Tuesday 22 December 2009
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Writing Style 3
So far we have seen twenty one different boys play the role of Billy, Liam Mower, James Lomas and George Maguire being the original three who in the first anniversary of ‘Billy Elliot - The Musical’ performed the role together each going on for various slices of the action, they were later joined by Sir Elton John, as a person who has seen the musical twice do I feel that have so many different boys play the same role take away from the magic? Not at all.
I feel the success of Billy Elliot has a lot to do with the fact that it is realistic. It is quite easy to fit any situation into the story of Billy weather it be something as simple as admitting that you secretly sing along to Barbie Girl or a more serious issue such as divorce, as a human being you must learn when you need to push yourself to achieve your dreams - this being an issue that Billy Elliot brings to light in a fabulous way.
As Billy Elliot’s writer Lee Hall had first hand experience of many of the issues bought up in the story it is only right that he can portray the feelings and emotions of the people and the general area in the correct way, a lot of films/plays find realistic issues a thing of the past allowing us to only imagine vampires and talking dogs, Billy Elliot is that of a traditional story and one of few that has successfully made the transition from screen to stage and still had a strong following many years on. “Billy Elliot - The Musical” a perfect example of a successful transition from screenplay to stage, as many would agree, The Daily Mail newspaper describes the show as ‘A Theatrical Masterpiece’ and Natasha Tripney of the Music OMH website suggests that “Billy Elliot - The Musical” - ‘touched a national nerve’. Both of these statements I feel people would agree with on seeing the film or the West End Show.
“Billy Elliot - The Musical” will be celebrating it’s 5th year anniversary in May 2010, although this may not sound like a long time for Musical’s these days it is a very promising figure, it can not yet compete with the likes of “The Phantom of the Opera” however does it ooze the magic that Billy Elliot does - I’m sure people will be cursing at the screen by now but are we not tired of a scary man in a theatre by now? Maybe not this is purely down to personal opinion.
Has Lee Hall done the story of Billy Elliot justice, he took his inspiration from a novel called ‘The Stars Look Down‘ however the book is aimed more at the serious side of life dealing with the political issues of mining, yet the moral still being ‘follow your dreams‘. Lee Hall created Billy Elliot and was in charge of his initial journey bringing his story from paper to the big screen, now he has taken on the job of transferring him from film to The West End and many other famous theatres around the world. The story of Billy Elliot is that of an individual one and one that I feel will be around for the long run.
I feel the success of Billy Elliot has a lot to do with the fact that it is realistic. It is quite easy to fit any situation into the story of Billy weather it be something as simple as admitting that you secretly sing along to Barbie Girl or a more serious issue such as divorce, as a human being you must learn when you need to push yourself to achieve your dreams - this being an issue that Billy Elliot brings to light in a fabulous way.
As Billy Elliot’s writer Lee Hall had first hand experience of many of the issues bought up in the story it is only right that he can portray the feelings and emotions of the people and the general area in the correct way, a lot of films/plays find realistic issues a thing of the past allowing us to only imagine vampires and talking dogs, Billy Elliot is that of a traditional story and one of few that has successfully made the transition from screen to stage and still had a strong following many years on. “Billy Elliot - The Musical” a perfect example of a successful transition from screenplay to stage, as many would agree, The Daily Mail newspaper describes the show as ‘A Theatrical Masterpiece’ and Natasha Tripney of the Music OMH website suggests that “Billy Elliot - The Musical” - ‘touched a national nerve’. Both of these statements I feel people would agree with on seeing the film or the West End Show.
“Billy Elliot - The Musical” will be celebrating it’s 5th year anniversary in May 2010, although this may not sound like a long time for Musical’s these days it is a very promising figure, it can not yet compete with the likes of “The Phantom of the Opera” however does it ooze the magic that Billy Elliot does - I’m sure people will be cursing at the screen by now but are we not tired of a scary man in a theatre by now? Maybe not this is purely down to personal opinion.
Has Lee Hall done the story of Billy Elliot justice, he took his inspiration from a novel called ‘The Stars Look Down‘ however the book is aimed more at the serious side of life dealing with the political issues of mining, yet the moral still being ‘follow your dreams‘. Lee Hall created Billy Elliot and was in charge of his initial journey bringing his story from paper to the big screen, now he has taken on the job of transferring him from film to The West End and many other famous theatres around the world. The story of Billy Elliot is that of an individual one and one that I feel will be around for the long run.
Writing Style 2 - Draft 2
As you walk into London’s Victoria Palace Theatre your imagination begins to run wild. I compare this sort of feeling to reading a book and then going to see the screenplay - will the director have done the authors words justice? Will the set look as you imagined it? or will the thrill of an imagination be forgotten?
The theatre is full of people discussing the event which is about to take place, as we hear the final call bell the sense of urgency fills the air as the last remaining punters take their seats and we all relax into a world which we have no control over. As the orchestra strikes up the chills run down my spine and we begin our journey with Billy Elliot. The fact that the musical is home grown makes me feel even more inclined to enjoy the show, the talent that oozes from the young boys that play Billy is astounding and also adds to the magic of the piece as each section of the show begins you wish it never to end however your intrigued to know what comes next.
The set is a simple one using movement more to make the show work which allows the audience to use their imagination - in some ways I wish I had never seen the film previously because this is all I can picture at this point, however pushing that feeling to one side I place myself in a rough area of the North East and allow the feelings to enter my body taking allowing me to take a piece of Billy throughout the show. His house just a staircase with a bed at the top of it and a table at the bottom highlighting the lack of anything material being present in Billy’s life - this also an element that sets the adrenaline running through your body, you want his story to end with the simple words “…And they lived happily ever after“.
