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Ways of Seeing
15
th
19
th

September 2014
Games and
Exercises:

Dance Off

Improvised
scenarios





The Beginning
Of An Era
lL's offlclal! We are now well underway wlLh our flrsL
pro[ecL 'Ways of Seelng.'
We are sLlll ponderlng wlLh a company name, lL ls acLually
much more dlfflculL Lhan l expecLed! We wanL a name LhaL
sums up all LhaL we are abouL and Lhe Lype of 1heaLre we
are golng Lo produce. We also wanL lL Lo be memorable
and Lo work wlLh our slogan:

'Cpen|ng up the narrow road of m|ndedness.'

1o me, Lhls represenLs Lhe facL LhaL ln Lhe 1heaLre Lhere
are no llmlLs! lL's our [ob Lo show audlences LhaL anyLhlng
ls posslble! lL's abouL Laklng a concepL LhaL people may
have preconcelved ldeas abouL, and Lhen LoLally Lurnlng lL
upslde, challenglng audlences Lo Lhlnk abouL Lhlngs ln a
new llghL.



Ways Of Seeing 15
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September 2014
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As a company, l am pleased wlLh Lhe ldeas we have generaLed Lhls week and l belleve we
are belng creaLlve wlLh Lhe concepLs we are followlng up. AfLer belng glven our sLlmulus
lmage on 1uesday l had so many dlfferenL LhoughLs golng around my mlnd, someLhlng
LhaL lmmedlaLely sLuck ouL Lo me Lhough was [usL how slmple Lhe plcLure appeared Lo
be buL how much could be drawn from lL.

As an lndlvldual Lhls week l have found lL fun and exclLlng Lo be learnlng new Lhlngs and
honlng ln on more speclflc skllls. l have en[oyed worklng wlLh Lhe company more closely,
and undersLandlng Lhe dlfferenL role everyone Lends Lo play when we are dlscusslng or
devlslng.
ln Lhe flrsL workshop, we made a few cholces LhaL were obvlously noL worklng so we
changed Lhem ln Llme for Lhe second workshop. 1hls dld have a beLLer feel and sLrucLure Lo
lL, Lhe games felL more approprlaLe and Lhe room had a buzz abouL lL. l felL llke acLors were
havlng fun, whlch was Lhe maln Lhlng for our flrsL workshop! l belleve LhaL as a company
we need ensure we are focuslng on Lhe ob[ecLlve and exacLly whaL we wanL Lhe acLors Lo
come away wlLh, raLher Lhan [usL Lhlnklng abouL whaL wlll flll Lhe Llme efflclenLly. l don'L
Lhlnk we should over plan, as we dldn'L sLlck Lo exacLly whaL we dlscussed anyway - l [usL
Lhlnk we all need Lo be clear on Lhe goal. 1hls wlll be happenlng on a weekly basls now so lL
wlll enable us Lo lmprove Lhem all Lhe Llme and keep progresslng wlLh new ldeas we have.
1hls week has also been abouL
adapLlng Lo change and Lhe ways
we wlll be worklng as a
company. Colng Lo scheduled
workshops ln Lhe mornlng ls
provlng Lo be beneflclal Llme Lo
really hone ln on speclflc skllls
and bulld confldence ln areas of
weakness.
We led Lwo workshops on 1uesday mornlng wlLh Lhe
new acLors. AlLhough Lhe workshops were successful
ln Lhe facL of geLLlng Lo know Lhe acLors more, l do
noL Lhlnk Lhey were as good as Lhey poLenLlally could
have been. l belleve we Lrled Loo hard ln Lrylng Lo
cram so many games, ldeas and Lechnlques lnLo one
sesslon. 1hls ls noL a good ldea because lL means you
end up brlefly Louchlng on so many dlfferenL Lhlngs,
when you could spend Lhe Llme dolng half Lhe
amounL buL comlng away wlLh a much more
lnformed and Lhorough oplnlon on someLhlng.



Ways Of Seeing 15
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September 2014
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Cn 1uesday we Look on '1he 8uddles Challenge' as a Pnu company! 1here were
varlous Lasks we had Lo carry ouL, some more exLreme Lhan oLhers!! All our flndlngs
were collecLed by vldeo and phoLo evldence. We also presenLed a song and dance aL
Lhe end along wlLh Lhe oLher Leams! We all had loLs of fun!

