The Auditions

W/C 30^th September

The criteria to be met during the auditions were to be off-script for at least one of the two auditions that would take place during the day. As I was off-script for both my auditions it allowed me to develop voice and movement for the characters.

My first audition was for the role of Ammer and this was a solo piece. The choices I made for developing the character of Ammer was to have a slouched posture and to place my feet shoulders-width apart. This placement allowed me to show the lower status of Ammer compared to other characters such as the Prince and Dandini, as he is only a Brokers man. To help create this character of “low status” I worked at developing a cockney accent which would contrast with characters that are well-spoken. In performances this accent would have helped engage the audience with the character as stereotypically the cockney accent is often linked to more “common folk”. I rehearsed standing with my hands slumped on my hips to suggest casualness as well as to help emphasise more masculine mannerisms. Both these vocal and movement elements helped me understand the status of Ammer and allowed me to go further when characterising him.

My second audition involved acting against one of my peers, and I found this useful in developing the interaction amongst the characters. My initial thoughts when choosing to audition for Dandini was that he is a high status character, a contrast to Ammer, and has an air of “royalty” about him as the Prince’s Squire. I also found a video on YouTube of a performance of “Cinderella” that was shown on itv2 that showed a Dandini similar to the one I imagined, he was well-spoken and remained tonic in all movement. This video and my initial thoughts led to me developing a “well-spoken” and “posh” accent similar to an RP accent. The tone in which I rehearsed with was calm and precise to suggest a man who knows where he stands. In body and movement I held a straight posture and kept my head held high to show his high status compared to the villagers of Merrivale. I developed large “regal” arm movements when speaking and crossing my arms behind my back to create a position of authority and importance as the Prince’s Squire. When rehearsing with Luke we added more movement in our performance space to add depth to the action within the scene, and I found this very useful in showing the relationship between the Prince and Dandini while also showing that Dandini worked for the Prince.

The audition process was very helpful in helping me improve in developing characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_23i2wqSWUk