National Drama Competition 2018 Judge s Report David Farmer

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National Drama Competition 2018 Judge s Report David Farmer SCHOOL PLAY LEVEL Swaminaryan Art Heart Middle Hawley Hurst Orphans and Annie Middle Arts Educat.

1 National Drama Competition 2018 Judge s Report David Farmer SCHOOL PLAY LEVEL Swaminaryan Art Heart Middle Hawley Hurst Orphans and Annie Middle Arts Educat. The Juniper Tree Middle This original and contemporary story encouraged the audience to question their attitudes toward the value of art. The production was given in ensemble style with the entire cast on stage for the duration of the performance. Framed within an auction, the style of the production enabled the story to jump through time and from scene to scene quite seamlessly. The performers kept up the energy and tempo throughout. Scenes were linked by a pair of comedic narrators who helped to keep the energy high and make humorous or political comments. Lighting was kept simple and costumes were smart and neutral. An intelligent production with a storytelling style. A strong ensemble piece of musical theatre inspired by Annie. The scenes provided a variety of moods. There was strong singing, excellent choreography and moving storytelling and comedy from the performers. The neutral costumes were picked out and enhanced by colourful lighting changes as well as the atmospheric use of candles. Dance sequences were a strong point of the performance with powerful theatrical images created through movement. There were moments of pathos, although there were missed opportunities for some performers to go deeper into the characters and story. The show ended powerfully with a performance of the song Tomorrow. This fascinating and macabre Grimm s fairy story was effectively performed through ensemble physical theatre and shared storytelling. The actors carried flashlights which were cleverly used to create atmosphere. Scenes were quickly established, props were simple and the juniper tree through the seasons was beautifully created by the actors with clever use of shadows with the flashlights. Vocal effects were good and the use of a single voice for the song was powerfully and ably performed by Jude Richards, who also made good use of mannequin puppetry. The energy level was kept high although the performance could have benefitted from more variation in pace with pauses for the characters and the audience to react. The flashlights were effective but in order to work well the actors needed to be more accurate when they shone them on other performers faces and generally the production could have done with more light.

2 Thames Christian The Gut Girls Middle Hawley Hurst Boy in the Dress Junior Salterford House Macbeth Junior Deepdene Emp. New Clothes Junior Deepdene Hare/Tortoise Infants This was a powerful socio-documentary drama and the actors gave raw performances which highlighted the characters predicaments. There were strong emotional moments, with some room for improvement in the depth of characterisation. Costumes effectively delineated the class differences. The voices were often too quiet and the performances were not opened out enough to the audience. This was a funny and well-acted performance. The young cast gave confident performances and their voices were clear. They got to grips with the characters and made them believable. Siraj Hussain as Raj the newsagent gave a well-observed, confident and well-timed performance such that we looked forward to each of his cameo appearances. Joseph Oliver as Mr Hawthorn the head teacher played both aspects of the cross-dressing character very well and Hugo McEntegart and Charlie Howard gave very watchable performances. There were good lighting effects, especially the moment when Dennis put on the orange dress. The choices of music were excellent. The upbeat style and atmosphere made the production a great choice for presenting at the festival. This was a solid and powerful telling of most of the story of Macbeth. The whole cast gave excellent well-rehearsed performances and clearly understood the story and their role within it. The text was spoken clearly and the actors gave emotional performances. The overall look of the piece was excellent, especially the costumes and make-up. The lighting was effective, as was the evocative music and songs. The ensemble of witches worked well and the concept of keeping them on stage was effective. William Mason as Macbeth gave an excellent monologue his thought processes were very clear. Other actors were also very strong, including Charlotte Hall as Lady Macbeth. This was a dramatic and at times scary performance! This duologue was simply and well-presented. The two actors created the whole story clearly and with panache. They spoke well, demonstrated good mime skills and presented clear characters. The costumes were simple with effective use of colour. The girls presented this duologue effectively. They spoke with clear voices. They created the characters using good movement and acting skills. The costumes were well made and the story welltold.

