PROBLEM SOLVING – Bad girls

Part 1

Identify problems / issues that you anticipate may arise during the course of the production (including the performances) you have been cast in and propose possible solutions which may remove or reduce the impact of the problems. These issues may be:

• Technical / Practical
  • rehearsal / performance problems (acting, voice, singing, movement)
  • production problems (costume, sound, lighting, etc)
• Management –
  • time management e.g. learning lines in a timely fashion e.g. having costumes / props in a timely fashion
  • attendance (both yours and others),
  • independent rehearsals
• Rehearsal rooms (having access)
• Personal – This includes illness, personal feelings, barriers to overcome such as confidence, etc.

Please remember that this section is not for naming problems and attributing blame, it is about how problems arise and you solve them.

Also, consider problems that might be exclusive to your show that the others may not have. For example, if you are in a musical, think of the problems that may arise that wouldn’t if you were in a play, for example only having your Musical Director in on certain days. 

Part 2

Identify all problems / issues which actually arise throughout the development of this production, how these are solved and reflect on how effective the solutions have been in maintaining the expected production process. These should be dated and recorded on this page. 

Ideally, these will be in your blogs and you can reference them by writing the problem you are talking about and the date and then just linking the blog. 

Example: 

Loss of rehearsal space owing to roof leaking – 26 February 2020
https://l3yr2papa.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/february-26th-2020/

Part 1 

Casting and Auditions

There could be some jealousy amongst the cast concerning our roles or what show we are cast in. Hopefully no one dose feel this way and will be happy with any role they get big or small however, this has become a problem in previous productions. In some cases, this tension can be seen on stage even after weeks of rehearsals, possibly making our show look somewhat unprofessional however I think people do get over it in the end. [solution]We could solve this problem by not debating, assuming or predicting anything about the casting. This avoids disappointment. Just doing our best, learning the required material, being civil and going along with what is decided for us overall makes us more well-rounded.

In the past shows, we have often had times where auditions take longer than expected this can sometimes spread across a week. This means that it takes longer for people to be both casted in their company and their roles. This can also take longer as some of the teachers are unavailable on some days for example, Rob is only in on Mondays and Fridays this is why we do the dance auditions on these days. This also applies for auditioning songs with any sort of accompaniment, with Claire as she’s only available Wednesdays and Thursdays. [solution]Furthermore, this problem could be solved by people being patient tutors and working cooperatively in order to get the auditions completed as quickly as possible so casting can be done quicker.

Learning material

I think some issues that will arise will be not remembering the dance routes/ harmonies after we haven’t gone over them in a while (Easter break). This has happened in all the musicals I’ve been in and I have no doubt it will happen with this one because people will think that once we’ve learnt it, that’s it. I know I’ve been guilty of this in the past. [solution]In order to solve this, I think we’ll need to have regular rehearsals for example, in lunches and free periods. We need to keep everything fresh in our minds and I think  if we do this it will be very affective.

 Rehearsal Rooms

One problem that may occur is the availability of rehearsal rooms. Due to three shows having to rehearse at the same time, we will only probably have the use of one rehearsal space at any one time, this means that if some people aren’t being used and wish to go over dance routines or lines they will not have a rehearsal room to do this in. This means that we will have to maybe use Purple Haze to rehearse in if we need to and just make use of the space we have in the corridors or where we can find it. Another issue with rehearsal rooms is the swapping about of them and using different ones. Because there are three shows rehearsing at the same time and each shows needs a different thing, we may have to rehearse in different rooms on different days. [solution]This means we need to be able to adapt to different spaces and try our best whether we have the actual space (theatre), or whether we have a smaller spaces. This may be a problem because it means we might not be able to rehearse things properly or exactly how we want to meaning we may not get stuff done, making us behind schedule.

Extra rehearsals

In the past, we have had issues with people committing to rehearsals organised by cast members. When people do not attend these, they miss out on cleaning and perfecting of the show, therefore not knowing any changes we have made. This then means we have to take more time in showing them again.

It can also sometimes be difficult to schedule a rehearsal that suits everyone, ensuring that no one misses out. It needs to be highlighted to the cast, especially people who may be behind, that extra rehearsals are absolutely crucial. [solution] one way I think we could fix these problems is, when scheduling rehearsals, we need to look at the timetables put together a list of free time when we are all together. Meaning there will be no excuses.

Production

During the shows a lot could go wrong regarding production elements. Lighting could go wrong; a mic could break causing feedback and not being able to be heard and also props could break or costumes could break. This could cause other actors to be put off or it could cause the audience to miss parts of the story. [solution] There isn’t really a way we can stop this we can only try and prevent these problems. For example, using the props and costumes early so we know they work and are sustainable. However, one major prevention is making sure we take cear of everything we are using.

 Attendance & illness

Illness is always an issue during shows. There are always bugs going around and a lot of people getting ill. [solution] All people can do to try and avoid illnesses is to try and dress appropriately for the weather, which means no wearing short sleeved tops and skirts if it is -3 degrees.  By doing this, people will be decreasing their chances of a cold. Also, if people only had an illness that wasn’t that major, like a head ache for example, they should still try and come in as even though they might have to take it easy, they could still do stuff or at least try.

If company members attend college and they are ill, there is the risk that they will spread whatever illness may have to the rest of the cast. This then results in more people being absent and missing rehearsals, needing to catch up on what they have missed.[solution] However, If someone does miss a rehearsal, then people can make any notes in order to help them catch up on anything they have missed in that rehearsal for example, the choreography.

