Had my third rehearsal today for the one act. I did a little better in parts than the first day we did a read through, but I still am off on a few lines. I'll have to work on that a little and be ready for the next rehearsal tomorrow.
Tomorrow is going to be a busy busy busy day.
Went and saw Ralphie May tonight at MY school, and it was HIL-arious!
That's all for now, more tomorrow in which I'll go into more detail about the process I'm taking to create a fully imagined character that also lives outside of the context of the play.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
the second
Had another rehearsal today. I practiced my lines the hour before it, trying different phases, voices, tones, and emotions, thinking that we were going to do a read through but we didn't. It was much better actually. We did a memory exercise where we found something in the room and studied it for one minute and then closed our eyes and recited everything we remembered about it. This gave me a chance to show the director my partial photographic memory, so much so that the amount of detail I was describing made her laugh with amazement. Then we did a mirror exercise. Following that we did a following exercise. All were very fun and interesting to do. It was my first time doing these exercises and they worked really well with connecting to the other actors.
A good second rehearsal.
AND I got a note from the director about the emotionality of one of my lines.
For this certain emotion, I have to reach back to graduation night and find what I was specifically feeling then and then duplicate that for the line she wanted me to focus on; because if I can do that, that's all I need.
A good second rehearsal.
AND I got a note from the director about the emotionality of one of my lines.
For this certain emotion, I have to reach back to graduation night and find what I was specifically feeling then and then duplicate that for the line she wanted me to focus on; because if I can do that, that's all I need.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
An Author in Search of the Future
Rehearsal was canceled for today.
I read the play Six Characters in Search of an Author tonight for class. I didn't like it so much in the beginning but then I started to really enjoy the writing style (it reminded me a lot of the Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth" speech from A Few Good Men). I even found myself acting out the lines in the study lounge of Tenaya Hall. Hey, whatever I was the only one in there so who cares if it's a 24 hour quiet zone.
I read over my lines again for the one act and practiced a few different things with pauses and such. It is a really different writing style than Six Characters... which I found more enjoyable to act. So, I guess I'll just have to make my lines a little more enjoyable.
Oh, and don't forget you got drilled by an 80mph tennis ball in the hallway today in the worst possible place.
I read the play Six Characters in Search of an Author tonight for class. I didn't like it so much in the beginning but then I started to really enjoy the writing style (it reminded me a lot of the Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth" speech from A Few Good Men). I even found myself acting out the lines in the study lounge of Tenaya Hall. Hey, whatever I was the only one in there so who cares if it's a 24 hour quiet zone.
I read over my lines again for the one act and practiced a few different things with pauses and such. It is a really different writing style than Six Characters... which I found more enjoyable to act. So, I guess I'll just have to make my lines a little more enjoyable.
Oh, and don't forget you got drilled by an 80mph tennis ball in the hallway today in the worst possible place.
Monday, May 11, 2009
revelations at 1:00 am
Last night after I was super doubting myself and my ability I talked with a friend who helped me realize that I may just have a little talent and a shot.
I was just about to fall asleep and wake up to another week of school when the ideas started to come and not stop. For some reason my best ideas come to me when paper and pen are nowhere to be found, like in the shower or in bed. Why is that?! Who knows? But that's a question to be answered on another day. ANYWAYS... when the ideas came I managed to have a stack of post-its and a pen nearby (oh post-its, how you save my life and cover my desk). I wrote out the few brief scenes that came to my head right then and the even better thing is that it was mostly dialogue that I was writing down, not just camera angles or action sequences.
How the moods change from day to day, or more accurately, hour to hour; it's an amazing thing.
POP QUIZ: Is it a coincidence that I just had my 100th post and this revelation came to me at 1:00 a.m.?
I was just about to fall asleep and wake up to another week of school when the ideas started to come and not stop. For some reason my best ideas come to me when paper and pen are nowhere to be found, like in the shower or in bed. Why is that?! Who knows? But that's a question to be answered on another day. ANYWAYS... when the ideas came I managed to have a stack of post-its and a pen nearby (oh post-its, how you save my life and cover my desk). I wrote out the few brief scenes that came to my head right then and the even better thing is that it was mostly dialogue that I was writing down, not just camera angles or action sequences.
How the moods change from day to day, or more accurately, hour to hour; it's an amazing thing.
