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.

Acapella Group

It's funny how quickly we forget certain things and how quickly we can remember them again. The STAC Acapella Group had not practiced the song they preformed at STAC Live in months and after a few rehearsals and listening to our recording, it all came back. I found it interesting how we were able to remember everything we did months ago. Of course it wasn't perfect but for not practicing it for months, it was pretty good! It could have been a lot worse.

Bad Art Project

I decided to change what I'm doing for my Bad Art Project. My original idea was to cut up the Foreigner lyrics we were given and put them into a hat and use them in an Improv. The line you picked from the hat would be the only thing you could use in the improv but I wasn't feeling it would work out too well because not everyone enjoys improv. So I decided to change it to a video. The video will be me speaking in the perspective of someone video chatting with another person. I will rip off the audio so you can't hear what I'm saying and in the background, the Foreigner song will be playing. You will be able to tell whether I'm happy, sad, etc based on how I look rather than by the words I'm saying which ties my Acting Inquiry and the Bad Art Project together perfectly as this helps me learn that in a drama/film, the words are nothing but words.

Acting Exercise: Conversation Roles

Yesterday's acting exercise came really easy to me. I was able to have an actual conversation with a particular role, point of view, and opinion on the topic even though I knew all the emotions people felt weren't really "real." By real, I mean a person may not actually believe in what they were saying but they actually felt angry about something and defended what they didn't believe. I found this to be a very easy exercise to do to get a feel for how film/drama acting is. The words really do not mean anything but over the course of a conversation, you start to actually feel the emotion rather than display it like in musical theatre. Although I prefer musical theatre because I find it a lot more entertaining and fun, being able to do film/drama acting is still a great tool to have.

The Block Caused by Being Sick

I felt so terrible and so sick today, words cannot even explain. I didn't want to do anything. All I wanted to do was go home and do nothing. Honestly, I had no passion for the things I most enjoyed. I've noticed that your emotions really play into what you want to do. If you're in a good mood, you're going to want to do the things you love. But, if you are sick and tired or overall not feeling well, you don't want to do anything. It's disappointing because I really wanted to participate in the Improv today but I felt so sick. Feeling lightheaded, nauseous, and suffering from sleep deprivation completely changed my actions. I know that seems obvious but some don't really recognize how your emotions or health affects them. You can't control your emotions and you certainly can't control whether you feel sick or not. So, all in all, being sick ruined my day. Being sick makes everyone grouchy and upset so I'm not too surprised.

 

My Future

I've declared that I will major in musical theatre when I go to college. Musical theatre is my passion and I don't know where I'd be without it. Musical theatre is my escape, my opportunity to let all my stress flow out of me like steam out of a tea pot. I walk on stage as Andrew Greiche and I will forever be Andrew Greiche but do I feel like him on stage? No, I don't. I feel like a different person. It's almost like the feeling of watching the world you live in but outside your body. Musical theatre gives me so much joy and so much happiness, I can't picture myself anywhere else. My dream is to be on Broadway. My dream roles would be the Phantom from Phantom of the Opera and Jack Kelly from Newsies. I'd love to be in any Broadway show. I'm passionate about my dream of being on Broadway. All of us have dreams but they will forever remain dreams if we don't do something about it. As I have said numerous times, being on Broadway is my dream. I'm prepared to run for my dream and if need be, I'll run a marathon or several marathons to reach my dream. For the past several years and in the years to come, I am training for my marathon. Restrictions prevent me from starting but in two years, those restrictions are removed and I start my marathon; I will not stop running until I cross the finish line, no matter how long or rough it is.

Scene Analyzing and Monologue Preparation

     Yesterday, I found that analyzing my scenes really helped. It helped me understand what was going on during the scene and to better understand my character. I still don’t understand what a “psychological gesture” is or what a “perfect body” is. I haven’t managed to grasp their concepts.

     As for the monologue preparation today, I found it very helpful. I found out that after reading the monologue once or twice, I could basically go through it and almost have it word for word. As long as I got the basic concept of each thought in the monologue, it was fine. 

My STAC Live Performance

My STAC Live performance was awful. It was the worst performance I’ve ever done. I was not cheating towards the audience. I was too far upstage. I was not loud enough. I did not annunciate and articulate enough. I did not have a good connection and I went through the scene unnaturally. I do not know why it sounded unnatural. It may be because I am still unable to manipulate my current emotions into the lines of the scene. This was a major player in ruining my performance. I need to learn how to make the scene sound more natural. It may be because I did not have enough time to rehearse the scene over and over again to build chemistry. I may have to do another performance using Practical Aesthetics to see whether or not it works for me. Overall, I’m extremely disappointed and ashamed of my performance.

                   

Decisions, Decisions...

I'm not sure what I would like to do for my STAC inquiry. I'm debating several things. One, to explore monologues. The very last monologue we watched today, the film with David Hoffman and Ed Harris, the name escapes my mind, for some reason intrigued me and made me want to try preforming it. I've also always loved learning accents because I find interesting to be able to manipulate your voice to sound different. So, I've debated doing an inquiry on learning various accents. Off the top of my head, I'd love to learn how to speak with a Italian accent, German accent, Russian accent, and perfect my British accent. Lastly, I'd do an inquiry in musical theatre. I'm not exactly sure how I'd do this but I've thought of researching a particular writer and look up his/her musicals and maybe pick a few pieces that I would like to sing and preform them. I'm not sure which direction I'm leaning in right now, they all seem like they could benefit me and could all be great fun!

