This week

Monday- worked on memorizing Oleanna
Tuesday-rehearsal
Wednesday-more memorizing
Thursday-read your directors book so I could better my directors book.
Friday- re-read Oleanna for directors book. Also i worked on the mailchimp campaign

Monday and Tuesday

Monday- came home, worked on essays.
Tuesday-rehearsal after school

This week 11/19

Monday-stayed after school for rehearsal
Tuesday-stayed after
Wednesday-worked on BU essay. EAGERLY AWAITING A TIMELY RESPONSE. PRETTY PLEASE.

Friday's post

Worked more on my BU essay (or actually I will work on it, I got home about 20 mins ago, so from now until about 12:30 in doing work)

Friday last week and then this week

So I'm adding Friday's journal to this week, count it if you feel generous.

Friday (11/9) completed DePaul supplement SO EASY I DIED
Monday (11/12) Began writing my CMU supplement essay. Not easy, almost died from that. Also worked on Ohio application, making sure my ducks are in a row and crap.
Tuesday (11/13) Added to CMU essay. Which is also kind of an Ohio essay. Also worked on a BU essay I have to write.
Wednesday (11/14) BU essay
Thursday (11/15) CMU essay/Ohio essay. Had a bit of a break through. Excited to work on it more tomorrow.

EXTRA CREDIT

October 23, 25,v30
November 1
I stayed after for rehearsal...

Another week of blogs

Monday- finished my BU app with my parents
Tuesday- rehearsal for Dan's play
Wednesday- worked on short answer questions for the common app and Emerson supplement
Thursday- rehearsal for Dan and Hopes play
Friday- essay work

This week in blogs

Okay so this is what happened this week

Monday- worked with my parents on finishing applications
Tuesday- rehearsal at Rebecca's (extra credit?)
Wednesday- began designer conversation with Rebecca, meaning all the ideas that have been floating around in my head were finally put into a very long email.
Thursday- more rehearsal at Rebecca's
Friday- pre blocking at home.

Tuesdays post

These are photos of katelyn and I on Skype for almost 2 hours scheduling and planning what we do during rehearsals. Enjoy.

Thursday's Post

Outlined my college essay and did like 20 mins of math prep. woop woop.

Tuesday's post

totally forgot to say what I did today. SAT prep. loads of SAT prep. since i have 2 weeks until my test (yay) so i did half an hour of each subject. 1 1/2 hours of SATs. kill me.

Monday's Post

Today I did 2 math sections of an SAT test and I started reading the 10 minute play book. First skimming, to find out which plays have guys, then actually reading some. Flop cop, brother, and the Philadelphia were what I started with.

Friday's Post- hopin this doesn't count as late, but it might.

Okay this one is a bit weird.

Over the course of 6 hours of working, I did directing work. Maybe for 5 mins every time I could, which was often. In total I got a lot if work done (give the circumstances) and I am now done with dans play in terms of the work you taught us about last week.

Thursday's post

Did like an hour of director-y work for showcase. Events of dans play and what not. Also re-read javis so I know what is going on when we discuss it in class.

Wednesday's post

Had work today so I did 30 mins of Sat prep for reading.

Tuesday's Post

I've decided that every day I'm going to do atleast 30 minutes of the following:

applications (including essays, research, filling out common apps, blah blah blah)
SATS (practice and what not)
showcase (directors books, scheduling, designing, something)

unless i have work, then i'm only doing 1 thing for 30-40 mins.

So today consisted of:

APPLICATIONS:
-looked over BU app, made a list of what I can not fill out on my own.
family sec.
education sec.
academics sec.
unsure about the activities portion
writing
signature

-started BU supplement
what the hell is college of general studies. no idea, so i need to look back at this http://www.bu.edu/cgs/about/prospective-students/
same with the Kilachand Honors College.
http://www.bu.edu/khc/
to me, they both seem like HTC-ish programs, and they're both dual-disciplinary, so might as well look into them.

-basically did the same thing on my CM app and supplement. Hooray for common app just filling out my information after i do it once. made me a bit happier.
okay and WTF  CMU? because im applying to CFA, my application is due Dec 1, but im not considered an early decision 2 applicant...why cant it just be one day and they figure it out from there. so confused...

SATS: 30 mins math questions, grading them tomorrow.

SS: directors book like a mofo.

Start the summer off with some oldies but goodies

Just got an iPhone which of course means I got myself instagram again!

I'll be taking random shots all summer. Here are some older photos I instagrammed.

dresser
window
car window

check them.

Wednesday's post

research for my documentary. I was thinking that if I pursue this over the summer, and actually film during that time, I might want to use this as either portfolio work or something else for senior showcase.

so to reiterate, my goal of this film is to figure out what makes an artist. or what makes and artist want to create. why the hell do we do what we do.

