The name on everybody's lips is gonna be ROXIE

 

 

What song have you chosen to perform? 

I have chosen to perform "Roxie" from the musical hit Chicago. This is an "I want" song which is a very common type of song in Musical Theatre.   https://youtu.be/edjSK6yen_o

Why did you choose this material? 

I chose to sing this song because Chicago has always been a favourite musical of mine. I haven't really had the chance to branch out and sing a girly girl type of role so I thought it would be more of an acting challenge for me. I am using this song as part of my Drama assessment as well and I thought Roxie would be a suitable number for that too! I just love this musical and I really wanted to showcase a different side of me that no one has really seen before. 

Who performed the piece? 

This piece has been performed by many notorious broadway greats! Some of them include Gwen Verdon, Liza Minnelli, Ann Reinking, Brooke Shields, Ruthie Henshall and Bebe Neuwirth. This role has been played for numerous years on broadway. I will base my performance on the Chicago the Music Australia 2019 performance done by Natalie Bassingwaighte because I really like her interpretation of the number. 

What is the song about? What is happening in the story at the time of your piece? 

This is a very "I want" song. Roxie is singing to herself and the audience about how she always wanted to be on Vaudeville, and that this trial is going to be the real kick start of her performing career. She wants to be a celebrity, she wants to be recognised and wanted by men. In this piece, Roxie is awaiting her murder trial after a successful press interview with her top-notch lawyer Billy Flynn. She fully believes that she will avoid the death penalty, so she will use her fame from the murder to start her show on Vaudeville. She expresses in her dialogue before the song and through the lyrics how badly she wants to be a celebrity on vaudeville. This song is about Roxie and nothing else. 

What will be challenging about your piece? 

Acting-wise, it is going to be difficult for me to be open and kind of sexy which is what the role requires. Singing wise, the song isn't too difficult to sing, it's just that I get in my head about certain notes so it's more of a mental game and trying to stay relaxed so my voice doesn't sound tense. I have high hopes about this performance though so hopefully all goes well! 

How will I act as this character? 

Roxie is a very childish and selfish person, so in order to portray this, I will include coy giggles each time I mention vaudeville in my dialogue. I will be performing on a bare stage and need to keep the attention on me, in order to do this, I will keep my feel planted and only walk around/dance around when necessary. Musical theatre acting is over the top so I will use a very “American” accent in this performance and make sure to perform to the back of the audience. I will keep my voice projected and balanced. I purchased my own 20s style flapper costume so I will use this to not only showcase the time period of the piece, but also emphasise who Roxie is as a character. I will also play to the audience a little bit to demonstrate Roxies narrative as a dumb, comedic blonde. Throughout my dialogue, I will take little pauses to show how Roxie is a little “slow” and that she is a young, dumb blonde. 

Composition blog post thingy

 3/09/2020 

In Year 11 music, I am working alongside my friend Kiera to compose a song. 

What type of song are you composing? We are an original song about a breakup situation. We kind of made it up at the moment and it been really working that way. 

Which part of the composition are you writing first? We are writing the lyrics first. That way we are able to create a melody in a good way. 

What are you working on this week? We are aiming to finish the lyrics of the song by the end of the week. 

10/9/2020

How is our composition coming along? After some feedback from Mrs Beer, Kiera and I have decided to switch some of the lyrics around in order to create a more flowing song. We have decided to use one of our previous 'pre-chorus' as our chorus because it will make the song memorable. 

What are we aiming to complete this week? We are aiming to have our lyrics secure and flow nicely. 

LV1 Solo Assessment feedbacky stuff

For my NCEA LV1 Music Solo performance, I did a song and it was scary and I was terrified. All jokes aside I think I did pretty okay especially considering I don't usually sing by myself. I sang Death is Just Around the Corner from the Addams Family Musical. This was a very dramatic piece that I think that I pulled off pretty well. Heres my performance, if you want to watch it, you can, you don't have to though. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WCtV6gQfzI5uTtpVYIroc1CmtxsRoGyu/view?usp=sharing 

Why did I choose this song? 

Well, I really like musical theatre and the dramatic side of music. I really like performing and dramatic art. I also have a soft spot for The Addams Family series and movies, they're really cool, you should watch them. 

