Miss Julie

When i went to see Miss Julie this afternoon, I was surprised at what a fun experience it would be. When i walked in someone who seemed to know me shook my hand. I had to lean down under his biker hat to see that it was Wood from my multimedia story telling class. He asked me if I wanted to sit in the special seats. Not really knowing what I was signing up for he pointed me toward a row of seats behind the stage itself. I sat awkwardly for a bit. At first I was the only one sitting there before the show began so I felt a bit unconfortable sitting alone infront of all those people. One of the actresses from the play came and sat next to me and offered me a flower made of tissue and pipe cleaner. I accepted the flower and she asked me my name. I asked her her name and she told asked me what i would like her name to be. I laughed seeing that she was in character as a prostitute. I looked down at a  brown papper bag with the word "trash" stamped on it and came up with the name Trisha. She asked me if I had an old girlfriend named Trisha and I played along and said yes.

As the show began me and the others in the "special seats" where treated to some cotton candy. There was something a bit off about it. I was somewhat confused and a girl sitting next to me pointed at the Menu. I began to cough as I read that the cotton candy was harbenero flavovored. It was an odd combination but for some reason i couldn't stop eating. Sitting in the back was a bit frusturating at times since i could see or hear the actors very well at times. We where encouraged to take videos so i did. I started laughing when i saw an older woman fast asleep in the front row as the two women where rubbing and kissing eachother. I heared another older woman say rather loudly " this is redicilous." and "I'd like to leave." as well as complain about her knee. It was an interesting expereince watching the audience watch this wild play.

The Scene Guy and Ted: Grow

There are a few pieces of grow feedback i received which i will address here. One was sitting on the bar while looking at the photo. That was my attempt to add variety to the scene and make it more 3 dimensional and dynamic. All the script really called for was for us to sit at the bar. There were no blocking directions to get up at any point so I needed to find a smooth transition from sitting to standing so the third act would be more dramatic. Having said that, i also got some great feed back about what to do about this which is to lean on the bar. I think the issue was that someone actually sitting on a bar wasn't believable.

There was also the issue with the instance that i attempted to flick of guys hat. What that was, was an impulse i had in the moment. It was not something that AJ and i rehearsed, AJ did not wear a hat during rehearsals and when i saw it i went with my gut. However when i tried to it felt like i had hit AJ in the face or possible poked him in the eye so for a moment i broke character as i was legitimately concerned with AJ's well being. Had AJ worn the hat during rehearsals this is something we may have worked on a bit more. I'll admit that it would have been a better idea to not do something we hadn't rehearsed, It also taught me that as an actor, you must not only be present in the moment but also aware of your role and your actions. While acting in the moment can lead to some impressive results, being unpredictable on stage can lead to mistakes and may bring down the performance of your scene partner(s). For example if the hat had gone of as i intended in that moment then it would have been a powerful moment in the scene, but in the end it made us seem unprepared and brought down the performance as a whole. It was something that i personally was responsable for and will hope it is something that will not affect the grade of my scene partner.

The Scene Guy and Ted: Glow

Over all i believe the scene went really well this week. AJ and I got our lines down just in time for the performance and there weren't any mistakes that i can remember as far as lines go. Unlike during rehearsals AJ and I didn't hold anything back as where shoving and yelling at each other. Rehearsing is a little different from performing in front of an audience because the motivation to do well is much stronger. Also during rehearsals bringing up strong emotions time and time again can become exhausting so those tense dramatic moments where we're angry at Each other are a bit dialed back for the sake of repetition without becoming to fatigued.

The second thing i want to add is that I tried my best to speak clearly as it was a Grow feed back i received in my last scene. Voice acting is something i would like to experiment with and it was very important to me that i improve on that aspect of my performance. It's difficult to tell if the things you are saying are being understood by an audience but I don't remember any one commenting on my voice during the grow feed back so ill take that as a positive sign.

