Performing Arts
INITIAL SKILLS AUDIT (Year 12)
Name ____Zoya Sarfraz___________________________________
__LB___
Form
Answer the following as honestly as you can. 1 is the truest and 4 is the least true.
Skill Development
DRAMA
I can change my voice to play a role
Comments: - I believe I have shown my ability to adjust my tone, pitch & tempo in
my past performances. In my GCSE drama performance, as Chadwick in ‘Punk
Rock’, I controlled my tempo to exaggerate how he became increasingly agitated as
the monologue progressed. For example, my tone was very confrontational and my
tempo slowed dramatically when delivering the line: “Bennet, you little, little boy,
you are kidding yourself.” This was to convey how fed up and exhausted Chadwick
was feeling as he confronted his bully, Bennet. However, when acting as Edward
from ‘Blood Brothers’, I used my voice to encapsulate the naïve, shy aspect of a
child. For example, the use of hesitancy in my tempo demonstrated that Edward was
confused and shielded from other children- therefore, he was unaware of what
Mickey was referring in the lines: “I don’t think so.” Through-out the performance, I
spoke very quietly, using a higher pitch and soft tone to remind the audience of my
character’s age but also display his speech versus Mickey’s harsher tone, showing
their difference in upbringing.
I have a deep understanding of the importance of using the voice through tone, pitch
and volume in performance and the portrayal of a character. The use of voice could
represent hidden feelings and change the interpretation & meaning of a line
completely. I have rated myself moderately high for this skill because I have utilised
it in past performances. However, I struggle with pitch and think I could work on this
in the future by choosing challenging roles with varied pitch and tone to enable me to
practise more. For example, dual roles could be useful for me because I will have to
clearly elaborate the difference between the two characters. Overall, I think I was
more successful as Chadwick because I related more to his character and inner
frustrations than with Edward. Therefore, I also need to improve on trying to portray
characters that I don’t relate with as well and focus on changing my voice to play
them in the future so I can become a better actress.
I can use accents successfully and sustain them
Comments: - In past performances, I believe I have not shown my ability to adjust
my accent successfully and sustain them. In my role as Edward from ‘Blood
Brothers’, I barely changed my accent besides enunciating my words more to
emphasize his background. Although I barely changed my accent, I think it was clear
to identify his living situation through my poor attempt at an accent. However, in
most performances I speak in my natural accent with clear enunciation so I could
improve a lot. For example, when playing Chadwick or Mrs Lyons, I should have
experimented more with the accents and fully immersed myself in my acting. In the
line, “these people Edward had started mixing with. Can’t you see how he’s drawn to
them?” This is a very tender scene where Mrs Lyons threatens Mrs Johnstone with a
knife due to her paranoia & I should have tried to incorporate a standard English
accent because Mrs Lyons is much more formal and presumably speaks in this
accent.
Although I struggle with accents, I have a deep understanding regarding the
importance of using them successfully in order to convincingly play certain
characters. The use of accents is a clear indicator of a person’s background and
where the production is set. After self-evaluation, I have rated myself considerably
low because I do not think I have used this skill in previous performances. Overall, I
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struggle with changing out of my natural dialect convincingly so I think I need to
practise using different sources like perhaps an online course or watching videos &
listening to advice from actors who frequently change their accents. I could also
approve on this by choosing characters which will address my weakness who have
different accents like an American character. Generally, I was not successful with
accents for both characters or need to choose a role in the future which will enable
me to improve my accent & help me change my dialect with ease to become a better
performer.
I can sustain a vocal Characterisation
Comments: - Notably, I struggle with vocal characterisations in the first place so
sustaining such vocal characterisations are nearly impossible for me. Therefore, I
need to develop my vocal characterisation and focus on trying to sustain these
characterisations for a performance. I can do this through taking a role which will
directly challenge this weak area for me such as an elderly lady or a young child like
Edward again. If I was to play Edward again, I would ensure that I challenge myself
and try to convincingly sound like a young child. For example, in the line “You say
smashing things, don’t you?” I would make my voice much higher
Overall, vocal characterisation will enable me to become a better actress and become
suitable for a variety of roles instead of limiting myself. Another example where I
could have challenged myself further and built upon my vocal characterisation was
when I played Mrs Lyons in ‘Blood Brothers’, I should have attempted to make my
voice deeper and sound more mature. Although I think I portrayed her age and more
privileged background through posture and mannerisms, I did not do this through my
voice so I will need to try and incorporate more vocal characterisation in later
performances.
Despite currently being unable to sustain a vocal characterisation, I recognise the
importance it has in acting as the voice is one of the key foundations for acting.
