Dance Training Journal 14: 2/25/15

Dance Training Journal 14: 2/25/15

*Breath: Torso, Fluidity, oxygen, motor skills, efficiency

*Sensing: Kinthesthesia, body and space, slowdown, relax, less effort

* Connectivity: Feel relationship, Aimiing part of body, Parts create whole, don't try hard, Nothing to achieve, Pay attention to internal connectivity

*Initiation: where begin motion, where you start, affects what you do.

*Somatics: Greek, mind, body spirit Wholeness

Focus individual's Proprioceptive experience

Somatics, are the opposite of audience focused performances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatics

This was a really important session for me. The warm-up meditative exercises, of course, were right up my alley with my martial arts-yoga background. What was new, was doing those with the partner touching me. My partner tristian was touching my shoulder blades, and when he started to give me "energy" my usually tense shoulders just dropped, and relaxed. Was wonderful. Another thing i noticed, was that my ability to shift weight, and sense my own inner workings, was very heightened. ALl in all, very helpful, very useful.

Dance Training Journal 13: 2/23/15

Dance Training Journal 13: 2/23/15

Process/Product

Gestalt: Form, Shared work, Identity

Unity

Narrative

Name-Writing

 Body Parts, Movement Vocab

Floor Pattern

3 shapes with transitions

Literal to abstraction to literal

Group dance

I found this class very enlightening. First of all, it was the first class that focused on creating a final product. Most of our prior classes, while having a capstone event or activity, focused entierly on process. in this one, we prepared, and BUILT something. Introducing the concept of Gestalt, seemed very relaxant, as we needed to function as a group. The name-writing exercise, opened up my body vocab quite a bit, as well as putting the concept of "identity" into this class. More of who I am, leaked in when we added the three poses with transitions. I naturally was attracted to photos that resonate with me personally. I wound up with a kneeling soldier, a macho guy holding a baseball bat, and a ninja kinda guy on his toes in a tree. I associated my youth in religious service, my sword training, and my current interest in dance with these images. This colored how I held those poses, as well as the motion I put into them. When we did the animal exercise, pretending to be tigers, than an anmial of our own choice (I chose monkey). I started to really "get" the idea of character insertion in this context. I'm a bit of a hyperactive, gregarious guy. Putting that into the routine, with me switching from various life roles, with a lightheaded impish attitude, felt like ME. When it came time to do the group dance, putting it all together, and working with others, I showed who I was, by putting that monkey/impish nature into protecting our group's "puppy" from the "tigers" as well as trying to be enthusiastic with the indifferent tigers, as humans, and the receptive, and kind "puppy" All in all, it was a pretty awesome experience.

Dance Training Journal 12: 2/20/15

Dance Training Journal 12: 2/20/15

This class was taught by two of our classmates. Their overall theme was improvisational teamwork/non-verbal communication. After a warm-up, our first major activity was sitting on each other's laps, in a circle as a class. to trust each other's weight. Surprisingly, i was able to do so, as part of the group. Following that, the partners shapes exercise, back and forth across the room brought out a lot of creativity/risk taking. I found lots of ways to put weight and add expression to my partners in a playful manner. The merging of the parter shapes lead to more elaborate forms, which was also very good for improv coordination/trust.

We did a "follow the leader"  where we mimicked or did something similar to a teammate's actions. The part where we worked in small groups lead to things like conga lines, or imitating various partners. The real highlight for me, was when we had a shared floor, to lead or follow as we please. I had one moment, where i slipped into a robotic character, and began playing with Kendall's hands, as she lay on the floor, face down. It was an absolutely priceless moment, as well as a huge risk.

We also did some "machine work" where as small groups and as a class mimicked machines en masse. Lots of fun, was a great way to take big risks collaborating with each other's body motion/weight/group energy

Dance Training Journal 11: 2/18/15

Dance Training Journal 11: 2/18/15

I had a lot of fun with this class. We were supposed to get in touch with our own physical/motion capabilities, so we started practicing some medititon/sun salutations. We then practiced playing 'follow the leader" with our eyes closed. It was more complicated than in acting class, as we could switch leads, and trade partners, making it MUCH more physically dynamic than I was used to. I noticed that some partners were more nervous, or more confident than others, and as a "follower" some leaders had more courage/boldness in the risks they lead me into and out of. The falls/catch practice was very helpful, it was good to be instructed to fall to the side so my partners could deal with my weight. Was also an entertaining dynamic with my partners, some were more comfortable being caught than others, making trust/risk taking a big deal. The dance JD and I did at the end, I adapted to her current capability, as she was tired, and was not able to use her full potential. Despite that, we still  had a good dance with a bit of a martial arts/fighting theme. Was a blast.

LOVE AND DEATH: by Kathryn Cherkovich

LOVE AND DEATH: by Kathryn Cherkovich

Motel Room. Celia is pacing, waiting. A moment later, James enters.

