Acting Aware

June 13, 2007

2007-06-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful final class! Thank you to all who came and participated and supported. What a blessing and a joy to know so many incredible spirits. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we sang, we ate! What a life! I will miss all of you and this group experience very much, but as you know. part of my heart is with all of you always - as yours are with me. Take all of the love, support, belief, nurturing, trust, confidence, joy, laughter, comfort of the space we created together with you everywhere you go, and you will have all you desire. Missing you already and loving you always! Kia

May 6, 2007

2007-06-07T15:12:00.001-07:00

Well, we certainly know how to have a good time! I laughed so hard last night, I was crying! My stomach is getting flatter by the class! What a delight! We spent a lot of time checking in with where we all are in our lives and all of the transitions that are going on - allowing some patience for movement to manifest change and some compassion for ourselves amidst the seeming chaos. Warm-ups and hand massages were healing and cleansing - the virtue of our intentions healing and opening ourselves to what our spirit needs on conscious and unconscioius levels. Improvisations consisted of extremely effective Infomercials selling round tires, the smooth legs created by Nair hair removal, and the health and happy benefits of jumping rope! We then did a little "Thank God You're Here" - being graced with the presence of a spelunker rescuer, a priest performing an exorcism, a polygamist wedding planner, an SAT test giver, a police officer helping school-children in need, and a Madame of the first degree! We then went on the road and were joined by some hitchikers - a praying monk, a nail-biter, a woo-woo train armer, a shoulder roller, a nose-picker and, of course, a crotch-grabber! Of course, the kids in the back seat were always fun, fascinating and difficult in the best way. Some scene work was put up - and we worked on using our imagination to make choices that raise the stakes and propel the story forward. A girl in a coffee shop was dumbed-down, two brothers fought over a tv and a girl (although it seemed they were more excited about the tv!), and a lawyer patiently waiting to hear a clients story. What incredible deep work everyone did - the willingness and openness with which they share themselves with the group and the world is such a gift. What a blessing to be a part of this journey!

May 30, 2007

2007-05-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

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!

April 25, 2007

2007-04-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

Class was small, but sweet this evening - and hysterical! We turned our brains and our bodies inside out, then gave little hand and feet massages! Improvs consisted of using the same text and changing the situation and tone - we did soap opera, action/thriller, and comedic horror! (But, don't worry, "Next time, I'll do better!") And then we worked on a scene from "Smoke" in depth - with and without the giggles due to costuming! What a glorious adventure this is. I am so grateful to all of you for sharing your joy so effortlessly!

April 18, 2007

2007-04-19T10:39:00.001-07:00

Class was a blast - as usual! After going around and checking in, I announced that June will be the last month that I will be teaching group classes because of some film and tv projects I have going - and while it is really heartbreaking, everyone understood that there are different steps to each journey and this one, for me, is coming to an end. I will still happily be coaching people privately. And, I have a feeling after the showcase in June, everyone will be working very soon! I just know it! (Plus, as soon as I am able, I will be hiring all of these transformative actors!) So, we did some warm-ups and shifted the energy a bit from the sadness that resulted from my announcement - there was some tickling and giggling at the end of the warm-ups! Then we went into improvs - and had fun fitting phrases into scenes (the singer and shoe salesman - oops, salesperson! - will always be remembered!), then only using questions, we got much insight into the lives of prisoners, female truckers and high school students and their teachers (I won't go into all of the sexual inneundo that was flying around the theatre last night, but boy, oh boy was it crazy!). Then we practiced hosting and reporting - we interviewed David Hasselhoff, me, a chair maker, a lottery winner, a genius split-personality and the most powerful godmother ever (think Brando and Pacino but female)! We have some hot shot reporters in our room! The scene work was solid - even though there were a few scenes that people weren't in love with doing, but they found what they could love about the character and situation and really made it work, and did not judge the character or the situation. It was fascinating to watch the transitions and the specificity - specificity and strong choices are so important! In everything we do! It's so wonderful to have the opportunity to allow our imaginations to create situations and circumstance based on a few words on a page and then create the character and live the life that we have imagined for those few brief moments. So much fun! What a blessing and joy to teach such incredible spirits. I will miss it, but life continues to change and move forward. All is good.

