the logbook...your logbook entries should be submitted on a regular basis and will be used by your...

© Cengage Learning Australia Pty Ltd 2016 The logbook www.nelsonnet.com.au

To make the most of your drama work you should keep a logbook as an ongoing record of all your lessons and performance experiences. Your written entries record and communicate your creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Your logbook entries should be submitted on a regular basis and will be used by your teacher when evaluating your performance work. Your written work should consist of a combination of the following:

RecountingWriting about what you have observed and participated in.• Explain and describe the workshops, performances and activities and exercises.• Who did you work with and what was effective about your collaboration?• What was the aim of the lesson or series of lessons?• What decisions, choices or changes happened in rehearsals and why?

The following is an example of a student’s recount:Today’s lesson was one of the most interesting yet. The learning aim was: “to use music, lyrics and body shape to create representations of ideas about ‘luck’”. We were played a piece of music that had these really interesting lyrics. It was a ballad and told the story of this guy and his search for good fortune and luck. In the end we realise that his search will be endless as good luck is the result of chance. We then had to make shapes and tableaux to represent words that were from the lyrics of the song. Then we read an article about gambling and some pretty awful statistics about the impact of gambling on families. We then divided into groups to prepare a role-play about luck. We started brainstorming ideas and will probably start improvisations next lesson.

I like the idea of doing a series of different scenes where the word ‘luck’ or ‘lucky’ is only used once. Maybe we could freeze for three counts when the word is said to help emphasise it. I’ll discuss it with the group tomorrow.

EvaluatingAnalysing your experiences and performance work, as well as the work of others.• What was the purpose of the activities?• How did you feel you achieved in different activities? What is your evidence?• How effectively was your collaboration with others? What is your evidence?• Think critically about the activities. What worked? What did not work? Why?• How successfully did you achieve the aims, or goals, of the lesson? Why?• What suggestions could you make to improve your own work?• What constructive criticism can you offer to improve the work of others?

The logbook

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Centre Stage_Logbook.indd 1 10/09/16 3:16 PM

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Here is an example of a student’s evaluation:I really enjoyed today’s lesson. The aim of this lesson was to use physical movement rather than words to create visually interesting representations of certain words. I really enjoyed the practical activities because they were fun and challenged me to use my body in a more expressive way. I didn’t realise you needed to be so fit to be a performer. I must go to gym like I promised myself last year!

I love tableau work. It was great to see how each group was able to capture the meaning of the words so well. I think Carla’s group did a fantastic interpretation of the word ‘opportunity’. Their use of levels, body language and facial expression really communicated how exciting an ‘opportunity’ can be, especially Will’s face. It’s like it’s made of rubber! It was obvious the group worked well collaboratively as they did not spend too long discussing but experimented and created much earlier in rehearsal than we did. The most effective aspect of their tableau was the use of focus to highlight one performer’s face. Even though Will was upstage right of the group and kneeling, the arrangement of the actors in a broken diagonal line from downstage left to upstage right made the point of focus clear. They also used their bodies to lean towards Will. His facial expression showed a mix of surprise and regret and this made it very clear what to look at and how the character was feeling.

Our group got some great comments. It was a shame the audience couldn’t see Pip and Sarah because they were hidden by the table. They were important to the overall impact of our piece because they were the element of danger. Next time one of us has to remember to stand back from the tableau and have a look from the audience’s point of view to make sure everything is okay.

ResearchingInvestigating topics or areas of interest.• What extra information can you find about the topic?

• What questions do you have about the topic?• How can you use this information in new and innovative ways?

• How can you extend on the tasks you have been asked to do?

Here is an example of a student response:I talked to my brother about luck and he wasn’t much help because he said it didn’t exist. Dad told me that he knew a friend who always won at the races; but then he said he had never heard about the times he lost. It made me think about how easy it would be lose everything. I wonder what makes people want to take that risk?

I also borrowed a book from Waheed. It has pictures of symbols and of objects that people have used as good luck charms. I was thinking that we could use these images and adapt them to represent the different characters in our plays. Maybe they could be representative of how ideas about fortune and good luck come from many different cultures. We could look into this further. I think we need some solid statistics about gambling as an addiction. There is a documentary that shows how scientists can map the brain’s responses during gambling activity and how this leads to addictive gambling. This also could be great material to include in our performance.


