A Pat on the Back

Awesome

Really.
Great job, folks. I was pleased.

I was sitting there watching you guys, thinking, "Wow. They're doing a super job. And Midsummer is gonna ROCK."


have a super weekend
Your next assignment will be to watch the DVD of your performance and critique it ... but I gotta yank in all the video footage first and burn it to disks, etc. So enjoy the weekend free of any drama stress.
You've earned it!

PS
Drama picture posted at my Xanga site. I hope to post some more on the rameyweb site (under photos) sometime this weekend ... we'll see.

Performance Order

Unless someone pitches a fit, this is the performance order:

Nate
Jessie
Bethany
Taylor
Ryan
Sara
Casey
Claire

BREAK

Mr R
Rebekah
Bettina
Alicia
Aaron
Abigail
Sam
Mrs. R.

Show's On!

Friday, September 30th
Monologue Performances
1:10pm

Audience: 6th, 7th, and other 8th graders



I will determine the order of performances (mostly to provide variety for the audience members and make sure two people with the same speech don't perform in sequence) and post it here midweek.

If you have a definite preference about when you perform (like if you really really want to do your monologue toward the beginning), you can post here and let me know that. Or email me.

I figure next Friday will be another dress-down day, which means you'll definitely need time to change clothes. I plan to end my English class at 12:55 and ask if the other 2 teachers can do the same for the 8th & 9th graders. That gives you an extra 10 minutes to change & be ready for performance.


And what should you be doing this week?
Rehearse
Rehearse

. . . psst! Rehearse!


thanks for a great set of drama classes this week. I'm really pleased by how you guys are beginning to "mesh" as a group. And class is sooooo much fun. =)

Our next unit:
2 & 3 person scenes
character objectives & tactics

Coach's Talk

The "big game" (to borrow a sports metaphor) is next week, and like a good coach I have things I want to say.
Plus, most of you need to write a few more blog posts, so here's something new to read. =)


Are you rehearsing?!? Rise above the temptation to leave it for next week.

Most of you were still weak on memorization. When you see that audience before you, you'll feel so much more confident if you know your piece well.

Expect a larger audience -- probably either the 6th or 7th graders will come listen.

Remember the subtexting assignment? Use it. The subtext drives the emotions you ought to portray with your body, face, and voice. We'll work on that some in drama this week.

Find a partner to practice with during recess this week and next week. You can't rehearse too much. =)


And, finally ....
Relax. You're going to do GREAT.


Question to ponder/respond to:
Do you like to create characters that are very SIMILAR to your personality, or do you like to go for all-out oddballs ... or at least characters that are quite different from your "normal" persona?

The Costume Question

Make sure you see the other new post (below this one).
One thing I realized I haven't talked about yet ...

What to wear for your monologue performance


You can either

1. Wear standard "performer's dress":
usually all black or black pants/skirt with a white shirt
(I'll accept variations on the black -- like dark gray, dark brown, navy)

OR

2. Wear a simplified "costume" that fits your character portrayal.
It's OK to modernize the clothing ...

So, for example, if you think a suit coat & tie would best fit your character in his situation, then wear that. I think most of the female characters would be wearing some kind of dress or skirt. You might find that a combination of #1 and #2 works best ... wear black pants & shirt but with a scarf / vest / coat / interesting hat / etc.

My only request:
Don't perform your monologue in school attire.
Change into SOMETHING different, at least #1 above. If the performance happens to fall on a dress down day, please don't perform in jeans & a T-shirt either. You have only your body and voice to create the illusion of character -- take advantage of the gem of truth in the old saying, "The clothing makes the man."


cheerio!

One Down, One To Go!

First of all, pat yourselves on the back for surviving the first round of performances. I saw the seeds of good characterization, strong expression, and physically representing your character. I was pleased overall. The performances on the 29th and 30th will be awesome! =)

A few comments that apply to all of you:

1. Don't be afraid to put pauses in the lines. Just because one sentence follows another doesn't mean you should say your words in one steady stream. Pauses can add dramatic emphasis.

2. Speak slowly. (I have to preach this to myself!) What sounds intelligible to you is probably still a bit fast.

3. Enunciate all your words. Spit those consonants out.

4. Speak in thought groups, not according to line breaks. (Most of you are doing just fine with that.)

5. The better your memorization, the better your performance. You'll never perform well if you don't know your lines cold.


I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Enjoy the day off ... and work on your monologue. ;)

Pre-flight Check

Tomorrow be the big day! Woot!

Ok, Ok ... I don't feel that excited about it either. Actually, there's this ball of nervousness starting to form in the pit of my stomach. Ha. Welcome to pre-performance jitters. =)

Hopefully there won't be a lot of homework tonight because it's Wednesday ... so take time to run through your monologue several times tonight. Ideally, you will break your practice time into several chunks, like ...

run through it on the way home from school
before dinner
after dinner
and before you go to bed.
And during recess. =)

Fare thee well!
and take heart:

it's just the workshop
I'm grading just your memorization
All the other comments will be for your benefit, not the gradebook.

and you WILL survive.
and even do well.


cheerio

An Encouraging Word

Time for some encouragement.

I'm swamped by the school year ... how 'bout you?
But I have to admit, no matter how crazy & hectic the days are, I always look forward to Thursday and Friday afternoons. ;)' You guys have been great in class and I appreciate your enthusiasm and willing participation in all the games.

Believe it or not, you are learning something ...

Be accountability partners for each other this week (and for me too!). Ask a fellow drama student to recite his/her monologue for you to help with memorization. Remind your friends to make time to work on their lines. Even a couple of minutes at recess or during break will help.

Much repetition over time: that's how you memorize something.

