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.

14th June - The Performance!

Today was the day of our performance. It was here at last! I couldn't wait to perform! It was a mad rush all day, while everybody did last minute rehearsals, line run through's and sorted out props etc...
Our group spent our time wisely, rehearsing in costume, using our props (some of which was our first time using them!) and going over our lines. I felt that I needed this extra last minute time just to feel a little more at ease when performing.
We originally were only going to perform to one class of year 8's but instead performed to two year 8 classes and an A level drama class. This was quite unnerving as the audience space was so full but I enjoyed seeing so many people when performing and using my Direct Address.
The year 8's seemed to really get involved in the performance and the drama conventions and their feedback was really reliving and appreciated. They filled in the questionnaires quite happily and gladly and really got involved when it came to Hot Seating. They asked some really good and appropriate questions and helped me develop my character further with their participation.
During rehearsal, Imogen was playing around on Seb's guitar and started playing Perfect by Pink. I knew immediately that this song would be perfect for Imogen to sing as our audience were entering. Imogen decided not to sing the song we had previously written as she felt uncomfortable and had an issue with her nerves so I wasn't going to push her to sing this song. But after lots of 'persuading'! Imogen decided she would do it. I knew this song was right because it is all about self image, self belief and links well to our performance. It had a great effect on people and Mr Truscott even mentioned it during the feedback session which was videoed.
The hot seating was interesting at the end of the piece as some audience members asked me some questions which I hadn't thought of at all and so this really increased my confidence to answer the questions.
Overall the day was really fun, entertaining and enjoyable. It has improved my confidence loads and helped me to relate to my character even more for the evaluation.

7th June - Group PLTS

During this lesson, Emily and I managed to start another frame for our mirror as our other one has gone missing. Unfortunately we had to go to an exam and couldn't finish it off. Imogen didn't have an exam, so instead of learning lines or helping herself, she kindly offered to finish it for us and by the sounds of it did a fantastic job! We also managed to do a full run with every body's lines perfect!

Emily and I have really improved our physical theatre scene, Courtney remembered her lines very well and I really liked how Imogen now is 'Part' of the performance and she interacts with the characters as her role as narrator.

I think everybody worked really hard and we had come such a long way since the beginning.
The PLTS and wheather we do them well or not:
PLTS - Self Manager:
Be organised - Check!
Manage emotions - Sort of,
Go for it, finish it - Nearly!
Manage risks - Check!
PLTS - Creative Thinker:
Imagine - Definitely!
Question assumptions - Sort of,
Take creative risks - Yep and they definitely pay off!
Make links - Sort of,
PLTS - Effective Participator:
Persuade others - Oh Yeah!
Identify issues - Check!
Find solutions - Almost,
Get involved - Most of us,
PLTS - Reflective Learner:
Set yourself challenges - Check!
Plan - Do - Review - Plan - Yes, Do - Yes, Review - Almost!
Invite Feedback - Check!
Share Learning - Definitely!
PLTS - Team Worker:
Take responsibility - Most of us,
Evaluate the team - Check!
Build team strength - Yes! Our team works really effectively and bonds well,
Manage the team - Check! We all take it in turns to manage our team,
PLTS - Independent Enquirer:
Reach conclusions - Sometimes!
Evaluate the evidence - Sometimes!
Explore a question - Sometimes!
Stay objective - Sometimes!

Overall our least confident category is being Independent enquirers and we need to work a little harder on this one as a whole.

7th June - Feedback

Here are some targets we need to complete by the end of this lesson;

1. Have a rough idea of what we will be doing in our workshop. (Drama conventions, ect.)
- Conscience Alley.
- Role On The Wall.
- Physical Theatre.
2. Have a smooth full run of the piece and feel comfortable with it.
- Rehearse Lines.
- Movement.
3.  Get some more feedback and improve.

7th June - Pavla Beier interview

It is really helpful to have two interviews from two completely different people who virtually have the same job, Gail McIntyre, the Artistic director from The West Yorkshire Playhouse and Pavla Beier, the Artistic Director at Blah Blah Blah Theatre in Education company. Gail came into our school and allowed us to interview her directly where as Pavla asked us to email our questions, she then replied with a lot to say!

In Pavla's Interview, what interested me the most was the when she said that they don't have children coming to them and they prefer going to the children in their surroundings. This is because 'using a familiar space to the children IE- their classroom or school hall transforms the performance in an imaginative way.'

I really agree with Pavla as it makes the set seem more real as it was once their hall or classroom and now it's a ....... (for example : A jungle).

Being given two Artistic directors interviews really helps us to compare and contrast the two sets of answers.

7th May - 3 Targets to acheive before the end of the lesson

At the start of the lesson we each thought of three targets to achieve before the end of the lesson. Mine are:

*Learn and Practice Monologues,
*Full run through of our performance,
*Evaluate own piece and re draft our evaluation form.