The main thing that I learnt today was that 'Every scene is a chase scene' and to use the space efficiently during the chase. There was also an element of allowing myself to get so lost that I get fearful which makes me want to protect myself and therefore causes me to act instinctual rather than stereotypically. This meant that I had to open myself up and as Konstantin, allow myself to have the fear of not fitting in. In order to do this I tried to engage with the emotions I had when I used to get bullied in primary school.
When rehearsing the scene, the acting itself was fine but there was a clear problem with the staging because Masha and Medvedenko seem to come into the space, sit down and chat and then Konstantin and Sorin do the same. This makes the scene very static and puts everything on the same level. In order to change this I think I will have Konstantin playing 'To impress' because as an insecure person he should feel the need to impress his uncle in order to be accepted and fit in. This will allow me to move him around and have him standing up so that he can '(To) perform' to his Uncle.
Stanislavsky: "Solitude in public - using different circles of attraction on stage to focus the attention on stage: refocus upon an object of Attention is lost and create circles emanating around that object"
In my scene, Konstantin's circle of attention is private because he is sharing his feeling with someone else however he knows that what he tells his Uncle will only ever be spoken about between the two of them. It is confidential and private to them both. If other characters came into the scene then Konstantin wouldn't talk about anything he does talk about in the scene.
Later on in the day, we watched one of the scenes back and it was amazing. Tara and Leane performed and their objectives were extremely clear after our director intervened. At first it seemed as though there wasn't a complete understanding of objectives and that the scene was still being acted and rehearses. To fix this, Will gave Tara the physical objective of 'Yo leave' and Leane the objective of 'To keep from leaving' much alike the task we had originally in our first lesson. This tactic actually worked great in this scene because Medvedenko is in love with Masha but the feelings aren't reciprocated. This meant that Tara didn't have to pretend to leave or want to get away, she simply just did try to leave but Leane made sure she blocked her each time. The actress' played the scene differently each time they re-did it which kept it fresh, fun and instinctive. Their performance was amazing and has really inspired me to try and reach their level of understanding with Stanislavski's system next week.
Sunday, 25 September 2016
Lesson 2
In Today's lesson we did an exercise which included the class getting into pairs. I was with Tianna and we had to give ourselves actions to do; for example 'to stare' which meant that I would have to look at Tianna constantly, then I would perhaps go onto 'to ostracize' and continue to make her feel uncomfortable. I chose 'to belittle' and so I pushed, grabbed, shouted and bullied my partner so that they felt inferior to me. I only managed to do this by conjuring up real emotions rather than my usual acting technique. Another example of this would be instead of A trying to trip B over, B would have to try and not allow A to trip them over. If A did trip B over, then it would be genuine and realistic.
This exercise allowed us to understand how to apply actions to text and thus create an objection that could be carried out in a believable and naturalistic way. This is part of Stanislavsky's theory in connection to naturalism and it included one rule: to be truthful. I as an actress had to react on instinct rather than a delayed thought or rehearsed idea. I found Stanislavsky's technique quite difficult, especially if an action was 'to be aggressive' because I like to have full control over my actions rather than forcing myself to lash out to an extent. However, I did really enjoy experimenting with how to push myself into an almost limbo land that didn't rely on thought.
Later in the lesson, we were given our roles for 'The Seagull'. I was given Konstantin in Act 1 Scene 1 and decided to change the male role into a female role. I haven't edited the text however the play is naturalistic and there's nothing naturalistic about a female pretending to be a male (in the time of the play anyway). We then read through the script a few times but didn't have enough time to get the work on its feet.
This exercise allowed us to understand how to apply actions to text and thus create an objection that could be carried out in a believable and naturalistic way. This is part of Stanislavsky's theory in connection to naturalism and it included one rule: to be truthful. I as an actress had to react on instinct rather than a delayed thought or rehearsed idea. I found Stanislavsky's technique quite difficult, especially if an action was 'to be aggressive' because I like to have full control over my actions rather than forcing myself to lash out to an extent. However, I did really enjoy experimenting with how to push myself into an almost limbo land that didn't rely on thought.
