Using Your Senses

First things first:

• MND reviews are due Monday. Late reviews lose 1/2 a letter grade per day. Writing instructions here.
  
• Rehearsals last week were grueling but profitable. Try to take a break between school and rehearsals -- we're all more exhausted as the week drags on, and those breaks are vital.
  
• Two words: LINE REHEARSALS Everybody needs to do them. We've got a little over a month till opening night. You're all making good progress, but you'll hit a wall until your lines are solidly learned.
• Work on learning your cues. It's not enough to know your speeches ... you have to know where they go. How do you learn cues? Line rehearsals ...
  
• You guys really ARE progressing well with your characterization. Pretty soon we'll be rehearsing in C-108 so you can memorize the blocking.
  

**fairies**
Plan on having a music rehearsal w/ Mr Speer on Thursday 2/2 to work on the fairy song


Your Body Knows . . .
Have you taken time to think about how the physical setting of MND affects your character?


For example, Theseus' court is regal and richly furnished (even if only in our imaginations :). It's bright and spacious. Majestic. An impressive space for an impressive man. That kind of space can be intimidating to people who aren't used to hanging out there -- like the mechanicals. Or a worried daughter who's getting dragged before the duke.

Let's think about the woods:
What are woods like at night? What can you see (or not see)?... feel on your skin? .... how cold or warm is it to run around in the middle of the night? ... what kinds of sounds do you hear? ... what kind of surfaces are you walking on?
etc

Now, how does that affect how you walk? stand? react?

For example:
How well can you see other people in the woods at night?
Not very well ... so if you're looking for someone (like the 2 guys chasing each other at the end of their fight), you have to show us that you're peering through foliage & darkness.

How do you react to being cold?
The woods are chilly after the sun goes down. Nearly everyone in the play is in the woods at night (except for a few of the Athenians). The fairies live there, so they're quite happy with it - at home, at ease. The humans (mechanicals & lovers) are the intruders--not as comfortable or happy about being out in the woods at night.

So, humans, remember that you might be a bit chilled .... or maybe you're the kind of person who loves to sleep with the house at 50 degrees ... ? And are you afraid of things that go bump in the night? Or do you whip out your trusty weapon and slash away at branches?


Your turn:
Consider how the physical setting affects your character's movement. It's your character, so as long as your choices are reasonable, be as imaginative and distinctive as you'd like. This is the fun part -- here's what makes your [Helena, Egeus, Quince, Snout, Titania . . . ] so distinct from other actors' portrayals.

Post a comment here with some ideas about physical movement that you'd like to try in rehearsal this week.

Learning from Someone Else's Performance

You have asked, I shall discourse
good stuff to learn from watching MND last week (skim for your character/group):

4 Lovers
The director played the lovers scenes entirely comic, and we are not. (That doesn't mean Ryan Ferguson's interpretation is "bad" or that mine is "good." It's just different.) However, Lysander's facial expression, body language, and actions when he was under the power of the potion offered a great example of the "love-drunk" idea I want our two guys to communicate. I want a significant difference between "the aristocratic, courtly Lysander & Demetrius" and "the love-sick, potioned L&D."

During the "fight" scene, Hermia's lunges at Helena played well on stage. I liked how the guys grabbed her under her arms and spun her around, how she was up in the air with all limbs flailing. That was great. And Hermia reacted well with her face to what was being said to (and about) her.

Helena kept her role interesting by not just being "miffed" or "angry." She showed a variety of reponses to the others' lines. That said, I didn't particularly like AC's Helena all that much.

All 4 of them did a good job using the corners of the stage and showing the audience by their blocking what was going on in the character relationships. But it would have helped if the guys had switched corners once in a while... I almost never saw Demetrius' face.

The AC cast were willing to *look* like lovers -- their body language showed they were in love. We've got to do more of that or our play will seem very uncomfortably "adolescent." And we're better than that. ;)

Athenians
Philostrate cued the audience to laugh at the mechanicals -- that's an important role for his character.

Theseus & Hippolyta ... um, I didn't like anything about their characters ... Hippolyta's costume was cool for their India setting. Ok, that's all....

