Name: Andrea Masuda
Role: Narrator (acting), lighting, troops (voice)
1) Before attempting this show, I thought the most difficult part to accomplish would be the manipulation of the puppets. We had no experience whatsoever in relation to puppetry, even less shadow puppetry. I believed that this skill would be the hardest to grasp.
2) After completing the show, I still think the most difficult part to accomplish was the puppet manipulation, but also the multi-tasking backstage. I mainly think that this is due to the lack of rehearsals and planning.
3) The most important thing I learned from this show is time management and planning is important. Our planning was not so bad, but we did not stick to it, and that is what caused us some problems.
4) The most surprising or interesting thing I learned from this show was that the synthesis between traditional aspects and physical acting can be effective due to the contrast presented. The difference between the shadow puppetry and the acting was and interesting approach to the performance, and was successful.
5) The aspect of my work on the performances that I am most satisfied with is the physical acting, mainly because the outcome of the audience's participation was better than I expected.
6) The aspect of my work on this show that I am least satisfied with is some of the lighting. For example, when we used the light that shone onto the close-up screen, and I was flashing the colour gels, the case for the gels appeared and the effect lessened because the audience could notice that they were colour gels.
7) Please describe your contributions to this show. Include rehearsal process as well as the actual performances. Be specific and explain in detail.
During rehearsal periods, I attended them, including the morning rehearsals we had. Also, I invested my own time in buying the decorations for the room that we were performing in.
Before the performance, I mainly set up the decorations such as the potpourri, fake hibiscus flowers and also the sarongs that we laid for the audience.
I also set up the lights and the narrator area (including bringing my own laptop and gathering dictionaries).
8) Did you miss any rehearsals? Please explain in detail No I have not. The only times I missed was not rehearsals but to buy materials for the puppet theatre, which was because I was in the Robin Hood rehearsals.
9) Please describe, in detail, what you did during the performance.
I had 3 roles:
lighting: Although I was who mostly manipulated the lights, it was not always I who turned on and off the lights but I was in charge of the colour gels.
acting: I acted as the narrator or rather one of the writers. Here, I would attempt to interact with the audience so that they become more interested and also involved with the show.
voice: I was the troop's voice in the scene where Serena was traveling with her brother.
10) Any other comments that you would like to make
>It was pointed out the the troops puppet was not clear enough, which upon watching the performance video, I agreed, even though it was me who made it. I think it could have been in more detail and the troops could have been larger/longer.
11) I believe I deserve the following grades for the performance:
Rehearsal process/technical planning: 85% - I attended all rehearsals however, as a group we were not committed enough, and we should have been more productive during rehearsals and also added more rehearsals.
Learning lines/completing tech: 85% - With the lines, i had learnt them more a less but not completely. I had to glance at my lines once in a while which was stuck onto my laptop. However, I made sure that it was not obvious/noticeable.
Tech./Dress Rehearsals: 90% - although we did not have much rehearsals, during the rehearsals I tried to put all my attention and concentration into the performance.
Attendance (class, rehearsals, scene shop): 95% - I attended all rehearsals and also invested my own time in buying decorations, but we could have had more rehearsals outside of class-time.
Final Performances: 95% - I think we did a good job however, we had difficulties which could have been avoided through more time investment. Despite the obstacles (we overcame them and), we gave a good performance.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Robin Hood: After performance
During the performances of Robin Hood, I was backstage crew and stage manager.
Before the performance starts, I would set up the prop table and make sure every thing's in place. I also check the stage set and see if there were any wrecks, especially on the second performance because it might have been wrecks on the first night.
I also gave warm-ups to the actors (while they were not doing their make-up or hair etc). I used the warm-up Mr. Evans normally gives his actors in his productions, such as Tina. We got into a circle and passed on a line from the play. It seemed to work and the kids got energetic, since most seemed to enjoy it.
When the audience started to arrive, I would make sure every actor stayed in the backstage area, double check the props, and also check if the actors had their props that they initially need, including personal prop. Also, when there is 3 minutes left till the play starts, I gave all the actors the warning, then I signaled the lighting/sound crew.
]
During the performance, I mainly checked if actors were at the places they needed to be and tried to keep them quiet. I had help from a few teachers, which was helpful. On the first night, Sara was there as well to help. The main problem was not noise but the curtains. Many actors still had a habit of flicking the curtain instead of smoothly entering, and I had to make sure that the curtain was not opened most of the time. Again, I had help from the teachers and Sara, and I was grateful for that. Bernie, the other backstage crew was in charge of the other entrance through the castle, and that allowed me to focus on the rest of backstage.
When the interval finished, I also had to do the same process as before and give everybody a 3 minute warning. I also had to call in the audience as we could not start without them.
I was amazed at the performance the elementary students gave. Many, or rather almost all raised their voices and pronounced their words (I could hear them from backstage clearly as well). Although there were some slips, and people forgot their lines, the others covered them well and collaborated nicely.
