Performance CV

Name: Cherkanah Straker

Playing Age: 11-22

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Brown

Ethnicity: Bi-racial

Native Accent: Southern England

Build: Slim

Weight: 8st 6.25lb

Height: 5ft 3

Spotlight: Yes

Equity: Yes 

Training (Qualifications): Musical Theatre Diploma, Primary Tap (A)

Skills:
Highly trained singer (mezzo soprano), Acting
Trained dancer in: Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Commercial, Musical Theatre
Confident with children
Confident with animals
Script Writing
Lighting designer
Costume designer
Sound designer

Accents: RP, Northern, Cockney, Irish, Southern American, State American

Performance Experience:
2006, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Spread Eagle Theatre
2007, High School Jazz, The Camberley Theatre
2008, A Spring Cabaret, The Old Market Theatre
2009, Whatever The Weather, The Old Market Theatre
2010, A Chorus Line, Ralli Hall
2011, Italia Conti Centenary Show, Piccadilly Theatre
2012, Thank You For The Music, The Roedean Theatre
2012, Alice in Wonderland, The Connaught
2013, Live Your Life, The Roedean Theatre
2013, Little Shop of Horrors, The Connaught, Role: Ronette, Director: Emily Isham
2013, Seussical The Musical, The Sealight Theatre, Role: Jojo & Wickersham Brother, Director: Rachel Maddix
2014, The Wardrobe, The Sealight Theatre and The Capitol, Role: Sarah & Amy, Director: Adrian Reily
2014, Bad Girls the Musical, The Sealight Theatre, Role: Prisoner , Director: Rachel Maddix
2014, Variety Show, The Sealight Theatre, Self-Directed
2014, Bugsy Malone, The Sealight Theatre, Role: Babyface, Director: Rachel Maddix
2015, Cats The Musical, The Sealight Theatre, Role: Jellylorum, Director: Rachel Maddix

Mini Costume Design Project

What I need to consider in the design process?

• The appropriateness of costume for children's theatre!
• The personality of the character - reflected in the colour, size, shape, creativeness of the costume etc...What social status does your character have?
• Actor's measurments.
• The physical movements of the character and therefore the impact on the costume.
• Suitable materials/fabric for the type and style of costume.
• What period is your story set?

My charatcer is 'An old lazy wizard.' We will be designed a hat for our charatcer over the next 2 weeks. Because of the children's theatre nature, the hat should be literal, colourful and recognisable.

To create my backstory for my charatcer - What should I consider? What questions should I ask?

1) Ethnicity
2) Social Status
3) Gender
4) What do they contribute to the story?
5) Age
6) Hero or Villain?

Why is this wizard lazy? (The Backstory)

The wizard is a 200 year old man, named Fizban Belgarath. He is better know as Fiz. He lives in a village called Elkin, where the locals resent him for a past tragedy he caused. The story is set in the Medieval period. As a young boy, Fiz was one of the most famous and well-trained wizards. One day, Fiz gathered all the villagers for a surprise. He planned to cast a spell which would improve the village, but devastatingly destroys it, hence the resentment from the villagers. This act results in him becoming an outcast, which leads to his lazyness. Ever since the tragedy, Fiz hasn't attempted any kind of magic as he believes he is a rubbish wizard. Throughout these years of no magic, Fiz's wizard hat has become tatty - including cobwebs, greyness, rips and tears. The hat is moping (floppy), to resemble his sadness. However, this all changes when a young girl named Morgan Glinda comes along, a daughter of one of the village famalies. Morgan has been told the story of Fiz by her great grandparents and has a great interest in wizard history. Being young and naive, she visits Fiz and they form a heartwarming friendship. She is keen to learn new wizardry and Fiz's stubborness is broken down and he can't help but teach her what he knows. Eventually, he has restored faith in himself, enough to attempt his original spell once more. The spell is successful and the village is beautifully restored. The idea of resentment towards Fiz is abandoned, and the villagers (including Morgan) gather to create a new hat for him, which includes an engraving of his name and a heroic patch. The hat has a purple base and gold stars; it is tall and pointy and covered in glitter.


Reasoning behind the backstory:
To get the names, we used a wizard name generator. We will get the children to know Fizban as Fiz, because it is simple and easier to remember for someone who is young, e.g. like Fiz from the Tweenies. All children stories tend to end happily, and so we stuck with that idea because we believe it will recieve a good reaction. Above, I mentioned 2 hats. However, we will only be making one, which will be the one which is worn over the years (tatty.) We decided to make this one instead of the other because the character name we were given was an old LAZY wizard, and the hat needs to symbolise that.