Gods Ear

Gods ear is a very strange play. The first thing i noticed when i first read the play was the way it was written. It's written almost like a poem, with a few words per line, and very abstract concepts. Although it wasn't directly said in the scene i suspected that Guys son was also dead. Reading the play confirmed this when Teds' wife asks him why every one he talks to has a dead son. The play was very difficult to understand and read. There are very long segments of dialouge where a character will lists various cliche statements, almost as if they are trying to say everything there is to say. It may be a play that would be more enjoyable to watch.

Guy

Guy seems like a character who strugles with himslef. He wants to make a connection with ted yet he feels that he cant. He struggles to express how he truly feels towards Ted. What a valuable frined he is. Instead he makes crude Jokes and taunts him. The Death of his son may be causing him to supress how his emotions. When guy tells Ted that he has a generous spirit, i think he really means that. He has a lot of respect for Ted but he also has a bit of a short temper and is easily offended. Guy appears to be a simple character without much motivation yet he is a man who's deeply insecure about his emotions and his life.

This weeks rehearsals

This week during rehearsals i had a major breakthrough in my understanding of the characters. It had to do partly with reading through the play up to my scene, which gave me a better understanding of the characters. I realized that i was going about the scene all wrong. Previously i wanted to convey a certain  amount of annoyance and animosity towards my scene partner, I wanted him to listen to me but i think i was going about it the wrong way. After reading through the play, i found that Goose and Tomtom have a deep affection for one another. This understanding lead me to convey this affection for Goose in my scene, which in my opinion is making for a much better performance. Feeling more connected to Goose on a deeper level, allowed my to be more active in my scene. For example, early on in the scene when Goose is wandering about while im explaining the plan, i now stand and put my hand on his shoulder, slowly pulling him towards the table. It's an action that helps the audience understand our relationship better, as well as a more active choice.  feel more connected

Bonus song!

Lorraine

When i first went over the assigned scene, I really had no idea what it was i was reading. Over the weekend i finally read over act one of Goose and Tomtom. My main purpose in doing this was to better understand this Lorraine character. She seems to be the driving force of Goose and Tomtom's actions in the scene i will be performing, but not understanding who Lorraine was to these characters was something that was limiting my performance.

  Lorraine is an object of desire in the play, both for Goose and Tomtom. While their love for Lorraine can at times cause conflict between them, As in the scene where Goose is looking into Lorraine's eyes. Tomtom becomes furious and the two begin fighting. However, as in my scene, their love for Lorraine can bring them together, to act in the best interest of Lorraine.
 
 Lorraine is a very charming character. She is spunky and has a bit of an attitude. When reading her lines i imagine some like Marisa Tomey playing her. I'm not sure how much she cares for Goose and Tom-tom. I think she perhaps just enjoys the attention she gets from them, and mostly she just likes to toy with them, like when she was sticking pins in her arms. Still the love Goose and Tom-tom have for her is very real and understanding this love better will improve

The Audition

So here's another post looking at a monologue I've performed. I was going through my photos and videos and found an old video i made in 2012, of me practicing my monologue for my first acting class. These videos where made so that i could watch myself perform and see how i looked. It's a monologue called The Audition. It's about a man who's simply full of himself, who doesn't realize what a horrible actor he is. I can't remember exactly why i chose this monologue. I think its because i sort of know people like this. Watching these clips was a bit painful. The shorter one seems like its just me messing up a lot. I'm wondering why i was moving back and forth so much. There where other directions i could have gone in if i really wanted to move around. There's too much waving around of the umbrella for sure. I look a little bit to nervous waving it around the way I do.I should have been a bit more rigid to portray the characters confidence. The homicidal lunatic wasn't great, my energy sort of tapered off. Of course this was just a rehearsal. This was probably as good as it got since this is only a few hours before the performance. Fun fact about the "Resume" i threw down. I actually sat at a computer at thought about what this characters resume would look like. I decided on something like this.

