Peter Pan Evaluation

Going into Peter Pan knowing it was a musical was something I was excited for but very nervous about as I hadn't done anything to this level before. I have sang on stage before but that was infront of people I knew where it was less nerve-racking. This was for a show so it felt like there was a bit more added pressure on that front for me. I still wanted to give it my all and go for a character I felt like I could portray well which when auditioning was Hook. Through out my journey on this course I have played a few mature characters and stereotypes on different characters. So when Kelly had spoke to me about the role I had been given because of how mature of a character Hook was I was upset at first but took on the character of John very happily with an open mind to play on how psychical I could be with him being more loose and energetic. I also still had a few fair songs to learn on top of that so I could still challenge myself by singing in front of an audience I don't know whilst it being in a show. This character was different to the roles I have portrayed before like the Tinman he's more stiff and less energetic as a character compared to John. Kelly also spoke to me about being one of the twins but felt like I had already done a duo act role like that with Will last year which I had and so it made sense for me to stick myself in the ensemble role of a lost boy so that I can make my own character out of it and portray that character how I wanted to. 

For John my motivations and objectives was to get across his love for a sense of adventure and pirates whilst also being wary of the danger around him so that he can be protective of Michael at the same time. This character had to be really physical and expressive especially with the flying as we didn't want the audience noticing the people lifting us up we wanted them to notice the characters flying so I made sure to keep my head up with a big smile on my face so that the audience could see it through John's eyes that he was indeed flying. I felt that the physical aspects and the expressions in the right places really added to my character and that the audience could really see how I was feeling and reacting to what was happening around me. I always have struggled with vocal performance, with me being a naturally fast speaker I sometimes rush through lines and don't fully take in what it is I am saying or what the line means and so I miss something important but for this role I feel like I took a step back and really got understood the lines on a level that John would understand them and how he would say them lines. Like for example when he's talking about pirates theres certain lines where you think he would be scared or show fear but infact he's excited and can't wait to meet the pirates to fight them and I feel like I really showed that in my portrayal of John. With us being at the ARC there was more space for us to utilise and with John being a kid and energetic I made sure when needed he was always moving and on his feet so that he wasn't stiff and just stood there. I always showed a change depending on the scene so when Wendy was reading a story I would be more grounded and less on my feet excited I would instead show my excitement in the story being told to me. Same can be said for my lost boy I made sure my lost boy was always on his feet and was more scared than what John would be as John is braver. When it comes to costume, I think my costume made me get in the character more for both of them same with props. For the Darling song at the start with the props it really gave a sense that we are children who like stories and play fighting with swords because of the usage of props. I always kept John sword on me at all times as well when venturing in Neverland as its the same one he was using earlier when pretending to be a pirate right at the very start. For my lost boy I didn't really think of a character until I thought of costume and when I had my costume I then started playing on how I could portray my lost boy and I went with hunter vibes. So, when the lost boys were introduced I was pretending to shoot Noah with a bow and arrow and then he would do the same with me and then we would chase each other around like were hunting prey, also utilising the space around and to give the scene some life. I also showed compassion as when the pirates attacked and we came back on afterwards I would come back on and make sure everyone of my friends were safe before I started checking around the camp. I felt like my artistic choice for John was how protective of Michael I was like when I covered Michaels ears when Peter is upset about his mother replacing him or always making sure Michael was safe before I was. 

When it comes into terms of improvement and feedback, personally for me I felt like what I could of improved on was maybe when I am showing John's expressions that I don't hide it behind my physicality, there was a scene where I hide my facial expression from the audience and instead put my head in my arms to show I was upset and it did show the right emotion but I think I could of portrayed it better in terms on paying attention on why John would be upset and have my eyes focus on that (which at the time was Wendy and Peter singing while arguing) instead of just refusing to look. Some feedback I got from peers was that I had portrayed the youthful side of John very well and that my accent was clear for the most part, but I would dip in and out of it. I saw that myself aswell and I felt like maybe the reason I dipped out the accent was because I was around the lost boys and I was fascinated by their way of life without having a parent and so when Wendy became our parent I became more like them and would lose the accent, but it would also be critical on my diction and volume for certain phrases. 

My goals for improvement would be to definitely when auditioning try and improve my range of different style of roles instead of going for characters that are mature or share the same sort of style in a sense and to push myself to try something new when it comes them styles. Also to continue to still work on my vocal performance regarding range and diction, which I feel throughout my time on this course has definitely improved from when I started to right now.