As each number begins you feel that it can never beat the last, the chorography and composition of each song are spectacular allowing the music to take the story of Billy Elliot into a completely different league to what the film did, although I agree that watching a film is nothing compared to the feeling of watching it at the theatre, 'Billy Elliot - The Screenplay' is one of few films that leaves you pondering for hours even days you I to be Billy, I want to dance my way into an audition and dance out with a yes. The beauty of the story is that each character fills an area of an average persons life making the story easy to relate to everyone has a Mr. Elliot who thinks that dancing is for poofs or think people and everyone has a Mrs. Wilkinson the one who wishing for you the best in life and tells you to fight for everything you want, especially those in the performing arts world.
‘Electricity’ has to be the musicals most famous song. You can feel Billy fit to burst with passion, the song itself is very mellow and slow it allows me as the audience to explore all areas of Billy’s emotions his movements are slight and his voice is soft part of me wants him to burst into a big number yet the simplicity of the words, set and choreography make this song all the more enjoyable to experience, we have watched Billy fight his feelings up until this point, try and play down his love for dance in front of his father - this is the first time we see him really tell his father how he feels and I speak for everyone in saying that we all have our fingers crossed that his father will give in to his cry for help. At this point it all gets to much for Billy and the audience you can fell people itching to jump out of their chairs and scream at Mr. Elliot ’take him to London’, ’Let the boy live his dream’ or something of the sort however the tension is keeping each person glued to their seats in the hope he will do it with little encouragement, the young boys who have been cast to play Billy have been cast for a reason its like they were born into the role they portray his story so well.
The magic of 'Billy Elliot - The Musical' is felt through out the theatre and if it portrays one message to us as an audience it’s that we make the life that we live, we must follow our dreams and aim high - if a 12 year old boy whose family live on the breadline can believe in himself then so can everybody else.
The theatre is full of people discussing the event which is about to take place, as we hear the final call bell the sense of urgency fills the air as the last remaining punters take their seats and we all relax into a world which we have no control over. As the orchestra strikes up the chills run down my spine and we begin our journey with Billy Elliot. The fact that the musical is home grown makes me feel even more inclined to enjoy the show, the talent that oozes from the young boys that play Billy is astounding and also adds to the magic of the piece as each section of the show begins you wish it never to end however your intrigued to know what comes next.
The set is a simple one using movement more to make the show work which allows the audience to use their imagination - in some ways I wish I had never seen the film previously because this is all I can picture at this point, however pushing that feeling to one side I place myself in a rough area of the North East and allow the feelings to enter my body taking allowing me to take a piece of Billy throughout the show. His house just a staircase with a bed at the top of it and a table at the bottom highlighting the lack of anything material being present in Billy’s life - this also an element that sets the adrenaline running through your body, you want his story to end with the simple words “…And they lived happily ever after“.
As each number begins you feel that it can never beat the last, the chorography and composition of each song are spectacular allowing the music to take the story of Billy Elliot into a completely different league to what the film did, although I agree that watching a film is nothing compared to the feeling of watching it at the theatre, 'Billy Elliot - The Screenplay' is one of few films that leaves you pondering for hours even days you I to be Billy, I want to dance my way into an audition and dance out with a yes. The beauty of the story is that each character fills an area of an average persons life making the story easy to relate to everyone has a Mr. Elliot who thinks that dancing is for poofs or think people and everyone has a Mrs. Wilkinson the one who wishing for you the best in life and tells you to fight for everything you want, especially those in the performing arts world.
‘Electricity’ has to be the musicals most famous song. You can feel Billy fit to burst with passion, the song itself is very mellow and slow it allows me as the audience to explore all areas of Billy’s emotions his movements are slight and his voice is soft part of me wants him to burst into a big number yet the simplicity of the words, set and choreography make this song all the more enjoyable to experience, we have watched Billy fight his feelings up until this point, try and play down his love for dance in front of his father - this is the first time we see him really tell his father how he feels and I speak for everyone in saying that we all have our fingers crossed that his father will give in to his cry for help. At this point it all gets to much for Billy and the audience you can fell people itching to jump out of their chairs and scream at Mr. Elliot ’take him to London’, ’Let the boy live his dream’ or something of the sort however the tension is keeping each person glued to their seats in the hope he will do it with little encouragement, the young boys who have been cast to play Billy have been cast for a reason its like they were born into the role they portray his story so well.
The magic of 'Billy Elliot - The Musical' is felt through out the theatre and if it portrays one message to us as an audience it’s that we make the life that we live, we must follow our dreams and aim high - if a 12 year old boy whose family live on the breadline can believe in himself then so can everybody else.
Writing Style 1 - Draft 2
Having made it’s debut in London’s Victoria Palace Theatre on March 11th 2005 Billy Elliot is still one of The West End’s most successful musical’s. The Musical has won a number of awards including four Olivier Awards, Ten Tony Awards and Ten Drama Desk Awards.
Set in the tough North East area of Tyneside Billy has spent his childhood longing to impress his family. With his mother dead and father caught up in the bitter mining strikes of 1984, Billy’s father has hopes for him to fulfil his dreams of being a boxer little does he know that the art of ballet has caught his sons eye. While he trains in the gym he spends his time fantasising about ballet - the perfect pirouette rather then a mean right hook, the beauty and grace of ballet is something that Billy cannot forget.
