BRAVO!

WELL DONE EVERYONE! I COULD NOT BE PROUDER!!! WHAT AN AMAZING WEEK THAT WAS! SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GROUP OF FRIENDS THAT I HOPE WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE! xxxxxxx

I have to have the will to carry onnn with the... onnn with the.... onnn with the... SHOW!

SO!
a week to go ey? My worries are that ques are REALLY hard to remember and I never quite know which scenes are which. Its hard to know without my script which scene we are doing and whether or not Im in it. Lines are fine now, and again the only problem is knowing when to say them. Shane and I have worked out my amazing makeup! haha and hair is on the way. Im also pretty happy with my costume. Josh is doing a great job with music though I really do wish he had done something with the character songs as i put a lot of effort into that- as well as making sure it would fit. Basically it annoys me when we are set work, we do the work (or apparently 2 people do the work) and nothing ever happens to it other than regretting wasting our time. But oh well- it was good.
Anyway, he is doing an amazing job! I think its important that people really start to realise that we should be attending all rehersals, putting in the effort, concentrating and not letting each other down. We are a team, and if we act as one we will have an amazing show that everyone will look back on and smile- not just for themselves but for everyone else. I think everyone performs REALLY WELL when they are on stage, and its great to see scenes falling together by way of ensemble, technicality and enthusiasm. Once again, love working with you Jenna sweetie!!
I still think I need to vary my character more. Ive tried to do so much more than usual and i think its working well. but it seems that some things i try are worse than before so i just stick to them. Ive been changing my movement quite a bit which is good- less of a ballet walk more of a creepy, isolation-ee, rolling liquid movement that changesa according to my mood. I got bored with just walking :) I love the opening circus scene so much- by far my favourite!
Hopefully tonight we'll get the second act done and can then really begin working on the nitty gritty bits. I hope the how runs SMOOTHLY above all, unlike our group devised pieces last year! haha. ok, good luck, and lots of love...

As it goes on and on my friends....

Rehersals have been a little bit scary lately- just as we are REALLY running out of time. Some of the scenes are looking really good- and its so great to see people knowing their lines. (My ques still need work)haha.

****!!!!POP!!!!**** is awesome!!!! :D

I've really been trying to keep my character really intense- as sometimes i can slip in an out of controlled intensity too easily. But lately with everyone talking its actually really helped to get me to focus.I'm also really trying to develop more variety with the voice- and trying to make sure im not dull and predictable. Depth is also a big thing- and making sure i dont sound real, but dreamlike instead. Its SO hard not getting in peoples way!!! by the by- Mall Rats looks great!

In the Wednesday rehersal, Jenna and I stayed late to work through the vomitting scene. Its VERY physical, and tricky when i have to be forcing but not overpowering as i have to show HER DESIRE to obey me- not just my forcefullness. Its so great working with Jenna as she tries so hard- gives it everything she's got and purely just wants to do a good job. I dont think I could play this role with someone I had little admiration for- so its great that I am comfortable moving with her (so hard to tell her shes fat though!!!) But yeah, great work Jenna!

Thursday rehersal was similar. Im trying to get in touch with my seductive, cocky side haha! But it went pretty well. Quite tricky to respond to people who never acknowledge you (well characters), but i think that gives me a bit more room for diversity. Oh I really hope this all works out- I love this play so much, and I hope people see the work we do- once its done. I really think if we try hard it will be great.

xxx

Just fear me. Love me, do as I say! And I will be your slave...

ok ok ok, so what.. I LIKE DOING THIS! haha :) This one is looking the best so far, either this or maybe 'Change' by the deftones. This one's from Queen of the Damned (terrible movie, catchy music) its creepy, seductive, powerful and the lyrics just apply so well. Again some neccessary editing for some words.. take a look at it on youtube and see what I mean- awesome atmosphere!

