Our final stage combat choreography performance achieved the desired result we were going for. By practicing our areas of weaknesses, we managed to conceal and knap our actions. They looked very realistic, especially the hair pull which was probably one of our strengths. The hairpull looked realistic because of the way my arm was tense and Azahra's hands covering my clenched fist (with no hair in). Azahra also used her feet to push off and slide accross the floor to give the impression that I am pulling her, which we learned ourselves although we were supposed to be taught it but it is fine as we were successful with pulling it off. Another realsistic component was our slaps and the way Azahra and I reacted. The knaps were loud and clear, and we reacted on time; not to early nor too late. One of my difficultires was that my hand would always aim for above my partners head, but with constant reminders, I was able to fix the flaw. Overall, our scene was to the point and quick and we managed to remember the script and choreography. Our scene was successful. At the end when our peers and teacher gave feedback, there was nothing negative only positive compliments on our play. Next time, I think we could add more talking to make the story progress into a more violent situation and therefore make it more believable.
Our melodramatic play was about a damsel called Aurora (then we changed the name to Jessica) and her love washing up on an island as the resultant of the wreck of a cruise ship. The evil villain (Vicious Victoria) was watching them and wanted to get the damsel's gold and jewels in order to help build an island of gold, even though she only has a small pile on the floor! Her hero Gerald comes to the rescue with the help of a bracelet purposely dropped by Jessica as a clue to finding her. We asked Yousef to assist us with the music as he had been absent and was not able to participate in the play. Each character had a different theme of music which played when it was their turn on stage, for example when Jessica the damsel spoke, a relaxing song with birds in the background would play, and when the villain came on, evil, thunderous music would be played.
Sadly, Sabine had left school early so we had to substitute her role as a damsel with the help of Bhavya, who was set to play the villain's henchman. Bhavya had only twenty minutes to learn the script and actions previously played by Sabine, and regarding the time he had, I reckon he acted very well and helped save the play. Sabine had been given the responsibility of bringing a ring, but since she was absent, we had to borrow a bracelet from the costume cupboard instead of a ring.
I find the ending of our play to be very creative. No other group had done the same. We all took turns bowing in the role of our individual characters, then bowed as one in unison. This was also helpful as it signified the end of the play. I thought it was very original. When bowing, Alissa went first and done a stuck up evil bow. Bhavya and added a comedic twist by making his wig purposely fly off! And I went up on stage and done a cheesy wink and smile then bowed flexing and showing off my "muscles."
What was the most difficult part of this task and how did you overcome it? The most difficult challenge that we faced was being put under pressure due to Sabine leaving school early. We had only twenty minutes to improvise with the script and teach the chosen Bhavya the lines and actions played by Sabine, and we also had to teach Yousef the change of music as there was no henchman as originally planned. We decided to plan out how we would manage our time, so we decided that it would be more appropriate for us to change the script later on at home or after we had completed our performance. Miss Ruiz told us that it would be suitable to remove the role of the villain's henchman and swap Bhavya to the role of Sabine. We then acted out our play with Yousef practicing switching the music until Bhavya was confident that eh had learned the lines and placement on stage.
What exactly was your group trying to communicate with your play? The story starts off with Alissa playing as Vicious Victoria the villain hiding in her dungeon spying on a hero and damsel who washed up on her "Island of Gold." She captures the damsel in an attempt to steal her jewelry but is found indignant when the hero saves the day and knocks her out, (she still remains alive). The moral of our play is to never do evil and steal from others as there will be awful consequences and someone will find out. I think we successfully played the storyline we were trying to communicate as we articulated our voices in order to project and speak loudly so others could hear the message that we had delivered and our voices had clarity so the audience could understand our lines and successfully follow the story. Also, we stuck to our characters' given personalities. The damsel had a breathy, melodic voice, and with Bhavya being a male, done well as it was difficult for his voice to produce such stereotypically "feminine" tone of pitch. Alissa had to speak with a villainous voice which was comprised of indignant and resonant tones. She projected her voice loudly so she could be heard over the music, and extended the end of her words to appear more immoral and wrongful. Bhavya produced facial expressions of sombre by creasing his eyes as if he were tearing up, an expression of despair by lifting his eyebrows and making "puppy-dog eyes" looking innocent. Alissa looked smug when she admired her "island of gold", but soon realised that there was not enough to fill an island!
My acting: Overall, I think my acting contained an intended heroic attitude. My facial expression did not contain much and was quite bland, but I did always lift my chin up and try to face the audience as much as possible so they would not just see my back. I spoke with a loud, clear, reassuring and brave tone to exaggerate my role as a hero.
What was most successful about your performance? I believe that the most successful part of our performance was the build up and plot. Alissa's acting and lines to say really made the story start clear and it was obvious what villainous plot was to lie ahead. At the scene of the plot, I made it very obvious that Bhavya the damsel was in danger by saying the lines: "SHE MUST BE IN DANGER." Also, the ending when we all bowed (described in the introduction) was a pleasurable creative and original touch.
