#jamespaganini

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Regarding the BBQ after OWALW

Hi Directors,

I was just wondering if the HNDs are welcome to the BBQ after the show?

Thanks

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Mine and Connor's Absence tomorrow

Hi Directors and Company,

Just to let you all know me and Connor will not be in tomorrow as we are filming for a feature all day tomorrow. This will only take up tomorrow but it's important that we take part in this film as it furthers our experience and recognition, as that is what we aim to do. We apologize if this causes any inconveniences but we will be back and ready to go tuesday!

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Song for a Soldier (Research Project)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atuJzivuF1o

This song, called “The Last Pale Home in the West” sung by Ben Nichols features in an episode of the TV show, The Walking Dead. 

I am using the P.O.W. scene from the Long the short and the Tall for my Research Project. I play the character, Sergeant Mitchem, in the scene. A man who is in charge of a group of soldiers held up in a cabin with a Japanese as their prisoner. Mitchem wants to kill this man but his corporal, Macleish, does not. Mitchem has his reasons for wanting to kill the P.O.W. but I have added a story behind that. Mitchem is a broken man, he has lost everything and he wants to take it out on this one prisoner. The lyrics to this song perfectly tell the story of the character I am playing in the scene. When I heard this song I thought of Mitchem instantly. This is my interpretation of the character, it is not necessarily what is in the play itself. 

In my hands, I hold the ashes In my veins, black pitch runs In my chest, a fire catches In my way, a setting sun Dark clouds gather ‘round me To the west, my soul is bound And I will go on ahead, free There’s a light yet to be found The last pale light in the west The last pale light in the west And I ask for no redemption In this cold and barron place Still I see the faint reflection And so by it, I got my way The last pale light in the west The last pale light in the west

Those lyrics tell of a man who is broken but there is hope yet to be found. He can come back to the light. This man has done terrible things in the past but there is a faint, pale light in the west. Mitchem is this man and he believes he can come back after this war. But must do what needs to be done to save his people, even if it does mean do an evil deed. 

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About tomorrow...

Hello directors, or to whom ever this may concern,

Today at the show, Nikki said that the whole of the college will be shut tomorrow for staff training?

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Another contact

Gareth Fient (Someone who I, Connor and Stephen have worked with on short films, he has a lot of contacts himself and is always looking for new talent for his films)

Email: [email protected]

Phone Number: 07595 895166

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Rites of Passage Review

RITES OF PASSAGE REVIEW (Thursday 1st May 2014) by James Paganini

    Simplicity is great with theatre; simplicity is what I always look for with art. It can be just as, if not even more powerful than a big budget show with lots of exceptional set pieces. Rites of Passage, a 2nd year company performance which contained sections of stories set during World War One, engrossed me like no other show had done in a long time. They performed in a room, a dark room, with very little space and very little equipment. The lighting was simple, the set was simple but the stories and the actors that committed to those stories were fantastic. The sound effects for show made me feel like I was there in the world with them. Loud gun shots swayed to and fro across the room from time to time which made the scenes all the more effective. Blake Palmer was among the actors who really stood out to me. The commitment he gave, with his facial expressions and his body language was top notch, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I commend the writers for the storylines as they were very imaginative and different in their own right. For example, one particular section involved soldiers in the trench being played by a ghost of one of their brothers. Levi Wotton portrayed this ghost dressed in white and he gave off a spooky presence every time we saw him. But we saw this ghost at the right moments for it to work well otherwise it would have been too much, so therefore I also commend the directors of the piece. I will say one thing that slightly took me out of the moment and that was the obvious set changes between each sequence but that being said, it couldn’t happen any other way; the room was small and the set pieces were limited.

  Overall, a fantastic low budget show about the sadness of World War One that had me engrossed throughout. Very surprising show that makes me realize that simplicity and commitment come together to create a bucket of wow! 

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The Beano review

A JOURNEY OF FORESHADOWING! (The Beano Review by James Paganini)

  The Beano, a show of the daily lives of colourful characters before the tragic events of World War One began. I went in with expectations of light hearted comedy mixed with emotional scenes of sudden dread and sorrow. This show was unique in that I have never seen a show or a film of any kind that tells the events before the Great War, so I was very excited to see The Beano. The atmosphere when I walked into the auditorium on the opening night of the 30th April was that sense of dread; I knew how the show will end. The set was relatively simple but contained elements of a beach, which I thought was a great sight for eyes. One piece of the set that I was particularly impressed with was the train. The train was a structure made out of poles and was quite large. I must say that my favourite element of the set and of the show overall was when a backdrop of the ocean came down in the background. The music and the actors speech’s that came with it really set an atmosphere that had me engrossed in the sequence. The look on the actor’s faces’, namely Harry Barnett and Erol Uzunhasan had me totally in the moment.

Now The Beano had many characters that were showing us their lives at different times, some connected with other characters to create one big story, but at times I felt a tad lost with the story. There were characters all over place that at times it felt a bit disjointed and I found it hard to follow their stories. For example, the Chapel Folk, they came on at different times to provide elegant singing to lighten the mood and spirits of the audience as well as other characters. But sadly, I felt they were misplaced and the singing was off tune most of the time. I will be honest and say that, the opening night had a lot of unfortunate mistakes that made me enjoy the show less than I could have done. There was a sequence when two of the homeless characters forgot to come on for a scene and we as an audience, as well as the other actors on stage, were waiting for something to happen and nothing did happen for a few minutes. That made me feel really uncomfortable and it slowed the show down massively. By the end I was hoping for a big sudden change in the tone and I wanted to be hit by it. Sadly I also felt the ending was rushed and it didn’t have the emotional impact that I thought it could have had. The ending sequence involved most of the male characters facing the female characters and them handing over their hats whilst heading off to war. A powerful image that I thought worked really well, but to me it seemed out the blue and it didn’t even have music, which I thought could have made it much more powerful. I do believe that it was because of the many mistakes that slowed the show down and it just inhibited my enjoyment and my engrossment.

However I absolutely loved the comedy in the show. Josh Lane played a wonderful, twitchy character that made me smile every time he was on stage. His character, “Mr Shepherd”, displays a nervous gentlemen who tries too hard to impress his wife. His character provided the laughs for me. Samuel Black was also an actor who grabbed my attention whenever he was on stage. Sam has a great physical presence and worked very well as the lead male.

Overall, The Beano was a very unique show that was unlike anything I had seen before. It was a shame that the opening night didn’t go as well as it could have done. Sloppy at times but engrossing all the same. 

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Slightly updated Proposal

http://slideonline.com/presentation/11462-jam-packed-pptx-2