Auditioning: Week beginning: Monday 27th January 2014

Week beginning: Monday 27th January 2014

This week I completed some further and the remaning of my research on the song "Don't Rain On My Parade", had various rehearsals of my song and my one-to-on with Alison. I've realised that we haven't got long until our assessment so I really wanted to start focusing on my performance and being comfrotable and confident when I come round to performing it.

Research

For this week's research, I focused on my staging of the song as I felt that I was confident with my knowledge from the last few weeks and I could now use that to supplement my performance.

I felt that the best way to begin staging this was a basic idea. My basic idea was to stand, centre stage, with a strong, stacked posture and remain standing straight throughout. I decided to do this because I felt like the song wasn't a song where I should be moving around too much but keep my power and authority by standing up straight, as if I'm not scared of anyone.

The Song:

"Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter,

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter,

Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade"

For this part I would stand in my strong and stacked posture but I decided to use a subtle hand movement during "don't" this reinforces the point that this character doesn't want to be treated as a child and she wants to live her life. By showing this authoirty at the start I feel like the audience would know that she's someone you shouldn't mess with.

Also, when I watched Barbra Streisand's version, the start of the song is very snappy as if she's had enough of someone's comment. Therefore, I wanted to interpret the start too and grab the audience's attention right at the start of the performance.

When it came to the line "Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter", I wanted her to open her arms as if she's slightly sarcastic and being patronising because that's how people constantly treat her.

"Don't tell me not to fly, I simply got to,

If someones takes a spill, it's me and not you,

Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade"

The next part of the song was far more passionate as I had her holding her heart at "I simply got to" but then becoming slightly angry by pointing to herself at "me" and then the audience at "you" with the sharp and fast gesture.

So far I've decided not to use any specific staging when it comes to the "don't rain on my parade" line as I want it be far more naturalistic and sincere. I feel like if I stage the song too much it will lose it's meaning.

"I'll march my band out, I'll beat my drum

And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir,

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir,

I guess I didn't make it"

For this part, I've used my facial expression to convey I slight sly and arrogant look to the character as she's gaining confidence and losing her inabition. This meant by adding a slight smirk to the character and widening the eyes.

"But whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection,

A freckle on the nose of life's complexion,

The cinder or the shiny apple of its eyes,

I gotta fly once, I gotta try once,

Only can die one, right, sir?

Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you see,

I gotta have my bite, sir."

For the line "But whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection" I decided to add some humour by placing my fist under my chin as if I'm mocking the way people judge others and using a sweet/innocent face which had a child-like sweetness to it. On the line "right, sir?" I wanted to angle my head as if I was looking for approval mockingly - but in reality I don't care about what others think anymore.

"Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer",

I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer,

Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade."

This passage really build up the character's passion and confidence for "'cause I'm a "comer"" I wanted her to expand her fingers forward as if she's inviting the audience into her new found confidence and love for herself. When it comes to the "heart's" she holds her heart and closes her eyes as this emphasises the passion and love she has for being her own person and standing on her own ground.

"I'm gonna live and live NOW!

Get what I want, I know how!

One roll for the whole shebang!

One throw that bell will go clang,

Eye on the target and wham,

One shot, one gun shot and bam!

Hey, Mr Arnstein, here I am..."

This part is really fast paced and upbeat so I wanted the movements to be the same. The "NOW!" is really demanding so I wanted the character to point to the ground so the audience know that she will not be messed around with or treated like nothing anymore, she's going to live her lfie to the full the way she wants to. All this excitement truly then spurs her commitment to her lover and offers herself that she is going to be a strong and independant woman who won't allow people to shot her down, so for "Hey, Mr Arnstein, here I am..." and I wanted the character to open her arms so that she is open and expressing herself to the world confidently and is commited to her new thinking.

"I'll march my band out, I will beat my drum,

And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir,

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir,

I guess I didn't make it,

Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer",

I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer,

Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my parade!"

This last passage truly explores the character's new found freedom and independancy where she isn't going to let people get her down or tell her what to do with her life and that she has found the control that she has always wanted and needed. As I way of making her seem like she doesn't care and is taking responsibiltiy on the line "I guess I didn't make it" she's smirkign and shurgs her shoulders as if she's saying that her life is hers and if she's following her dream then that's all she truly wants. Again, I used the grabbing of the heart on "my heart's a drummer" to show her passion and love for what she wants to do and how no one can stop her.

I decided that this would be the perfect way to tie up everything in the song but using a gesture on the line "rain on my parade", this part of the song is a cresendo so to emphasis this I wanted the character to work forward from her standing postition and look up to the sky as if she's imagining herself on stage and perform to a wild and huge audience, as this is her dream and no one is going to stop it happening anymore.

