Theater

Today we paired up with partners and critiqued peoples monologues one on one and it was kind of intimidating, but I feel like it was very constructive. I got some great feedback on where my focus should be and how I can fix the beginning and end portions of my piece. But, I also feel like I don't know how to give constructive criticism. I know what needs to be fixed in my head, but I don't now how to put that into words. I felt kind of bad that I couldn't give the notes I wanted but I learned allot about making sure that a piece remains active. When things are active it becomes so interesting to watch and there is so much motivation behind each sentence. I also learned about the way that words should be pronounced on stage. RP- is received pronunciation it is supposed to reflected educated speech. Standard American Stage Speech is a middle American sound (no defining accent). I thought it was cool how we talked about vocal liberation. Politeness is really a very deep barr...

I am so grateful by how my second monologue went. I have been working so hard and I feel like it finally paid off. This monologue and speaking with my teacher has inspired me to double major. I am having meeting with some counselors these upcoming weeks to see if it is possible...I sure hope it is! With my second monologue I think I got some great feedback. As I practiced today I noticed how breathy I was and I tried applying the note I got of having some better breath control. I think it has made a great improvement to my piece. We also talked about breath control and took notes on it. I learned that actors need to have impeccable posture and to sound natural under pressure. I have slipped out of my habit of having nice posture and I carry lots of tension within my neck, jaw, and shoulders. If I could relax all these things while I perform and really dive into the character I think I could have better breath control. I also learned that the diaphragm is vital to taking a good breath...

Learning about auditions was hugely beneficial to me this past week. The resume was something I had idea about but I like looking at physical examples of them. You should be able to fit all your experience on page and then staple a picture as big as the page to the back (staple all 4 corners). Make sure that experience is relevant and well ordered under specific titles. I am also pretty nervous about doing my second monologue this week. It took a long time to find something I thought was good so I am feeling pretty unprepared, memorization wise. But the book I found Women on Fire is a fantastic monologue book and I think I might buy it. Within my monologue it has been hard to convey what I want. It isn't revealed till the end, so I think that  I will have to really show it then, so people can know my goals in my piece. I have to make sure to have specific tactics to achieve those goals so that people watching will remain engaged as I am trying to reveal what I want. I have also l...

Wow I have learned so much this week! First I have seen the power of constructive criticism. When students in the class started performing this second time around IT WAS SUCH A HUGE CHANGE. It really makes me appreciate the suggestions that were given to me. I saw that people memorized their pieces more so that they could take the criticisms given to them and actually apply them and make them more natural. I hope that as I continue with my theater education that I will  be able to receive constructive criticism so my performance can keep getting better and better! I love the piece that was done when a girl was trying to make herself not look crazy while her character was crazy. It added so much dimension to her piece and allowed her to make such bold choices. I really want that when I perform. But I am not quite sure how to cultivate that. I think that I should try to take risks? Well I will see what I can do. Maybe even watching performances will help me with that. For my piece...