Am I happy with my final performance? 

It was okay, other than the ATROCIOUS note at the end, I think it was okay.  I did alright, it wasn't horrible but it could be better. I think I did pretty well on the drama side but should focus more on the singing side. I got an Excellence on my first try which was pretty cool. 

What did you find challenging? 

I found that the final high note at the end of the song was my breaking point. Getting from that lower register in my voice to the higher register was hard. I performed the song well but the final note kinda ruined it. 

The performance goal for solo 2.

My performance goal is to focus less on the performance side of my performance and more on the singing part. My vocal teacher says I also need to work on my vocal technique. I need to work on the placement of my voice and where the sound is coming from. I also need to work on opening my mouth to get that louder and fuller sound out. The song I am going to sing for my second solo is That Don't Impress Me Much by Shania Twain. This is a pretty cool song with some nice notes in it so I think I will be okay with that.  

Pathos, Lathos and Ethos -- English LV1

In English, we are learning about persuasive writing. here is the task I was set to do today in class...
TaskOn your blogs, please describe (statement), explain (explanation) with examples (evidence) what pathos, logos, and ethos is. You may use Google to research this but it must be all in your own words.
Once you've done this, please also answer the questions 1) what are we doing? 2) why are we doing it? 3) what questions do I have? You have approximately 20-25 minutes to complete this and it must be completed for homework.
PathosPathos describes what is used in advertising and writing to invoke a sense of pity or sadness in the audience. In many advertisements for animal shelters, the marketers will use imagery of sick and unhealthy animals to create a sense of sadness so the audience will donate money to their charity. It is used a lot in these circumstances to get people to care about what is advertised or said.
LogosLogos describes a statement, sentence or argument that uses common sense and logic to back up its point. Using things such as statistics in arguments is using logos.
EthosEthos describes when an argument is based on the credibility of the person making the argument. Using credibility and authority can make the point being made seem more true. For instance, when there is an advertisement for a new toothbrush, the advertisement could mention "7-10 dentists use it. Backing up your point using authority makes it seem more important or more true.
Final Questions What are we doing? For this task we were told to define and explain what Pathos, Logos and Ethos are, then we had to post it on our blogs.
Why are we doing it?We are doing this to learn how we can use these different techniques in our persuasive arguments and we are able to now use them in other aspects of persuasion too.
What questions do I have? I wonder how often we actually see these persuasive techniques and don't notice it. Personally, I don't notice some of the ways these techniques are used on a day-to-day basis, but I realise how these are used and how they can be effective.
Can we be proud to be called New Zealanders? Essay Activities We had to read this old essay from Mr Aitken and then answer the questions at the bottom of the doc.
Better people, better views, better rugby! New Zealanders can be proud to live in the 'Land of the Long White Cloud'. This is because we are the friendliest people, we have the best landscape the globe has to offer, and we have the best rugby team in the history of the game. New Zealanders have a great reputation for being the friendliest people around. For example, where else in the world can you strike up a conversation or have a joke with fellow countrymen (or women) at the beach, park, or rugby? If you talk to people from all over the world who have travelled to and around New Zealand, you will very often hear about how friendly and hospitable 'Kiwi's' are. Is it not a wonderful thing to be part of a land known for its warm people? Not only do we have friendly people, but we have the most breathtaking and gorgeous vistas on the planet. We have snow-capped peaks with rugged and pure forests and bush with exotic birds; we also have timeless beaches and lakes that can be serene or ferocious. 'The Lord of the Rings' was filmed here because of the super stunning scenery and we are all happy to be associated with that. Why do so many people come to New Zealand? To view the spectacular and varied landscapes New Zealanders love and are proud to call home. We can not only be proud to be New Zealanders for our friendliness and views but also because we have the best rugby team in the world. This can be seen by the fact that no other rugby team in the world has won so many and lost so few games as the mighty All Blacks. We also have New Zealanders coaching other countries and prominent clubs and we can arguably say we have the best rugby forward and back in the world. Not only do we have the best rugby team in the world, but we can also be proud of the fact that we have the haka that has helped put New Zealand on the map. These are some of the reasons we can be happy to be the children of Aotearoa. We have the best people, the best landscape, and the best rugby team in the world. No wonder 22% of the rest of the world wants to immigrate here. Answer all these questions from this essay, please. Google any of the definitions that you are unsure of :) You can highlight the answer and write what it is in the comments section. 1) List 5 adjectives (describing words) in the essay. friendliest, wonderful, breathtaking, stunning and gorgeous 2) What is the statistic used in the essay? No wonder 22% of the rest of the world wants to immigrate here. 3) Write out a statement that links two points together.Not only do we have friendly people, but we have the most breathtaking and gorgeous vistas on the planet. 4) Write out an example of the rule of 3 (or tricolon). Better people, better views, better rugby! 5) Write out an example of a rhetorical question.For example, where else in the world can you strike up a conversation or have a joke with fellow countrymen (or women) at the beach, park, or rugby? 6) Write out an example of an informal word used in the essay.Kiwi's 7) What are the three terms used for New Zealand?New Zealand, Aotearoa, Land Of The Long White Cloud 8) Who do you think is referred to as the best forward and back in New Zealand rugby?Dan Carter and Richie Mccaw according to Mr Aitken 9) What other words or phrases are used for the word 'proud'? we are all happy to be associated with that, be happy to be the children of Aotearoa. Proud 10) What are two different conjunctions that are in the essay?And, But, ; 11) What is the thesis from the introduction?We can be proud to be NZ'ders 12) What is the list of points from the introduction?This is because we are the friendliest people, we have the best landscape the globe has to offer, and we have the best rugby team in the history of the game. 13) What is the punchline from the conclusion?No wonder 22% of the rest of the world wants to immigrate here.
14) What is the catch ‘em from the introduction?Better people, better views, better rugby!

