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Check these out! April 23, 2007

Posted by norwood in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so far

Well guys, things are really chuffing along now aren’t they?

Remember, the ensemble is largely in your own hands by this stage - you guys need to be the ones organising extra rehearsals, scripting scenes, sourcing stagecraft; it is your responsibility to drive the development of your own ensemble. Let’s keep the intensity up guys - don’t let this get on top of you at the last moment, now is the time to be working your butt off, leaving the little changes for the editing suite in the final weeks! I don’t have to tell you how important it is to have each and every group member contributing their part in this process, this is a collaborative effort - GET ON IT!

Make sure you check out my new links section under ‘Blogroll’ and look at some of the useful links and source material here - there’s an especially cool London Tube Map which paints a very groovy picture of the world of music!

Peace out!

M

Favourite Shmavourite! April 12, 2007

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Note to both groups: Don’t listen to Kaitlyn, I said no such thing!

You’re all brilliant!

M

C for Committment April 12, 2007

Posted by norwood in : Uncategorized , add a comment

It’s  been wonderful to watch you guys develop your ensembles. What i think you’ve discovered, and Drama teachers alike will agree with me here, is that the ensemble task is perhaps one of the most challenging tasks you’ll ever attempt in your secondary school life. The brilliant thing is - you guys are up to the challenge! I really want to encourage you to hang in there - C for committment to the product. Sometimes we’ll have to sacrifice our brilliant idea (you know, the one that incorporates 5 dramatic elements, 7 non-naturalistic theatrical conventions and 13 stagecraft elements all in the same scene!) for someone else’s much more functional and practical idea for the sake of our sanity! How much should you be constantly discussing and throwing around your ideas? I can’t put a limit on that, but i can encourage you to keep things in perspective - stay positive and stay committed to the team, no matter how frustrating it might get! Get excited that you are creating an original piece of theatre that says something about who you are, where we’ve come from and a future that might be facing us - you guys are artists, how cool!?

Can i also encourage you to stay close to the prescribed structure in these early days - you don’t want to have all your scenes blocked only to realise they don’t relate to the dot points! Get creative in how you interpret them, but the basics are clear - focus on how the genre/artist/style changed the world/culture and what the world might look like had they not been around. Have fun with a possible future - check out the film ‘Children of Men’. I really enjoyed the discussion today about social movements like ‘Make Poverty History’ and Al Gore’s Environment Conservation campaign - imagine a future and the types of music shaped by these movements!

M