I started with looking up how the creative process works, i listened to this interview with Johan Lehrer and Steve Paulson. Its not exactly about the creative thinking process,  but it adds some insight about how people can get un-suck when thinking about ideas. And it makes sense that a creative thought needs open-ness, not a cubical to expand. 
http://nofilmschool.com/2012/05/stop-staring-blank-page-creativity-works/

And I've been reading my Directing Book (Sense of Direction), because of time, I'm not very far in, but there is several sections that explains an actors process with a director. So applying this "how creative process works" idea directly to theatre is awesome for the documentary. I want to use quotes or compare the described process to an actual actor's process.

I have all these little green tabs that are each step of an actor-director process as described by William Ball.

Then I found these youtube videos, they're interviews on how creators (one is of the men who made this famous old spice commercial) work or worked or what they see when they look at their work on youtube. The thing i'm using from these interviews is the style. In each episode there are moments where the interviewie draws on this clear board and its sped up to see their drawing. I like the style, and i'm thinking of a part of the documentary that could use something like that. I want the beginning to be an explanation of the film itself, and i want it to be explained with stop motion/sped up sections of me talking and drawing. I plan on doing a test run of this soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPLp8l9gsE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw3Jo7Yd3nM&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBKPYYqIrDI&feature=relmfu

And thats my process for today.

Monday and Tuesday and Thursday too

Monday- stayed for auditions.
Tuesday- Carnegie Mellon Info Sesh (like a boss)
Thursday-Saw the dancers dance on stage, aka saw the dance show, twas fun.

Tuesday and Thursday's blogs

Tuesday-filmed at Hayley's house
Thursday-filmed at Brittany's house, saw the film show

Tuesday's post

Worked after school on Election Day at Hayley's house

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday-stayed after to help with Freshman Showcase Art Gallery
Thursday-worked FOH and saw the Freshman Showcase

Saturday-Tuesday

Saturday-Called Cake Show (extra credit)
Sunday-Called Cake Show (extra credit)
Monday-NTHS ceremony
Tuesday-Stayed after and began helping Brendan with the framing for the frames. Also, talked to Pete and I'm now directing the Safe Dates Play.

Tuesday-Friday

This is late, but I got in from New York late last night and fell asleep.  So,

Tuesday-CAKE Tech
Wednesday-CAKE Tech
Thursday-CAKE Show (Called with Courtney)
Friday-CAKE Show (CALLED BY ME!)

woop woop.

Try number 2 on these new blogs-Monday

Doing my blog some what on time. Simply unheard of.

Short story time!
So today, as I was sitting in work, I was listening to my boss sing. He's a bit of a music geek, and from one or two conversations, I remember that he learned how to play guitar like 10 years ago, and he's 42. I say more power to him, artistic drive is artistic drive. Follow it whenever it hits you. Now this is the inspiration behind my next project. I plan on producing/creating a documentary about the artistic moment. The click. This time when a "normal person" decides to do something artistic. Is it a decision. Did they always know, how did they achieve it, what are they doing today. What people consider art and who they consider artists, who I consider artists. This topic really hits close to home because I want to be an artist, but would not currently consider myself an artist. My family is extremely unartistic; coming from parents who are middle class, blue collar, desk job people, and two sisters who followed in that path. I want to use this to maybe find my own "spark moment" or help others find their own. Who knows yet. The exact, precise, pin point goal is not there yet. This might be a personal trip of discovery or a portfolio piece. I've been toying with ideas much like this one for years now, and I think its time to put it into motion. I'm hoping this counts as a reflection...

Now for the beginning product!! ; this is a soc/organizational writing to start off. I will eventually go back over this and edit or change and make sections make sense.

Over the course of this documentary I want to create a few working definitions. Defining what things are changes so rapidly for people. I want to find solid, personal definitions for the following word/terms by the end of the documentary:

art
artist
influence
inspiration
creation
success as an artist
failure as an artist

I think the best way to approach the documentary is from a personal "self-searching" point of view. I feel like this would best communicate what I'm trying to accomplish, which is to find what creates an artist.

And I will save that goal now. GOAL OF FILM: to find out what creates an artist. 


To start, I would want to document or at least explain my beginning with the land of "Art".

ME: I wanted to draw and be what I thought was an artist (aka, someone who painted and drew all day and magically got paid) from a very young age. When asked "what do you want to be?" I'd say artist or painter. And back then (kindergarden era) I would draw with crayons or paint with water colors all the time. they were rudimentary and colorful at best. At worst, they were scribbles. (POINT: But who's to say thats not art? If I had continued with that where would they have gone?)   That dream continued for awhile, until I started playing dress up with one of my best friends on a nearly daily basis. Then we just started playing pretend. We were business women, roommates, witches with crazy powers, we'd take plots from tv shows or use Bratz Dolls characters. I really had a lot of fun being anyone, creating worlds and whatnot. So in 5th grade my mom signed me up for a community theatre/dance company Stage Stars. I wanted to act, but I learned how to dance and sing, because they were required to be part of the company. This began my performer days. Then, driven by my passion for acting and performing on stage, I applied for Vo-Tech in 8th grade, was accepted, and attempted acting. I fell in love with back stage, lights, stage management, and then directing. But where does that put me now? As such a young inspiring artist, how much have I contributed? Will I contribute? What is the voice I want to portray?


