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We have worked on this song for a while. But I have found it very difficult learning the song due to it being repetitive. Im personally not a fan of the song at all and I cant wait for the show to be over so it is out of the way.
I found the more we practised it within class, the more we got the hang of it and got the correct lyrics.
Despite this, I do think it is a good character piece that only needs the lyrics and timing to be worked on.

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In this number for our show, we feel like it would be av very cheesy piece. In the first few weeks of learning it, I found it very difficult as its a layered song with so many different parts and cues to learn. Once we learned our parts it was slightly easier to be able to fit movements with the words.

However this song required a lot of dedication to learning each individual part in order to learn who we were relying on so we could get timings right.

A week before the show, We all still struggled with the lyrics but with enough work together and a few sessions to work on it, we were finally able to start getting through the song with the movements in order for it to be ready to perform the next week.

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We learned here that a melodrama is often always over-exaggerated and the characters are stereotyped. For example, there is always the hero, heroine, loveable rogue and the village. I quite liked this workshop as I can also use this skills learned to be able to apply it to musical theatre performances.

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Received pronunciation.

I felt like this could be really useful in the future and that I have a skill for doing this accent. It is described as the "Queens English" that is usually seen as middle class and is often found in more private schools than public. We did an exercise in pairs with a script to test out what we learned in this session.

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On the 31st of January, our performing arts group all took part in a variety showcase which displayed the skills we have learned and gained throughout the past year. This consisted of many dance and musical theatre pieces varying from Fosse to dramatic acting pieces.

In the last few months we have gained many new skills, as well as applying ones we had already known to our performance pieces. This mainly revolved around dance and musical theatre as we had focused more on acting the previous year. As well as the group performances, some of us were also selected to have the opportunity to perform our monologues and songs from our university/drama school audition pieces or our devised pieces that we had worked on previously. I feel like as soon as we got onto the stage, the pieces we had ran smoothly once the tech run was done and we were able to perfect it for the show in the evening that went to plan.

The weakness that let me down personally was the fact that I was unwell and kept losing my voice which held me back when it came to vocal numbers, especially my solo song. I felt disappointed that I couldn’t do it to the best of my ability because of this and I could have definitely done better if it was any other time. If I were to do this again, I would have changed the song to better suit what my voice was able to do further away from the date rather than last minute.

Another weakness that I feel slowed down our show was the delay with the show hands who were in charge of props and scenery. One instance, I went to exit from the number "A little more homework" whilst still singing and bumped into a table that wasn’t placed correctly causing me to have to stop singing briefly so I could compose myself. I also feel like slow transitions with clearing the stage and preparing for the next number had an effect on us as performers as it was unclear when we had to enter the stage for our next number.

I feel like our stronger pieces were "All That Jazz" from Chicago and "Hello" from the Book of Mormon. The reasons for this is because personally I felt that we were all dedicated to these pieces and felt more confident with our movements and characters. Despite being contrasting with one another, I felt I was able to apply most of my skills to both compared to the other pieces. This is because I was already familiar with what's needed to make a musical theatre piece appealing along with the expressions and subtlety that are needed for a slower and more defined dance that is more Fosse in style.

When it came to doing "A little more homework" from the musical 13, It got better and better the more times we did it. As it is a very repetitive song, me as well as other people found it difficult learning the lyrics and struggled to the last day, when each time we performed it, the lyrics began to stick. I feel like I was able to portray a character that was clear to be a typical teenager at school, who also gets along with their peers through facial expression and body language. This is important as it is visible to anyone who is watching and it can make a piece much more appealing even if you're just standing there and singing.

With the feedback I have heard from the audience, they thought the "Angry Dance" from Billy Elliott was our strongest piece. However, I feel like that was one of our weakest pieces as hardly anyone had any experience doing tap dance before and therefore felt less confident doing a very fast paced dance with very little training. Despite this, I felt like I did fairly well in this dance as I was able to cover up any mistakes with my posture, body language and facial expression. Furthermore, I felt like it was a very upbeat piece that I could be willing to work more with. If we were to do it again, I'd like to have more time in perfecting it as we finished it very late and had little time to work on it more intricately.

