All together now

Hey all, having joined the class late this year I've been behind in contributing so I'll discuss it all in one big shot here.

The physical comedy performances were an interesting bit on learning a character and learning to tell a story with that characters interaction with a given circumstance. I believe it helped me to understand more that it is what a character does that defines who they are rather than what they say. Words are too easy, action is deliberate and leads the audience to understand a character's motivation and insight as to who they are. The Mr. Bean bit that I performed also helped me to understand the sequential action, in other words how a character goes from one action to the next as a result of their personalities. It was a fun process to work through, and the research of different pieces helped me to see how vital the characterization was to each piece.

On the next note, the audition process is a beast of its own. Having gone through a handful of different experiences is funny to say i still don't know exactly what to do. The whole process is interesting because it is an interview and a performance combined. You get to do a show in front of some harsh critics, and that's alright. Watching people at the IRT audition was interesting because I saw a wide array of different techniques and what not. The most important lesson I learned from that is to make sure that you pick the right piece. Don't cast yourself as the guy you want to be, but rather the guy everyone else wants you to be. It was great to be able to hear what is going through the minds of the auditors because it let me knwo what they look for. Everything from voice, direction, and movement is critiqued and knowing that can help me prepare.

Being an athlete, the audition is interesting because it has a game day feel to it as much as a performance of a show does. It has this element because you spend time preparing and learnign what to do. It is the moment where you know what to do, it is time to execute. So it was familiar feel of things emotionally and mentally speaking. There was a heightened rush to it, and the feel is fun to me.

The last experience was good because I realized more about becoming the character. I memorized a piece, and made my performance about getting those pieces out there. This was a crucial learning experience because it let me know what I need to present my best attributes. One of the biggest things to accomplishing that is to make decisions about my character. I need to put my creative side to work in cohesion with my performance side. That is one of the steps I have to take in order to make strides in my auditioning and performing. Make choices about my character and invest in that character.

The audition Process

I thought that our final was a good experience for me. I did not realize that it would make me as nervous as it did. From waiting out in the lobby to standing out in front of the auditors, I realized how much more time I needed to put into everything. A large portion is of course the pieces themselves, but there is also the introduction that I know I could have done better on. When I walked out of Salter, I thought of multiple things that I could have and should have done differently such as slow down with introduction to the pieces that I had.

I was overall pleased with the pieces that I had, but I am not sure if I would use them within an actual audition because of some of the comments. I realized that a piece from a movie may not be the best decision, so I would consider getting rid of the Into the Wild piece. Then I did not realize how different it was to have a piece from a musical to present, but by the comments, it seemed a little strange.

Once again, I am glad for the type of final that we had, and I would do it over again in an instant. I could have perfected my pieces, and done a lot better job. I guess the only way for me to do that now would be to go to a real audition.

The Final Audition

So this audition process was a lot more intense than I expected. I really did enjoy and appreciate the real life feel the mock audition had though. I have never experienced anything like that before. I have auditioned outside of Wabash before but it still didn't resemble the big city cattle call auditions that this mock actually represented. I liked how each of the auditors have been in the exact situation that we were experiencing multiple times. It provided an insight to how actual casting directors would respond and act towards the auditions. Although nerve racking, I liked the rules and specifics that Cody gave us before our audition. They added the element of professionalism and competition and the constraint of rules helped to add to the sense of a high stakes audition. One thing that was really nice to have (obviously) was the feedback at the end of the process. I was kind of able to use the feedback as a sort of mirror. Every detail of our audition was payed attention to and responded to. I was able to absorb tiny details of my own audition like smiling and when to move my chair. This will hopefully prepare me for the nerves that will come with an actual audition in the future.

