My sister is coming up to visit this weekend! I am really looking forward to getting to spend some time with her. Trying to think of where I should take her while she is here. Right now I am thinking maybe the British Museum, try and see The Veil at the National, some shopping along Oxford Street. To increase the amount of time this weekend I am here at school trying to get some work done. Instead I seem to be sitting here surfing the internet. Well at least I can recap the week. We are being very strongly encouraged to keep a journal of our classes and experiences, so here goes.
Last update was Wednesday, so what happened yesterday. Right yesterday started with Performance Workshop. We have this twice a week, Mondays with Paul and Thursdays with Zach. The schedule has not gotten so wonky that instead of performing once a week, switching teachers each week, we don't perform at all one week and perform twice the next. Also Zach has been hosting extra sessions on Fridays. So in the past week I have sung 3 times. Friday I sang I'll Show Him, from Plain and Fancy. Monday I sang On the Steps of the Palace, from Into the Woods. And yesterday I sang In Short from Edges. I have been trying to make the most of these classes. Every song that I have brought in has been new to my repertoire, and I try to bring in a variety of range, style and character. However, this week both of the songs I have sung in Zach's class recently have been from the viewpoint of women who have recently been snubbed by men. In Short essentially is a song listing all of the horrible things that she wants to happen to her Ex. This led to the comment (from a fellow student) that I seem a little sadistic in my song choices... Hmmm I think I need to fix that. However Zach started talking about my comedic tendencies. That was actually some great feedback. He even referred back to Will He Like Me from She Loves Me, which is not a comedic song. Saying that I was able to bring lighthearted moments to what could turn into a soporific song. The comment really got me thinking about my 'type' yesterday. Actually I did a lot of thinking about my overall progress and goals for this year yesterday. More on that later.
In the afternoon we had physical theatre. We played this really interesting game. There were several objects strewn across the floor of the rehearsal space. One person was sent outside while the class decided three actions that they needed to perform using the objects. The student outside then returned and tried to figure out what they were supposed to do judging by the audience's (the rest of the class) reactions. Clapping when they did something right, and eventually giving them a standing ovation when they finished their tasks. This is much harder than you would think. And actually got quite a bit frustrating, mostly for the person performing, but also some for the audience. Really it was an exercise all about listening to your audience. Also about how audiences, and casting directors etc, WANT you to be good. We were all sitting there willing each person to find the correct object and figure it all out. It was also about thinking quickly. This was what I found the hardest. I had a difficult time thinking outside of the box, and bogged myself down in thinking about it rather than just trying things. When I finally got around to just trying random things I actually figured it out fairly quickly. I just psyched myself out so much before that that I made everything much more difficult for myself.
Also in that class our teacher asked us what we really wanted out of the course. That combined with the work that morning got me really thinking. After class I went out for coffee with my friend Tom and we rehashed a lot of class and talked this stuff out. We talked about trying to figure out what kind of performers we are. What roles we are suited for, which often differs from the roles we really want to be playing. How we have been approaching the classes, the things we stumble on. I have been realizing that I spend far too much time analyzing everything, being in my head. I need to work on the speed of my imagination. When we are in our acting classes Gary asks us to do things 5 times in a row, each time differently. This is rather difficult. I need to get better at it. Mostly that involves more practice. I need to continue to push myself in that direction.
I have been pushing myself in a lot of ways. I arrive at school at least an hour early each day to work on music and I usually stay an hour or two after classes end to get work done with classmates. I have been building my repertoire quite a bit, and in several different directions. I joined a gym this week and have made a good start there, I went both yesterday and this morning. I have been walking everywhere and trying to eat healthier. I have been pushing myself to make new friends and have a social life. All good things, all things I need to be doing. However I feel like I am not doing enough. I need to be more focused in the work I am doing. I feel like I get a lot done in class, but the work I do outside of class, without the teachers there to push me is not as productive as it could be. Each week gets better though. I think its just that working like that is a skill that has to be learned and mastered just like every other.
Right enough of that. I need to start doing some research. Back to work!
I am incredibly inspired by this. Really, it has changed my way of thinking about the training I am doing as well.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, Katie. You should feel really good about what you are doing, because you are clearly using this time to grow as an artist and get to know yourself. This is really what training is, you see.