As his struggle to become an established dancer begins Billy finds it hard to keep it from his father in failing to do so Billy comes clean and after a little persuasion; from various people Billy’s father gets behind his son and works to fulfil his dancing dreams which looks promising as he manages to land an audition at ’The Royal Ballet School’ in London. The strains of being on strike begin to take its toll on the family especially now his son has big dreams of stardom, getting to London is not going to be easy on a strikes wage, the suspense of weather he makes it keep you gripped and leave the audience yearning for Billy’s father to return to work. Will he turn his back on his work mates? Or do it for his son? On one hand we experience a group of hard faced miners who think Billy may be harbouring homosexual feelings due to his passion for dance on the other we see a community who stand by each other and encourage all to do their best.
The story of Billy Elliot will have the family chanting ‘GO BILLY’ the whole way through the show, pulling at your heart strings and crying with laughter, this is a real must see for people of all ages. ’Billy Elliot - The Musical’ has been a West End sell out for nearly five years and has been taken across the pond showing in Broadway and debuting in Chicago in March 2010. Australia’s version of the show has bagged itself 6 of Australia’s most prestigious awards - The Helpmann Awards. Korea also want a slice of the Billy action and have been holding auditions throughout the year in search of their perfect Billy Elliot.
Lee Hall - a name all male ballet dancers should highly respect as he is the man who bought us the 2000 screenplay of Billy Elliot, his work was taken from the big screen to the stage and he went with it, beginning life as a modest boy from North East England, he managed to launch his playwriting career on radio with a piece called ’Spoonface Steinberg’ however to date ’Billy Elliot’ is his most successful work, which I’m sure is why he is so keen to have a say in every direction the story of Billy takes. The directing skills of Stephen Daldry and chorography by Peter Darling (who also worked on the screenplay) shine with perfection and professionalism much like the film allowing none of the Billy magic to be lost in translation.
'it's like forgetting who you are and at the same time something makes you whole.' a quote taken from the song ‘Electricity’ this is Billy all over although it’s not what is thought normal of a 12 year old boy from the North East in the 1980’s however it’s what makes him go.
If you haven’t seen “Billy Elliot - The Musical” yet then your missing out and it defiantly needs to be added to you Christmas list…
Victoria Palace Theatre,
8 Victoria St, London, SW1E 5EA
Transport Victoria
Telephone
0844 248 5000, bookings 020 7432 4220
Set in the tough North East area of Tyneside Billy has spent his childhood longing to impress his family. With his mother dead and father caught up in the bitter mining strikes of 1984, Billy’s father has hopes for him to fulfil his dreams of being a boxer little does he know that the art of ballet has caught his sons eye. While he trains in the gym he spends his time fantasising about ballet - the perfect pirouette rather then a mean right hook, the beauty and grace of ballet is something that Billy cannot forget.
As his struggle to become an established dancer begins Billy finds it hard to keep it from his father in failing to do so Billy comes clean and after a little persuasion; from various people Billy’s father gets behind his son and works to fulfil his dancing dreams which looks promising as he manages to land an audition at ’The Royal Ballet School’ in London. The strains of being on strike begin to take its toll on the family especially now his son has big dreams of stardom, getting to London is not going to be easy on a strikes wage, the suspense of weather he makes it keep you gripped and leave the audience yearning for Billy’s father to return to work. Will he turn his back on his work mates? Or do it for his son? On one hand we experience a group of hard faced miners who think Billy may be harbouring homosexual feelings due to his passion for dance on the other we see a community who stand by each other and encourage all to do their best.
The story of Billy Elliot will have the family chanting ‘GO BILLY’ the whole way through the show, pulling at your heart strings and crying with laughter, this is a real must see for people of all ages. ’Billy Elliot - The Musical’ has been a West End sell out for nearly five years and has been taken across the pond showing in Broadway and debuting in Chicago in March 2010. Australia’s version of the show has bagged itself 6 of Australia’s most prestigious awards - The Helpmann Awards. Korea also want a slice of the Billy action and have been holding auditions throughout the year in search of their perfect Billy Elliot.
Lee Hall - a name all male ballet dancers should highly respect as he is the man who bought us the 2000 screenplay of Billy Elliot, his work was taken from the big screen to the stage and he went with it, beginning life as a modest boy from North East England, he managed to launch his playwriting career on radio with a piece called ’Spoonface Steinberg’ however to date ’Billy Elliot’ is his most successful work, which I’m sure is why he is so keen to have a say in every direction the story of Billy takes. The directing skills of Stephen Daldry and chorography by Peter Darling (who also worked on the screenplay) shine with perfection and professionalism much like the film allowing none of the Billy magic to be lost in translation.
'it's like forgetting who you are and at the same time something makes you whole.' a quote taken from the song ‘Electricity’ this is Billy all over although it’s not what is thought normal of a 12 year old boy from the North East in the 1980’s however it’s what makes him go.
If you haven’t seen “Billy Elliot - The Musical” yet then your missing out and it defiantly needs to be added to you Christmas list…
Victoria Palace Theatre,
8 Victoria St, London, SW1E 5EA
Transport Victoria
Telephone
0844 248 5000, bookings 020 7432 4220
Times Mon-Sat 7.30pm; Thur, Sat Mats 2.30pm
Prices £17.50-£60. Runs 3hrs. Booking to Dec 18 2010
Monday 7 December 2009
Writing Style 2
As you walk into London’s Victoria Palace Theatre your imagination begins to run wild. I compare this sort of feeling to reading a book and then going to see the screenplay - will the director have done the authors words justice? Will the set look as you imagined it? or will the thrill of an imagination be forgotten?
