LONGEST POST EVER.
Friday began with text class once again. ...yeah. I liked it better than the first class but it was a struggle not to mentally check out. There's just something about his speech patterns that make me doze. That, and he hates how I end my lines when speaking Shakespeare. Sigh. Well, I was bound to find an exercise that I'd drown in. But I at least found some pearls from the teacher while floundering.
Giles Bloch's Pearls of Wisdom:
-when characters go mad, they no longer speak in Verse. Verse can represent Reason.
-the difference between use of verse and prose is NOT about social class.
-Prose always Hides something.
-Rhyme is often used at the end of scenes to be a "button." It ties it up in a pretty bow. It is also for times when your words are not your own but come through you as a conduit.
-Rhyme is also the words of a lover. Or it can mean an answer.
-Short lines don't always mean they are shared lines. Sometimes it is a written pause that is sustained for the remainder of the beats in the iambic pentameter.
...lost yet? Too technical? Welcome to my life. I'm loving it though. It's the first time all year that I feel like the bar set by an institution is a huge stretch to reach. Not that I haven't learned before this. But that I'm going to have to work both my brain and body in a completely foreign way in order to keep up. At times it feels like I'm a freshman in undergrad having to take a 400level class. Not impossible. But certainly not something that you will be good at right away.
We then had the mindblowing privilege to sit down with the Artistic Director of the Globe (Dominic Dromgoole) for a free Q&A session. Everyone who works here talks about the Globe stage as if it's a living thing. "The stage loves flesh and movement." "The stage does not tolerate liars and pretense." "If you pause too much in the Globe, it'll just go dead."
Dominic said that the theatre itself is 1000 people that make up a wall of pure faces and a carpet (the groundlings) of faces. The attention is democratic because everyone is in a shared light. Therefore they CHOOSE to watch. It's also a space that requires laughter. Even in it's tragedies. Sometimes especially in tragedy. And mostly, "the extraordinary thing about the Globe is: whatever you want to do, it happens." And it's true. I've never seen an institution function the way they do. They want to start an educ. programme...it's done. They want to build an indoor theatre...done. It's magical. And it's so rare. Everyone who works here so far has also not been of the mind set that things have to be overpolished and pretentious. They, like the groundlings, like it a little rowdy and a little gritty. It helps with any lingering intimidation.
We ended the day with the magical Glynn-duh again for movement. This time we were to each take a minute and dance in front of the class one by one. Any sort of dance. She'd put on Enya-esque stuff, and off we go. Then we did the Can-Can. She put on Chubby Checker-ish stuff and we'd practice being lewd and grotesque. She's trying to beat the hesitation out of us. To jump forward at any opportunity to perform. And to captivate anyone and everyone when we take the space. I have to admit, the boys were much better than the girls at this. Especially at the can-can. They put us to shame.
We then studied the cultural archetypes in our own body. The monarch, the warrior, magician, and the lover.
The monarch, we'd place our hands on either side of our head, palms just back of temples, fingers pointing straight up, elbows out. Pressing against your skull you walk the space keeping that erect posture. Many people play royalty with an easy swagger. But this was actually a quite painful and suffocating pose. Your arms begin to ache, your wrists burn, and it felt constricted. This is the weight of the crown. Through that sense, you can feel not just the power of playing royalty but also the struggle.
The magician is a spinning movement while looking down. It's a sort of free, slightly dizzying feel that does not restrict but also is a bit unpredictable.
The warrior is with one arm straight up like a staff and your left arm with hand covering (protecting) your heart.
The lover is two fists pressed knuckles to knuckles over your sternum/cover your heart. You walk around with other people and when you are ready (if you ever are) you look at them dead on, and fling your arms open at the same time and embrace. This takes a lot of trust and a willingness that has to be stronger than your fear of rejection. There may be someone who doesnt want to open their heart to you. Or you may not want to bare to them. You open yourself up to embarrassment both internally and external through the movement. I found that I gravitated towards different people for different reasons. And avoided some as well. One I hugged because I thought she needed it. One I hugged because I knew I needed it. Some I avoided because I felt nothing. Some I avoided because I felt too much.
That evening after class, JS and MAR joined me for dinner in Chinatown. It was some good eats and I was glad to splurge. That's the sort of hanging out I prefer. I like a good sit down, a good meal, and good conversation. I was spoiled and had all three. I thought it'd be a brief dinner but four hours and a pub stop later, I got home happy and full. The more I learn about some people, the more I love them. And that translates into the work. But even more, that translates into making me stronger.
It's been a terribly emotional and difficult week for me. It's so odd being happy and unhappy at the same time. I think a great deal has to do with not having a proper sleep in a week. I tend to go inward when I can't focus. But some people here have helped a great deal.