15) What is the restated thesis from the conclusion? . We have the best people, the best landscape, and the best rugby team in the world.
16) What is the restated list of points from the conclusion?

That we have the "best rugby team, best people and best views" in the world. 

English Film Analysis - Self Directed Learning

In my English class, we have been using Self-directed learning for our 1.11 film study assessment. I decided to do my analysis on the television prison drama Wentworth. Here is my two-part screencastify about how the director Kevin Carlin used different film aspects to show meaning. I really enjoyed using this format because I was able to be more creatively driven for this assessment. I think I will be using this format again next time in English.

 <-- Here is part one  

Here is part two -->

Time for Another SEXXY Analysis... yea man

How the "Jessica" Meth.org PSA shows the harmful effects of drugs 
The harmful effects of drugs are shown in the Meth public service announcement Jessica by Meth.org. This is seen in the contrasting bright and dark lighting used throughout the advertisement. Dark lighting is used to reflect the darkness encompassing Jessica and her mind. Throughout the advertisement, we see Jessica go down a rabbit hole of darkness and pain, and that darkness is shown in the lighting. It shows her madness and pain, especially during the rape scene. But the bright lights show a more light or "innocent" part of Jessica, which is seen more at the start of the advertisement. The director did this to further give the audience the idea that Meth is something that negatively impacts people and their lives. Jessica was someone was consumed by drugs and those drugs dragged her to a dark place. The once bright lighting was slowly darkened, as was Jessica's mind. This aspect is also demonstrated in the last scene of Unforgiven when everyone is dead due to violence. Violence negatively impacted the lives of so many and brought darkness to so many lives, just as Meth eventually brought death to Jessica's.

Its time for a SEXXXY analysis - English work

Recent events around the world have meant that all students must remain at home for four weeks. Myself, being quite a pedantic student, have found this whole isolation process to be quite the struggle. I never find staying at home easy, so I've been doing as much work as I can at this point just to keep me busy and to stop me from going crazy.

For our English work over these 4 lonely weeks; our class has to go through a bunch of slide decks for our English Class. There are 10 in total. One of the first slide decks I had to complete was the group/peer work one. This included working with a friend while at home, so I completed this task with Dylan. I found working with Dylan easy, especially with the new chat feature that we have been allowed to use while on isolation. We gave each other little bits of feedback and were able to finish it within 25 minutes or so. Unfortunately; we were unable to complete two of the tasks about PSA's because the videos were restricted, but we might go back and update them using different videos later.

The work that I have completed is pink.