TAPS Trip!

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TAPS has, by far, been the best school trip I have ever been on! Not only did I get to make friends with loads of amazing people from all over the world (who I will definitely be keeping in touch with), but I also got to work with professional theatre companies such as, Frantic assembly and insert name. It was also really exciting as we got to work in incredible places such as The Dominion Theatre, RADA and Pineapple dance studios. My ensemble worked in The Dominion, for me this made the experience even better and exciting as I knew we were working in the place where real top end theatre performances went on.

On the first day we were split into our ensemble groups, I had two ensemble leaders as mine and Harry's ensembles were put together. My ensemble leaders were called Daniel and Georgia, and I really enjoyed working with both of them as they were very energetic and passionate about what they were doing. I was really nervous when we first split up as I knew I wouldn't be with any of my friends (Turns out Harry was in my group though) and that everyone else would probably have friends from their school in the ensemble, however everyone was really nice and I found it was very easy to talk to everyone. Our first day was all about exploring movement and sound. 

Sound: 

  1. Our task was to move about the space, find a partner and say a line of speech to them that we had said in a production we had been in. We then had to memorise the other persons line and introduce them to someone else in the room using their line. We had to say the line exactly as the original person had said it. At the beginning I found this kind of confusing as I had to remember lots of lines, however by the end I actually got quite into it. It really helped me to remember other peoples names. 
  2. We continued to move around the space, however this time we were told to continuously talk about something (it didn't matter what). We then experimented with different ways of talking, volume/dynamics, pitch, staccato, legato, intonation, articulation and stress. This task made me very aware of just how many ways of talking there are and how if you say the same word in different ways it can mean different things. This could be key in future things we do eg. use of staccato/legato to mean different things.
  3. Creating a short piece using all of the ways of talking above. This was the first time working in a group and presenting to the whole ensemble and I was nervous at first but actually found it quite fun by the end. 
Movement:
  1. Our task was to walk around the room and try out many different movement types. These included percussive, vibratory (shaking) , suspended (walking as though a string is holding you up) , dropping (using levels eg. falling to the floor) and swinging. I found this task really interesting as it showed extremes of movement and how different movements could represent different emotions. In the future we could use extremes of movement in performances without dialogue or non-naturalistic performances. 
  2. We had to listen for different commands and then do the movement associated with the command. eg. Clear meant run to the sides of the room. We also had one which meant all group together, one for clocking something in the room and one for grabbing a partner. This task made me understand that actors always have to be aware of the things going on around them and listen to instructions. If these aren't done it could end up in actors crashing into other actors. It also showed me that everyone in the ensemble has to work as a team for the task to work.    
  3. Creating a short piece combining everything learnt in movement and everything learnt in sound. This helped me to understand how movement and sound fits together eg. Legato sound and slow movements. It also taught me about use of crescendos and decrescendos in voice to fit with movement and how it can help a piece to flow more easily.     
Charlie and the chocolate factory
Charlie and the chocolate factory was hands down my favourite play of the trip. I loved every moment of it and It left me with that desire to see more. My favourite aspect of the production by far, would have to have been the set design. The sets were amazing it was just like looking through a screen into another world, everything was so detailed and fitted perfectly in the play. I was also really surprised whenever something really technical happened, for example, when the elevator lifted up and when the tv came down with the actors in (that one really got me). In the production there were moments of: 
Tension - As Charlie is opening the Wonka bar for his birthday, will he get a golden ticket? When Veruca goes down to get a squirrel after Mr Wonka tells her she shouldn't. When Mr Wonka opens the door and he is in darkness. 
Emotion - Happiness, when Charlie gets a golden ticket. Sadness when Mr and Mrs Bucket say they can't afford a wonka bar for Charlie's birthday. Anxiousness when Charlie reached for the book when Mr Wonka tells him he isn't allowed to look at it. 
Atmosphere - Joyful/Jolly when Mr Wonka first takes them into the factory and they are in the chocolate room. Sad/uneasy when Charlie when Charlie doesn't get the golden ticket. Magical when Charlie and Mr Wonka go up in the glass elevator.
Meaning - "Don't be greedy" "Family is very important" "Don't take what you have for granted"

Day two was all about using space, building on what we had already done and creating pieces based on freeze frames from the plays we had seen. Day two was probably the day that I felt I had to step out of my comfort zone the most as it involved presenting what we had learned a lot more than day one.

