Final Evaluation

My Final Evaluation

In my final evaluation I will be talking about my overall final performance and how I have developed my technical skills over the semester. This will involve me choosing my costume for the overall performance and how this affected my performance. I will also be talking about how I have developed my vocal skills throughout the rehearsals and how this impacted me. Furthermore, I will also be discussing my strengths and weaknesses in terms of the my final performance and how I have gradually improved my skills.

Vocal Evaluation
Throughout the stages leading towards the final performance, my attitude towards singing really sunk. This is because I didn't believe that I had a good vocal range and this attitude stayed for a while due to the fact that I had stage fright and I wasn't too comfortable in singing at a higher octave in front of an audience. However, I knew that I was capable at singing in the 'School Songs' range because in my spare time at home I would sing my part perfectly, this was because I was alone and I was comfortable in the environment. I overcame my overall stage fright by singing at a higher octave than usual in front of my peers and my peers would say if it was good or not. We did a large variety of vocal warm ups at the start of each lesson to solidify our voices so that we would not strain any notes and to make sure that we have control over our voices. This included tongue twisters because I 'School Song' relied heavily in having good diction. 'School song' was quite a wordy song and really relied on having good good diction otherwise the words would not sound right and you wouldn't be producing the words to project to the audience. We also sang up in scales to improve our vocal range to build up my ability in terms of fitting in a lot of words in a short amount of time. An example of when we needed to say a lot of words is when we say:
'U , listen here, my dear,
You'll be punished so se-V-rely if you step out of line,
And if you cry it will be W should stay out of trouble,
And remember to be X-tremely careful.'

This section of the song requires good diction and good breath control due to the speed that it is intended to be sung at. In my opinion I did quite well in terms of getting the right diction and the right timing, also I believe that I sung with clarity and did well in terms of projecting out my voice. When we looked back at our final performance I actually heard my voice in the midst of all of my peers when singing. I was also quite comfortable with the tempo of the final performance, even though the pianist played at a much faster pace. Fortunately, this meant that my ability to adapt has increased.

However, at some parts of the final performance, my projection dropped due to the fact that the intended note of that part was at the peak of my range. This was unfortunate due to the fact that my vocal range just was not good enough to produce that intended note. With the added fact that with the me not being able to produce the intended note, with that scene, there was quite an erratic choreography with a lot of movement which also hindered with me not being able to produce the right tone, I was clearly out of breath when Esther said, 'Why? Did you hear what he said?'. So my overall target was to improve my stamina so that I don't run out of energy and to pace my voice better.

Choreography Evaluation

Throughout the build up of the final performance, I learnt that the dance style of Matilda and especially the 'School Song' was that not of normal fluid movements and actual dancing, but of intimidation and very 'harsh' and swift motions to clearly show the Child's frustration in school due to stressful environment in which is 'Crunchem Hall'. I believe that I managed to grasp the choreography quite easily and quickly, this is because I am a lot better at a 'Harsh' style rather than a swift and fluid style due to the fact that my movements are anything but Fluid. I was able to adapt to the choreography and the style that Peter Darling has made especially for the musical. My intention was to 'attack' at each stomp that we intended to do. This was to make sure the audience knew of the frustration of the 'Big Kids'. However, I could've focused more on the block movements due to the fact that I didn't think that it would be troubling, I instead focused more on getting to my place and to make sure that I am prepared for the next step of the choreography.

Costumes & Props Evaluation

Overall, I believe that the costumes play a very useful role in terms of making us look like real middle school children, with the white tops that is used in every single English school and the black trouser (Male) or Skirts (Female). This set of costume really showed the individual characters, this is because we were all wearing different variations of such a plain and basic costume. While the 'Little Kids' had their white shirts tucked and looked overall smart, the 'Big Kids' looked much rougher due to the fact that their ties were not on properly and their white plain shirts were not tucked in and their buttons were not buttoned properly. This showed the 'Big Kids' and their rebellious stage in life. They essential purposely break the school code to show how they are 'Superior'. I was playing one of the 'Big Kids' so my ties was half-way done and slanted slightly to show how much my character cares about the school dress code and my shirt was not tucked. Everyone that played a 'Big Kid' had a their own unconventional way to show their own character. However, every 'Big Kid' looked very rough and this kind of showed that they are all the same and this potentially showed the audience that they are the same, kind of like they are 'Unified'

In my opinion, I grasped the concept behind the blocks very fast. This was because I carefully paid attention in where I was meant to be placed and where I will be needed in terms of setting up a block or throwing/catching a block. I am able to confidently say that I picked up the timings quite quickly however, at some points, I quite lacked the speed and this showed because I was not fast enough to put a block up so I am basically sprinting to get the blocked placed or held. Overall, I quite enjoyed working on the blocks because this was quite new to me and I love learning about new things so this was right around my alley. My blocks were A, E,I, P, W, Z. Overall I made sure I am at the right place when picking up or setting up a block. This, in my opinion, was very easy to grasp due to the fact that I pick physical things quite easily and I was improving slightly. For A, it was the first letter so all I had to do was pick A up behind the block and place A on top of the Block. Then for E, all I had to do was turn A to show E. Then for I, Rosie picked up E and handed it to me which I then proceeded to move to the back of the stage and waited for my queue to move down stage towards the audience and clearly hold up the letter I. For P, I needed to pick up the Red block from Sharene and then clearly hold up the letter P. For W, Evie handed the yellow block to me and I picked it up from Evie and proceeded to show W and then placing it on top of V. For Z, Esther placed the green block behind me and then I hold up the letter Z when we sing 'Phys, Z'. Overall, I believe that I did well in terms of getting to where I was needed and not getting in any of my peers way when the final performance was near. To improve I believe that I was a bit slow in getting to the letter P so next time I will be much faster and be much more conscious of my surroundings. 

Peers Evaluation

I received feedback from my peers, they were saying that my singing was on point through out the entire performance. I was also told that my projection was also quite prominent due to the fact that my peers told me that I could be heard easily through out the entire final performance. The choreography was not as strong as intended though, this was because my peers were saying that we were not all in sync with each other and this really showed. I was told by Esther that her mother really liked my singing and this gave me a boost of confidence in terms of singing. Volume was consistent throughout the entire performance. However, we just needed to improve on our timings and to make sure that next time we will be in sync.

My Future Targets
- To make sure to project as loud as possible to be heard throughout the entire group performance
- To fully complete characterisation because of the fact that I didn't do my characterisation as much as i wanted to.
- To fully attend all of my classes no matter what, this is because by leaving a lesson, I not only let myself down, but I let the group down. This also means that I will be missing out on whatever was taught in the lesson I was absent in. 
- To try a higher octave, this is because I needed to better my vocal range for the next project.
- To be try and complete all of the work needed because I do not need to be behind.