Acting 1-That's a Wrap

I can't believe the semester is already over! This acting class is sure going to be one that I am going to miss. As much as I have learned, I know that there is still so much more I could learn. It is classes like this one that make me wish I wasn't graduating and that I could continue on to the next level. This class really did help me so much with, not only my acting, but my singing performances and surprisingly, my general communication skills as well. I find myself observing others and wondering if what tactics they are using and why. I find myself observing myself for that same reason as well. I also am pleased to say that my friend noted that the acting during my Senior voice recital was so well done as well.

I have loved the practice and feedback I have received through this year as well. My plan for after graduation is to get a job, yes, but also to audition for community theaters around the area. After the experience and knowledge I have gained from this class, as well as from my current dance class, I feel a great deal more prepared to do that. I will no longer have to wonder what it's going to be like and if I did my resume and headshot correctly (I don't think I would have even known to bring one in before). I will be able to walk in with confidence that I have prepared what is necessary. I will walk in and smile and say hi with politeness and enthusiasm and confidently hand them my prepared resume/head shot. I will then slate with confidence because I will have practiced it almost more that my actual monologue. I will have clear intentions with my prepared monologue and be able to bring fire and energy to the character. I will then thank the auditioners and pray that they see that I am the right one for the part!

I am so grateful for everything I learned in this class and I hope to be able to continue to receive more and more direction and improvement in my craft after graduation and over the rest of my career as an actor.

Acting 1-Lighting a fire

The elements are there now. Things are getting specific and intentions are clearing up. Emoting a certain emotion is no longer an option. We are getting better at actively playing intentions and knowing what that looks like as well. It is so fun to see how much everyone has improved and grown this past semester when it comes to everything we have talked about. Now the biggest problem I sometimes see, not only in others, but in myself as well, is a lowered energy level.

There was one day in particular. I remember it was a Monday and it had been an exhausting week for me. I was scheduled to perform and although I had worked on my piece and felt quite prepared, my mind and body were simply exhausted and I was barely functioning. Unfortunately, I was not the only one, it seemed. Every performance that day, although the intentions and choices were pretty clear, just lacked something. The energy level simply lagged. The main critique that seemed to be made that day was, "it needs a fire lit under it," or, "it needs to be goosed up." This really got me thinking, how do you keep the energy level up even when you feel so tired and you simply don't feel the strength or motivation? I have been paying attention to that question a lot lately and I believe the answer is to make sure every performance has the feeling that it is the day something happened.

This is something that is hard to get when you perform a piece over and over. It is important to remember though, that even if it is your 100th time performing something, to your audience, it may be the first and they deserve to see your best performance. If you don't have the feeling in the back of your mind that what you are saying or doing is really happening right now, then no matter how clear your intentions or choices may be, you are not really acting and the audience will not be convinced. So next time you get up to perform, light a fire under it!

Acting 1-The ins and outs of the industry

There are many different things to learn in an acting class. I have been amazed at the things that I have learned that I never would bave thought about before. I have loved discovering how to have specific intentions and clear choices in every movement, but the fact of the matter is, any given individual could have the best technique in the industry and still not even be considered in an audition if they don't know the industry standard of a proper resume and head shot.

This skill is something that I am so grateful that we were able to spend an entire class on. I also have recently discovered that I am a perfectionist when it comes to these types of projects. I just had my Senior Voice recital and literally spent hours and days creating the posters for it. I had to get the words perfectly centered, in the perfect font, and the perfect order and position. I had to make sure the picture was the perfect coloring and spent hours editing just that alone. It is no surprise then, that I was extremely grateful for the parameters given when it comes to a head shot and resume.

I was grateful to learn that although resumes can have what ever you would like to put on them, there are 5 things that are non-negotiable. The first is to have your name large and bold at the top of the page, right underneath should be your email address and phone number. The second is to have your hair color, eye color, height, and voice type (and vocal range if so desired). The third section would be all the shows you have been in with the part you played and the company (the director may also be listed with this if applicable). This would all be listed under a bolded title of "Theatre." The next section is "Education/Training." Under this would be any degrees obtained, along with any special vocal or acting training. The fifth and last section is titled "Special Skills." This is my favorite section. Here you list any skills that may or may not apply to acting. This section shows how divers you are and perhaps will give the auditioner a better perspective of your personality. Who knows, if you were to list that you are fluent in Pig Latin, there may be a need for that skill in the part and you would be a cut above the rest!

