Diploma in Performing &

Production Arts
Unit 8 Project Proposal

Candidate
Name Georgia Osborne
Candidate Number 371347
Pathway Performing and Production Arts
Level 3: Acting

Project Title Final Major Project – the sad club

Section 1: Review
Going into this course, I was hoping to; expand my skills set, learn about my
passions, and meet others who share my same love of performing arts. I am so
grateful I have had the opportunity to do all these things and more. Over the past
academic year, I have worked with a range of incredible practitioners. All with
unique and valuable lessons. And built up a bank of skills ranging from costume
design, to devising as a group. I feel before entering this course, I was quite
restricted and was convinced I knew exactly what I wanted. However, after being
subjected to such a large pool of experience and opportunity, I find myself being
more experimental and creative by the day. This has been helped by projects such
as ensemble storytelling, design and scratch forcing me to do things out of my
comfort zone I would have never tried before- which has been beneficial. For
example, after our design unit, I found I had a love to costume design. Since then,
I have been the main costume and set designer for a cabaret night we did in
March. Furthermore, for this project I hope to further develop my skills in create
design by offering my opinions and trying to work closely with the design team to
better understand the process of developing a production.
Section 2: Project Concept
Our project is ‘The sad club’ written in 2019 by Luke Barns. It explores the
complex emotions and experiences of teenagers. It has the message of no one
being alone, no matter if you feel embarrassed, lonely, or hurt, we are all brought
together by our emotions and can support each other through the trials that life
throws at us. It is a piece of gig theatre, meaning it incorporates music and song
into the play- which I think adds another level of abstractness into the world of our
play and allows us to further explore the sense of community and emotions. One
thing I am excited for with this play is its creative freedom. We are not restricted by
setting it in an exact time zone or reality. Which means we can create something
that feels utterly unique and new. Additionally, the characters are also quite free
and not bound by gender- this allows us to build some intriguing relationship
dynamics and to adapt the roles to best suit the world we wish to build. Moreover,
the addition of music in this world means we can experiment with movement and
sound and not be restricted by naturalism. To help me with this project, I will make
sure I research into the mental health experiences that are included and get a
sense of representation in the media in our contemporary world. Although most of
the circumstances in the play are quite common among teens, I still feel it is
important to research them and get the most rounded opinion of them before
creating. There are also some scenes set in different time periods, so it is
important we represent them in an authentic and accurate way using research. As
a company, I think it is important we divide up the research and feedback to each
other so we can get the most relevant and in-depth overview of all aspects of the
world of the play. This way, in the rehearsal room we can bounce off each other's
ideas when building characters and scenes and provide opinions when generating
material. This will create a collaborative and supportive environment so we can
create something truly engaging and original.
Section 3: Evaluation
As the pace of this project will be quite fast, I think it is important to record all my
progress and development throughout the process. One way I will do this is by
completing a weekly action plan of all events and useful findings of that week. This
will also be useful to refer to in future projects as a bank of skills and challenges I
have overcome during this time. I also think it is important to keep tract of personal
progress I have made as I would like to try completing my aims for this project and
expand my creative influence. Alongside this, I will be creating video logs of the
project which outlines the successes and developments of that week. Not only will
this serve as a log of my week, but it will also challenge me to continue to
articulate myself on camera, which I believe will be beneficial in the room too as I
need to share my opinions and thoughts in a clear and engaging way. This project
is built on collaborating as a team, which has its own set of challenges and
advantages. For example, as a company we are usually full of ideas and have a
strong closeness with each other, this means we have created an environment
where we feel free to share ideas and opinions. However, sometimes we lack a
professional atmosphere due to the close nit nature of the group. This means we
may be cautious to share criticism- which is a vital part of improving as an actor
and individual. So, I will make sure to carry myself in a professional and productive
manor throughout this project, so we create an atmosphere which is both
supportive but also affective.
Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format) 
Poster research sources;

Penson, R. (2021). 2011-2021: The headlines that made the last decade of news.
[online] WalesOnline. Available at:
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/2011-2021-biggest-headlines-made-22537580 .

