the 2 performance reviews.

MONDAY-
We were the first group to perform out of the whole class so we were incredibly nervous. We set up quickly as we had very little time after the 2 dance pieces had finished and did a few focus warm up to make sure everyone was in the right frame of mind and ready for the performance. We also did a vocal warm up to make sure our voices were okay for the song. Overall the performance was not the best we had done. For some reason it just didnt give us the buzz. Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps it was becuase we knew it was funny. There were also a few accidents that threw our performances a bit. I tripped over a girls crutches in the canteen scene which completely threw me off focus and then in the second bedroom scene we knocked the lighting desk whilst getting dressed which made the lighting go wrong and rose had to step in an help. However the audience seemed to really enjoy it and it was so reassuring to hear laughter. Everyone was willing to go along with the story and get involved and we got really good feedback from everyone at the end. We learnt a lot from this performance including things like slowing it down a huge percent, make actions bigger so they can be seen and to have fun with it because we learnt if we have fun, then the audience will have fun too.
WEDNESDAY-
Wednesday was, in my opinion, the best performance of our piece we have ever done. There were NO hiccupps (this was mainly because we had learnt from last time and therefore took the neccessary steps to ensure nothing happens like that again-I taped up the lighting desk and put it on a chair so it couldnt be knocked or changed) and there was a fantastic feel about it. I think this was because we all knew that it was going to be our last ever performance and therefore really had fun with it. We slowed it down a lot and this helped us really get into it and savour the experience which also allowed the audience to surround themselves in our world too. Again we did focus warm ups and then we all did a little pep talk to get us going. We had a really enthusiastic reaction to the piece and again, people played along and were laughing in all the right places. I feel so happy about in fact that i dont have any criticisms about it! (though i know other people will).

LOG BOOK CATCH UP!! - week beginning 12th may

This is the final week before the show is on.
On monday we knew jessy would be back as she wasnt here friday. We knew we would have to catch her up with the plan we made of what we were doing when we are not on.
Throughout the first half of the week we have been trying to do as many runs as possible. As the piece wasnt finished when we showed it the other day, we tried to get the final end scene finished as soon as possible so that rose or someone could give feedback or help us develop it further. We came up with a really good idea that everyone helped create and it mirrors the opening scene really well so the audience should know exactly whats going on.
We ran it for everyone again on wednesday (with most of the costumes this time!) and unfortunately, it was nowhere near as good as it was the first time. Jonathans main piece of feedback was that we shouldnt play for laughs just because we know its funny. he said that it had lost some of its detailing and i will admit that everyone was pretty lathargic that day and we were all trying to rush the whole performance just so we could get it over and done with. Rose said that we needed to alter my crying scene and i worked on this with beth in the week. I wasnt happy with this run and i think its because i felt like an idiot whereas I really didnt the first time we did it. I think its because we kept trying to push it too far and it got too forced and the comedy wasnt natural anymore.
For the second half of the week, we have been going over and over lines because a few people just want reassurance which is fair enough. We also managed to sort out all the costume and props issues by thurday and on friday, rose worked with us to make the suicide scene more creative. Beth now jumps over the railing (which potentially was a safety hazard but the whole group dealt with it in a safe and secure way and we have the whole sequence fully under control) and we catch her. In the second suicide scen, george jumps on his own (this is way more of a hazard but george is a big boy and knows how to land correctly so that he doesnt hurt his legs).
Saturday is our tech rehearsal and we intend to do 2 runs with full tech (lighting and sound) and everyone is going to have to be very focused to get through the day smoothly.

