Studio Session

Our studio session was the last one in class, and therefore we had to be the most prepared. I was very nervous about the lines because any time i am given more then 4 lines to memorize i start to worry about whether or not i will be able to remember them. I often get caught up in my head with trying to remember lines and wind up not listening to Gaby's character at all. I think i did slightly better with this in class, especially after our first run through of it and after receiving feedback from the class and Jon. I was unsure whether or not the minimal physical score we had would detract from our scene, but the class said it was ok since the text was engaging. Working with my dramatic action helped to keep my energy, interest, and focus up in the scene. I enjoyed trying different tactics with Gaby's character in order to get what my character wants out from her. Playing around with different intonations and pauses makes the dramatic action more apparent. While we continue rehearsals i will continue to experiment with different tactics in speech and movement, and hopefully i will settle on some before our Work in Progress performance on Tuesday.

Final scene performance

It's coming along. However, my performance of Adine in 'The Dispute' is far from complete. I know I still need to do a lot of work on it. When Anna and I practiced in front of the class, I was nervous at first, but it turned out to be A LOT of help. I learned that I need to remember to fully embody each moment, and go all out with it. The challenge that goes with that, however, is that I have to figure out how to do this and not throw the through line of my character's journey and of the scene out the window. I find it hard to connect everything while performing or 'doing' each moment one at a time. I also need to focus my physical intention, and make every movement purposeful. It seems so hard to do, however, when we don't have Jon to remind us and tell us what we are doing wrong while practicing.

Studio Session!

Since we began working on the studio sessions, I’ve seen a lot of our acting training from the semester being combined, bringing all the little pieces together at last. When it came to our scene from ‘The Dispute,’ my weakness is obviously my voice and my ability to embody the intention of the scene. With my voice, it is difficult because I suppose my voice comes most naturally in a higher register. It feels odd trying to pitch down. I feel like I lose the ability to show emotion because it seems that everything I say is rather flat. Sure, it may be more understandable, but I believe the new obstacle is being able to infuse that with emotion. I think I’m improving when it comes to projecting, although I must say I did not notice a change in how I spoke once I took my choker off. But hey, if it makes everything think I’m louder, then I guess I’ll go with it. As for embodying the character and the scene, it is true that I totally understand the arch of the story. However, I have a hard time getting my thoughts out physically. Give me pen and paper or a computer and I can tell you what it all means in minutes, but put me up on a stage and my English major side rears its ugly head – I read. I know what I’m thinking and what I want to do, but it doesn’t come out. However, I’m hoping that once I am completely solid and no longer fumble with ANY of my lines, I will hopefully be able to focus solely on physical specificity because I will no longer be fiddling with a script in my hands.

Studio Session

We have just begun our studio sessions for class last Friday for our final project. Being the first to go in these sessions was a bit daunting at first, being that my knowledge of my chracter and the story had not gotten to where I wanted it to be. However, once the learning in class began, I realized that it was okay to be so early in the rehersal process. I was given many valuable tips from both the teacher and the other students. I still find that my main concern is with the externalization of my character. After finishing this session, I was happy to find that it was, in a way, more effective to have the session that early in the process, so that I could find out my more noticable errors in my performace and have ample time to fix them.

Self Reflection

1. Name and briefly discuss the most significant lesson you learned about acting from the 365 Project.
One thing that I learned in the 365 project was that silence and stillness can be as effective and powerful as any dialog. When I first read the script for the second constant, I was a bit turned off by it, as I didn't see how simply standing in one spot could be a performance, or at least one which could convey a message. However, when I actually got to my location that morning and began performing, I found that not only could stillness and silence have an effect, but that it had an effect upon me as well. I stood there just looking out into the cold morning, then felt compelled to close my eyes. I didn't know how long I would have them closed, until I suddenly felt the warmth of the sun on my back, telling me that I had been in my mourning stance long enough.
2. Discuss how you can deepen this lesson with your final Acting I project.
In the final project, this silence can be used very effectively to build tension between the characters. While I am not acting alone in this piece, I think that the silence, and only talking when I really do feel that warmth will help the scene flow and make sense.
3. Name your most effective acting moment in 365. How was it effective and what were you doing in terms of technique to make it effective?
I think the most effective moment was the beginning of Sin Collector, when I sat on the wall with the newspaper and mug, not saying anything, and looking at Laura putting mirrors in her jacket. I just felt that I was really present in the scene, as I really wanted to work on focusing energy, and I think my energy was very well focused. The extended silence worked great with the scene, allowing for the audience not to be distracted by lines. I felt their focus the whole time. It really helped start that play on the right foot and helped the characters connect to each other and the audience.
4. Discuss how you can deepen your technique in working on your final Acting I project.
In the final project, I think that the attachment to a character who represents a significant other can be very well shown through silence. The energy which is focused at the other is enough to give the audience a clue as to what is going on. I can see myself really milking the silences and making much eye contact to build the relationship and help to give the audience a true sense of the atmosphere.
5. What is the most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity in your 365 performances? If you could go back into rehearsal, how might you address this element in order to make your performance more effective?
In the Puja Play, I did not focus my energy very well. It may have been the fact that we did not rehearse the play much, or that I was distracted by the environment and the process of getting there and setting up, but I did not feel quite attached to the play. The play could have been performed so well, but it did not live up to its full potential. My movements did not have much purpose behind them, such as the belly rubbing, and my lines did not encompass the scene at all.

365 Self Reflection

1. The most significant lesson I have learned from the 365 project would have to be that I still need work on completely embodying the character externally. I'm sure the cold weather played a factor, but I would be lying to myself I said that was the only restraint. I think that having one of my first true acting experiences be such a public performance definitely set a high challenge for myself, but I think it has had a long-lasting effect on my approach to acting in the future. Though I may not have performed as well as I had hoped, I think the result after the fact has increased my range as an actor.

2. I think I can deepen this lesson for my final project by looking more at the actual character I am portraying than just the lines and my relationship with the other character(s). I think line memorization should take a more minor role on my mind than in previous performances, so that I can better focus on embpdying the character through my performance and not just internally.

3. I believe my most effective acting moment in 365 was my stillness after my sin collection in Sin Collector. Though it was probably one of the more unnoticed moments in all of the performances, it was the one time where I truly felt emotions and was able to convey them. My stillness underneath the tree in the dark played off of architecture, shape, tempo and my spatial relationship with the two main characters of the play.

4. I think I tend to lose my focus from the character I am portraying and instead overly assert my focus externally to lines and blocking, creating my usually stoic posture and facial expression during performances. I think with the amount of focus I have at my disposal, I can really use it internally to stimulate more emotion in my acting.

5. My greatest weakness still remains to convey externally what I am feeling internally. I truly feel what I believe the character would be feeling, but I am not able to clue the audience in just yet. If I could go back to rehersal, I think I would do well to take myself out of the character that I am studying.

Self-Reflection

1. Name and briefly discuss the most significant lesson you learned about acting from the 365 Project.
One lesson I have learned from 365 is that, when performing, you need to keep up your awareness of everything around – including those in the scene as well as your audience. Going off of kinesthetic response and using your peripheral vision, I feel like I’ve become more aware of how to take everything in as well as concentrate better on a scene.