Queen of the Damned / Aaliyah "System"

You fell away
What more can I say
The feelings evolved
I won't let it out
I can't replace your screaming face
Feeling the sickness inside

Why won't you die?
Your blood in mine
We'll be fine
Then your body will be mine

So many words
Can't describe my face
This feeling's evolved
So soon to break out
I can't relate
To a happy state
Feeling the blood run inside

Repeat Chorus

Why is everything so f****** hard for me?
Keep me down to what you think I shall pay!
Must you tempt me and provoke the ministry?
Keep on trying I'm not dying so easily(Repeat)

I will not die...
Why is everything so f****** hard for me?
I will not die...
Why is everything so f****** hard for me?

But what's dinner without a little........MUSIC!?

So, rehersals are going quite well- although are very slow to start and to continue. It's a bit of a shame to still see scripts on stage- but hey there are lOTS of long segments of speech in this show. It's been great to work on the movement on my character fore a while. Although this is often REALLY hard as some emotions, the voice would simply not have, and other situations, that seeing as though I am just a voice in the girls head, and dont actually exist- are very difficult to represent. Some of the interactions between characters- especially in the opening seen has been very helpful in developing both my expression and my intention. I'm trying to work on giving the voice a little more depth and really trying to explore the role rather than settle in one side of it. I think the upcoming scenes in which I am with the girl and she is associating with others will really help. Ive been so impressed with some of the poeple in our class. jenna has been amazing at remembering her lines and becoming the cutest little girl, Holly did an awesome job of her monologue and Luke is doing so well as ringmaster.
The more I think about it, and the more I experience time within my role, the more the make up I last posted becomes SO perfect!!! I think I am even begining to perform with that in mind (especially in the opening circus scene where Luke and I need to highlight 'Anorexia's' power to make people dissappear.Although its nerve-ee Im sort of excited with Miss Mace's decision to levae make-up up to us.
I've been thinking a lot about my piece of music to divulge my character. At first I had be considering more instrumental sorts, but I have a couple of cd's by Vast whose lyrics fit really well. The only annoying things with lyrics though is that because I dont actually exist, many words are from the person ABOUT what could be a 'voice'.- which sort of makes them the girl, rather than me... but even so- they really highlight my character and have really good instrumentals aswell... anyway- no doubt I will search and search until I am happy- I like this 'assignment' a lot!

Vast - Pretty When You Cry Lyrics

You're made of my rib or baby
You're made of my sin
And I can't tell where your lust ends
And where your love begins

I didn't want to hurt you baby
I didn't want to hurt you
I didn't want to hurt you
But you're pretty when you cry

And the moon gives me permission
And I enter through her eyes
She's loosing through her virginity
And all her will to compromise

I didn't want to hurt you baby
I didn't want to hurt you
I didn't want to hurt you
But you're pretty when you cry

I didn't want to f*** you baby
I didn't want to f*** you
I didn't want to f*** you
But you're pretty when you're mine

I didn't really love you baby
I didn't really love you
I didn't really love you
But I'm pretty when I lie

You hurt me baby

I hurt you baby

If you knew how much I loved you
You would run away
But I treat you bad
It always makes you want to stay

I didn't want to hurt you baby
I didn't want to hurt you baby
I didn't want to hurt you baby
I didn't want to hurt you baby

In this song- all the 'baby's' can refer to what we see in popular society and televsion- the american culture we idolise so much. The whole 'didn't want to hurt you' idea is both what the voice would say to the girl to console her, but also its sincere need for the girl- as without her, it would not exist. Lust and love refers to the way in which the voice seduces her into doing anything. "entering through your eyes"- through what she sees, through the mirror? 'will to compromise' - her health, her happiness, her relationships to become thin,- nothing. Obviously f*** would have to change, but 'pretty when your mine' - perfect to show voice's need and desire to control the girl. 'I didnt really love you but Im pretty when I lie"- untrustworthy relationship, arrogance, leave her always wanting more, needing me, missing me. Its almost a sadomassichistic relationship- she needs me, i want her to, but we are destroying each other and ourselves, but enjoying it too. 'You hurt me baby' 'I hurt you baby'- our relationship- perfect. 'If you knew how much I love you, you would run away'- my need, obsession desire for her to be mine. what i really want would terrify her and destroy her. 'But when i treat you bad i t always mekes you want to stay'- she does need me- she wants me to help her, she wants me to tell her what to do, she trusts me... SO really good... and there are so many more! maybe when i have the time i'll do the same for them........ WOW xx

THIS THIS THIS!!