Salsa research

I have watched a number of videos on youtube in order to get some moves for my salsa teacher character. here are some links to the videos i watched. I found these very helpful as i have no first hand experience with salsa and so these videos really helped me learn just a few basic steps so that it looked like i actually knew what i was doing. Im still not very good at salsa dancing even after watching these videos but at least i know what its SUPPOSED to look like and i will keep practicing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfDVnX4j3-w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVtWSZOttC0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-5wHu5Tjuk

Here is a ueseful website that i found that explains salsa terminology and shows you the moves in a really simple way.
http://www.salsalust.com/moves.php?category=level&value=1&order=name&way=asc&page=1

Thursday 8th and friday 9th

During thursdays double lesson we did our first run for jonathan and the rest of the class. It was the first time any of them had seen it so we knew that we would get really constructive criticism from them. The run went really well because we had a lot of fun doing it and it was reassuring to hear people laughing at our piece. None of us really knew how funny it was going to be and to hear jonny laugh at it was a real moral boost for all of us, especially jessy. Although it wasnt finished and we didnt have any costumes, everyone said that it made sense (which was the most important thing to us) and everyone seemed to really get into the spirit and connect with the emoitions we were trying to make them feel.

In feedback, everyone said that it was really funny, imaginative and easy to understand. They said, however, that the one thing that they found a little bit confusing was who was hero when we were all dancing with george. Jonathan said that it was effective because we had the audience laughing one minute and then nearly crying the next and that we had achieved emersive theatre but still needed to polish it. Everyone loved the flamboyant characters. 

On friday, I personally really wanted to clear up where we all were meant to be when we are not on, which props are getting moved, when are we changing costumes and where etc. Although we had run it smoothly the day before, it wasnt finished and we still sort of stayed with the audience all the way through and just sort of said "we will be changing at this time" etc. So we made a map on the whiteboard of all the spaces we use and we also made little counters that represented each of us. By the end of the lesson, i now had a detailed step-by-step set of instructions so now i know exactly what i should be doing at all times. 

Wednesday 7th May

Today we had most of the day to rehearse as most of us finished our lessons by 10:40.
We made a plan to rehearse the additional bit that I created to pad out the canteen scene and also to recap the bingo scene so that we are clear with it and ready show to everyone.
We knew that we had to show our pieces (what we have of them so far) even if they weren't perfect or polished. It was supposed to be just a rough preview to the group so that they could give constructive feedback to help us perfect and develop. We also wanted to make sure that the audience actually knew whats going on. However, We had a slight huccup during our rehearsal that got sorted straight away (I wont go into details) but it caused us to have a creative block. It didn't really matter though because we were set to perform at 5:00 but as everything over-ran, there wasn't time to show ours so we intend to show it at about 2 ish tomorrow.
For tomorrows lesson, we just need to clear up any scenes or bits that people are unsure about and to try and do a smooth run with what we have got. I realised whilst watching the other groups that our main problem is going to be figuring out where individual people are during transitions and where people are if they are not in certain scenes.

tuesday 6th may

So yesterday was a bank holiday so we missed 2 hours worth of rehearsals.
Today wasnt much better as we were still missing becca and also (due to level 2 scripted pieces) didnt have a space to rehearse in. We eventually used ff12 but this seriously limited what we could do.
Nevertheless, we still managed to do a partial run through even without becca and sufficient space. As you can probably tell it wasnt as thorough as we would have liked but at least it meant we could run through the new lines meg wrote for the bingo scene (which by the way is hilarious, brilliantly written and gives the scene a lot more depth and structure, good one meg).
Tomorrow, we are going ti show jonathan and rose what we have so far (even in rough form and even without becca if it comes to it).

rehearsal log catch up IMPORTANT

Sorry I havent posted my rehearsal log entries for this past week but my internet at home crashed and today we got it fixed so here it is. :)

Monday: Jess was back today and our schedule said that it was jess' turn to direct her scene. She is doing the 2 suicide scenes (one at the beginning, the other at the end) and we were all looking forward to what she had produced. She told us when we all arrived that she had been planning what she wanted to do the whole time she had been away. I think that this clearly shows that jess really does want to get a good grade and tries really hard to help the group and to make our work professional and effective, even f she does sometimes get distracted, she always makes up for it and i hope people can see that. So jess showed us some sources that she had found including some poems that were about suicide and she thought they would work well in the first suicide scene with beth saying them. We went through these poems with her and adapted them so they would fit with our piece. She then walked us through how she wanted the scene to play out (we had a bit of trouble regarding using chairs on the staircase but that will be dealt with) and we tried the scene (without the talking because we had only got the lines today) with beth and george and it worked very well and is effective, dramatic and interesting. Jessy did a really good job directing everyone and she obviously worked very hard while she was off.

