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A Model We Can Relate To!

Today Ann Summers revealed it's winner of their competition for their new lingerie range Giselle. And (thank the heavens!) the winner was Lucy Moore! 

"Lucy is a Criminal Justice student who entered the model search without knowing where it would take her. She knows that sexy is not worrying about yourself and what others think about you." 

And she's right! Lucy is a lovely curvaceous beauty that we should all look up to! It's nice to actually see someone with curves modelling for something other than Evans and other plus sized brands. 

I for one have always longed for someone with curves to model the types of clothes I want to wear. And especially with lingerie (not just for sexy time), I've never felt sexy or pretty when wearing bras and pants because I don't look like the gorgeous skinny blonde that is modelling them!

I find Lucy's pictures more empowering and confidence building than those of a skinny model because I can relate to her body figure much more! I've always had a problem with the way I look because I have always struggled with my weight. I've looked through catalogues for any type of clothing and envied the skinny and perfectly proportioned models for years, but now I am able to look at a model and think, "She looks amazing! I can look like her!"

I've always liked a lot of Ann Summers underwear because they do accommodate for larger breasts and curvy bodies, but to now have one of their new models to show these more common sizes is much more appealing for myself and other women. 

I also like the fact that Lucy has won being a curvy girl against two rather skinny models. And the fact that the women of the Ann Summers mailing list has voted for her makes it obvious that the public wants to see more curvy women modelling their products!

I want to see more and more of these lovely curvy women modelling products online and in catalogues. I have spoken about plus sized models before in my blog and it's nice to see another model come to light. The public demands more average sized models instead of the skinny photoshopped models we are so used to seeing. How many more brands are going to follow this much needed change?

I hope that if there are more curvy women modelling for popular brands then the rates of anorexia and other image related mental illnesses will drop. This way young girls can stop worrying about what they look like so they can eat healthily without stressing about what they're eating, and ultimately helping to stop the drastic measures they take to become 'perfect'.

Which brands would you like to see change their models to more average sized curvy beauties? Do we need more plus-sized models? Leave your comments below or email at sophiimaria@googlemail.com or tweet me at @sophiimaria :)

Beyonce's Looking Fly...

OK, I know I said I wasn't writing until after my exams but I couldn't resist this! 

A previously unnamed species of horse fly has been named after the new mother and pop sensation Beyonce. 

The incredibly rare Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae has been named after the singer because of it's 'bootylicious' shape. It's large golden lower abdomen has been compared to Beyonce's shapely figure and today Australian Scientists named the fly after her. 

This rare fly was first collected in 1981 in Queensland state, Australia, the same year Beyonce was born, but has never been named until now.

It is rare because of the unique dense golden hairs found on it's lower abdomen. 

What do you think? I personally think it's an interestingly pretty fly (wow, I sound like a nerd!).

Leave comments in the comments section and I'll start posting more daily blogs after my exams! Wish me luck! And see you guys soon!

Tony Iommi Diagnosed with Lymphoma

Metal fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the return of the original line up of Black Sabbath, however, the Iron Man himself, Tony Iommi, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. 


Lymphoma is a cancer that is found in lymph nodes around the body. Luckily, the cancer has been caught in the early stages so Iommi "remains upbeat and [is] determined to make a full and successful recovery." 


This story comes in light of the band's return as they are writing their first album together in 33 years. 


"Iommi is currently working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan."



Black Sabbath are due to play Download Festival at Donnington Park later this year. There is no news to indicate whether the band will still play or not. 


(I hope they do still play as their reunion at Download will be welcomed with great support from everyone there!)

Be sure of what you want...

As of late I have been wondering what my best options are for work and education and whether I made the right choices at school and college. Then I thought about the system we had to go through...UCAS

To apply for college or university, you have to apply before Christmas if you want to get in for the following September. This is fine for people who know exactly what they want to do, but for people like me who aren't really sure, this was a bit pushy.