I LOVE this makeup!!!!! -SO much more than the last ideas- i think it is more sinister and more simple!! PLUS haha (nothing to do with the play BUT) I love the Manolo Blahnik's on the right. :)

A very good place to staaaart.....

WELL, rehersals part UNE

I think the morning began quite slowly- good catch up time I suppose, but I was hoping to use every single minute of the day we planned to really get things done. The talk at the beginning was quite good- laying out what we HAVE TO DO. SHOULD DO, WILL DO etc... That was quite good, if a little long.
Next we had a very physical work shop with Kane. -Started like any teenage class in holidays but then got REALLY good. I LOVE PHYSICAL THEATRE!!! I think even though its quite embarrasing- that excerise just put a few of us in the zone and we didnt care. Id love it if our class could all move beyone that but hey, we are all the same obbsessives.. ANYWAY, so we did lots of different activites which really helped me focus. Except all the while I was thinking- would THIS be the voice? would THIS be the voice?..... etc etc... but now Ive realised they all are- its a character with a maze of sides, and i think its unpredictability will allow me to use all.
The 'yes no' games were great, + "i want you" and all that- Miss Mace a;so helped me with a point about how in click in an out of character really easily (probably because of ballet), she thinks if I am aware of it and i can focus that intensity into my character and its many sides it would really help- i think shes absolutely right. trying to do that is hard, but Ill certainly try. I want to play a really intense voice. :) ooh i like this makeup haha

WHAT an epiphany!!

Ok, I imagine my version of the voice to be very androgynous yet seductive. Because it is supposed to be a male character- and I am not, yet female will not quite give the right tone- I think I will need to be powerful and almost sexless. There are many sides to the voice- aggressive, loving, supportive, friendly, proud, vicious, desperate, powerful, seductive, manipulative, role-model-ish haha, inhuman etc. The voice does not exist, yet the girl wants to be that weightless, invisible power that the voice possesses. The voice seduces, forces and encourages the girl to do what they both want and the voice needs- without it, the voice would disappear itself.

I think Jereth (David Bowie) in Labyrinth is a really good character to imagine for the voice. He is the all powerful, seductive yet desperate goblin king who steals Sarah's freedom and happiness to get what he wants and to get her. He does this in so many manipulatively beautiful ways- I really think he's a great image for this role- my only so far for a character that doesnt actually exist.
Anyway, watch Labyrinth and see what I mean!

P.S I DONT want the mullet! haha

xx

Won't you just LOOK at what I found!?

You're fat", "You're disgusting", "You don't deserve to eat",
"You're worthless", "You deserve to die"

The voices of an eating disorder. A never ending dialogue that plays inside the mind of a person suffering with an eating disorder. Those voices and the cruel words they speak are with a person from the minute they wake up, until the minute they fall asleep. They encourage their victims to continue to abuse their bodies through starvation, bingeing, purging and other dangerous methods of weight control, and can bring them to the brink of death.

Whenever you read about eating disorders or hear people talking about them, you usually hear about the eating disorder behaviors or the emotional issues causing them. It is not very often you hear people talk about the voices that go along with having an eating disorder. I feel it is very important to talk about those voices because they do play a big role in keeping the eating disorder active. They convince us that we are worthless, unlovable, fat, ugly, disgusting, hopeless, and so much more. They convince us that the world would be better off without us and that we deserve to die.

Most eating disorder sufferers are too afraid to reveal to anyone that they hear voices inside their heads. In the beginning, I was afraid to tell anyone because I thought I was crazy and assumed whoever I told would feel the same way and have me locked up somewhere. I can now see that I am not crazy and many people with eating disorders do have these voices.

It is very understandable why victims of eating disorders have so much trouble developing a self-esteem and finding a reason to live. When you have such negative voices yelling at you constantly, it is hard not to believe what they say. You can never feel good about yourself or the things that you do, because whatever you do is just not good enough for those voices. They will say anything to try and convince you not to eat. They will tell you that someone so horrible does not deserve that food. If you do eat, they are screaming at you to get rid of it. They tell you that you are weak for eating and that if you do not get rid of it, you will surely become fat. They will tell you that no one will love you if you gain weight. These voices are very powerful and their ultimate goal is to destroy you.