C: There you are! I was starting to worry.
J: I told you not to expect me any earlier. I had a meeting.
C: I know. I just....worry.
J: What about?
C: Oh, you know, everything. Don't you?
J: No, actually. I don't. Do you think I should?
C: Of course not. That's part of what I love about you. Aren't you going to kiss me?
(They embrace.)
What's wrong?
J: Nothing. What do you mean? Nothing's wrong.
C: You seem tense. Something's the matter?
J: Celia, I'm fine. Is something the matter with you?
C: No, of course not. Sorry. How long do you have?
J: I have to be home by eight-thirty. You?
C: Tonight is Richard's men's group. Nine-thirty at the earliest. I know It's not the right thing to say, but I liked men better before they started talking so much.
J: You're just an old-fashioned girl.
C: That's what I love about you: You don't say everything. And everything between us is so...
J: Temporary.
C: Intense. How are you feeling?
J: Fine.
C: You always say that.
J: Because it's true.
C: You don't have to be brave for me, you know.
J: I thought that's what you just said you liked about me.
C: Loved.
J: Loved, then. Look, Celia, I have to tell you something. Some news. I went to the doctor's today.
C: I knew it. I knew there was something. It's worse, isn't it?
J:No, it's not what you think. It's good news, I - I'm not sick, it turns out. I'm not dying!
C:What are you talking about?

J: The lab made a mistake, apparently. Some mixup with the slides or something. I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me!
C: What do you mean, a mistake? you mean you're not sick?
J: No!
C: You're not going to die?
J: No? Well, not right now. Not that I know of, anyway.
C: But how can that be?
J:Just one of those freak confusions, I guess. But listen, it means I'm fine!
C: James, that's - well, that's great. Obviously. What - what great, great news.
(They embrace, but awkwardly.)
 Well this kind of changes everything, doesn't it?
J: Does it?
C: I mean, in a good way, of course. But still.
J: I don't see why it has to.
C: Well, we can't very well go on having an affair if you're going to live, can me? Your wife is my best friend!
J: What are you saying? You only loved me because you thought i was going to die?
C: Of course not! I've loved you for years. But I only slept with you because I thought you were going to die.
J: That's perverse.
C: It is not! it's moral!
J: What?! What is this, the "terminally ill" clause of the seventh commandment?
C: You're a fine one to talk!
J: I'm the one who was dying remember?
C: You only thought you were dying.
J: Look, let's not argue. Ok? Celia?
(Pause)
C: I'm sorry. This just - I'm surprised, is all.
J: Imagine how I feel!
C: How do you feel?
J: What do you mean?
C: Someone just gave you your life back. That doesn't happen to most people. What does it feel like?
J: Well great, you know. It feels great.
C: "Great"? That's it?
J: I'm not good at talking about things. You said so yourself, remember? You said that's what you love about me.

C:Like.
J: Oh, come on, Celia. This is good news. We can worry later. We're together now. Let's celebrate.
(Pause.)
C: Do you remember how it started? Do you remember the day you told me?
J: Of course.
C: But do you remember what you said?
J: I called you from a pay phone. I remember that.
J: You said you were downtown with an hour to kill and was I free for lunch.
J: I remember, I remember Feeling like that was the one phone call you're allowed to make before they lock you up.
C: Three glasses of wine, and then you told me.
J: Yes.
C: We were sitting there. You'd just been to the doctor. You said he'd asked you to get dressed and meet him in his office.
J: God, yes I remember.
C: Six months, you said he said.
J: You remember.
C: Everything. Six months. Remember that?
J: I couldn't very well forget that, could I?
C: You bastard.
J: What? Because I thought I was going to die, and now I'm not?
C: Because you lied.
J: About what?
C: He didn't say six months! He said a year, maybe two!
J: So, I forgot exactly what he said. It was a stressful conversation! besides, what difference does it make, if it turns out I'm actually fine?
C: You would not have forgotten an thing like that, unless...
J: Unless what?
C: Unless you made it up in the first place.
J: What are you saying, that I made the whole thing up? That I was never going to die?
C: James, how could you do that? How could you lie to me about a thing like that?
J: It wasn't a lie. I honestly thought I would die without you. I had to have you.
C: That's sick, you know that? For a well man, you're incredibly sick.

