Childrens Theatre - Tuesday 8th - Analysis of performances

In todays lesson we did a full run of everyone's performances to see how smoothly they all went and to get rough estimates of time.

The first group that performed were 'Daniel the Dragon' group which consisted on Vicki, Andrew, Nathan, Lottie, Valencia and Maddie.

WWW.

• They have completely finished devising their piece and therefore there is a clear structure/narrative for the group to perform which as an audience member makes it easier to follow. Also by them finishing devising it means they can focus on polishing their piece and possibly thinking about adding some multi-sensorial/multi-medial elements in order to make it engaging for children.
• Another thing that went well was their use of props. This is good as it means there is a physical, visual object for the children to interact with meaning it immerses them in the story and helps make the stories/the world more believable. Its also makes them more intrigued into what is going. This is good as it means it will gain their attention and hopefully keep them focused on the activities rather than getting distracted.
• Another thing that went well was their use of the space. They use the entire studio for their performance meaning the children wont be restricted to one area. This is good as we don't want the children to feel confined as otherwise they may get restless and start walking/moving around when they're not supposed to.

EBI.

• I believe in order for this group to progress a little more they need to work on characterisation of their monsters. As at the moment they still seem quite human like and therefore, could take away the imagination we want the children to have and they may be brought back to reality. Which is something no one wants.
• I believe 'Gaz' needs to be included more as he is one of the main characters of the story. He is briefly mentioned but we don't really know much about him. I feel that they could include an activity related around him or have a dance/musical phrase which is linked to 'Gaz' in order for the children to identify who is he.
• Another thing to make it better is to have high energy levels. As the higher the actors/characters energy the more energised and engaged the children will be. I.e. If you believe there is an amazing dragon that they are about to meet and you are really excited, practically bouncing around. The children will be the same and therefore the performance will be more enjoyable for them as well as the actors themselves.

Next was the citrus group consisting of - Megan, Lois, Jess, Naomi and Raven.

EBI.

• I think they need to have constant energy and enthusiasm as soon as they meet the children. As at the beginning they were standing in neutral until everyone was in and then it was as if they snapped into character. I think that if they are in constant character even before the children enter it will just make it that bit more believable and will excite the children as when they first meet the monsters they will see a completely different aura of dynamics.
• I think when 'inky' can't fuel up properly I feel their needs to be more panic and distress of the monsters as they seem to act fairly okay about it. In order for the children to be immersed/engaged I feel as though there needs to be a more dramatic change in atmosphere/emotion in the performance. This can be done with lighting/sound as well as physical/vocal/facial expressions.
• Another thing which could or could not be added would be possibly introducing the song earlier in the piece. This is to make it easier for the children to remember as its introduced really quickly and then the children have to perform it with actions really quick. If they cant do it or don't remember I don't think they will be as inclined to participate. Therefore if they are told about it earlier they may get more excited when they have to do it as they can link it to the start when there was loads of mystery etc.

Then it was finally our group, consisting of - Myself, Charlotte, Harry and Fran

EBI.

• Again like all the other groups I believe that we need to perform with more energy and enthusiasm in order for the children to get excited and be more inclined to participate in our story. In order for it to be effective and successful we need to be energised, physically, mentally, emotionally and make sure our gestures are big and our vocals are loud and filled with enthusiasm. This is good for children's theatre as they tend to be more interested in visual/aural things that are different from the norm and encourage them to be creative and themselves.
• Other thing we need to sort out are our cue lines for specific characters to enter the stage/for specific events to occur. For example, Harry, explains a lot of the plot line and often has the answers to our questions and problems. Therefore, me and Charlotte need to decide on final lines that will trigger progressions in narrative/tell the other characters to come on stage. This is also necessary for Fran, as she is the villain of our story and therefore needs to be seen by the children at various moments in order for the children to believe our story and want to help/participate in our activities. So therefore, we need cue lines for her to show herself and come on stage for the children to see.
• A final thing we need to improve on is the backstory of the Story Stealer as from feedback from people they said it was a little confusing and wasn't as clear as it could have been. Therefore, we need to devise a new piece/phrase around the backstory of the Story Stealer and why they are bad and steal the stories of Storyland.