Vocal characterisations can deeply reflect a character’s background such as their age,
their gender and their background. Therefore, I will ensure that I push myself out of
my comfort zone and utilize vocal warm ups to make the vocal characterisations
easier to carry out & sustain for the entirety of a performance. After carefully
analysing all of my past performances, I have placed my rating on the lowest level
because I have never attempted tis skill. It is crucial on me to focus on improving my
pitch and vocal range to comfortably maintain the vocal characterisation. In order to
achieve this, I need to work on my voice through vocal warmups, seeing a vocal
coach, takin a course or watching educational videos. After building on these core
skills, I could confidently take a role which will allow me to put the new skills to use
and become a more all-round actress.
I can change my body to play a role
Comments: - Through previous performances, I have demonstrated the ability to
change my body to play a role. In a GCSE workshop, whilst playing Edward from
‘Blood Brothers, I used body language to show his cheerful yet shy personality.
Constantly energetic, I was fiddling with my hands and acted like I was unable to
stop moving- this was to show my character’s age & that he was excited to make a
friend. Also, I wanted to elaborate how his mum didn’t let him outside much, so this
moment was truly special to him. In addition to this, I adapted my body language
when portraying Chadwick from ‘Punk Rock’. As the monologue become more
heated and Chadwick became lost in his dark thoughts about humanity’s flaws, I
began striding back and forth as my body language became very closed and
aggressive, my fists clenched and my jaw clenched. This was to elaborate the anger
that was radiating off of my character & also his attempt to appear strong &
intimidating in front of his bully, Bennet. I have a deep understanding of the
importance of using the body language in performances and how it allows a deeper
interpretation of the character. The use of body language could represent inner
dilemmas and change the delivery of a lines in performances that I am in and
fulfilling each role both physically and emotionally.
Anoter important aspect in te ability to cane my body to play a role tat I must
consider is posture, ood posture is essential in performin because it enables me to
control my breatin wic elps wit deliverin lines in a monologue.
Talk about posture body language gesture facial expressions
I have a deep understanding of the importance of using the body language in
performances and how it allows a deeper interpretation of the character. The use of
body language could represent inner dilemmas and change the delivery of a line. I
have rated myself moderately high for this skill because I have used it in all of my
past performances. However, I am unsure of all terms and the psychology behind
body gestures so learning more about these through books or reliable sources would
enable me to become a better actress. Overall, I think I was successful and expressive
with both characters but I could improve upon facial expressions. Moreover, I could
do this by choosing characters with more complex or a variety of emotions to
challenge me to be more expressive with my facial expressions such as Kim from
Miss Saigon.
Talk about posture body language gesture facial expressions
I can adapt my personality to play a character role
Comments: - In every performance, I have adapted my personality to play a character
role. Naturally, I am quite a quiet person who avoids conflict and speaks in a calm,
hushed tone. This dramatically contrasts the personality I adapted for Chadwick in
‘Punk Rock’ who (in this specific monologue) was angry, easily agitated,
confrontational and extremely negative. I find adapting my personality extremely
easy as I understand that my personality is not regularly used in film or production
because they need a dynamic character to attract the audience. Notably, Edward’s
childlike personality completely juxtaposed my composed demeanour.
I am confident in my ability to adapt my personality when portraying a character as I
understand the importance of doing so in any performance. In order to display a
convincing adaptation of a character, it is importance to inherit their personality as it
makes it easier for me to control my body language & facial expressions accurately
with ease. Some methods I have used to help me do this are method acting exercises
and answering questions whilst staying in the character role to understand my
character further and feel more comfortable playing them. As well as this, I think
researching Stannislavski will help with
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/09/character-building-great-actor
useful resource
mention stanislavskis questions and tecniqeues
research metod actin and talk about different tecnqieues wit metod actin
I can project my voice
Comments: - Throughout my performances, I have consistently projected my voice
successfully. When Edward was unsure and felt closed off & embarrassed, I still
needed to project my voice so the audience could hear me. Specifically, when he
cluelessly says “Pardon?”, I was required to find the balance between sounding quiet
and child-like whilst still projecting my voice. Although this was difficult, I believe I
handled it well and ensured the audience could hear me through-out the performance
whilst displaying his shy nature.
I understand that projecting the voice is essential to acting as you need to focus on
delivering your lines in this way. As well as this, projecting my voice makes it easier
to place emotions in my words and it places impact when my volume slightly dips.
Although at times it is challenging to remaining clear & projected for the audience to
hear, it is very useful to become accustomed to this as it helps with the overall
quality of the performance & it is the foundation for acting. If an audience cannot
hear me, then I cannot build on characterisation and all of my efforts regarding other
aspects of my performance will be rendered useless.
