Study Break: Week Two - Week Eight
Study Break: Week Two
(Sketches from Samantha Dawn; one of the costume designer)
Children's theatre is a magical experience, which I am proud to be part off. However, if u would like an insight into a CD's life, We as costume designers are animated storytellers, historians, social commentators, psychologists and magicians who are constantly trying to conjure up life on stage and set the mood. Added to that, we also have to be good accountants to juggle THE BUDGET and cry struggling with the creative eccentricities of the director. But what ever the task, we try to give it our best :)
(More original sketches of Sam's costume designs)
Felix
Van Dyke
In
this weeks journal entry I will be focussing trying to establish a character
analysis of my character Felix Van Dyke an inadequate artist. If the character
you as an actor are playing is to be real and truthful, you need to bring your
understanding of yourself to the character. You must also understand as much as
the character and the reasons for the character’s behaviour. (Tourelle &
McNamara, 1998)
The
Stanislavski’s system has dominated acting training since it first came to be
in early 20 century. Stanislavski
believed that actors should use their own past experiences and memories to build
a life for each character they play. The character must live through the actor.
It is by reading the Stanislavski’s system that I have developed the below
character analysis and background.
Name;
Felix Van Dyke, Age; 34yrs, My
Class; low scale of middle class
My
Job; Artist (Inadequate),
Where do I live; Amsterdam, Holland,
Who
am I; Van Dyke is a
troubled soul having been hit by a cart when he was 25yrs of age resulting in
him loosing most of the movement in his front right paw. Van Dyke was a
carpenter before his accident so as a direct result of not been able to use both
his arms he turned to painting to try and curb his creative impulses. His
artwork was to say the least different, however he had managed to gain some
respect in the art world, (some would say it was more out of sympathy than his
art work). Also as a result of his accident Van Dyke started to become a
recluse, often not been scene or heard from in weeks by anyone including his
older sister Ingrid who was the only member of his family that was still alive.
His only friends were the shady characters of his art world that he would not
trust in a million years. Van Dyke
although still alive his heart had stopped beating since his accident and it was
with this reason he had agreed to travel with Mihn Heer Katzenellenbogen to the
Spice Islands that and the fact he had not yet finished his portrait of
Katzenellenbogen and therefore would not be paid. Van Dyke had become slightly
overweight and indeed was very nervous; he felt that the trip and the sea breeze
might do him wonders. Van Dyke did not care for the rich and all their trappings
but certainly had no objection in accepting money from them.
What
time is it; The adventure
would take place sometime in the late 18th early 19th
century.
Where
am I; At start of play I
will be located in Holland, before our trip to Rottnest Island, an island full
of beauty and mystery.
What
are my relationships with other characters;
The only relationships that Van Dyke shares is with Katzenellenbogen, however
that is only a platonic relationship and as far as he was concerned would be
over with as soon as he got paid. The other major relationship that Van Dyke
shares is with Rottnest Island itself. The longer he stays on the island the
better he feels within himself and to the world around him and the longer he is
there the more confidence he exhubes.
What
is my objective; My first
objective is to finish the portrait of Katzenellenbogen then it is to fall in
love with Rottnest Island.
What
is the obstacle;
Katzenellenbogen and his rich pompish arrogant attitude to those who are not in
his social circle.
What
is the action; To
concentrate on finishing Katzenellenbogen’s portrait then I can concentrate on
the thing they makes me happy painting landscapes.
What
is my super objective; My
super objective is to show that the experience of travelling to Rottnest Island
has had a great positive effect on my character’s personality and that I can
show how the character’s has transformed from this shy and reclusive painter
to a confident artist.
What
is my through line of action; As
the story develops my character must be scene to be falling in love with
Rottnest and that his growing confidence is evident.
Characters Voice; As Van Dyke is from Holland a Dutch accent would be most appropriate here. To ensure that my accent is passable as that of a Dutch accent I am viewing various videos that have distinguishing Dutch accents as well as driving my flatmates crazy by talking to them in Dutch
John Jarzabek
(Focus on characterisation and direction becomes an important part of the following weeks)
Here is a humorous "10 Commandments for a Costume
Designer" that u might enjoy
Thou shalt not imitate
Thou shalt not cater
Thou shalt not seek effectiveness for its own sake
Thou shalt not employ expedients
Thou shalt not exploit thyself nor suffer thyself to be exploited by
others
Thou shalt not concern thyself with the opinions of any but the sensitive
and the informed
Thou shalt not give to anything the thing he wants. Unless for thyself
the thing he wants is right
Thou shalt not compromise with popular taste nor with fashion nor with
machinery nor with the desire of gain
Thou shalt not be satisfied
Thou shalt not design as duty but as delight
Porter Garnett
1871 - 1951
(We regrettably morn the passing of Daniel Stone's character, Jan)
Just a quick note mainly for the actors/musos - demo CDs will
be available only on Wednesday during class... unfortunately it's taken a long
time to finish 'em off...spent all of the weekend and Monday finishing the
programming and recording and i'll be spending all of today (Tuesday) doing the
mixing and mastering (well, i'll simply be chucking the vocals on top of the
music, but "mixing and mastering" has such a professional ring to it,
doesn't it...?) :P ... so Wednesday morning, boys and girls, my apologies
for those who've been hanging out for it (although i can't imagine why you
would, HAHAHAHA)
hugs and kisses and handshakes where appropriate...
Can I reiterate how important it is to let me know if you will not make it to the production meeting and/or rehearsal. A text message would be fine. 0404 075 853.
Valerie O'Neill
Week Eight
This [unit] is meant to be a learning experience, so if there's ways that we can give you resources to make this better, we need to know so we can find these resources.