Auditioning

Auditioning to me is a two headed beast. On the one hand, it is very much like a marketing campaign for yourself. Talent is indeed part of this selling process but so is every detail surrounding the audition. The ability to show that you are professional, that you understand the business, and that you would be a pleasant and understanding person to work with is essential. The more you can present yourself not just as an actor but as a sought after co-worker, the more desirable you will be to those casting you. This is new element to the audition process to me and I have learned much from the information gained in class. In fact, I have learned enough to realize how silly, slightly unprofessional, and mildly embarrassing I may have been in the past. I plan on changing all that. The other head of this beast is that of the creative expression. This is the part that makes me the most nervous but is also the part I enjoy the most. The chance to display your art and talent o be judged by other is daunting but can also be tremendously rewarding. Your audition piece should reflect a portion of who you are. If that is indeed the case, then you also get to show off a bit of who you are as a person and what it is that you believe. All in all, the audition process is one hell of an adrenaline rush!

an audition

I have noticed that whenever I go through the audition process, I usually become nervous. I have realized that this does not seem to be the same for an interview, and I believe that this is due to the audience that sits during the audition. Every single audition that I have been apart of, everybody else auditioning would sit in the room as well. This added group of people seems to make me more nervous. The final for this class will be the first time of audition where I had to prepare something prior to going. I believe that this puts something new on the line because these are pieces that we have chosen compared to the pieces that I have normally read were just cold readings of the play.

Bringing it all together

Comedia was fun, and proved to be very challenging, physically. To actually become the character you wished to portray took more then just rehearsing lines. You actually had to practice the exaggerated ways of the individual. It was fun however, because you could take the character over the top, and it would only add the comedy.

Realism proved to be the most difficult of the three sections. Although physical actions were part of the scene work, most of the characterization relied on the depth by which you knew your character. You really had to “dig deep” and find out who your character was. If you did not know every little aspect of the character, it proved to be a difficult task performing the scene.

Clowning was awesome! It was a combination of physical and character comedy all rolled into one scene . . . except in silence. The most difficult part of this was memorizing the order of you “gigs”. But once you had that down, you were able to take off with the ideas set before you, and

Physicality and Psychology

Well these two components of acting really are like two peas in a pod. The psycho-physical continuum really is a powerful level of understanding. I had read about their connectivity last semester while I was studying Stanislavsky and believed it as truth, but it was not nearly so clear as it is at the present. This class has stressed the paring in each assignment we've been given. The fist assignment of comedia really forced us to understand the psyche of the character. If we didn't, the incredibly difficult and unique physical component of each character looked either half-assed or, in the very least, forced. This was nice because it was a beginner's insight into the necessary connection. It was also good to have it understood that early so that the more subtle realism could utilize the idea. Within realism, the drive to understand the psyche of the character led to breakthroughs in the motivations for the character. Any physical action in realism without a motivation looks, well, unreal. Which is the opposite of what we wanted. The next assignment, clowning, was wonderful blending of the previous two. It was still a comedic physical piece but not so cartoony and haphazard as comedia becasue of its incredibly detailed set of actions which pulls in the importance of motivations we encountered in realism. In the end, the hammering in of the connection has produced a reliable and stable method for characterization. To understand the physical side of your character you must know where thier head is at and in order to discover the psyche of the character one must pulls clues from the physical actions of the character throughout the piece. One feeds the other in a escelating spiral of creativity. It's pretty neat. When understanding this principle, the task of characterization does not seem so monumental. I have learned and enjoyed.

bringing everything together

Prior to the lessons that we had learned in this class, I thought I understood bringing the aspects of a character together. I may have spent a little time on character but that was it. I felt awkward trying to find the movements and completely creating another persona. After each section, I felt more confident and comfortable with the different aspects of the character. Looking at a character now, I know that I cannot skip on one aspect of characterization because they are all very important. In the past, I would usually just work on the psychological aspects of my character, and to be completely honest, I did not even work on that as much as I should have. This has changed though. I need to understand it all (how he walks, talks, and thinks).

final attempt at buster

I was really appreciative that Professor Phillips allowed me to redo the physical piece on Monday. I did not feel confident at all on Thursday; however, that changed Monday. Yesterday, I felt more in the character and had the movements down the best I have yet so far.

