Day EighteenSix Weeks Already

CLASSES:
Movement: More work on "the stone game." We also did more on our audacious act, where you simply enter a stage set up between two screens with a single block, do an audacious act, and leave. One student actually ate some Alpo. Incredibly brave I thought. My act of audacity was to never enter the stage, simply stay behind the screen and roll it down stage to the left, stop for a moment, then return to my seat. I was one of a couple getting close to audacity, and I don't know why. We are still wandering just what is needed. You can't tell a story, only one act, it can't be predictable, and on and on. It's a fun challenge, though we're not yet clear on the concept.

In talking about some of the physical work George mentioned the four types of man discussed by Decroux. The "island man" in particular, in which a large Samoan comes to his mind. He says there is a sense of constant muscular enjoyment. Muscular enjoyment. I've a intuition and memory of what that means. Right now my lower back hurts like a bitch, making it difficult for me to visualize that. I want to keep working on it though.

Speech: More Omnish (IPA gibberish). This week we did our monologues, which were simply texts with meaning for us. I picked the first two sections of My Friends by Robert Service, not that anyone knew. I transcribed them from memory as a guide, and was the first up. Nobody else had their text in front of them. I thought we were supposed to have a copy, and simply used it to keep track of my place. I've be making a lot of ingressive sounds. I think it is a kind of holding, and shedding that habit should be a huge help in further expanding my variety of sounds.

Voice: We did a primal noise exercise, starting with your partner and simply sighing at each other, then with noise. Wherever we wanted to go. It became very raucous and crazy, reminiscent of a happy primate house. I think Brennan was a little startled at how far we went and how quickly. He's accustomed to university, with a younger group. I'd say we're less inhibited than people in the late teens to mid-twenties. Next week will be our last class with Brennan, as Kate finishes her show. We'll miss him. We like him and enjoy and appreciate the different approaches of the two instructors.

After that we all walked around reading our Shakespeare texts (which we are working on with Kate), first just the vowel sounds, then with focus on the vowel sounds, then noting and consonant trends which struck us. It is not so much that Shakespeare wrote with a focus on how different vowels evoke, rather it is what a poet does intuitively. It doesn't hurt that the man was a genius either.

Acting: We worked the remaining physical scores and discussed the subtext for Friday a bit. I'm sad, Sunday we'll finish up with Pinter. We also had a discussion about how the classes, acting in particular, are going. There is some concern by the teachers we're getting frustrated with them over the different approaches and notes.

OBSERVATIONS/CLICKS:
There appears to be a concern with the teachers that we could be feeling overly frustrated, as noted in John's discussion in acting. There has never been a sense of this is the right way, and all the instructors are open to discussion. For me, though maybe not everyone, this is a non-issue for me now. It is not mollycoddling. We are being driven pretty hard, and as far as I can tell we all appreciate and understand the different approaches, notes, and guidance. The attitude and concern of the instructors is very important to me, though I say it is a non-issue. It tells me in a direct way they believe in us, want us to succeed, and have invested of themselves very personally. It is a challenge as well as a comfort. It goes with my feeling these are very compassionate and exacting people. I can get assistance, but not slack.

I'm hungry for as many different ideas as I can grasp. I'm past the max absorption point, but I know more than I can repeat back is landing. Sometimes something one instructor says that seems to contradict what another says has the opposite effect on me. It clarifies and assimilates the different approaches or explanations.

I told John after the class, I haven't felt any frustration with the teachers in that way, which is absolutely sincere. I added, I have felt a lot of frustration with myself though. What I didn't add is that all the related and seemingly unrelated things we get from the different instructors has been incredibly helpful in helping me assimilate some of the information and experience we are immersed in. Immersion is scary, especially when you don't feel you're treading water very strongly, but you can't avoid getting wet when you're immersed. And I want to get really really wet with all this amazing stuff.

My lower back hurts. I believe I strained it. There is something interesting going on. It feels to be getting healthier and stronger overall. Makes this seem more like a growing pain. I know it will fade, and I also feel it is a governor, keeping me from overdoing it while I build up strength and health it has not had before.