The Performance Review

Review of the Performance

As part of our Media Diploma course we were asked as a whole group to set a performance for the date of December 1st. Our performance was about musicals through out the years. As different musicals were produced we were able to create a performance to define all famous musicals through out the years. Through creating this performance we had an inspiration from the musical Fame because the performance was defined as a Fame School with children experiencing auditions and talents while the audience used there votes to submit who they would be partial to like it also involved a major fashion show which the costume designers produced through materials and such with the use of different musical songs to match the costumes given. Other inspirations given were Dhal. This was instrumental with Indian drums. This one act created beats through the use of drums and was inspired through other musicals.

The involvement in my role was set design. I chose this role because it was based on Art and Design. This involved as a group creating a set for the stage ready to suit the performance which was for musicals and logos such as Grease, Fame and Dream Girls. As a group we designed logos which were created through art products. We took photos and used plans for how the stage was going to foresee. We also used props for the performance such as microphones, a designed car for Grease and a stereo created for the music which was sung by the performers. This role was difficult at times due to not having the props ready for the performance, however at times the role was unproblematic due to working in groups and bonding to produce as much work as we can ready for the day. We managed to successfully accomplish the role as a group through helping out and using coordinating skills.

The performance was an immense experience and went according to plan. There were a variety of performers and different types of roles such as singers, instrumental players, dancers, actors and a major fashion show to finish the performance. The singers were singing different types of songs to make the audience pleased, there were also two performers who took up a dance which was defining Urban Street Dancing. The majority of the performers were presented by the audience with a loud audio of screaming and shouting to congratulate them on how successfully they took up there role. The thing that went well was the fashion show. The music was successfully matched with the costumes as the performers strutted there styles through the catwalk which was down the middle of the hall. Another act that went well was that all of them managed to end the show with everybody filled with the adrenaline of excitement.

Through the performance there was a minor amount of difficulties. The one major issue that could not be completed was the backdrop for our background. This was painted white for the projector reflecting images but unfortunately the projector did not work. Another unfortunate downfall was the acts which I think personally there nerves got the best over them.

The main thing I would have changed was bigger images for the audience to see more clearly for the audience to see how and what the performance was about. Another thing I my role I would have changed was bigger pictures to put around the stage and the front for a bigger experience for the performance. Another thing I would change is the space of the stage so all acts could have been seen together at the end of the performance. The performance was successfully developed through the Media Diploma group by using different methods and techniques for the performers which sailed down profitably.

Calum Feerick Kenny
Role – Set Design

Planning and Preparing the Performance

Wednesday 04th November 2009

In this lesson, we took part in a task in which we needed to gather information and research to start planning and preparing our perfomance. As a group we took out research to how we were going to set the stage and what the plot was for the performance we had chosen. Using computers we were researching for costume designs, stage props and technology in which we need to make the performance successful. With different websites and search engines we were able to find a number of products.

Thursday 05th November 2009

In todays lesson we gathered together to sort groups with each a specific name. We were asked to plan out stage desings, costumes, photography and technologic elements. I was desinging and planning the costumes set for the performance. I was also drawing out and planning the stage design which will be needed.

Review of Progress

Thursday 22nd October
In todays lesson I found the task easy to accomplish due to ananylsing the different musicals in the 70's and 80's. I choose a specific type of theatre genre which was Rock and Roll. I choose two productions, one being The Rocky Horror Show and Grease. The two which I analiysed have similarities but at the same time diffrences. I've used research through google images and youtube. I also used youtube to post videos for examples of theatre and film.

This is a slide I took from my group presentation which I evaluated the use of costume and make up used to represent these characters as in a gothic/horror element. This work was produced for a presentation that will review the years of theatre process and the use of the theatre created through film also.

Greek Theatres

The Originality of musical theatres begun before BC. I have carried out some research and anaylisis about how they begun to perform many years ago, this is my evidence to show how I anaylsed and understood how the musical theatre original begun and how they have changed through many centuries.

Greek Thetares where established before BC, the years the theatre were famous which where between 550 and 220 BC and where in the Athens. It was indeed popular and became a part of a festival which was named after a greek god called Dionysia. There were also genres to include in the theatre, mostly the genres were Tragedy, Comedy and Tragicomedy , Tragicomedy was mainly to do with Greek Methology. The theatres were called ampitheatre.

The theatre was very large due to the amount of people coming to atttend the perfomance. There was at estimate around 14,000 people in the theatre and was designed to be very large to accomodate on stage and the audience. This building was built to acoustics (how we hear sound) so the perfomers voices could be heared.

The Greeks started to use technology to suit the theatre perfomance , using drop backgrounds to provide actors with costume designs, props and special effects used. Antoher effect is trap doors used to lift the character on stage and wagons to dead characters in the view of the audience. The characters where mainly male and had an avergae of rarely 3 characters. The mostly performed seven roles and masks were mainly large and colourful. The actors wore padded clothes and shoes to make them appear bigger to the audience.

The theatre contuined through the years and has successfully manage to change through out the years.

Musical Time Line Through out the Years & Collage

This collage was based on different Musicals throughout the years and how they have changed by targeting audiences through the use of musical posters.

TO VIEW THIS COLLAGE FULL SCREEN CLICK ON THE PICTURE

Musicals Throughout the Years

For this musical timeline it clearly states diffrent musicals, years, producers and how they begun.

TO VIEW THE TIMELINE FULL SCREEN CLICK ON THE PICUTRE

Review of Dancing in the Streets

On Thursday 24th of September we watched a West End performance Dancing in the Streets as part as our course. The performance was at Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham and it ran for approximately 2 hours. In those two hours we discovered the 60’s soul music and choreography. I will identify costume, sound/music, technology used and special effects.

Dancing in the Streets was set in the city of Detroit USA within that people discovered the era of Soul Music and took us back to the days of the 1960’s. In the set design you discovered to already be a set band of musicians and instruments. There were also pin ups of young black women and men form the 60’s who were looked to be inspired by the music in that time. There was a wide stage also used to dancing and singing, with the use of spotlights targeted on the characters who took the spotlight. The stage was set to look like a professional set. There were microphones and

speakers.

The performers used a simple but amazing choreography which match the use of music they sung. The performers were also mainly young men and women who had different roles. Singing a variety of music from the past the characters were formed from and originally was The Four Tops, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles, Diana Ross, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Lionel Richie. All these famous original singers were reformed by the west end theatre actors and actresses.

The costumes were mainly stereotyped as a higher class with the genre of vintage. The women wore dresses which were bedded in jewels and diamond necklaces. The men however wore suits which had a specific colour and pattern. The women were stereotyped to be young and beautiful just like the real singers back in the 1960’s. Dress code was mainly for men, waistcoats and bow ties with or without a top hat.

Motowns greatest hits, they used electric guitars, guitars, drums, trumpets, black soul music and famous and original songs. The music was loud and bold. The technology used was loud speakers and microphones. The lighting was bright and always matched they type of music being played. It was full of joyful celebrations and was original and free living and fun. Smoke filled the stage as the singers revealed themselves, the moment of the performers and the streaming lights matched the motion of the voices.

Dancing in the street had omissions and lack of the development of some greatest personalities in the history of contemporary music, but give a great landscape of what's happening in last 40 years in past since.

Unit 2 - Performance

Unit 2 - Performance
Learning Objective - To understand the development of a performance over a specific period of time.
For this unit : I will researching the Musicals and how it is developed since the years of 1920 to the present day.

Definition of a Musical

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.