Project proposal altogether

Level 3 Diploma Unit 8 Project Proposal pro forma

Name Sienna Pounder

Project title Acting for stage and screen

Section 1: Rationale 

So our first year of college is completed and it’s so crazy to believe how much I have improved. As an actor I’d always kept myself in a teeny tiny little box that I was terrified to step out of. I’d been a member of an acting club however it didn’t change the fact that I was afraid of being loud and having people look at me, there were only a few types of characters I could play or I’d get overwhelmed. For the first show I only played the doorwoman and an extra witch. Playing the doorman was okay, I got nervous when it was my turn to go up but it was good, it was a nice way to get me more comfortable preforming. However, for the extra witch with no lines I found it really really out of my comfort zone which is crazy because it’s not even a part. I just didn’t want anyone to see me. But once we’d practiced it and I found a way to have fun with it gradually it became something I looked forward to and I ended up saying some of the chant on my own, which dosent seem like a big deal but it was for me at the time. After that, my confidence started growing and I auditioned for Violet Beauregard in Charlie and the chocolate factory and because I was finally feeling confident enough to create a unique scene for the auditions I got the part! I remember I couldn’t believe I was playing a main role. Playing this character is where I really started to become confident with preforming for an audience. I let myself play this character a lot bigger than previous characters I’d played before. However, I still wasn’t 100% confident so my projection wasn’t very good. I think because I was still cautious I wasn’t fully letting myself go and subconsciously i still didn’t want to raise my voice too loud and make people notice me, I’m quite a shy girl haha. Then for remote my character was a more real character so it wasn’t that out of my comfort zone it just helped me to play a different type of character. However, my projection still wasn’t great. Then blood brothers came along. I got the part of mrs Lyons which was so exiting. I remember when we all went to watch it at the theatre and everyone came out saying this person would be good for this or that and I was very disheartened when no one mentioned me for anything and that’s when I knew I had to work really hard for it so the next day I started watching different scenes and reading about the play so I could be prepared. When these auditions came along I decided I was going to go for Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons, I thought Linda was a great character however I felt like I was too tall and broad so I didn’t really suit the character but I preferred the mothers anyway for many reasons. I really put my all into the auditions and whenever I’d get nervous and want to change what I was doing to make it smaller I’d just think about how it would be more embarrassing to give a bad performance than to fully go for it. Then I got the role of Mrs Lyons and after working with such an amazing cast I became so outside my box I couldn’t even see the box anymore. I can now project my voice because I’ve let go of all the anxiety’s I felt before, I want scared to shout anymore, I actually found power and confidence in it. I wanted people to notice me and I had never felt more confident in acting. I’ve also got so much more confidence in film and tv, I don’t find it uncomfortable like I used to, I’m confident in the characters I’m playing now. I used to worry about what the camera angle was and what I was doing however, now I know that’s not my job, my job is to focus on the performance I’m portraying. I’m so grateful for this course and how much it’s pushed me as an actor and how much confidence it’s gave me in acting and as a person. To think I started of playing the doorman and now I’m playing lead roles in the most important show of the year is incredible. I’m so unbelievably exited to see what next year holds. The acting world feels so much bigger now that I’m not afraid to push myself and completely and utterly become the character.

I’ve had the most wonderful year with the most wonderful team, it’s been hard and stressful but also beautiful and rewarding. I’m so proud and grateful 

Section 2: Project concept 

Right now I have my sights set in Mrs Lyons, the middle class mother in the play. If I get this part I have a lot of plans to be able to play this character to my best ability. First of all I plan to research what it was like being middle class in the 60’s. How different was your life compared to lower class people. What we’re the expectations of a woman in these days, this will determine a big part of how I play this character, you have to think of how this would effect body language. I want to research the accent and find people to draw inspiration from. I want to look into practitioners and different acting methods I could use. I plan to research what Liverpool was like in the 60’s and the divide between classes. 60’s middle class Fashion. I want to research what was going on in England in the 60’s and how the prime minister at the time effected life negatively for northern people. I plan to get most of my research answers through the internet, there’s an article for anything you’re looking for in the internet I just have to find them. I’ve been practicing and practicing for these auditions and I just hope it shows when I get in there. I’ve read the script completely different to how I’ve heard other people do it because I’m trying to keep true to real emotions. How would Mrs Lyons really feel in this situation. As desperate as she is there is no way she’d be calm and there’s no way these thoughts would be collected. I think we need to see the desperation and excitement and also the worry. I think if we play it genuine that’s how we’ll get the audience to feel the most genuine emotions. Mrs Lyons isn’t there to be comedic relief she’s quite the opposite. Her and Mrs Johnstone are there to show the vast contrast in life for different social class. She’s also there to show that just because she’s a higher class, in other senses her life isn’t particularly better. Throughout the play she is eaten/consumed by her own fears and anxiety to the point of break where she snaps and pulls the trigger. We need people to see this swelling from the beginning. Mrs Lyons was out into the play for a reason and there’s a strong message behind why she does every little thing she does, I plan to research exactly what Russel wanted Mrs Lyons to represent.

Section 3: Evaluation 

I will constantly be evaluating my work through daily blogs that describe rehearsals and how things are going. They include critiques, praise, things I’ve accomplished and things I feel I need to work on. I’ll post different lessons we’ve had, different things I’ve been doing to better my performance, problems I’ve been having and solutions. I’ll regularly update what’s going on and how the show is coming along. At the end of the year after the show is complete I will post a long detailed evaluation of how it went like what went well, what could’ve been better. I will make sure that I’m constantly keep you up to date with how this show is going/ how it went.

Proposed research sources and bibliography (Harvard format)

Mrs Lyons accent- https://youtu.be/agUuOtgHdGY

Sources:

Liverpool  - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Liverpool

https://youtu.be/ymWmAeK9MHs

https://gzipwtf.com/what-was-life-like-in-1960-liverpool/

1960’s fashion- https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1960-1969/

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1960-1969/

https://www.elle.com/fashion/g32602452/60s-fashion-trends/

Willy Russel’s blood brothers -https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zx8n7hv/revision/2

https://youtu.be/dvek0bj451Y

https://www.kenwright.com/portfolio/blood-brothers/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z22gp39/revision/5

What does Mrs Lyons represent-https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z22gp39/revision/5

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z22gp39/revision/5

Expectations of a woman - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wfrgf

https://www.historycentral.com/sixty/Americans/WOMEN.html

https://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/07/living/sixties-women-5-things/index.html

https://youtu.be/ZJBM6qs22sE

https://startsat60.com/media/lifestyle/a-housewife-in-the-60s-was-a-very-different-woman-to-one-of-today

Social class and inequality- An inspector calls

https://youtu.be/kVrqfYjkTdQ

https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/j-b-priestley/inspector-calls/9780435232825?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzLCVBhD3ARIsAPKYTcS223WB4bceLyW1VLqFeuyT-y2sQtFMADccW8_tuFbQZsl5G70kgtAaAro4EALw_wcB