A community is basically a relationship with others, where they all communicate about one thing. Or there is one thing that brings them together. If they communicate well then this can help a group if not this could hinder a group.
A relationship is built on understanding, trust and communication, if all these factors are working then you are able to create your own community.
Communication can be visual or oral, it can be done using touch or even smell? For example people who bath in perfume or aftershave before they go out are communicating through smell. This can help create a relationship for a job or partnership again leading to the creation of some form of community.
What are your thoughts on this, and although there are other factors to this, how come we find it so hard to communicate. Why do people read into signs that might not even be there and also why if you want to part of a community to people go out of there way to not fit in to it?
Does any of what i just said make sense?
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Home
After explaining to Bex that we were not actually north and that we were no where near heart beat county, we got to my house. We spent Saturday and Sunday round Leicester finding out about venues and letting the girls get used to the area a little. This was good as they got a feel for Leicester and used to the mix of different cultures there. Venue wise however we did not come up with very much at all!
Our week at school was really good, we really enjoyed teaching, the kids were very enthusiastic and well behaved. We had decided that our workshops would be focused around storytelling.
We asked the students to get up tell us their name and maybe something about their name, such as Bex dad wanted to call her Fanny when she was born, she would have been known as Fanny Frier...i wish Bexy! Then i posed the question, what do you first think of when i say 'Storytelling?' The response was as expected...Children, bedtime and fairy tales, so then i9 asked them what they thought they were being shown at the Cinema or at the theatre. How everything is a story and then talked about comedians and using their won lives and observations to create story's.
We played games each person choosing a word such as 'Tropical or School' placing them in the middle then going round in a circle we created a story using the words from the middle. They seemed to really enjoy this, the first time we did it there stories were very funny and a little abstract, However, the second time we asked them what makes a good story. The second time we tried to give the story a beginning, middle and end. They were really focus and worked really hard on the stories. We then spoke about our own stories and how an actor becomes someone else on stage and how hard it must be to get up and create your own personal stories.
In 3 small groups then they had to devise a 2 minute piece that was a true fairy tale but each group had to pretend to speak a different language, this was really funny my group did Peter Pan in German. It was fun and meant they had the chance to act and get to know one of us better, and also gave us a chance to see the strengths of groups and even learn some names. We spoke to them after about how great the pieces were and also how we don't need to rely on words, just the physicality of their bodies.
The second group we taught had an overlap of two students Ellie and Ollie, so we quickly changed the lesson plan a little for them, we got the groups to create a whole new fairy tale and speak in gobbledy gook! These were very funny...and though this group was a lot shyer than the last they did get up and work very hard on the pieces.
The next6 two groups we taught were A level and AS level, and there were only 4 of them in the group. This was really nice, funnily we didn't get as much work done with them as they really enjoyed talking about what they were doing, this was fine as they were getting to know and trust us. Instead of getting them to create small pieces in the group we asked them to write a word that they thought would provoke a story, Friendship, Holiday, etc. Then tell a 2 minute story about themselves. They were brilliant, I showed my story first about my travels that i did for the storytelling module at uni. Kat and Bex also joined in with all the exercises so we were on a level with them rather than just standing and saying do this, do that!
This was our first sessions with the groups and i really enjoyed them, the fact that we had respect straight away was brilliant, we did have a joke with them, but tried to stay in a professional role as well. I think it worked out really well, Ellie even said and i quote... 'Have we got you again...your cool!' This made my day...i was never cool at school.
Our week at school was really good, we really enjoyed teaching, the kids were very enthusiastic and well behaved. We had decided that our workshops would be focused around storytelling.
We asked the students to get up tell us their name and maybe something about their name, such as Bex dad wanted to call her Fanny when she was born, she would have been known as Fanny Frier...i wish Bexy! Then i posed the question, what do you first think of when i say 'Storytelling?' The response was as expected...Children, bedtime and fairy tales, so then i9 asked them what they thought they were being shown at the Cinema or at the theatre. How everything is a story and then talked about comedians and using their won lives and observations to create story's.