J: Listen to me. I did go to the doctor's that day. We talked about my heart, how sometimes it throws in this extra beat, which was probably nothing to worry about, although sometimes perfectly healthy people do drop dead on the golf course, you never know. We'd had dinner with you and Richard the night before, do you remember? I do. I remember everything about that dinner. I remember sitting next to you and thinking if I couldn't touch you, I was going to die.I literally thought that. And then I had this conversation with the doctor the next day. And when I left his office the sun was just incredibly bright. It was bouncing off the cars in the parking lot so, so intensely that I could hardly keep my eyes open. And I thought, if there's a phone here, and if I've got change, and if shes listed, I'm going to call her. And if she answers, it's a sign.
C: Why didn't you tell me that? Why didn't you just tell me the truth?
J: Because the truth wasn't enough!
C: The truth is always enough!
J: Since when?
C: Since always.
J: Well, I'm telling you the truth now.
C: But now everything is different. Now I can't trust you.
J: Now is exactly when you can trust me. It was before, when you thought you could, that you couldn't.
C: Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it doesn't.
J: Well, what about you? you're the one who wanted a deathbed romance! How do you think that made me feel, knowing that you were only with me because you thought I wouldn't be around in another year?
C: Maybe tow.
J: You're cruel.
C: You would know.
(Pause)
Does Meredith know?
J: About us?
C:That you're not dying.
J: She never thought I was!
C:You didn't tell her?
J: Why should I tell her? it wasn't true! Good god, you didn't tell her, did you?
C: How could I tell her? "Oh, by the way, you'll never guess what James mentioned while we were at lunch the other day?
J: I thought she was your best friend.
C:Now who's being cruel?
J: I'm sorry. I am. For everything.
C: So you're really fine?
J: You sound disappointed.
C: I'm just adjusting to the news.
J: Did you really want me to die?
C: Of course not! It just... it made everything....
J: Easier?
C: More alive, somehow, more real. But of course, this is better. I mean, obviously! It just takes a little getting used to.
J: Well, the doctor did seem a little concerned about one thing...
C: Really? What was that?
J: Well, my cholesterol. It's a bit high.
C: (Disappointed.) Oh.
J: But my heart. It does throw in that extra beat now and again.
C: But you said that was nothing to worry about, right?
J: Well, ordinarily not. But, you know, with elevated cholesterol - and I do have high blood pressure.
C: So in your case, it might be a bit more serious?
J: Well, you never know. My uncle died young.
C: Heart attack?
J: Farming accident. But still! I could, you know.
C: What?
J: Die. It could happen
C: Oh, James!
(They embrace, passionately this time.)

END OF PLAY

Script of an "scripted scene" i'm doing for an acting class. Posted for educational/non-profit uses. If this post violates a copyright, of the original author, I will remove it immediately upon request.

Acting Journal IX: 2/17/15

Acting Journal: IX 2/17/15

From character concept to (soon to be) final execution, my part in the "open scene" I've been practicing with Jorge, has been quite a ride. Before i get too far ahead of myself here, gonna state what the lines are for our open scene.

Jorge: did you see him?
Jason: Who?
Jorge: you know!
Jason Do I?
Jorge: Come on!
Jason: NO!
Jorge:
Jason Don't do this
Jorge: What do you mean?
Jason: You do not want to know
Jorge: Forget it.
Jason: Sorry

Yes, i forget what one of Jorge's lines is in the middle, No, i'm not gonna miss my que on it. Our original concept was to do a "fight scene" with blocking, and stage combat, but our prof quiclky reminded us the point of this exercise is to build a beat. That scrapped quite a bit of excessive "backstory" that we started with. However, a lot of the basic "emotional tenor" remains, as Jorge, is questioning my character, and i'm trying to hide/deflect the question, until he leaves in a huff, and I regret him going. A lot of this has been developed in response to Don's comments on our demonstrations of our scene. The good news is that it is getting more and more solid with each and every practice.

Some things I've noticed about the preparation process:
No matter how much I practice, it seems that feedback from a third party is SUPER useful.
Learning which variations "resonate" with my partner is invaluable
It's easy for actors in a scene to get "fun parts" of their delivery "on" and not notice when other, important parts fall off.
Scheduling practice times are difficult, especially if health complications are involved.
Having an enthusiastic, helpful partner makes a big difference.
Also, learning more about your partner, helps me feel more comfortable with the process, and the role.

Dance Training journal 10: 2/13/15

Dance Training journal 10: 2/13/15

Giving your weight to a partner.

We practiced a meditation on our personal weight/comfort zone. Then we did an "energy exercise" by rubbing our palms together and "feeling" shared energy by holding hands near a partner. It worked well when I did it to demo with robin, but my first partner rachel, didn't seem to "get it". We then rubbed our palms and "traced" our partner. Rachel seemed both not to give off an aura, nor be able to detect when i gave one off while tracing her. Our next exercise was the "wavy back rub" we sat back to back with a partner near our height, and traded putting weight on each other's backs/feeling the balence. my partner had an injury and was smaller than me, so I took most of the weight, and we tried shifting back and forth, rotating, etc. Was a lot of fun.

We then tried. "london bridge" by clasping arms, and leaning back. I had to adjust to leaning back without putting to much weight on my partners, which was work, but manageable. we tried to go up and down to floor in this manner, in a coordinated fashion. We also did it one armed, crossed and "alternated" hands in a kinda dance way. We then switched partners a few times, to practice the technique on new people of different sizes/weights/strengths. A bit of work to adjust that fast, but manageable. Finally, we did a "dance" where we could mix and match movements. I led a bit, and while rachel, partnered with me tried to follow, she was a tad stiff. Ah well. Was a good exercise overall.

Dance Training Journal: 2/11/15

Dance Training Journal 9: 2/11/15

What and how

Mantra exercise:

"I am a blank piece of paper, with nothing written on it" While saying that in our minds, we walked then ran/danced around the room. I enjoyed it, and while i was able to keep my mantra going from time to time. "individuality" invaded my mind. The thought kept coming in: even with nothing, you have something of yourself.  Reminded of Zidane having his soul "removed" by his creator in FFIX. It kinda got back in there, do to his devotion to his friends and loved ones. Willpower is funny like that. 