I think having a well thought out plan on what I am wanting to do and staging the song so that the characterisation of it is strong and there are clear elements of the characteristic traits through gesture and movements but also the deeper meaning of the song, which is, staying true to yourself and reaching for your dreams no matter what anyone says you can't do.

I tried to make sure the actions were appropriate and did add something to the performance. Now that I know what I'm doing, I can really focus on learning the song and making sure my vocal performance is as well through out and practised as much as the acting-side.

Rehearsal

Warm-Up

Individual Practise

I started by going through my breathing exercises, the first one being a simple breathing exercise to help control and provide awareness and I also used a new one too. 

I created a 'sssssssssssss' sound by breathing in and then piercing my lips together. The aim was to make sure the noise was sustained and didn't range in pace or volume. This was all done to the breathing control I used. 

This dedication to expanding my knowledge and skill in breath control will provide me aid not just in the performance but in my training as a performed throughout my project.

Last week I went through the first part of my song:

"Don't tell me not to live,(breath) just sit and putter, (breath)

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter, (breath)

Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade, (breath)"

I went through this part of my song to remind myself and to ensure that I knew the words to this part and I using the correct breath intakes. 

This week I decided to go through the next two parts of the song.

The first part I went through was:

Don't tell me not to fly,(breath) I simply got to,

If someones takes a spill, (breath) it's me and not you,
Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade,(breath)

I used my diction and articulation again like I did in the previous part of the song but this time I began to emphasise some of the phrases such as "it's me and not you" to show the strain and annoyance in her words for being blamed for everything.

This part of the song is the same tune as the previous part, again I found the pacing slightly difficult so I had to keep practising to ensure that my pacing wasn't too fast. I also found it helpful to sing along with the backing track as this meant I could listen to the parts of the song and start getting use to singing with it.

The second part I went through was:

I'll march my band out,(breath) I'll beat my drum (breath)

And if I'm fanned out, (breath) your turn at bat, sir,

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir,
I guess I didn't make it, (breath)

This part was slightly differently, it become more upbeat and jazzy. The words were far more smoother together. The pacing between the last part as this part meant that it was much slower. After I had become confident with this part, I decided to put the three parts together and sing them through altogether. 

As I sung them through I had to keep going through it because I realised that I was singing them separately and not as the song together. I kept practising it through and although I was pretty confident with the lines I felt that I needed to focus more on the tuning and pacing of the song to perform it well. 

I think gradually learning the song part-by-part as helped me to be more precise in my learning of the song and knowing where and how I need to improve by the next week.

One-to-One

This week I had my one-to-one with our singing teacher. For the one-to-one, I made sure to bring my music sheet for the piano and to know be familiar with the lyrics.

My feedback from the one-to-one was: 

• The characterisation was well thought-out but I needed to really to go for it more and not hold back when performing it as the song needs a strong voice and a strong personality. 
• I needed to learn my lines more precisely as when I was slightly unsure it was completely obvious because the performance went down. 
• Keep using breathing exercises everyday to help breath control and aid the performance. 
• *Make sure I open my mouth so the words are clear and understandable when I sing.*

I also discussed whether or not to use the sheet music or a backing track during the assessment. My singing teacher felt it would be more effective to use the backing track as this would mean I could have the different instruments in the track and it would be a more entertaining performance and would help me. 

*To make sure I opened my mouth so the words were clear and understandable, I was given a mouth exercise using different notes*: 

"  doh,   ray,   me,   far,   so,   la,   te,   doh.  "

This exercise would help me open my mouth and explore the different vowel sounds which are of course going to make the sounds of the words.

I found this one-to-one with Alison really useful as it meant that I knew how to improve for my performance. Now I can make my independent rehearsals which more directive aims after having help from my singing teacher. 

In conclusion, I feel that this week has been productive but I do need to start spending more time on my song as the assessment is coming up soon. I've learnt nearly half the song and the rest to learn won't be too hard, but to perform confidently I know that this has to be done as soon as possible. 

One of the things I worked on last week was marking where I was going to breath and then doing some breathing exercises to help me with breath control. I carried on with doing the same exercise I did last week and also introducing a new one too. I feel like this emphasis on breathing is truly going to help me during this assessment but also aid any other performance I do as breathing is so important to an actor, singer or dancer!

I feel like having a one-to-one with Alison was extremely useful as now I know what to do before the assessment. I don't actually have long until the assessment so I know that I need to buckle down my ideas and really focus on completing learning the song and adding the characterisation in. I've been learning different things separately so the sooner everything is put together, the better. 

I am happy that I've sustained my breathing exercises and looked into new ones too also that I'm thoroughly thinking about how I'm going to stage my performance and the detail of the vocal performance. 

