The first day

Whew.

I don't know what good blogging etiquette is in this situation, so I'm not going use the names of any other students in my Chekhov classes. The teachers are being paid, so I think they can take the hit; but the names of the other students are immaterial. But I have to talk about them somehow, so that means pseudonyms!

The highlight of the day, and indeed the centerpiece of the whole shebang is the afternoon scene study class with Sam Schacht. We've been hearing about what a great teacher he is and told not to "blow it," so even the most experienced students are a little on their guard. (There are 2 or 3 Stella Adler vets in the group) I'm immediately impressed by his unassuming style. He's for real, but doesn't seem to think he has all the answers. Indeed, the notion of there not necessarily being one "right" technique is a central theme in our work today. Sam talks for quite awhile about Adler and Stanislavski, and the rift between Adler and Strasberg. It's unusual that he's teaching here because apparently he has a background in Strasberg but sees a way to use elements of both techniques; try thinking of a Communist party official under Breznhev thinking there are some interesting ideas about democracy and you'll have an idea of how unusual this is.

Only a couple of people got to do their first monologues today, because Sam does a good bit of analysis and explication after each one. (I plan to jump up 1st or 2nd tomorrow) I want to mention one monologue that was performed by a classmate; since she's one of the vets I'll call her Conservatory Girl. (I know I should say "woman" instead, but that has more letters and makes her sound like a superhero...no sexism intended).

Conservatory Girl did Nina's final monologue from The Seagull, in which she declares her intention to overcome losing both a child and the man she loved. The first go-round of the piece was filled with a good deal of carefully worked out business about taking off and putting on gloves and other staging. Sam told her that on one level the piece was good, but lacked feeling. On the second go-round he had her walk around and gaze at the imaginary surroundings (Nina is coming back to a place she hasn't been in two years). He told her when to start talking and then gave little bits of direction ("fix your hair," etc.) as she gave the lines. At a certain point he told her to think of a old boyfriend. It was much better, and noteworthy because it mixed Adlerian (imagination) and Strasbergian (the old boyfriend) methods. Her emotions were quite obviously welling up, and so he had her do it AGAIN and this time got an even better performance - the sense of a woman really struggling to hold on came through. The difference was remarkable.

Sam also did something that's unusual in my acting class experience. He repeatedly said it was OK to disagree and stressed "heart not head" and finding what works over dogma. He's pratical, serious, and about teaching more than ego and I like it.

Oh, we also had two other classes - I'll talk more about those when I have a clearer sense of where they're going. "Composition," with Steve Cook seems to be about ensemble building and movement. Our teacher for "Voice, Language, and Text" was away and I've forgotten our stand-ins name. We did a lie-on-the-floor-and-release-tension exercise not dissimilar to things I've done before, but the mandate to keep one's eyes and throat open really kept me engaged and left me feeling tension-free and focused.

I can't promise a post this long every day, but tomorrow I should be reporting on my monologue....stay tuned....