(not from the class, but something to get you through the weekend - sorry about the language):
Man 1 (black, late 20s, holding 2 hot dogs): Fuck yeah!
Man 2 (white, about 50, he doesn't know Man 1): That's right!
Man 1: Fuck yeah!
Man 2: That's right!
Man 1: You can't just say it regular, you've got to say fuck yeah!
Man 2: Especially when you've got a good hot dog.
Man 1: Fuck yeah!
--overhead on the corner of W. 72nd and Amsterdam Ave. 7/20/07
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Taking stock
My scene partner didn't come to class today, which means that once I find out what's going on with her I'm going to have to rehearse with her over the weekend so we can do the scene Monday. At the same time we're beginning our second scene, and I'm happy to say that I'm going to be working with someone I haven't mentioned yet - let's call her Glasses Girl because of her unusual choices in eyewear (lensless glasses that look like something your Mom wore in the '70s). She's probably my favorite person in the class just on a friend level. We're looking at a Vanya-Yelena scene.
Since we had some extra time in Sam's class we went around the room and took stock of why people had come to the class and what they thought they were getting out of it. The consensus seemed to be that everyone was liking the class and maybe wished that Sam was a little rougher on them. I talked about wanting to work on realism and wanting to get rid of some habits ("staginess" that I wrote about earlier this week) that I thought were keeping me from doing that. As for Sam's style, I like his honesty and bluntness. The fact that his criticism is delivered in a positive way helps of course, it's not as if I've ever left feeling I didn't want to come back to the class. I know that just in these two weeks my voice, body, and mind have become more integrated and my connection to emotion is getting stronger - whether it's through imagination or substitution. These feelings are a result of all the classes complementing each other.
Tonight I went with three of my classmates to a production of Three Sisters put on by an Argentinian company at the Lincoln Center Festival. The play was staged in modern clothes, lasted 90 minutes, and had all the gender roles reversed (men playing the sisters, but as men with no drag) - but it still worked. Oh yeah, and it was in Spanish. The play seemed to want to question our received ideas about gender, and although I wondered at first why that was necessary in this play, I think it worked. Chekhov is all around me.....
Since we had some extra time in Sam's class we went around the room and took stock of why people had come to the class and what they thought they were getting out of it. The consensus seemed to be that everyone was liking the class and maybe wished that Sam was a little rougher on them. I talked about wanting to work on realism and wanting to get rid of some habits ("staginess" that I wrote about earlier this week) that I thought were keeping me from doing that. As for Sam's style, I like his honesty and bluntness. The fact that his criticism is delivered in a positive way helps of course, it's not as if I've ever left feeling I didn't want to come back to the class. I know that just in these two weeks my voice, body, and mind have become more integrated and my connection to emotion is getting stronger - whether it's through imagination or substitution. These feelings are a result of all the classes complementing each other.
Tonight I went with three of my classmates to a production of Three Sisters put on by an Argentinian company at the Lincoln Center Festival. The play was staged in modern clothes, lasted 90 minutes, and had all the gender roles reversed (men playing the sisters, but as men with no drag) - but it still worked. Oh yeah, and it was in Spanish. The play seemed to want to question our received ideas about gender, and although I wondered at first why that was necessary in this play, I think it worked. Chekhov is all around me.....
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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....
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
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
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.....
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.....
Monday, July 16, 2007
"Community Theater"
So today was the first day of week 2...we've added yet another new student and the international side of the class is well represented. Our newbie is from the Netherlands and told us that she works on a soap opera there, so we'll call her Soap Girl.
The big to-do for me today was doing the scene in Sam's class with the Tall One. This was, in Sam's words, a "rehearsal." We still had scripts in hands and were doing a good deal of stop-and-go stuff. The scene in The Cherry Orchard we're doing is between the "perpetual student" Trofimov and the young Anya, who is infatuated with Trofimov's high political talk. My initial impulse was to give the scene a bit of awkwardness...Trofimov does believe what he's saying but is also attracted to Anya. Sam stopped us though, he felt Trofimov should be caught up in his political ideas and not really aware of Anya as a woman.
So that's a different interpretation, but I can make the adjustment. As we worked on the scene, Sam kept reminding both of us not to give a performance but to just talk. The scene was better that way....but at one point during Trofimov's impassioned monologue I (on an impulse) crossed away from her downstage. Sam interrupted at that point and said that he didn't mean for what he was about to say to sound cruel, but he thought that move was a little "community theater." I laughed out loud from surprise at his bluntness, and I guess that defused the moment a bit because everyone else laughed too.
I knew what he meant and I didn't mind. I had told Sam a little about my background, so he knew where he was coming from with the comment. This is a class in realistic acting, and I know have a tendency to go into a mode that could be called "stagey." It's a habit I've fallen into over the years, and I'm aware of it. But I need to get over that and stay with playing actions and looking for the truth of the scene, especially while I've got the chance to be in an exploratory situation like this. Whether this trait is "community theater" or not I don't know, but what Sam was talking about was a sort of an awareness of the audience that isn't necessary and not even really appropriate for this material.
