wednesday and thursday's posts

wednesday's post
today we finished up our scale drawings of the stage. john's and mine actually came out pretty good. it could have been a bit cleaner, but for the most part it was pretty close to the scale models we had to draw. it wasn't easy,even thogh i've done scale drawings before its not easy. i want to try it again on a drafting table. i miss doing those drawings in 8th grade.

i'd also love to see lea draw our set. it would be great to see how an actual set designer works with a script and a director. it would also be cool to see how she draws the designs, or however she makes them. then its kind of like seeing the set come together from step one. then we have the experience building it. plus im sure lea's drawings are FAR bertter than our attempts.

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today john and i worked together to finish up our stage drawings. i drew some of the lines as well as measure the diagram. i learned how to label our work properly. i give lea so much of my respect, or any set designer ever.because that is no small task.plus today i found out a little bit more about my stage managing duties. i'm going to look up anything i can find about calling a show and how to take notes on directing as well as being a stage manager, before rehearsals start.

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thursday's post

acting thursdays. i have to say these are the days i almost regret not acting in the play.because you see everyone else running lines with each other and developing their characters,and although i have a monologue to memorize and work on, its second to the mainstage obviously. so it sucks to be almost out of the loop of the acting half of the show and more on the tech side.but its also really good to learn this early how to work,partly at least, on my own with shakespeare.

plus im starting to see how being a stage manager isn't being completely out of the acting. today i went up with miguel since the person he was talking to wasnt here. i was reacting to what he was saying and staying in the moment, plus i was reading lines for the actors.

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i'm very proud of myself today. not only was i prepared for acting, but i helped miguel today with his scene. then i was on book for the actors and gave them their line notes.then i helped bring the covers onto the pit. i also learned how to work the light board thanks to lexii. finally after class i turned off the stage lights, the light board,the wing lights, then turned off the house lights after everyone left.

tuesday's post

so we table work today, and last week i was drowning. i didn't know who i was supposed to write down any notes we had and i wasn't really understanding alot of the text. today i actually understood it! i know how i can keep track of what we go over and im really starting to get the hang of shakespeare.

 today we continued with the duke and ageion's scene together. i actually caught on to some of the comedy in this scene. i thought it was really serious and a real fight for ageion's life, but it is funny. it is actually a comedy.

surprisingly i'm excited for more work with the scrpit. i like understanding what shakespeare is saying!! so the iambic pentameter and table work is coming together and making tons more sense than last week or even last year reading romeo and juliet in english class.

pg-100
today things were finally clicking in my head with the script. i participated alot in our disscussion today. and i had the beginings of my stage manager's binder, complete with my script and paper for my notes about the script. plus i figured out away for me to keep track of our disccusion in my notes that i can understand later.

monday's post

scansion
cue the dramatic music of dun DUN DUNNNN.

scansion wasn't actually too bad today. last monday i was scared out of my mind with scaning,but now im a little happier with it. because today we learned to make our own choices with it! i did not know that was, like an option...i thought there was one way to say everything and if you get it wrong you sound stupid. well lexii today proved me wrong,she said her line 2 different ways accenting and un-accenting, and both sounded fine. you could hear her choices in each one. so that gave me some hope that its not as hard as it seems.

plus today we got to not only say our lines but act them (sort of) obviously were not being 100% truthful and what not, but were shakespearian scansion babies.we can't be perfect.

my lines today were...
" i left no ring with her. what means this lady?
fortune forbid my outside have not charmed her."

my problems were...
-i couldn't make lady sound like a question. i think i was just scared to act. i get so nervous just being in class and having everyone around watching, on stage its different. but in the classroom like today, and i don't know my lines completely and im not sure how to say it, and blah blah blah, i just get really nervous. then i get my stupid nervous smile at the end...
-I couldn't stop over emphisizing MY pronouns. I left no ring with her. sounds really stupid. and it was hard to not say. I'M not sure why. I really want to focus on that now because I feel like I say it with everything!! normal speech and on stage. so I'M really going to watch for my pronouns.
-my "fortune forbid" line. i need to think of a way to say that where it doesn't come off stupid. i'm saying "oh my god! please dont let this happen!" which i say in real life, but i need to get that meaning under the shakespearian for it to sound right to me.

