Full Evaluation of our Performance Process – Girl in the Machine

Responding to and Assessing into our very own production

Presented by the Level 3 Diplomas at Solihull College, Blossomfield Campus
Colour Coding for Essay: Preparation is in Yellow Performance is in Blue Both in Grey
Word Count: (Not Including this or the Harvard Referencing): 1997

Introducing our Production

Throughout our final major project, we have been working on our end production of the creative performance
pathway. Our selected vision was the Girl in the Machine, created by our researched playwright of Stef Smith.
Known for her deep theories and futuristic concepts. Our research and weekly rehearsals have been beneficial in
not only strategizing our performance but perfecting previous practitioner knowledge from other assignments in
our journey.

We have worked strenuously as an inside company to host and collaborate a show in a producing venue.
Producing venues are often referred to as houses or auditoriums that produce their own content for a respected
audience. We wanted to bring a high level of professionalism and sense of anticipation with the atmosphere of
our venue, presenting our appearance through a structured but very beautiful outlook. I feel we achieved this
massively. As a performance company, we performed twice in an afternoon and evening performance, aimed at
different audiences.

Promoting our Production Roles

As part of this whole performance process, we have been getting more experience in backstage roles and
building a better perspective of what goes on behind the scenes. It was vitally important we could plan and
professionally conduct ourselves through this production journey and be able to actively demonstrate how
we could direct and deliver our craft. My purpose was to not only portray my skills but to showcase my
understanding and dexterity in each individual role. I took on a couple of roles.
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Choreography and Fitness Team Observations

My first role was becoming a dance instructor within my team. We first introduced the Choreography and
Fitness Team as our professional title within the first couple of production meetings. We planned out a group
calendar and a designated code of conduct. Our plan was to split our mentoring into two different modules.

The first few weeks were classed as our preparation module, this module had the responsibility of building
confidence within physical movement. It additionally had the ambition of training young performers into more
brave and conscientious choreographers. Therefore, we brought in a new scheme of work, referred to as weekly
Collaborative Circuit Sessions that could be conducted once a week to build enthusiasm and a better work-ethic
before moving onto actual performance blocking. We specialise in different elements of physical work, so we
had stations. Myself and my peer instructor (Deandre Morris) led the choreography station. And the other
couple of instructors (Brad Clarke/Vikk Hoque) were in charge of fitness and core strength. We worked out of
lesson hours perfecting the running order of these sessions and dedicating ourselves to the role. The class was
split into equal groups of two where they would switch stations after 30 mins. Giving them the necessary skills
between dance and fitness for the FMP.

We had to overcome health and safety concerns and individual needs for each sessions. One of the toughest was
facing judgement and dealing with unnecessary drama, the groups were set in accord towards tension in class.
At around week five of the project, we transitioned into our second part of the plan. Our performance module.
We choreographed an opening and closing number that would demonstrate techniques from Frantic Assembly
and match up with the genres of our performance. Our aim was to bring consistency in the tension of the show
and add that level of flair needed to draw in the audience. There was reflective analysis and ranking systems to
assess and evaluate both modules of mentoring in our journey. The Choreography and Fitness Team were
organised and responded to obstacles in an efficient and productive manner.

Stage Management Team Observations

My other production role centred on management of rehearsal and overlooking professionalism in the
workplace. As a collaborative, we created an attendance and punctuality sheet that tracked how committed
people were to learning. Consequences would be given for lateness in the later stages, if there was an invalid
excuse for not being on time. One of my peers created a running order sheet so we could track when and where
actors needed to be on for their entrance. We made the decision to keep all important props on our white blocks,
anyone outside of stage management could not pass beyond this point. This helped to avoid
risk of injury, since we were waiting in total darkness. This running order was really beneficial in strategizing
the order of our performance and people could mentally prepare for their scene.

Another duty I took control of was the sound cue sheet, structured, ready for our sound crew on the gantry of the
venue. I categorised the columns into their scenes, their tracks and their starting/ending cue for the
performance. This grid makes it more comprehensible to understand and focuses its attention upon the
atmosphere. We decided to use sound in between transitions to cover up awkward silences.

Artistic Role and Judgement of Both Performances

My role for our performance was the role of Owen and I needed to adapt to his characteristics and traits
consistently throughout the performance. Displaying his versatility in mood changes and audience interaction.

In both showings, stage management behind the scenes lived up to be well organised in advance and our
leadership brought an applicable behavioural etiquette from other cast members. Another note being that both
performances brought a rather rhapsodic approach from the cast. Group morale was high, it was clear to see a
sense of togetherness. As a final note, both performances presented the choreographed numbers in the way they
were set out to be, with the use of dramatic lighting and electrifying sound, myself and all the dancers could
showcase our movements in a very potent and intense manner.

Rehearsal Process and our Matinee’ Performance

Starting with the positives. You could tell our preparation of picking partners elevated our chemistry between
one another, on and offstage. We were able to build a closer bond with one another and this built the trust and
responsibility to perform more in-sync with one another. Characterisation onstage was exemplified due to the
built connection and it became one of its best in this performance. There was an element of wanting to do well
for each other which portrayed how much we cared for one another’s grade. Me and my partner have high
expectations to achieve a distinction grade. Therefore, we didn’t want to let each other down.