POP QUIZ: Is it a coincidence that I just had my 100th post and this revelation came to me at 1:00 a.m.?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
100
Today was one of those days where I'm really doubting myself in whether or not I want to pursue acting as my profession.
I did not do much to further help myself for my role and may have even taken a step backwards by doubting myself.
It's a shame that this feeling of self-doubt had to come on my one hundredth post I was hoping it would me something a little more monumental, but then again maybe this feeling is monumental.
I did not do much to further help myself for my role and may have even taken a step backwards by doubting myself.
It's a shame that this feeling of self-doubt had to come on my one hundredth post I was hoping it would me something a little more monumental, but then again maybe this feeling is monumental.
the accent
I just finished watching some youtube videos of different accents I'm trying to learn for my character. I want to give him something that is his own and defines him even more and I think an accent could do that. A little something to show that his character has a little character and is actually from somewhere.
I started by listening to Texas accents but didn't really like those to much.
Then I went to the Boston accent.
But eventually ended up watching a few videos on New York accents. The guy doing them actually said in the video that the only people he could imagine these helping would be actors and I guess he was right. It sounds really good, it'll be just a slight accent that people may first notice as a different style of speaking and then may later catch the NY undertones. But I think it could work for my character if I just put a little time into it.
But hey, I got this thing I gotta run, I'll talk to yous.
I started by listening to Texas accents but didn't really like those to much.
Then I went to the Boston accent.
But eventually ended up watching a few videos on New York accents. The guy doing them actually said in the video that the only people he could imagine these helping would be actors and I guess he was right. It sounds really good, it'll be just a slight accent that people may first notice as a different style of speaking and then may later catch the NY undertones. But I think it could work for my character if I just put a little time into it.
But hey, I got this thing I gotta run, I'll talk to yous.
Friday, May 8, 2009
character training continues and a revelation brought on by Star Trek
Continuing my training for my first role I decided to walk downtown today. It was only about two miles and it gave me a chance to practice how an Ex G.I. may walk and carry himself. The soldiers of WWII walked almost everywhere across Europe, so today gave me a very small taste of what it would have been like to get from point A to point B only by walking. I read a little from the book Band of Brothers while I was at Barnes and Noble. Just a little though, turned to a random page and it happened to be about when two of the soldiers went on leave for a weekend, just like the character I'm playing. On my walk back I stopped at the Veteran's Memorial here in SLO. I read all the plaques on the side of the building, in front of the Sherman tank, and then walked around and inside the building that was built in 1950. It really gave me a feeling of being around back then. I don't know what it was about the essence of that building but there was definitely something there. The Veteran's Museum was closed however and I'm going to have to go on another day to see that, but that's good because I'm still growing the character.
On another note, I saw Star Trek today and realized something. The people that were mostly there today where fans of the old series; men and woman in their fifties or sixties. Some even brought their parents with them because of their love for the characters. I stayed for the entire credits to finish rolling and so did a few others. People cheered and clapped during the movie when certain characters came on screen for the first time, even though it was a completely new actor playing their favorite character. What I heard one older woman, in maybe her late fifties, say when it was all over really had an impact on me. When the credits were done rolling and the Paramount logo came back on the screen, she said, "They did a really good job." This meant a lot to me because it means that people that liked the original felt that the new version did it justice. It was faithful to the characters and still provided a new original story and opened the franchise up to a new generation.
This makes me want to be an actor even more now. If I could simply make someone feel good and entertained from a performance, then there is nothing I would rather do in this world. Just knowing that someone was entertained today by these actors and filmmakers brought a smile to my face.
On another note, I saw Star Trek today and realized something. The people that were mostly there today where fans of the old series; men and woman in their fifties or sixties. Some even brought their parents with them because of their love for the characters. I stayed for the entire credits to finish rolling and so did a few others. People cheered and clapped during the movie when certain characters came on screen for the first time, even though it was a completely new actor playing their favorite character. What I heard one older woman, in maybe her late fifties, say when it was all over really had an impact on me. When the credits were done rolling and the Paramount logo came back on the screen, she said, "They did a really good job." This meant a lot to me because it means that people that liked the original felt that the new version did it justice. It was faithful to the characters and still provided a new original story and opened the franchise up to a new generation.
This makes me want to be an actor even more now. If I could simply make someone feel good and entertained from a performance, then there is nothing I would rather do in this world. Just knowing that someone was entertained today by these actors and filmmakers brought a smile to my face.
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