Learn the words confidently and accurately. 

Learn the staging and the song words together and start practising it to a performance standard.

Auditioning: Week beginning: Monday 20th January 2014

Week beginning: Monday 20th January 2014 

We have a lot of independancy during this project to practise our solo on our on accord. We have been told various ways to help us cover the research needed and how we could use that research to benefit our performance. 

Research:

This week, I have researched two contrasting performances of "Don't Rain On My Parade". Our singing teacher gave us the idea for this as it would enable us to choose a more direct and focused take on our solo song. 

Here are the two versions I choose: 

The original performance by Barbra Streisand in the musical "Funny Girl":

The TV Show "Glee"'s performance sung by Lea Michele playing the character 'Rachel Berry':

The original performance of course has a lot of characteristic significance, as the song was written for the character of Fanny Brice and as a musical, was appropriate to the plot and everything surrounding the song. The song is one of Barbra Steisand's most famous performances and is deemed as a classic performance.

In this performance, I feel like I could gain and interpret the song as the character of 'Fanny Brice' in the musical, by playing a specific character this will help me use my movement and vocal skills to truly portray that character as from the previous research I did where I wrote a character profile can help me to choose appropriate ways to interpret the character.

As an actor, I would probably find this performance much more useful when it comes to playing a character if it's specific and I know exactly what to do and how to do it.

The second performance is part of a TV show called "Glee". This performance shows the song being interrupted differently, but with the same meaning behind the song of telling people to stop ruining someone's happiness or pride. The character of 'Rachel Berry' has suffered some hurt through her love of musical theatre and singing where people deem "untalented" or "worthless" even though these opinions are by virtue of jealously. The character sings this extremely passionately as it means something to her, she's interpreted the song personally.

I think comparing two different performances of "Don't Rain On My Parade" has helped me to explore how I could interpret the character from similarites of each piece.

As a performance and characteristic standard, I feel like the "Funny Girl" performance will be far more useful to me but I use the "Glee" version more vocally as my voice more like to the character of "Rachel Berry" as I have a loud projection and I articulate and use diction more.

Rehearsal:

Last week I wanted to start really focusing on learning the song as the basis of my performance. I found my sheet music online at www.musicnotes.com in preparation for my one-to-one with Alison. Unfortunately, I didn't have my one-to-one this week but this did enable me to explore the vocal difficulties I was facing and become far more comfortable with the timing and words.

Warm-Up

Our singing teacher has told us before we go off in our independant rehearsals, we need to use the time to complete a vocal warm up in groups of three to four. This will enable us to make sure that we're not straining our voice and put our knowledge of singing warm ups to another project in the unit.

Individual Practise

I decided to sing the song the whole way through, with the help of the lyrics, when I did this I realsied that I needed to focus on my breath control because the song needs alot of power behind it.

To do this, firstly I wrote out where it was appropriate to breath:

"Don't tell me not to live,(breath) just sit and putter, (breath)

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter, (breath)

Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade, (breath)

Don't tell me not to fly,(breath) I simply got to,

If someones takes a spill, (breath) it's me and not you,

Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade,(breath)

I'll march my band out,(breath) I'll beat my drum (breath)

And if I'm fanned out, (breath) your turn at bat, sir,

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir,

I guess I didn't make it, (breath)

But whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection,

A freckle on the nose of life's complexion,

The cinder or the shiny apple of its eyes, (breath)

I gotta fly once, I gotta try once,

Only can die once, (breath) right, sir?

Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you see,

I gotta have my bite, sir. (breath)

Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer",

I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer, (breath)

Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade.

I'm gonna live and live NOW! (breath)

Get what I want, I know how! (breath)

One roll for the whole shebang! (breath)

One throw that bell will go clang, (breath)

Eye on the target and wham, (breath)

One shot, one gun shot and bam! (breath)

Hey, Mr Arnstein, here I am...

I'll march my band out, I will beat my drum, (breath)

And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir, (breath)

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir, (breath)

I guess I didn't make it, (breath)

Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer",

I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer, (breath)

Nobody, no, nobody (breath), is gonna rain on my parade!"

By marking out my breathing, my muscle memory would start helping me to control my breathing and I won't have to focus on if I'm running out of breath during my performance and my performance will stay strong and the way I want and need it to be. This also meant that I could make sure when I'm taking breaths they're are aiding my performance by being deep and useful and not distracting an audience who may be watching.

The second way I focused on my breath control was to look at some warm up exercises. I feel like it would be useful for me to start using breath control exercises to stregthen my control and as part of my warm up too.

The breath control exercise I use this week was a simple breathing exercise:

I made sure I was standing in neutral with correct standing and posture. This meant:

Weight balanced - If the weight is balanced the performance will look relaxed. By balancing the weight equally your posture will be upright.

