Context

First idea proposal:

OFFSTAGE project logs: 

18th January: Friday  

In today’s session we wrote out our storyboards, detailing about each scene, thinking about what the main focus of the scene is and which character are included. We all wrote our main scene, so our ideas for our specific scene are clear. Then we focused on creating the transitions between the main 4 scenes. This was slightly tricky need to flow together but we had some ideas such as a projection of texts. Next we watched a few scenes from Chorus Line as it has a similar concept to the piece we want to make. 

(Story board photos below) 

Beginning dance which starts the show.

My scene about anxiety.

The transition scene from my scene to Savannah's

Savannah's scene about lack of support from friends and family.

The Transition between Savannah's scene to Marshall's.

Marshall's scene about pushing oneself to injury.

Transition of Marshall's scene to Dylan's.

Dylan's scene about body image and weight in the industry.

The transition from Dylan's scene to the end of the piece.

21st January: Monday  

While searching for songs for the first dance, we came across ‘Me too’ by Megan Trainer, I think this song is a good pick as it’s all about having confidence; contrasting the theme of our piece. We made a small section of choreography showing all of our characters personalities, for example my pose was very over the top to symbolise how a lot of happiness and courage is put on and being faked, because of the characters anxiety. 

After, we went over Dylan’s script for his scene. While reading through his script I had to think about the tone of voice I need to use with whatever character I’m playing, as a part of the scene I also play an audition judge alongside my character too. As one of the judges I have to be rude and make fun of his character, this means I have to deliver the lines in a condescending tone and that I also need to emphasise on certain words such as “YOU’RE going to DANCE” this shows that as a judge I am mocking and underestimating him.  

Dylan's script- the beginning of the flashback of the audition.

Dylan's script- the second halve of the flashback including his solo songs.

Dylan's script- going back to present time.

To work on the transition scene, we improvised lines. The scene leads into an argument before we all make up, after we blocked it out in the space and filmed it. 

25th January: Friday  

Last night I wrote my script, in my scene I want to include a voice over which will act as the voice in my character’s head and while that is being played I want a small movement piece done by the whole group showing a battle between the voice of reason and voice of anxiety. Similarly Savannah had also written her script, which is good as her scene is right after mine which meant we could read through the two of them together and see if they flow and make sense. However, I noticed that my scene was lacking in the focus of the scene and the anxiety wasn’t shown properly. So I talked with Dylan and Savannah about how I can show when the anxiety is happening and how to show it. So, after a short discussion we thought that a red light should occur when ever my character experiences anxiety and to make it more clear that it’s in my characters head I’ll have the others say something hurtful but when they are confronted it turns out they said something supportive. Using this advice I then wrote a second draft of my script. 

(First draft of script pics) 

(Second draft of script pics) 

My script draft 1- showing the voice over.

My script draft 1- showing my monologue.

My script draft 2- showing more of the anxiety happening.

My script draft 2- showing the voice over and half my monologue.

My script draft 2- the second half of my monologue.

28th January: Monday  

We now all have a draft of our scripts now so we created a google docs drive which we put all our drafts on, this creates a foundation script to work off of. Reading through the whole script so far we knew that it needed work and to be able to develop it we need a stronger character base. As the characters we created are to close to ourselves it’s making it harder to get into character and make it interesting for the audience. Therefore we spent the rest of the lesson doing character building games such as hot seating and scenarios. I found this difficult as I don’t have experience in creating a character and as acting is not a strength of mine. What I need to do for Wednesday is look up different questions to ask my character in order to develop and understand my character. 

30th January: Wednesday   

In this lesson we discussed as a group what we thought wasn’t working with the piece and the conclusion was there was no story and there was no character development. We began to create a list of characteristics which were personal and for our characters to see what differences and similarities there are in order to see how we can build a backstory. Then we discussed our story, as we were all unsure what the whole story was. We weren’t making a development, so I decided to set a task for everyone to create a storyline for Friday and that they mustn’t depend on our individual scenes, this will ensure the story is strong.  

