Shakespeare Character Blog - Term 4

Evaluation

In our 'As You Like It' performance, we kept the energy high throughout the whole performance to keep it interesting and entertaining for the audience. Considering the theme of ours was in the 1930's it may have been slightly less attention grabbing when first hearing of our theme, however we didn't make the show boring as we were always energetic on stage and projecting our voices well so all the audience could hear.
Additionally, one thing that we did do well was working with the timing. This was something that we struggled with as an ensemble during rehearsals, but we managed to pick up the slack and work towards our deadline.
Being a character that comes onstage later on in the play, it was important for me and my fellow scene actors to really kick it off with a high energy, which would allow the audience to engage in something new when watching. I think we did that to a great standard.
Furthermore, another thing that went well during our show was the part when myself, Saskia, and Lizzie had to sing 'Spring time, the only pretty ring time...' song. After singing this when we found out that 'Touchstone' found the singing a waste of time, I was so in the moment with my character that I unknowingly did a gesture that broke members of the audience into laughter. This was an experience that taught me that when you get lost into the moment, those are the parts that the audience enjoy the most!

At times people forgot to take props off stage as they went, however we didn't allow this to affect the performance. Good teamwork was played by one of our cast members as they took the prop off stage whilst in their character so it added to the humorous content of the play.
Also, at one point apparently there was a silence on stage, I imagine that someone either forgot their cue or their lines. That can always be improved in advance by simply learning lines on time, therefore you'd feel much less under pressure when on stage, allowing you to deliver your lines properly with meaning.

One thing that could've been improved in our performance was probably the transition between the two Rosalind's. From the feedback, some members of the audience weren't sure what the concept of the play was, as they seemed slightly confused.

I did take time to watch the modern day version of 'As You Like It', and from what I knew Rosalind was kept using the same actor so therefore I think it was more clear to understand, as even I was still learning more about the play. Another thing I liked about the modern day version of 'As You Like It', is that I felt that I and many others in the audience could relate to the theme of the play, therefore it was really enjoyable and entertaining at all times. The acting was also really great in the performance such as the melancholy Jacques played by Josh! Another favorite part from the show was when rap battles occurred and when Daniella and Serita sung the 'Spring Time' song in a version of a rap! This got the whole audience laughing and it surely was entertaining and suited their chosen theme! I really didn't want the show to end!

During our Brighton show, it was very important that we projected our voices because there were several background voices. At times this was quite hard, because when I was on stage I thought I was talking loud enough for people sitting at the back to hear. This also made it difficult for people to hear the cues when to go on stage, but this just meant that we had to be that much more focused on the performance. Our energy levels had to be double the standard in order to bring the performance to life, and at times I thought that this dropped due to other distractions in the background, therefore the audience weren't reacting as much as we'd like to. Also, I think that affected the audience's understanding of the overall play, as at one point I saw someone which looked like they were describing the story line to their friend.

Overall, I believe that as an ensemble we performed both productions at a good standard, and we took time to do character research, historical content, and research of the playwright, which helped us as actors also understand more about the play. We believed the lines we were reading, and added actions which rid along with the text. We kept the humor natural and I believe many of us didn't force the comedy into our character's but we allowed it to happen with the mistakes that the character makes as a person, which in my opinion made both our productions good. We also worked well as a group and didn't react badly to any mistakes that happened. The energy was kept high at all times as we were on point when it came to being on stage.