UNIT 3 Introduction to Professional Practice

1.

Task 1 - We discussed the amount of the roles in the creative industry.
Task 2 - We looked at if we were a producer theater

company what job roles would be involved, then we discussed the potential issues that could get in the way from doing these roles, such as money.

Skills actors need : communication, good vocal projection, strong voice, strong character, flexible, patient, determined, passionate, sense of awareness and timing, punctuality, improvisation skills, open minded
What you have to do to become an actress:
1. Study and learn how to use the acting techniques in college
2.Do your blog, the universities/drama schools are interested in what you were learning in college
3. NEVER be late, your class is your team,  if one member of the team is missing the others have difficulties
4. Go to Drama school after you finish college
5. Work hard and if you don't receive a role in a movie, you can make your own movie

2. Film Director


First of all you have to finish your Drama course in college then you have to go to an university which has the directing course, it equips you with the artistic and technical skills suitable for work or for further training in theatre, film, television and radio. Working closely with BA Acting, the course gives you a deep understanding of the acting process and a common language with performers. In the latter stages of the course you will experiment and express your voice in an increasingly challenging and diverse set of contexts across different media and gain valuable experience from professional placements. I will work both collaboratively and independently. Working alongside actors as part of an ensemble I will learn the importance of my creative contribution to the collective endeavour. I will engage in a range of collaborations with acting, writing and design students. In order to enter this course you have to accomplish the entry requirements which are :

An applicant will be considered for admission who has already achieved an educational level equivalent to passes in two subjects at GCE Advanced Level, supported by passes in three other subjects at GCSE Grade C or above.

This educational level may be demonstrated by:

• possession of the qualifications named above;
• possession of equivalent qualifications;
• prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to the formal qualifications otherwise required
• a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which taken together can be demonstrated to be equivalent to the formal qualifications otherwise required.

For candidates whose first language is not English a certificate attesting to achievement of IELTS 7.5 or equivalent is required.

This course requires an interview

Entry to MA Directing is highly competitive. Selection to the course is determined by the quality of the application: this is indicated primarily in the quality of your interview and practical work.

• Foundation Diploma in Performance (Level 3 or 4)
• A pass in 1 GCE A level
• Passes at GCSE level in 3 other subjects (grade C or above)

OR

• Passes in 2 GCE A Levels (80 UCAS tariff points normally including one single award)
• Passes at GCSE level in 3 other subjects (grade C or above)

This educational level may be demonstrated by possession of equivalent qualifications; e.g. International Baccalaureat or High School Diploma.

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered if the course team judges the application demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might be demonstrated by, for example: related academic or work experience; the quality of the personal statement; a strong academic or other professional reference; or a combination of these factors.

English language requirements

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language you will be asked to provide evidence of your English language ability in order to apply for a visa, enrol, and start your course. The standard English language requirement for entry is IELTS 7.5 with a minimum of 6.5 in any one paper, or equivalent. For further information visit the English Language requirements page.

Student Selection Process 

1: all applicants must submit an application form including a CV and personal statement;

2: on the strength of their CV and personal statement applicants will be shortlisted for interview.

3: Some applicants will then be recalled for a second interview and a practical directing exercise with student actors. They may also be asked to submit a portfolio of their work. 

4: You will be offered a place on the basis of how well you meet the selection criteria.

Criteria for Selection 

Your Application Form should reveal:

• Your keen interest in theatre and/or film from CV and personal statement
• Your understanding of the role of the theatre and/or film director
• Your grasp of the training opportunities as outlined in the Drama Centre Course Book

 Your First Interview should reveal:

• Your ability to respond to a particular classical text (set in advance)
• Your ability to present yourself with confidence
• Your ability to express your ideas clearly
• Your engagement with the role of the director
• Your enthusiasm for the course
• Some knowledge of the world of theatre and/or screen
• Your  understanding of the role of the theatre director
• How well you grasp the training opportunities as outlined in the Drama Centre Course Book
• Your future ambition

 Your Second Interview/Workhop should reveal

• Your ability to respond to a particular directing task ( a contemporary, naturalistic  text set in advance)
• Your ability to engage with actors
• Your ability to analyse and interpret a piece of dramatic text
• Your visual imagination

 Interview and directing advice

• At both interviews you will be interviewed by not less than two people and a maximum of four.
• You will be assessed on how well you have performed in the tasks set.