I picked A levels at college rather than the BTEC I wanted to do in Music because I thought it would give me a better chance at getting into uni and give me a wider range of subjects to explore. To be honest, I regret this now. I absolutely adored my A levels and they were good learning curves, but now I am at university, doing something different to what I originally wanted to do, I am unhappy. My course isn't what I expected; when I applied for this course, they said there would be a lot of practical work - there really isn't. Also, even though I love acting, I cannot see myself teaching drama at school. I still want to be a teacher, but in music, my first love.

Now this has left me with a terribly difficult situation: do I leave university and go back to college doing what I wanted to do in the first place, or finish university, then go on to do a music course and do what I wanted to do before?

I have decided that my decision is to leave university early and go back to college, but only if I am successful in my application process for college. Personally, I do not see the point in finishing something I am unhappy with if I have the chance to change it. If I'm not successful in enrolling at college, I will continue my course at university because that seems the more sensible option instead of getting a full time job; at least then I will have a degree under my belt.

If anything good is to come out of my experiences is that I know now what I would rather do for the rest of my life instead of being stuck in a job I don't like. Also, I can tell others of my experiences and it may help those to really think about their options at college and university. If you want to do a certain subject, do it! No matter what anyone says or anyone thinks, do it! You'll only regret not doing it later.

Is it important to know several accents as an actor?

YES! 

And that is a big YES! 

One of the hardest things as an actor is getting yourself out there and getting noticed! But how can you get yourself to as many auditions as possible? 

1. Have a good agency representing you. 

2. Look clean, well presented and smart.

3. Be polite

4. Do your research into what you are auditioning for (as I have mentioned before!)

5. Be flexible in your skill!

The last one is very important if you want to get yourself out there! It's no use if you are a one trick pony that can't transform from a quiet Irish girl to a mouthy Southerner. Yes there are cases when actors and actresses have got a part as one thing but then can't exactly break out of it again yet they do pretty well for themselves but to be honest, that's pretty boring. 

The best actors in the business are those that can transform themselves into any character ever written. Take Johnny Depp for example; the range of characters he can transform himself into is extraordinary. From the timid Edward Scissorhands to the drunk ramblings of Captain Jack Sparrow, there's not a role in the world that this man hasn't done! And that's important. 

However, you don't have to be as flexible as Johnny, the most simple thing you can do to make yourself a little more malliable by learning different accents. Take this video for example. This is a good idea to get yourself noticed online. Learn a few, or even more, accents than this lady has done, record yourself, and put it online as a showreel. This way, directors, producers and agencies can see your capabilities, and you never know, you might be what they are looking for - and now they know you can change your accent to suit their needs :D Happy days! 

Obviously, this won't guarantee you getting more auditions than what you were getting before, but it sure helps!

If you have any more tips and tricks for auditions either comment below, send me an email at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria. Also you can contact me about any question you may have and I will email you personally and even maybe cover it on here :D

Happy New Year! :D

Welcome to 2012!

I hope you all had a fantastic night in/out and made some new years resolutions and stuffs :D

So what are your new years resolutions? Do you keep them? Are you even making any this year? 

Mine are: 

1. Look after my skin more
2. Go to the gym more and lose weight 

3. Write more blogs :D

4. NEVER DRINK THAT MUCH ALCOHOL AGAIN! *

Hope 2011 was a good year for you and that 2012 will be even better :D

:D 

Sorry about the lack of blogs, been quite busy over the Christmas period but normal service will resume soon :D 

*On NYE I drank so much I ended up having alcohol poisoning. I kept up my boyfriend and his family by being extremely ill. I am ok now but I strongly advise everyone to watch what they are drinking whenever you are drinking alcohol, and remember to keep drinking water inbetween alcoholic drinks! I don't want anyone to experience what I went through that night so please drink responsibly!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!!

