|
|
| Members: 35 |
| Language: English |
|
Group categories:
|
| More group info » |
Claire's Page
| Nov 7 |
|
Sally R.
| May 10 |
|
Mary's Journal
| May 10 |
|
Shelly A. Grondahl (Bio, Monologues, & Journal)
| May 8 |
|
Shelly: Acting 2 Final Evaluations
| May 8 |
|
Shelly: Beyond Therapy Act 1, Scene 1
| May 6 |
|
Eric's journal
| May 6 |
|
FINAL: Bruce 5W
| May 4 |
|
Pedro's Journal
| Apr 23 |
|
Sergio's Caligari
| Apr 23 |
|
Shelly A. Grondahl (Open Scene: Midterm)
Shelly: Post-Midterm Evaluation
Shelly: Beyond Therapy Act 1, Scene 1
Shelly: Acting 2 Final Evaluations
Permanent Address PO Box 805 Willow, AK 99688 Phone # 907-495-3600 E-mail: ace4077th@yahoo.com
School Address PO Box 750777 Fairbanks, AK 99775 Phone # 907-455-3120 E-mail: ace4077th@yahoo.com
Shelly Grondahl - Acting Resume
Vital Statistics
Female, Height: 5’7”, Weight:120lb, Vocal Range: Bass, Hair color: Blonde
Experience Portia Winter Shorts: "The Author’s Voice" Fairbanks, AK Dir.: Andrew Cassel 8/2008 Theatre UAF Alice "The Rothko Room" Fairbanks, AK Dir.: Carrie Baker 12/2008 Theatre UAF(Lab Theatre)
Helena Monolouge:"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Fairbanks, AK Dir.: Carrie Baker 12/2008 Theatre UAF
Education
Expected Graduation: May, 2010 University of Alaska Fairbanks June 1st, 2006 Susitna Valley Jr./Sr. High School
Studies Include
Beginning Acting, Voice and Diction
Specialties
Guitar, Clarinet, Writing
Monologue 1
"A Midsummer Night’s Dream" Act III, sc. 2
"If You Were Men"
Helena Helena is sitting on a fallen tree in a small clearing next to the dirt road. Demetrius is sitting next to her and Lysander is standing nearby. (Expostion) (To catch) O spite! O hell! Stand up and turns away from them (To affirm) I see you all are bent Facing away from them, standing still, clutching her shawl in the cool breeze. It's late and she is exhausted. ( To patronize) A trim exploit, a manly enterprise, clutching hat Analysis:
Who: Helena; late 20's, female, stands with slightly hunched forward shoulder's because she is very insecure about herself and her appearance. She speaks with little confidence. What: Helena is confronting Lysander and Demetrius about their profession of love for her. She is angry, hurt, emabarrassed, and wants them to feel shame for their treatment of her. Where: The forest outside of Athens in a small clearing next to a rugged path. When: Ancient Greece. It's late on a breezy summer night. Why: Helena believes that Lysander and Demetrius are mocking her for being in love with Demetrius, because they both are in love with Hermia. She knows nothing about the spell that Puck casted on both of them. It was only suppose to be put on Demetrius. Floor Plan
Scene/Monologue: Act III, Sc. 2 Notes: Helena is addressing Demetrius and Lysander following their profession of love for her. They both are under the influence of a spell cast by Puck. Helena doesn't know about the spell and therefore believes she is being mocked.
Monologue 2 (Comedy) Author: unknown
"Wrong and Ready"
Expostion I think I've just come up with the best theory. Teenage life sucks. That's it. I mean it, once you hit 13, your life just goes (rocket) off the deep end. All the adults are like "I loved being a teenager!" Yeh, sure. Well, I'm sorry but this isn't "Sunshine 70's" anymore. They're just trying to make us feel better. And the younger kids are like "I can't wait to be a teenager! It would be so fun much to be older!" Hah, no you don't. You really don't.
Okay, first of all, you're in Middle School when it all starts to happen. For some weird reason, it seems like when you're a teenager, all your friends start to turn on you. I mean, at first they're like "Hey, best friends!" and you know, you do the regular things like hang out and stuff. And then once you leave, they go around gossiping "Oh, my gosh, did you know that Gretchen made out with Justin at movies... oh yeah, it was definitely tongue," (what expression) I don't even know a Justin! Then, there's puberty. Actually, I'm not even gonna get into that.
And then there's high school, the black-hole of all teenage life. Once you get there, everything starts to fall apart. First, everyone expects you to be this pencil thin stick or you're considered "fat", but when you are that thin, they just go around spreading rumors that your anorexic! Not to mention the fact that inorder to fit in with the popular crowed your expected to doll yourself up everyday or sleep with cheerleaders. If you do take school seriously you become an outcast. And all through high school, it's nothing but college this or college that, and the college-councilors arn't much help. They're like "You fail here you fail at life! You better memorize the phrase 'You want fries with that?'! Climax Grrr! I hate them! I wish they'd die!!!! (Sigh) Resolution Where was I? Oh yeah, life sucking. You know what, I'm tired of complaining. So, I just have two things to say: Adults, you're wrong, and kids, get ready.
Analysis: Who: Gretchen, older teen, highschool student. Troublemaker. What: Anaylzing the pains of growing up. When: Modern day, spring semester, afterschool. Where: Afterschool detention in a classroom at a highschool in Philidelphia. Why: She cares about doing good in school and being successful in life, but the social scene associated with highschool is an obstacle for her. Peer pressure forces her to be a "bad girl."
Floor Plan X=Gretchen
upstage [1] UR [2] UC [3] UL X1 X7 center [4] CR X3 [5] CC
X2, X6
Desk X5 [6] CL X4 downstage [7] DR [8] DC
[9] DL
ACTING JOURNAL
Week 1 January 22rd, 2009
Today was our first class meeting for Acting 2. We are jumping right into the work with our first monologue. Our first presentation is next class. I have decided to perform a monologue that I have previously performed. I am choosing a piece by Helena is William Shakespear's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I was unsatified with my previous performance of this piece. I believe that I didn't explore enough the character's psyche and what she is going through mentally when she is saying these words. My expectations for this class, which is required for my major, include being able to free my emotions, and to be completely open on stage. I believe that this is the next step for me in my growth as a performer. As for my monologue, I believe it is suppose to be sad and that audience is suppose to sympathize with and feel sorry for Helena. I hadn't considered this before, and I now realize that I have to go much further emotionally with this piece inorder to get the audiences' sympathy.
We also went over some acting terms that were familiar to me from Acting 1. We talked about the the five w's, during which I realized that I never thourougly explored them for my monologue in past presentations. I have been thinking and writing down ideas for these as I have been rehearsing. We also talked about the Master Gesture which I had never thought about before. I haven't discovered a master gesture for myself yet or for my monologue. I also hadn't put much thought into the use of space on the stage for my monologue. After we talked about it in class I realized that there were some movement's I could do that would make sense for my character, as well as her situation. By this I mean I can physicallize more of what my character is going through internally.
