Body conditioning with Karma 12th September

We did yoga as a warm up and then we did our fitness audit, this week showed some improvements but also some declines, a possible reason for this is that my body is still recovering from last week’s training and is not use to this exercise. I aim to keep improving my personal fitness by doing this regularly and giving 110% effort into it. 

 

Vocal with Karma 11th September

In today’s session we started off by doing the Sss exercise, this allows us to practise breath control and lung capacity, I managed to last for 38 counts I am pleased with this, however hope to improve to 40-45 next week, I will do this by practising at home. 

We then did a vocal characterisation exercise, in this we told the story of Goldie locks and the three bears one line at a time using voice whether that be narrator, Goldie locks or a bear. This was good as again it added to our characterisation skills. 

Body conditioning and Dance with Karma 11th September

Today’s body conditioning was used as a warm up to ensure our joints were nice and mobile before doing any damage, this is good as it ensured we were following safe practice and also helped towards our health. 

We then went on to practice and improve the Dancin fool piece we are learning for Paris, this piece is a challenge as it is a fast piece however it is fun and a good piece, plus I love challenges. To improve this piece, I can work on being a bit less sassy and improve my alignment on certain parts, in particular the ‘Now you’re talking’ this is important as it need to be snappy and sharp to have maximum effect. 

We then started to learn the hand jive, this was good as it was fast hand work and made us be switched on and in time, whilst on the topic of being in time in this piece it is easy to tell if you’re not as there is a lot of slapping noises being made. To improve I can clean up my foot work and rehearse the hand work. 

 

Acting with Shanaz 10th September

In today’s session we started off by recapping the different levels of status and tension just to warm us up this was good as it let us see what we had remembered from the week before. We then as a class discussed the improv extract we had been given to read, In the extract I had found one part in particular very interesting… At one point he stated that ‘One person will be convinced that they are coming across as one thing but in reality, they are coming across as the other’ this is good as it shows us that drama is down to perception and that is why characterisation is so important as this allows the director and playwright to give the audience the show that they want. To improve my understanding on this I could read the whole book, my target is to check the LRC for a copy and then read it. 

We then looked at stock characters, by this I mean Architypes and stereotypes, these are the foundations for all characters in tv and theatre, this exercise was good as again it built up on our characterisation. My target is to research the stock characters.  

Dance with Jo 10th September

In today’s session we focused on partner work, we started this by doing a simple counter balance. This was good as it helped us to learn to trust our dance partner, it also helped us improve our control as we had to control our descent and our core. I found this good as it helped me sit lower down than I normally would. The balance consisted of us locking our arms leaning back and lowering down slowly; to improve I could get down lower in this task. 

Then we played a game called hit the deck, this involved us being split into two teams and taking it in turns to run across the room go into plank and roll back with good technique, so this meant rolling from our hands and feet and recovering the position every time. When we reach the halfway point, the next person must run and jump over you and then do the same as the person before. This was good as it worked both on our body work and technique, but it also helped us to bond as a course. 

We then got back into pairs and made a small phrase of dance known as a motif that included a jump, a balance, a roll, a lift and a run. This helped us to engage a creative side into our learning and made us think of different ways to transition into the next movement. Our motif was good however to improve upon it we could have done a bit more rehearsal on it. 

The final thing we then did was slightly more acting based in our case, we were told to grab a prop from around the room and create a scene in which you used the prop in a way that is different to its actual use, we must think about characterisation, storytelling and expressions; in my case I decided to use my rolled up yoga mat as a camera in a fashion camera shoot this was good as it was a unique way to use the prop. To improve next time, I need to use a diverse variety of uses instead of just one. 

Production skills with Sally 5th September:

In this session we looked at the different production roles attached to a show, I found this interesting as I’ve never really looked at this side of theatre but am willing to learn. We spent the session mind mapping the different roles we could think of this was good as it was a test for me to distinguish ‘Is that a production role?’ and a few times it wasn’t so I learnt. 

I found this good as it showed us what we might have the chance to do on the course if we work hard. 

I have set myself the goal to research about light designers. 

Healthy Performer with Karma 5th September:

This session focussed on us de-stressing and relaxing because of how full on the start of the week has been, this was good as we did yoga and this was nice and calm, we stretched out our bodies and learnt of positions that are still stretching but are known as recovery positions an example of this is child, so if we were hurting too much we could go into this position. 

I found this session good as it was a nice and relaxed way to start the morning. 

I learnt that there are positions that still stretch you but are ones to help you if your hurt.  

I will set myself the goal to improve my yoga skills. 

Voice with Karma 4th September:

In today’s session we went over safe practice and vocal exercises that will help us improve our voice. These include the Sssssss, this is where you take a deep breath in and exhale making a controlled s sound to see how well you can control your breathing. I found this good as we could hear whether we could control it or not. 

I found this good as I learnt that lung capacity and control are two things that really help a singer. 

I will set myself the target of by Christmas reach 70 counts. 

 

Physical theatre with Jo 4th September:

In today’s session we learnt about different ways to work together as a duet. In doing this we used each other to transfer our weight and be lifted in front of our partner this added on to the end of the dance routine we learnt on Monday, this movement section ended with one parner jumping over the others back and then doing a shoulder lift on each other. 

I found this very enjoyable as me and Andrew seem to work well together, it was also a nice test of rhythm and we had to be in sync with movements. 

I learnt that when performing you need to watch around you for space and to ensure you’re in time with the rest of the people on stage with you. 

I will set the target to keep improving on the dance skills and teamwork that we covered in the session to improve my overall skills.