Later in the lesson, we were given our roles for 'The Seagull'. I was given Konstantin in Act 1 Scene 1 and decided to change the male role into a female role. I haven't edited the text however the play is naturalistic and there's nothing naturalistic about a female pretending to be a male (in the time of the play anyway). We then read through the script a few times but didn't have enough time to get the work on its feet.
Lesson 1
Todays lesson was basically an introduction to studying 'The Seagull' and so quite a lot of the lesson was spent reflecting on Stanislavski's system and figuring out 'how not to act'. We also worked on giving ourselves physical objectives e.g 'To leave' or 'To stay'. This meant that we had to achieve our objective whilst acting and we were told to do this using only one word. For example, once in pairs, A was given the physical objective 'To leave' and had a psychological objective of 'To not hurt' and they could only say the word 'Yes' whilst B was given the physical objective 'To keep from leaving' and the psychological objective 'To love' whilst only being able to say 'No'. This meant that A had to leave without hurting B's feelings which proved very difficult especially since B was completely in love with them.
During this task I was B and I found that the task was very effective and proved that words don't matter so much as how they are portrayed. I learnt this because delivering just the word 'No' was just as effective as asking my partner not to leave -if not more so.
It really allowed me to be:
- Spontaneous
- Act on instinct
- Create emotion in my voice
- Play around with the way that I said the word 'No'
We then went onto doing 4 moving freeze frames to show our objectives. This was quite interesting because at first we did this with no words and then we added in 4 words. I'd never before experimented or thought about how just feeling so strongly about something or being so committed to an objective couldn make it come across so effectively.
We then put on a little performance as a class that ties everything that we had done together. It was really fun. The performance started off with us all milling in the space and then we took one of the audience members hands and asked them something like 'have you seen him?', then we took them over to our partner and started having a conversation which we included them in. For example, our scene went something like this:
B - You packed?
A - Yeah but do we have to go? I want to go to her...
B - You don't know what you're saying! You need to sober up
A - ...Please understand
B - Understand you?
A - It's best for the both of us
B - No, you don't understand what you're saying. I'm the one you love. Remember?
etc.
Having an audience member in our scene meant that I was then able to interact with them and accuse them of being the person that A wanted so badly and my objectives of 'to keep from leaving' and 'to ignore' turned into 'to hate' and 'to torment'. This was completely performed from instinct though because we had to act according to the audience which went very well.
The scene then went onto the freeze frames and finished with the yes and no partner work.
I also really liked watching the other groups and it was very clear that we all made very different choices when putting on a performance. For instance, Simon's class took a comedic approach to the task at hand which was enjoyable and hilarious. Whereas Sarah's class were very serious and had a strong ensemble. I really like the use of paper folded in half to represent the seagull. The way that the actors moved the pieces of paper really made the experience magical and gave the paper a bird like quality.
During this task I was B and I found that the task was very effective and proved that words don't matter so much as how they are portrayed. I learnt this because delivering just the word 'No' was just as effective as asking my partner not to leave -if not more so.
It really allowed me to be:
- Spontaneous
- Act on instinct
- Create emotion in my voice
- Play around with the way that I said the word 'No'
We then went onto doing 4 moving freeze frames to show our objectives. This was quite interesting because at first we did this with no words and then we added in 4 words. I'd never before experimented or thought about how just feeling so strongly about something or being so committed to an objective couldn make it come across so effectively.
We then put on a little performance as a class that ties everything that we had done together. It was really fun. The performance started off with us all milling in the space and then we took one of the audience members hands and asked them something like 'have you seen him?', then we took them over to our partner and started having a conversation which we included them in. For example, our scene went something like this:
B - You packed?
A - Yeah but do we have to go? I want to go to her...
B - You don't know what you're saying! You need to sober up
A - ...Please understand
B - Understand you?
A - It's best for the both of us
B - No, you don't understand what you're saying. I'm the one you love. Remember?
etc.
