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by Momoka Kato - Monday, 15 April 2019, 10:54 PM
Anyone in the world

Amber and I have been working on blocking and memorizing lines so far. When we met outside of class and rehearsed, we tried to make the set similar to what we noramaly use in the black box and ended up placing the furnitures like this (the picture below).

We first read through the lines roughly and decided how we do physical movements for each beat, but when we actually move and speak the lines at the same time, there were some parts felt wired to do, which made us realized that doing actual action rather than thinking in a head leads us to make better decision about physical movements.

Any way, we still need to work on memorizing lines, and once we get done with that, we need to just rehearse a lot!!!!





Comments

     
    by Victor Warrens - Monday, 15 April 2019, 6:47 PM
    Anyone in the world

    Victor here. Once again we haven't had many chances to meet to rehearse in person so our effort has been focused on individually reviewing lines. This video is after our first major out of class rehearsal.

    Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

    Comments

    • AAAmber Adamski - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 11:45 PM
      As someone else who is doing a scene from Proof, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this scene plays out when the genders are changed! The dynamic between two sisters and two brothers definitely feels different in real life, so I think it was a good decision to change the dialogue to suit that. It also adds another layer to Catherine's inner turmoil since it is, unfortunately, still less acceptable for men to talk about their emotional issues in our society.
     
    by Hannah Robles - Monday, 15 April 2019, 6:19 PM
    Anyone in the world

    This week consisted of ‘just doing’ the work to memorizing my lines.  I had a hard time starting the process of finding the right way to memorize my lines.  It took me a while until I realized I just had to do the work to get the results I wanted.  Though it was tough for me to get started, I found that the easiest way for me to memorize my lines is saying them out loud again and again.  Repetition is the only way I will be successful in my last performance.


    This week Abdo and I plan to meet with one another multiple times to make sure we are on the same page with what we are doing when we are not together.  As for lines, I am confident that we will know what the stakes are so that we are able to stay grounded within ourselves and with one another. It is very exciting seeing how our scene is coming together slowly!


    “When the going gets tough, put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Don’t give up.”

    ― Roy T. Bennett
    Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

    Comments

    • Daelon FloydDaelon Floyd - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 9:31 PM
      Yes! reps reps reps. I'm excited to see your guys progress in our rehearsals. Keep up the good work.
    • CGConnor Grossman - Tue, 16 Apr 2019, 10:47 PM
      Honestly memorizing lines is super hard for everyone! However, because of its difficulty, there are tons of tips and tricks actors have developed that you can try out. You can try running lines with your partner while speaking as quickly as possible. You can make flashcards. If you haven't got them down already, I'm sure you'll have them memorized in no time! Good luck! You're doing great.
     
    KJ Johnson
    by KJ Johnson - Monday, 15 April 2019, 5:22 PM
    Anyone in the world

    It has been fun but challenging so far, just been trying to be as authentic as we can.

    Comments

       
      by Beatrice Newcomb - Sunday, 14 April 2019, 10:33 PM
      Anyone in the world

      What We Wanted To Do:

      This week we mainly focused on just getting memorized. I know, booooorinnnnnggg, but you know what? Not everybody is presenting on Monday. 

      What We (Like Actually) Did:

      We met several times both in and out of the Blackbox theatre to rehearse our lines. At first, we thought about doing them without blocking, but it soon became evident that we would need to practice with it just for cohesion as well as a way to help us remember our lines by tying them to specific movements. We actually could only get into the blackbox once, and that time we had to cut down our practice time because the class that was in there went a little late. For the next time, we practiced in an unused Howard classroom, which is when we decided to use the classroom chairs to actually plan out/perfect our blocking. We also tried to rehearse once using outrageous accents in order to try to help remember our lines even with extraneous circumstances!

      What We Learned:

      The activity we did looking at what happens directly before the scene starts helped us quite a bit here. The awkwardness of the scene really comes from a large amount of places, with the majority coming from Sam and Rose's history, but also from their change in management and recent talks with both the new management as well as Avery. This kind of paints how exactly we act in the scene, as well as how and why we have that 'pinch ouch' reaction to some lines. I think the self imposed accent exercise also helped a bit. Probably. Maybe. Hope so!