After class one of the young women I haven't mentioned yet (we'll call her Big Voice because she can hold her "hah"'s longer than anybody) gave me a complement, so I'd like to think that the changes we made as we worked registered and that the scene is going somewhere. As I've said, I do feel like there is a good ensemble feeling in the group since we are after all in this together. It's too bad there isn't time for us to all do a show together, but the camaraderie we're developing in the "Composition" class will influence the scenes for the better. I've got memorization to do.....
The big to-do for me today was doing the scene in Sam's class with the Tall One. This was, in Sam's words, a "rehearsal." We still had scripts in hands and were doing a good deal of stop-and-go stuff. The scene in The Cherry Orchard we're doing is between the "perpetual student" Trofimov and the young Anya, who is infatuated with Trofimov's high political talk. My initial impulse was to give the scene a bit of awkwardness...Trofimov does believe what he's saying but is also attracted to Anya. Sam stopped us though, he felt Trofimov should be caught up in his political ideas and not really aware of Anya as a woman.
So that's a different interpretation, but I can make the adjustment. As we worked on the scene, Sam kept reminding both of us not to give a performance but to just talk. The scene was better that way....but at one point during Trofimov's impassioned monologue I (on an impulse) crossed away from her downstage. Sam interrupted at that point and said that he didn't mean for what he was about to say to sound cruel, but he thought that move was a little "community theater." I laughed out loud from surprise at his bluntness, and I guess that defused the moment a bit because everyone else laughed too.
I knew what he meant and I didn't mind. I had told Sam a little about my background, so he knew where he was coming from with the comment. This is a class in realistic acting, and I know have a tendency to go into a mode that could be called "stagey." It's a habit I've fallen into over the years, and I'm aware of it. But I need to get over that and stay with playing actions and looking for the truth of the scene, especially while I've got the chance to be in an exploratory situation like this. Whether this trait is "community theater" or not I don't know, but what Sam was talking about was a sort of an awareness of the audience that isn't necessary and not even really appropriate for this material.
After class one of the young women I haven't mentioned yet (we'll call her Big Voice because she can hold her "hah"'s longer than anybody) gave me a complement, so I'd like to think that the changes we made as we worked registered and that the scene is going somewhere. As I've said, I do feel like there is a good ensemble feeling in the group since we are after all in this together. It's too bad there isn't time for us to all do a show together, but the camaraderie we're developing in the "Composition" class will influence the scenes for the better. I've got memorization to do.....
Friday, July 13, 2007
The first week
Sorry about no post yesterday, but I needed some time to digest the first week of classes. The upshot of it all is that I think I have some tools to be a more confident, more self-aware actor after just a few days with these teachers and this group. I don't think I've ever quite been in such an intensive situation where voice, body, and mind were put together before, and I think it's going to help me going forward. The trick is of course to take what I learn here and apply it back home or wherever I may find myself acting in the future. Even though I think I've made strides in the past few years to being a less "heady" actor, I can see now how much I've got to get out of my head and into my imagination, be it through "Adlerian" imagination techniques or substitutions.
In our Voice class yesterday we were working on getting out and controlling our "hah" sounds, with the idea of urgently trying to reach our imaginary partners on the ceiling. Our teacher Dusty McKeelan was talking about how the urgency we put forth in this exercise this might relate to say, doing an audition piece. He said, "Do it for the other person." That is, your real or imaginary scene partner. What a simple way to say it, and yet how true. That is to say, my acting usually gets pretty fussy and mannered when I'm doing a monologue. But of course what's important is the simple actions underneath. I'm only being a little over the top when I say that was an epiphany for me.
I haven't written much about the "Composition" class yet, but I'm enjoying it. Yesterday there was quite a physical part that left me dripping sweat on the floor. It began with an imitative, running-around-the-room part but then went into kind of a slow-motion performance of a fall - also very tiring since we weren't allowed to lie on the floor, but had to stay active even in slow motion. I've wondered if a better name for the class might be "Connection," since that's what a lot of it seems to be about. Like on Monday, a lot of the class was spent in a circle throwing a ball or balls around and saying each others names. The idea is that the names are the text and the connections we make in throwing parallel the connections we'd make onstage. Try it as a prerehearsal exercise or in a class where people don't know each other. We did the same exercise with an Arabic greeting taught to us by our new student ("Language Girl"), who joined the class Thursday. The word, which I don't think I can reproduce here, was a bit hard to say. It was interesting how that changed the exercise into being about getting it right rather than letting it happen.
What a great week, but I'm glad not to go back until Monday.....so much to chew on.
In our Voice class yesterday we were working on getting out and controlling our "hah" sounds, with the idea of urgently trying to reach our imaginary partners on the ceiling. Our teacher Dusty McKeelan was talking about how the urgency we put forth in this exercise this might relate to say, doing an audition piece. He said, "Do it for the other person." That is, your real or imaginary scene partner. What a simple way to say it, and yet how true. That is to say, my acting usually gets pretty fussy and mannered when I'm doing a monologue. But of course what's important is the simple actions underneath. I'm only being a little over the top when I say that was an epiphany for me.
