Review of arts award event (silver award unit)

The piece is about children in war and it was demonstrated in random scenes. The actors were different charaters in each scene. Sometimes they were talking as if they were dead and saying what they would have done if they didnt't get shot. They also played different ages of children too. Othertimes they were soldiers. The storyline was about childrens experiances and their emotions.

The set was very simple but effective.There was chairs at the back where the actors who were not in role at that time sat.This meant the cast was always on stage and were seen. The lighting was grim to sute the story. when the actors talked about death and violance, the stage lighting turned red, representing blood! The actors costumes where plain black. This made them look dark and depressing along with making a sad atmosphere, which is kept in the theme.

I thought the staging was placed well because it didn't distract you from the point that they were trying to get across. I also thought it was clever as it was able to be different places to where they were acting in the story. The stage, set and lighting was not happy and colourful. This was good because WAR was grim and and not colourful.

I thought the acting was realistic and natural. It didn't look staged. (this is a good thing). They had sad emotions and kept in character. They always cheated out towards the audiance. (meaning-never turned their back to the audiance).This is a good skill to have- to be aware of the space provided to act in. The movements werent as good as the acting as they didnt use much of the space when talking or mime etc...

I thought the performance was effective because they made you believe that they were feeling what they were saying. when we asked questions at the end of the performance,One girl said that they had to think of something terribly sad to get into character.

Overall, i enjoiyed the performance because i could hear most of the actors clearly- some were muffiling their lines because they mixed them up but some were just quite. The actors were interesting to watch because they alll had a unique look about them, giving contrast. They also each had different ways of acting. Some suttle and others big and bold- both were good. They played their characters well. Especailly in the rape scene. This is because some of their lines where really awkward but they diddn't show signs of awkwardness. They didn't laugh or look embarrest. This showed real maturity.Lastley the performance helped me understand the pieces better for there was pictures and captions projected above the actors.

I would recomend to others to watch this performance because it really does inform you about the children at war, which no one really hears about on the news or in the papers. it makes you think!!!