Shoulders relaxed - The more relaxed the shoulders are the more relaxed the body is. If you have tension in your shoulders then this can cause strain whilst performing, making you look like you're uncomfortable. If the shoulders aren't relaxed there will be strain on the spine and the chest won't be able to be held high.

Open chest - An open chest allows more control over breathing which is an essential part to singing.

Hands by your sides - The focus should be on your singing so if gestures/actions aren't needed then the hands should be relaxed at the sides.

Knees relaxed - Tightening or locking your knees can make your body tense and affect your breathing so every part of your body should be relaxed.

Feet in parallel - You should be standing with your feet in parallel slightly apart, grounded on the floor with the toes opined forward. This will help when containing a strong posture.

This was the best postition for me when you're focusing on your breathing as the body should be relaxed and the chest open for the air to easily enter and exit from your lungs. This early awareness which help me sustain it throughout my rehearsals so then it will come to me in the assessment naturally.

I used a simple breathing exercise where I place my hands on my stomach and felt it expanding as I breathed in and reducing as I breathed out. I noticed that my shoulders kept rising up, to stop this from happening I then did the exercise lying down. Once I had established that my breathing was strong and being executed correctly, I used counts to control my breath in-take and out-take.

These are the counts I used:

• 4 in, 4 out.

• 4 in, 6 out.
• 3 in, 6 out.
• 3 in, 8 out.
• 2 in, 8 out.

I found this exercise incredibly useful because I was aware of how much breath I needed to take and then how to regulate that breathing to ensure that there was enough left for the remaining counts.

I feel like this exercise would aid me during my rehearsal time of my solo song as it will start helping me to regulate my breathing and aid my performance. Hopefully, the more I do this exercise the better my breath control will be and I can aim to further improve it.

After I sung the song the whole way through and then worked out where I needed to breath, I started to go through a short passage of the song to slowly work through it and be accurate with the small details.

My first passage was:

"Don't tell me not to live,(breath) just sit and putter, (breath)

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter, (breath)

Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade, (breath)"

As a musical theatre number I knew that diction and articulation would aid the performance of this song well. Therefore, as I was learning it I made sure you pronounce my "t" and "d"'s. I also found that the more the diction used the words are far more stronger and powerful, this was useful as the song needs to be a powerful way to tell someone that they're are not going to ruin someone's pride or happiness with their pessimitic or arrogant comments.

As I was singing the song I felt like I needed to work on my pacing more as I was slightly out of time with the music. I used my foot to create a beat which then helped me to sustain the create pacing through the passage of the song.

Overall, I felt that this week was a great rehearsal week as I've explored two different performances of my song and gained knowledge and further interpretation of how I would like to perform it, I found my music sheet, started to work on breathing - a huge factor to this song, and started to go through the first passage in detail. Therefore, I feel this week has been productive and that I've successfully used my independant time efficiently.

I know that to progress further I will have to keep up some of the techniques to sustain the aid of my performance and explore other techniques/stratergies thoroughly.

My improvement last week was to start going through the song in detail which I have by using breath control and starting to explore how, vocally, I am going to perform it. I didn't have my one-to-one with Alison this week so my aim for this week may be similar to lasts.

I have increased my awareness of how I would like to interpret the song using research. I have also planned my breathing so that I can work on my breath control and improve it for the performance and aiding my singing overall.

Sustaining the breathing exercises throughout this week to improve breath control.

As I didn't have my one-to-one with Alison, I am going to aim to at least know the basis of the song lyrics and the tune I will be singing it in. I also will start applying my characterisation to the song.

Auditioning: Monday 13th January 2014: Session One

Monday 13th January 2014

Session One

This is was our first session for our new project "Auditioning" in the unit "Singing Skills for Actors and Dancers" where we will prepare and perform a solo piece. We began the first session by going through the project brief in detail. 

I have written in detail what this project will consist of here: 

http://singingskillssomer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/auditioning-monday-13th-january-2014.html

This was an independent session for us to start researching and practising our solo song choice. 

For my solo song I will be singing the Barbra Streisand version of "Don't Rain On My Parade" from the musical Funny Girl.

Funny Girl is a Broadway and West End musical first performed in 1964 (Broadway) and 1966 (West End). The book was written by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merill. The musical was based on the life and career of Fanny Brice, a Broadway and film star and comedienne, and her stormy relationship with Nick Arnstein, a entrepreneur and gambler.

The musical starred Barbra Streisand and was produced by Roy Stark who was Fanny Brice's son-in-law via his marriage to Brice's daughter, Frances. The production was nominated for eight Tony Awards but didn't win any of the categories through face competition with the musical Hello, Dolly!.