Kings College London (2022). An isolated generation: the impact of COVID-19 on

children and young people | Feature from King’s College London. [online]
Kcl.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/an-isolated-generation-the-impact-of-covid-
19-on-children-and-young-people.

Wikipedia.org. (2019). 2019–20 Australian bushfire season - Wikipedia. [online]

Available at:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Australian_bushfire_season .

recovery.preventionweb.net. (n.d.). Recovery Collection: Australia: Black

Summer Bushfires 2019-2020. [online] Available at:
https://recovery.preventionweb.net/collections/recovery-collection-australia-black-summer-
bushfires-2019-2020.

United Nations (2021). Climate Action Fast Facts. [online] United Nations.
Available at: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings#temperature-rise.

Stonewall (2016). LGBTQ+ facts and figures. [online] Stonewall. Available at:
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/cy/lgbtq-facts-and-figures.

Thomas, E. (2022). Transphobia is a Powerful Force in American Politics, but

Young Voters are Leading a Cultural Shift Towards Inclusion. [online] Data for
Progress. Available at: https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2022/2/23/transphobia-is-a-
powerful-force-in-american-politics-but-young-voters-are-leading-a-cultural-shift-towards-
inclusion.

www.thecrimson.com. (n.d.). TikTok Core: The Fashion World of Today | Arts | The
Harvard Crimson. [online] Available at:
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/3/9/tiktok-aesthetics-microtrends-fast-fashion-style/
#:~:text=In%20the%20past%20years%2C%20multiple.

My Kids Vision (2022). Screen time in teenagers: how can we manage it? | My
Kids Vision. [online] www.mykidsvision.org. Available at:
https://www.mykidsvision.org/knowledge-centre/screen-time-in-teenagers-how-can-we-manage-
it#:~:text=Screen%20time%20is%20a%20necessary.

BBC News. (2015). What happens now that a deal’s been done? [online]
Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887.amp.
‌

Barr, N. (2020). OK, Generation Z – this is how Brexit will affect you. [online] LSE
BREXIT. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2020/01/09/ok-generation-z-this-is-how-
brexit-will-affect-you/.

Braswell, M. (2022). Measuring the Trump Era’s Impact on Adolescents’

Sociopolitical Growth. [online] UCLA Luskin. Available at:
https://luskin.ucla.edu/measuring-the-trump-eras-impact-on-adolescents-sociopolitical-growth .

‌Sources for character analysis research;

MIND (2023). Mind, the mental health charity - help for mental health
problems. [online] Mind. Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/.
‌

NHS (2023). Student Stress. [online] nhs.uk. Available at:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/help-for-
teenagers-young-adults-and-students/student-stress-self-help-tips/.
‌

Almeida, I.L. de L., Rego, J.F., Teixeira, A.C.G. and Moreira, M.R. (2021). Social
Isolation and Its Impact on Child and Adolescent Development: A Systematic
Review. Revista Paulista De Pediatria, [online] 40(40).
doi:https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0462/2022/40/2020385.
‌

Orben, A., Tomova, L. and Blakemore, S.-J. (2020). The Effects of Social
Deprivation on Adolescent Development and Mental Health. The Lancet Child &
Adolescent Health, 4(8), pp.634–640. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-
4642(20)30186-3.
‌
Moore, L. (2022). The Effects of Parental Pressure on Children’s Mental Health.
[online] Psych Central. Available at: https://psychcentral.com/lib/parental-
pressure-and-kids-mental-health#mental-health-effects.
‌

Honghao, J., Po, Y. and Tianyu, Y. (2021). The influence of adolescents’ romantic
relationship on individual development: Evidence from China. International
Journal of Chinese Education, [online] 10(3), p.221258682110700.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/22125868211070036.
‌

www.psychologytoday.com. (n.d.). Teens Who Don’t Date: Socially Behind or

Socially Skilled? | Psychology Today. [online] Available at:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-single/201910/teens-who-
don-t-date-socially-behind-or-socially-skilled.
‌

Pandey, J. (2023). The Double-Edged Sword of Academic Validation. [online]