2. Discuss how you can deepen this lesson with your final Acting I project.
Often times, when I’m doing a scene, I either get caught up in what I’m doing or get distracted by what is going on with the audience. With my final scene, there are multiple asides, which I think will allow me to integrate what I’m doing on stage with how I interact with the audience. I can continue to address my scene partner while also being aware that there are people watching and work there presence into my performance if I so decide to.

3. Name your most effective acting moment in 365. How was it effective and what were you doing in terms of technique to make it effective?
I suppose my most effective acting moment, or at least the moment when I felt most in character and comfortable, was during 7-11. With the over-exaggerated mockery of the scene, I felt that I could be silly and move about with my scene partners and work off of their energy while also keeping in character. Also, I liked the way I had to do the little scene within the scene twice, changing the way I used my voice to convey different emotions.

4. Discuss how you can deepen your technique in working on your final Acting I project.
With the final scene, I think I can finally concentrate and focus more on how I say my words and how they affect my physical action. My final scene is significant within the context of the play, but also still rather silly in the grand scheme of things. Being a comedy of manners, I feel that I can go in many silly directions with my character and explore her different possible emotions.

5. What is the most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity in your 365 performances? If you could go back into rehearsal, how might you address this element in order to make your performance more effective?
One thing that I know is a problem is my small voice. During rehearsal, everyone told me I needed to speak up so any audience member who was further away would be able to hear me. The thing is, is that I thought I was, but apparently it wasn’t successful. I guess what seems loud to me actually isn’t. So, I suppose the next time, if I need to really raise my voice, I should use a voice that sounds like I’m yelling at the top of my lungs to me and get my full breath support behind it because maybe that will be the desired level for my audience. Perhaps by using Vera's techniques, I can come up with a way to speak that not only seems loud to me, but my audience as well.

personal performance response

1. The most important lesson I learned about acting was the significance of the audience and the impact of them. Because these were site specific and because a good portion of the student body did not understand this was going on, the audience was radically different than an audience who has willingly paid to come see a performance in a theatre. I found it very difficult to perform in front of people who clearly did not know about the 365 project and were simply trying to get to their next class. The times when people did come to watch, whether it was the class or friends, just exemplified how acting can be affected by the reaction of the audience. For example, during my first performance of the 3rd Constant I simply shut everyone out because I was in possibly the busiest area of campus at the busiest time and frankly, I just felt frustrated and silly. And it is difficult to make me feel silly.

2. In my final Acting project, I would like to make sure that I only let the audience impact me positively. I have a feeling there will be a good amount of people I know who will come to watch, whether it be friends or staff, and I know this will make me nervous and I will want to shut them out for the entirety of the performance. It will be difficult to do, but I would like to try to take the energy of the audience and put it into my performance.

3. I actually thought my most effective acting moment was probably in 7-11. I felt the most present in that play because I really enjoyed the character and the playfulness of the piece. I do not think I slipped in and out of character, which I did in Intermission when people asked us about the piece. I think my gestures, vocal specificity, and spatial relationships were the most apparent in 7-11.

4. For my final project I would like to be much more specific with my gestures and the spatial relationship with my scene partner since we will have a very minimal set.

5. My most apparent weakness throughout the performances was just the fact that I was not entirely comfortable performing for an audience that did not always know they were watching a performance. Because of this I was often not focused on the play or my scene partners. This was particularly exemplified in Intermission since people blatantly asked us what was going on while we were performing. I wound up letting Kira address all of these questions because I was not sure how to handle it. I felt bad ignoring all of these people but I also didn’t know what to do without breaking character and fully explaining what was going on. If we could go back in time, I would have possibly rehearsed this more in the actual space so I could get used to the atmosphere of confusion. I also would have liked to make it much more clear that we were doing a play, because we never put up a sign or made an announcement or anything of that nature. I think that would have helped me and the audience quite a bit.

365

Performances:
1. Which play performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
I think I enjoyed Jayson and Kira's performance in the quad the most. Jayson's attitude in the play was so happy and joyful, using this to interact very well with the people walking by. The whole point of putting on the plays throughout campus was to make more people aware of theater, and I think his performance really exemplified this goal. Kira coming into the scene seemed so realistic, and while the costumes and location of the play did not quite gel with the dialog, it was still quite easy to follow and believe. The location was an excellent point, as not only did the splitting paths lead to more people walking by the performance, but it also represented how many directions the play itself could be taken, giving it so many opportunities for growth and discovery.

2. Whose performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
Jen Martin's constant in the Loyola commons was another quality piece, as she also was able to utilize the space very well, using her actions to completely divert everyone in the room's attention off of whatever work they were working on and solely upon her for that minute or so of constant motion. She was entirely focused upon her task, which really helped the audience focus as well. Her first time performing it, the striking use of time was awesome, as she was rushing through all her actions, then when she was getting water, she could not speed up that element, as it only comes out at one speed. The yelling of Yatzee at the end also was a great end to what had been an entirely vocally silent performance.

3. Consider the technique of the performer named in #2. Name and discuss a strength in their acting technique that supported their performance.
The use of duration was quite pronounced, as all of this constant were limited in time limit, with the performers trying to get so much in in such a short period of time. However, as I stated above, the slowing down for pouring of water made the performance for me. The rest of her performance was really supported by her focus on the duration of each action, helping us focus on them as well.

4. Consider each member of your blog group. For each member, name their "best" performance moment (experienced by you) and briefly discuss what they were doing in terms of technique that allowed that moment to be effective acting.
Tom's constant in Jon's office was the first performance which I watched, so I had nothing to really relate it to, but looking back, it was a great start to my week. He really seemed focused on the goal of accomplishing the 365 tasks, and the focus on getting ready for the day, doing workouts and such, gave the scene a very specific feel. I was able to follow his thought process very easily amidst so much movement.
Laura, in the performance with me in 9-11, playing the child with the blocks, which was so innocent, then blowing the kiss which toppled Sarah and I was very powerful. Innocence knocking down such strong figures is an amazing image for me, and I can only assume for those in the audience as well.
In 7-11, I loved Stacy's performance as the guru person in the midst of all the crazy students. She radiated knowledge in the play, and it was totally believable that the other characters in the play would come to her, as she held so much information. He character was very specific in mannerisms from the start and she never fell out of character.
Anna in 7-11 as well as a great performance. Her lines which she delievered were superb, as every time they made me laugh. Her mannerisms of a 7-11 worker were very comical, yet she was also able to transform the second time it was performed.

5. Consider each member of your blog group. Imagine that you've been hired to shore up their most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity. Name it and make the most helpful suggestion you can to aid them.
Tom: choose a better location. Your piece was excellent, but find a place where more than 3 or 4 people can watch. I liked the small space, as it forced you to work hard, but open space also lets you have more options.
Laura: Try not to use so much physical movement. You have great energy and it could be focused more. I have the same problem, so i have to always focus on not directing my energy elsewhere.
Stacy: Work on projecting your lines more from the diaphragm. Outside, it was somewhat hard for me to always catch what you were saying. Projection is key for allowing the audience to key in more.
Anna: More of a specific shape and movement could be helpful for you in performance, as it will allow for you to key in on your internal emotions, thus affecting your physical performance as well.

