This unit, 'page to stage', was very hectic and interrupted and unorganized at times, but it did not fail to teach us all a lesson or two. I really got to see the workings of a theatre company putting together, albeit on a smaller scale. We really needed to listen to our director, as opposed to last year's 'page to stage' unit where our director let us make out own decisions a lot. The directors had the final say.
I think the main problem I faced as an actor were, sadly, the directors. I do not feel they were tolerant enough, or quite as organized as they should have been. They got overly stressed at which point it felt as if they had no faith in us and that dropped our morale. They did manage to put it all together, though, and that was what mattered in the end. We put on a good show that they directed, so they managed to do their part.
Another difficulty we faced was ourselves. We did not put enough effort into learning our lines, and thus had a harder time during rehearsals. DI and rugby also got in the way and that took away an entire week from our preparation time.
What i also found was that we, the actors, were quite isolated from the tech team, with the exception of myself perhaps as i helped Alex a little from time to time, so we did not know our sound cues as well as we could, but it all worked out in the end as they were not terribly complicated and did not distract from the play.
Personally, I feel "The Long Goodbye" was a very suitable play to end drama class with. We were saying goodbye to drama class, and the final scene really captured that.
In the end, we managed to come together and create one final piece of theatre, and we did it very well. The actors were great (especially Nick CS as Joe, i think he was VERY good), the designers did everything they had planned perfectly, with one small exception, and the directors had masterminded it all. It is a sad end of three years, but we ended well.
Thank you Mr. Sarstedt for the past few years, they've been great, it's been a pleasure and an honor to be in your class.
lørdag den 9. juni 2007
FINAL PERFORMANCE - 07/06/07 + Drama Evaluation
The performance was a success! Apparently it was great from the audience's point of view, and that is what matters! There were no big mess-ups, and everyone remembered their lines!
We met outside the PAC, in the courtyard, at 6:30 and proceeded in playing a game of bang, our last ever as an ensemble. It was fun, except i was first to be knocked out, and i do not actually think i have ever won a game of bang, which is quite sad, really... After that, we got ready for the play. This meant make up and hair and all that. For me, this meant that i was going to get my hair slicked back. Caroline sat me down, and proceeded in squeezing a blob of gel into the palm of her hand the size of Bill's ego and then into my hair it went. This was followed by enough hair spray to kill an adult moose. I then put on my leather jacket and the cigarette went behind my ear, and the consensus was that i looked like someone "straight out of Grease". Fair enough...
We then went inside and during the intermission we set up. Everyone was fairly nervous, but i think we all knew that we would do good. Finally, it was time to start, the lights dimmed, Nick walked on and the sound of traffic started...
It started of well, everyone knew what they were doing (well, almost everyone...) and there were no real mess-ups. That is, until Alex Dal accidentally started one of the SFX far too early, in the middle of a scene with Joe and Silva somewhere towards the beginning/early-middle of the play. That was the biggest mess-up of the play, but it was not a huge problem.
Then it was time for my scene with Nick. It went very well, in my opinion, and we did the scene justice. It was not a very hard scene, sure, but we still did well and that is a good thing.
Then came my scene with Maria. This was it! We went out there, and we remembered all our lines, like i knew we would, and everything went smoothly, except at one point the cigarette fell from behind my ear, but that did not cause an issue, merely a few laughs from the crowd, which was no problem. I think, despite all the problems we had had with it, that we managed to pull that scene off very well with no real problems. Nick came on a little late, though, and i felt it was a little awkward when i simply stopped after "when girls like you try to sell me that stuff..." because it would have been better if he would have interrupted me. He then pushed me quite forcefully off stage which probably created a nice effect.
The other actors then finished their scenes, and it all ended with Nick's mock salute and the sad tune, which i feel symbolized our goodbye to drama class. The sad song definitely summed up many of the emotions we were feeling, while the salute fit in with the somewhat light-hearted nature of our ensemble.
The crowd clapped and we bowed, and it was all over.