Initial ideas:
As a group, we decided that grey would be a good colour to make the hat,this is because grey typically creates a gloomy atmosphere, which the wizard will be in. We also thought rips and tears would be suitable to include as the hat is meant to be over a hundred years old. Our model is John, who's head measures 58.5cm (23 inches.)

What is Costume?

Firstly, Kim asked us to list what costumes are for. I came up with the following:

• To portray character.
• To aid the actor.
• Make the production more naturalistic or fantasical.
• Literal costume, for childrens theatre.
• To represent social status.
• To show the historical context.
• To be representational, menaing that you don't neccessarily need to have the whole costume to portray your character. For example, we were shown someone playing the Cricket from Pinocchio, who simple dressed like him, as opposed to being literal and painting themselves green.
• Must be specific to occassion.

In the lesson, we improvised with costume, and were provided with one item per scene. Our first item was a pair of yellow rubber gloves, our second was a 1950s style skirt, and our third and final one was a christmas headband. The scenes were a minimum of 10 seconds.

With the yellow rubber gloves, our group created a scene about a family. I wore the gloves, playing the mum washing up. John played the Dad, and Lauren, Beth and Elsie played the children. In a way this showed status, because the parents were clear authority figures over the children.

With the 1950s style skirt, Beth wore it and was a dancing couple with Lauren. Me, John and Elsie performed the handjive behind them. This shows that the skirt automatically told us the time era we were meant to set our scene in.

Lastly, the christmas headband led us to create a scene specific to occassion. Me, John, Elsie and Beth knocked on Lauren's door, singing christmas carols. She wore the headband to show she was in the festive spirit.

Good and Bad Auditions

Carrie Hope Fletcher Audition
In the opening of the audition, she comes across well, speaking confidently and clearly. However, the combination she improvises -dancing on the spot whilst singing the line 'to be or not to be is the question' - is awful and looks as if she's doing it mockingly, which the casting director wouldn't be pleased with. Furthermore, her choice of songs aren't unique - On My Own (Les Mis), Memory (Cats.) Performing a popular song choice is a disadvantage because you will automatically be compared to other auditionees or the original singer.  She goes on to sing the wrong lyrics to the wrong melody, which shows how unprepared she's came. It is clear that this has been made to showcase what a BAD audition is.

Lea Michele - Audition for Glee
'She had that bold confidence the character needs' - This was a comment from Glee's casting director, Robert Ulrich. Although, he'd never met Lea Michele before, he had high praise for her before the audition. This shows that having a popular repertoire in the industry can come at an advantage. Lea Michele's bold confidence shined through when she slapped the casting director - a direction written in the script. This means that risks sometimes can pay off, and definitely stand you out from the crowd.

Assignment 1 - P.A.B (Drama Schools & Unis)

Drama Schools:

1) The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama - Musical Theatre Course - Central
2) Arts Educational - Musical Theatre Course - Arts Ed
3) Mountview -  Musical Theatre Course - Mountview

Unis:

1) University of West London (London College of Music) - Musical Theatre Course - L.C.M
2) University of Surrey (Guilford) - Musical Theatre Course - Guilford
3) Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance - Musical Theatre Course - Trinity Laban



WHY?

• Reputation
• Location
• Course Content
• Showcases
• Alumni

The location of all my chosen drama schools and universities are in London, I am attracted to London because for many years and still today it is the central area for the performing arts industry. Being home to The West End is probably what attracts me most, as achieving a role in that type of theatre is my ultimate goal.

What are my priorities?

My main priorities are to recieve consistent and strong vocal training. I also wish to keep developing my acting skills. Lastly, I want to be capable of dancing in various styles (ballet, tap, contemporary and jazz) to a good standard. As a musical theatre student, I am not aiming to seek a solo career in the dance world.

