23rd January Dancing

In this lesson we mainly went over what we had done in the week before so that nobody had forgotten and thankfully we went over the parts that I missed when I was singing with Kim. We then looked at adding another part to the end of the dance after the hand jive. This one was quite fast and there were quite a few moves that needed getting round, but I was happy that by the end of the lesson I got them and with the arm as well which I was struggling to do in the week before. This also involved thinking of a short move that I could do when we all run down the centre. I did a finger click for the time being but this might change. 

We then spaced out how the whole thing would go together. It starts with all the boys in the middle doing Greased Lighting, which we will learn at a later date. Then we all got given our positions for the next song and how we would transition into it. and the same for the Hand Jive and we thought about the kind of movements we could be doing at the back of the stage when the other half of the group are dancing. We though that we could be down on one knee and clicking in time with the music. We then put the whole thing together including the transitions and I was really happy with it all. We have a rehearsal on Tuesday which will be good so that we don’t forget some of the things we had done in this lesson

23rd January Singing

Because I sang with Kim last week, I didn’t this week although I will be seeing her during reach week for a 1 to 1 to go over the song I have chosen

22nd January

We started this lesson by doing quad jumping. This is when everybody splits into lines of equal numbers and everybody jumps on each beat and each row turns 180 degrees of different numbers up to 8. Although we all struggled to get the concept at first we eventually got it and were all moving around the room doing it. 

We then looked at Stylised Pedestrian Movement. We did this by going into our pairs that we are cast opposite, mine being Luke. We then had to come up with a few simple movements that our character might do in the performance. We had a judging look, a walk and a couple of other moves. We then had to put all of these together and add a few more in so we had a small physical theatre routine. We then had to pick a section of our choreography and adapt repetition, pace and exaggeration. We decided to slow down the walk to give it more power, we repeated the look at other times in the sequence and exaggerated being tied up. After we had done this we all took turns in our pairs to show the rest of the class one after the other to music by Cocorosie. Once the group before us finished we had to take their place and spin them off. I thought this looked really good and I thought the music really added another layer to the sequences. 

After we had done this we had to choose a page each from the script and worked with our opposite as well as Holly as our Lisa to perform the page in the same way to the movement piece before hand. We were tasked with involving as many appropriate movements from the piece before into our piece. I managed to include a few and I thought they worked really well. 

The first task really helped me to think of movements that would work well into the script that beforehand I might have seen as a bit out of place but this made them fit nicely.

Lesson 20th January

In this lesson we looked at Complicite's 7 states of tension and how it can be used in character development. Our warm up involved us walking around the room exhibiting the 7 different stages of tension from 1 being almost not moving to 7 being very fast and almost panicked. We then looked into our main character from act 1, mine being the Goat, and we tried applying different states of tension to a short passage. We then compared this to our other cast member to see if they had done something similar or different. I decided that I think the Goat is around a 4 or 5 on the scale as he doesn't often get too high or too low. It was useful to think about tension in our character because it adds another stage of development and helps me think more about how my character  would be rather than always being the same.

Then we looked at subtext within Act 2. Subtext is the other meaning to what is being said that may contradict the actual text. This may affect the way that the line is delivered. The example I used was Lisa tells Vince that she is doing better to which Vince replies 'Good' Although he is saying good, he may be thinking something like "no you're not". This changes the delivery from being quite happy to having a heavy sense of disbelief and almost sarcasm. We then applied subtext to all of our lines in Act 2 and though about how they would affect the delivery. I found that this was really helpful because it makes you think a bit more in to what the character is saying and not just thinking that what they are saying is what they actually mean.

We then tried to go through Act 2 with just subtext which was quite hard as it quite often wouldn't make sense.

Then we blocked through Act 2 with the actual text but thinking about subtext in our deliveries.

Using subtext and states of tension was really helpful in character development for speech and for movement.

Variety Performance Report

Introduction

A variety show, which can also be known as variety acts or variety entertainment, is a type of entertainment that is made up of a variety of acts. These performances mainly consist of musical performances of character songs, and also include comedy sketches and sometimes things such as circus skills. Other types of acts can include magic, animal, acrobatics, juggling and ventriloquism. The performance is normally introduced by a compère, who is like a master of ceremonies or a host. 

The Development of Variety

The format of the variety show came originally from the victorian era stage to radio and to television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from its early days in the late 1940’s into the 1980’s. The format is almost identical to that of music hall in the United Kingdom, which was popular form 1850 to 1960, or Vaudeville in the United States, from the 1880's to the 1930'sThe evolution of variety performance in the UK started in theatres and music halls, and then later on it evolved into working mens clubs. This was so that it was more accessible to people who couldn’t afford to go to music halls as this was only more for the higher class and the wealthy. They were there almost for the sole purpose of taking the weeks wages from the lower class as it would have been the only large social meet ups that the people would have had so they spent their weeks wages on drink and food. Most of the early performers on British television and radio had an apprenticeship history in either stage variety, or during World War II, they could have done apprenticeships in Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). It was seen as the highest accolade in UK variety performance to be asked to perform in the Royal Command Performance which was held at the London Palladium Theatre. This Variety show was held in front of the monarch which is similar to todays Royal Variety Performance which is held still in front of royalty.  

