PG: Today I deserve a 100 because Phil said that my monologue was "performance ready", and i was free to play with it. That made me really excited. It's always nice to hear nice things after you out your entire being on the line. Today is my brother's 12th birthday. That should count for something, right? What else did I do today... I'm pretty sure I got a 100 on my vocab test. I only have 3 marking periods of high school left!
So, Phil asked use to write a paragraph to bring in for tomorrow about our experiences this week and what we want out of tomorrow. So this paragraph will also serve as my blog.
One of my favorite things that Ms. Aladren does for us is bring in guest artists who have different methods than what we're used to. For four years I've been trained in Meisner and have touched on Adler, Stanislavski, and methods from the Atlantic Theatre Company. What I love most about being exposed to all these different techinques is mixing and matching what works for me and tossing what doesn't. This week I was exposed to some of the techniques of Michael Checkhov for the first time and was excited to add this to my list of mix and match.
The biggest probelm I've always had with monologues and audtions is a sense of place. I knew where I was but I didn't see and feel where I was. I didn't really start understanding character development until recently. Over the past week i have been able to make character development and character body organic. I wasn't sitting there thinking like "ok, I want her to walk funny". I learned that I had a lot of pre-conceived notions about my character due to my enviornment. that doesn't mean you're judging them, but rather your making them look a certain way to fit what you think would fit in the enviornment. i have a problem with that because apparently, i think like a director. i automatically thought, "ok, I'm in a crazy house. cold, constricted". like, i know my characters lonley and what not, but i was forgetting all about who the character was to make it look like she belonged in the enviornment. i kept forgetting this girl got sent there for lighting someones hair on fire and she's totally chill. i don't know, but something just clicked.
The techinques that helped me through this what was the "collapseable set" and sight lines. I now see where I am, rather than just know. Interacting with the differnt objects in my set that mean something to me help spark character memories. Tomorrow, I hope to continue achieving a good sense of my enviorment and having a really good, solid, deep moment before. I want to play around with this charcter more and see what I can do with my prop.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
November 11, 2009.
PG: i get a 100 today because i worked on my monologue. i also finished (pretty much) my showcase book... (i now hate copy and fucking paste. how tedious.) and wrote my review. good stuff. i feel like i;\'m really getting somewhere with Van's Sister. I like her ALOT.
So, today is the first time i felt like my imaginary partner was actually effecting me. i felt like i was being watched from every corner. i felt so weak? this is the first time i actually feel like i chose a good monologue when i was done performing it. she's so different from me, but i know who she is talking to. i can relate. i've been there. i am there. i still talk to this guy, i still see him, he's still in my life. i think that combine with Phil's over all awesomeness is really helping me out.
So, today is the first time i felt like my imaginary partner was actually effecting me. i felt like i was being watched from every corner. i felt so weak? this is the first time i actually feel like i chose a good monologue when i was done performing it. she's so different from me, but i know who she is talking to. i can relate. i've been there. i am there. i still talk to this guy, i still see him, he's still in my life. i think that combine with Phil's over all awesomeness is really helping me out.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
November 10, 2009.
Participation Grade: I deserve a 100 today because for the first time ever (unfortunately, you missed it :[) I actually let a feeling build up. Instead of going from 0-100 in like, .5 seconds, it actually grew. And I felt it, I didn't want to push it. It was so satisfying.
Today, I worked Van's Sister from Dog Sees God. It felt amazing. I love taking what I've learned and applying it. Finally knowing a bunch of techniques and having them at my disposal and mixing and matching comes in handy. Being Meisner trained enables my truth. Taking Checkov and applying it to my monologue really gives me a sense of place. And I've always had a problem with that. I never see where I am. This has helped me IMMENSELY. Practical As Ifs are still my BFFS. I also really knew who I was talking to. It's like mixing and matching to get something beautiful.
Today, I worked Van's Sister from Dog Sees God. It felt amazing. I love taking what I've learned and applying it. Finally knowing a bunch of techniques and having them at my disposal and mixing and matching comes in handy. Being Meisner trained enables my truth. Taking Checkov and applying it to my monologue really gives me a sense of place. And I've always had a problem with that. I never see where I am. This has helped me IMMENSELY. Practical As Ifs are still my BFFS. I also really knew who I was talking to. It's like mixing and matching to get something beautiful.
Monday, November 9, 2009
maybe we should play the lottery?
participation grade: 100. because today went splendidly. it's so cool to learn new techniques because i can apply it to the old ones and see what i get. totally excited for the week.
so Phil is super cool. totally chill, i want to see him perform! he's teaching us Chekhov. I've heard of this method, but I'm not familiar with it, so I'm super stoked to be learning it. i love the fact that we learn meisner, i think it's the most efficient ways to train a young actor. it strips you down, it makes you truthful. but i think one of the best things you have ever done for us outside meisner training is bringing in guests artists who were trained differently. like when Atlantic came last year, i learned so much of what i learned from them for midsummer. the practical as if became my best friend. the Chekhov method or at least what Phil started us out with today has a lot to do with developing character thorough your environment. i didn't really start understanding character development until recently, so this was a nice way to start off after a break. today's learning's made character development do organic. like, i wasn't sitting there thinking like "ok, i want her to walk funny". you also learn that you have a lot of pre-conceived notions about your character due to your enviornment. that doesn't mean you're judging them, but rather your making them look a certain way to fit what you think would fit in the enviornment. i have a problem with that because apparently, i think like a director. i automatically thought, "ok, I'm in a crazy house. cold, constricted". like, i know my characters lonley and what not, but i was forgetting all about who the character was to make it look like she belonged in the enviornment. i kept forgetting this girl got sent there for lighting someones hair on fire and she's totally chill. i don't know, but something just clicked. this sounds so bad but I'm so excited you'll be absent all week :] this is such an experience that will definitely help me acting wise, but i know it will help me in my career as a director and filmmaker.
so Phil is super cool. totally chill, i want to see him perform! he's teaching us Chekhov. I've heard of this method, but I'm not familiar with it, so I'm super stoked to be learning it. i love the fact that we learn meisner, i think it's the most efficient ways to train a young actor. it strips you down, it makes you truthful. but i think one of the best things you have ever done for us outside meisner training is bringing in guests artists who were trained differently. like when Atlantic came last year, i learned so much of what i learned from them for midsummer. the practical as if became my best friend. the Chekhov method or at least what Phil started us out with today has a lot to do with developing character thorough your environment. i didn't really start understanding character development until recently, so this was a nice way to start off after a break. today's learning's made character development do organic. like, i wasn't sitting there thinking like "ok, i want her to walk funny". you also learn that you have a lot of pre-conceived notions about your character due to your enviornment. that doesn't mean you're judging them, but rather your making them look a certain way to fit what you think would fit in the enviornment. i have a problem with that because apparently, i think like a director. i automatically thought, "ok, I'm in a crazy house. cold, constricted". like, i know my characters lonley and what not, but i was forgetting all about who the character was to make it look like she belonged in the enviornment. i kept forgetting this girl got sent there for lighting someones hair on fire and she's totally chill. i don't know, but something just clicked. this sounds so bad but I'm so excited you'll be absent all week :] this is such an experience that will definitely help me acting wise, but i know it will help me in my career as a director and filmmaker.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)