By Daniel Buckland level 3
North Kent college: Miskin
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The dance show
Week 1
Sorting outing the prop store
Today we were sorting out the prop store to make some room for the new props used in the Beauty and the Beast Christmas show. Then I removed all of the christmas show related bits of paper blue tacked to the walls like the props check list and a printed out paper with “Break a leg Beauty And The Beast Cast And Crew” on it. Then I went to the prop store where the tutor for stage management was emptying a section of the shelves and telling us whether to put it outside to go back in organised or in the bin or into design where some boxes were. Me and the other students created an efficient line of moving props given from the tutor. Then I carried a big roll of fake grass to design, and I also carried a stick which had foam board black birds attached to it by string. In design I cut every bird off of the stick so that they could be used for something else. Then I moved the tree branches used in the Christmas show into an empty bin in the prop store. Then the rest of the props not in the bin went back into the prop store more organised. Then I carried a box of props we don’t need to the compound which is where all the rubbish is kept in the college that has separate bins for different materials like cardboard, plastic, metal and other materials. Then I went back to design where I removed taped rings from black sticks. Then we started to put all of the fake food props from their boxes onto the table so we could organise them into more boxes. So, after I put the fake food onto the table they were grouped up into sections like fruit, cakes and baked food. Then I removed the cocktail sticks from my egg basket used in the Christmas show and I put them in the box with the easter eggs. Then I started to grab all of the baked foods like bread, pies and pizza. Then I got another box that I got the cakes from the table to put into the box.
some of the papers I took off wall
Store, bin or design
Prop store after organised
Roll of fake grass I moved
Birds attached to sticks
Birds removed from sticks
Props moved to the compound
Sorting out the fake food
Table full of fake fake food
Baked foods box
Box of cakes
Sorting out the breakable and cutlery props
Today we continued to sort out the prop store and we were sorting out the fragile props which included teapots, plates, mugs, cups and saucers, ornaments and cutlery. We then moved the props outside to sort them out into boxes because they were all on shelves in no organised way at all. So, me and the other students went back and forth moving the props given to us by the stage management tutor. When they were all outside, we moved them around, so all the props were in piles then I moved all of the teapots into a pile on the floor. After that I helped move around the metal cups used during war times. Then the ornaments which were mainly from a devised show I worked on last year called One man’s junk which was set in a charity shop. Then all of the chipped and cracked props were put in the bin and then some of them that we didn’t think would be used or we had too many of was put in a box that was going to be given to a charity shop. Then we put back all of the remaining props back into the prop store but in boxes instead of just on the shelves. After the props were put back, we moved out the electronic props which included radios, DVD players, old cameras, computer monitors, and some other things as well that were old and used in the 80s. Then the props were organised into piles and then they were put back. Organising the old electronic props took less time than the breakable and cutlery props. Then I went back to design where the props we moved to design from yesterday were finding a place to be stored so some of the boxes already in design were being moved around. Then the small model of the auditorium was moved down onto a table and many of the small sets made from foam board while planning for that show where still there and they were stuck together with pins, so I was removing the pins from all of the set and big props made for the small model auditorium. Then I moved a box of torches to the compound because they were broken. Then I moved a big half barrel prop that was used in the Beauty and the Beast show to the big prop store.
All of the fragile props and cutlery outside
Teapots I separated
Box of ornaments
Box of items for the charity shop
Sorting out the electrical props
Removing pins
Model auditorium with small sets in
Taken apart set pieces and box of pins
Moving props to the compound and big prop store
Half barrel before moved into big prop store
Box of torches in bin
researching for magic wand design ideas
Today we were making wands because there wasn’t much to do today, and tech week starts next week for the dance show so just for today there wasn’t a lot to do. First, I needed to decide on what I wanted my wand to look like, so I did some research for some inspiration, and I found a picture of different wands that had a wood base with leaves and vines detailing on and a gem was on of all of them. I liked the idea of having a forest magic wand like mother nature or a magical elemental wand. On the picture one of them had a crystal on the end that I liked. Then I got a pen and paper and I started to design my wand, so I copied one of the wands from the online image I found then I looked at the materials I had to make my wand which was with a wooden stick, airdrying clay, wire and small gems. When I was looking through the gems none of them looked like the crystal, I wanted so I decided to make the shape out of air drying clay which didn’t look like aa crystal so I re designed my wand on the paper and I made up what the wand would look like as I was making it. Then I stuck the crystal shaped air drying clay on top of the wooden stick and then I covered the whole stick with a thin layer of air drying clay so the wand was thicker and easier to paint. Then I started to make the vine to go around the wand which I also made from air drying clay. To make the shape I rolled the clay back and forth between the table and my hand and then I grabbed both ends and I pulled it to make it skinnier and longer. Then I got some green paint, and I painted the vines and I accidentally got some of the green on the bit that wasn’t meant be a vine, so I added a few green dots, so it looked like moss growing onto the wand. After the green paint dried, I grabbed brown paint, and I painted the rest of the wand brown to look like wood. At one point I was thinking of painting the end green because I originally wanted it to be a crystal, but it didn’t look like one, so I decided to turn it into wood like the rest of the wand which I think was a good decision.
Image I found online of magic wands
Designing my magic wand
Making the magic wand
Wand with air dying clay and painted vines
Finished magic wand I made
Weekly evaluation 1
This week I took down the Beauty and Beast papers off the wall, removed props from the prop store to put in bin or move into design, organised the fake food props, sorted out the fragile and cutlery props, sorted out electrical props, took apart small foam board sets for the model auditorium from past shows, moved props to the big prop store and I made my own magic wand. I solved the problem of not having the correct crystal I wanted for my wand like my design which I did by changing my design to be easier to make with what I had so I took the airdrying clay that I attempted to mold into a crystal, and I turned it into the top of the wand that I made it look like wood. From this I learned the skill of improvising with the materials I have to create what I needed even if it wasn’t like what I originally imagined. This could be used for if a prop breaks during a show and it needs to be quickly fixed. I have improved on my organising skills from sorting out the prop store with the other students in my department and the stage management tutor. I learned which props to throw away or give away or to keep. Some props we had too many of the same thing, so we got rid of them also some of the fragile props had chips or cracks on that had to go in the bin. When organising a big group of smaller props, the best thing to do is first create a bit of a mess so all of the props can be seen so that it’s easier to separate into piles that go inti boxes. I can improve on helping with the dance show more because tech week starts next week so there would be more things to do like glow taping behind the curtains. This week there wasn’t much to do so the wands were done to improve our researching, designing and prop making skills. I researched images of wand online give me inspiration for ideas on what my wand prop should look like and I first found wooden wands similar to ones in Harry Potter, but they looked a bit borring to me and then after changing the words a few times in the search bar I found a picture of wands that had wooden handles with vines and leaves carved into it with a crystal at the top that gave me the idea to do a forest themed magic wand that a life elemental wizard would use or that if mother nature existed a wand she would use.