June 2004 Archives

Rehearsal in the theatre.

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

When I feel myself 'closing-in' or shuting down/tensing up (body, voice), unless there is a clear text-based reason for this, RELAX and let WHATEVER I'm feeling come out. Let the energy out! (see the "Rule" in the June 15, 2004 entry, i.e., search for "2004.06.15").

More rules and observations

1. Directors direct some actors (like me) more than others -- do NOT resent this!. It means I have something to learn, and I am thankful for it.

2. Directors should avoid, as much as possible, letting an actor ‘flail around’ onstage, i.e., uncertain motivations, logics, etc. We need to more time to work to get on the same page, any page, concerning motivations and intentions.

3. Physical direction – can strongly suggest the mood, goals, pace of the scene. This relates to #1 above: look for the motivation in this type of direction, i.e., note how I feel when I move in a certain way, go with it, commit fully to it, see if works. If not, then I’ll be free to discard it.

4. Stage nerves and unfocused behavior – always have something to focus on, an inner ‘object of attention’ or an external object, preferably both. Don’t just stand there. Take my environment in, use it. Looking up and out will force me to stand tall and open and keep still – focus will help me to avoid unnecessary head and body movements.

What is acting?

Here’s part of the answer – it’s not just “simply” living on stage, responding, reacting. Theatre is an art. Its “theatricality” is its craft, i.e., it is selective, focused, and I think this is what Ron was trying to hammer home with #3 and #4 above.

Final Rule

Listening is most important when it is the most difficult: criticism.

Listen to what the director has to say and learn from it; don’t take it personally, don’t get DEFENSIVE. Just listen and acknowledge.
Don’t comment or apologize.

First rehearsal in the theatre

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

Nice to be on stage – energizing.

Problem: At home, I’ve got the scenes memorized, but in the theatre, going full out, caught up in the moment, I lost track of blocking and lines.

These are the classic ‘cognitive load’ & ‘context dependent’ leaning issues, again. The environment is new, all the old environmental cues, i.e., the size/dimension of the space, the lighting; everything is different, I have to pay attention to new things (e.g., getting use to moving around in a new space): of course people go off their lines and blocking when they move from rehearsing in an apartment to rehearsing in a theatre, which is why there is real learning advantage in rehearsing and performing in the same space.

Tech rehearsal is another example of increased ‘cognitive load’ & a brief breaking down of ‘context dependent’ leaning. As a stage manager, I’ve seen it every time: people have their lines and blocking down cold, and then – tech rehearsal. They’re practically falling off the stage, running into each other, and skipping sections. Any director/company that doesn’t allow for at least one full tech rehearsal is asking for a rough opening night, and they usually get it.

Solution: Right now, I can ‘perform,’ or I can stay on my lines/blocking, but I can’t do both (‘dual task’ problem), so -- slow down. Make staying on my lines and blocking a priority. As I “get use to” the new space (i.e., critical features of the environment, the edge of the stage, for example, will gradually be automatically encoded by the cognitive-motor system, and I won’t have to pay explicit attention to them), I’ll gradually work back up to my usual full rehearsal-performance speed.

Also, working with the text in hand is definitely a skill – I see Maia and Brock seemlessly working with the script in hand, i.e., “acting,” pursing objectives, and picking up lines as they need them, all seemless. Just practice and be patient, and this will come.

Also, LISTENING! I’m not doing this. ALWAYS focus on and take in Mr. Zero – don’t just “hear” him, listen to him, put full attention on that when he’s talking.

Rehearsal @ Ron's appartment, Ocean Parkway

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

I still don’t quite have specific objectives for Shrdlu, just rough impressions of his general ‘state.’ Until I know what he wants, moment-by-moment, it’ll be vague. But Ron’s way of working is interesting: he seems to direct with externals, e.g, 'move this way here, ‘slow down there,’ talk to Zero only when you say what you did to your mother, otherwise look out at the audience.’

Big question: does/will a specific objective-based structure come out of this way of working? It can certainly open doors to objectives, if it suddenly helps reveal why Shrdlu says what he does at any given point in time. If not, the external-based direction won’t work – it’ll just be a mechanical movement or voice adjustment.

Specifics – operational concept of the day. The more, the stronger, the clearer, the better.

For example, much of what S attends to in his monologue (to Mr. Zero) are external objects and facts, objective-invariant objects of attention, e.g., “I am the most foulest, the most sinful of murders.” I can easily imagine the most foul, the most ‘sinful’ murder, emotionally (to me) much worse than what Mr. Zero did to his boss. Once I have that ‘specific’-emotional binding, I seem to be able to use that in the pursuit of many objectives, e.g., I can scare Zero with this; I can try to make Zero see how lucky he is not to be like me. The personal ‘specifics’ I bind to Shrdlu’s specifics seem to be objective-invariant, i.e., they hold independent of any objective.

Idea: Guskin’s taking-it-off-the-page maybe most useful for generating personal specifics rather than revealing particular objectives of the character. An objective-based structure may spontaneously come out of these specifics, i.e., the specifics are not appropriate for every objective, therefore they may be putting constraints on what the character wants.

Rehearsal in the loft, Brooklyn, #4

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

It's not my job to be "good," to be "great." It's my job to be brave and not hold back.

Why am I in the graveyard?

What’s Shrdlu thinking just before appearing in the first scene?

I’m waiting to be punished, and to infuse all others with the reality of what’s to come. I’m here to preach, teach, instruct, but first – who is this new person?