365

1. I think the play that impacted me the most was Kira and Jayson’s play in the quad. It made me happy to watch Jayson happily sitting there looking around incredulously at the world, eating his chips. It was such a simple activity but it drew me in and held my attention fully. I fully believed that he could have been sitting there for a year, and that Kira is just totally exasperated by him. I loved their use of duration. I kept wondering when someone was going to come out and every time I thought someone was coming, another few minutes would pass. This just added to the intrigue. Overall I thought it was a very engaging and entertaining performance.

2. Sarah Gatti’s performance of a tower repeating “nein” impacted me the most, because I felt drawn towards her despite the other activity. This is not because she was overpowering the scene, but because she embodied the emotion so well. Her voice was well controlled, and increased in volume and intensity when necessary, and her facial expression and body language exemplified the arc of the story. Watching her made me feel anxious and uneasy, which to me, means she was successful in portraying her character.

3. A strength Gatti has is her ability to strongly connect to the audience no matter how large or small her role is in a scene. Her eye contact with the audience is great and her energy pulls you into the performance. She is always fully present throughout the duration of her scene and she is able to embody strong, as well as subtle, emotions with ease.

4. Consider each member of your blog group. For each member, name their "best" performance moment (experienced by you) and briefly discuss what they were doing in terms of technique that allowed that moment to be effective acting.
Anna- I really enjoyed Anna in 7-11, when we all watched the scene with her and Carolyn. Specifically what stands out to me is the way she says her last line “don’t you try to make a fool out of me” with such love. It was funny because it poked fun at the situation without distracting the audience or losing the actual love in it.
Laura- I loved that Laura pulled out footie pajamas and slowly puts on slippers and a fuzzy bathrobe. It was very endearing and humorous despite the situation they were in. I saw he character as the somewhat crazy, but harmless, bag lady you occasionally see who is just entirely ok with herself and her situation. I think she was fully committed to her character and that is what made it work.
Jeremy- I thought Jeremy did a great job as a tower in 9-11. His vocal, breathing, and physical work helped sustain the consistent ‘nein”s that his character had to do throughout the entirety of the performance. He and Gatti were synched up in intensity and duration and it really added to the performance
Tom- I liked your portrayal of the role in Sin Collector. Even though you sat still for the majority of the performance, i still think you were engaging. And your interaction with laura was very believable due to your reactions. I think you were very focused on your tasks and that showed through and created a dynamic performance

5. Consider each member of your blog group. Imagine that you've been hired to shore up their most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity. Name it and make the most helpful suggestion you can to aid them.
Anna- The main thing that I think you really need to focus on is your vocal support. You naturally have a rather small voice and it was very hard to hear you at points. Your performances are otherwise successful, but we all lose a little bit when we cannot hear you deliver your lines.
Laura- I really liked seeing you get annoyed in the play with Allison, because you did it well, and I feel like you often portray characters that are a bit dreamy or happy-go-lucky. I would like to see you in more serious roles because I think you would really be successful in them.
Jeremy- I agree with some of the previous comments. You do tend to go the funny route, which I think is great, but it would be interesting to see you do a serious role as well. Often your characters call for a sense of humor, so I don’t know if that’s really a weakness or not…but I would still like to see you portray a dramatic role.
Tom- I think you have great timing with your delivery, I would suggest that you also focus a little more on your vocals. I think you slip in and out of it sometimes, but if you could keep up a consistently strong voice I think your performances would be even better.

1. Which play performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
Jason and Keira's performance of 1st constant was my favorite. I think that I appreciated it so much because I also perfomred the 1st constant with Allison, and I just found it so difficult to make sense of the play and perform it with meaning. I know it's true that you appreciate something more when you have experienced the difficulty of doing it yourself. For example, most people will not appreciate the talent of an exceptional bass player as well as another bass player will. So, having experience with the performance myself, I was so impressed with their rendition of it! I actually liked it a lot better than mine :). Having practiced it as a comedic scence, the reality and sense of despair with which they performed it made me go, wow.
2. Whose performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
Keira's performances in 1st constant, and also in All Good Things... impacted me the most. Again, I think this is true especially because I also performed both of the roles that she did in these 2 scenes, and I loved to see how she took something that I found so difficult to work with, and transformed it into believable, profound characters. While I think that I took a comedic approach in both scenes, she really dug deep into the possible reality and seriousness of the performed situations.
3. Name and discuss a strength in their acting technique that supported their performance.
Keira used a lot of prolonged silences to display the pure emotion of her characters. She didn't rush the scene, and over-exaggerate shape or motion or any of the viewpoints--I think that less was more.
4. Consider each member of your blog group. For each member, name their "best" performance moment (experienced by you) and briefly discuss what they were doing in terms of technique that allowed that moment to be effective acting.
Tom- his reacting after looking in the mirror in Sin Collector; I thought he did a good job physically conveying the weight of sin.
Jeremy- the moment when he and Laura stare at eachother in Sin Collector; in this case less was more.
Anna- when she says "Don't you try and make a fool of me!" the first time in 7-11. I literally laughed each time I heard her say that! I guess it was because her voice sounded so small and sweet that it reminded me of a little kid getting mad.
Stacey- her facially expression after she tells Gabby in 7-11 what her sound is. She subtley conveys that she thinks her class is weird without being obvious, which makes it even funnier.
5. Consider each member of your blog group. Imagine that you've been hired to shore up their most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity. Name it and make the most helpful suggestion you can to aid them.
Tom- I thought he could have projected his character more in Intermission.
Jeremy- I agree with Anna that he could stray from the funny character more.
Anna- She has a small voice, like me, and could project more.
Stacey- I always find her to be funny, maybe she could try a really really serious role.

Peer Reflection.

1.Which play performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
Jayson and Kira’s first constant impacted me most. With their combined emotion, plus the well-chosen site, one could feel the bleakness of their situation just by looking at them. They didn’t even really need words. The whole entire play just made me sad in the way they interpreted it, which is probably why it was so good. Between facial expressions and using the crumpled up newspapers as props, I actually felt like I was watching two homeless people trying to keep warm and sleep in the only way they knew how.

2. Whose performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
I would Kira’s performance in that play was the one that impacted me the most. From the moment she came into sight, you could feel her sadness and desperation. You could tell that she didn’t want to admit that her life had come down to sleeping against a building, under a pile of newspapers simply by her hesitant walk over to Jayson and her multiple pauses and looks to the sky. Also, the fact that she pulled out a real toothbrush and toothpaste and began brushing her teeth right there was the biggest indication that she was new to this life and was still reluctant to let go of all she once had.

3. Consider the technique of the performer named in #2. Name and discuss a strength in their acting technique that supported their performance.
Kira is really strong when it comes to subtly showing emotion, but still laying it all out on the table for everyone to see. Slightly hidden by her hood, you could still see her distress in her eyes and in her walk. So much of her movement, in fact, conveyed reluctance. I found her choice in wearing a hood also signified her reluctance to show the world who she was and what she had become. Every decision she made in movement and attire aided her performance so much that she physically conveyed the story so well; I don’t believe we even needed to hear them speak.

