Month: August 2019

Red Leap (30/8/2019)

srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Theatre 0 Comment

Today was our last day with red leap and it was quite an interesting session. The first thing that stood out to me the most was how we depicted images of emotions. We tried focusing on the feeling rather than the look, and creating a picture from that. I was able to develop my physicality and explore different aspects of a particular feeling or situation. I explored the emotions connected tow waiting, whether that was excitement of meeting someone, anxiety of bad news or just irritation that someone is late.

We also looked at a lot of sensory devices today. We had to create a piece pertaining to a stimulus, but only with sound. We had the audience close their eyes. We started by creating a rhythm with our feet which we set as the normal, we used whispers to give a sense of discomfort while also having someone yell to bring in some contrast and depict an internal chaos.

I also loved the last activity we did, in which we had created an image, had the audience open their eyes for a few seconds and then close them again to create another image. We had one of me leaning over a person and holding a frame, while Lucas held my feet up to show someone trying to take you away from your place of attachment.

Red Leap Theatre (28/8/2019)

srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Theatre 0 Comment

Today we worked on ensemble awareness and how we relate to each other and the space. We did some weight-bearing exercises and created a sequence with them. I had to learn to trust people and allow myself to focus on the creative devising process. It was a new skill for me to develop because although I was working with others and keeping aware of them, I also had to make sure that I was completing my own character.

I also love how we incorporated imagery into everything we did. I definitely think that in the future I will use more physicality in my pieces to try and ensure variation. Through the movements we learnt we tried to utilise all we had (emotions and body) to express some kind of story or convey some kind of message.

 

Red Leap Theatre (27/8/2019)

srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Theatre 0 Comment

Today we had artists in residence from red leap theatre join our class. It was quite an interesting experience as we explored the role of group work, spatial and self awareness, textuality of scenes and even how to choreograph sequences. The energy of the lesson was always captivating and I was engaged throughout.

  • Retrospective: Think back on some key learning? Why might have been important to you?
    • When I look back upon the work I did, what strikes me the most is how quickly we dived into things. My biggest issue is that sometimes I like to stand around and flesh out idea, when in reality I would get a much better understanding if I just got up and started working. With our limited time we were forced to keep moving and developing.
    • Another key point of learning would be recognising my role. We played a game where you made a decision to pause or keep moving, your role in the group was up to you. I think this taught me a valuable lesson about choosing my actions on stage and even in the devising process. Whether it is your turn to take control of a situation, or your turn to sit out and let someone else discuss.
  • Intentional:List 2 or 3 things you intend to do with the skills or knowledge required today
    • I definitely think I am going to use the walk about activity to get a good sense of my character. Whichever pace feels most natural can give you a great sense of your character’s emotions. Are they sad so they walk slow? Are they scared so they sprint?
    • I also think I am going to incorporate physicality more into my pieces. Sometimes there is a misconception that all the best pieces are dialogue heavy and full of theatrical symbols, but actually sometimes facial expressions and movements tell the best story.
  • Evaluative: What worked well? What was challenging? How did you solve the problem?
    • Something that worked well was everyone’s attitude to try new things. The activities we did today were familiar to some and not to others, but everyone pushed themselves to perform to the best of their abilities.
    • Something that was challenging was actually to synchronise everyone’s movements. I know with time it would’ve been better, but it shows us that our characters are always part of something bigger, and it is those links and connections we have to build.
  • Action: List things to remember for the future or things to do next as a performer
    • Give 100% to any role you play. With theatre sometimes we are pushed to do things that make us uncomfortable, and so we don’t give our full energy so as to not look silly. I learnt today that if you morph into the role you are playing and do the best of your abilities, that the audience will be more interested in the performance and won’t realise that you are nervous.

 

First Dance Rehearsal

srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Diwali Dance 0 Comment

Learning Outcomes: LO5-Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively // LO2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

On the 17th of August, I had my first rehearsal for a Diwali Function my condominium has. I live an in area that is majority Indians, and this means that every year for Diwali we have a get together amongst the residents to celebrate Diwali. For this occasions many groups come together to put on a song and a dance. I am in a group of 8 people in total, and we decided to come together and dance. We had our first rehearsal which was quite interesting.

We are rehearsing once a week for an hour for about 7 weeks. I would like to achieve my learning outcomes by diving in and giving 100% regardless of is I feel nervous or not. I would also like to develop new skills by sticking with the dances and trying to practice a little outside of class to make the steps and skills a little more natural to me.

We have a dance teacher who comes in and teaches us the choreography. It is quite an interesting experience because we have a range of skill in the room. I am a classically trained Indian dancer (in a style called Bharathnatyam), and one of my friends participating does not even want to be there! For this reason, we all have to work collaboratively to support each other and make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable. I have seen the benefits of working together as my friend is already becoming more engaged and through helping her I found myself invested in the dance also.

