Monologues Review

I didn't expect much since it was their first monologue at college the nerves would get to them , and they did, however considering the circumstances quite well:

 The first one was normal, the tone was varied, and it was by only a small stretch of the imagination believable.

The second one was good and interesting, much like the first and she remembered her lines, and it was believable.

The third one was believable and she displayed a wide range of emotions.

The fourth was equally believable and very interesting.

The fifth was a bit too quick and she needed to slow down a bit. It had a few stumbles also.

The seventh had a few stumbles but overall displayed a wide range of emotions.

Overall I quite enjoyed the monologues, and they were impressive.

Stratford upon avon College: Casino Royale

Not the james bond one! No it was a performance at Stratford upon Avon college, a variety performance loosely based around the themes in a casino. Throughout the whole piece the performers were constantly 'breaking down the fourth wall', by inviting audience members into the performance asking questions,and in some cases stroking their legs! this makes the audience feel involved, not just stuck in their chairs bored . The cultural mixture of comedy, music, dancing, and fun comes together to create a entertaining piece.

When we went into the theatre we were all sat in chairs next to blackjack casino tables. There was a large roulette wheel painted onto the ground in the middle, this was very unexpected. If i am honest I wasn't really expected much, I thought it was going to be a ruff boring piece. However I was taken by surprise once again, and found it very entertaining  and polished despite one or two long pauses while we waited for something to happen. It started with when the lights went up a interesting performance of Big Spender the dancing was very good and the singing was up to a very professional standard. The other performances were all very entertaining and I especially liked the two austrian lion tamers who were constantly cracking gags and where very funny. There were lots of songs performed including ABBAs 'money money money', 'Big Spender', 'the can can', 'Diamonds are a girls best friend', all of which made you want to jump up and join them. They were all fun and you came out of the theatre feeling good. There was also a fun circus scene.

The performance was great and very entertaining. You came out feeling good, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good time.

Review Of Different Tours In Stratford Upon Avon

The first review was a Stratford bus tour. The tour was held digitally on the bus which i believe was originally a good idea and made it seem very professional, but everything has a catch. As the tour continued I became aware of that catch. the digital system didn't work very well, either that or the bus driver wasn't pressing the right buttons. I became confused listening to the same thing again and again in the wrong places . However this didn't happen this happen that often and when it didn't the information and its format was exceedingly good. the facts about where many sayings came from where very enjoyable and the icing on the cake. The cake itself was a very well informed,clever, and enjoyable  tour. Each part of the tour was very relevent to the area we where at the time ( when the system wasn't malfunctioning). Despit my believes the tour wasn't all about Shakespeare (only 85% of it).

The second tour was the Shakespeare's birthplace. I was  surprised by this tour, as I went in we watched disappointed videos in different room,I enjoyed this a lot, and learnt a lot of interesting facts. However I was disappointed by the latter part of the tour. We went through the house talking to different actors in costume I learnt a few things but I couldn't help but feel they could have made more of the house. I did however enjoy the piece of drama at the end when actors played a little scene of the life in those days (though it startled me a little).

Overall I preferred the first tour on the bus because it was more wide spred and covered more information the second one, and I generally thought the bus tour was more intresting.

The Culture Show: Arctic Monkeys Preview

A preview of the band Arctic Monkeys new song, including interviews and extracts. wearing normal clothes, in a studio for the interviews. Two members of the band joined the interview Alex turner and Matt Helders, they didn't seem to be very used to the interview process. In the extracts the usual was used, guitars drums and other instruments.



In the background there was a non diegetic sound of the arctic monkeys song playing, it was quiet during the interviews, and loud during the extracts of the song video.




lots of high key and low key flashes throughout extracts red,orange, and purple lights.




Very interesting camera work including the compositions of the mid shot, the close up, and there was even the extreme close up of an eye. the compositions were always tracking very fast, even faster in the faster parts of the song. The high angle was used to make the person look important. Panning was also used in and out very quickly.





The pace of the songs were very quick, this was reflected in the cutting rate was was also incredibly quick making it very exiting.The transitions used were simple straight cuts.

What's On Media In Warwickshire

What's on in Warwickshire in the media world?

• In Cox's yard there is a performance on saturday 2nd of  October of Peter Pan at 2pm a children's pantomime, that could be fun so bring your kids. 
•  Also in Cox's yard that same day there's the welfest 2010- live charity event featuring Simon Fowler, from 6pm the venue opens and live bands will rock out till 11pm and they even have a Dj for those wild ones who continue into the early morning hours, with the age restriction of 14 (so get a babysitter)
•  One big media event to see is Mitilda at the RSC, Roald Dahl's classic novel adapted by Dennis Kelly with songs by composer and comedian Tim Minchin (so you know its going to be hilarious).

