Thursday, May 8, 2008

well i'm not sure if we had to post before the final, but I will anyways. Hope everyone has a great summer, and finishes out their college careers strongly where ever it may be. As for me, I'm done after today... yeaaaaaaaah!!! So if it seems like I just want to get out today, its because I do. :-D I've reached the biggest point of the senioritis and it happens to be on the last week of college.

The End

The end!

This is my last class for the semester and its been a blast. I thought I would just nominate some people in the class for best actor/actress and most improved

Best Actor: John
Best Actress: Molly
Most Improved Actor: Ross
Most Improved Actress: Amanda Brown

Have a great summer everyone!!!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Last Post EVER!!!

Wow i cant believe my first year is over and class is done. I learned alot this semester, and i think what i learned will help me alot in understanding plays and movies that I will see in the future. I had alot of fun and Ill miss class

Monday, May 5, 2008

end

This is it and there is no more acting for non majors...its kinda sad. Im gonna miss it. I had a lot of fun during this class and i feel like i have learned a lot. See everyone on Thursday

Friday, May 2, 2008

last class

class was fun yesterday..im going to miss the overall setting of that class just because i like the change from sitting at desks/tables all day long! i really enjoyed this semester w/ all of u..it was nice getting to know new people and people that i never would have met if i didnt take this class! i wish all of you the best of luck on finals and ur upcoming years at au and good luck to all the seniors graduating! cant wait for thursday to see everybodys final scene!!!! :)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

literally my last class

Well the semester is almost over and who would of thought that this would be the last class I ever take as an undergrad in college it's fucking surreal excuse my french. Amanda and I have been working on our final scene and i think it has potential to be the best cuz i'm the best. with a few more pointers from Fabio we should be good see you guys in a couple of minutes!

class

I think it is safe to say that this week has kicked my butt. I have not really been sleeping well at all. I think my only saving grace is being able to come to acting!!!!!! But seriously I love this class and I am sad to see it go. hope to see you all around campus for the remainder of school.

Love, Peace and Chicken Grease

Philly Fresh in th Flesh

yyyeeeeeaaaa bbboooyyyyyy

GRADUATION

Graduation is only about a week away and i am beyond ready to get out of this school. I had to fight for the University to let me walk in May commencement though because 3 freaking credits shy. Isn't that some bullshit! But i won the argument and now all you peeps can come see me strut across the stage. :) Oh yeah i will miss this class and all the cool people acting a fool as well.
Like everyone else, I too will miss this class. I may miss classes in general, graduating and going into the real world might be worse than any class I've ever taken. I just hope this has all gotten me ready for it. There won't be many times that I can "forget" assignments and not be reprimanded like in school, with a slap on the wrist. Saying that, I'm ready for finals to be over, and graduate to get out of here. It's been fun, but I just need out now. See you all in a bit.

Last Class

Like everyone else has already mentioned, this is our last class and its been a fun semester and I'm really going to miss this class as well as the people in the class. I learned a lot about acting and have even applyed some of the contents to everyday life. I'm really looking forward to next Thursday and seeing everyones final projects. See ya in class in a little while.

class

I wont be in class today because i have to attend an interview for and internship. I cant wait to see everyones finished product next thursday. See you then
I can't believe this is our last day of learning in this class. I'm sure we'll still be learning on the day of the exam, but today is our actual last day. This semester went so fast and I'm going to miss this class a lot. There is still so much more I want to learn and there's no more time. It seems so bizarre...
im gonna follow everyone elses lead and agree that i also cant beleive that we have one more class left...its been a fun semester and I learned alot, ij ust cant wait to get this final over and completed

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

It went well

I'm so glad that our scene went well on Tuesday because Amanada and I were so worried that it wouldn't go well at all. We were definitley relieved!

last class

i cant believe or last class is tomorrow and i especially cant believe that finals week is next week! ive really enjoyed this semester w/ everybody! i wish you all luck on all of ur finals and i cant wait for our final to see everybodys final scene!!!! see you tomorrow!