I can show good timing of lines and interplay between characters lines
Comments: - Whilst working in a group or with another performer, I ensure that I
have a good timing of lines. The timing of lines is incredibly important as I can
possibly interrupt someone and cause them to stumble upon their words. On the other
hand, good timing is essential when working by myself because it can be used for
effect, pauses for dramatic effect & the tempo of my words is essential in the
performance to display the character’s demeanour & express their emotions further.
I understand the necessity of having good timing of lines as it can affect the other
actors as well as my own performances. If I missed my line, it has the potential to act
as a domino effect and ruin the whole performance
I can use my face to express emotions and moods without using my voice
Comments: - I am confident in my ability to use my face to express emotions without
using my voice. In my GCSE drama devised piece, I used my face to express the
internal anguish my character was experiencing as she was faced with internal moral
dilemmas. In addition to this, I could not use my voice for this scene as two other
performers were portraying my subconscious and the inner voices in my mind.
Through this performance, I was able to fully focus on my facial expressions and
improve upon it in order to show the audience how I was feeling.
I have a deep understanding of the importance of using the body language in
performances and how it allows a deeper interpretation of the character. The use of
body language could represent inner dilemmas and change the delivery of a line. I
have rated myself moderately high for this skill because I have used it in all of my
past performances. However, I am unsure of all terms and the psychology behind
body gestures so learning more about these through books or reliable sources would
enable me to become a better actress. Overall, I think I was successful and expressive
with both characters but I could improve upon facial expressions. Moreover, I could
do this by choosing characters with more complex or a variety of emotions to
challenge me to be more expressive with my facial expressions such as Kim from
Miss Saigon.
I have a commanding stage presence and can hold the audience
Comments: - Although I am quite confident in my ability to hold an audience, I think
I have a lot of improvements to make regarding my stage presence. Improving my
stage presence would allow me to become a better actress and help with my portrayal
of all characters.
I can use the stage and space to create the best performance and have a good grasp of
spatial awareness
Comments: - In spite of the fact that I sometimes struggle with grasping how to use
the stage effectively, I believe I am good at devising how to use a space to create the
best performance with both my critical and creative thinking skills. An important
aspect of stage presence is the voice, using it be fully expressive
I have a good understanding of Literature and command of the English Language
allowing me to delve deeper into character parts
Comments: - My comprehension of Literature is thorough which allows me to study
the scripts with ease and delve deeper into different character aspects. My command
of the English Language is controlled and confident which allows to explore devising
my own piece and developing scripts, exploring characterisation in my own writing.
To improve further, I need to read more texts and become increasingly familiar with
more complex forms of literature. As I study A-Level English Literature alongside
this BTEC in Performing Arts, I think I have learnt to become more analytical of
texts & have adjusted to understand the undertones behind literature, understanding
the important of character development in both Performing and in writing. As well as
this, I have naturally become accustomed to delving into character parts as English
Literature as I have taken different roles and analysed them, ensuring that my
adaptation of them is true to the original yet personal to me. For example, in my role
as Chadwick from ‘Punk Rock’, I ensured that I understood his troubles and the
context behind his monologue- delving in to deeper aspects of his character, I
discovered that he was easily misunderstood. Naturally, he is a very smart individual
who is usually quiet and quite timid therefore he is an easy target for his bully,
Bennet- however, all his inner frustrations build up over time and are represented in
his monologue. Another example of where I did this was in a GCSE drama workshop
as Mrs Lyons from ‘Blood Brothers’. In the scene where she threatens Mrs Edwards,
people could easily misunderstand her character. However, I think it is important to
consider the fact that she is a very lonely lady who is scared of her son leaving her.
Although her actions are not justifiable, I thought it was very important to keep her
motivations in mind as well as her insecurities to understand her fully and place
those emotions in my performance.
Literature is significant in acting as actors will have to adapt the words on to the
script and bring it to life through their individual, unique portrayal of a character.
This can be quite difficult, especially when playing dearly loved characters in
literature for an adaptation. However, I have recognised the balance between staying
true to the original character and adding my own style to it. Although, I can improve
by expanding my knowledge of literature and variety of genres that I read so I can
easily apply my skills to more scripts and make sure my understanding of Literature
is expanded to the most complex pieces of classic Literature. Notably, I sometimes
struggle with classic pieces of Literature as the form of writing has changed
drastically so I will ensure to familiarize myself with more of these novels. In
hindsight, I believe I was successful in doing this for both characters because I did
delve in to the aspects when understanding my own interpretation of the characters.