As it's Christmas Eve Eve, I thought I'd start your day with a funny little video from the Talking Animals Channel (klaatu42). I've watched this over and over again and I can't stop laughing! I love it! So here it is and I hope you enjoy it, even if you don't celebrate Christmas! :D 

I want to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all the people that have supported me up until now, and Thank You to all the people yet to come :D I really enjoy writing to this blog and knowing you guys like my stuff makes me happy :D I wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or a Happy Holidays) and I hope you keep supporting me into the New Year :D

Blogs: What are they really for?

This is a debate that I've had in my head for a few months now, and I think I can only understand it now that I have my own...What are blogs really for?

There are several types of blogs that I've come across:

1. The self-help blog
2. The agony aunt blog
3. The informative blog
4. The opinionated blog
5. The ranting blog (or slagging-off blog)

Now, although these are all perfectly decent ways of voicing your opinion and/or helping people online, there's one blog that I don't agree with (and to be honest, I'm finding it hard not to fall into the trap of it with this post): The ranting blog.

Every now and again, bloggers like to rant, and so does every human being, but the ranting blogs that I'm talking about are the blogs that are FULL of it. Every single post is a rant about something, but it is disguised in a way that tries to give advice to people or tries to look like you're getting something out of it when really, it's just full of bullsh*t. Each paragraph near enough contradicts the last one, then the conclusion gives some sort of advice or moral to it's audience. I find it really difficult to read them.

What's even more annoying is that these are the blogs that get a stupid amount of views for something that requires not much skill at all. Ok, yes I'm ranting now, but I can't quite understand why these blogs get so many views for basically nothing. With some of the things you can read in blogs, you might as well meet up with your most gossipy mate and listen to them ramble on for a good half hour, at least in this way you're getting out of the house.

Ok, back on track....

The thing about the ranting blog, it always has a theme. It can be that it gives advice or just generally talks about school or something, but at the end of the day, you know that the person writing it has been pissed off by someone and they just wanted to slag that person off on the Internet but in a way that it wouldn't come back to them.

I know I fell into the trap of ranting about this but at least I'm not slagging someone in particular off. I read a lot of blogs to find inspiration or information about a post I am writing, but nine times out of ten I come across these types of blogs. My advice to people is to stop slagging people off on the Internet, gaining hundreds of views that boost your already massive ego, and buy a journal, that you actually write in....with a pen! (shocker!) and keep your slagging off to yourself. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all :D

(See what I did in that last paragraph? Oh dear, I've become a hypocrite....meh, they need to know...at least most of my posts are information not opinions :D)

Sorry for the slightly hypocritical ranty post. I'm in a lot of pain and this topic was annoying me. I actually hope you have a good laugh at it :D If you have any ideas/topics for me to explain or talk about, email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria :D

The future of the character

I've said before how important it is to use Stanislavsky's methods of using your emotional memory to become the character but this is in terms of being in the moment. As well as knowing your character's past and present, you must know what they want for the future. Don't get mistaken for knowing what is going to happen to your character, but more about what your character's goals are, what they want in life, who they want to see etc.

Here's a quick, fun exercise you can do to help you think about your characters future:

Make up a character; give it some given circumstances, who are you, what have you done before now, who is your family, who means the most to you, what have you done recently?

Now place yourself in a prison. You have committed a crime. What is the crime?

You have fifteen minutes of time in the exercise yard. What will you do? How physically fit are you? Do you like the time in the yard? You cannot speak to anyone.

With the last five minutes of the time, you can do what ever you want. What is the first thing you want to do? You cannot speak to anyone during this time or you will be shot by an armed guard.

You find out that some letters have arrived at the prison. Is one for you? How will you react if you have a letter? What does it say? Who is it from? Who did you want it to be from? How do you feel? What if you didn't get a letter? What is your reaction? 

You are allowed to write to your loved one. Take 3 minutes to write everything down what you want to say to this person. How are you feeling? What is on your chest? Are you sorry? 