31st January: Thursday 

 I was not in today but after lessons the four of us talked about the difficulties of writing a script and the skills needed to do so. This led to the decision of not going forward with this offstage project, as we decided it’s better to show the skills we have developed and acquired already rather than trying to learn a new one entirely.  We have decided to create multiple pieces that include: solo’s, duet’s and group pieces. Personally, I believe we could achieve the offstage project, as we were still in the early developmental stages and it was going to have to take a lot of trial and errors, but the more errors we faced the more some people became discouraged in making it work. I know that when someone is writing a script it will definitely not be anywhere near as amazing as it should be especially when it’s the first draft, but considering we had time to develop it, the end result would’ve probably been better. I feel like a couple of people gave up a little bit too early on before the process fully started as they saw how it wasn’t going to be easy for them.

  

Final Proposal:

Level 3 Extended Diploma – Performance and Production Arts Assignment Brief:  

Assignment Title	Final Major Project Proposal
Unit No & Title	Unit 12   Extended Project
Level & Credit Value	Level 3 / 36 credits
Assignment Leader	Shelley Wilson
Assignment Verifier	A. Stewart Smith
Start Date	14rd January 2019
Assessment Date	Proposal Deadline; 28/01/19. Performance wk Beg’ 31/04/19  Folder submission; 20/05/19.
Assessment Grade	DISTINCTION	MERIT	PASS	REFERRAL	FAIL

The Extended Project is made up of a piece or collection of practical works, with written work to support. It will follow a similar process to the year 1, unit 8 processes but the quality and quantity of the work needs to be much greater, with much greater depth of research applied to and evidenced about the contextual and development sides of the project.  

For your Extended/ Final Major Project you will need to choose and develop an outcome of your choice. You must demonstrate the best of your ideas and skills. Keep in mind the different projects that you have done so far and what you have learnt through them. 

You will need to write the project, develop research areas, themes, select places to go, work on production ideas using previously learned techniques and experience and produce a final outcome which will be marked and assessed for your final grade on the course both internally and externally.  

Do not try to include too much in the time provided as you may find it difficult to fulfil your own project brief. In proposing your project you can also include not enough information and set targets which are too small so the project outcomes are too simple, with too little initial research. Throughout this project there will also be times when you need to work completely independently and staff will be observing/ facilitating. Be realistic. How easy is it to research your chosen subject/role? Choose a topic/role that you feel sufficiently interested in and which will sustain you throughout the project.    

 

Level 3 Extended Project- Performance and Production Arts  

Project Proposal 

Learner Name	UAL Reg. ID	Centre name & Number
Faith Penn-Bixby		Westminster Kingsway College 11072

Project proposal title	Main Area of Activity/s e.g.   Performance/ Direction/choreography

Tutor / Assessor Name	Signature	Date

Project Proposal: Guidance for Candidates 

This unit requires students to produce a written project proposal of about 500 words. The proposal should address the following: 

• A review of the students’ progress and achievement to date (Section 1) 
• The project concept and rationale (Section 2) 
• How the project will be evaluated and reviewed (Section 3) 

In addition, students should provide:   

• A bibliography detailing all research sources 
• A timetabled action plan   

In producing the project proposal and in preparing for the project realisation you should familiarise yourself with Unit 13 of the qualification. In particular, you should understand the assessment and grading criteria which will be used to determine standards of achievement.  

Units 12 require you to produce a project proposal of about 500 words, excluding the project action plan and bibliography. Project proposals should not be so succinct that they do not address the requirements listed below, nor should they be excessively long and unfocused. Your project proposal should be sufficiently challenging to ensure you have the best possible chance of meeting the grading criteria.  