My Resume

Go fuck yourself...

I made it just for my own purposes with no intention of it being seen. But during my monologue someone picked it up and started showing people which caused some distracting laughter i wasn't expecting. But I managed to get through it. Also when i was about to do the King Lear bit the umbrella broke. So i just threw it down and kept going. I decided it would be better to keep the monologue going so rather than start over i threw the unbrella down and continued on. 

THE AUDITION

This comic monologue is printed here in its entirety, though written for a male actor, by changing a few pronouns, the piece could be adapted for use by an actress.

My resume. Oh, first I should mention that I could play any of the parts in this play. Any. I could play an ant, I could play Little Red Riding Hood, I could play Hamlet. I've never heard of this play, as a matter of fact. It doesn't matter. I can do opera, I can do commercials, I can sing soprano, I can do my own stunts- I’m that versatile. Leading man, leading lady, gay, ingenue- you name it, I can do it. That’s how great I am. I see you looking over my resume. Noticing I've never had a part. It’s a real comment on this sick business we’re in, isn't it? An actor this good (he thumps his chest) and he’s blackballed! Why? For refusing to show up at auditions! Auditions are beneath me. I wipe my feet on them. People should be begging me to grace their theaters- producers should be asking me to audition them! But those egomaniacs who should bow and scrape before me - they have forced me to betray my principles and come to this (said with utter contempt) audition. So no, no, don't blame me for demeaning myself in this grotesque position… I've waited ten years for them to come crawling… but suffice it to say they were too wrapped up in their own insane… trivium to get the hint. But enough of them. Let’s get to the situation at hand. You’re sitting there typecasting me as a leading man aren't you? You’re thinking that because of my matinee idol glorious good looks, and rich, sensuous, sexy, seductive, fetching, effervescent, tingly and charming voice, I could only play a male lead. No, I tell you, no! Observe! An ant! (He crawls along the floor in a normal way.) And now, King Lear! (He opens his umbrella and pretends, in an awkward mime, to be blown around the stage.) I needn't mention, of course, that that was the fabulous storm scene, out on the heath. And now, Brutus, impaled on his own sword! (Closes the umbrella, stabs himself with it in the stomach. Dies, rather flatly.)
And here’s a homicidal lunatic: (he gets up, picks up the umbrella, waves it threatening forward, like a sword. This part seems real.) Give me the part or I’ll kill you! I’ll poke out the vile grape jelly of your eyes with the point of my umbrella! I've been waiting ten years for this! (Puts the umbrella down.) OK. All the parts. I should play all the parts in you little production. Capiche? Capiche. Note the mastery of the Spanish dialect. I do it all. Now, with that in mind, here’s my… (Abrupt pause) What do you mean my time’s up? I haven’t done my monologue yet! (Beat) What do you mean, next? Where do you get off saying next?! I memorized this thing! I took the subway here! I elbowed my way ahead of dozens of pushy actors and still had to wait a half hour to get in here! I wanna do my audition!

Remembering Hoffman

 Yesterday it was revealed that Hollywood had lost an amazing character actor in Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He was found dead in his apartment with a hypodermic needle stuck in his arm, a charred metal spoon at his side along with several bags of cocaine with playing card images printed on them. I've often wondered what leads an actor to this self destructive behavior. Depression, drug use, alcohol. What is the cause of this? Is the depression a result of a loss of identity. It may be the fame, the pressure, but I'm sure they're are actors who are not world famous that have these issues. I've often thought that the best actors are the ones who don't act at all. Acting without acting. When an actor like Marlin Brando portrays someone like Paul, in Last Tango In Paris, we are seeing Marlins' true emotions on screen.. This was my initial instinct when i began my first acting class. Somewhat contrary to what we are learning now, i thought that allowing myself to feel the emotions of my character would allow the actions i took to come naturally. But perhaps this burden becomes to much. I can only imagine the darkness Heath Ledger dove into, in order to give his farewell power house performance as the The Joker. But what came first? Was it the act of becoming this twisted individual that broke Ledger, or perhaps Ledgers state of mind is what allowed him to give the powerful performance. I'm sure like any other art form, acting allows the artists to express his or her emotional state as a means of catharsis. Yet for some that may not be enough.