Another problem that may occur is the fact that at this time of the year a lot of the year 2 students and maybe even some of the year 1’s are at auditions for drama schools and things they may be doing next year.[solution]  This isn’t that bad as again people can take notes and they can catch up by watching videos.

Personal feelings, barriers to overcome such as confidence, etc.

I think I could end up lacking in confidence in my own abilities, mainly when doing something technical as I am never impressed with myself. I always get given notes about being more confident and trusting myself more this is something I really try to work on.

I know that there is no such thing as getting it wrong when it comes to acting, but it hasn’t fully settled in yet and I haven’t fully realised it, which is something I am hoping to overcome during this rehearsal process.

Reputation is always something crucial to remember; no one wants to work with someone who is rude, jealous or unkind in any aspect of life. The way we choose to act can seriously affect our work/education in the future and choosing to be a decent human being is beneficial to everyone.

[solution] I haven’t found an actual solution yet, but all I am doing is trying to remind myself constantly to just make my own decisions and do as best as I can.

Tech Week

Tech rehearsals may take longer than expected, meaning that breaks are later in the day and shorter, and we are static on stage for longer. This might result in a lack of patience amongst the cast; this can sometimes resolute in arguments. [solution] The way over this is simply by being patent the tec people are under a lot of stress and don’t have much time to give us the result we won’t. Meaning we have to be super respectful to them as without them there wouldn’t really be a show.

Different Amounts of Experience

Different people in the cast may have different levels of experience meaning people may pick up things quicker than others. This may cause us to go at a slow pace meaning we may fall behind and not get things done. [solution] To solve this people who may be behind could ask someone to help them in a lunch time. This has been affective in past shows I have asked people in the past to run over parts I was worried about and it really helps. This also helps the cast come together.

Time Management

There may be problems with time management. People may not know their lines when they should meaning they cannot do it off book when they have asked to. This will make the director cross and make other cast members cross too. This also restricts the actor using their script and also restricts the actors they are acting with because they cant perform how they actually want tot because the person has a script in their hand.

We may also have problems with getting props or costumes made in time. If a actor doesn’t have a prop or costume until late on in the process then they won’t have time to rehearse with the prop or costume meaning they may be put off by it or not know what to do when they do actually have. This may be too late by then.

 Ticket sales

As this This show has various harsh themes run through the show it could be notoriously hard to sell out furthermore, there is a age cape of 14. This could mean that we struggle to sell tickets for every night. This could result in a lack of energy, not being able to feed off of the audience. mainly it just isn’t nice to perform in front of no people.

[solution] To avoid this, we need to ensure to promote all of the shows on social media frequently, providing the link and giving the public easy access to purchase. We could post little clips and tricks that may be in the show to promote people to come.

Hair, makeup and costumes

Some people have less experience doing their own makeup and hair, therefore may not be able to do their own, [solution] thus can be solved by simply helping each other out and offering help when needed. We can lend other cast members our makeup (including palettes with particular colours) and hair styling tools (like a curling or straightening wand) to help some people who don’t have them.

Getting costumes for this show may be difficult or could be ferly easy. I think it will be a mix. [solution] Again it will be about helping each other out as a compony.

Part 2 

16^thMarch 2020- This is a very major change and it is sad to be saying this early on, but due to the current situation happening across the world with COVID-19 our director today told us we will no longer be performing out show to the public. This as you can tell arises a lot of problems, I have assessed in part one.; Such as having to audience to feed energy off of. [solution] However, now we will still be doing the production but it will be filmed by the media. We won’t be doing any night rehearsals or shows.  

17^th March 2020- Due to new laws under COVID-19 I feel we are already seeing a lot of people no longer allowed to attend college as they have to self-isolate. This could be a problem as we will be lacking a lot of cast. [solution] We have got understudies which means they will be jumping in most the time.

18^thMarch 2020-  This is very unfortunate to say but I can no longer attend college due to COVID-19. I have been told by my doctor to self-isolate as he feels I am venerable to the virus. This is really upsetting as I feel I am letting the cast down however, for my own health and safety I feel it is best. [solution] I am going to work from home and watch all the videos to keep up to date. 

19^thMarch 2020- Today there was a ground braking government announcement that college will be shut. They do not no how long for but exams have been cancelled and school and colleges are to be shut after today till further announcement. As for our show we do not know if our show will still be taking place. [solution] However, we have been told that we still need to do our WordPress and keep up with skills. Our cast have been speaking and wave come up with an idea that we wont to do a “cast take over” on social media. This will show the public that even though the show may not be going on we still wont to work hard.

Problem Solving UAL definition: The level of self-direction, personal initiative and commitment necessary to progress ideas and find solutions, and the practical, theoretical and technical comprehension, appreciation, knowledge and proficiency necessary to achieve identified goals

Fail                  Insufficient exploration of alternative ideas and processes. Problems unresolved.

Pass               Sufficient exploration of alternative ideas using established approaches to resolve practical and theoretical problems.

Merit               Decisive demonstration of initiative in effectively solving problems, adapting to unforeseen practical and theoretical challenges to achieve identified goals.

Distinction     Decisive demonstration of initiative in effectively solving problems, autonomously implementing creative solutions and adapting to unforeseen practical and theoretical challenges to achieve identified goals.

The above statements are guides to how evidence for the final unit (12) will be assessed. Tutors will let you know in their feedback how your evidence for this unit compares to these achievement standards so that you are aware of the level you are currently working at.