'13' By Mike Bartlett - Evaluation

Artistic Aspect:

The effectiveness of our performance, as a whole, was impressive, but I still felt that there were areas for improvement in some scenes/actors.  For example, with the character of Mark in Act 1 Scene 11, the performance given by the actor seemed to be a little lacking in detail and could have been so much more developed in terms of characterisation. 

I see Mark as an underpaid, over-exaggerated character who likes to joke around.  The sense of enthusiasm could have been more explored/expressed, much to the extent that the play becomes more comedic whenever he comes on stage.  I would have preferred this development of characterisation over how it was presented initially: a very slow and unenthusiastic character.

Professional Aspect:

After receiving audience feedback, I acknowledge they all had a bit of trouble in understanding the different characters and all their individual purposes within the play.  But as the performance went on, with all of the different themes being presented, they all became more intrigued into the story and had started to sense the same contextual idea’s which was discovered.

This then developed into a strong, positive response: ‘A cohesive story which was delivered by enthusiastic actors who have clearly explored their individual characters to draw in the audience to become part of the overall play.’ – Rob Stokell, Audience Member

Vocational Aspect:

The Target Audience for ‘13’ is mainly based for teenagers/young adults which will be given the right to vote next year.  I’d gained this knowledge by witnessing the story through both the text and performance.

Was the work presented appropriate for the Target Audience?  I felt that it was because most of the characters can be represented to be young people living in a dark world, where politics the main factor, and the entire play shows their individual struggle for the betterment of the world. 

Self-Strengths/Weaknesses:

Strengths

Lines – I was using a monotone technique alongside the physical actions I do as my character.  This had worked very well for me during the rehearsal process since I could further develop my characterisation and work on my overall naturalism.

Style – I achieved an effective naturalistic performance within the characterisation of my roles for both my characters and the ensemble work.

Vocal Delivery – I was projecting a powerful voice within my character, expressing his thoughts clearly to the other characters and the audience.

Team Playing – Overall, the entire group had worked to the highest standard as a team and we had supported each other with efficiency.

Weaknesses

Transitions – My transitions between scenes were smooth and executed effectively, but I did, however, think that this wasn't achieved fully.  I say this because I was using the same entrances/exits.  I could have improved my performance by experimenting with different entrances/exits to create the sense of having more of an external objective.

Execution – As a group, the level of focus was sub-par.  I say this because, backstage, people weren't really listening to their enlisted cues and had kept asking what scene we were on.  This was unprofessional and could have been improved by increasing the overall level of focus.

Gestures – I didn't really present many gestures when announcing my lines.  This could be improved by spending more time, within the rehearsal process, on specific scenes.

Pace – Through all of the detailed work that we had done for this project, such as the exploration of the themes and its relevance, it wasn't presented very effectively and this may have been the reason why we had such a confusing plot to grasp during the final performances.