The 'Identity' Project

Artistic and Technical Targets:

One target was to be able to demonstrate the use of a range of techniques in support of a performing arts activity which I think was done well as a whole as we devised a whole scene, developed it from a complete improvisation piece into a complete production, and came up with a set of lines that were used and slightly tweaked throughout the whole course of the project.

Another target was to communicate ideas to develop a performing arts activity which we all did well as the focused communication that worked so well all the way throughout was what led to such a good performance overall. We also as a group at the start communicated ideas well as we all came up with ideas of what our scene could be about and worked through each one to decide which one would end up being the best one to use and would be most enjoyable to not just watch, bit to perform as well.

Furthermore another target was to assess selected techniques and processes which was all done as when we were all working with each other we all gave feedback on our improvisation work and used the feedback to better improve our characters.

Devising Process Issues:

There were a few issues while devising the scenes, such as picking what scene to actually do as the overall part in the play, for example my group and I had various different idea about what to do or the main piece at the start of the whole project and as we acted out each idea we decided which one would best display the idea of 'Identity' to the audience and we ended up choosing school and background, but even this had issues as different people were still more interested in doing some of the other ideas that we had thought up so as a group we worked on how we could best include their ideas and make them work in the one we had made the final choice on.

We also had issues on the use of different props and scene length and actor layout for the audience as at the start we did not know that we would later link both groups together so my group and I were fully focused on making the scene as long and as enjoyable for the audience to watch as we possibly could.

Group Strengths and Weaknesses:

There were a variety of strengths and weaknesses as a group, a few strengths were that we all managed to work well together and help each other to improve. It also allowed people to be more confident around each other which reflected very well in our overall performance as none of us were shy or embarrassed to perform in front of each other as we all had good relationships.

Another strength was that we all helped each other to improve on cues and lines which made it run more smoothly for the audience to watch. On top of that, a major strength for the group was that nearly all of us had done some sort of acting in the past, be it from school or other but it meant that we were all used to the atmosphere and ability to perform in font of other people confidently as we had done it before.

A weakness for the group was that during rehearsals, some people did not show up or were not in to do their parts, this meant that someone would have to stand in for them and act out their part whcih meant any changes made to that part would have to then be showed to the person who was not in which meant having to run through that scene multiple times until they understood the new part and were able to act it out well. This then meant that there was less time to improve the whole performance.

A major weakness was that on the day of the performance, a person did not show up which meant that someone had to learn and act their part on the day as well as their original piece, which meant that they were less confident acting the new part and found it more difficult to remember certain cues that entailed to that part. But overall the part was played well even without the original person playing the part it was still run smoothly and full of energy and was acted in a way that made it enjoyable for the audience to watch.



Performance Overall:

I feel overall that the performance went very well due to the planning and rehearsals that we did beforehand, I thought it was well devised and put together, for example the use of a flashback incorporate 2 different scenes to make it work better for the audience and also made it run more smoothly.

On top of that there were also various other things that worked well in the production, for example the music that we used to signal scene changes was included well as the play was about identity so it made it much more realistic to have a song based around the same theme.

Also I feel that the ending of the performance was a big success as it ended with every saying "I'm human, none the less" in various different languages which further helps to link in with the ideas of equality and fairness, it also gives the audience a better insight to the different cultures which is a main key aspect in identity overall.

The group as a whole was very focused when it came to performing as we did not miss any cues and all lines were said clearly to the audience. We were all also very confident when it came time to perform which better helped our focus, concentration, and ability to engage well with the audience.

Individual Improvement Areas:

I feel that I could've improved with my projection towards the audience, as most of my parts were spoken to the other person in the scene rather than speaking more towards the audience which would help to make them feel more connected to the play and also make it easier for them to understand and hear what is going on during that scene.

Furthermore I also feel that as an individual I could've improved more on the use of props during my scenes as it would've helped the audience to differentiate the different characters that I was playing, it would've also been better if I was more prepared for scene changes that included different props as during one scene change I found myself desperately looking for a phone that I could to better signal to the audience that I was actually on the phone, also the use of a housing book was replaced by an algebra sheet which again was also down to the lack of preparation before the pay and before the scene changes.

Also I feel like I could've worked more on the remembrance of certain lines consistently as I often found myself changing certain words at different rehearsals, for example when playing the headmaster I address a student played by Benedict when I would call him either Mr. Benedict, Boy or Man which makes it hard to get different cues right as the change of words makes it difficult to realize the time when.