Category: CREATIVITY

Bersama : Finishing up in Grade 12

ganes39839@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgCAS

Getting into Bersama after submitting my audition was a gratifying experience. I felt overjoyed in realising that I could carry on the moments I had in grade 11 over to grade 12, with new faces and new projects.

This year, I’ve taken on a different role by transitioning from alto to soprano. This change felt small at first, but I realise that becoming soprano has changed my perception of our songs. Rather than singing the melody, I’ve had to learn to complement the alto singers by singing in a higher key. Although higher keys are not my strength, I worked on them outside of bersama rehearsals and practiced the techniques my teachers have taught me (LO1).

Additionally, our group has changed a lot this year, the collaborative aspect of Bersama has remained unchanged. I find it exciting when we, as a group, brainstorm ways to edit certain parts of our score, change the tune/melody, or even deciding what song we should learn next. Bersama never fails to remind me how collaboration is an opportunity I’m eternally grateful for, as without it, I wouldn’t be the singer I am today (LO5)

 

Videos of me and my friend singing in class (Dancing Queen, Eleanor Rigby) :

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yc-weuQv4FrExuYcix1YJvvNTJTZzl1H/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T4QItQ_tRPnINQ8n-pqkvD4eQEihgh5y/view?usp=sharing

 

ITP: Grade 12 reflection

ganes39839@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgCAS

In ITP, I have the opportunity to direct the lesson and choose what I want to learn. As a result of my many years in Carnatic (Indian classical) vocal music, I tend to request my teacher to teach me unfamiliar areas of music. An example was musical theatre, where I didn’t know how to sing a musical number, but dove into it so that I could audition and be part of the school musical.

For a university application, I decided to submit a musical supplemental video, to showcase my experience in the vocal arts. One of the requirements was to include a western classical piece, which I didn’t know. My teacher and I began the planning process. I began to line out my goals for where I’d want to be leading up to the final date (where I would film the video with a pianist), and began listening to other western classical pieces to gauge the style of music. This helped me become garner skills in planning and initiating CAS experiences (LO3) as I understood the important of goal-setting and having a long-term perspective with respect to my CAS experiences.

Additionally, since western classical was an unfamiliar area of music for me, I realised that my weaknesses were quite explicit in the start. The style of singing and performance was not only unfamiliar, but it was based on skills that I didn’t require, therefore didn’t garner, through my years of singing pop, Indian classical, western jazz, etc. There were some basic improvements, like how to carry yourself when you perform western classical. Then there were deeper improvements, like how to change your pronunciation to enunciate and produce a better sound. This helped me with developing my areas for growth and improvement (LO1), as I became engrossed with a style of music that initially played against my strengths.

Lastly, this mini-project helped me reiterate skills like perseverance and commitment (LO4). I was entrusted with the responsibility of organising a pianist, extra rehearsals, appropriate room and filming materials, and although it was overwhelming, especially in the midst of school and other commitment, I felt joy and gratitude in realising how far my commitment had taken me. I enjoyed filming this video as it was an amalgamation of my vocal training and experiences.

Link to the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uLxSwyXOQeZztZa50bzs-Bh2h7z-pZG3/view?usp=sharing

 

 

CREATIVITY : Musical Showcase – Reflection and demonstration

ganes39839@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgCREATIVITY

REFLECTION AND DEMONSTRATION STAGE: Now that the musical showcase is over, I can’t help but realise how much I’ve grown not just as a performer, but as an individual. I remember being quite hesitant to participate in this production because of my lack of acting skills and experience with musical theatre. But coming out of it, I now understand that a majority of this whole experience has been solely learning and exploring a new dimension of music and art that I previously had been unaware of. My appreciation of musical theatre and acting has dramatically increased due to this experience, and I’m grateful that I got to be a part of it despite the many challenges our school productions faced because of COVID. The idea of doing scenes from 4 different plays was implemented due to COVID in the first place, which both the music department and students brought to reality. This exhibits the commitment and perseverance that brought us to this point, instead of giving up and cancelling the production(LO4). The skills I’ve developed throughout this learning journey have allowed me to become more confident and expressive in my artistic abilities as a performer, and even as an individual singer, as I have a better idea of how I can control stage presence during performances (LO2). Lastly, this process has definitely taught me about the experience planning process. Experiences like these help me understand the individual steps that are involved in the planning of a CAS experience. I’ve learnt the gradual nature of progress and the important of patience, especially during a time where things stray away from the original plan/idea (LO3)