Music Halls

Music halls can be traced back to 18th century taverns and coffee houses in London where business men would meet to eat, drink and do business. Whilst they were eating and drinking, performers would sing sings to entertain the men and by the 1830s there were rooms solely used for musical clubs. The popularity of these were so great the two or three times a week there were Saturday evening Singsongs. 

Music Hall is a type of British entertainment that was popular mainly between 1850 and 1960. It mainly included acts such as popular songs, comedy, speciality acts and variety entertainment. The term 'Music Hall' comes from the type of venue and theatre in which this type of entertainment took place. British Music Hall was very similar to the American Vaudeville. 

In the 1830s, saloon bars within pubs housed the first music hall entertainment and these became so increasingly popular that the public houses eventually got demolished and in their place Music hall theatres were put up. The saloon was a room normally at the back of a pub where the variety entertainment would take place. Some of the most famous London saloon were the Grecian Saloon which was at The Eagle in East London. It was established in 1825 and was a former tea-garden. It has been known as "The father, mother, the dry and wet nurse of the Music Hall." It was so popular that the famous nursery rhyme 'Pop Goes The Weasel' references it. The lyrics go:

Up and down the City Road
In and out The Eagle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel.

City Road was where The Eagle was and it implies that lots of money is spent on drinks and probably entertainment. Charles Dickens was known to visit the Music Hall often. In 1883 it was bought by the Salvation Army who were very much against Music Halls and drinking. The building was later demolished in 1901 and re-built as a Public House.



The new music hall theatres meant that more and more people could attend and the popularity would only increase. The new music hall theatres meant as well as more and more people attending, people could eat drink and smoke during the performances. They were built with this in mind so there were lots of tables for people to sit around and watch the entertainment and there were not rows of seats, and a separate bar area. Early music halls included the Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth, Wilton's Music Hall in Tower Hamlets and The Middlesex in Drury Lane, which was also known as the Old Mo.

The Interior of Oxford Music Hall, London, late 19th century. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Canterbury Music Hall is often seen as the first true Music Hall. It was built by Charles Morton on the site of a skittle alley which was next to his pub, the Canterbury Tavern, on Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth. The Canterbury Music Hall was dubbed "the Father of the Halls" The author Benny Green said that the opening date of the Canterbury on the 17th May 1852 was "the most significant date in all the history of Music Hall".

Vaudeville

Vaudeville is a genre of variety entertainment that originated in the United States of America. Its main era of existence was from the early 1880s to the early 1930s. Although it did not last as long as the British Music Hall, it still had a large impact on Variety Performance as we know it today. Similarly to  Music Hall, the types of performers included popular and classical music, comedians, animal acts, magicians, acrobatics and minstrels, as well as other performers. Vaudeville performers were referred to as a 'Vaudevillian'.

Vaudeville was seen as 'the heart of American show business' and for a long time was one of, if not the most popular types of entertainment that was available in North America during the time it was in full flow. Although the origin of the term Vaudeville is not know, is it believed to come from the French 'voix de ville' which translates as 'Voice of the City', it might have been known as this because of its huge popularity throughout North America. Tony Pastor, a theatre owner and a founding force behind Vaudeville and known as 'the Father of Vaudeville' said that he felt the term Vaudeville was 'sissy and Frenchified' and because of this the term Vaudeville was just called 'Variety' because he felt that this term was more accessible to all classes. What made Vaudeville different from Music Hall was that Vaudeville had more mixed gender audiences and that there was usually alcohol free venues, unlike the drinking halls of Britain, even though the prohibition was not in place until the 1920s. This showed that in Britain people drunk with entertainment almost being second best to drink whereas in America, people went to these shows purely to see the entertainment and there was nothing else to distract them from what they were watching.

The demise of Vaudeville began in the early 1910s because of the boom of low priced cinemas. The first showing of movies for the public happened in Vaudeville halls in 1896. People went to the cinema because of the cheaper prices and because of the wider range of entertainment that was available on screen.

Different Types of Act

Character Songs - Character songs are songs which can be sung with no context behind them and still give the audience enough of a story for them to understand what is happening on stage. This meant that they only had to be a few minutes long and there wasn't the need to go to see a full show to get a sung story. An example of some popular character songs are 'Sam Hall' and 'If It Wasn't For The Houses In Between'. Quite often performers would only have one or two songs but the audience would return again and again to see them because they were so enjoyable.

