Careers & Training - Auditions Evaluation

Electra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYvB71quMe4&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9-&index=15


The first thing we had to do in our Electra audition was to chose a mask. We had to then look at it and imagine a character based from this. My character was a 20 something year old man who was very geeky, goofy and awkward. I chose this character because my mask had two teeth sticking out which made him look goofy and he also had an awkward smile. 

Next we had to walk around like our character and over exaggerate their movements. I decided that my character walked with his shoulders leading, arms down stiff and taking long strides as if he was tall and lanky. After watching back the video I think I could have developed his movements a lot more than I did. Perhaps sticking my shoulders out really far, taking wider steps and even swinging my arms. I don't think I stood out in this part of the audition as much as I could have done.
Then we had to put the masks on and walk across the room in character. I found this difficult as I had my glasses on underneath which caused the mask to slip down meaning I couldn't see where I was going. This distracted me a lot from my movements. If I was to do that part again I would have taken my glasses of and also have walked slower to show that my character was shy, geeky and awkward. 

Next we had to one by one go and stand in a position we think our character would be in if they were in a crowd. I decided to go towards the back as my character wasn't a confident enough person to be at the front. I put my shoulders up as this is something many people do when they are nervous. I also put my arms in front of my body and held my hands together as if I was shielding myself from other people. I think I conveyed the nervous character quite well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kMrWScdhOA&index=16&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9-

Next we had to get into pairs and each read a part of one of the scenes from Electra. The scene we had was when Orestes reveals himself to Electra, who thinks he is dead and is on her way to bury his "ashes". I worked with Natalie. I played Electra and she was Orestes. I think we did well but we should have moved more. For instance when I say "don't take this away from me" it doesn't make sense because we should have been fighting over the urn. I think I should have had a less happy tone at the start when Electra is starting to believe it could be her brother, I should have been more suspicious and cautious. I also needed to be louder at the end as it isn't very clear what I am saying. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwyzF8gifB4&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9-&index=17

After this we repeated the scene, once in modern day language and once in mime. We then were set an extra challenge to do it using the masks, we had not rehearsed it with them. 

I think I portrayed Electra's emotions well in the first run (modern day language). She was upset and lashed out at the person who was bugging her as this was a very personal and upsetting moment for her. Electra is a harsh and blunt person anyway and I think I portrayed this. However at the end we lost our way a little bit and this caused a few noticeable pauses. I think I could have done better if I was more confident and comfortable with the story and character then I could have improvised better. 

In the version where we just used mime, I think I used facial expressions well. The story still seemed clear even though we couldn't use words. I think I needed to make the mime of me holding the urn stronger as my arms kept on moving about. Sometimes it was bigger sometimes it was smaller. I should have created a clearer picture of it in my head to help me really believe I was holding something because I don't think that was very believable. 

The final task of using the masks did throw us all at first because it was something we hadn't rehearsed and I wasn't very experienced in using masks. It is a lot harder because you can't use words or facial expressions to tell the story it is all on your gestures and movements. I learnt from earlier to not wear my glasses underneath so this time I could see properly. I think I used my body well to tell the story. For instance I put my hand out to Natalie as if to say "no" and "leave me alone".  It is obvious through my body language that at first my character feels negative towards hers. When I realise who he really is I put my hands over my mouth to represent shock and disbelief and then fling myself towards Orestes to embrace him. To improve I think we should have made this piece a bit longer, playing out the disbelief Electra feels for longer as this seems to be the shortest version we did. I think this boils down to our lack of experience/confidence with the masks. 

Overall I was happy with my audition. I think I performed well and I also learnt a lot about mask work, Greek theatre and the story of Electra. 

Cats:

Singing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFvS18KIGZo&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9-&index=56

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EYi0iu--20&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9-&index=53

I was ill at the time of auditions so for this reason I don't feel that I sang as well as I could have. I think a strength of mine in both of my songs is that I sung accapella but I managed to keep in the same key throughout. In Buenos Aries I didn't remember the last part of the song so I stopped earlier than intended. It didn't effect the performance too much but I personally would have liked to have got to the end as it had a bigger finish. In Pharaoh's Story there were a few notes that I didn't quite hit especially at the end, I think I would have been okay with these if I was not ill. 

Dancing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJD4M8WiYe8&index=40&list=PLl8RU1N6TfpJpZWLRF3dBzBufipRHux9

I think a strength in my dance audition was my big movements and pointed feet. I kept my head out towards the audience which is good for me as I tend to lose confidence or feel embarrassed and look down at the floor but this time I wanted to use my face to portray the sassy attitude that comes with the song Macavity. A weakness in this dance is that I don't always kick my legs as high or as straight as I could do and sometimes my shoulders are up, these are things I need to improve before the show.