Dear Dried Up Husk of a Blog,

I am sorry I abandoned you.

There are no readers, save the desperate ones that check every day to see if anything new has happened. I fear they too, have gone. Oh well. Que sera sera. We knew it would never last.

HOWEVER

My acting and tech journals are still part of my grades for their respective classes. I plan to shoot the bull for the days weeks I've missed and continue on.

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Acting Journal
3/4/11

Ivan went to opposite Canada for the week. He left us Robbie, who I'm not sure if he is a grad student or what. Anyway, we played some fun yet difficult games/warm ups that didn't totally end in disaster. We focused a lot on the rhythm of our radio pieces and I discovered mine to be much more different than I thought it was. It really has no rhythm. My partner sets up certain things and I totally destroy it. Perhaps that was the rhythm. Also, it was interesting to just get another viewpoint on acting. With Harris we never got an additional voice to teach us.

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Acting Journal
3/7/11

We had our short monday class today so we didn't do a whole lot. I love the game wink murder but I hate when Ivan gets involved. Moreover, I also in addition to enjoyed the jaw exercises as well also because.

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Tech Journals from 2/21/11 to 3/4/11

I have no recollection of these events as Iphigenia was happening and it absorbed my brain and soul. I think I remember something about building a floor unit? Something? Huh?

Meh

Acting Journal
2/14/11

I was kind of out of it today. I forgot entirely how to get ready for school. It was a hell of a monday.

The group of three girl went today, and I couldn't help but want to kill myself. Ivan didn't stop them nearly as many times as he stopped me and Fred. I was all excited to come to class and see everyone get corrected as much as I did...and it just didn't happen.

Later Ivan said something about how he appreciated how they took the lesson he gave to Fred and me and implemented it in their scene.

hooray, I guess.

I liked what he said about imagining a movie screen when I'm saying a line that involves remembering something. The key is to imagining the screen playing whatever happened that you 'remembered' and it reads well from the audience.

To Draft, Or Not To Draft, That Is Only Slightly The Question

Acting Journal
2/9/11

I guess today's big lesson was following impulses. It's really obvious to an audience if the actor has a gut reaction to something and suppresses it.

I really don't learn much from exercises that don't directly involve me. That sounds selfish, but I learn more when lessons can be specifically applied to me.

I have a few moments in my scene with Fred that require instinct and gut reaction, it'll be interesting to see how that all goes. I thought I had to be off book today. I didn't.

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Tech Journal
2/10/11

I didn't understand that we even had an assignment until Tuesday. It wasn't until yesterday that I specifically knew what it was, and even then my directions were only on a facebook message. So I got it all done from 3:30 to 5:30, when it was absolutely due. Then I couldn't find a rubber band. I have 10 million at home but not here. Amy and I finished the flat and joined it with Allie and Carl's.

Getting Behind

I'm losing steam in nearly all my activities, which aren't numerous. I'm in a lull, a funk, if you will. I'm lazy and spoiled and I don't really know what I'm even doing or how to handle life. I've lost a bit of my mojo.





                                [Come back!]



God only knows when he'll find his little way home. Until then, my creativity stagnates.

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Acing Journal
2/2/11

Ivan definitely gave everyone parts outside of their comort levels. I am no exception. He noticed from close to the start of class that I'm not confrontational even a little bit. He's given me a part in which I build to an angry dramatic climax that erupts into a physical fight. It's interesting because I saw the scene going differently, and Ivan keeps pushing me farther and farther away from where I want to be. It sucks, but I know I'm learnng and I know I will learn.

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Tech Journal
2/3/11

I know now when I miss class, I REALLY miss class. I feel like I'm really far behind and every time we do something I feel totally useless. I'm glad my partner has some idea what she's doing or we would be boned. Between trimming some wood too short and cutting the muslin the wrong way...I didn't have an awesome day in Techland.


P.S. The computer I'm typing on has keys that are impossible to use. I apologize for any spelling errors I didn't catch.

