We had many aspects of learning the play "King of Shadows", five to be exact, home reading was the first, followed by Powerpoint presentations then Dramatic Readings and then Ensemble rehearsals and lastly Acting out the play.
In private reading if you don’t understand something you could always read it again, for example I had to do an american accent and so I could have read it until I understood and I didn’t keep the class/group waiting for me. You can also read at your own pace, slow or fast pace, the choice is yours. In addition you can read whenever you want! You can read it when you have spare time and don’t have to do it in a rush. The bad thing about home reading is if you don’t understand something nobody can really help you, for example I didn’t understand Nat’s background and it kind of confused me. Also you have to read the the whole play by yourself. In addition you have more distractions at home than at school, I got distracted so many times by my family and friends until I read the whole play.
After that we had to create a Powerpoint Presentation and there were also ups and downs to that: In the presentation we got to research about our characters and learn them more in depth with more information than just the play. Also we researched with a group which meant less to do for each of us, In our case each of us did a slide or two so we didn’t have a lot of work each. For example each of us did one specific topic, I was given to write a summary for a couple of scenes, in order for the presentation to be complete. We didn’t have to make a whole presentation alone. In addition we could listen to other group’s presentations and learn from them more. Here are a couple of negative points to this task:
We also had to research a lot of information and summarize it to fit the presentation,
You couldn’t do anything without the group consenting to your idea. In our group we had many debates about the design and order of the slides that, after a while, we all agreed on. The last negative point about the PPT is you can not express your opinion.
Then we were doing dramatic readings , the good things about a dramatic reading are these: In the dramatic reading we could express emotions and show accents, it was easier for me knowing how to play my characters by these dramatic readings because they are like acting with the support of your script. We also didn’t read alone, you could focus on one character and just play him or her. In addition your group can correct your mistakes, you don’t only depend on yourself. The negative things are that you can’t use your physicality, you can only express things verbally with no movement, for example in scene 6 Harry wants to see if Nat remembers his line and grabs his shoulder, you can’t do that in a dramatic reading and can only use your voice as help. Likewise you can't make facial expressions because you can only use your voice.The last negative point is that you different people have different views of the situation and they could get mixed up.
Ensemble readings were the next part we focused on, you can use your voice and physicality, making your performance better and more real. Also you can depend on others to help memorize your lines, for example I know that when the person says “I am the merry wanderer of the night” and I know to say “Thank the good lord..”, Likewise your group can reherse at any time as much times as needed. It helps knowing the dialouges and stage directions before the actual performance.
It sounds great, except there are negative things too, you can't make any decision by yourself, The group leader decides everything eventually but the ensamble has a say in it. For example we had a disagreement about the stage directions and in the end our group leader made the final call. Another thing is if your fellow actors forget their lines your whole performance can go downhill. In addition even if you invest time and put effort into your part that doesn't mean the rest of your ensemble will, some will work more than others. The final part of our work on the play was the class performances, they were most effective, Your fellow actors will support you, they can remind you when your line is coming up and signal you if you need to do something differently, for example I helped another actress who was doing a dialog with me and directed her towards the audience when she had her back to them. In addition you can use the space of the stage, move around and have more room to do your assigned stage directions. Another positive point is that you are not alone, if you make a mistake the other actors will find a way to help and make the audience focused on something or someone else. Ther were bad points here too, you were not in charge, that means everyone has to cooperate and perform as one. You can not be alone even if you are doing the right thing and they aren’t. It also has to be a group effort, It’s not enough that you will be good, all of the performers need to be good in order for the play to be a success. For example I could know all of my lines but if the other members of my enasmble don’t then the play will be a disaster. My final negative point is that you have to perform in front of an audience, it puts more pressure on you and it makes you a bit edgy.
To conclude I think this was fun and educational and i hope we get to do it again.
In private reading if you don’t understand something you could always read it again, for example I had to do an american accent and so I could have read it until I understood and I didn’t keep the class/group waiting for me. You can also read at your own pace, slow or fast pace, the choice is yours. In addition you can read whenever you want! You can read it when you have spare time and don’t have to do it in a rush. The bad thing about home reading is if you don’t understand something nobody can really help you, for example I didn’t understand Nat’s background and it kind of confused me. Also you have to read the the whole play by yourself. In addition you have more distractions at home than at school, I got distracted so many times by my family and friends until I read the whole play.
After that we had to create a Powerpoint Presentation and there were also ups and downs to that: In the presentation we got to research about our characters and learn them more in depth with more information than just the play. Also we researched with a group which meant less to do for each of us, In our case each of us did a slide or two so we didn’t have a lot of work each. For example each of us did one specific topic, I was given to write a summary for a couple of scenes, in order for the presentation to be complete. We didn’t have to make a whole presentation alone. In addition we could listen to other group’s presentations and learn from them more. Here are a couple of negative points to this task:
We also had to research a lot of information and summarize it to fit the presentation,
You couldn’t do anything without the group consenting to your idea. In our group we had many debates about the design and order of the slides that, after a while, we all agreed on. The last negative point about the PPT is you can not express your opinion.
Then we were doing dramatic readings , the good things about a dramatic reading are these: In the dramatic reading we could express emotions and show accents, it was easier for me knowing how to play my characters by these dramatic readings because they are like acting with the support of your script. We also didn’t read alone, you could focus on one character and just play him or her. In addition your group can correct your mistakes, you don’t only depend on yourself. The negative things are that you can’t use your physicality, you can only express things verbally with no movement, for example in scene 6 Harry wants to see if Nat remembers his line and grabs his shoulder, you can’t do that in a dramatic reading and can only use your voice as help. Likewise you can't make facial expressions because you can only use your voice.The last negative point is that you different people have different views of the situation and they could get mixed up.
Ensemble readings were the next part we focused on, you can use your voice and physicality, making your performance better and more real. Also you can depend on others to help memorize your lines, for example I know that when the person says “I am the merry wanderer of the night” and I know to say “Thank the good lord..”, Likewise your group can reherse at any time as much times as needed. It helps knowing the dialouges and stage directions before the actual performance.
It sounds great, except there are negative things too, you can't make any decision by yourself, The group leader decides everything eventually but the ensamble has a say in it. For example we had a disagreement about the stage directions and in the end our group leader made the final call. Another thing is if your fellow actors forget their lines your whole performance can go downhill. In addition even if you invest time and put effort into your part that doesn't mean the rest of your ensemble will, some will work more than others. The final part of our work on the play was the class performances, they were most effective, Your fellow actors will support you, they can remind you when your line is coming up and signal you if you need to do something differently, for example I helped another actress who was doing a dialog with me and directed her towards the audience when she had her back to them. In addition you can use the space of the stage, move around and have more room to do your assigned stage directions. Another positive point is that you are not alone, if you make a mistake the other actors will find a way to help and make the audience focused on something or someone else. Ther were bad points here too, you were not in charge, that means everyone has to cooperate and perform as one. You can not be alone even if you are doing the right thing and they aren’t. It also has to be a group effort, It’s not enough that you will be good, all of the performers need to be good in order for the play to be a success. For example I could know all of my lines but if the other members of my enasmble don’t then the play will be a disaster. My final negative point is that you have to perform in front of an audience, it puts more pressure on you and it makes you a bit edgy.
To conclude I think this was fun and educational and i hope we get to do it again.