You hear that half of the prison are going to be freed. How do you feel? What will you feel like if you are freed? How will you feel if you have to stay in the prison? Who do you want to see the most?

Doing this makes you realised how much you look into the future without realising. You need to know your goals for the character to blossom. Do this for other characters that you are playing. Find out what they want from the events or people in the play. What is there ultimate goal? Do they reach their goal?

Sorry again that this is a short one! But it is really effective! I love this which is why I've posted it! If you have any comments on the exercise or want more information, please comment below, or email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria

The Power of Social Networking

A lot of us believe that social networking is a good way of staying in touch with friends, family, and celebrities. However, the power of social networking can extend to much more beyond that, as I have found out recently. Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can have huge effects on your career, whether it's a job you do on the side of your actual job, or a dream that you are trying to achieve. 

Recently, I have been much more active on sites like Twitter because of this blog! And I can tell you, the effects are extraordinary! Simple things like retweets are an excellent way to recommend things to your friends, family and colleagues, and get your ideas around the world. Since becoming an active twitterer I have gained so many more followers; not just people that are interested in my blog, but high-end twitterers like West End producers and agencies have started following me. It makes me think that my blog is doing something right! But the absolute power of this is emphasised with how long I have been on twitter and blogger: I only started my blog at the beginning of November and I now have over 120 followers on twitter (which is a lot for a student with a blog!).

NOTE: I have just checked my twitter followers and I have over 140 now! ...crazy!

When I post a new blog, I post a link through twitter, facebook and myspace, just to get my blog out there. I only get views from my family and friends on Facebook but through myspace and twitter I can get my blog out to the public. Now I know Myspace is rather unpopular nowadays, but seeing as I have my old account, and a fair few "friends" on there, I thought why not! The more people that see my blog, the better!

Now twitter is the ultimate social networking site in my opinion for people with public blogs or companies because you can get your content out there to the public really easily. By adding hashtags and words that are in the trending topics, people all over the world can find your links and look at what you have to show the world!

The best way to get your content out there is to post your links on every social networking site there is, especially twitter! Get your posts labelled with trending topics and other links that can help get your links get noticed but don't spam! There's nothing worse than getting a load of spam in your timeline!

Sorry this was a short one! If you have any comments or experiences with social networking please comment below or email me or tweet me at the information at the top of the page!

:D

Here's some Christmas Cheer to brighten up your Friday afternoon!

Now it's getting to that frustrating time of the year: you want to have a break, you want Christmas to come (or Hannukah, or Kwansaa, or anything other holiday you celebrate at this time of year), and it gets harder to be happy whilst working. What am I trying to get at? We need to have a little break every now and again, so sit back, relax and enjoy this funny video! It doesn't matter if you don't celebrate Christmas because this video is just too funny! 

Have a look at some of Rhett and Link's other videos and skits! They're rather funny! And you may recognise them from pre-show entertainment of certain arena shows around the 

country! (I love their work! Always puts a smile to my face!)

I hope you enjoyed this and it made your day a little brighter!

:D

Voice of an Angel

The voice is the primary tool for the human being; it allows us to communicate to let others know how we are feeling and to give commands etc. It is essential for us in day to day life but we are able to extend the voice to beyond its natural boundaries for entertainment purposes, whether it's singing or vocal techniques in acting. The voice includes the whole body! So make sure you warm up your body as well as your voice before you try any speech!

To be able to be good at acting, or singing, or being a good public speaker, you need to have a good vocal range. This means you must be able to work through all the different scales in your voice, and try to extend them if you feel you are quite monotone. If you constantly talk on one level, it becomes boring, and it's not entertaining for anyone watching you. The voice should be fluid and interesting, so changing pitch naturally is a good way to keep people interested in what you are saying. And the chances are that if you are interesting to listen to and sound fluid in what you are saying, you are more likely to be believable and the character and the text show through rather than your process.


