Preparation&Rehearsal-Animal Characteristics

Throughout the rehursal process and introducing ourselves to the monologues we done a variety of emphasised excersies to help influence our final performance of the monologues on audition day.

An excerised we done included the use of physically embodying certain animals and interperating how an animal would be if they were a person.

For example:

We first emobided characteristics of a Gorilla- I interpreted this to be bold and male like. To portrey this i used a wide space with the wide shoulders and a big heavy walk. I also had my head heald high as gorillas are normally powerful and dominant.

Next we emobdied the characteristics of a fish- I interpreted this to be enclosed, small and vulnerable. To develop with the thought about the steriotypical look of fish. I thought the generally people assue they are ditsy and dumb so to physicalise this i walked slowly taking lots of pauses. I feel this showed the clueless interpretation of the animal effectivly.

Now to develop this idea to apply it to our monologues we had to think of animals which assosiated the the characters we were playing in our monologues. Below showed of what i felt was approriate for my characters:

"My Mother Said I Never Should": For the character Jackie i chose to embody the characteristics of a Rabbit. I specifically chose this animal as generally they are friendly, caring and sensible however they do have a side which can become angry and aggressive if tension is created.

"School Play": For the character Charlie i chose to embidy the characteristics of a cat. I decided on specially chosing to assosiate my character with this animal as they are quite vicious animal who can be sly and powerful however there phyical appearance can be nice and cute. I feel this applies to Charlie as her physical appreance shows her to be young and not scary but her personality can be bold, mean and mischevious and also antagonistic!

Now when performing our monologue i can also remember this exersice and let it influence my way of performing the peice adding subtle hints of the animal characteristics the devlop the characters.

Preparation&Rehearsal-Vocal Warm Up

An actors most important tool is there voice and with essential regular exercises and warms ups this ensures the actors is prepared and ready to meet the deamds stage performance.
“Your body is your instrument, and just like any good musician, you need to take time to warm up that instrument!”-
As an actor, there are countless reasons why you should take the time to develop and implement a good warm-up routine. Not only does it feel great, it will increase your body and spatial awareness, help relieve tension and prevent strain and injury. Warming-up prior to a performance will assist you to respond physically, vocally and mentally and will prevent you from forcing your work.
Vocal exercises are part of an actor’s working life. In ancient Greek times, it was the greatest orators, those with the physical gift of a beautiful voice and a strong diaphragm, that were the actors and public speakers. There are references in some Shakespeare's plays to the vocal exercising of an actor before performance and the importance of enunciation and volume. There are many types of vocal exercises, and each addresses a different part of the vocal mechanism. You can look at each component as a cog in a machine that, when put together, will aid understandable and natural sounding speech that can easily be heard at the back of an auditorium. In this collection Jeanette Nelson, Head of Voice, takes actors through a warm up and a series of exercises typical for actors in rehearsal at the National Theatre.

Audition Requirements for Drama School

I feel it is important to get more of a knowledge on specific requirements which Drama School's request when an actor is preparing for an audition. This allows the actors to be given a guide to what they will be too present on the day however normally some spontaneous improvisation or other requests will be asked of the actor on the day. This allows the panel to see how the actor will react in a unseen environment and also if there ability to work as a team is suitable.


LAMDA-Audition/Interview Requirements:


Applicants should present:

• One monologue from an Elizabethan or Jacobean play.

• One monologue from a play written in 20th or 21at centuries but not a pice written by yourself or by an unknown or little-known author.

Neither peice should last longer than 3 minutes each and must be clearly contrasting.After the audition speeches you will be taken to meet admissions staff for a brief interview. The interview is part of the admissions process and app;icants should therefore be perpared to ask and answer questions accordingly.Applicants auditioned in North America will be asked to sing a short simple unaccompanied song of their choice.Full information on the audition requirements and the admissions process is sent to the applicants with their notification of auditionAll acting course applicants please note:

• You should be comfortably dress with suitable footwear for auditions

• This information regarding audition requirements referes to the irst rounf og auditions only. If you are asked to attend a second audition or a recall, iformation on what to prepare will be sent to you accordingly.

RADA-Audition/Interview Requirements

Preliminary audition
The Preliminary audition usually consists of two, but sometimes three, audition speeches. Each speech should last about 2 minutes, and certainly no longer than 3 minutes. The panel may stop you if your speech is longer than 3 minutes.Piece A - Classical The ‘classical’ piece should be from Shakespeare or an Elizabethan/Jacobean playwright (Jonson, Marlowe, Webster, etc). It should be originally written in English – so do not choose a piece from a Greek tragedy or a Moliere comedy, for example.Piece B - Modern The modern piece should provide a clear contrast to the classical piece and we would encourage you to choose a piece written after 1960. Do not use Chekhov or Shaw for this piece.

• All candidates must have an alternative classical piece prepared (same rules as Piece A), which they may or may not be called upon to perform.

• Preliminary auditions run continually between November and April. All auditionees are seen at preliminary auditions by two members of the audition panel

Recall audition
Speeches presented at the preliminary audition are repeated at the recall audition, unless candidates have been recommended to prepare a new audition piece. They are also required to sing a prepared unaccompanied song.

Short workshop
A three hour workshop, where students work on scenes from a variety of classical and contemporary plays.

Day Workshop
This is the final stage and all candidates are required to prepare a new audition speech of their choice, either classical or modern.

Assignment Scenario

"You have received confirmation of a first audition for a Drama School. You have been asked to prepare two contrasting monologues.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate a range in your performance skills through two contrasting monologues.

You will prepare and rehearse two monologues that each last 1-3 minutes. You must demonstrate a clear contrast in mood, style and/or historical period."