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Your written work can include other material that helps to explain and explore your ideas. Some other material could include:• brainstorming charts• tables, checklists and lists of ideas• aerial drawings showing the placement of set items and the movements of actors• sketches of characters, settings, costumes and make-up designs• magazine and newspaper articles and pictures.

The following pages contain some sample logbook extracts. These were written by members of a group as part of the process of creating a playbuilt performance. The group studied the dramatic form of documentary drama, and then devised their own performance, which incorporated sound, lighting and multi-media. The selection of logbook entries gives a snapshot of a process, including the introduction of the topic, research, rehearsal and an extract from the final script.


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Recounting and Researching


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6 of 10


Evaluating

Eva

luat

ion:

Gro

up P

erfo

rman

ce:

Luc

y Jo

rdan

, F

elic

ity

Dim

opou

los,

Reb

ecca

D

ougl

as,

Am

anda

Lia

n an

d Is

abel

la S

low

insk

i.

We

felt

, as

a w

hole

gro

up,

that

on

the

nigh

t it

was

defi

nite

ly o

ur b

est.

Aft

er b

eing

on

stag

e w

e fe

lt p

osit

ive

abou

t ou

r pe

rfor

man

ce a

nd f

elt

that

the

aud

ienc

e ha

d re

spon

ded

wel

l to

eve

ryth

ing.

The

y ha

d la

ughe

d in

unc

erta

in p

lace

s; h

owev

er,

they

kep

t us

in

focu

s, a

nd w

e w

ere

part

icul

arly

im

pres

sed

at t

he l

evel

of

mat

urit

y fr

om o

ur o

wn

form

…

On

the

nigh

t of

the

per

form

ance

I w

as e

xtre

mel

y ne

rvou

s be

fore

. I

was

bec

omin

g co

nfus

ed w

ith

my

soci

al w

orke

r sc

ene;

I f

ound

the

lin

es

hard

to

rem

embe

r an

d ar

duou

s to

say

. E

very

tim

e I

said

a p

arti

cula

r li

ne I

had

a t

ende

ncy

to l

ose

focu

s an

d lo

se g

rip

of t

he c

hara

cter

. T

his

loss

of

char

acte

r ca

used

me

to p

anic

and

I w

ould

mor

e of

ten

than

no

t fo

rget

my

next

lin

e an

d st

are

help

less

ly.

Am

anda

and

I r

evis

ed

the

scen

e ab

out

six

or s

even

tim

es b

efor

e th

e pe

rfor

man

ce,

and

on t

he

nigh

t it

was

tot

ally

dif

fere

nt t

o th

e on

e th

at w

e ha

d fi

rst

crea

ted

seve

ral

wee

ks p

rior

. T

his

chan

ge w

as d

ue t

o th

e fa

ct t

hat

Am

anda

cha

nged

the

pe

rson

alit

y of

her

cha

ract

er f

requ

entl

y, f

rom

a w

oman

in

deni

al,

to a

w

oman

in

desp

air,

to

one

who

was

rud

e an

d ho

stil

e, a

nd fi

nall

y, t

o th

e qu

iet,

sub

mis

sive

hou

sew

ife

Gra

ce.

I th

ink

I ag

ree

wit

h A

man

da’s

fina

l po

rtra

yal.

It

mad

e m

y li

nes

easi

er,

beca

use

I th

en h

ad a

sol

id p

urpo

se

and

obje

ctiv

e to

the

sce

ne.

My

obje

ctiv

e w

as t

o as

sum

e th

e ro

le o

f M

iche

lle,

the

soc

ial

wor

ker,

who

has

a p

erso

nali

ty t

hat

ever

yone

ope

ns

up t

o. G

race

I h

ad t

o fe

el w

as a

cha

llen

ge t

o m

e, a

nd I

was

gen

tly

coax

ing

her

into

tel

ling

me

her

prob

lem

s. G

race

rem

aine

d ti

mid

and

sh

y; h

owev

er,

at t

he e

nd o

f th

e sc

ene,

is

mad

e to

rea

lize

tha

t “b

efor

e sh

e ca

n ge

t he

lp,

she

need

s to

hel

p he

rsel

f”.

