28th June - Video Introduction

Our Piece is on Chapter two, straight from the beginning. Our Theatre in Education piece was about anorexia and eating disorders. We decided that Pink’s Perfect song would be apt for our piece and so at 0:00:01, Imogen is singing this song as the audience enter.

Imogen commences with her narration at 0:02:07 after the audience is in and settled. My monologue begins at 0:02:34 and the full cast acting starts at 0:03:00. This is where Emily and Courtney come in and notice the dress on the skeleton. At 0:03:06 they take the dress of the skeleton and look horrified.  Then Imogen begins another monologue after a short pause of noticing the dress. The actors are in a freeze. At 0:03:30, the children get curious and start asking questions as to what’s wrong and if they can try it on. 0:03:42 is where I begin another monologue. This one is about how I suddenly felt the colour drain from my face, and about how proud of my daughters I am and their amazing and healthy bodies.  At 0:04:26 Emily attempts to pull on the dress, she fails and gets curious as to why. 0:04:43 is where I explain about my shame. Then I explain to them how I feel at 0:04:48 and from here at 0:04:58, Emily and I begin our physical theatre set up. The mirror scene and physical theatre starts at 0:05:09. This is a key point in our Performance and many of the audience members explained how they understood and liked this part of the piece. 0:05:28 is where Emily and the jibing begin. She tries to mock me, make fun of me, and drives me to anorexia. During this, Emily begins to chant Fat, Trapped, Alone at 0:06:17 then I join in at 0:06:30 and the break down in tears at 0:06:43. This is the Brecht: Tickle, Slap method.

At 0:06:45 I begin my ‘Diet Diary’. This is where I list all the things I have eaten for the past three days. At 0:07:24 Emily tells me I need to try harder. My diet suddenly changes for the next four days at 0:07:33. Courtney enters at 0:08:07 and I faint at 0:08:12. I explained how I was okay but was in hospital for three weeks at 0:08:22. The mirror scene was over and Imogen’s Narration began again at 0:08:29. Emily, Courtney and I started setting up the performance space back to how it was at 0:08:35. Imogen finished her monologue as I began my last one at 0:09:03. The performance finished at 0:10:09 and we bowed and receive applause at 0:10:10. We introduced the hot seating workshop and I left the room at 0:10:35 and at 0:10:52, they spent a minute thinking about a question to ask me. At 0:12:02, I entered the room to begin the hot seating workshop. At 0:13:19, a child asked a really good question. He asked what I would do if my daughters became anorexic. I really liked this question as it proves he understood the character roles as he recognised that Emily and Courtney were my daughters. It is also nice that he is turning the question and issue round on me to see what I would do as an onlooker of this problem. At 0:16:20, another boy asked what would I do if somebody called me fat now? I also liked this question as it shows his curiosity of the issue and it gives people a deeper background of anorexia. At 0:17:12, we finished the hot seating and started to hand out the questionnaires we set.

 At 0:18:27 we began a full group video assessment. At 0:18:33 Chloe said she liked the mirror scene and elaborated on what it showed. This made me smile as it shows that they understood it was a mirror and understood what the scene was about. At 0:21:04, a girl called Bethany said she thought it was good how we sent the message that you can look pretty in your own way and that you shouldn’t worry what people think of you.   A girl at 0:24:39 said that she didn’t join in the Fat Trapped, Alone chanting because she felt it was mean.

28th June - Peer assesment

During this lesson, Olly and I exchanged homework to evaluate each others piece. We looked at each others work and wrote two targets for improvement. My targets were to include the heath and safety references and to mention the stage directions used in my performance. Olly's Targets were to Be more positive about himself. He is very negative when it comes to talking about himself and needs to think more positive and say more good things about himself. He also needs to detail his answers a little more as he says something negative but doesn't explain how, why, who what etc...
All in all Olly is very good at what he does, he just doesn't have enough confidence in himself.

14th June - The skeleton in my closet Poster



This is the poster we used for our performance



21st June - Evidence of group PLTS

Effective participators:

Focus – Young people actively engage with issues that affect them and those around them. They play a full part in the life of their school, college, workplace, or wider community by taking responsible actions to bring improvements for others as well as themselves.

Personal learning and thinking skills –

Discuss and resolve concerns:

We were worried that we wouldn’t finish the performance before the deadline. We all had to come together and seriously work hard. My group met up during the Easter holidays as there was not many school days during Easter. I was unable to as I was on holiday but my group got a lot of work done and this really helped when rehearsing back at school.