The theatre is full of people discussing the event which is about to take place, as we hear the final call bell the sense of urgency fills the air as the last remaining punters take their seats and we all relax into a world which we have no control over. As the orchestra strikes up the chills run down my spine and we begin our journey with Billy Elliot. The fact that the musical is home grown makes me feel even more inclined to enjoy the show, the talent that oozes from the young boys that play Billy is astounding and also adds to the magic of the piece as each section of the show begins you wish it never to end however your intrigued to know what comes next.
The set is a simple one using movement more to make the show work. His house just a staircase with a bed at the top of it and a table at the bottom highlighting the lack of anything material being present in Billy’s life - this also an element that sets the adrenaline running through your body.
As each number begins you feel that it can never beat the last, the chorography and composition of each song are spectacular allowing the musical to take the story of Billy Elliot into a completely different league to what the film did. Each character fills an area of an average persons life making the story easy to relate to especially those in the performing arts world.
‘Electricity’ has to be the musicals most famous song. It highlights the part of the story where Billy takes matters into his own hands because that’s what he feels inside. He tackles his and his fathers problems taking the form of dance to do so, this really his the peak of the show the piece allows the audience to get behind Billy and feel his emotion and the fact that this is done by a 12 year old boy makes it all the more special. He tackles his demons on stage in front of the whole audience, to his fathers dismay Billy has no intention of caging his feelings for anyone, as he gets into the song you can see the love sparkle in his fathers eyes as he begins to realise that this is his child’s dream and he must get behind him and encourage him to fulfil it.
The magic of Billy Elliot - The Musical is felt through out the theatre and if it portrays one message to us as an audience it’s that we make the life that we live, we must follow our dreams and aim high - if a 12 year old boy whose family live on the breadline can believe in himself then so can everybody else.
The theatre is full of people discussing the event which is about to take place, as we hear the final call bell the sense of urgency fills the air as the last remaining punters take their seats and we all relax into a world which we have no control over. As the orchestra strikes up the chills run down my spine and we begin our journey with Billy Elliot. The fact that the musical is home grown makes me feel even more inclined to enjoy the show, the talent that oozes from the young boys that play Billy is astounding and also adds to the magic of the piece as each section of the show begins you wish it never to end however your intrigued to know what comes next.
The set is a simple one using movement more to make the show work. His house just a staircase with a bed at the top of it and a table at the bottom highlighting the lack of anything material being present in Billy’s life - this also an element that sets the adrenaline running through your body.
As each number begins you feel that it can never beat the last, the chorography and composition of each song are spectacular allowing the musical to take the story of Billy Elliot into a completely different league to what the film did. Each character fills an area of an average persons life making the story easy to relate to especially those in the performing arts world.
‘Electricity’ has to be the musicals most famous song. It highlights the part of the story where Billy takes matters into his own hands because that’s what he feels inside. He tackles his and his fathers problems taking the form of dance to do so, this really his the peak of the show the piece allows the audience to get behind Billy and feel his emotion and the fact that this is done by a 12 year old boy makes it all the more special. He tackles his demons on stage in front of the whole audience, to his fathers dismay Billy has no intention of caging his feelings for anyone, as he gets into the song you can see the love sparkle in his fathers eyes as he begins to realise that this is his child’s dream and he must get behind him and encourage him to fulfil it.
The magic of Billy Elliot - The Musical is felt through out the theatre and if it portrays one message to us as an audience it’s that we make the life that we live, we must follow our dreams and aim high - if a 12 year old boy whose family live on the breadline can believe in himself then so can everybody else.
Saturday 5 December 2009
Writing Style 1
Having made it’s debut in London’s Victoria Palace Theatre on March 11th 2005 'Billy Elliot - The Musical' is still one of The West End’s most successful musical’s. The Musical has won a number of awards including four Olivier Awards, Ten Tony Awards and Ten Drama Desk Awards.
Lee Hall - a name all male ballet dancers should highly respect as he is the man who bought us the 2000 screenplay of Billy Elliot, his work was taken from the big screen to the stage and he went with it. The directing skills of Stephen Daldry and chorography by Peter Darling (who also worked on the screenplay) shine with perfection and professionalism much like the film allowing none of the Billy magic to be lost in translation.
Set in the tough North East area of Tyneside Billy has spent his childhood longing to impress his family. With his mother dead and father caught up in the bitter mining strikes of 1984, Billy’s father has hopes for him to fulfil his dreams of being a boxer little does he know that the arts of ballet has caught his sons eye. While he trains in the gym he spends his time fantasising about ballet - the perfect pirouette rather then a mean right hook, the beauty and grace of ballet is something that Billy cannot forget.
As his struggle to become an established dancer begins Billy finds it hard to keep it from his father and after a little persuasion from various people Billy’s father gets behind his son and works to fulfil his dancing dreams and work towards an audition for ‘The Royal Ballet School’ in London. However as he is on strike he has no money coming in leaving him no choice but to return to the mines to fund Billy’s dreams Billy’s brother becomes infuriated seeing his father cross the picket line and the two come to blows, he sees his father as a ‘scab’ for breaking the unity of the miners, however one by one the miners back Billy’s dreams and offer the strike money for his bus fare to London yet this is still not enough, another of the ‘scabs’ offers Billy £100 from his wage - this is his chance Billy and Mr. Elliot make their way down to London to follow the boys dreams.
