Acting Journal 3: 1/27/15
On 1/27/15 Don lead the class through additional alexander technique, increased the level of detail of the discussion, as well as teaching us two new exercises, the "rope exercise" and the "mirroring Exercise" We also repeated the "circle of energy" exercise, as well as some practice for the "Henry V" battle of agincourt monologue.
As usual, I found the Alexander technique breath practice incredibly relaxing. I brought a proper towel today, and while i needed to fiddle a bit to support my neck in a neutral position, it was worth the effort. Don discussed with the class how important it is to have our "lumbar region" in proper posture, as well as explaining that deep breaths trains chest muscles that otherwise would not develop on their own. We did some more pronunciation practice, although I'll admit i could use a hand-out to keep track of the terms we are using for it.
Next was the group practice of the "Henry V" monologue. At this point, he assumed we had understood the intent of the words, and focused on our pronunciation of the monologue. He also emphasized that in coming classes we would need to have a personal "interpertation" of the monologue ready. He suggested finding the right words to pause on, to show their emphasis of being more important. He also strongly, strongly demanded that we "learn" the monologue rather than "memorize it". We need to "practice as we perform" on this, or it will do no good.
The object of the tug of war rope exercise, was for the group split in two, to hold an imaginary rope, play tug of war, and convince the audience (our professor don) that we were holding a REAL rope. It was pretty simple, the lead in each line initiated the major actions, and kept an even spacing with each other. As actors in the line, we were to touch elbows to the person in front of us, and match their motions. It worked really well, I enjoyed it a ton.
The mirroring exercise was remarkably simialar the mirrioring exercises I have been doing in my imrpov dance classes. To the point that just having us line up and make eye contact initiated the exercise for my partner and I . It was a bit different, because with less motion, and more focus on eye/breath connection, we were able to syncrhonize in different ways than I had in dance class.
The round robin, "energy exercises" are going well. With few exceptions the group seems to be "getting" how to do it, and doing it well. I also noticed that initially the group was doing primarily "Cheery" and "peppy" names, but when on occasion I would add something new to the mix, like physical intimidation, or acting like a sad 5 year old, that those new emotions quickly made it into the group's collective vocab.
To end the class, Don related to us how our failures are more valuable than our successes as actors and that we should push ourselves to fail more often, to learn. I agreed, although while talking between Don and I, it was concurred that I had figured that out in my life history earlier, and that technique training was more relevant for me to receive from Don, than that "extra push"
As usual, I found the Alexander technique breath practice incredibly relaxing. I brought a proper towel today, and while i needed to fiddle a bit to support my neck in a neutral position, it was worth the effort. Don discussed with the class how important it is to have our "lumbar region" in proper posture, as well as explaining that deep breaths trains chest muscles that otherwise would not develop on their own. We did some more pronunciation practice, although I'll admit i could use a hand-out to keep track of the terms we are using for it.
Next was the group practice of the "Henry V" monologue. At this point, he assumed we had understood the intent of the words, and focused on our pronunciation of the monologue. He also emphasized that in coming classes we would need to have a personal "interpertation" of the monologue ready. He suggested finding the right words to pause on, to show their emphasis of being more important. He also strongly, strongly demanded that we "learn" the monologue rather than "memorize it". We need to "practice as we perform" on this, or it will do no good.
The object of the tug of war rope exercise, was for the group split in two, to hold an imaginary rope, play tug of war, and convince the audience (our professor don) that we were holding a REAL rope. It was pretty simple, the lead in each line initiated the major actions, and kept an even spacing with each other. As actors in the line, we were to touch elbows to the person in front of us, and match their motions. It worked really well, I enjoyed it a ton.
The mirroring exercise was remarkably simialar the mirrioring exercises I have been doing in my imrpov dance classes. To the point that just having us line up and make eye contact initiated the exercise for my partner and I . It was a bit different, because with less motion, and more focus on eye/breath connection, we were able to syncrhonize in different ways than I had in dance class.
The round robin, "energy exercises" are going well. With few exceptions the group seems to be "getting" how to do it, and doing it well. I also noticed that initially the group was doing primarily "Cheery" and "peppy" names, but when on occasion I would add something new to the mix, like physical intimidation, or acting like a sad 5 year old, that those new emotions quickly made it into the group's collective vocab.
To end the class, Don related to us how our failures are more valuable than our successes as actors and that we should push ourselves to fail more often, to learn. I agreed, although while talking between Don and I, it was concurred that I had figured that out in my life history earlier, and that technique training was more relevant for me to receive from Don, than that "extra push"
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