Final Performance, 11/29

We did our final showing of the scenes on Tuesday. It was a good performance and things went according to plan. The response from our classmates was good. They noticed the improved blocking (thanks Tamera!) as well as the work we did on objectives and characterization. They made a few suggestions about vocal levels for me (specifically, when Iris has her short monologue toward the end of scene 2, being louder and more aggressive). They also suggested that Stefan end the final scene. I think we did a good job at showing what we've worked on and learned this semester with these two scenes.

Rehearsal Journal 11/28

On Monday Stefan and I rehearsed in NC19. We ran through our scenes twice and practiced slating. We tweaked a few things in timing and generally just went over what we needed to do.

Rehearsal Journal 11/25

During this rehearsal we worked in the chapel on our two scenes. We ran through each scene a few times, specifically focusing on the awkward parts. We asked Sarah Lerch to come and see the scenes and tell us if anything stuck out to her as specifically awkward. She didn't think there was anything in particular, although she pointed out a few small things. We made sure that we had our lines and blocking down.

Rehearsal Journal 11/23

Today during rehearsal we worked on some blocking ideas for the sections that continue to feel awkward to us. We also made sure we ran through the second scene with our set and the new blocking we've done with Tamera.

Rehearsal Journal 11/22

Rehearsal 1: During class we took notes on what the other classmates had seen in our play. They mentioned that we should work on making the blocking less static while at the same time finding places for Starbuck, specifically, to plant and say his lines. They also suggested that I project more. We also did a little work with shaking up the scene for our second scene. We attempted the scene without look at one another, which was an interesting exercise because of the play on honesty and lying in the scene as well as the need for one another's approval.

Rehearsal 2: We met with Tamera after class to work on our second scene like we had done with the first. She suggested a few changes in blocking, specifically working with Stefan on the telephone part. We need to work on making the end less weird and creepy as well as finding the subtext in our lines and bringing it forward. We tried to say the subtext rather than the lines and found that our characters are telling vastly different stories despite talking about the same thing.

Rehearsal Journal 11/21

On Monday we worked with Tamera on stage, working on our first scene. She helped us work to make the blocking more realistic for the characters and less static. Specifically, Lizzie spends a lot of time in her psychological space and Starbuck spends a lot of time moving about the stage dramatically, often invading her space. One part that still needs work is the rather awkward part near the end just after Lizzie's dream mini-monologues.

Rehearsal Journal 11/18

Because the stage was in use today we did some things to mix up the energy on our scene. We talked about possible blocking changes and then we did one of the exercises from our book to mix up the scene. We threw a ball back and forth at the end of each line. Except for the fact that I can't catch or throw balls and I kept scratching Stefan when I tried to take a ball from his hand it went well. We then talked to Tamera a bit about what she thought of our scenes from yesterday. She suggested that in the first scene we change some of my blocking to make Lizzie less active and more isolated with her loneliness. We also set up a time for her to work with us on Monday. After that, we did another mix-it-up by switching roles and reading each others' lines. This helped clear some stuff up for me with lines that I have been struggling to say realistically.
Then we worked on the blocking suggestions given by Tamera. We took a place where I had been moving and let me stay put, since I wouldn't indulge Starbuck's childish behavior by reacting to it, anyway. We also gave Stefan a prop to work with when he's telling his made-up story. I think these things will work quite well.

Rehearsal Journal 11/17

Today we performed our scenes for the class for the first time. I nearly missed a line in the first scene and completely turned around a line in the second scene, but otherwise I think the scenes went well. The crying in the second scene was the best it has ever been (aka not awful)

Rehearsal Journal 11/16

Yesterday we rehearsed for an hour. We worked on our introductions before our scenes, our set pieces and props, and blocking a little. We timed certain blocking moments to better fit the set.

Rehearsal Journal 11/14

Yesterday we spent most of our rehearsal in the library working on paperwork for scene 1. We also ran lines off-book twice and I got some props from the closet.

Rehearsal Journal 11/11

Today we had a pretty short rehearsal, running through both of our scenes. We were off-book for the first scene and I knew about half of the lines for the second scene. We did she second scene twice, including some props as well as working on making it more natural and getting into the characters. We discussed some of the script for the entire play and how it relates to our scene. We set up a meeting on Monday to work on paperwork and agreed to work on our individual pieces this weekend.

In other news, I found a song for the second scene.
"Wild World" - Cat Stevens

Rehearsal Journal 11/10

Today during rehearsal we did a line read for the first scene, which went well. We also read through the second scene. We did a little improve with our different characters and talked about voice and physicality again. We ran through some blocking on the second scene where things felt too forced. We ran through both scenes at least once. I spoke with Tamera after class about our paperwork and will pass on what she told me to Stefan.

Rehearsal Journal 11/9

Today we sat down in front of the chalkboard in Yost and drew a picture of the stage with our new set. We then mapped out each of our movements to coordinate blocking with objectives and the new set. We started with the second scene, which was one we hadn't blocked before. We did the first scene, which had blocking from, second.

In both cases we used a table (which will actually probably be acting blocks) as a barrier between the two of us. In the first scene, Rainmaker, Lizzie uses it to put space between her and Starbuck, who then uses it to invade Lizzie's space in an attempt to break her out of her shell. In the second scene, Sidney, Iris uses it as a way to put space between her and the truth she is telling Sidney. The table is more representative of the things they are saying than an actual table. Even though we used similar blocking I think the difference in why we use them will make it okay.

We practiced a bit with out new blocking but it was difficult to get a feel for the space because of the mainstage set in our way! However, after playing around with a few things I think we have a good plan and will be able to work with it from here.