The story of Billy Elliot will have the family chanting ‘GO BILLY’ the whole way through the show, pulling at your heart strings and crying with laughter, this is a real must see for people of all ages. ’Billy Elliot - The Musical’ has been a West End sell out for nearly five years and has been taken across the pond showing in Broadway and debuting in Chicago in March 2010. Australia’s version of the show has bagged itself 6 of Australia’s most prestigious awards - The Helpmann Awards. Korea also want a slice of the Billy action and have been holding auditions throughout the year in search of their perfect Billy Elliot.
So far we have seen twenty one different boys play the role of Billy, Liam Mower, James Lomas and George Maguire being the original three who in the first anniversary of ‘Billy Elliot - The Musical’ performed the role together each going on for various slices of the action, they were later joined by Sir Elton John.
Lee Hall - a name all male ballet dancers should highly respect as he is the man who bought us the 2000 screenplay of Billy Elliot, his work was taken from the big screen to the stage and he went with it. The directing skills of Stephen Daldry and chorography by Peter Darling (who also worked on the screenplay) shine with perfection and professionalism much like the film allowing none of the Billy magic to be lost in translation.
Set in the tough North East area of Tyneside Billy has spent his childhood longing to impress his family. With his mother dead and father caught up in the bitter mining strikes of 1984, Billy’s father has hopes for him to fulfil his dreams of being a boxer little does he know that the arts of ballet has caught his sons eye. While he trains in the gym he spends his time fantasising about ballet - the perfect pirouette rather then a mean right hook, the beauty and grace of ballet is something that Billy cannot forget.
As his struggle to become an established dancer begins Billy finds it hard to keep it from his father and after a little persuasion from various people Billy’s father gets behind his son and works to fulfil his dancing dreams and work towards an audition for ‘The Royal Ballet School’ in London. However as he is on strike he has no money coming in leaving him no choice but to return to the mines to fund Billy’s dreams Billy’s brother becomes infuriated seeing his father cross the picket line and the two come to blows, he sees his father as a ‘scab’ for breaking the unity of the miners, however one by one the miners back Billy’s dreams and offer the strike money for his bus fare to London yet this is still not enough, another of the ‘scabs’ offers Billy £100 from his wage - this is his chance Billy and Mr. Elliot make their way down to London to follow the boys dreams.
The story of Billy Elliot will have the family chanting ‘GO BILLY’ the whole way through the show, pulling at your heart strings and crying with laughter, this is a real must see for people of all ages. ’Billy Elliot - The Musical’ has been a West End sell out for nearly five years and has been taken across the pond showing in Broadway and debuting in Chicago in March 2010. Australia’s version of the show has bagged itself 6 of Australia’s most prestigious awards - The Helpmann Awards. Korea also want a slice of the Billy action and have been holding auditions throughout the year in search of their perfect Billy Elliot.
So far we have seen twenty one different boys play the role of Billy, Liam Mower, James Lomas and George Maguire being the original three who in the first anniversary of ‘Billy Elliot - The Musical’ performed the role together each going on for various slices of the action, they were later joined by Sir Elton John.
To book tickets - which I suggest you do go to the following link...
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Kolb's Learning Cycle
As part of looking at each others work we applied Kolb’s learning cycle to an anonymous piece of a fellow classmates work, dividing it up into each section of the cycle. This was to inspire us to look at our own work in a reflective style allowing us to add any information that may have been left out.“The David Kolb styles model is based on the Experiential Learning Theory, as explained in David A. Kolb's book Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (1984)[4]. The ELT model outlines two related approaches toward grasping experience: Concrete Experience and Abstract Conceptualization, as well as two related approaches toward transforming experience: Reflective Observation and Active Experimentation. According to Kolb’s model, the ideal learning process engages all four of these modes in response to situational demands. In order for learning to be effective, all four of these approaches must be incorporated. As individuals attempt to use all four approaches, however, they tend to develop strengths in one experience-grasping approach and one experience-transforming approach. The resulting learning styles are combinations of the individual’s preferred approaches.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles
I have tried to apply Kolb’s learning cycle to one of my own experiences. I have chosen a performance that I did in June for my Final Major Performance which was credited against my Foundation Degree. The piece was called “Horst Buchholz and Other Stories”.
Concrete Experience
I was chosen by the director to take part in this piece. The beginning of the piece was very well organised and we were able to get on with the piece very quickly and get a grip on the story. We often had read through sessions of the script which I feel helped however we may have done a little too much reading and not enough performing.
The piece had to be ready for the beginning of June to perform to a large audience, in order to achieve this piece to a high standard we had to work as a group and listen to each other especially the director - who unfortunately was one of the lazier members of our class which I why I think we slipped up a few times. As John (the director) tried to give direction and advise it was always taken with the attitude ’Why should I take direction from a person who has only turned up to about 25% of our lessons over the past year’ This attitude - which I think all members of the group had had a negative effect on the piece.
Reflective Observation
As the weeks went on and performance day grew closer each of us had to do something about our group dynamic. It was not that we did not get on as friends it was the challenge of working together on a professional level. We had to leave our petty squabbles at the door and get into rehearsal mode. I could feel myself taking over and getting very annoyed with all members of the group - this may have been because I was the only girl and the three boys I was working with have a very relaxed approach to life.