That moment marked the end of an era for me. It was the end of drama class. I have to do chemistry and biology next year if i want to go to medical school, and thus cannot do IB Theatre. I have enjoyed these past three years enormously and do not want them to be over, and cannot believe the reality of it. I have learned so much. I have progressed as an actor, I project better, i know how to use my body better, and have discovered a love for improvization which, unfortunately, we did not get to do much of this year, and when we did we were very rusty as we had not done it for a while, which was a shame.
A moment this year that definitely stands out was when Alex Dal and I did our monologue, about a hunter in the woods. We were told we did an amazing job and i am actually very proud of our monologue. Apparently it was one of the first times where we had shown a darker, more emotional side to our performances, as opposed to the usual comedy.
The past three years in drama have been great, and i have learned an incredible amount. Because i am not doing IB Theatre next year, i am definitely joining ETC in order to satisfy my drama needs.
We met outside the PAC, in the courtyard, at 6:30 and proceeded in playing a game of bang, our last ever as an ensemble. It was fun, except i was first to be knocked out, and i do not actually think i have ever won a game of bang, which is quite sad, really... After that, we got ready for the play. This meant make up and hair and all that. For me, this meant that i was going to get my hair slicked back. Caroline sat me down, and proceeded in squeezing a blob of gel into the palm of her hand the size of Bill's ego and then into my hair it went. This was followed by enough hair spray to kill an adult moose. I then put on my leather jacket and the cigarette went behind my ear, and the consensus was that i looked like someone "straight out of Grease". Fair enough...
We then went inside and during the intermission we set up. Everyone was fairly nervous, but i think we all knew that we would do good. Finally, it was time to start, the lights dimmed, Nick walked on and the sound of traffic started...
It started of well, everyone knew what they were doing (well, almost everyone...) and there were no real mess-ups. That is, until Alex Dal accidentally started one of the SFX far too early, in the middle of a scene with Joe and Silva somewhere towards the beginning/early-middle of the play. That was the biggest mess-up of the play, but it was not a huge problem.
Then it was time for my scene with Nick. It went very well, in my opinion, and we did the scene justice. It was not a very hard scene, sure, but we still did well and that is a good thing.
Then came my scene with Maria. This was it! We went out there, and we remembered all our lines, like i knew we would, and everything went smoothly, except at one point the cigarette fell from behind my ear, but that did not cause an issue, merely a few laughs from the crowd, which was no problem. I think, despite all the problems we had had with it, that we managed to pull that scene off very well with no real problems. Nick came on a little late, though, and i felt it was a little awkward when i simply stopped after "when girls like you try to sell me that stuff..." because it would have been better if he would have interrupted me. He then pushed me quite forcefully off stage which probably created a nice effect.
The other actors then finished their scenes, and it all ended with Nick's mock salute and the sad tune, which i feel symbolized our goodbye to drama class. The sad song definitely summed up many of the emotions we were feeling, while the salute fit in with the somewhat light-hearted nature of our ensemble.
The crowd clapped and we bowed, and it was all over.
That moment marked the end of an era for me. It was the end of drama class. I have to do chemistry and biology next year if i want to go to medical school, and thus cannot do IB Theatre. I have enjoyed these past three years enormously and do not want them to be over, and cannot believe the reality of it. I have learned so much. I have progressed as an actor, I project better, i know how to use my body better, and have discovered a love for improvization which, unfortunately, we did not get to do much of this year, and when we did we were very rusty as we had not done it for a while, which was a shame.
A moment this year that definitely stands out was when Alex Dal and I did our monologue, about a hunter in the woods. We were told we did an amazing job and i am actually very proud of our monologue. Apparently it was one of the first times where we had shown a darker, more emotional side to our performances, as opposed to the usual comedy.
The past three years in drama have been great, and i have learned an incredible amount. Because i am not doing IB Theatre next year, i am definitely joining ETC in order to satisfy my drama needs.
fredag den 8. juni 2007
Dress Rehearsal - 07/06/07
IN CLASS
Today, the day of the performance, we finally did a dress rehearsal. i personally think we did pretty good in the Bill/Myra scene. I know i felt more confident, and we knew our lines perfectly and everything went well, so we were ready for the final performance. i was wearing lea's dad's leather jacket again, and a white t-shirt and jeans, like caroline had told me i should wear. The scene with Joe/Nick went fine as well, and we had everything under control.
