8A Drama: Persuasive Speeches from YIS Arts on Vimeo.

I believe that the persuasive speech that I had delivered regarding the flaws of modern day grading systems, was significantly better in terms of delivery.

Despite the similarities in volume, I personally think that the persuasive speech, rather than the impromptu speech, sounded less shaky, which resulted in a slightly more confident, and impactful speech. In addition, I managed to vary my pitch, not only in circumstances where inflection was required, but also in order to emphasize specific points within the speech, and simply not to bore the audience, as I know that for some (not for me), grading systems are the least of their worries. It is, however, obvious and expected that I would not have any occasions that I would stop to think about the words I would blurt out next, as in the previous speech, and I believe that the success that I had attained in this aspect contributed largely to the success of the entire speech, as it forced the audience to listen, because it signified that I possessed a thorough understanding of my topic. I was also able to emphasize specific points by speaking louder, slower, and with more power on certain words or phrases, which enhanced the quality of my speech. I incorporated several dramatic pauses, mostly following large, conceptual questions, in order to capture the viewer’s attention, and encourage them to ponder about the questions asked. I also utilized inflection in the case where I would ask the audience a rhetorical question, and I think that this had help captivate the audience.

I believe that the physical aspects that were present in my speech could have definitely been improved upon. The cause, however, to all of this, originated in the type of note cards that I had chose to utilize the week prior to the speech. As a matter of fact, the only stack of note cards that I had, to be honest, were incredibly miniscule in size. Due to this inconvenience, I was forced to shuffle in between cards, at literally every twenty seconds. As a result, I would have to refer to my note cards to check whether or not the note card that I would be on, is relevant to the material that I would be speaking about at the very moment. Therefore, I was not able to maintain an excellent, confident posture, which would undoubtedly be an aspect of my speech that I would like to improve on. In addition, facing toward the audience more have resulted in a better speech overall.

I strongly believe that the structure of the information presented enhanced the quality of my speech, as it showed absolutely no signs of irrelevance to my topic. I ‘hooked’ and interacted with the audience to introduce my topic, and presented information that could be supported by pure logic and reasoning to the audience. I believe that the ways in which I had attempted to persuade the audience had worked, especially because it was a topic that was somewhat relevant to their everyday lives. I assured myself that my speech possessed a unique beginning, middle, and end, in the speech plan that I had written prior to the summative task.

8A Drama: Persuasive Speeches from YIS Arts on Vimeo.

Masaki delivered a speech regarding the proposed prevention of tax increase in Japan, and the negative results that it would produce for this country. Overall, I believe that his speech was fairly successful in a variety of aspects. The information he presented was not only supported by logic and reasoning, but also statistics from other nations in similar situations. In addition, he was able to ignore any mistakes or errors that he made throughout his speech, and continue as if nothing had occurred. In addition, his passion in resolving this problem was evident in the volume, emphasis, and pauses that he utilized throughout his speech.

Under Practical Classwork

How did I perform?

I think I performed fairly well, and I am content with my narration, personification, and acting skills as a customer in all three performances. The only slight mistake I had made in all three performances was when forgot to mention that the crane was trapped in the narration part of our third performance, in front of the third graders.

Which was my best performance and why?

In my opinion, the third and last performance was the best as a group, despite the fact that I had forgotten to mention that the crane was trapped while narrating. I felt as I had talked loudly and clearly, and also had been very enthusiastic about buying a kimono from the vender, Kenneth. Though this was not part of the actual performance, I think I had spoken loudly, clearly, and also enthusiastically when introducing the piece that we were going to present.

What were some difficulties? Solutions!

I think that as a group in general, we lacked enthusiasm and confidence. Although I am sure that everyone in our group had tried their best, I have noticed certain people to be a bit shy in front of an audience, which held us back from achieving our potential. A solution to this could have been for certain people to take practice more seriously, and therefore make our time in class more productive.

What were some achievements?

I think we had utilized our three or more techniques fairly well, those four techniques being: Narration, props, slow motion effects, and acting as objects.

Which group was successful and why?