I feel that we were quickly able to establish the bad habits we were getting into due to keeping a log book throughout the piece. I kept my log book in a rough form and at the end of each week I would transfer the information onto my computer allowing me to read through the weeks developments of lack of depending on the work we had done. This was a really useful way of learning from mistakes and also learning what good had come out of doing things in certain ways. The information in my log book was also backed up by my tutor who blamed our slow development on our lack of communication, which was luckily resolved.
Abstract Conceptualisation
I have not yet been able to use my learning’s from this particular piece however as I have copies of my log book I will be able to use them in future. Although I have not been able to start a whole new project with the lessons I learnt from “Horst Buchholz and Other Stories” I was able to use them towards the end of the project. Each member of the group were able to find a middle ground and communicate any problems or positive feedback allowing us to work better as a group and also complete the piece successfully.
Active Experimentation
As I have noted previously I have been unable to use my learning for a whole project as of yet however I do feel from keeping my log book I was able to identify a lot of the problems we were having as a group and try and resolve them as we went on. I learnt so much from this project and learnt that everybody needs to make comprimises sometimes in order to work as a group you need to think as a group and allow each member their space to experiment with ideas and also encourage each other to develop ideas, this reflects well on the group and will enable you to develop your experiences.
Overall Kolb encouraged people to reflect on their work and learn from their mistakes, allowing yourself to reflect on your work allows us to develop a better insight to our own teaching techniques. Kolb’s cycles must be followed in sequence for successful learning to take place.
“The learner must make the link between the theory and action by planning, acting out, reflecting and relating it back to the theory.” http://www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/ldu/sddu_multimedia/kolb/static_version.php
Sunday 11 October 2009
Maybe One More...
Ok so from doing some research I have found something else I admire an organisation called Kidscape. This organisation aim to promote a positive attitude to all young people, keeping young people safe is their main priority and if they can't preventing them from being abused or bullied they will help the child through the trauma they have had to deal with. At some point in my life I want to be a Drama Therapist. This sort of organisation is why, helping young people is something I love to do, the passion and commitment a 'tearaway teen' can give is over whelming and something that I get a great buzz from.
Got one...
Emma Bunton - I think this might be a bit of a random choice however I'm watching The Xtra Factor at the moment and she’s on the panel. I admire Emma Bunton as she went from being a normal girl to being a worldwide star however she kept her ground and stayed true to her family and friends. When I was 5 my oldest sister turned 18, Emma Bunton attended her birthday party as she was one of her friends at the time, I obviously can remember very little and at about 10pm ended up falling asleep on Emma's lap, this was my claim to fame for a very long time - how many people can say they took a nap on a Spice Girl?! Since then my sister and Emma have unfortunately not kept in touch however through her family my Dad sometimes gets updates on how she is doing, even in papers Emma was never a person to stumble out of clubs drunk or have numerous amounts of affairs. As I write this I'm sure some of you are going to think I'm mad but I prefer to admire things that I can achieve and being successful however grounded at the same time is something that I hope I can manage. Emma came from Finchley so do I, her favourite restaurant was Chix Chox - I had lunch there yesterday, if one Finchley girl can do it why can't another?
People I Admire...
I'm sitting here struggling to think about just one person who I admire. I do not feel that I admire one person in particular, however I'm trying to think of a reason to admire a person. The obvious would have to be my Mum however I'm not sure that my admiration for her is something that I feel I want to write in detail about on the Internet. I will say that my Mum is a strong person - probably the strongest I know will always stand by me and my decisions however ridiculous. I'm quite often surprised when she doesn't shout at me for being so ridiculous and tell me to reign it in and be sensible however I feel she thinks this is something of a charming trait that I have, that she feels has come from her and I would defiantly agree. Other then my Mum I'm going to have a long hard think about it...
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Great News...
Whilst typing up my 'Top 5 Resources' I came across this article on The Stage website...
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/25810/exclusive-government-proposes-total-ban-on
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/25810/exclusive-government-proposes-total-ban-on
Top 5 Resources...
The Casting Website is a fantastic way to get locations of auditions quickly and efficiently. They send you links through your email address every time there are audition around where you live. The website is run by a man called Rob Earnshaw even following him on Twitter could land you with a job. Its really useful to know what sort of jobs are on offer and the sort of people companies are looking for. Although not the most reliable way to get a job it could just be that one lucky email that gets you your big break so I'm always willing to give it a go.
The Stage is another great way of hearing about auditions. It also includes reviews and articles about whats going on in the Performing Arts world such as any new performances or maybe old ones that needed a bit of jazzing up! The Stage can sometimes be a pain to get hold of none of the paper shops where I live stock it so the easiest way to get hold of it is probably by subscribing to it - which you can do online or in paper form. You know The Stage is a reliable source so its great to check the auditions out each week and maybe have a go at them.
The Southbank Centre are is a great place to keep an eye on for interesting performances. Rather then finding auditions or jobs this is a great place to go and appreciate the arts that each of us are interested in. They have loads of different performances all year round, they also have great exhibitions for short periods of time throughout the centre. In January I visited the centre to view and exhibition called 'Operation Soapbox' although at the time I was freezing (it was snowing) and tired as we had been walking round all day seeing this exhibition really helped towards the BNP performance we did in March 2009.