Tuesday: We went over my canteen scene because we had everyone there. Those who missed the first rehearsal of it (meg, jess and becca) really liked it and had lots of creative ideas i can work with and include. Having a full cast made me realize that the scene needs padding out. Therefore i shall write a script for the next rehearsal with more dialogue. I would like to give the maid some dialogue with bernadette and beatrice because i think it would be interesting to see more of their characters and how they interact.
After this (because that only took like 30 mins), we had another go at one of nicoles transitions. We showed it to Jonathan and he liked it but re-shaped it because he reminded us that there are going to be about 30 audience members and they would not be able to see the scene how we were playing it. after we heard his advice and worked with him for a while we came up with a really creative and imaginative idea that we all really liked and nicole can now work from that for the other transitions and also to develop that one more.


Wednesday: Today we worked in pod 2 (with a spongy bed :) ) for beths angry bedroom scene (bedroom scene #2). We recapped what we did last time (we were missing becca because she was having her tonsils out and she wont be back til monday) so we left a gap for becca. This was the first time jess had seen this scene so we choreographed a short dance for her. She didnt want to make it too difficult so we based it as more of a contact piece and based it lying on the bed with george. we also padded out megans bit because we realised how short it was. We also did the whole thing to the music and even managed to finish it. (it still needs work but we have the skeleton, we mainly just need to work on how the dynamics of it are going to work like our entrances from under the bed etc.) I think beth is a very good director because she was VERY well prepared. She had found a suitable sonnet and had the idea that george could say it before the dance starts. She also instructed us clearly and effectively and took criticism and ideas well too and always tried to incorporate any ideas people had, even if they didnt work. Beth just needs to learn to be tougher and not be afraid to tell someone to get their arse in gear or ask them to shut up, she is too nice for her own good sometimes and she is good enough and clever and creative enough to lead us all, she just needs more confidence in herself.

Thursday: Last week, George and I collaborated to write a monologue for claudio to say in the first bedroom scene. It is to be said to hero and we wanted it to convey how incredibly changeable claudio is and how fickle he is deep down. This scene is also the first time the audience really sees hero. We showed it to the rest of the grouo and they really liked it. However, because we had run it in the space we are defo going to use, we realised that it wasnt very visually interesting and so we experimented with using the weird swively devide doors in pod 1 and 1b. We decided that the scene should take place in 1 a and between the doors and the audience would be sat in 1b looking in as if through a mirror or a window. This just gives the scene a whole new dynamic and it suddenly became so interesting. We also swapped me for beth because it makes way more sense using her because she is the main hero and the audience will understand easier if it was her.

Friday:  Today we taught jess the bingo scene because she hadnt done it yet. We talked her through it in detail and instructed her on what she was going to do in the scene. We looked up some bingo terms on the internet fir her to randomly blurt out during the scene to make it more surreal and interesting. Luckily we all remembered the dance moves and the harmonies because the other group was watching but i thought it actually went really well. Then we were so confident that we even tried the scene with the little intro and outro at the start and end of the scene, these were almost completely improvised and the went so well, this is pleasing because we have never been very good at improvisation and it just goes to show that when we are in the right frame of mind we can come up with something really creative and funny.

