Diploma in Perfor

Performing &
Production Arts
Unit 8 Project Proposal

Candidate Jasmine Thrower

Name
Candidate 544866
Number
Pathway Year 1 Level 3 Diploma

Project Title Variations

Section 1: Review
I began this course as someone with very little theatrical experience outside the realm of musical theatre
and since then, that area of performing has become so small to me purely because of the wide variety
of disciplines and professionals that I have been exposed to since. I have been introduced to so many
appealing pathways through these opportunities, and have learnt so many valuable techniques
throughout this course so far; Shakespeare and how to speak in iambic pentameter, how to control my
vocals to enhance my physical performance in movement and how to devise my very own piece of
theatre for a paying audience for the first time for example. The more technical side of the theatre has
been revealed to me and I now know far more about careers in stage management and design,
information I will consider carefully as I begin to narrow down the options for my future. If nothing else,
this past year has helped me feel prepared – something invaluable when it comes to choosing such an
important part of your future.

Section 2: Project Concept

.Variations is a play that manages to juggle so many key themes – family tensions, child neglect,
governmental failures and theoretical physics just to name a few – and manages to do them all so subtly
that you feel as though you’re consuming half the information you actually are. Though the script is very
bare-bones, this is a deliberate choice that enhances the imagination of the reader when it comes to
aspects of the performance like set, costume, sound and lighting design. In terms of resources to pull
what I expect to be a large-scale professional-looking production, we will need access to a wealth of
industry professionals to form a cohesive production team, a rather large budget and an equally large
rehearsal space to fit our cast. The rest falls on us to utilize our time outside rehearsal to stay on top of
our theory work and practice things like lines and blocking to make sure we are making the most of the
resources given to us. That includes all feedback and criticism given by our peers, professionals and
course leaders who watch the show as this is crucial to our improvement not only as a cast, but as
individual actors.

Section 3: Evaluation
To make sure I get a comprehensive reflection of my work I plan on taking detailed notes during
rehearsals and then summarizing these in a video at the end of each week so I can clearly see my
progression throughout the rehearsal process and figure out what I need to improve on with ease. I will
also contribute to discussions at the end of each rehearsal and feedback my emotions, plans for the
next rehearsal and ways that I will keep myself healthy and safe during intensive rehearsals. I am aware
that I am easily distracted in a rehearsal environment and I will take necessary steps to ensure I can
overcome this when focus is required, and be an asset to my cast mates instead of a hindrance. When it
comes to the post-show period I will write an all-encompassing reflection document with the research
and development, rehearsal and intensive phases of this process enclosed.

Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format)

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). VARIATIONS. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/npdc1b1nTfY
[Accessed 25 February 2023].

Wood, C. (2019). What Is String Theory? [online] Space.com. Available at:

https://www.space.com/17594-string-theory.html [Accessed 25 February 2023].

www.curtisbrown.co.uk. (n.d.). Curtis Brown. [online] Available at:

https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/katie-hims.

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). The Year My Mother Went Missing by Katie Hims. [online] Available at:
https://youtu.be/JEzpwJrP1Ug [Accessed 1 March 2023].

Institute for Fiscal Studies. (n.d.). The Impact of Fathers’ Job Loss during the Recession of the
1980s on their Children’s Educational Attainment and Labour Market Outcomes. [online]
Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/journals/impact-fathers-job-loss-during-recession-1980s-their-
childrens-educational-attainment-and [Accessed 9 March 2023].

Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK’s progressive debate. (n.d.). Left Foot Forward: Leading the
UK’s progressive debate. [online] Available at: https://leftfootforward.org [Accessed 9 March
2023].

curious directive. (n.d.). curious directive. [online] Available at:

https://www.curiousdirective.com/ [Accessed 23 March 2023].

the Guardian. (2009). The 1980s: ‘England was convulsed by a social and political revolution’.
[online] Available at:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/19/1980s-cultural-history
[Accessed 28 March 2023].

‌ oogle.com. (2023). Available at: https://www.google.com/url?

G
sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://localhistories.org/life-in-the-1980s/
&ved=2ahUKEwjO6MzjuPj-
AhVHasAKHcQBCRcQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3b4cNQzFYFhNUBerAQeZ1j [Accessed 28
March 2023].

‌ ilton, M., Moores, C. and Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, F. (2017). New Timesrevisited: Britain in the
H
1980s. Contemporary British History, 31(2), pp.145–165.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2017.1306214.

‌ istory.com Editors (2018). 2018: The Year in Events. [online] HISTORY. Available at:
H
https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/2018-events [Accessed 29 March 2023].

Project Action Plan and Timetable

Week Date Week Activity / What you are intending to do - Resources / What you will need to do it -
Beginning including independent study including access to workshops

1 20th We were introduced to Soph, our Director, - Script

February and got started on both physical and vocal - Access to online production
warmups that would become staples of the - Notes
beginning of rehearsals. We then began
with some cast-led improv games that
focuses on how we interact as a company.
Soph then tasked us with creating small
movement pieces inspired by our morning
routines and when we had devised those,
we got into larger and larger groups to
choreograph everyone’s pieces into
something performance-ready. After
showing these performances to different
pieces of music, we sat down and did a
read-through, alternating between
characters in each scene. Finally, we
discussed our individual talents as a
company to see how they could be utilized
in the creative process.

