May 30, 2007

What a sweet small class this was! There were only five of us, but we got to do some really specific in-depth work on scenes. Everyone is going through a lot of changes right now - quite a few people have had calls to interview for representation and to work on independent films. This is all very exciting! We talked about belief again - in ourselves, in the process, in what we love - that if we hold our love of and for something and believe that it will carry us and bring us to whatever we want, then it will. There were two scenes put up - we played with blocking and tone and intention - changing things up a bit here and there. Everyone took their adjustments really well. It's so nice to work with such flexible, willing, adept actors! Yeah! The world awaits!

May 23, 2007

The gang had the giggles for this class! It was so much fun! And it wasn't even because of Bold Chex Party Mix! We worked on clearing fears, exposing them to the light and bringing awareness to the intentions behind our actions so that we can create exactly what we want. We worked on auditions again this week - practicing entrances, exits and slates, feeling good about ourselves all the way through the entire process. We did some improvs in which there was silence until one of the characters had to speak the one line they were given - we had a a sperm donor and the lady who worked at the sperm bank (It's not funny.), two kids in a sandbox (Shut up!), two teenagers in the back seat of an older brother's car (Your breath is disgusting.), and a teamster and his unhappy companion (I like that.). We finished the evening with auditions for a horror film - learning to take the lines off the page and go through various stages of call backs. A good time was had by all!

May 16, 2007

Auditions, auditions, auditions. That's what we worked on this class. And callbacks, callbacks, callbacks. Since that is the direction everyone is quickly heading in. It's very exciting to see everyone's hard work moving them forward. We started out practicing slates, entrances and exits, and feeling good about ourselves through the entire audition process. Then we did some actual auditions - a car thief, ladies looking for insurance, a flight attendant and his rude cell phone downloading passenger, a salesman and his lazy-boy customer - we had it all! Then we did theatrical auditions for a soon-to-be-produced comedy. We practiced tone, holding our space in the lobby while waiting with others and in the room itself, figuring out story based on the text and making strong character choices based on that story. It was a lot of fun. We did the first audition with the casting associate and then did the third callback with producers. The characters we saw were a frustrated high school principal firing a substitute, a kid fighting to keep his horse, a girl being offended by a clumsy guy, a dad giving his son some tough love, a girl testing a guy's belief in himself, a depressed kid getting encouragement from his totally un-p.c. landlord, and a sexually-minded doctor diagnosing a horse! It was a crazy, wonderful, educational evening! What a joy! What a joy!

May 9, 2007

We laughed and laughed and laughed last night! Poetry inspired characters and situations! Questions were asked of a Strip Club Owner and his Star Stripper, a drunk pilot and his co-pilot, and, of course, a teacher and her student! Everyone then visited the doctor with various physical issues - some received proper care, and others most certainly were taken for a ride! The scene work was really solid and specific, relationships were clear, and the audience wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was a blast! What a joyous blessing!

May 2, 2007

We had some guests last night, which was a great treat! So much fun! Warm-ups were delightful - moved a lot of energy around and cleared a lot of old habits and patterns that are no longer useful out of the way. The improvs were hysterical - fairy tales of the bucolic and horror genres - wolverines, bears, headless witches, dancing witches - we had it all! We did some work with archetypes - creating scenes around the various roles. Then we went on an ABC trip with two gay lovers at the pier, a cab driver and his hottie passenger, and a gardener and his bossy boss. Afterward, the scene work was pretty intense - a murderer and his victim - really working through judgment of the character and allowing oneself to experience and express that darkness - finding what is human in the character. A couple at a wedding rekindling their love - working on taking the focus off the self and allowing the text to move through. And, finally, a husband and wife who can't seem to connect, and yet refuse to leave each other. All in all, a beautiful evening, with lots of specific and clear storytelling. How fun! What a joy!