WarHorse: New London Theatre

As I went into the theatre I noticed that there was only a few people there, I even thought I might be in the wrong theatre, how could it not have been sold out. However I of course had come to early.Soon the theatre was jam packed with people of all ages murmuring excitedly, and who could blame them, they had after all come to see the spectacle that is warhorse. I noticed the stage, it was quite plain with only the simple thrust staging, and what looked like a giant piece of ripped paper spread up against the back black wall.This clever set almost seemed to help build up the atmosphere adding a sense of suspense to the theatre.The paper was projected on during the play showing sketches of the place the scene is set.WarHorse is about a young boy of sixteen named Albert who makes a strong bond of love and friendship with a horse named Joey,when joey is sold to the army by Alberts drunk of a father Albert takes it upon himself to lie about his age join the army, and search for his friend among the war torn trenches, A truly hart warming story of love and  friendship giving an insight of the trenches and both the German and British sides.

The first scene came as a slight surprise as very suddenly a man stepped on, his clothing was typical for the countryside around the first world war. Slowly the audience were quiet. A spotlight was trained on him. He then began to sing he sang traditional english countryside folk songs, he sings different songs and plays intruments to get you into the spirit of the time period, throughout the play this happens giving it a really interesting effect of the idea of the english countyside of old being the center of this play. Of course I cannot do a review of Warhorse without mentioning what attracted so much attention to it in the first place. One major part of WarHorse is the incredible use of puppets to create horses and other animals, the horses created by a big wooden structures which have inside them all sorts of levers and triggers to make the horse move. The skill of those operating the horse is incredible so well done that half the time you really believe there is a real horse there and they have captured the movements and ways of the horses so well.  In a way there is an essence of real horses on stage. The accents and characters make the play very effective and realy make the audience believe in what they are seeing. The lighting and sound effects are strong and cleverly used to invoke feelings in the audience such as fear.  They are also used to create settings and events such as using bright lights and bird songs for summer, using blue and purple lights for the night, huge bright light and piercing sounds for shelling. Albert Narracott played by Matthew Aubrey an innocent farmboy who growes attached to his horse, the way the boy was portrayed showed his inoccence in the way he talks,holds himself and even in the way he laughs almost but not quite carelessly, his accent was amazing, and the bond between him and his horse can be seen proggressing slowly and incredibly realistically. I can imagine that the reason for creating WarHorse would be to show the world something new, something never been attempted before on stage, something incredible.

If someone asked me to describe WarHorse in four words, I would find it difficult to describe WarHorse the incredible masterpiece of so many different elements in only four words, but if I had to the four words would be...Masterpiece, spellbinding, beautiful, unique. What the producers set out to do was certainly completed.

Verdict

An incredible Masterpiece that I can find no fault in, proffesionally done and a unique experience that I would Recomend to any man, woman, or child .

Cultural Cafe Performance-Yao Culture

 Stratford upon avon college hosted in the cultural cafe on the 24th of September a tribute to the yao nationality. The performance was a scene from the upcoming musical movement piece from a group called the Yao Culture. The scene involved singing traditional Yao culture as a choir and a challenge of strength between to men over a pole. They also involved the audience by inviting members of the audience to join one them fighting over it.

The aim of the piece was to advertise the official piece of musical theatre, and to to give people an insight to the musical ways of the Yao culture they tried this using a mixture of song gymnastics and dance. The performance was successful in giving people an insight into the yao tradition. The audience seemed to enjoy it, especially when the cast got them involved, a few people were pushed forward by their friends and every one had a laugh. However the introduction and parts of speaking in between didn't  make much sense, it would have been much more enjoyable if they had made it clearer. 

Review: The Other Guys

As I went into the theatre and watched the trailers and adverts aimed at the target audience of the film, it was easy to imagine a lazy average comedy. What with the disapointment of fellow cop comedy 'cop out' it seemed the genre was sagging. However the film supassed my expectations. The director Adam Mckay, reteams with Will Ferill who plays his usual quirky, seperate from society character, Allen Gamble who is desperate to get away from his out of control past. While Mark Wahlberg plays Terry Hoitz a cop with repressed anger issues, and incredible but unsure talent.

While theres nothing in common between desperate for action Hoitz, and desk loving Gamble, they must put past their differences and become partners. Their partnership gets off at a rocky start, but while the film continues their bond grows stronger. When police stars Highsmith and Danson (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) take an unexpected and hilarious leave, Gamble and Hoitz must attempt to take up the big chairs,and soon stumble onto something big.

Verdict 
A witty comedy that doesn't take things too seriously, though the plot occassionally wavers, it has fantasic characters, and laughs to spare.