DRAMA Displacement Reflection

Recently we have been work on skills in creation, creating a 3-5 minutes long drama piece with the starting point of displacement. Our group chose to represent refugee crisis as our theme, and showed displacement through the escaping and migrating of the refugees. Overall, I think we did a good job for our performance, because the audiences gave lots of positive feedback, and I could also feel that we were very emotional and dedicated even after the performance. However, there are still many things that we didn’t do so well and can make progress in next time.

Intentional Reflection

1) List two or three things you intend to do with the skills you have acquired or the discoveries you have made. 

-use one prop to represent many different things  (In our performance, we used the frame to show doors, boats, tides, and burial.)

-play with different levels of the performers to create better dramatic effects

-always be tense and focus on the show with full energy (think about the warm-ups we did in the beginning of each drama class)

2) List two or three areas that you want to research or examine further.

-collaboration with the other performers (always observe the other performers out of the corner of my eyes to collaborate better)

-use different ways to speak the lines (volume, different people, speed etc.)

-show more performing skills (more emotional and moving)

Evaluative Reflection

What worked well? What was challenging? How did you solve the problem? What did this teach you?

The best part in the show is that we used lots of creative ways to show our ideas, which are very abstract and don’t have a clear storyline, so that the audience can interpret them according to their own imagination and understanding. I think it would be very fun for the audience to interpret the show by themselves, because everyone has different experience, and there might be some parts in the show which remind them of their own experience. It’s not only an entertaining show, but also can make them think deeply and reflect through their lives, which makes the show more meaningful.

The most challenging part in the show is the collaboration within the group, because we were related and connected throughout the show, and we had lots of parts which required us to do in the same time to achieve powerful dramatic effects. However, we couldn’t talk to each other during the show, so we used lots of observations and eye contacts to communicate. For example, we could feel the forces on the frame, so when we felt someone was exerting an upward force to the frame, we knew that we should move on to the next action. From this, I learnt that communication doesn’t necessarily need words. It could be silent and effective, as long as we are focused on each other. In addition, when we were doing the show, we not only thought about our own parts, but also thought about the others. We had to switch freely between our characters and us as performers, who need to consider the overall effects of the show, because we were a team, and this was not an individual show time but a group work. This is sometimes a little bit distracting and made me cannot fully focus into the show. I think this is the part that I should work on in the future.

Retrospective Reflection

Think back to some key learning you have had in the class. Why do you think it was so significant for you?

I think the most important things I learnt from class are how to focus and the use of energy, such as the exercise which we used one finger to make the stick balanced. When I was performing, I always kept that in mind, making myself very dedicated and get into the mood of the character, because only if the performers are focused, the audience then can feel the emotions and be touched by the show. Focusing was also very important for the collaboration of the show, because we had to pay attention on each other to achieve the consistence of our show.

Action Points

List things to remember for the future or things to do next. Treat this as artistic advice to your future self from your present self.

-Think of a way to balance between my characters and myself as a performer in a show (to make myself fully focused into the character and also pay attention at other things onstage which can make the show better at the same time, such as collaboration, positions onstage, and the visual effects etc.)

-Maybe we can try to have more interactions with the audience, because in theatre, the distance between the audience and the performers is so close, so that it could be interesting if we use this advantage.

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