Sometimes those voices try to fool you into believing they are really your only friend. They will convince you that you can not live without them. They will promise you that wonderful things will happen, but only if you listen to them. They convince you that life will be so wonderful, once you have lost enough weight. Those voices will tell you that if you lose just five more pounds, then you will be happy. I used to believe those voices, but no matter how much weight I lost, those promises never came true. I was not happy and my life was not perfect. No matter what the scale said, it was never low enough. Those voices lied to me and they are lying to you.

It sometimes surprises me that we do not hear more discussions about the voices that are constantly playing inside the minds of someone suffering with an eating disorder. Those voices are usually present, long before the symptoms of the eating disorder actually appeared. People need to be made aware of these voices and the power that they have, especially the people that are involved in trying to help someone that is suffering. These voices provide the person with the reasons to continue to abuse themselves in the way that they do. It is impossible for someone to destroy these voices on their own. They need help doing that, before those voices have the chance to destroy them.

If you know someone that is suffering with an eating disorder, it is important that you do what you can to help the person free themselves from that negative dialogue they hear constantly. It can be frustrating dealing with someone that is suffering, but you need to be encouraging, supportive, and provide that person with your unconditional love. Do not get angry at the person and do not yell at them. Do not make them feel guilty for having a problem or tell them that they are destroying the family and making your life a living hell. Even though you are very concerned about the person, do not make them feel bad by telling them that you are losing sleep over it. Even though you may have lost a few hours sleep worrying, the people that suffer have probably lost years of their lives to it. By telling them those things, you will in fact be giving those voices even more power. They will tell the person that since they cause so much problems for other people and upset them, then they really do not deserve to eat. They only deserve to die. Those voices they hear are negative enough, but having the people around them saying negative things only makes it worse. How can someone make progress and get better, if all they hear are negative messages?

In order to help someone that is suffering, you need to break into that negative dialogue they hear constantly. The person needs to hear good things about themselves. You need to point out the positive things and stop focusing on the eating disorder behaviors. Encourage them to talk about what those voices are saying and help to show them that they are wrong and only lying to them. They need to know that they are in fact wonderful people that do not deserve to live this way and they especially need to know that you love them. They probably will not believe any positive things about themselves in the beginning, but the more they hear it, the more likely they are to start listening to what you say. They will then slowly develop a will to live and they will begin fighting against those voices.

It takes a long time to destroy those voices, but it can be done. It is also important for everyone suffering to know that they do have a choice about whether or not to listen to those voices. No matter what they say, you do not have to listen to them. Remember that they only lie to you and you can go against them. The more you do that, the weaker they become. It is not easy to go against those voices, but you do have the power within yourself to do it. You will not always succeed in going against them, but remain determined not to let them win. Recovery takes a long time, but one day you will be able to live the happy, healthy life that you deserve and you will be able to silence those voices forever.

-http://www.mirror-mirror.org/voice.htm

It's a new day........ It's a new WORLD!....

Well well......

Reading through the play has been really good so far. ALthough it's so difficult to really apply yourself emotionally and physically when you are reading from a book juggled between your two nervous hands :)

I wish I had a better idea of the characters- who they are, what they are, where they come in etc. I have no idea where I am headed, and no intentioned parts to persue. It seems everyone else has a pretty good idea.. I wonder if the all knowing Miss Mace has some ideas.... Everyone has been falling into the roles really well, which is nice to see. I loved watching ADele play the ring master- I think she did an awesomely physical and elaborate job in a guy's role. Luke and Kyle were great as the voice, and Bec lovely as Madame. It seems we are all pretty maliable and diverse with our characterisation which is really important. If only we could ditch the books and move!! Its also hard to really commit yourself to a role if other people really arent. Its hard not to feel judged. Pirouetting across the stage half heartedly was really yuk. hmmmm

I really hope the whole 'group divide' thing is working out. It sort of struck me when miss mace brought it up as i knew there were little group cracks, but just as in any bunch of people who have some friends and some aquantences. I whole heartedly agree that some improvements must be made with listening to each other, and doing so politely. Other than that I didnt see that much of a problem. I really hope we are all so much closer by the show.