April 18, 2007

2007-04-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

April 11, 2007

2007-04-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

We spent a large part of the evening talking about technique and specific ways to connect with imagination and intuition on an individual level, addressing specific issues that each individual had. As soon as we are aware of what we want to work on, we have traveled a large portion of the distance. We worked on essence of character and creating an entire life from a small amount of text. It was wonderful to watch the transformations and hilarious to participate in the question and answer session/therapy session that we had with each character. We then did improvs with these new characters (Those unisex bathrooms get awfully crazy!). And then we helped one of the students pick out which headshots he is going to use. All in all, everyone is moving forward and trusting themselves more and more. It is exciting and glorious to watch everything unfold! The journey is the destination! What a relief!

April 4, 2007

2007-04-06T00:08:00.000-07:00

What a treat class was this evening! We had Allan Rich visit and talk about his acting book and technique. He is an incredible storyteller and has seen it all as far as Hollywood and Broadway go! He shared stories, performed some Shakespeare, and explained in detail the simple and specific way he works and has taught others to work. It was such fun! Thank you, Allan! What a blessing you are! The fun continues next week!

March 28, 2007

2007-03-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Class was a lot of fun last night! We laughed so hard a few times that one or two people almost fell out of their seats - I suppose that's what happens when someone with brown hair wants to be called "Red" (No, Stephen. Yes, Stephen - you had to be there!)! We also laughed at the previous "Craig's List" lonely in middle-of-America improvs. (What is a "_____ hole" again?) What a wonderful and silly group we are! There are a lot of changes and transitions going on in everyone's lives right now - a lot of job changes and shifts forward. It's nice that we can come together each week and share our news and excitement and fears. Everything is moving in the direction we require to have what we want. Warm-ups were a little longer than usual, but boy does that little bit of kundalini yoga move tension and old habits out and open us up for whatever needs to move through us to create character and tell story! (FYI, Forest Whitaker started studying kundalini yoga before he worked on his Oscar-winning role for "Last King of Scotland" - there's gotta be something to it!) ;-) We did the firing line improv - and got pretty much out of our heads - working toward shifting mental constructs and habits that prevent us from connecting with our imagination and intuition! We also did silent (or not so silent for some of us) improvs to practice telling story and relationship without words. It's incredible to watch the variety that comes out of individual imagination. It's also so important to remember that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad - simply different ways that we each perceive and act. It's pretty cool. The scene work was clear and ultimately very specific - we're learning to make stronger, clearer choices and allow for vulnerability - in the characters and in ourselves. We also had quite a few sexy scenes this evening - and some wonderfully committed and full or whole storytelling from visiting guests. What a treat! Thank God for the openness, willingness and desire to share experience. Without that, we would most likely believe the fear that we are alone. (We are not, by the way - we're all one, and storytelling is part of the way we mirror each other and express ourselves and share our vision and spirit and connect with all of consciousness. But you knew that already, and I could go on forever.) Until next week...

First Blog

2007-03-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

Class tonight was a lot of fun - we worked on making extremely specific choices and really allowing the essence of the character to move through. Improvs were based around partner charades - and we had some incredible true-to-movie performances. We then did some commercial work - and practiced slating and selling some wonderful products - mostly hair and Pepsi! With the scene work, we played with tone and making the strongest choice - taking the scene as far as the tone would allow, which led to some funny and transformative scenes. It is amazing how much everyone's confidence is growing - and the trust they are placing in themselves and their ability to make choices and tell stories! Yeah! What a beautiful process to watch unfold! Can't wait for next week!