Solo Audio Performance: Children's Story, Monologue, and ADR

'We're Going on a Bear Hunt!' by Michael Rosen (Children's Story)

I had chosen to perform this children's story for my solo audio performance because it was one of my childhood favorites, and I also hadn't heard it for quite some time so it brought back some memories. Another reason I had chosen to perform it is because it could offer some voice variation, for example, for each section where the script mentions "Uh Oh, a 'something'", I could perform as a different character for each time I get to those bits in the story, whilst the rest would portray a narrative voice, being my normal voice.

To expand upon the voice variation in my performance, I will list all of the characters I'm going to add to my, let's say, interpretation of 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt':

1. Narrative Voice (My Voice)
2. Little Boy Voice (Slightly high pitched, elongated pronunciation of words, speaks slowly)
3. The Mother Voice (very high pitched, with areas being slightly deeper, speaks very fast)
4. The Dad Voice (very low pitched, speaks at a medium tempo)
5. Black Diva Voice (here is an example from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZivBdavi_M)
6. Little Girl Voice (Very high pitched, along the level of the mother, but the tempo is slowed down slightly)
7. Gay Man Voice (here is another example from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHC1h1Jcws)
8. Bear Growl (low pitched growl, trying to imitate a bear growl, done twice during the chase scene)

My targeted audience for this piece is the ages of 4-8, mainly because of it being a children's story, but also because the voices I do would probably most likely make children laugh. I think this children's story was a good choice for me to perform as there is the possibly of voice variation, the main performance which I'd researched, which features the writers voice as the narrator, didn't perform any vocal variation. So in the end, it makes my performance of his book stand out, and also being unique.

The only problem I had with this piece was actually finding the physical copy of the book. I'd searched countless library's not even finding a single one, which is a bit odd. I did, however, find a copy of it on the internet, which is what I ended up using for the entirety of the assignment. Using it on my phone could also benefit towards my performance, as I wouldn't spend any unnecessary time flipping the pages of the book, which will come up on the microphone.

'Life is Hard' by Unknown (Monologue)

I had chosen to perform this monologue for my solo audio performance because it links to my past experiences in a way, and it is also a much different tone when compared to my children's story, with that being quite happy/excited, to it now being quite sad. I guess another reason as to why I wanted to perform it is because I thought my voice suited the piece in a way, and I also liked how it was kind of a mix of a monologue and a poem, especially towards the end of the piece when I say this line: "Everybody wants to be happy. Nobody wants to be in pain. But you can't have a rainbow without any rain."

When performing this piece, I will not be offering any voice variation. The only thing I will be doing with my voice is possibly some areas of emphasis, and also changing the tone of my voice at times so it all doesn't stay monotone.

My target audience for this piece would be the ages of 18+, mainly because, when you reach the age of 18, you should have some sort of maturity to the way you act, and you should also be able to take things in with the appropriate manner and not joke about it. This goes the same for anyone over the age of 18, so I think this target audience is best suited for this piece in particular.

The only problem I had with this monologue is that, when I found it, there was near to no punctuation throughout the whole thing, so I had to add it all in for it to make any sort of sense. With me doing this, I felt that I was able to give a nice pace to the monologue, as I wasn't at all rushing when I had read it through with punctuation opposed to without.

'Star Wars Battlefront' and 'Fallout 4' (ADR)

For the audio dubbed recording sessions, I was given the opportunity to choose my own roles from a range of video game trailers which we were tasked to perform our voices in. The two video game trailers that I had picked were 'Star Wars Battlefront', and 'Fallout 4', and the voices that I was cast as were The Emperor and the Male protagonist.

For this part of the assignment, I tried as much as I could to get the timings right, but to also sound like the original voice actors in the trailers, and I think I did a good job at gaining that level. I could already do a pretty good imitation of the Emperor's voice, and I only used my normal voice, with perhaps a slightly heightened tone, for the 'Fallout 4' trailer.

I picked these two pieces specifically because both of the characters voices are much different when compared, and I'd like to have my teacher witness how far I can take my voice in terms of characterisation.

The only problems that I've had with this, when rehearsing, is the timings for the lines that are said in the 'Fallout 4' trailer. I was going slightly ahead by a few seconds when compared to the original performance, and I didn't have as much pauses within the lines. This may not matter for the final performance, as it can be edited, but it does catch me off guard as I know it's not correct to the original, which could also inevitably hinder my overall performance of the lines said.

Radio Blog Entry 2: The Setting, Language, and Research/Inspiration used for 'Far Side of the Moore'

The Setting

When reading the play 'Far Side of the Moore', it becomes obvious to the listener/speaker that the play starts off in a recording studio, counting down the numbers to begin the first ever live broadcast of the show called 'The Sky at Night'. What's interesting about this play in particular is that the script keeps cutting from past to future. The first spoken line in the play announces the first broadcast of 'The Sky at Night' in 1957, and then it cuts to an elderly Patrick Moore reminiscing his first ever experience on live television, which turned out to become his whole career until his unfortunate death in 2012.

