Tuesday, February 16

AUDITION WORKSHOP
For the next three days, we're doing a workshop on auditioning with Head of Program and Voice Professor.

Today, we got sides handed to us as we walked into the classroom. We had no idea what the play was, or what it was about. Completely cold readings. Fun, fun.

Notes I made included:
- Be careful not to rush through it
- Conversely, don't fill it with pauses. Act on the lines.
- Avoid playing general qualities.
- Make it specific
- Make it focused on the other/the reader
- Know why you have to talk
- If you know that you're not great at reading, read out loud as a habit in life, as often as possible.
- Don't make a choice like, "I want to move", or "I want to ramble". Instead, focus on ease, calm, and clarity.
- If you're in the hallway and have a few minutes to prepare, and you have NO IDEA what a word means, or how it's pronounced, or what a concept you're talking about is, you could use a smart cell phone to search online. Otherwise, it is completely fine to ask a quick question of the director when you enter the room before you begin.
- It's also perfectly okay to ask for a few more minutes to look over the scene if you're a slow reader
- physical characterizations can be small (and perhaps should be), but they must be specific
- Bring in pauses if they are backed by intention, but not just for the sake of changing the rhythm
- Rushing is only okay for certain beats if it supports the intention/action/thought (i.e. 'getting to the point')



MOVEMENT
We worked on external character choices today. Mine was "food stuck in teeth". It sounds so lame in comparison to things other people were doing (like injuries, disorders, or being under the influence of drugs).

We started with exaggerated choices, and then tried to get them down to the smallest we could get them while still having them present.

Angela: food stuck in teeth
All-the-Way: speed
Big Show: Richard III
D-Train: cocaine
Iceman: Buddy Layman from The Diviners
Killer: consumption
Newbie: blocked ears, numb hands and feet, postpartum-related pains
O.D.: developmental disorder & cerebral palsy
Thrill: sprained ankle
Two-Shots-Up: withdrawal from heroin
Wifey: old hip injuries



ACTING
More scene work.

Notes included:
- If you make a mistake, just get back on your need
- in rehearsals/class, explore what happens when you jump on your cues. It might reveal a rhythm to the scene that you wouldn't find otherwise
- body needs to be energized to suggest there is something at stake here
- don't fold arms on stage