Lions Comiques - Lions Comiques were usually young, fashionable and handsome young men who would sing songs about the high life and drinking champagne like in the song 'Champagne Charlie' which was sung by George Leybourne, arguably the most famous Lion Comique. Lion Comiques have been compared to boy bands of the 1990s in their popularity.

Male and Female Impersonators - Once women were a started to become a big feature in variety performance it was common for women to impersonate men. Although women had played male roles in the 19th century, it was highly unlikely that women would be in variety shows. There was many impersonators but none were quite as successful as Vesta Tilley who was so popular as a male impersonator that she there was speculation around London that she was actually a man and was also seen as a trendsetter for male fashion.

Aerial Acts - Aerial acts often took place on a series of ropes that would be over the audience, adding to the sense of danger. Possibly the most famous aerial acrobat was The Great Léotard, who was the inventor of the flying trapeze act, an act which is used still often to this day, with some adjustments however.


My Two Acts

Having researched many different types of acts that were popular in variety, and having looked at my own skills and talents I narrowed it down to a character song and juggling. After thinking about it more I decided not to do a character sing but to focus on juggling and also to incorporate some card magic.

Juggling
The word juggling comes from the middle english word 'jogelen' which means to entertain or to perform. It can also be said that it comes from the french word 'jogler' which means to joke or jest.The first recording of juggling in in an Egyptian tomb called Beni Hasan where there is drawing on the wall which depict people throwing balls into the air. This is dated between 1994-1781 B.C although it is believed that juggling was around before this. Through ancient times and into the Middle Ages, jugglers were sometimes persecuted and thought to be witches. In Medieval Europe, the popularity of juggling increased due to storytellers, comic and musicians used juggling alongside their acts to when performing to royalty. It was also a popular form of street performance for entertaining the average person. In the modern era, juggling has been a popular part of circus acts since 1768 when Philip Astley hired jugglers to perform in his troupe. Juggling became a part of American circuses 30 years later. and since these times has been a staple of circus acts.

One of the most famous jugglers of all time is Bobby May. He was alive from 1907-1981. His first professional performance was at the age of 15. He could juggle up to eight balls although it was said he was better with three and five as he did complex bounce tricks and spin moves in these routines. He also had a trick where he could throw a cigarette behind his back and catch it in his mouth, this being followed by a lit match which he also caught in his mouth and used this to light his cigarette.

I will be juggling balls, rings, clubs and eggs as part of my comedy juggling routine as well as incorporating magic and the beginning and at the end of my routine.

Illusion Magic

The first book of magic tricks came out in 1584 although magic tricks would have been performed before this. In the tomb at Beni Hasan, where the juggling drawings are, there is a picture which some believe is a depiction of the 'cups and balls' which is a slight of hand trick. Although it it is not agreed by all that this is what is in the drawing. Magic tricks were very popular during the 18th century.

There are many different types of illusion or stage magic. These range from close-up magic, where the audience is close to the performer, stage illusions, where large props are often used on a large scale and are performed in front of a large audience, escapology, where the performer escapes from an impending sense of danger, and comedy magic, one of the most famous acts being Penn and Teller. I have mainly taken my inspiration from Penn and Teller as I feel their combination of comedy, close up and stage magic is something that I can replicate in my performance.

I have been doing card magic for a few years and so I feel that I can quite happily incorporate this into my act without having to learn too many new things.

My plan for my performance is to start with a magic trick and then juggling and then to finish again with a magic trick.

Dancing 16/01.

In todays lesson we did some more work relating to Grease. Emily had choreographed a dance for us to learn that we would be performing in the showcase alongside our singing pieces. 

Some of the moves that were in this dance were in the dances we had choreographed ourselves the week before. We started off with a dance to Greased Lighting which incorporated some of my groups moves into it. We then had some moves which I struggled to get both the legs and the arms doing the right thing together so I mainly focused on the legs for this lesson so I could get them right before thinking about the arms. There was also a slide which I was struggling with because I was wearing shorts and I couldn’t quite slide so for this lesson I just pretended but next time I will be wearing trousers so I will be able to slide properly.  

After we had learnt all the moves to the songs, the hand jive section of the song in pairs. At this point I had to go and do some singing with Kim so I missed how it worked in pairs. They were thankfully the same moves that we had learnt earlier but they were just set out in a slightly different way so I didn’t have too much to catch up on when I got back. I did struggle with the turns and the directions that some of the turns went. But keeping an eye on other people in the class when I was doing it helped to understand and hopefully in our next rehearsal I will be able to get it right without looking at other people meaning my focus will be where it’s supposed to be. 

I was really happy with most of the moves and although I may not have got everything spot on this time, I will be able to use the next few rehearsals before the performance to get everything right.

I found it really useful having both Kat and Emily there to ask questions to because there were a few times that I wasn’t sure on a particular move and they were both really good at helping me get to grips with bits I was struggling with.

Unit 7 - Performing to an Auidence - Assessment Record Sheet

Form 1

Form 2