Acting 1-Countering and Scene Work

I have made an interesting discovery. Scenes are more difficult for me than monologues. This was a surprising discovery for me because I was sure that it would be easier to memorize when there was another actor to feed lines off of. I figured that it would be easy because it would be a conversation. I was so wrong. For example, in preparing a monologue, memorization is less challenging in a way because you can memorize straight through without having to remember what your cue lines are. I have been able to go to bed with my lines running through my head and I study and recite them over and over until they become my words. It doesn't take too long to be able to recite with clear intentions due to the fact that the words have become second nature and I don't have to think so much about what I am saying, but rather, how I am saying it and why. Scene work on the other hand has proven more difficult for me to memorize. I find myself leaving out or mixing up certain lines because is is difficult for me to memorize lines that are broken up in a dialogue. This also creates a difficulty in playing with clear intentions because I am trying to think of my lines and which ones I am to say next instead of thinking about the specificity of why I am saying them.

Unfortunately, memorization is just the beginning of the difficulty when it comes to scenes. My partner and I did a scene from 'Night Mother and decided on our intentions and movements, but we had no idea of the great need of specific movements as a duet. After performing our working scene, one of the problems that we found was the overall look of the scene with our positioning and the use of the space we had created. We had decided on movement choices that we felt were good for our personal characters, but we failed to realize how our personal movements might clash or look unnatural with the movements of the other character. For example, there were times when I would stand and move across the room with a specific intention while my scene partner stayed seated in behind my movements, this caused her to be hidden behind me while she recited her lines. This is something that would not be thought of if this were simply a real life situation in our home, but on stage, this creates an issue.

I am grateful that this issue was addressed though, because it provided an opportunity for me to learn a stage skill I had not even considered before, that of countering. This is the simple act of each actor finding a reason to move to the opposite side of the space as the an the other actor moves across the stage. For example, with our previous issue of my scene partner being hidden behind me when I moved to stand in front of the table in front of her, she found a reason to counter my movement and got up and moved to replace where I had been standing. It was so simple and yet made such a difference in the overall look of our scene. This skill of countering and all the other little things that need to be considered when working a scene as opposed to a monologue is something that I am so grateful to have acquired in this class. It is going to make my awareness of show direction so much more informed which will make a big difference in my stage presence.

Acting 1- Diversity with specification

Following up on my last post, I wanted to talk a bit more about how different intentions could make such a huge difference in the story line. This last class period, we did a really interesting activity. First, she had two volunteers come up and she gave them a simple script. She didn't give them any instructions, just told them to act out the scene. Without discussion between the two, they just began reading the script how they felt it should be read. They each had their own intentions and although you could tell they were trying to play off of each other, it was unclear who was who, what their relationship was, why they were talking at all, or what each of them needed. Afterwards we discussed it a bit and then our instructor whispered in each of their ears individually, a scenario. All of the sudden we could see a relationship and a few intentions. It looked as if this was a conversation between people who knew each other and had a purpose of talking to each other. After that she added a little more story to each of them. With this increased specificity, it was amazing to see how all of the sudden it was between a parent and a child and the child was terrified of the parent. Life came to the story that wasn't there before.

We did this activity a few more times, changing up the actors and scripts. I had the opportunity to do one of the scripts as well. The first time I did it with my classmate, I quickly tried to make up a bit of a scenario in my mind. I didn't really have a chance to read through the script at first so my intentions were kind of made up on the spot. It made it difficult because my intentions in my head were not the same as my classmate's intentions and she played out the story a bit different than I had tried to. An interesting comment from a fellow classmate really made me stop and think. She said that even though we were trying to play off of each other, it was like we were reading two different scripts. It really got me thinking about how, even though we may be given the same script, it is so important to share those specific choices with the people you are playing with or else they might come up with a completely different story and you will be saying the right words in a completely different show.

This has been made manifest again and again as we did the Dr. Seuss activity, the dry script reading activity and now as we work on a scene with partners and prepare to perform them. It is so very important to have specific intentions, movements and back story and to make sure everyone is on the same page with them.