4. Consider each member of your blog group. For each member, name their "best" performance moment (experienced by you) and briefly discuss what they were doing in terms of technique that allowed that moment to be effective acting.
Jeremy – I would say Jeremy’s best performance moment was the instance when he and Sarah collapsed in “9-11”. Having worked on that play and knowing the thought process of that part, his collapse was a simple choice that held much meaning, and was quite symbolic and moving.
Tom – I think Tom’s strongest moment was during “Intermission” when we all had seven minutes to do whatever we wanted. I could tell that he was fully committed to his character and held it all the way through, even though it was quite a long period of downtime during which he could have lost his momentum.
Stacey – I absolutely loved Stacey’s role in “7-11”. She has a way with facial expressions and pulling off simple lines in a hilarious manner. She looked so excited and happy the second time we broke out in our sounds that we all had to try and divert our eyes from coming in contact with her face because she was just being so goofy and funny.
Laura Y. – Laura has a knack for the adorable. She was funny when she came out of the bushes during her first constant and then proceeded to pull on her footie pajamas while getting cozy on the bench. She looked so comfortable and truly in character because, from her happy facial expression, she appeared really at ease and at home on the bench.

5. Consider each member of your blog group. Imagine that you've been hired to shore up their most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity. Name it and make the most helpful suggestion you can to aid them.
Jeremy – Jeremy has a tendency to do everything in a comedic way because that is what he excels at. However, I think he had a real chance to be very serious during “9-11,” but I feel that it did not show until the end. His voice always fell below Sarah’s, so I think next time he is in a situation such as that, he needs to invest as much emotion as possible because I believe he can project his voice and feelings further.
For the other three, the only weakness I can conjure up falls along the same lines as my suggestion for Jeremy – they need to project a bit more. I found all of them turning their backs to the audience at times, which allows their scene partners to hear them fine, but it’s not very conducive to having others hear them. Next time, I think the best idea would be to cheat out a little more when saying a line so that way everyone can hear what is being said.

365 response

Thanks for your 365 performances!

I'd like you to respond to the following questions for this week's and next week's blog posts. If you've already posted this week then I will count that for another week (even a week you've missed).

Please do the peer response this week while your memories are freshest. Next week please reflect on your own performance. I'm going to include both sets of questions below. If you want to begin commenting on your own performance this week and continue next week, you're welcome to do that. These posts are to be honest, generous, specific, challenging, succinct, and thorough in directly answering the questions. Stick to the questions. If you have additional responses to 365 please put them in a different post.

Spread the word about the en masse performance on Monday, November 12. Please provide encouragement, clarity, and leadership to help make this an excellent "finale" to 365.

Thank you for your hard work on 365.
Jon

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Peer reflection (this week)
1. Which play performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
2. Whose performance impacted you the most? How did it impact you and why?
3. Consider the technique of the performer named in #2. Name and discuss a strength in their acting technique that supported their performance.
4. Consider each member of your blog group. For each member, name their "best" performance moment (experienced by you) and briefly discuss what they were doing in terms of technique that allowed that moment to be effective acting.
5. Consider each member of your blog group. Imagine that you've been hired to shore up their most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity. Name it and make the most helpful suggestion you can to aid them.

Self reflection (next week)
1. Name and briefly discuss the most significant lesson you learned about acting from the 365 Project.
2. Discuss how you can deepen this lesson with your final Acting I project.
3. Name your most effective acting moment in 365. How was it effective and what were you doing in terms of technique to make it effective?
4. Discuss how you can deepen your technique in working on your final Acting I project.
5. What is the most apparent weakness, unanswered challenge or missed opportunity in your 365 performances? If you could go back into rehearsal, how might you address this element in order to make your performance more effective?

Collaboration

With the exception of the third constant, collaboration has played a major role in the development of the proformances I have done for 365. It's a great instrument to have others putting in their input into the project because it provides various views that ultimately culminate into the final performance. When we first read our plays, I am sure there were many different ideas going through our minds. When we were finally put into groups with one another. It allowed us to focus on a specific number of plays and collaborate to create a performance. 365 has given us a great idea of collaboraton from a general standpoint in that the constants allow us to find ourselves in the work while ones like Sin Collector and Puja Play put a small, tight group of people together to form the performance. Then there are the bigger plays like 9/11, 7-11 and Intermission which have many people forced to work together on a collaborative performance. They many levels of collaboration offered in these plays has had a very positive effect on my acting as a whole.

Collaboration in 365

SO, collaboration. For 365 there was varying levels for me, as it ranged from the 2nd constant, for which I collaborated solely with myself, to 9/11, which involved 5 other actors. However, for each of the plays, while other actors were involved, some distance was between myself and them. For Puja Play, Colleen and I both created separate actions and movements for ourselves, so that when we met, the ideas we were sharing easily were accepted and we could quickly move on to rehearsing our play. Not much collaboration was needed, as virtually the entire play had been worked out in each others minds. For 9/11, the collaboration was also quite different. I pretty much concentrated on working with Sarah, as she and I are the twin towers. We do interact with the otehr actors, but we are also somewhat separate from them. Sarah and I would primarily work on our physical score, and I would not really concentrate on what the other actors were doing, until it came to the point when we would respond to what they were saying. This did lead to some problems when we rehearsed before the class, as it was only then when we realized that no one could hear the other actors over Sarah and I, and that we were taking the focus off them. However, we did share feedback on each others physical scores, as Sarah and I worked off the feedback on how we should position ourselves at the end when we fall, as well as giving some advice on where the other actors might position themselves to the best effect. For Sin Collector, I really worked with Laura only, only recommending that Tom position himself closer to the bridge. Laura was the only one I physically worked with, so we primarily worked on our movements together, as she worked with Tom on theirs. For the 2nd constant, the only collaboration which occurred was with other members of the class who were performing the same play, asking them what their ideas for locations were. These conversations proved very helpful though, as they helped me find my location, as well as a good time to perform them. The biggest problem which arose from the collaborations was not clashing of ideas, which happened only once or twice, but was just meeting to collaborate. However, when the meeting did occur, they went very smoothly.

365 in class

As everyone has said, it's been very difficult getting everyone together for rehearsals, especially for the two i am in (7-11 and Intermission) since they are both large groups of people. We had spoken about it and gotten together to try to run through it and block it out in the small amount of time we had available. We ran into a lot of trouble deciphering the meaning of our play, which cut into our rehearsal time significantly. Though we agreed on most of the aspects of the play, it turns out that we had interpreted it differently than perhaps it was supposed to be understood.

The rehearsal in class helped cut through some of the confusion, and allowed us to focus more on our characters and their tasks. I think after discussing it with the class, each of us were able to be more specific and it should be much easier to create the scene now. I am curious to see if anyone pays attention or understands when we do it at Jazzman's. Actually, i do think it is entirely neccessary in the case of a lot of these plays to make it clear that a performance is going on; whether it be a sign, a designated area, or some noise , i think we need to alert people or they will just be confused . I don't know if we have yet determined how we are going to "announce" the Intermission, but if we do not i personally do not think most people passing by will feel invited to watch.

The rehearsal process has been stressful , but interesting...so now it is time to see how it all pans out..

On Site Performing.