Last Class

Tomorrow is going to be the last acting class...time goes pretty fast. I haven't written my papers for the final yet, but I am working on them. I was just thinking that this year is almost over. There is one more week and that's it. I still don't know for sure what I am doing over the summer and I am really stressed about the five finals I'll have. It's not going to be easy but I'll be happy that very soon everything will be all over.
I think that as off topic as we got with the movies, it was actually a very interesting discussion. I would agree with Fabio in his analysis of man in that people will, more than not, gravitate to things that are not difficult. I am sure that there are times where I do that. I like the occasional Superbad, which truly is super bad. However, I do prefer the more difficult movies that make you think or at least force you to follow the story line. The last movie I saw was Day Zero. It was about the re-institution of the draft in 2012. It really is basically a snapshot of a period in several human beings' lives. It probably could be made into a one act or it at least has that same type of format. I would suggest to anyone to watch it.
Sorry I got so off topic Tuesday during the discussion. I really did enjoy talking about movies though. I'm really into movies, especially ones that aren't main stream. I love discussing and arguing movies too. I would love to go see more plays and other live productions, but being a poor college student doesn't really give you the budget for that kind of stuff. So I just stick with good old fashion dvds.

One Acts

In my opinion there are several important acting techniques that were displayed during the entirety of the One Act series. Since there was limited space on-stage compared to past performances at Ashland, I believe that the use of exiting and entering became extremely important. One major reason I believe that the entrances and exits were done extremely well, was because not only did they communicate to the audience where each actor had been, it also helped to "enlarge" the stage area. Through the entrances and exits it appeared that there was much more space than there actually was.
I really enjoyed attending the one acts last week. They were so funny it was refreshing. I appreciate that we take time in class to answer any lingering questions we have after we write our papers. The different topics we discuss and the viewpoints expressed from everyone in the class really help to expand my knowledge about theater in general.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

one acts

one acts were great. I really enjoyed them and I wish I would have tried to be in them this year. I saw a few people there and it was really cool. I also really enjoyed the size of the room that we were in. The room seemedso much more different than it does when we are in class.

One Acts

So I went to the One Act Plays this past tuesday evening and I really enjoyed myself. The humor and the quality of the acting was better than expected. My favorite was probably the first one the Ugly Duckling due to the quality of the acting and the humor that was displayed on each and every line. It's hard to believe that this is the last week of classes before finals and I have to say that I'm really going to miss this class. See ya guys in class today
Like everyone else, I really enjoyed the One Acts. It's too bad they don't do them in the fall too; I would definitely go to them if they did. Now that I have seen these I'm going to try to make it to next year's too. They really were quite funny and I thought pretty much everyone did a good job. Like Amanda, I also did not really like the smoking. I understand it fits with the characters and stuff, but I kind of got distracted by it. It pulled me away from the story a little bit because I was a little surprised they were doing it. Other than that though I really liked them.

Monday, April 28, 2008

So I enjoyed the one act plays i believe as I previously mentioned but then I started to write my paper and one thing really stuck out to me. I did not like the smoking and it kind of almost ruined it for me. I am very sensitive to that stuff and i can't stand being around it and I didn't like feeling trapped in a huge cloud of smoke. I thought it was kinda rude of those students to subject their audience to that kind of atmosphere. I didn't feel like it added anything to the play either. I felt like I would have enjoyed that act more without it. I was so concerned with trying to breathe that looking back, I don't even remember what that act was about when I can pretty much tell you in great detail about the other three. I wish that they would have been more sensitive to the audience before they made the decision to include the smoking.
I really enjoyed the one act plays. Springfest was great!!! I love how the whole campus gets involved in some part of the activities. Unfortunately I did not get to participate in too many of them, because of track and my many other obligations that have consumed my life lately!!!!
I went to the One Act plays this past friday and really enjoyed them. I was sure I would even make it in because they were sold out but some people didn't show up so I lucked up. I appreciated the lighter mood of the plays a lot.