POINT: What is "voice"? Another definition? A question to be answered by interviewies? Or by the film itself? Not sure yet.

Creeping on Crystal Skillman: I want this some how in the documentary: 


"being a theater artist is about seeing your plays in the hands of great people: Illana Stein directed the hell out of Ten Year Twilight in a wee backyard creating magic withJames Leighton and Isobel Bruce! Amazing night. Also talked to Evan F. Caccioppoli on the walk from Park Slope to home. He agrees. the draft we're going into rehearsal for Wild next week in chi-town (Kid Brooklyn Productions Presents WILD by Crystal Skillman.) is KICK ASS. Revelations even abounded on the walk home. I am living in a dream. This is what I dreamed. Creating great work with great people. Thank you!"


And that would end my 20 minutes of product, if this counts as a product. Brain storming perhaps?

Friday

I'm very tempted to do a "soc" and just rant about how much i dislike these journals, but i feel like thats just cheating.

I had to get fingerprinted today. I want to be a finger printer, or at least have their technology. I would love to do something about finger printing, I just have no idea what. Finger-print people! Finger print-painting! Finger-print god only knows what else. But they look cool. And each one is unique yet they're all kind of this set group that belongs together. they might reflect off one another or use a similar part. So yeah, i want some finger print art to show up on my door step.

Thursday

Today I didnt really have an "artistic" project. I scheduled my film. Its all there on google calender. I then began emailing everyone details about our first filming/production day. I also reviewed Brittany's costumes and I'm happy with the direction their going. I want these kids to look like adults. The girls at least. John is my problem. We have no Star Wars t-shirts, so I will most likely be settling for a solid color shirt. which is fine, but I'm hoping that it doesn't hurt the "fan boy" in Luke.

I also created a sound list for sebastian and he apparently has sounds for me already so I'm looking forward to hearing them.

Wednesday

Stayed for Open house.

Tuesday

Derp Derp Derp

Today i had a meeting with all of the directing seniors (basically all of the girls) on what they wanted for their shows. I have some ideas, but i'm desperately afraid of time. I wont be there to make adjustments during the first tech week. I would have a day to make final changes, then cue their shows. Its times like these where i feel like i have taken too much on. I also have to give Miguel a plot and hope to god it works. All while calling a show.

Basically I plan on doing this-- I will create a large center area, i'm thinking one tight area, one larger area, and another larger if needed. and then I'll just have specials for lindsay's and zari's, and some atmospheric lighting for ashley's and scarlett's.

Monday

So day 1 of this new journal-ing system.

Today's artistic endeavor takes the shape of the student film. Today i had to actually sit down a story board with rebecca. Something i actually enjoyed doing because it gave me a chance to start seeing shots and to see the film in my head. up to this point i had sequences, a minute here or there and how i wanted them to look. But storyboarding gave me a chance to put those sequences somewhere other than my mind. I also was able to delegate tasks to Brittany and Hayley, my two P.A's, and we started getting somethings done such as the prop list and a bit of a schedule. Abbi and Kelsey scouted locations for filming and Abbi presented an interesting idea for our opening and closing credits using a similar motif to that of Raging Bull with all the still shots.

Week of April 23rd-27th

Monday-began typing up the inventory lists for the film equipment, turns out I was doing it wrong. I was eventually put on the right track and began re-typing the inventory in the inventory spreadsheet on googledocs. Some students got their junior talks, I had mine last week, and i felt like it went well, i have some insane college choices, but i know i have ohio to fall back on. Recently ive actually been dead set on ohio for college so thinking about other colleges is a bit strange for me.

pg-100
I started the film inventory, i helped the actors for a bit with acting for the camera, and i began working with the camera a bit today and im excited to actually start filming.

Tuesday- raging bull day 1. i like the film so far. its really entertaining. im trying to pick up on the simplicity of film acting, and how that works from a directing stand point. i feel like i understand the film very well. like i can explain reasons for things and explain some directors intentions, but i dont notice that i understand them until a question is asked. its kind of weird. like i dont know until i say it. i feel like some intentions are so clear and obvious that its hard NOT to get them.

pg-100
i paid attention during the film, i participated during all the discussions, i fell in love with martin scoresazee, even though i cant spell his name, and im looking forward to more film appreciation.

Wednesday-today i helped the actors again with their acting for the camera, i filmed several of their monologues without a tripod, and i revied the footage with all of them when we were done. I  feel like i gave good notes . I kept noticing everyone's eyes and facial cues. some people weren't looking anywhere  and were pre-thinking their facial reactions. it was slightly surprising how clear those little things are on film. with theatre i feel like truthfulness and body language and an engaging face are the main points to focus on, while film is truthfulness and facial expression without looking forced.

pg-100
i filmed several actors today for their monologue practice, i sent up the camera to replay the footage, i also gave notes to each actor and i felt like some of my notes or comments helped them the second time around.

