Final Evaluation

The role/performance you developed

• What type of research did you do and why?

In preparation for my performance, I had to research my character to make sure I knew who I was playing. To start off, I watched the original Rocky Horror film and focused on Brad and how the actor, Barry Bostwick, portrayed him. For me the biggest challenge was going to be playing a male, being a female myself. I had to pay attention to his mannerisms and posture, and try to imitate this as best I could. I made notes on how he moved and how he spoke, and I incorporated these into rehearsals so that I could fully get into character. Brad also tries quite often to be manly and protective, so I made a point of always reassuring Tilia (Janet) to show that he was the man of the relationship. I noticed that he was very awkward and confused half the time as he didn’t really know or understand what was going on, so I focused on showing this through my body language and facial expressions. I also researched Brad’s appearance and costume, so that I had ideas for costume and makeup. I obviously had to try and make myself look like a man, so I opted for bushy eyebrows and I contoured around my jawline and nose.

• What resources, materials, and techniques have you applied and why?

To begin with, we all had a copy of the script in early rehearsals so that we could learn our lines. After a while I noticed I was struggling to learn my lines as quickly as the others, so I decided to watch the stage performance and say my lines along with Brad, which helped me massively.

Those of us who worked on the poster were able to gain access to the art studio so that we could draw out, cut out, and paint the poster.

I ended up using the film more than the script for characterisation because it gave me a visual representation of my character rather than a written one. We also had Adam Billing as our technical director, who helped with set, costume, and lighting. After he had constructed Brad and Janet’s car, me and a few others went into the theatre to paint it and hammer a few nails into it to make sure it was safe. I supplied my own main Brad costume as I had a suitable costume already and didn’t think it was necessary to order something, but the costume for floorshow and other little things like lab coats were sorted out by the costume department.

During show week, we were able to rehearse in the theatre. We successfully completed a tech run, costume run, and prop run. In our tech run, we were fitted with radio mics so that the technicians could find the right frequency to put them on. In our second run we ended up not using the mics because we needed 8, but we could only get 6 to work. We had to do a dress rehearsal so that we knew how long we needed for costume changes, and also if we needed anything else for our costumes.

• How have your skills developed during the project?

At the beginning of the year, my stage presence wasn’t so good. In this performance we had to use the whole stage, which forced me to move around more and fill up the stage. The theatre’s acoustics aren’t very good, so we all had to project a lot otherwise the people sitting in the back row couldn’t hear us. We also had to make sure we mostly faced the audience in order for our voices to reach the back. I also worked on my confidence a lot throughout the performance by doing things like engaging more with the audience and suggesting things that may have been out of my comfort zone. I have also learned how to learn my lines under pressure- we only had a month to learn our lines, which was a lot less in comparison to other shows I have done. This is important for preparing me for the real world as well, as sometimes this is all actors get to prepare.

• How did you collaborate with others in developing your project?

We worked on our songs with Charlie in singing lessons before we did anything else. When we got our parts, we were tasked with learning the songs, and then note bashing them with Charlie. He then gave us the backing tracks we were going to use in the show so that we could practise on our own.

We worked with Adam Billing(Technical Director) on set and costume, giving ideas and helping out. He asked us if we had any ideas for costume, and gave us his initial drawings so that we could get some inspiration from them. He also showed us a drawing of the set and explained that they were going to build some of the pieces such as the door and the machine. He also asked our opinion once the set was built in case there was something we didn’t like or wanted to change. We also worked with our Jazz/Musical Theatre teacher, Shannon Peberdy. We ran through the dance pieces and she helped us smooth them over, and also choreograph some parts we weren’t sure on. We also all worked with each other to help learn our lines, cues, and choreography.

• How did the performance of others impact on the progress of your work?

Working with Shannon really helped us push our performance even further. We needed to polish our choreography and make sure the energy was there. There were some days where some members of the class were missing, so that hindered our work a little. Some of us stepped in for others when they weren’t present so that we could carry on with the production. We also had different people choreographing different dances, and sometimes their number wasn’t choreographed so we had to wait until that was done, which left us little time to perfect some numbers before the final performance.

• How successful do you think your performance piece was overall? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the final presentation on stage?

