Urwa Nazir

I participated in an audition in a play called footloose, I didn’t audition for a main character but a side character called Wendy Jo, because I lack punctuality and plus I won’t be able to learn lines quickly, and I had three auditions in total, Singing, Dancing and Acting.

I didn’t do very well in the singing audition because I’m not very good at singing and plus I was pretty shy when I was audition. I would say when I was preparing, I did very well and I sang on key but the problem I struggled was stage fright and tardiness, to help with stage fright, I could look up YouTube videos on how to overcome stage fright and breathing exercises to help me stay calm. I was late for my first slot so I performed last, but the positive outcome was I remembered the lyrics to the song I was singing, Sweet Dreams by Emily Browning and I didn’t need to use karaoke lyrics but I had to because I needed to connect to the speaker with my phone to the sound of the speaker and don’t sing as loudly because it’s makes you sing off key. I thought a song like this would be easier to sing cause it’s a slow song and I tend to ramble and mix up on words and easier to remember.

Dancing, in my dance audition I was put in a group with five other people, we was six all together, I would say I did pretty well, I had the enthusiasm and the energy and I think I nailed the dance pretty well, but I struggled with the floor work which something I need to improve on, but I managed pretty well and I had the confidence to dance pretty well in front of people.

Acting, in my acting audition, I did so well, I remember all my lines, and I spoke very clearly, I didn’t mess up my lines or anything, one thing I need to improve on is my accent, I was nervous during that time and I didn’t speak in the American accent. Good way to improve on that is practise videos, and I could record myself on my phone, and watch the videos back and make notes to improve.

https://bradfordcollegeac-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/e_hayes3_bradfordcollege_ac_uk/ET39JrukaddKs9JdYzJPBSEBGWYxGr8BarW8UVyxbNlB2g

https://bradfordcollegeac-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/j_hall2_bradfordcollege_ac_uk/EbVg0W7y9elIme1Xysf2g50B2_kuiXlC5ppV03cdYwb2AA

https://bradfordcollegeac-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/j_hall2_bradfordcollege_ac_uk/ETe4azp-Ge1Lo3_hOVv2JDwBoTRRXiBUkXdHD0k8o_3E6g

In my audition, I would’ve loved to have in the black box and the lights are off and the lights are dimmed on me, and I am reading off my monologue to the camera.

Used as a camera

Main lights used in the room

The self tape I performed was a monologue I had written about JB Priestly telling his life, I think as the author I am, I wrote a wonderful monologue but when I did the self tape I don’t think I did it well, I will name stuff that I did well and what I needed to improve.

In the tape, I started by stating my name and the role I was auditioning for. I felt like I spoke clearly and confidently to the camera. When I was doing the video, I seemed to be losing focus and looking around which is something I am working on. I think I rambled as I had learned my lines and was not using a script to read from. In future, this could be improved by either using a script or making test videos to practice my lines more. I had never done a self tape before and felt shy in doing so but I think I did a good job in narrating and telling JB’s story as I was clear and included important information that I needed to. I think the video sounded clear and the picture was in good condition. I recorded this video in the canteen with a wall behind me and I think it was a good background for the video. Next time, I could use the dance studio and the curtains in it.

City of Culture Bid (2025)

Bradford successfully won the title of UK City of Culture 2025, a prestigious designation given every four years to a city in the UK to highlight its cultural achievements and drive future growth.

1. What It Means for Bradford:
• Recognition: Celebrates Bradford’s rich heritage and its contributions to arts and culture.
• Opportunities: Attracts investment, tourism, and attention from across the UK and beyond.
• Empowerment: Gives a platform to Bradford’s diverse communities, allowing them to share their stories and traditions.
2. Why It’s Important:
• Economic Growth: Previous winners, like Hull (2017), saw significant boosts in their local economies, with more visitors and job creation.
• Community Cohesion: Encourages collaboration and pride among Bradford’s diverse population.
• Youth Engagement: Bradford has one of the youngest populations in the UK, and the bid focuses on giving young people opportunities in the arts.
• Cultural Revitalization: Highlights Bradford’s theaters, festivals, museums, and its creative industries, encouraging further development.
3. Key Projects:
• Hosting major cultural events throughout 2025.
• Revitalizing cultural spaces and investing in community-led projects.
• Showcasing Bradford’s unique history, from its industrial past to its diverse present.

Bradford is a city in West Yorkshire, the city grew in the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the “wool capital of the world”; this in turn gave rise to the nicknames “Woolopolis” and “Wool City”. The name Bradford orginate from the Old English. “Broad Ford,” referring to a crossing over the Bradford Beck, the middle ages it was a small market town, known for its wool trade.

Key landmarks like Salts Mills and Lister’s Mills symbolizes Bradford’s industrial heritage, as the textile industry boomed, it attracted workers from across the UK, and later in Europe and South Asia. Post-WWII, Bradford saw significant immigration, particular from South Asia, which added to the city’s cultural vibrancy, As of today, Bradford has one of the largest South Asian community in the UK, when the textile industry declined, Bradford reinvented itself with focus on education, arts and culture, and has several attractions such as the national science and media museum, and the UNESCO city of film designation.

John Boynton Priestley was born on 13 September 1894 in Manningham and died in 14 August 1984 in Stafford on Avan, he was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator, he was best known for his play, Inspector Calls, which is studied in schools all over England today for GSCEs.