Section 1  

A review of progress and achievement through parts 1 and 2 of the course: This section provides you with an opportunity to reflect on, review and summarize your progress and achievements through the first 11 units, and the knowledge, skills and understanding you have acquired. What you know now, and what it means to you, compared with what you knew and could do before you started the course, and how this has influenced your choice of discipline or disciplines and your project proposal.  It also provides an opportunity for you to explain your reasons for choosing a particular discipline or disciplines and to outline both your immediate and longer-term aspirations (150 words) 

Throughout the first 11 units I have improved in areas such as technique, performance quality and choreography. In particular, my choreographic skills have developed due to opportunities like auditions, for which I choreographed a two-minute lyrical contemporary solo to the song Recovery by James Arthur. For unit 8 I choreographed a group piece using a range of dance styles including; jazz, contemporary, ballet and urban/hip hop, which allowed me to work with other dancers’ strengths to create a well-executed performance. What I learned from this is that the stylistic differences of the dance styles can alter the movement choreographically; that different dance styles require different choreographic approaches; due to the variation in the necessary movement qualities. 

I have also acquired the choreographic skills through all of the units by taking charge when it comes to perfecting a routine for example, for in units 5 and 6 working with Bruce’s Ghost Dances, I took on the role of adapting and teaching the repetoire to the other dancers. This taught me how to look at movement and characterisation in detail and to understand how to communicate this to others 

At the beginning of the course, I mainly enjoyed moving around and be taught routines and I wasn’t confident in my choreographic skill, but through pas units, learning about different dance styles and adapting/developing pieces I’ve realised that creating choreography is a strength and interest of mine and I’d like to take that interest further. I am going on to study a BFA in dance and choreography specifically and I want to continue to hone and develop my skills through my work on unit 12. I would like to be assessed primarily as a choreographer and secondly as a performer 

  

Section 2 

Project concept:  

(Approx 200 words) This section provides an opportunity for you to clearly explain the concept and aims of your project, production or performance, the research and ideas that will support its development, what you anticipate producing, the levels and types of resources that you will need and an indication of the form in which you will complete and present your final realisation within the allocated timescale. This might include an indication of when and how you will use studios, equipment and other resources, how you will make use of tutorial and peer feedback and where you will incorporate independent study  

For unit 12, as a group project we propose to present a ‘cabaret’ style evening, showing a range of performances such as singing and dancing in groups, duets and solos. This allows everyone to play to their strengths as everyone performs in their area of specialty, for example I will be doing a dance solo and duet, while dancing in the group pieces and singing as part of the chorus. We plan to set the audience in tables to simulate the experience of a cabaret bar, this allows us to connect with the audience more during the performances. 

When using the studio, I'll be following the rehearsal timetable that’s set by Marshall to make use of all the time that I have effectively, for example for the allocated time towards my solo I will be creating and developing my motifs, towards the duet I'll be discussing with Marshall about the choreography we’re creating, and for groups teaching and creating the choreography.. During the breaks I'll use the studio space to choreograph the group pieces or any outstanding work that needs to be completed. At home I'll be reviewing the videos that we take of choreography and noting down ideas and corrections to discuss the next rehearsal. 

Section 3 

Evaluation: (approx 150 words) This section provides an opportunity for you to explain how you will reflect on and evaluate your work, as both an ongoing activity and at the conclusion of your project. You should describe how you intend to record your decision-making and how you will document changes to your ideas as your work progresses. The evaluation should be referenced to your stated aims and be reflective and analytical rather than a description of actions completed. When working in collaboration with others you should comment on how this may impact either positively or negatively and steps you can take to minimise disruption in your own progress.   

 Annotation: I’ll be watching the videos we’ll take of the rehearsal process and after watching a few times, I bullet point the small corrections and apply them to my next rehearsal, setting myself targets and goals. Diary (self-reflection):By writing logs daily it will show whether an idea worked or not, if I had any difficulties. Then during my final evaluation I’ll be able to reference back to these logs about whether the rehearsals went well or if they could’ve been better. 

Peer assessment: This will be used to help create and develop the pieces as the feedback from my peers is going to tell me if the choreography is engaging or if something doesn’t look right.  

