Rehearsal

Theatre notes 2: 

We started from the beginning of act 1 in our Monday rehearsals and were told about our costume choices, Young Estella's being:

-black dress ( long and flowing) tight in some areas 

- some black shoes, maybe small heels?

-a locket(gold,noticeable) 

-curly hair 

Make up wise: 

-pale make up

-red lipstick

-no black eye liner

The show looks really good and there is a week until our show. Our rehearsals are coming together nicely and the energy levels are definitely higher. The only thing that I am worrying about is the translations between characters as we haven't looked over them yet. Sound wise the Christmas scene looks good as now all of the girls are singing 'holly and the ivy' and just after that scene everyone makes sound effects as the wind. Young Estella's character needs to be more of a bitch to be honest but it's a lot harder because estella is so quiet. This rehearsal I am going to try and be a bit bolder as all of Charles Dickens characters are. To see it all coming together is exciting and it came to about 45 minutes in the end. I have been watching and analysing chorus in depth as they are on scene all the time. They are all doing really well and their energy levels safe high but I think that they all need to focus on staging and how to perform on a thrust stage. On Wednesday we all need to make our own way to Charles cryer theatre. I just did my first scene and I think I need to tell a story some more with my lines. As the scenes go on, the energy levels 

drop sometimes but I think this will improve towards the play.

Rehearsal

Theatre Notes: 

Started back on page 31 in the scene where Miss Havisham is talking to joe. We are in Monday afternoon rehearsals for our first week rehearsing on a Monday. I'm starting to like how chorus are diagonal in most scenes. It uses the stage and you can see everyone on stage. I've been assessing Ben who plays joe and I think over the weeks he has definitely embodied his character we'll and has made some strong decisions about his posture and accent on stage. The energy is getting better and everybody on stage in a scene are constantly being their characters and never not doing something with their character on stage. I think this will work well with the props and set, as we only have one significant object each, I think each character should use this in their scenes because it gives them something to do when they aren't speaking and making the 'object' obvious. We have learnt today that we finish act 1 on page 41. Today we have run through our scripts and given chorus all of their lines. We have rehearsed from where we finished on Thursday and also we are going through other elements of the play such as sound and effects. We also set up the theatre room as a thrust stage with chair on two sides and the front to represent the audience. We set up every scene in the correct positioning and went through blocking once again. 

SELF observation sheet

Rehersals

Our last rehearsal was our final rehearsal before half term, leaving us only 4 weeks to complete and rehearse act 1. We all split up as normal, and act one were working in the space for this week. I really liked working the space as it gave us more 'space' and I felt like it suited what we were rehearsing. This week was particularly important as we were running through the middle of act one. This is a part in the play where a lot of my scenes come up. At times this was hard as because of chorus, there are so many characters on stage at one time, we all have to make sure that we are in sync with one another, and lines are delivered on cues. It was good blocking our own steps before we started rehearsing to give us an idea and to refresh our memories of the week before. Ben and Claudia were evaluating me this week and both gave back feedback saying I have made some bold decisions with my character but to be more of a bold character when delivering hurtful lines, and just generally be bitchier with it. We were told that we need to have learnt all of our lines for when we come back so that it is smoother and we can just focus on the acting. I’m really enjoying Great Expectations, and seeing everybody step out of their comfort zones in a way to make bolder characters. As marketing/ assistant stage manager (props) I am constantly keeping an eye out for any props or continuity changes in the play. I think week by week the rehearsals are improving and hopefully, when we all return and know our lines it will flow a lot smoother.

Self&Peer Assessment

Rehersals

We have rehearsed for the last two weeks, really well and all have been really focused and taken directions well. we have run through until page 20 now. We have blocked every scene, and will perform one scene over and over until everyone remembers the scene and then run through towards the end of the lesson. We have been confirmed that we can perform an evening performance at the Charles Cryer Theatre in Carshalton, which we are all excited about. Today, we ran through from where we left off last week, and whilst i was off stage, i was taking pictures and completing my self assessment and peer assessment, also learning my lines and developing my character. When i did go on stage we blocked what we all had to do so far in order to complete and continue next week. At the end we had to block all of our own movements not in real time, which helped remember where we were going and what we were doing.

