“Travel broadens the mind”, the saying goes. But how can travel help you as a performer?
Did you know that at Perform Australia, we combine travel with training in one of our courses? In the CUA40513 Certificate IV in Musical Theatre, we take students overseas as part of their course. Sometimes other students and graduates of other courses can also join the trip. Get in touch with our office to find out about any upcoming trips we’re planning. From Macbeth to Julius Ceaser and Othello, we know William Shakespeare as the world's greatest dramatist or the writer of English Literature. Here are a few facts about Shakespeare that you probably didn't know: 1. William Shakespeare was baptised at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon on 26 April 1564. Source: Waymarking 2. The legendary started writing from 1589. He's written a total of 154 sonnets, 37 plays and a number of poems. Additionally, he also collaborated in a number of 'lost plays'. 3. His last play 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' was written in 1613, at the age of 49. Source: Haverford College Special Collections 4. Apart from writing many plays and sonnets, Shakespeare was also an actor, playing the role of the Ghost in 'Hamlet' and Adam in 'As You Like It' Source: Wordpress 5. He had his own personal style - of wearing a golden hoop earring in his left ear, as depicted in the Chandos portrait - one of the famous portraits of Shakespeare. Source: Tes teach
The controversial series that brought either a smile or a tear onto our faces has finally received a verdict by the Academy. "The Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmy Awards" It does not come as a surprise to us that Game of Thrones has won more Emmys than any other series.Not many are aware that two of the protagonists, Emilia Clarke AKA 'Daenerys Targaryen' and Kit Harington AKA 'Jon Snow' bagged the roles directly after graduating from drama schools in London. Similarly, Perform Australia offers acclaimed courses for passion-driven actors to get a chance to pursue their acting & musical theatre dreams.
Celebrities never ceases to amaze us with how multi-talented they are. From acting, to singing and even being great athletes and sport people, these actors have become an inspiration to all. With news doing the rounds of AFL Player, Rory Sloane becoming a father to the newborn ‘Sonny Leo Sloane’ on 6th September 2019, let's acknowledge all the celebrities who were once sports stars. Here is a list of celebrities who rocked both – the screen and the field. 1. Hugh Jackman An Australian actor, who rose to fame with X-men’s Wolverine, Jackman started his career by taking up a drama course in his final year of university. He performed as a lead in Václav Havel's The Memorandum. Later he did his first drama show with ABC’s Correlli. In 2018, Jackman posted a throwback picture of himself in a soccer team. Being athletic since childhood, he’s been a part of both soccer and rugby teams. 2. Channing Tatum The American actor, singer and producer started his career with a drama film named “Coach Carter” in 2005. Interestingly, the actor was discovered working as a stripper in a night club. The secret behind his chiseled body is being a great sports player – football, martial arts and baseball. Tatum played football for his school team and later was offered a football scholarship. 3. Tina Fey The comedian, who is best known for her appearances on American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live had been involved in various extra-curricular activities during school times. Tina Fey, played Varsity tennis in high school and also joined the choir and the drama club. She’s a successful writer, producer, playwright and an actress. 4. Terry Crew Always putting a smile on our faces, is none other than the ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ actor, Terry Crew. Formerly known as the NFL player, the celebrity started his acting career by co-writing and co-producing ‘Young Boys Incorporated’ 5. George Clooney
The poised, pepper-haired George Clooney, comes in a package. He’s an American actor, producer, director and a filmmaker, who always wanted to make it big in Hollywood. He rose to fame with a medical drama, ER in 1994. Before entering the film industry, Clooney tried his hand at professional baseball. Apart from baseball, the actor has also played basketball. Learning lines is an important skill for the actor. You've got to learn your lines before you can step on stage or set and perform. But how do you actually go about it? There are lots of different approaches to the task, and really, you have to find one that suits you. Learning lines is simply about committing the words you have to say to memory - and that's just plain hard work for most people! While some actors have a natural flair for line-learning, others have to spend many hours on the task.
It's important to honour the writer's work, and not paraphrase it. Every time you change the words, even just a little, you change the original meaning that the author intended. While in some contexts "improvisation" around the lines may be permissable, for the most part, the actor is expected to present the words as written. It's your job! And it's not until after you've learned your lines that a director can really work with you. Some beginning actors think, "As long as I've got my lines down by opening night, I'll be fine..." - but in a professional setting you're usually required to have your lines down early in the project's timeline. Reason being, a director can do far less in creating a scene if you're still wandering around with a script in your hand. You're not free to play, to create, to experiment during the rehearsal process. And while theatre productions may have long rehearsal processes over many days or weeks, a film project may have very little rehearsal at all. So in that case, you've got no choice - you just have to have those lines in your head ready for the director to call "Action!" Here are some tips and tricks that may help you get started on learning your lines:
Then, once you learn your lines, you must maintain them. You may find that during a season, if you’re not going over them regularly, some of the words slip away and you start paraphrasing - so it’s always good to revisit the script throughout your project. |
AuthorThese blog posts are written by Perform Australia staff. Archives
January 2021
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