We played games each person choosing a word such as 'Tropical or School' placing them in the middle then going round in a circle we created a story using the words from the middle. They seemed to really enjoy this, the first time we did it there stories were very funny and a little abstract, However, the second time we asked them what makes a good story. The second time we tried to give the story a beginning, middle and end. They were really focus and worked really hard on the stories. We then spoke about our own stories and how an actor becomes someone else on stage and how hard it must be to get up and create your own personal stories.
In 3 small groups then they had to devise a 2 minute piece that was a true fairy tale but each group had to pretend to speak a different language, this was really funny my group did Peter Pan in German. It was fun and meant they had the chance to act and get to know one of us better, and also gave us a chance to see the strengths of groups and even learn some names. We spoke to them after about how great the pieces were and also how we don't need to rely on words, just the physicality of their bodies.
The second group we taught had an overlap of two students Ellie and Ollie, so we quickly changed the lesson plan a little for them, we got the groups to create a whole new fairy tale and speak in gobbledy gook! These were very funny...and though this group was a lot shyer than the last they did get up and work very hard on the pieces.
The next6 two groups we taught were A level and AS level, and there were only 4 of them in the group. This was really nice, funnily we didn't get as much work done with them as they really enjoyed talking about what they were doing, this was fine as they were getting to know and trust us. Instead of getting them to create small pieces in the group we asked them to write a word that they thought would provoke a story, Friendship, Holiday, etc. Then tell a 2 minute story about themselves. They were brilliant, I showed my story first about my travels that i did for the storytelling module at uni. Kat and Bex also joined in with all the exercises so we were on a level with them rather than just standing and saying do this, do that!
This was our first sessions with the groups and i really enjoyed them, the fact that we had respect straight away was brilliant, we did have a joke with them, but tried to stay in a professional role as well. I think it worked out really well, Ellie even said and i quote... 'Have we got you again...your cool!' This made my day...i was never cool at school.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Womans aid?
Well as you all know we were really excited about the womans aid project and were hoping to get in and meet some ladies, work with them and then get their stoires out there and heard. However i have spent since christmas on the phone to the people at head office trying to sort things out but i was either not getting phone calls back or being sent in a circle.
So sticking with the idea we looked at doing our own stories, ones that would effect and audience and get them thinking!
We had this i dea before we saw Jaquie Andrews Creative Collab peice, this was really good as we had ni idea how to link the stories and though we didn't think that movement would work for our peice it was good to see the different methods that they had decided to use for their piece.
With the Womans aid not working out and dates booked for Leicester we needed to think fast so we thought more about story telling!
So sticking with the idea we looked at doing our own stories, ones that would effect and audience and get them thinking!
We had this i dea before we saw Jaquie Andrews Creative Collab peice, this was really good as we had ni idea how to link the stories and though we didn't think that movement would work for our peice it was good to see the different methods that they had decided to use for their piece.
With the Womans aid not working out and dates booked for Leicester we needed to think fast so we thought more about story telling!
Monday, 22 December 2008
Womans Aid
My group (Kat, Bex and myself) have been a little slapdash recently, with so much work we had all put other things before this project thinking we had plenty of time on our hands, it was only this week that really any of us realised that i was Christmas.
As we had this Thursday off we deiced to meet early and get everything sorted, we knew we wanted to work with Woman's Aid but we had several questions to ask ourselves
As we had this Thursday off we deiced to meet early and get everything sorted, we knew we wanted to work with Woman's Aid but we had several questions to ask ourselves
- Why do we want to work with them
- What are we wanting to say
- Who do we want to say it to
- What is our venue
- Where abouts is our venue
- When are we putting this on
- What type of theatre will work best
After looking at all the questions, we looked back at Cardboard Citizens, we all felt that in someways we would be preaching to the converted if we were to try and travel round different refuges and also we were not sure about the issues that would come into that, there was a lot of research needed.
We all really like verbatim theatre and all agreed that this is the best way of telling a story that is so personal, and if we wanted to hit home to our audience, we needed really people, real stories and real words!