The other actors were a bit dodgy at some points, though. some had scripts in their hands, and some just messed up. That was a bit stressful, i must say, but it was not too bad. The SFX, however, were on time and the lights were good. I felt things would be somewhat fine at the final performance, and that i would be able to do a good job. An addition that was made during this rehearsal were the boxes that were put in the apartment. I really feel they created an effect and made the whole set look great.
AFTER SCHOOL
This rehearsal was a bit more problematic, and the actors and directors kept stopping to make comments or ask questions and it was a little unnerving because the final performance was in a few hours. i had faith in the actors, however, except maybe one who had showed up to maybe one rehearsal, but that was nothing to dwell on. it was a bit of a hectic rehearsal, though, and it was noticeable that we had not managed to stay on top of things the whole time.
i was hoping that we would manage to do well on the final perfomance..............
Today, the day of the performance, we finally did a dress rehearsal. i personally think we did pretty good in the Bill/Myra scene. I know i felt more confident, and we knew our lines perfectly and everything went well, so we were ready for the final performance. i was wearing lea's dad's leather jacket again, and a white t-shirt and jeans, like caroline had told me i should wear. The scene with Joe/Nick went fine as well, and we had everything under control.
The other actors were a bit dodgy at some points, though. some had scripts in their hands, and some just messed up. That was a bit stressful, i must say, but it was not too bad. The SFX, however, were on time and the lights were good. I felt things would be somewhat fine at the final performance, and that i would be able to do a good job. An addition that was made during this rehearsal were the boxes that were put in the apartment. I really feel they created an effect and made the whole set look great.
AFTER SCHOOL
This rehearsal was a bit more problematic, and the actors and directors kept stopping to make comments or ask questions and it was a little unnerving because the final performance was in a few hours. i had faith in the actors, however, except maybe one who had showed up to maybe one rehearsal, but that was nothing to dwell on. it was a bit of a hectic rehearsal, though, and it was noticeable that we had not managed to stay on top of things the whole time.
i was hoping that we would manage to do well on the final perfomance..............
tirsdag den 5. juni 2007
05/06/07
Today we practiced my scene with Maria again. Apparently one of our constructively criticizing directors thinks the scene is "the worst in the play", even though it is not that bad, Maria just giggles too much, and we look a little bit too uncomfortable. The director in question is just too stressed, as she makes a habit of becoming, and so i choose to not take her exaggerations as badly as i might. i admit that we need to improve it quite a bit, but i think she needs to think about what she is saying. Basically, we need to:
1. increase the sexual tension! (both)
2.speak up (mostly me)
3.look less awkward (mostly maria)
4.know our lines better so the scene would flow better (mostly maria)
I also made a suggestion about the flashback scene where Joe and his mom are driving through the country with Joe's dad. I feel it could be improved if all the lights were off, except for one spotlight at center stage, where nick would be. At the moment you can see Ezgi sitting in the chair saying her lines, and it looks like she is delirious, and nick is narrating, but if my idea were to be implemented, then he would narrate, and the audience would theoretically not see Ezgi, so it would seem like the voice was inside his head instead, which i feel is the way it should be. This idea was immediately dismissed, because Taylor felt it would "complicate things because its so late" but it is only one lighting change, nothing radical, so i now feel the directors are putting the quality of the play second to practicality/their fear of confusion, and i dont think that is the way to go, because both the tech crew and actors i talked to liked the idea. but, it is the director's call in the end.
1. increase the sexual tension! (both)
2.speak up (mostly me)
3.look less awkward (mostly maria)
4.know our lines better so the scene would flow better (mostly maria)
I also made a suggestion about the flashback scene where Joe and his mom are driving through the country with Joe's dad. I feel it could be improved if all the lights were off, except for one spotlight at center stage, where nick would be. At the moment you can see Ezgi sitting in the chair saying her lines, and it looks like she is delirious, and nick is narrating, but if my idea were to be implemented, then he would narrate, and the audience would theoretically not see Ezgi, so it would seem like the voice was inside his head instead, which i feel is the way it should be. This idea was immediately dismissed, because Taylor felt it would "complicate things because its so late" but it is only one lighting change, nothing radical, so i now feel the directors are putting the quality of the play second to practicality/their fear of confusion, and i dont think that is the way to go, because both the tech crew and actors i talked to liked the idea. but, it is the director's call in the end.
