But here's an idea of what's going on...
MOVEMENT
I have Movement class every morning from 9:00am-10:25am. We all showed up in our requisite monochromatic clothing (worn in movement and voice classes so that the professors can better see our bodies). We began by asking for Bravery, Will Power, and Common Sense, all of which are required to be a good actor. Our professor explained that 90% of communication that Americans receive is non-verbal, which proves how important movement study is for actors. We will be studying the differences between "normal" and "normative" physical behaviors. We're going to start the class day with 5 full minutes of jump roping, which is not nearly as easy as it sounds. My professor commented today that our class seems to be pretty in shape, which should make things easier on us. We went through some "first day" sorts of exercises, which I think were so that she could assess our bodies and experience levels. We will be having our first exam on Friday, over the book "The Second Circle" by Patsy Rodenburg. Class ended with us asking for Health, Prosperity, and Harmony.
VOICE
We have Voice class from 10:35am-12:00pm. That classroom has a completely different feel to it. In Movement class, everything is energetic and lively. In Voice class, everything is serene. The lights are all off, and we're laying on yoga mats for long periods of time. We're going to be doing a lot with "destructuring and restructuring" (I'll let you know what that means as soon as I figure it out). Our professor warned us that in gaining a more neutral speech, we might end up removing regionalisms and dialects that could alienate friends and family members (her brother apparently punches her whenever she says the word "Tuesday" with a liquid-u sound, so it's more like "Teeyoosday"). We received some handouts that we will be tested on this Friday. I was so relaxed at the end of class that I wanted to take a nap right there.
ACTING
In acting class, I learned just how intelligent, opinionated, and vocal my class truly is. We spent the entire 3-hour class discussing (and occasionally arguing about) theatre as an art form. Apparently, we're going to be studying mostly Stanislavski and Michael Chekov. I have a grazing familiarity with Michael Chekov already, so I'm excited about that. But I think I'm behind most of my classmates in my knowledge of Stanislavski (I don't think a director has ever used the word "superobjective" in a rehearsal around me before).
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Depending on the time of day you ask him, my professor will give you a different name for this class. So far, I've heard him call it "Textual Analysis", "Dramatic Analysis", and "Advanced Play Analysis". I'm sticking to Textual Analysis for now (which I admit is mostly because I enjoy saying the word "textual"). This is by far my most intimidating class. We have to learn not to project our ideas onto a text. The class is not about interpretation, but rather about reason and calculation. For example, we're not allowed to talk about someone in a Shakespeare play having "unconscious" desires, as to do so would be anachronistic. Freud was the first person to talk about the subconscious, so clearly Shakespeare wouldn't have told us that something was unconscious... I don't know. It's all very complicated, and my head was spinning for most of the class. Luckily, we only have it twice a week (thank goodness, because I think my head might explode if it were a daily event). We have been assigned to read Aristotle's "Poetics" at least once by Thursday (apparently we will be reading everything in this class multiple times, as "there's no such thing as a good first reading").
At the end of the day, I INSISTED upon taking a class photo. The rest of them begrudgingly obliged. Yeah, I know it was annoying... but in three years, they're going to be glad we have it.
Back Row: Wifey, D-Train, Iceman, The Pro, Big ShowFront Row: Two-Shots-Up, O.D., Disco (that's me!), Killer, Thrill, All-The-Way
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