The first class on Saturday (yes, Saturday) was Voice with Martin once again. I was much more prepared for the bootcamp this time. This man is a breathing genius. And we moved into resonance and intoning as well. Which I'd say was an 80% success for me. It's like I understand in my head but something misfires when I try to get the exercise to my mouth. This is where practice and discipline come in. ...we all know how good I am with that.
Martin's Pearls of Wisdom:
"Everytime you open your mouth in our space- You have to Win."
Our final class of the week was almost six hours long. Once again, Acting with Tom Cornford. The man is a genius. I know I've said it before. And I know I'll say it again. And he's totally got my number when it comes to first impressions. Although, acknowledging that I'm self contained isn't exactly a shocker to anyone, he has a way of sizing you up fairly quickly. It's a gift.
I had a very tough time with the exercises today. Once again it was very much an accelerated class. The exercises were subtle and hard to differentiate and feel. At the time, I'd also reached the all time limit of exhaustion and patience. I found myself shutting down for brief periods of time. And I also found that I became very upset and even angry at times with others. I know very well that it is MY problem with tolerance. But it was just a day when the intolerance won out. There are moments in exercises when I see some actors pushing what isn't there. They Show instead of Do. Now that's fine and dandy, to each his own. But when we are required to do an exercise that is truly intimate and sensitive, when it requires an openness and authenticity that can only be done (when just learning it) with people you trust...and then you see a select few who are throwing falseness forward...it's like a slap in the face. It makes me want to say "well, if you're not going to go there. If you're not going to really try. Than I won't bother either." I truly hope I didnt just offend anyone from my programme reading this. But that's where I was at yesterday. I missed out on successfully completing a lesson because I allowed my frustration with others get the better with me. I'll take responsibility for that. But I wish some would take responsibility for how they affect others. I wish they could see that if you are busy "showing", you aren't "doing." And it's the doing that is believable and worth watching.
I, however, have since had 10 hours of sleep and a nice quiet day in which I spent a few hours alone at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I've listened to my own music walking around on my own time. I shopped at random stores where I bought nothing. And I walked home to a quiet afternoon with my cinnamon sunset (stop laughing, I didn't name it) tea. I always have to remember that my temper and intolerance comes from not giving myself time and space of my own. I hope I can-no scratch that, I WILL- be in a better, more positive mental place by the time class starts on Tuesday. I am still very happy to be here. And I thank God I'm here everyday.
Back to the actual acting class, we spent most of the class focusing on Chekhov/Stan the Man's THOUGHT, FEEL, WILL again. But this time finding these centers in our bodies. People tend to be driven by one of these things primarily. And then from there, they have a subset of these qualities. I'll use myself as an example:
I am a THOUGHT centre. It does not mean I don't feel things or that I'm not willful (Lord knows I am) but when I use my feeling or will, it goes through my intellect first-being channeled, if you will. Each sort of centre have their own physical gestures (or what I like to call, they're own poker tells). When a THOUGHT person FEELS, you see it in their eyes. When they use their WILL, you see it in their jaw (bracing of it and so on). And when they use their THOUGHT, it is centered at the nose and ears. Not that you can see them thinking with their ears or nose 'cause that's just weird. But that that's where that action is lead from.
A WILLFUL person would think with their foot, feel with their knees, and Will with their pelvis and hips.
A FEELING person would think with their hands (Aunt Kimmy and momma, I'm talking to you), feel with their heart, and Will with their elbows (every see someone stick hands on their hips with elbows out when they are stubborn? yeah.) Anyway, we go through each and find how it reflects their characters main Center. Comp-li-cat-ed.
Tom Cornford's Pearls of Wisdom:
-"An actor creates the atmosphere, the character inhabits it."
-"Sometimes the best thing to do when you feel nothing, is wait."
-"the first mark on the canvas is a failure. Every mark you make after that is to correct it." (referring to just going out there and doing an exercise, and then improving on it after.)
-"Create a distinction between your working-body and your everyday-body."
-"Just Practice."
-"In your Working Atmosphere, take your distractions by the arm, walk them over to the door and say- I'm leaving you here."
-"A character is part of the dynamic of a play. Not a full person. It is a slice in the pie because of the time constraint. But you have to make sure it seems like they are whole when you give them to the audience."
-"A character has to be selective [in their Centres]. The selectiveness depends on their prominance in the play."
-"Make sure the technique serves you. Not you serving the technique."
-"If you want to be a transformative actor, you have to transform something. And you have to know how to do it."
-"Technique is a way of understanding your material."
-"The best actors are the ones that nick [steal] other bodies and atmospheres." Meaning to observe others and their surroundings and then keep them in their pocket to use later in rehearsal and performances.
Oh God that was a lot. Sorry about that. And I know most of it was technical. I'm probably the only reading this by now while you've all left to pour a stiff drink. But all I can say is, if I can manage to put all this into use, I will be able to handle and build anything. I may feel like silly putty being stretched beyond it's capacity. But it's good. Very very good.
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