Day FourteenDetailing

CLASSES:
Combat: Did some jabs and ducks from roundhouse swings and crosses, then front roll practice, and the last half hour reviewing the attack/parries from Tuesday.

Voice: Reviewed our assignments - I need to rework mine, my analysis was too general in the starting steps. Then some stretching, tremors, and rib stretching work. We lied on our backs on surfaces (large balls, 12" diameter styrofoam poles, etc.), and our partner got their fingers to the spine and drew outward, massaging those muscles. It helped in isolating and increasing rib movement with the breath.

Acting: We did our scenes with notes from Robin and John. I enjoy their different takes, and find them complementary rather than confusing. As in the voice class I'm getting an appreciation for more specificity on a more granular level. I'm in the opening bit of The Dumb Waiter and we spent a good deal of time on the non-dialog bit which opens the play. I was on the right track but got good pointers for taking it further. Like on the second shoe shake, remove, fetch object, eye contact, putting show back on and tying with difficulty, I have a very different objective than the first one. We used I was trying to be absolutely silent so as not to upset Ben (the character).

OBSERVATIONS/CLICKS:
Specificity. I'm finally starting to get an organic feel for this. It sounds like a straightforward concept, but I have found it elusive. I now realize it has been a gradual embracing of the concept for me, and what I don't know at this point is whether the slow growth will continue or I'll move forward quickly with the better realization. I know I'd prefer the rapid growth, but have no idea what I'll accomplish. I'd like to say it's somewhere in the middle, but that's a cop out. I have to keep learning there are aspects to this which aren't quantifiable for me ahead of time. There is a point where all I can do is do. Learning comes in it's own time. That is a difficult letting go for me.

In computer science terms it is like trying to get a customer or incompetent programmer realize there is no magic bullet. There is always a balance. A tradeoff of sorts, which for me is painfully obvious. Art is the same way, though for me it is delightfully ethereal and frustrating rather. (This really helped me in the day job, as I can be more patient with those who don't see the obvious in the tech realm.)