In the acting piece we did from "People, places, things" I felt like we worked off of each other well to be able to make our delivery snappier. Through the use of Stanislavski's emotional recall, I was able to show enough emotion in my section of the script without having to go over the top to be able to convey a very touchy subject about addiction and alcoholism and how it affects people around us. Furthermore, the simple addition of movement at the beginning and end of the scene was an effective tool to use so we could pull our audience in.

In conclusion, I feel like the performance overall went extremely well. We worked together as a whole unit to make it work and coming out of it, I have gotten to know the other years better than what I have previously which will come in handy as we are working with them on our final project. I have also come out of this with better knowledge of quick changes and microphone changes and how to plan and make them more convenient for future pieces as it can get difficult when working under pressure within a certain time limit when you need to ready in the wings for the next number.

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I was one of three chosen to sing at the college graduation ceremony and I had a great day and the experience was amazing. I was confident and enjoyed being able to provide entertainment for a lovely event.

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We had our tap dance assessment today and I felt I did much better than I had expected myself to do. I have been practising at home and in my spare time at college and I feel that it has benefited me well. Despite my wrist injury, I did very well and if anything only missed out on a few taps whilst in the assessment.

I got my feedback the next week and got a merit for my first ever tap dance assessment.

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Today we did the assessment for our audition pieces. I felt like I did well as I was confident with my monologues and song. I was also feeling better with my vocals so I could project and convey the feelings I wanted to effectively without shouting.

Feedback from Monday 4th December:

Show change of thought.
Some lines could have been spoken slower.
Find your character stance, you stood as you.
Show more anger through voice or enhance your movement.
Defiantly use more hand gestures if you're questioning things.
Don't look away and if you want to show feelings, then go further and show more.
Have an actual piece of paper to rip up in second monologue.
Stand still in the song other than using the movements.

I know I can use this to improve my pieces so that when I do my actual auditions, they can be at the best standard I can make them.

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In Jazz today, I had to catch up on what I had missed as I had been feeling unwell. I felt that I caught on quickly but I do need to go over it more so Im not behind.

We had finished the routine for "All That Jazz" in this session, then allowing us to go over it fully so we can start perfecting it for our showcase performance in February.

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We started this session off with the usual warmups and corner exercises. From there, we went over the tap dances and techniques for our assessment in 2 weeks. As I have been off a fair bit due to illness and an injury, I will be practising at home in my own time in order to prepare.

After that, we started to learn the "angry dance" from Billy Elliot (the movie) to "A town called Malice". I feel like It will be a challenge to me as I dont think I am the best at tap dance and I find it difficult a lot of the time, But I will give it a go and ask if I need any help to learn the steps.

I also got feedback from Kate about my song as it was a last minute change. I had lost my voice for 2 weeks so I wasn't able to do my original audition song, so had to opt for the other, less vocally challenging song, Maybe I like it this way from The Wild Party.

Feedback:

Dont stand Idly
Put some actions in that relate with the lyrics
If I cant vocally change dynamics, the use of facial expression should be used to compensate
Be confident

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We had a mini research project to find out what makes a healthy performer and what we could do to better our health whilst being performers.

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Last year we briefly explored trestle masks so I knew a little about it. We started off the session looking at a presentation on the history of masks and recapping what we had already learned.

History:
The first ever mask used in theatre could be traced back to around 7000 BC.
They were used in rituals and ceremonies in some cultures and religions.
Commedia Dell'arte- Half masks would be used in comedy shows.
Trestle theatre, who perform in full masks with no speech, often used with music.

Rules:

Treat the mask as if it was a real face.
Put on the mask facing away from the audience.
Dont touch the mask when you wear it.
Whilst wearing the mask, do not talk, move or break character.

We then had an individual go with the masks as if we were being introduced to the class in the character that the mask suited. We then did small scenarios as a group to the class. I felt uncomfortable as I havent had a lot of experience with masks and I had to over exaggerate body language and movements to get my feelings across. However, i feel I would like to use them again as they can be useful tools when acting.

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As our teachers were needed, we continued what we had done the previous day with the monologue learning and audition piece research. We also explored songs to do for an upcoming audition for the college graduation ceremony.