Funny Girl is set in and around New York City just prior to and following World War One. Fanny Brice, Ziegfeld Follies star, is awaiting the return of her husband, Nick Arnstein, from prison. She starts reflecting on their life together and the story is told in the form of a flashback.

The first act shows Fanny as a stage-struck teen getting her first job in vaudeville. Fanny's mother and her friend Mrs. Strakosh try to persuade her not to become involved with show business as Fanny isn't society's definition of typical beauty. Fanny continues her journey in show business and is encouraged and helped by a dancer she meets in the vaudeville shows, Eddie Ryan. Fanny's career begins to take off and Eddie and Mrs. Brice complain that Fanny will soon forget about them once Fanny is on Broadway. Fanny performers a number in the Follies but instead of performing it romantically, she turns in into a classic comic routine, ending the number as a pregnant bride.

Fanny Brice meets Nick Arnstein, a sophisticated and handsome young man. Fanny and Nick attend Fanny's mother's opening nice party on "Henry Street". Fanny soon falls in love with Nick but acknowledges their complex vulnerabilities. Fanny and Nick meet in Baltimore for a date, after having a private dinner at a swanky restaurant, Fanny and Nick declare their feelings. Fanny reveals she is determined to marry Nick regardless of his gambling past.

Fanny and Nick marry and move to a mansion on Long Island. Whilst this happens, Mrs. Strakosh and Eddie propose to Mrs. Brice about finding a man to marry, now that Fanny is supporting her. Fanny has succeeded in becoming a major star with Ziegfield and the Follies. Nick wants Ziegfield to invest in a gambling casino but Ziegfield passes, Fanny then insist on investing. The gambling casino fails and both Nick and Fanny lose money, Fanny tries to act positive but Nick gets involved with a shady bond deal and is arrested for embezzlement. Although Fanny feels helpless, her loves is now stronger than it was ever before.

In the present, Fanny is awaiting Nick's arrival from prison and reflects not he situation. When Nick arrives, he and Fanny decide to separate. Fanny is heartbroken but resolves to pick up her life again.

By doing this initial research of the musical Funny Girl I now have a better understanding of what I can do for the characteristics and physical and vocal expression of this song. 

"Don't Rain On My Parade" comes in the first act of the play and is sung by Fanny Brice. Fanny's train is about to leave to go on to Chicago, at the end of the Baltimore run, Nick needs to catch a train to New York and then head to Europe. Nick admits to Fanny he loves her and suggests them getting married, but he wants to have a fortune before he does. Spontaneously, Fanny decides to leave the tour and follow Nick to New York. Eddie tries to visit and talks her our of it, Ziegfield tries as well but Fanny is set on following Nick. Fanny has succeeded in show business and now wants to focus on her personal life as well. Eddies tries to advise her one more time and she starts singing "Don't Rain On My Parade".

The lyrics to "Don't Rain On My Parade": 

"Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter, 

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter, 

Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade,

Don't tell me not to fly, I simply got to, 

If someones takes a spill, it's me and not you, 

Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade, 

I'll march my band out, I'll beat my drum

And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir,

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir, 

I guess I didn't make it, 

But whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection, 

A freckle on the nose of life's complexion, 

The cinder or the shiny apple of its eyes, 

I gotta fly once, I gotta try once,

Only can die one, right, sir?

Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you see, 

I gotta have my bite, sir. 

Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer", 

I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer, 

Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade. 

I'm gonna live and live NOW! 

Get what I want, I know how!

One roll for the whole shebang!

One throw that bell will go clang, 

Eye on the target and wham, 

One shot, one gun shot and bam!

Hey, Mr Arnstein, here I am...

I'll march my band out, I will beat my drum, 

And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir, 

At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir, 

I guess I didn't make it,

Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer", 

I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer, 

Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my parade!"

The original song: 

During this song Fanny is telling Eddie that she is frustrated over how people think they can control her life and tell her what to do. Fanny is finally happy with someone, Nick, and wants to spend more time with him but people are trying to make decisions for her. The phrase "Don't Rain On My Parade" means don't spoil or ruin my happiness.

Fanny also mentions how when she succeeds it's thanks to everyone around her but when she fails it's her own fault "If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you!".

Fanny mentions the challenge of her own mother's doubt in her and her appearance, she doesn't doubt herself but she isn't big headed, she knows she has succeeded which she is thankful for but now she wants to live her life. She believes that she is a "comer" someone who will succeed, and sometimes she's the only one who believes this.

Her success is down to her confidence and self motivation "eye on the target". She's presenting herself to Nick "Mr Arnstein, here I am..." because this is the real and raw version of her. She's everything she wants to be and wants to do, no one can stop that.