• The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama - First of all, I found an article by The Stage. They describe the Central students to be 'outstandingly skilled and industry-ready.' Furthermore, they compliment the school in stating that the material they select is carefully chosen and is 'beautifully presented.' A guest of principal at Central's showing of Caberet also had positive things to say, such as that most students were 'pretty well on top of the triple threat.' Personally, this provides me with the fact that Central has an excellent reputation; all the information above convinces me that If I were to attend I will massively develop as a performer and be able to begin a successful career afterwards. Additionally, the mention of the material being carefully chosen shows that the staff must be concerned with making sure all students can get the best out of it. The course details are very thorough and appealing. One reason it is appealing is because of the wide range of theatre they cover - Greek theatre, contemporary American theatre, Shakespeare comedy and tragedy, Sondheim musical. Also, they do a range of dance classes - ballet, jazz and contemporary. I am determined to become a better dancer and believe I can if given the right guidance and a solid amount of practice and dedication is put in; I have past experience with all the dance styles listed. The course is fairly new at Central, however the alumni is still quite impressive, as the two people named are starring in big shows such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse. High profile alumni includes film star Andrew Garfield, actresses Dawn French and Judi Dench, and many more. All these performers have been incredibly successful which draws me to Central even more so.
• Arts Educational -  As one of my main priorities is my vocal training, the description of 'weekly one-to-one singing' immediately draws me in. British stage actor and singer - Oliver Tompsett - says Arts Ed stands out from the rest of the drama schools because 'they constantly update the training to what the industry requitres.' This reassures me because I don't wish to be stuck in the same routine day in and day out. I am keen to learn and ensure that I grow through drama school. I believe Oliver Tompsett's word is reliable because he has had a great amount of success, landing roles in Wicked and We Will Rock You, portraying the roles of Fiyero and Galileo. This musical theatre course also interests me because of the range of dance styles they cover, some of which I've never had experience in, i.e. pas de deux and classical.

• Mountview - The list of works is what really draws me into Mountview - Golden age of Broadway, modern British and American Standards, contemporary musicals, and the opportunity to create your own work. As an English student, creative writing is something I love doing and believe I could express that well in my own storyline and characters. Also, the school was the first to establish a specialist three-year course in Musical Theatre, starting in 1992. This reassures me that Mountview is a succesful school, having their students 'dominate the industry' throughout the years.The regular classes they offer interest me because they differ from other musical theatre courses - screen acting, actor & text, improvisation, music theory, sight reading. I particularly think regular classes in improvisation will help me be more prepared for future auditions. The more improvisation I do, the more confident I will become with doing things on the spot when/if asked to.

•  University of West London - The teaching of stage combat is an aspect which attracts me to the course. I attended a stage combat class when I was younger and quite enjoyed it, and would love to pick it up again. I think it will be a useful skill to have because it will allow me to apply for more roles - on stage and in television. Thomas Leak/Redgrave won Britain's Got Talent with his musical theatre band, Collabro. He is a graduate from the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre course at UWL. Not only did he win one of the world's most famous talent shows, he has had success previously, touring across Italy performing a rock version of the Shakespeare tragedy, Hamlet. Looking at the university's facilities, I was thoroughlly imprssed. The one-on-one teacher pods are laid out professionally, with the environment looking comfortable and not overly formal. I like that there is a mirror because I will be to analyse my movement and singing, and alter any faults quickly.

• University of Surrey - 'Arguably the world's most successful centre for musical-theatre training' How could you not want to go to GSA with a description like that? Overall, the description of the course comes across very supportive of students, which is something I like. Performing can be very stressful, and it's comforting to have members of staff which will help you through it and believe in you. 'Classes in dance and singing are highly prioritiesed' - as I've said above, singing is my number one priority, and I'd really love to become a stronger dancer, so this course seems to be perfect for me. The alumni for Guilford is by far the most impressive of all my options, with students landing roles in Wicked, Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera. Stand-out past students include Brenda Blethyn OBE and Michael Ball. Guildford students have also had massive achievements, like Winner of the Stephen Sondheim Student Performer of the Year, and winning Olivier Awards.
• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance - The thing I like about the musical theatre course at Trinity is that the scale of work builds up over 3 years. I like this because I think I'll be able to fully notice my growth as a performer; starting small and working up to something big gives me the opportunity to really progress and be the best that I can be. Additionally, I love the idea of working alongside highly experienced industry professionals on occassions, I feel that I can learn so much from people who were once in our shoes and find out how they found success and what techniques they use as a performer.

Marketing your Product

In this lesson we focused on marketing ourselves as a product in the performing arts industry. We discussed publicity, people and places.

