Last episode: Fable 3

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, but I glad and proud of what we've managed to achieve as a group. We were always pausing and exploring new angles on staging and I felt the whole process was very refreshing as compared to working with a single director. At the end of it, I think we sort of developed a shared vision of what we wanted to see performed and I felt that we what had worked well for us.

So for this week, I've got a slightly lengthier video sharing my thoughts on the final product that we came up with and the game I'm using is Fable 3. Fable 3 and its predecessors are a unique breed of games because every action and decision you make in the game ultimately affects the fate of your character. Simple decisions such as choosing what to wear even may decide whether or not your character becomes a hero or a villain.

Just like with our devising process, every decision that we've made has led to our final piece. It may not be the best of most perfect play, but it's something that we've all been a part of every step of the way.

Episode 6: Minecraft

This week's game is really taking it back in time. I'm using Minecraft, an open-world, free-roaming game where you can harvest and mine materials to build your own structures. The graphics are a tad bit old-school, but it's a fun game nevertheless.

I'm using the game to talk about the initial stages of our group devised piece. Working with Ely, Royce, Joyce and Siliang has been fun but sometimes I feel that what we've created sometimes doesn't head in the right direction. Nevertheless, I'm sure we can pull off an awesome performance at the end!

Also, the improvisation games that we played were very educational for me as I've always been interested in improv but never really knew what were the rules involved in the whole process. It was fun watching each other trying to outdo and trap ourselves into saying the "forbidden" words in every scene, but at the same, I felt that it went against the whole idea of "give and take" in improv. Anyways, here's my lesson plan for the week on improvisation!

Episode 5: Slender

Have I got a game for you! This week's game is Slender, a free-for-download, first-person adventure/thriller game. I've purposely turned up the volume on the game to illustrate how the game uses the soundscape to create atmosphere and mood.

The exercises that we tried in class and the mini-devised piece we did using only sounds really made me think about the possibilities of using sound in ensemble and chorus work, which I plan to do in my production.

Make sure you turn up the volume in this video and I'm really sorry for losing focus while doing this video because the game is just too creepy!

Episode 4: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Now this week was a particularly enjoyable and insightful experience for me because we got to destroy the GCE 'O' Level Drama syllabus. It was interesting listening to the perspectives of my classmates because it made me realise that the problems in the syllabus document are pretty clear for all to see, even without any formal training in drama education.

To highlight the scale of destruction that we did to the syllabus, I'm using one of the newest First Person Shooter (FPS) games on the market. This is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and as you will see in the video, there's a whole lotta destruction going on.

For my lesson plan this week, I have another one created by my proteges on the use of voice in drama. The vocal warm-ups and exercises we tried out were titillating to say the least and I felt that my actors were quite chuffed at the names that they had as well.

Episode 3: Skyrim

This week I'm bringing to you the 2011 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim! Now, the concept of Movement in theatre isn't very evident here but I'm using the game's free-roaming world and mobility as a metaphor for the importance of movement in theatre.

Learning about Labann's 8 Efforts was a very useful experience for me because it gives me, as a director, more tools to help my actors with characterisation. As you will hear in the video, Labann offers a means of shaping the character from outside in, and gives directors and actors a simple and understandable basis for reference when it comes to creating movement and character.

My lesson plan on movement can be found in last week's post, and another one, created by one of my proteges, about the actor's body and physicalisation of character can be found here.

Episode 2: Dota 2

Well, week 2 of my reflections and this week I'll be looking at Focus and Spatial Awareness. Boal's Dog and Bone game was a particular interesting and memorable experience for me and I've included that in the lesson plan that I did for my actors this week as well. The lesson plan on focus can be found here.

The game we'll be looking at this week is the very famous Dota 2. Dota stands for Defense of the Ancients and has been around for as long as I can remember. One of my more frequently played games and a personal favorite of mine. The need for spatial awareness and focus in this game is an imperative if you want to ensure victory.

On the subject of focus, I found it very useful to consider what the audience's focus is in a play. I used to only think about the internal focus of the actor on the character but I think knowing how to direct the audience's focus is going to be a very useful skill for me as a director.

Episode 1: League of Legends

I've always loved playing video games. As a kid, I think I sacrificed most of my real-life friendships for virtual ones. Of course, I made a few friends through my online escapades but for me, the love of the game sometimes surpassed any sense of camaraderie. So what better way for me to express myself then through the games that you'll see in the weeks to come?

I know this is a tad bit unorthodox, but the best things often come from the craziest ideas, no? Either I crash and burn or I pull it off, but either way, you can be sure that I had fun while doing all of this.

So, for the very first reflection, I'm going to be using a game called "League of Legends" to demonstrate Tension. All three kinds of dramatic tension are evident in this game, and you'll see why as the video progresses. 

Also, at the end of it all, I'll be including a lesson plan that I've created for teaching tension and it includes most of the games that we've covered in class and some that I've gone online to find to make the lesson more interesting. You can find the lesson plan here. Hope you enjoyed the video!