January 24th, 2009
I have continued work on my monologue and have broken it down into three sections. I haven't been building up to a climax, nor coming down from one. I am struggling with this. It is difficult for me to shift tactics in this piece, butI feel like it is improving none the less. Assigning an emotion and a motion to each performance line is helping a little with shifting between tactics. I decided that the general trend is that she starts off embarrassed, builds to an angry climax, and resolves with trying to make her listeners feel guilt and sadness for her. I discovered that steping forward on the climatic moment helps. Highlighting the key words in each performance line also helps me to see where I should be placing emphasis vocally and physically.
I finished rereading the play itself. This has helped build my pre-acting moment. Before, I wasn't starting out fully into my character. Instead, I was getting fully into character a few lines into the monologue. Since the piece isn't very long, this was heavily hurting my performance. The play is itself is a combination between comedy and drama. So, this monolouge could be performed both comedically or dramatically. I was having to much difficulty trying to perform it as comedy so I decided to stick with drama. I am also trying to slow myself down. It seems much more genuin when I take my time with the piece. Since I am suppose to be speaking to two different men, I have considered who on would be addressing for each line. For example, it makes sense that I would adress the following line, "To vow, and swear, and super praise my parts,..." to Demetrius becuase he was the one that did this to her.
January 25th, 2009
I am working on movement for my monologue. I have experimented with turning away on some lines and even sitting down after the climax. I haven't found anything that feels exactly right yet. When I picture Helena in my mind I see her as wearing a long dress that she clutches with her hands on either side to hold it up off the ground. I also imagine that she is wearing a shaw becuase it's night and there is a breeze. She doesn't stand tall and erect, but instead slightly hunched as she is very insecure about herself and her appearance. I realize now that there is so much that I hadn't thought about regarding the character and her surroundings the first time I ever performed this piece.
I will be attending the morning monologue's for this semester's mainstage and will perform Helena's monologue. My second showing will help me to determine how much further I have to go with the piece to be reading for the audition. I feel as though I have improved my building up to the climax, but the lines following still feel like their not leading to a clear resolution. I have decided that by the end I could be sitting on the ground. I imagine that by the end she is exhausted after having just let out all of the grief that she has over her situation.
Week 2 January 27th, 2009
Today we had our 2nd class meeting and had our first presentations of our monologues. My presentation didn't go as well as I had rehearsed. I think this was largely becuase I had rehearsed it wearing a dress with a shawl. I was all over the place with my hands and ended up pacing a little for no specific purpose. We talked again about the five w's and I realized that I wasn't being specific enough. Before, I only had my character's name written down for 'who' and nothing about her like her age. I still haven't discovered a master gesture for this piece. Perhaps it will come up after the second showing.
It was interesting to watch my fellow classmates perform. For Sarah, at the begining I believed her to be a highschool girl getting reading for a date. It was later revealed that she was a married woman likely in her 30's having marrital problems. It made a big difference when she put on a wedding ring. It seemed easier for her to get into the character's body and voice once she was wearing the ring. Clair's monologue was interesting. I believe it is meant to be a comedy and that the character is supposed to be very creepy, but in a funny way. I think Clair can go much further in establishing the the character is creepy. I think it will also help the piece once she establishes a clear exposition, climatic moment, and a resolution. Marry also did well, but she also didn't have it broken up into three parts. I think this is the next step for her, as well as being aware of who she is addressing with each line of performance. Last but not leaste, Pedro performed a piece from the "Taming of the Shrew." I think he portrayed Portrucio well, but can be even more macho with it.
January 29th, 2009
We finished our first showings of our monologues today with Sally. We also talked more about the meaning of Biomechanics. My understanding is that in a nut shell Biomechanics is outside to inside, physical to psychological. This method seems to work better for me than working the other way around. I began work on a second monologue for saturday's auditions. In the past I would memorize the lines first and then explore the subtext. However, this time I explored the five w's, and allowed the memorization to come as a result of this exploration. I was surprised at the difference this made. I felt that the piece was much more natural than my past performances, and I had a much easier time getting into the character's mind and situation. When I had worked on the Aurthor's Voice last semester I memorized the lines before exploring the five w's. I suspect that this is the reason for my having a difficult time getting into my character for that show. I think useing this new method is going to help me a great deal as a performer.
Sally performed her monologue for us today. Based on her performance I believe the character to be a man named Andrey in his 40's. Andrey is unhappy with his life and is trying to reason with himself and to his sisters why it all went wrong for him. I believe it is set in the present. I imagined as I was watching the performance that the character was sitting on the portch of his home. There wasn't a clear climax, but I believe the resolution is meant to come when he starts the line "Marsha my sister...." I recognize the formula Actor = A1(creator) + A2(medium) from the reading. When Sally experimented with standing up on different lines it helped to make it clear that her character was having realizations in the moment. I am still a little confused about how to use the floor plan chart to map movement in a monologue. I just marked which area I am during the expostion, climax, and resolution. I have it planned so that I am standing DC for the climax. I am looking forward to second showings on Tuesday. I still feel as though my use of space on stage for this piece is shakey. I think it will help to get feedback from the class.
February 1st, 2009
I have been keeping my monologue in mind as I have been doing the readings. As I was reading about Task I tried to redefine the Task for my monologue and be more specific. I came up with this: The Taskis to make Demetrius and Lysander feel guilty about their treatment of her and apologize to her. This better explains her actions, such as to mock them back, or to shame them for their behavior. Upon closer evaluation I have come up with four primary obstacles. The first is the spell. This is an obstacle because she doesn't know about it, and also because it is preventing Demetrius and Lysander from feeling guilty about their profession of love to her. Demetrius and Lysander are therefore the other obstacles. The last is Helena herself. She tries to hold herself together so as not to let them see that they are getting to her. However, once she realizes that her desire is thwarted, she breaks down in tears at the resolution of the monologue. I also discovered that what comes after the climax is an adjustment. Therefore, I added a pause at the conclusion of the climax to allow for the realization that what I just said didn't get through to them. This leads me to my new action of shaming them for their behavior. I think that having obstacles is what makes this piece interesting. They create a sort of suspense that makes the audience sympathize with her desire. If it is performed well, I believe the audience should feel the same sadness and frustration that she does after her desire is thwarted. I performed this monologue for auditions on Saturday. I didn't have my new movement down yet, so I ended up making the climax come to early. Other than that, it went relatively well. I allowed a photographer from the Sun Star to photograph my monologues as I was performing them. I think this distracted me somewhat. I wasn't able to audition for the show due to a work obligation that I couldn't get out of. I was disappointed about this, but I do need the job. I am looking forward to working on the next monologue for this class. I feel as though I have already learned a great deal of useful information in these last two weeks. I suspect and hope that my next monologue with be better than the last. I think being in Directing is also going to help with my performances, as I am learning about the details of the subtext in any script. Week 3
February 3rd, 2009
Today we watched Eric present his monologue. It was an excellent first draft. His use of the stage made me consider how I can use more of the space around me for my monologue. It also made me realize that I have to act for the people that can not be seen by the audience. Perhaps some of the lines are meant to be a reaction to the invisibile characters's actions. I also realized that I am not making my expo., climax, and res., as clear as I could be. The end Eric's monologue felt like a climax instead of the end of the resolution. I have a similar issue with my piece. I have decided to try exiting the scene at the conclusion of my dialog. I also havnt't given my monologue a title. I think "If you were men" fits well. My main issue at this point in the process is that there are two different places that feel like climatic moments to me. The first is with the line "But you must join in souls..." The second is "With your derision!" For the second showing I will have the climax at the latter of the two lines. I believe this to be a climax becuase I am becoming more and more upset and frustrated. The reason for this is that I can't get through to Demetrius and Lysander. I can't get them to feel ashamed of professioning their love to me and apologize because, unknown to me, they are being sinscere.
