Evaluation:Section Three

Final Play Evaluation

As a creative adaptation in a physical theatre style, I feel we have successfully got across the dramatic intentions of the piece, which were isolation and for the audience to empathize with the characters. We have done this through the use of movement, music and a range of physical theatre techniques. I feel that the audience are able to build a slight relationship with the four characters we look at which are Rose, Miriam, Lucy and Frances, although we only briefly look at these character's the content we use within each section allows the characters to gain the sympathy of the audience. I feel we have incorporated a good balance of physical theatre techniques which include chair duets, two tag and a range of movement. I also feel that the 'Dream Sequence' adds a kind of surreal section to the piece, contributing to the physical theatre style.

After collecting feedback, it became evident that the audience thought our piece was unpredictable which was the idea we were aiming for. We wanted to avoid any cliche within the whole piece. We also got that the audience thought that the piece had a good story line and the emotions portrayed weren't constantly the same, they said the they enjoyed the way the piece started quite light hearted and got more serious and upsetting towards the end of the play. Audience's also commented on the originality of some of the scenes. For example, the 'Sketch Sequence' was thought of very highly by the audiences, people commented on that they had never seen anything like this before and it was a really good use of physical theatre, they also commented on how light hearted this section was and how it gave the piece a happier more cheerful feel. Another section which audiences thought was really effective was the 'Miriam Section' simply because it made them feel uncomfortable to watch because the repetition of the word Miriam and the jerky, tick movements made the section visually uncomfortable, which was the intention of this section.

I am particularly pleased with the overall feel of the piece because we portrayed the story in a successful way, as well as making the piece very physical. I ensured we did this by referring back to the resources I found originally in the beginning. After every section we created, I went back and analysed if it involved enough physical theatre techniques. One section which I feel was changed the most was the 'Dance Scene' to begin with it was a straight forward couple dance, however I referred back to a dance workshop which I had previously participated in, which involved a physical theatre trust lean section. I incorporated this within the dance to show the dependency of the each person within the couple, because the idea of this section is where Rose is talking about her heartbreak and how she loved this one and only man and he left her for someone else, highlighting her isolation later on in her life. Adding the physical leans and falls created this intention successfully.

Self Evaluation

Before this piece I had very little previous experience in physical theatre or in directing, so the experience as a whole was quite new to me. To help myself become more wise in the two area's I did quite a lot of research in order to ensure I was able to be as successful as I could be. Also none of the group had any physical theatre experience either, so in order for them to become more aware with the style I created a visual presentation which involved a brief description on the physical theatre style, video's of physical theatre created by Frantic Assembly's, DV8 and Push, and also my idea's for creating a piece. The group said they found this really helpful. By doing this I helped nourish the groups knowledge and this allowed us to get on straight away creating idea's.

I didn't really struggle with creating initial idea's and managed to create material straight away because of the research I had previously done. The biggest challenge I was faced with was the range of personalities within the group however I over came these by giving equal opportunity to each of my actors and playing to all of my actors strengths.

As a director I have grown in a number of different area's which involved giving each of my actor's constructive criticism in order for them to improve. I would watch each section and write notes on things I picked up on and I fed back to each of my actors individually in order for them to improve positively.

I also learnt how to contribute idea's clearly in order for my group to fully understand the dramatic intention I was aiming for. When beginning to devise idea's I found it quite difficult to vocalise my intentions, I had all the idea's but being able to explain it was a bit of a struggle. This is where I found asking for help to explain was a good idea to ensure my idea's were addressed correctly.

Also right from the beginning I was quite strict with my group ensuring all of them were there for rehearsals and gave 100% all the time. This showed very successful in our overall piece because everyone constantly knew what they were doing.

Overall, I feel have improved a lot from when I first started directing the piece and I have not only gained a better knowledge of the Physical Theatre style, I also understand what it is to be a director. I have gained better communication skills throughout this process and built a strong relationship with my group, this was a great aspect of working as a director. Another thing which I have improved on is working under pressure, as the group strongly relied on me throughout the process and came to me with any issue's they had.

Group Evaluation

It was really important as a director to find ways of getting my cast to create and perform at the highest level each of them could. I knew I had a range of abilities and experiences within the group and I wanted to ensure they were all performing as a group at the same high standard. Building teamwork and trust was some of the early work  I undertook and this also helped me establish myself as a leader of the group, setting standards for professionalism in the rehearsal room. This is some of the work I needed to think about with each of the actors.

Joseph Mellors:

• British & American Accent
• Never done physical theatre before and needed some confidence building.
• Synchronisation 

Hannah Lambell:

• Showing emotion through physical movement & non naturalistic ways 
• Multi rolling
• Physical movement through transitions  

Georgina Eaton:

• American Accent 
• Working in the physical theatre style
• Synchronisation

Livy Thompson:

• Showing emotion through physicality rather than vocally
• Synchronisation 
• Learnt to take criticism on bored

Laura Thompson:

• Worked on using facial expression in order to show emotion
• American Accent
• Working in the physical theatre style

Matthew White:

• Gained a developed understanding in physical theatre
• Gained more confidence
• Contributed strong idea's

Hannah Jeffery:

• Stronger accent gained
• Showing emotion through facial expression and body language
• Timing and synchronisation 

Heath And Safety

There were various health and safety concerns that arose when rehearsing which were addressed.

•  While working in the physical theatre style, rehearsals were physically taxing on the actors so it was important to use an effective warm up to ensure that whilst doing lifts and any vigorous movement the actors didn't injure themselves.
• Another aspect we were careful with was that during the early stages of doing lifts, I got the group to practise with mats around them just in case in the early days of doing the lifts there was a fall.
• One thing I constantly reminded the group of was the spacial awareness of others in the group. This was also to avoid any accidents whilst rehearsing the piece.