torsdag den 31. maj 2007
31/05/07
This class I teamed up with Alex Dal and Sebastien to help them a little on their sound effects. We downloaded Audacity, one of my all time favourite programs, to help them edit sound on Mr. Sarstedt's black mac laptop. A little while later, i was called into the PAC to work on my scene with Maria. it still needs work, maria needs to stop giggling and i need to be louder and all that, but i think with enough practice we will make it work. personally, i dont think we are getting constructive criticism, besides those things that i just said, and those we are not getting in a constructive way. Taylor makes a habit of getting annoyed, as a result of her stress, and thus annoys the actors she is annoyed at. others are constantly saying "you need to be more *insert obvious adjective here*" and it is not very helpful. i think we will pull it off in the end, though.
I also have my lines for my scene with Nick CS memorized, except i forget to say "Hey! Myra!" sometimes. its no big deal, though, it will be fine.
I also have my lines for my scene with Nick CS memorized, except i forget to say "Hey! Myra!" sometimes. its no big deal, though, it will be fine.
onsdag den 30. maj 2007
30/05/07
Today was the first class after my DI trip, and after the rugby tournament. What a shock. There had not actually been very much progress. By which, of course, i mean almost none, except now nick cs knew his lines. this stressed taylor out pretty bad (which is not too hard i guess but still..) and so we got to work and finally practiced the play as it should be practiced, while actually acting.
Everyone had a script in their hand, if i remember correctly, except Nick CS. The problem, however, was that it was hard to hear what was going on, as everyone (tech, actors, directors) were in the same place at the same time.
The scenes need definite work, especially my scene with Maria. We are being told we need to create more sexual tension and that Maria needs to be less stiff and more confident, while i need to project more. We definitely need to practice it a lot before the final performance. my other scene, the one with nick cs, is fine, except i need to know my lines completely, although that will not be very hard.
there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but i think we just might be able to pull it off
Everyone had a script in their hand, if i remember correctly, except Nick CS. The problem, however, was that it was hard to hear what was going on, as everyone (tech, actors, directors) were in the same place at the same time.
The scenes need definite work, especially my scene with Maria. We are being told we need to create more sexual tension and that Maria needs to be less stiff and more confident, while i need to project more. We definitely need to practice it a lot before the final performance. my other scene, the one with nick cs, is fine, except i need to know my lines completely, although that will not be very hard.
there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but i think we just might be able to pull it off
fredag den 18. maj 2007
The Last Three Drama Classes (02/05/07, 03/05/07, 16/05/07)
I have not evaluated the past few lessons, because they have all just been us, the actors, reading the play, so i will evaluate all the classes in this one evaluation.
Everyone seems to be happy with their roles, but none of us have completely memorized our lines, which was supposed to have happened by last class, May 16th. I do not think this will be a big problem, however, and everyone will learn their lines soon enough.
We basically sat in a circle and read through the play, except for last class, in which we walked around for the last half of the play because it was supposed to "help us memorize our lines" (?). i personally think we should be acting it out at this point, but it is up to the directors. I do not know how the technical things are going, but i imagine that they are pretty much on time.
The main thing that i dislike at the moment is the fact that Silva is a girl. I know it was a necessary thing to do as we do not have enough male actors, and i am not doubting Anastasia's ablity, but i just think Silva is supposed to be male.
Everyone seems to be happy with their roles, but none of us have completely memorized our lines, which was supposed to have happened by last class, May 16th. I do not think this will be a big problem, however, and everyone will learn their lines soon enough.
We basically sat in a circle and read through the play, except for last class, in which we walked around for the last half of the play because it was supposed to "help us memorize our lines" (?). i personally think we should be acting it out at this point, but it is up to the directors. I do not know how the technical things are going, but i imagine that they are pretty much on time.
The main thing that i dislike at the moment is the fact that Silva is a girl. I know it was a necessary thing to do as we do not have enough male actors, and i am not doubting Anastasia's ablity, but i just think Silva is supposed to be male.
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