We need to be! xx

Let's start at the very beginning...

Although we are yet to see a script, we have finally started to move Mirror Mirror. This has been really useful in a number of ways as not only can we actually SEE the piece before us, but we can get an idea of who is to excel in what part, and what our focus part might be.

I think the last scene that we moved was extremely impressive and open to our creativity. The idea of a huge circle yelling and swarming about the main character each in a different and recognisable character is fantastic and very evocative. The costumes, make up, light and sound should play an enormous part in the performance of that particular segment and it should be the basis for the audience to get a REAL idea of the intensity of our show.

There are so many segments and devices apparent in the text that have just so much potential. ANd so many actors within our group, that given the confidence (or just insanity) and the encouragement, can simply shock our moderators. I think if we put just a little bit more enthusiasm into the readings it may provoke our inspiration just that little bit more...

Have a lovely weekend :) xx

AAAAAnorexia NNNNervosa...

Ok, some information for you and me...

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder which includes an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, as well as a distorted body image, leading to an excessive weight loss from restricting food intake and sometimes excessive exercise. People with the condition continue to think of themselves as fat even when a great deal of weight has been lost. In anorexia nervosa, actual loss of appetite may not be experienced and sufferers usually feel hungry as would someone on a weight-reducing diet.

It is on the increase in adolescent girls and younger women, although the incidence is also increasing in young men. It is often associated with depression and low self-esteem, and sometimes with a resistance to growing up, or problems with sexuality. Many people believe that it is the influence of Western society, celebrities and the media which thinness central to beauty.

Because many individuals with anorexia nervosa never seek medical treatment, the exact prevalence of the condition is unknown.

"Between 5 and 18 per cent of known sufferers of anorexia nervosa die of starvation."

-Scary no?

Express THIS!

Expressionism- For those who do not speak...

Physical theatre/ expressionism/symbolism/improvisation/ sinetics... what more theory could we want...

BUT with all this there is action, movement, grace and ofcourse the vulgarity of expressing hidden emotion- whatever it may be. I think the group is doingf so wel with this topic, and I am so glad that Miss Mace thinks this too! It was nice to have some compliments as a group- and a little hope for what we can do together. I think everyone was a little unsure if what we were doing ACTUALLY was expressionism, or whether it was just a lot of reunning about with big arms and swirling heads. But I agree... it looks SO impressive when polished and it cab be just so moving and interesting to watch.

Doing this expressionism to music has also been really beneficial. It gives everyone something to follow, and certainly sets the tone of the piece. Sometimes it took music for us to both get ideas and to move them.

LAST THING- I really really enjoyed the symbolism and intricacy involved in the last activity. I love that everything can have a hidden meaning behind it, and the audience may or may not get it... but we know its there, so we have the satisfaction of knowing ALL. Well done Kyle again for your awesome symbolism ideas! Leonie and Victoria- your performance was awesome! Loved the facials Leonie..

Night xx

I wanna' get PHYSICAL... physical!

Hooray for Physical Theatre!!

We have been working on the idea of expressing our emotions and our intentions through physicality rather than speech. The mirroring game (ahh what theme/ title allusion) puppet games, impro to music, physical movement in small groups and mime where activities brought up on wednesday. - This was to introduce the physical nature of 'Mirror Mirror' to the group and convince us just HOW MUCH we will need to express with our bodies.

I THINK THIS IS FANTASTIC!!

I have a background of dance which makes physical theatre seem all the more inviting. That is dance- expression emotion, intentions and themes through your body and making it effective all at the same time. We try to introduce technique and style- which will hopefully bring about a certain mood or tone in the audience. WE NEED ATMOSTPHERE!

The activities of wednesday were very encouraging and inspiring to me as not only could we test out our comfort in ourselves, but we were able to see just how each other moves. i hope our comfort both within ourselves and the group will dramatically increase over time. And I aim to achieve a loevel of comfort equal to that of the year 12's warming up for 'Alice' last year. They were free :)

May i say again bow excited I am about Mirror Mirror and the potential it has. hopefully we will work out backstage quickly and start working on set and costume... maybe together? will this work though? hmmm

Well, I think tis enough. Get physical.. especially YOU Kyle :)
xx

The Dreamers...?