In my opinion, Jake’s group was the most successful, mostly because of Jake’s superior interaction with the audience, that being first and third grade kids. I assume that this is due to his frequent interaction with younger children, as the people in our group were not as used to interacting with children as much as other groups were.

Myth: A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society.

Legend: An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.

Folk Stories: A tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people.

-dictionary.com

7B Drama 3 min Speech from YIS Academics on Vimeo.

In my final three minute speech for Drama, I think I did a good job of projecting my voice to the room, and also did a better job of keeping a calm, and steady pace than in my practice one minute speech. Honestly, I did not see too much of an improvement from my practice speech, which was rather disappointing given my performance in my first speech, where I talked about my passion, the NBA. Much like my other speech, it is clear that I should definitely revise and practice my speech beforehand, which would most likely result in a better performance/score. My lack of practice resulted in me once again, incorporating fill-up words, such as, “um” and “uh”. I feel like that aspect of my performance was the biggest downfall in my speech, and I will try my best to completely erase this problem in the near future. I can safely say that my emphasis was a lot better than in my other speech, especially towards the end, where I stressed how great of a place Langkawi is, and why exactly the audience should pick it as a destination for one of their future projects.

7B 1 min Speeches from YIS Academics on Vimeo.

Personally, I think I did a good job of projecting my voice out into the room (volume), and varying my pitch in parts of my one minute speech. On the other hand, I will have to improve my pace, my pauses, mainly because I used too many fill-up words such as, “um”, and “uh”. I think I could have also practiced my speech a bit more to avoid this.

7B Mimes from YIS Academics on Vimeo.

What did I explore?

In this unit, I explored the use of space, gestures, different situations in which we can use mime, and most importantly, the three main rules of mime, which are:

1. No speech

2. No objects

3. No sound

What did I learn?

As well as the techniques and skills I have listed above, I have also learned to over-emphasize my actions, so that it becomes clear to the audience what exactly we are acting out.

How can I use this in my performance?

I can use the above techniques to make my mimes look more interesting, funny, and enjoyable to the audience in my performances.

What did I know?

Before this unit, I did not have any prior knowledge in this subject.

What do I want to know?

I would like to learn how to make it look as if I am stuck in a glass box.

Without a doubt, Gene Kelly is one of the most famous singers/dancers that America has ever seen. Today I will be analyzing his most well known piece of work, “Singing In The Rain”.

Props were essential to the success of this episode of a movie, therefore it shall not be ignored in this blog post. Kelly shows exemplary skills involving the use of props, which he has all of his career. In this particular episode, he uses props such as an umbrella, a pole, a hat, and last but most importantly, rain. These props were effective because they made it possible for viewers to not only concentrate on the main object, Gene Kelly, but to also be able to focus on other things besides the center of attention.

Kelly also utilizes rhythm in a way that helps his dances. Like any other great dancer, he dances to the rhythm, but there is something unique about his style. I have noticed that Gene Kelly takes his techniques to the next level by dancing to almost every beat and emphasizing specific parts when necessary.

The expression on/in his (Gene Kelly) face and dance is the main way he conveys emotions in this episode. He is energetic and keeps a happy smile on his face throughout the whole dance which tells us, the viewer, that he is obviously very joyful.

Anyone, from toddlers to seniors can tell that Gene Kelly moves through space very well. This especially applies to “Singing In The Rain”, where he walks and runs on sidewalks, and even swings on poles along the way. Moving through space and props are closely related, and both of these qualities are intended to spark the audience’s attention.

Personally, I think Gene Kelly is an amazing dancer with a very unique style of dancing. Although I usually don’t like old fashioned dances, I actually found this one to be exceptionally entertaining. Again, this is a great demonstration of props, rhythm, expression, and moving in space. I hope to take these examples, and synthesize them in my summative assessment which is coming up in a few weeks.

Overall, I am not very proud with my performance in the LAMDA Practice Speech we did in Drama Class. I think I could of improved my clarity, my tone, not leaning when speaking, and to speak more fluently. Some of the things that I think that I did well was my audibility and my body language. Although I did have some weaknesses in my body language, I think my hands demonstrated satisfactory body language.

So, if you want to see my speech, be my guest:

6A Yuki-LAMDA from YIS Academics on Vimeo.