research into previous productions of GIRLS LIKE THAT

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4khBcEUblrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9gI66SSFnI
although these are only short trailer clips it still allows us to see how the actors characterise their characters, how they stage the productions, what effects they have, what costume and props they may have whilst allowing us to speculate. It also made me think about how we would create a trailer for our production of the show, what would we put in a trailer that gives enough but not too much away about the story.

websites:
http://www.wyp.org.uk/what's-on/2013/girls-like-that/
http://www.theatreroyal.com/whats-on/2013/girls-like-that/
http://birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/the-young-rep-festival-brave-new-works-double-bill/
http://birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/girls-like-that/

Here is a video of Evan Placey and two members of the original cast being interviewed about the play and the issues it addresses on BBC Breakfast
http://www.wyp.org.uk/about-us/our-blogs/back-stage-blog/youth-theatre/girls-like-that-on-bbc-breakfast/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01cjv8s
I found from watching this video I was really able to see the passion behind Evan's writing and how he was/is trying to focus on opening dialog and starting conversations around women's bodies and discussing issues that are common in young people's lives nowadays. It was really nice to see the two cast members talking about the play and how it relates to their own lives, I found this really interesting because I have been fortunate enough not to experience the situations focused on by Evan, therefore it is interesting to see how this effects the way I act the play compared to one of the original cast or even another if my fellow performers who may have had such experience.

from this video I also had a look at Beth Johnson and Laura Marsden who were both members of  cast who wrote a rehearsal blog whilst rehearsing GIRLS LIKE THAT.
http://www.wyp.org.uk/about-us/our-blogs/back-stage-blog/youth-theatre/girls-like-that/
The two blog entries and the quote from Gemma Woffinden who is the director, give us an insight into how they rehearsed and got the play up and running, they speak about using improvisation games to enhance their acting and characterisation and how the comedy moments and random comments about chickens are actually each characters way of addressing the emotion that comes with the issues addressed.

I found this really interesting review by Vicki Galloway of the West Yorkshire Playhouse's production of GIRLS LIKE THAT, it was really interesting to read this review because it meant that I could look at what the youth theatre company had done that had worked positively and what perhaps was not an appreciated by all of the audience.
http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/reviews/theatre/girls-like-that/

I was also able to see some of the photographs taken of the West Yorkshire Playhouse's production:
http://www.christhorntonphotography.com/blog/girls-like-that-west-yorkshire-playhouse-youth-theatre/ in these pictures by Chris Thornton we are able to see the costume, props, staging and overall look of the play, I think it is really interesting that they use male actors, projection and enlarged props whereas we do not and how this will differ our performance. I actually really like their use of the enlarged magazines it seems really effectively artistic as it makes the audience focus on the magazines when the girls are talking about how its such a good deal that you can get all three in one pack and how this should make the audience think about the use of magazines in a teenagers life and how the girls are obsessed with the magazines which make them obsessed with body image and how it is all just one vicious circle.
here is another review of the WYP's production of GIRLS LIKE THAT written by Adam Bruce at 'A young theatre' he writes about the play being a production for a vast range of audiences and how important he believed it was that young people could see a play about such a important issues that arises in many of their own lives.
http://www.ayoungertheatre.com/review-girls-like-that-west-yorkshire-playhouse/ similarly to the other review it gives us an insight into the audience's perspective.

 

comparing the two posters created for previous productions of Girls like that.

seeing both of these posters made me think about how our poster would be if we created one, while poster one shows a blonde girl taking a selfie (almost as if its the picture before the events in the play)wearing a shirt with writing faintly behind her and information about the play above the image, poster two shows again a Blonde girl but this time it looks like the play is in the early stages when everyone has received the picture of Scarlett and the girl shown is Scarlett looking scared with social media messages floating around her, she is in a pink T-shirt disconnecting the play from the school environment poster one connects the play with, poster two also only has the play and playwrights name written.

images from previous productions:

It's really interesting to see the staging and set of previous productions and be able to compare them with the way Simon has staged our production and the ideas he has for set and props as well as costume, in both it doesn't look like St Trinians gone wrong, this is because the whole cast in the last two images are wearing the same school uniform just in different ways and their modesty and dignity is kept by using knee length skirts it means that it looks more normal and less St Trinians "who can be most sexy". The two images above have the whole cast in mufti/own clothes which matches the idea that although they use all of the same seating, the play is set with each character in their bedroom looking at social networks almost more in reflection than reliving it like our production and the bottom two images shown, disconnecting it from the school environment of face to face bullying and focusing on the social media cyberbullying.