Get in my belly!

This morning in warm up class Michael asked our thoughts about the program, with 4 weeks down and 1 to go. Everyone is still very positive, but a discussion did come up regarding Sam's class. Some of the folks who had taken the Shakespeare Intensive (A 6 week program that ran before the Chekhov) felt that the scene study there with a different teacher was more beneficial. In that workshop scene study is all day 2 days a week and all the other classes are the rest of the week.

As I understand it the theory is that giving the actors time to present a more polished scene means that the teacher can be more help to them. The opposing view that others held is that there's something to be gained from getting up there with something raw. There is value in both approaches, but after I'd thought about it I'd have to say that I've gotten a great deal out of the class when Sam works with me on my scenes but somewhat less when he works with the others. That's partly because many of his comments come back to the same basic tents of imagination, given circumstances, and action playing but also he can sometimes get so specific with his notes that he crosses from teaching to directing. In those situations he's very helpful to the people working but doesn't always tie things up for the whole class. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still very upbeat on Sam's positive, honest, and non-dogmatic teaching style. He's been a good influence.

In Composition Steve had us in for 1-on-1 chats about how we've liked his class and the program. I repeated many of the positive things I've said here and talked about how much I liked the group and how I wish there was time and opportunity to work with these actors on something for a production. Steve asked if I had any questions and i asked how he'd evaluate me. He said he could see I was at the "beginning of a process" (his phrase) as far as getting impulses from brain to body, and that I'd shown progress over the course of the classes. I'd say that's a fairly accurate assessment and of course I'm pleased to hear that I've got myself going in a good direction.

Oh, I promised something about the muscularity of my belly. That's a phrase Michael and Jason have used with us as we've worked on our breathing and how to control it. Think about how your belly feels when it's full of air, how it feels when it's empty, and the difference between the two. Since we've been focused so much on breathing I have been thinking about that area, and I realized that because of all the attention to the belly it's the muscles have gotten stronger. I haven't really adapted to the change yet. (This feeling is also caused by the fact that I've lost weight since I've been here) When Jason was working with me on my "hah" earlier this week he pointed out I was holding on to some tension which limited my sound. When he showed me I could feel he was right, but because of all the work things feel so different I really wasn't aware of it. Since then I've worked on keeping the belly easy in the voice exercises, and I think I'm getting it.

Note to self: buy umbrella

The day started badly as I arrived at the Studio amid a drenching rainstorm. The cheap T-shirt I was wearing was so wet I just threw it in the garbage since I had some others with me, and at lunch I ran out and bought some more shirts, an extra pair of jeans, and an umbrella.

First class of the day: Movement Techniques with Joanne Edelmann. Strangely this is the class I feel the most trepidation about; what does it say that I'm more self-conscious about my lack of flexibility than my acting? We start with an intensive movement session that while it may not be yoga seems yoga-like to my inexperienced muscles. There's a kind of a free-form movement exercise that incorporates some of our Chekhov lines and includes a solo spot for everyone. Since I'm playing Trofimov in my scene that's the character I have in mind, but of course how does one portray such an intellectual character through movement? (Irish Guy follows me with the same character and does it brilliantly...)

The second part of the class is an exercise in the Alexander Technique and Ideokinesis. We partner up and take turns going through the exercises Joanne leads, which involves pulling stretching, and massaging various points to reduce tension. I'm partnered with a young woman from Nigeria who has some experience with the exercise, so there's not any awkwardness or messing up. When it's my turn to work on her I probably err on the side of being tentative, since when you're pulling someone's head up from their body you become very aware of your own strength. Joanne is our most "serious" teacher in terms of demeanor, and rides the ladies in the class about their hair falling into their eyes.

In our Voice & Speech class with Jason we read and discuss a poem by e.e. cummings, (see below) as a way of beginning to think about language and what actors can do with it. It's a change from lying on the floor breathing; not that that isn't valuable but I think everyone was happy to have a piece of text to work with. Jason told us in our first class that he studied literature, and he definitely seems to be interested in more than the technical side of acting.

My second crack at the Trofimov-Anya scene tomorrow...I feel ready....

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

- e e cummings

Another country heard from

I've mentioned that we have a strong international group in the class but I don't think I've taken time to call the roll of nations. In addition to the aforementioned women from Egypt (Language Girl) and Holland (Soap Girl), we have the Frenchman, the Venezuelan (female), Irish Guy, a woman from Nigeria, and a bilingual woman from Montreal (the Canadian).

I'll say a word about the Frenchman - he's a very talented actor from Paris who has come to the States to study at least in part because Stanislavsky isn't revered in his home country. His English is O.K., sometimes it's obviously a struggle for him and I've wondered if he is fluent enough to get as much as he can out of the classes.

All this by way of saying that his scene (Uncle Vanya, Astrov-Yelena) with the Canadian today was perhaps the strongest yet, and the only one that got applauded after the first run-through. It had a strange non-Russian quality to it, which at least in part came from the language issues. The Canadian speaks fluent French and at times has served as a translator between the faculty and the Frenchman. At times I thought they were both going to put on berets, smoke cigarettes, and debate
philosophy. I mean that as a compliment, because even though the scene lacked some of the Russian attitude Sam's been talking about it undeniably worked. Sam liked it too, but gave the Frenchman notes to be a little less rococo (his words) and more Russian. The second run-through was more "conventional" in a way, but still very strong.

I mention all this because while I certainly think an understanding of Russian history and national character is valuable here, I was so impressed that two actors could handle not only a language barrier but their own national characteristics and still produce great work. What does that tell you about the power of Chekhov's writing?

We met our "official" Voice & Speech teacher Jason Little yesterday and had our first real class with him today. His style is a little more frenetic than Dusty's (our techer last week), but we're still talking about breath & relaxation. I'm much more conscious of my breath (where it comes from, how to control it) after a week of lying on the floor.

I'm getting plenty of sleep tonight because tomorrow is our ultra-physical movement class. I've got another crack at my Trofimov scene on Thursday.....

Blow it out your...

Try lying on the floor and letting your belly be empty of air. We'll call this your "natural empty." Get rid of all your tension and stay engaged with the outside world - visualizing something on the ceiling helps. Now let the air flow into you, think of it traveling down your spine and into your extremities. If it helps, put one hand on your upper chest and one just below your waistline; this will tell you where the air is going. (You shouldn't feel it in your upper chest or shoulders)

Think of the sound "hah" living somewhere in your toes. Let it rise up and come out of you as a vocalization. The minute that "hah" loses intensity, volume, energy, whatever - stop. Don't let it fade out and DON'T let your breath run out and gasp for that last bit of air.

This what we worked on in "Voice, Speech, and Text" today, and I learned that while I'm blessed with a good deal of air to work with if I learn to control where the air comes and goes there's even more. (Good to know) Also, my tongue gets in the way of my throat being open. That's another way sound gets limited and I've got to work on keeping my tongue lower in my mouth - hard to do.....