Comments on 'The Dreamers'...of the long gone past..

Aboriginal culture is not really my thing. I can certainly repect their way of life, and I admit their successful and pure communist lifestyle is impressive.. However with regards to spectacular and fascinating historical events and cultures, this one does not drastically appeal to me.

All in all I found the readings of 'The Dreamers' very beneficial for my understandung of the text.There are some interesting and clever techniques used in the play.. especially involving the character of thr dancer. I think Bec played this very well.

It is a play which is very easy to visualise in theatre. At least in my mind- each scene was very basic, yet imaginable for the viewer. The characters were believeable too which also helped..

All in all, 'The Dreamers' was interesting to do, but I am admitedly quite glad its done.. at least for now...
Goodbye

The play's the thing!

Three propsals..........

1) Cloudstreet
2) The Rhinoceros play
3) Mirror Mirror

As you know, over the past few lessons we have been discussing which play should be performed as our group piece... There has been much controversy over the topic as many people have opposing intentions as to what they want to 'get out of' the play. I think all of these points are very valid, and it was indeed very important that we each consider exactly what it is that we are aiming for, and what we want. Firstly, we needed to decide if we were hoping to put in enough theory work to receive excellent results, or if we would rather choose the less challenging play as it would be slightly more fun to perform. Many extremely valid points were raised such as the effectiveness of the play on our audience, how the moderator will receive our piece, the importance of theory and performance, the impressivenes of the play and the way we construct it, along with many more points and queries about each individual piece. Personally I think Mirror Mirror has AMAZING potential, and I think unlike the rest of the plays, we could really do it justice. The play is extremely diverse and really lends itself to interperetation, creativity, originality, humour, STAGING, technique and IMPACT!!!

What does worry me however is the idea that we are to be casted, rather than audition. For some people I think this is a fabulous idea as jusdging by their impro they are diverse and adaptable actors, however for me- this is scary!! Impro is hard for me, as often I am intimidated by the 'amazingness' of the actors performing, and it is difficult to enter a scene when you know it is working tremendously already! It is hard to risk what is brilliant! Also, i think impro is very different from scripted acting so it may be hard for Miss Mace to really get an idea of how we will go.

I think Wednesdays was not good.... I think it was THE BEST DRAMA LESSON EVER! :) Everyone was on fire!!! It is such a pleasure to be in a class full of such energetic, amazing people... Scary though- if you want the same part as them! :)haha Well done to every single person for wednesday, I thought we did really really well!!

Good luck for the catsing everyone, I hope we all get the parts we want and deserve!
xx

Alas... The prospect of work.

ok ok.... SO

Aboriginal issues ey....? Not exactly my prefered style but hey...we must BE good Aussi students musn't we! :) Luckily actually ACTING OUT the play allows us to actually imagine the scenes and see them depicted before us... Words can hence make a lot more sense and we can visualise the complexities of the scenes beforee us. Kyle is a fantasic Worru and I compliment him on his continuing struggle to remain inetersted haha. Well, off to our essays.. hooray...

Drama - Yay or Nay...?

Drama began well this term as we began to familiarise ourselves with the students we would be working with for the rest of the year. Although the fun was clouded with talk of year twelve and the hideous path we have before us, Miss Mace set us up with a well organised structure and some goals that we can 'realistically?' work towards. Starting some ‘getting to know you games’ were also beneficial as we can to experiment with our own imagination and creativity as well as that of the others in the class. We could test our comfort zones so far, and see what it is that we will be working with in the future. It was also important that we have a fun introduction to drama for the year so that we do not lose heart too early on.- tra la la :)
Our class is a wide combination of people from many different ‘groups’ around the school. However due to past classes and our willingness to laugh, our group appears to work well together and merely approach each task with a light hearted outlook. Hopefully participation and enthusiasm in all activities will continue throughout the year.

Good Luck to all and goodnight...