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.
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.
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