Pedo to a good job on his second showing, though there wasn't yet a clear resolution. The pre-acting he did with Clair made a big difference. The laughing that resulted made it clear that he was enjoying the shrew's misery. Afterwards, I started to think about pre-acting for my monologue. I still strongly believe that the first two performance lines are meant to be a realization. Therefore, I am trying to take more time with the begining. In general infact, I am trying to slow the whole thing down. I think taking the time to realize that I am not getting through to them with each failed attempt I make will help me build up to the climax. I have also decided to try being seated at the start, and later when I say "I see you all are bent..." I will adress this to the audience (the whole forest).
February 5th, 2009
Today I presented my second draft of my monologue. I was pleased with how it went. I did make some last minute changes to my blocking, but it didn't throw me off. The feedback from the class was very helpful. I feel like I have a good idea of how to proceed from this point towards my third draft. I need to use more of the stage instead of consistantly moving to downstage right and back to center. The idea of incorporated a piece of my costume into the climax is a great idea that I would have never come up with. I especially like using the hat as a part of the climatic moment instead of just increasing my volume. The other comment was that I need to show the movement of the other characters in the monologue, especially in the sense of their rivalry. I need to make clear which one is which. I think it will help if I mention during my introduction that Helena is in love with Demetrius. The last idea that was brought up was how to show that I am in the forest. During the performance I played it as being cold by pulling my sweater closed frequently. I think it might help to have some twigs or flower stems with me during the monologue. I intend to incorporate all of the feedback given to me into my next performance.
I was the only one that was able to go through a second draft today. We did do some helpful improv work beforehand. It was especially interesting to see how much can be discovered by simply reading the text at a slower pace. I tried to keep this in mind as I was preparing for my showing. I think it really helped me to get in touch with my character's inner thoughts and emotions. I was therefore able to expresses these inner feelings as I was performing. The biggest issue I had been having with this monologue prior to this performace was slowing it down. I think the cause of this was that when I first looked at this piece last semester, I started working on it by first memorizing it. I have recently discovered that I do better with monologues if I explore the five w's by going through it several times, and allowing the memorization to come naturally as a result of exploring.
February 8th, 2009
I experimented with using more of the stage for my monologue. I havn't come up with anything that I for sure want to use yet. I do have a costume planned that I believe works well for my character. I am still trying to work it out so that the audience will be able to recognize which character is which (Demetrius and Lysander) when I am addressing them seperately. A chose for my contrasting monologue "An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde. Though it isn't set in stone yet. I am still browsing through various other monologues. I really want to do a piece that fits me like a glove so to speak. I do like Oscar Wilde, but I kind of want to find something more modern.
I found it interesting how the book discussed the use of motivation in episodes, and how actors should avoid including the motivation. I always thought that we were suppose to thouroughly investigate our character's motivations for their actions and make the audience aware of these motivations. Although, I understand how not giving the motivations make a piece more interesting. The way I understand it is that we are not suppoe to show the motivation but allow our understanding of our character's motivations to direct how we perform the character's actions.
Week 4
February 10th, 2009
Class was canceled today but we stayed anyway. We played the freeze scenario improv game. I think playing such improv games are very helpful in improving our ability to think on our feet. I am still looking for an alternative second monologue to replace the one I selected. I really want to find one that fits me.
February 12th, 2009
Clair presented the second draft of her first monologue. From the performance it was my guess that the character was a 12 year old farm girl who is slightly crazy since she talks to her pig. It was much more clear this time around that her character is suppose to be slow minded. Her master gesture of smacking her lips and tounge around really added to the character. I think the subtext of the piece is that the girl is lonely and the pig is her only friend. Mary also presented her second draft of her first monologue. I main suggestion for her is to work on slowing the piece down. This is something that I to had to work on with my piece. It's amazing how much subtext you can discover by just taking your time with the language. Pedro gave the first draft of his second monologue. I think it is a good choice and works well for him and what I know about his personality. The way I understood it was that his character is a Lincoln impersonater. I think the main message behind his piece is that the man feels guilty about ripping the kid off. Somebody brought up the idea that there is a conflict between rich and poor in this piece. I agree.
Next week we will continue presenting our first drafts of our second monolouges and then move on to the open scenes. I am looking forward to open scenes. I have been browsing through what students have done in the past and have come up with two possibilities. I would either like to do the scene from Anton Chekhov's "The Bear," or the scene from "Taming of the Shrew." When I was reading through these I could see Pedro playing either of the male roles. February 15th, 2009
I have been practicing for my first draft of my second monologue "Wrong and Ready" I really like this monologue becuase I think it gives a fairly accurate analysis of what highschool life is like for many teenages, especially at schools in big cities. I have been trying to incorporate an attitude into the piece that I image a city girl might have. I myself am from a rural community, so I didn't have much association with kids like this.As for the preacting of the piece, the girl is suppose to be in afterschool detention, however it wasn't specified as to why. So I am imagining in my mind that she was cheating on a midterm exam. I image that she is likely as senior in highschool. The piece to me feels like a reflection of her experience with highschool, which makes since if she is a senior. I think she doesn't take school seriously because of social expectations, and therefore she didn't study and needed to cheat inorder to pass.
I think this piece is a good contrast between my first monologue. The first one was more dramatic and emotional, and the character was very insecure. This second one is a little lighter, but still somewhat serious. Also, Gretchen is much more sure of her self and has a lot of self confidence, unlike Helena. There is also a little humor in this piece. Also, Wrong and Ready is modern vrs. classic. As far as open scenes go, The Bear is my first choice and the Taming of the Shrew is my second pick. I plan to ask Pedro if he is interested in either of these scenes.
Week 5
February 17th, 2009
Today we practiced some scenes to help better understand episodic structure. I made up my mind to do the scene from "Tamming of the Shrew." The next step is to break it down into episodes and do an analysis. Predro is playing Petrucio. I think it is a good scene with a lot of sub text. For example, I think that at some point during the scene Katherina becomes somewhat attracted to Petrucio. I have to decide where this moment is and how to perform it. Pedro and I will be doing a cold reading hopefully on Thursday for the class. Our first rehearsal outside of class will be Monday of next week. We need to work on breaking it down and running through the scene. I think the scene that Mary chose is going to work well for her and Sarah. Especially if Mary is playing Puck.
