LESSON 8

We walked straight in and handed our logbooks in for miss Jansons to mark. I thought I did quite well because I had done all the lessons and also extra research on each lesson. We got my our marks back at the end of the lesson and I got 4.5 out of 5 which I think is quite good but not sure what everyone else got.

The next activity we did was to choose our groups and do either scene one or scene 2 from the ‘away’ script. We choose to do the second scene with all the campers, in my group we had Jordan (the director and also camper 1), molly (camper 2), phoebe (camper 4), reece (Jim), james (Meg) and I was camper 4.  We practiced this scene and we could all tell that with each practice we were getting better and better, which was good and I hope we have some time next lesson to practice it as we just need to sort out staging and just reassuring ourselves about the script.

The focus of the lesson was to get our logbooks handed in as I think they were 10 percent of our final year mark so it could really help if mine was good.

As we were meant to read the ‘away’ script for homework it was just reassuring us about what happens as we can do this play as one of our assessment plays, I liked this play and I thought the campers costume could be quite easy because they could be in fisher mans clothes or may beachy clothes but I want to see the other plays before I start planning this one.

I thought we did well in our ‘away’ scene because Jordan is a very good director so she got us all to concentrate which is quite had when me and molly are in a group together but it was good and she organized us very well, we it was good she was in our group.

I really liked my group and they were all fun to work with.

At first it was quite hard because ewe had 2 scripts between 6 of us, so it was hard to read and come in at our right part but as we practiced we kind of knew when to come in and speak which was good. Also I think we need to make more hand jesters when we speak to make it more interesting and also I liked how we added our own bit at the beginning when we sing merry Christmas which will make ours more interesting then all the other groups hopefully.

As we didn’t watch anyone’s performances I cant give any constructive criticism but hopefully we can watch each other next lesson.
Today we were also handed out our permission forms for trips which i can't wait for.

research

Michael Gow

LESSON 7

In this lesson we had 5 minutes to prepare and to go over our scenes we did last week and then we performed in front of the class.  After this we wrote notes to keep up to date with our log books and because it was a double we had a 5 minutes break.  We were then told that all our logbook entries were due on Monday.  After this we were given our assessment for this term, we have to choose one play and choose from costume design/poster/scene set.  As I do textiles I am probably going to do costume design.  After we completed this we made notes on one of the plays we could choose from for our assessment – Away.  Miss Jansen read notes out so we could copy them down.  For homework we had to read the script.

The focus of the lesson was to keep up to date with our work and make sure we weren’t along way behind.

I thought in our performance of our unequal education was good for the time we had to practice.

I thought that maybe we should have had longer to practice our scenes as it was quite hard to remember them but I found this lesson quite helpful as it helped to keep my up to date with my logbook.  In our sketch we could of improved by making the scenes slightly longer but apart from this I thought it went quite well.

When we performed Rachel’s group was not very well prepared so for them I would have spent more time trying to create a theme for their sketches.

Summary of our last few lessons

We had an intro to Australian theatre, its development and contemporary Australian theatre.  We have looked at a timeline of Australian theatre and we discovered that this was influenced by its current cultural context ie when Australia was being colanized (they had colonies theatre).

Australia has its own style as it grows and changed through different cultures.  For example, traditionally British then with the Asian population increasing – Asian theatre increased.  Now we have a multi-cultural theatre.

Now we have explored a typical Australian stereotypes, what makes Australian adverts Australian etc.  (Satire comedy, Chris Lily). Then explored/brainstormed contemporary current issues then constructed a planned improvisation attempting to use an eposidic structure.

Three definitions

Three different forms of play structure

-      Chronilogical, your performance moves from and unbroken timeframe ie like a Disney film, Pinnochio.

-      Non linear, a performance can move from point A but can have broken time structure and can include flashbacks or flashforwards ie Titanic.

-      Eposodic structure – a series of scenes that can stand alone yet share the same theme/subject ie interviews of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd and David Camerson.  They are separate performances but share the same theme ie Carbon tax.

Away by Michael Gow

Set in 1967 – three familes are pushed towards their fears and aspirations.

It opens with Midsummer Nights Dream.

This mirrors the hardships, the characters encounter throughout the play.

The families show their holiday together, confronting fears all because of a storm.

Discussion: character and conflict.

1.    What impression did you form of the characters?

2.    What appeared to be the conflict between the characters?

3.    Do you think such conflicts are common in Australian familes? And Why?

4.    How could a performance (a natural end/or non naturalist) show these conflicts?






handouts

LESSON 6

The first activity we did was a game called “Zap, Boom, Pow”.  We played this as a whole class and the aim of the game is to think quickly and to react quickly using the right word and the right movement.  This was good fun but I was out quite early  - as it got faster and faster it became harder and required a lot of concentration.