Yay for a strong Theseus in our production! Rebekah, you can play a much more forceful Hippolyta and have no fear of overshadowing Mr. Bills. =)

Egeus was played by the director of their theater department, so it's no surprise that his portrayal of an irritated old father was excellent. He projected "authority" and "upset." And notice that he didn't overdo the age thing. The actor was helped by the fact that he IS significantly older than all the other people on stage... nonetheless, he came across as dignified and fatherly instead of feeble.

Fairies
Puck & Oberon got involved in many scenes, especially the mechanicals' rehearsal in the woods and the lovers' quarrel. I liked Puck's "mischievous" persona.... it fits the character well. She "sneaked" around on stage, exaggerating her "sneakage." That was good ...

Spandex is evil. LOL
So are love triangles between Puck, Titania, and Oberon. Ew....

That said, Oberon had a fantastic understanding of his lines and (to me) did a good job of helping the audience to understand every word. I hope you didn't let his costume distract you from his acting, which was excellent.

Titania, on the other hand, was a disappointment in just about every way, from her acting to her costume. (Ew again ... white spandex ... that's just cruel). However, our Titania hopefully gained some deeper understanding of the lines and scenes by seeing them performed. And I promise I will never ask you to wear spandex....

The fairies moved with fluid grace. I liked that. They were low to the ground, skittery, magical. I don't want you to copy their movement. But keep in mind that image of creeping around.

I think our fairies will be more interesting to the audience because you have each worked on things your character will do while the main actors are talking. Keep working on those ... you're heading in a good direction.

Mechanicals
Wow. Our mechanicals will be *totally* different from the AC production's cast of people. So you've got to dump any idea of "copying" what they were doing. Comedy can't be copied. It depends too much on YOUR personality.

So ...
I liked some of the line readings. Like when Bottom got irritated at the moon for sniffling during his "performance" and so ordered him to "take his flight." That was nicely played. Some of the mechanicals had more developed characters. The Wall was quite funny. In fact, I laughed at the mechanicals several times -- yet the audience missed entirely a number of their jokes. We're gonna have to work hard to get them across, or you end up with nothing but slapstick comedy.

Bottom ... uh, yeah ... I guess if you've got one that big, might as well use it.
*shifts eyes*

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Stage:
Ours will hopefully be a little wider, but not much deeper.

I'm glad you got to see a play performed on a thrust stage. Now you know why I want you to play to all 3 sides of the audience. Yes, you'll have your back to someone most of the time ... but if you let your conversations move you around the stage, the audience will always have something new to look at ... and that holds their interest.

Set Design:
The AC production used a nicely simple set. I liked it. Ours will be a wee bit "fuller" but not by much. A small stage doesn't leave much room for "stuff" --so the actors become the stage dressing.

Costumes:
Pretty cool for the guys.
The girls' costumes weren't generally very flattering. *frowns*
The 3 groups were dressed distinctly and consistently. I liked that....

Cobweb's sorta-mohawk/braid hairstyle was awesome.... I'd wear my hair to school like that one day if I could figure out how to do it .... ;)

Programs:
Heck yes I can do a better job than that ...
(but I liked the font a lot-- for what they were doing with the whole India theme)

Music:
I liked how the mechanicals had their own theme music. It kinda made me think of circus clowns, which was appropriate....

I'm surfing for music snippets to cover our scene changes... yell if you got any ideas.


----------------------
AC's production was very different than ours, but it had a lot to appreciate. The director's vision made the play a comedy entirely -- and that's the joy of being a director -- you have the power over the play's interpretation.

I don't want you to copy the AC actors. But I do hope you found something (several things, in fact) to appreciate.

And I hope you realize that you are more than capable of doing Midsummer Night's Dream very well.
*hums "I'm proud of you" song*

Dig deep into your character ... get a good understanding of the lines ... figure out a subtext that works for you (and me) ... and hammer it home with your entire body.

And enjoy it.
=)


- - - - -
Looking for something to comment on?
Well, if nothing up there ^ spurs a thought, consider pointing out something your fellow actors are doing well in rehearsals. We could all use a little encouragement!

Collecting Thoughts

So, post a comment here and tell me what you think the AC folks did WELL in their production of Midsummer.
Think about the acting, the interpretation, the set design, the costumes, the "mood" of the play, the way the actors communicated their lines ...

I'll throw in my 2 cents shortly.