There are many images I had found on the internet showing what a recording studio would have looked like in the 1950's, this is searching for a BBC recording studio specifically. Here are some of the images that came up within my research, including the link as to where I found them: https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=622&q=BBC+recording+studio+in+the+1950%27s&oq=BBC+recording+studio+in+the+1950%27s&gs_l=img.3...1472.12707.0.12895.34.14.0.20.20.0.107.1073.13j1.14.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.21.1105.WQ1TQ-o92Fk






Using my imaginative skills, I'd like to see the first image being used to describe what the initial first broadcasting of 'The Sky at Night would've looked like in 1957. The second image could be used to describe what the older Patrick Moore would've used when he was being interviewed about the 'Sky at Night' broadcasts spanning across his whole career. And finally, the third image could be seen as what 'The Sky at Night' studio would've looked like once Patrick Moore had a bit more experience. As we can compare, there doesn't seem to be any crew members in the final image, whereas the first has a full crew.

Other than the recording studio used for the 'Sky at Night' broadcasts, the play would occasionally cut to other places within the time period of 1957. The second location featured in the play is Patrick Moore's house, where he lives with his mother, Gertrude. Just like for the recording studio, I thought it would help me if I was to research what Patrick Moore's house in the 1950's may have looked like as well. Here are some more images, as well as the link as to where I found them: https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=622&q=BBC+recording+studio+in+the+1950%27s&oq=BBC+recording+studio+in+the+1950%27s&gs_l=img.3...1472.12707.0.12895.34.14.0.20.20.0.107.1073.13j1.14.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.21.1105.WQ1TQ-o92Fk#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=houses+in+the+1950%27s&imgrc



The overall design of these two houses are quite similar in architecture, as they're both Suburban houses, but it's the second image in particular which I'd like to imagine the setting of Patrick Moore's house taking place.

The Language used in 'Far Side of the Moore'

Much like 'Atching Tan', the play is written in English. But to go a little bit more in depth about the words used in 'Far Side of the Moore', it is much different from that of 'Atching Tan'. The play introduces a whole range of scientific literature, much of it we all, as a group, had an issue understanding and/or even pronouncing when we had first read through the script. What's also much different about the language in this play when compared to the other, is that each character is, and has to be, quite precise with their wording. This goes specifically for the scenes featuring the radio broadcasts and any of the phone calls over the course of the play.

I feel that because of this, it makes 'Far Side of the Moore' a much more interesting play to perform when compared to 'Atching Tan'. When it comes to recording this play in the college recording studio, I think that this play would feature much more issues, as we all have to make sure we're speaking clearly, again, specifically, for the radio broadcasts in the play.

Now I'd like to delve into the language of my three characters, being Studio FM, Percy Wilkins, and George Adamski. These three characters put together, overall, don't have that many lines in the play, but, each has to be performed in a different way. This is mainly because, after doing some research, I had discovered that Percy Wilkins is Welsh, and George Adamski is Polish. Because of this, I've been encountered with quite a challenge, since the Welsh accent in particular is very difficult to pull off in my case. To help with this, I had found a video on YouTube, which would hopefully make my voice come across as having a Welsh accent, here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq-mEejECcU

To go along with Gareth Jameson in this video, he explains that the Welsh accent is going in an "up and down" sort of pattern. If I can be able to practice doing this with normal everyday language, then I'm sure it'll come in handy for when I come to performing my Welsh accent in the future.

As for the Polish accent, I already knew how to pull that off. In the past, I'd watched the movie called 'Iron Man 2', which features the villain known as Whiplash. In the comics, Whiplash's character is of polish decent, but he is living in the more harsh areas of Russia with his grandfather. There is a scene in the movie that always makes me laugh, but in this case for the Radio play, it also gave me some insight as to how I should perform a rough Polish accent. Here is the clip from the movie that I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp0xNXb0rXE

Inspiration used for 'Far Side of the Moore'

When it came around to grabbing some inspiration for 'Far Side of the Moore', there wasn't really anything out there that we all, as a group, could think of. That was until our tutor showed us an episode of a series called 'The Hour'. The show was a 2011 BBC drama series centered on a new current-affairs show being launched by the BBC in June 1956, which is indeed very close to the date of 'Far Side of the Moore', being based in 1957.

Whilst watching the show, we could all get some insight into how the broadcasting process of shows would've worked in those days. In particular, I grabbed some insight from Ben Whishaw's character in the very first episode as he's counting down the numbers to the live broadcast. This would've helped my characterization for Studio FM, as he's not really featured too much within the play, alongside not having much variation in his lines.

Radio Blog Entry 1: Introduction, Thoughts and Opinions of 'Atching Tan' and 'Far Side of the Moore'

Introduction

For this new Audio ensemble assignment, we will be split into 2 different groups to be able to perform in 2 very different radio plays. The first Radio play being 'Atching Tan' by Dan Allum, and the second being 'Far Side of the Moore' by Sean Grundy.

We had took the time within our days at college to read through the scripts for both of these plays, following our tutors directive as to which characters she would like us to perform as.

