Progress Report on Research Investigation.

Well. Found a good research question... I wanted to try to work on African theater, but the research for that is SO SO SO hard to find. So I gave up. I'm doing Brazilian theater instead, which is pretty easy to find research for....

EXCEPT.

I have to narrow down my topic so that I can get really deep into it instead of just BSing a whole bunch of shallow stuff... And therefore I'm going to have to do some more extensive research, cause right now I just have background information and basics. I have to find a specific tradition or theory, a specific play, a specific practitioner.


I'm feeling overwhelmed cause I just don't want to do this right now.
And it's thankfully a topic I'm fairly interested in.
But not overly PASSIONATE about it.
So 2000 words is not looking too hot right now.


Ahhh.

Research Investigations-- Finding a Question

Everyone knows that a good question leads to a good paper.
And THAT is why I'm stressing out. Haha.

I haven't found a good question for my research investigation yet, and I am falling way behind. Which is scary and stressful cause these babies are due in a couple weeks. (Babies meaning papers. Of course.)

I think part of it is just that there are SO MANY PARTS to this paper, and you have to make sure you have each and every one of them, and somehow roll it up into one little cohesive essay.

Um...

WTF?!?

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Plus it has to be at least 2000 words, which isn't awful, it just isn't easy.

As soon as I think of a topic, I'll do my research.

And as soon as the research is out of the way, it's downhill from there.

Just get the research done.
Just get the research done.
Just get the research done.

Cedar Springs.

Depression is such a cruel punishment. There are no fevers, no rashes, no blood tests to send people scurrying in concern. Just the slow erosion of self, as insidious as any cancer. And like cancer, it is essentially a solitary experience. A room in hell with only your name on the door.

I spent two weeks in Cedar Springs over spring break.
I don't want to go into it.
I don't want to explain it.
I don't want to have to tell anyone why.


But from a strictly theatrical point of view, the hospital and Cedar Springs are two of the BEST places to find good characters. I found myself observing most of the time-- observing the little nuances that people do, the little habits they have, the attitudes of certain people.

I don't know why it struck me so much at the hospital... maybe because nobody there has anything to hide, their greatest secret has already been exposed. So they are just themselves. They just act the way they act without worrying about what anyone else is thinking of them. It was a foreign world to me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is.... theater isn't about ACTING.

It's about NOT HIDING.

Showing yourself. Showing your character.

Stanislavski's Commandments

A penny for the old guy. :)

The trad kids presented these commandments today, and they were surprisingly entertaining. And informative. And (god forbid) interesting. :D

1. Research your character

(motivations, traits, past, more than just the script, look into it)

2. Read thy script every day

(makes ad-libbing easier, always bring pencil)

3. Thou Shalt Warm Up Properly

(includes body AND voice)

4. Thou shalt respect the history of the theater

(rehearsal ettiquette, especially backstage)

5. Thou shalt honor the acting process of the actor

(don't get in the way of other actors)

6. Really LISTEN ON STAGE

(make it a conversation, easier to respond/react)

7. Remember the magic "if"

(have the imagination of a child, ask yourself "if it was real....?")

8. Concentrate within your circle of attention

(be absorbed in your character/scene)

9. Accept criticism with grace

(you can't please everyone, take everything-- good and bad-- with a pinch of salt)

10. Maintain good health

(nutrition and sleep are important for actors too, rigorous job)

Angles on stage.

I took some pretty cool shots at the museum yesterday and was playing around with them on my camera.... and one thing that struck me is that I often mess around with angles and the way angles collide and join and break apart and make a piece that much more interesting.

And not to sound like a geek here, but once again I thought of performing on stage, and how a flat, 2D performance does not draw the audience in.

ANGLES

give you

DYNAMIC

characters and dialogue and plot and spectacle. :)


And I like that. I like engaging the audience. I like drawing people in.
It's what I'm here for. :)




Pictures from museum trip:

MUSEUM.

One thing that fascinates me about the museum is the emphasis on size. And the differences in size that are set into even sharper contrast because of the great grandiose sizes of such creatures as the dinosaurs, and the gigantic skeletons that hang over your head, or the scope of the planetarium as vast as the night sky. It all made me feel very small. Small like the tiny little jellyfish next to all these massive creatures, the miniscule gems, the tiniest details that stand out as precious treasures. And it reminded me that that's how theater is supposed to be.

LARGER THAN LIFE.
during the big moments.

but sometimes also it's in the details. :)

Picture Pitch Ideas

We did an exercise today about interpretation-- the way we interpret ideas, stimuli, and the tone of a scene. We were given picture-- 4 that we got to choose from-- and from one picture, we had to come up with characters, dialogue, and an entire plot for a skit.

Most of the skits were hilarious, and some were really deep. Especially the trial scene. Like the crucible. They had this freeze frame idea where they stopped the scene in order to hear separate testimonies from each person.



**USE THAT IN ANOTHER SCRIPT, HINT HINT**



But I really enjoyed it... Because it showed me the power of the SCENE and the depth that can be seen in a character just from one glance, one moment. So much can be understood from that single expression, or from the formation of a stage picture. And this exercise, whether it was intentional or not, helped me learn that.