TVMB. Available at: https://www.thevoiceinmybrain.com/post/the-double-
edged-sword-of-academic-validation#:~:text=Academic%20validation
%20enhances%20the%20credibility%20of%20research%20and [Accessed 8 May
2024].
‌
Project Action Plan and Timetable

Week Date Week Activity / What you are Resources / What

Beginning
1 19/2/24
intending to do - including you will need to do it
independent study - including access to
workshops
Tuesday - This week was the Water for the
first week of fmp, where we rehearsal room
met our director, Krista. We Movable clothing
focussed on learning our new
play- the sad club. We did a
read through and played
around with some of the
characters that interested us.
We also discussed with Krista
how the process might look to
prepare us for the process.

Wednesday – we also met our

movement director Linzy and
thought about how we might
incorporate movement into
this project. We also talked
about the style and direction
of the movement which
helped us to understand the
world of the play.

1 26/2/24
Independent – I filmed my
first video log and looked over
what theory would be
required for this project.
Tuesday -. We did some My script
devising with to generate Water
some material for our fmp. Movable clothing
We wanted to explore the for movement
world of the show and see My notebook
what the scenes in the play
might be beyond just. This
helped give us an introduction
to the world of the play and
understand the characters
and relationships better.
We also began rehearsals with
our musical director Alex,
where we listened to some of
the songs and discussed the
 vision for the musical aspect
of the play.

Wednesday- We also
generated some images and
movement qualities in our
movement session which
helped me think about
transitions in an interesting
way. It is important to be
playful and experimental in
these initial stages of the
project so I enjoyed this
process and hope we can
apply the skills we have
learned to the intensive
rehearsal period.

Independent- I started my
research for my presentation
on mental health awareness. I
also made sure to review my
singing parts to make sure I
was prepared for next week
alongside continuing with the
weekly video log.
2 4/3/24 Tuesday – we started off this Water
week by splitting into groups My script
and looking at some scenes of A notebook
the play. I had to look at the My presentation
best friend's space scene,
which was quite challenging
as we were thinking about
how we could incorporate the
idea of limited gravity. We
played around with staging
and levels to see how we
could convey the idea of
having no weight. We later
had a think about how the
ending of the piece may look.
We wanted to involve all the
characters and keep the
essence of the play being
about a club and community.
We had the idea to set it at
john's party and show scenes
 of the characters interacting
which was quite successful.
We also started learning the
second song and polished up
the first one.

Thursday – I gave my
presentation on mental health
to the rest of the group and
watched some others give
theirs. Which was especially
useful and giving us some of
the play’s context using the
various research.

Independent – I took notes on

other presentations and will
need to document this in this
week's video log. I also reread
the script to give me a better
understanding of the
characters and order of
scenes.
3 11/3/24 Tuesday – we continued to Movable clothing
develop the scenes in the play A water bottle.
by working on some My script
individually and some in small A notebook
groups. This allowed Krista to
see who might work for some
of the roles and see people's
interpretations for the
character. We also continued
to work though the songs and
practice the ones we had
previously learnt.

Wednesday- In movement we
looked at Craig and Davids
scene. We wanted to explore
how we could create
movement inspired by
swimming. We used research
of synchronised swimmers as
inspiration and worked on
creating some small motifs
which took influence from
 these videos. Additionally, we
watched these back in groups
which was useful for seeing
how others may interpret this
movement.

Independent- I worked on my
theory tasks and created this
week's reflection video
4 18/3/24 Tuesday – we split into two A notebook
groups to investigate Sarah's Stationary
scene. We wanted to see how My script
two groups might stage this The song lyrics
scene and pick out the parts A water bottle
that were effective. It was
remarkably interesting to see
how the same scene can be
taken in different directions. I
particularly liked the moments
of unison in the ensemble and
when moments of comedy
were physicalised. This scene
can be made very playful and
funny which I think is a
direction both groups wanted
to go down. In the afternoon,
we reviewed all the songs we
had learnt and started
developing some others.

