Project Research | Mellars

* Year 1 class > ages of 5+
                  ^ They are learning about personal development
                  ^ WW1
* Collaborating or be interested in working with that age group
* Group work
* Explore - 'The Shoe Maker and the Evles'
* Might be best to take a known text and work from that
* Or to devise a new text
                 ^ Think of influences e.g. water
* Budget £500
* 30 to 40 minute long performance
* Would you perform to small groups or as a whole
* What kind of theatre space would you use? Traverse?
* Puppetry is likely to be included
* Majority of the spring term would be needed for this project
                 ^ Dedicate the bulk of the spring term

Performance
* Last two weeks of the spring term for practise and performance

Project Research | Mansfield Palace Theatre

Project 1

*500 paramecium Arts Theatre
*120 members of the youth theatre
* National Theatre Connections > competition to get the show to Sheffield
* An idea of a Mini Tour
                   ^ Transferable to a thrust stage
                   ^ Adaptable
* Small budget of £600 (can be flexible)


Plot could link into dissertation idea at the moment
                   ^ World of Equality

* Cast of 18 (16 to 18 year olds)
* This project is more about working with young people
* A fully supportive technical team


Project 2

* Writing Track
* 50 minute performance
* 150 Auditorium space
* New writing
* Small budget of £600
* Cast of 6
* Not finalised script until January

Project Research | Dance4

Cyborg Sunday

* 4 Performers > Group pieces
                         > Chorus

* Live on an island space
* Mapping out and presenting the story
* Relating in an abstract way
* Never illstrated
* Actors manipulate each others bodies and movement


Set
* No objects on stage
* One light, in the middle, centre stage
                      ^ Like a child/ babies mobile
                      ^ continuously moving, causing shadows and interesting shapes
                      ^ Only light source
                      ^ Constant Mutation
                      ^ 4 metres high, long
* Relation with the touch...
                      ^ Imagination


Performance
* Actors are not always interacting with each other, they will do their own things
* Actors given a description on an action/ scenario > " Hold the shoulder of the closest actor, as if it were a dead rabbit"

Costume
* Wigs, same colour as the actors and actresses hair
* Changing clothes to imitate other actors
                      ^ Doubles of same costume in different materials
                      ^ Cross dressing into each other
* Manipulating the clothing of each other as if it were part of the body
                      ^ Clinging clothes
*Artificial clothing
                      ^ Made out of different materials
                      ^ Pixelated
                      ^ Wood, Plastic

Noise
* Pixelated, noise
* Distorted
* Digital noise

Audience
* Audience sat on the floor
* Sat randomly within the room
* Actors will walk through and between members of the audience



What does this remind me off?
A: 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony

The Performance

During the early stages of the research and development stage, the group had originally thought about a heavy performance piece for the Riot project. Have a big part performing with the cart and getting the audience involved. 

As our idea developed however, our piece slowly became more for a stand-alone piece, being the performance itself, rather than the group performing solely. 

Once we had set up the 'Machine' we then had to develop a routine for a small performance. This was tricky as we hadn't focused of a performative side and thought that the machine itself would be leading the audience up into a space, where the other two carts would be situated. 

Considering the amount of time that we had, I feel that our group worked effectively trying to focus no coming up with a performance to best show of the Machine. 

I feel that the three carts were all placed in the correct order to give a narrative to the entire performance. Our cart being first represented the industrial side of Nottingham, the growth of machines and labour. 

The only thing I would have liked to have happened, would have been for a bit of information given out to public viewing the performance to give our starting performance some context. With a bit more information I feel that our machine would have been better communicated to the audience. 

RIOT Response

RESPONSE TO RIOT

 http://www.pinterest.com/lolaq92/riot/

• Fire
• Destruction
•  Rebel
• Power
• Flags
• Noise
• Masses of people
• Smashed items
• Red/ Orange/ Black
• Hot
• Scary
• Screams
• Wild Animals
• Lion / Crows/ Raven
• Signs

Skills Week | Scenic Painting

This week we have been working in the Nottingham Playhouse workshop learning scenic painting techniques.
We started by taking a picture of a column that we liked then marked it out onto the board.
I thoroughly enjoyed marking out and building up the layers of paint for the column. Learning how to start with a light, watery base paint and creating marks in it which would show through at the end of the project. From here, the we then moved on to darker colours to create shadows. We started with a light colour first so that we could still see the lines that we had drawn on.
After creating the shadow we moved onto the making the darker sections a bit more dramatic. We did this by using more layers and using textured sponges. The sponges create the lines which I put on the left hand side of my pillar. Because it is meant to be viewed from a fair distance the lines of the sponge give a good visual effect of the shadow gradually darkening.
After the shadowing, we then placed some highlights along certain sections of the column. I chose the light to be coming from the middle right, as if the sun was setting to create a slightly harsh shadowing appearing on the left, I had pre decided what I wanted to do for a back ground and thus the lighting placed itself.

For the background I had already thought about and been inspired by an artist who inspired me a few years ago, as still does. I chose to follow the techniques of Bob Ross. I wanted to make a dream like sky which was beginning to set. I chose to use light blue and pink to create a dream like sky, towards the end of painting the sky I realised that I did not want the column to have little context, so from here I decided to make a mountainous landscape, giving the illusion that the column was at the top of a hill and from the top you could see mountins in the middle distance.

I really enjoyed this skills week and felt inspired again. I think I learnt a lot and I was a lot more carefree with my work than I normally am.

Puppetry Project

For this next project we will be working around a contract with Nottingham Castle.

We will be making three carts and then parading them at the castle in celebration of what came out from the Nottingham riots of 1831. 

In 1831, a group of rioters decided to invade Nottingham Castle which was owned by the Duke of Newcastle. The Rioters managed to get in to the castle grounds and burn down the castle.