Random Thoughts

   I have been in theater for most of my life. I don’t truly count those beginning steps, but I do recognize their importance. My first performance was a lie I performed, I simply said I had brushed my teeth when I truly hadn’t. I learned that Shakespeare’s quote “ life is a play” was true. Everything can be an act, if you try hard enough. With that I realized that I loved theatre and as part of that, I began to practice theatre in many different forms.

I first started with friends, just taking roles each and playing make believe. But with that came the art of lying even further. soon enough I discovered the fact that the best part of acting was that it was lying, according to premade script, without any repercussions of lying. I loved it.

Soon I involved myself with any form of theatre I could find. I enrolled in musicals, improv camps even charity services. I loved lying. It was more than an art, it was a lifestyle. It wasn’t a drug, it was not obsession it was no fad. it was a series of choices that every time I chose to lie id be digging myself deeper. Even today I lie. I can’t stop. For it is theatre. Theatre is the art of being able to assume an entire new series of facts and ideals and even a new personality. Without that id be nothing I am today. I am smiling as I write this because I know now I know what I am. I am an actor. I love it. my life is an act, it is nothing more than a series of lies I've dug myself into. now there is no escape because I love it too much. I am sure these are the drunken ravings of a mad man but tis the truth. I am nothing more than a lie. I hide my emotions. nothing affects me, today I saw a man’s life escape before me and I didn’t bat an eye. because this is all a play to me. nothing can change that. 

I see life as one massive play. we are all players, bound to our parts. I hate my part. I find it so dull and meaningless. I find that feeling of being locked into one storyline impossible. No one knows me, no one knows my story line. they know the one I’ve given them, and each person sees a different one. they only see the script I’ve given them. each version of my life has a different script, with different lines, different actors and different plot styles. the only common ideal is the author, me.

I want to write my play and because I’ve rewritten it so many times I will never be able to do that. there are too many scripts to erase. some call me a chronic liar, others call me shameless and others call me full of shit. But I am a writer. a Playwright, a playwright of my life. All I ask is for the ability to publish my piece without question.

Response to a Quote

“Where the hands go to present an action, there must go the eyes, where the eyes go, there must go the mind” - Kathakali quote. 

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     Kathkali is an art form, that originates in the Kerala Province of India. It is one of the more modern theater techniques to arise, and is from around the 16th century. The entire theater form is based on hand gestures and facial expressions. One famous quote is, “Where the hands go to present an action, there must go the eyes, where the eyes go, there must go the mind”, and it aptly describes the most key part of kathakali, and that his the energy that one performs it with. actors train for over a decade just to be allowed on stage, and traditional performances last for over twelve hours. the quote explains how the hands explain the actions in kathakali, along with the eye movements and all this must be done with spirit and enthusiasm or the performance isn't true.

     On a more personal note I believe that this quote serves for all other aspects of life as well. Because in kathakali the main method of expression is the hands. the quote says to express yourself, and when you do so, look forward and do so with enthusiasm. No action or venture is not worth it if it isn't attended with full enthusiasm and full attention.

     One great example is when I was in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. The only reason I succeeded in my role wa because I gave it my entire effort, almost to the extent where I failed classes. the whole reason the play went so well was because I gave my full effort and entire attention. Which attests tot he quote, that you must go with your hands, or not as all.

The End

I cannot believe it's over. Just wow!

I am amazingly blown away by how well everything came together, here are my thoughts on the different nights;

Night One

As an Actor: 

things were hectic, we had had an actor fall ill and were rushing to have a replacement learn the lines. but other than that things went well, befor the curtain opened. Once the curtain opened we were fine, a couple of time actors forgot their lines, myself included, but we improvised and moved along, it was a good night to get out the jitters, as the theater was only half full.

As a Stage Manager: 

things were uncertain, we hadn't shown the lights to the directors yet and most of our crucial staff had never done that job before. but we just hoped for the best. As the show went on, things got better, though because the sound and lights were on the same circuit, the lights started to flicker and we recieved a slight static in the sound devices.  the night went well and we closed curtain like a charm.

Night Two:

As an Actor: 

again we had the same member sick, but his replacement from the night before was ready and we stayed play on. Right before the play began, I carried on my tradition of standing in the middle of the stage and saying "MacBeth". the curtain opened, no one forgot their lines and the night went awesomely. 

As a Stage Manager:

After my ritual of saying MacBeth on stage, we brought the lights up and the show began. We had worked out the light and sound issue from the previous night out and the night went swimmingly. It was perfect, we fluctuated lights with the music, used different colors to set the mood and most importantly, made the scenes transition perfectly.

All in all I'm happy we succeeded and that I was able to provide a key role. Next year should be even better!

Reflection, ZER0 H0UR

The final moment approaches. 3 days until final performance.