I've literally only just come across this website - I'm not actually sure what its call but seen as my plan is to become a drama teacher I felt the title was pretty relevant - "Issues in Drama Teaching". I love just typing in to Google some random thoughts and seeing what it comes up with - sometimes complete rubbish but other times you can discover some really interesting articles, like this one, so I suppose the Internet - mainly Google is a great resource that I probably use every day!
Books of any description. Although I wouldn't describe myself as some sort of book worm I'm sometimes prone to browse through one if the front cover looks interesting, when I say books I would probably be tempted to include magazines and newspapers too. A lot of the time I just cast them to one side however every now and again there is an article or advert that catches my eye and really interests me. Books will always be the old school method of research but in a way I like it like that - I sometimes find it more in sighting then the Internet and also a lot more rewarding!
Monday 5 October 2009
Experience and Qualifications...
Personal Experience
1994 - 2004 Chicken Shed Performances
Shows in Chicken Shed's Cockfosters Theatre:
The Night Before Christmas with Alice
Arthur
Anansi
Oriah the Mountain Dreamer
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Pinocchio
Animal Farm
Peter Pan
25th Anniversary Cabaret
Performances outside The Chicken Shed Theatre:
The Greatest Love - The Royal Albert Hall
The Queen Mother's 100th Birthday - Lords Cricket Ground
The Queen's Golden Jubilee - The Mall
Spice Girls Concert - Wembley Arena
2007 - 2009 Foundation Degree Performances
First Year:
"The Seagull" - Arkadina
"The Flying Doctor" - Pantalone
FMP Various Performances - Rehearsed Reading
Second Year:
"The Flying Doctor" - Pantalone
FMP Various Performances - Rehearsed Reading
Second Year:
"Call It!" - Risk Assessor
"Make Your Mark" - Main BNP Supporter
FMP Performances - "Horst Buchholz and Other Stories" - Jules
"Your Royal Chavness" - Sinead
"Make Your Mark" - Main BNP Supporter
FMP Performances - "Horst Buchholz and Other Stories" - Jules
"Your Royal Chavness" - Sinead
Qualifications
10 A-C GCSE's
AVCE Media Communication and Production - CC
A-Level Film Studies - C
Foundation Degree - Merit
Saturday 3 October 2009
Personal Statement...
At the age of six I joined a local establishment called The Chicken Shed Theatre Company, the sessions were held weekly in a church hall in Palmers Green. Each session consisted of dancing, acting and singing - singing and acting being my preferred subjects. As I grew as a performer so did the company taking us to the fantastic theatre they stand in today at Cockfosters.
The company already had good communication with the outside world, each performer was their own person allowing everyone to have the parts they deserved. My first show was “The Night Before Christmas with Alice“. From my sisters being part of the company I already knew what hard work the rehearsals were going to be. I gained the part of the Ace of Spades.
Throughout the years at Chicken Shed I learnt some valuable lessons in performing on stage - I am the only person who can make myself look good, working as a company was down to each individual and it was down to those individuals to make the show work. We were given some great guidance from people such as Mary Ward - Director, Jo Collins - Vocal, Christine Nearing - Chorography and many more, each of them showing us different ways to express our emotions, channelling our energy into performance. I do feel that my love for performing has made me the person I am today, allowing my confidence to grow and my personality to shine through a sometimes frosty exterior.
As I got older I got more established roles in shows allowing me to blossom on stage. I hungered to study acting full time however at the age of 12 my father was determined to send me to mainstream school to get a ‘proper’ education - which in Heinz sight was probably the best choice. I continued to attend Chicken Shed throughout my teenage years, however was forced to leave due to the location of my 6th form college - the two hour journey from my house to college made it impossible to attend any of the evening sessions that were held at Chicken Shed - this part of my life I refer to as ‘growing up‘.
I chose to study Media Production at college as I felt that this could also play a part in my performing career. Unfortunately I did not use my skills as often as possible yet on the plus side I am now able to add camerawork, directing, production work and editing experience to my CV. Over the 3 years that I studied Media my love for acting called and I yearned to get back on stage, if I ever went to see a performance I wanted to be the one on the credits, taking the bow, I used to et rather upset about the whole situation as I felt that I had left my passion behind. I watched my classmates excel in various production fields but I myself could never find a nook in Media that I fitted into, in short I wanted to be studying Acting and singing not Media.
Having dropped out of my first year at Leeds University I took it upon myself to get back into education and find my passion, this is when I discovered the Foundation Degree at Barnet College. It seemed like the perfect course - it was close to my home and I would be studying Performing Arts.
Starting the course in September 2007 I felt very overwhelmed I hadn’t performed in front of people in such a long time I was unsure if I could do it anymore, with the guidance of a couple of great teachers and a fantastic group of classmates I soon realised that a piece of me had been returned I tried my hand at everything - although I was never that good at making an idea come to life I successfully wrote a comedy script for my FMP which from the feedback I was given proved to be a hit with the audience allowing me to obtain a distinction for that module.
I am due to have a baby on 22nd December 2009 so feel that this course is perfect for me, once our baby girl is born I plan on pursuing a teaching career with a little stage life involved while I achieve my qualifications. My passions is Acting and my interest in teaching as grow remarkably over the past two years. I feel that sharing my day with student who share my love for the Performing Arts would be something of a dream come true.
The company already had good communication with the outside world, each performer was their own person allowing everyone to have the parts they deserved. My first show was “The Night Before Christmas with Alice“. From my sisters being part of the company I already knew what hard work the rehearsals were going to be. I gained the part of the Ace of Spades.
