewarding.

Sunday 30^th May

 As this is the first day of a weeklong rehearsal period, I would like to state my intentions for my future journal entries. I will attempt to produce one for each day, but mainly focus on three main questions. What I think went well today? What I believe didn’t go well and how I may possibly improve? I hope this logical assessment of the rehearsal week will allow me to efficiently reflect on the most important aspects of the day.

 For the rehearsal today, I was extremely impressed with the circus skills scene we performed in the Second Act. Although we only learnt and rehearsed on Friday, the scene worked well. More importantly the curtain rose twenty seconds earlier than it should have yet all the Australian animals and cockatoos were ready. As a result of always being ready a page before an entrance, we now know if this ever happens again we will be prepared. The main problem occurring at the moment is the pace of rehearsals.

 Stopping and starting, plus the presentation of scenes with the correct properties and sets takes time to grasp. Over the next week we will experiment and try new ideas, unfortunately time will be wasted. By going through the production many times, the play should become smoother.

 I have now had a chance to look at the CD-Rom of ‘Shakespeare at Sea’, and feel it is important to mention a number of points. Children’s Theatre is an exclusive way to perform primarily to younger people. Theatre itself is a forum that is unfamiliar to them. Jenny de Reuck said she enjoys this type of production because it offers children ‘a sense of the delight that only live theatre can generate’.

Young people respond well to the interactions appearing on stage. Children ‘enjoy the raw comedy of characters bumping into each other’. Television shows like Funniest Home Videos are hilarious because they offer slapstick comedy based in a reality setting. Children’s Theatre is about learning through the observation of characters on stage; the more entertaining, the more focus generated.

 The standard for these productions are still high, as children can be the worst critics. Everything on stage needs to be prepared and rehearsed to a certain quality. Jenny said she ‘brought in professionals who directed workshops that gave us a polished edge’. A professional looking production is the key to the success of Children’s Theatre.

View other 'Children's Theatre' journal entries...

Week One - Week Five          Week Six - Study Break Two

Week Eight - Week Twelve          Week Thirteen - Week Fourteen

...or view other journals...

Semiotics and Performance: The role of the Actor (2005)     Performing Shakespeare in the Classroom (2005)

Drama and The Curriculum (Summer, 2005)     Children's Theatre (2004)     Acting (2004)

... or view...     Photo Gallery and Lesson Plans

Go to Children's Theatre: My Journal     History      Notice Board      Your Work

Contact Andrew @ thechaseison@optusnet.com.au