This all got a bit dark and slightly off topic. The point of this post was to take a look at two of my favorite performances by Hoffman. I have yet to see Capote, but i will very soon.

Brandt: The Big Lebowski

 This scene truly captures what made Hoffman such a great actor as well as what made Brandt such a memorable character. Even though he was only featured for a few minutes in the film. The nervous laughter, the condescending tone, are very subtle choices that come together that effectively define Hoffman's character, not by any sort of exposition but by strong acting. After this meeting Brandt begins to show respect for both Lebowski's in his life. Respectfully referring to Jeffery as "The Dude" throughout the film.

Caden Coutard: Synecdoche, New York

If you haven't seen Synecdoche New York then please don't watch this clip. I chose this because Hoffman delivers a beautiful line, which is cut off near the end, that has stuck with me since I watched this film. "There are nearly thirteen million people in the world. None of those people is an extra. They're all the leads of their own stories. They have to be given their due." I can say that this one line truly changed my outlook on life, and humanity in general. It's a line that carries so much weight and Hoffman delivers it well, feeling the meaning of the words in his voice. Cadens' revelation would become the basis of his work. A complete and fully populated recreation of New York City, even having an actor portray himself trying to complete the play.

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"I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That's what I want to explore. We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die, each of us secretly believing we won't." 
Phillip Seymour Hoffman July 1967-February 2014

Post 1: Having a Wounderful Time by Aurthor Kober

Having A wonderful Time

By Arthur Kober

Chick, aspiring young lawyer, is bitter about conditions and his 

lack of success.

Chick: Gee, I remember when I was a kid I had the world by the tail. 

I used to see rich men in their automobiles and I’d say to myself. 

“Don’t worry, Chick. Some day you’ll have a boat like that-only better. 

With your full name on the side, not just your initials.” Or else I’d read 

about some famous man and I’d say, “ O.K, O.K.., Chick. There’s no 

hurry. Shh! Just take it easy. You’ll get there an you’ll be even more 

famous.” 

Funny, when you’re a kid nothing seems impossible. . Y’know, 

even after I was admitted to the bar I still though I was a big shot. I 

was a professional man, see? I had a sheepskin with my name on it 

in fancy letter- Charles Kessler, LL.B. The world was waiting for me! 

[Snorts.] Sure it was! It was waiting- with a club in each hand . . . So 

now I have an education and a degree, and what the hell good is it? 

I can’t even get a job as relief-investigator at twenty-five smackers a 

week. There’re too many other lawyers ahead of me . . . It’s a lotta 

baloney. Study hard they tell you. Get a lotta knowledge- knowledge 

is power. A lotta bunk is what I say!

Last semester, for my Voice and Diction class, we where required to choose a monologue out of a book and perform it in front of the class. For me this particular monologue spoke to me on a personal level. I share a lot of Chicks cynicism, about education, about dreams, about the lies we're taught to believe growing up. I often fear that all this hard work im putting into my studies, and all the money, will go to waste once im thrust into the real world. It seems silly to have worked so hard and get a job sweeping floors or washing dishes, when i could have done it with out all the stress and crushing debt. The way I identified with this character, the fact that i already believed the things he said, helped me perform in front of the class. I didn't rehearse to much but i gave him just a bit of nasality, to make him sound a bit like a wiseguy and cynical.  I was going for that sort of classic Hollywood actor sound. As an example, i stole my pronunciation of the word Lawyer from Josesph Cottin in Citizen Kane,  This is a monologue i hope to perform again for this course. To get a better understanding of the character, i will be reading the entire play and giving my reactions to it, and to the character of Chick, in a later post.