I have continued working on my monoloue. I have added a desk to the performance so that I am not just standing the entire time. It also makes since for my character to be sitting at a desk, since she is in detention. I am trying to find a place where I can stand up, particulary sometime before the climax. I believe I have found a good point for the climatic moment. I am also experimenting with exiting at the conclusion of the dialog. Right now, I have so that I look at my watch and see that my detention is finally over, so I stand up and give my last lines and then exit. This also gives purpose to my backpack, as I will take it with me when I leave. Before, my only use of the packback was kicking it on the climax. I also thought about maybe having a notebook out on the desk, but that wouldn't make to much sence. My character is a bad student as so probably wouldn't bother doing school work in afterschool detention. I may decide to add it in later though. Someone might bring up the point that many schools require you to work on homework during afterschool detention. I plan to give my first draft of the monologue on Thursday if there is time.
February 19th, 2009
Unfortunatly there wasn't enough time in class for me to do my second monologue. However, it does give me the opportunity to improve upon it. Pedro and I did our first run through of our scene today. Afterwards, we were given direction as to how to proceed from here. We will be meeting on Monday to rehearse and start breaking the script down, as well as drawing up an analysis. Hopefully we wil be able to create some sort of blocking plan by the end of next week. I have an idea for where the climatic moment for the open scene is. I think the climax is when Katherina slaps Petrucio. I think her anger is building up over the course of him speaking to her, and when she finally slaps him she does so becuase she can't hold the anger back anymore. This will also provide the oportunity for some physical action between our two characters. I like the idea of Petrucio grabing Katherina's wrists after the slap. As far as the reading goes, I am understanding the text. The only question I have is concerning the Gest. I think my understandin gof Gest might be off. I understand it to refer to whether the transaction failed or succeeded.
Eric did his second monologue today. I think it is a good contrast then his first piece. This one is a bit more humorous and less serious. I think his character is guilty of the crime. This could be made a little clearer. It is a difficult piece, especially since it is so long. However, it is a piece that can't really be broken down. Also, I think the spanish parts are meant to be badly copied. I think the bad spanish speaking is suppose to add to the comedy of the piece. Its a good genre, comedy about tragedy. I will be preforming my second monologue on Tuesday. I have almost go it memorized, and I hope to have it completly memorized by first showing.
February 21st, 2009
I have been thinking a lot about open scenes. In addition to mine scene with Pedro, I also have a brief part in mary and sarah's scene. I have been working analyizing the scene and determining what each line is saying. I will be meeting with Pedro on Thursday next week and we will break the scene up into episodes, compare analysis', and try creating a basic blocking set up. I have also been working on my second monologue. I think next step for me is to explore how to show that I am a teenager and a deliguent one at that. I have to better distinguish my character from myself.
I have been looking for a blocking plan for my scene online to give us a starting place, though I haven't found anything yet. I found a place where I believe Katherina becomes attracted to Pedro. I won't know for sure till I try it out by rehearsing with Pedro. I have been reading about alienation in the textbook. This helped in regards to my monologue. I realized that I am not quite comming off as a teenager. In class workshop I think will help.
Week 6
February 24th, 2009
I did my second monolgue today. The work we did on it in class was very helpful, especially the work we did with alienation and seperating my character from myself. I am going to keep the idea of entering to set up the situation. I am also going to keep the idea of sarcastically mocking my parents with the line about the adults. I am not sure about playing with the gum. It was very awkford for me to use the gum, perhaps because I never chew gum. Sally's monolgue was a good choice for her. My interpretation is that her character is on a first date. She is somewhat unstable and is trying desperatly to get this guy to like her. Also, she is craving a cigarrette. This could be made more clear. I know people who smoke and when they can't at that moment they are very fidgety. Mary also did her monolgue. I think Mary will discover a lot of subtext for building her character if she slows it down. For clair, my advice would be to make her character's age more clear. Also, this character is suppose to be exhausted and fed up after what she considers eight years of a failed marraige.
I wanted to verify that I am understanding a few terms from the text. The first is image. My understanding of image is that it is an idea that the actor gets from the script, or even a particular moment or line or character. Also, an image doesn't have to be a picture, but instead can be a sound, smell, taste, etc... Next is Fantasy: put yourself in your character's shoes and image what he/she would be experiences inside and arround her. I am not fully understanding the concept of sense memory. Perhaps we can breifly go over it in class.
February 26th, 2009
Today we watched Clair/Eric, and Mary/Sarah perform their open scenes. Clair and Eric's scene from A Doll's House is a good choice for them. I think for Clair, something she can work on is distinguishing her character's voice from her own. For Mary and Sarah's scene: I would suggest to Mary that she slow down, which will help her discover the subtext for her character's situation. For Sarah, I think she can play it that her character does and doesn't want to do what they are proposing. Pedro and I were able to get together today and go over our scene. We came up with a rubric for the blocking of the scene. We were also able to make some cuts to shorten the scene. I analyzed the scene and my character, and therefore have a better feel for what is going on with Katherine in this scene.
At the start of the scene, Katherine is in her studyroom trashing it becuase she just found out about her father promising her to yet another man. When she first sees Petruchio, I think that she is attracted to him. I think she covers up this attracting by being cold toward him. At the end of the scene, I think she is silent becuase she realizes that she can't outwit Petruchio, nor can she stop the marriage. I think she is both upset and releived by this. Deep down, she want's to fit in with society and knows that the only way to do so is to become a wife. At leaste, this is my interpretation of Katherine. I am still working on breaking the scene down into episodes. It will be easier now that we have shortened the scene.
February 29th, 2009
Pedro and I were finally able to get together today to work on our scene. We were not able to go over blocking, but were we able to go throught he script a few times. We are going to meet before class on tuesday to go over a basic blocking regimine. The biggest thing that I need to work on is estabishing when Katherine becomes attracted to Petrucio. Right now its mostly just anger and shrewish behavior. We also need to continue working on building the climax. My biggest concern at this point is not being able to rehearse this scene as much as it needs to be. Pedro and I both have very complicated schedules, but I think we can make it work if we can get together for at least an hour everyday over Spring Break.
I have to define what I think my character's objective in the scene is, and my master gesture. Pedro and I will be doing the scene in costume. I will be wearing a dress for Katherine. Right now were playing it as though it takes place in Katherine's studyroom. I am supposed to be fired up and ready to fight anything that comes why way becuase I just came from fighting my sister. I want to do so that Katherine is trashing the room in a fit of rage at the begining, but I don't see how I can do it in the Green Room. We may decide after the second showing to not have it set in her studyroom.
Week 7
March 3rd, 2009
Pedro and I did our second showing today. I didn't go as well as I wanted it to. We were only able to go over blocking once before class started. The feedback was very helpful. I definately agree that the sexual reference needs to be amped up significantly. I've given it some more thought, and I think that Katherine is instantly physically attracted to him, and then becomes attracted to his personality as the scene progresses. Also, the scene is meant to be comical. Pedro and I have to really work on the scene and find the comedy in it. I like the idea of establishing each character's space and having them violate each other's space. I also like the idea of teasing Petruchio sexually. I will also be performing as Cleonice in Pedro's Lysistrata scene.
Sarah and Mary presented their scene as well. I think something that will really help them is to think about what each line is saying. In other words, translate each line into non-shakespearian poetic language into modern everyday speech. From there, it will be easier to discover and understand the subtext for each line. I like the idea of the fish or some kind of funky prop/gesture. It is a comedy afterall, so they can get away with using something like that. For Marry specifically, it will help the audience if she enunciates more and doesn't drop the vowels or consanants in the words.