**And please make sure you've read the post below this one ... thanks**

How to Watch a Play

As you wander off to watch MND and write your review,


Let these questions prod your thinking:

• What was the director's "vision" for the play? (Happy ... Silly ... Hopeful ... Mystical ... Crazy ... Romantic ... etc ... )
• Did the setting "work"? Did it help you understand the plot better ... was it just kinda cool ... or did it distract from your understanding?
  
• Who was the hero? Do you agree? Did you sympathize with his/her plight? (There could be more than one hero)
  
• Who was the villain? Do you agree? (Ditto above)
  
• Did the actors communicate the meaning of the lines with their bodies, gestures, faces, voices? (more than just the words they said)
  
• Did the characters match what you expected?
• Did anything surprise you?
• What symbols showed up in the set design, music, costumes (etc) to help the audience grasp the theme? (If you saw King Lear at BJU, think of the huge wheels that symbolized the "machinery" of Lear's kingdom breaking down as he gradually lost his sanity)
• Any good ideas that we should "steal"?
  

I'll post some post-performance questions here on Friday (after I see the play) for you to answer.

And once all of you have turned in a review, I'll post mine.
(I'll post a sample review sometime over the weekend so you see what I'm looking for in a "good" review.)


____________
MND lines are definitely getting better, but I'm still seeing some significant gaps.

We've got only two more rehearsal cycles before we hit full-runs in mid February. (eek!) *That's* why I'm nagging for you to get your lines down cold...

Keep running line rehearsals in preparation for your after-school rehearsals.
And rehearse your scenes outside of rehearsals -- work on the rough spots, experiment with blocking and different readings, etc.

Be encouraged: you WILL get your lines down.
(But I can't take away the reality that it takes work.)
=)

____________
If you like "backstage" and production stuff:
BJU's Classic Players (their Shakespeare troupe) produced a movie of the "Making of King Lear." The Quicktime movies are worth your time if you're interested in the "behind the scenes" details. BJ's stage crew guys are awesome -- I speak from personal experience with them-- and they can work magic. ;)

Jeff Stegall (the director) talks a lot about how the text itself inspired details in the set design, costuming, staging. If you want to learn how to design a production that really ties into what the playwright says, listen to Stegall's discussion.


If you're interested, go here
and click on "The Making of ..."

There are 4 short films (maybe 5 min each, at most)
#1: designing & building the set for Lear
#2: creating Lear's character; the "wheels" in the set and the theme
#3: making wigs & costumes; fight choreography
#4: music (original) & sound design; lighting.

HW for this week (due by Wed 1/18)

HW this week:

1. answer the question in the previous post via a comment (after reading the post, of course) =)
2. bring in an odd or interesting object that we can use for improvs this week (and probably next).
Put your object next to the drama bin (in the "office" between the drama room & science room). Label it with your name if you're worried about it getting mixed up with other people's stuff.



Be warned:
drama students will be graded on your off-book status for MND based on this week's rehearsals. I'll give a wee bit of grace to those who have large roles ... but you must know your lines cold before you can do anything with them at rehearsals.



Upcoming:
MND at AC this weekend (Thurs or Fri) ... I'll give Thursday attendees your tickets at school during drama class -- don't let me forget! Friday people, I'll meet you at the door with a ticket.

Get to the theater early. A friend of mine saw the play last weekend and said it was AWESOME ... and that you want to sit on the front row if at all possible.

Everyone is required to write a review of MND at AC. It counts toward your 3 required reviews. Due Monday, January 30th. (Late reviews will be penalized.)

Make sure you follow the review guidelines. Spend more time on analysis than on summary.



Yay for a short week! ;)

Juggling All the Plates

One Big Juggling Act ...

First off ...

• MND rehearsals: Good work on showing up on time, being mentally ready for rehearsal, and offering lots of ideas for your character & stage movement. Everyone needs to work on getting their lines down COLD and analyzing your lines for subtext & objectives.
  
• Class: The Give & Take game is helping me pinpoint which character-building skills we need to work on. Our 3rd quarter improv activities aren't necessarily supposed to be funny -- although we all enjoy a great laugh. I might ask you to improv a serious situation sometime.
• Who Am I? Game: I will ask around for more suggestions of "characters" we can use to bestow upon our drama class friends (like Bettina's giant). Otherwise, expect this game to run quietly in the background ... you'll show up at school one day and hear about the next "victim." Don't make a habit of asking me WHO or WHEN ... I don't wanna have to skirt the truth or change plans at the last minute. ;) (What if YOU were next on the list?!) But DO give me ideas ...
  