Having an audience member in our scene meant that I was then able to interact with them and accuse them of being the person that A wanted so badly and my objectives of 'to keep from leaving' and 'to ignore' turned into 'to hate' and 'to torment'. This was completely performed from instinct though because we had to act according to the audience which went very well.
The scene then went onto the freeze frames and finished with the yes and no partner work.
I also really liked watching the other groups and it was very clear that we all made very different choices when putting on a performance. For instance, Simon's class took a comedic approach to the task at hand which was enjoyable and hilarious. Whereas Sarah's class were very serious and had a strong ensemble. I really like the use of paper folded in half to represent the seagull. The way that the actors moved the pieces of paper really made the experience magical and gave the paper a bird like quality.
Exercises
Warm ups
We all found our neutral standing positions before beginning to take in deep breathes whilst lifting our arms from our sides to meet above our heads. Then as we released our breath, our arms were extended in front of us and gradually got lower towards the ground as our breath continued to be exhaled. We continued to do this for about two minutes so that we all gave our focus and attention to our director. This exercise allowed us to all calm down so that we were ready for proceeding exercises.
We all found our neutral standing positions before beginning to take in deep breathes whilst lifting our arms from our sides to meet above our heads. Then as we released our breath, our arms were extended in front of us and gradually got lower towards the ground as our breath continued to be exhaled. We continued to do this for about two minutes so that we all gave our focus and attention to our director. This exercise allowed us to all calm down so that we were ready for proceeding exercises.
Semi-Supine
We then split into our classes where we got into semi-supine and purely concentrated on our breath. By concentrating on our breath we didn't allow ourselves to become distracted or to become disengaged with the lesson. Semi-supine allowed us to become relaxed and also allowed gravity to align our bodies into the structure that bad habits sometimes force us out of. For example, carrying a rucksack can cause people to hunch over or for their shoulders to be at an uneven alignment. It also forces the body to allow the correct amount of oxygen to enter and exit the body.
We then split into our classes where we got into semi-supine and purely concentrated on our breath. By concentrating on our breath we didn't allow ourselves to become distracted or to become disengaged with the lesson. Semi-supine allowed us to become relaxed and also allowed gravity to align our bodies into the structure that bad habits sometimes force us out of. For example, carrying a rucksack can cause people to hunch over or for their shoulders to be at an uneven alignment. It also forces the body to allow the correct amount of oxygen to enter and exit the body.
Partners
We then got into pairs and one person got into a table position while the other person applied pressure to their back. The person that took up the table position elongated their back as they exhaled and arched it as they inhaled. This was done so that breath could be appreciated.
Tongue Twisters
We went on to doing tongue twisters. This was a little tricky however I'd say that the hardest part was the fact that we'd never heard the rhyme before rather then actually getting tongue tied. This exercise will come in handy when we begin to learn our lines for 'The Seagull' because it will allow us to improve our articulation. This will allow us to deliver a a good performance so long as our projection is good.
Act on Instinct
A big part of Stanislavski's theory is about spontaneousness and in todays exercise we were told what to do but weren't given direction and as a result had to engage with others and act on instinct.
Gently waking up our potential aka Hiatus Breath
We got into semi supine which aligned our bodies and made it a lot easier for our instinctual breath to accumulate. If this didn't work straight away then one way of kick starting the instinctual breath was by forcing the body to inhale filling the body with oxygen from the stomach and then the chest. Then when exhaling, releasing that oxygen from the stomach then the chest. Then push out all the oxygen using the stomach muscles and then when you gasp for your next breath, the body should naturally resume breathing in the way you were forcing it to before, but naturally this time. I had to use this technique to get my instinctual breath started. I also found that I could only achieve and instinctual breath lying down, once standing I found it virtually impossible to naturally maintain it.
Unvoiced Fricatives
The key to voiceless fricatives is using the front of the mouth for modulation and articulation
Straw breaths
I did this exercise at home and it consisted of putting a straw in your mouth and breathing through it. This minimized the oxygen intake and therefore meant that the stomach muscles and diaphragm had to work had and completely in order to deliver lines.
