Evaluation

Performance day has come! And I really do believe they were the best two performances we've ever done. Almost everything went better then it had before and the few mistakes made were handled in a professional manor. Some of the things that went well would have to firstly be the energy that went into show. The rave scenes regained the energy that lacked after our first rehearsal with Ben, and we were once again able to enter the true care-free world of Manchester in 1989. The energy also allowed us to drive through each scene without any energy being lost, this meant that the audience were able to stay interested. The audience's cheers and laughter definitely demonstrated this and allowed us to appreciate the comedy that we as a cast have aimed to deliver clearly and seem to have achieved.

Being able to relate to the modern setting of the text boosted my understanding of the plot of the play which I believe is important otherwise it is impossible to invest time and character effort into the performance. Because I believe I have a good understanding of the play it also allowed me to deliver a more relatable story to the audience. This of course created an intimate relationship between the audience and myself because we had a common ground to explore.

Despite the performance going better than I had imagined, there were of course some improvements that I would aim to reach when we perform the show in Stratford-Upon-Avon. For example, during the first show I stumbled on my first line, this was strange because I don't usually forget lines and also it was one of the lines I knew more then the rest because it was the first line I had learnt. On top of this, Shakespeare's work is probably the hardest form of text to improvise as I soon realised. In order to improve I will focus more on my cue lines and my own lines as a whole (of course I did this but I will approach the script in more depth and use repetition in order to hopefully create definite 'line memory'). Another down to this was the fact that the stumble shocked me and so in my first performance I found it harder to play around with the scene and act off of a in the moment impulse because I was a bit shaken. Of course I tried my best not to show this but it definitely made me feel less confident throughout the show.

I would also like to spend more time focusing on the group choreography as I feel as though my own performance lacked the precise timing and effortless look that it perhaps did during the casts first rehearsal with Ben. During this, the ensemble choreography needs to be really sleek and done in unison otherwise the individuals that lack timing stand out more and ruin the overall clean effect. This of course is simple enough to fix with a bit of rehearsing.

In conclusion, the entire Shakespeare term has been a success. My understanding of Shakespeare's life and his work has increased. I feel as though through going to watch a modern version of one of Shakespeare's plays and being in a modern version of one of his plays, has played a big part in allowing me to understand and appreciate his creations.

I have also been given the opportunity to understand all the aspects of a performance by meeting the people behind the costumes, lighting and choreography. Normally we do performances to entertain the audience and the actors are rewarded with a round-of-applause, but being a part of a show with everyone has really reminded me of all the other little people that play a huge part in allowing the show to go on. Without those people there would in fact be no show and so it was a great reminder that the end round of applause wasn't just for the actors but for the playwright, director, choreographer, stage manager, and every other person that has any association with the production.