Also, I don't know if this information will ever come in handy to anyone, but I do not suggest doing a scene that involves hinging bread. The hinges will not last long.

bread

I also just wanted to let you guys know that if you are ever in the mood for bread... the prop bread that I bought is delicious and was only 98 cents. I recommend it.

When I was performing this piece on Tuesday, I felt as though there was a lot that I personally needed to work on. One specific piece is bringing the other characters to life in my head. I could tell that since I did not truly believe them to be alive, nobody else did. I have worked on this some already, and I plan on working on it some more. I have began to imagine people standing in these places. This seems to help bring out truer reactions in the piece as well. Then there was the fact that I needed to separate the each of the beats more. A couple of people mentioned how the pieces meshed together, and it was hard to determine where one ended and another began. I think the best way for me to approach this is to slow down certain aspects of the piece and make my motions more distinct. The final part I have looked at is the true emotions that are supposed to be evoked when put into this situation to create more of the character. This has been difficult, but I believe that I am doing better than I was on Tuesday.

A Work in Progress

With my performance Tuesday, the two main thing I feel like I need to work on are 1. Taking a moment at each beat, to allow time for the joke to settle. This will give the audience time to react and hopefully laugh. 2. Opening up myself to the audience a little more, as Spencer suggested. I feel as though I was keeping my gigs to myself a little too much. I think a simple solution to this would be not hunching over. I need to keep my shoulders back, and have a little more movement from my hips. I think if I were to focus on these two small aspects, my performance, It will be significantly funnier.

Self Clown Critique

I am excited about my piece for the clown bit. I feel that i am close but still need a bit of polishing. Two specific things that i am going to be concentrating on for Thursday are giving my beats a moment after they happen and making myself look as if I am working harder. The moment after my beats allows for the joke to settle in for my audience. This works specifically well in between such steps as the three matches as well as finding my pockets. Making it look as if i am working harder is simply funnier and easier to see when i do things such as pick up trash or sweep the floor. I need to pull the trash all the way up to my body and movve the broom in an exagerated manner. Accomplishing this without looking contrived will be difficult but it is a challenge i think i can tackle. I want my mvents bigger but i don't want to distract from the rest of the piece.

hey, I was just wondering how this section was going for everybody. How different do you find it from the other pieces that we have done? Have you had any troubles?

Funny To-Do List

Enter to clean up stage

Take a break to smoke

Knock cigarette to ground
-pick up cig and drop the others about 5 times
-drop broom
-take one cig
-throw down cigs and sweep others aside

Search for match box
-find it and open upside down
-reach down to pick up matches and get broom handle stuck in sweater
-break first match
-knock out match box with second match

Go for box and kick it away

Stick cigarette in ear

Stomp on box and pick it up
-light match
-search for cig and eventually find it in my ear
-burn my hand on match

Broom head comes off trying to sweep it all away
-pick up broom head and drop hat
-pick up hat and drop broom head

Try to put hat on and put it on broom handle
-search for it and eventually find it
-chase hat

Hat trick

Broom stick down throat

Attempt to reattach broom head
-miss twice
-examine it and spin it on

Sweep cigs and matches offstage

Go back and pick up pieces of paper
-drop pieces around four times

Wave and walk off stage

jail break

rain piece
-umbrella away
-pull back out
-puddle piece
-fall

jail piece
-trip
-reveal bread
-stall
-attempt song
-hint at tools in bread with hand motions
-put rock in place
-break window
-reveal tools
-pretend to leave
-take bread to the cell
-tools fall out of bread
-say goodbye

The Secret

Think slow, act fast.

Buster Keaton

The Creative Challenge

And, we put a lot more value, or at least I personally put a lot more value, on the creative values and creative challenges of something than the commercial necessities.

