Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 17 (Evaluation) - 07/12/15

Today was the big day; our first performance of Fantastic Mr Fox! I feel our performance was superb and kept every child entertained. I feel that these are the things which went incredibly well and what we would need to improve on:

Scene 1: 

• great impacting movement and our interaction between each other made the entire scene very comical
• this led to the effect of a believable family
• the transition between this scene and the next was very fluid
• in order to make this scene better, Charlie must engage with the audience more which will strengthen the bond between the protagonist and the audience

Scene 2:

• James' stance as Bunce was lost from the beginning of the scene
• Rob's entrance was very comical
• overall movement across the scene was characterised well
• Rob's mime during Boggis' description was very funny providing a good insight to the character
• James' mime was practically non-existent as he only stood still as Bunce
• my mime was well prepared and was characterised very well
• Ollie's interaction with the audience was very age appropriate and the audience joined in with the Boggis, Bunce and Bean song rather promptly

Scene 3:

• the movement in this scene for all three of us was very characterised superbly and made the characters authentic
• James seemed far too scary for our audience age
• Rob's characterisation was great
• James messed up his lines which left an awkward gap
• the interaction between James and Rob was great throughout
• the punch was hilarious and evoked a positive reaction from the audience
• my entrance to break up the fight was urgent, direct and forceful
• we all maintained a great knowledge of power and status
• my interactive conversation with the audience was amazing and I managed to deal with every response well
• I said the word, "big" quite a lot when describing where Mr Fox lived so I need to vary my vocabulary a lot more
• I forgot to start off the laughing which lost the meaning of the joke

Scene 4:

• the sneaking was very good behind the audience and got their attention
• worryingly, this distracted the audience from Mr Fox's entrance
• Charlie's tail fell off when it wasn't meant to so it wasn't attached properly
• he covered this up well but the cover up wasn't needed as the audience wasn't paying attention to Charlie at all
• Charlie's fried chicken line was far too quick as it wasn't articulated very well and the audience were still focused on the farmers
• the shooting scene was very effective but may have frightened the children, however the movement was the perfect speed and our facial expressions were very exaggerated

Scene 5:

• some of the humour between Mr and Mrs Fox may have been too old for our young audience
• the choral speech between the two fox cubs was very cute and this characterisation created authentic fox cub characters
• James' characterisation could've been better though
• the interaction between the narrator and the children was perfect and every child joined in
• the build up to the race was perfect with nice stretches
• the slow motion race was absolutely hilarious and kept the audience interested throughout with funny facial expressions and over-the-top movement

Scene 6:

• the transition between scenes was unrecognisable
• my voice went part way through the scene but I managed to get it back
• the length of time between each, "Shhhh" moment was perfect and was very funny
• James forgot one of his lines but then said it midway through my speech, this led to mild confusion and a small gap of awkward silence
• the X factor joke seemed a bit lost as it wasn't appropriate to our audience
• the laughing in this scene was better than that of scene 3

Scene 7:

• Lorna maintained her child voice throughout the entire scene
• the physical comedy was great and was very suitable for our audience
• very good interaction with Mr Fox and the audience

Scene 8:

• the movement in the entire scene was perfect and showed the struggle the foxes went through in a comical way
• the child voices were as convincing as ever
• great reactions to finding the huge amount of food

Scene 9:

• very positive reactions from the children
• Lorna's movement, voice and actions as a child were terrific
• "You've really gone and done it now," like the X factor joke, wasn't well matched to the audience

Scene 10:

• the sneaking was great
• movement from Charlie, James and Lorna was consistently great!

Scene 11:

• my entrance as Rabbit was very good and established the character well
• Rob was very late with his, "Thirsty," line but this wasn't a major mistake
• Rob nearly fell over during his entrance
• Lorna's awkward costume change was very good as it didn't grab the audience's attention
• Rat's entrance was very effective at grasping the audience's attention
• Lorna's Rat characterisation was very good and showed a clear contrast from her other character
• everyone poking out of the cider jar line was very funny and amused the audience a lot
• head poking was in time everytime
• one of Charlie's lines was delayed and created an awkward silence
• everyone's exits were effective and fluent

Scene 12:

• the summary of the ending narration was very funny and age appropriate
• the song was very entertaining
• most people needed to sing louder especially Rhiannon in her solo
• everyone needed to sing during the chorus not just 3 people
• Charlie should've started the goodbye as this led to an awkward silence for a few seconds until I started the goodbye