Wednesday – In movement
we first started exploring how
weight and duality can be
used to transport a pair across
the stage. This skill might be
useful for future creations as
it shows the reliance both
people have on each other to
not fall. We then create some
party images in small groups
for the party section in
Micheal's scene. We also
created some images for a
classroom or school setting to
think about the settings of
these scenes.
 Independent- I worked on
some of my theory tasks and
cleaned up my website. I have
also made sure my script is
organised. As well as
continuing with my reflection
videos.

25/3/24 Tuesday- We learnt our

5 characters and continued to Water
play with Micheal's scene (I My script
am playing Micheal) and A notebook
Lyrics for the songs
thought about combining
Krista and Lynsey's visions into
the scene. We also looked at
the ‘younger you’ scene and
thought about how we can
stage it and represent the
aging process using the
ensemble. We found we had
ideas for staging however it
was hard to explore without
set to see how our ideas
would play out. In music we
continued learning songs and
showed some to Krista for the
first time.

Wednesday- We looked at
cassies scene in two groups
and explored the idea of
taking inspiration from Britney
spears. Although both groups
had the same prompt. Both of
their interpretations were
different, and both have
comedic elements that will be
useful when it comes to
staging this scene. We also
looked at the transition in this
scene from the hallway
dancing to the cafeteria.

Independent- I made sure my

action plan was up to date for
the easter break and
 continued to work on my
video reflections.
15/4/24 Monday- this was our first day
6 of incentives where we looked script
at the opening number and notebook
scene. This helped us to water bottle
understand the world of the moveable clothed
play and the tone we wanted healthy snacks
to create. We played around
with how to incorporate the
song and how we could start
the play with some actors on
stage. We also did some
blocking for Michael’s (now
called Emma) scene called
work life balance to think
about how an ensemble may
be included. Additionally, we
rewrote some of the lyrics we
did not feel connected to,
such as some from things I do
when I am upset.

Tuesday- Our first half of

rehearsal looked at Emma’s
scene again and developed it
further. We also refined the
opening and included the
band. Additionally, we created
the party scene for Stacey’s
character and thought about
how we can use the set to
create these background
images to the dialogue.

Wednesday- We had a design

presentation by the designers
where we saw the model box
for the set. They also
discussed how lighting and
sound may be incorporated to
this. This helped us get an
image of how the finished
show might look, it was also
interesting to me as someone
who loves design as I enjoy
seeing how the elements of
theatre come together. After
our presentation, we did some
music work with Alex
alongside the band. Doing
things with the band made it a
lot easier to tailor the music
to our needs which allowed to
run the process smoother.

Thursday- I got my costume

fitted and my first look into
the designers’ ideas for
Emma. In the afternoon, we
got linsey to see the opening
so far and give her opinion on
improvements and tweaks we
could make. This allowed
things to feel more polished
and complete. We also started
developing Sarah’s scene and
staging it

Friday- we did a stagger

through which was the first
time we had seen the play in
its full form. Although not
every scene was finished, it
helped us get an opinion on
hoe the pace and staging were
flowing together. We also
added some more staging to
Emma’s scene such as refining
the timing of the opening
section. We also went over
notes from the stagger
through to see what might
need changing and improving.

Independent- I made sure to

keep myself cared for in the
rehearsal room with water
and nutritious food. I also
made note of what we did
each day and kept my script
updated throughout.
Alongside this, I learnt the
remaining lines and lyrics.
7
22/04/24 Monday- we worked with our
movement director to create
some staging for the song I am
great honest. We managed to
make a lot of progress on this
scene and create something
incredibly fun and energetic.
Additionally, we developed my
scene and made the party
images sharper and more visually
clear. Later that day. I worked
with our assistant director and
director to create some context
for my character and her scene.
This helped me to give the scene
more emotion and play into the
characters traits. We also worked
on my individual staging which
helped me feel more confident in
my movements.

Tuesday- we continued to
develop the song I am great
honest and played around with
how we can stage the song. We
also looked at some other
movement moments, for
example we added in some
heads at the sides of stage in the
swimming scene. Finally, we did
some singing with Alex to check
we knew the last song and were
clear on lyric changes.

