Blackout - Final Performance evaluation

Blackout. We did it. We all shared the last line of the play and as we dropped to our knees in unison I just hung their for a moment feeling the sheer ecstasy of well done performance. I couldn't help but let out a smile and breathe hard as the audience applauded. I hate to be conceited or anything but I think that our whole class did a tremendous job. We had put so much effort and fine detail into it that I didn't even feel a little bit nervous, as an ensemble we were prepared and ready. Everyone played fed off each other and we communicated the intentions of the piece with clarity. I was very proud that we maintain a high level of energy through out the piece. Even if someone forgot their lines we were there to support one another and no mistakes were glaring.

One of the challenges I face this term was making sure I had a good stage presences. I'm not complaining but I had a small amount of dialogue which gave me the opportunity to explore different ways to be noticed on stage. I observed that I had one key line during my the iconic haircut/transformation scene, This would my chance to completely own the stage, all the audiences focus was on me so I was going  to milk it! I did a little bit of improvisation as I felt my hair and discovered this new persona my character was adopting. I realised that this was a crucial bit in the play and should not be skipped over, I was the point when James was nearly finished in his journey to becoming a skinhead so I made sure to make the audience feel threatened. I balled up my fists because I learnt a long time ago that that can make an actor look/feel 100% more angry, I walked around a bit and just breathed giving the audience this image of a new human being, alive and scary. 

One of the parts that could have done with refining is the transition back into the jail cell via the lines slash, chop, stab, jail cell. Because this part was added in during the final run through quite a few people (including myself) forgot this part and it might have come out as clunky and disorganised but in our favour we were all sharp on the final word and as we hit the floor and let the dust settle I could feel the energy in the room still flowing. On one of my lines "trying to chop you" The vocalisation and facial expression may have been lost as I was facing slightly up-stage towards Courtney however I feel if I was faced more towards the audience the line may come off as fake. I watched how well we use the space as we had had trouble in rehearsals were we didn't push back far enough and we blocked off the audience, we completely fixed that in the actual show. Since we managed to sell all the tickets all the seats were filled and because of this we had to make sure no action was lost and we managed to achieve this very well.

I sustained my character throughout even at the beginning where I found it difficult because of the lighting. I could see every audience member's face as we came out from behind the door and it was a tad unnerving but I used this to my advantage and made it affect the way I moved - as if I was being watched in the jail cell. I feel as if I was very sharp and precise with my movements, in the skinhead march we all managed to count up to 5 successfully which was a big achievement! My awareness of other actors on stage was good, no one bumped into each other or got hurt during the mosh pit. If I picked out a specific part in in my performance way I knew my awareness was working was when I ended up on the wrong side of the stage. I needed to locate Holly as she was my mother in the next scene, I didn't even think about having to find her, I just knew she had finished down stage right so that's where I needed to go!

Overall the performance went very well and each member of the cast showed tremendous competence exploring themes and issues well past our years. In my opinion we did justice to the text that Davey Anderson wrote and we had fun doing it!

Thank you sir :)