The second performance I believe was as equally as good but the audience had much more small children and made more noise so the actors had to speak up more.
I enjoyed being part of this play and playing a role like an assistant stage manager was a new experience to me. I found that if I had less activities, (because I had activities like field hockey) then I could have attended more rehearsals and thus learning more about being an assistant stage manager. I thought that other bits such as props could have been done quicker so that the performance week wouldn't have been that hectic.
This is a picture of most of the cast in their costumes. As you can see, both costuming and make-up were done well. Although I was not part of the costuming and the make-up, I thought it might be an interesting role I could take on in another project or production.
Before the performance starts, I would set up the prop table and make sure every thing's in place. I also check the stage set and see if there were any wrecks, especially on the second performance because it might have been wrecks on the first night.
I also gave warm-ups to the actors (while they were not doing their make-up or hair etc). I used the warm-up Mr. Evans normally gives his actors in his productions, such as Tina. We got into a circle and passed on a line from the play. It seemed to work and the kids got energetic, since most seemed to enjoy it.
When the audience started to arrive, I would make sure every actor stayed in the backstage area, double check the props, and also check if the actors had their props that they initially need, including personal prop. Also, when there is 3 minutes left till the play starts, I gave all the actors the warning, then I signaled the lighting/sound crew.
]
During the performance, I mainly checked if actors were at the places they needed to be and tried to keep them quiet. I had help from a few teachers, which was helpful. On the first night, Sara was there as well to help. The main problem was not noise but the curtains. Many actors still had a habit of flicking the curtain instead of smoothly entering, and I had to make sure that the curtain was not opened most of the time. Again, I had help from the teachers and Sara, and I was grateful for that. Bernie, the other backstage crew was in charge of the other entrance through the castle, and that allowed me to focus on the rest of backstage.
When the interval finished, I also had to do the same process as before and give everybody a 3 minute warning. I also had to call in the audience as we could not start without them.
I was amazed at the performance the elementary students gave. Many, or rather almost all raised their voices and pronounced their words (I could hear them from backstage clearly as well). Although there were some slips, and people forgot their lines, the others covered them well and collaborated nicely.
The second performance I believe was as equally as good but the audience had much more small children and made more noise so the actors had to speak up more.
I enjoyed being part of this play and playing a role like an assistant stage manager was a new experience to me. I found that if I had less activities, (because I had activities like field hockey) then I could have attended more rehearsals and thus learning more about being an assistant stage manager. I thought that other bits such as props could have been done quicker so that the performance week wouldn't have been that hectic.
This is a picture of most of the cast in their costumes. As you can see, both costuming and make-up were done well. Although I was not part of the costuming and the make-up, I thought it might be an interesting role I could take on in another project or production.
After the performance: Wayang Kulit
Reflection for…
Wayang Kulit Project: Serena
Andrea Masuda
In this project, my roles were acting, lighting and also decorations. I was the voice for King Wrath’s troops and also I was one of the narrators. Although my role as well was lighting, it was also Mei’s role as well.
When we were given the assignment, I thought that the puppet manipulation would be the hardest, and I thought this during the whole of the preparation process for the presentation. The other parts such as lighting, sound etc, I did not think was going to be so difficult, and I was right. The puppet manipulation seemed to be the hardest obstacle to overcome.
Our project was successful to an extent, but could have been better. It was mainly because of time issues but I think that our ideas were good and interesting (I explained these ideas in one of the previous entries) just our action time was not fast enough. Time management was clearly an issue.
The reason we had time issues was that we had to make the shadow puppet theatre and also the puppets and that took time. Until we had the puppet theatre and the puppets, we could not rehearse. In the end, we only rehearsed it the day before the performance, which then became a hectic two days for all of us.
My contribution backstage was mainly lights (for during the performance), however (as I stated in the beginning of this reflection) I was also in charge of the decorations. I thought about it, discussed it with the rest of the group to get more input and finally, I went out on a Sunday to buy these decorations at Daiso (100 yen store). I also contributed in the sense that I attended rehearsals. I had attended the extra morning rehearsal that we had before the performance.
Before the performance, we had many technical difficulties. One major one was that we had not rehearsed it with the close-up puppets so we could not get much practice with that. Also, we could not find speakers for the sound effects. Mainly because we did not have the cable that would go from the computer to the speakers, so we had to use the weaker ones.
During the performance, we had further problems. One was the lights. We had a moment that some one (I could not catch who it was) did not know which lights to turn on and there was one time that we turned on a light and then turned it off soon after which made it seem like a mistake.
Another complication was the puppets. During scenes in which included many actions, the puppets would get damaged and during the performance, the puppeteer would have a tendency to overdue it and with that, the arm of one of the puppets fell off. Lancelot’s arm fell out and the Serena’s hand fell off, which created unintentional humour for the audience.