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Bob Fosse has 7 characteristics when it comes to his choreography which are:

Angular
Staccato
Minimalistic Movements
Sexual Orientation
Grotesque Poses
Isolation
Expressionless

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His idol was Fred Astaire who was very successful in vaudeville and on Broadway. He then went to Hollywood and went on to open Fred Astaire Dance Studios after a short retirement and then continued to do more film and television work.
He also looked up to Jerome Robbins who was an American choreographer, director, dancer and theatre producer.

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Fosse is best known for his works on All That Jazz (1979), Cabaret (1972) and Chicago (2002). His other work includes: Pippin, Liza with a Z, Funny Girl, Sweet Charity, The Pajama Game, Redhead, Little Me and Damn Yankees!

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The first few parts that Fosse landed were as part of a Broadway chorus. In 1953 he appeared briefly in the MGM movie musical Kiss Me Kate (1953). His work attracted the attention of Broadway director George Abbott and choreographer Jerome Robbins of whom he looked up to. Fosse choreographed the 1954 show, Pajama Game, which was directed by George Abbott. This earned him his first Tony Award for Best Choreography. In his next musical. Fosse forged a working relationship with leading dancer Gwen Verdon that would span his career. The two married in 1960 and had a daughter, Nicole.

Hugely successful by 1960, Fosse still faced opposition from director and producers who considered his material was too suggestive. He decided to take on the role of director as well as choreographer in order to maintain the integrity of his artistic vision in Hollywood as well as on Broadway.

His subsequent musicals included Sweet Charity, Cabaret and Pippin. The 1972 film version of Cabaret (1972) won eight Academy Awards. Fosse won Tony Awards for direction and choreography for his work on Pippin: His Life and Times (1981). He also won an Emmy for his staging of the television variety show Liza with a Z (1972). Fosse wrote three additional stage musicals before his death. He survived a heart attack, suffered during rehearsals for Chicago, to write and choreograph the autobiographical film All That Jazz. His later productions were not as successful as earlier work. Big Deal, Fosse's last musical, was particularly poorly received. Fosse remains one of the most distinctive and influential choreographers in history, remembered through Broadway revivals and screenings of his work.

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Victorian Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
American burlesque is a genre of variety show. Derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, musical hall and minstrel shows, burlesque shows in America became popular in the 1860s and evolved to feature ribald comedy (lewd jokes) and female stripteases. By the early 20th century, burlesque in America was presented as a populist blend of satire, performance art, music hall and adult entertainment.

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A typical vaudeville performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts have included popular and classical musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, strongmen, female and male impersonators, acrobats, illustrated songs, jugglers, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels, and movies. A vaudeville performer is often referred to as a "vaudevillian".

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Fosse took an early interest in dance. His parents supported this interest, enrolling him in formal dance training. In his early teens, Fosse was dancing professionally in local nightclubs. This is where he was first exposed to the themes of vaudeville and burlesque performance. Fosse enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school in 1945. He was still in boot camp when the war came to an end. After fulfilling his military requirement, Fosse settled in New York City and continued to pursue dance.

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Bob Fosse was born on June 23, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, USA as Robert Louis Fosse. He is a choreographer, dancer, actor, screenwriter and director best known for the musicals Chicago and Cabaret.

Fosse died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 1987.

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These sessions were mainly focused on learning our monologues individually and independently so we would be ready to do them the next week without any hesitation. This also gave us the time to look at our third audition pieces. In this time, I explored a few songs but narrowed it down to two. These were Once Upon a Time from Brooklyn and Maybe I Like It This Way from The Wild Party. I feel I could use both as they are contrasting as well as them challenging my vocal range so it gives me additional things to focus on in the upcoming weeks to our assessment/

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For body conditioning, we had another session outside with the PE teachers. However, today's focus was on basketball and the rules and game play. Again, this helped improve out team building and allowed me to work with people I wouldnt usually work with in class.

In jazz, we started to explore Fosse and his work and influences. After this we found out that we were performing the Broadway version of "All that jazz" from Chicago. I was very pleased to hear this as Chicago is one of my favourite musicals and its a very different style of dance to what Im used to. I look forward to adding on more to this dance as the weeks go along. In doing this, it helped me know what to do to with facial expressions as well as bettering my posture for this dance and improving on it overall.

