Unit 2 - Engaging with an audience

 TASK 1 – AUDITION PROCESS AND EVALUATION

My role in the wizard of oz was a winged monkey the reasoning behind my selection of this character is that its quite a bold, fun and energetic character which allowed me too play a character which I'm not used too so it pushed me out my comfort zone and provided a challenge unlike any other role furthermore it was a lively and fun character. I prepared for this role by getting into a more childlike mindset and imagined myself being a monkey too the wicked witch of the west and then showing relive that I was no  longer under her command. Furthermore, I emphasised that the monkeys are more like buffoons and hooligans so I explored that in my performance. I considered the audience by showing the idiocrasy and dumbness of the monkeys too them which provided them with the idea of how the monkeys are for example being animate like a monkey and becoming curious and emotional at times which was shown through how I acted. Additionally, I played the role of the munchkin i choose this character because it was a bit more of a background character although I was a talking munchkin, I prepared for this role by buying blue clothing and adapting too a child, bubbly and timid mindset I considered the audience by showing curiosity yet cautious traits which brought out the authenticity of the munchkin I also projected my voice in a squeaky childlike way. My overall evaluation is that my performance ran smoothly with little error although in my first performance of playing a munchkin my delivery of the line "we are now an independent nation"" was spoken too early I was supposed to allow the bells to ring prior to my speaking my line. further more I could've shown more monkey mannerisms as a monkey but overall I performed well as a monkey. Some positives were the fact on how I presented my monkey character by showing a immature and playful nature  as well as sharing similarities with the munchkins like being curious this allowed me too blend both characters in as their was a small similar dynamic. Furthermore, my munchkin character was portrayed as more childlike and scared which really shows how fearful the munchkins are of the wicked witch. If I was able too audition for the king of winged monkeys again I wold definitely go for a less cocky and human like persona and would be more immature and caveman-like  moving around more like a monkey would've helped I perhaps should have also showed more aggression and intimidation rather than being calm and collected. Lastly I should have been more animate and monkey-like in my audition. 

  TASK 3 – WIZARD OF OZ RESEARCH

Carry out research on the story of Wizard of Oz, the book, the film, the different plays, musicals and sequels. Find out as much as possible on this well loved story and document your findings. What is the moral of the story? What is the sub-text?

Dorothy is a young girl who lives in a one-room house in Kansas with her stunted Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Her joy in life is her dog Toto. A sudden cyclone hits and Dorothy cannot reach her Storm Cellar as she catches up with Toto. They are still indoors when the cyclone carries them away on their long journey. When the house is finally landed, Dorothy finds herself in a beautiful land inhabited by very small, strangely dressed people. The Witch of the North informs her that she is in the land of Munchkins, who are grateful for killing the Wicked Witch of the East (her home that landed her witch) and freeing her. . The Witch of the North gives Dorothy the silver shoes of the dead witch and advises her to go to the Emerald City to meet the great wizard Oz, who might help her return to Kansas. The witch descends the yellow brick road with a magical kiss to protect Dorothy from danger. On their long journey to the Emerald City, Dorothy and Toto are accompanied by a Scarecrow. The Tin Woodman who longs for a heart. and a cowardly lion seeking courage. They face many trials along the way, but often overcome them all thanks to the sanity of the Scarecrow, the kindness of the Tin Man, and the courage of the Cowardly Lion. They arrive, where the gatekeepers offer green-lensed spectacles and lead them to the Palace of Oz. The companions enter the land of Winkies, ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West. The witch sent wolves, ravens, bees, and an armed Winkies to stop her, but she was all to no avail. There she uses her golden hat to summon a winged monkey. The Winged Monkey destroys the Scarecrow and the Tin Man and imprisons the Cowardly Lion, but takes Dorothy and Toto to the Witch and makes Dorothy her slave. The witch wants Dorothy's shoes which she knows contain powerful magic. She manages to make Dorothy trip and roll, and manages to grab one of her shoes.Angry Dorothy throws a bucket of water at the witch, but she melts to nothing. Dorothy frees the Cowardly Lion and, with the help of the now freed Winkies, repairs and rebuilds the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, and her friends return to Oz. Shortly after its release, The Wizard of Oz began adapting it for other media. A stage production based on the book was staged in Chicago in 1902, and moved to Broadway the following year to great success. The most famous adaptation is the 1939 musical adaptation starring Judy Garland. known for Also notable is The Wiz (1978) directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. In 2013, Disney released Oz the Great and Powerful, which predates the events in the books. It cast James Franco as the title character and Michelle Williams as Glinda. Furthermore, American writer Gregory Maguire Wicked wrote: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995). The novel was a huge success, launching a successful series and inspiring a blockbuster stage musical that debuted in 2003. The moral of the story is Viewers were able to relate to a character, whether it was the Scarecrow in need of a brain, the Tin Man in need of a heart, or the Cowardly Lion, in need of courage. The obvious message of the story is that there is no place like home.

TASK 4 – YOUR WIZARD OF OZ CHARACTERS.

For wizard of oz I played the role of a monkey and munchkin for the role of my monkey I had to play a broad array of characteristics such as being more primitive and stupid as well as showing curiosity and slight aggression. For example I presented my character through my portrayal of how I moved and spoke e.g. monkey like movements and a caveman like tone of voice and character. For my munchkin i portrayed more timid and shy movements and did a more squeaky child like voice. For my winged monkey role I had a lot of makeup which added to the intimidating factor of the monkeys which brought out my character more for my munchkin i had more pretty and majestic makeup on. Lastly, with my monkey role i spoke in a more caveman tone which matched the primitive gestures whereas for my munchkin it was more shy and scared because of fear from the of the wicked witch and was shaky and vulnerable.

TASK 6 – EVALUATION 

In ghost light tours my character was that of the ventriloquist who used a dummy played by student Emily spence the role went amazing and got better with every attempt she portrayed a in pain and controlled dummy who is desperate for help my character was more demonic and evil and lacked empathy or consideration for her this was shown through my physical and mental control over her and how she reacted showing she was in pain. My overall evaluation is that everything was good my projection of tone and voice could’ve been better but overall I demonstrated my character to the best of their ability.

My analysis for wizard of oz is for my munchkin role we worked as a team we coordinated each others arrival on stage and leaving we worked together to show our emotions as a collective. Furthermore, we worked as a team to show our fear and caution and display a wide array of emotions. We organised each other equally the speaking luchkins along with normal munchkins came out the left curtains and the rest of the munchkins came out the right curtain we were equally placed and came out in a cautious yet curious fashion. For time management we made sure our lines were clearly spoken I said my line “we are now an independent nation” after the ringing of the bell this equally added time management too it we then showed our emotions over our time on play going from cautious too curious to grateful to fearful. To demonstrate professionalism we waited for the cue of the good witch and stayed silent behind the curtains remaining silent till it was our turn to go on. At the end of it all we waited for the ozians too run up on stage we’re we followed and joined in with them. For the monkey we all worked together too cue each other one we came on from either side and this was discussed before hand so we knew out proper positioning. Also, upon arrival of stage we projected that we were the monkeys I worked to Broadcast my animalistic and yet human like monkey skills we screamed and showed an intimidation factor and upon arrival on the stage we could see that it impacted the audience it added a sort of higher more energetic energy to the stage which really brought the monkeys out. Upon my delivery on my lines I would use my skills of projection to straddle monkey like further towards the audience my lines were very in a broken English style which really encapsulated the fact we were monkeys. It gave a heightened sense of my skills and portrayed how team working and projection of character and tone really helps make the scene and overall play come out.