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by Jake Bushman - Sunday, December 1, 2019, 4:27 PM
Anyone in the world

Our second week with rehearsals I belive has gone very well. We weren't able to get a lot of time in together (due to Thanksgiving break) but I and Devin wanted to make sure to keep on practicing our lines. As I have mentioned in our last blog, we wanted to make sure there were not too many long pauses where it can be awkward. During our practice time(before break), we wanted to limit the number of mistakes involving lines. I believe we're on the right step to having a good 5-7 minute presentation. Really excited to be able to work with Devin because I understand how hard he works. 


Throughout the break-even though Devin and I live a distance from each other. We really couldn't be able to practice our physical actions together and had to rely on our own personal work. For me, I was able to spend some time over the break and practice lines with my sister where she was Avery from "The Flick", and I was Sam. 


Associated Course: TH113-02/19FA

Comments

     
    Charlotte Powers
    by Charlotte Powers - Sunday, December 1, 2019, 4:07 PM
    Anyone in the world

    Gabe and I performed our scene two weeks ago, and I thought it went great! I remember having great chemistry with Gabe and feeling very grounded in the scene. The stakes were high and the given circumstances were real both to the actor and the audience. I have loved working with Gabe as he is very methodical and thoughtful in his approach. 

    There are a few things we need to work on: Catherine's interaction with Robert before Hal arrives, Catherine's reaction to Hal's slamming of the door, Hal's behavior and intentions with Catherine, and Catherine's offering of  champagne to Hal. I'm sure there are more but that is all I can think of at the moment. 

    Gabe and I have been discussing our scene and we are beginning to realize how complicated and awkward our characters really are. Catherine is proving to be a greater challenge than expected because she is so closed off to the other characters, I happen to feel very closed off and distant with Catherine as an actor. I hope I gain a sense of Catherine's mannerisms and emotional makeup in our upcoming rehearsals. 


    Associated Course: TH113-02/19FA

    Comments

       
      Charlotte Powers
      by Charlotte Powers - Sunday, December 1, 2019, 3:51 PM
      Anyone in the world
      Adrian and I completed our dress rehearsal last Tuesday, and while it was a good start, we still have much to work on. We rehearsed in lower Miller on Monday night and we felt strong with our memorization and dialogue. It was difficult to become familiar with my activity and the physical space as I didn't have a broom and lower Miller is nothing like the blackbox. When we performed on Tuesday, I did not feel as comfortable with the space or my activity so I appeared more self-conscious and guarded. This affected my interaction and dialogue with Hal ( Adrian). 

       Some of the things Adrian and I need to readdress include Catherine's activity during the scene, Hal's activity and presence, listening and responding, Catherine's tone and relationship with Hal, relationship to space, and building the momentum of the scene. The beginning of the scene is a lot of back and forth and I know I will need to save my energy once we reach the climax. This scene has a lot of potential and I am confident that Adrian and I will accomplish this to-do list effectively. Looking forward to seeing everyone's final scenes! 
      Associated Course: TH113-02/19FA

      Comments

      • AHAlexa Hanson - Mon, Dec 2, 2019, 5:12 PM
        Hi Charlotte & Adrian! I am right there with you in terms of needing to decide on/ practice blocking. I think getting that kind of thing down will make the scene really come to life and feel more natural. Whereas in rehearsal, I also felt a bit ungrounded and self-conscious due to lack of realistic and planned-out physical action.

        But I think that you both are such great actors, so I know you'll pull it off! I'm really excited to see what more you do with the scene in the next few weeks. Good luck!!
       
      by Lucas Tibbits Lyons - Sunday, December 1, 2019, 12:25 PM
      Anyone in the world

      Julie and I haven't been able to rehearse together because we've been away for Thanksgiving (I have rehearsed with my Mom though). However, we have considered our given circumstances and the atmosphere of the scene. We've been looking up hospital waiting rooms in order to get an understanding of what they look/feel like. Here are some pictures that we found:

       

      In general, the atmosphere is very sterile, cold, and sad. The chairs are uncomfortable, the room is dark, it smells like chemicals, all indicative of discomfort. We will work on considering this in our scene. 