Thi

s sc

ene

ran

smoo

thly

on

the

nig

ht,

and

I di

dn’t

ski

p an

y li

nes.

I f

elt

the

audi

ence

cou

ld h

ear

me

(pro

ject

ion

and

arti

cula

tion

had

bee

n tw

o of

my

maj

or p

robl

ems)

. T

he o

nly

prob

lem

I f

elt

this

sce

ne h

eld

was

the

fac

t th

at i

t dr

agge

d on

sl

ight

ly,

and

I w

as w

orri

ed a

bout

the

aud

ienc

e be

com

ing

rest

less

. W

e pl

ayed

it

quit

e ra

pidl

y on

the

nig

ht;

how

ever

, it

was

n’t

too

fast

, ju

st

mor

e ch

arge

d an

d en

erge

tic

than

it

had

ever

bee

n.

Our

mov

emen

t pa

rt i

n S

cene

One

was

wel

l re

ceiv

ed a

ppar

entl

y. I

was

to

ld b

y fr

iend

s in

the

aud

ienc

e th

at t

he t

orch

ligh

t w

as e

xtre

mel

y ef

fect

ive

and

the

mus

ic w

as s

ymbo

lic

(hea

rtbe

at).

I u

sed

to w

orry

abo

ut n

ot

gett

ing

the

mov

emen

t ri

ght

(I a

m d

efini

tely

not

a d

ance

r). O

n th

e ni

ght,

we

wer

e ve

ry w

ell

tim

ed. F

elic

ity

said

her

lin

es v

ery

wel

l, an

d it

fel

t li

ke a

ch

ill

ran

thro

ugh

the

audi

ence

, the

wor

ds l

iter

ally

hun

g in

the

air

.

Our

sce

ne t

rans

itio

ns f

rom

one

to

two

wor

ked

bril

lian

tly.

I f

elt

casu

al

as I

don

ned

the

coat

and

sho

es,

and

atte

mpt

ed t

o ev

en w

alk

in a

di

ffer

ent

man

ner.

I’m

not

ent

irel

y su

re t

hat

it w

orke

d, b

ut i

t w

as m

ore

the

thou

ght

that

hel

ped

buil

d m

y co

nfide

nce.

Sce

ne T

hree

was

int

eres

ting

. T

he a

udie

nce

was

lau

ghin

g w

hen

Luc

y an

d B

ec w

alke

d on

, pr

obab

ly d

ue t

o th

e fa

ct B

ec w

as w

eari

ng l

eg

war

mer

s an

d L

ucy

had

on a

t-s

hirt

say

ing

“ME

N A

RE

PIG

S”.

It

was

a f

un s

cene

to

wri

te.

How

ever

, pr

ior

to t

he p

erfo

rman

ce i

t la

cked

en

ergy

and

im

puls

e. O

n th

e ni

ght,

how

ever

, w

e w

ere

very

ene

rget

ical

ly

char

ged,

and

had

con

vert

ed o

ur n

ervo

us e

nerg

y in

to p

rodu

cing

a

char

ged

perf

orm

ance

.

I w

as r

eall

y h

appy

wit

h t

hat

sce

ne,

it

was

wor

ked

ver

y w

ell

and

the

aud

ien

ce r

eact

ion

was

str

ong

. M

y s

mal

l pi

ece

was

wel

l pr

ojec

ted

I f

elt.

I w

as p

arti

cula

rly

im

pres

sed

wit

h B

ec.

She

was

sli

ghtl

y w

orri

ed a

bou

t it

, an

d f

elt

she

slow

ed t

he

scen

e u

p, b

ut

on t

he

nig

ht

she

was

sn

appy

an

d r

ecit

ed h

er

lin

es p

erfe

ctly

. S

he w

as v

ibra

nt

and

por

tray

ed a

n e

ner

gy

that

cau

ght

on t

o al

l of

us.

Ou

r sc

ene

chan

ge

from

thre

e to

fou

r w

as a

lso

very

sm

ooth

.