I can tell you right now, I’m still having mixed feelings about 365. It’s interesting, different, confusing – a million things rolled into one. But the one thing that I can definitely say I love about it is the fact that we are performing on site… NO theatre whatsoever. That is the most attractive aspect. I love performing around campus and utilizing the spaces we already have instead of having to create our own sets. I love the challenge of finding spots that would best suit the world of our plays. And, what I love most of all, is catching people off guard. I love rehearsing on site and having unsuspecting passersby wonder what is going on. Some stop and pay attention, others look at us like we’re insane, especially in the case of 7-11. When we first rehearsed in the traffic circle, and we began running around humming our specific sounds, people across the street were stopping and turning to watch us, as if we were crazy kids who needed strait jackets or something. That’s what made it SO fun! No one understood what was going on because seeing performance out of the typical theatre space is completely unexpected, especially at a school like Fairfield, which is what will always stand out most in my mind when thinking about the 365 experience.

PPL

So the PPL session last Tuesday was my favorite on to this point. Maybe it was just because all the previous sessions are coming together so there is less instruction, or maybe the change in location really helped. Right when i got into the space, I began moving around, working with the architecture while looking at the pictures. My form gradually changed as I began walking around, and soon people were following me and copying my shape. In the Pepsico, I never have the urge to start PPL stuff before we even start. The pictures we were instructed to look at also helped me really shape myself when I had to. The picture I picked was of broken columns scattered across a hill, with dark clouds looming over head. I think the contrast of the broken vs standing columns was very striking, as well as the dark clouds which were quite foreboding. This picture made it very easy for me to find dynamic positions when I had to. I also was able to be more comfortable on the carpet vs the hard Pepsico floor, so various positions were able to be maintained for a longer period of time as well as with more comfort. The group part was slightly strange, as a number of us were grouped together, performing many of the same movements.

Taking Time.

Since we started work on 365, I have felt a little more challenged than I have been in acting all semester. Maybe it’s the stress of trying to coordinate all our schedules that has really made it tough, but I feel like I am being spread too thin. I feel like we are too scattered and trying to accomplish too much at once. Being involved with so many short plays at once, I feel like we are spending more time trying to find a few minutes here and there to meet with each other than actually trying to understand what it is we’re supposed to be conveying to our audience. We spend more time fixated on blocking than deciphering intention. Being such short plays, it takes a much more focused reading to fully understand what the playwright’s meaning may be. However, we have so many we must not only interpret ourselves, but we must also come up with a collective sense of what we want to portray, and with the difficulty of finding a rehearsal time that satisfies everyone’s schedule, that’s near next to impossible. If not for that, I think we could make this the most interesting and creative thing Fairfield has ever seen. I want to put so much time and effort into each piece, but no matter how much I concentrate, I will simply be dissatisfied in some way or another because I feel like my whole self and attention will be unwillingly divided between all the plays. So my main challenge and goal as of right now is to be fully present and embody each of my characters to the fullest extent.

365

The process of putting together the various plays for 365 Plays/365 Days has been a very interesting and new experience for me as an actor. Being fairly new to acting in general, I believe there is an extra challenge for me to accomplish what I wish to through this project. THough tough, I believe this series of plays that we will be able to push my limits as a performer and become comfortable with acting in front of people who I may or may not now in a public space. This prject will also help in opening up my level of creativity through the use of many factors to contribute to the overall feel of the play. These include time of day, location, custom and the performance itself. I feel that is important to grow creatively as well as just in acting out a creation and this project will help me keep focus on both aspects in the future.

Friday's class

Friday's class was a new way of approaching things, as Jon pointed out, and for me some of it worked and some of it did not.
I actually really enjoyed the time we spent embodying certain images like fire, snow, or cold syrup. At this point I was surprised how focused i was, and i found myslef just constantly visualizing that image in my mind while i let it control my actions. I thought that that was a good way of finding a physical movement to match and enhance your character's tasks and objectives. Like when we used the stick to focus our motions and kinesthetic response. What i found slightly odd is that after we switched partners, our stick kept falling. Perhaps it's becuase i have worked with one of them more than the other, but there was a big difference in the success rate of this excersize after i switched. I wouldl ike to figure out why exactly this is and how i can correct it, so that is something i am going to work on. I guess that would be just trying to find a connection with everyone equally and be able to build on that.

While the above was successful, i actually did not find the warmup helpful. I am not an easily self motivated person unless it is something i feel terribly strongly about, so in performing a warmup I need some sort of direction to focus me. And perhaps that is something i can work on, but i really do not think it is something that will change, as it hasn't yet in life.

Aside from that, i really thought that trying to apply my thoughts to my warmup was very detrimental to me. Perhaps it worked well for others. However, I am a fairly negative person, and when i allow myself to start thinking about things when i am trying to focus on something else, most of the time i will get very distracted and get pulled totally away from what i am doing. In order for me to do something successfully i need to ignore the thoughts that race through my mind and concentrate entirely at the task at hand. I am not good at leaving things at the door, but it is much worse if i try to employ them in what i am trying to accomplish. That is just not something that works for me. As this class has progessed i have gotten better at pushing things out of my mind and trying to only think of the excersize or the scene i am doing. By bringing all of these thoughts to the surface at the beginning of class, it undermines the goals i have been trying to accomplish. Again, this could very well just apply to me, but i will have to find another thing to do if we continue to do the individual warmups, and it will be a challenge that i will have to work on.

365 beginnings

So the past week we've been trying to figure out where the 365 plays are going, and as of today I really have started to get a good feeling for this. The analysis of each play really helped me discover how to embody the play more fully than I probably could have from simply reading it. The most interesting part of that assignment was probably the finding of pictures, as during two of my plays, I rely solely on my image, so seeing different ways of stance helped give me ideas. The general finding of each characters goals also helped focus me on which direction I should take my character and how he should react to various lines and actions. This whole process seems to be slightly rushed, since as of now, a number of groups still have yet to meet. Time management is definitely an issue for a number of us in the class right now, as four of us have We Won't Pay rehearsals on top of all the 365 performances and rehearsals.

The time spent in class discussing 365 has definitely left much to be desired, as I think some more class time should have been dedicated to some of each play, instead of just Jayson and Kira's play. While watching them work through the rehearsal process was interesting, I think the time could have been better spent looking at maybe more than one of the plays, or more probably, one of the plays that has a number of the class members in it.

Embodiment as an Ensemble.

Lately I have been noticing something – something that not only applies to acting class. It comes into play when I am with a group of people who must work together, but do not participate with the same level of commitment. I’ve felt the imbalance in acting, as well as in my piano class. Every time we must all play out loud together, we mess up. Someone hits a wrong note or plays too fast, and then we all lose the tempo and end up resembling a five-year-old banging on the keys with their elbow. You can feel the lack of concentration and connection in the room. Some are very sure of themselves and plow ahead, while others hesitate and throw off the rhythm. Only after multiple tries do we finally begin to come together and harmonize as a whole. I felt the same sort of disconnect in acting class, as well. On Friday, when we were doing the new exercises dealing with embodying a certain characteristics, I didn’t feel like we were all putting the same amount of effort into it. When it comes to PPL, you can feel how everyone is equally as engaged in what we’re doing. We feel as if we are completely aware of what everyone else is doing, and therefore can participate fully. However, on Friday, I felt like because we didn’t know what to expect, we all weren’t as engaged as we tend to be, which threw me off a bit. I wanted to fully envelope myself in what we were doing, but I also felt like we were all so unsure of what to expect, that we were looking to each other for guidance and acceptance of what our next moves should be… just to make sure we were doing it all right. And through this, while I do feel like I personally developed a better grasp on how to embody an emotion, I feel like we were still all very wary of each other and therefore not as engaged as I wished we could’ve been.