Wednesday 23rd April

Today was my turn to direct and create a scene. A while ago, i chose to lead the canteen scene because i had a really clear idea of how i wanted it. I also wanted to direct this scene because I dont have a very big part in the show and so wanted to lead a key scene.
I started from basics and looked at the original Much Ado script. Near the end, there is an interesting song that Balthazaar sings at Heros tomb. It has some slightly gothic and ghostly lyrics that I thought could work with Clauidos spiritual and psychological turmoil. I then worte a short script that can easily be extended that gives a brief insight into the other characters lives like Bernadette and Beatrice and we establish that Claudio isnt all there in the head.
The rehearsal went really well. Unfortunately, Meg, Becca and Jessy were missing which meant there were only four of us present at the rehearsal. This didnt matter though because we had enough people to fill in for the missing cast members and we did this quickly and professionally which meant we got a lot done.
Rose worked with us to help choreograph the "song" bit because we had the idea of using the Motif we created in Alex's workshop but we didnt really know how we could develop it. I think it also helped to have an outside eye. Because rose isnt as familiar with the concept as we are, it was good to ave someone simplify it so that the audience can understand. For a Video of the scene we created, Please see Nicoles Blog.
Next lesson we are going to catch the missing people up on what we did today and start on georges scene.

Tuesday the 22nd April

Today was the first day back after easter and everyone was really eager to get going again which was comforting. I think it was good to have the break because everyone has had time to prepare and have come back with really good ideas.
We created a timetable of who was leading which day/rehearsal before we broke up for easter so we followed that to see what we were doing. There was a bit of a problem because Jessy is ill at the moment with kidney problems so she wasnt in so we had to change our plan slightly. Instead, Nicole lead the rehearsal and we started to explore transitions between scenes using movement and script (from the workshop with Alex). Nicole had really clear and interesting ideas. She knew exactly what she wanted and she came prepared. She also explained how she wanted to experiment with ribbons and manipulating claudio like a puppet using these ribbons.
We all worked really well as a team today and gave input to aid Nicoles rehearsal.
Tomorrow is MY rehearsal and we will be doing the canteen scene which I have scripted and researched.

wednesday 9th april

sorry its so late but been busy.

So this 10-3 rehearsal was really useful and we got so much done. It really helped that we came to the rehearsal with all of our research because it meant that we could immediately get up and start workshopping which is exactly what we did.

We started by sharing the research that we had gathered and then shared ideas relating to the research or just a new general idea. There were plenty of fresh ideas and we all had equal input. It was also really good because everyone present (we were missing becca and jess) was really enthusiastic and raring to go which made the rehearsal so much easier.

Then we went and started to fully explore the spaces we were going to use. We knew we could do this in advance as it was half term so we knew we could take advantage of it being completely empty. However, we were slightly restricted as the security/cleaners got a bit arsey so we couldnt use the canteen. We also divided up the piece into scenes that we could each direct individually as this will aid our final devising grade and it also means we each get equal control over the piece and also a go at directing if you hadnt done it before.

After a while we started to wonder what we could do with just the people present so we decided to thicken out a scene we had already briefly plotted. This was the Bingo scene and we had already experimented with contrasting music, 40s dance and also singing for this bit but we still didnt feel like it was enough. Megan had researched the Harmonies for the song that we were going to sing which is "friends on the other side" from Disneys The princess and the frog. So we all learnt our separate parts. As this was Megans directed section, she taught beth and i some simple choreography and she instructed george on how he should portray his character in this moment. I think Meg was a really good director because she clearly knew what she wanted and she knew it well enough to bend it and shape it around us and our skills.

I think this rehearsal was one of the best ones we have ever had because we got so much done and it was really creative and fresh and imaginative and I hope that this will continue in all the rehearsals to come.

A little experiment - WEBSITE 3 http://www.parksideinc.org/mental-health-assessment

Now this site looked more like what i was looking for. It looks like an actual real life clinic so it is bound to be more reliable than others. There were a few different "screenings" as they called them that you could take online including bi-polar disorder, drinking disorder and general anxiety disorder tests but i selected a different drop box which offered the option "i feel up and down"....this is often true, so i thought, just go with it.
It begun by asking good, data questions like gender, age, marital status, ethnicity etc. Already i could tell that this one was going to give me a better answer than the others. It then asked if i had ever been treated for any disorder in the past...no. Then it asked really good questions that you couldnt determine the outcome of like "have you ever been hyper and so happy that your friends didnt think you were your usual self and you have got into trouble?" This is starting to get cool...
Because i had clicked that i often feel up and down at the beginning of the test, the whole evaluation was based on bipolar disorder which is what they assumed the problem must be. Here are my results:

And I agree, im not bi-polar, i just get hyper occasionally.