I w

as n

ot i

n S

cen

e F

our

but

com

men

dat

ion

s

shou

ld b

e m

ade

to B

ec a

nd

Am

and

a, a

s th

ey

mad

e a

fan

tast

ic a

ppea

ran

ce o

n s

tag

e. B

ec

was

par

ticu

larl

y g

ood

. S

he

add

ed i

n l

ots

of m

ann

eris

ms

and

in

ton

atio

ns

that

mad

e he

r ex

trem

ely

bel

ieva

ble

in

perf

orm

ance

. A

man

da

was

goo

d a

gai

n.

Sh

e’s

a ve

ry

tale

nte

d a

ctre

ss.

Her

por

tray

al o

f


7 of 10


Researching


8 of 10


Sound and Lighting Ideas


9 of 10


Script Draft


10 of 10


Final Script Extract

Sc

en

e F

Ou

r

(Dau

ghte

r st

orm

s on

to t

he s

tage

whe

re t

he m

othe

r is

fol

ding

la

undr

y)

Dau

ght

er: W

hy a

re D

avid

’s s

uitc

ases

in t

he h

allw

ay?

I th

ough

t he

was

gon

e fo

r go

od t

his

time.

Mo

ther

: You

r fa

ther

, as

you

are

to c

all h

im, i

s ba

ck b

ecau

se

he is

goi

ng t

o ch

ange

. We

had

a lo

ng t

alk

last

nig

ht.

Dau

ght

er: S

o ju

st b

ecau

se y

ou h

ave

one

argu

men

t w

ithou

t a

fist

invo

lved

you

thi

nk h

e ha

s tr

ansf

orm

ed! D

o yo

u ha

ve n

o co

ncer

n fo

r m

y lif

e le

t al

one

your

ow

n?

Mo

ther

: Sam

anth

a ho

w c

an y

ou e

ven

asks

me

such

a

ques

tion?

Dau

ght

er: (

exas

pera

ted)

How

can

I as

k yo

u! I

know

how

m

uch

he h

urts

you

em

otio

nally

and

phy

sica

lly a

s m

uch

as

you

try

to h

ide

it.

(Sile

nce.

The

mot

her

cont

inue

s to

fol

d w

ashi

ng a

s if

she

has

not

hear

d th

e da

ught

er)

I hat

e hi

m

Mo

ther

: You

do

not

hate

him

. He

is y

our

fath

er.

Dau

ght

er: A

nd I

hate

you

. You

are

pat

hetic

. He

is n

ot g

oing

to

cha

nge.

You

’ll s

ee h

e w

ill h

it yo

u so

on e

noug

h bu

t I w

on’t

be h

ere

for

him

to

get

me.

I’m

goi

ng t

o go

and

live

with

G

emm

a.

(The

dau

ghte

r w

alks

ang

rily

out

of t

he r

oom

. The

mot

her

at

first

app

ears

obl

ivio

us t

o w

hat

has

just

hap

pene

d).

Mo

ther

: (V

ery

soft

ly) S

aman

tha

don’

t le

ave

me.

(cal

ls o

ut)

Sar

ah c

ome

back

!

(sou

nd o

f do

or s

lam

min

g. T

he m

othe

r cr

ies

out

and

thro

ws

the

fold

ed la

undr

y on

to t

he fl

oor.

She

col

laps

es s

obbi

ng)

He

says

he

love

s m

e! H

e w

ill c

hang

e be

caus

e he

love

s m

e!

Tim

e: a

ppro

x. 1

min

and

10

seco

ndsy

o u d

are c

los e

that

do o

rS

aman

tha

Am

and

a en

ters

carr

yin

g a

bask

et

Dau

ghte

r ex

its

Mot

her

thro

ws

tea

tow

el

Mot

her

exi

tsM

usi

c

Mot

her i

s fo

ldin

g

laun

dry

dow

nst

age

rig

htAc

TIO

nS

Ou

nD

LIG

HT

lig

ht f

ades

up

dow

nst

age

rig

ht

Blu

e li g

ht

lig

ht fa

des

ou

t

Bla

ckou

t


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