Performances

One of the biggest things I realized over the past week was that I need to focus my energy. While I know that I always have a great deal of enthusiasm on stage, where I direct that enthusiasm is sometimes a mystery. My goal for the first time Jen and I performed our piece was something I just said to have a goal, but I soon realized, after it was pointed out by Jon, that I have way too many extra motions in my acting which can dramatically decrease the energy and focus of my lines in a negative way. On our off days, Jen and I worked the scene a few times, and we really focused on our body positions, as well as having very specific and sharp motions which can convey the emotion in the most effective way, which I think went very well.

On the 365 Plays focus, I'm quite excited about the ones which I have been cast in, as all the roles are quite different and challenging in their own ways. The second constant will probably be the toughest role, as there is not a specific movement; in fact no movement at all. The idea which popped into my head for this scene would be for some music playing while the actor stares either blankly into the distance or focused intently upon a point, depending on the music. I'm also excited for the Puja Play, as just the character which I am playing seems so extreme and foreign. It's not everyday that one gets the opportunity to play a gorgeous fat guy with the head of an elephant. And since the lines for me are so short and abrupt, they have to be extra strong, as they have to be delivered fully present and in tune with the scene.

scenes and goals

Once I read the scenes we were given, I knew I would like this exercise. I was given the male/female scene to perform with Jason, and there were so many humorous and eccentric bits to this piece that i knew whatever lines we chose we be fun. I like the fact that we kept it fairly simple and used some of the shorter lines, because that allowed us to play with them without spending too much energy on memorizing lengthy lines.

However, i enjoyed using the short lines to focus on emphasizing different words or using long or short pauses in between them. There is always so much one can do with the words and phrasing; just a longer pause can create a totally different feeling. One of my favourite words in the English language is "Oh." Seriously. You can pretty much have a full conversation using only the word "Oh." It all depends on the way you say it. Luckily, this word was my first line, and i think every time i said it, it was a little bit different.

Now that we've moved further away from silent, breathing and movement based work, i think it is important to focus on what we're saying and how we're saying it without losing those earlier skills. One of my goals was to keep up my breathing..but i think i forgot about it the minute i started speaking. So either i have trained myself well enough to breathe properly without focusing it ( i doubt it), or i was able to breathe somewhat successfully (as a classmate told me) due to the fact that i had shorter lines. Either way, judging from the scenes in class and the reflection afterwards, I think everyone is constantly improving on their goals and i enjoy watching everyone do so.

Tom's & Stacey's Acting Goals.

I would like to begin by saying that I felt both performers did a fantastic job the second time around! For Tom, I believe he managed to incorporate his old goal and his new goal. While paying attention to his facial expression, I could also see his improved posture. When it came to the facial expressions, I could see that he was trying to incorporate different feelings, but I think Tom is just so good with his deadpan expressions, that his true gift lies in the fact that he can be comedic without ever moving a facial muscle. So working on facial expressions may be a challenge in the future, but I can already see improvement. As for Stacey, I thought she did a great job. She was hilarious from the start. I don't think she would've been able to get the audience laughing so quickly if she hadn't been fully invested in her character. During the middle I felt the energy drop a little. But then, when Jayson moved in toward her and she stopped him from getting closer, her reaction was genuine, fully reconnecting her with her character in the end and making us, the audience, laugh once more at the true emotion that peeked through.

Improvising.

As I mentioned in my actor reflection, I am a perfectionist. With the natural instinct to be a writer, I find comfort in the fact that I can re-read, go back and fix what doesn’t sound right… even if I’m never satisfied with the final product and wish I could keep improving what I do. And, as I mentioned in an earlier blog – the personal gift and gauntlet entry – I threw in the notion that, if given a chance, I may be able to showcase a much more comical side of myself.

So what did I decide to do that would throw both these ideas into the fire and leave me standing outside my comfort zone? Your Mom Does Improv!

Yes, that’s right. I decided to embrace my funny bones and throw my perfectionist tendencies to the wind and jump into something I’ve never, EVER done before! And I must say, the experience was the most fun time I’ve had in quite a while. For there is no going back and re-doing your skit – there’s hardly even time to prep yourself! And while it seems like it may be a painful sort of experience for an introvert like me, I realized that my openness to the situation is what kept me comfortable the entire evening.

At first, I was messing up some of the games we played before we dove into long and short form improv, but I did not feel embarrassed. Everything about improv is acceptance and helping each other out, that I think as I continue down this road, I may learn even more things about myself and how to interact with others. It is such a non-judgmental atmosphere, that one can let go of themselves and learn more about themselves and the world around them by letting the experiences play out naturally, instead of forcing things in life to happen.

viewpoints in ravenous

I enjoyed discussing Ravenous in class, and being able to hear some of the directors/actors original ideas and how they went about implementing them. Since it was a different kind of show than most i have seen, there were a few bits in which i got lost, though i understood the majority of it. Having the discussion cleared up some confusion for some people, and brought back memories of the play that i could replay in my mind. As i stated in class, i was a bit irked about the anachronism of Jane dying in childbirth and Eddie verbally mourning her at the funeral. I assumed this was an artistic choice, where they decided to go for the emotion from the scene insteasd of following the literal timeline. I understand this, and it was a moving moment, i just had trouble getting into because it was not believable for me. In any other situation i would have just stayed frustrated with this, but having the ability to discuss it with the actors allowed me to ignore this fact a bit and look back on the scene as an example of great acting.
Another thing that clearly paralelled between class and the production was the use of the Viewpoints. While doing Viewpoints in PPL, I can understand how they can be translated into a performance , but it did not become truly clear to me until i saw Ravenous. Even though i was focusing on understanding and enjoying the play i found that i kept subconciously noticing viewpoints. Every time Jon did the wave of his hand while asking if we wouldn't mind entertaining a question, i thought of gesture and repetition. I noticed the spatial relationships between actors like when they were all lined up, or when 'uncle' was presenting a new 'niece'. As well as the use of architecture when the actors used the curtains so often. I also came to the conclusion that it seems Viewpoints must be done barefoot. I wonder if this is true or if this is just a choice that the Ravenous actors made. If it's something that just goes along with training, then i wonder why this is so. I am not sure if the method would be any different with shoes... i suppose it would be a bit harder to be lighter on your feet, but what if you decided to use viewpoints and it is neccessary to the costume to have shoes? these are just the odd things i was thinking about during the show that i wondered about.
Next PPL i will try to remember more about the show and how to place the things i am learning into possible scenarios. That and i am going to continue to work on my astonishing physical weakness that becomes more and more apparent every time we do anything. hah. oops.

The fun of learning

It may just be me, but I found that Friday's class was not only the most enjoyable class so far this year, but also the most educational. While I know that the fundamentals of acting, which we have been working on the majority of the year so far, such as movement and breathing, are essential to building a strong actor, I felt much more comfortable when we actually got to stand up and act out some scenes. While the scenes I was in did not actually entail any spoken lines, simply body language, I felt very comfortable, as three of the four roles I've been cast in Theatre Fairfield have been mute characters. One of my favorite methods of learning about my own acting is watching someone else perform the same piece as me. Since I went first in the King whose name I can't remember scene, I was able to see how the other members of the class chose to act. For example, when Jayson was playing the King, he chose to be a little more physical, touching wise, than me, where I mostly tried to portray the emotions through my bodily movements and facial expressions.