Bipolar Disorder

Your screening results are not consistent with symptoms of bipolar disorder. However, if you are still concerned and think you may need help, see a clinician or a mental health professional for a complete evaluation.

A little experiment - WEBSITE 2 http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/interactive/interactivetests/goldberg.php

The 2nd one i had a go at was on a much more professional site. It was a multiple choice test, the choices went as follows : Not at all, only slightly, partly, quite a lot, a lot and to a great extent. Im not going to lie, i answered only slightly to most of the questions, mostly because they were way more professional than the previous site and i needed to answer honestly for the test to be accurate and fair. Some of the questions included: I find it hard to make decisions (to which i answered a lot, those who really know me will understand), I often feel confined or imprisoned (not at all), I either sleep too much or too little (only slightly) and then, out of nowhere comes "i often wonder HOW i would commit suicide" (with that exact font growth) ....that escalated quickly...and dont worry, i answered not at all.  

Here are my results: 

Goldberg's depression test You have reached level 13 on the Goldberg scale.  0 - 9 Depression unlikely 21 - 35 Minor to moderate depression 10 - 17 Possibly minor depression 36 - 53 Moderate to severe depression 18 - 21 On the verge of depression 54+ Severe depression

You have some symptoms of depression. Some of these symptoms normally occur in many people. It is difficult to say whether you will need treatment or not, but it is worth speaking to your doctor about how you feel.

Depression is a disease like any other disease, and it can be treated very effectively. Recognising that you are suffering from depression is the first positive step. If you are depressed, you should arrange to see your doctor to talk about the illness right away. You may also want to raise the issue with your friends and family. You should look for support from these people you until you get well. Anyone can suffer from depression, and the symptoms can vary from person to person. Treatments, including medication and psychotherapy, have a very high success rate.

Although this test felt way more reliable than the last, I still felt that it was still a bit fixed. Mostly because almost everyone who takes the test is bound to answer negatively for at least one question for one reason or another whether its to do with sleep or food or whether you are just having an off day. all im saying is basically everyone has down feelings, that doesnt make you a depressive person. next time i think i will try a psychiatric test rather than a depression one, just to see how different they are.  

A little experiment - WEBSITE 1 WWW.DEPRESSEDTEST.COM

I wanted to do a few little online experiments just to see how many of us can be classed as depressed. I chose to do this as there is a huge increase in teen depression but how many of them are just saying they are depressed and how many are telling the truth.

I took a number of online depression tests to see if i qualified as a depressive. The first was on what looked like a fairly amateur site. There were varying questions about how i sleep and if i had lost weight (and a couple about my sex drive but lets not go into that). There were some that were a bit unanswerable: Do you have any delusions? Well a delusion to one person might not be to another. I talk to myself ALL the time, is that a delusion?? There were also ones that were going to give you an obvious answer like "Do you often feel that life is not worth living?"....well personally, no..DUH!!?  There were some that i didnt see any relevence to whatsoever like "which hemisphere do you live in?" There were better questions like had i recently gone through a trauma and whether i was a confident person or not. After I had completed the test, it popped up with a box saying that the result was not a professional medical opinion and that it was not to be held responsible for any damage to me after taking the test.....okay... anyway here are my (non-professional) results:

Here Are Your Scores:

Disorder	Your Score
Major Depression:	Very Slight
Dysthymia:	Slight-Moderate
Bipolar Disorder:	Slight-Moderate
Cyclothymia:	Very High
Seasonal Affective Disorder:	Slight-Moderate
Postpartum Depression:	N/A

 I dont agree with the idea that i could have major depression... i am an incredibly chirpy person and i answered honestly to every question....even the sex ones.... So, so far; depressed teen:1 - happy teen: 0

Dictionary definitions of the 5 stages of grief - acceptance

ac·cept·ance

  [ak-sep-tuhns]  Show IPA

noun

1.

the act of taking or receiving something offered.