      Problems We Encountered:

      The only real problem we ran into was the same one we ran into in prior rehearsals, the same thing pretty much everyone doing the Flick will be able to relate to, which are the pauses. A couple of them just feel out of place, or unnatural. To remedy this, we cut out pauses any time there wasn't explicitly a pause in the script, and shortened some pauses that the script specifies as longer. Next time we'll also likely use video to record some stuff, and I won't have to write out long boring paragraphs!

      Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

      Comments

      • VWVictor Warrens - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 6:54 PM
        You guys are really going all out on the rehearsals. I like that you used a couple methods to get your lines down and it showed in your performance today. Your lines never felt forced or forgotten. The fleshed out given circumstances were very noticeable as well, really bringing you both into your characters. I'm interested to see how you incorporate the amount of pauses in your script. Very excited to see how your scene progresses!
       
      by Bria McHugh - Sunday, 14 April 2019, 10:14 PM
      Anyone in the world
      Hey guys,
      Just wanted to let you all know that Eli and I have been working hard to have all of our lines memorized before Wednesday. So far so good. One of the ways we've studied the script is by recording our lines and then listening to them over and over again. We've also been very attentive to incorporate the beats into our script which is making for a much better flow of it.
      Peace!
      Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

      Comments

      • BNBeatrice Newcomb - Sun, 14 Apr 2019, 10:36 PM
        Honestly, that is a good study tip. I'm probably going to make Zoe do that the next time we rehearse! Another really out of the blue study tip: If you're having trouble saying a line, just like you keep flubbing it or the words won't come out, try singing it out first. Seriously. It works. Something about your brain following a tune better than just flat words? Idk, it just somehow works.
      • HRHannah Robles - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 6:22 PM
        I've learned that recording our lines and listening to them over and over again is a great way to learn also! I also keep my script with me all of the time because I have free time where I don't need to be on my phone and doing other pointless things so I can always look at that!
       
      by Caroline Wilkes - Sunday, 14 April 2019, 10:09 PM
      Anyone in the world

      This week Hongyi and I focused on memorizing and then blocking the first chunk of our scene. We were having a hard time figuring out how to recreate a hospital bed so (as you can see in Hongyi's beautiful sketch) we are using six big black boxes and two foam mats to make a similar look.  The goal was to figure out a way to have the top part of the bed be at angle, like a real hospital bed with the remote control that changes your angle of sitting, so that it could be less awkward when I talk to her from a laying down position. 

      We also worked on putting our beats to actions. We went through our chunk multiple times to see what exact movement feels right on what word or pause or moment. We have a lot of extreme given circumstances (as in I just lost my eye and Kayleen is drunk, covered in mud and in high heeled shoes) so it was also a lot to remember those circumstances and hold them in our bodies throughout the scene.  Hongyi brought her black heels to our rehearsal to practice walking in them as if she were drunk. The affect losing your eye has on your body was very hard to portray as it is me squinting one eye and trying to imagine what it would be like to suddenly have lost vision in one eye. Would I be dizzy? Would I I just be whipping my head around a lot trying to see everything? Would my depth perception be off?  Anyone with experience having lost one eyeball's eyesight (even temporarily)- please comment. 

      Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

      Comments

      • KJ JohnsonKJ Johnson - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 5:27 PM
        I think that it is very helpful to break apart the scene, it has helped me a lot. GREAT TIP!!!!
      • CMCaley Moon - Tue, 16 Apr 2019, 1:19 PM
        Wow! What a fun set! I can definitely see how creating that would be difficult. Maybe think about other aspects of the room that would be in hospital that you could create to help make the set feel full.
      • CMCaley Moon - Tue, 16 Apr 2019, 1:23 PM
        In Will and I's scene there are also pretty extreme given circumstances- I think this is a theme throughout Gruesome Playground Injuries. One thing which I would suggest is trying to fully immerse yourself in how Doug and Kayleen are feeling, rather than focusing on the absurdity of it all. Yes it is truly wacky, but Kayleen just buried her father and Doug is still in love with her. Get a little dip with it if you will smile
      • William HoardWilliam Hoard - Sun, 21 Apr 2019, 1:21 PM
        Awesome drawing! This is rad! I totally feel ya on the physical given circumstances for Doug. It's so weird and hard to try and portray someone who is injured without being injured and trying to maintain that circumstance the entire scene (because I know I feel kind of absurd pretending to be injured). I am not really sure what Doug would be experiencing but I wanted to share that I feel the struggle! I am excited to see what you do!
       
      by Caley Moon - Sunday, 14 April 2019, 9:00 PM
      Anyone in the world

       