      Hope everyone is doing great and had a great Thanksgiving! 

      Associated Course: TH113-01/19FA

      Comments

      • KNKurt Neumaier - Tue, Dec 3, 2019, 2:45 PM
        Thanks for posting this Lucas! That second picture looks a lot like what Victoria and I are trying to set up our scene to look like! Minus the surprisingly cheerful women, of course.
      • Hi, I'm Iris!Iris Arnold - Tue, Dec 3, 2019, 10:00 PM
        Moms for the win they make THE BEST substitute scene partners lol I'm excited to see how your sensory considerations of the setting impact your performance.
      • BJBray Jenson - Wed, Dec 4, 2019, 1:54 PM
        I love that you two did this! Such a good idea. This is a nice way of staying productive when schedules don't line up. Excited to see your guys' final scene smile
       
      by Indigo Araya Rodriguez - Friday, November 29, 2019, 2:51 PM
      Anyone in the world
      This past week, after having our 1st Round of scenes, Julia and I meet to practice the rest of the scene during the weekend. We worked on text memorization, on how to deliver the lines, as well as physical activity in relation to our individual goals in the scene.  We tried to address two of the main comments of the feedback session: playing the obstacle instead of the goal, and moment to moment reaction/no anticipation of the partner's lines. To work on the moment to moment reactions, we tried to mark the intentions of each beat more, as well as giving more space for "digestion pauses".

      We need to rehearse a couple of times in the BlackBox because we've come to a point where the lines are coming naturally but the blocking still has a lot of room for improvement. Some of the physical actions that threw us out of character the most in our first round, were by far related the issue with the door, as well as the lack of a constant sensation or physical action. We are trying to play around with different ideas of physical actions like Callie cleaning the apartment more between dialogues as a distraction, or Sara gravitating towards Callie's positioning on the scene (especially when questioning her) or pressuring answers out of her. 

      We are looking forward to the final result of our scene as there are other groups working with Stop Kiss, which makes it really interesting to see the different approaches to the same character but in different scenes. 
      Associated Course: TH113-02/19FA

      Comments

      • Charlotte PowersCharlotte Powers - Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 4:18 PM
        Hi Fabi and Julia! I really enjoyed your guys' scene! I could tell you guys rehearsed and structured the blocking carefully. Fabi, your character's stress about what Julia wears is clearly rooted in a deeper issue and I love that you are aware of this. I feel that you portrayed that underlying issue very well. Julia, you are already so calm and collected and I think you channeled this energy into your character nicely. On your point about blocking in the blackbox, Adrian and I are struggling with this as well. We have been rehearsing in lower MIiller and we find it is affecting and our use and familiarity with the space. I think booking rehearsal time in the blackbox will help both our groups. I'm really excited how this scene turns out. Good work!
       
      by Keshav Eldurkar - Thursday, November 28, 2019, 9:35 PM
      Anyone in the world

      Something Taylor and I were having trouble with before the dress rehearsals was making the space best-suited to represent the interaction between Callie and Peter. At first, we had six chairs lined up side-by-side, but then Fabi gave us the idea to put two rows of chairs at a 90° angle so that we don’t have to put ourselves in awkward positions when talking with each other. After that, the ideas just kept coming and we pretty much set up the entire set and designed most of the blocking based around that. In summation: Thanks Fabi.

      I wouldn’t say we felt confident going into the dress rehearsal on Tuesday, but we weren’t necessarily stressed out either. I think both of us really needed to hear what other people thought about the scene and our decisions regarding the blocking and given circumstances. We really didn’t know what to do about the pauses and how long we should make each one to truly draw out the awkwardness that should be present between both of us without it becoming excessive. The advice from everybody and Rebecca actually helped this question and many others we didn’t even know we had. We're really excited to take the advice and move on to the entire scene!