Rowan Atkinson

Packing Ain't Easy

Pack everything in, and try to close the suitcase. Take it all out. Go through the canned food bit. Trade towel for washcloth. Compare speedos and shorts, go with the shorts. Toss a shoe. Pack underwear and soap. Shirt gig. Break toothbrush, put in, then empty toothpaste, and put in. Cut pants. Grab shorts. Compare, then toss pants. Grab my teddy, and figure a way to cut him up. Don't do it, pack him and close the suitcase. Grab book, and put it into larger suitcase. Look around, put small suitcase inside the big suitcase, close it, and leave.

I have felt odd feelings about my character as of late because I have been able to get into his skin more than I ever really thought I would have. I have found myself shaking every now and then when i am just walking down the street or some other normal event.

I thought in the performance itself, I felt as though I really understood my character. I do understand after practicing today the anger that Professor Phillips was talking about though. When I tried it, it felt natural. It felt as though my character was supposed to become more upset at this point or that. I believe that during the performance the sitting on the ground was a good brotherly moment. I thought that the shaking was good because it helped me get into character a lot, but I do understand that this is something I need to work on as well. I need to make it more noticeable to the audience that I am not just sitting there. Also, I really liked how I got off the floor. I line when getting up just felt good. I don't know why, but it did.

On the other side of the spectrum, I realized that I did not give enough time for the spilling of the alcohol. I also felt a little bit off with becoming tipsy during the story. I believe it is because I am just sitting there, so I should find something to do while the story is going on. Finally, I think that standing during the story did not work very well at all. When I tried that portion sitting down, it felt a lot more natural. It felt as though, that is how Edmund would react.

Under Undershaft

Realism will require an actor to create an entirely new individual to present onstage. Becoming another person takes a lot of work. For Andrew Undershaft I had to spend a few hours finding clues as to who he was in the script. I would look at how he reacted to other people in various situations as well as how they reacted to him. I also looked into what he said about himself along with what others said about him. These clues helped me to construct a foundation and skeleton for the character of Undershaft. Next, I needed to dig deep into his motivations. I understood the type of person he was but I wasn't still exactly sure of he was individually. To do this I needed to construct a life for Undershaft by inventing his given circumstances both large and small. I needed these so that I could figure out why he does the things he does. I began this section but I did not take it as far as I generally would have liked. He is a very complex character, but I only really focused on what was immediately important for the scene. I feel that if I had created a more solid world around Undershaft, the character would have been more easily produced.
For the performance itself I felt that certain things worked well, while others were a little wanting. I felt that Undershaft's disgust of the 'common mob of slaves and idolaters' was well shown. A cetain small thing that I liked was when Undershaft threw his hand wide and proclaimed that the army was worth buying becasue it was the church of the poor. I aslo felt that his general confidence and control of the situation was well percieved but I could take that a bit father still. This is an area I will help to strengthen for the next performance. There were several areas I felt could take out all together or at least improve. One area was the still blocking. I was too concentrated on what we had rehearsed and was not letting it happen natually. I also felt that the scene was a bit sluggish. Nate and i have worked on picking up cues so that this sort of thing wont happen again, or at least not as bad. And one final thing I think could go was Undershaft's apparent anger. He isn't supposed to be agnry but maybe a bully or at the very least calcualtaing. With these things in mind, I think the next perforance will be much better.

Becoming Cusins

In all honesty, it has been very difficult to really know my character. I feel that I have a good understanding of who he is and what his motives are, but I just feel like there is something there I am missing to become Cusins fully. As for Tuesady's performance, I feel like a few things worked for me. I felt like the back and forth lines toward the end gave us a good, friendly rip at eachother with each line. Another part that I felt worked, was the opening lines. They let you in on how they feel about eachother, and it sets up where we want to take eachother through the conversation. I also thought that my costume worked well. It is definately something that Professor Cusins would be seen wearing. As for what I feel didn't work too well; I'd start with the final handshake. Now that I look back at it, it just doesn't seem to fit. I also had a problem feeling comfortable in Cusins's posture. I can do it, but it just doesn't flow to me, and that is noticible. One final part that didn't quite work was the exchange of lines. They definately need to be more rapid thoughts on the previous line, as well as where I intend to take the conversation.