PUBLICITY

The first source of publicity is social media, i.e. Facebook and Twitter. I learnt that I will have to generate a separate profile simply for my work. Therefore, on Facebook I will create a fan site page which eliminates the difficulty of having to accept or decline friend requests. A fan site page can simply be liked or followed by any other Facebook users. To get the page up and running, I will be inviting my family and friends to like the page, and then promote to others. On Twitter, I will  be making my personal account private. My work account will be open to any Twitter users, and I will be tweeting things like 'Gig at The Lions Pub tonight. Would be great to see you guys there!' Through Twitter, I can easily update my followers on my whereabouts and at the same time promote myself. 

Facebook and Twitter are a good source of publicity because both are constantly growing in their number of users, the same goes for Instagram; once again, I will need to create a strictly work-based account, only posting pictures and videos of things related to the business I am in.

Other ways I can publicise myself is through YouTube and Soundcloud. With my YouTube account, I will make sure it is a channel of work, and not full of funny videos I'd watch in my spare time. To make it a channel of work, I plan to upload my show-reel and full performances of productions I am in - solo and ensemble. Although I have little experience in song writing, I think that Soundcloud could be greatly beneficial as it provides you with the opportunity to put your original recordings out there to the world.

I believe that I can become a good songwriter, and that perhaps teaming up with a music student could enable me to do so, as I need a melody and not just lyrics.

Another way I can achieve publicity is through busking, which I can combine with social media, posting videos of my performances. I can also do local events/gigs, and sign up for mini festivals, which singer Adele did before her career sky rocketed. Lastly, a blog is very effective because you can have one link that will lead to all your various accounts, which appears slicker and more proffessional.

For drama school and auditions in general, I will need a fantastic performance CV which I am currently working on. Rachel said it would be beneficial to make business cards with a tiny headshot of ourselves, which we can pass onto the public and people in the industry.

PLACES
We have been advised to start involving ourselves in any student or low budget films, as they will be a handy addition to our performance CV. 'Amdrams' are also good for the CV,  but need to make sure never mention the word amateur and not let them dominate my performance list. Another thing we can all do is contact agencies, sending them our showreel.

PEOPLE

• Other performers - this is in case you want to put on your own production or wish to hear about upcoming auditions.
• Agents
• Casting director
• Musical director
• Director
• Choreographer
• Photographer
• Media students - they are the future broadcasters.

Auditioning

Attitude
Appearance
Attendance

TOP TIP: DON'T SAY YOU'RE NERVOUS!

Work creates work. This is the approach (attitude) I have to have in the performing arts indsutry. To do this, I can put on my own project. Business-wise, I need to prepare a performance cv, a showreel and headshots.

Visually, I want to make a good impression. I can do this by applying natural make up - light mascara, no heavy eyeshadow, statement eyeliner or blusher. When attending auditions, my hair should be the same as it is in my headshot. In general, it should be neutral (one colour - nothing bright) and versatile. I will need to wear comfortable footwear - heels are an absolute no. Depending on the audition, I need to pack different types of dance shoes: ballet shoes; tap shoes; foot thong (for contemporary); jazz shoes; charatcer shoes. Before I go to an audition, I should be familiar with what I'm auditioning for. For instance, if I'm auditioning for a classical play, I can wear something a little more appropriate but not go overboard (dress fully like a Victorian - corset etc.) Something appropriate would be a long/flary skirt, as opposed to leggings.

On audition day, I think arriving early is the best thing.To make sure I get there on time, I need to double the minimum time needed to get there, adding on half hour.
If I were at an open audition, I've been advised to chat to 1 other auditionee, so they can  then hold your space in the que.

Contacts book - 'the essential book of contacts for the entertainment industry'
On this site, you can get in touch with casting directors and agents, photographers, a voice coach. You can also find useful advice and industry insight into:

• Getting work as an actor
• Finding an agent
• Audition preparation
• The perfect headshot
• Creating a voice/showreel
• Approaching directors
• Choosing the right drama school for you
• Becoming a presenter

A similar thing to contacts book is spotlight directory. Finally, there is equity. This is the trade union for actors, stage managers and models in the United Kingdom.

When attending auditions, I need the following material:

• Monologues
• Sheet music
• Dance shoes
• Change of clothes

For cold weather:

• Food & Water
• Blanket/Coat
• Umbrella

For warm weather:

• Suncream
• Sunglasses
• Deodarant