Diploma in Perfor

Performing &
Production Arts
Unit 8 Project Proposal

Candidate
Name Aiesha Gayle
Candidate
Number
Pathway Performing and Production Arts
Level 3: Acting
Project Title Final Major Project - A Series Of Public Apologies

Section 1: Review

When I enrolled on this course, I already had a passion for drama, particularly musical theatre. Being
autistic, I find the escapism of being a different character relaxing and soothing. I joined Stagecoach at
age 14 and practiced acting, singing and dancing, but mostly I enjoyed working as part of a group
producing a show.

In unit 1and 2 I enjoyed learning how to act as an ensemble and learned how to show emotion through
movement. This will help me in the future to realize the importance of acting as a group because
everyone in the piece is equally important and I have realized that, even if I am not the center of
attention, my involvement is very important.

Units 4 and 5 (the vision project) gave me experience in costume design and this is a discipline I would
consider in the future. This surprised me because at the start of the course I was intent on being an
actor. I also had to justify my choices which will be a good skill for the future.

Units 3, 6 and 7 covered the scratch unit. This encompassed so many skills and disciplines such as
devising, sound, lighting, prop making, acting and costume. Even though it was a long and tiresome
process, I am proud of our result. Even though I felt I had made bold choices, the feedback was that I
should be more daring, so I am going to take this on board into the next unit. This unit revealed to me a
deep interest in prop making which I would be happy to take further in the future.

Overall, so far on this course I think my confidence has grown in terms of voicing my opinions. Everyone
on the course, including lecturers and practitioners, has been very understanding of my neurodivergent
mind which has made me more accepting of myself.

Section 2: Project Concept

My proposal is for a play by John Donelly called “A series of Public Apologies”. It is an absurd satire
where an incident in a school is progressively blown out of proportion and becomes mor and more
ridiculous due to the apologies made by leaders in the school. It contains satirical moments, humor,
ensemble style movement and a few touching, sad moments.

We have given a great deal of thought to get the humor across, specifically in the riot scene and how to
combine music with movement to make it more comical. We want to incorporate a raised platform for
the SLT in act 3 to make them seem more tyrannical. Costume will be carefully considered to help the
audience understand the school's hierarchy.

A few of us are intending to form a study group that we can work to schedule and give each other
feedback on improvements that can be made. Currently we are rehearsing in Tempa and The Roper
room and Tempa is big enough at present to rehearse in, but I anticipate needing to use the Egg
Theatre for rehearsals nearer the performance to understand the layout of the stage and to block the
scenes of the play.

Reseach has been done on John Donelly, and on social, political and historical events in 2019. I have
also interviewed an older person so give some indication of how the play will be understood and
received by an older audience

Section 3: Evaluation

I have found the writing and filming of weekly reflection videos to be a very useful way of processing the
week’s work and making sure that I retain the information. I will continue to do these and be sure to
document decisions and changes too, our ideas for our group. By rewatching the videos, it is interesting
to see how far we have come and how we have developed our play

I intend to have a notebook with notes of my own thoughts and ideas from the group. I must make sure
that I write enough to show the thought processes, not just our final decisions. I plan to make a work
study group where we can help each other stay on track and document everything we do.

I have received feedback that I must be brave in my decisions and that i must make myself heard. It is
difficult when working in a group when some people seem more confident than me, but that's not their
fault, it is something I must work on. I must have faith in my own ideas as well as taking on board other
people's suggestions

Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography (Harvard Format)

RLF Education [online] John Donnelly available at John Donnelly - The Royal Literary Fund (rlf.org.uk)
[Accessed 29th February 2024]

The Guardian [online] seagull review Available at Page Not Found | The Guardian [accessed 9th March
2024]

Doodle [online] John Donnelly available at www.doollee.com [accessed 9th March 2024]

Pentabus [online] John Donnelly available at Page not found | Pentabus [accessed 9th March 2024]

Faber [online] Jhon Donnelly available at John Donnelly | Faber [accessed 9th March 2024]

Boo [online] John Donnelly (1961) Personality Type available at John Donnelly (1961)'s Personality
Unveiled: MBTI, Enneagram and More | Boo [accessed 9th March 2024]

Drama Online [online] A series of public apologies (in response to an unfortunate incident in the
school lavatories available at Drama Online-A series of public apologies (in response to an
unfortunate incident i (dramaonlinelibrary.com) [accessed 9th March 2024]