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In this tap session, we learned a new technique used in tap called a riff. In a riff you can add many beats, although we started off easy with a three beat riff (toe, heel, toe).

This was then included in a routine we learned called rhythmic riffs. I found the first part easy to do as I caught on to the riffs very easily. However, I feel I need to go over the faster bit of it as I keep getting some of the moves mixed up (ball change, shuffle hop step, ball change, ball change, shuffle hop dig).

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Check out Bas Rutten's Liver Shot on MMA Surge: http://bit.ly/MMASurgeEp1 Savion Glover brought tap to a new generation and now Mahalo is bringing tap to you! The How to Tap Dance app is the source for mastering the art of tap dance.

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Had another session with working on audition monologues, so I was able to run through my contemporary monologue as I had just about learned the rest of it. I kept going over it so then I could improve upon the feedback I was given last week.

We then had a workshop based on the general American accent. We first looked at the differences between our English and American English. We then looked at " Schwa" and A, E I O, U in the american accent. This video helped us with the vowels and pronunciation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IZZq7Hr4jg

We then went through substituting letters in words. For example, they replace T's with D's in some words like Water, Butter and daughter. Then went through not pronouncing the R sound in some words such as bath,  laugh and glass.

The next exercise was "catching the epiglottis" where you stop half way through a word by closing the vocal chords and stopping the air for a moment in order to pronounce words such as mountain and fountain.

After this, we then had a go with a script we were given which was from Bride Wars. I felt that the American accent is  the easiest one ive tried and I feel like I am good at it. However, I definitely need more practice if I need to use it for a show

In musical theatre, we finished the choreography for "Belle". We also brought in an item of clothing/prop to bring our characters to life. I brought in a blanket that I could use as a cloak for a "common-woman" in the scenes. It also worked as I was a bimbette and helped me look "flustered" over Gaston.

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With this audition preparation session, I started to explore my second monologue from Cymbeline written by Shakespeare. I had managed to learn the first 6 lines so I had something to work with in order to work around and adapt the staging of it. This gave me a goal to learn the rest of my monologue so I had both to work on in the next few weeks before the assessment.

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In our body conditioning session, we went outside with college physical education staff. We started off with football technique and football games. After this, we then moved on to playing various versions of netball where we sooner made our own rules up for the last game. I feel that this enabled us to work together better as a group and worked on our team building.

In jazz, we performed our devised pieces to the group in order to get feedback and constructive criticism. In doing this we felt that we could give each other comments whilst being able to use them to make our piece better.

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Our acting session was replaced with an extra audition preparation session. I went through my contemporary monologue from "Our Town" and got feedback about it as Id never performed it before to anyone.

Feedback:

More use of my arms instead of them being idle by my side.
Show a change of emotions when she says "Oh mama, just look at me for one minute as though you really saw me".
Learn the rest of the monologue
More projection as some lines were unclear
More articulation as some words were thrown away.

This gave me some things to work on in the upcoming sessions as well as needing to start on my other monologue.

In musical theatre, we started to choreograph the piece "Belle" from the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast. I found this very interesting as I am big on musicals and its one of my favourite Disney movies too. It was also good to see our class get on with it as only a handful of us like musical theatre and usually shy away from it. Doing this made me want to do a musical for our final main project more as I feel it will be more beneficial to what I need for my university course.

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We did another yoga session again to help us concentrate for the day ahead as well as warming ourselves up.

Continuing in this session, we came together as a group and talked more about our UCAS applications and our progress with choosing our universities. I had changed a few of my options as I didnt feel some were right for me. Not only that, they were closer to home which was one thing I was looking at when going through my options. We also had a look at open days for our universities and finding out which were better suited to us. However, as I have decided to take a gap year, I will be looking at later open days which could help me choose the right place and course for me once the college year is over.

From there, we had split to work on our monologues. I found it difficult to learn and relate to my first choice of a classical monologue from Titus Andronicus so I went and explored other ones that I could do which better suited my age range and understanding. After much research, I chose a monologue to do from Cymbeline, one of Shakespeare's lesser known plays. I found it much easier to learn than the other one so I decided to stick with it and work on what I could do to present it.

