Day EightHangin'

CLASSES:
Combat: We reviewed most of the things we didn't review on Tuesday, and learned front and back slaps, both close up straight and the further back roundhouse type swings. We finished with rolls, doing much the same progression we did on Tuesday. Geof explained that it is always important to continually review the basics and shared how a couple of his very painful and public experiences bore that out.

Voice: We did the warmup and hip loosening. Loosening the hips we lie on our backs, put the right foot on top of the left thigh, and pull it towards your body. Then switch sides. Then one knee at a time, letting the weight of the femur help, draw giant figure eights with the knee, still lying on your back with the pelvis remaining flat on the floor.

We turned in our monologue, at which point I realized mine was a bit short. Having had the introductory voice class I remembered short was better to work with than a long bit, but I subsequently checked with Kate to be sure. I picked the first nine lines of Iago's speech at the end of Act I, Scene 3 of Othello. When she gave us the assignment that was the first thing I thought of, and tried skimming some texts and ideas but I kept thinking of that. I dug in the bags of scripts I'd got from Gregory and found Othello, and when I opened it for the first time that is the page I came to and where my eyes dropped. Providence. It is a wonderful, not nice, speech.

Acting: We spent the first part of class going over the rest of the research. Then we spent a good deal of lecture/discussion time going over 7 questions you answer about your text. These are not a search for results, but a jumping off point to get discovery started, and your 'results' will most likely evolve and change. They are not intended to replace those moments of inspiration but to flesh in the other aspects and give you something to work with when you don't have those moments of inspiration. They should be answered before the first rehearsal so you have influence on the production instead of simply being a tool.
1) EVENTS: From the spine of the play to the act, scene, beat, and line levels. (Obviously you won't exhaustively beat this to death for every single line, but the awareness should be there.)
2) ACTIONS: Characters trying to affect a change by what they DO.
3) MEANING/STAKES: What do they stand to win -- AND -- What do they stand to lose.
4) RELATIONSHIPS: Constantly changing. What you're feeling about scene partner(s) or yourself from moment to moment.
5) LANGUAGE: How is the language used to change something outside themselves.
- How Active?
- Adaptation, structure
- Effect it has
6) CHARACTER: The filter/lens through which the character sees the world. John's example of the Legionnaire and the millionaire seeing a half glass of water. The legionnaire, "It will save my life." The millionaire, "It will cleanse my palate." They see two totally different things, not different takes on a glass of water, and not removed from yourself. It must act on you; the meaning lives inside of you and the lens evokes it. NOT, "Oh, a glass of water, that in this situation would save my character's life."
7) CONTEXT: History, subtext, etc. An example that was used was an actor (Kevin Tighe) working on a film with John Sayles about mining with the labor unions fighting a mining company. He studied civil wars, as that resonated for him for context. This example was very clear and freeing, letting you work on something which would touch you closer.

Then we did our physical scores. My scene partner and I weren't quite ready, because she wasn't feeling well earlier in the week, but we went up anyway. It could have been worse, we carried on though we skipped a big chunk, with neither of us quite sure how. We'd planned to work on it a bit during lunch break, as we'd just finished the score, but hadn't run through it enough, but someone was working in the room and we didn't want to interrupt. Note to self, "Take materials with you during lunch if you intend to work."

Our assignment is to talk about the 7 questions in for our new assignment, Pinter's The Dumbwaiter with our drill groups. This is an intentional choice, as Pinter is an absurdist, but even in those worlds these tools are useful, and I suspect more needful. Then we'll work with this more on Friday

OBSERVATIONS/CLICKS:
As we were packing up from acting class Robin addressed us in response to a question someone asked her. The gist was if we feel discombobulated or disoriented that is good. That means we are learning and growing. I must be doing well then.

Our other instructor John, was outside after class as people were chatting for a bit before taking off. Reiterating the desire he and Robin have to make things concrete for us. I really appreciated the lecture, as it gave direction and meaning to a lot of the work we'd been doing. I mentioned that sometimes it seems like it takes me ten times to get something, and then I wonder why I didn't get it the first time around. This is a new experience for me. At least in the intenseness of it. I've often had a flat learning curve with things clicking at the last moment. This however feels different. Art takes more work, practice, and dedication. You work to get these things inside of you, and finally it happens. Not like the passive 'ah ha' of technical pursuits where things take a while to click because I just wait for it to happen, instead of working at it.

The discombobulation and doing things ten times may seem like little things. They feel anything but little to me at the moment, and understanding the training in this way serves to make the training more useful, as it makes me want to stay engaged and not go into that 'gutting it out' type approach I've used in the past, and discussed a few days ago in my more public blog.

It was two years ago today I started the Meisner Progression. It marked a big commitment and change to my life and to my art. I wonder where I'll end up this time.