One-Act Play

I went to the One-Act Play on Tuesday and I thought it was quite different from what I have seen before and definitely different from Dead Man Walking. For me, it didn't feel like a formal performance probably because the audience was sitting very close to the actors and there was not any identified stage; the actors were using both the tiny elevated stage and the room floor for their stage. It felt more like class rather than actual performance. Although I didn't laugh very much and apparently it was supposed to be funny, I liked it. I think it was interesting.
The entering and exiting of a place has been really difficult. It is imperative for us to learn for our finals, but atleast for myself, its difficult. I think that if I had had a better idea for it, it would have been better. I felt like I needed to do something, but there really wasnt anything to do because I had just finished my exam.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Next Year's Shows

Hi guys,

In response to John's post I would like to encourage him (you would be perfect for The Crucible) and all of you to audition next year for a play. I encouraged a fella last semester, he followed through, got into Dead Man Walking and had a great time. The first show of the season is The Crucible. If you know it, it has a large cast, which improves anyone's chances of getting in. The auditions will probably be the first week of September. Look out for it and come out.

Fabio
Hope everyone had a good springfest weekend, and if you went home.... for shame. Anyways, The entering and exiting was hard for me, I really couldn't figure out what to do to show what I was coming from just prior to entering the room. I hope this week is interesting in class, I am really busy with classes and getting all my stuff done before finals so I can graduate and leave you all. haha, well see everyone on Tuesday.

Friday, April 25, 2008

i agree with ross entering and exiting was alot harder than it seemed and i also enjoyed chris's running away from godzilla. cant wait to see what we're going to do this week.

class

Entering and Exiting a door isnt as easy as i thought it was going to be....but chris running away from Godzilla was amazing, i thougth godzilla was right outside the door and wanted to eat chris....see ya tuesday

Final Acting Project

During the last acting class, there seemed to be a great deal of improvement in terms of the emotion displayed on stage. I believe throughout each week of practice, the is a more genuine and authentic quality to the acting displayed. While there is much more to do for me personally, concerning the final project, there seems to be a vast improvement in the acting abilities of the class overall.

one act festival

i reall enjoyed the one act festival...much more than i enjoyed the dead man walking play. i think what made them more enjoyable for me was the humor. it kept me interested bc if you didnt pay attention to the lines you'd completely miss a joke which i did miss a couple of them, but the ones i got were hilarious! well one more week of classes! see you all next week!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

what up

one acts are gonna be great. I wish I ould have tried to be in them. I have a few friends who are. sometimes I wish I would have tried to do more with acting in highschool and in college becuase it is really fun.

Entering/Exiting

These exercises were really neat and it was kind of amazing that in all honesty, we act different depending on our location. We all did a great job with this as well and made our locations clear for the rest of the class. I'm looking forward to class today and hoping that Keith and I will get to do our scene again

Acting

While in class on Tuesday, I was able to realize that there were several different aspects of acting that ultimately required a certain level of self reflection in order to create a successful acting display for the audience. One major difficulty I had, was my ability to use proper tone when reading my lines. I believe that tomorrow I will be able to create a better and more believable atmosphere on stage, that will hopeful help me to draw the audience into my performance through by the correct use of speech and gestures.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of the skits go for the third time tomorrow in class. The first few have really came a long way, and I am really learning a lot just watching everyone else go and listening to the suggestions given, etc... This class, honestly, never gets boring.