Key notes for improvement:

• James needs to establish his characterisation more
• Rhiannon needs to be louder in her solo in the song
• Charlie needs to make sure his tail is loose enough to take off but not too loose that it falls off
• everyone needs to be aware what their lines are and when they are to avoid awkward silences
• we need to either make sure we get the correct audience we prepared for (5-7 year-olds) or change our performance to better match our comedy with their sense of humour (e.g. switch X Factor for Dora The Explorer)

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 16 - 07/12/15

Today was the performance of our Children's Theatre Unit production of Fantastic Mr Fox and we needed to fit as much rehearsal time as possible! We started the day with a prop sort out and making sure we had every prop! After much confusion over who was bringing what prop in, we only got one farmer hat! I though that Bean should be the farmer with the hat, not for selfish reasons, but because the other two farmers had distinguishing factors which separated them from the rest of the cast: Boggis with his large inflatable belly and Bunce with his height. As Bean had nothing which characteristically obvious about him, we gave Bean the hat.

After a prop sort out, we performed a run through to nitpick the final changes which needed to be made! Then came another runthrough, but this time with an audience!!!

We performed our piece to an audience of 30 Year 9's who surprisingly enjoyed it despite it being aimed at 6 year-olds; this was rather worrying. They were a great audience who supplied us with great reactions and got involved in interaction.

Upon this runthrough, I realised a massive flaw which we hadn't noticed in other runthroughs. At the end of, "We'll Never Let Him Go," I lead James and Rob off to the right wing however they both start their next scene on the left wing. This means not only are they in the wrong wing to start, but they couldn't improvise and run on from a different side because their props and costume was on the other props table in the other wing where they should've been before. To combat this for our real performance, I will move my prop I need for my next scene (the bunny ears for Rabbit), to the left wing prop table and I'd come on from this wing as opposed to the other for the beginning of, "Bean's Cider Cellar Raid." This means at the end of, "We'll Never Let Him Go," James, Rob and I can all exit to the left wing and have all of our props ready for our next scenes.

After these last minute runthroughs, I feel a great deal more confident for our assessed performance!

Double - Children's Theatre - Individual Work - 06/12/15

Throughout this unit, we have worked together to devise scenes, come up with ideas and of course decided the play we were going to perform! However, there have been instances where I have done things outside of lesson individually in order to further our performance!

Cider Jar and Poultry Meat cardboard cut-outs!

Firstly, Lorna started making some of the props including poultry meat and a large cider jar (pictured left)! I helped her by cutting the chickens out, going over the edges with black marker again (as after cutting them out, the edges weren't even no longer) and helping her reinforce them as the cardboard would be very floppy with just one layer, whilst she drew and painted the props themselves and reinforced them also.

Additionally, we needed some music/sound effects for the show as some of the more exciting scenes would be very boring without it. After we, as a group, found the music for, "Boggis' Chicken House Raid," and "Bunce's Duck and Goose House Raid," I looked into finding some music for other scenes. The song we found was called, "Sneaky Snitch," and was made by Kevin MacLeod. I already had knowledge on the composer and creator of the track and I knew he was a very well known producer of royalty-free, instrumental music! I looked into his archive of songs on Spotify and found many more songs for other scenes! Below is the list of songs I found and what scenes they were used in:

• "Hidden Agenda," - The sneaking in, "Bean's Cider Cellar Scene."
• "Arcadia," - When the animals broke into the cellar and they saw all the wonderful cider in, "Bean's Cider Cellar Scene."
• "Scheming Weasel," (x2 due to the original track being too short) - When Rat appears in, "Bean's Cider Cellar Scene."