I haven't written much about the "Composition" class yet, but I'm enjoying it. Yesterday there was quite a physical part that left me dripping sweat on the floor. It began with an imitative, running-around-the-room part but then went into kind of a slow-motion performance of a fall - also very tiring since we weren't allowed to lie on the floor, but had to stay active even in slow motion. I've wondered if a better name for the class might be "Connection," since that's what a lot of it seems to be about. Like on Monday, a lot of the class was spent in a circle throwing a ball or balls around and saying each others names. The idea is that the names are the text and the connections we make in throwing parallel the connections we'd make onstage. Try it as a prerehearsal exercise or in a class where people don't know each other. We did the same exercise with an Arabic greeting taught to us by our new student ("Language Girl"), who joined the class Thursday. The word, which I don't think I can reproduce here, was a bit hard to say. It was interesting how that changed the exercise into being about getting it right rather than letting it happen.
What a great week, but I'm glad not to go back until Monday.....so much to chew on.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The suspense isn't killing me as much as the monlogue....
First a correction...yesterday I described a classmate's monologue and referred to him as Late Guy because he hadn't been there the first day. That was unfair, since he'd had an audition and a callback that evening...we'll change Late Guy to "Big Break?".
Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how my monologue for Sam went. As I'd planned I jumped up first today and we were off and running. I think I overcompensated because i didn't want to get the note that there was no emotion behind my words, so I came off very angry...which was a defensible choice but not entirely right for the piece. (Astrov's monologue about forests) As I do in these situations, I tended to rush - though not as badly as I have on other occasions. Sam gave me scene partners for another go-round (Big Break?, Class Secretary, and one other whose nickname is pending)...and that helped as it usually does.
The larger note that I got - which was absolutely dead on - was that I was thinking of the monologue as a speech to be recited rather than something to act. I rarely feel self-conscious or uncomfortable onstage anymore, but the artificiality of standing up in an empty room and doing a monologue for someone (or in this case a whole class) doesn't do anything for my game if you know what I mean. As Sam pointed out, even if a set was built for me and costumes provided it wouldn't matter if I didn't internalize.
So obviously I didn't feel entirely good about that, but it's something to work from. All the other monologues today were good and quite different, and everyone over the three days has benefited from the coaching. The biggest surprise to me was Throaty-Voiced Girl, a very quiet young woman who did a dynamite job with Nina's Seagull speech.
I'll be doing a scene from Cherry Orchard with the Tall One (these nicknames aren't easy), a tall blonde woman who is one of the people who hasn't done her monologue yet. It's from the end of Act 2 - Anya and Trofimov.
Today we had our first "Movement Techniques" class w/ Joanne Edelmann. This is by far the most physically demanding of our classes - so demanding we only have it once a week. The highlight was an exercise where we each perform a movement solo and then the group performs as one and becomes as ensemble, working together and finding a way to end the piece cleanly....A good way to build a connection with one's classmates...Tomorrow is another work-til-6.30 day...then a break..
Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how my monologue for Sam went. As I'd planned I jumped up first today and we were off and running. I think I overcompensated because i didn't want to get the note that there was no emotion behind my words, so I came off very angry...which was a defensible choice but not entirely right for the piece. (Astrov's monologue about forests) As I do in these situations, I tended to rush - though not as badly as I have on other occasions. Sam gave me scene partners for another go-round (Big Break?, Class Secretary, and one other whose nickname is pending)...and that helped as it usually does.
The larger note that I got - which was absolutely dead on - was that I was thinking of the monologue as a speech to be recited rather than something to act. I rarely feel self-conscious or uncomfortable onstage anymore, but the artificiality of standing up in an empty room and doing a monologue for someone (or in this case a whole class) doesn't do anything for my game if you know what I mean. As Sam pointed out, even if a set was built for me and costumes provided it wouldn't matter if I didn't internalize.
So obviously I didn't feel entirely good about that, but it's something to work from. All the other monologues today were good and quite different, and everyone over the three days has benefited from the coaching. The biggest surprise to me was Throaty-Voiced Girl, a very quiet young woman who did a dynamite job with Nina's Seagull speech.
I'll be doing a scene from Cherry Orchard with the Tall One (these nicknames aren't easy), a tall blonde woman who is one of the people who hasn't done her monologue yet. It's from the end of Act 2 - Anya and Trofimov.
Today we had our first "Movement Techniques" class w/ Joanne Edelmann. This is by far the most physically demanding of our classes - so demanding we only have it once a week. The highlight was an exercise where we each perform a movement solo and then the group performs as one and becomes as ensemble, working together and finding a way to end the piece cleanly....A good way to build a connection with one's classmates...Tomorrow is another work-til-6.30 day...then a break..
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