Single-Movement in Performance

This lesson we wanted to try and develop another idea from our list, this way we would have more than one piece of movement that we would be able place our attention on our idea of using torches, so this lesson we solely focused on this. Alice came up with the idea was inspired by the musical 'In the heights', specifically the number 'Blackout'. Although the video below is an amateur dramatic production (Spirit Young Performers Company) of the number, you can still see how they use the torches/lighters of the cast to create this really nice chaotic effect and how the idea that the characters are searching for each other . We thought we could implement this idea into our masterpiece, however in a much softer way (not chaotic) where our characters do not want to be in the light as they are insecure about themselves so it's a much more emotive interpretation of the use of torches. . Here is our piece that we developed this lesson: We used the instru...

It has now been decided by our group that we are going to go with the idea of body dysmorphia and how it affects, people with  the mental disorder, see themselves. Personally, I think mental health is still seen as a taboo in modern society, however in recent years it has become a more talked about topic however I would still consider this a controversial topic.  We decided that we should start by experimenting with movement, this way we would at least have something to start with. Our director also stated that we did not have to start at the beginning of our movement piece, we could come up with movement that might fit nicer somewhere else in our piece. With this advice in mind we just started to come up with ideas that could be used. Alice suggested that we use something to do with mirrors, since the disorder is based on body image and how people see themselves. I immediately had a  flashback to when I was completing the blog on space and analysing the video below. A...

After careful consideration, It has been decided by our group that we are to change our idea. It was proving too complicated for us to try and create movement that has a story and meaning to every move. So we backtracked our steps and had a second look over our stimulus, we also had an in depth conversation with our director about issues within society, such as the gun crime poster: As you can see in the picture above, the statistics are very interesting. Even though Switzerland is a 'neutral' country, It still has a high gun crime rate considering it has no national army as well. Also comparing the United States to Canada, the relativity in size yet Canada's gun crime is significantly lower than the USA. Perhaps this is telling us something about gun laws etc. We also then went on to debate about the justice system and if types of capital punishments are justifiable or not i.e death penalty, hanging etc.This is where we drew one of our new ideas, we take the politic...

This lesson we began work on our masterpiece. We was split up into two groups: Team 1 Owen Will Cameron Alice Chloe Team 2 Henri Taylor Tyler Warren Joe We was also given a stimulus pack which held a range of pictures from landscapes to posters to facts etc, Here they are: Here are some of the ideas we have started to draw from these stimuli: We have decided to go with a story line to our movement piece, it is set in a dystopian future where reproduction has been abolished by a virus created by the government and Alice is immune to this virus. (We was heavily influenced by the film 'Divergent' ). Me and Alice are twins so people think she is going to have twins, kind of like a maidens tale etc. Chloe is infertile- she wants Alice's baby and Will and Cameron are the crazy scientists who created this virus.However to top it all we are all friends. We started to create the very first scene in the movement to t...

After exploring R.A.D.S, we then moved onto exploring slapstick comedy in movement. Slapstick is a stylistic type of movement that focuses on the exaggeration of actions, they become more lively and are also used to create humour. This lesson we focused on taking inspiration from the 1952 film 'Singin' in the Rain', targeting the number "Make em laugh" performed by Cosmo aka Donald O'Connor. After watching the video it was clear that most of his movements were very clumsy and silly however that was the sole purpose of them-to make the audience laugh, Though whilst he's movement was humorous Donald's expressions, posture and the way he carried his body had 100% dedication, his number was also full of  energy which kept the humour in place. After the video we was assigned into trios and 4's to come up with a short and set he task of creating our own version of a slapstick comedy, we thought it would be comical if we went with a love triangle...

This lesson was focused on the Action in R.A.D.S. Again, there are key words for Action and they are: Elevation Jump Landing Hop Preparation Take off Leap Two feet to one Two feet to two One foot to two Turns Twisting Whole body turn Rolling Pivoting Spinning Travel In a Group Rolling Stepping Slidding With a partner Walking, Running  Technical, pedestrian Stylistic differences  As a transition  Gesture Functional (e.g. beckon, nod, salute) Non functional (e.g. abstract) Conversational (e.g. gesticulate, social e.g. hug) Emotional (e.g. wring hands) Stillness and falling Pause Shape Tableaux Use of centre to aid balance  On and off balance Suspension Fall and recovery After learning the words for Action we was then put into pairs with an assigned word we had to focus on as well as a stimulus which was a picture of two elderly people walking in opposite directions however their shadows casted their younger selves....

This lesson was focused on space, however I was not present in one lesson. So I am going to analyse movement pieces I have found online and analyse them. There are many key components that make up the word space, they are the following: Spatial Awareness. Levels (Low,Medium and High). Pathways- On the floor and in the air. Peripheral Vision . Direction- this can also include stage directions as well. Dimension E.g Height,Depth and Width. Lines in space (Curved, Straight or free form). Personal and General space (Body Shape and Group shape). Planes (Vertical,Horizontal and Sagittal). This video above explores Air and Floor pathways. After watching the video I soon discovered that you do not necessarily have to be lying on the floor or jumping in the air in order for a move to be considered pathways. In my opinion, Pathways just seems to be the way you move your body along floor (or air) whether that be like the marching/walking (0.07-0.0.14) or even to the...