Before being a playwright, he graduated from Belle Vue school, and worked as a journalist and went on to fight in World War I, he volunteered for the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment on 7 September 1914 and was posted to the 10th Battalion in France as a Lance-Corporal on 26 August 1915.

After his military service Priestley received a university education at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, studying history and went on to write novels, JB Priestly’s book, The Good Companions were historical significant figure who impacted the city’s development by writing about Bradford and boosted the cultural heritage in Bradford.

Judge Danforth is a deputy judge of Salem and he is known to be a wise intelligent successful man who thinks he knows everything and basically is arrogant and in this version of a modern day Crucible, he is basically a Chav, and characters similar to Judge Danforth are inspector Jarvert in Les Miserable, Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest , Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter, Captain Vidal in Pans Labyrinth and Warden Norton in Shawshank Redemption, and these characters have been used as research for me to play Judge Danforth and on the topic of Judge Danforth costume, I decided I would wear a judge robes and a judge wig with glasses, and wear some bling such as rings and necklace with it.

So the last week of class, I went to maths like normal and then afterwards I went to do dance class which was rehearsing for our upcoming Crucible dance which we will be performing at the graveyard and on Wednesday we went to the graveyard where we rehearsed Act Three, a scene which I was in where I was playing Judge Hawthorne and I was meant to speak to a makeup artist all about what Judge Danforth look but she wasn’t here and I wasn’t here on Friday but I was aware about what happened in rehearsal and the class filled me.

And on this week, I had maths like normal and then the next day, I wasn’t here because I was away somewhere but I am assuming that day was dance rehearsal and then Ambition Hub was cancelled due to some reason and the kids must‘ve gone home or stayed in college do some work and rehearse for the crucible and yesterday, we did the ambition hub session we rehearsed our Wizard of Oz dance and then we went on to rehearsing for the Crucible and today we will be looking at confusing factors in our scenes.

When Arthur Miller wrote the crucible in 1953, he wrote it based off the McCarthy era in America during the Cold War which was all about a war between America and Russia, a military and political war, and America was basically a capitalist and democratic while the soviet union was basically like communist and authoritarian and like the Americans were scared that this would have a big influencers and threatened there way of life and if someone was caught with anything Russia. Like a Russian film, a Russian book, liking theatre of Russia, having the flag you would’ve been a disloyal American or unAmerican and been fired or blacklists for it, and Arthur Miller writes about the Salem Witch trials which is similar to McCarthy era in the Crucible.

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, died under torture after refusing to enter a plea, and at least five people died in the disease-ridden jails. Arrests were made in numerous towns beyond Salem Village (known today as Danvers) and its regional centre Salem Town, notably in Andover and Topsfield. The grand juries and trials for this capital crime were conducted by a Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 and by a Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, both held in Salem Town, where the hangings also took place. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America. Fourteen other women and two men were executed in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century.

During the Salem Witch Trials, there was a Puritan lifestyle, and there were values of Puritanism, which was strict morality, Puritans were known for their strict moral beliefs and standards. They believed in predestination, which meant that God decided a person’s faith before they were born, conformity Puritans believed in fitting in and conforming to society. They were afraid of people who were different and believed they could not control them easily, biblical literalism Puritans believed that the Bible was the literal word of God. They used Biblical texts and imagery to guide their lives, Spiritual causes Puritans believed that physical realities had spiritual causes. For example, if crops failed, they believed the Devil was to blame, and witchcraft Puritans believed that the Devil was trying to overtake them and their souls. They kept records of suspected witchcraft cases to monitor the behaviour of their neighbours.

The Puritans believed in predestination, that humans were depraved, and that God and the Devil were constantly at war with each other. They believed that Satan would target the weakest people, such as children, women, and the elderly, to do his evil work. Puritans had strict moral beliefs and a strict way of life. They believed that men and women were equal in the eyes of God, but not in the eyes of the Devil. Women were often seen as vulnerable and unprotected and were more likely to be accused of witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 when a group of young girls in Salem Village claimed to be possessed by the devil. They accused several local women of witchcraft, and the hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts. The first person to be convicted of witchcraft was Bridget Bishop, who was hanged in June.

This week, Steph announced the casting of the crucible play. I remember seeing everyone so pleased at what they role, and I was just curious, I remember when I saw I was playing Judge Danforth. I was like wow, I am playing a judge and that was cool because I’ve always wanted to a play of such authoritarian character like that.

I remember having so much ideas for how I could play Judge Danforth, and since it was set in a council estate and in the old version, the judge is a man and I was thinking in this version, Judge Danforth could be a woman called Athena Danforth because in the boys tv show, Victoria Neumann, Grace Mallory, and Madelyn Stillwell were all men in the comics and the tv show made them all girls and plus I though since it’s a modern time, Judge Danforth could be a woman judge.

And I had several costumes ideas for Judge Danforth during that time and I had an approach on how I could be judge Danforth and I though approaching this character, I could be a stern secondary school teacher like Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and when I was reading the lines, I was pretty loud and stern, and I remember being so gutted that I was going to be a Chav.

I thought I was lucky I wasn’t a mega Chav but just a normal Chav, and I’d wear a suit and some judge robes with some rings and necklaces, and I though some glasses but I couldn’t decide what, I though wearing the glasses would make me look more authoritarian and I will be going to Manchester to buy the costume.