Community Notice Board - Week Seven

(Reading over the script again!!! With each reading, ensemble meaning is created)

WEEK SEVEN - The saga continues. While fighting many space battles, lone Jedi Paulie-wan Kenobi has landed on Uptopaia to find the location of the separatist leader general...wait oh children?s theatre right...ok well then.

Week seven, "all eventual hands on deck" Due to the many teaching students coming and going, the flow and atmosphere of the group is yet to be felt. However I have great confidence that the group will become strong. Running through an amazing act 2 was a breeze. This play is different from most other children?s theatre plays by Jenny De Reuck, instead of following the Disney moral (it is who you are inside that matters) she has created a great story for children, and adults. So without the constraints of having to push a message we are able to explore characterisation and imagery a lot closer than ever before.

Captain Quokka (CQ), is slowly developing, I have plans for him but they are yet to be presented to the group. Having a desire for the old pirate life, his actions will at times become quite uncontrolled; however in his subdued state his eyebrow will be raised and deep thoughts will swill through his mind. When I create a character, I normally will start my voice, when I find a suitable accent or even if I cant I will then simply go to rehearsals with that voice. While watching the characters around me, I find a rhythm that is not being hit and assimilate my character into it. In CQ's case, it is a calm & focused yet confident man. Due to being a hairy creature, I am debating wether to give my self an itch, or playing off the rodent thing and having big front teeth.

One thing I have learnt in children?s theatre is that, you don?t have to be exact in your animal imitations for children to believe you are that animal, all it takes sometimes is a tail or for someone on stage to believe your that animal and the audience believes.... Wanna know a little secret gentle reader? ... I haven?t started learning my lines...because to learn them I simply go to rehearsals, my mind is quite good at remembering them in that space, mainly because the rhythms are correct and I am not having to guess timing, its all right there. But don?t copy me, every person learns their lines differently, and besides I am an individual so BACK OFF OR GOD HELP ME I?LL... love Paul

(Team work is essential in this unit. Work as a group, and ensure all members are working to their fullest)

As Cordelia Crab, I feel like my IQ drops 10 points each time I speak. No offence to the other 'crabs', but I think the Crustacean Chorus are growing up to become 'dumb blondes'. Haha! But to quote Melissa (aka Theresa the turtle), "Good! That's exactly what it should feel like. :)" So as rehearsals progress, I might use this towards my character development...

Nick Choo

What can one say about painting the backdrops. It was fun and you got to use a lot of paint, kind of like a page from a big colouring-in book. We got to know each other a lot more and hear about each others views on... what i can't remember as it was early in the morning. I hope everyone else who came along had as much fun as i did and was as sore as i was afterward. A giant and difficult game of twister would be another way to describe it. Just a final note to anyone who maybe doing something in Nexus that has them sitting on the stage for a long period of time- Take a cushion!

Ok, here it is. For all of you who missed it the first time round and for those of you who wanted to see it again, Ben Elton's Popcorn.

Bookings through BOCS on 9484 1133 or www.bocsticketing.com.au

Come along, support local independent theatre, support a fellow student, support a fellow actor, whatever reason, come along. This show is funny, seriously. Ben Elton has written a witty, clever script that deals with society and the media. So come on, see my show, I'll be your best friend :)

WASP Theatre Co presents: Popcorn, by Ben Elton.

11 - 14 May (Wednesday to Saturday), 8:00pm
18 - 21 May (Wednesday to Saturday), 8:00pm
Subiaco Theatre Centre

Ben Elton's 'Popcorn' is a fast, funny, and stylish exploration into the power of the medium and society's refused to take responsibility for its actions. Oscar winner Bruce Delamitri is a director of ultra-violent but stylish movies. The morning after his big win should be rife with celebration and sex. Unfortunately for Bruce and his family, the notorious Mall Murders have different plans. Plans that will have consequences reaching far beyond any of Bruce's wildest dreams. Or worst nightmares.

Contains coarse language, sexual references and drug use.

Melissa Merchant

Samantha Dawn

(The impact of the finished backdrop and side pieces are such an important aspect of the production)

The two backdrops (the sea and bird scenes) have been painted and are ready to go - all in a very efficient three days. Originally, it was thought that it would take the best part of a week to get everything done but thanks to the number of people that showed up to help out, including a number of the cast members, we were able to have everything painted, charcoaled and fixed on Wednesday. The end result is fantastic; I'm sure everyone will be impressed. The colours look amazing and will certainly make a vibrant and exciting frame for the set.
I have the full list of paint colours used so if anybody requires the details for matching up i.e. costumes, set pieces etc, please see me. Thanks to everyone that showed up - I'm sure you'll all agree that it was a fun experience too! See you all on Wednesday at the production meeting!

Sharon Townsend

The following is an extract of Nicole Pfeiffer's journal about the events in week one. It's interesting to see what our fist reactions have been.

Having looked at all of the selections for this semester I decided that Children’s Theatre appealed to me the most. It sounded really interesting and since I’ve been involved with drama in some form or another ever since I was little this unit seemed perfect.

Then, on Orientation Week I got a copy of the Alternative Handbook to see what previous students had to say about the units I’m taking this semester. When I got to EGL213 I got a major shock. It had a tremendously bad review and the writer(s) cautioned not to do it. As a result I was extremely apprehensive coming to this workshop. All sorts of things were running through my head - what if it is really bad? What if what the uni handbook said was way off base? What am I going to do if I absolutely hate this unit? etc., etc., etc.

So I rocked up to the workshop on Wednesday morning expecting the worst and my fears were laid to rest even before I walked through the doors. I met a couple of students who had done the unit previously and they had nothing but good things to say about it. They really enjoyed the unit (obviously, or they wouldn’t be doing it again!) and said we would love it as well.

Nicole concludes her first journal entry my stating ... The warm up exercises were familiar to me because I played sports and we used similar vocal exercises in our choir class. I must admit though that I was very uncomfortable with the improvisation exercise. I realise that it’s supposed to be an opportunity to get to know one another and that it was all meant for us to get comfortable with each other, but I wasn’t. You see, I’m fine when I’m with a group of people and acting or when it’s just a small group of people that I’m with, but when it’s a large group of people I get really uncomfortable. I guess this mainly has to do with my self-confidence and also that I’m quite shy. What I am hoping that by taking this unit I will be able to overcome this.

(Once again, safety is such an important issue with anything to do with Nexus Theatre)