Friday, October 3

VOICE
We've learned 9 tremoring positions so far: First, Second, Pelvic, Half-Plow, Dying Cockroach, Arm, Cobra, Bow, and Camel-Arch. My favorite is the Pelvic tremor. I like to call it "old faithful", because I consistently get a STRONG tremor there (which is funny, as that's a posture that doesn't do much for most people). I'm also a big fan of First, Dying Cockroach (which is a variation on First), and Half-Plow. When we tremor, I generally stick to menu of those four.

Dying Cockroach:


Half-Plow (except we learned it without a chair):


After destructuring (tremoring), we went into consonant work. My voice professor says that it's important not to neglect certain tremoring positions just because you don't like them or because you don't have a major tremor in them. You can develop a tremor over time, or you might be opening yourself up more even without a tremor. So I did all the tremors that I don't like today (Second, Arm, Cobra), as well as the ones that give me nothing (Bow, Camel-Arch). I found tremors in everything except the Camel Arch (my one in The Bow was extremely minor, but there was something there). I still don't like the first three (Second hurts my hip sockets. Arm and Cobra hurt my arms), but I did them. To reward myself, I did the ones I like. :)

Arm (it involves bending and straightening your elbows):


Cobra:


Our professor came around the room so that she could hear every student say certain phrases. Apparenly, my "titititititititititah" needs a lot of work (my "t" sounds are still splashy, although she says I've already improved). I also have to work on my "can't you, won't you, don't you" (unless I separate them in a major way, they sound like I'm saying them with a "ch", more like "can-chu, won-chu, don-chu") and "didn't you, couldn't you, wouldn't you" (mine sounds like "did-int you, could-int you, would-int you", so I'm adding in a vowel sound where there shouldn't be one).


ACTING
Today was our "memory of physical action" exam day! Our movement professor attended as well, so next week I'll be having meetings with both her and my acting professor to discuss what I did. And to be honest, I felt really successful in my sandwich making today. I made two sandwiches (one real, one imaginary) over my lunch break just to make sure I'd recorded everything properly. And when I finished my exam in front of my classmates and professors, I felt a sense of satisfaction.

I was mildly concerned with the number of banana slices (I've been practicing making 16 cuts, so there are 17 slices... I put 8 on each piece of toast, and I eat 1)... I focused on moving the banana with my left hand while cutting, and I lost count. Luckily, All-The-Way said that she counted, and that I had done it correctly.

Honestly, my entire class really rocked out the exam. And I'm not just saying that, in a general way. Each and every single person in my class did their action today the best that I have ever seen them do it, and many made HUGE strides just between yesterday and today.

I'm impressed with my compatriots. I can't wait to start getting on stage in our second year. I really think that we're going to be a phenomenal ensemble once we get up on our feet.

As a reward for the excellence in our exam work, our professor let us do dialogue etudes for the remainder of class. D-Train and I did one, which was the first time we'd ever worked together on an etude. I think we were both excited about it, as we've recently done some bonding outside of classes.

The way dialogue etudes work is that "Shakespeare" (aka our professor) gives us some relatively bland dialogue. We memorize it without attaching any preconceived notions to it. We then shake it off, and start living the scene, and let the dialogue come out of our mouths however it wants to. If after we've run out of scripted dialogue we feel the need to say more, we may continue the scene through improvised lines (as it means we've probably made a real connection and something true is happening).

Here were our colorless lines...

ME: It's so quiet here.
D-TRAIN: Yes, it is. When was the last time we were here?
ME: Two years ago. September 18th.

So we don't know where we are. We don't know our relationship. We don't know our emotional states. Nothing. All we have is this dialogue, and as soon as we memorize it, we're instructed to put it out of our minds. The idea is that you're supposed to be informed of the situation by the environment and what you receive from your partner, and from there you act on impulses. Get it?

The way this particular scene ended up playing out, it became obvious that D-Train and I were in a relationship, and that whatever happened the last time we were here was a significant event, and remembering it made us realize how in love we were. It ended with D-Train kissing my forehead, and us embracing for a long period of time before our professor ended it.

As soon as it ended, D-Train said, "I should've kissed you." And the entire class agreed. They could see that he'd had the impulse and dismissed it.

Frankly, I'm glad he didn't try, because I would've broken character to stop him. My symptoms from tonsillitis are gone, but I'm still on antibiotics for it, and I just don't think that him kissing me would've been the best idea health-wise.

That said, it provided a good lesson about denying the impulse. When you have one and let it go, the entire audience can tell. It's more truthful to act on the impulse.


And now I'm going to enjoy the weekend. :)

~A~