Critical Reflection requirements

CRITICAL REFLECTION REQUIREMENTS

The primary purpose of critical reflections is to help you learn and develop as an actor, but in order for your work to pass and for you to be eligible for the degree, you must make sure you fulfil the following requirements:

Rehearsal diaries

The primary purpose of the diary is to help you learn and develop by engaging in transformative reflection (thinking about your work so that you change your method and do even better next time.) In Year 1 you are required to keep a personal diary during rehearsals of your Acting project. In Year 2 you are required to keep a diary during the rehearsals for your Dance – Jazz (Swing) classes. In Year 3 you are required to keep a diary during the rehearsals for one of the productions in which you appear in the course of Year 3.

Critical reflection

In addition to your rehearsal diary you must write an essay (critical reflection) summarising your learning and development in the project, with an appendix (see ‘what to include in the Appendix’ below).

WORD COUNTS

YEAR 1:

YEAR 2:

YEAR 3:

1,000 WORDS (plus or minus 10%) 2,000 WORDS (plus or minus 10%) 3,000 WORDS (plus or minus 10%)

CRITICAL REFLECTION CONTENT Research and Preparation:

Please note you must complete your own research even if not set by the creative All research material must be referenced – see ‘referencing’ below

Years 1 to 3

• Your initial reaction to the material (brief) • Research into the world of the piece (not a synopsis) • Research into your own character and objectives

Year 3

• Research into the subject matter, themes and style of the production

Rehearsal Process: Years 1 to 3

• An identification of the Director’s concept and methods • How you coped with the technical, emotional and physical demands of the piece and the process as led by the creative/s • Personal challenges you faced or breakthroughs you made in rehearsal • How you implemented specific notes given during rehearsals

Years 2 to 3

• Reflections on how you supported (or led) voice/dance captain rehearsals

Production week (year 3):

Issues you faced moving from the rehearsal space to performance space and how you managed these, including the challenges presented by: • working with the stage management and technical team • working with props, costume, microphones (as appropriate) • the tech • the dress rehearsals

Performance: Years 1 to 3

• How well did you meet the demands of the piece? • How well did you apply learnt technical skills to the performance? • How did the presence of an audience affect the piece as a whole and your performance within it?

Year 3

• How did you develop throughout the run? • How did you warm up and prepare for each performance?

Evaluation: Years 1 to 3

What did you learn about yourself as a performer from this project? • Summarise what you learnt from the process including research, rehearsal, performance and feedback • Summarise learning targets for future work • How will you achieve these learning targets in the future? • How useful was the project in your development as an actor?

All Critical Reflections must also contain the following (these are not included in the word count): Bibliography:

This should be laid out as advised by the ArtsEd style guide**. It should include all reading and resources you engaged with for the project, not just those mentioned in the reflective essay, such as: • Books • Journal & Newspapers • Internet Resources • CDs • DVDs • Live Performances • Rehearsal diary extracts The list of reading and resources in your bibliography should be in alphabetical order and presented in the following way:

• For Books: Author, title. (place of printing: publisher, publication date) e.g. Gottfried, Martin All His Jazz –The Life & Death of Bob Fosse, (New York: Bantam, 1990) (this would include citing yourself in your

rehearsal diary).

• For Films: Title, Director(s), Star(s), Studio, original release date e.g. The Pajama Game, Stanley Donen & George Abbott, Doris Day, (Warner Bros., 1957) [on DVD] • For Recordings: Title, Composers/Lyricists, date of recording On The Town, Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, (Decca Broadway, 1953) [on CD] • For Live Performances e.g. Title, Composers/Lyricists/Librettist, Theatre, Creative Team, date e.g. Passion, Stephen Sondheim, Donmar Warehouse, Jamie Lloyd/Scott Ambler/Alan Williams, 5 October 2010

REFERENCING

Any mention of a musical, book, CD etc. during your essay or diary must be referenced in a footnote, and the title should be formatted in italics. So: After reading Passion2 I realised I needed to listen to more of Sondheim’s work to give me a better overall understanding… To get an idea of other Bernstein works I watched the film of On The Town3 …

Footnotes

Look at the bottom of this page for how to set out your footnotes. When referring to the same item in a later footnote, use a shortened but easily identifiable form. (See footnote4 below)

What To Include in the APPENDIX

You must include all those on the ‘required’ list. The ‘supplementary’ list suggests ideas of other items you may wish to include.

Required:

• 50 Character questions • Photocopies of referenced rehearsal diary pages • Sample of photocopied pages of annotated text/scores (where appropriate) • Creatives’ CVs

2 Sondheim/Lapine, Passion. (Theatre Communications Group Inc., U.S. 1994) 3 On The Town, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, (MGM, 1949) 4 On The Town

Supplementary: • Research notes on the history of the source material • Notes on other relevant work by composer/author • Additional research materials: notes/pictures/photographs • Bullet point notes given during rehearsal

PRESENTATION

• The reflections must be typewritten on A4 paper so they can be kept in your Professional Practice Portfolio (PPP). • The reflection should be double spaced so that tutors can make comments under each line if necessary • Use Size 12 Font • Use a margin of at least 2.5cm all around • Number your pages • Word count must be within 10% of the limit (not including references, appendices, reading or resources) • Create a cover page with your name, year group, the title of the project and your total word count (see above) • Create a header so that your name and the title of the project appears on every page • Use a slide/spine bar to bind all your pages together, including the cover page and your appendices. No bulky ring binders or hard covers please • Use your checklist to ensure the reflection meets the minimum requirements. • Hand in your Critical Reflection by 12 noon on the submission

date to the Admin office.

• Make sure that you get a receipt for the work handed in.