I have just completed my solo performance piece, and I think it went as well as could be hoped. I realise that in rehearsal when i timed myself the average length of the performance was around 12 minutes. However I feel like my performance today sped up somewhat and was about 10 minutes. This mainly falls down to nerves and reaction; for, this is the first time [in a long time] I have had to carry out a piece of performance all alone with no other actors by my side.
Just before the piece began, I looked to my side to wish my company good luck, I then realised I was alone and had no company but myself. This obviously set the heart racing and thus sped me up a little. Another reason I performed a little quicker than usual, was the audiences’ reaction to my piece [anecdotes]. As, the audience laughed or stayed silent, I wanted to move on and take them to certain bits I found amusing or mentionable; this therefore left some parts cut shorter and some dragged out.
When performing just once, it is hard to understand the audiences reactions and timings. As, the audience laughed in places that I didn’t feel [When rehearsing] merited laughter. This was a little surprising at times, and thus left me hanging slightly as I didn’t want to move on. Obviously I couldn’t perform my piece more than once, but in hind sight; I should have had more people join me at rehearsals, so that I could become fully equipped with what the audience felt and at what times in the piece. This method would have given me a better understanding of my own performance and thus allowed me to accommodate for those few extra seconds here and there.
Apart from this minor hiccup, I feel the performance itself went rather well. I feel I projected my voice and made it clear to understand; I also feel that I made eye contact with as many people as I could. This was an important factor in my performance, as I wanted the audience to connect with me and understand everything that was going on. This was also essential in the centre performance area, as that’s when the audience had my full connection and attention, as that was the only time I was communicating directly with them; in the same time zone etc.
All in all I feel I performed as best as I could at the time and am glad if not a little sad that both my performance and my time at university is over.