Following that, the preparation of our role was featured through our other previous practitioners and their
philosophies. This was substantial in building our character’s persona. We took Stanislavski as a prime example
and incorporated his given circumstances of our role and their corresponding situation; this was then put into our
own minds. We additionally took the emotional recall of our characters to create negative memories. We
featured them prior to the performance to psychologically connect with our role’s feelings in an attempt to
mirror their instability.

Contrastingly, there were some improvements that could have enhanced our performance to the next level, the
majority of these link to the speed and efficiency of our showcase. This cost the context of the plot and
somewhat lost the purpose of the story. It needed to be executed better to keep it going.
Some occasions highlighted that we were moving through our scene’s way too quickly and this often led to the
performance being way shorter than it needed to be. This could again have been due to nervousness but it did
more harm than good because it didn’t emphasise the message of the show enough and without a sense of
story, brought a lack of clarity throughout each scene. Furthermore, the bringing on of props was hit and miss
within this run of the show. We were unsure with where the props’ location would be when brought on during
the transition onstage.

Examining our Evening Performance

Personally, I feel my performance with my partner was reflected much better in this showcase than the matinee
showing. My interpretation of this performance was that it overshadowed the previous one. That came down to
several factors.

First of all, the adrenaline of the group became a positive building block prior to our performance because I felt
completely stimulated. I felt more prompted to stay focused that would powerhouse me through the evening
performance. This may have come with my hydration; I had washed down lots of water ahead of time to feel
refreshed for the show. There was a sense of feeling that my performance would be electrified by past criticism.
I have dealt with a lot of jealousy and nasty energy around me and that is what fired me up to prove them
wrong. Generally, I felt my projection and diction in lines was thrown to the back of the room, it was often hard
due to the nature of the conversation. At the start of our scenes, we had to be quite confidential and hidden,
shouting wouldn’t have matched.

Another practitioner that I dwelled into was some of Brecht’s Epic Theatre. Our breaking of the fourth wall in
my scenes was purposeful in pointing my partner’s character to the outside world. Considering our piece
revolves around modern escapism, that was a perfect chance for me to step into the audience’s perspective and
take pride, like I still do to this day with my stage presence. I have always been credited for my interaction with
the audience and how I naturally invite them into my scene with specific words and actions. Being quite
superstitious, I have specific gestures that add to the tone and atmosphere. They work in every performance.
Pointing to the sky and looking out directly into the audience increases suspension and the element of fear. It
can contrastingly bring discovery and admiration. Another practitioner was our third and final dramatist. Artaud
was prominent in possessing analogies that would bring me to my lowest in order to release any pain onstage.
It’s a subconscious concept that drives me to release any hidden instability onstage.

On the other hand, there were a few negatives that proved to be an obstacle not only in this specific performance
but throughout the duration of the piece. That first problem came with more intimacy across the board. Although
me and my partner were more connected with each other than before, we needed to
intertwine more to truly grasp that romantic relationship onstage. Perhaps this came down to self-respect
and respecting peer boundaries. Physical strength was and always has been a problem for me. There is an
element in the piece where the actor who plays our voice for Blackbox catches my partner as she trusts falls to
the ground. Maybe we should have had more practice with that as it will have made more sense for me to catch
her. It created an awkward pause

Revisiting my Proposal and Concluding the Journey

From the start of this assignment, I have had my mind set on that distinction grade. I managed to reach a high
level in previous projects and hope to apply that now. Anything less than a distinction will be deemed a failure
in my eyes. I feel I have managed to match my proposal with the ambitions of both my artistic and production
roles. The only change was the order of the journey. I found myself for the first time taking on practical work
first before my research stage. I had to adapt to this as usually they are flipped. One of the most significant roles
of this final major project was my organisation and continuous documentation of production roles. From
Choreographed numbers and intense circuit sessions to keeping everyone in control backstage. I have found
tasks such as line learning a lot harder this time and the pressure to lead a group more challenging than
anticipated. In the end, we ended with success and a proud mentality to push on forward. That final blackout in
our evening performance was the most satisfying moment we have ever felt.
 Harvard Referencing to Websites and Sources

You can find the generality of my information and practical work from my personal portfolio, the link
will be attached below. All the other links beneath this are the sites I collected information from for
my website. Click the Project Department Page. Click the button for FMP to access all work.

Personal Portfolio for Cam Dainty

Dainty, C. (2021) ‘Staging a Dream’, Weebly,com. Available at:
https://camdaintyxo.weebly.com/
[No Access Date Available]

Websites used for the background research of Playwright and History of Scotland
Smith, S. (2011) ‘About Stef Smith’ Weebly.com. Available at:
About Stef - STEF SMITH
[Accessed: 12th April 2022]
Baxter, N. (2019) ‘Real V Myth/Location and history’ Folklore Topics. Available at:
https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/loch-ness-monster
[Accessed: 14th April 2022]

Websites used for Girl in the Machine Plot and the impact of Technology
Fisher, M. (2017) ‘Dilemmas of Digital Dependency’ Mark Fisher Sources. Available at:
Girl in the Machine review – the dilemmas of digital dependency | Theatre | The Guardian [Accessed:
18th April 2022]
Lee, H. (2016) ‘An Impact of Technology in modern world’ Techspirited. Available at:
What is the Impact of Technology on Our Society? A Critical Analysis - Tech Spirited
[Accessed: 19th April 2022]