Acting 1-Making Nonsense Make Sense

After learning, memorizing, and working on improving monologues, a recent class activity we did really stood out to me. Since the beginning of the semester, it seems we have been focusing so much on the movement of the body, breathing, voice and diction, specificity with intentions, and stuff like that. We would then take everything we have learned and put it into our monologues. I quickly discovered that this type of specific work was much easier when I memorized my lines so well, I could then focus on the meaning of what I was saying and the specific choices I was trying to make. Our recent Dr. Seuss activity put all of this work on a whole new level.

First, we were divided into groups of three or four. I was in a group of four. We were then handed our script. This was unlike any other script I had ever seen before. There was no separation of parts, it was just a verse that we were to divide up and decide who would speak which lines. We were given the instructions that we had to say at least two of the lines in unison and we could split the rest in any way we wished. We were told we would be graded on memorization and specific choices. This wouldn't be a problem normally. There were only about 10 lines or so and there were four of us. The catch was, the lines were nonsense. Yeah. The first line was "Give me the gift of a grip top sock." That was probably the line that made the most sense too. The entire verse was full of rhymes, alterations, and tongue twisters.

So with our instructions given we decided to dig in. First we split the lines up within our group, giving us each 2 lines by ourselves and 2 lines to say together. The next challenge was applying everything we have learned in our workshops and with our monologues to this mess of nonsense. What specific choices could we make with it? What could we do to show clear intentions all the while, trying to memorize and not trip over the tongue twisters within. Our group decided to take it as literally as we could. We decided that a grip top sock was literally a sock that didn't have a top to help it stay up. Eventually, we decided that a regular sock was an ankle sock and a grip top sock was a knee-high sock. With our group, we figured the best scenario would be that we were all roommates and I would be the one who wants the gift of the grip top sock. Two of my roommates would think I was ridiculous and say their lines with a hint of mockery and light-hardheartedness. The third roommate was truly interested in what a grip top sock was.

It was such an interesting experience to see how the more specific we became with our intentions and back story, the easier it became to understand what we were saying. All of the sudden, I started to believe there was such a thing as a grip top sock! It was also extremely interesting to see the other groups perform the same dialogue with a different order of people saying it and completely different intentions. All of the sudden it became a whole different story!

Play review-Die Fledermaus

"If you love, you love a waltz." These words, sung by Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss's "Die Fledermaus," are the first words read in the program provided at the Southern Utah University production this last weekend. These words truly help set the mood of the production which kept me laughing and entranced throughout. This production was so entertaining and executed so effortlessly, one would almost miss the intricate coordination and integration that took place by the actors throughout the show.

To begin, this is an extremely difficult score to sing, memorize, and perform. There are melismas and many of the duets and trios are created by putting together different voices singing completely different things at the same time. On top of the music, the fast tempo of the words made it an incredible feat for these actors, who executed  their parts with precision and fun interpretation. There were many moments that made me wonder when they possibly had time to breathe as there didn't seem to be much punctuation with each thought, but the clear message that came across through precise physical coordination, intense dynamics and specific movement skills that were applied by each actor (especially Jocelyn and the other main characters) really showed the impressive and specific work of the actors and made it that much more enjoyable to watch.

The fun and impressive dancing was another strong aspect of this show. Most of the dancing took place in act two at the ball of Prince Orlofsky. Because of this, much of it was done in a waltz-like way with curved, pulsing movements. Some dances were faster in tempo than others, but each dancer seemed to effortlessly glide across the floor in each movement. The strength and stamina of each dancer and actor alike was spectacular.

This production was done as most operas are, without the added benefit of microphones. There are pros and cons to this. There were moments when I wished the sound could have been louder and ring throughout the hall, but at the same time, I was grateful for the generic sounds that were produced without the added mics. It was apparent that as the pitch and precise diction increased, so did the audiences ability to hear and understand. It was interesting to see how important diction especially, was in this production. The actors, for the most part, did an excellent job in this area. There were times that I had wished the words were clearer and more recognizable, but the physicality of each actor helped to bridge that gap to help me understand what was happening.

Over all, this production was fun, entertaining, and one that I would highly recommend to anyone. The hard work of each performer on stage, in the pit, or behind the scenes, was very apparent and helped to create a masterpiece that will leave you singing the songs of Strauss all the way home.