Summer Work Context – Tasks 1 & 2

Task 1:

The main reason I chose Conservatoire East level 3 acting course is because of level 2 performing and production arts as I loved the experience I gained in that year on how to improve on voice work and how to project and how much I improved through out the year was clearly visible in the videos of rehearsals and performances taken. During year 11 in high school I took part in a work shop done by a drama group called SOD it was a very good experience as it helped a lot with confidence, we also did a time period piece and used clothing from the 19 hundreds so it was a good experience. For GCSE drama our mock drama play was called Bang Bang your dead by William mastrosimone, it was a serious play with a few laughs in places about high school shootings, it targeted a boy called Josh who had been allowed to have a gun when he wasn’t in the right mind set and ended up killing his fellow class mates in a lunch hall. the play talks about how each character was taken away when they were too young and how the parents were also at fault as well as his grandpa who’d taken him hunting. It was my first time performing in front of an examiner so it was very nerve wracking but I remembered all my lines and didn’t forget any of my movements. The play we performed for my drama exam was The Pillowman by Martin Mcdonagh, its about a boy who grows up wanting to be a writer and highly encouraged by his parents but at a young age he heard screams next door to his room and groans which he didn’t understand was his older brother being experimented on by his parents until a letter wrote in his blood was pushed underneath the door explaining who he was. His parents had experimented on him as he had a learning disability it never names what. The older brother was looked after by the younger brother because the torturing had damaged him permanently. The torture sounds had made the younger brothers writing eventually turn very gruesome and further on in the story as the younger brother would read the older brother his stories the younger brother acted upon what these stories said leading the policy to investigate. This play was very dark and serious to act out and some of the character had extremely long monologued which were very difficult to learn like the stories. The stories in general were all very gruesome in their own ways. I want to try and progress in acting as I’ve always been interested in it form a very young age and have always loved watching musicals and seeing how the movement and songs fit together with one another. Last year was an amazing experience with all the amazing shows I was put in and it was good to watch how the year 2’s worked together and the advice they gave on how to improve was useful and its helped me improve on my improvisation skills and voice projection and much more then that. I also learned a lot by going and watching shows like much ado about nothing as the set was incredibly naturalistic as well as had water fountains and scenery which was all very well made by the production arts team, then the actors completely brought it to life and it was amazing how well acted it was, it was the second Conservative East show that to saw in the theatre and it honestly blew me away and made me work a lot harder with my peers instead of just sitting back and letting them do the planning due to lack of confidence that I’ve built up over the last year.

Task 2:

The talents I’m bringing to Conservatoire East are some I’ve built up over the previous year and things I’ve learnt through out high school.
Face painting- For my art GCSE exam I chose face painting as I enjoyed the challenge of creating a persons face into a beautiful piece of work it could’ve been anything like a scene of the galaxy involving make up as well or a Halloween look of the Cheshire cat from alice in wonderland. I chose to do a galaxy mask, a Cheshire cat and a skull with flowers intertwined within it.

Voice projection- The Level 2 course showed me how to project my voice on stage without it going into shouting so audiences can hear what I’m saying, it was hard to do this as my first performance was Master of the macarbre which was in a setting where the stage was very up and personal with the audience so you didn’t have to speak overly that loudly for the audience to hear you where as the next performance was I’m the black box theatre in west Suffolk college where voice projection is key to the audience hearing you.

Singing- Level 2 showed me in choir how to harmonize and helped me see that I was in the category of Altoe as I couldn’t reach the high notes like the soprano’s can.

Juggling- I can’t juggle very well and need practice but In season time last year we had a class with Lynn on how to professionally juggle and I know the basics but with more time and improvement I could improve upon that.

Drawing- I’m decent at drawing, especially more cartoonish things like a dog or a tree but I struggle to draw naturalistic things like a face or an eye zoomed in. I enjoy drawing very much and it is something I spend most of my free time doing.

Song writing- I’ve never performed or managed to think of a tune that is original to go with the lyrics I’ve written but I write songs as a way to express myself.

Blood bags- For masters of the macabre harmonies character had to bleed from her shirt to show she’d been bitten by s vampire. we made this from plastic, food dye and cling film so when pricked by a pin or a needle blood would seep out slowly so it wouldn’t flow too fast and look unrealistic

I can ride a bike

I can play nursery rhymes like twinkle twinkle little star on the piano but I struggle to play a tune involving both hands I play much better using one hand I’ve never been able to have hours of practice to get to the level of using two hands

While on the level 2 course we had lessons with Lynn where we learnt about diction and the difference’s on how to use your mouth to make those sounds more vocal and clear like th’s and f’s.

Joining level 3 acting at conservatoire east I’m hoping to improve further upon what skills I have already gained and hope to progress those skills also.