March 5th, 2009
We finished second showings of our open scenes today. In addition to playing Katherine in Tamming of the Shrew, I am also playing Cleonice as extra credit in a scene from Lysistrata. For this performance, I am an audience member with only three lines. I am also performing in this piece for directing class. It feels awkward for me to get in an out of a desk for this part. I feel like I should be behind the audience, standing. I think it wouldn't be as awkward if we were in a theatre, and I was sitting in the front row. I guess its the desk, not the location that is the problem. Cleonice is supposed to have anger and desperation in her, and is very exhilerated becuase her friend is standing up for all the women in the town. However, I get the sense that she is also nervous about what might happen to them for standing up against the magistrate. Pedro and I are meeting on Saturday as well as everyday next week to rehearse our scene for Tamming of the Shrew. We may change the setting from Katherine's study room to her bedroom. I think it would help as far as increasing the sexual tension/references that exists in the subtext.
Clair and Eric also presented their scene. At the begining, I thought that Clair character was the daughter instead of the wife. I think this is because she was de-aging her voice. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but my suggestion would be for her to giver her character more of a mature voice. I also think it will help both of them to take more time in the pre-acting period before the dialog begins. I think it is meant to be a big deal for Clair's character to be telling her husband that she is leaving him. Sally and Eric are also doing a scene together. For Sally, I got the sense that her character is insecure and shy, but I think that she can go even further with this. In other words, physicallize her insecurity and shyness even more than she already was. For example, nervously playing with her hair and avoiding eye contact. Something that many of us girls do when we are nervous is constantly comb our hair behing our ears. So thats one possibility.
March 8th, 2009
I have spent a lot of time working on my scene. Pedro and I were able to get together yesterday and today. Yesterday we focused on the first half of the scrip, ending after the climax. We worked out the blocking for this first part. We to set the scene in Katherine's bedroom. We are still going to keep the desk and maintain it as Katherine's space on stage. I will be trashing my room at the top of the scene, throwing things from the desk and such. We experimented with having me enter the room, and me already being in the room at the begining. I have decided which I am going to stick with yet. However, I think that entering the room at the begining is a stronger choice. That way I can slam the door in anger.
Today, Pedro and I worked out the blocking for the second half of the scene which is the resolution. It's in this part of the script that we encorporated the bed into the scene. Petruchio establishes Katherine's bed as his space. Also, having the bed helps with the sexual conotation in the subtext. We will be meeting again tomarrow, and will work through each episode of the whole script at leaste twice. I am happy with how our scene is coming together. We have definatley added much more humor to the scene. I think the class will like what we have come up with.
Week 8
March 10th, 2009
Pedro and I were only able to briefly meet today due to other obligations. We were able to go through it once though with all the blocking. We are going to try and start rehearsing the scene in costumes on Friday. We are getting the lines down much easier now that we have worked out the blocking. We decided that I will enter the room at the start of the scene. Since I have to start out very pumped up and ready to fight, I plan to do a good warm up before begining. It will help me to do some physical excerises before hand, especially push-ups and running. Since we could only meet breifly, we were not able to work through the scene episode by episode. Hopefully, we can do this tomarrow or at the latest by Thursday.
We haven't been able to work much on Lysistrata. However, there is a rubric for the blocking and I have my lines memorized. I have a good feel for the character Cleonice. I think she is excited about Lysistrata standing up against the magistrate, but at the same time is nervous about what could happen to them. Pedro changed the blocking so that instead of sitting alongside everyone in a desk I will be standing in the back, behind the audience. I think this makes more sense, and it feels much more natural to be standing the whole time. As for when I join Lysistrata on stage, I am physicalizing my support and belief in what Lysistrata is saying. Hopefully, we will be able to do a few run throughs before Tuesday's final showing.
March 11th, 2009
Pedro and I were able to get together again today. We changed the layout of our floor plan. We moved the bed closer to the desk and we aligned the door so that its angle matches that of the beds. Friday is the next time we will be able to meet. We are going to experiment with using the matts as a bed instead of the couch. It might make the setup looked less awkward. We came up with this idea of incorporating a lamp into the scene. We were going to use it so that Petruchio would continually turn it off and I would turn it back on. This would help with the sexual conotation in the scene. However, we quickly realized that they didn't have electricity back then so that idea when out the window. Right now we are using one of my shoes as a prop. I take it off to throw it and later Petruchio admires it.
I finally responded to everyone's showings. I am still debating what to wear as far as costumes go. Pedro and I were hoping to rehease with full props and costumes on Friday, but it looks like this won't happen till Saturday. Sunday will be the last time we will beable to rehearse in the Green Room, so we plan to spend a couple hours rehearsing that day. I really like what we have done with our scene. I think the class is going to find it funny. I am still struggling with showing Katherine's attraction to Petruchio. Hopefully I will get in down by Saturday. Other than that, I broke the scene into episode, which helped a lot. Now, I need to assign an objective and a caption to each episode.
March 14th, 2009
Pedro and I were able to meet today and go over our scene a couple of times. We are off book. Tommorow is our last rehearsal, which will be done with full props and costumes. We don't know yet for sure if our extra credit Lysistrata scene will be performed. Pedro and Sarah are not yet off book for that scene. At the begining of our scene, I am trashing my room and I throw a book across the room. We encorporated Petruchio picking the book up during his second monologue. He looks at it as a way of getting to know Katherine better by seeing what kind of books she likes to read. This way the book is used three times during the scene. I also take off one of my shoes, which we finally figured out how to use three times during the scene.
I think I have finally nailed down a good place in the scene for Katherine to start to fall for Petruchio. It is about midway through. Also, we encorporated Katherine's father into the end of the scene. Petruchio acknowledges his pressence at the door and Katherine trys to appear as though nothing is going on romantically between her and Petruchio. In other words, during Petruchio's final monologue Katherine is somewhat moved by what he is saying and gets lost in his gaze, almost kissing him. Then he tells her that he hears her father coming. I am playing it right now that she reacts to this as though they were about to get caught in the act. This helps give meaning to Petruchio's next line, which is "never make denial." I am looking forward to performing on Tuesday and I think our scene is good for a midterm presentation.
Week 9
March 17th, 2009
We did our final performances of our midterm scenes today. It feels good to have this done. My "Shrew" scene went great today. It was definately our best performance of the scene to this point. Pedro and I had a lot of energy and were really into it today. A couple of minor things did go wrong, but that happens in just about every performance. I misplaced the shoes I was going to wear for my costumes. Our timiming was slightly off during my second attempt to leave the room. Also, the build to the climax was meant to be clearer, but a breifly forgot a line which distracted me from maintaining my emotional upbuild. I slapped Pedro harder than I intended, but it actually benefited the scene. I am glad the class liked what Pedro and I came up with for the scene. I would enjoy the opportunity to play Katherine again in the future. Lysistrata could have gone better. I was late delivering one of my lines, but the water bottle malfunction at the end helped make up for this.