We did a body reading exercise, which in small groups involved

Strong impulses and silences, 

Delays,

Hurrying moves,

Choosing no instead of yes,

repititions, and variatons.

We practiced this in several groups passing leaders. Was kinda fun, and we saw lots of neat variations/translations, timing tricks that were a blast to watch and do. 

For the final exercise we tried 4 "zones" one that was cold butter to be cut through, one wind blowing us about, one gravity X4, and one that was bugs biting and stinging. We acted through each, in a limited time, and described the attributes for each, like deliberate for gravity, graceful/flowing for the wind. Was rather nice.

Acting Training Notes: Auditions 2/15/15

Acting Training Notes: Auditions 2/15/15

Carnalaity, by Mark Loewenstern

I daydream about you. and these are not like your regular run-of-the-mill daydreams. They're elaborate! I know all the details. No I do! Even when I'm making it up. I know the place: What apartment we're living in. What Hotel we're staying at. Which beach we're Lying on. I Know the time: If we're up early, or up late. Or if it's some rainy afternoon. I know what clothes you are wearing: Which black dress, Which pair of blue jeans. I know what you have on underneath them. I know how your hair is: Up or down. Curled, wet. I know what you smell like. Which Perfume, which shampoo. I could tell you the shade of lipstick and nail polish. I know every last part of you that I touch: All the obvious places, and all the secret ones. The ones I know you like.

In preparation for this monologue, I had been practicing it a day or three, and inflicting it on aquaintences to get myself ready. The day of the monologue, a Sunday, I prepped several hours before the auditions. I practiced it time and time again. I did some alexande techinque relaxiation and vocal practice. I did some Kendo practice to calm my nerves.

Then I went to the audition, and did the paperwork. Before we were called in i tried a few more times, including a "one off" drop with nothing before or after it. I was nervous as all hell, but I felt I had it "ready"

Then we had auditions. The normal warmups, stretches, acting activities, etc. Again, I felt I was doing well.

Then we waited. Waited to be called on. I practiced once or twice more out of nervousness. Still, I felt ready enough.

Then I went in the audition for my monolouge. I started well enough, but the anxiety of being in that room, combined with the near maniac pace i had practiced for my delivery hit me like a ton of bricks. I fumbled, i botched my lines, and stopped in the middle. I asked to start over, and they told me to take some breaths and continue. Which i did. I finished the form, but wasn't too happy about my performance.

going out I had one thought. Do it again, but better, Improve my technique. Conquer my fears. It wasn't till an hour or two, and some food in my stomach later that my adreneline dump really cooled off. Even then, my thoughts were. Do better. Nanokarobi, Yaoki. fall seven times. Rise eight.

Pracitecd the technique again more today. After my audition, Kim bouchard told me i needed to focus on my breath more in my technique. In my inital practice yesterday, I was super-concerned about the time, so i developed the monologue into a franctic, maniac pace. I see know how that shot me in the foot. I was practicing delivering it scared. That means if i felt additional fear, the two would stack and mess me up. Which is exactly what happened.

I'm practicing it a new way now. Not rushing, and with some romantic kinda music in the background. Re-tying my associations with that of a hopeful romanitic, rather than a desperate creeper. I may or may not attempt to deliver it again in the second round of auditions tonight. either way, I'm not gonna SIT on my ASS and wait to lose. I'm gonna master my every fear, and keep striving.

I daydream about you. And these are not like your regular run-of-the mill daydreams. They're elaborate. I know all the details. No, I do. Even when I'm making it up. I know the place: what apartment we're living in, what hotel we're staying at, what beach we're lying on. I know the time: if we're up early, or up late, or if it's some rainy afternoon. I know what clothes you're wearing: which black dress, which pair of blue jeans. I know what you have on underneath them. I know how your hair is: up or down, curled, wet. I know what you smell like: which perfume, which shampoo. I could tell you the shade of lipstick and nail polish. I know every last part of you that I touch: All the obvious places, and all the secret ones. the ones I know you like.

Dance Training: faculty Dance concert Notes

Dance Training: Faculty Dance Concert Notes

1st piece:

"trust in the mortal"

a female duo, dressed up as old mining/working men, come unto stage. One of them is physically carrying the other unto the stage. During the dance, they exhibit trust by alternating falling, and catching each other. At times the partner being carried will "drop" their partner, but overall they dust each other off and continue trying to trust each other, despite being flawed human beings. 

2nd piece:

"Resisting the idol of automation"

First Movement:

In a steampunk world, with a "idol" of winged armor in the backdrop, people move mechainically, as if they could not bend like a human, while pushing around unmoving "leaders" and "rulers" on carts. Some of them carry lanterns, denoting authority to punish/oversee the laws of the society. as long as the rulers and the lanterend "sentinels" are on stage, the "massses" make no appearance of being anything other than cogs in a machine.