Finally, during the early days of devising we decided that for the Farmer's scenes, we wouldn't bother devising these scenes in class and we'd have someone devise and script them outside of class; I stepped up to this task! I wrote a script for Scene 2: The Three Farmers Introduction (was previously Scene 1), Scene 3: The Plan For Shooting, and Scene 6: We'll Never Let Him Go! I also wrote a script for what would've been Scene 13: Still Waiting but we thought this scene would remove from the atmosphere of, "The Great Feast," scene. Upon bring these scripts into lesson, everyone was happy with them and they only needed minor changes made to make them work with the rest of the scenes.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 15 - 04/12/15

Today in Double, we performed a full runthrough of our production and I feel it went superb! We also performed with props and costume for the first time! Here is the list of props and costume we used:

• Fox ears and tails (four of each)
• Inflatable Belly (For Boggis & Mole/Rob)
• Farmer's Hat (For Boggis/Rob)
• Spoon (For Boggis/Rob)
• Gun (For Boggis/Rob)
• Spectacles (For Mole/Rob)
• Chickens and Cider Bottle Cardboard Cut-Outs
• Spade (For Bunce/James)
• Gun (For Bean/Lewis)
• Rat Nose (For Rat/Lorna)
• Walkie Talkie (For Boggis & Bean/ Rob & Lewis

We laid out the props on prop tables in each of the wings for easy access and so they weren't lost; they were all on their specified table which was relevant to where the user was coming off! This performance was our best yet and there were a great deal of good notes:

• Charlie engaged the audience very well and instantly with his characterisation!
• All of our costumes looked great and were effective at portraying our characters!
• Rhiannon's approach to Mrs. Fox was a great deal softer as opposed to her previous sarcastic and vindictive approach! This was much more child friendly and refreshing!
• Our music worked very well; it was timed properly and all links worked!
• "The Race," was as great as ever and was extremely side-splitting!
• "The Great Feast," song was a very sweet ending to a tense and funny production!
• Lorna's characterisation of Fox Cub and Rat were very contrasting and because her actions were very cogent, she produced very authentic characters!
• Lewis' characterisation of Rabbit was absolutely hilarious (not one to blow my own horn!)
• Lewis' Bean voice was maintained throughout the entire production and showed his ability to characterise very well as this voice contrasted very well with Rabbits!
• Lorna and Lewis maintained great focus for the whole run!

Some key improvements which we need to work on feature:

• Lorna needs a backpack for the, "Terrible Shovels," scene (Charlie: Kids go pack your stuff)
• Ollie needs to learn his lines for narration in order for everyone else to know what comes next; some of his lines cue others lines! He also needs to be much more engaging and energetic with the audience! The children's theatre unit is meant for entertaining the audience of children and this means being energetic and interactive! A way for Ollie to improve his interaction is by repeating the Boggis, Bunce and Bean rhyme many times in order to get the audience buzzing at the get go!
• Rob should eat food during the shooting scene instead of actually shooting Mr Fox! This plays to his character's personality better and adds yet another layer of comedy!
• Charlie's, "Fried Chicken?" section needs to be longer and clearer in order for the children to hear and fully understand the humour of the joke! Also, during, "The Great Feast," scene, he should elongate his, "dad dancing," as this is a very humorous part of the scene which the children will appreciate!
• James needs to really learn his lines as he was constantly delayed and he missed some very key lines (James: We could stop him?). He also needs to work on his characterisation for Fox Cub as he's not very believable! Children need convincing characters to relate to during a performance in order to fully entertain them. Also, when in the role of Bunce, he needs to keep his posture consistent as this removes the whole atmosphere and stigma of his character.
• Lewis needs to try and find a walkie talkie prop for the, "We'll never let him go," scene. Having a walkie talkie instead of a mobile phone is much more relatable to children as children of the age we're performing to, 4-6, won't have a mobile phone but they'll be lot more familiar with walkie talkies!
• As a group, we need to be quieter when we're in the wings; the children might hear us and they'll be less focused on the actual performance!

Below is a list of all costumes for each character:

• Charlie (Mr. Fox)
• Blue Suit Trousers
• Blue Suit Jacket
• White Shirt
• Black Bow Tie
• Black Shoes
• Fox ears and tail
• Rhiannon (Mrs. Fox)
• Dress
• Leggings under dress
• Apron
• Vest top under dress
• Fox Ears and tail
• James (Fox Cub)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Fox ear and tail
• Lorna (Fox Cub)
• Black leggings
• Black Top
• Fox ears and tail
• Rob (Boggis)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Inflatable Belly
• Farmer's Hat
• James (Bunce)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Farmer's Hat
• Lewis (Bean)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Farmer's Hat
• Necklace for Fox Tail Necktie
• Fox Tail Necktie (After, "The Shooting.")
• Ollie (Badger)
• Black Trousers
• Grey Waistcoat
• White Shirt
• Lewis (Rabbit)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Bunny ears
• Rob (Mole)
• Back Joggers
• Black Top
• Inflatable Belly (Worn on his back)
• Spectacles