We had our flrsL LexL workshop wlLh Cavln on
Wednesday mornlng, whlch was really beneflclal. We
looked aL Lhe rologue from '1he 8eslsLlble 8lse of
ArLuro ul.'

'Lad|es and Gent|emen, we present today
1he great h|stor|ca| gangster p|ay!'

l found Lhe workshop challenglng because l am noL very
good aL slghL-readlng and dlgesLlng lnformaLlon qulckly
afLer one readlng. 1herefore, lL encouraged me Lo noL
Lo look aL a speech and feel overwhelmed by lL buL
raLher Lo plck ouL chunks of lnformaLlon LhaL sLand ouL
Lo me as an acLor. Cne ldea LhaL Cavln puL forward was
LhaL when you geL a plece of LexL/monologue Lo always
conslder Lhe followlng Lhree Lhlngs:

- What you know
- What you th|nk you know
- What you wou|d ||ke to know more of

Games we |ed |n
Workshops:

l wenL Lo Lhe shops and l
saw (uslng names)

8uylng ln

llocklng

Shoe Came

name and an acLlon

name, ball walk

Wlnk Murder - As favorlLe
CharacLer

Cl, 1ake lL, no!

Scenes ?ou'd never See


Ways Of Seeing 15
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19
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September 2014
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2
1hls helps Lo deLermlne whaL you can porLray as facL and Lhen Lhe Lhlngs lnslde lL you
would llke Lo delve lnLo more. l belleve lL ls good Lo have a curloslLy abouL someLhlng
as an arLlsL, lL shows LhaL you acLlvely wanL Lo pursue ldeas and lnlLlal LhoughLs you
have had on someLhlng Lo see how Lhey Lurn ouL ln comparlson Lo whaL may acLually
be Lhe case.

ln palrs, we Lhen looked aL llnes of Lhe LexL and had Lo emphaslse Lwo words on each
llne Lo see how lL changed Lhe feel and noLaLlon of lL. l found Lhls dlfflculL as naLurally
l made Lhe words louder LhaL l wanLed Lo emphaslse. Powever, l dldn'L always flnd
Lhls effecLlve, and l knew ln my mlnd LhaL oLher ways such as Lone and plLch would
also work. lf l dld Lhe Lask agaln, l would Lake a rlsk and Lry someLhlng dlfferenL,
explorlng more wlLh Lone of volce and plLch raLher Lhan [usL Lhe volume. l also found
LhaL lL's hard noL Lo geL lnLo your own rhyLhm once you have read someLhlng a few
Llmes, lL became dlfflculL Lo keep compleLely changlng Lhe way l was saylng a llne! l
had Lo make a real consclous efforL Lo make sure l dldn'L sllp back lnLo a naLural volce
paLLern. Cverall, l dlscovered LhaL l need Lo be more confldenL when comlng across
LexL for Lhe flrsL Llme and Lake more rlsks!

AL Lhe sLarL of Lhe workshop, we had Lo Lhlnk of one word, whlch we would use Lo
descrlbe ourselves. lL was off Lhe cuff and had Lo be a qulck reacLlon! l choose
'Pappy.' 1hen laLer we found ouL LhaL nexL week ln our palrs we wlll be performlng
Lhe speeches buL lncorporaLlng elemenLs of Lhe word we chose. 1hls ls golng Lo be a
challenge because by Lhe same Loken you don'L wanL lL all Lo be on Lhe same level and
Lhere needs Lo be llghL and shade.

1hls workshop also gave me ldeas as Lo how l may approach an audlLlon speech
dlfferenLly nexL Llme l come across a new one. l know l wlll be asklng myself more
speclflc quesLlons and feel more able Lo have fun and explore wlLh Lhe LexL before
maklng any declslons Loo qulckly.




Ways Of Seeing 15
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19
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September 2014
5
(Continued)
Cn Wednesday, Carlelgh led a sesslon on
ConLlnulLy ln lmprovlsaLlon and
hyslcal ClarlLy.