Independent – I will watch a performance of

Variations by Mishmak Youth Theatre online
to get a more in-depth perspective on the
characters, and listen to a lot of 80s music!
As well as this, I will begin planning my first
short reflection video of the week.

2 28th After a warmup and a longer, more intense - Script

February version of our cast-led improv game, we - Photos of A3 analysis
began the bulk of the rehearsal by splitting - Playlist
into small groups and devising a transition
between scenes as they are necessary to
visually represent the ‘time loop’ the main
character is stuck in to the audience. My
group focused on lifts and movement to
represent the otherworldly nature of these
transitions between universes to varying
success, as we tired quickly between
practices. After showing these, we were
assigned characters to write an analysis of –
either solo or in groups. I analysed the
character of ‘Shelley’, Alice’s Mum (who is
also Alice in her Mother’s body,
complicatedly enough) and covered a sheet
of A3 in everything from 80s culture to script
breakdowns. We shared these as a cast and
then had a conversation about casting and
whether we wanted to double up on roles or
add an ensemble.

Independent – I’ve filmed and edited my

 first weekly reflection video and will begin
planning the second one soon. As a cast,
we also set up a communal Spotify playlist
so we could share music we thought would
work well within the piece to our Director.

3 7th March We warmed up vocally and physically, this - Script

time with cast members leading each - Videos of Shoaling
instead of our director, and then played - Research Papers
some games, focusing mainly on the ‘Chain
Game’ in which trains our awareness of
others and ability to concentrate. From
there, Soph put us into differently sized
groups and asked us to try ‘shoaling’ – an
exercise where a group follows the
movements of the person at the front - to
different pieces of music she’d picked. After
experimenting with different dynamics of
movement (sharp Vs smooth), we separated
and practiced individual movement with an
emphasis on the themes of ‘identity’ and
‘glitching’, moving around the space with
complete creative freedom. Our final group
task was to pick one word about how we
found the previous task.

Independent – I began researching for my

presentation discussing the 1980s recession
and how it effected young people, as well as
how this information could be used to help
build the performance. I looked at multiple
Google Scholar research papers to do so.

4 13th March We began with the same physical and vocal - Script
warmups as the last week, then both the - Editing Software
Chain and improv games which really - Recordings of performance +
helped wake us up! Following these, Soph presentation
asked us to split into groups and create a
response to the play as a whole using
vocals and other auditory tools. My group
had a more technological approach to the
task and mixed together a variety of phone
ringtones on an editing software to creating
a cacophony of noise that would evoke the
feeling of mornings that Alice has to re-
experience throughout the play. We
performed these casually with some groups
showing songs – and even raps. After a
break we were put into pairs and asked to
brainstorm ideas for a specific transition
between scenes (in our case, scene 7 to
 scene 8), and then present these to the
company. My pair incorporated projections,
movement sections, lifts, and distorted audio
tracks, and talked a lot about David Bowie
and his 1983 releases. At the end of the
day, we talked as a company about what we
wanted from the performance, and what we
wanted to take away from the experience

(Due to a personal matter I was unable to

complete any independent work this week)

5 20th March As per usual we did a physical and vocal - Script

warmup with games, and then formed three - Videos of performances
groups to get straight into devising the - Curious Detective website and
introduction of the play. The company vision social
for this prologue was something based medias
around the idea of the Postman being some
sort of higher power, and my group used
props and different physicality to created a
very successful movement piece. After
showing these, in the same groups we
began devising the end of the play,
something that required a very different
approach. We strayed away from
movement, focusing instead on characters
and trying to make a fluid way for the set to
dissolve around them. We showed these as
well, and then had a serious discussion
about intensive rehearsals and the
precautions cast members should take to
make sure they stay mentally and physically
well.

Independent – I researched and wrote out

a set of interview questions relevant to the
main themes of the play to elicit (hopefully)
interesting responses, as well as
researching the intersection of science and
theatre through a Norwich-based theatre
company ‘Curious Directive’.

6 28th March Since we were cast the previous day, this - Script
marked our first more intense and specific - Sessions with Movement Director
rehearsal – moving from group devising into
more character-specific work. We warmed
up as always and did our first read-through
as our characters to allow people to feel
more comfortable with the material, and
then split off into groups with our main
scene partners to discuss anything
necessary and begin blocking the scene
itself. The day after this, we worked with our
Movement Director Deeps to practice lifts
safely as a company and begin
choreographing the transitions between the
scenes, finishing 1/7 of them. As a cast, we
made an agreement to learn our lines by the
time intensive rehearsals begin and to come
into the space ready for anything after the
break!