project - What's your specialism, subjects I'd like to learn more on

 Voice over work.

Voice over work is something I'd actually really enjoy doing, it'd be a new field of acting that I've never stepped foot in before and I believe could add more variety to my already expansive experience in the industry. I may not have done anything fully professional yet but I have had the experience with learning. Having done filming both in college and outside it I've had a glimpse of the industry on stage, in front of the camera and behind the scenes with directing, devising a play script and starring in student films. I think getting a chance to do voice over work would be an amazing opportunity that I would love to take up. In preparation we've also done trans Atlantic accents, the accent you hear in 40's movies. I can't wait to learn more. 

Stage combat

I had one lesson of stage combat with Tom Guest and let me tell you, I had the most fun since the Halloween show, yes Oz went well but it could've been better and with it not being up to my standard due to me being sick I didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I could've. The Halloween globe show was a blast though, and the lesson on stage combat was so fun. It was something new and something entertaining, I enjoyed learning the different techniques to it, the choreography, how to do certain things it was a blast. I hope we get more time on it as I would love to learn more on stage combat, especially with combat on screen, having to throw a punch diagonally across the face instead of forward to mislead the audience, it's so simple yet so clever. I can't wait to find out more. 

Devising - for Halloween we made ghost light tours, where we told a story that was made by scratch and toured people through the globe theatre building, sharing the stories and scaring them in the process.

Improv - in many shows and warm ups I've had to improvise but notably for Remote. In one of the scenes I remember I had to improvise a scene because Aaron was in the wrong place and I had to move him out of the way and continue with the scene whilst making sure it didn't look awkward.

Directing - I'm head designer and thus in charge of the production team for the new National Connections show, however I'm also helping directing in YOLO, co-directing Overcover and I directed and lead a group of flying monkeys for the wizard of Oz

Writing - We have scriptwriting sessions, where me and Charley are writing a script for another National Connections project

Monologue's - I've had to learn several different monologue's for my universities, I've had to do a screen test monologue for MetFilmSchool, a classical and a screen test monologue for The Arden School Of Theatre and three monologue's for LIPA, a contemporary a classical and a devised I had make in response to an article. 

Duologues - the screen tests I've had to do for MetFilmSchool and Arden were duologues, having it been between me and either the tutor or for Arden, a first year there.

Memorisation - I like to learn lines by going over it several times and doing it how I would deliver the lines in front of an actual audience, I can also learn the script in beats as that also helps, but I prefer learning lines from performing the scenes either by myself or other people

Singing - at Christmas we did a Christmas carol in the globe, however we only did a few songs from a Muppets Christmas carol, but with the choreography and singing being taught to us, it was certainly a worthwhile experience

Acting for camera - I've done many films, especially in year one considering we've done less films this year than we had last year. But we've also done a large film project, where I'm a headmaster in this year. Outside of college though I'm in a film called headache that I'm quite excited to do

Presenting - I was in a film skit where I voiced a hand puppet called Eddie the Elephant, it was to do with engineering and we were just spreading about awareness about the job and spreading more knowledge about it, the film would be played at an engineering convention of sorts whilst other actors went in person to interview people

 Producing - Me and the year twos are in charge of the Unknown Theatre Company, with our first show as #YOLO, where I'm the lead. We're producing our own show, directing it ourselves with our own production roles.

 Accents - I've had to do and learn several different accents, I learned how to do a German accent in Charlie and the chocolate factory for Mrs gloop, and for a copycat film in year one I had to learn and do a Russian accent, the German accent was difficult to do compared to the Russian, but both took some time to get into. We've also started to learn how to do trans Atlantic accents which is like a mixture of posh British and American. It's the accent that's used in old movies, such as the ones from the 1940's. 

Task 2 Ted Talks

What my research question is: Method acting, and the unspoken toll it has on mental health

Practitioner Ted talk: Michael Chekhov as a modern dramatist

Research Ted talk notes:

Raw emotion or unresolved emotions conjured up for acting may result in a sleep deprivation, anger, depression, anxiety and the cyclical nature of the ensuing side effects. Sleep deprivation alone can lead to impaired function, causing some individuals to "acute episodes of psychosis". 

In the actors' brains, the scientists wrote, acting "modulated processes related to attention, perspective taking and embodiment." Surprisingly, acting "produced global reductions in brain activity and, particularly, deactivations in the cortical midline network of the frontal lobe, including the dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortices." This reduction in activity didn't mean the answers were slower or in some way delayed, though; it meant that the actors were suppressing their natural responses and replacing them with their character's ideas. 

Research ted talk draft:

Most of the studies talk about emotional memory, how method acting draws upon it to provide a realistic outcome (the performance), what is Emotional memory exactly? Emotional memory is a technique that draws the emotion from a memory, either recent or distant. So for example if an Actor is doing a scene where they need to be upset, then they'd use emotional memory. Not every actor uses this technique especially considering it does come with It's own cons. To draw upon the raw emotions required, you'd have to relive the memory. Relive the pain, and arguably you could say that's not morally right. To make yourself or as a director make someone else relive a pain to perform a scene correctly.

So how does Emotional memory and method acting coincide? 

When someone method acts, they become the character they're portraying, they attempt to completely emotionally identify with their character, the technique was prominently used by Marlon Brando and Dustin Hoffman. To completely emotionally identify with the character, you have to be able to become them and thus emotional memory sets into play. 

With all the benefits of Method Acting what's the catch, can there be a downside for such an avid technique of acting? Yes, there are many serious downsides that aren't spoken about as often as they should be, and the help provided to actors who have gone through such cons of the technique isn't adequate enough. There are many prominent and I'm here today to bring light to it. Actors who have used the technique are at risk of psychic episodes, where they can't compartmentalise the emotions of the character from their own in daily life. Actor's could also experience sleep deprivation, anger, depression, anxiety and the cyclical nature of the ensuing side effects, out of many actors who have used the technique, one that I'm going to bring up is Heath Ledger, an exceptionally talented actor and Oscar winner who's performance in The Dark Knight used the technique and subsequently took his own life to the after-effects it had on him. Becoming the role of The Joker both physically and mentally brought such a toll on his mental health by method acting, especially considering the character is such a psychotic monster. Through this he took drugs, and overdosed. By method acting, Heath Ledger took his own life, went through depression and psychosis, destroyed his own psyche for a role.

This outdated form of acting technique needs to have a light shone on it, It needs to be taught just how dangerous it is and where to receive the help needed if it used.

Samaritans Suicide Hotline - 116 123

NHS Helpline - 111

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust - 0800 051 6171

Mind - 0300 123 3393

Practitioner Ted Talk draft: 

Michael Chekhov was a visionary in his time, being an acting practitioner that has inspired many different actors of this generation and those in the past, he created the technique "Radiating" which in the words of Chekhov’s pupil, Mala Powers, ‘to send out the invisible essence of whatever quality, emotion or thought you wish — You may even consciously “radiate” your character’s presence onto the stage or set before you make an entrance’ in Layman's terms, to act out an emotion that your character is experiencing, Michael Chekhov brought that to light and gave it a name, making it a technique.

Michael Chekhov's radiating technique is used daily in modern society, even unconsciously it's used, as long as you radiate your emotions and express them outwards whilst you act, you are radiating. Even though he is not a modern practitioner, his technique and teachings are still used on the daily, and will continue to be used, both on stage and on screen, no matter the actor.