You also need to have good resonance in your voice. This is the volume of what you are saying. A lot of inexperienced actors fall into the trap of shouting their lines rather than projecting them. Sometimes you need to say something quietly, but loud enough so the audience can hear; using resonance exercises can help you with this. There are a lot of exercises out there to try, so have a look at a few that deal with resonance. If you have problems with being too loud, however, you may frighten or annoy people in the audience because, although they can hear what you are saying, the way you say it won't be very natural and will start to look amateurist. It's good to be loud sometimes, but if there is no change in your voice, the piece will become very boring.


You also need to be able to breathe. Sounds stupid, but there's a reason for this. If you learn to breathe between the thoughts of the text you are performing, you will be more believable because unfortunately, a lot of the time we breathe at the end of a line (especially in Shakespeare) rather than at the end of a thought. You breathe between the thoughts in real life without even thinking. Try to break down the thoughts, and keep reading through the text slowly. Eventually, piece together everything that you are saying so it is fluid, is believable and the audience is more likely to see the character, not you.


Always take care with any exercises you find on the internet to do with your voice. Only do what you are comfortable doing and make sure you drink LOTS of water when you do. If you find your voice is getting sore, drink hot honey and lemonade, it tastes gorgeous and is very helpful for sore throats! Also, it is known that pineapple juice is good for the voice (I forget why). Avoid drinks like tea and coffee when practising your voice and don't eat a lot of chocolate either (but you can as a reward afterwards ;D). 


Sorry this is a short post but I have been very busy today! :( Bad times... But I will do more on the voice at a later date! Put comments below with any sort of exercises you know or any tips and tricks you could tell us all! Thanks for reading 


:D

#Project 100: A Huge Thank You!

This is just a little post to say a huge Thank You to all those people who clicked on my site yesterday! I cannot thank you enough. Just doing this helps me gain more exposure so I can achieve my dream of becoming an actress! 

Apparently, there is now a campaign on call #Project200 so if you would help me out by just re tweeting mine and @glazingblogger's tweets about this site that would be fantastic! Also recommend me to your friends or family or anyone you know in the entertainment industry as this would be a big help to me and my audience because every single page view motivates me more to work hard at my degree and my blog!

Thanks again and I hope you like what I write :D

Nirvana for Xmas No.1 in the UK

We all know too well of the horrors of the Xmas No. 1 Single Spot going to the manufactured Xfactor winner, but what happened to the race to become Xmas No. 1? 

Since 2005, the Xfactor has been wrongly grabbing the Xmas No. 1 Spot, with covers of songs sang by (debated) manufactured singers, which to be honest, aren't that great. But why do we always buy them every single year?

It's the way the public is so gullible that makes us want to buy the Xfactor single. We are presented with a show full of (ahem) "talented" vocalists that takes over most of our weekends, not to mention the unintelligent ramblings of the "Xtra Factor" that we are encouraged to watch, which to be fair, I would rather watch a monkey pick at it's own bumhole...

Yes, I have a grudge against the Xfactor...so what...

...but it's the way we give in to social pressure of buying the utter crap that the Xfactor produce as the Xmas No. 1. 

So why are we so bothered?

Admit it, the Xmas No.1 has never been the pinnacle of musical talent, but it's the traditions we got used to that make us want to buy the Xmas No.1 Single. Since the introduction of the UK Singles Chart in 1952, the Xmas No. 1 has been known to musicians as a very prestigious 'award'. A lot of the time, the Christmas No. 1 spot has been home to charity singles, novelty songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Doesn't sound very appealing, but we do eat that up! In my opinion, the Christmas No. 1 should be something with meaning, or something for the kids! It's nice to have a jolly, alcohol related sing along to the Christmas No. 1 on Christmas Day!