Thoughts and Opinions on 'Atching Tan' by Dan Allum

The first radio play we had a read through of was 'Atching Tan' by Dan Allum. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to voice any of the characters in this play as I wasn't in the casting list for it, but I still sat and listened to the people who were. After listening to the play first hand, I'd like to present my thoughts and opinions on it:

Did I like the Story of 'Atching Tan'?

The radio play called 'Atching Tan' follows the story of a young girl called Lovvie whom has a particular interest and talent in singing. Throughout the course of the play, she meets with a drama teacher named John, whom thinks that she has some sort of extreme talent for dramatic performance, rendering him to teach her in the ways of acting. However, because Lovvie's main priorities are focused upon her family and her boyfriend, she stays away from the dramatic atmosphere of the stage to stay in her self uncontrollable lifestyle, following the decisions of everyone around her and not herself.

In summary, I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the story of this play, I felt a real emotional connection with the character of Lovvie and how she was going to handle each situation she had come across. I don't feel as though I lost interest or got lost anywhere in the story as it was all well connected by its scenes. Minus the occasional stuttering of the group performing it for the first time, I thought it was performed beautifully, and I can't wait to see the final result for when they perform this for real in a recording studio.

Did I like the Characters in 'Atching Tan'?

Although these two characters had a more prominent presence within the entire play when compared to the other characters, I did particularly like the characters of both Lovvie and John. The scenes containing these two characters alone was such a different atmosphere when compared to scenes that have Lovvie with her family, it was just a nice break and I felt as though it was a different play entirely. I really loved the relationship between these two characters, I felt like John was looking for his 'big break' in the world of acting, and Lovvie came to be his grand jewel. I loved the fact that in areas where Lovvie was giving up, John kept pushing her limits, but not so much to the point that he's almost commanding her, which is what I felt her family was doing.

Was there anything I didn't like about 'Atching Tan'?

I can't think of anything I didn't particularly like about 'Atching Tan', other then how Lovvie is treated by everyone around her, excluding John. If anything, I wish Lovvie and John could have had a more developed relationship with one another, not that it isn't good already, but I feel that there is much more that the writer could've done with these two characters. I'd also like to know what happened between the two in the years following the plays event's. Did she get a career in acting? Did she pursue more in the ways of singing to eventually become a professional singer. Could Lovvie and John possibly have had a romantic relationship despite the age gap between them? So many questions that need to be answered but may not come around.

To conclude, I'd like to present my overall rating for 'Atching Tan' by Dan Allum as a strong 8.5/10, and would recommend for everyone to listen to this play if they get the chance.

Thoughts and Opinions on 'Far Side of the Moore' by Sean Grundy

The second radio play we had a read through of was 'Far Side of the Moore' by Sean Grundy. For this read through, I was presented with, and had the opportunity to choose, the characters named Studio FM, Percy Wilkins, and George Adamski. After reading through this play, I'd like to present my thoughts and opinions on it, following the format I've already done with 'Atching Tan' above.

Did I like the Story of 'Far Side of the Moore'?

The radio play called 'Far Side of the Moore' follows the true story of a man called Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, and the origins and uprising of him becoming the presenter of the longest running television series with one single presenter. The series is called 'The Sky at Night', although it was originally drafted as 'Star Map'. The show was first aired on 24th of April, 1957. As we follow Patrick on his journey, we learn of his personality, his "arch enemies" and colleagues, and, more importantly, his past and future experiences.

In summary, I really liked this play as it is much different from any other play that I've read before in the past, could be mainly because of its scientific purpose. I really like how the story kept cutting from past and future, and how the elderly Patrick Moore delivers his lines in a sort of narrative way throughout the play whilst his younger self repeats the words he once said. I compliment Luke Patrick Engelen's performance in this role, I thought he was the perfect representation for the character, especially with his voice, as there's a line in the play, delivered by Leonard Miall, which states that Patrick Moore speaks fast to get twice the information across, which suits Luke's vocal ability.

Did I like the Characters in 'Far Side of the Moore'? 

Overall, I like each and every character in the play. I feel that all of them have much more purpose being there when opposed to some of the characters in 'Atching Tan'. I love the rivalry between Patrick Moore and Dr. Henry King, his "arch enemy", it brings an entirely different mood to the play when they're both in the same scene, I was even left wondering who I should fight against the other with in that situation. I loved the fact that some of the characters had very subtle comedic moments throughout the script, complimenting the writers ability in character development, and also maybe historical knowledge of the events in the play.

Was there anything I didn't like about 'Far Side of the Moore'?

If anything, I obviously didn't like the fact that the characters I was presented with didn't have too many lines to say. But when thinking about it properly, that may be a good thing for me because of my weakness in portraying a welsh accent. I also didn't like the fact that Patrick Moore's mother had quite a small role in the play as well. I for one liked her character and would've preferred to have heard her more, but in the purpose of the plot, I'm not sure where she could fit in.


To conclude, I'd like to present my overall rating of 'Far Side of the Moore' by Sean Grundy as 9/10, and would also recommend this play to anyone whom may b interested in Radio plays.