During the scene where two people walked by each other, thought they recognized the other, then realized it was a mistake, had me contemplating my own actions if I had to try it myself. Each different pair gave me new ideas, in relation to speed of the action and the intensity of emotion. While I never did get to try that scene, the simple fact that I was able to put so much thought into how I would have acted is almost as helpful. The final scene, where there are two people who enter and are having an affair, when they suddenly are caught in the act was immensely enjoyable as well. It included a number of facets which many could interpret differently, such as the entrances, initial reactions, and the attempts to solve the problem. This scene fit the dramatic action figure which was shown at the beginning of class the best. And since there was a basic outline of action, the performances were quite similar, but the subtle variations, of how Tom had his humorous reaction to the situation at the end, or how Sarah grabbed Colleen and brought her back to the middle showed how many options there are in such a simple scene, changing the dynamics of the scene entirely.

The Not Fully Present, Performing Parrot.

Looking back on this week, I can see so many ways in which I could’ve done better. Having not felt well on and off all week, I haven’t quite been in a good place physically or mentally. Greatly lacking concentration, and therefore lacking in the creativity department as well, I don’t think I was able to put my best foot forward. I cannot think of one instance where I was fully present in any of the activities we did this week, and it makes me rather mad at myself. I’m mad that the way I’ve been feeling got in the way of my concentration and focus and left me only doing a mediocre job instead of my best. And then, when like this, all I can fixate on is doing what is asked and, in turn, not fully give myself over to what we are doing. Instead, I try to plan each movement ahead of time, making everything seem more robotic. Take the scene Stacey and I performed for instance. Each time we walked past each other, I was well aware of what needed to happen and I tried to make it happen instead of just letting it come naturally. However, by doing this, it ended up becoming very forced and awkward for me. I ended up taking cues from Stacey, more or less, instead of genuinely responding to the actions. I felt more like a mirror reflecting her exact actions instead of my own person and my own character. And I could tell I was doing it, too. Yet somehow, I couldn’t break out of it. It was as if my mind was off somewhere else and all I could manage to do was mimic what I had already seen – like some sort of performing parrot. So, the next time we work on similar activities, whether I feel well or not, my goal is to try and engage my scene partner, go with the flow and be fully present in my scene.

Ravenous, Breathing, and ravenous breathing

As per usual,I was nervous when i realized that members of the Ravenous company would be in class with us because i get easily flustered around new people in such situations (as was evident). However, it turned out to be a great experience. This is partially due to the fact that the members of Ravenous were very kind, helpful, patient, and clearly talented people.

I have always thought that i needed to work on my breathing, because i often forget to when i speak or read aloud. This is clearly no good. Also, i have a lot of trouble when i need to regulate my breathing and concentrate on it. For example, when i got an MRI or when i am getting dental work i start to overthink my breathing and i wind up breathing very irratically and getting anxious because of it.
This is similar to what happened during class. I tried very hard to breathe deeply and hold it in my diaphragm, but on the first day i could not regulate it enough to breathe at a natural rhythm. When i do get a good deep breath, i can generally let it out in a consistent stream that will last for a long time. The trouble is just learning how to do this all the time, naturally.
Having Vera with us in the second class helped immensely, and i think my breathing improved dramatically from the first day. For the ABC excersize , Vera was my partner. Just having her there for a few minutes to instruct and assist me personally was incredibly helpful. When i paid attention to staying in the Satz postion, as she told me to do, i found i had the most productive inhales and exhales.

I am usually a bit of a mumbler, but with this newfound breath i was surprised by the force i could achieve vocally with this method of breathing. I feel i learned alot from the two classes on breathing, and one of my overall goals for this acting class is to make sure i focus on breathing and learn how to better control it and my vocal abilities.

As for Ravenous, the only thing i ever want to do now is put on some poppin lip gloss and tell people that i want them to wear me like a watch. I still can't stop laughing when i think of certain lines. Though parts of the show were powerfully sad to me (the kleenex bit for example) i loved the humor in it. and of course it was about England which alone is enough to keep me interested. the only thing i ever want to do now is put on some poppin lip gloss and tell people that i want them to wear me like wwwatch.

Week in Review

I too will begin with a Ravenous reflection, as I enjoyed the show quite immensely. Unlike other shows I have seen this one had a great deal of symbolism, making the audience concentrate much harder on the action. The first scene of the play involved one of the actresses portraying the many failed births with Kleenex. While the symbols were quite simple, by the end, the Kleenex really represented children. I was lucky enough to be sitting in the front row, thus I got to interact with the actors. The show was very interactive, as the audience represented the King in the show. Some of the actors would come and ask audience members, not with words, but with motions, to performs varies tasks. Since I seemed more responsive than most, I was approached a few times. The actors had a tremendous deal of energy throughout the performance, mostly resulting in great humor, yet during some moments, such as the funeral, very powerful images rendered the audience spellbound and emotional.
The vocal workshop on Tuesday was a interesting and productive session. While everyone knows how to breath, the correct technique is never really taught. Last year breathing was covered in both Glee Club, as well as rehearsal for One Stoplight in Hollis. However, Vera proved to be even more helpful, as in my rehearsal for We Won't Pay yesterday, I found myself thinking about my breathing. Hopefully in the next few weeks and months, I can really find my center to help my delivery.

Feeling Ravenous?

While I’m not quite sure what it is I’m supposed to reflect on, I’ll go with the most logical topic – Ravenous! I loved it, I truly did. From the moment it started and everyone was standing in a line, breathing as deeply as they possibly could, I knew it was going to be everything I’d hoped for and more. I’ll admit right now, I’m not a big fan of history in general. So when I heard it was about Henry VIII’s six wives, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But when I thought about it, I knew that if Jon was involved, there would be more than just a boring, old history lesson attached. And by gosh! I was right! But the show was even MORE amazing because we actually got to meet, interact and work with the entire ensemble during class. Sitting in the audience and watching the people I had been breathing deeply with for the past week was almost like watching my best friends succeed at something fantastic and being proud of them as they performed. Plus, I think it would have been really awkward sticking lip gloss down Andy’s non-existent cleavage had I not met him prior. But that’s the beauty of this class and that’s the beauty of theatre – expect the unexpected. I just wish my eyes could be like cameras sometimes, though. I so badly want to relive the performance and watch it all over again, that I wish I could have recorded everything my eyes saw. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard and so much in a very long time.

Personal Acting Gift and Gauntlet

I suppose if i have an acting gift, it would be the ability to perform comedy to some degree of success. This is also done through the use of gesture, both behavioral and expressive. I have not really done scripted acting since i took a course in high school. I have done improv, which to me, is very comedy based, though i undestand it can be dramatic as well. I am generally able to come up with something random enough to be comedic and i certainly don't have a problem with looking silly. Although, i have always personally thought that i cheated a bit in improv, because in most of the scenes i participated in, i did not full develop any sort of character. Rather, i mainly did or said what i, as stacey molski, would do or say in a situation; not what the supposed character i was playing would.