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Entire Production Outline - 06/12/15

Scene Order:

Scene 1 - Fox Family Introduction

Characters: Mr Fox, Mrs Fox, Fox Cub (James), Fox Cub (Lorna)

- Narrator introduces the Fox Family

- Mr Fox introduces himself and his family

- Narrator mentions the farmers, Fox Family exits

Scene 2 - The Three Farmers Introduction

Characters: Boggis, Bunce, Bean - Songs: Combine Harvester

- Bunce runs in with a chicken drumstick, checking beforehand, he eats it

- Boggis enters puffed out, he sees Bunce and takes the drumstick, he holds it above him

- Bean enters seeing them argue, he takes the chicken from Boggis and they get in a line

- The farmers bop in time with the music

- Narrator describes each farmer, each farmer steps forwards and mimes during their description

Scene 3 - The Plan For Shooting

Characters: Boggis, Bunce, Bean

- Boggis and Bunce argue over their farms

- Bunce hits Boggis and Boggis cries, Bean enters to stop the argument

- Bean asks for suggestions on how to get rid of the fox

- The Farmers leave ready for the shooting

Scene 4 - The Shooting

Characters: Mr Fox, Boggis, Bunce, Bean

- The Farmers run behind the audience with their guns, Mr Fox comes out

- Boggis steps in Fox poo

- Mr Fox smells, "fried chicken," then runs to the side, Farmers get into position for shooting

- FIRE! The Farmers open fire on Mr Fox, everyone freezes while Mr Fox is in mid-run, Bean shoots his tail off

- After Mr Fox exits, Boggis and Bunce run for the tail, Bean snatches it off of them

- The Farmers form a plan to dig Mr Fox out

Scene 5 - Terrible Shovels, Terrible Tractors and The Race

Characters: Mr Fox, Mrs Fox, Fox Cub (James), Fox Cub (Lorna), Boggis, Bunce, Bean - Songs: Chariots Of Fire

- Mrs Fox is fixing Mr Fox's tail, The Fox Cubs are playing and hear noises

- Mr Fox realises its The Farmers and gets the Cubs to pack some stuff, they exit and James changes to Bunce

- Fox Cub (Lorna) returns and Mr Fox starts digging with the kids help

- The noise gets louder and Mrs Fox and Fox Cub (Lorna) join in, The Farmers get ready up on the steps

- As the music starts we start the race in slow motion, The Fox Family escape

Scene 6 - "We'll Never Let Him Go"

Characters: Boggis, Bunce, Bean

- Boggis and Bunce complain that they'll never catch Mr Fox, Bean tries to think of a plan to catch him

- After multiple interruptions, Bean decides that they'll stay there until Mr Fox comes out

- After much complaint, The Farmers shake on it and they get Bean's wife to deliver some supplies

Scene 7 - Starvation Kicks In & The Plan

Characters: Mr Fox, Mrs Fox, Fox Cub (Lorna)

- Whilst Mrs Fox comforts Fox Cub, Mr Fox must come up with a plan

- With help from the audience, Mr Fox exits with his family and plan in his mind

Scene 8 - Boggis' Chicken House Raid

Characters: Mr Fox, Fox Cub (James), Fox Cub (Lorna) - Songs: Sneaky Snitch

- Mr Fox and his cubs sneak, dig, crawl and duck to Boggis' Chicken House

- After grabbing as much as they could, they took the chicken back to Mrs Fox

Scene 9 - A Surprise For Mrs Fox

Characters: Mrs Fox, Fox Cub (Lorna), Mr Fox, Fox Cub (James)

- Fox Cub (Lorna) wakes up her mum to show her the chicken her and her father got together

- Mr Fox enters with Fox Cub (James) and a lot more chicken, Mrs Fox panics for their safety

- She orders Mr Fox to get rid of the chicken but ends up keeping the lot

- Mr Fox thinks its not enough and hatches another plan

Scene 10 - Bunce's Duck And Goose Raid House Raid

Characters: Mr Fox, Fox Cub (Lorna), Fox Cub (James) - Songs: Sneaky Snitch

- Mr Fox and his cubs sneak, dig, crawl and duck to Bunce's Duck and Goose House

- After grabbing as much as they could, they took the meat back home

Scene 11 - Bean's Cider Cellar Raid

Characters: Mr Fox, Fox Cub (James), Rabbit, Mole, Badger, Rat - Songs: Hidden Agenda - Arcadia - Scheming Weasel

