14.1.15 - The Tempest

   There was a incredible lack of focus in class today. I understand that it is a bit harder to do work and focus in a such a large group of ours, especially now that the 1st and 2nd years have classes together, but there should be a certain amount of respect towards our tutors and peers, or at least try. And this, I think, is the problem with some of the people in the class. They do not feel that they need to be focusing all the time, but that they can go and sit in a group talking about their own things, waiting for something to happen. But here is the thing; something is happening all the time. You never know when new information will come forward and you need to be listening. In the real world, directors and bosses won't repeat the task for you, but you need to figure it out yourself. Also, it makes everyone look very unprofessional if a group of people are talking over the teacher. I do not know if people realize, but we do not actually have that much time until the show, about a month with half-term a week before the show!

   Luckily, we were able to finish the opening of the play, the storm scene. It still needs some work of course, we need to keep going over it, but the choreographing is done.

1.   We start in two rows, both in a semicircle formation. Everyone is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with each other and we start the piece with making sound of the sea and swaying right to left, creating this image of waves and the moving surface of the sea. Everyone will bounce on their place once as the drums come in. The two groups on the sides, green and blue, will move to the sides, as the middle group keeps with the on their place. 
2. The next sequence is everyone doing a ballet like skipping movement with a pair, similar to step ball change. I am in the middle group and doing the one sequence of the steps, the front row of the middle section splits into two, and moves to follow the back row, still doing the step as we move. The two group on the sides start "crashing into each other" in a wave like matter, making the waves with their hands, and then going back to our places. They will also do a circling motion once the middle group begin to move forward
   
3. The people in the middle group will begin to move forward with a version of the earlier skipping steps, pairing up as they go. When everyone is on place, in the middle of the two group on the sides, the people of the middle group will turn towards the people on the sides. Everyone will start doing the same kind of wave motion with their hands and bodies, as done before, for four times, and then at the last bit of the sequence, jump up and scatter around the stage, representing lighting and thunder. 
4. This start a unison piece of choreography, where everyone does the same movements. It starts by going right, then left, and when going back to right everyone does a whole circle turn and repeat the steps in the opposite direction.  
   
5. Everyone will then rush to the front of the stage into a huddle, that we divided into four groups. Each group will then, in order, go out of the huddle with a movement that represents the waves hitting on rocks. We tried couple of different things with this, going in order twice or only once and then everyone together going off and doing the movement. But as we looked the time we had, we soon realized that we needed more time on the next bit, and so decided to only do it once everyone in order and then move on. 
   
   
   
6. We then move on to the lifts. We have two lifts happening at the same time, and we have Spike and Cat being lifted, since they are playing the roles of Sebastian and Viola. So, they represent the twins being separated by the storm. I am one of the group that lifts Spike. The people who are not lifting, will be around the lifters, trying to pull the twins down in to depths of the sea and representing the waves. These two lifting groups will travel from each side of the stage to the center and put down the twins
7. In the centre, everyone will gather around the two twins, trying to keep them apart and pull them into the sea. As the music builds up towards the end, we will start falling to the ground and with the last boom, fall down, with the twins following soon after. 

   I feel the parts that need the most work, are the lifts and simply getting the beats down and hit the marks. I definitely want to go over the lifts, since I am one the lifters, just to make it smooth and quick. To the audience, it shouldn't seem like we are lifting Spike, but rather that the waves are taking him with them, which should have a flow in it, even in storm. I also need some work with the steps, since for me, I seem to mess up coming in. Otherwise i feel quite confident with the piece.