Also, another major problem was that there was a transition between scenes in which the puppeteers did not know what was next. There was a time that there was a long pause in the dark. Perhaps, if we had a list of scenes in big letters below the screen, then that complication would have been prevented.
Despite the problems we faced, it was successful. The audience had reacted the way we expected them to (such as laugh at the right times), and some transitions were smooth. The live music worked well, but could have been more planned out so that it did not just sound like a bunch of pans hitting each other (which is good for only particular effects).
The audience’s participation during the narrator’s scenes was unexpected but rewarding because Mei and I had been preparing just in case if the audience was not participating. This precaution was worth it in the end because at the beginning, when I asked them if they had any ideas why Serena was upset, they simply answered “No.” So then I asked further questions and that was when they had participated more.
From this performance I have mainly learnt that time management and practice is very important, but this is what I learnt through a mistake. I also learnt through an achievement, which was that the synthesis of traditional aspects and physical acting can be effective and create different effects.
Although this was a tougher project than “Perfection,” it was more rewarding in the sense that there was more research and backstage work than practical work.
Here are some pictures:
This is the main screen. The characters on the screen are the King and Serena.
This is the close up screen. This scene is the scene where the King gives the letter to Serena.
This is the narrator area.
This is how the set looks like. Where the sarongs are is where the audience sits. Around the audience there is a border of potpourri and fake flowers (hibiscus).
Wayang Kulit Project: Serena
Andrea Masuda
In this project, my roles were acting, lighting and also decorations. I was the voice for King Wrath’s troops and also I was one of the narrators. Although my role as well was lighting, it was also Mei’s role as well.
When we were given the assignment, I thought that the puppet manipulation would be the hardest, and I thought this during the whole of the preparation process for the presentation. The other parts such as lighting, sound etc, I did not think was going to be so difficult, and I was right. The puppet manipulation seemed to be the hardest obstacle to overcome.
Our project was successful to an extent, but could have been better. It was mainly because of time issues but I think that our ideas were good and interesting (I explained these ideas in one of the previous entries) just our action time was not fast enough. Time management was clearly an issue.
The reason we had time issues was that we had to make the shadow puppet theatre and also the puppets and that took time. Until we had the puppet theatre and the puppets, we could not rehearse. In the end, we only rehearsed it the day before the performance, which then became a hectic two days for all of us.
My contribution backstage was mainly lights (for during the performance), however (as I stated in the beginning of this reflection) I was also in charge of the decorations. I thought about it, discussed it with the rest of the group to get more input and finally, I went out on a Sunday to buy these decorations at Daiso (100 yen store). I also contributed in the sense that I attended rehearsals. I had attended the extra morning rehearsal that we had before the performance.
Before the performance, we had many technical difficulties. One major one was that we had not rehearsed it with the close-up puppets so we could not get much practice with that. Also, we could not find speakers for the sound effects. Mainly because we did not have the cable that would go from the computer to the speakers, so we had to use the weaker ones.
During the performance, we had further problems. One was the lights. We had a moment that some one (I could not catch who it was) did not know which lights to turn on and there was one time that we turned on a light and then turned it off soon after which made it seem like a mistake.
Another complication was the puppets. During scenes in which included many actions, the puppets would get damaged and during the performance, the puppeteer would have a tendency to overdue it and with that, the arm of one of the puppets fell off. Lancelot’s arm fell out and the Serena’s hand fell off, which created unintentional humour for the audience.
Also, another major problem was that there was a transition between scenes in which the puppeteers did not know what was next. There was a time that there was a long pause in the dark. Perhaps, if we had a list of scenes in big letters below the screen, then that complication would have been prevented.
Despite the problems we faced, it was successful. The audience had reacted the way we expected them to (such as laugh at the right times), and some transitions were smooth. The live music worked well, but could have been more planned out so that it did not just sound like a bunch of pans hitting each other (which is good for only particular effects).
The audience’s participation during the narrator’s scenes was unexpected but rewarding because Mei and I had been preparing just in case if the audience was not participating. This precaution was worth it in the end because at the beginning, when I asked them if they had any ideas why Serena was upset, they simply answered “No.” So then I asked further questions and that was when they had participated more.
From this performance I have mainly learnt that time management and practice is very important, but this is what I learnt through a mistake. I also learnt through an achievement, which was that the synthesis of traditional aspects and physical acting can be effective and create different effects.
Although this was a tougher project than “Perfection,” it was more rewarding in the sense that there was more research and backstage work than practical work.
Here are some pictures:
This is the main screen. The characters on the screen are the King and Serena.
This is the close up screen. This scene is the scene where the King gives the letter to Serena.
This is the narrator area.
This is how the set looks like. Where the sarongs are is where the audience sits. Around the audience there is a border of potpourri and fake flowers (hibiscus).
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