The interviews, will last 20-30 minutes, You should arrive in good time for your interview and should be free within about an hour of your allocated time. Refreshments can be found in the canteen or within walking distance at a range of shops, takeaways and cafes.

After you finish the university you need to find a job as a director.

(Dramauk, 2017, www.dramauk.co.uk)

September 2016

Introduction

First of all, we introduced ourselves telling our name in the circle's order then we were saying our name with a gesture in the same order, after this, we had to say our classmate's name and to copy their gesture, one by one, the whole group at the same time. This exercise helped us to get to know each other's name and to pay attention to details. After we finished the exercise, we started another game in pairs, my partner was Hayden, we had to introduce ourselves in 1 minute by saying what's our favorite song, what's our favorite book and which person we'll choose to be left with on a deserted island. Then we had to count up to three in turns trying not to get confused and lose, when we've finished this part of the game, Rob grew up its grade of difficulty by making us do gestures instead of numbers. We had one hour break then we've done an one hour English test.

Working with Rob
In the first week, we were getting used to each other so we've played the "names game" every day so we can get used to each other's names, a circle game where we had to look at each other,make eye-contact, spell our partner's name and then change places with him.
We've played different games that were supposed to make us get to know each other, to make us observe the small detail, to be patient with our partners, to always say yes to challenges when it comes to acting and we've practiced our improvisation skills. We've done vocal exercises and physical warm-up before acting every single day.
We've played a game in groups of 4 or 5 where we had to make a group photo which should represent a country and in the end, we had to choose one country and Rob had to guess what country it is so we choose Romania and he guessed so we've lost all of our points. Rob gave us the line "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" and our group had to improve a short scene, based on this line in the beginning. We've done a lot of improvisation based on this principle, we were receiving lines from him and then we had to improve. Improvisation helps us to be prepared for everything and to handle every situation in the drama field. We started to work on a piece of theatre and I am playing Antigone and Sara is playing Ismene, we were practicing in our break and to help us keep in mind the lines we were saying our lines in our first language, no one told us to do this but we thought that this will help us to learn it faster.  

Rob talked to us before starting the rehearsals and he asked us what difficulties we will have and then he told us what to do for us to be easier to learn the lines and to be prepared to play it on the stage with an audience. Every day, before we finish the lesson, we have to play our scene in front of everyone and we receive feedback and advice from Rob that helps us improve our interpretation.

Every Friday we have a blog hour with Rob when we have to write our blogs, in one of our lessons he asked a bigger student to talk to us about the importance of the blogs and to teach us how to do them better. The blogs help us to be held, to be aware of the work that we've done, to know every each step that we've done in order to achieve our goals.

At the end of this month at the beginning of every class we've done the vocal and physical warming, as usual, acting games like "Alphabet Conversation" in pairs of two where we have a conversation on where each sentence begins with the next letter of the alphabet, this game help us accomplish our improvisation skills. We've also played "Count to 20" where we stayed in a circle, we had to look down so we can't see each other and we had to count together by turn, not at the same time from 1 to 20, this game help us to feel each other's actions, it's a focused game. We've played "Essence Machines" game where a machine is created by members of the group, using repeated sounds, words, and actions this is a game of mime and movement. We are always playing a large wide of acting games every day we are doing different games that help us perfect our acting skills. After the games, we were rehearsing "Antigone" and receive a different feedback and advice from Rob every day. He told us that we should stand still, stop "dancing" and let the words do the work, we have to watch pronunciation, he said that we have to do the deep moments looking up not down and to not let our hair cover our face so the audience can see what we're doing and feeling on the stage. I filmed his feedback for me and Sara so I can keep in mind his indications and correct my mistakes.