Outside of "Shrew" my favorite scene to watch was Lysistrata. I liked the energy that Pedro and Sarah had. I think that there definately could have been more variation in tactics, and the climax wasn't clear. I also would have like to see the sexual connotation played out. Lysistratat could have mabe tried to seduce the Magistrate to show him what he and his men will be missing out on if they don't end the war. I did like, the stairs, and I liked that Pedro addressed the audience occassionaly, instead of always addressing Lysistrata. Also, the sword was a good prop for the Magistrate, but I am not so sure about Lysistrata's staff. Everyone's scenes improved since second showing, so that is a good sign.
March 19th, 2009
We took the writen part of our midterm today. I was exhuasted so I think I might have made a few silly errors. Afterwards, we discussed the class project for the final. So far this semester, everything text that I have worked with has been classic. So, I really would like to do something modern for the final. With this in mind, my preference for which script is used is "Beyond Therapy." However, if the majority is in favor of doing a classical script than my preference is "The Bear." My conference time for next week is one Tuesday from 4:30-4:45pm.
I am keeping up on the book reading. For Katherine, I chose to have my hands on my hips as my master gesture. And as far as how Katherine walks, I made an effort to sway my hips more than I usually do. It felt right for this particular character. I tried to encorporte some personal history into the character. I would recall how irritating it was to be pursued when I didn't necessarily want to be pursued. I think this helped a lot. During the process of building the character I thought a lot about how she would talk, but I had difficulty in establishing a firm vocal mask. I do feel like I was speaking in at leaste a slightly different voice from my own, but I would have liked the time to improve it more. The voice I was speaking in had a slightly more sarcastic and uptight tone to it, if I recall correctly. During the scene, Katherine wanted to get away from Petruchio and get out of the room. Therefore, I tried to leave or escape a number of times, and each time I was stopped. So, this was a set of actions meeting the same obstace of Petruchio. I think the dramatic action for this scene could be identified as the moment when Katherine starts to fall for Petruchio. In other words, the moment when the mask changes from one of resentment to one of interest.
March 21st, 2009
I really like the play "Beyond Therapy," and I am hoping the Directing class will rule in favor of it. I especially like that it is a psycological comedy. The scene that I would like to act in is Act I, Scene 2, with Prudence and her psychologist Stuart. The scene that I would like to direct is Act 1, Scene 1, which is Bruce and Prudence's frist date. As I was reading the play I coming up with various ideas for making it really funny. I would like to play the character Prudence. One of the big things that I like about this play is that the therapists are just about as disturbed as the patients. One is libido and the other uses a stuffed snoopy to interact with her patients. I am confused on if we as the actors will get to chose which scene we are in, or if that decision is left to the directors. All of this will be cleared up on Wednesday next week. The book reading is coming along, and I have read up through Part III.
Week 10
March 24th, 2009
We talked a lot about the midterm exam which didn't go well for most people. As I expected, I made a couple silly errors as the result of being dead tired when I took the exam. Question 10: Biomechanics, which is Meyerhold's system, is working from the outside in. Question 7: We search for answers to the Ten Questions in the play itself, the time and place the play was written (historical period and setting), the playwrites system of values, in the form of the play, as well as in the form of production (physical, and the director's concept).
I am not involved in any productions this semester because I have an evening job that eats a lot of my spare time. However, I am helping with publicity for the Vagina Monologues. This semester has been my first exposure to this production. I had no idea that this production is partly done inorder to raise money for the batterd women's shelter. Fiona is the director this year and is doing a great job. I particulary like how she has seperated the monologues into groups with all the angry one's being together, the comic ones being in a seperate group together, etc. I would like to try my hand at directing this particular production at some point in the future, especially since it is for a good cause. I would also like to try directing a "Winter Shorts" production. I don't know what the requirements are to be eligable to direct, but I plan to find out at the next SDA meeting.
March 26th, 2009
We finished going through "The Bear" today. We broke the script down into scenes, and talked a lot about Smirnov's character. We went through the 5 w's for his character: Who: Male, retired ex-artilliary officer, early 30's, no family. What: He is in financial trouble. When: Late 19th century, winter, Christmas time(eve), before dinner. Where: North Russia, livingroom of Popova's house. Why: He desperately needs money because he is in debt, and the stop is his last hope.
We determined that he speaks loudly because he is ex-artilliary and therefore likely has hearing trouble. He is a nice guy, he's just in a desperate situation. He likely got into that situation by gambling and drinking a lot. He has been traveling around for a while, asking people along the way for help. He has been rejected several times today, and this stop is his last hope becuase he is exhausted. Something happend to him that day that was the last straw that made him propose. Perhaps his horse sprained its legs. We also came up with for his master gesture that he cranes to hear. Perhaps this could be a cause for Popova to raise her voice at cettain points in the scene. So, maybe she doesn't want to yell when she does, but only does so becuase he is hard of hearing. For his vocal gesture, perhaps he starts each sentence at a normal volume and then raises it as he gets to the end of the sentence.
We also talked about French scenes: A French scene is between the entrance and exit of one person. It was also reiterated that the climax happens for both characters at the same time.
March 29
For homework we have to pick a monologue from the script that we will present on Tuesday. Our presentation should show our analysis of the character. I will be performing one of Popova's monologues. I chose Popova's last monogue in the play, Act 1 Scene 4. I have been working on the analysis and have made some headway. 5W's Who: Popova, female, widow, early 30's, no family, rich. What: She wants to be married. When: Late 19th century, winter, Christmas Eve, before dinner. Where: Northern Russia, living room of her house. Why: Her first marriage was based on money; therefore she wants a marriage based on love. She is tired of being depressed and lonely.
Master Gesture: Fiddles with wedding band each time she refers to loving her husband. I came up with a working blocking plan and established the climatic moment. I am currently working on the line by line analysis and showing the character analysis in my performance. I have also underlined which words in each senstence I want to place emphasis on. I believe that she is bored and wants a companion to share her time with. I think she spends most of her time louging around the house, misering over her husband being gone, leaving her childless. This monolgue shows how she is playing a game with him. She wants him to fall for her, but at the same time she plays hard to get to tease him. I think in this monolgue she is selling herself. She talks about how despite all of her husbands shortcommings she still loved him and was true to him. So, she is informing him that she can love him too despite his shortcomings, which at this point is primarily him being poor.
Week 11
March 31st, 2009
I read through the script for "Beyond Therapy." I think it is a good script for playing physical comedy. Obviously there is some psychological comedy, especially in the irony that the therapists are more disturbed than their patients. Stuart is highly libido, and Charlotte talks to stuffed animals; eccentric. At this point I am really interested in playing Prudence, particulary in one of the two date scenes. This play is a farcical comedy: physical humor, eccentric behavior, fast paced, etc.
April 2nd, 2009
We finished discussing "The Bear." For homework, we have to pick a scene and analyze it, as well as anaylze the characters the scene. We went through each scene and discussed how each one would be name. It was decided that the first french scene should be called "Denial." I don't know if I agree with this. Personally, I think in this scene Popova is trying to convince herself that she can move on from her husband. Her words convey that she is telling her husband that she is ready to move on from mourning. However, I think she is really telling it to herself. So, I would title the scene as something like "moving on." I do agree with the title for the second scene. I think "Masks" works well because both characters put on a mask for this first interaction. The rest of the titles I am also in agreement with.