In 2009, we broke (yes, I was part of that Facebook movement! :D...meaning I bought the single several times! :D) the Xfactor Xmas No. 1 streak with Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name Of after a successful Facebook campaign lead by Jon Morter. Finally breaking the Xfactor shit streak. But unfortunately, last year, Matt Cardle got the Xmas No. 1 again with that God awful cover of Biffy Clyro's Many of Horror (which was annoyingly renamed to When We Collide...excuse me while I vomit...).

The campaign was critiqued, saying that it would never work, and Simon Cowell wouldn't be bothered if Rage Against the Machine got to No. 1 because they're both under Sony Music Entertainment (Epic Records and SyCo) and lets face it, Cowell probably had shares in the company so he wouldn't necessarily lose out on money anyway, but this wasn't the point! People were fed up with being drip-fed the same crap from the Xfactor, and musicians were/are annoyed that such an important honour was going to manufactured 'artists' that hardly worked for it. The campaign was also raising money for charity, which is what the Christmas No. 1 should do! After all, it is the season of giving!

The new campaign currently underway is "Nirvana for Xmas No. 1" supporting the charity Rhythmix. The choice of charity seems natural after the row between Rhythmix and Simon Cowell after the makers of Xfactor named a girl band on the show with the same name as the charity (see story here). Now it is has come to the media's attention that thousands are behind the charity and are supporting Nirvana for Xmas No. 1 (see story here). I think this is an excellent campaign and I could not support it more! Not only do we want to see Nirvana kick Xfactor arse, but we would be supporting a major charity in this country that deserves a little more respect after it's name was tainted by the Xfactor.

Even if you don't want to support Nirvana for Xmas No. 1, please support Rhythmix as it is one of the UK’s leading music charities, delivering a large range of music making opportunities for young people across the South East region. Since 1999, Rhythmix has worked with more than 40,000 young people, enabling their creative activity through music and developing their personal and social skills. It is a fantastic charity!

If you know of any people supporting this charity, or have views against the campaigns, or just generally want to give your opinion on this, please comment below! Everyone has views on this and it would be fantastic to see what you guys think! I read every single comment so please get posting! 

Also, if you click the links above, you can support the campaign and Rhythmix by going to their websites! Please donate, because as we all know, every single penny counts! 

:D

Something to put a smile on your face...

Here's my end of the day post to put a smile on your face after a hectic day! Or maybe you stayed in bed all day...but still this will make you laugh! 

 

Guest Post: University from the other side...

University for me is a struggle! But you never know what it feels like from the other side, so I asked my lovely boyfriend, who most of you know as the Double Glazing Blogger (@glazingblogger), to write me a guest post of his views of university from the other side. The other side being the ones back home that are hours away from university...

If you have an experience you would like to share from either the student side or the other side of university, please comment below, email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria :D

DoubleGlazingBlogger:

I’ve wondered all day today how to start this post. The subject of this particular blog post is about university and what it’s like for the other person while their loved one is away there. I’ll just ramble on a bit and hope it all makes some coherent sense as I’m writing it!

First a quick background catch up. Me and Sophii met roughly six weeks before she went back to do her second year at university in Aberystwyth. Before now I had known Soph on and off for about 3 years. We had met at parties, and we’re part of the big group that went to festivals. We never really talked that much. We met in August of this year through me inviting her to a local gig (technically it was through her asking if anyone had a Google+ invite she could have, I gave her one, and the conversation naturally moved on to gigs!).

The next six weeks were some of the best weeks I’d had in years. We always had the best fun when we were together. She had done something which I thought wouldn’t happen in quite a while - she showed me that there are some genuine, nice people left in the world!

Saying goodbye to her as she left to go back Uni was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. We’d connected so strongly so quickly, I never appreciated how difficult it would be, not being with her. Obviously I can see her at weekends and she can come home at various points, but unlike other relationships, we don’t get to see each other as much as we would like.