Second Movement:

With the "sentinels" and the leaders out of sight, the "masses" begin to dance to cheerful-ish mechanical movement. Their joints are still robotically locked, but despite this, they try progressively more difficult feats of flexibility, and learn to "enjoy" life between tasks demanded of them by others.

3rd piece:
"A model of the social realm"

First Movement:
A solitary dancer is dancing alone on stage. From time to time, she comes to the forefront of the stage, where a glaring "judging" spotlight shines on her. She continues to dance alone, although from time to time, several other dancers enter the stage, and copy a few steps than leave. The overall impression is that she is not able to form lasting friendships.

Second Movement:
A group of dancers starts danicnig on the stage together. They quickly ostracize/shoo the solitary dancer off the stage. As they dance, they split off into multiple subgroups, or play follow the leader, as they establish social hierchy, and from time to time "split" into two or more sub-groups. they are additionally "judged" from time to time, before rejoining the group.

Third Movement:
The group of dancers, have mastered their social unity, and begin dancing as one, while maintaining some individuality. The "solitary dancer" still separate from the group dances alone near them, despite being unable to join in their group dynamic. Finally, all but one of the group dancers "dies" while the last one stands, the sole survivor of her group of friends.

4th Piece
"counting pain"

First Movement:
A single dancer dances on stage, while a sad background song talks of counting "wound, Dual, Triage, Fear, Thief" instead of "one, Two, Three, Four, Five" I'ts apparent the dancer is choosing to measure life's pains rather than it's joy's

Second Movement:
The dancer, through the audio track acknowledges that there is more to life than her pain, and the music shifts to that of joy. However, she continues to "count" her pains, rather than enjoy the good life around her.

5th Piece
A simple life. From Cradle, to the Grave., To kingdom Come.
A Shepard guarding a flock of drunks
Funeral Dirge
Promise of the gospel.
Grace of the faithful

First Movement:
Simple hill folk dance to a tune of mirth, contentment, and the good life

Second Movement:
Much older hill folk, dance to mirth, and memories of good times gone by.

Third Movement:
A song of the end of times, and the day of judgement.

Fourth Movement:
A vigilant Shepard, follows and tries to guide a herd of drunk, merry, stupid hill folk. She fails until she starts acting more like them.

Fifth Movement:
A song of death, and mourning.

Sixth Movement: 

A un-danced song of the joy of the gospel, and salvation.

Seventh Movement:
A danced song, of how with effort, and grace, one may gain salvation. Very flowing.

End of concert:
In the "bowing" of the dancers, the "solitary dancer, remained separated from the "group" of dancers that had ostracized her in that segment.

Dance Training Journal 8: 2/9/15

Dance Training Journal 8: 2/9/15

Our group presented today. We had very good feedback, such as the respect we showed for each other, our organization of teaching the material and good use of the activity. We did have the occasional hiccup on clarity, but we were able to explain/clarify fairly well. We had also learned some lessons on balencing our voices as leaders, and grouping from the prior class, which helped immensly.

As far as improv, we also had 3 other groups present, ranging from another word activity, a "throw an object game" and a "i love you baby, but I can't make you laugh" all of which went well. I noted that in the throw the object game, i was very, very physical compared to the other dancers. I also did well on the laughing game, both on the defense, and on nearly making my partner laugh, but being shorter on time, giving her the chance to withhold a tad longer. 

Dance Training Journal 7: 2/6/15

Dance Training Journal 7: 2/6/15

The first of the four groups teaching segments went up today. I enjoyed the other "word activity" that went up, it did it in a way that might have been an alternate format to the one our group did. We however decided as a group to not modify our already solid plan. I also remember one "improv moment" where we were to emote sadness, while saying "I'm beautiful" not knowing what else to do, I emulated a motion from my classmate colin. Was rather fun.

Dance Training Journal 6: 1/4/15

Dance Training Journal 6: 1/4/15

Today robin lead us through a group activity using the format we were going to be using for our teaching exercises. It was very useful in prepping us for the teaching aspect of our training, as well as giving us time to learn the format for doing so.

Acting Journal VII: 2/10/15

Acting Journal VII: 2/10/15

Self Critique of my Henry V interpretation.

First, I put a lot of work in my Henry V interpretation, and think I did well overall. 

The parts I think I did right were:

-I used body language, and gestures to build group energy.

-I gained eye contact with my audience.

-I made use of timing to accent the group energy, and allow my fellow cast members to react to what I had said.

-I elocuted my lines

The places I think I could have done better were

-I still need to work on my basic posture.

-My tone and pitch need some work.

-I have a tendency to lean on physical energy over emotional.

-I need to watch how i use my throat, and avoid straining my voice

Acting Journal VII: 2/5/15

Acting Journal VII: 2/5/15

 What I learned from watching others perform Henry V monologue, and use of hands in public spaces

Henry V monologue.
One of the things I learned watching the other's do theirs, was that there are multiple valid and powerful ways of doing the same basic lines. I saw quite a few of my classmates use varying vocal techniques and body language to bring power, and different kinds of power to the mix. Some may bring an almost spiritual connection to the piece, others bring a war-like fury, others bring a soft and quiet determination. Pacing, tempo, emphasis on certain words, brevity, elocution, body posture, body type, they all count.