- Mr Fox decided he needed cider for a great feast, he and Fox Cub (James) pay Bean's Cider Cellar a visit

- Along the way, they met Rabbit, Mole and Badger (narrator)

- They popped up into Bean's Cider Cellar and were amazed by the sight

- In their awe, they bumped into Rat who tried to scare them off but failed miserably

- As the animals round up some cider, Bean's wife appears and they all hide behind a large cider bottle

- When she finally disappears, the animals are relieved, Rabbit and Mole leave before she comes back

- Rat calls for Bean as Mr Fox and his friends flee

Scene 12 - The Great Feast

Characters: Mr Fox, Mrs Fox, Fox Cub (James), Fox Cub (Lorna), Rabbit, Mole, Badger - Songs: You've Got A Friend In Me (Instrumental)

- Badger tells the audience what became of The Three Farmers and announces the beginning of The Great Feast

- Mr Fox and his friends run in and sing, "You've Got A Friend In Me"

- We end the song in a tableau and say goodbye to the audience

Prop List

• Fox ears and tails (four of each)
• Inflatable Belly
• Farmer's Hat
• Beanie
• Spoon
• Plastic Spade
• Shovel
• Gun
• Pistol
• Spectacles
• Wire Frame Glasses
• Chickens and Cider Bottle Cardboard Cut-Outs
• Rat Nose
• Mobile Phone (Used as a Walkie-Talkie)

Costume List:

• Charlie (Mr. Fox)
• Blue Suit Trousers
• Blue Suit Jacket
• White Shirt
• Black Bow Tie
• Black Shoes
• Fox ears and tail
• Rhiannon (Mrs. Fox)
• Dress
• Leggings under dress
• Vest top under dress
• Fox ears and tail
• James (Fox Cub)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Fox ears and tail
• Lorna (Fox Cub)
• Black leggings
• Black Top
• Fox ears and tail
• Rob (Boggis)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Inflatable Belly
• Farmer's Hat
• James (Bunce)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Farmer's Hat
• Lewis (Bean)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Farmer's Hat
• Necklace for Fox Tail Necktie
• Fox Tail Necktie (After, "The Shooting.")
• Ollie (Badger)
• Black Trousers
• Grey Waistcoat
• White Shirt
• Wire Frame Glasses
• Lewis (Rabbit)
• Black Joggers
• Black Top
• Bunny ears
• Rob (Mole)
• Back Joggers
• Black Top
• Inflatable Belly (Worn on his back)
• Spectacles

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 14 - 30/11/15

Today in Double, we decided that we would run the entire performance and stop after every scene to make notes on how to improve it.

When performing, "The Three Farmers," scene, it was obvious that our changes had improved the scene tenfold! This created an energetic introduction to not only the farmers, but the entire production.

Our, "Plan For Shooting/Shooting," scene was as amazing as ever! Our planning was very evil and horrid yet keeping a light hearted and comical approach! Meanwhile, the actual shooting was full of energy and portrayed the farmers' aggression.

After removing the chase from, "We'll Never Let Him Go," it ran so much better! Although we magnified our movement, I still feel we need to be more expressive with our actions to fully portray our characters!

When performing, "Bean's Cider Cellar," scene, the introduction of Badger, Mole and Rabbit has improved. Rat's little scene has been near-perfected, with the exception of people not knowing their lines. We also choreographed a new part when hiding from, "The Woman." This is the outline:

• On, "dashed behind," we all stand behind each other, (The Order: Ollie, Charlie, Rob, Lewis, James)
• On, "breath," we poke our heads out from behind the cider jar (James-Bottom Left/Rob-Top Left/Charlie-Bottom Right/Lewis-Top Right).
• On, "breathe," we poke our heads out but on the opposite sides from where we were before (Eg. Rob would go from Top Left to Top Right).
• On, "heart," we come back to centre hiding behind each other.
• During each of our single lines we pop our heads out of the side which we did on, "breath."
• When James mentions how Mrs Fox said Mr Fox will get them in trouble, Charlie walks out, no longer hiding behind the bottle saying, "Oh yeah I bet she did!" We all poke our heads out, shhh him, then Badger pulls Mr Fox back into line.
• As, "The Woman," takes each bottle of Cider, we all poke our heads out and gasp! On the final jar, as she place her hand on the handle, we all poke out with terrified facial expressions. But when she leaves the bottle, we all cheer in happiness and come out from behind it; the scene then continues as planned.