We had a terribly hard time trying to pinpoint the exact moment that Popova falls in love with Smirnov and how to show this. We didn't come up with a firm answer. I do like the idea of having the portrait being ripped off the wall at some point. Perhaps Popova can do this to show that she has fallin for Smirnov. We also talked about the prolongued kiss. I like the idea of not having them actually kiss, but instead drawing the curtain before the kiss. As for what happens afterward, I would say that the characters have sex.
April 5th, 2009
I skimmed through the script again for Beyond Therapy. I am trying to clearly state the action of the play. I understand that it is a love story. I think the messsage is that therapy isn't the answer to our imperfections. To be human is to be imperfect, and going to therapy doesn't help people to achieve imperfection. I think by having the therapists even more messed up than Prudence and Bruce helps to underine that we all have imperections and its ok to have them. I am acting in Jenna's scene for sure. I may end up acting in one more, depending on whether or not the directors can find other actors outside of acting two class or not. I finished the scene study and character analysis for "The Bear." I believe Pedro and I will start rehearsing with Jenna early next week.
Week 12
April 7th, 2009
For next class we have to pick a scene that we are intersted in performing in for finals. I picked Act, 1, Scene 1 becuase I am already for sure performing in this scene. However, I am also interested in performing Act, Scene 5 as Prudence. I would prefer to only act in a second scene as a last resort since I will be directing a scene for directing class. We went over scene 5 in class today and discussed the character stewart. I agree that he is in his early to mid 30's, and that he is macho. I believe that Stewart is insequre about his sexual dysfunction and tries to hide this insequirity by being macho. The idea of having hunting trophy's in his office is another idea that I found to fit what I see as being Stewart. However, I don't agree with having the setting in the 1960's. I think modern works becuase than the message is directed to us today. In otherwords, it is saying that this is how we are, not how we used to be. I love Pedro's idea of having it set in the future. In this way, it would be telling us that this is how we will always be.
April 9th, 2009
We talked more about Beyond Therapy. Sarah and Eric performed scene 2, which I am directing. They also performed scene 5 for Pedro. I plan to start rehearsing with Sarah and Eric on Tuesday. We talked a little about what kind of comedy the play is. I think it is mainly a psychological comedy that has a lot of room for physical humor. It is also modern and urban based. I changed my theme from being East Manhatten to West Manhatten. My scene is called "Back to Therapy" which is code for Back to Stewart. We also talked about the references to the 1980's. I think a possible explaination for this, at leaste for Prudence, is that it reflects how she is stuck in her past and is having difficulty moving forward. Afterall, she keeps going back to Stewart.
Since Pedro and I are both doing scenes that are set in Stewart's office, our props and setup of the stage have to be the same. We determined that we will for sure have a couch, a desk, and a chair, and a phone. Reminder: I need to tell Sarah and Eric about Wednesday 22nd first showing in directing class, as well as the dress run through the following week on the 29th. I have been thinking about what Prudence's master gesture would be. I am acting in scene 1. I think that prior to this first date, she had been at Stewart's office and it was one of the times that they had sex. I think her motivation for staying with Bruce throughout the scene is partly due to her not wanting to go back to Stewart. I think she has a lot of energy, is maybe nervous and fidgety. I like the idea of her personality being that of a teenager. So maybe she chews gum and plays with it, or plays with her hair.
April 12th, 2009
Unfortunally I got sick over the weekend so I haven't accomplished as much as I wanted to. Pedro and I haven't had to opportunity to get together with Jenna yet for our scene. I do feel like I am making headway with Prudence though. I am starting to understand her more. I decided to use the chewing the gum idea for her master gesture. I will have to waite to see what Jenna thinks about it though. I am going to try and get lots of rest today so I can have a productive day tommarow in class. Hopefully I wont still be sick.
Week 13
April 14th, 2009
I chose scene 1 to perform for a few reasons. First, I like the character Prudence. She reminds me of myself, especially her cautious nature. Second, I like how Prudence changes during the scene. She starts out being excited about the date, and then the second she hears about Bruce's bisexuality her excitment changes to shear disappointment and frustration. She stays because she doesn't want to run back to her therapist. Then, Bruce says something that gets her interested again. He tells her that he wants to take care of her. That's what she wants, a man who is strong and can take care of her. I really like the physical humor in the scene, especially the water throwing. I think this moment is a release of sexual tension for both of them. I think this moment can also be the climax of the scene.
April 16th, 2009
Pedro and I haven't been able to get together with Jenna yet to rehearse scene 1. I've been working on it on my own. I getting to the Prudence a lot more. Jenna and Pedro are really busy, especially with Caligari opening this weekend. So, we may not beable to start rehearsing together until sunday at the earliest. We talked in class about Prudence's life story. In my mind, she comes from a broken home where her parents divorced when she was very young. As a result, she's hesitant to have a serious relationship with a man. As soon as things start to get serious, she finds flaws in the man as an excuse for ending the relationship. I think Stewart is her best and only friend. Also, I believe she does marry Bruce and they spend the rest of their lives together. I still like the idea of having the rings around a necklace for Prudence, but I will have to run it by Jenna. I have a better feel for my lines, And I have found the spots where Prudence looses interest but then regains interest in Bruce. It actually happens more than once. We just need to start working on it with blocking.
April 18th, 2009
CALIGARI REVIEW
The show was fantastic. The character I found most interesting and enjoyable to watch was Celestia, played by Clair Wool. I could tell that Celestia represented the sould of Olympia. Celestia appeared to be very pure and innocent, as well as sad. She yearned to be with Cesare. Clair performed these characteristics quite well with her movements. She moved very softly, and she seemed to flow across the stage as though she were a phantom. Her movements and steps with Celestia were in sync, as well as with Cesare, which helped to reinforce that she is a soul. The role was therefore well performed. Clair has to perform the soul coming together with Cesare, and therefore her movements had to fit with Cesare's, as he too yearned to be with Celestia. I believe Clair accomplished this.
As far as suggestions, there was a couple of moments in which, from where I was seated, it looked like Clair's hand was touching Paul's. I know that they are not supposed to touch, as this adds tension to the love story. This is just something to keep in mind for the remaining shows. Perhaps, Clair could not curl her fingers as much, but not have a flat hand either.
Week 14
April 21st, 2009
Pedro and I were going to meet with Jenna to do our first official rehearsal yesterday, but she wasn't able to make it becuase she has been sick. Pedro and I ran through it once before Sarah and Mary came to rehearse their scene. We came up with some ideas for blocking. We used the blue rectangular table for the scene. I like this table becuase of the distance it puts between Bruce and Prudence. It will allow us to get closer and further away depending on the moments in the scene. I tried to find spots to use the rings on the necklace and how it can help show my motivation stay. However, I don't know if this is the best choice for a prop for Prudenc in this particular scene. I like using it for Sarah in my directing scene. Anyway, it is something I will have to work on. We went over Sarah and Mary's scene for Jessa in class today. I think the idea of having an all female cast for this scene is interesting. Although, I don't understand the message behind it. I have been think about what I would chose to wear for my scene. I like Jenna's idea of the red dress, sandles, and multi-colored nail polish. I am going to have to figure out how to put my foot on the table while wearing a dress. I think this is the only thing that may become a problem.