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so today, i came prepared in class with my lines scanned, regardless how messy they were writen. i really paid attention in class to fix my scansion because i have been struggling with it alot. and i feel alot more confident about it now. i'm starting to hear the natural flow that comes with just saying it. obviously i need to stop thinking so much (but then what else is new?) and relax about getting anything wrong sometimes. anyway, i took my notes in class and by the end i really started to get a grip on scansion. then at home i continued memorizing my monologue and reading more of the play.

thursday and friday's post

so thursday.shakespeare. just shoot me now.
i'll be honest, i have not done much homework on my monologue at all. i barely read the play. but thursday definatly scared the shit out of me into doing the homework. i've realized that just being a stage manager doesn't mean i shouldn't understand the play COMPLETELY. i need to know it just as much as an actor would have to,and probably even more than that.

so from now on,i can't afford to be lazy if i want to be my kick ass stage manager self.

besides that.im not sure if my i.p. on my monologue sounds quite right (thats about the only thing i've really done with it) and i'm not sure if i'm completely understanding what is even going on in my monologue (again lazyness.i'm really pissed about that.) so i'm going to spark notes,im going to read the play un untill my monologue to further understand it.then i will memorize it (or at least start to) and i'll have it down by the end of the month.

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today katelyn and i tried our best to understand the monologues.i have to say i feel a bit left out,because everyone else can talk about one play and understanding that one play, i kinda have to know two,and denotate it by myself,or with katelyn and help from you of course. so i'm definatly feeling the pressure of that, but thats really what i chose,and im happy with my choice none the less. i realized today that this is going to take alot of effort,and im promising here on blogger to hold that promise.

friday's participation
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today was writing.which im starting to like more and more,i actually enjoyied soc writing today.also i'm listening to the feedback form today and thinking about what i said to other's works and how that can help my own script. i'm actually thinking about possibly changing my play into a screen play and how i can further that characters and make them more dynamic. im hoping next week i can share with the class either my soc or what i've been working on.

tuesday's post

so today was headshots!
well i'm hoping mine were good. apparently i'm photogenic? i honestly have never heard that. and i wasn't being as cheezy which is good.

today we also had a half day, so we worked on our goals,cleaned,and decorated the classroom. my goals were
-to make honor roll or almost high honor rool every marking level.
-loose 20 pounds by the end of the year.
-and to be a kick ass stage manager.

i really want to focus on my grades. after alot of talks with my parents, i see that i'm doing well when not really giving my 100% so how well can i do with 100%? simple logic thats going to be hard to keep up.

i also want to loose 20 pounds...now alot of people would say i dont have to.but my thought is that i want to be in shape as much as possible. i gained weight over the school year and the summer, and thats was because i was really un-healthy. and i really want that to change.

finally be a KICK ASS stage manager. after seeing chelsea last year, i really want to try my hardest and do well. chelsea was an s.m. and was all by herself  leading the show for the last week of tech. it was really great to see her work so well. and i would want to be as good as she was.

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today i came ready for headshots. i helped organize the book shelves with kelsey. plus i made my goal poster and i'm really looking forward to accomplishing all my goals like i did last year.being a kick ass stage manager is easily my favorite goal to accomplish.

monday's post

in class we did iambic pentameter, which is a pain in the ass. i mean its great if you understand it,but i just dont get why we have to talk like that. why is there beats and syllables involved? why did shakespeare want people to talk like that?

though i'm actually getting how to do the i.p but what i dont understand is how you act with that? just me saying it with the accents sounds forced and pretty stupid. then again i just learned it today,and were going to learn to say it in a natural way.

memorizing is going well,and im trying to use the i.p when memorizing now, but like i said it sounds kind of stupid. im guessing were going to work on i.p. and acting on thursday? i hope so because i'm hoping it will help me understand the flow of i.p. more.

we have head shots tomorrow! i hate pictures so much. and last year i really didn't like my headshot. i'm going to try to wear something simplier this year,and not blue because my eyes don't look good with blue; i learned that after last year. hopefully i'm not as stiff or fake like i was last year.

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today i really tried with the i.p. i took my notes and tried it on the board during class. i think something just wasn't clicking, so i went home and worked the i.p. into my monologue and i think i did a pretty good attempt. im not sure if everything is right,but i really did try to understand it on my own today.

friday's particiaption.

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today we had writing,and we wrote a soc,which i have such a love hate relationship with.but i did my soc,and then i tried to participate in the discussion,but i didnt really know some of the movies we were discussing.i also took notes on plot,theme,charatcer and diction.then we brain stormed a bit about our play/screen play.im still not sure what im going to do,but i came up with some good ideas.

thrusday's post

so today we had 6 people cry/or start to cry, 3 newbies try repition,and alot of people getting annoyied. WELCOME BACK MISNER!!

today was interesting to say the least.i didnt realize how much i like misner work.all last year i would get really nervous on acting days,or dread doing repition,my monologue,movement or anything really.i really want to work on letting go of that this year,and just do what i came to east brunswick to do,and thats learn.its okay to screw up over and over and OVER,because i'm still learning and getting something out of it.

it's school,screw ups happen.

i felt like today was my best try at misner.i tried to stop thinking,and say what came to my head.my first try wasn't great,but the secondtime felt better and,i'm hoping im breaking down my wall some what.and i'm looking forward to reading twelft night so i can learn viola's monologue.i just got my new norton, so here i come shakespeare!

it was also great to see tanaj,miguel,and fernando try repitition for the first time, i know last year i was scared SHITLESS to try misner.i guess it was partly because we had the seniors as partners, who were intimitating just sitting in class,on stage looking into your eyes,reading into your soul....it's enough to make you cry.so i was really happy to see our newbies try repition today.

misner today just made me excited for next thursday, and more acting.