Present a persuasive case for action:

Our piece focuses on a skeleton and we really needed one for the performance. The only way we would be able to get one of these is by borrowing one form the science lab at school. Emily and I went up to ask them and they were adamant we weren’t allowed to use their new one but said we could use the old, one armed, legless skeleton if we wanted. This we agreed to straight away because we really needed one. Before they agreed to letting us have this is because we mentioned how crucial it was that we had it and that it was for drama involving Miss Woffinden. They reluctantly agreed but one of the lab technicians recorded our work and was thrilled to see the skeleton in action and was really happy they let us have it.

Propose practical ways forward breaking these down into manageable steps:

Writing the script. We were baffled as to where to start. We didn’t know which part of anorexia we should show. We weren’t sure how in depth to take it. Then Imogen found a blog site which was a discussion board where people posted their problems etc... She found a post called The Skeleton in My Closet. We read the piece and straight away knew that this was for us. It was a very old post and there was no way we could contact the anonymous writer to ask permission to use the post. We scripted it anyway, created drafts from it and gave more information and events to happen within the piece. Imogen then went home and collaborated our ideas and wrote the first draft for our final piece.

Identify improvements:

My lines and monologues. I had a lot of work ahead of me to try and learn these in the required time. I had improved so much by the performance from the start in several ways. I had perfected my lines, I had progressed with my body language and facial features when performing and I had increased my audience awareness. Courtney managed to project her voice when she spoke and remembered her lines. She was also supposed to stop masking and not have her back to the audience, but this didn’t work as she never listened to this feedback and still continued to do it. Emily projected her voice too and did really well to remember her lines for the mirror scene I know she was struggling with. Imogen walked around the room and engaged with us as the characters as well and the audience as Miss Woffinden had asked her to.  

Influencing others, balancing diverse views:

We had an issue with the skeleton and how we were going to display it. Emily had decided that draping a piece of black lace over the skeleton would give it a good effect. I agreed and so did Courtney but Imogen staying impartial. Then Emily thought that threading some flowers through the lace would give it a lonely daunting feel, I agreed and Emily and I then tried it. Courtney was now impartial, Emily and I liked it but Imogen despised it. She refused to even negotiate on one or two flowers. In the end we agreed to disagree and kept the lace on but took the flowers off.

Act as an advocate for views and beliefs that differ from their own:

I had to play an older character which was hard and I had to grasp the characteristics of an adult to be able to play this piece. My character also has an eating disorder so I had to adapt myself to play this character too. This was hard because I didn’t want to be insensitive to anyone suffering from this problem, or the writer so I really had to think about how I would do this. Emily also had to adjust herself as she was playing ‘the devil inside the mirror’, who was my enemy, this was hard for her and me and we are best friends but had to hate each other in this play.

Team Workers:

Focus – Young people work confidently with others, adapting to different contexts and taking responsibility for their own part. They listen to and take account of different views. They form collaborative relationships, resolving issues to reach agreed outcomes.  

Personal learning and thinking skills –

Collaborate with others towards common goals:

When we wrote the script for our TIE piece we worked collaboratively to finish it for the deadline. Everyone in our group was involved in the process of this piece. Courtney and Emily looked up facts and figures, Imogen re wrote the blog into a script and I helped with the order of which the events would happen and the drama conventions I thought might be good to use.

Reach agreements, managing discussions to achieve results:

We decided on physical theatre as it would display the struggle in Stacey’s head. We decided that making somebody look fat would be too comical so we made it physiological instead. Emily came up with the idea of physical theatre and so Emily and I worked together to create a haunting physiological idea of inside Stacey’s head.

Adapt behaviour to suit different roles and situations including leadership roles:

Me playing Stacey. I was the main character and really had to work hard to hold the piece as it revolved around me. I also took on the role of director at times to try and adapt other members characters and to help the scene progress.

Show fairness and consideration to others:

Our group decided it was best if we let Imogen write the script and the song. This is because she is the most musically talented out of all of us and showed a big interest into wanting to write the script. We all gave input for these jobs but Imogen had the final say on these. We decided that she deserved to be in charge of the two things she really wanted to do.

Take responsibility:

I directed at times, I was the main character in the piece and the whole issue revolved around my character, and Emily and I had the idea of the mirror and step by step Emily, Imogen and I created the mirror. Imogen wrote the script and the song. Emily created the Mirror and the Narrator Book.