OK, now to the point of my post

Juggling Act
Have you noticed how hard it is to juggle an emotional state, a physical characteristic, a personality quirk, and an objective while playing Give & Take? It's almost like trying to keep 4 plates spinning or juggling apples. On stage, there's the added pressure of "performing." Those stomach butterflies eat away at your concentration.

Take heart: Just like real juggling, your acting skills will improve with practice. Expect me to ask for specific ("complex") characters and emotions in our drama games. I won't forget that we're all learning together. And we'll all be getting lots of practice in class.

If you want to get a bigger kick out of life, think of a "Give & Take" character and whip him/her out at school during class or break... at least you'll have lots of people around to react to! ;)

Some suggestions for pulling it all together onstage:

• Be specific when you create a character. If you don't know who you're playing, neither will the audience!
  

Don't be just an "old person." Be "a very nearsighted, 90 year old man with arthritis in his hip and a hearing aid who is angry because he doesn't like this kind of orange juice."

Make sure you give yourself a motive/reason for your emotional state -- why are you angry? Because you don't like the OJ.
What does that tell us about your personality? Well, you don't respond well to not getting what you want ... (for example)

• Turn adjectives into verbs.
  

You can't act an adjective -- until you turn it into an ACTION that the audience can see.

"Nearsighted" suggests a number of actions, like squinting or peering intently through thick glasses or standing very close to people or holding papers close to your face.
"Old," of course, suggests an entire range of characteristics, but a 90 year old is REALLY old, so exaggerate "old person" actions -- feebleness, stooping, uneasy walk, etc.
The details about arthritis and the hearing aid suggest more specific ACTIONS -- you can't hear well, you walk with a cane and limp, you don't move fast, you don't catch everything that's said -- and probably hear things wrong.
"Anger" can be expressed in lots of different ways, so let your imagination work on this -- but remember -- you're old, your movement is limited, you're probably cranky in general, you might be holding a cane (a weapon!!) ;) ... but you also need that cane to keep from falling over.

• Build your library of "people types" by observation.

Learn the difference between someone who is 50 and someone who's 65 and someone who's 90.... there's as much physical difference between 50 and 65 as there is between you (at 15ish) and me (at 30ish). 60 year olds aren't usually feeble or stooped, especially in today's world of excellent nutrition and health care.

Other examples
How do the 7th graders act / move / react differently than the teachers act / move/ react?

What physical differences (like posture or walk) do you see between your two parents?

How much does gender affect someone's physical expression of emotion or personality? A "hyper" girl doesn't act the same as a "hyper" boy ... a "dumb blond" is usually a girl, while a "surfer dude or "dumb jock" is a boy ... talkative men still talk less than talkative women (... usually).



Question for you to Comment On...

Post a character description (emotional state, personality type, and physical quirk/characteristic). Be specific.

For each part (emotion, personaliy, physical), tell me what actions are suggested.

I'll go first so you see what I want you to do.



Have a very merry day off....
I'll see the mechanicals again on Tuesday ... have you done any outside-of-rehearsal work yet?

**Performance & Preparation grades this quarter come mostly from MND work ... expect to be graded on your off-book status at the end of this week.**


cheerio!
=)

A quickie

Props to Bettina, who managed to figure out that she was an irritable giant.
hehehehe *snickers*
can't wait to see who's next!!! ;)

Sort-of props to the rest of us, who struggled a bit to get that across to Bettina. (I didn't do so hot either, so ...) But hey, it was our first time, so we'll cut ourselves a break. ;)

next time, come to school with a tactic in mind

we'll be masters of the "group improv" in no time! =)


-----------------------------------------------------------
By popular demand:
A 6th VIP (Very Important Point) for MND rehearsals:

SLEEP!!
Get lots and lots of SLEEP!

... off to do that myself.
see you tomorrow...

VIP's: Very Important Points

Excuse me for a minute while I post a few things specific to Midsummer and not drama class itself.

You'll hear me say these at rehearsal ... but they're important enough that I want you to hear them twice. So give me your full attention:


Take time to unwind after school (between 2:45 and 3:15).
This is important -- you are too brain-dead to have a good rehearsal if you don't let yourself "recharge."


