Final Performance Link

http://youtu.be/CoVreJcUdkU

An Amazing Acting Class

I have really loved being a part of D Period Acting Class. I think that this class had great people that all worked well together. I have loved every experience in this class. What I learned most was how to create multiple “forms” of energy with various people. For example, if I had not taken this class, I would never have learned how to achieve a tense feeling in my acting that I did when doing my “No Country For Old Men” scene with Shannok. I think that I could have dedicated more time to learning lines, however I don’t think that I honestly had enough time to. For the future, I want to set a goal for myself that I set aside specific times dedicated to learning lines. I think that this will really help me improve as an actor.

Most importantly, I think that I have achieve a main goal of mine: to prove that puppetry can be serious. I am so happy that Alexis decided to do a puppetry scene with me because while many people it may be something goofy and silly, I take it seriously. I think puppetry is a very challenging form of acting that requires dedication and actors who are not afraid to admit that they do it. At first, Alexis was extremely shy of her puppetry and denied that she was doing this scene. However, over the short process of working together, I can tell that she stopped being concerned with other’s opinions. Both not caring and working the actual puppet are beyond difficult, and I feel as though we both overcame these obstacles.  I think that we were probably two of the least serious people in the class, but we proved through puppetry that we can be. It was one of my favorite experience in the class because both Shannok and I truly had fun and produced a scene that was different and captivating.

What I enjoyed most in this class was that I could do any form of acting, especially some that was completely crazy and out of control, without being judged.This welcoming environment I think also helped me grow as an actor. It taught me that I shouldn’t care about what other people may think of me and that I should just have fun and trust myself. I looked forward every day to come to class because I felt that the environment that was created was fun and supportive, especially when Mrs. G let Alexis and I make our puppets lip-sync. Not a lot of teachers allow their students to be nerdy and show off something that has (almost) nothing to do with the class. For that, I am extremely thankful.  

This acting class made me consider myself for the first time as an actor. I always thought that I was average at acting, but now I think that through this class and all of what I have learned, that I can improve. I am so excited to take this course again next semester because now I know what I really want to focus on. I think that this class has helped me prepare for auditions, the musical, and any other acting activity that I might be thrown into.

Progress for No Country For Old Men

I think that my audition piece needs a lot of improvement. I think that the biggest thing that Alexis and I need to work on is creating tense energy and how to make our puppets act realistically. I also think that we need to create facial expressions for our puppets and how how to physically do that. Another thing that we have to achieve is how to hold our puppet. While it might seem simple, I often notice Shannok or myself letting my arm down. This will make our puppet look more like a growth than a person. Whenever I catch her or myself, I will say something (even in the middle of the scene) so that we can correct it. Its also a challenge to figure out how to make my puppet eat and toss a coin. I have decided that I have to learn how to flip a coin with my left hand and how I can make my puppet look like he is eating without being very distracting at the same time.

Right now, we are trying to develop the movements by paying attention to subtle actions with our puppets and by working with a metronome to monitor our pauses. This strategy is working for us and I think we are progressing in a steady pace. We work with little movements in our arm and hand to achieve what we want for our puppet, in a learning-styled process. It’s extremely fun, whenever Shannok and I stumble upon something new with our puppet, we have to stop what we are doing and show each other. It's amazing to realize everything that a simple sock puppet can do facial and expression wise. Even though it is taking longer than I would have hoped, I love getting to work with the puppets and explore a new type/media of acting.  

Yet this piece is helping me to develop as an actor. I can truly notice when I have to push myself in my scene by doing something new (such as being more eery and slow). While it is hard for me to get into the head of my character, I enjoy the challenge. I think this piece fits perfectly for what I wanted to do because of it’s challenging steps. My concrete goals are: 1. To be more creepy, 2. To develop tense energy between me and Shannok (which is hard for us because we are very comfortable around each other), 3. To work on my puppet’s facial expression, and most importantly, 4. To prove that puppetry can be a serious type of acting and skill.

So far I have really enjoyed working on this piece with Shannok. I think that the dialougue stands out because it is so uncomfortable to watch as an audience member. I hope that we will pick up the pace as far as progress, but I know that Shannok and I will put in tremendous effort to make the piece as best as we can.

Chigurh

My character's name Chigurh. He is currently in Mexico, looking for Lewelyn. Once he finds him he wants to kill him and take the money he found at the drug scene. However, Chigurh has to stop at a gas station to buy gas and a packet of nuts. I think his motivation is to. Make the sales clerk realize how he has been living his life and acknowledge everything he has. I want my puppet to wear a black shirt and pair of pants. Over that I want him to wear a dark colored jackets etching very simple. As far as me, I want to dress in all black. The set should have Alexis on one side of the counter and me on the other. In an ideal world we could transform the set into a gas station. I don't want a lot of blocking, instead I want Alexis and I to focus on making our puppet breathe and having facial expressions. My personal goals coincide with me stretching myself as an actor. My goal is to make people realize that puppetry can be serious and not just a silly type of entertainment. That is why I chose this scene. I hope to achieve this in my scene. 

Improvazation

I have had a fair amount of experience with improv and it is my favorite exercise to do when practicing acting. And yet, I still find it to be a challenging form of acting to conquer. There will always be something to improve upon, whether it be your reaction pace, your ability to think outside the box, or your ability to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Each of these factors are not easy to do, but are extremely crucial to having a great improv scene. However, in order to achieve this, you need to be acting with people that you get along with well and that you know before hand.

I think that it is important to know who you are doing a scene with as well, because on stage chemistry, I have learned, is helpful to keeping the audience’s attention, maintaining a scene (example: if someone should forget their line, another actor may help them by guiding them to where the scene is supposed to go), or by adding comedic or dramatic elements. Improv really allows actors to have fun on stage by making them use their instinct in a fast pace, while at the same time, it can be extremely helpful. For example, if an audience member shouted out into the audience a line that they knew was about to be said, there is pressure on the actor to either say their line, or improv a funny response. If a mistake happens on stage, actors can recover by going along with the line and fooling the audience that it was part of script.

Improv is one of my favorite activities to do when acting. I think that it allows you to recognize what you're naturally good at, and what you need to improve upon. For me, I think I need to work on being more energetic in improv scenes and being able to take my scenes to new heights. On the other hand, I think that one of my strengths is that I am willing to go along with anything that might be thrown into my path. I love finding out what my scene will go and how to constantly change it. That being said, I think it is important to reflect on your scene and acknowledge what you did well, what you could have done differently, and how you can improve in your next improv scene. This will better your abilities as an actor. If you think of improv as a game, it can be truly fun and exciting.

What I love most about improv is that when doing comedic scenes, I can act as ridiculous as I want. Levels of emotions are really limitless because you, as an actor, are developing your character and what they want to achieve. I think that this is something special because it forces you to think on spot and at the same time, it teaches you to just have fun and go along with whatever you might encounter with your fellow actors.