Working with Sharon

Week 1 - Introduction to Medea text

Our lessons with Sharon are every Wednesday morning, we are making almost the same games and improvisation that we are doing with Rob but with Sharon, we have to make more movement. We are doing the "circle game" and the "walking exercise" at the beginning of every lesson with Sharon as a warm-up. These games are making an atmosphere of work and woke me up in those mornings.In the first lesson we've done the "circle game", we've walked around to fill the space in neutral position, in my country they were calling this exercise "Brownian movement", as Sharon was elevating the grade of difficulty of this exercise, we had to walk faster, to smile with the eyes to every each person we were making eye-contact with,then to touch the side of someone's foot with yours before they walk past you and finally touch their elbow with yours. After this, we had to work in pairs, to tell the story of our summer to our partners, after we've worked with different partners, Sharon told us to work in groups of 4 and to choose between one of our four stories and to put it together as a piece of theatre and then to play it in front of everyone. We chose my story and improved it with some fictional elements, we worked together as a team. After performing it in front of everyone we received feedback from our classmates. One of the feedback was from Joshua, he was my partner in that exercise, he told me that I should be careful with my tonality because I tend to talk to a higher range when I'm expressing good feelings and the audience can't understand what I'm saying. Then we introduced ourselves into "Medea". We had to work in teams, every each group received a different section of the piece. Me, Joshua, Laura and Midi received the last section of the piece, we divided the roles and directed the section and then we practiced it for one hour. We managed to get along with each other,we worked together as a team and the result was successful in my point of view. In the end of the lesson the whole class became an ensemble, every each group worked another part of the piece, we said those parts in order so that the audience can understand the meaning of the piece.

Week 2 - Working on a section of the text

In the second week, we had to introduce 3 new group members in our team, Joshua and Midi were late and Laura didn't come. I have learned that it is really important for us to be in time at classes and not to skip them because the whole team depends on us, every each member is important in a piece. The beginning of the lesson was the same as always, and we've also done a game where one of use stayed at one end of the room and the whole group at the other end, the person who is alone in the front of everyone has to turn around when he/she wants to, the others have to arrive near her so they can touch him/her, when he/she is turning around everyone has to freeze, whoever touches that person wins the game, this game is helping us to be more observant and to feel our partners future actions. We've also played the "Mirror game" where we had to do the exactly same moves as our partner, this game helps us to observe little details. After the acting games we had a 15 minutes break and then we started working at "Medea", I had some troubles with the new members, Georgia, Juan and Dejuan because they wanted to direct the scene completely different and I couldn't agree with this because we already learned our lines. Our problem, as a group, was that even if we were communicating we couldn't get to a common point where everyone can be happy because they were too busy to argue on who gets more lines, they couldn't understand that it doesn't matter how many lines you have but it does matter how you feel in the skin of the character and how you share the emotions you feel with the audience. When Joshua and Midi came everything came back to normal, Joshua has the ability to make them work and he is a good leader of the team, we didn't decide that we have a leader but he acts like one and this is good because everyone is working when he is there. I don't have the ability to be a leader because I don't want to be "bossy" with anyone and I don't want to make people hate me but sometimes you have to be in charge so you can keep things from falling apart, also you have to listen to every opinion each member of the team has because we don't want anyone to feel left behind and everyone has an important role.

Week 3 - Combining the sections in a whole piece of drama

We've done the usual warm up, acting games, the one with footsteps, the one with synchronization where we had to feel our partner's future movements and the "Yes, let's!" game where we had to say yes to every proposal our partner said, this game help us to be more creative, open to new things and be prepared to accept any challenge. We had a break then we started to rehearse "Medea". We've had arguments again because everyone had different opinions and I decided to stand apart and let them argue all the time because I felt like nobody is going to listen to me anyway, so they finally get along and added more movement to our moment because they felt like it needs improvement and it ended up good, when the whole ensemble performed the piece of drama it was a good atmosphere and it looked impressive.

Conclusion

It wasn't hard for me to be new in this college and even in the city because everyone is friendly here and everyone is trying to help you when you don't know something and no one is judging me for my language mistakes because English is not my first language and I am trying to get used to it. I was surprised when I found out that we have 2 hours breaks sometimes because, in my old school,the big break was 10 minutes. I like this College and I am glad that I came here, this past month I've learned a lot of useful things for my future and I've also improved my acting skills.