Audience survey: This will tell me the impact of my piece whether it was successful in concept and storytelling and/or if the group dances were exciting to watch. 

Industry feedback on final outcome: This will let me see the process as a whole and will let me see what I could do differently if I were to do this again, and if a particular method of working should be continued. 

Bibliography (Harvard Format):  

This section provides an opportunity to record the initial research sources, both primary and secondary, that you intend to use. Your sources of research should be as wide as possible and could include libraries, galleries, books, magazines, films, computer games, websites, blogs, social media, radio programmes, archive material etc. Where appropriate, you should use the Harvard system of referencing. The bibliography should be continuously updated as the project progresses 

 X 6 (minimum) 

Brainstorm/ mind maps of what comes to mind when shadows or life are mentioned. This will be done by myself and my peers to get a range of different views and thoughts. .  

I’m going to be researching the video game that’s inspired my solo piece and I’ll be using a the games official website. 

I’ll be looking at what a cabaret is and why it’s a good way to present a range of pieces for this performance. 

For the duet with Marshall I’ll be looking at the two characters and the relationship between them to be able to know the spacing of the two and how they’d interact with each other. To do this I’ll be looking at the films and the Disney book. 

I’ll also look into comedy in dance and how it’s shown. 

Bob Fosse and his style of jazz dance and the unique qualities of it. 

Project action plan and timetable:
Thi  This section provides you with an opportunity to outline your planning and organisation over a period of weeks and the activities you will need to carry out in order to successfully complete your project in the agreed timeframe.  The more time and thought you give to planning your project the more successful it is likely to be. It is important that you consider how you will balance ambition, time and realism in the realisation of the project. You should also include what you are going to do, how you will do it and by when. Remember to include time taken to source materials/ resources, to conduct research, to seek feedback from tutors and peers and identify when you will carry out independent study.
Week no	Tasks	Notes
1	S:Create motifs for shadow and life.  D: map out ideas for choreography, discussing the aim of the piece- storyline? Character dance? Motif?  Group pieces: establish the songs we are doing for the ending number and the other group alongside all that jazz.	S:In a contemporary style. One for shadow and one for life.  D: researching the relationship between the two characters.  Group: researching Bob Fosse and his style of jazz.  Reflecting at home for any ideas and corrections to discuss the next day
2	S:Start development of motifs   D: start choreographing the duet by creating character motifs and the aim of the dance.  Group: start the choreography for all that jazz and gather ideas for you can’t stop the beat and hard to say goodbye.	S:3 developments each.  D: stimulus to work from such as the rabbit looking at his watch and Alice looking around.  Group: start learning lyrics at home  Reflecting at home for any ideas and corrections to discuss the next day
3	S: Linking motifs together  Continue with choreography for the duets and group pieces.	S:Create two sections for each category   Reflecting at home for any ideas and corrections to discuss the next day
4	Finish the choreography for all pieces	Addressing all issues such as performance and timing.  Reflecting at home for any ideas and corrections to discuss the next day
5	Running through all the pieces	discuss
6	Discuss lighting and costume for all pieces.
7	Tech run	Blocking all the pieces for cues.
8	Dress runs	Timing of the show and costume changes.

Why cabaret: 

When we were trying to figure out a new concept for the show we decided on a cabaret because it allows various acts of performances to be in one showcase. The advantages of this is that we can work to what we know we can do for example dancers sticking to dancing and musical theatre with sing acting and dancing, this will let us work with our skills but also further develop them instead of us trying to create a script and make and develop characters. We want to create a scenario similar to that of our unit 8 but we need a way to bring it all together. ‘cabaret is a wide and varied term for a variety of performances, such as Burlesque, Singing, Contortion, Dance, Comedy, Juggling, Hula-Hoop, Mime, and so many more’ (Mandy, 2019) using this information we decided that this was the best way to continue on with the project. Every act is different and you never quite know what you’re in for! (Windmill International | London Strip Club, 2019)