Task 4: Spotlight On You: Evaluation

 Spotlight On You: Evaluation

Strengths

• Throughout this course, I would say one of my personal strengths was my informative vlogs that I made in relation to Greek Theatre and Commedia Dell’Arte. I think these were strong as I was able to present the information and make it more interesting. These vlogs allowed me to get really involved and invested into these sections of theatre and allowed me to express myself more. These vlogs had scripts that I made and they not only tested my creativity but also my ability to perform my words to make it engaging for an audience. These vlogs opened avenues for me to help to become more confident to try new acting styles.
• Another thing I think is a strength of mine is that even when I may not be particularly confident or so for able with certain acting styles (Commedia Dell’Arte and Greek theatre) I am still able to fully engage with the acting styles and strongly perform them. I think this was due to the masks as they boosted my confidence. I think I portrayed my character's fear well through my facial expressions and simple movements. I think my simple movements, makes the audience look and focus more closely on what we are saying instead of what we are doing. 
• I think my strongest point within this unit across the course was my exploration in Shakespearean Theatre and performing a classical role. I felt that I really put myself out there for this section of the unit and was fully engaged with what I was doing. My overall personal strengths was that I was very optimistic when it came to the performance. I was optimistic in the way that I let loose with my characters, particularly when I was Bottom. The element of the Donkey head was a kind of mask that allowed me to be fully confident in what I was doing and allowed me to put my all into the character. This too worked with my costume for when I played Hermia. This allowed me to take full control of the character and really make it my own. The use of the donkey head also elevated my facial expressions even more and finished the overall look of my character. Another one of my strengths was that I was able to show versatility in my acting as I completely contrasted my 2 characters from one another by not just making the costumes vastly different but also with my physicality. I also think my ability to add comedy to the performance was a strength as the comedic elements to our scenes were successfully communicated to the audience and resulted in them positively reacting with laughter. This really pushed me as an actor, challenging my ability to be a versatile perform by not only multi-rolling and shifting to a different character but also perform a language different to my own. 
• My ability to learn scripts at a fast rate has significantly improved. At the start of the course I struggled with learning my lines as we were exploring a language that is similar to what modern English is now but still very different to how we speak. Throughout the course, we have had to learn many script pieces for exams or exploration work. I have learnt the importance of learning your script fast as it allows you to experiment in more detail with the actual scene without having to worry about the lines you are saying. Learning my scripts fast has given me a good skill I can continue to use in the theatre which will help me if I work in this industry. 

Weaknesses

• One of my weaknesses, never to the start of the course, was my ability to learn my lines. When it came to learning my lines off by heart and the actual language in 'Antigone', I found it quite difficult to learn my lines as the actual structure and language of the lines is very different to how we speak now. Phrases are rather long so I found it difficult to remember the order of the words. To me, the lines don't flow smoothly so it was easy to stumble on my words. After a lot of focus, I did learn the learn the lines off by heart. I found that I was solely focusing ion getting my lines right and the language which in turn restricted me with my acting. If I could do something different, I would have experimented with movement a bit more. In Greek Theatre, movements had to be overly exaggerated so the audience could see the movements clearly as the theatres were so big. This also applies to Commedia Dell’Arte. I wasn’t the most confident with this acting style and it was out of my comfort zone, as an actor. There were moments in my exploration for this style where I held myself back a bit. I think I could have exaggerated my movements more. Exaggeration is such an important element in Commedia so I think I need to have more clear and exaggerated movements to really emphasise my actions and story telling. I think I could loosen my body up a bit more as well, not if I'm playing a character like Brighella but when I'm moving in general in the shopkeeper scene and during the jokes scene. Loosing my body can allow more exaggerated movements and look a bit chaotic but organised still.
• When it came to performing a classical role where we performed an extract from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ I had some challenges when it came to the language. I struggled to keep the lines in my head as the random way some lines rhyme threw me off. I overcame this by dividing my script into sections and gradually learn and work on my lines each section at a time. Dividing my script up, allowed me to focus on the smaller bits I struggled with in more detail. Another challenge I had was my ability to include the audience into our scene. I had the tendency to speak my lines directly to Mathilde which then cut the audience off from our scene a which makes them feel as if they are intruding on our scene instead of feeling a part of it. Focus is key with acting. Focusing certain lines to either audience or other actors on stage can change the meaning of some line entirely. For future performances, I need to think in more detail about where I am focusing some lines. 
• As a whole, I think I could have experimented more with the dynamics of my voice . I was clear and projected my lines well but I could have fluctuated my voice more to really enhance the emotion of my character. Different dynamics of the voice can portray different moods and create different atmospheres. Experimenting more with my voice, could have elevated my character more. 

Summary

• Overall, when I first joined the course the only acting style I had experimented and done is mainly musical theatre. Over this year, I have become more versatile as an actor as I have experimented and tried out many new acting styles. Not only have I boosted my versatility, but I have also boosted my confidence with my acting and have been able to fully get involved with new techniques. There were some challenges that came with these new acting styles for example, getting my head around the new language type (Shakespearean language). I will find it easier to learn my lines with this language the more I develop my acting in this style. Working with a script that is in a different language to my own, is something completely new to me as an actor. It also gave me the skill to be able to make it clear to an audience what the plot of my script is through my acting, facial expressions and body language. The language, to a modern audience, is confusing so I had to learn and focus on how I can make the plot clear, even when the language isn’t. This is a skill I can continue to use in my acting as it will help me to gain a connection with the audience and get them engaged in the performance as they will be able to clearly understand what it is I am performing. 
• The challenges I faced this year are ones that I have recognised and can now work on to develop and improve. One of them being, not letting a new acting style knock my confidence and cause me to hold myself back. Particularly with Commedia Dell’Arte. I could’ve exaggerated my movements more as this is key top the acting style but I feel that I held myself back as this style was out of my comfort zone. Since the beginning of the course, I have learnt so many new acting techniques and styles which have developed who I am, as an actor.