Staccato and Legato
We were given lines from the text, for example 'I am the Seagull' and 'My dear, I know what keeps you here'. We then changed the way that we pronounced the words and the speed at which they were delivered. When delivered in staccato, each word was very sharp and although the text still flowed, each word stood alone. Then when delivered in Legato, the words ran into each other and were elongated as each syllable was emphasised on. This exercise helped me with me pronunciation and diction. Breath also played a part and in legato, we tried to deliver the line with one breath and so had to store our breath in our diaphragm whilst using our stomach muscles to slowly release oxygen in a controlled way. Doing this sometimes allowed a 'dark L' to be released thanks to the alveolar ridge which can change the sound and structure of the vibrations that exit the mouth.
Humming
Whilst in semi supine, we worked on a closed mouth hum so that we could experiment with our vocal range. This went on to us humming with an open mouth so that our glottal folds could be used to their full potential. We were releasing open vowel sounds but varied the pitch. The good thing with humming is that it is virtually impossible to damage the vocal chords whilst performing them but hums allow the vocal chords to vibrate fully. We focused on trying to use our stomach muscles rather than creating tension in our necks or back because that would cause a strain and bad voice.
Controlled Spinal Rolls
In prayer position we were able to encourage breath to enter our intercostal muscles which would allow a full intake of breath to be achieved. We then slowly got up by getting into a crouched position with our head down to the ground. We then performed ten spinal rolls making sure that it was the core that was doing the work so that there was no tension anywhere else.
Circles of attention
This consisted of 3 circles:
1 - Personal (inner emotions and sounds)
2 - Private (what you share with others if you want to. Also character)
3 - Public (for everyone. Taking into consideration the people around you that are acting)
Remove tention
Our partners were asked to lay in semi supine on the floor, we then then lifted their head gently and rocked it around slowly to make sure that our partners were really relaxed and giving us all their dead weight. After this, we lifted our partners a little so that we could use our hands to scoop from the scapular. If we found any tension along the way we did the 'Place-Press-Push' technique of applying different amounts pressures to the areas. We then moved onto arms where we massaged along the biceps, triceps, forearm and shoulders before going onto the hands and fingers where we removed tention from between metacarpals by pulling all of the tension from each finger and throwing it into the air. And then last but not least, we held onto our partners arms and lifted them mid air so that their body hung limply off of the ground. I was able to do this by putting my weight into my legs and allowing my partner to lull in the air.
This was beneficial because it allowed tention to be released while warming up the muscles within the body and connecting them with their surrounding. The semi supine also allowed a connection to be felt with breath and finding one's neutral. It was also a trust exercise because you had to open yourself up and free the mind in order to relax and allow someone else to be intimate with you. Having our shoulders pushed into the ground also allowed the upper body area to open up which made breathing easier.
We then got into pairs and one person got into a table position while the other person applied pressure to their back. The person that took up the table position elongated their back as they exhaled and arched it as they inhaled. This was done so that breath could be appreciated.
Tongue Twisters
We went on to doing tongue twisters. This was a little tricky however I'd say that the hardest part was the fact that we'd never heard the rhyme before rather then actually getting tongue tied. This exercise will come in handy when we begin to learn our lines for 'The Seagull' because it will allow us to improve our articulation. This will allow us to deliver a a good performance so long as our projection is good.
Act on Instinct
A big part of Stanislavski's theory is about spontaneousness and in todays exercise we were told what to do but weren't given direction and as a result had to engage with others and act on instinct.
Gently waking up our potential aka Hiatus Breath
We got into semi supine which aligned our bodies and made it a lot easier for our instinctual breath to accumulate. If this didn't work straight away then one way of kick starting the instinctual breath was by forcing the body to inhale filling the body with oxygen from the stomach and then the chest. Then when exhaling, releasing that oxygen from the stomach then the chest. Then push out all the oxygen using the stomach muscles and then when you gasp for your next breath, the body should naturally resume breathing in the way you were forcing it to before, but naturally this time. I had to use this technique to get my instinctual breath started. I also found that I could only achieve and instinctual breath lying down, once standing I found it virtually impossible to naturally maintain it.
