Your how to guide for the next month...

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It’s that time of the year again when the Christmas performances are just around the corner and the productions aren’t quite where they need to be…this last stage is hard as there are no easy fixes…we’re into finding the technical precision that turns something from mediocre to magical…so for the benefit of my brilliant actors and so that their parents and supporters understand the challenge ahead of them I’ve prepared a how to guide to make your performance and our production reach it’s potential…

Firstly comes line security – the more you know and understand the entire script including but not exclusively your lines and your cues the more you have a solid foundation from which to do everything else you need to do!

Secondly vocal quality makes a big difference…we are finding time to do some vocal work in some of the company sessions but for the older actors any work they can do between sessions on projection, expression, articulation, intonation is going to make such a positive difference.  Imagine my delight when a youth theatre member got in touch with me to ask for ideas so she could work on her voice during the week…I’m easily pleased when it comes to things like that.

Once those core things are in place there is a very specific formula that needs to be entirely embedded in your creative work.  An actor needs to have a 3D, 360 degree grasp of the need of the character, what they feel they need to do to meet that need, what happens when that need is met or unmet and finally when that changes.  The ability to do this comes from an actor’s understanding of their character - their journey though the play and their relationships.  This is the way you achieve a performance that has honestly and integrity in a way that will engage and entertain your audience.

Finally you need to consider the energy of your performance – throughout the performance energy will shift and change for each character – it will alter in it’s intensity and it’s “volume” but there should never be a lack of it…a deficit…it cannot just drop…that way a piece is as vivid and detailed as it needs to be…


So there you are team…looking forward to moving into the next stage of rehearsals and producing something festively magical!

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