Rehearsal Journal 11/8

Today we showed our scenes to Tamera and got the second one approved.
One of the things she mentioned was that we needed a better set in order to have more places to go. "Blocking helps show objective" so we needed to be able to use the space better in order to show our objectives. Stefan and I sat down afterward and came up with a few new set pieces and acting areas so that we can do this. We also paid attention to making sure that the set we came up with would work for both scenes with no transitioning in between. In the end, we came up with four areas to act in and a space in the middle with no particular set piece attached to it. DCS we have a stool to represent either the "sacks" in the Rainmaker scene or where the telephone goes in the Sidney scene. USR we have an elevated space to be the bed for Rainmaker and the couch for Sidney. Slightly SL of C and US is a table to be a bar in Sidney and a tack rack for Rainmaker. USL is a few acting boxes to be a stack of hay for Rainmaker and a sitting place for Sidney. Already, talking about new blocking with this setup is more dynamic.
We are going to try and include more levels in our blocking as well, which we will do by using the elevated area and by sitting on the sitting area.

Another thing Tamera talked about was creating a clear difference between the characters.  I think this is something that we will do as we get to know the Sidney characters better but it is also important to think about. I am trying to come up with ways in which Lizzie and Iris speak and walk different, what gestures they make, etc. I am also thinking about enunciation and making sure my sentences don't trail off at the ends!

Ch. 1, 3, 4 response

Gwen Stephan

Ch. 1, 3, 4

For me, one of the most interesting and fun things we have done so far in class was the “I shall live on the __ floor” exercise we did. I thought it was really interesting to see all the different ways that line itself could be said, as well as to watch the different tactics people chose to use to get their way. Connected with this, the open scenes were also a very interesting for the same reasons. I thought it was fascinating to see the different directions people took with the exact same text. Just changing where the emphasis is placed in one sentence can change the entire meaning of the sentence. There were several times when a fellow classmate said a line and I realized that I had never thought of that line being said that way.

One of the more difficult things that we have done was the work with objectives. While I understand the basic idea of objectives, and I understand the paradigm we were given, putting my thoughts into it is often difficult. Beyond that, it is sometimes very hard for me to think less “selfishly” and come up with an objective that includes the other person in the scene. For example, on our midterm the first objective was “I am cold.” I, like a lot of others, put something along the lines of, “I want to get a blanket.” Then, when we went over it, I realized that not only did this not fit into the paradigm, but it was a rather useless objective. Getting a blanket is so easily over with that it doesn’t really help to even list it as an objective – it’s too obvious. Find a way to include the other scene partner in that objective and not use a prop to fulfill it was difficult. I am still working on thinking this way, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it.

-Quizzes/readings: while I found some parts of the quizzes hard and have a hard time grasping some part of the reading (specifically, remembering all the Stanislavski chapter’s information) I believe that I am starting to grasp the concepts we have been reading about more fully.

-Objectives: I am still having a hard time putting objectives into the paradigm and including the other characters in the scene in my objective, but I am beginning to get the hang of it.

-Insights: I think just realizing how important subtext is to the meaning of the play and how objectives make acting so much easier is the biggest insight I have had. By figuring out the objectives and the subtext before hand, I don’t have to think so hard and I don’t trip myself up because I’m overanalyzing.

Chapter 7 response

Gwen Stephan

Response to Ch. 7

            One of the first questions I had about this chapter was about the section on page 213 where Barton is talking about analyzing the scene. He mentions looking into the play’s production history as a good way to discover more about the scene. “Were there any choices made by previous performers that you might also try?” in particular stood out because it was a direct contradiction of what we were told in class. We were told not to look at how other actors had done these scenes. I would personally agree more with doing it without knowing what others had done, although I do think knowing something about its production history might be a good idea. I think finding the balance between doing too much research and too little is important.

            Beyond that I agreed with most of what I read. I was especially draw to the section about coming up with a past for the character and making inferences from the scene about what the character’s life has been like, so that you can draw on those ideas for objective. I don’t know that I completely grasped the idea of abstracting, in that I had a hard time coming up with some of the answers for my scene, but I like the idea of fleshing out the character so that it is easier to portray him or her. Obviously, most of what you come up with should come from the script, and you shouldn’t let you imagination run wild with the character, or you’ll get completely off track. But I think filling in some of the gaps in the play and inferring about the character’s past is both fun and useful, and a good way to get to know the character you have to portray.

Anna Deavere Smith Response

Seeing Anna Deavere Smith's performances was a very interesting event. I really enjoyed listening to her describe what she did for a living. One of the things that really stuck with me was her description of her work as "listening" to other people. As someone who is interested in creative writing and theater, the idea of listening to other people in order to better understand them is something I have heard many times, and I think Anna Deavere Smith really illustrated listening. She took real speech and made it into something people could connect with and learn from simply by listening to the people speaking. I found her very inspirational in this regard - I think listening is one of the most important things you can do for another person, and one of the best ways to learn from others is by really listening to them.

I didn't really disagree with anything I heard her say, although I did get a sense that she was a bit above me. I felt like she knew so much more than I did that no matter what she said and what I heard I wouldn't get her full message because it would just go over my head. I would have liked to hear more about her process, perhaps... something to bring us a little closer to the same level of understanding. At the same time, she obviously had limited time, and I wouldn't have wanted her to do less performing or question answering to talk about how she goes about finding people and learning to imitate them.

Overall I think the experience was one that I will remember as I move forward in creative endeavors. I am going to try and remember her excellent "listening" skills when I am trying to create more realistic characters.

P.S. Sorry this is late I completely forgot that it was due, and also sorry if it doesn't make much sense, I haven't had a lot of sleep.