Be on time to every rehearsal, no matter what.
In short: If I'm late to my own rehearsal -- it's my problem.
If YOU are late to my rehearsal, you are making me and everyone else wait for you.
Don't ...


Eat.
Really. You need a snack after school -- please bring something or save part of your lunch. And if you notice that you feel bad after you eat your snack (or before the end of rehearsal), adjust your snack so it's not so sugary.


NEVER, ever, ever miss a rehearsal without asking me for permission -- unless you're dead or truly sick.
If you surprise me the day of rehearsal with, "Oh, and I've got a dentist appointment this afternoon -- sorry!" ... I won't be pleased. We can't rehearse if you aren't here.


*AND THE BIGGIE*. . .
Rehearse your scenes with other actors beyond scheduled rehearsals.
There's NO WAY to get in all the rehearsals you need during the after school rehearsals. Trust me.... or just think back to how much you rehearsed your one, 5-minute scene back in December! Now multiply that times the number of scenes you're in (all of you are in at least 3, and many of you are in several more)... get my point?

Ever take music lessons?
Would your music teacher be happy if you showed up having never practiced after your last lesson? .... Of course not ... because the whole point of a music lesson is to give you stuff to work on so you can improve your skills before the next lesson.

Same with acting.

Think of your after-school rehearsals as "acting lessons" or "MND lessons."
It's YOUR job to

• run lines at home
• analyze your script for your character's objectives and motives (HINT: Use a pencil... I ought to see notes jotted in your script margins about this!)
• dream up new line readings and subtexts (write these down)
• improv situations with your fellow actors to explore your characters' relationships
  
• **rehearse** your scenes with the other actors-- on your own time.

I can't say it enough:
You've GOT to rehearse outside of rehearsals.

I'm not going to tell you when to do this. The obvious choice is during recess, but hey -- you guys are old enough to work it out on your own.

Remember -- working a little bit every day -- just 10 or 15 minutes -- is far more effective than a massive one-hour session each week.

_______________________________

Before you panic: ;)

-- your English & History HW load will be lighter this quarter
-- you don't have to tackle every scene you're in at one time -- work on the scenes you just rehearsed and skim the others
-- choose to view rehearsals positively ... this will be a lot of fun once all the line-memorizing-work is done


Praying for you all
Mrs R =)

MND at AC, part III

haha. I wanna see how many legitimate posts I can create with "MND at AC" as the title. :)

OK, everybody's set to go to MND at AC on the 20th
except Alicia, Bettina, Ryan, Sam, & Abigail
who are going on Thursday the 19th.

Show starts at 8pm. Be there by 7:25. The lady said they might be willing to reserve a section for our group.... that would be nice. (As long as the seats are decent.)

Oh, and bring me your $3 please. :)
I figure you Anderson people can get dropped off at the theater easily enough, and the Clemson people can work out a carpool.

******
In other news ...

• Props for good drama classes yesterday and today. Excellent work yesterday -- can you guys tell (like I can) how much your skills are improving?

I was very pleased with Thursday's review games.
Today's challenge of Give & Take is just what we need: something to stretch us into improving our platform concentration and observation. You all tackled it well for a first-run. Dream up some kooky characters this week... ;)
And remind me that Mr R & I need to go first next time -- I won't let myself off the hook on this one... I need the practice too ...

• MND rehearsals next week will be rough around the edges but hopefully not too scary. Run line rehearsals next week during recess or break or at home with someone. You'll need them while you're trying to get off-book.
  

I have a long post coming early next week about MND.
Until then -- enjoy your weekend.
Work on lines.
Smile. =)

I *so* missed you guys over break ....




great drama moments of 2006
"you suck! you suck! you suck! you suck! you suck! you suck!" *slap!*

*gets hauled off the chair by his little bro*


"Ha mai sa non ra fu Godzilla"
"I really need a washer or Godzilla is going to kill me."

MND at AC, part II

Upon further consideration

1) I want all of you to see MND at Anderson College.
Hopefully we can find a time that works for most of you -- but you need to wander over there with a friend if you can't go with the group.

2) I want all of you to review MND as one of your play reviews.
Most of you need some reviews anyway -- and I want you to think about AC's production.


YAY for a new semester and more drama classes.
Can't wait to see all your shining faces in a circle on Thursday at 1:10!
=)

**please read the post below this one**
thanks