She reinforces that she won't allow anyone to spoil her happiness "Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my parade!". Fanny is a strong character and is willing to leave her career to be happy in her personal life.

The main themes of this song are passion, love, frustration and independency. By exploring the lyrics and the background to the song I can emphasise this themes through my performance. With this understanding of the song, hopefully I can later adapt a similar frame of mind to Fanny to produce a realistic portrayal and a performance an audience would find interesting to watch through the beginning exploration of the musicality of Fanny Brice. 

Character Profile of Fanny Brice

As the musical Funny Girl is a sort-of biography of real-life Broadway star, film actress and comedienne Fanny Brice, I can find much more information about the character/the real life person.

Name: Fania Borach
Stage Name: Fanny/Fannie Brice
Born: October 29th, 1891.
Died: May 29th, 1951.
Spouse(s): Frank White (m. 1910 - 1913), Julius "Nicky" Arnstein (m. 1919- 1927), Billy Rose (m. 1929 - 1938)
Nationality: American
Occupation: Comedian, Singer, Theatre and Film Actress
Religious Views: Judaism
Political Views: Liberal Democrat
Best Known For: The Baby Shocks Show, a popular top-rated radio comedy series, as the creator and star.

Fanny Brice is an inspiring actress and comedienne who makes it in Broadway. With all her success she wants to focus on her personal life with Nick, even though people try and persuade her to not to. She's a determined young woman who has a clear idea of what she wants in life.

Now that I have fully explored the character of Fanny Brice and the musical Funny Girl I have many ideas on how I could perform her to the best of my ability and use the musical material in character with imaginative and inventive use of physical and vocal expression. 

I chose this song because it's a challenge and I think I could really develop my singing skills and use the techniques we've been taught to perform this the best to my ability. As a singer, I have a strong voice, therefore, choosing a song with a strong character and voice was important to show off my skills and to be comfortable. I know there are parts which are going to be harder than others but I think with the right amount of practise and help this won't be a problem at all. 

I think to really succeed in performing as a character you need to be fully aware and informed of the character and performing a musical theatre song is the easiest way to do this. I'm looking forward to my session with or lecturer next week to confirm my song choice and start practising it! 

I have a full understanding of my character and what I can do to portray her through vocal and physical expression. 

I haven't started really learning the song or practising it through in detail. 

To begin learning the song and practising it fully through in detail, in preparation for my session with our lecturer next week by going over the lyrics and buying the sheet music. 

Auditioning: Monday 13th January 2014: Project Brief

Monday 13th January 2014

Project Brief

Our third project for the unit "Singing Skills for Actors and Dancers is "Auditioning". In this project we will be working towards a solo piece independently with some help from our singing lecturer and peers. We have to imagine that this solo is to be complied as part of an audition portfolio for the final round of auditions for a new West End Musical.

The song we choose for our solo will be our own choice but will demonstrate the versatility and skills we have in both singing and acting. This demonstration of characterising the lyrics of songs using a range of physical and vocal expression will be or wont be successful depending on the song chosen. The song can be from any genre and can be sung to a backing track or accompanied by the piano.

We have to take responsibility for providing either sheet music or backing tracks in the correct key. We have been given the website www.musicnotes.com to help us find sheet music. 

During the performance of the song, simple props can be used to enhance the characterisation. 

This blog will be used to post video and audio clips of the group warm ups, independent technical exercises and my progress and experience of learning a solo piece. I will provide video or audio evidence for my warm ups, some rehearsals and my final performance. This blog will also be used as a practise diary to post reflective commented relating specifically on my strengths and weaknesses throughout this project. These strengths and weaknesses will enable me to detect improvements and continue my development as a performer. 

To make sure I reflect and improve so I can achieve the best to my ability, I will include:

• Positives
• Improvements
• Aims

The targets I set will follow these expectations Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART targets).

SMART Targets:

S - Specific: A clearn, focused and detailed target which has an aim but also says how. 

M - Measurable: Can be tested to ensure that it has worked. 

A - Achievable: A realistic target which can be doen. 

R - Relevant: Needs to help this project and develop singing skills.

T - Time-bound: A clear deadline to achieve by. 

To achieve the SMART targets I will support them with specific technical exercises and warm ups. 

I'm looking forward to developing my confidence as a singer and performer but also using all the knowledge and techniques we have learnt in the past two projects to, hopefully, be successful in this project. I'm really excited to get started and can't wait to see what this project has to come! 

Singing Showcase: Monday 6th January 2014: Singing Assessment

Monday 6th January 2014

Singing Assessment

Today was our Singing Assessment for the unit Singing Skills for Actors and Dancers for our second project Singing Showcase. The assessment involved us doing a warm up, performing some of the pieces we've learnt and then repeating musical phrases. Our assessment was video'ed as evidence.