Use of hands in public spaces.

Today in church i paid attention to how people used their hands. I saw a few people use them to hold coffee. Others were more expressive, using them to make small points or gestures. Sometimes this was nervous energy, other-times, they were to show connection by touching a friend's shoulder. Different people had different "neutral stances" with their hands, such as at their sides, or up by their chests, or behind their backs. I was actually surprised by the large amount of variation in how people did this.

Welcome to the Bluth family!

Welcome to the Bluth family!

For a stage management assignment, I was told to send my professor a letter welcoming her as an actor of a production that I was theoretically stage managing. Of course, while prepping the assignment i thought "what would me best friend Steelson do?" this is the result.

________,

Welcome to the Bluth Company's 1st annual charity production of MACBETH! The Bluth Company has hired me as their stage manager for this production.

As I am sure you are aware, The Bluth company has been in a spot of trouble since it's founder, George Bluth Sr, was arrested for alleged actions that may constitute "light treason".

For that reason in addition to the ordinary challenges that one might expect to have acting as Lord Macbeth in an gender-swapped production of Macbeth, you will also need to deal with the Bluth's themselves.

Our Executive Producer, Lucille Bluth, wife to the founder of the Bluth company, won't be having much actual direct oversight over this production, as she is generously dedicating herself to the care of her adult sun, Buster Bluth. If you ever need help dealing with Buster's antics, please! let me know!

Most of our day-to-day decisions will be handled by our Production Manager, Micheal Bluth, who took over the Bluth Company after his father's arrest. He is the serious responsible sort, and has been a great asset to me as a stage manager for this project.

Our technical director for this production is Gob Bluth, a local magician who will be directing the special effects for our production. Between you and me, he's a bit of a ladies man, try not to take him too seriously.

Our publicity manager, Lindsay Bluth, is the twin of our Production Manager Micheal. She is an old hand at "wine and cheese" fund raisers, so expect her to be able to bring a lot of "star power" to our audience list.

Additionally, Lady Macbeth is being played by Dr. Tobias Funke, the husband of Lindsay Bluth. He is a psychologist turned actor, and the author of LGBT Self Help book, "the man inside me". What his acting skills lack in nuance, he makes up for sheer enthusiasm for the craft. Please, let me know if you need any help getting on the same page as him for this production.

You might also notice, that quite a few of our cast production meetings are going to be held at the Bluth company's banana stand. The two workers there, George Micheal Jr, son of Micheal Bluth, and Maebe Funke daughter of Lindsay Bluth and Dr. Tobias Funke, have been instructed to give free Bluth frozen bananas to all cast and production members as an "perk" of participating in the production.

As you have likely gathered, this production of Macbeth is VERY much a family affair. By accepting this role, you have not only been giving the challenging part of playing Lord Macbeth gender reversed, but the equally challenging role of entering into the Bluth Family. As I was the Bluth Stage manager for several of their other family productions if you have any questions, or need any help dealing with your new "family" do not hesitate to call, or contact me. I would love to help!

Stage Manager for the Bluth Company,

____________

Acting Journal VI: 2/3/15 Crises in public areas

Acting Journal VI: 2/3/15 Crises in public areas

When I was younger, I had experience that never quite left me. I was about 19-20 years old, and was serving as a missionary in a stretch of highway in Venezuala known as "punta gorda" (fat point) at the time. This was a very developed area, as it was just outside of Cabimas, opposite the city of Maricabo, on Lake Maricabo. (that's where all the OIL is in Venezuela btw.) One night, after a full day's of proselytizing, my companion and I were trying to get a cab home, when we saw a guy, holding a towel to his head, that was bleeding quite profusely. We tried to talk some cabbies into taking him to a local hospital but they refused. They actually seemed quite indifferent to his plight, and getting an ambulance in south america is not quite as easy as it is in the US. Not having a car ourselves, and not having any ability to help the man, we were forced to leave him, hoping that chance would favor him.

Flash forward a few years. I was living with my parents, locally while studying for a engineering associates. At this time of my life I was more or less a "third parent" for my younger brothers, as i did a lot of babysitting for my parents, as well as put money towards the bills every month. My dad, had been under the weather for the past several days, because his throat was swelling, limiting his breath. This had occurred fairly often in the past several years, so no-one was quite concerened about it, initially. That is until my dad walked down the stairs, more or less gagging on his own breath. His throat was starting to seal off, and there was the distinct possibility that he was going to die in our living room, in front of us. My mom quickly dialed 911 and took him to the door, luckily we lived immediatly next door to the fire hall in our local village. While she tended to him,  she told me to keep my little brother's attention away from what was happenening, as they were too young to understand what was going on. I really don't remember much of what I did, other than the raw, physical fear running through me, and my vaguely making sure my younger brothers were no-where near when the ambulance got to our house. Fortunately, it did arrive and time, and one emergency tracheotomy at the hospital later, my dad was breathing again. He rapidly made a full recovery.