The Clouds Part and Angels Sing

Acting Journal
1/28/11

Wow. Today's class was both depressing and amazing. We got with a partner and shared a sad experience from the past. We had to take note of the story, the inflection, word choice, and gestures. Then we had to switch stories.

In front of the class.

We had to pretend as if that incredibly painful story from someone else's past was our own. There was so much pressure to do it right. I didn't want to mess up. The other person was in the room with me. How would it be if I did it wrong? If I didn't treat the story with respect and dignity? They would feel terrible. And so would I.

And that children, is what acting is.

We were asked why we had never done that with a script before. I was shocked, because it hadn't even occured to me. Every script, every character is someone with a story that needs to be treated with respect and dignity. It would be shameful to make a mockery of a script or to be insincere.

I feel like this is the biggest lesson I've learned so far. I'm so thankful to Ivan for having us do this. I will try and implement this the next time I go through a script.

Baboon F*ck

Acting Journal
1/26/11

If I asked someone to tell me about a dream they had, most would, and without difficulty. This was our excercize for class today. After we had told our dreams to a small group, Ivan made us share a positive life experience with about half of the class. This time, one person stood on one side of the room and shared the story to the class, who were all sitting on the other side of the room. The goal was to act (not Act) and have it feel as natural as when we shared our dreams. It was hard for me

When we got into the circle and Ivan asked us what we learned ...I don't remember what I said, but he responded with "why was it easier to talk about your dreams?" and I answered with "well we didn't know we were acting"

I felt really stupid. We weren't acting. That was the point. I'm not sure acting is even a real thing. I think it's more of a group insanity that everyone could be a part of or identify.

Also, in the scene I'm doing with Fred, I get really angry and call him a baboon f*ck. Made my day.

What the Hell Guys

Okay so I logged in today, way later than usual, and the post about Roommate's friends has 11 (funny) and 13 (interesting) ratings. What is this. Marc? Jimmy? Is this your doing?

That post was not even meant to be funny.

It's a sad day when the not meant to be funny post gets people laughing more so than the entire rest of the blog.


without further ado:

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Acting Journal
1/21/11

Today's lessons were hard to do and even harder to understand. My body was also not cooperating like it was for other class periods. Today just felt wrong.

It's hard for me to not want to control a scene. I see what everyone else is doing, and then I think, "hey, I'll be different" which pretty much translates to "hey, look how good I am!" I realize now I need to work with my partner. A scene partner. Someone who is equally essential to the scene. I think at this point I need to focus on letting go, because I caught myself even a minute after the grand realization that I was planning my next move.

On the plus side, I felt like I did a great scene with Fred. He came in with an aggressive attitude, and I worked with that well. I had a feeling that I even believed myself. That's the feeling I want to capture; that's how I know I'm doing it right.

Double Entendre

As some are aware, I am a student of the Theatre. As such, I am expected to do crazy things like put hard work into what I do. One of these works is to keep journals for both my Acting and Tech classes. I may just go ahead and keep these journals on this here blog.


Actually that's exactly what I'm going to do. I knew that before I even sat down to type this.

Joke's.

On.

You.

It's hard to keep humor out of my day to day things, (I am just so gosh darn funny all the gosh darn time) so you may (?) delight in what I have to say.

But it's probably going to be boring.


SO:

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1/19/11
Acting Journal Entry

I like the stretches we do to start off class. I really like the one in which I tuck my right foot under my left knee and then twist, and then Tony helps push me over and causes strange things to pop. It was both relaxing and mortifying. When Ian said I looked about another foot taller, I didn't believe him. When I looked in the mirror, I saw my back was straighter and my posture was better. Ususally, I have to try and sort of puff up my chest and force my shoulders back, which does indeed look awkward.

However it wasn't long after we stopped stretching that my body was like,

"Well that was fun. Hrrrnngh!!"

Then it rolled up into a tiny, unrelaxed ball, which was the same way I brought it to class.




                          [my body during workout stretches]




                   [my body before and after workout stretches]



I want to keep doing this. It feels good, and hopefully I can eventually condition the nice, folded laundry body to become natural.