As the assessment started I made sure to check my posture and alignment. This was so I could start the assessment with confidence and feel relaxed. As this was the second assessment I didn't feel as nervous as last time but I knew what I had to do so I didn't have any worries.

We started the assessment by performing a few warm ups to prepare out voices for the assessment. 

These warms ups included: 

• Sirening (with Lip Trills)
• Arpeggios
• Tongue Twisters: "Lily Likes Lollipops" 

After we warmed up our voices three of us volunteered (including me) to teach the others a warm up each, these were student-led warm ups. 

These warm ups included: 

• Susie - Tongue Twister: "My Mummy Makes Me" 
• Somer - Song with actions: "Chicken Tikka, Mango Chutney" 
• Charlie - Lip Trill: Lawn Mower 

After we then performed "You Raise Me Up". 

The second part of the assessment was repeating back musical phrases with Chloe who came into our assessment. 

Sirening 

I always enjoy Sirening as a warm up exercise because it's a gentle way to ease into other warm ups. Through the last project I can execute the exercise correctly and confidently, even the Lip Trills with practise outside of lesson. 

I felt I performed the exercise well and even though we're not graded in our ability to warm up in this project I still think it's important to perform them to the best of your ability. 

Arpeggios

I think this is a really good exercise to do after Sirening because you're only touching on the different notes when your perform the Sirening exercise and this exercise allows you to warm them up further. It's important to warm up your voice slowly and not strain your voice. 

Tongue Twisters: "Lily Likes Lollipops"

I always really enjoy doing this exercise as it's a fun and simple exercise to do but allows you to start thinking about your articulation and diction. It is quite hard to do at first as you need to really think of your tongue placement to fully articulate the words correctly and clearly. 

Each exercise we do warms up one factor of using our voice for singing, this gradual warm up is focused and allows us to sing to the best of our ability. Thankfully, as I have been practising the warm ups outside of class I was confident with them all and was able to perform them to the best of my ability, and really warm up my voice effectively.

Student Led Warm Ups

Alison didn't tell us that during our assessment she would ask for volunteers to teach the rest of the class a focused warm up. I thought this was a really good idea as it tested our knowledge from the previous project but also any outside singing training and/or knowledge. It was also a fun and different way to learn! 

Susie - Tongue Twister "My Mummy Makes Me" 

Susie's Tongue Twister: 

"My mummy makes me mash my M&M's on a Monday morning."

This phrase was then repeated again going up the scale.

Susie's Tongue Twister was one I hadn't heard before and I really enjoyed learning it. It took me a while to actually get the phrase correct but once we had repeated it, it was a simple one to learn. I had to place an emphasis on the sound of "M" during this phrase, I didn't realise how difficult that actually was as you had to ensure you had pressure when putting the lips together to create that sharp "M" sound. Going up the scale with this phrase was also a great way to develop it and I thought Susie made a great choice of a warm up. 

I will defiantly use this Tongue Twister in the future as it's something which I thought was challenging but warms up your vocal chords and works on the direction and articulation of your voice so what you're saying is clear for an audience.

 Somer - Song with actions: "Chicken Tikka, Mango Chutney"

My Warm Up Song: 

"Chicken Tikka, mango chutney and a pint of Lager, 

Chicken Tikka, mango chutney and a pint of Lager, 

Chicken Tikka, mango chutney and a pint of Lager, 

With naan and pilau rice!"

With this song came actions. The following actions were along to "Chicken Tikka", pulsing hands with palms down to "mango chutney", a drinking motion to "pint of Lager" and it finished with one hand out for "naan" and then the other out for "pilau rice" coming together for a clap. 

The song gradually went up the scale as you sing it. Our lecturer had the idea to develop it by increase the pace of the song. 

I really wanted to take part by volunteering to do a warm up as it's something fun and simple to do, but also allows you to make a contribution and as an ensemble project full co-operation and contribution is vital for succeeding.

The song wasn't over complicated, and I know from experience that when there is an overly complicated song people lose confidence and don't take part as much as they could. Therefore, a simple song was the easiest to do. I went through the song first and then once I knew that people had caught on I went to teach them the actions. The actions went to the beat of the song and were again simple. 

As performers, we need to learn to multitask efficiently and accurately, so by doing a song with actions emphasises how much concentration performers need. It also starts to warm up the need of concentration during the assessment too. The lecturer's idea to develop it by increasing the pace was great because as the pace increased it become slightly more difficult and the concentration levels increased. 

I thought this was a really fun warm up exercise to do with the class, and I proved myself by being confident and volunteering, which is something I would not have done at the very start of the project. I can really see myself growing as a confident performer with this project and this unit overall. 

