And so the adventure begins...

Tuesday the 2^nd October

Today was the beginning of the HND in Performing Arts course, the session took place at the Matthew Boulton campus; in the morning half of the introductory seminar we were introduced to our lectures: Paul Garnault, Ellie Darvill, Ruth Morgan, James Madison and Amy Taylor. We were given a brief on appropriate behaviour, as well as a brief of what subjects units we will be covering in the first year of the HND. This was helpful because I can now be resourceful and find out what units I will be covering and research into them, so when we do begin those segment I will be knowledgeable and be able to contribute more to discussions. The appropriate behaviour (although I’m sure it wasn’t needed) was also helpful because I think it helped to establish to everyone that we are all on a level playing field and that respect is a must in any working/learning environment.

In the second half of the introductory seminar Ellie gathered the group to their feet and begun a physical warm up.  

The Drama warm ups and games included:

·         Blood circulation – The continual shaking of the hand and fingers/ gentle stretching of the body. This activity was done to warm up the actors bodies to prevent the pulling of any muscles.

·         Wish Wash- This game took on two stages. First the wish had to be received from the sky and passed on with a sound and body action (the more ridiculous the better) the purpose to let go of inhibitions and just feel comfortable with a new cohort of people we’d never met but would be working with for the next two years. The second half of this game is like the traditional drama game “ZIP ZAP BOING” Its purpose was to bring focus after the excitement everyone felt from being silly.

·         Alliteration Name Game – The group stands in a large circle, one member steps forward and says their name with an adjective that begins with the same letter as the start of their name, they step back and then the group has to copy everything that was done e.g. “Lovely Lexia” whilst doing a courtesy. This was done by all members of the group. Its purpose to help us all remembers each other’s names. It worked.

·         TICK TOCK- Is a dramatic game I have never played in my life! But it was fantastic to add to my memory bank. Two balls are passed around the group at one time in opposing directions. A “Tick” one way and a “Tock” another. When either is passed on the receiver must ask “A what?” and the passer must ask the person who gave it to them “A what?” this will be repeated back to the first person who gave out the ball until the answer is received and passed down. This action continues until a junction when the tick and tock collide. At first there was a lot of confusion but once we concentrated and where supportive as a group we got the balls around just fine. I believe the point of this game is to encourage group work.

·          The Present – This game was all about imagination as actors and our ability to make an audience feel and see something that is not there. We received a present and turned it into something else.