A more recent event of such nature, was at my third stay in the ogdensburg psych center, in 2013. Towards the end of the week i was there, there was a female patient who was obviously rubbing the wrong way with a male patient, who was being aggressive towards her. It was actually kinda super obvious. So of course, to my horror, that night at TV time, the ward put out one staff member to look over 8-10 patients, including guess who? those two. So when a fight broke out between the two, and their was only ONE staff member on hand, all hell broke loose. The male staff member got the guy, while one of the other female patients restrained the girl. I remember as the other patients scattered in panic, thinking "i have to stay out of this. I have to survive" 

After the fight was ended, the floor was empty of staff for several minutes. I took the time to try to call a government safety line. Whoops! those are closed at that time of night. I was taken back into the beds before i could figure out how to dial the "emergency line"

After that the staff expected me to bed with the guy who had started the fight, and 2 other guys in a common bedroom. I elected to sleep on the stretcher near the nurses station, get a sleeping pill, rather be under a constant state of panic.

Overall, I've seen lots of terrifying things in public places. Some people snap, others are indifferent to suffering. Others ho-hum go about their job. On occasion, i've seen people panic, and in others, i've calmly, and collectedly done what needed to be done and be on my way. Really there is no logical predictor to what someone else will do in an emergency, as once adrenaline starts pumping all bets are off. 

Acting Journal 5: 2/2/15 Learning the Henry V monologue

Acting Journal 5: 2/2/15 Learning the Henry V monologue

We few, We happy few, We band of brothers
For he that sheds his blood with me today
Shall be my brother, be he ne'er so vile
this day shall gentle his condition
and gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here
and hold their manhood cheap while any speaks
that fought with us upon crispin's day.

I suppose the proper way to say that I learned this monologue, to the point that I typed the above from memory, is; I may be in a new arena, but This is NOT my first Rodeo. Since the age of 12 I was expected to perform 'lay ministry' services in the congregation I grew up in. Among them was the blessing of the sacramental water and bread for our sunday services. 

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." 

Sure, sacrament prayers might not be a typical way to learn theater monologues, but there is actually quite a bit of carry over between the rituals of religion, and the expression of stage. Prior to this course I read that Lawrence Oliver actually had cited his own religious background as an important part of his actor's training. On top of this, between the ages of 12 and 28 I made the practice of daily scripture study. Reading The Book of Mormon, and the King James Bible, isn't much different in linguistic tone from reading Shakespeare, as the King James well, kinda sorta ruled England when Will was doing his thing. While The Book of Mormon has more *ahem* modern origins in 1820's United States religious revivalism, not only does it often flat-out copy the linguistic 'style' and 'tone' of the bible, it on occasion lifts entire passages from the KJV of the bible. I had been in the habit of reading both aloud, from time to time, and have restarted an oral reading of the bible recently.

On top of this, as a person who had served a mission, command of my voice has long been an area of personal study. I also was frequently required to deliver spiritual thoughts, lessons, sermons and the like often with as much notice as "you have a talk in 5 minutes/two hours. get ready"

In such situations, I would typically dive into the scriptures, pull out a verse or three, come up with a theme, moral or story to tie them to, and rather than "memorize" them, I would basically practice delivering my talk in however much time I had before I delivered it. As I did so, I would typically only have very sporadic, if any notes, often amounting to only a few chicken scratches for notes to "cue" me in if I forgot my next point, and a few bookmarks to my scripture references. Quite frequently while delivering such talks, lessons and sermons, I would have "flashes of inspiration" of stories, ways to word my ideas, and on occasion entirely new concepts to add to the mix.

In short, real-time improvisation became my normal. I not only used this ability for church duties, but also in my hobbies, and workplace. Did quite a large number of dungeons and dragons campaigns much in the same way. I would have a loose wireframe for a story, wait to see what my characters would do, and then make up up the rest of the fine details on the way. At work as a professional math tutor, I refined a few dozen "routines" for resolving common math errors/mistakes to the point I've penned several of them down, and written a basic guide to tutoring technique.

More specifically to my application of this ability to the Henry V monologue, I at first read it aloud, while toying with various inflections of speech. At quite a few points I experimented with body language, such as stomps at certain points in the speech for emphasis, as well as dramatic pauses. I also, while sweeping the stage out of class toyed with an idea of doing the monologue as if it were an actual production. This involved me practicing the monologue in the black-box we use for class alone, with me experimenting with prop use, gestures for my classmates, vocal technique, and how I would face a hypothetical audience, were this were to be delivered as a live audience.

Additionally, based on instructor feedback on how I have a habit of "over constricting" my throat when speaking, I practiced Alexander technique to help me relax more when delivering my lines, as well as shifting my mindset from "be overpowering" to "synchronize with your surroundings/fellow actors"

I also have been making a study of vocal technique since before the semester began, in an attempt to teach myself to be able to sing in tune, on key, with proper technique. I'm still working on it, but with some help from friends and mentors, I am making rapid progress.

I'm also no stranger to speaking in front of crowds in non-religious contexts, I spoke in the "open mike nite" several last times last semester.