Realism v. Comedia

Realism has proven thus far to be descently difficult. It is difficult in the way that you need to know your character in a very deep way. You need to know him "through & through". It seems as though the only way you would actually perfect the personality and emotions of you character, is to be you character. Even as this person, you have to know the other character rather well; to know how he will respond to your words. This brings up the comparison to Comedia. Not in the fact of knowing the character, but the diffuculty of becoming the person. In realism, it's all about the research, and what you can find about that individual. In Comedia, it seems to be all about the repitition. You learn the movements and actions of the character, then perfect them . . . physically. You need to have the right body movements and bodily reactions to each situation. What's your views to this comparison? Which (realism or comedia) would you say is harder for you to master? Which do you like more?

Tasks vs. Inspirations

It's not a general matter of "work to be done," but of concrete tasks, consciously undertaken and mastered by repetition. They are the irreducible minimum of our business. Specific things done, moment to moment. Grasp this, and at once there's a clearing of the decks - all reliance on so-called actors' instinct, inspiration, divine fire, and such-like dangerous fantasies must go.

-Morris Carnovsky

Are You Digging a Ditch?

To be an actor in the theatre is to teach yourself and keep yourself disciplined and honorable. And if you do that, you get a chance to fly in this kind of emotional paradise that acting can be. Acting is just as hard as ditch digging. And if you do all the yeoman work, inspiration will come.

-Frank Langella

As I was getting out of bed this morning, I felt terrible. I had this cough sitting in the back of my throat that I felt like I could not get rid of. I went downstairs to have something to eat, but found that I just could not force myself to eat anything while feeling like I do. Mom noticed something was up. I'm not sure if it was my lack of hunger or my coughing, but I knew that I needed to act like nothing was wrong for her sake. I went off to work, but I did not feel like writing anymore today for the column. I made a few corrections to the piece that I had and turned it in for tomorrow's paper.

I just keep thinking about this cough that I have, and the fact that I look skinnier than normal. Something just does not seem right with me. I have tried to do my normal routine, but cannot seem to get into the rhythm. Maybe, I should just relax and read some Wilde. Maybe that will calm my nerves.

Edmund

Daydream Believer

Preparation is a kind of daydreaming. It is daydreaming. It's daydreaming which causes a transformation in your inner life, so that you are not what you actually were five minutes ago, because your fantasy is working on you.

The fantasy of the daydream is the most personal, most secret of the acting values. What it means in ordinary language is that we use our imagination in order to fulfill in ourselves what we have more or less determined is our emotional condition before we begin the scene.

-Sanford Meisner

So how bout that woodshedding today, huh? I felt that we made some strong headway in our scene today. Several things seemed to click in a row. It initially helped that Nate and I defined our environment in which we are performing our scene. I guess that makes sense, however. The more we put our mental state into a real setting with real given circumstances, the more natually the character of Undershaft comes to me. The next thing that Nate and I focused on was the introductory beat in our scene. We did that one beat for more than half the time, but I feel like we may have finally cracked it. It felt right and natural. For several beats after that first one, things seemed to flow more smoothly. Professor Phillips (and Meisner) were definitely on to something by suggesting that everything is a brand new reaction to the beat right before it. That is how it goes in real life isn't it? And these scenes are about verisimilitude are they not? Hmm. I feel kinda dumb now when I type it all out like that.

Get Thee to a Woodshed

From the Urban Dictionary:

woodshedding
	meaning to practice or hone skills, particularly musical skills. the origin is from the fact that for purposes of privacy people would go to their woodshed to practice without being overheard jason spent the last three months smoking grass and woodshedding his banjo skills.

