Maybe it was the elevator

Anyone who's an actor aspires to be as "free" in their work as possible at any given moment. That is to say, to play one's actions as purely as possible without being hindered by any mental or physical encumbrance. We all have our "good" and "bad" days, but I'd say any thoughtful actor would tell you that a feeling of pure freedom might be (at best) a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Today in Joanne's movement class we had a moment that really crystallized what the Adler program is all about (in my humble blah blah...). I've written before about my apprehensions about this class, my awareness of my own shortcomings in the areas of flexibility and physical fluidity. Well today the class just clicked, not just for me but the whole group. Focus was strong, the mood was positive and there was just a great relaxed feeling in the class. Joanne asked us to sit back to back with our scene partners and, while "feeling our text," enact our scene through abstract movement. This turned into a dance (picture a man who has wandered onto the stage of a very good modern dance company and you'll know what I felt like dancing with Venezuelan Girl), and eventually into a dance that each couple performed before the group.

I think our piece got the essence of The Proposal (a steadily escalating comic confrontation) even if it may not have been the prettiest, but everyone in the class really committed to what they were doing and the results were great. Because of an odd number in the class there was even a three-way dance which combined two scenes. THEN Joanne raised the stakes by repeating the exercise except substituting song for dance. So, that's what we did; everyone performed a (thankfully short) version of their scene in song, sometimes saying the words and sometimes paraphrasing. Again here, the group was very into the spirit of the work.

I describe this exercise in such detail because of the challenge Joanne threw to us at the end. We should make all our scenes, monologues, whatever as free as the dance and singing we had just done. We should integrate the physical into our work and stay out of our heads. It should always feel this good. And of course, that's a lofty goal but 100% right. It's usually difficult to have time to do a dance before an audition or rehearsal, but in a way we should - metaphorically if not literally.

Notes from Sam's class: Venezuelan Girl and I did the first rough run-through of our scene from The Proposal today, and Sam had us do it shouting in order to "loosen us up" and get us in the spirit of the the thing. I think I said yesterday that this scene has possibilities to me, we're working on it this weekend.

The Bravery Award for the day is shared by Class Secretary and Glasses Girl. Class Secretary was missing a scene partner so Sam had her do an in-character improv (Yelena from Vanya) imagining "the moment before" her scene with Vanya. She wasn't expecting it when she came to class today but pulled it off with authority. Glasses Girl is doing a gender switch version of the Anya-Trofimov scene I tried earlier with one of the guys in class. Today was the first work-through and I'm interested to see where it goes.

(Explanation for post title: As I was walking down W. 27th towards the studio this morning, I met Joanne and a couple of classmates coming the other way. The stairs were closed due to construction in the building - the elevators are off limits to Adler students - and so we had to go down the block to a freight elevator that took us to a different entrance to the studio. I'm not superstitious but the change in routine set a good tone for the day.)