Great Expectations: Lesson 3

The rehearsal process is getting more and more exciting as we devise more. The beginning is all starting to come together and looks really good. I am also excited about working with people that I may not have particularly worked with before. Having people from both groups mixed up into one is really nice, and I feel like I am learning even more with them. Today, we started off doing some exercises, walking around and being our characters, taking on both their physicality and mentality to get us ready for rehearsals, so we can embody the character. After, we split up into our two groups and we all ran through the first scene again and again to make sure that we had remembered it, and we could sharpen it up. We incorporated new ideas into the first scene, but also managed to work through many other scenes as well today. After Magwitch and Pips scene, we see Pip and his Chorus running through the gravestones (us) trying to get home. Half of the room cross their arms and the other put their hands on their hips, whilst we are all tutting at Pip. I think it looks really effective and not only is a great visual but by all making sounds; it gives more of a tense atmosphere. Then, we all leave the stage except Chorus and Pip, who perform the scene in the Gargery Parlour with Mr & Mrs. Joe. The Chorus is really good and from an audience point of view, it is clear and successful. The aspect of physical theatre in the piece is strong, and I believe that physical theatre being incorporated into such a classic play, gives it an edge. After running through beginning to the end of scene four, where Pip encounters another convict, we sharpened what we had done so far and annotated our scripts, reminding us all of cues and directions.

Great Expectations: Lesson 2

This week we were getting cast, and before they told us which character we were playing, we did some warm up exercises and then had to walk around the room in neutral. As we were walking we would have to change into the different characters that we had watched and read. First was Estella, head first, moving forward with her chest, making her look more superior. I also emphasized this by using facial expressions and looking people up and down to show her authority. Next we had to walk around as Mr Joe, leading with his hips a little bit, and bending his back to show his age and posture. Also by being more unhygienic, around the room acting as Miss Havisham (Light and floating slightly) and Mrs. Joe (Leading with her chest to try and show an authority and aggression). We were then split into two groups, act one (Miss Niven) and act two (Miss Goodall). After we were given our parts, and I was cast as Estella. We ran through some lines with small groups and talked about ideas for the play and how we would play our characters. We then all got up and with Miss Niven; we all devised the beginning to the play. We all come in from different corners of the rooms in small groups and find a space in the room. Whist we listen to the Chorus (Pips thoughts and memories) we stand neutral, until they all say 'Pip.' and repeat it three times. When they say this, we all have to join in, in sync and say the word 'Pip' in the way that our character would say his name. For example, I am saying it in a more commanding and authoritative manner, as if I am calling him. This gives the audience an introduction to all of the characters in the very first scene, which I think is a good idea and will make the piece a lot clearer. After one of the Chorus' say '...graveyard.’ All of the characters that aren’t Pip, Magwitch or Chorus, find a different space in the room and physically turn into a gravestone, all kneeling on the floor at the same time. We then all see the scene in which Magwitch is asking Pip to steal a file for him, still kneeling on the floor. I think that the beginning has been devised really well and gives a really good impression of the play in just the first scene.

Great Expectations: Lesson 1

On the first lesson back, both groups were together and we watched the 2012 BBC, televised version of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. We all focused on many different characters and the personality, object and appearance of those characters. I think that it was very useful watching a modern day version of the novel/play as it really helped understand different characters and of course what the story is about. After watching this, we were all given scripts of both act one and act two, and did a read-through. I think this helped all of us understand the roles more, but also it was interesting to hear and read characters that were different to anything we had ever done before as a company, and also exciting to realise how much character there was. In a sense that Dickens characters are very bold, which gives all of us a good idea of all the characters and how we could play them. After spending the lesson reading through the majority of the script, we were told we would be cast the week after. It was extremely interesting being able to read many different types of character in the read through, because it gave us a sense of how all the characters are, which I think will definitely help with the final performance, being able to understand characters.