Relationships with university involved are different to standard ones. University has a reputation of being a promiscuous breeding ground, with people flitting about. For a person who is having to say bye to someone leaving for uni, that is a huge thing to accept and get used to. You have to put your utter trust and faith in that person to do the right thing, even if the surrounding environment doesn’t make that easy. Obviously that person at uni has to trust their partner at home too!

Then there are other issues. Money is one of the biggest. Students struggle notoriously with money. Part time jobs barely cover their living costs. Almost all of their loans go on student accommodation. Speaking from the point of view as someone who works, has a steady job and is living relatively comfortably, it’s gut wrenching to see my loved one struggle for money. It’s frustrating having to see her buying the cheapest of cheap food, having to budget literally by a single pound.

One of the biggest wrenches is having to face up to the fact that you can’t be round him/her as much as you would like, looking out for them, making sure all is well. You hope that the people they live with will treat them with respect, help each other out, include them in whatever activities might be going on, support them when they need help. But you also hope that they respect your loved ones boundaries too. These are all things you just have to trust will happen.

For me, the biggest frustration is not being able to help in any physical way as I’m more than 3 ½ hours away. I’ll probably never be able to get used to it, I just have to learn, and I am, how to deal with it better.

That’s the negative stuff out of the way!

The result of having a loved one at university is that when you do see him/her, that time together is made so much more special and important. Maybe one of the downsides to a normal relationship is that the spark sometimes goes if you see that same person every day. Those at uni and those who have a loved one there don’t get that luxury. But it does make you appreciate the time spent together.

Some people may be sceptical of the amount of money and time it takes out of your life to go and see someone if they’re at university far away. But this depends on how you feel about that person. If you truly believe that you have met someone special, and that he/she could be the one, then driving nearly 4 hours and into another country is nothing to you. It’s nothing to me. Personally I’d drive to the tip of Scotland to see her. If you believe this, then university won’t cause a single issue.

I was worried about university and how it would affect the relationship between me and Soph, especially after so many negative comments from friends. But in all honesty, it has me us stronger. We trust each other completely; we both appreciate the time we get to spend together. We talk on Twitter, Skype etc. all the time which does also make things easier.

They key to a university relationship from my point of view is trust and communication. Talking keeps fears at bay. Trust in each other keeps you both relaxed and able to focus on your day ahead without tearing your hair out. Look forward to your time together when you get to see each other. We do, and we love each other all the more for it!

Phenomenology (pt.2)

Trying to understand phenomenology is hard! This is why I wanted to this blog post in two halves. This analytical approach isn't something you should try to do on it's own, it is better to use this approach to push your analysis into another analytical approach, such as semiotics. 

To understand this approach, you must learn how to use it. If you are analysing an object onstage, you must look at how you react to it, without using many adjectives...

...yeah, I know!

Generally, if you eat a lemon, you would say it is 'sour' or 'bitter', but this wouldn't be a entirely phenomenological approach. You could say, however, how you reacted to the tasting of the lemon, even if you just make a noise. The next challenge is to transform this reaction into language, as close as you possibly can to the real reaction. Avoid using adjectives as these are only signifiers to your emotions or reactions, rather than the correct way to describe this. 

If you are to write about an object and your phenomenological approach to it, you would describe how you felt around it, what it feels like in weight, texture, the smell of it, the taste of it, everything to do with your senses that you instinctively react with. 

There is no right or wrong answer to your own phenomenological approach and this makes it difficult to be of use to other people around you that read your phenomenological analysis of a performance, however, it is very useful in conjunction with other analytical approaches. Finding how you react to something, then getting into the nitty gritty of what this means and the semiotic approach to it is a far more effective way of analysing a performance. Nevertheless, you shouldn't dismiss phenomenology, but don't get too bogged down into the meaning of it.

I could go on and on about how to write about the phenomenological approach to something, but I find that all research on phenomenology is very repetitive. In a sentence, phenomenology is the build up to a very effective analysis of a performance, and can be used in conjunction with other analytical approaches.