Throughout the years at Chicken Shed I learnt some valuable lessons in performing on stage - I am the only person who can make myself look good, working as a company was down to each individual and it was down to those individuals to make the show work. We were given some great guidance from people such as Mary Ward - Director, Jo Collins - Vocal, Christine Nearing - Chorography and many more, each of them showing us different ways to express our emotions, channelling our energy into performance. I do feel that my love for performing has made me the person I am today, allowing my confidence to grow and my personality to shine through a sometimes frosty exterior.
As I got older I got more established roles in shows allowing me to blossom on stage. I hungered to study acting full time however at the age of 12 my father was determined to send me to mainstream school to get a ‘proper’ education - which in Heinz sight was probably the best choice. I continued to attend Chicken Shed throughout my teenage years, however was forced to leave due to the location of my 6th form college - the two hour journey from my house to college made it impossible to attend any of the evening sessions that were held at Chicken Shed - this part of my life I refer to as ‘growing up‘.
I chose to study Media Production at college as I felt that this could also play a part in my performing career. Unfortunately I did not use my skills as often as possible yet on the plus side I am now able to add camerawork, directing, production work and editing experience to my CV. Over the 3 years that I studied Media my love for acting called and I yearned to get back on stage, if I ever went to see a performance I wanted to be the one on the credits, taking the bow, I used to et rather upset about the whole situation as I felt that I had left my passion behind. I watched my classmates excel in various production fields but I myself could never find a nook in Media that I fitted into, in short I wanted to be studying Acting and singing not Media.
Having dropped out of my first year at Leeds University I took it upon myself to get back into education and find my passion, this is when I discovered the Foundation Degree at Barnet College. It seemed like the perfect course - it was close to my home and I would be studying Performing Arts.
Starting the course in September 2007 I felt very overwhelmed I hadn’t performed in front of people in such a long time I was unsure if I could do it anymore, with the guidance of a couple of great teachers and a fantastic group of classmates I soon realised that a piece of me had been returned I tried my hand at everything - although I was never that good at making an idea come to life I successfully wrote a comedy script for my FMP which from the feedback I was given proved to be a hit with the audience allowing me to obtain a distinction for that module.
I am due to have a baby on 22nd December 2009 so feel that this course is perfect for me, once our baby girl is born I plan on pursuing a teaching career with a little stage life involved while I achieve my qualifications. My passions is Acting and my interest in teaching as grow remarkably over the past two years. I feel that sharing my day with student who share my love for the Performing Arts would be something of a dream come true.
Friday 2 October 2009
ANNOYING...
It's annoying me that I can't wirte more on my 'About Me' section...a sign that I talk too much?!
Wow...
Just started adding my fellow BAPP students, in all honesty I'm a little bit jealous!!! Well jealous may be a little strong, envoius?! but not in the bitter sence of the word, it's fantastic that I will hopefully be building relationships with such experienced people that are dedicated to their art. It's great to see that I seem to be on the right track with the 'blogging' and look foward to hearing more from everyone. x
The Guardian Stage...
The Guardian Stage is a fantastic resource for people in the Performing Arts field, its full of great blogs about a variety of subjects. The fantastic thing about this blog is the various stories they cover, the fact that they are written by various people also makes it really interesting because its so many people opinions. I found an interesting post on The Guardian's blog the other day - titled "How Do You Describe Great Acting?" just the titled interested me because how do you? I even stated to one of my teachers in my induction at university that how am I supposed to write about something that I was people to experience, I wasn't sure that my writing skills would be able to adjust to interest people enough for them to read my blog - performing on stage is a much easier way to grab people's attention because immediately our attention is caught when something on stage moves, but what about a static computer screen?
Chicken Shed...
I have just realised from reading over my page that all I mention is The Chicken Shed Theatre Company, some people may not be aware of what it is. Chicken Shed is a fantastic organisation that offers the performing arts world to everyone and anyone who want to embrace it. Their work is based in Cockfosters however over the 35 years they have been around the company has been able to spread its wings and reach across the country with outreach projects and base satellite 'Sheds' in places such as Russia. Working with disabled people is something that has always inspired me, people sometimes react badly to things that are different and especially to people that are different but that is what I find so inspiring. From being part of Chicken Shed I have learnt to embrace differences as a positive thing and learn from them rather then reject them.
"I Am In Love With The World"
This was 'I Am In Love With The World' - Chicken Shed's tribute to Princess Diana. It was a great experience and we even got to perform it on Top of The Pops.
Setting up is never easy...
Things always seem easier when someone is explaining them, I though I had this whole blogging thing sussed, sadly not but it's quite fun having a go with everything!!
Thursday 24 September 2009
Getting To Know You...
Having defined myself on a page as a spiral and Tara as a Mermaid with a suitcase, it was evident that both of us had a story to tell. Exploring each others background - Tara's in Dance and mine in Acting we began to learn that our skills were more vocal than artistic (in the drawing sense).
Learning of each others backgrounds was interesting as we both have had different experiences, Tara has travelled the world with her talent allowing her passion to grow and develop, whereas I feel that I have only scratched the surface of my aspirations as an actor.
Learning of each others backgrounds was interesting as we both have had different experiences, Tara has travelled the world with her talent allowing her passion to grow and develop, whereas I feel that I have only scratched the surface of my aspirations as an actor.
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