April 23rd, 2009
The monologue work we did in class today was helpful. It was also interesting to see the different interpretations of Prudence. For my scene, since it is a comedy, I really want to exaggerate my acting instead of trying to make it more realistic. I like the water throwing as it helps with making the climax. I am still struggling with finding my motivations for staying. I think this is becuase my scene hasn't been rehearsed yet and we don't have blocking. We will be having our first official rehearsal after Caligari on Sunday. Hopefully we will get a firm blocking plan, and I am hoping it will help me with developing my character. I am nervous about not having my lines down by next Wednesday. I don't know if only three rehearsals will be enough to memorized the lines. I am trying to memorize them on my own, but it is much easier and better to it with blocking and practice. Also, I think Bruce should have his back to Prudence at the top of the scene. We wil have to find justification for this on Sunday.
April 26th, 2009
Pedro and I finally were able to rehearse with Jenna. Unfortunately it was right after strike, so they were both pretty worn out. However, we did get some blocking established which was really helpful. We decided to throw a flower into the scene that Bruce gives Prudence. I like the flower because it helps me with showing motivation for staying. We also worked on moving closer to each other when we are interested, and backing off from each other when we are put off by the other. I am doing better with the lines, but I still am worried about not having them memorized by Wednesday. Were going to rehearse againg tomorrow. Hopefull it will be for a couple of hours. I am a bit more relaxed about the scene after today's rehearsal. Pedro and I, with Jenna's help, found some areas where we can really play up the humor in the scene. Also, I found some specific moments where Prudence is motivated to stay. Tommarow, were doing a dress rehearsal. We rehearsed in the lab theatre instead of the green room which was nice, because I was able to see how loud I was going to have to speak, since this area doesn't carry sound as well as the green room does. I am going to practice my scene some more with motivations and the flower. I still want to incorporate the necklace with rings into the scene.
Week 15
April 28th, 2009
I am having some trouble with my acting scene. My director wants the acting for Prudence in this scene to be over the top, which I think will help make it funny. However, it is considerably different from how Prudence will be in the following scenes. Also, a lot props were provided for us to use but we havent been told when specifically to use each one so its a little confussing. We also haven't been able to rehearse it a whole lot so I am still not entirely off book. I do like the costume that was picket for Prudence for this scene. The begining of the scene feels strong, but then it starts to wane, and then it picks up again near the end. This is probably from not having enough rehearsal. We worked my directing scene in class today. I agree that they have sex at the end of the scene and I agree that showing it is funny. However, to me it doesn't make sense for them to have sex behind the couch and not on it. I think I am going to stick with the stage directions that Durang wrote in, that they stare into each others eyes and the lights fade. I will do my best to make it clearer to the audience that they have sex, by maybe having Stewart inch closer to Prudence with each of his last lines.
April 30th, 2009
I had to miss class today becuase I had a final exam at CDE. In regards to yesterday's dress rehearsal: For my acting scene, act 1, scene 1, I felt good about my performance, especially since we haven't been able to rehearse as much as I would have liked. I agree that I still need to work on making it clear why I stay. I know that one of the main reasons why she stays is that Bruce understands her, especially with regard to her fearing commitment and life. My biggest challenge at this point is acting over the top, since I have never perfomed in this way before, at leaste not with a female character. In other words, I am not use to performing a character very girly, since I am not really a girly girl. Also, I think I am going to eliminate the rings, as I am haveing a hard time making them work in this scene. Thereofore, I will likely take them out of my directing scene.
Act 1, Scene 2: Eric and Sarah did well. I could tell they were a little nervous. We didn't have the usuall couch that we practice with. A couple of mistakes were made with the blocking. Sarah did a great job with her monologue. I think the biggest thing for them to get down at this point is staying open to the audience and projecting their voices. Some of the more comedic lines were lost becuase they were barrely audible. Improving projection should help with making it funny. Act 1, Scene 3. I love Clair's interpretation of Charlotte. I still don't see why Charlotte brings us the subject of her exhusbands. Sergio did a much better job with Bruce this time around. Act 1, Scene 4: Brian's pre-acting was well done, I think it can even be extended. I still don't believe Mary's "Oh" at the top of the scene. Also, it was a little awkward that Mary was sitting still most of the time. I interpret Prudence to be fidgety. Act 1, Scene 5: I liked that Eric was pulled out of the chair. There was one or two moments when Sally broke character. However, they both seemed more comfortable with the blocking, lines, and their individual characters. Act 1, Scene 6: Congrats to Sarah for takingon two characters in one scene. However, I agree that it sends the message that Bob is imaginary, which doesn't fit in to the rest of the scenes. Act 2, Scene 3: I still don't see why Prudence starts to cry, or why they are calling waiter, waiter, but I did like the ending. Eric's Bruce was much better as was Sally's Prudence. I think the crying can be more over the top for both of them. Everyone definately improved since the last showings.
May 3rd, 2009
Pedro and I had rehearsal with Jenna on Friday and again today. On Friday we focused on improving the areas that class had suggestions for. Particulary for me with making it clearer why I stay and using the flower to help with this. Today we just went through it twice to make sure we still had the blocking down. There are a couple of spots where the lines are dropped. Pedro and I are going to do some line running Tuesday night and Wednesday before the show. The last part of the book talks about storytelling. Today I tried using Prudence's story for my preacting. So I enter and go to the bathroom. When I am behind this door, I run Prudence's life story through my head to help me with my introduction to Bruce. I am suppose to be nervous and fidgety. So, I think about how her parents divorced when she was young, about her many failed relationships, and I say things to myself like, "What if he isn't good looking, what if I say something stupid, do I look ok," etc... I tried this during rehearsal today and it really helped. At this point, I just need to remeber to be big with my reactions and inner dialog, and I need to make sure that I project loud enough for the audiene.
Week 16
May 5th, 2009
Pedro and I got together yesterday for a couple hours and again today for an hour and went through our scene. We did it once through with props and blocking and then three times through running lines in the Green Room. We are going to meet again tomarrow for a last couple of run throughs with costumes, props and blocking. I am happy with how our scene has turned out, even though I am not to fond of acting very girly and over the top. However, it does compliment the play since it is a comedy and since the characters are suppose to be somewhat crazy. I have nailed down when Prudence decides to stay her motivations. The flower prop is really helpful with this. Pre-acting behind the bathroom door with running Prudence's life story up to that point through my head is really helpful. I hope that audience enjoys our performances. Hopefully no lines will be dropped and the performance will run as smoothly as it has been the last few rehearsals.
May 6th, 2009
Pedro and I ran through the scene twice today. We are ready for tonight. The only thing that I am concerned about is whether or not I will have nail polish for the final presentation. Break a leg everyone.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Create a group - Google Groups - Google Home - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy |
| ©2009 Google |
|