Thursday- interned at crossroads

Friday-
pg-100
today was nutrition. my least favorite subject, but i listened all period today. i really want and NEED to work on my nutrition, so im not joking around this year. i want to tone up and loose some weight and stay healthy.  Also today we had a junior meeting for senior showcase. i was proud of myself because i stood up for my project essentially: i told the group i didnt want to be taught or mentored by a professional direcor because i wanted my own chance and really wanted a project that would be impressive to colleges and i feel like i can accomplish directing however many plays the ohio kids give us.

Week of April 16th-20th

So these are all make up blogs.

Monday- stayed after to help with auditions

Tuesday-Today we discussed majors and minors and what the film project will entail. I'm excited to direct for film again since now I have more experience under my belt. I'm a bit afraid of being the cinematographer as well for the film, but I think it will help me with my visual artistry. I'm also looking forward to working with Hayley and Abbi. Abbi I know can work a camera and she has more experience with cinematography so I'll learn a lot from working with her. As for Hayley, I'm excited to show her what I have learned and to bounce ideas off of her for the film.

pg-100
I picked my major and minor today, and took part in any conversations we had along the way. Also I went home and started googling cinematography. I found one or two good websites that I like, and I'm going to start looking for more. I want to start developing a filming vocabulary of shots and techniques, then I'd like to try them out on the camera and start getting used to filming.

Wednesday- interned at crossroads

Thursday- interned at crossroads

Friday- interned at crossroads

Saturday EXTRA CREDIT- interned at crossroads

Sunday EXTRA CREDIT- interned at crossroads

This week in blogs-by Michelle Lane

tuesday-crossroads
wednesday-crossroads
thursday-rehearsal
friday rehearsal

This week in journals

monday-rehearsal
tuesday-crossroads
wednesday-rehearsal
thursday-rehearsal

Thursday's post

so today was like a huge discussion day. we discussed SATS, college, senior showcase, our futures in general. I'm excited for our idea, I just dont think it will work out. and i just wish things were simple. Like why must we be so ambitious as a junior class? We cant just say that putting on a show at the school is enough. Nope. We have to want to take it across state lines to ohio and new york. yep. thats my class.

pg-100
i know what im doing for my showcase, and i want to push for ohio to get involved. i just hope everything works out, and i really dont want to direct a million shows, but if it would improve the show and make it more consistent , i would try it. so lets get ready for next year.

Tuesday & Wednesday's posts

Tuesday- at Crossroads
Wednesday-Stayed after for rehearsal

Monday's Post

so today i light designed for the dancers. I kind of made up the design as i was going. I'm proud of how fast i got the plot hung and how well i've been delegating when necessary. although I was kind of the cause of major confusion, and i definitely took on too much and made promises i cant keep, but i think in the end it worked out. I got the job done, though I wasnt able to work as a director today.

pg-100
i got an entire light plot hung and roughly focused in like two periods today. I'm definitely improving on my delegation, and on my freaking out. I stayed fairly calm while creating a plot in my head. While it was a crappy situation, and things got confusing, at the end of the day a plot got hung.

Friday's post

Pg-100
So today we talked about majors and minors. I'm still looking forward to direct and I can't wait to work with our light designer. I'm wondering what I will get to do. Like I feel like I'm going to help hang and focus but before that? It should be interesting. And I can take that time to learn auto cad.

Thursday's post

So we got our test results back today. I was shocked I got 85% right. I'm guessing I just picked up more than I thought during class, cause I know I didn't study enough at all. And I'm getting my A, so I'm happy with my grade at this point.

Also we started a prioritizing lesson, and while I find it important to prioritize, I feel like that system doesn't always work for me, so I want to look at other time management strategies and find one I really like.

Pg-100
I began prioritizing my life in class and I and I contiued when I got home. They're needs to be more hours in the day. 24, so not cutting it anymore. I'm also planning on re working my old play draft to just add some new things I have, like some cut lines to save time, and some monologue changes.

Wednesday's post

So yesterday I had crossroads. And we learned some basic systems around the office, how to answer phones and some general tasks we'd be doing for the theatre. I'm happy about learning new tasks, but I seriously would never want to be a secretary. Their work seems really boring. Like I just prefer being in rehearsal and working like that, not sitting behind a desk for hours on end.

Pg-100
So today we heard the results of our play's fates. I'm surprised I got that high up. I mean I know you and crystal enjoyed it but I wasn't sure if they others would. Though I am slightly mad that my play had to be excused almost. Like I had to be saved by an older draft. I'm bothered that I didn't understand any notes I got from crystal because clearly they didn't help my play. So maybe I don't know how to take critiques, that's cool.