Took two days (weekend) off from rehearsal, and it’s really seemed to help. Also, I was anxious about memorizing all the lines, so I focused on that this weekend, and I’ve made good progress, i.e., the final big chunks at the end of scene 1.

Also, more hunting for a coach, though nothing yet -- I think $$ for a coach will be better spent than voice @ Herbert Berghof Studios. I can always do voice here in the loft during the day, 20min each morning, just to increase my vocal stamina.

Shrdlu

Shifts and contrasts – at critical transitions (i.e., taking about the present to remembering the past), I seem to naturally shift from being an adult to more of a child. It’s also more clear what each wants from Zero.

Problems: During rehearsal at home, exploration really, these transitions happen quite naturally (at least some times), but at Ron’s place, in rehearsal with Dan, part of my attention/effort is going to trying to hit these transitions, and I’m finding it distracting, e.g., “oh – I forgot, at this point, he’s more child-like,” and the millisecond I think that, I’m out of the moment, aware that what I’m really trying to do is act, which is exactly what I’m trying to do when I think that, i.e., I’m not Shrdlu anymore, trying to get something from Mr. Zero, trying to communicate something, but rather I’m Christopher trying to “make” something happen . . . hummm. Ok, another classic mistake to learn to avoid.

Power in the loft is flaky -- 'brown-outs' in some parts of the loft, lights and power over-driven in other parts, like my room . . . my computer may have burned out . . . so I'm reading Shaw: "Dramatic Opinions & Essays." Some of the best writing on theatre, what it means/is/should be, that I’ve ever read . . . brilliant & inspiring, like Shaw, I want to

     lay a siege to the theatre.

Rehearsal @ Ron's appartment, Ocean Parkway

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

Maia -- very nice: she finds contrasts and special 'moments.' As connect personally with each line/section/beat, this should start to happen . . . I hope.

Idea – when working, simply note parts of contrasting emotions/thoughts, and find the structure, the ‘inflection’ points or outright reversals

Shrdlu

He starts out in control and gradually opens up, and he finally ends up in a very different place then where he started. Are there special points that mark transitions, i.e., funny to sad and back again . . . ?

Rehearsal @ Ron's appartment, Ocean Parkway

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

Problem: Anticipation! Just before the scene, I anticipated/imagined the ‘relationship’ or type of interaction I was going to have with “Mr. Zero,” and Dan gave me something completely different, and my attention went to that, i.e., I was not in the moment. Classic mistake

Solution/habit: get in the habit of approaching each scene ‘clean,’ i.e., anticipate nothing; take in everything, and don’t think, just respond.

First priority in rehearsal: commit fully to what is going on in the moment. Don’t play it safe – fuck it: if what I’m doing is alive and spontaneous, that’ll trump anything I’m trying or was planning to do.

Shrdlu

Daily workout:
1. Go through each scene twice, taking-it-off-the-page.
2. Each evening, just before bed, try to memorize 25% of each scene (or 12.5% of all my text), and start at the end (the part that’s usually under rehearsed, memory-wise).

One time: Let Shrdlu talk when he’s ready, about whatever he wants. This will probably be a monologue.

Rehearsal @ Ron's appartment, Ocean Parkway

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

I was filling in other parts tonight – some of the characters say/do weird things, almost over-the-top. I started to feel uncomfortable – self-conscious about how I would look and what others would think.

Rule: if I feel “foolish,” uncomfortable – commit even more. Be more bold.
(I didn't feel (so) self-conscious or foolish then -- in fact, I felt much better. Committing fully gets the “choice” to stand on its feet where I can see it, and then it starts to become something real. The alternative – in fact the only alternative is to run and hide from it (i.e., withdraw/pull-back), in front of everyone, and that’s guaranteed to make you fall on your face).

Ron sometimes gives line readings and indicates. Rather than outright reject this, try it, inmate them, try to fit into them, to see where it goes and whether it helps. This is probably/maybe more helpful to a beginning actor (moi) than a more experienced actor.

Problem: voice and stamina. Solution: vocal warm-up (20min) before each rehearsal.

Shrdlu

Ron gave me some physical direction (smooth, calm movements) to go along with the intension (i.e. befriend Zero, get him to relax), but while paying attention to how I was moving, I lost track of my intentions, unsurprisingly, i.e., it's a dual-task with little experience/expertise in either.

(Possible) solution: need to avoid these dual-task smash-ups. Just like juggling – you throw 3 balls at someone, they’re going to drop them. Instead you start them with 2 balls, get the basic movement (one hand, one ‘jug’), and then when they’ve got that down, add in the third ball. This suggests that the thing to do/try is the scene first with the intentions/objectives, and then add in the movement – this may make it more likely that the movement will come naturally out of the intention.

Rehearsal was in Ron's appartment tonight.

As I've never really gone through a rehersal process (outside the two scenes I did with Johnny in Ted's private class), I'll try to break my observations up into rehearsal technique and character work (specific problems/triumps with Shrdlu)

Rehearsal Technique: General/Specific Insights/Principles

This early in rehearsal -- explore, don't perform (see Guskin, How To Stop Acting, p. 73-4).

Shrdlu
When I tell my story, see mother, Dr. Amaranth, the lamb, & include Zero in the scene.

I'm still taking-it-off-the-page, but I'm thinking too much after I exhale. Solution: train myself to breath in and out while taking in the line/phase/group of words (allowing it to hit me during this time), and then immediately say the line without thinking. I think my pauses come from losing contact with the text -- get into this rhythm of breathing, and I think that will help.