Rock of Ages Review - Smart Targets
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Smart Targets Log - Body Language - Waiting For a Girl Like You (6/11/23)
(36:00 - 40:00) Although this version of the number is considerably longer than the one which we perform, it has been very useful to analyse as it has given me a lot of inspiration as to how we can develop the comedy moments within the song and play on the awkwardness between Drew and Sherrie even further for a greater comedic effect. I particularly liked Drew's almost frantic movements that conveyed he was nervous in a much more light-hearted way that still clearly displays his emotions to the audience. Through his body language he is also able to convey his inner thoughts and emotions about Sherrie too which is something that although much more subtle I would definitely like to work into my performance. I feel that I can develop the character of Drew a great deal in this song through my body language. I hope to use those more frantic movements alongside more subtle changes in how I hold myself to create a more effective performance that will engage the audience as well as ...
Rock of Ages Rehearsal Log - 6/11/23
8/11/23 - Dead or Alive Flashmob 8/11/23 - Don't Stop Believing Flashmob This week was our final week before the show. Early on within the week, we moved into the performance space and began performing with all the correct staging; however we did have some spacing issues with certain numbers which required us to address them before we moved onto anything else. We then began looking at smaller details of our performance and what needed improving in them, for me this included engaging with the audience more, ensuring that I am more stationary on stage and improve my diction during my speech. All of these are things that I have been improving on within my SMART Targets and this information gave me a good idea of things that I did still need to improve upon, while also giving me a lot of confidence as there were only specific moments where it was happening instead of throughout the whole performance. I also feel that my dancing and movements overall have become much sharpe...
Rock of Ages Rehearsal Log - (30/10/23)
This week was a very productive one, we began rehearsing with the band which allowed us to begin to finalise numbers that we were entirely comfortable with. On Tuesday we also had a workshop from UCC (University Centre Colchester) where they did a dance and ensemble singing workshop with us. However, the most beneficial thing was how I was given some feedback on a solo performance, for me this was to engage with the audience more and to stay much more still while performing; these were points of improvement that I will not only take forward in my solo work but also through Rock of Ages as I could see moments within my performance where I noticed these same qualities. In the following days, I took these improvements in my stride and I feel that I have been able to improve on them during my rehearsals of the Rock of Ages show as I have no reduced the amount of shuffling and swaying I do a great deal and I feel that I have a generally better level of audience engagement than before....
Smart Targets Log - Body Language - Heaven/To Be With You/More Than Words (30/10/23)
(31:00 - 34:45) In this number Drew is much more confident than he has appeared in previous songs. I especially liked the moment in which he held eye with Sherrie, I felt that this was a powerful moment as it not only connected the characters but also appears to be a turning point for Drew who before could barely look at Sherrie for more than a second before feeling awkward. This new found confidence is something that I found quite liberating and it is clearly portrayed through his wider gait, broader shoulders and straighter posture all of this is a nice change from how Drew acts in the numbers up to this point. I would definitely like to add elements of this into my performance, particularly the distinct change in how Drew acts around Sherrie, I feel that through highlighting this change through my body language, it will make my performance more captivating for the audience as they will be able to see a clear development for Drew as a character of the course of the play. I...
Smart Targets Log - Body Language - I Wanna Rock (23/10/23)
(22:40 - 26:00) This number is much longer than it is in the teen version of the show, however this has given me much more to think about particularly in the scene leading up to it. Drew is portrayed as being nervous while around Sherrie all while trying to act cool and calm around her, however as Sherrie asks more questions about what Drew wants to be he starts getting fidgety and develops a lot of tension in his shoulders until he finally starts singing and that tension breaks as he starts letting loose and being himself. When Sherrie breaks him out of his fantasy, he goes back to being tense and nervous and portrays this in how he carries his guitar and again in his physicality like his shoulders this works well as it shows that he's incredibly nervous to ask her out on a date. I will take aspects of this performance, particularly how that sense of nervous tension is held within the body and I will try and apply these to my performance. Through doing this I will be ...
Smart Targets Log - Body Language - 16/10/23 (We Built This City/Too Much Time On My Hands)
Week commencing - 16/10/23 (16:00 - 21:30) This number is a mix of two songs: We Built This City and Too Much Time On My Hands. The actor who is portraying Drew performs this number with a high level of energy throughout, he performs his movements very sharply and stylises them to match Drew's plucky personality at this point in the story. He also interacts with his surrounding characters in an interesting way throughout the song, not only during his own lines but others too, one that really stood out to me as being effective is how he interacted with Lonny while Dennis was on the phone to Stacee, it managed to make what otherwise could have been a bland and stationary moment into one that was still engaging for the audience to watch. These are definitely aspects which I would like to encoorperate within my performance of Drew.
Smart Targets Log - Body Language - 9/10/23 (Sister Christian)
Week commencing: 9/10/23 10:50 - 13:10 In this number, the actor who plays the character of Drew portrays him as a nervous character who wants to make a good impression on Sherrie. This is shown through his posture and body language as he keeps his shoulders tense and his posture overall closed off; he also doesn't hold eye contact for very long periods of time and only looks at her when addressing her. He also says the majority of his lines of dialogue with a rapid pace and keeps it relatively quiet too.