Tuesday's post

Today I went for the play readings. I was frustrated because a lot of the plays sounded better during rehearsals. And I could tell that some actors didn't look into the plays as much as I wanted them to. I get they have a lot of work but I think they would have sounded better if they looked into them more. I really wanted them to mark or at least notice topic changes. Its one thin i constantly heard and hated, when one sentence has two different ideas-completely different- but they're read exactly the same. But c'est la vie. Can't do much about that.

Pg-100
I evaluated my work today, and for my first time directing ever, and for 2 days of rehearsing, I felt like I did C-ish work if I had to grade it. I thought the messages of the plays were clear, the actors for the most part knew who they were talking to. I also really enjoyed watching some of Kelsey's work and I started ranking the plays we heard today.

Monday's post

So today we worked on the readings again. I'm enjoying directing and I want to keep working and have more time to create a story and work on characters with everyone. I'm really excited for assistant directing. I'm starting to notice character wants and needs and I think I'm doing fairly well with communicating those with actors.

Also today I went home and looked up some open houses for college. I don't know how to feel about those. Like I will be going to college in a year and a half.... I'm so not ready for this. But I'm gonna try my best to stay positive from this point on about college.

Pg-100
Today I re worked some plays. I worked on Brittany's play, as well as John's which I feel is working out well, especially because the play itself is fairly open. Like not much happens that makes it clear for the actors and the director. So in happy with that. I also got to work on Kelsey's play which is a lot of fun. It's like the only comedy I was given, and it has some blocking points so I got to work with that and I worked a lot with my actors on their stakes and situation to try to make the play sound less like a petty teenage drama and more interesting.

Friday- Directorially Challenged?

pg-100
today we had our play readings. even though we didnt have a lot of time, I felt like I did make some small amount of progress on each play I worked on. I thought I could communicate well with the actors, and that my comments were helping them, instead of confusing them. I gave a lot of them things to work on alone since we obviously don't have too much time, but I'm excited for the full readings!

Thursday's Post- Rock Star Time

Act 4 of Pseudolus- So we meet the other slave Monkey. The two slaves are hilarious together. They just bounce lines off one another, the other always trying to get the upper hand or trying to flatter the other person. Its also funny how they both talk to the audience about the other slave, but they both hear it. Its like talking about someone who is right next to you and calling them stupid.

Then Monkey goes to talk to Ballio and the plan actually works, Ballio believes he comes from Rosy's buyer, and invites him in to inform the buyer I think that he has to pay for Rosy.

pg-100
ROCK STAR PROJECT. It actually happened, no one died. Its kind of amazing. I'm really happy with how it turned out, because Kelsey, Lea, and myslef were all freaking out about the planning and if we would have enough time and all these factors, and everything just worked out. It's slightly amazing. That is like the first time a final has gone that smoothly in my time here.

Wednesday's Post- Minor project/Minor freakout

Act 3 of Pseudolus- not much happens besides the pimp Ballio taking to a Cook he picked up for his birthday party. I'm thinking this is meant to be a type of latze, or a funnier moment of this play, becaus eits mostly just the Cook being super pretentious about his cooking skills, and saysing he can turn people young again, and that he is better than most cooks. And Ballio doesn't buy any of it. He basically just says you are a thief and I don't trust you. What I really noticed though was this Boy speaking at the beginging of the act. He was talking about ho whe couldn't find a lover boy, so I'm guessing the little boys were pimped out to the men, and how he had no money so he was going to get beat. I guess that part of pimping out hasn't changed.

pg-100
So today, although I did not have my costume designs in school, I did hand them in today along with the research I did on the characters. In class we looked at Scarlett's portfolio and I almost cried. I am beyond screwed for my portfolio if I end up going for design at all. I can't sketch or draw at all to save my life. So I'm kind of freaking out. Also I still need to learn Auto Cad for my light designs. I seriously need to talk to Mr. Williams. Today we also got to see the senior and freshman's auditions. The seniors were fantastic, and I'm kind of in awe that they're so old now. And some of the freshman really surprised me, in both good and bad ways. Zack and Brett amazed me. I was definitely not that good freshman year. But i wanted eveyrone else to just have more confidence on stage! They seemed so scared, and I remember those nerves like it was yesterday.

Tuesday's Post- CROSSROADS

Okay so today was orientation at Crossroads, extra credit for me, but I just wanted to say a few things.

-Holy crap that place is like filthy rich in crazy history.I seriously hope to have a company or work at a theatre and can have stories like that
-The theatre is freaking beautiful, they had a million lights, a super cool looking catwalk, and the stage itself isn't even that big, but it looks absolutely HUGE from the seats. the magic of theatre.
-Marshall Jones is extremely intimidating, and I almost died when he was talking to us I was so freaked out. Susan seems super nice but I'm sure she is a super hard worker, and she is so in love with Crossroads history. Nobuko and Sagine seem like they're going to be great to work with.

So excited.