       

      This week’s rehearsal has been good. At this point we both just really need to work on our lines. We both have a good idea of what each line is supposed to be but they are kind of short quick lines, so it’s easy to stumble over them and try to remember which lines come next. Especially in the scenes where they are arguing because it is super easy to get lost in the commotion of what is going on. We also have continued to have a lot of fun working together and hope that fun can extend into the final performance (in the sense that we want to enjoy while we are performing). Finding a connection to the characters is a continued struggle but we are both working hard on that. Doug and Kayleen’s lives, although may have some similarities to our own, are for the most part, pretty different from ours. So working on finding a connection to the emotion and the thoughts behind each line and action is something we have really tried to discuss together. Overall we are really happy with the work we have put into this scene, and our happy with what we have come up with, but we both agree that there is more work to be done!



      Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

      Comments

      • CWCaroline Wilkes - Sun, 14 Apr 2019, 10:19 PM
        Yes! It is especially hard to identify and find a connection with these characters because their lives are so different than ours. Understanding the motives and emotions behind their words and actions is a struggle when I doubt Will or I would ever just break out in an all out brawl to defend our friend. Talking it out with Hongyi has been helpful to me to understand motives and also just trying to put myself in the mindset of someone who is physically volatile whereas I am more of a talk it out kind of person. So whenever your ID speaks up, even if you wouldn't, do it anyway.
      • IHImmanuel Harice - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 2:47 PM
        What Will was saying about words was so true. My character says something twice then say it in another variation. I am trying to fgure out how to make it seem not so repetitive by being in the scene. Part of it is knowing the line but just meeting the intentions of the scene.
      • IHImmanuel Harice - Mon, 15 Apr 2019, 3:02 PM
        Caley when you were talking about when lines start the same agian and again. What helps me is taking the first letters in the first few words past the repeated part and study that like if you have:
        1. I really like her hair.
        2. I really like their shirt.
        3. I really love my dog.
        It translates to:
        1. I.R.L.H
        2. I.R.L.T
        3. I.R.L.M

        By using the acronym it helps just to shorten it down then I take time to expand what it actually is rather than look at my line itself.
       
      Daelon Floyd
      by Daelon Floyd - Saturday, 13 April 2019, 8:42 PM
      Anyone in the world

      QxAtd9l0ssmjVtnDvuyI8a_hXLE1CJ8QNOEq7IEeMWD1Z4YOwliQF8ajdTWlJnUSI-G-2ehcge4OsAIbGTLq6U4jawy1HG-4abcn-OlxLepFKw2wCtOqg4WE04judJIRKr1lj27G

      Tawayne, checkin in. Sorry to all of our fans out there, but we didn’t get a video this week. Next time we got you though. Dae and I still don’t have all our lines down but we hope to have them completely down by Wednesday this week. What we have been struggling with is that there are a number of pauses and actions throughout the scene from the Flick that we are trying to figure out. We have planned out the different lengths of the pauses so that we can hopefully act them out realistically when it comes to our final performance. Another focus of ours this week is on trying to move moment to moment within the scene and remaining grounded even through all of the pauses and actions. We said “ We need to practice on our sweeping so we should clean our rooms a lot leading up to the final day.” Also, we have learned that is hard to fake laughter so we will really have to work on that to make it seem real. Catch you next week, Gone!  



      Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

      Comments

      • BNBeatrice Newcomb - Sun, 14 Apr 2019, 10:22 PM
        The Flick is just awful with it's giant pauses, some of them really seem unnatural. I'll be excited to see what you guys do on them! As for fake laughter, it's easier to fake laugh by using a lot more breath, laughing in a higher pace, and also trying to make it more spontaneous. Or, I dunno, both of you tell the absolutely stupidest joke you can think of before performance, and channel either the nervous hatred when you realize Tawayne likes puns, or surprise that the pun was actually good. Either way, I'm excited to see what comes next!
       
      by Victor Warrens - Wednesday, 10 April 2019, 2:31 PM
      Anyone in the world

      For the first week due to difficult schedules we've had very few chances to meet outside of class to work on the scene so we've been limited in our progress. Aside from beat analysis and discussion of given circumstances our progress has mostly been focused on individually learning our lines. To do this we each recorded our halves and sent them to each other. I feel we work together well when we can and the main obstacle is time constraints. We're hoping that it'll become easier after this week.

      Associated Course: TH113-01/19SP

      Comments