Using space:

  1. On the floor there was a 4 by 4 grid, we learnt about the different sections of the grid eg. stage left, stage right, centre stage...Our task was to stand in a box or in-between two boxes and recreate the whole stage on the other side of the room facing the opposite direction. This task helped me to understand the different sections of the stage better as it was an actual visual representation of it. It also made me understand that actors always have to be aware of where others are on the stage. 
  2. Using the grid on the floor we were told to create different performance spaces. These included Theatre in the round, traverse, end on and thrust. I felt that after doing this I understood better these types of theatre stages. I felt it was much easier to understand as I could actually see what it looked like in real life and I could see where the audience would sit as if I were an audience member. 
  3. We then had to create a short piece in groups of three using only four squares on the grid and three lines of dialogue. We also had to choose our type of stage. My group decided to base our piece on a group of people coming home after a night out, we used a thrust stage. This was a step out of my comfort zone as we had to perform in front of the whole ensemble, however stepping out of my comfort zone made me more confident in front of my ensemble as everyone was really supportive. I learned that the movement in the piece should fit with the dialogue and that sometimes there doesn't need to be lots of movement to create a big impact on your audience. 
Building on...:
  1. Movement - We were taught theatre sign language to communicate different things. An example of this is moving your left hand from right to left in a big motion, this meant everyone. We then had to use this sign language to create a short piece with a partner, we were taught to make our movement very big and use space eg. being far away from your partner or being very close. Although at the beginning I found it hard to remember the signs, I noticed that after a while the signs came naturally, I really enjoyed  doing this task as it showed there are many ways to get a message across to an audience even without using speech. 
  2. Voice - In groups we were told to create our own language and a short piece. To do this we had to use our imagination and work as a team. After creating our language we had to create a short scene, our was set in a courtroom after someone had just admitted something terrible. This task really showed that gestures and movement really do matter in a production to get across a point. We also used raised staccato voices to show shock and horror. This task really put into perspective how important dynamics in a piece are. 
  3. Movement and voice - we had to get back into pairs and put together the sign language we had learnt and the language we had made up. I found this really hard as I kept forgetting bits of the sign language or my language, it was really confusing! After practising it I kind of got the hang of it. It showed me that things don't always go right the first time and you have to work on them. 
Creating pieces based on freeze-frames:
  1. While watching Charlie and the Chocolate factory we were told to remember one scorch moment from the play. In the session we were told to continuously write about this moment for 2 minutes talking about movement, lighting, sets and what made it stand out. We then had to get into groups and talk to the others for one minute each about our scorch moments. I found this task really interesting as it allowed me to find out what other peoples scorch moments were and how their experience of the play was different from mine. By sharing our moments it gave me more ideas about my own. We could use this method of sharing when coming up with ideas for our own performances in class. 
  2. We then had to create freeze-frames of each scorch moment. My scorch moment was the moment when the bucket family are all watching TV and the TV comes down from the ceiling. I found creating my freeze-frame really fun as I got to recreate the scene exactly how I wanted it to look. It also made me see what other people were thinking when they thought of their scorch moment. 
  3. Making a short piece based off one freeze frame. We had to take one freeze frame and create a completely different performance out of it. It had to have no connection to the original play. Our mini piece was about someone catching her husband cheating and her killing the other woman. There was a mix of comedy and violence. I thought this task was really effective at creating new, fresh pieces of theatre. It was really interesting to watch how each group got from their starting freeze frame to their end piece. I found it much easier to create an original piece of theatre from an already used starting point. We could use this in our future projects if we ever get stuck on where to start. 
Electra
I really didn't enjoy this performance at all! In fact I'm pretty sure there were moments when I fell asleep because it was so boring. I know that some people like this type of theatre, but to be honest I have no idea why! The whole play was just a woman droning on about how her parents were horrible and how her brother was dead. It was as if the whole play was on a tension level 7! It was just constant drama. And because I found the main character annoying and not likeable at all, I didn't sympathize with her at all at times when I'm pretty sure I was meant to. The only thing I actually thought was pretty cool was the fact that it was performed in theatre in the round, this was mostly because I had never seen a performance in theatre in the round. Also although the performance was clearly meant to be sad, there were also elements of humour at really random times which detracted from the play. In the play there were moments of: 
Tension - The person comes to tell her that her brother is dead. The whole time Electra is screaming on the floor. When her brother returns. When her brother enters the house. When her step-father returns. When her dead mother is carried out. When her step-father is threatened and killed. 
Emotion - Sadness when Electra finds out her brother is dead. Anger at mother and step-father for killing her father. Curiosity when her brother returns. 
Atmosphere - Sad and dark pretty much the whole way through. 


Day three was a short day however we still managed to do so much! We created pieces based of poems and a painting, used passages to create set  and explored different theatre practices and practitioners. Day three was also really sad as we all had to leave and most of the schools were going back home. At the end of the day we took it in turn to step into the middle of the circle and people would say things they had enjoyed about working with you. We also reflected on how we had worked and took it in turns to say what we would take back to our school.

