WILSON WEDNESDAYS - PART 6

Here we are again in the sixth instalment on Wilson Wednesdays. This is me in 2012 when I was singing in my home church one Saturday. I was 11 years old. For those of you who don't know, I am a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, only we go to church on Saturdays not Sundays.

ACTING CLASS - 31 Oct 18

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! On today's Acting Class, we were once again with S-McK. We were writing about what our own plays are about. Their contextual meanings, themes etc.

ACTING CLASS - 30 Oct 18

On Tuesday, we were with S-McK. We were split into groups to read the script of the play that we were put in with undisclosed roles. I was chosen to do The Cherry Orchard.

VOCAL EXERCISES - BREATHING

VOCAL EXERCISES - WARM UP

VOCAL EXERCISES - DICTION

VOCAL EXERCISES - TONE

THE CHERRY ORCHARD - CONTEXT

THE CHERRY ORCHARD

TEASER POSTER

CHRISTMAS

The play was written in 1903 by playwright Anton Chekhov. That was Anton's last written play. It opened in January 1904 - 6 months before his death. It's both a comedy and a tragedy or a "tra-medy". The play influenced some playwrights including my personal favourite: Arthur Miller. At some points, I keep hearing about Eugene O'Neill.

I have been cast in this play with an unannounced/undisclosed role. I have read the entire script and it is horrifying and funny at the same time. To be honest, I have an on-off sense of humour but I was blown away.

Act I pans out the atmosphere of the environment of the play. This play is set in 1800s Russia. It opens at dawn, in the month of May, inside Madame Ranevsky's estate. The acts are not divided into scenes, although the entrances and exits of different characters delineate distinct moments of action.

I'm starting to admire doing period projects because it feels like time traveling and experiencing that life and learning how life was back then. I went to 1800s USA in The Crucible and it wasn't fun. I went to the 1950s and 1960s in Grease and Hairspray. That was fun. 

Act II opens in the outdoors, in the summertime. The set consists of a bench; the town in visible in the background. Charlotte, Yasha and Dunyasha are sitting on the bench; Ephikhodof is standing, playing a guitar. Charlotte is dressed for hunting, and is cleaning her gun. She meditates out loud on her past; she is an orphan who spent her childhood performing tricks in county fairs, and she describes her continuing feelings of isolation.

Act III is set inside the estate, during a party in August on the day of the auction of the cherry orchard. Music is heard. Pishtchik, Charlotte, Trophimof, Madame Ranevsky, Anya, Barbara, and Dunyasha enter in the background, with assorted guests, and dance the grand-rond. Firs serves drinks. Pishtchik and Trophimof come into a sitting area and Pishtchik complains about his money troubles dozes from time to time. Barbara comes into the sitting room and Trophimof teases her, calling her Madame Lopakhin. She is angry, both at the joke, and at the expense the party represents. She leaves, and Trophimof comments to Pishtchik that Pishtchik could have done great things in his life with all the energy he has devoted to scrounging for money to pay his loans. Pishtchik agrees, and falls into a momentary panic, thinking he has lost his purse, which he quickly recovers.

In the final act, Act IV, the scene opens in October, in the same room as Act I, but now the furniture is piled in a corner. Gayef and Madame Ranevsky stand outside, saying good-bye to the peasants. Madame Ranevsky gives them her purse, and Gayef chides her. They go into another room, and Lopakhin attempts to call them back to have some champagne, held by Yasha. They will not have any, and Yasha drinks the champagne instead, criticizing its quality as he sips, while Lopakhin defends its worth.

Overall, in the premise/synopsis/plot summary, The Cherry Orchard describes the lives of a group of Russians in the wake of the Liberation of the Serfs. The action takes place over the course of five or six months, but the histories of the characters are so complex that in many ways, it feels like the story just takes place a few years earlier.

What I really loved about the play are the themes and I inherited a few while reading the script.

• Indirect Action
• Mixing of Genres
• Symbolism
• Irony & Blindness
• Social Change & Progress
• Independence, Liberation & Freedom

WILSON WEDNESDAYS - PART 5

Here we are again in the fifth instalment on Wilson Wednesdays. This is me in 2010. I was 9 years old. This is the first time I am actually singing in a different church because of my beautiful and high powerful voice. I was starting to get very well-known around all churches in London. I actually was a singing evangelist in a church in Birmingham but unfortunately there is no "sequel" for that. Now thanks to a little something called "puberty", I don't have that voice anymore but it is still in progress and I am trying to get it back. ENJOY!!!!

WILSON WEDNESDAYS - PART 4

Sorry for the 2 week absence, I was busy. Here we are again in this fourth instalment on Wilson Wednesdays. This is back in 2012 when I was 11 and singing another beautifully powerfully uplifting song in my home church.

ACTING EVALUATION

Just to say, throughout my first five weeks, I think the following skills that I developed so far.

• Good stage and vocal presence (I haven't been on screen, yet?)
• I have the ability to enter into another character and engage with the audience
• I have the ability to memorise lines
• I have the energy and the dedication to perform but I need to motivate myself and boost my confidence

The skills that I feel like I need to have:

• To have good understanding of dramatic techniques
• Creative insight
• Learn different bodily gestures (body language)

ACTING CLASS - 9 Oct 18

Yesterday's Acting Class, WHAT A BLAST!!!, The assessment went very well but I will be talking about it more on my assessment evaluation. To be honest, I skipped only one line "Can you tell a stranger?",but still everyone worked very well. JP was great. Diamonte was great. Danielle was awesome. I look forward to collaborate with them. Everyone else was outstanding.

WILSON WEDNESDAYS - PART 3

This is also back in 2012, I was 11 years old, when I was singing in my home church on Music Night. Believe me, this is where I really show off my voice. Boy, was my voice that powerful?

ACTING CLASS - 8 Oct 18

Yesterday's Acting Class, we were with R-Alex. We returned for a seventh and final time to rehearse for our Greek plays. My group are doing King Oedipus. I play Corinthian, JP plays Oedipus, Damonte plays Chorus and Danielle plays Jocasta. Today's the day! See you this afternoon.

ACTING CLASS - 3 Oct 18

On today's Acting Class, we continued working on our scripts. We have successfully finished our first scene. Unfortunately, Taylor didn't arrive, so it was just me and Ben. We started thinking outside the box and change the structure of the play. We also came up with the full dialogue and we have successfully finished the second scene. Now, as of today, we wait for Taylor's response to start off the third scene, which is the climax.

ACTING CLASS - 4 Oct 18

Last Thursday, we were with R-Alex, returned for a sixth time to rehearse our Greek plays. I play Corinthian in King Oedipus, JP plays Oedipus, Damonte plays Chorus and Danielle plays Jocasta. We performed our piece and we got some feedback.

• Learn our lines
• Execute our cues
• Listen to each other - Have a sharp mind

ACTING CLASS - 2 Oct 18

Yesterday, we were with S-McKev. We continued writing our script. There are some new features: we gave it a title, The Hour That Came. We were finishing our first scene. Just to recap, my group is Taylor & Ben. Our theatre company name is Midnight Sun, hence the play title.

WILSON WEDNESDAYS - PART 2

This is a documentary of my secondary school, Deptford Green. You will see footage of me as Danny Zuko practising the musical number, Greased Lightning from Grease. This was in 2016



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