The next activity was to finish off our sketches which we started brainstorming in classes last week.  This week we chose to go with unequal education.  We had 3 situations – one boy wanting to go to school but had to stay at home and work on the farm.  The second is a less fortunate child who goes to school but is not able to afford to buy books, uniform and stationery. Lastly, a spoilt posh brat who doesn’t appreciate her access to good education.  In the scenes Rhys and Eric were the father and son in both situations on the farm and the boy who needs books.  Sarah and I were mother and daughter of the posh family.  To connect the scenes we based them on an interview situation on the news. 

The focus of the lesson was to see a few of our performances and to give constructive feedback.  The aim of this class was to get our sketches finished and to a good standard and if we didn’t present them today we would in our next lesson.

I thought we achieved well in all our activities as we worked well as a class/group.

It was good working with others as I liked the people in my group and it made it good fun.  In our activities Eric found it quite hard to perform an Australian accent but we all made it work in the end.

I think this was a good lesson as we achieved all the goals we were set. I suggest that we could have practiced more than just discussing what we were going to do.  One group I was interested in was Luke’s group as they used a flood situation and made noices with their hands to show this.

I am excited to perform in the next lesson as I think it is quite good.

research


Floods – Get the Facts

Floods are not always caused by heavy rainfall.

Flooding can be caused by a range of situations that include:

▪   seawater flooding – coastal areas may be flooded when a cyclone or severe storm causes a surge of sea water

▪   tidal flooding – floods that are caused by high tides that coincide with higher than normal river levels

▪   run-off from rivers and dams – flooding can be caused when river systems all need to carry more water at the one time following a snow-melt or when dams start to overflow

▪   urban drainage – flash flooding is a serious problem in some cities when the drainage systems fail. People can be caught in stormwater drains, trapped in their cars or even swept off the roads by water.

Is it always bad news?

Floods can have both positive and negative impacts.

Sometimes floods can bring welcome relief for people, livestock and areas suffering from drought conditions.

Flooding can also be a natural way for wetland areas, swamps and native waterways to survive. Underground aquifers and soils with high salt levels also benefit from flood waters.

LESSON 5

In this lesson we were given out  a handouts, one handout was Australian theatre on our first lesson so do with Australian theatre.  Miss Janson, Luke and Rhiannon read these sheets out impersonating a politician ie Martin Luther King which were very amusing.  After this we were put into groups of 3 and 4’s.  I was put with Sarah, Rhys and Eric.  We had to brainstorm currant topical issues in Australia, ie bush fires, rasism, floods etc.  In the end we decided on either unequal education or terrorism, even though we thought the floods would be quite interesting.  The focus of the lesson was to go into more depth on Australian theatre.

The main goal of this class was to plan ahead for our performances in our groups as we had to do three different performances all to do with the same issue.  For us this would be unequal education or terrorism.  I felt in the first half of the lesson I learnt a lot more about Australian theatre in general as we looked at the timeline which connect all the dots.  In the second half of the lesson I think we should have decided what currant topical issues we were going to do in our next lesson so that we were more prepared.

I really liked working with my group as we had different characters bringing different humour and perspective.  I think it was hard to concentrate on what we were actually reading whilst the others were reading in funny voices which distracted us.  Apart from this I think the lesson was very successful.  I think we did well as a whole in this lesson as we concentrated.

I think I could have paid more attention and highlighted the text as people read it out loud.  As we did not  see anyones performances

Today I could not give any constructive crititism but cant wait to see everyones next time.


handout

LESSON 4

In this lesson we started with a game to improve our peripheral vision.  We all stood in a circle and all stared into the middle of the circle.  Anyone could start at any time by leaning slowly forward with the upper half of their body.  Everyone else used their peripheral vision to notice the person leaning in and everyone would lean forward and all end up in a forward lunge whilst clapping when touching the ground whilst making a “ha” noise.  As we did more rounds everyone improved and we all ended up completing this activity in sync.