I think this leads into the acting gauntlet that i have. I have trouble fully committing to a character- especially in nonscripted acting. Instead I often just fall back on using myself as a character ( if that makes sense?). I need to be more open to choosing developed characters, as well as be more of an initiator. In improv, i would very rarely step out in games where it was just a free- for - all if you will. I need to be pushed to step up, and i would like to get over that obstruction. I also have a bit of a problem with dramatic acting, so i think that can be a gauntlet as well. I have rarely done anything with dramatic acting, and i suppose if i tried, i might be able to. Though i am not particularly interested in doing so, partly because i feel if i do anything where i have to be sad or angry or upset, i will have to remember situations which make feel those emotions. For me this is a problem, because i am not the kind of person who can "leave my troubles at the door" and fully commit to what is going on. I think if i had to do anything dramatic like that, i would most likely be upset for the rest of the day. I have trouble just switching things like that on and off. This is probably one of the many reasons i mainly stick to comedic acting.

Personal Acting Gift and Gauntlet

I think that one of my key attributes in acting is my comedic timing. Last year, in two shows I had no lines, thus my actions had to convey to the audience the humor, as I was primarily comedic relief. My timing of when to deliver a particular line, or when to make a certain facial expression seems to get great reactions from the audience. I think since I usually fully commit to the comedy of the scene, the actions are common, yet believable, resulting in humor.
One of the main things I need to work on is my physical presence in a scene. How my body is positioned in regards to certain scenes while delivering lines is always something I forget about focusing on, as the lines distract me. However, in We Won't Pay rehearsals, the physical parts of acting has been a main focus, so hopefully I can master this aspect of my acting.

Personal Acting Gift and Gauntlet

I think my good quality as an actor is my focus during a scene. I believe I am able to become engulfed in a scene and not waiver my sight from what is at hand, but I also feel that it is my weakness in that my focus clouds my ability to relax my nerves and causes me to have difficulty expressing emotion through my face and bodily movements. I think one of my main goals is to go into a scene as I would to a normal conversation so that I do not arouse a sense of stiffness in my performance.

Personal Acting Gift and Gauntlet

So, I’m supposed to pick out an acting gift of mine, yes?

Well, I’ve never, ever acted before this class… unless you count my brilliant performance as Goldilocks in kindergarten. However, the first few classes have helped to realize that, if anything, my initial strength would lie in my gestures. Between slamming that door really hard (to the point where I even scared myself!) and Allison’s compliments on the way I used body language during the duet, I feel maybe that’s where I am gifted, acting-wise. During the few times I’ve acted in class, I feel like I can convey so much more with my actions and behavior than I can by simply memorizing lines, which is probably why I enjoyed the solo performances best, because it was generally left up to interpretation.

As for throwing something in the gauntlet, I’m at a loss. I’d like to say the possibility that I have a more comedic side that I just haven’t had a chance to show yet, but I’m not completely sure it really even exists. I’ve gotten laughs in the past, not so much for things I’ve said, but because of how I say them and the facial gestures I make when I say things. Of course, that is real –life, though. But maybe I can integrate this comedic side into my acting, if given the chance.

Most Effective Acting Moment from Week

Thinking back on the week, the one performance that still stands out vividly in my mind is Sarah’s solo performance on the first day of class. I can still see her coming through the door and taking her place on the stage, using mainly her facial expressions to convey the meaning of her piece. Turning, with her back to the audience, she would look over her shoulder in one direction with a flirty sort of enamored look, while over the other shoulder, she gave a look of anger and disgust. Not evening needing words in the slightest, she managed to use her eyes to say everything. It was as if, in one direction, she saw someone she admired and couldn’t get enough of, while in the other direction was someone she hated, someone who distracted her from her love. The way she could switch from one emotion to the other so quickly and convincingly was also amazing. But what still stands out to me the most is her impeccable eye contact with the audience. Being on the side of the room she looked at lovingly, I almost felt as if she was looking directly at me the whole time. It drew me in, as well as made things slightly awkward. It was one of those things where you don’t want to take your eyes away, but you also feel uneasy because you’re not sure if the intense eye contact was purposely directed at you. But I believe that is one true indication of her talent because she managed to engage the audience so well, I almost felt I was part of the performance.

hmm technology

I am unsure as to whether this post will work, but since one else has posted yet, i shall try.

When first given this assignment I honestly had no idea what to do with it. Despite doing improv the past two(-ish) years, I had never done anything like this, and quite frankly, I never thought I ever would. However my scene partner and I were able to work through the guidelines to come up with the scene we did. I found it interesting to see the different routes taken by each group, even when given the same guidelines and, sometimes the exact same words as inspiration. The variety of themes and moods was surprising. I feel like no two scenes had characters with the same relationship to one another.

The moment of acting that I found most effective was in Sarah Gatti, Jen, and Allison’s scene. The moment when Sarah first came out, shaking, with anger and resentment, struck me the most. First of all, I did not expect it; secondly, the way she shouted and the look in her eyes made me actually feel anxious. I was starting to get upset just watching her act, even though I know Sarah, and I know that she was not truly angry. Although I suppose she had to be in some way, in order to make that scene so believable. I also really enjoyed watching the way the actors switched moods when they crossed in front of Jen, who kept that pained look in her eye for the duration of the scene. To switch from one extreme emotion to another must have been difficult. The audience could see the physical transformation before either actor spoke.

I point out this particular moment because I found the emotions displayed to be very believable. I momentarily forgot that these actors were classmates that I knew; instead I became interested in the character they were portraying. For me, these qualities are important when I consider good acting. The actor, whether he be in a play, movie, tv show etc, must make me forget that he is a famous celebrity - or friend of mine, for that matter. Instead I will see him as the character he is portraying. Generally this character must also make me feel some sort of emotion, whether it be anxiety, sympathy, happiness, etc. My guidelines for acting fall under the larger umbrella of my qualifications for art as a whole. If it makes me feel something, and forget where I really am for a span of time, then I have seen great acting, and thus great art.

Acting 1

For this week of class, I think Stacy and Lauren's piece on Friday had some components of acting which worked quite well. They choose to use only the six lines from the script, yet they repeated them over and over. While I think the comedic effect which they were searching for was indeed found, their technique truly made the piece enjoyable to watch. Their use of physical expression of emotions helped the audience connect with their emotions. Since the same lines were repeated numerous times, they were able to show a evolution of emotion throughout the piece through the tone used to deliver the lines, also adding greatly to how the audience could connect to the actors. Just the image of Stacy staring out the window at a scene of New York we can only imagine was quite a powerful image.
They were able to build the scene at the end by gradually raising the excitement levels in their voices, as the skit started with very little enthusiasm. It really conveyed how the reassurance of a friend can make, "so I live in New York now," perfectly alright and acceptable. Their ability to accomplish a skit where entire attitudes changed in a few short minutes with the same lines showed how the tone and how actions are presented are truly effective
These techniques which Stacy and Lauren so nicely demonstrated are also my primary techniques, falling under the spacial and vocal viewpoints that I just read about. In my own performance, I found that I really needed to use my body, rather than spoken words to convey the action to the audience, as the lines in ours were quite sparse. It is infinitely more challenging to grab the audience's attention when there is minimal dialog, yet when the physical actions are done right, it can be far more effective and memorable. Its probably easier to focus on the physical aspects of a performance when there are no lines to perform at the same time though, as you are not focused on your delivery.