I know this is a very hard subject, and it can relate to many other industries and subjects of interest, but it is very hard to discuss this without over-complicating. If you have any questions at all, please leave a comment, email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me (@SophiiMaria), and I will try to answer your question as much as I can; after all I am here to help you understand! If you have any examples of this, please leave a comment or if you just want to say hi! again, please leave a comment. 

:D

Phenomenology (pt.1)

Until recently, I thought phenomenology was more complicated than it actually is! Rather than being an analytical approach to find the meaning of a certain object on stage, like semiotics, or an approach that digs into the extraordinary circumstances of a play (like the themes, techniques or approaches to the making of a production), it is simply a way of analysing what is in front of you and how you experience it. 

Phenomenology looks at "the world as it is lived rather than as it is objectified, abstracted and conceptualized." (Stanton B. Garner, 1994) This means if you are looking at an object onstage, you look at the way you experience it, don't try and find a meaning to it! If the object is an apple, analyse what the apple looks like, feels like, tastes like, etc. instead of finding the hidden meaning like the forbidden fruit, for example. 

It would seem that semiotics and phenomenology would go hand in hand and yes, you're right. You can successfully analyse a performance using the analytical approaches of phenomenology and semiotics because you are analysing the object and what it means to you in the way you experience it and the meaning behind the use of this object (or lighting design/scenery/performance style etc.).

I know this is a very simple way of looking at phenomenology, but I wanted to guide you in before I go all guns blazing into this topic so have a look out for the second part of this blog next week!

Also, coming soon will be a Glossary page for all those words you don't quite understand! This will be an ongoing page that will update frequently as I discuss more and more topics! :D

Finally, if you have any ideas/theories/approaches/techniques/gossip/music releases etc. that you want me to cover, email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com, tweet me at @SophiiMaria or comment on any of my blogs. I will happily research into anything you want me to cover on the entertainment industry!

:D

Drama Queen!

A lot of people who study drama often have to put up the so-called "Drama Queens". The people that have to be the centre of attention all the time so talk utter rubbish to get in the limelight. Not to be confused with the earlier topic on Drama Snobs, the Drama Queen doesn't necessarily have to study or be involved with acting. We all know that one Drama Queen that drives us up the wall...

We all have a little bit of a Drama Queen (or King!) inside of us, but how often that part of us shows is what describes a person to be a full on Drama Queen! Personally, I believe there are more Drama Queens in the acting world than any other industry because we are constantly trying to get 'discovered' so we need to be a bit full on, but sometimes, it can get out of control.

As far as I know, there are two types of Drama Queen: the first being the full-on "it's all about me!" type who constantly speaks up with their own opinion and displays emotion to the fullest when it suits their fancy; the second being the subtle type who find a talent that they milk without anybody else (except a few) realising it. 

The first type are known to be friends with everyone, but at a certain point, all hell breaks loose and you either don't want to know them at all, or get shoved out of your little clique after a huge bust up on a day out with everyone. 

The second type are known to be a little more sneaky. They use social networking sites to promote their views/opinions on other things, or people, and often have a talent which they abuse to get attention. This sort of people aren't always malicious. They probably just get a lot of attention from the things they say online because they are too scared to say it in public, but it's still a bad habit to get into.

I know this is mostly my own personal opinion and experience but there will be the Drama Queen at some point in your lives. How do you deal with these kinds of people? What can we do to relax and not want to be in the spotlight all the time? I know I can be a Drama Queen sometimes, I admit it! But I'm pretty sure I'm on the scale of just wanting to have a little bit of attention to make me feel good, rather than the full-blown bitch a lot of people fall into. Let me know what you guys think! 

Sorry this is a rather negative and a bit ranty. But these kinds of people annoy me, and I'm sure they annoy you too. I just wanted to get it off my chest and see what everyone else thinks. Even if you're not in the industry, tell me about yours! I really do read all comments and I will publish!

:D