Section C - Live Theatre Review Flashcards
Who played Margaret?
Rebecca Mckinnis
Who played Jamie?
Finton Flynn (understudy)
Key Moment: When Jamie got his first pair of heels
Character: Jamie
VEFGGP
Loud volume of voice - screams to show he’s shocked and surprised, but also that he didn’t expect it, high pitch to emphasise this
Eye contact - looks at his mum, shows he can’t believe it, this makes it more relatable and realistic, shows real disbelief
Facial expression - pouted lips, scrunched eyebrows, wide eyes, smile with an open mouth, to show that he’s about to cry and is generally happy and surprised or overwhelmed, made me feel happy for him
Gesture - hands out, fingers tensed, symbolic that he just wants to grab the shoes, so excited, it was quite funny
Gait and body language - runs to get shoes, quick pace at which he walks, smiles whilst running, stares at them in awe and lifts up shoulders, so excited and happy, looks at them like their a relic, made me feel happy for him, pure and sweet moment
Posture - a little slouched but not much, shows he’s excited but also shows his class, he’s not rich and lower class, made me feel bad for him but also more excited that he has the opportunity to have these shoes
What is the structure of the live theatre review question?
Intro: what you saw, when you saw it, where you saw it, who you’ll be discussing and who played them, what moment you’ll be discussing
Key moment 1: talk about vocal and physical skills, what this showed and how effective it was, link back to question and say how it made you feel
Key moment 2: talk about vocal and physical skills, what this showed and how effective it was, link back to question and say how it made you feel
Conclusion: summarise how the actors of the characters made you feel, how effective it was and talk about your opinion on the whole show (show that you’re passionate about it)
How much time should you give yourself for the live theatre review question?
Around 45 min ideally
Key Moment: “Sandra Banana!”
Character: Jamie
GTFPA
Gesture - uses hands as if presenting something, jazz-hand-esque hands that moves to ‘present something’, shows that the name is coming to life before him, made me feel like I was watching something important, adds drama
Tone - confident to confused town, says “Sandra” loudly, enunciates vowels and upwards inflection but gradual, then “Banana” has a rapid upward inflection at the end, his volume decreases and he splits up banana into chunks, shows that he realises that the name is bad and grows confused because of it, made me laugh as it was funny and comedic, very effective comedic timing
Facial expression - scrunches eyebrows at the end and raises left eyebrow, shows he’s grown confused because of the name, it was funny to see him grow confused by something he did
Pause - splits up “Bana-na”, has a pause between the word to show a moment of realisation, was quite funny
Accent - Newcastle accent, shows he’s lower class, the accent was very good and effective, was quite funny in this line specifically
Key moment: when Jamie goes to thank his dad for the dress
Character: Jamie
TGPGS
Tone - fearful and hushed created by: quiet volume, slow pace, he’s stuttering and a shaky voice - shows that he is scared and intimidated by his dad as they don’t really have a relationship, made me feel bad for him and worried as we don’t really know what his dad is like
Gait - he takes small steps, he’s slightly hunched over, head hangs quite low, shows that he’s lacking confidence and that he’s scared, worried and vulnerable this made me feel bad for him as he isn’t like this much in the whole play, seeing him like this creates a massive contrast
Posture - hunched over, this makes him look like he’s intimidated and feels small, this made the character more relatable as people experience these feelings but also empathetic
Gestures - hands crossed at first but then fidgets with hands when talking, shows he’s nervous and anxious which made me feel anxious for him myself
Stance - head is hung low, he’s avoiding eye contact shows that he’s not powerful in this moment and has no confidence, this made me feel surprised as he isn’t his usual confident self
Key moment: “No wonder dad left you!”
Characters: Jamie & Margaret
GTEFE FEVP
Jamie:
Gestures - pointing at Margaret with his right hand, shows that he’s angry at her, shows that he’s dominant in this scene due to his anger, this made me feel surprised as I didn’t think Jamie would snap like this
Tone - angry tone created by: speaking through teeth, loud volume, high pitch, fast pace - shows that he’s infuriated and frustrated, this made me feel quite scared as we had just seen Jamie at his most vulnerable and now we’re seeing him at his angriest
Eye contact - looks Margaret directly in the eyes, very confrontational, made me feel quite intimidated myself and also made the scene quite tense
Facial expression - scrunched eyebrows, flared nostrils, this emphasised his anger and intensified it, made me feel really on edge as Jamie never treated his mum like this
Emphasis - “you” - personal attack
Margaret:
Facial expression - raised eyebrows, wide eyes, open mouth, she is surprised and feeling vulnerable in this moment like she doesn’t have a voice, made me feel quite sorry for her as she was just trying to be a loving mother
Eye contact - looking Jamie in the eyes, she’s looking at him change before her eyes, but also could suggest that she’s intimidated, this made me feel even more sorry for her as she’s appears quite weak and stunned as she doesn’t stop having eye contact (like she’s frozen)
Voice - speechless, doesn’t say anything, shows that she’s lost for words and surprised, made me feel sorry for her as she feels like she doesn’t have enough power to fight back with Jamie
Posture - hunched over slightly, shows she’s lost confidence and isn’t fierce anymore, this showed a contrast between her now and in the rest of the play, showed how much this has changed her
In general, how was Finton Flynns performance as Jamie?
-very convincing
-made Jamie’s emotions feel quite relatable
-his characterisation was quite good - he executed all the right emotions
-showed a great contrast between Jamie being confident to Jamie being vulnerable - very effective
In general, how was Rebecca Mckinnis’s performance as Margaret?
-effective in showing how she changes as a character
-very good in making me feel sorry for Margaret - she was just trying to do what a loving mother would do
-she made me feel really sad in the scene where Jamie shouted at her
When did I see Jamie?
27th January
Where did I see Jamie?
New Victoria Theatre in Woking
What are the 9 vocal skills? Brief definitions.
Pace - the speed at which you talk
Pause - when a break is taken in dialogue
Projection - how your voice carries in a room
Pitch - how high or low an actor talks
Volume - how loud or soft somebody speaks
Emphasis - placing stress on a word
Tone - the emotion that is conveyed from the way someone speaks - created using pitch, volume, pause, emphasis, pace etc.
Accent - the way someone speaks depending on where they’re from
Inflection - when someone raises pitch at the end of a word
What are the 9 physical skills? Brief definitions.
Facial expression - the way that one uses their face to convey meaning - break down into eyebrows, eyes, mouth etc.
Proxemics - the distance between characters within a scene
Gait - the way someone walks - talk about weight and speed of steps
Movement - how an actor moves on a stage - link with gait etc.
Posture - the way someone carries their back
Gestures - the way arms and hands are used to communicate something
Stance - the way someone holds themselves
Body language - the way that someone presents their body to communicate meaning
Eye contact - if characters look at one another
How to remember vocal skills?
PPPPIVETA