What sounds did you use and why? To make our story even more melodramatic, we decided to set a melodramatic piece of music to represent each character. The music matched their personality and descriptions as a melodramatic character. Since damsels are associated with flowers, birds and other melodic animals and nature, we decided to give the damsel the theme song of nature with birds in the background. The piece itself was called NATURE. Villains are obviously soulless, immoral, sinful and dishonorable, we decided to set a theme song with a thunderous background. It has suspense and sudden hits incorporated within. When one is asked to imagine a hero, they immediately associate it with superman and that is why we chose the prominent superman theme tune. One thing we could have improved on was adding sound effects and a recording or card instead of me saying: 'MEANWHILE."
What role did each person in your group take on and why? Firstly, we were drafting and discussing our qualities, what were our strengths and weaknesses. Alissa was very strong in acting so we decided to give her the part with the most lines and features in scenes to be the villain. Her ability to adapt her voice made our villain sound unique and feminine, yet still extraordinarily evil! Bhavya has a bubbly personality, so we planned for him to be the henchman but we had to switch him to the damsel when sabine left as the hero and villain were two important characters and we could not double role. Sabine had originally intended to be the damsel has she has a naturally high pitched and sweet voice and could take on the role with ease, but to our misfortune, she had to leave school early. I chose to be the hero as I could put on a heroic accent and speak with a loud and clear voice. Also, I memorize lines well so I was given a part with many lines to speak.
What could you have done better? As informed by Miss Ruiz, other groups had met up after school during break and lunch to rehearse their play. Our group only used class time. We failed to rehearse with props and costumes, therefore resulted with me forgetting to wear the superhero cape before making a heroic entrance on stage. Bhavya could have shown his face more and it would have been excellent if all group members could participate, but overall, I think that our performance was greatly successful. What do you feel you have learned from completing this task?
During this task as well as overall in the unit, I have improved on and learned many skills and new information.
-Melodramatic acting skills: I have learned techniques to exaggerate and project my voice so my character will be melodramatic and my voice will be heard. I need to use air and speak it out to make my voice as loud as possible in a speaking tone and not shouting!
-Melodramatic stock characters: I have got the chance to learn about the traits and personalities of melodramatic stock characters, as well as their style of acting.
-Acting techniques and tips on what to do when a play has no budget
-How to successfully analyse my strengths and weaknesses as well as write a detailed reflection on my work!
Could you use your skills in any other subject area?
I believe the skills develoepd on in drama will be helpful in any subject where I am required to do public speaking, presenting or debating. My confidence has sky-rocketed and I have developed a feeling of more comfort and confidence within myself. Subjects such as music and english will require me to use my skills to perform to the best of my ability.
Props:
-Villain cape
-Damsel wig and dress
-Fake gold
-Bracelet
-Rope
-Phone/camera
Original script (unedited after Sabine's unexpected absence:)
My acting as a damsel was quite over exaggerated. Evidence of this is when I reject the offers of gold and diamonds from the villain saying NEVER with my hand brushing the hair out of my face and making an innocent facial expression. I refused to fight back as I would never like to hurt anybody, instead, I just struggle to get free. I call for help as I am helpless as a damsel in distress. Also, I will never disagree with my hero (Alissa) as I love her so much and I'm weak. I walk in unison with my hero as we have matching minds and understand each other.
What went well?
I really liked how we stuck to the majority of the storyline.
We managed to film in time even though two of our group members were absent on separate days.
I liked how we all participated and had an equal split of time on camera.
We found a great piece of music which matched our comedic story.
We managed to find a villain's theme tune to add whenever they came on screen.
What didn't go well?
We did not manage to film the ending where the damsel and her hero take each other's hand and live happily ever after.
In my first drama class after the rotation, we had an introduction to melodrama. Melodrama is a type of dramatic piece that has exaggerated characters and lots of expressions. Features of different characters stand out so it is easy to differentiate between characters. Here, I will analyse and describe 3 of my pictures that I have taken of different character poses in a melodramatic way.
1. The Villain
In this picture of me posing as a melodramatic villain, I have my head tilted downwards which makes my eyebrows slant, a facial feature which signifies anger and evil in a person. My eyes are cross-eyed which shows that I am focusing on something very close and it also makes my face look creepy because cross-eyes are not commonly seen. On my face is a smirk which associates with evil plans or intentions and a smug personality. My body is leaned forward as well as one of my legs taking a step forward as if I am slowly moving closer and closer to the viewer. My left hand is brushing back my hair to reveal my evil face and my right hand is pushing me onwards.
I chose this stormy filter to represent the villain's dark and diabolical personality and because evil is automatically associated with thunderous and rainy weather.
2. The Hero
Here, I am posing as a melodramatic hero. My chin is held high in order to show a sense of pride. I am not smirking as I do not want to create the image of a villain, which is opposite in character to the hero. I am lifting my left arm up to show off my "muscles" in order to appear strong and manly. My legs are spread out to form a pride stance.
I chose this filter as heroes are commonly associated with cartoons and this makes me look like a cartoon character due to all the bright colours and bold outlines.
3. The "Damsel in Distress"
This is a picture of me posing as a damsel in distress. I look innocent and in need of help as my puppy-dog eyes are looking into the distance as if I need a hero to save me. My hand is reaching out as if I need to catch something or reach out for a hero. My hand is on my heart as if I am in danger and injured. My body language makes me appear scared because of my shut legs which are slighlty bent.
I chose this floral filter because the light colour pink is often associated with girls, young women and innocence. The petals make the whole picture more feminine and the damsel is often beautiful, so I chose the petals because flowers are often associated with beauty.