Monday's Post- crisis averted

So continuing with Pseudolus, we finally have a plan in place for getting Rosy. Pseudolus decides to trick the messenger of the marshal who is buying Rosy. By using the letter he got from the messenger, he plans to give it to the pimp, then the pimp will give him Rosy. He also plans to use Charinus's slave in order to trick the pimp.

Maybe it's because the Romans were really good with commercializing plays, but I really like reading this one. Pseudolus has these great moments with the audience, like totally disregarding the 4th wall, but I feel like he might be the only character that has done that so far? He also has huge soliloquies with the audience, and then has little lines like "this play is for the audience, they were here already, so I will tell you what happened later" I find those moments hilarious.

pg-100
So today was crisis averted day. The rock star project was supposed to happen today, but due to complications with illnesses and people not being prepared, it was thankfully cancelled. So instead we had our free period, in which I cleared the stage, and made sure everything was in order for Rock Star Project on Thursday. I also got to have a talk with crystal today, and my mind is exploding from the work I have to do for my play. I love it, and i feel really invested in the story, but I'm never sure how to change it or expand on it. I have had the same 5-6 pages for almost all of my drafts and just changed the ending each time. I just want to make this play as best as it can be because its the first time I've really liked one of my plays.

Wednesday's post

So we learn of Pseudolus's plan. He meets Harpax, who has the money for Rosey from the foreign buyer. He seems like the "dirty cop" type. And Pseudolus attempts to act as Ballio's servant in order to get the money for Rosey. Unfortunately, his plan does not work out completely, and he doesn't get the money right away. But Harpax plans to travel around, nap, and come back later with the money for Ballio. I have a feeling this will be a cliche type play, except like the original cliche. I feel like Pseudolus will get Calidorus to act as Ballio, but then Ballio will go see the traveler himself and there will be a whole mistaken identity moment, kind of like Comedy, or when Disney shows try to have people "not be themselves" in order to teach small kids a lesson.


pg-100
Today we were allowed to work on all our thousands of projects. And thank god for that! I worked with Kelsey on clarifying some things about the Rockstar Project. I also talked to Katelyn and Margie about their costume designs, I talked to Seb about ideas for his, and talked to Hayley about her Barbra Striesand hair. Maybe its a directorial thing, but I'm feeling really good about working with people on characters and building a world essentially. Thats the part that I love doing, colaborating, working off each other to create a little mini-planet on stage.

Tuesday's Post

Psedudolus day 4, 5? I'm not sure. Anyway, I really like this play. Its just funny and sarcastic. Psedudolus is a great character. And i can't help but notice that his interactions with the audience, don't seem to happen a lot in more modern plays. and I don't see why those interactions left! I like seeing those moments, or at least reading them. they add this sense of community, like the audience is going to go on a journey with the character, and may even help out along the way. I love that! I mean maybe that's why I used something similar in my play, but i honestly prefer being spoken to than seeing action some times.

Basically I read about Psedudolus speaking to Simo, his master, about getting the 2000 coins for Calidorus's girlfriend. I love how Pseduolus tells him to be on his guard because  Pseduolus plans on stealing money from him, or somehow getting it out of him. And Callipho is there just adding some comedic relief, saying that  Pseduolus is actually very smart and interesting, while everyone else seems to just find him annoying.

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so we had the college talk today. For the millionth time, but hey, it might settle in at some point. Here's my issue with college; its hard. It is hard to get in. Its hard to stay in. Its hard to pay for. Its hard to do well. Its hard after college to get a job. I'm currently planning to go into the most unemployed field ever. Why? Because its something I love doing. Its something I feel good at. It is something that I want to a be a part of forever. I'm just always afraid that the cons will out weigh the pros, and I will leave the field, and I will regret it forever and I will end up like my parents and have a life that's the same thing everyday. And that is not what I want. I need to learn to calm down, I need to. But I constantly feel like every moment is going to drastically change my future, which I am hoping is bright! But thats the thing about the future, you don't know what is going to happen. And thats scary. So why do I deserve a 100? Because I am going to throw my heart and soul into college and try my very very best to not be so negative and to start thinking productively over trying to ruin my own chances.

Thursday and Friday's Post

I stayed after to help Lea, Abbi, Hannah, and Nyasia with filming both days. Extra Credit. Whewt.

Friday's Post - I wish I was 18

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Today I had my interview with the State theatre. As I braved the freezing cold rain/sleet/snow flurries while I waited for the box office to open, I was really excited and nervous and was praying for some sort of miracle to get this job. Then I finally went inside, and started talking to the theatre manager Jessica. Well, apparently you have to be 18 to work at the state theatre, and they decided not to tell me this even though I stated in my cover letter that I am a junior, in high school. But I guess there is something to be said about the caliber of my resume,  because she had looked at that, and I'm guessing though it was a college kid's. Or at least someone older that 16. Whatever, maybe the seniors should apply. They'd probably get it and it pays $10-14 an hour.

Thursday's Post - More creativity movement fun!