Uta Hagan

Theoretically, the actor ought to be more sound in mind and body than other people, since he learns to understand the psychological problems of human beings when putting his own passions, his loves, fears, and rages to work in the service of the characters he plays. He will learn to face himself - and to do so takes an insatiable curiosity about the human condition.

Prof. Cusins

I did not sleep well last. I do believe my reasoning is quite reasonable. After yesterday's conversation with Mr. Undershaft, I fear as to the direction of the Salvation Army. He said he can buy it! How absurd! I'll admit, I am a little mad, as every man in love is, but for him to call my love, his daughter, mad as well . . . who does he think he is? He hasn't even been in Barbara's life that long. It frightens me that a man such as him is here. The distractions Barbara must feel from her obligations because he is here now. I guess it is not necessarily my problem, but he is a threat to my two loves, Barbara and the Salvation Army. Money and gunpowder . . . HA!-Prof. Cusins

characters

I was just wondering how everyone is coming along with their characters? Have you made any realizations or is there anything that confuses you about your character? I know that the more time that I put into who this character is, the more I am able to understand how or why he may act a certain way. I know that I have not ever really stared death in the face like he is, but each minute that I put into his mind, I feel as though I obtain valuable information about who Edmund Tyrone is.

I have just found that I have consumption, and I will have to be sent away. I’m not sure how to explain what I feel, but I can say that I am scared. My grandfather died of consumption, and my father is stingy enough with money that I am positive the sanitarium that he will send me to will be below par. I am going to die… I need to focus on something else. What about mother? How will I even tell my mother? She is completely consumed with the morphine that if she is even having a good day, I know I will drive her to having more! I just need something to take my mind off of this, but I know that everyone will continue to remind me some way or other about my disease. I need something to take off this edge… I need a drink.

Edmund Tyrone

Words of Wisdom

Only you can think clearly; only you can briefly make a portion of the world make sense; only you can preserve the memory of that moment. These thoughts will not comfort you, but they might make you free. Neither art nor thought is comfortable. I am here to make you nervous. Only when we are anxious, and when we know what to be anxious about, do we have a chance of entering the history of our work.

-Hollis Huston

a little frustrated

I was just wondering how everybody else was doing on the research portion of their Realism scenes because I have tried to find American mannerisms around the turn of the century but I have come up almost completely empty handed. I have found some great pictures that I believe will help; however, when I searched on jstor, the internet, and the Lilly library for a book, I could not find anything that really could help me. If any of you have any suggestions let me know please. Maybe I just overlooked somethings that would be beneficial. I guess I will just continue to look.

Repetition

I can definitely see what you were talking about now, Clay. The more James and I concerned ourselves with the beats within our performance, the better things got. By letting our beats flesh themselves out better, we allowed the rest of our scene to fill in behind. But in the bigger picture, we are still no where close to what the professionals would call a ready Comedia show. Just as Professor Phillips said, repetition is the key. If we had another couple months to work on these pieces I'm sure they would become consistently better and funnier. But as we are already moving on, that will not be the case for this particular scene. It was a damn good experience though. This is a form of acting I have had little to no experience in previous to this class and I am glad to have been exposed to a new performance style. My hope is that i will find areas in my other acting endevours where techniques and ideas born of comedia can slip in. If i spot any before the semester is out i will let you all know here on the blog. In conclsion I say we play the magic if game for the duration of today's class period.