I think that overall, our performance was successful but it could have been better. We all remembered our lines which was a personal target I had set for myself in the very beginning. We had all taken into account all of the feedback we were given such as; facing the audience more when talking, staying in sight lines of the audience, and projecting more. Projecting was a challenge at times because we didn't have the radio mics, and it was hard remembering to face the audience more. Some of the feedback we were given at the end included having more energy, and I completely agree with that. I think that nerves affected our matinee performance as well as confidence, and that's why we could have done a lot better. In the evening performance, I feel like we were more comfortable as we were performing in front of friends and family. 

From a personal stance, I feel that I did a lot better in the actual performance than I did in rehearsals. When rehearsing, I found that I never really gave 100% effort whereas I made sure to go full out in both performances. In the matinee performance, I was very nervous, which made me start shaking. This affected my performance because while trying to get the ring out of my pocket and onto Tilia's finger, I almost dropped it and could have missed my cue. I think that I portrayed my character very well, and the audience understood who I was. I could have given more energy in the choreography, and I also noticed when watching it back that when dancing, I sometimes have a look of concentration on my face. This is something that I need to work on in future performances. 

Overall, the performance had both positive and negative aspects, but I believe that my class' delivery was somewhat successful, and we could tell that the audience really enjoyed it.

• Do you intend to change the way you do anything in future projects?If so, why? What have you learned?

In future projects, I intend to start learning my lines as early on as possible, because I do struggle with remembering cues. I know that this is something I really need to work on because it also holds the rest of the cast up when I forget a line. To solve this issue, I intend to record other people's lines, so that I know where mine come in. I will also highlight the line before my own so I am prepared for mine.

I also would like to maybe be included in choreographing dances, as this is something I don't do- I prefer doing backstage roles. Choreographing dances gives me a little more experience for future projects as well.

• How does this link to your goals for progression?

My goals for progression included gaining more experience in all roles, whether that be backstage or on stage. I also need to learn my lines as soon as possible, because this hinders progress if they are not learnt.

• What did you contribute to the collaboration process?

I helped to  create the main poster, and I also took responsibility for costume&props backstage.  These are the piles we created for different people. We also wrote their full costume on a piece of paper and placed them on hangers so that we knew who had what.

• What different skills did you need to draw on and how did you use them?

I used my art skills to create the poster, and my make up skills to do my make up. As I was playing a man, I had to make myself look a little more masculine, so I researched male contour and played around with it a little. I also filled in my eyebrows thicker than I usually would to create a bushy boy brow.

I also used my leadership skills to steer the group in the right direction when some of us weren't particularly paying attention at some points. I found this very helpful because we sometimes needed somebody to help get the group back on track.

• How did your skills develop as a result of this work?

I have learned to be more patient as a result of being in a group of people with different levels of ability. I also had to learn how to work quickly and efficiently as we didn't have that much time to prepare for the show. 

• What was your additional role and how did it contribute to the overall success of the final show?

My additional role was creating the poster for the show. This contributed to the overall success of the final show because what we created was put up all over college, which is what interested other students and teachers to come and watch. This gave us a big audience, which we needed.

• How successful do you think the show was overall as a collaborative performance?

I think that the show was extremely successful as a collaborative performance. We all learned to work together while also working separately on different aspects of the performance. We had to work as an ensemble to get everything done efficiently before show week, and I believe that we did that with minimal problems.

• What did you learn from the experience and how will you use it in future?

I learned that it is possible to put a musical together in a short amount of time, and that all that was needed was for us to work together. I also learned that I am a lot better at what I do than I think sometimes, and all I need to do is have more confidence in myself. I will use my newfound confidence in future performances in order to give the best performance I can possibly give.

• What was the reaction of the audience?

From what I could hear and see, the audience really enjoyed it. Rocky Horror is supposed to be a little shocking and 'extra terrestrial', and I think the audience definitely liked how out of the ordinary it was. They responded very well to the scenes that were less appropriate, which also helped us because we could see it was going well. The audience caught onto the comical side of the performance quite quickly, although the laughter coming from the matinee performance was a little bit distracting sometimes because it also made us want to laugh, as we knew it was funny.

The matinee audience were perhaps a little more judgemental, so we learned to be a little more resilient, which will definitely help us in future productions. Overall, I believe the audience really enjoyed watching something that they probably wouldn't usually watch.