Moodboard

Puck

The work

Waiting staff serve customers by taking orders, serving food and preparing tables. An important part of the work is to make customers feel welcome and comfortable during their meal.

As a waiter or waitress, your main duties would include:

• greeting customers as they arrive and showing them to their table
• giving out menus and taking orders for food and drink
• serving food and drinks
• dealing with bill payments
• making sure tables are clean and tidy

In formal restaurants your work may include silver service (providing the main part of the dish separately to the vegetables or accompaniments). You would usually work in a team under the supervision of a head waiter or waitress, known as the 'maitre d’.

In some restaurants you would be responsible for a specific area of tables. You may give advice to diners on menu choice, as well as serve them food.

You could also specialize in work as a wine waiter or waitress, for example in a fine dining restaurant. You may be known as a 'sommelier' and act as an expert in wine and other alcoholic beverages.

Hours

You are likely to work shifts including evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Restaurants and kitchens can be hot, humid, noisy and busy at key meal times. You will need a smart appearance and you would usually be provided with a uniform.

Income

Full-time salaries for waiting staff can be around £12,000 to £16,000 a year. With experience and extra responsibilities it is possible to earn between £17,000 and £20,000.

Many waiters and waitresses are paid by the hour. Income may be increased by tips.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Skills, interests and qualities

To become a member of the waiting staff you should have:

• excellent customer service skills
• an interest in food and drink
• high standards of personal hygiene
• the ability to remain calm under pressure
• an awareness of health and safety issues
• the ability to memorise orders
• good numeracy skills for dealing with bills and payments
• the ability to work on your own and as part of a team

lesson 25/01/16

We worked on characterization and how to portray a character with different energy levels in our first exercise, over a count of ten we transformed into our characters and had to move around the space as they would at a level 5 energy, then we would vary the energy levels by moving faster, having larger expression, changing direction quicker, becoming a larger character overall, Then we would move down in energy and walk slower, become smaller, lazier and less facial expressions till you were at 0 and became yourself again.

We then performed an activity were in pairs we had to  have an argument, person A was only allowed to use the word YES and person B could only say NO. Also you couldn't use any body language. By varying the way you said the words you could transform the argument. We discovered that person B saying NO often sounded more persuasive and like they were winning as it is a cutting sound and is very quick and snappy. Yes often had to work harder as the language is more open to suggestion. 

Then we worked on a scene from 'A midsummer night's dream' where Helena is arguing with Demetrius, Helena is a portrayal of the yes and Demetrius is a portrayal of the no. We focused on their tactics and how they should be portrayed physically throughout the scene such as one of Helena's objectives is to hold on to, this allows the actor to portray the scene without words as Helena can show she is holding on and that her language would be to hold on without using words. One of Demetrius's objectives is to push away and this can be easily communicated without language and get the moral across. We also had to create super objectives for them both which they communicate throughout the entire scene to give them guidance.

Cast list

Oberon- Katie
Titania- Amelia
Theseus- Ruby
Hippolyta- Lili
Philistrate- Max
Edeus- Charlie
Demetrius- Esmae
Lysander- Zafra
Hermia- Jess
Helena- Poppy
Quince- Saffron
Snug- Laila
Bottom- Mia
Flute- Wildat
Snout- Megan
Starvelling- Shenneil
Indian Boy- Aaron
Fairy- Gina
Puck- Alice, Natasha, Yolanda
Peasleblossom- Kaleem
Cobweb- Isaac
Moth- Kailash
Mustardseed- Rio

Lesson 21/01/16

Our final and chosen concept is that there is going to be a wedding in a gay bar.

Oberon and Titania are married and they are the bar owners however they are not in a happy marriage 


Philistrate is the wedding planner 

Hippolyta and thesis are getting married 

The merchants are a local acting group or band who are preparing to perform in the palace bar 

The lovers are guests 

At the bars we can serve alcohol and soft drinks plus light snacks like crisps to the audience who will be sat at tables as though they are customers 

The fairies are bridesmaids 

Puck is a dogs body/ waiter/ress 

Titania is a regular customer of the woods 

The lighting in the woods is red and there are hay barrels to make it feel like a barn also there will be a small outside area 

The palace will have purple or blue lighting and look more futuristic and higher class and serve better drinks 

Lesson 18/01/16

we read through our assignment brief and took notes on each section and what we have to do to achieve the best results and top grade 

We read through the Helena and Demetrius scene and had to be very physical running around to find the characters objectives and tactics. Everyone had to find the text ride on the action and it became very comical. After this we looked at the scene done as though it is a bar and the language became easier to understand because it was being portrayed very human. I enjoyed this exercise because I was pushed out of my comfort zone and also began to understand the characters more and their physical objectives became clearer. 