3 The Mead School Daisy Pulls it off Junior This was an effective ensemble performance of the well-known rip-roaring story. It was fast-paced with strong direction and clear characterisation. Scene changes were sharp and good use was made of simple boxes to create different settings. Movement was well-choreographed. A lot was packed into the 25 minutes such that little time was available to vary the pace and allow the characters and the audience to reflect. Danesfield Pandora s Box Junior The cast brought this Greek myth to life with up to date references. For example, mention was made of ipads, Minecraft and Justin Bieber, which made the story relevant as a comment on modern life. The story was linked by the narrators although it would have been nice to find a way to incorporate them as part of the production rather than sitting on chairs on either side. There was an effective and enjoyable dance sequence at the end during which the actors were clearly having a great time. The piece appeared to be under-rehearsed as there were noticeable gaps in the performance. In addition, the music cues were abrupt and not faded correctly. Claires Court Living the Nightmare Junior Park Hill In the midst of War Junior This original piece of physical theatre, mime and movement followed the story of a family moving to a new house and the effect of this on the daughter. The piece was divided into short scenes, each with a clear style. The dream-like mood was set through well-chosen music and atmospheric lighting changes. The story was told clearly and succinctly. The pace was relaxed, which allowed the audience to easily follow the story. The motif of the lost teddy bear symbolising the girl s fear of loss of her home was very effective. The ensemble of actors representing Physical Expressions worked well together, helping to create the mood through movement. An effective and original piece. This was a charming and touching story of loss as a World War 1 family attempt to carry on normal life while the father is at war. The characters were clearly presented by the actors. Voices were clear and the singing was good. Effective use was made of lighting. The dance with a broom was a nice touch. Good use was made of rhyme in the narration, however I would have preferred to see more action and felt that narration was over-used.

4 Hammond Be My Baby Senior Abbey Gate The Crucible Senior Hammond Perk s Birthday Junior Cransley Midsummer Night s Dream Middle This sixties -based script was a powerful and well-observed socio-documentary delivered by a dedicated cast of five performers. The relationships of the young pregnant women thrown together by circumstance were established quickly from the start. We learnt about their worries and their innocence and saw some of them climb a steep learning curve, while their camaraderie gave them solace. We watched the characters grappling with the realities and dangers of abortion or losing their child to adoption at a time when single parents were frowned upon. The smart costumes were those of a baby home. Characters were clearly delineated by the four main actors with some strong emotional moments, but there was some room for improvement in the depth of characterisation. Sophie Harwood-Smith gave a strong and grounded performance as the matron. The use of music helped to establish the period, although more attention could be paid to the dance sequences. The props were chosen well but the central dais hampered sightlines for a performance in the round and drew the eye away from the actors. This was a simple yet powerful performance of a seminal scene from a classic play. The minimal staging employed wooden blocks and grey costumes. The tension built slowly from the start. The young cast gave sophisticated and credible performances, especially the leading characters and particularly Thomas Fesmer as Danforth. The abuse of power and misogynistic attitudes were deftly portrayed. The tension built and then dramatically erupted at moments with the powerful use of choral movement and voice. Music was used to heighten tension during the piece and could perhaps have been used at the start to establish the mood. This was a riveting ensemble performance. This adaptation of an extract from The Railway Children was a mesmerising story of a good deed which nearly goes wrong. It was performed by a delightful and confident cast and was warmly received by the audience. The young performers stayed in role throughout. They weren t just acting when they were speaking, but reacted well to each other during the action. All the performances were excellent, with some moments of pathos and much well-observed comedy with good timing. The costumes, props and staging were well-chosen. This was a rollicking story well-told. This company clearly got to grips with the script of Midsummer Night s Dream. The groups of characters the fairies, the mechanicals and the lovers were clearly delineated. It was obvious that the actors clearly understood the story and the relationships between characters. The performance began with a tableau, with each group ably introduced by Puck. The story was clear throughout.

5 Hammond Einstein s Brains Middle Transitions between scenes were sharp and timely. Moments were explored well, such as lovers tiffs and the play rehearsal. The fight sequence between Hermia and Helena was dramatic and wellchoreographed. However, it didn t flow or always look convincing and it may have been worth trying parts of it in slow-motion as a contrast. The fairies shouting Fight, fight, fight was a nice touch. Many of the characters were strong, including Evie Moore as Helena and Isabella Girdharry as Hermia although a stand-out performance of mischief was given by Charlotte Collet as Puck, with excellent movement and confident delivery. Generally, the text was clearly spoken and this was an enjoyable and well-performed piece of dramatic storytelling. This was a sharply-paced comic performance from a very competent drama group. It was performed with minimal set and costume but with maximum acting! Comedy is notoriously difficult to do well, particularly for children, but this was not a problem for this cast. They delivered their lines clearly, their timing was excellent and more importantly they delivered gags out to the audience. The American accents were the best I ve heard for a while! The director used split role to great effect so that two of the main characters were played by different actors in different scenes. This was done so slickly that it didn t detract from audience engagement and enabled more actors to play central roles. I liked the trick of characters asking the audience to sshhh to cover the scene change. Jacob Stott exceled as Professor Kinky Horder. The audience greatly enjoyed the humour and the performance made a refreshing end to the festival.

Creative Arts Subject Drama YEAR 7

Creative Arts Subject Drama YEAR 7 Whole Class Drama Narration Cross-cutting Still images/ Freeze frames Slow motion Split stage Facial Expressions Marking the moment Flash back Body Language Sound effects