The characters reference the play!!! Pseudolus has this great moment comparing himself to a play write and how he plans on finding the 2000 coins, I guess, just like a play write pull stories out of thin air. I thought that was interesting. Its like there is a whole satire about the play within the play. I'm not sure if this happens all the time but their are definite moments when it does. like when Pseudolus says "Plays are long enough" and how Ballio would speak to the audience through out his entire song. Pseudolus also talks to the audience a few times. I think those might just be soliloquies, but I'm not entire sure. I want to read more and see if I can find more examples.

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Today we had cross training with the dancers. I actually enjoy going back into warm ups and everything. And I dont feel as much pain as I used to. Which is great! No more pain! Also I liked doing creative collaboration with the dancers. It always feels different when we throw in new people because I'm so used to the sophomore/junior class by now that adding the dancers felt different, but i wished more of them had participated to really change things up. And it felt like I went up a lot, is that bad? Am I allowed to go up like almost every time? Even if its not, I'll probably still do it.

Wednesday's Post-I'm getting old.

So Pseudolus. Rosy isn't for sale anymore, and Calidorus is over joyed! So much so that he claims the Pimp is Jupiter! And to think I just got used to seeing Zeus's name pop up everywhere. But then of course comes in the twist, Rosy is already sold off. Which we knew already, so I don't see how Calidorus didn't know that. Then there is this beautiful moment of Pseudolus and Calidorus just insulting Ballio over and over, and he just accepts everyone. Like "You're a horrible person" "It seems so". I thought that was really great. The irony and the sarcastic comedic moments in this play are insanely good!

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Today we had Francesca's workshop. I got a lot of good notes, and I started writing down questions they would ask actors, and I started picking up how to communicate with actors. I also picked up some things to look at specifically. Besides if the actor is believable, you have to look at physicality, voice, their surroundings, and that all factors in to the truthfulness of the performance. Its so much to think about, and I'm terrified for senior showcase now, because I'm going to have to do that. I'm going to have to direct Kelsey and John and make the show look and sound good and all this stuff, and its crazy that that show is only half a year away. I'm getting old.

Monday's Post - Creativity!

Beginning Pseudolus. I'm guessing this is a Roman play, since we finished all the Greek plays from the Norton.
First off, I kind of love the prologue. Any self deprecation by a play write is hilarious to me.
Secondly, I like Pseudolus the character a lot. He's actually funny! There is a great sense of sarcasm and poking fun at Calidorus who is like a Romeo-esq character. He mopes around over love and this prostitute girl. But their relationship is funny from the start. they're just guys. They joke around when one shows "feelings" and its really funny to read.

Then you're introduced to the pimp Ballio, who, judging by his song, is not a very nice guy. He threatens these poor boys and whips them. But his threats we're a bit laughable, just because they were so outrageous and I kept imagining them being sang-musical theatre bad guy style-and it made them sound a little silly. Even when he moves on to the girls its the same tough guy routine. "i will boil you in oil if all your "lovers" don't bring me a present", I just keep picturing him in a vampire like cape with gelled back hair, or like some Italian mobster or even as a bit of an evil pirate captain. Either way I'm liking the beginning of Pseudolus.

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Today I came in late, but I caught the end of Rebecca's independent activity. We then started creative collaboration exercises using movement and eventually sound. I love these exercises. Absolutely and completely love them. I think I'm doing very well, I'm catching on to adding to movement pieces and I really like starting new creative pieces. I like to see how people take my movement and use it to influence theirs. It may not be what I thought they would do, but it's always interesting to see. And that's part of the fun, you don't know what's going to come out of anything you do. I'm excited to continue these exercises.

Tuesday's post - LEARNING DAY!

(I kind of posted this before I finished typing down my notes, oops)

I'm noticing a lot of cliche comedic moments in Pseudolus. I mean they probably weren't cliches back then in Roman times, but now they're obviously over done. But there is a whole scene of Ballio being blocked off repeatedly by Psedulous and Calidorus. And until they bring up that talking would get Ballio money, he keeps turning around and they're in his way, and repeat, repeat, repeat. Finally he stops to listen to them and  it turns into what I thought of as a bartering session. Except one side (Psedulous) has nothing to offer and the other side (Ballio) has exactly what they want. Then you still have the hopeless romantic Calidorus in the middle just pinning       away for Rosy. Who we met actually! She's apparently the pretty prostitute who wants to be free, which sounds kind of like a twisted Disney movie plot...Though I still don't get the prostitute/whore/pimp system here. Is it anything like the pimp/prostitute system we all know and love today? Because that's what I relate it to, and then the story doesn't make sense.

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Today we continued learning about medieval theatre. I basically spent the whole class trying to organize the mass amounts of information people wrote on the board. It was quite a process. Then I started looking up medieval costumes. I like learning like this, having to kind of teach our selves, but at the same time I feel like I miss out on some things because one group will look something up and there's no explanation as to why it is. But for the most part, I feel like I pick up a lot of terms really easily, I just don't always know what they are.