Charlie - Lip Trill: Lawn Mower

Charlie's exercise was using the Lip Trill as if it was a lawn mower by extending the length of the Lip Trill and holding out our hands as if we were pushing the lawn mower. 

This again was a really fun exercise to do. As our hands had to make the movement of the lawn mower they couldn't be used to stretch our lips for a more prominent Lip Trill. There was more power needed in the Lip Trill and gave the mouth a really effective stretch and warm up. 

I hope we get to do more student-led warm ups and exercises and it's a really fun experience to do and something new! I thought it was interesting the different things people did to warm up and gave me a wider knowledge of exercises to do when warming up!

Performance of "You Raise Me Up"

We went through "You Raise Me Up" and were given the feedback to make it soft and gentle and then performed it for a final time.

I really thought this ensemble piece was the best one we had learnt as, as a group the voices blended well together and their were lots of layers added to create a loving atmosphere due to the harmonies. Once the song's tone was more soft and gentle the sincerity and loving-nature of the song was really emphasised. 

So that my performance was as sincere and loving I thought of someone who was special to me whilst singing it so if there was an audience they would believe the love and gentleness in the song and connect with it. 

I'm glad I went through the words before the assessment and my personal harmonies because this meant my performance was confident and accurate singing wise so as an actor, I could focus on my emotional performance and connect to the audience. 

This ensemble piece gave me a little glimpse of how complicated but how awarding working as an ensemble can produce a different performance. Through this ensemble piece we learnt musical material and followed the directions and instructions of our singing lecturer by concentrating on our listening skills. By practising the material we are given so the cues were accurate. Learning the words were challenging but all these skills will help me in the future if I ever perform an ensemble piece again, which after this project I hope I do! 

Singing Back Musical Pharses - "Mama Who Bore Me"

In the last part of our assessment we had to repeat a musical phrase which was sung by Chloe.

The musical phrase was from "Mama Who Bore Me" from the musical Spring Awakening: 

"Mama who bore me, Mama who gave me, 

No way to handle things, 

That make me so sad."

I hadn't heard of this musical phrase before so I really had to pay attention to all the detail of the phrase and kept thinking back to the parts our singing lecturer told us to focus on when singing back musical phrases. I knew that I would need to distinct this as it was repeated criteria and I merited last time. 

I made sure to really concentrate on the volume and the changes in pitch. Also the extension of the certain words such as "Mama" and "so" for the correct length of time. Also the ending of the song "sad" is much deeper then the rest. Hopefully I had paid close attention to these I have succeeded in singing the musical phrase back with accuracy and attention to detail. 

Evaluation of Singing Showcase

After the Warm Ups and Workouts I gained a wider knowledge of using my voice accurately and efficiently. Warm Ups and Workouts were far more technical based and gave me a basic idea of what is needed for singing. This next project, Singing Showcase, enabled me to start using that training and work on the performance of a piece. 

At the start of the project I wanted to use my confidence I had gained from the other project to use in my performance. I went into this project with an open mind and couldn't wait to discover more. Due to this positive attitude I think I have prospered in this project and for someone who isn't a singer with no singing training, I've increased my knowledge and experience with this project and ensemble singing overall. 

I have really improved my memory of learning lines through the rehearsal process of an ensemble piece through class and independent work. Memory is a skill which is needed to perform accurately and through allow the rehearsals to run efficiently when time is significant. With this new skill I can perform confidently within the classes and workshops and improve my performance overall. 

Our project brief told us we have to imagine we were part of an entertainment team so the project had an emphasis on our performing skills to the emotion we portray, like in "You Raise Me Up", to characterising the song, like in "The Rhythm of Life". This project emphasised our performing skills to an audience so as an actor, I would want to connect with the audience so this thought and skill in singing I'm now aware of as it can really make a postive impact during a performance. 

I have gained a repertoire of new songs I know and can perform if needed. These songs feature from a range of different styles and we have touched on different styles of singing and have gained experience doing this. I think there's always room to improve and gain more experience but with this project I am confident to say I am already a more versatile performer. 

I've really learnt to work as a group which is a new experience and a fulfilling one too. This project has really helped my self-discipline in this project in others too. As a student it's important to give your full co-operation when working with your peers and your lecturer. 

I've had high commitment through this project by setting myself suitable aims to achieve independently through practising regularly. By doing this I have really been able to get the most out of the project and has given me a glimpse of what I need to do to succeed in the performing industry.

I worked hard by giving myself postives, improvements and aims each each session and following the SMART target idea. 

Now that I have experience with working as an ensemble I can't wait to start using that independent experience during our solo project "Auditioning".  I really feel overall in singing I have gaining confidence and knowledge, and a sense of what I can do with other skills (such as, acting in my case) to perform to the best of my ability.