2.

favorable reception; approval; favor.

3.

the act of assenting or believing: acceptance of a theory.

4.

the fact or state of being accepted or acceptable.

5.

acceptation (  def 1 ) .

(PLEASE NOTE: there really wasnt very much of relevance on the acceptance dictionary definition)

Dictionary definitions of the 5 stages of grief - Depression

de·pres·sion

  [dih-presh-uhn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

the act of depressing.

2.

the state of being depressed.

3.

a depressed or sunken place or part; an area lower than the surrounding surface.

4.

sadness; gloom; dejection.

5.

Psychiatry. a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and moreprolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. Compare clinical depression.

Synonyms 
4. discouragement, despondency.

— n
1.	the act of depressing or state of being depressed
2.	a depressed or sunken place or area
3.	a mental disorder characterized by extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy, and inability to concentrate
4.	pathol  an abnormal lowering of the rate of any physiological activity or function, such as respiration
5.	an economic condition characterized by substantial and protracted unemployment, low output andinvestment, etc; slump
6.	meteorol cyclone , Also called: low  a large body of rotating and rising air below normal atmosphericpressure, which often brings rain
7.	Compare elevation (esp in surveying and astronomy) the angular distance of an object, celestial body,etc, below the horizontal plane through the point of observation

Dictionary definitions of the 5 stages of grief - bargaining

bar·gain

  [bahr-guhn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

an advantageous purchase, especially one acquired at less than 
the usual cost: The sale offeredbargains galore.

2.

an agreement between parties settling what each shall give and take 
or perform and receive in atransaction.

3.

such an agreement as affecting one of the parties: a losing bargain.

4.

something acquired by bargaining.

5.

Informal. an agreeable person, especially one who causes no trouble 
or difficulty (usually used innegative constructions): His boss is no bargain.

verb (used without object)

6.

to discuss the terms of a bargain; haggle; negotiate.

7.

to come to an agreement; make a bargain:

Synonyms 
2. stipulation, arrangement, transaction. agreement. 

6. trade. 7. contract, covenant.

— n
1.	an agreement or contract establishing what each party will  give, receive, or perform in a transactionbetween them
2.	something acquired or received in such an agreement
3.	( US )
	a. something bought or offered at a low price: a bargain at an auction
	b. ( as modifier ): a bargain price
4.	into the bargain , in the bargain  in excess of what has  been stipulated; besides
5.	make a bargain , strike a bargain  to agree on terms
— vb
6.	( intr ) to negotiate the terms of an agreement, transaction, etc
7.	( tr ) to exchange, as in a bargain
8.	to arrive at (an agreement or settlement)

Dictionary Definitions of the 5 stages of grief - Anger

an·ger

  [ang-ger]  Show IPA

noun

1.

a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath; ire.

2.

Chiefly British Dialect . pain or smart, as of a sore.

3.

Obsolete . grief; trouble.

verb (used with object)

4.

to arouse anger or wrath in.

5.

Chiefly British Dialect . to cause to smart; inflame.

Synonyms 
1. resentment, exasperation; choler, bile, spleen. Anger, fury, 
indignation, rage imply deep and strongfeelings aroused by injury, 
injustice, wrong, etc. Anger is the general term for a sudden violent 
displeasure:a burst of 
anger. Indignation implies deep and justified anger: indignation at 
cruelty or against corruption.Rage is vehement anger: rage at being 
frustrated. Fury is rage so great that it resembles insanity: the fury
 ofan outraged lover. 4. displease, vex, irritate, exasperate, 
infuriate, enrage, incense, madden.

— n
1.	a feeling of great annoyance or antagonism as the result of some real or supposed grievance; rage;wrath
— vb
2.	( tr ) to make angry; enrage
[C12: from Old Norse angr  grief; related to Old English enge,  Old High German engi  narrow, Latin angere to strangle]