After this comes the Great Feast and, with the lyrics which James printed out, we performed it exceptionally well! For next time, I need to work on my voice for singing as Rabbit! 

At the end we received a very key note on how to improve our performance! Our introduction of the three farmers was far stronger than that of the fox family! This, most definitely, should not be the case! We decided a way to combat this effect is to swap the order so that the introduction to the fox family is before the introduction to the farmers. This establishes the first bond between character and audience with Mr Fox not the three farmers. 

I feel I've improved a bunch on the notes which were given to me last lesson and this has bettered the entire performance as a whole.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 13 - 27/11/15

This lesson, we performed a full run through. We decided this to see which scenes we needed to work on and which need to be changed.

When performing the, "Three Farmers," scene, we decided that it wad very short and didn't introduce Boggis, Bunce and Bean in the comical and slapstick fashion that we wanted. When introducing the farmers, we wanted the audience to laugh and have them understand the relationships between them and their characteristics. We then added a small mime sequence at the beginning of the original, "Three Farmers," scene; it went like this:

• Bunce runs in with a chicken drumstick. He checks around for Boggis and starts devouring it.
• Boggis walks in, gasps, rolls up sleeves, walks towards Bunce.
• Boggis taps Bunce on the shoulder, they argue over the chicken, Boggis holds it above Bunce's head.
• Bean walks in looking disgusted at their childishness, he takes the chicken and the three farmers stand ready to start the predetermined scene.

When performing, "We'll Never Let Him Go," halfway through we were very stuck on remembering our lines and stage directions. Also, when trying to work out how to perform our the chase between Bean and Bunce, it was very difficult and we decided it wasn't worth doing. Instead we felt, it would be better and simpler to just skip to the next part of the scene. As we had cut a very active and loud part of the scene, we had to make sure that the remainder of our movement is high in energy and that we fully express our characters emotions and feelings.

After our run through, we received notes from Miss McSherry on how to improve our performance; we received individual notes and group notes. As a whole, our group needs to dedicate a lot of time towards lines and providing a lot more energy! At times we forget how little our audience is so we must always keep our audience in mind when performing. When performing, "The Race," our facial expressions were very good! When we performed the chase during, "We'll Never Let Him Go," it wasn't choreographed very well and this would need work; this doesn't matter now as we have removed it. Finally, our creeping scenes during the raids were very impressive and hilarious.

For my individual notes, I maintained focus throughout the entire run through but I need to vary my voice when talking as Bean; it seemed rather monotone so I would need to very my tone and pitch. Also, my lines seemed very rushed so I'd have to slow them down in order to still fully articulate.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 12 - 23/11/15

Today we went through how we would perform, "The Great Feast," scene. At first, we made a plan for what we wanted to have done with this scene. We wanted to have a lot of physical theatre including lifts, Round-By-Through and paired jump work (leap frogs) then followed by some dialogue and end on a song. We started work on the physical theatre first.

We initially thought of having characters enter individually or in small groups of 2 or 3 to make the scene very fast paced and create a great deal of excitement for the audience. This included running, Round-By-Through, and jumps. We then changed it to this:

• Rabbit, Badger, Mole (Me/Ollie/Rob) enter with tables (little stools). Rob centre, Lewis right, Ollie left.
• Mrs Fox and a Fox Cub (Rhiannon/Lorna) enter with trays and place them on the stools (Lorna goes to Lewis, Rhiannon goes to Ollie)
• Ollie/Lewis steps through Rhiannon/Lorna and then spins them around to face the front.
• Ollie gets on all fours and Lewis leapfrogs him, then Lorna and Rhiannon spin round him.
• Mr Fox and a Fox Cub (Charlie/James) enter. Charlie steps on the last stool in the centre and Ollie and I flank the stage to get behind him and lift him from under his arms forwards. Meanwhile James runs to Lorna and Rhiannon (his character's mum and sister.)
• Rob and Lewis go off to side as a pair. Charlie shakes badgers hand.

