January 9th, Last Post...

Ahh :/ The time has come... My last post... It feels like I just started A Practical Handbook for the Actor yesterday! Although the book has brought me many ups and downs, (agreeing, disagreeing, liking, disliking), all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has shed new light on my thoughts on acting. I used to think it was just something you stood up and did. However, it takes a lot of thought, practice, and patience. Acting is an art, it takes skill and devotion. Even though I have not had to many chances to showcase my talents and develop them, I truly do hope more opportunities come along for me to grow as an actor.

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After a long, much deserved break, I finally returned to A Practical Handbook for the Actor. To be quite honest, this book began to bore me. I got tired of how strict the guidelines were. There is no freedom. Step 1: do this. Step 2: do that. Step 3: bla bla bla. That's not what acting should be about. It should be about having fun, being free, and developing the character ourselves. Acting is a pathway to freedom and opportunities. It shouldn't be about the rules. Acting is way to take a break from being ourselves, and create someone else-- there are no rules in one's imagination.

Is This Book Fueling Your Passion for Theatre?

In A Practical Handbook for the Actor, the authors speak of many different aspects in theatre, of all the work it takes to get it right. Recently, I decided studied all the different things that were said about leos, and also some things that we are inclined to do. I was told that I would never be happy with my life or career if I were not doing something interesting, out of the ordinary, and fun. As I read this book, and look into all the parts of acting, I feel that it definitely fits in all those categories, perfectly. I actually didn't think this book would help me much in real life, it was something I had to read, but it has actually helped me realize that theatre is something I am very passionate about, and truly do hope to have as part of my future.

Phew...

          About a week ago, my friend and I took our duet musical piece to competition. After hours of watching other classmates, watching competitors, and sitting around in the hot, hot sun, it was finally our turn to perform. As the authors of A Practical Handbook for the Actor say to do, I calmed myself before hand, and practiced enough only to the point where I was confident, yet not overdoing it. 
          Ta da! We're done. Unlike my partner, I was actually very confident with how it had turned out. She seemed to think we had messed up the big finish, but, she always thought that. I guess it's because it's very hard to judge your own singing, how can you tell where your own voice lies with pitch? Oh well. 
          In the end, we got an excellent with positive comments on our energy, choreography, and everything else (except our pitch... yeah yeah I know haha). But still, it was a fun experience, and, luckily, we get to perform it one more time on Tuesday at an event. Can't wait!

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          At the moment, I am taking a break from my Thanksgiving vacation to write this blog. Normally, I'm pretty excited about writing, I like to just write what I'm thinking, and to be able to look back later and say "Wow, I was so ____". Usually, the words to fill that blank space are "cute, weird, stupid, annoying, funny" bla bla bla. 
          Anyways, this coming week is the week of our one act, a short morality play entitled Everyman. I was a little apprehensive when our teacher announced to us that we would be putting on this show, it seemed pretty risky to me (the Christian Undertone is doing a little more than undertoning). But, as the weeks go by, it's shaping up into something very nice.            
          We'll be performing the show for our school on wednesday, and taking it to competition on thursday; (it should be a performance on friday for competition, but, apparently, it is okay to call up the director of the show one week before the competition date and announce that the performance will actually be on thursday, not friday). Our drama troupe has been known to take a show from a giant mess, to a beautiful masterpiece in a matter of days-- let's see how it goes! Wish us luck!

Yes!!!

Yesterday, November 13th, was the first part of our District Individual Events competition. It was the day where the straight acting and and some technical events were performed and judged. Having never seen many of the pieces being performed by my classmates, I was so blown away when I saw their final performances. Monologues, Duet Acting, Ensemble Acting, Set Design-- the whole shebang. I could not believe (well, yes I could-- my classmates are amazing actors) how incredible they all were. At the end of the day, out troupe walked away with 2 critic's choice awards! After weeks and weeks of rehearsing, evaluating, analyzing, more rehearsing, and stressing-- it was all worth it! Now, we will be heading back for part 2 of the competition next saturday, for some Solo musicals, duet musicals, small groups, large groups, mimes, student directed scenes, and a few more tech events. I will be performing a duet musical piece with another classmate; we've been rehearsing for a while, but have recently made a great stride thanks to another student with beyond incredible music skills :) Wish us luck! Congratulations and Good Luck Troupe!!! :D

Favorite Passage? 10/31

My favorite passage in A Practical Handbook for the Actor is one where the authors discuss emotion. They state that actors shouldn't come onstage into a scene with a set emotion-- emotion should come from the physical actions that happen onstage. For example, an actor shouldn't come out decided that he or she will be mad at something the other character says or does, he or she should actually react to what the other character says, in the moment. Emotion comes out the best when it is real.