This is what we have come up with as a starting idea, that personally i think is quite solid, but please feed back on ideas or questions as its very easy to over look things with your personal work.
We are getting in touch with refuges and seeing if there are 3 woman who would be willing to anonymously tell us there stories, and make that a piece of verbatim theatre, then tour with it to different areas. We want to go to places like local WI'S (woman's institutes) in these areas and do a work shop, using forum theatre to see what there solutions are. One thing we did defiantly agree from cardboard citz, you think think there are easier ways out than there actually are. Allot of people say, 'I'd just leave him if he hit me!' That's fine for them to say, but whats about the years of manipulation and don't forget she wouldn't be with him if she didn't love him!
Once we have done this workshop we then invite them to a venue near by, ask them to invite family and friends to listen to the real life story and help support Woman's Aid, charge a small donation and put on a half hour verbatim piece the next night.
We also would like to take it to a male audience, see what there thoughts were. We talked about possibly taking it to a working men's club, however i raised the thought about it not being a controlled environment, what do you think? Instead I'm arranging us to take the workshop to (fingers crossed) The Leicester Tigers Rugby team.
We also said that if this was a company we would also in the future think about bringing in another team that looked at abusive woman, for the men's aid. But for now as we are 3 woman we just wanted 3 woman's stories.
I also have information on statistics, sometimes that can be as shocking to people, even more shocking than the stories themselves, its the knowledge that you don't have, like with how much a hostel costs!
I rang Woman's Aid and they were very nice and seemed very interested in our project. I am now in contact with two people at Head office who are doing allot of ground work for us. We have no split for Xmas and are looking into venues and dates to meet with people, Hoping that we should start touring after half term and finish end of March.
Very excited and feel like i have the buzz back of doing a project.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Personal
I'm going to talk to you now about someone very very close to me that i lost when i was 11. He was the person i shared everything with, and he took himself away, by accident.
When i was 14 i went off the rails, completely. I'm not proud of the things i did, but i did them...it was my way of coping, i don't talk about his person now...not because i don't want to, but because it hurts.
When i was 14 i faced my first time at starting a new school by myself, i had my friends but he wasn't there. I had lost my community!
Nearly 9 years on I've only just found out who i am, through friends, travel and family i have finally found me!
I want to help people who have suffered like me, i didn't have any help at the time and i think that charities that help people who have lost loved ones especially children are fantastic.
I started getting involved with my dads charity CVOC about 2 years ago now and i get so much out of it and i think by helping them, they have helped me. Through working with these children i have realised how small others problems are and just how well children deal with death, some of there stories i couldn't even begin to tell you, they are true hero's to be able to deal with so much at such a young age. The parents stories are just as powerful as the children's and heart breaking...if you want real raw stories they are best told through that persons words and actions...this is why i love Verbatim theatre.
This is also what inspired me to travel as well as my parents love for it, i wanted to help more children around the world, so i taught i Brazil, Cambodia and India as well as having fun and seeing the sights, the greatest thing i learnt was, i can do this by myself and alone...i am still strong.
I am who i am and that's all that i can be
When i was 14 i went off the rails, completely. I'm not proud of the things i did, but i did them...it was my way of coping, i don't talk about his person now...not because i don't want to, but because it hurts.
When i was 14 i faced my first time at starting a new school by myself, i had my friends but he wasn't there. I had lost my community!
Nearly 9 years on I've only just found out who i am, through friends, travel and family i have finally found me!
I want to help people who have suffered like me, i didn't have any help at the time and i think that charities that help people who have lost loved ones especially children are fantastic.
I started getting involved with my dads charity CVOC about 2 years ago now and i get so much out of it and i think by helping them, they have helped me. Through working with these children i have realised how small others problems are and just how well children deal with death, some of there stories i couldn't even begin to tell you, they are true hero's to be able to deal with so much at such a young age. The parents stories are just as powerful as the children's and heart breaking...if you want real raw stories they are best told through that persons words and actions...this is why i love Verbatim theatre.