Brien
Keys
here's a list of definitions for the song
"Brandy Poured Out In A Tarnished Flute":
salmagundi = a dish of vegetables and pressed meats
cackle fruit = chicken eggs
hogshead = a barrel for holding alcohol
bumboo = grog = booze = alcohol
head = the toilet
Read Nick's
blogs @ http://nickmaniac.blogspot.com
Click here... MUSIC to read Nick's lyrics
(This really sums up the group! No words required)
Many people have asked, which comes first, the music or the lyrics? Well, in most cases, the music comes first. The process of writing the songs takes several steps, which I list as follows:
i) Discussions with the playwright, and read-through of script: this would give me the basic idea of what style the music should be in; e.g. pop, rock, jazz, etc. For last year's Athena Emu, Jenny suggested a contemporary feel in the style of Disney's Hercules, which led to the style of pop-gospel. This year is more complex because of the setting of the show and the theme of pirates, which led to me looking more towards the stylings of Gilbert &
Sullivan and such "classical"-style music.
ii) Determining the role of the song: I look at the areas in the script where songs are suggest to get an idea of what they would be about, and who would perform them. This would help me decide such factors as tempo (fast or slow), emotion, content and so on.
iii) Experimentation: With the idea in mind, I would sit at the keyboard and start coming up with melodies. Here, I can't describe how it happens, it just does. I basically start playing stuff at random, and if something fits, I record it to make sure I don't forget it. I'm sure others who write songs know what I mean when I say "it just happens". :)
iv) Development: Once a raw idea of the song has been recorded, the next step would be to "confirm" it, as it were: figuring out the exact melody-lines, making sure the tune doesn't change each time I play it; playing with chords to find the appropriate chord structures; playing with tempi and drumming rhythms, etc. This process doesn't stop until the songs are performed for the audience, because there are always rewrites and refining over the duration of production rehearsals.
v) Lyric-writing: Once the melody is satisfactory, I would then think of words to fit with the tune, using the script as a basis for what the words would say. This year's songs were tricky because of the pirate jargon I had to look up, and yet the lyrics were easier because a large amount of them came straight out of Jenny's wonderful script.
vi) Rewriting and refining: This refers to factors such as the length of the song in view of the overall play, determining the singers' vocal range, working with singers, musicians and choreographers where relevant, writing out individual music parts for each musician, and so on. Sometimes a song might end up being unsuitable for a particular character or scene, in which case it is either rewritten or scrapped altogether. This might happen. Be prepared, my children. Be prepared.
Of course, no matter how hard I write and rewrite and refine, the songs would be nothing without the wonderful performers who bring them to new heights, both actors and musicians. It is due to their talent,
improvisational ingenuity and daring to try something new that gives the songs their true meaning and impact, so for that, I thank all of you. :))) love,
Nick.
Post script: in rebuttal to Paul's statement that this year's play doesn't have a moral message - well, I apologise, but I
inadvertently took on that role when I wrote the lyrics to the finale. Sorry. :P
Heheheeeeeeeeeee.
Check out the pictures and songs from last year's production @ http://geocities.com/nick_cmkit/productions.html
(Aaron, Val, Jenny and Sarah pay attention at another production meeting)
Isn't the music wonderful!
Jenny de Reuck
Firstly,
I got approval from Jenny for the wooden movable seagull concept and got the
idea from model a friend had made of a parrot.
I
then researched how I could adapt this idea, through books and photo’s, and I
finally drew a paper template I could use for my first seagull prototype. This
was then traced onto some recycled plywood and with the help of our resident
carpenter “Phil Watson” I cut out the two wings and body of the seagull
using a jigsaw, oh yes must not forget to mention all the gorgeous safety
accessories I had to wear. I’m
glad our resident photographer “Andrew” wasn’t on site to snap a picture
of me in action. Catching a glimpse of my reflection with all the safety gear
was enough to frighten me! Let
alone the onlookers. Any way, enough of the melodrama..
After
a thorough safety induction and operational tips from Phil, I was eager to get
stuck in. However, the actual skills involved proved to be more difficult than
what I imagined. My original template had small curved edges along the wings,
and jig- sawing along it proved to be a real challenge. Hence the template will
be adapted for the remaining seagull puppets.
The curves will be gentler in which will make the jigsaw process easier
and I found the same effect could be achieved by using paint to define the
feathers and wing shape.
As
we used recycled plywood, which was painted black, red and yellow for previous
productions, the second task was applying several undercoats of white paint. As
this was a time consuming process I completed the painting process at home.
For the final coat I used a folk art paint
“Pearl white by Plaid” as it gives the seagull a wonderful shine,
especially under lights.
Assembling
the wings onto the body correctly to enable the seagull to fly gracefully was a
little tricky. However I was lucky to get some expert advice from a local
handyman – artist and following his instructions proofed successful.
All
in all a rewarding experience and the rest of the production team were happy
with the end result.
Marilyn Dentice
(Marilyn Dentice's seagull puppets constructed for the production)
... great work with you website, it very creative and visual.
Sarah Mason
(Ai Ling Yeo gets her first chance to wear part of her costume)
(Sunday rehearsal with Lauren, Rohan and Charlie)
View other Notice Board entries... Week One - Week Two Week Three - Week Four
Week Five - Week Six Week Seven - Study Break: Week One Study Break: Week Two - Week Eight
Week Nine - Week Ten Week Eleven - Week Twelve Week Thirteen Week Fourteen
View other 'Quokka' production extras... Draft Music - Act One Music - Act Two
Script and Music - Act One Script and Music - Act Two Photo Gallery Production Wrap-up Cast and Crew Party
Go to Children's Theatre: My Journal History Notice Board Your Work
Contact Andrew @ thechaseison@optusnet.com.au
This page last updated: 22nd December 2005