We flrsL lmprovlsed belng aL a 8ave! We
Lhen had Lo repeaL Lhe lmprovlsaLlon exacLly
as we dld lL before. 1hls made me Lhlnk
abouL physlcal clarlLy as an acLor because l
had Lo be deflnlLe ln whaL l dld and ln my
paLhway and acLlons.

ConLlnulLy was also a really useful Lechnlque
Lo dlscover more abouL. 1here are many
concepLs lnslde lL whlch l belleve as an acLor
you can ofLen Lake for granLed or forgeL Lhe
lmporLance of. lL's easy Lo geL wrapped up ln
a characLer and be more aware of yourself
Lhan oLher people around you. Powever,
Lhls ls absoluLely vlLal because characLers
feed you lnformaLlon, whlch ln Lurn should
lnform how you are respondlng and change
your characLer Loo. lL ls acLually really hard
ln an lmprovlsed scene Lo plck up all Lhe
deLalls LhaL oLher acLors are creaLlng on
sLage. 1he audlence however are much
more llkely Lo noLlce Lhese Lhlngs so you
have Lo be aware.

lor example, ln one of our lmprovlsaLlons
someone puL a cake down on a chalr and
Lhen laLer on someone wenL over
and puL Lhelr hand ln Lhe cake!
1hls would have kllled Lhe llluslon
Lhe audlence were hanglng on
Lo, Lhey are no longer as open Lo
new suggesLlons because Lhelr
suspenslon of dlsbellef has been
doubLed.

?ou have Lo go wlLh Lhe flow of
Lhe scene and adapL Lo sulL Lhe
needs of oLhers, Lhe audlence
and Lhe sLoryllne. SomeLhlng else
LhaL sLruck me was Lhe facL LhaL
everyone has a pre-concelved
ldea ln Lhelr mlnd, whlch wlll
cause Lhem Lo have dlfferenL
oplnlons auLomaLlcally on a
scene. lor example, a surprlse
8lrLhday parLy, ln an
lmprovlsaLlon you are llkely Lo
sLarL comparlng LhaL Lo an
experlence you have had as Lhe
acLor and sLereoLype all LhaL ls
golng on.

?ou have Lo leave loLs of Lhls
behlnd as no oLher acLor ls llkely
Lo be Lhlnklng Lhe exacL LhoughLs
you are, Lhls doesn'L mean
however you can'L
puL suggesLlons forward, buL lL
does means belng aware of
compleLely new ldeas comlng ln.





Directors Notes that stood out
to me:

Always say yes! If someone
suggests a proposa| [ust run w|th |t! - 8e
open! (Car|e|gh)
If you cant hide the
problem, make it bigger! - If
you do someth|ng wrong and |t's become fa|r|y
obv|ous do not try and h|de th|s from the
aud|ence, they w||| not|ce! Make a po|nt of |t
and then move on. (Car|e|gh)

Images r|ght of text box and be|ow:
Cred|ted Goog|e Images
Cn 1hursday mornlng, we had a slnglng workshop wlLh
lnnes and Lhen a dance one wlLh vlcky. l really en[oyed
Lhe slnglng and lL's greaL we are geLLlng Llme Lo
develop Lhls as a sklll. lL also helps learnlng how we
can use our volces Lo Lhe maxlmum when preparlng
for audlLlons. We worked on 'l dreamed a dream'
from Les Mlserables. We LhoughL abouL looklng aL Lhe
song llke a monologue whlch l feel ls a really good
Lhlng Lo do, lL encourages you Lo look aL Lhe words
and Lhe sLory as an acLor raLher Lhan forgeLLlng LhaL
and belng LoLally consumed ln Lhe noLes and whaL Lhe
song 'should' sound llke.

SomeLhlng Lhough LhaL really hlL me was Lhe focus ln
Lhls workshop. 1here was a general lack of focus on
Lhe Lasks ln hand and lL meanL we were noL all ln lL
LogeLher as a company. lL was frusLraLlng aL Llmes and
l belleve hlndered us from geLLlng Lhe besL posslble
ouLcome from Lhe workshop. AL Lhe end of Lhe
workshop Lhere was a much hlgher level of focus.