And take heart: you will learn the lines . . . and live to tell about it. =)
Thursday's the first big challenge. I shall be praying for you all.

*****
Question you can comment on:
Who is the most interesting story character to you? And why?

(If you are fascinated by several characters from books, plays, or movies, just pick your favorite.)

Workshop Info

There's a page on my rameyweb site that explains the workshop performances next week. Read that page, please--ASAP. It's short.

Write out an introduction for your monologue. Look at my example. You'll need to memorize your introduction (or the gist of it) and be prepared to introduce your monologue on workshop day.

Here's the schedule:

September 15th

Group 1: 12:20-1:05
Jesse
Bethany
Claire
Rebekah
Alicia
Sam
Mrs R.

Group 2: 1:10-1:55
Ryan
Taylor
Casey
Nate
Sara
Bettina
Abigail
Aaron
Mr. R. (if time)

The way this works:
Group 1 will go during their regular English period. They'll work on English stuff during the normal drama period (I'll leave your assignment on the board.) If you want to do your English assignment for homework, Group 1 people are welcome to come to drama class to listen to the other workshops.

Group 2 will come to drama class at their usual time.

BE ON TIME!
The schedule is tight!

Ye Ole Memory Game

Anybody got any tricks for memorizing to share?

I hope you found something useful in the 2 articles I passed out last week. Personally I recommend the tape recording idea and the visualization idea ... both of those seem to work for lots of people. Also, use as many senses as you can.

1) Recording: Tape yourself or someone reading your monologue in a neutral voice. Don't add a lot of expression; just read it. And listen to the tape A LOT.

2) Visualization: Try to create striking mental images to go with each line of your monologue and imagine them as you say it aloud.

3) Senses: Memorize by reading over the text (eyes), reading it aloud (feeling the words in your mouth), and listening to it on tape or someone else reading it (ears). Some of you will memorize better when you're moving (like pacing around a room).


For those of you who are still struggling with subtexting, I've posted my own monologue and subtext on the rameyweb site. Go check it out....

Subtexting for the Tricksy Characters

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Please note the updated schedule (post before this one)
• Please make sure you've read the post down there about subtexting ... I'd love to see some comments.
• Most of you are sailing along just fine with 2 comments a week. Some are falling behind, however. Excuse my OCD-ness on this, but you need to be on the blog. Trust me. =)

Work every day on memorizing your monologue. Yes. Every day. Even the busy ones. 10 minutes is enough. Otherwise, you're going to be so much TOAST when you try to do your workshop next week!

*****

Subtexting ... What Else Can It Do?

OK, so you're hopefully sold on the idea that you need to understand the subtext for your monologue ... and that you can have some fun creating it.

Alicia brought up a great point down there somewhere that characters might have their own moments of "acting" within a scene. How do you subtext that?


For example:
THE SCENE:
Jane thinks Bo is a jerk. But she treats him nicely to his face because she wants him to invite her to his big party at the end of the year.

Possible Subtext:
Bo is SUCH jerk. I can't stand him. But I want to use his interest in me to get what I want: an invitation to the party where I can then hang out with James, the hot guy.

The actor has to communicate:
1) Jane thinks Bo is a jerk
2) Jane acts nice to Bo and he believes her

So, the actor's WORDS need to be all nice & friendly. And when Bo is looking, she's nice to him
And the subtext proves that Jane, the character, is actually "acting" in this scene: she "acts" like Bo is hot stuff ... when actually, he's not.

question:
If YOU were playing Jane (guys, you'll have to just pretend for a minute that you're a girl ... yes, I know it's hard ... stop whining about it), how would you get across to the audience that Jane is lying?

Schedule Update!

Upon further reflection, I'm going to give you all an extra week on the monologue project:

September 9: Memorize!
Have your monologue basically memorized. This is on the "honor system" -- I won't ask you to quote it to me. (But I might have you partner up in class and run through your monologue...)

September 15: Workshop Day
I'll switch some stuff around to devote 2 periods to this...
Come prepared to perform your monologue to the best of your ability. You'll receive critiques from me and your classmates (verbal and written) which you should heed.

September 29, 30: Performance
I'll split the performances over two days so that the audience isn't worn out. (16 monologues = too many to listen to at one time!!)


The following week you'll evaluate your performance ... which will have been videotaped.
tum da tum tum tum!

(Yeah, I know. I'd rather eat pig livers than watch myself on videotape. But it's good for you and me to see ourselves as we are, not as we think we look/sound/act.)

Subtexting as a Tool

As we work on subtexting, let me spell out some uses for it:

Writing out a subtext for your monologue lines will help you

1. invent a different interpretation of the character than what someone else is doing
2. suggest character emotions (based on the subtext you write)
3. guide you in figuring out "what to do with your hands" while you're speaking
   

More specifically
The "between the lines" thoughts that you invent for your character push you toward expressing certain emotions ... which are expressed through facial expressions, gestures, body movement, posture, voice ... all the things you're tempted to worry about on stage.

If you work on the subtext first, your character will have depth and honesty. Your audience will begin to feel what the character is "feeling" because you're expressing that emotion with your body. Notice that the thoughts lead to the emotions -- not the other way around. (Real life is like that too ... our thoughts trigger emotions inside us.)

I'm not asking you to feel like your character feels! You can't force yourself to experience a particular emotion. You can't make yourself feel sad or happy or angry or afraid or frustrated on the inside.

But you CAN act "as if" you were sad or happy or angry or ....
and the audience will believe the illusion if you allow your body to express it.

PS. Go "people watching" this weekend and see how many different emotions you can determine just from people's actions.


Question:
Talk to me about the subtext you see in your monologue. What kind of thoughts have you imagined for your character? What emotions do they suggest to you?