Finally, it came time to make good on my preparations during the delivery of the monologue on Tuesday, I was the second to take the chance on it in the group exercise. I chose not to go first, as being that guy often is more intimidating than it's worth. I made a point of going second however, as after the ice had been "broken" I felt entirely comfortable, not only delivering the lines, with inflection, but using the emotional rapport techniques I have been honing, not only during this acting course, but over the entirety of my life.

Acting Journal 4: 1/29/15

Acting Journal 1/29/15

Today started with basic Alexander technique. Other than the fact i want to study more pronunciation technique after this class is over, one thing that Don noted, was i was off pitch from the group. Still working on training my pitch, I'm under the assumption that I am not tone deaf, but that i rather have a large number of very bad habits.

Next up, we re-did the Henry V energy talk. Again, i rather enjoyed it, but I over-projected with my throat, and was a bit "off" I'm getting the sense that i'm a tad over-enthusiastic because i want to be heard. Kind of a pointless idea in a group of acting students, where all of us want the same thing, and are in basic training. I should really focus on resonating/synchronizing than being overpowering in this crowd. magnitude is easy. Proper technique is my more important priority here. If i get that right, I'll get heard plenty. i get it wrong, and no amount of "magnitude" will make up for the fact. 

We re-did the rope exercise, and i was in front, responsible for mainlining distance and illusion. While i did well on the rope holding bit, i got a bit competitive, and did not synchronize distance properly. I wanted to 'win' too much, and since my actual body size does into prove an advantage with imaginary rope, that was a hindrance rather than a help to this exercise. 

Our final exercise involved pairing up, and practicing a fake "push away" and a fake "call" to come over. The push went well, but the call, neither my partner or i would acknowledge each other's call. For her part, she was kinda matter of fact, and I felt no reason to go to her, she did not seem emotionally appealing, and made it feel like a 'demand'. On my part, I tried the emotional appeal  too much, and she told me after 'i am not a cat' I'm beginning to  see how personality types can often conflict in these scenarios. This to me means that as an actor, i need to adjust my actions to fit my partner, rather than just going off my first instinct. If they lock down, things wont' get done. It's not my job to get things locked down. It's to work with them emotionally. That's my actual job on the satge.

On a side note, yesterday, I practiced a "Henry V" monologue on the stage, with my wooden stick as a prop sword. I experimented with various shapes of forming ranks for my "soldiers" as well as ways of expressing the idea physically. Stomping, Cutting of palm for the idea of "blood brothers" and such were involved. it was fun, but as the Henry V monologue is intended to be voice interpretation for this class, I have to shelve that mode of thought a while. Oh well. I can always do more of that thing after I master some basics. 

Dance Training Journal 5: 1/30/15, 1/31/15

Dance Training Journal: 

1/30/15, 

The first thing i did was sweep the floor. I noted how amazing the floor felt, and how much I loved it as a surface. I am the kind of guy that is very tactile, so having a good floor and learning more about it is a big deal for me. Our next major exercise was a "motion idea training, that involved pciking an idea, interacting with partners and then doing the opposite of the idea, and then magnifying the resulting action. During this I started doing a "play acting" activity with one of my dance partners,. We threw lots of punches, kicks and martial arts flourishes at each other, and would "fall" back from the resulting blows. Was a lot of fun, and an exercise with playing with a partner and spacing. Newt we did a "personal reality training session. In terms of meditative practice this one was a big eye-closer, reality opener fro me. In this meditation, I realized that I rely more on my sense of touch, and balance for motion than I do tin my sense of sight. Realizing this allows me to trust in those more, and let's me move past a reliance on vision. Our third exercise was a musical improv session. In this, each person played an instrument, or played off of one. The goal was also to act "natural" as opposed to having been contrived actions for fighting/dancing motions. I noticed that this opened my use of hips more, and that I also brought more reaction from my face allowing for greater emotional correlation in my dancing. When I assisted in the musical part, my steady constant, simple beat and whistling comb was very helpful for my partner to dance to. 

After that we had a "free improv" session. What a blast! the goal here was to enter, and exit the floor, and to improv on it while playing off our partners, and having moments of stillness. i had lots of fun out there, and was able to do all the above. In one of my favorite moments i chased a partner, who quickly sped up, then escaped the floor to my mock rage.

1/31/15

Had a blast at the snow ball on campus. Aside from the fact that a semi-formal school dance would seem to be a natural place to practice improv technique I have been doing just that since well before I started this course. Did some "crowd dashing" weaving and bobbing through the crowd without bumping into folk. Another fun thing i did, was a limbo line. What I did however that was "new" territory to me in terms of technique was to use my scarf as a "line" between one of my dance partners and I for us to pull each other in, and spin off of. Was very fun. Another thing i did, was when dancing with the ladies, I would make silly expressions like stick out my tongue, or duck down and gaze at them at the end of a spin. I also variated where i ran my hands during a spin, such as along the arms, shoulders or waist to add extra elements of chaste sensuality to their experience. All in all, it was a very good dance, and i learned some new tricks.