Acting I.3

My webpages are to help you to do your homework: go to groups.yahoo.com/group/wwwilde to view the class archives!

According to Aristotle, there are six elements of drama, which he ranked in order of priority:
1. Plot—the arrangement of dramatic incidents
2. Characters—the people represented in the play
3. Thought or theme—the ideas explored
4. Language—the dialogue and poetry
5. Music
6. Spectacle—scenery and other visual elements

Mandy’s Acting Journal (sample fragments)

Anatoly or Charlie or both – This journal was written retrospectively because I don’t normally write journals and I didn’t know exactly what you were looking for until this week, plus I have been slightly behind in all my classes because I don’t have a place to live yet and I’m living out of my car which makes it a little hard to keep up with things. However, my journal will be current from now on.

9/11/03 Lily speaks to me. I remember feeling what she feels when I was younger, her age. I never knew my father and I only know what he looks like because I have one picture of him. I grew up in Nenana and moved to Anchorage when I was eleven. I never felt like I fit in until my senior year of high school, so I can identify with the character’s thoughts. It seems to me that choosing a monologue is easier if you try to find one that reminds you of yourself. I still don’t know how I’m going to get up in front of the class and do this. I haven’t acted since I was four and speech class last year was torture for me.

9/15/03
5 Ws for Lily
Who – The description says that Lily is a 12-18 year old female. Is she a prostitute?
Where – I imagine a city street corner if she’s a prostitute and outside a school if she’s still a student – I haven’t decided on that yet.
What – I have to use all 9 squares, so I will have to move around. Maybe show the things in her bedroom?
Why – Lily is explaining why she’s a loner. She’s angry, she feels alone and persecuted and she doesn’t understand why she doesn’t fit in, she just knows she doesn’t. However, Lily is bitter at the others because their lives were relatively easier, and she is taking out some of this bitter anger on her audience.
When – Depends on the setting. During the day sometime or early evening? Maybe at night she runs into a group of friends out on the town?

Anatoly’s law: 3/3/9 (voice levels, vertical levels, squares of stage area)

-Voice
Level 1 – Low: When describing bedroom
Level 2 – Normal – “I didn’t notice…” to “…kissed you goodbye.” -“I tried that once…” to end.
Level 3 – Yelling – “I don’t even know…” to “Why should I be?”

-Vertical
Level 1 – Floor – Sitting on “rug” as I describe it?
Level 2 – Sitting – Beginning to “Not that I didn’t love my room.”
Level 3 – Standing – Get up to describe room, to end.

3 plot levels
-Exposition – Beginning to “…as long as it was legal.”
-Climax – “You ask me…” to “Why should I be?”
-Denouement – “I tried that once…” to end.

Pre-acting – can we use props? Ask Anatoly.

Costume – prostitute?

Prop – Cigarette?

9/16/03 I decided not to go with the prostitute look. I don’t think I’m confident enough yet to dress up. I’m still working on my movement but I did notice that Anatoly’s law works out very well with the 3 plot levels in my piece. Hmmmm…..

9/15/03 Anatoly didn’t call on me today, even though I was supposed to go. I performed it for Joe A. before class. I was surprisingly relaxed when performing it for a complete stranger. I found that I fell into Lily’s character better when I performed it for someone rather than rehearsing it by myself. I don’t think the sitting on the rug thing is going to work for me, it’s too distracting and clumsy…

9/20/03 I performed my monologue today. I got some really good advice from Rose before class. She suggested I give the piece a name that I call it, so at least it has one for me. I went with “Cracks and Stains.” Not very original…

She also suggested that on the line “I thought I lived in a palace” I should do it dreamily or sarcastically or however I wanted, but make it a strong statement of my emotions.

I forgot a line. I think one of my weaknesses is focus. I don’t even remember what happened after “Your mothers…” I think I lost some confidence after I described the room, using hindsight to try and figure out if it was really dorky. Also, I pretended to take a puff of the cigarette and noticed how bad my hand was shaking and that kind of threw me off track, too.

Anatoly’s feedback was good, we as a class picked Lily apart and tried to imagine what makes her tick, like memories or how she acts around others, basically tried to imagine what her life was like outside the piece.

Simposia, Discussion, Feedback

Dionysos:

Apollo:

Meyerhold:

Stanislavsky:

PS

Homework

NB

Next: 121-II