Personal:

Right now I am feeling a mixture of Dread and Excitment. The Dread that we arent prepared and all this work will go terribly wrong. And the Excitement that this will go amazingly and that we will finally perform. We have put so much time, effort and money into this project, i would be so sad if it went wrong. But in my experience of theater, no matter what happens on stage, the performance always ends with applause and smiles. I know on performance night I will be smiling and happy that this work and emotion has all come to a finish.

Proffessionally:

I am stressed. I do not believe we are anywhere near ready. We haven't done a single, continuous no stop, run through with full costume or makeup. This all seems very dependent on luck.
Lights, they haven't even arrived yet, which means i have one day to set up lights and make sure they work. I will finish the task, but i do not know if it will be up to my personal standards.
The cast is way behind on learning its lines...... as am I, but only time will tell if all our efforts are worth it.

Final Thought:

Where did the time go.....

Journal Assignment, One More

What skills did you acquire or develop during the rehearsal? (These could be specifically drama related OR beyond – such as collaboration/organization etc.)

During rehearsal, I don’t feel any major skills are being learned, though I do think I am practicing many skills. The main skills are coordination and management. Coordination along the lines of making sure everybody knows their duties as well as that they all know where to be and when. This alone is a nightmare and I am very happy that I have classmates to help me with it. That brings me to the other skill, management. For the play to succeed everybody needs to know where to be and what to do, this requires management skills. I feel that I am exercising my management skills by organizing actors and making sure (at least for my responsibilities) that we are on track.

What activities did you enjoy or find useful in the learning process? What activities did you not enjoy or not find so useful?

Out of the whole production, so far, The most enjoyable part was the brainstorming. The fact that we didn’t have any limitation and that everything was up in the air, kept reality from coming into perspective. This of course mean that our imaginations could wander and grandeur visions could fill our head. The worst part of the production (again so far) has been the cold hard reality of daily practices and the little things that need to get fixed. Such as having to learn lines, making stage movements work, and most of all making sure actors are there for practice.

I do think though, that the best part of the production for me will be the final day. The day we open the curtain, because I will know all this work went for something.

Comment please on the amount of homework, the deadlines, and the type of homework that was set. Was it fair? Useful? Did it assist in your learning and understanding?

The amount of Homework has been fair, and I believe that all deadlines are reasonable and well planned. The homework that was/is assigned is obviously related to drama and our coursework, and seems to be following IB curriculum. The homework has allowed me to see more to drama then just physical acts, there is also a huge research background as well as a lot of self-reflection.

What new knowledge and understanding have you acquired during this term? Please be as specific as possible.

During this term specifically, I imagine I have learned a lot less than others, because of my late joining. But I feel Like I have learned a lot. I have learned about different types of theater, including some I had never heard of before. Such as Kathakali and Kyogen, I have learned that you can make a play from scratch and all it needs is your own vision and emotion. Most of all, this term I have learned that drama class is a fun learning environment, where I never have to be afraid to speak my mind.

Refleciton

Again I have fallen behind on my drama reflections. 

The play is coming along well, but a bit stressed. Yesterday I learned that the play last year had been done within a similar time frame, which raised my confidence slightly. Our Director, Collette has been working fantastically and so has Jessica and Malika. Other members of the group are starting to fall behind and I am beginning to feel that they are letting us down on their commitment.

Stage Manager Wise, I continue to conference with Mr. Lawrence about the technical aspect of the play (which makes me very happy, considering that is the aspect that interests me most about play productions at this time.). We have worked out basic set movement (how the set will be changed throughout the play) and some basics for the lighting. We have been given ten park end lights (which honestly is a terrible set of equipment but none the less a set of lights J ) and using those we will arrange thema round the stage so that different levels can create different textures and meanings. Also I have been participating in the blocking of the play (the stage movement) and am really excited about production day coming along, though I still hold the belief this will either go really well or really bad.

I am looking forward to the technical rehearsals coming up, and most of all looking forward to checking another item off of my to do list.

Reflection

Dream On, is no longer Dream On

We have changed the name of the show to, "That 70's Show"

This is inpart due to our 70's theme, as well as the fact that we have replaced almost every song with 70's hits and classics.
The main reason for this is our time constraint. the sad fact is that we do not have enough time to do a full production, so we have cut out almost all the singing and will be adlibing to the hits. Yes this does cut away fromt he actors glory, but improves the production on a whole, which is what I have to be worried about.

Stage Manager,
As stage manager I have started to mess aorund with the lighting and have created a rough draft of the lighting angles I will need to achieve. Tomorrow I will confer with mr lawrence and see what his opinion is. Also Me and Jed (props manager) have been working together to get a scroll prop together. Tomorrow i will go through the props list with him and double check everything is in place.

Hopefully soon I will be able to choreograph the tango scene, between theseus and hippolyta. But theseus is out of town for visa purposes. Hopefully he will be abck soon.

Now I feel a small measure of control over the play, and think we are heading in the right direction.