      Associated Course: TH113-02/19FA

      Comments

      • Charlotte PowersCharlotte Powers - Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 4:25 PM
        Hi Taylor and Keshav! I absolutely loved your scene. The stakes were so high and I could tell you guys fleshed our your characters' given circumstances. I really appreciate how investigated your characters are in "claiming" Sara. Both your characters feel they know Sara better than the other and therefore know what is best for her. I can see that you both manifested this belief in your character and interaction with one another. I was impressed with the blocking and I felt the scene design was appropriate for the relationship you were trying to create between the characters. I look forward to your final scene. Great job!
      • JBJake Bushman - Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 4:37 PM
        Taylor and Keshav,
        Thought overall your first two minutes of your scene was very solid. Kesh, one comment I found on you to keep an eye on though. I have experienced this before and was advised by professor Rebecca to work on this. She told me to not try so hard with our physical action. In the first scene, you seemed to work a little too hard (overdoing) the emotions. Other than that you guys will do great. Have confidence in yourself. The way you guys also use your setup helps fit the scnene very well.
      • IAIndigo Araya Rodriguez - Mon, Dec 2, 2019, 9:05 PM

        Hello there! I am really happy to hear that my suggestion helped you to be more grounded in the space as well as having a more natural interaction with each other. Keshav and Taylor, both of us are struggling (if I remember right) with the idea of playing the obstacle instead of the goal. To fight this, I’ve been trying to keep my eyes always towards Julia or a specific object on the scenes that serve a purpose at the moment. It might be helpful for you too because having a pre-set gaze restriction forces you to be conscious of the other person, and it doesn’t allow you to overact the actions that we use to portray the obstacle. Let me know if you try it and is helpful! I am really excited to see your next round!
       
      by Elaine Kinsey - Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 4:16 PM
      Anyone in the world

      Today was yet another one of those times where I worry about something too much but it turns out to be completely fine. 

      I was super worried that I wouldn't get the beats right or something, but to my surprise, I apparently did really well?

      Rebecca also said that I'm much more grounded which I guess goes along with the fact that I'm a lot more comfortable here than I was at the beginning of the year, which is really good, because I can't say the same about many other aspects of my first semester in college. 

      So, doing something that scares you, that thing turning out to not be that scary, and having an amazing time because you tried. 

      Trying to follow this idea is basically my entire life struggle; I mean, it's what I wrote my college essay about at least! And, to be honest, taking this class was kind of part of that too. I've noticed in life that some of my best memories are from times I stepped outside my comfort zone, and for someone who hasn't done acting stuff since elementary school (aside from some amateur voice acting projects in high school) taking this class was definitely a step for me!

      The thing is though, even though I know I need to stop worrying, I can't seem to do it.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      And that's kind of the thing about acting. You just need to trust yourself and do what your gut is telling you. It's really nice; being in this class has helped remind me about what's important in life, and the lessons I've learned here are more than applicable to life in general. I'm really grateful to have taken this class, learning all these life lessons, having a non-judgmental environment to come to, and meeting all of you awesome people!

      The truth is, it's been kind of an anxiety-ridden semester for me, so it's really nice to have this space where I can relax, trust myself, and be supported. I'm really gonna miss this class!


      Associated Course: TH113-01/19FA

      Comments

      • JGJulie Goldberg - Tue, Dec 3, 2019, 4:24 PM
        I actually loved reading this entry. This class had put me out of my comfort zone because I'm usually an introverted person, but it taught me to take on challenges and not care about what other people think of me. I like to think twenty years from now nothing I do in college will matter so I might as well try things that I think will make me feel fulfilled and change me as a person.
       
      by Elaine Kinsey - Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 4:14 PM
      Anyone in the world

      Today was yet another one of those times where I worry about something too much but it turns out to be completely fine. 

      I was super worried that I wouldn't get the beats right or something, but to my surprise, I apparently did really well?

      Rebecca also said that I'm much more grounded which I guess goes along with the fact that I'm a lot more comfortable here than I was at the beginning of the year, which is really good, because I can't say the same about many other aspects of my first semester in college. 