Provide constructive support and feedback for others:

We kept reminding Courtney to project her voice, stop masking and not have her back to the audience. Several members from the other groups told her too but unfortunately this didn’t work and she still did it during the real performance. My team members supported me when I was learning my lines and monologues and it really helped me learn them quicker.

14th June - Feedback for the Gender Equality piece

In this group -
Abi Lee,
Olly Smith
Frankie Cooney, and
Jack Silkstone

Is this an effective piece of Theatre In Education and why ?

Yes! I believe this was a very strong yet controversial piece of Theatre in Education. The audience got involved with the piece and the conventions and said they would really think about this as they often make sexist remarks without realising it. They said the will definitely think twice before making another sexist remark!

What conventions did they use to engage the audience?
Forum Theatre - Increased the amusement of the piece.
Narration - Two narrators allowed you to pick a side!
Brechian set - The labells for 'The house', 'The woods' etc...

Improvements:

Work out the order of the actions cards - Jack didn't really know what he was doing with this and needs to learn it a little better and arrange it so it's more organised.

How well did they worked as a group?

Very! They supported each other on stage and covered up for each other when a mistake was made. They held each other very well and as a group, performed a very strong piece of Theatre in Education.

14th June - Feedback for the Divorce Piece

In this group -
Francesca Hippey,
Seb Ainsworth and
Tom Willshaw.

Is this an effective piece of Theatre In Education and why ?

Yes! This was a very effective piece of Theatre In Education as the audience got involved with the piece and like Emily, Imogen and I got us very emotional and nearly in tears! I also liked how the piece was very personal to the actors and showed their true emotions, as well as their acting abilities. This was very professional and mature. The atmosphere was friendly and welcoming.

What conventions did they use to engage the audience?Music - In the backgorund,
Song - Seb, his guitar and some very emotional lyrics,
Direct address,
Physical theatre,
Hot seating.

How well did they work as a group?

Very! They held each other very well and as a group, performed a very strong piece of Theatre in Education. They made no mistakes that were recognisable and had clearly all worked hard.

Things to improve:
At times, Seb wasn't making eye conatct with the audience during the direct address. This is key for direct address and is what makes the audience feel part of it. Seb needs to make more eye contact next time.

Other than that this piece was fab and I really enjoyed watching it and seeing how it effected different members of the audience.

14th June - Sixth Formers feedback

A group of A level drama sixth formers watched our piece and gave us a more in depth, and helpful bit of feedback for our piece. They are studying A level drama and so have more of an understanding and knowledge of Theatre in Education.

Here is what they said:
Natasha -

This is an effective piece of Theatre In Education because:

Very powerful imagery that would be shocking to the audience.The inclusion of the audience and interactivity ensured the performance was effective and educational.

What conventions had we used and were they effective?

-songs to introduce topic

-Thought tracking

-strong imagery; Skeleton which anchored meaning, very effective.

-Audience participation- Brecht's- tickle/slap technique - "Trapped, Fat, Alone." YES,very effective.

Performance based added comments:

Really good managing of questions in hot seating activity.

Poppy -

Was this an effective piece of Theatre In Education?:

-Imogen did well to maintain singing during the pupils sitting and moving.

-Use of narrative and direct address informs the audience

What conventions had we used and were they effective?:

-Unison of questions.

- Mirror sequence- unique , well done!

-Audience participation.

Any more performance comments and improvements:

- The menu sequence improved.

-Hair needed to be tied back.

-Good audience choice to talk to about anorexia.

-Beth clearly knew her character.

-Would have been better to include statistics about anorexia.

- Needed Beth's character to leave before moving on after the hot seating.

Gemma -

Was this an effective piece of Theatre In Education?:

-Good sense of reality when putting across the thoughts of Stacey.

-Informative whilst being enjoyable.

-Involving the audience.

-great representation of the skeleton representing Stacey's body.

What conventions had we used, were they good and effective?:

-The mirror images

-The repetitive "fat, trapped, alone." - could be improved by more shouting and more build up.

-Song at the start worked very well, with the lyrics complimenting the piece.

Anything we could have improved on any more comments?:

-To be more open when acting, open arms.

-More gestures.

-Beth was Great at managing questions in hot seating.

-Good use of freeze frames.

-Direct address was done well.

This feedback is very helpful and a lot more in depth than the year 8's feedback. I  liked having a variety of age ranges viewing our piece as it gives us a variety of feedback to help us evaluate our piece.