Paradise Lost Scene Update

After working with the scene today, I feel like the movement we added really helps the flow of the scene and makes it more natural. I feel as if I get into the scene more when I am moving around because moving around requires you to focus more as you are doing more than one thing at a time. I feel as long as I keep working on the scene, it will continue to improve. It's getting in better and better shape.

Acting Update

I feel like my scene from the Good Woman of Setzuan is getting better. It's starting to feel more natural. I don't know how to add the drunk part in though. If I don't feel drunk, how would I act drunk? I'm not so much worried about the flow anymore because I feel like that's been figured out. It's the drunk aspect  mainly. I want to know how to fake something well and not change the natural acting part of the scene.

Monologue Update

This still needs a lot of work and probably won't be ready for STAC Night. It seems more like a work in progress as I've been focusing more on scene work as there isn't a time where I'm unable to work with my scene partners. Memorization wise, I'm alright. But acting wise, I'm not. I still have to figure out how to block the scene and how to not fake what I'm doing. A lot of what is said in the monologue seems so farfetched and something I'd never do which makes it slightly harder to relate to as when you're acting, you're using your experiences as a basis but since I've never had experience with drinking or bar fights or sneaking out of my house, it's slightly harder for me to do. So, overall I feel like this will be a larger learning experience as I've never seriously worked with a monologue before so this is like a test run. Scene work is easier now since I've done some serious work with scenes in the past year but since this is the first time I'm working on a monologue in depth, it's not as easy.

The Good Woman of Setzuan Scene

I feel like there's a lot more work that needs to be done with this scene. After trying out the scene in different ways, I feel it works a lot better for me when I act drunk. It works in the context of the play as Yang Sun is depressed, feels like a failure and wants to kill himself. The other ways I've tried to play it, mainly a sober depressed guy, it doesn't work. I don't feel any connection and it feels fake. Acting drunk adds a whole new level of something to work with and it makes the scene work better and overall a lot more fun to be in. Since it's a long scene, I'd say right now my biggest problem is knowing the order of things and since we haven't had much of a chance to work with it since I'm in a few scenes, it's still a problem. So, overall it just needs to be worked on more.

Paradise Lost Scene Update

I feel like this scene has been going well. Trying out the scene in different environments and in different styles has really helped me a lot. It's helped me learn that your environment changes the way the scene plays out and the emotions that you feel. If you're in a more serene environment, that is going to effect your mood and change the way you act. The different surroundings is going to make your react differently to certain things because there is a different place for you to move to or a different way for you to sit. Ultimately, I feel like the scene is going well. I feel like I understand the scene and it feels natural every time I go through it.

The STAC Script

I have begun writing a script. I do not have a goal for the script. By this, I mean I am writing for the sake of writing. Next to acting, singing, an dancing, writing is something I truly enjoy. I like creating another reality. I dive into a whole new world and that I lead. It feels somewhat like the role Ed Harris had in "The Truman Show" as a comparison. Right now, I haven't had much time to write in STAC since my acting major takes up most of the time so I only have roughly 5-6 pages which is nothing. It took so long to write these pages because I am writing everything with meaning. Everyone's name has a meaning behind. It's sort of like Sondheim. All the character's names have a meaning. Nothing is done for no reason.

Acting Update

I started another scene in Friday and I feel like I'm off to a good start. I found out the key moment that drives the scene for me. I let everything happen naturally. Nothing seemed unnatural or too over the top. Each time I start a new scene, I feel like it gets easier to not "act" and just be myself. I finally feel like I'm improving! 

Acting Update

I worked on a scene yesterday and I felt like it went well. I was told I needed to be more active at certain parts. Not like active as in exercise, but more "bouncing around."  My problem is I don't know how to do this without faking. Yesterday I was physically and mentally exhausted beyond belief. I could have faked the bouncing around but it would be very obvious. So all in all, I think what I'm trying to ask is if I'm supposed to act how I feel in a scene, how do I act what I'm not feeling without faking?  

STAC Trip

Last Friday, I attended a STAC Trip. I sadly had to leave early because of a rehearsal I had to attend. I was able to see the exhibits at the Guggenheim. Nothing really caught my eye at the museum. Nothing jumped out at me and said, "Wow, that's really cool!" and dragged me toward the art. The main thing that interested me was the tubes filled with colored water down the center of the museum. It jumped out of me because it's something that you don't usually see everyday. That, and it was huge and glaring at you in the face. But for some reason, it caught my eye. Some things are simply interesting and words can't quite explain why.

Acting Inquiry Update

This is a slightly delayed post. Last Thursday, I started to reflect how the skills I've learned were being applied to the new scene I was assigned. I feel like I was applying them well. Doing the scene felt very natural, nothing was too over the top and I wasn't trying to become someone. I was simply myself in the script's situation. I would like to learn more about not having this sense of character because my plan is to possibly apply an accent to when I speak but I would have a different accent which means I have a sense of character but if I'm myself, there is no character, it's just myself. That sentence confused me so it must be confusing to read which shows that this idea of character is unclear to me.