Basing of poems and painting:

  1. At the start of the lesson we were given a envelope with a painting and a poem we had to read through it and create a piece based of it. We decided that our poem and our painting had the element of chaos and peace at the same time. Our performance was based around a young women who had moved from the countryside to the city, and how the city changes from the morning to late out night. Out of the many mini performances we did over the three days this was probably my favourite. I really enjoyed working with my group to try and find different ways to express out painting and poem. We incorporated everything that we had learnt from the previous sessions and used them in our own performance. I also really enjoyed watching other performances and seeing how different theirs was from our own, even though their stimuli turned out to be exactly the same. 
   Using passages to create a set:

  1. Each group was given a passage of a play and had to work together to create a set. My group got a text about elephants emerging from grass... We could've used things in the room we were in to create a set, however we decided we didn't want to limit ourselves, so instead we drew a picture of our set and explained it to the ensemble. We also used noises such as banging poles down and stamping feet to incorporate in our performance. This task made me realise how much effort goes into creating a set that fits with a section of a play, it also helped me to understand about detail and precision. We could use this idea of building a set in the piece we are creating at the moment in class. It could help us to generate more ideas on the atmosphere we want to create and what our 'storyline' will be. The task showed me that sometimes it's better to create a set even before you have the whole story planned out. 
Exploring different theatre practices and practitioners:

  1. We all split into groups and were told to research one theatre practitioner/practice. We had a choice out of stanislavski, Artaud, Comedia Del Arte and Boal. My group chose to do Comedia Del Arte and research into the different characters. After researching into the characters we also had to present what we had found out to our ensemble in a documentary style. We did this by showing an example of each character then reading out the different characteristics of them. To be honest I don't like Comedia Del Arte that much however the task was simple and got us to learn about the theatre practice. I learnt about the different characters eg. El capitano, Columbina, the innamorati and pantalone. Also by watching others performances I got to learn about the other practices/practitioners.  
 The Woman In Black
I wasn't there on Saturday night so unfortunately I didn't get to see 'The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time' (sad times) However on another night I did get to see the Woman in black! I was really nervous as I had heard that It was really scary, but it actually wasn't that bad. One thing that was clear from the very beginning was the fact that it was nothing like the movie. The play is done in a way where the actors are playing actors in The Woman in Black. In the performance there are continuous switches between the actual play and the actors in the rehearsal studio. Although I really enjoyed the play I felt that this particular idea didn't work very well as, sometimes, the play would stop just as you were getting into it. It also didn't feel real, this made it less scary. The whole performance is done by 3 actors and (other than the stuff I said above) is brilliant! There were definitely moments when I felt very nervous and excited about what was going to happen. The set and lighting (and use of shadows) was used perfectly. If I had the chance I would definitely see this performance again!



Master Classes 

Frantic Assembly - This was by far my favourite class during the three days. In this class we were taught about movement with someone else. We started by finding a partner to work with. We were then taught a lift to do with our partner. The lifts:

  • Shoulder lift - One person puts their arm right over the other persons shoulder then the other person lifts them up.
  • Leg lift - You stand side on with your partner with your two legs together. One person holds around the neck of the other person and the other person holds around the waist. The one with the hand around the waist lifts the other person sideways. 
  • Back lift - Stand back to back one person slightly crouched down. The person crouched holds on to the other persons arms and pulls them onto their back. 
  • Twist lift - one person leans back onto the other person with their arms on the other persons back. The person holding the leaning person twists them around the body. 
We also did this strange this where we had to squeeze parts of the other persons body (yes I know it sounds strange) in a pattern and they had to do the same back. We then put together the lifts and the squeezes to create a strange dance thing, which we had to present to the whole ensemble. I learned so much from frantic assembly about movement and confidence. At the end when we had to present I really wasn't confident and messed up a lot but it was okay because my partner did too! I really enjoyed working with frantic assembly. 

Diving through space and set design - I really enjoyed this master class as well. When we came into the room it was really dark apart from a square marked off in the middle with lots of little boxes. We stood in a circle around the square and our task was to "create our own story" by stepping in and out of the square and playing around with the many little boxes. At the end the man unveiled a big box in the middle which he opened to reveal a glowing light inside. It showed me that the smallest of things, such as a light, can give a huge impact on an audience, for example the light in the box represented treasure, or something good. After this the set changed so instead of little boxes there were lots of cardboard rolls standing up and little red lights littered on the floor. The main light was also red. We split into groups and had to create a short piece in the set. We did ours as though we were in a forest. Each time a new piece of set was added in and we had to adapt our play to this new set. I found it really interesting how one tiny piece of set could change the whole meaning of something, or even just a change in the colour of lighting, for example most people think red = dark/dangerous, green = happy/natural. In the end we were given bits of set to create our own scene and create a short play in it. We used a parachute some umbrellas and a piece of tarp to create a sort of hide out. We also used a little glowing light to represent an energy/something precious.

Altogether it was an amazing trip and if I had the chance to go back and do it all again I definitely would! I'd like to say Thankyou to Mr Fearnehough and Miss Alonso for organising the trip and taking us and also to ista for organising the whole event!
Some of My ensemble

Train times

Pret a manger
   

   







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