That's excellent news Clay! I am glad to hear it came together so nicely for you and Spec. James and I still haven't had near enough rehearsal time on our scene with our respective illnesses but it is good to hear that I have something to look forward to. I am still uneasy with regards to our scene but your post has given me (and hopefully James as well) a healthy dose of hope. It becomes increasingly clear with Professor Phillip's tips, our continued rehearsal, and now your post that the beats are what make Comedia, Comedia. I can easily see that if you've got the beats down the dialogue and minor action will fall into place. I am excited to move forward and perform for you all here soon, not to mention see the rest of you all's performances. How is the third crew doing? Any revelations of the such?

realization

From the very beginning of this, I have felt very uneasy about creating a scene. I have trouble coming up with something simple for a character in a show, so I had no idea how we were going to put together a scene that I felt would work and run smoothly. The very first day, I was just worried about making it close to the amount of time needed with a plot that would make sense. However, I realized during out last practice that everything has seemed to come together on its own. Each time we practice, I became more and more comfortable with what we are creating. I believe that I was worried a lot about what I was going to say and how I was going to say it, but now I am able focus on the beats that are happening in the scene. I make sure I know exactly when each physical action is going to happen and a basic idea for a lot of our speech excluding a few exceptions. I know that when I go on stage and have an audience it will be different and more difficult than it has been with just the two of us, but I feel much better about this than I ever thought I would have.

Improv Vomit

I hear you on that one Spenc. The desire to be consistently funny, especially within improv, is incredibly strong, and when you aren't getting any laughs, the panic mode sets in. This is what I think my and James' problem is currently. We'll get goin in our scene and hit a mental block or a rather unamusing moment and we go into overdrive. We start spitting out as much as we can as fast as we can to produce humor. The problem with that is that it completely stifles anything that was actually funny within the torent of verbal one-uping and physical randomness. It leads to a lack of motivation for the characters which makes everything even less funny.

When Professor Phillips said to slow it up a bit, it made sense. If something isn't working then its ok. If you relax and calmly move to the next bit within the scene you can produce humor out of the character's motivated actions. One way Professor Phillips told me to fix the speed of a bit was to draw it out. Take more, longer steps to get to the punchline. A joke in physical comedy is like a volcano. Kinda. The more tension, difficulty, and steps that go into the eruption, the bigger it will be. So the more tension, difficulty, and steps that go into a punchline the funnier the actual moment the joke is delivered will be.

Fight or Flight

Have you ever completed acting out a scene, presenting for a class, or participating in a sporting event; stopped and thought- I have no idea what just happened? Every time I step on the stage my nerves put me into "tunnel vision" mode. I rely entirely on the preceding weeks of preparation to get me through- the lines I've memorized are so ingrained that, despite my fear, I still deliver them. However, when I'm asked to improvise I panic and consistently draw mental blanks. My initial instinct is to quit, run away, and hide.

The inevitable rush of adrenaline that performance provides can cause one to fight (it may even lead to heightened senses) or panic and fly.

I've been trying to understand the core psychological causes of my reaction. After talking with Professor Philips I've concluded that I'm chronically afraid of failure. This desire to be perfect, in order to perform Commedia, must be overcome. Commedia's rehearsal process is based on a series of failures. Simply put, you have to be willing to put yourself on the line to be funny. It's a process of perpetual discovery. Of trial and error. I'm still deathly afraid to fail, but I'm going to push through.

How do you guys react to high stress situations? Do you fight or fly? How do you overcome fear?

a new way of acting (for me at least)

I was not sure what to expect when we started this Commedia section. I had certain ideas of what I believed it was. Like Matt, I believed that they were set characters. I did not realize that we created the background stories and identities of Capitano or Arlecchino. This plus the physicality that goes with Commedia has made this process incredible. When running as Arlecchino, I went home and felt as though I spent an hour at the gym. I couldn't believe that my legs hurt in the morning.

Then there are the masks. I notice that when i put one on, I have to pay closer attention to the position of my face and the ways that I move it. I do think though that the masks add a lot more emotion than I could have ever imagined. The fact that I am not able to use my facial features to show the emotion demands of me to show it in my body which I find very different.