The dance style we are doing is known as Bhangra, which is common in North India and is very fast paced and flows. The dance style I learned, is a traditional style, meaning it is far more slow and precise in terms of movement and portrayal. Bhangra is a form of enjoyment where as Bharathnatyam is a means to convey story. I have undertaken a challenge of trying to flow with the music and be less conscious about my steps, because it is only by that method that I will truly enjoy myself. I have always been quite rigid with how I perform, focusing too much on the movements and others. This time, I am pushing myself to become connected with the music and stage, and focus on the energy rather than the mistakes.

Below is a short clip from our rehearsal ( I am second from the left, in black shorts):

 

My Reading

srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Language and Literature 0 Comment

Throughout my life I think my reading has changed quite a lot. Personally I think that it has been most dependent upon what I can relate to at that particular stage of my life. When I was a kid I loved fantasy because it was quite connected to my vast imagination and the make-belief games I’d play. When I was about 12-13 I really enjoyed realistic fiction because it was quite relatable to see kids my age deal with the same problems but in an entertaining context. As of right now I love life stories and non fiction book because I think as a I become an adult I am more aware of my life and the world I live in so being aware of the issues and the changes it quite important.

My attitude to reading has also changed depending on my schedule and the workload I have. I always notice however that I am very grateful for the time I get to read and spend some time being engaged in somebody else’s life other than my own. I think reading can create a sense of empathy whether it be to a character, a moment or a situation. It teaches us to take ourselves out of the picture and focus on something else (with which our busy lives is something we rarely get to do). I am also quite fond of theatre as well so the concept of stepping in somebody else’s shoes it not a new one to me and I tend to find it very interesting.

My goal for reading is to become more patient. This is something I struggle with in all realms of my life, academically, socially and even personally. I find myself quitting on books if they don’t engage me right away or if the character is not as complex as I thought, however I want to change that habit and push myself to keep reading and make my judgements later. In our social lives I also feel that humans are very quick to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about our capabilities and other people, which is another aspect of my life I can change if I develop patience.

A book I read that really changed my life was ‘Alice in Wonderland: Through the looking glass’. It is actually my favourite book ever written. The book in itself in terms of plot and characters is genuinely insane, Lewis Caroll spared no room for anything more crazy than a story like that. I think my biggest takeaway from that book is that your life is whatever you choose to make it. Alice throughout the book is discouraged and unsupported by even her own mother in her pursuit of her own truth, but none the less she goes to a place where people believe in her.

This book has impacted me because it has made me curious as to my own truths, what I want to accomplish with my life. It has also reminded me that along the way there will always be people who try and hold you back, sometimes, unfortunately, it is the people whom you love most. The story urges us to find a place where we are loved and appreciated for who we choose to be, an idea that has taken stand in the 21st century with the rise of self identification and expression. Specifically to me, this book makes me think about my big picture. I would like to pursue law in the future, and I am trying to develop a sense of where I fit best and where I will be guided best to make the change in the world that I want to see.

My goals and aims for this course

srira11440@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Language and Literature 0 Comment

As of this week, I have started my language and literature course in IB. Already through the activities in class and the information I have leant about my peers, I realise that people use so many different terms and words to define, explain and express themselves. I have also seen the way others interpret this information and what assumptions this has lead them to about the person. For example, my teacher mentioned he loved mountains and I have inferred that he is probably and outdoors-type person who enjoys nature.

I think this course is well suited towards me because I thoroughly enjoy the subjective and inquisitive nature of literature, trying to see the many ways in which we can analyse a writer’s work. I am also looking forward to the more application side of the language course as we try and explore the numerous ways in which people use their different forms of language to communicate different things.

My goals for this course are:

  1. To gain a better understanding of the framework of my generation. I believe that by studying language and literature, I can see the portrayal of characters and situations which depict or contrast modern day values, giving me a better sense of who I am in regards to the time I am living in.
  2. To deepen my appreciation of literature by exploring more. I think that reading several literary texts and analysing them, I will gain a better appreciation for all the finer details the author chose to include. I have noticed that when I understand a classic book, I am less intimidated to engage in the themes and question the book, which helps progress my learning.

I had a very memorable experience last year in my GCSE English class which lead me to believe this course is right for me. I have never been a huge fan of classic books, but we studied “To Kill a Mockingbird” in my class. I realised that my skills from the language aspects of the course has allowed me to better understand Atticus’ position as a lawyer while the literary knowledge I had allowed me to flesh our characters and themes of the book. The combining of my language and literary knowledge allowed me to learn so much that I ended up loving the book (even though it is a classic)! I’m hoping that this course can also help me produce more moments where I can see the maturity and transformation of my English skills.

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