DANCE
I understand the importance of warming up and why it is necessary. I am able to
devise and develop warm up routines appropriate to the task given
Comments: - Through workshops at schools, I have exemplified my confidence in
devising and developing warm up routines appropriate to the task given. Through
workshops in our classes, we had the opportunity to devise a warm up for our dance
routine. I chose exercises for flexibility, cardio and strength (three central
components for dance). If practised regularly, these warm ups would prevent injury
and make the individual a better dancer overall as their strength would help them for
certain dance moves. I recognise the different types of warm ups (weight bearing &
non-weight bearing- therefore, I am able to confidently devise a warm up appropriate
for the task given.
Although dance is not my main strength, I understand the importance of warming up
as it can prevent injury and prepares the performer for the performance by opening
the lungs. In addition to this, it can be used to also help my acting ability. Vocal
warm ups such as tongue twisters can help with enunciation, coherency and warm
the vocal chords which is essential for acting in order to speak clearly and focus on
diction.
Weight bearing/ non-weight bearing
Opens lungs
Helps with breathing
I believe I have shown my ability to adjust my tone, pitch & tempo in my past
performances. In my GCSE drama performance, as Chadwick in ‘Punk Rock’, I
controlled my tempo to exaggerate how he became increasingly agitated as the
monologue progressed. For example, my tone was very confrontational and my
tempo slowed dramatically when delivering the line: “Bennet, you little, little boy,
you are kidding yourself.” This was to convey how fed up and exhausted Chadwick
was feeling as he confronted his bully, Bennet. However, when acting as Edward
from ‘Blood Brothers’, I used my voice to encapsulate the naïve, shy aspect of a
child. For example, the use of hesitancy in my tempo demonstrated that Edward was
confused and shielded from other children- therefore, he was unaware of what
Mickey was referring in the lines: “I don’t think so.” Through-out the performance, I
spoke very quietly, using a higher pitch and soft tone to remind the audience of my
character’s age but also display his speech versus Mickey’s harsher tone, showing
their difference in upbringing.
I have a deep understanding of the importance of using the voice through tone, pitch
and volume in performance and the portrayal of a character. The use of voice could
represent hidden feelings and change the interpretation & meaning of a line
completely. I have rated myself moderately high for this skill because I have utilised
it in past performances. However, I struggle with pitch and think I could work on this
in the future by choosing challenging roles with varied pitch and tone to enable me to
practise more. For example, dual roles could be useful for me because I will have to
clearly elaborate the difference between the two characters. Overall, I think I was
more successful as Chadwick because I related more to his character and inner
frustrations than with Edward. Therefore, I also need to improve on trying to portray
characters that I don’t relate with as well and focus on changing my voice to play
them in the future so I can become a better actress.
I can move fluently and easily with balance and control
Comments: -
I can follow choreography easily and learn routines quickly and have an extensive
movement memory
Comments: -
I can create my own choreography with flair and imagination appropriate to the
context and music
Comments: -
I can choreograph other people taking good command of the class with an awareness
of Health and Safety
Comments: -
I can dance in time and keep control of the rhythmic features of a dance
Comments: -
I can explore different genres of dance and carry them out well demonstrating a
stylistic approach to each piece
Comments: -
I can use correct technical terminology to describe dance movements and have a
coherent understanding of technical language.
Comments: -
SINGING
I understand the necessity of a good vocal warm-up and can devise a set of exercises
to be sung every day to warm-up and stretch the range of my voice and technique
Comments: -
I can project my voice using both head and chest voice and can move seamlessly
between the two voices giving a credible sound
Comments: -
I can sing with good intonation and can hold the pitch of my notes without wavering
even when singing as part of a small ensemble
Comments: -
I can sing with confidence and can convey this on the stage to both audience and
Director
Comments: -
I can characterize a performance and sing in character maintaining the meaning of
the music and portraying the character I am singing in many different genres and
styles.
Comments: -
I can sing with an accent and hold the accent accurately throughout the song giving a
convincing performance.
Comments: -
I can sing in English, French, Italian and Latin and have good command of each
language. I am able to understand the meaning of the words and portray these to an
audience in a performance.
Comments: -
I have good breath control and use my diaphragm correctly giving support to the
voice.
Comments: -
I can use my face to convey expressions and emotions in the words and can
demonstrate several emotions such as pain, happiness, sorrow, wistfulness etc
Comments: -
I have a good stage presence and use the stage well in performance taking command
of each performance that I am in and fulfilling each role both physically and
emotionally.
Comments: -
GENERAL
I can meet deadlines consistently and am aware of the necessity of this when
working to a production deadline
Comments: -
I can work independently and also work well within a team and contribute to that
Comments: -
I can use time effectively always being aware of the end goal
Comments: -
I can evaluate my own work and the work of others making suggestions for
improvement. I can be self critical in my approach in the aim always to improve my
skills and performance
Comments: -
EXPERIENCE
My best performance to date has been…
I have performed in the following productions: -
I play the following musical instruments / Sing:-