The Monologue Audition A Practical Guide for Actors

I found this book to be very helpful. I've done a few of the things mentioned in the book and now I know more about what I already knew because the book went into further detail and I learned new things from this book as well. Some of the things were confusing but I'm sure that will be clarified in this week's workshop. I felt I could relate to this book as it mentioned some of the struggles that actors go through and I know I'm one of those actors. Hopefully after this week's workshop, I won't be struggling with the same things anymore. Overall, this book provided me with many useful tools and I hope to learn how to execute them properly this week.

The Practical Handbook for the Actor

I find this book to be very helpful. I realize that some of the stuff I'm already doing to prepare for my role in something is what was said in the book. I always have a physical posture and an attitude for a charcater and a specific voice. Right now, I have a apperance and an attitude for my role as Biggley in How to Succeed. I'm still trying to figure out a voice that suits my appearance. I realized that my action can always go back to telling someone off. Biggley is the president of a company and if the slightest thing upsets him, he will tell you to your face. The only person he probably would not tell off is Ms. Jones, his secretary. I sometimes do analyeses of scenes but I usually don't write them down. I always have an idea of where I'm coming from and what I'm going to do but I know that when I go through a scene, it will not always be the same as it went the time we ran it earlier so I must be prepared for anything to happen. I can't have a preset idea of how I will say a line because if I decide to scream and the person I'm playing off did nothing to anger me, there is no reason to yell. Ultimately, this book was very useful and I hope I can learn more in detail about the stuff in the book from the upcoming workshop and how to execute what I learned.

Acapella Workshop

I absolutely love acapella groups. I love singing without music. I love hearing singing raw, without the roar of drums and the piano accompaniment. Harmonies sound absolutely beautiful without music and I can't explain my fascination. I think my fascination may have started when I discovered Barbershop Quartet and they sound really cool acapella. The two songs I would love to do in an acapella group are Uptown Girl by Billy Joel and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Those two songs are a two of my all time favorites. Bohemian Rhapsody is pure genius and Uptown Girl is really catchy and the harmonies are really cool. I did it with music in chorus and I imagine it'd sound even better acapella. I can't wait for the rest of the week to experience my very first acapella singing workshop!

Audition Follow Up: Looking at the Audition Tape

1) After viewing my audition tape, I realized how unnatural my first run through of the script was. It didn't feel like a conversation to me. I looked like I was waiting for my line during the first run. During the second run, it felt a lot more natural. It felt like an actual conversation two people. I looked more relaxed and I wasn't waiting for my next line.
2) One of my problems was I was looking in the script too much. This is easily fixed; don't look in the script as much. Another problem was not having the first run through feel conversational. This may not seem big but it is as sometimes you only get the chance to read through the script once. So, I need to work on having the script sound like a conversation. I'm not used to film acting as I've been doing a lot more theatre lately. So a solution would be to participate in more film projects to work on that type of acting. My other glaring problem is blinking too much. I don't know how to control that. I always blink a lot as my eyes are sensitive and I don't get much sleep.
3) I feel like I was very professional. I acted mature and not like a teen. I was polite and listened and made the adjustments I was asked to make.
4) I need to work on my film acting sounding more conversational, not blinking as much, and looking up from the script more. Overall, I just need to relax and not over think so much. I believe that's the source of my problems

Audition Workshop Response

Audition Prep
1) I prepared for the audition by analyzing the script. I listed my character's objectives and tactics and then read the script aloud, deciding whether or not the tactic worked for that particular line.
2) Yes, I did apply previous techniques and strategies. Most, if not all of the skills I learned in last year's acting session were applied somehow in my preparation.
3) I did not research very much. The situation of the scenes was something I had knowledge of beforehand. Also, the week was hectic. Had I not been so preoccupied with my academics and extracurricular activities, I probably would have done research.
4) I approached the script with a process. I read the script to in my head a few times so I had a feel for the script. Then I analyzed it trying to figure out objectives and tactics. Then I read the script out loud and made any adjustments to the tactics that I felt were necessary.
Audition Itself
1) I think the audition went alright. I did as I was told and made the adjustments I was told to make. I guess you could call those my "strengths." As for shortcomings, I probably could have asked a question or two about the script before I started to have a better understanding of the script.
2) I applied the information received at the audition by changing the way my character approached his objective as most of the information I received was feedback on my first reading of the scenes.
3) I could not tell you if whether or not I got the part. Even if the way I acted the part was what they were looking for, I may not have the right hair color or I could be too tall or some other physical feature could have gotten in the way. Getting a part doesn't just rely on how well the audition went, a lot of being casted is how look and if you don't have the look for the part, you don't get it.

Kontroll

Kontroll was filled with many mythological messages but there was one in particular that stood out and lasted throughout the entire movie.  Bulcsú was constantly in a battle or suffering. It never got better, until the end of the movie that is. Bulcsú was either fueding against Gonzo, getting beat up by violent train passengers, or suffering from the stress of life. The only time Bulcsú was happy was when he was with Sofie, the "angel." That was Bulcsú's spirtual aid. Even at their first encounter, you could tell something was going to happen between the two as Bulcsú staired at her for a long time. The staring wouldn't have gone on for that long if didn't mean anything. From that point on, when Bulcsú was really worn out, the two would talk and not even about Bulcsú's troubles. They had normal conversations and that alone lifted Bulcsú. This all led me to conclude that things will always get worse until you get over whatever is bothering you and move on, or whatever causes the suffering goes away. If neither of the two happen, you need someone to be there to help you. You may not even discuss your troubles. Simply knowing that someone is willing to talk to you could really make someone's day. Which is why I got a 2 on the Ennegram Test. I try to be that person that helps someone who is really down and depressed. It's roughing walking down that road alone and a lot of people aren't willing to help. So if I can be the streak of sunlight peering through someone's window, I'm going to take the opportunity because no one should have to suffer and have the pain slowly eat away at you until you're nothing.