Unvoiced Fricatives
The key to voiceless fricatives is using the front of the mouth for modulation and articulation
Straw breaths
I did this exercise at home and it consisted of putting a straw in your mouth and breathing through it. This minimized the oxygen intake and therefore meant that the stomach muscles and diaphragm had to work had and completely in order to deliver lines.
Staccato and Legato
We were given lines from the text, for example 'I am the Seagull' and 'My dear, I know what keeps you here'. We then changed the way that we pronounced the words and the speed at which they were delivered. When delivered in staccato, each word was very sharp and although the text still flowed, each word stood alone. Then when delivered in Legato, the words ran into each other and were elongated as each syllable was emphasised on. This exercise helped me with me pronunciation and diction. Breath also played a part and in legato, we tried to deliver the line with one breath and so had to store our breath in our diaphragm whilst using our stomach muscles to slowly release oxygen in a controlled way. Doing this sometimes allowed a 'dark L' to be released thanks to the alveolar ridge which can change the sound and structure of the vibrations that exit the mouth.
Humming
Whilst in semi supine, we worked on a closed mouth hum so that we could experiment with our vocal range. This went on to us humming with an open mouth so that our glottal folds could be used to their full potential. We were releasing open vowel sounds but varied the pitch. The good thing with humming is that it is virtually impossible to damage the vocal chords whilst performing them but hums allow the vocal chords to vibrate fully. We focused on trying to use our stomach muscles rather than creating tension in our necks or back because that would cause a strain and bad voice.
Controlled Spinal Rolls
In prayer position we were able to encourage breath to enter our intercostal muscles which would allow a full intake of breath to be achieved. We then slowly got up by getting into a crouched position with our head down to the ground. We then performed ten spinal rolls making sure that it was the core that was doing the work so that there was no tension anywhere else.
Circles of attention
This consisted of 3 circles:
1 - Personal (inner emotions and sounds)
2 - Private (what you share with others if you want to. Also character)
3 - Public (for everyone. Taking into consideration the people around you that are acting)
Saying what you see
We got into groups of 3; two actors played around and responded using only themselves as a stimulus whilst the other actor watched what was going on and shouted out the pairs individual physical objectives. This meant that the two people acting had to make strong choices that displayed their action fully so that the actor watching could guess the same one. If the one watching said the objective was something different than what it was intended to come across as, the actor performing that objective had to work harder. This exercise was good because it gave us an idea of how much we had to do to make our physical objectives clear.
We got into groups of 3; two actors played around and responded using only themselves as a stimulus whilst the other actor watched what was going on and shouted out the pairs individual physical objectives. This meant that the two people acting had to make strong choices that displayed their action fully so that the actor watching could guess the same one. If the one watching said the objective was something different than what it was intended to come across as, the actor performing that objective had to work harder. This exercise was good because it gave us an idea of how much we had to do to make our physical objectives clear.
Remove tention
Our partners were asked to lay in semi supine on the floor, we then then lifted their head gently and rocked it around slowly to make sure that our partners were really relaxed and giving us all their dead weight. After this, we lifted our partners a little so that we could use our hands to scoop from the scapular. If we found any tension along the way we did the 'Place-Press-Push' technique of applying different amounts pressures to the areas. We then moved onto arms where we massaged along the biceps, triceps, forearm and shoulders before going onto the hands and fingers where we removed tention from between metacarpals by pulling all of the tension from each finger and throwing it into the air. And then last but not least, we held onto our partners arms and lifted them mid air so that their body hung limply off of the ground. I was able to do this by putting my weight into my legs and allowing my partner to lull in the air.
This was beneficial because it allowed tention to be released while warming up the muscles within the body and connecting them with their surrounding. The semi supine also allowed a connection to be felt with breath and finding one's neutral. It was also a trust exercise because you had to open yourself up and free the mind in order to relax and allow someone else to be intimate with you. Having our shoulders pushed into the ground also allowed the upper body area to open up which made breathing easier.
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