JOURNAL
Reflection 1.
What is Drama?
Drama as a basic definition is:
1. a play for theater, radio, or television.
2. an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances.
The second definition of drama feeds into being dramatic, which is often the basis of many plays and productions. Actors playing characters amplify their emotions and thoughts so that an audience can be immersed into a story and have their own emotions throughout, making the experience magical and exciting.
What are the 3Cs? How do we know they are important to our learning experiences in Drama?
The three C’s of Theatre are:
Cooperation with EVERYONE
Concentration
Communication
To create a fun and productive learning environment the three C’s are very important to implement into the classroom. If people cannot cooperate with EVERYONE in the production it can cause anger, confusion, and irritation causing people to get discouraged and give up. When one person isn’t creating a good learning environment everyone else gets thrown off just by being around them and it makes them more reluctant to share their ideas and perspectives.
Concentration is very important as well. To create a successful play and successful rehearsals everyone must be ready to concentrate and put their minds fully into the production. This way everyone will be productive and it will leave time for necessary improvements and additions to make the play even better.
Communication is a must-have unless you want the play to fail. If something isn’t working out, talking to one another will solve the problem, and then tell everyone else what your preferences are for next time. If there is a conflict going on, communication is the only way to solve it and avoid fighting. By communicating to someone that you like their idea for the set, it might make them eager to talk about the set again, making them feel good about their contribution.
What skills one learns in drama are transferable to another aspect of your life?
I think concentration and collaboration are two of the biggest ones. You have to work together to make a play run smoothly, even if you have different perspectives. It forces you to learn how to negotiate and work with other people in a time frame that can be short.
Reflection 2.
What does it mean to SAY YES in drama?
Saying yes means you are enthusiastic, present, and ready to participate fully in whatever activity or collaboration you are a part of. Saying yes includes body language, attitude, and contribution. When your body language says yes to the process it means you turn towards the person talking and show that you are engaged in what they are saying. Your attitude should mirror your interest in the task at hand and make everyone else around you happy to be around you. By contributing willingly and jumping at opportunities this is also you saying yes.
Why is SAYING YES important in drama class?
Saying yes in drama class is important because it shows that you care and that you want to be there. It keeps the energy in the room productive and positive and makes others feel good about working with you. Saying yes also helps the teacher feel good about their class and makes them appreciate your enthusiasm for their carefully planned activities.
How does SAYING YES make our class ensemble stronger?
If everyone says yes to the process it makes the collaboration and connection between the ensemble stronger because everyone knows that everyone else is there for them and is ready to help one another. Saying yes makes class successful and fun! Being open-minded to working on new subjects within drama and working with new people is the key to success in drama class and in any class.
Reflection 3.
Today In theatre class we began discussing and experiencing improvisation. We began the class with the exercise Point of Concentration (POC.)
- What did you learn from the POC exercise at the beginning of class?
- We did three exercises today that required the 3Cs:
- Do you like your neighbor?
- Walking for Age
- Scenario Freeze - the teacher called out a scenario and you froze as a person in that scene
What was your understanding of improvisation at the beginning of class? Have those thoughts changed?
I thought that improvisation meant that I was going to have to go up in front of the class alone and make people laugh on the spot. I was very reluctant to participate until I realized that improv is much more than that, and like many other parts of theatre, improv has steps to ease into the harder parts of improvisation. While playing the theatre games today I was reminded that I was in-fact doing improv without even realizing it and that made me realize that we all improvise on a daily basis, just not for a theatre audience.
What is one new idea you learned in class today?
I had never learned about POC before and found it fascinating how different people reacted to being put in a spotlight.
Reflection 4.
What worked well in class today was efficiency and collaboration. Our group helped each other find the best fitting lines for each freeze frame and ran through the scenes multiple times until we felt comfortable. I received the feedback that my story freeze frame was hard to follow because of the vague and emotional lines. I agree with this feedback and think I didn't fully understand that we were supposed to be narrating the scene rather than voicing our thoughts during the experience. I think all the freeze frames (for mine) were strong and visually well placed. I got good feedback on the freeze frame with all of us dancing. If I could have changed my freeze frame I would have added more descriptive and simple lines. I would have talked about dancing on the huge stage so the audience could understand where i was and why i looked so in awe. For the story itself I would have maybe added me dancing along with Jade and Nora so that it is understood that I was in the choreography as well. Overall I really liked making the freeze frames!
Reflection 5.
1. Take a photo of the floor plan for your set and upload it to this reflection on your website.
2. What have you learned about your character so far? Likes and dislikes? Wishes and dreams?
I have learned that she has worked for the family in the play scene for over 30 YEARS. Mia told me this information and I was surprised, I thought I was much younger.
3. What are you most pleased about in terms of your work on this project so far?
I am very impressed with my groups work ethic, we have been steadily working and improving everyday and we haven't had any unproductive days yet. We have made a lot of progress with our body language and gestures today especially.
4. What do you feel your group needs to focus on and work on before the performance?
I feel like we need to know our lines more so that we can use our hands more (because of holding the script) we will also make notecards before the performance and do one last dress rehearsal. I just hope we can keep improving to the point where we don't feel awkward or someone isn't delivering their lines well.