      So, doing something that scares you, that thing turning out to not be that scary, and having an amazing time because you tried. 

      Trying to follow this idea is basically my entire life struggle; I mean, it's what I wrote my college essay about at least! And, to be honest, taking this class was kind of part of that too. I've noticed in life that some of my best memories are from times I stepped outside my comfort zone, and for someone who hasn't done acting stuff since elementary school (aside from some amateur voice acting projects in high school) taking this class was definitely a step for me!

      The thing is though, even though I know I need to stop worrying, I can't seem to do it.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      And that's kind of the thing about acting. You just need to trust yourself and do what your gut is telling you. It's really nice; being in this class has helped remind me about what's important in life, and the lessons I've learned here are more than applicable to life in general. I'm really grateful to have taken this class, learning all these life lessons, having a non-judgmental environment to come to, and meeting all of you awesome people!

      The truth is, it's been kind of an anxiety-ridden semester for me, so it's really nice to have this space where I can relax, trust myself, and be supported. I'm really gonna miss this class!

      [ Modified: Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 4:15 PM ]

      Comments

         
        by Kayla Plater - Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 3:24 PM
        Anyone in the world

        Over the past week, meeting up with Elizabeth outside of class to rehearse has been super helpful for me. Going over our scene and trying to implement new tactics each time has really helped me become more grounded. In some ways, rehearsing can feel like a science experiment. Sometimes, Elizabeth and I feel really grounded in our scene, and at other times, we feel disconnected from the given circumstances and ourselves. With more practice, I think the results and grounding will become more consistent. 

        Our scene feels a bit tricky to work with at times because the emotions that our characters are feeling are unspoken and complex. Callie and Sara are not only afraid of being rejected by each other, but they are also afraid of how society might view them if they were to be together. While we have been rehearsing, I have been trying to keep all of this in mind. Given circumstances are so important!

        Right now, I'm trying to focus on and improve my volume and the specificity of our beats. I think that these things will help with adding some more tension and context for our characters' relationships with one another. The feedback that we got in class was super helpful and I'm looking forward to working on our scene more!


        Associated Course: TH113-02/19FA
        [ Modified: Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 3:26 PM ]

        Comments

           
          Kaitlyn Moseley
          by Kaitlyn Moseley - Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 12:33 PM
          Anyone in the world

          One of the first things we discussed when we met for our first rehearsal is how we were going to design the setting. It's clear that Stop Kiss takes place in the 1990s, so that already gave us a lot of inspiration. Our particular scene takes place in Callie's apartment, and mostly on her pull-out couch. It would be really fun to do this scene with a pull-out couch, but since that isn't possible, we will be using a sheet on the ground instead. I'm really interested in how this will play into our blocking, especially with the suggestions Rebecca gave us during our first two minutes. Positioning the girls on the couch versus the floor in various moments will definitely lend to the idea of power, and what girl has what status from moment-to-moment. So far, we have a list of props that we would like for the scene:

          • playing cards
          • wine bottles
          • couch
          • wine glasses
          • plant
          • pillows
          • 2 sheets
          • rug
          Some of these props are in the script, and some are from the 90's inspiration that we have found. Below are some pictures that we have kept in our mind while doing the scene and have helped us develop how we want our setting to look. They're a little eclectic, but they have helped us so far. 

          Moving forward, I am looking forward to focusing on the massive amounts of subtext in the scene, how the power dynamics shift throughout the scene, how Callie's objective and obstacle weigh on her, and how we can make the end of the scene impactful.






          Associated Course: TH113-01/19FA

          Comments

          • LTLucas Tibbits Lyons - Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 12:28 PM
            Julie and I have been working on understanding the atmosphere of the scene as well! Looks like you guys have a good idea of how you want your scene to be set up. Love the rug, super 90s!
          • ASAva Schmidt - Tue, Dec 3, 2019, 4:49 PM
            YESSS, THE FRIENDS APARTMENT! smile I love that as an mood-board for your scene, I never even put that together. I love the way the atmosphere was already showing up in your acting, and I'm excited to see how this extra work will add even more to that!