Wednesday- we planned our

transitions in between scenes
and finished some scenes. We
also did our costume fittings
where the characters started
coming to life and we could
begin to see the different
elements coming together.

Thursday- after some more

transition work, we did our first
filmed run through. This was
quite an intimidating task as we
had not done one before
however it was useful to
highlight the areas that still
 needed development. After this
we used the time to work on the
areas that did not work or
needed tweaking. It was also
useful to feel what it would be
like performing to an audience.

Friday- after realising from the

first run that transitions were a
big issue for the fluidity of the
play, we spent the morning
making clear where props need
to be and making sure there was
no confusion. Then we did our
second run which ran a lot
smoother and was more
confident. In the afternoon,
Krista gave us notes and went
through each scene to clarify
what everyone was doing and
bringing on stage. This allowed
us to all be on the same page
and clear.

Independent- I continued with

my weekly logs and made sure I
was leaning any moments I tend
to forget. Additionally, when you
read the same monologue over
and over it can feel repetitive, so
I tried to be experimental and
new to see if I could develop the
character any further.
8 Monday – this was our final
29/4/24 week of rehearsals, so we were My script
working hard to clean up any Water and food
moments that needed work. For My character notes
example, the end song was
restaged by our movement
director. We decided to have
moments from every scene in
the end song which meant we
had to work out the order and
timings in correlation with the
lyrics. Although it was a time-
consuming process, it was vital
to creating an ending that we felt
represented the end of the play.

Tuesday- Alex came in and

helped us work though any
singing moments that we felt
needed work. For example, the
end song, and harmonies for the
swimming scene needed some
reminding. It was also important
to work out the best staging
when thinking of harmonies for
example, in ‘things I am
supposed to be,’ I swapped
positions to be closer to my
harmony partner. This helps with
making sure you are singing the
right melody and do not lose the
harmony. Additionally, we also
made the bows for the show.
This included using the final part
of the last song to create the
ultimate moments of the show.

Wednesday- this was our tech

day so arguably one of the most
important days. This was also the
first time we were properly doing
our scenes in costume- which
was vital to learn if our costumes
would be functional. Our tech
went very smoothly, and we
finished much earlier than
anticipated. It was the first time
we rehearsed in the space, so we
encountered some challenges
like spacing and the lifts,
however, we were able to
overcome them by tweaking our
positions.

Thursday- this was our first dress

run and first time with a live
audience watching. This made it
quite stressful but rewarding as
it allowed us to feed off the
audience's reactions. We could
see what jokes landed well so
know when to leave a pause and
could see if any moments were
not working. We also found we
needed to clean up some more
transitions and lifts so
remembered these notes to
work on the next day.
Friday- this was the first show
day which one dress run first. We
came in early in the morning to
work on any notes from the day
before. We needed to make sure
Flo's lift was safe in ‘I'm great
honest’
So took the time to carefully
rehearse it and work out the
safest ways of doing it. Through
this dress run, we encountered
some small issues like locating
props and finding our way
backstage. We made sure to
make sure everything was in its
correct location before every
other show. After the last dress
run, we got Krista's final notes
and made sure to put them into
practice for the first
performance. The first show
went very well and, as a cast, we
were very efficient at
overcoming any issues and
problem solving during the show.
The show was well received by
audiences, and we were all
happy with how it went.

Saturday- this was the final day

of our show, we started in the
afternoon and went over some
transitions and scenes that
needed improving from the day
before. For example, in cassies
scene we struggled to move all
the set so had to switch the sides
we went off to make the change
more efficient. This worked a lot
better as it was quicker and more
organised. The final performance
went the best of all, everything
was full of energy, and we all
worked hard to make the final
show count. I was incredibly
happy with my scene as the
books slid smoothly and I had
enough time to adjust my
costume after which I did not
have before.
Independent- I spent the week
constantly reading my
monologue to myself and
running through my lines. I also
wanted my character to be as
developed as possible and felt I
achieved that at the show. It
helped me a lot to think of the
characters context what her
backstory might be.