7

When we all sung 'l dreamed a dream' agaln Lhe dlfference was huge and lL was so
much beLLer. l [usL wlsh lL were llke LhaL aL Lhe sLarL of Lhe workshop as lL would have
been a mllllon Llnes more producLlve. undersLandably as acLors, many people are
probably feellng ouLslde of Lhelr comforL zone buL Lhls ls anoLher reason why Lhe
focus should be hlgher. Popefully Lhls wlll lmprove nexL week.

We Lhen had a uance workshop wlLh vlcky. l really en[oyed Lhe challenge! l can
reallse Lhe beneflLs we wlll sLarL Lo see lf we keep pushlng ourselves Lo lmprove! lLs
greaL Lo geL a feel for Lhe dlfferenL dlsclpllnes and broaden your sklll seL.


Ways of Seeing Progress and Action Plan


As menLloned aL Lhe Lop of my [ournal, l have en[oyed Lhe creaLlve concepLs we have
been delvlng lnLo Lhls week beglnnlng our [ourney on 'Ways of Seelng.' AfLer looklng
aL Lhe sLlmulus lmage, we composed a splder dlagram of words, whlch sprung Lo mlnd
when we looked aL Lhe lmage.





Colllslon

CuLcasL

AdvenLure

ulvlde

ConfllcL

1ranqulllLy



Stimulus Inspired
Words
8evoluLlon
Clowlng
8eauLy
eace
8eflecLlng
Sllence
8urnlng
ure
ConLemplaLlng
ALmospherlc
lsolaLlon
LleganL
LleganL


Ways Of Seeing 15
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September 2014
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We Lhen sLarLed Lo hone ln on 1he 4 LlemenLs.

1he Sand belng LA81P
1he Sea belng WA1L8
1he Crange marklngs belng ll8L
And Lhe leaLher belng Alr ! Wlnu

8elow ls a Lable of words, whlch we felL descrlbed Lhe elemenLs. lL's lnLeresLlng Lo noLe
LhaL some are Lhe same/slmllar Lo Lhe orlglnal sLlmulus words we lnlLlally cam up wlLh.

LAk1n WA1Lk WIND IIkL
Pome vlgorous lall or fly CaLchlng
naLure LleganL 8lrd asslon
SofL ure LevlLaLe Leaders
Anlmals 1herapeuLlc CusL uangerous
CrowLh Abyss lresh Llon
Crounded Calm PelghL PeaL
Crganlc Slren ueparLure uesLrucLlon
Colours MysLery CurrenL 8laze
8lpple lncognlLo lnLlmldaLlng
unknown AggravaLe Crace
MedlLaLlon ulscombobulaLed aln
vasL 8lood
SooLhlng lgnlLe
CreaLures 8urn
l am keen Lo pursue Lhe ldea of 1he 4 LlemenLs. We had a dlscusslon abouL Lhls ldea on
1hursday and declded lL ls someLhlng we are all on board wlLh. We also dlscussed Lhe
posslblllLy of noL Laklng lL qulLe so llLerally and uslng Lhe elemenLs Lo porLray dlfferenL
emoLlons. !ulla menLloned when she saw 'Medea' LhaL Lhere were dancers who were
physlcallslng Medea's lnner LhoughLs. 1hls ls an lnLeresLlng ldea and someLhlng l Lhlnk
we could geL a loL from explorlng. lL would also glve us more scope Lo seL up some klnd
of sLory llne and relaLe all our lnsplraLlon from 1he 4 LlemenLs and from Lhe orlglnal
lmage Lo lL.




9
Sources of Inspiration

lranLlc Assembly - A Culde Lo uevlslng
ScoLL Craham ArLlsLlc ulrecLor lranLlc Assembly

hLLps://www.youLube.com/waLch?v=?a8zr34p6nC

1hls week we looked aL a lranLlc Assembly vldeo - A Culde Lo uevlslng. lL was
lnLeresLlng Lo hear abouL how anoLher 1heaLre company creaLes work and Lhe maln
concepLs from whlch Lhey devlse. 1he vldeo ls narraLed by ScoLL Craham - ArLlsLlc
ulrecLor aL lranLlc Assembly.