This is also what inspired me to travel as well as my parents love for it, i wanted to help more children around the world, so i taught i Brazil, Cambodia and India as well as having fun and seeing the sights, the greatest thing i learnt was, i can do this by myself and alone...i am still strong.
I am who i am and that's all that i can be
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Utopia
What is Utopia???
Utopia is your idea of perfect!
Each person has there own idea of the perfect world as because we are all different so are our opinion's on what is perfect, in some respects this is why the world works and at the same time it is the reason for many wars and fights.
Hitlers idea of Utopia very nearly happened, who are we to say that he was wrong and we were right, i agree undoubtedly that we were as the pain and suffering that he caused was catastrophic but how do we learn right from wrong and if we do learn the same as everyone else what is it that affects or changes that behaviour and creates 'bad' people like Hitler??
Questions that are asked my society create conflict but without conflict would there be a society?
*What is the right way to bring up children?
*What should the drinking age be?
*When are you ready to have sex?
Questions that are very much part of everyday life...should we not decide when we are ready to do these things...does the fact there are laws mean we see them as rules to abide by or be broken and who is it that actually decides?
On my 16th birthday for example one of my mates brought me a packet of fags and packet of condoms and a lottery ticket?!? What message does this send!
This week the question was posed 'what is your idea of utopia for the drama department in this college?'
Everyone else was talking about having something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, all i wish for is that we had more rooms and more resources a room where you had all the lighting and sound for atmosphere and a room just for costume and an comfy sofa chill out room to sit and talk through ideas and research, also somewhere that could pick your thoughts out of your head and put them into words as this is general an area i struggle with (you may have noticed)...nothing too exciting just more practical, boring me!
I just think that there are a lot of all doing different things all needing different spaces and sometimes you'll go to a rehearsal and actually all you really need is to mess around with costume or lighting and sound, but you can't cause you need someone else to help you with that!!!
I don't think people realise how looked after we are at uni!
PS I would like a dungeon to put anyone who says drama is a doss subject or asks if i can me a good tree!!!!!!!!!!
Utopia is your idea of perfect!
Each person has there own idea of the perfect world as because we are all different so are our opinion's on what is perfect, in some respects this is why the world works and at the same time it is the reason for many wars and fights.
Hitlers idea of Utopia very nearly happened, who are we to say that he was wrong and we were right, i agree undoubtedly that we were as the pain and suffering that he caused was catastrophic but how do we learn right from wrong and if we do learn the same as everyone else what is it that affects or changes that behaviour and creates 'bad' people like Hitler??
Questions that are asked my society create conflict but without conflict would there be a society?
*What is the right way to bring up children?
*What should the drinking age be?
*When are you ready to have sex?
Questions that are very much part of everyday life...should we not decide when we are ready to do these things...does the fact there are laws mean we see them as rules to abide by or be broken and who is it that actually decides?
On my 16th birthday for example one of my mates brought me a packet of fags and packet of condoms and a lottery ticket?!? What message does this send!
This week the question was posed 'what is your idea of utopia for the drama department in this college?'
Everyone else was talking about having something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, all i wish for is that we had more rooms and more resources a room where you had all the lighting and sound for atmosphere and a room just for costume and an comfy sofa chill out room to sit and talk through ideas and research, also somewhere that could pick your thoughts out of your head and put them into words as this is general an area i struggle with (you may have noticed)...nothing too exciting just more practical, boring me!
I just think that there are a lot of all doing different things all needing different spaces and sometimes you'll go to a rehearsal and actually all you really need is to mess around with costume or lighting and sound, but you can't cause you need someone else to help you with that!!!
I don't think people realise how looked after we are at uni!
PS I would like a dungeon to put anyone who says drama is a doss subject or asks if i can me a good tree!!!!!!!!!!
Insight to the past!
Fiona and Mary came a couple of weeks ago and i thought it was fantastic , we learnt so much about there past and for me there were some real key moment whilst they were talking that really caught my attention, for different reasons.