This then leads onto the dialogue. We hadn't spent much time on this but we imagined everyone cheering and celebrating, Mr Fox proposing  a toast and then a smooth transition into a song (e.g. "And you can't have a feast without a good old sing song!")

For a while we debated which song we'd use for, "The Great Feast." At first we thought, "Food Glorius Food," from the musical Oliver! but we decided that instead we'd use, "You've Got A Friend In Me," by Randy Newman which was in Toy Story. We felt that more children would've seen Toy Story than Oliver! so the chances of them knowing the words and joining in were much higher.

We also included a lot of movement to the song too:

• During the first verse, Mr Foxs sing in an attempt to get Badger in the mood to dance and sing but at first fails. But after laying across him, Badger gets up and gets more energetic.
• During the second verse, The Fox Cubs share a moment to display their strong sibling bond by singing together.
• During the third verse, Rabbit sings, "Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am," while pointing to Moles head. Then Mole sings, "Bigger and Stronger too, maybe," and points to Rabbits flexed biceps. Mrs Fox proceeds to Mr Fox whilst singing the rest of the verse and when she sings, "It's me and you," she kisses him on the cheek followed by some jeering and wolf-whistles from the other animals.
• For the last verse,  Mr Fox continues singing whilst walking to the front. On, "And as the years go by," his wife and the cubs join him in a line. On, "Our friendship will never die," the rest of the animals join in the line. On the first, "You've got a friend in me," afterwards, Rabbit, Mole and Badger walk to the back. On the second. The Fox Cubs run to the back. On the third, Mr and Mrs Fox walk to the back. The song shall fade out with waves and goodbyes from the animals.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 11 - 20/11/15

Today we got a lot of work done! We started off with our focus exercise and ewe then ran through, "The Race," scene so that we were all comfortable with it.

We next decided to get devising as we still had multiple scenes multiple scenes to devise. We started with, "Boggis' Chicken House Raid." This scene starts after , "Starvation Starts & Mr Fox Has A Plan." We added a great deal of movement in the transition into, "Chicken House Raid." This included ducking (under fences), dodging (bees), sneaking (past watch dogs) and stretching (to reach ledges). During this we would use the song, "Sneaky Snitch." This piece of music is perfect for this scene as it embodies its mystery and sneakiness.

After this, we'd portray a large jump up to the warehouse from below. Following this jump, the foxes look in absolute awe! They look around in complete fascination and gather the chickens. At this time, I would provide live chicken noises, calm when the foxes first arrive and frantic when the foxes start gathering them. I feel the addition of live chicken noises will amuse the audience a lot and provide a much more involved atmosphere. Also, using live sound effects is lot less risky than using recorded audio as the files may corrupt or the hardware may be unreliable. This scene then transitions into, "A Surprise For Mrs Fox."

After, "A Surprise For Mrs Fox," is "Bunce's Duck House." We decided that this scene would be exactly the same as, "Boggis' Chicken House Raid," but it would be sped up. While in the first raid the whole process is longed out to illustrate the foxes actually jumping over fences and bushes, this time the same level of descriptive action isn't need; this also furthers the narrative.

The part we spent the majority of our lesson doing was the final raid: "Bean's Cider Cellar Raid." The basic scene outline that we have so far goes like this:

• Mr Fox (Charlie) and Fox Cub (James) decide that they must raid Bean's cider cellar for drinks to go with their feast.
• In their travels, they meet Rabbit (Me), Mole (Rob), and Badger (Ollie) and all offer to help!
• They continue sneaking to the cider cellar and they all jump up, individually, to the cellar. They all look up at the countless amount of jars in awe.
• They sneak around in formation (pictured right) in order to find the best cider bottle in the entire cellar!
• They get caught by Rat (Lorna). She queries their presence.
• Mr Fox threatens Rat and she runs away.

This is all we have for now.

For, "Boggis' Chicken House Raid," Lorna has painted some chickens which will be very effective props. Also, Ollie has written up all of his narration for the scenes we went through in this lesson.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 10 - 16/11/15

Today in double we produced a checklist on things that we wanted to get done. This checklist included:
- Sorting out the race scene 
- Sorting out the shooting scene 
- Devising the Great Feast 

The outline for The Race: 
- the Farmers prepare for the race, the Foxes get into sprint start position, narrator describes what's happening 
- the narrator announces the start, the Farmers run on the spot in slow motion, the Foxes run away from the Farmers in slow motion, towards the audience 
- the Farmers drown in sorrow and anger as the foxes escape into the audience - the next scene (We'll never let him go) starts 

We decided to have the Foxes and Farmers together in this scene to fully immerse the audience in a world where the outcome of "The Race" is very important, this was a perfect opportunity to add levels into the performance to accentuate the difference in status between the Farmers and the Foxes. The stretching and preparing for the race also highlights the seriousness of the race but also adds comic effect with Boggis not being able to touch his toes and Bunce struggling to get on the table (Digger). The slow motion not only shows a range of movement styles but also adds comic effect. 

