Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Class

Class on Tuesday was difficult for me. I mean most of the time I don't do a terrible job with most things but for some reason I lost the substance when I was trying to break through it. I did not seem to make the bat I was using real the first couple times. For some reason I just felt like I couldn't do anything right.
Class on Tuesdays good. I enjoyed the exercises that we did. Trying to think of something to pull out of the substance was really hard. Then once I thought of something it was hard to figure out to get it out of the substance and make it look honest.
I thought class on Tuesday was pretty interesting. For some reason I could not think of something I could pull of the substance. Then when I finally thought of something I did not like it. For some reason it was hard for me to flip through the pages of a book. I do it a lot for writing papers and stuff, but I don’t feel like what I did is how I normally deal with a book. Well I hope I will be more satisfied with what I do tomorrow.

Class on Tuesday

Class on tuesday was very interesting, it's definately a lot easier I feel to go up in front of the class with someone opposed to going up by your self. When you had to go up first and act out something with out using something was just as always difficult. There is so much you have to think about to make it believable. I did a fishing pole and the act of casting and I've casted a fishing pole so much in my life but I still had to stop and think about everything. How I move the pole in my hand, flip the bail open, hold the line with my pointer finger, and then the proper wrist action you use when casting.
When we had to go up and take a piece of the "substance" I found this hard, probably because I felt stupid doing it cause Iwas playing with something that wasn't really there, it just felt weird. But none the less I gave it my best and I played with that substance to the best of my ability. And Janice probably was better at handling the substance because I can't remember then last "silly putty" I played with, I think the last time was, "Gak" that stuff from Nickolodeon!

Relaxation and Substance

I would like to respond to Nick's last couple of posts because I figure more than one of you might be wondering where both the relaxation and "substance" exercises lead.

Relaxation: Relaxation is an important aspect of training for individuals in the performing arts. Through relaxation of the body, actors (and dancers for the matter) are more easily able to respond to their surroundings and the people around them (part of given circumstances). It is also easier for you to control your body instead of having your body control you. If you hold tension in your shoulders then all of your character will have tense shoulders, rather than you deciding which do and which don't. It is also integral to the release of emotion. That is why Lauren became emotional. When the tension was released her emotions were free to flow.

That is just the tip of the iceberg of why relaxation is important. See if you can see how tension effects peoples ability to execute the class exercises.

Substance: The substance helps us begin to deal with space and become aware of the way in which our bodies move through it. It is important for actors to be aware of the way in which our entire bodies move through space because our entire bodies can tell stories. You can tell a story with your foot if you want. Therefore you need to be aware of your body in order to be sure that you are telling to story you intend. Giving space (i.e. air) substance helps to make us more aware of our entire bodies.

In conclusion: These are experiential tools, not intellectual tools. Your body sometimes can learn things on it own. Just like an athlete or a dancer who repeats the same movement over and over. I am just giving you a taste of these concepts in this intro class. Part of what you are learning is what actors do and what is important to the craft. These things take years to master and become seamlessly integrated into your work. These exercises have been done by actors for decades. They are a form of training for your mind and body, they are not, in themselves, acting. Chemists learn the periodic chart before they become chemists, actors do these things before they become actors.
Pulling the pair of pants out of the substance today and putting them on was hard to do on Tuesday. I think that was the fastest I've ever "put on" a pair of pants before. Dealing with the substance was pretty difficult. I knew what I wanted to do with it, but wasn't sure if I could pull it off. It was easier to act like I was pulling away from something, but springing back because of its elasticity was pretty difficult. I'm excited to see what we do tomorrow.