Acting Through Song Logbook.

Jade Marvin, MT1A due date: 10/1/14.

The Task.
Our task was to develop a character given to us by David, from the musical Parade, whilst using and
expanding our understanding of the Stanislavski method of acting.

Annotated Text.
Please seen enclosed pictures.

Character Analysis.

Dominant Characteristics.
The dominant characteristics I decided upon for my Lucille Frank were arrogance, poise, strong,
confident and proud. I decided that I felt as if she would be quite a proud woman overall, with a
high expectancy of life, and almost a closed persona, where she didn't want the public prying into
her family life and business. I felt the arrogance would have come from her upbringing, so I gave
her arrogant feet. I also wanted to ensure she seemed very poised and strong, even though the stage
directions state that she collapses at the end of the scene.

45 Questions.
I used the 45 questions to delve into my character more, and try to create a background on Lucille.
A few examples can be seen below:

Question 4: What are you mother's and father's names?

My mother is called Josephine Cohen and my father is called Emil.

A: What did they do?

Emil worked as a salesman in the industrial cleaning supplies industry for a company called West
Disinfecting Co. who made soaps. Previously he'd worked as a liquor salesman. Josephine was a
housewife who had a daytime Negro nanny. Josephine didn't have much to do around the house due
to the nanny taking care of the laundry, cleaning and cooking, which left a lot of time for her to
spend with the children, socialise at Jewish cultural events and tend to her husband.

B: How do you feel about them?

During childhood I was close with my mother as she babied me as I was the youngest daughter. I
loved my father, however regrettably didn't see him as much, as he worked long hours all week.

C: Did they love you?

My mother was very affectionate as I was growing up, however my father was a more reserved
figure. I feel he didn't really know how to deal with three young children.

How did I find Lucille Frank, and what tools did I use?

I did a huge amount of research online about the real life characters within the musical, and about
the musical itself. I also looked in depth at Leo's real life trial, and the different opinions on whether
he was trialled fairly and the verdict. Following the Stanislavski method I used the suitcase
approach, in which I formed a memory bank including articles and pictures that I can use to trigger
memories and feelings. I also experimented with costume, playing with different shoes and how
they made me feel. I also played with the idea of scarves and gloves, and the length of skirt I would
wear because that would affect the character I was portraying.

Critical Analysis.
Personal Analysis.

I felt I coped adequately with learning in depth the techniques of the Stanislavski method, as I had
done a taster session in college, where we looked at memory banks and the idea of the 45 questions.
I enjoyed the process of developing a suitcase which I'd never been taught before, it seems a very
logical way of creating and maintaining a character. I definitely will use this method in future out of
university acting assignments and jobs. I felt I reacted well to the process, however I got stuck at the
beginning of the exercises, due to not being able to find my feet and understand the ideas of
Stanislavski. I misunderstood the idea of the suitcase, and instead of using it to build Lucille's
character I put in items that may be useful to any character I could be given. This was rectified and I
feel that the suitcase really helped in my characterisation of Lucille. I enjoy the idea of method
acting and think that although the process is long and hard, and involves a lot of hours work it is a
way of acting I would be keen to use in the future. An issue I feel I had, due to an operation
followed by illness which was unavoidable, was that I unfortunately missed a handful of classes and
the actual assesment date which meant I have missed some important information and opportunities
to receive feedback and to practise infront of David.

What I've Learnt.

I have learnt a huge amount of information about the musical Parade, I had only heard of one song
from the musical before this task, so it has broadened my knowledge of musical theatre which is a
good thing. I have learnt in depth about the Stanislavski method, including the 6 Steps followed by
the 45 questions to identify your character. Then I learnt about the suitcase containing costume and
objects, pictures and newspaper articles that will help me define my character, which I've never
heard about before. This was really interesting to find out about the different ways actors become
their characters. Through the process I have learnt the importance of preparation, before lessons and
also in general for the performance of the character. Without putting the work in behind the scenes I
have no chance of getting a goodd mark and portraying the chaaracter in a believable manner. This
will then lead to me not fulfilling my potential and doing my job as the actor. I have also re
understood the importance of asking for extra help when needed, as it can confirm things that I
didn't quite understand, or it can be re explained to me in a diffferent way, this means I can fully
understand the task and then do my best within the assessment.

Strengths.

I feel my strengths within the module have been that I have picked up and absorbed the information
quickly and accurately. I've enjoyed learning about method acting so I've been engaged within
lessons and eager to listen to the information. I feel that I've kept my notes tidy and neat so that
when I've needed to refer back to them everything is easy for me to access. Due to my interest in the
topic I also did some additional research which will have helped me understand and use the
information correctly.
I also feel a strength was my singing during the first half of the song. I felt confident with
the key and range that my voice was reaching. I had practised the song with Rob Owens during the
class, and had taken away a recording of the piano accompaniment so that I could practise at home.
I practised frequently and began to feel very comfortable with the first half of the song. This would
then mean that I was able to focus on my verbs, actions and using my memory bank during the
performance. I would like to think I could have given an accurate portrayal of the song based on the
notes and instructions on the score due to my practise and preparation at home.

Weaknesses.

I feel my weaknesses within the module have been the fact that I missed lessons and opportunities
to perform for David and Rob and gain feedback and constructive criticism to improve my
performance. I feel I would have benefitted greatly from having that extra time with the tutors that
knew the route I should follow to give a great performance. This couldn't be helped but I feel has
hindered my learning experience within the task. This could also be detrimental and affect my mark
Another weakness I found was that the second half of the song, after 'I don't think you could'
was at the top end of my vocal range which meant that I was concious of how I sounded, and also
was faced with a dilemna of whether to sing in my head voice or belt in my chest voice. By having
this concious battle with my voice, I will always be aware of it, thus distancing me from the
characterisations I've been working on and staying within channels of action. This will meant I am
focusing on being Jade rather than fully immersing myself in becoming Lucille.

Where can I go next?

I think I need to work on becoming more effienct when rehearsing and also keeping on top of work
which is more written based for example the thought structures. At one stage I was ahead of the
game and had motivation to complete my thought structures, however once the idea of music and
movement came into play, things I find naturally more fun and interesting, the thought structures
took a slight backseat, even though they are just as important if not more.
I need to practise working on first stages of speaking the libretto in character, because I don't
feel that I worked that section of the process as much as I have worked on other sections for
example the singing of the song.
I need to become less self concious of how I sound on vocals and start to relax and trust myself
enough to feel the character and become her. This will then allow me to put all the hard work into
practise and give me the best chance of performing well. I will also continue to progress and
become confident within the realms of method acting.