hey
I did performance for my IP this year. It's a lot of fun if you like performing (well that's kind of a must, lol). What you do with it will be entirely up to you, but if you want some advice:
don't be afraid to experiment! read widely, don't settle on the first piece you lay eyes on because "that'll do"; really get out there and find something amazing to work with! On that note, though, try not to do stuff that you've never ever done before or that you are not good at unless you know you can pull it off (and i mean well)...trust me, the number of times i've seen people trying to do stuff (usually tragedy) that they clearly arent sure how to do properly - it's not good. But dont let that deter you, if you find something and you like it, go for it!
If you're writing your own, be very careful. Not saying dont, but be careful: no teen angst (markers hate it!!), rape stories, mental patients, unless you are BRILLIANT at performing serious pieces, you need to be able to bring out the really subtle nuances of character and emotion to play that stuff well. Inhabit the life of the character you create; dont play yourself, create someone with a personality, a past, a backstory, all of that, and treat your script like you would any other, with careful examination and exploration. have fun with it!!
don't stress out if you hit a brick wall during the project, pretty much everyone does, you'll get over it, just go with the flow and keep experimenting. No matter what piece you do, block it well, please
nothing detracts from a performance more than the actor just pacing aimlessly around; give yourself things to do physically that complement the dialogue.
You can incorporate literally any performance style or technique or whatever into your piece; that's why its called the Individual Performance, not Monologue. Although there are set criteria you have to meet, so make sure you are keeping to that as well.
Start early!!! Like now!! some of my class left their performances until it was too late to refine them and make them worthwhile...don't fall into the trap of "oh we've got all year pfffft" coz seriously, i started day one of year twelve and i was working steadily on it until about 2 months before the exam - it took that long to get it where i wanted it to be, and after that it was all rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
On that note, Know Your Lines for the exam. Not just Know them, KNOW them - until you could perform your piece upside down in your sleep. Because even though you think you know your performance off by heart, nerves can get the better of even the best person and make you go blank. By all means perform with energy and spontaneity (!!! do!!!), but know it well enough to just do it on autopilot if you do get nervous.
Unless your teacher is an inexperienced dropkick, listen to his/her advice, as they will more likely than not have been teaching hsc drama for quite some time and will know what the markers are looking for, what's good and what's not. You're not obligated to take their advice (it's YOUR hsc), but do listen and don't discount it esp if its constructive criticism. Get as much performace practice as you can in front of an audience! drama nights, concerts, for your family at a bbq, whatever, do it, and ask for honest feedback from them.
Lastly: don't make getting into onstage your reason for performing. Just dont. one of my group members was so convinced we were going to get nominated (thanks to my teacher who was also convinced, lol) that she got quite disillusioned when no such thing happened. Related to that: I know i said listen to your teachers, but if they're praising you to the skies, by all means be proud of that but dont let it get to you and stop you from still trying to perfect your piece - take that praise with a pinch of salt because sometimes (as was evidently the case with my teacher) your teacher may be v proud of you and love your work but dont forget that its ultimately not their opinion of you you have to pay attention to. My teacher loved my ip and gp and was really pushing the whole onstage thing, but i never let myself believe it was gonna happen and now im glad i did (coz we didnt get anything). so yeh, dont let it be your only motivation.
and have fun!!! coz thats the most important bit, really. *wink*