I loved it when we talked to them about their first love, to me it was a real insight to just how fantastic times were and they've developed over time. Such as Mary meeting her 1st partner playing tennis and then playing doubles,etc. Seems to be like something i thought they made up for TV and Fiona's husband driving her home drunk and not knowing the way...how crazy is that. I also think that the fact that fashion has changed so dramatically over the years, i feel like were and era that doesn't fit in as our dress code seems so normal for the flower power and the colourfulness of the 60's and 80's, maybe catch up with me in 40 years time, when people are age are looking at our clothes thinking how cool...i just don't see it happening...nothing is as outrageous as it used to be, is what i think I'm getting at. I agree with equal rights 100% but the fight that people like Emily Pankhurst went through seems so brushed aside to me, i know allot of my friends didn't even turn up to vote and how sad is that, woman fought to give us that right and now we can't be bothered to even respect them by turning up. Another thing is woman keeping a career and being sorting out the house...were not wonder woman, Woman used to stay at home and look after children and the house now they try to to do all of that and hold down a full time job...who says they had it hard back then, I'm joking of course...but only to a certain extent!
I'm going to sound like a complete looser when i say this but i was completely envious of them, this maybe strange but doesn't anyone wish that they would have been round for one of the world wars??? I do, i know it was such a devastating time in history and not one that some people like to talk about but i just think personally that we take so much for granted these days. Mary talked about at night when everything would be pitch black and you'd hear the sirens and have to hide and as you looked into the night sky and the lights were beaming into the sky looking for Nazis planes there would all of a sudden see the silhouette of a small plane streaking across the sky, and how scary it was to see this and hear this and just how terrifying that must have been to live through it, but also how amazing it would have been to look back at these memories and share them. I only hope that when I'm Mary's age people will be as interested in my travelling stories, as they don't seem to be these days...why is that??? I find that a lot of my parents friends are unbelievably interested the countries I've been to and things I've done. People my own age however, seem to be less caring.
Maybe it's just me!!!
I loved it when we talked to them about their first love, to me it was a real insight to just how fantastic times were and they've developed over time. Such as Mary meeting her 1st partner playing tennis and then playing doubles,etc. Seems to be like something i thought they made up for TV and Fiona's husband driving her home drunk and not knowing the way...how crazy is that. I also think that the fact that fashion has changed so dramatically over the years, i feel like were and era that doesn't fit in as our dress code seems so normal for the flower power and the colourfulness of the 60's and 80's, maybe catch up with me in 40 years time, when people are age are looking at our clothes thinking how cool...i just don't see it happening...nothing is as outrageous as it used to be, is what i think I'm getting at. I agree with equal rights 100% but the fight that people like Emily Pankhurst went through seems so brushed aside to me, i know allot of my friends didn't even turn up to vote and how sad is that, woman fought to give us that right and now we can't be bothered to even respect them by turning up. Another thing is woman keeping a career and being sorting out the house...were not wonder woman, Woman used to stay at home and look after children and the house now they try to to do all of that and hold down a full time job...who says they had it hard back then, I'm joking of course...but only to a certain extent!
I'm going to sound like a complete looser when i say this but i was completely envious of them, this maybe strange but doesn't anyone wish that they would have been round for one of the world wars??? I do, i know it was such a devastating time in history and not one that some people like to talk about but i just think personally that we take so much for granted these days. Mary talked about at night when everything would be pitch black and you'd hear the sirens and have to hide and as you looked into the night sky and the lights were beaming into the sky looking for Nazis planes there would all of a sudden see the silhouette of a small plane streaking across the sky, and how scary it was to see this and hear this and just how terrifying that must have been to live through it, but also how amazing it would have been to look back at these memories and share them. I only hope that when I'm Mary's age people will be as interested in my travelling stories, as they don't seem to be these days...why is that??? I find that a lot of my parents friends are unbelievably interested the countries I've been to and things I've done. People my own age however, seem to be less caring.
Maybe it's just me!!!
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