CREATIVITY : Musical Showcase production

ganes39839@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgCREATIVITY

ACTION STAGE : I noticed that in this production, there is a large devising component that us students are responsible for. The teacher, Ms.Stirrat, gives us the space to create our own scenes where there is no plot in particular, just an introduction or a scene that includes no singing or dialogue. Initially, this was a challenge for me, since my ability to devise using dramatic/theatrical technique was at a novice level, and I didn’t have the skills that other IGCSE or IB drama students may have had. But during the second week, I realised that I was able to contribute ideas that were either useful or not useful, and my learning would develop as a result. If my ideas were inadequate in some form, I was able to collaborate with other students who either have better/equal theatre knowledge to improve on ideas. This was a significant aspect that taught me how collaboration in such a production is definitely effective. This system of adding on to other ideas allowed for not just an inclusive, non-competitive, environment, but it developed my skills and abilities since I was surrounded by people who had theatre skills. (LO5)

At this point of the production, things are really starting to come together with all the ideas and plans we devised in the earlier stages of this musical. We’ve also begun wearing our all black costume, on top of which we will layer props and costumes that are specific to the play/character we’re performing. The black structure that the band will play from is now finished and we can start to work around that. I’ve noticed that in our rehearsals, we are standing up and implementing ideas rather than discussing them like we have in previous weeks. This is really really refreshing for me, because I’m beginning to see how the suggestions I, along with my other peers, come to life on stage when planned properly.

Of course, there are some challenges when we start executing plans for the first time. The main one was complying with social distancing. Because we are having a live audience, it’s crucial that we maintain an appropriate distance with one another. While keeping this in mind, in musical theatre, it’s important to keep moving around during singing or acting bits to keep the audience engaged and avoid a static scene on stage. So both of these factors often clash and cause all of us to revaluate our choreography and alter it to abide by distancing rules. One way we have overcome this challenge is by choreographing dance numbers first, before running lines. This allows us to firstly, plan out moves according to distance between dancers, secondly, prepare how to get to our initial positions safely, and thirdly, plan how to leave the stage or end the scene while still maintaining a safe distance. (LO2)

 

A few photos of me and my friends during rehearsals

CREATIVITY : Musical Showcase Production

ganes39839@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgCAS

INVESTIGATION STAGE – Although this is my first time in a musical theatre production, I have had some training in musical theatre in my weekly ITP sessions. This year, changes had to be made to the production, so there is going to be key scenes and numbers included from 5 musicals. I auditioned and got the lead role of Helen in the Jane Eyre musical. I noticed that I enjoy the singing aspect of musicals, as my commitment to singing over the past many years has never ventured into the musical theatre style. In the last month, I’ve noticed that there are many areas of improvement that I need to focus on in the development of my character. Using gestures while singing/narrating/speaking is one of them, as well as avoiding any repetition of movements. Another weakness of mine is using facial expressions to express emotion and meaning, since musical theatre requires an abundant amount of acting skills that are as crucial as singing skills. Hence, acting is definitely an area of potential improvement over the next few months as rehearsals go by. (LO1)

PREPARATION STAGE – My ITP teacher has taught me some skills to help developing my acting abilities. One is to first read through the script with background context of the scene/story, and add my own interpretation on the feelings/emotions and thoughts running through the character’s mind as she is singing. This skill is helping me to develop my understanding of the character, so I’m able to accordingly decide how I physically represent Helen in aspects other than singing. (LO2)

A few photos from my solo rehearsal which involved my song, as well as running lines/blocking scenes on stage

 

CREATIVITY : HS Bersama + House Band (by audition)

ganes39839@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgCAS

As this is my second year in Bersama, I remember that the experience I had last year was overwhelmingly positive, so I am very excited for the future prospects of Bersama this year. I enjoy being involved in this singing group for many reasons, one being because it has individual and group elements that are equally important. Due to different voice ranges, everyone has an individual role as a singer (alto, soprano, mezzo, etc). This means that every singer is responsible for learning their part. As someone who has mostly done singing as an individual activity until I joined bersama, self-managing my time and making sure I’m keeping up to date with our projects is something I have learned to develop and enjoy, since I think having an individual role in a group activity helps to manage my individual goals as a singer and therefore, it is quite quite self-fulfilling. In contrast, the group element of this CAS experience is also immensely useful. In bersama, we often explore songs and styles that I am unfamiliar with, so having the support of peers really helps to stay on track with the group. Additionally, as a group, we have a much larger impact. (LO5)

This activity holds a lot of value to me, as someone who not only enjoys singing, but also enjoys collaborating and interacting with other people. During the initial stages of quarantine last year, Bersama teamed up to put together a video of us singing an inspirational message to the school community which was then played during the online assembly. Although it was difficult at first, aligning our parts together, making sure everyone is synchronised, it was a great time for us to overcome the challenges of not singing face-to-face and build our technological skills. It also helped us reach a larger audience (LO2). This was a great experience for us and also served as an example of how we can make a large impact with our creativity and passion for music.