Trying to Be Funny

You often hear that a good comedic actor shouldn't try to be funny. There's some truth to this, but how can you learn comedy if you never try to be funny? In fact, that's the very problem with this sentiment, it implies that comedy isn't a skill to be learned, but an innate talent that comes from birth. It locks comedy away in a safe where only a chosen few get the combination.

It may help to separate the work of the actor from the character. I'll agree that the character rarely tries to be funny. (although even that is up for debate in commedia) Just like realistic drama, the comic character has wants/desires and goes about the story trying to fulfill those wants/desires. Actions either are or aren't funny largely based on things outside the control of the character. They are who they are and do what they do, and the audience will judge whether or not they are funny.

The comic ACTOR, however, better try to be funny. Provoking laughter is a skill, although most of us develop the skill without noticing. Now that I'm a father I've watched my daughter tune into what will make me laugh and during her daily "play" she'll go back to what she knows works for her audience as well as catalog new responses. She's using the rehearsal of her daily life to develop her comedic skills. As we've all gone from child to adult, we've all, to varying degrees, developed an instinct as to what makes our "audience" laugh.

Actors need to use rehearsal and performance time as a constant experiment into what makes their audience laugh. Don't think that some people just are funny while some aren't. Pay attention to what makes your partner laugh, what makes the other students laugh, what makes the professor laugh. Just as importantly, pay attention to what doesn't get a laugh when you expected it to. Developing as a comedic actor takes time and will come with a lot of failure. Keep what works, refine what doesn't and never stop paying attention to the audience.

I can't think of a clever title

I'm not gonna lie, when we first starting doing the exercises in class, it felt a little akward. Doing the walking, running, looking around, and even the stopping did prove harder than first imagined, but also made me feel weird. Weird in a way that I was acting foolish, and it was a little embarrassing. But, as soon as I put on the mask, I felt alright acting 'stupid'. It almost felt like if nobody knew who I was, then it didn't matter. The crazier I got, the funnier it was. Along with that, There really are so many different expressions you can get with the mouth and head movement alone. I like it. It's fun.

first impressions

I'll agree with you about the difficulty level marcus. I had no idea it would be as demanding as it is both physically and mentally. The skill it takes to perform comedia leads me to wonder why it hasn't had more of a following in the states. I can only imagine what it looks like when done professionally but i'd assume it absurdly entertaining. Not only must the actor keep the physical and mental characteristics in mind but he/she must be quick witted enough to produce entertaining material. But in the long run, this creative freedom can only become increasingly fun for the actors and spectators. For the actor, the determination to get as mentally close to that character as possible would help to ease the improvisational pressure but also lend to more entertaining options for them to play with. Ultimately, it is the actors character and they would know them best. For the audience, the knowledge that it is all on the spot improve would make the funny moments all the more hilarious. Audiences want to be impressed by wit and quick thinking.

The stock characters put me off from comedia initially but that was only until i found that they were molds for characters rather than the specific character themselves. The character types makes it much more exciting to be able to compare Capitanos or Pantelones and also have multiple of one character type in the show. From the first class i've realized how versital a tool comedia really is. I'm looking forward to being introduced to more characters.

Alright Let's get this thing Started...

Firstly I am curious...is there anyone familiar with this system? I think we can create our own names and then follow and comment on these blogs. This way we will know who is actually sending the blogs and things...any thoughts?

Now about Commedia and about the class in general. I don't know about everyone else but I was very surprised at the athletic ability it takes to perform Commedia. It was more difficult than any kind of acting I have worked on in the past because the actor does so much of the work. There aren't really any lines that we are supposed to say or places to move, it is all made up. On top of that, you have to be recognized as Capitano or whoever, so the actor has to constantly be thinking about the actions, walks, and speech typical of that character. I myself am looking forward to this challenge. Was anyone else surprised by the difficulty level? Did you find it difficult at all? What were your initial thoughts?

I will have more posts later, perhaps about specific characters or events but I thought this would start it well

---marcus