Our next activity was to quickly practise our Australian advert.  We changed the interviewer to Rachel as we decided I would become an English tourist being interviewed and then we performed it in front of the class.  My favourite group were Molly and her group because I liked how they used movements to describe the Australian attractions ie the Harbour Bridge.  The focus of the lesson was to perform the adverts and criticise each others performance.  We gave constructive criticism  to help everyone’s performances

To give any constructive criticism to others I would suggest Molly’s group should try not to laugh quite as much.

research
when i was listening on the radio i heard this remix and its all all about all the famous things in sydney and i thought it kind of fitted with advertising sydney

definition of  Peripheral vision: Side vision. The ability to see objects and movement outside of the direct line of vision. Peripheral vision is the work of the rods, nerve cells located largely outside the macula (the center) of the retina. The rods are also responsible for night vision and low-light vision but are insensitive to color. As opposed to central vision.

LESSON 3

In this double lesson we started with a slow motion knock-out where we had to concentrate on the points of impact and had to really concentrate of facial expressions because our movements were much slower. For this sketch I worked with Pheobe and Molly.  We created a short scene with Pheobe coming up to Molly and I and punching us in the face unexpectedly.  The scene continues with Molly and I winning against her.  I liked how Molly and I made the exact same movements at the same time.  When we watched the others perform I thought Danny and Liz did a good job as Danny really emphasized her facial expressions and they made sure their points of impact were in the right place

After this game we started our Australian advert.  In our adverts we had to create a sketch on encouraging tourists to visit Australia.  For this scene I worked with Rachel, will and max. 

The focus of the lesson was to really emphasize the culture of Australia in a short advert.  For our advert we created a situation with an Australian interviewer interviewing tourists on Australia Day and asking them what they liked about the country and why they would come back again.

The aim of the slow-mo game was to really emphasize our movements and to stop ourselves from laughing as people’s expressions were really funny.  The purpose of the second activity was similar to the typical Australian sketch we did in Lesson 1 which I found helped in this exercise.

In the advert scene we didn’t make much progress in this lesson but we have all the ideas in our heads ready for next time.  I liked how we used freeze-frames when I interviewed different people because this made sure that the audience noticed the people questioned were from all different cultures.

I think we successfully reached our goal for the slow-mo but not as much for the advert.  I think  this is because I find it easier working with friends.   I am going to suggest to the group next lesson that someone else should be the interviewer for the advert because I am not a true Australian.  Going back to the slow-mo sketch I think some groups could improve by not laughing in the middle of the sketch unless they are doing it in slow motion.

research 

 video i saw on the tv advertising australia

LESSON 2

In this lesson we met our teacher, Miss Jansons, for the first time as our last lesson was taken by  a cover teacher. This lesson was all about team bonding and learning the essentials of our Drama logbooks and what we will be studying and assessed on.

After this we were asked what we wanted to achieve whilst studying Drama this year.  I decided that it would be a great lesson in building up my public speaking and improvisation skills.  Next, as there were many new people in the class, we did a fun game called “zombies”.  This exercise helped us to learn people’s names, think on our feet, acting quickly, spacial awareness skills, focus and last but not least to have fun.  The game involved in one person starting walking like a zombie towards another person, who then had to quickly call out another name in the group and that named person would then become the zombie.  If you failed to call out another name before the zombie reached you, you would be out of the game.  This continued around the classroom.  This helped us to learn each others names.

The second activity we did was called co-operative musical chairs.   This was to get us used to being in close proximity with our classmates.  This game was like the normal musical chairs but with a twist.  The twist was that there could be any amount of people on a chair but only any two feet and one bottom on each chair. The whole class worked together on the lesson.

I felt that I achieved a lot in the zombie activity as I didn’t know everyone’s name in my class and this helped me to put names to faces and also the co-operative chairs helped the whole class to bond and feel more comfortable around each other.  At first co-operative chairs was a little challenging as it’s un-natural to just jump on and unfamiliar persons lap.  In the activity zombies the only bad thing was that all the new people would be out first as they were unsure of other people’s names.  Maybe if we played it again in our next lesson this would improve.

It was a very successful lesson because we all came out feeling much more confident in each others company and more relaxed because of the team bonding.  To improve my work next time I could memorize people names more quickly.  I would suggest to others not to feel too shy and to have fun and relax, this would apply to me too.


research

Team "bonding" is a very important process that will help to ensure a close-knit team. A strong cheer squad becomes one in purpose and desire, Encouragement is very important in team bonding. If team members try to motivate one another, everyone will try harder to accomplish team objectives. Teambuilding games are a fun way to develop cohesiveness. They tear down walls in communications, provide avenues that encourage discussion, and increase productivity. Team building takes time but the end results are well worth the extra time. It is an ongoing process that boosts commitment. Here are some games and exercises to do with your squad to build a unified group.

a quote i found and i liked about team bonding

  

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

handouts-

elements of drama

logbook help