SomeLhlng LhaL sLood ouL Lo me was a commenL made by ScoLL saylng LhaL Lhey see Lhls
Lype of 1heaLre as havlng 'an exploslve energy LhaL should hlL you ln Lhe face, lL's noL
vague.' l belleve Lhls ls a prlnclpal we can also draw from because we wanL momenLs ln
our plece Lo be full on and really hlL Lhe audlence. Also, Lhe facL LhaL Lhey 'don'L see lL
as pure naLurallsm. 'l Lhlnk LhaL ln our plece we are adopLlng a slmllar prlnclpal due Lo
Lhe facL we are Lelllng a sLory behlnd Lhe scrlm, buL Lhe physlcal movemenL LhaL we are
plannlng Lo creaLe ln fronL ls noL meanL Lo be naLurallsLlc. lL wlll mosL probably be an
absLracL porLrayal of feellngs and emoLlons from whlch Lhe audlence can draw whaL
Lhey llke.

l was lnLrlgued by Lhe commenL 'lLs llke meeLlng Lhe show half way' and ' a wlndow lnLo
anoLher way of seelng Lhlngs.' As arLlsLs, l Lhlnk we should always Lhlnk abouL Laklng Lhe
show Lo Lhe audlence noL asklng Lhem pollLely Lo come Lo Lhe show! 1hey should feel a
parL of Lhe sLory and llke Lhey have been LransporLed Lo anoLher world.

l agree wlLh Lhe commenL ScoLL made LhaL 'hyslcal 1heaLre ls a hard Lerm Lo deflne
because lL's so vasL.' 1here are so many dlfferenL elemenLs Lo lL and l Lhlnk LhaL [usL goes
Lo show LhaL you shouldn'L llmlL yourself or be afrald Lo push Lhe boundarles. ScoLL says
'1ermlnology lnhlblLs you someLlmes.'

SomeLhlng else ScoLL spoke abouL was when Lhere are dlsagreemenLs beLween Lwo
arLlsLlc dlrecLors. Pe says 'LhaL ls Lhe mosL exclLlng parL' and 'you have Lo leL Lhe oLher
person show you Lhelr ldea and Lhen you can say weaLher you sLlll dlsagree or noL - lL
ofLen leads Lo anoLher layer based on Lhe oLher persons ldea.' l belleve Lhls ls very



Ways Of Seeing 15
th
19
th
September 2014
10


relevanL Lo us as a company as we are effecLlvely our own dlrecLors. We have Lo llsLen
Lo one anoLher and explore all Lhe ldeas LhaL are puL forward. lL goes back Lo belng
open-mlnded and Lrylng all posslblllLles. CfLen an ldea ls so much more exclLlng lf lL
comes from dlfferenL people because no one could have LhoughL of all Lhose ldeas by
Lhemselves!


Plan of Action!

Cur plan of acLlon now ls Lo Lake all LhaL we have dlscovered, choose some words
each and creaLe some movemenL lndependenLly. Cur plan ls Lhen Lo share whaL we
develop and use dlfferenL parLs of each oLher's rouLlne Lo hopefully come up wlLh a
wlder source of lnsplraLlon. 1hls wlll also mean everyone has had a go aL
choreographlng some movemenL Lo geL us golng. We are also ln Lhe process of
llsLenlng Lo dlfferenL pleces of muslc and geLLlng a feel for Lhe aLmosphere's we wanL
Lo creaLe, as well as dlfferenL posslble secLlons.

As an lndlvldual, l feel my sLrengLhs have been creaLlvlLy and belng pro-acLlve on Lhe
floor wanLlng Lo make new dlscoverles. l feel l am ad[usLlng Lo worklng lndependenLly
and have a sLrong lncenLlve Lo geL maLerlal and ldeas developlng. l feel my
weaknesses have been LrusLlng myself and rlsk Laklng. l belleve l need Lo go wlLh my
lnsLlncLs more and Lake a rlsk, as rehearsals are Lhe Llme for maklng mlsLakes!

As a company l feel we are on a good Lrack wlLh so many dlfferenL ldeas flowlng
around, Lhls ls good, buL l feel LhaL aL Llme we need Lo have clearer ob[ecLlves and
make sure LhaL we are all on Lhe same bus!

It has been a good week full of inspiration and creativity and I am
looking forward to the next!

Cred|ted: Goog|e Images