Log #2

This past week has been very busy, but to be honest, I wish our scene could have made more progress in our scene. I think that because everyone is trying their hardest memorize their lines, my group has not be able to work on our blocking. We need to address the awkward exits and entrances, how to cheat out, and make a final decision on what main props (bed, night stand, or dresser) that we want to have on stage. If we can get our basics down, I know our scene will flow more smoothly and fall into place.

However, I was really happy with the feedback that I received from the class. I truly appreciate all of the comments, and I am trying to keep them in mind when I practice or run through my lines. I have always struggled with going too fast and not being on the same level as my fellow acts, but never being too angry. This, I believe, is partly due to the fact that I don't have a lot of experience playing characters who get angry for a substantial amount of time.

What I believe has helped me so far to balance my emotions is when we went through the script and color coded our emotions. I cannot believe I have never thought of this. Most of the time I will pencil in the emotions I want to feel, but because I am such a visual learner, this helped me more.

The biggest challenge I am facing, and trying to improve upon, is memorization. While I am not trying to make any excuses, I have found senior year so far to be particularly busy for me, so I feel that I am not dedicating as much time and effort to learning my lines as I normally prefer. Knowing this, I chose to write and rewrite every line on Mrs. Gleason’s white board on Thursday. This learning technique has helped me a lot in the past, and sure enough, it helped me get some of the lines memorized.

Why I think memorizing this particular scene is especially hard for me is because I am thinking of so many things at once. While I love acting, and have had experience with challenging pieces, I am finding that I have to remind myself of many of the basics of acting. For example, I remind myself to have to be aware of my body, my diction (especially because it is Shakespeare), balancing many emotions, volume, and taking my time. Most of the lines I have are in monologues, so it is harder for me since I dont have the “trigger” line from one of my fellow actors.

While I am happy with my group and have no complaints about them whatsoever, I do want our scene to become more professional and precise. I know we can do it, we just have to have the dedication and time to pull it together. I look forward to seeing it progress.