Warm ups

Syringing with hum-

Hum as you go up and down your vocal range to warm up the voice without harming your throat.

Plank-

Stay in a plank position for a minute pulling your stomach in to maintain the position, after one minute slowly move back till you are sitting on your heels and repeat five times. This works on your stamina and is good core exercise.

Do u bite your thumb- 

In pairs act out the "do you bite your thumb at me" scene varying the way you say each line and then on your own say the line focusing on each phrase letter movement . 

14/01/16 review of the concepts shown

Review on scenes shown 

The tube

I really liked the concept of the tube as it added character to the piece 

They weren't all bobbing in the same way and it looked not like a tube 

I thought the scene fit with the concepts 

The pub

The pub fit well in the scene 

I enjoyed the characterisation

I think the forest may be difficult and it will be hard to perform in the small space as it can be hard to understand  

French tube bombing 

I think the French didn't work too well but I enjoyed the fact you brought it to a modern day situation 

The train made the scene restricted

The hospital

I didn't understand how the scene fit into the  concept and I didn't understand the scene 

I felt it needed work but could be legible if you made some slight changes such as having an abused woman in the hospital telling her husband she still loves him 

Lesson 14/01/16

4 Athenians who are in a love dilemma run into a wood. An actor calls bottom who is an Athenian goes into the wood as well. They all meet fairies. Bottom turns into a donkey. The queen of fairies falls in love with bottom. Also the Athenians are given the same love potion and fall in love with the right people which sorts the story out. Titania's spell runs off and she falls in love with bottom for real

It's about love and the conflicts in love 

It can also be about how society controls who we love 

Love and magic and how close love and hate can be 

How love and lust are different

How love can be fake 

 Power and control 

How a society can control your actions

This play discusses how society impacts our decisions 

This play discusses the power of love

This play discusses the difference between love and lust 

This play discusses that reality is an illusion 

This play discusses the close bond between love and hate 

This play demonstrates the hierarchy in society 

How does society change you 

What is the difference between love and lust 

What is real and what isn't real 

Why are Love and hate so close and intertwined 

How does hierarchy exist in society 

Good art makes people question their humanity and life 

Homework set 7/1/16

Homework

Work out what questions a play asks 

Example: is play real or is it just a drug 

Then keeping in mind that there are lots of cast can't me up with 3 test concepts that may work and some which may not 

The play asks questions such as 

Is it a dream or reality 

Is love blind/ can you fall in love at first sight 

Concept 1- 

Sexuality 

Have some boys as girl characters in girls clothing and change the story around slightly to represent different sexualities in modern society such as transgender or instead of Hermia and Lysander Hermia and Helena or Lysander be played by a girl. 

Concept 2 

Each character has 2 actors playing it one being a normal stereotypical view of their character the other having a mental illness to show that people can have issues secretly 

Concept 3-

It's all a dream 

7/01/16 Read through

How to interrogate text 

1: read through 

2: initial thoughts

I don't really understand the language but I like the overall story line and find it very comical, I like the use of the actors as this adds a comedic factor and also puck and Oberon casting spells on people is also a funny thing which adds to the scene 

The relation ship between the four Athenians is a bit confusing but I enjoyed the melodrama 

I think I need to decipher the language more and understand the meaning behind each line before I think about anything else. I'm t was easier to infer how to act or react to a situation than I thought and the language was easier than I expected but still hard

Fast paced, lots of transitions and short scenes which tire you as you watch it 

3: work out the themes 

The themes are comedy as many of the characters such as the actors and puck and very comedic, romance as the idea of a wedding and the four Athenians relationship is a four way love hate relationship which does add some comedy in a melodramatic way. 

It showed it themes well and this stood out a lot

It is a patriarchal society as her father chooses her husband 

Magic is featured through the fairys

Love 

Control/ order 

Conflict 

Trickery 

Transformation 

Chaos 

Nature 

Journeys 

Dreams

Reality

3.1: work out data      Unit 18

Characters 

Titania, bottom,

Location

Woods

Time of day 

Morning 

Atmosphere 

Romantic and poetic 

Props/ set

Flowery bed

Do we need any SFX/LFX?

Bottoms music?

4: work out what questions the play asks 

Before we impose concept we must ask ourselves what assets do we have

Simple school props

Large number of actors 

Skills of cast 

411 is rehearsal room, square hot rehearsal room 

5: test concepts