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cIn this body conditioning session, we did our usual warmup along with cardio. We again focused on stretching, the legs (hamstrings) in particular. One of these stretches we did in partners was a PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretch. Its good for improving hamstring flexibility and helps you warm up and prepare to do the splits. I have set myself a goal to be able to do the splits by the end of the year and I have been using this stretch as well as the others regularly to help my flexibility. I have found a video that I use to stretch at home as well as use before sessions in college.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpO5-k8zW9o

In jazz, we went through our normal corner exercises. However, today we had a go at doing split jumps. I was nervous to try this as I felt that I would hurt myself, but I learned that with the right lead up and technique, it could be executed safely.
Leading on from this, we were put into small groups to come up with a small devised piece to show to the class using canon, mirroring and unison. This would continue to the next week so we could work on them and present them. We decided on doing it at a faster pace as it matched the music and played around with some movements involved in our warmups. This created a 1 minute piece. This allowed me to work as part of a group as well as enabling me to have my say in what we could do together.

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Cabaret (1972) Musical Number 2 -  Mein Herr

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Bob Fosse dance numbers -  " The Rich Man's Frug "

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This tap session, we focused on a routine we started the previous week with the shuffle ball changes and shuffle hop steps. We also added some stamp claps in to create the Shuffle along tap dance routine as well as goin over the flex and move routine. We also learned a new tap dance called Jazz circles.

I feel that by practicing at home I have definitely improved my shuffle ball changes. However, I need more practice at shuffle hop steps as I am still finding it quite difficult to do. As it is now a full routine, I might be able to find it easier as last week we didn't have a specific pace for the movements and now It flows from one move to another fluidly with the music.

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In our first acting session we explored improvisation games which tested our coordination, quick responses and the ability to be able to do something on the spot as well as also being an ice breaker for us to get to know our new acting teacher. Personally, I'm not very keen on improvisation but I feel that by doing more, I'm getting better at doing it as well as improving my confidence and interest in the area.

I was very pleased when we explored the Rocky Horror Picture Show in our musical theatre session as It has been one of my favourite musicals from a younger age. In groups we went over a small area of script to perform to the class back to back with one another to create a whole scene. This also tested our American accents. From there we then chose our own groups and a song from the show so we could interpret it our own way. We chose the Time Warp as it is a well loved song by many and we wanted to put our own spin on the song and dance. I thoroughly enjoyed this session as musical theatre is a subject I have always been interested in and seeing other people in the class who aren't keen on musical theatre be able to enjoy it too made me hope that we were able to do a musical for our final main project at the end of the year.

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Instead of out first audition preparation session, we explored different stretches and poses in yoga. This session also allowed us to focus and get into a calm mindset as well as warming up our bodies. It has made me want to begin to do yoga in my own time as I found it calming yet beneficial for improving my flexibility.

In the second session, we began to talk about monologues and audition pieces as well as university choices. I felt that this helped me to have an idea of what my choices needed for auditions so I could pick appropriate pieces when it comes to age, gender and situations.

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Our first body conditioning session consisted of a regular warm up followed cardio exercises and learning and doing different stretches that prepare our bodies for dance or movement sessions. This allowed us to be able to warm up for the day as well as preparing us for our jazz session.

In our first jazz session, we were focused on technique, such as step ball changes, trio's, high kicks and Chaine turns.
Continuing on from technique we focused on point exercises and posture.

I feel like I need to improve on my balance as I did wobble a fair bit during this exercise.

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Tap Shoes
Character shoes (female)
Jazz shoes
Black leotard
Black tights
Black top/vest
Hair up
Additional clothes (leggings, jacket)
Tracksuit bottoms (male)

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In our first tap dance session,  we were taught our first basic steps. These were the shuffle ball change and the shuffle hop step. As I had never done tap dance before, I found it difficult at first to pick up but soon got the hang of it and found it much easier to do faster. After the session, I had someone video me doing these steps so I could re-watch and practice at home. I have also used these videos as a guide to help me learn and perfect these steps. We also explored another very simple tap routine called flex and move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wmmBLi1EyI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43UoZ0a4cIA

What went well: I picked the steps up really quickly.
Even better if: I practice the techniques at home ready for the next session.