Tankovska, H. (2019). Twitter: number of active users 2010-2018 | Statista. [online] Statista.
Available at: X/Twitter MAU worldwide 2019 | Statista [Accessed 7th April 2024]

Meta [online] (2020) Facebook Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results
available at Meta - Facebook Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results (fb.com)
[Accessed 7th April 2024]

MarketSplash [online] (2023) 60+ Facebook Messenger Statistics: User, Usage & Data. Available at:
60+ Facebook Messenger Statistics: User, Usage & Data (marketsplash.com) [Accessed 7th April 2024]

Alina Taher [online] (2019) Instagram: Key Global Statistics 2019. Available at: Instagram: Key
Global Statistics 2019 (digimind.com) [Accessed 7th April 2024]

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina [online] (2019) The Rise of social media. Available at: The rise of social media
- Our World in Data [Accessed 7th April 2024]

Emma Grey Ellis [online] (2019) The 8 Most Important Memes of 2019. Available at: The 8 Most
Important Memes of 2019 | WIRED [Accessed 7th April 2024]

BBC [online] (2018) The truth about young people and Brexit available at The truth about young
people and Brexit - BBC Three [accessed 8th April 2024]

YouGov [online] How Britain voted in the 2019 general election available at How
Britain voted in the 2019 general election | YouGov [accessed 8th April]

NASA [online] NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record available at NASA,
NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record - NASA [accessed 9th April]

The Guardian [online] Knife offences hit record high in 2019 in England and Wales available at
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/23/knife-offences-hit-record-high-in-2019-in-england-and-wales
[accessed 9th April]

BBC [online] (2019) Ellie Gould death: Boy, 17, in court on murder charge
available at Ellie Gould death: Boy, 17, in court on murder charge - BBC News [accessed 9th
April]
Project Action Plan and Timetable

Week Date Week Activity / What you are intending to do - Resources / What you will need to do it -
Beginning including independent study including access to workshops

1 - We read through the script and - Bring pens pencils and

19th
February made tableaux based on themes highlighters and a notebook for
that we discussed, and we taking notes, bring a folder so
discussed what we thought of the my script is safe
play
- We found out who our movement
director is
2 26th - We went through what is fact in Make a playlist so we can feel the
February the script and what we can emotional journey and I need to
question in the script, we were remember to make my presentation for
put into groups and each group the question I was given.
got an act to look at and we each
chose scenes from those acts
and then we made a brief
description of that scene and we
put it all together so we can
understand the structure of the
play
- In movement we looked at how
we can make a fight scene with
movement and if we can create a
riot with movement
3 - We did our presentations and I need to make notes on my script so i
4th March mine was about John Donnelly remember what I’m doing and how I’m
(the author of our play) doing it, this is so that the play can look
- We were given lines and we its best and I can do my best.
started to block Act 1: Scene 1 –
Act 2: Scene 7. What we did today
isn't how it will look in the final
piece it's just to see what we like
and what works well.
4 We worked on Act3: Scene 1 – Act3: I need to make sure that I take
11th March Scene 5 notes on what we discussed in the
We wanted to make it look like the Prime
Minister is being told what to say
lesson before so that i can
because the Prime Minister wants to remember what we are doing.
sound politically correct
We also want to make it look like the SLT
members are slightly more tyrannical the
other SLT members before them
5 We were able to work on Act3: I need to make sure I have enough
18th March Scene 1 where the Prime Minister energy by getting enough sleep so
makes his speech, and we were able that I can concentrate as much as
to practice it a few times. possible on the work that I'm trying
And in my reflection video I talked to do I must also make sure that I'm
about how the casting process up to date on my work, I will do this
affected my understanding of the by going in on Mondays so that I
play. can use my independent study time
Right now, while the play is still in its wisely.
 early stages I can remember my
queues for when I need to come on
stage or perform an action while the
other characters are speaking to
help tell the story more.
6 Easter Holiday.
25th March I have completed all my work and I
was able to an understanding of our
play while doing the work I have been
set, which will be useful because
having a deeper understanding of the
play in the rehearsal room will help
make your play feel more authentic to
the time period and the message it's
trying to say, which is vital for your
audience to have the best experience
possible
I am going to buy items it can
makes notes with so I can make
sure I'm keeping track of what’s
been said, and
I going to start actioning my script
so that I'm able to learn my lines,
and give my lines more intention
and purpose so I can also believe
what I'm saying as well as the
audience, because if I believe what
I'm saying that audience will to, and
it will help them have the best
experience while watching the play