Friday's Post

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Today my play was read!! I was really excited to hear it, and have other people understand the story and like where I was coming from and find what I wanted to be funny, as funny. I have been thinking of scrapping the idea because to me the plot sounds really rushed and un real at times and other times it seems slow and predictable. But I'm happy now that it was well received and I have a lot of good feedback to work into my next draft.

Thursday's Post

So today I finished Snow in Midsummer. I can honestly say, I didn't like this play at all. Maybe I just hate all Chinese and japanese literature because I didn't like Good person of Sechuan either. I feel like both plays went extremely fast, and seemed really simplistic in their dialogue. And nothing ever felt real. Like I never read a characters line and thought "this sounds like a realistic reaction to you being charged with murder!" everything seemed very melodramatic or unimportant to the characters. So all in all, I haven't been able to find something I enjoy about those plays.

Plot wise, Donkey takes Cai and Dou E to court, and Dou E confesses to the poisoning to save Cai from getting beat. She later says to Cai why she thinks Donkey did it and I'm wondering why she didn't say that in the court!! She didn't have to die, but she takes the blame anyway! But in the end Dou E kind of curses the town, saying that if she was innocent, frost will appear around her body and their will be a 3 year drought. So I guess some justice is done, the town suffered a bit after killing Dou E. And finally Dou is able to speak with his daughter's ghost , and he learns what really happened, so he returns to the village to punish Donkey and offer a sacrifice so his daughter can go to heaven.

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Today we went back to cross training, which wasn't as bad as it could have been. It felt good to start working out again. Then we started the communal creativity exercise? I'm not sure what else to call it. Which was interesting to say the least. The first time, I tried to accept anything that people would give me. Any circumstance or idea I just said "okay let's see how that works!" and went for it. I tried my best not to question what was going on, but what I started to notice was that made me block other things that were going on. Which isn't exactly helpful. And looking back I think I remember moments when I checked out, or wasn't really present and I didn't add to anything going on. The second time though, I felt a little more present. I tried to pass things on to people who were "open". Literately I started giving out paper because I tried to not make it about myself and instead help other people find something. And that felt like a much better experience.

Wednesday's Post

Today I read Act 2 of Snow in Midsummer. I feel like the story goes by extremely quickly. The plot line happens very fast, the characters speak very curtly and simply except for Dou E, she's the only character it seems with morals and she seems very preachy about them.

In the story though Ms. Cai has fallen ill (that was fast) and has agreed to marry Zhang.

Which leads me to a question, I would like to know, did things ever happen that way? Were marriages ever that quick and random, like a traveller finding you, and instantly wanting to marry you, did that really happen?? Because that seems slightly scary. I get the arranged marriages, I get that people often married young, but they made like a 2 for 1 marriage deal with this father and son, which is honestly a little scary.

But besides the weird, rushed marriages, Donkey decides that since Dou E will not marry him, he will kill Ms. Cai and force Dou E to marry him. But his plan to poison Cai backfires and instead he poisons his father by accident. But he turns his mistake around and blames Dou E and Cai for the poisoning and decides to take them to court.

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Today I was sketching all class. I tried to really study everyone's body. While I felt super creepy, I started noticing interesting poses or postures or an interesting gesture that I wanted to capture, and that's what I would sketch. My frustration though was that they kept moving! And I could see a drawing in my head, but not have enough time to finish it. Though I'm finally getting the idea of no solid lines. It's because everything continues into a million other lines and keeps going. But I still don't see how to convey that in 2-D and it drives me insane.

Tuesday's Post

Today I started Snow in Midsummer. At first I was excited for this play, but once I started reading, it lost a lot of interest. First if all, nothing really happens. Dou E gets sold by her father to Mistress Cai, which is strange because at first the father Dou didn't want to sell his daughter and he even started crying over her, then whe he sees that Cai will forgive him of all his debts, he's happy and thanks her! Then he tells Cai to beat the daughter if she deserves it. And! Dou E is taken as a bride when she's like 7. I know hey got married very young, but that's pre pubescent young.

Another thing is that the play doesn't really have scene markers, it has people enter and say who they are even if they've already been introduced, and those kind of act as the beginning and end of scenes. And these intros were so formal, like every time Ms. Cai comes on stage she says "I am Mistress Cai." was that like a major convention of the time? Like all performers would repeatedly remind the audience who they were? Or did actual people introduce themselves like that, repeatedly?

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So today, we had basically one giant fundraising meeting. We discussed the breakfast and the madness type idea. Unfortunately I feel like we didn't actually decide on anything, we just talked a lot. I'm excited for the madness-type idea; but a major concern would be that the show wouldn't be interesting, though it would be a great time for us to try all our crazy ideas and practice producing. Despite that, I have mixed feelings if John and I can even make it happen. Besides fundraising we started our medieval theatre lesson, and the whole switching groups thing. I definitely feel like I would have benefited from that lesson if I wasn't slightly out of it today. I remember doing something similar to that freshman year and it helped a lot then.