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today i brought my blacks and was read for work.i paid attention to everyone else's misner work.and i also got to go today with katelyn,and felt that i did a good job,and that i improved from last year.i'm excited to keep working on my acting this year,since we didnt get to work on acting as much last year.

wednesday's post

today we finished the feedback on our monologues. i have to say that i was a bit surprised that i did well-ish.i definatly understood my corrections.my big one being that i think too much. i ALWAYS hear that. from my dance teacher,from singing and acting coaches in the past. it's insane.but i dont get how you dont think! like how can you shut off your "real self" ? like while i'm in character, so jeannie, how do i stop michelle from being there too? you just shut off? i never ever got how you can stop your thinking.everyone says just do it,but i odnt know why thats so hard for me to wrap my head around!!! so frustrating.

besides that, we finished our set design-sketch things/free draws/mind socs. (i some how stopped thinking there!) i felt like i explained what i understood from ashley, which worked. her idea was actually something i didnt think about when i read romeo and juliet,so i thought it was really creative that way. oleanna on the other hand; i keep reading it,hoping i understand what is happening and each time i dont really get it untill the middle of the play,when the sexual harasment charges are brought up.and even then its kind of just an idea of what the characters actually mean. so me explaining it to ashley probably sounded like a crazy person.but she said exactly what i was thinking,so something must have happened there.

then we discussed the frames of theatre. which i got fairly well.frames really help the set designers see just the world they are creating.i also really love the idea of a thrust stage. because i feel like it not only puches the audiance into the world, but can make them see a more "full world" because you can see the set alomost like a real room, your at one spot yet you see things in 3-D. even if its more difficult i think thats the best way to see a show.

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today i got my feedback from my monologue,and took notes on them. i also presented ashley's set idea to the class. i participated in the shoe game,even though i got out early. then i took notes on the frames of theatre,and participated in the discussion by asking alot of questions.

tuesday's post

today we learned the cast list finally.and even though i'm not cast, i still wanted to know.

it's so weird to say that i'm a stage manager/assistant director.its usually chelsea,and it's weird to think she woun't be the one to scream for when we dont know something,it will be me and katelyn...so crazy to think about.i'm really nervous,because obviously i'm going to be compared to chelsea who was great last year,and any other stage managers the upperclass men had in the past.and i just want to do my best.

today we worked on table work. i have serious mixed feelings about this.for one, i understand the text for the most part. but not like we were working today. i guess i get the denotative analysis,not connotative.word for word i have no idea what they mean exactly.but i do get what they mean as a whole.

another thing that was driving me crazy,was the note taking. i sound like such a nerd, but i really had no idea how to write down what we were all saying without going word for word.then we had grammer lessons on top of that,so my notes look like someone was listening to a lecture then got attacked and was told to continue writing. so i guess i need to figure out a way for me to listen and take nots,and not go crazy.because half of my frustration with the table work was taking notes! and it really shouldn't be!

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today, i tried my best with shakespearian table work. though i know for a fact i was lost with the grammer,i took notes and i'm ready for more next week.the parts of speech, were not easy to recognize, but i sort of understood what the characters were saying, though more in a general sense.i guess sort of getting it is better than being completely lost.and we still have a few more months to work on this.im sure i can get it soon.

first post of the year!

welcome back to journals.
i missed these.

comedy of errors, was really confusing at first. i was thrown off by the shakespearian lingo at first, so i used spark notes along the way to make sure i was getting everything i needed to get. and if i didnt understand what was going on, i went back and re-read. i was surprised because after awhile i started getting what they were saying and talking about. like dromio e says at one point

"nay he's at two hand with me and that my two ears can witness."

so he's kind of saying that antipholus was mad at him,and he hit him in the head. because dromio's ears can witness to his hands.

so i'm happy that im getting the hang of it. even when reading at auditions today,i got what was going on hearing other people say it.

auditions though,i was freaked. like i've never liked auditioning for anything.mock auditions or real auditions or anything,they scare the living crap out of me.i know its a part of the biz and all, but its still a slightly scary experience.

i'm really excited for this year though. last year i kind of dabbled in alot. tech and then acting. we didnt go into directing so much,or at all really. but i really enjoy everything,and i want to know whats out there.because im not huge on my acting abilities, there are other things i would want to look into.

pg-100
today i came prepared for auditions, dressed properly (i hope), and didnt have stilleto heels this time. i had my monologue prepared from last year,and was pretty happy with how it went. i got to cold read a few times, and it was exciting to see the full auditon process for our shows. im also excited for the oppertunity to call the show.