The outline for The Shooting: 
- Farmers hide in audience, drums kick in, Mr Fox comes out. 
- Drums stop, Boggis steps in Fox poo, drums recommence. 
- Drums stop, Mr Fox smells something, he runs to Downstage Right, Farmers move to Stage left 
- Farmers get into position, open fire, Mr Fox escapes after multiple acrobatics minus his tail. 
- Boggis and Bunce run for the tail. Bean confiscates it, they conclude to dig the Foxes out. 

We made this scene comical yet serious as although there are silly, childish gags, there are still intimidating rolls, leaps and lunges performed by the Farmers.

For the Great Feast, my initial thoughts were having all of the animals not involved in the cider cellar raid in the underground refuge with a massive feast prepared; this feast was only missing the drinks which would be brought later. There would be the fox cub pining for their father, a very hungry Rabbit and an impatient Mole both wanting to start the feast and Mrs Fox restricting them access until her husband returns. Mr Fox would then enter with cider for all and everyone would be happy!

Upon discussion with Ollie, we decided on a new idea:
- In the scene before (Cider Cellar Raid), there would be Mr Fox, a Fox Cub, Badger, Mole and Rabbit.
- When "The Woman" enters (which we would do abstractly), Mole and Rabbit (Rob/Me) would flee away cowardly.
- The Great Feast would then start with Mole and Rabbit running into the refuge, out of breath, where Mrs Fox had prepared a feast and she queries us on why we abandoned the others.
- Halfway through Mole and Rabbit getting an earful, everyone returns with the cider and they merrily enjoy the feast.

When we told the rest of the group our idea, there was a lot of discussion and ideas but our final outline is now very different to both our previous ideas:
- The scene starts with everyone flying around the stage with dishes and trays, weaving in and out of each other (Round-by-through technique which we learnt in our Frantic Assembly workshop). 
- Once all the trays and plates are placed on our grand table (or the floor depending on what each site has to offer), Mr Fox would propose a toast mocking the Farmers!
- We would then break out into a song (not decided yet) and finish the production on a high!

I feel we got a lot done this lesson and the utilisation of a checklist improved our outlook on what to do a great deal more! For next lesson I will have updated the scripts and provided everyone with new ones. I believe that next lesson we should try devising Boggis' Chicken House Raid and, perhaps Bunce's Duck House Raid as they are both similiar.

Double - Children's Theatre (FMF) - Blog 9 - 13/11/15

Today, we spent the time catching up with what we had already done so we performed everything that we had. This consisted of forum theatre to perfect our performance.

When performing the shooting scene, whilst we were waiting for Charlie to finish discussing a Mr Fox related issue, Rob was tapping on the windowsill which created a very intense and dramatic drumming pattern. James and I spotted this and thought this would be very effective to add into the scene. The children would find this comical because as the situation gets more intense and Mr Fox smells something, the drums then stop and he shouts, "Fried Chicken!!!" 

As we progressed further into what we had already done, the rest of the group began to get confused on the order of the scenes despite us going over it the rehearsals prior. Some people said that, "The Terrible Shovels," "The Terrible Tractors," and "The Race" scenes are all in the same scene (which was correct), but others thought they were separated by a Farmer Scene. I relieved the confusion by spontaneously devising a way to connect the three. 

My Plan: 
- The Foxes go to sleep at the end of the Terrible Shovels part on Stage Right. 
- The farmers enter stage left bearing shovels looking exhausted 
- They think "upgrades" would be a better idea (The Terrible Tractors) 
- The Foxes awaken to these loud noises and start to dig away from them (The Race) -The Farmers exit and the fixes take refuge as The Farmers have stopped... for now! 

 During the race we can include the idea that Lorna mentioned on her blog about performing The Race in slow motion with "Chariots of Fire" playing in the background