One Act Festival

The one act festival tonight was kinda cool. I really enjoyed the second performance, which was "am I blue." I really liked the plot of it and I could see the relationship of the two actors develop from strong dislike to a care for each other.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Entering and exiting. You may say it sounds pretty simple and unimportant, but it is amazing how much you can learn and understand about a scene just by how someone enters or leaves the room. The exercise that we performed on tuesday really helped me realize this and I think it will help out when it comes time for us to perform our final scenes.

one act festival

I went to see the one act festival tonight. I thought the first one was really screwed up. I liked the second one though, it was kind of funny. I did not like the third one too much. I think i found it boring because it was not a funny act. The fourth one was my favorite. I think Thea is a really good actress and she is what pulled it together.

One Acts

So I just got back from the one acts. I went in thinking it was going to be one play, one act. So I really wasn't looking forward to it. But after seeing the plays, I really enjoyed the experience, all the plays were so funny, I kinda wish I could have gone to the other night as well. Just so I could compare with what I saw tonight.

Exit/Entrance

I liked the exit/entrance exercise although I didn't get to do it. I think I am the last one left for that. It was interesting how every entrance, for instance, is different depending on the place being entered. It was quite easy for one to guess where people were supposedly going by just paying attention to the details.
So looking forward to class tomorrow and one acts on thursday. i am hoping they are going to be sweet. I really hope that my immobility with my arm doesnt affect my acting in a negative way, since i will be immobilised for the next six weeks

Warm Weather

So I can tell that everyone is enjoying this warm weather except for me:( All of a sudden I got really sick and had to miss a day of class and I was doing so well with making it to every class and on time. Anyway I hope it went well. I'll be there tomorrow.
So I went to the one act festival last night and I would have to say that Ithought it was pretty amazing. Because of my unhappy experience with Dead Man Walking, I did go into the show dreading it, but I left laughing like mad. I hope the ones on Wed and Fri are just as good as yesterdays and if you didn't think they were good tonight i would suggest trying it again thursday. The husband and wife act was crazy funny. i loved it. see you all tomorrow

class yesterday

Its a good thing Fabio helped us on our scene yesterday our it would have turned out to be a disastor! I cant even look at Ted in the eye anymore....it scares me to much! haha see everyone thursday

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Class today

Class was pretty sweet today. I really got a kick out of Szpila acting drunk and trying to get in the door. I think i can appreciate this a little more than other people though because i have actually seen what this looks like. I am looking forward to going through our final scene again on Thursday and refining it a little more. I think the criticism we receive really makes a difference.

yea

so is anyone else fighting the super cold from hell? I have not been able to get over my cold for like 2 weeks now. my throat is killing me and it hurts to talk sometimes. I hope this does not effect my speaking and I hope can get better. one acts are going to be fun this week. I have a few friends in it which will be cool to watch.

one act festival

Szpila and i are going to see the one act festival tomorrow night and i am kind of intriqued. I have no idea what to expect or what any of the acts are about. I have heard good things coming from peeps in the theatre separtment though. So here's hoping.
Hey there. I'm really excited for class this week. I'm not quite sure why, but I am. I hope we do something other than the lines the whole time, but I can tell his advice is helping us all a lot. I think the day of finals these will all be pretty good.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather!!
oh it feels good in here...

Monday, April 21, 2008

I have decided that my roommates are really good actresses. Every time my boyfriend and I order a pizza, they hang around seeming entirely innocent. Then I come to find out that they've eaten their "fair share" of the slices. They know how much it annoys me (not really that much, but it's fun to exaggerate) and get more and more creative at how they will pull off the stunt no matter how protective of the pizza we try to be. they get the biggest kick out of themselves and their abilities. I guess they are kinda funny...

21

has anyone seen this movie about playing blackjack? I just recently watched this movie and thought it was done quite well and I really enjoyed it. I won't ruin it for anyone, but just wanted to say that the actors did an excellent job portraying their characters. I myself do not understand blackjack that well, but the movie does a great job of explaining this concept as well. Looking forward to class tomorrow and seeing some more of the final scenes improved.
So this week has really hit me that it is almost the end of the semester and I am really nervous about the final scene. I have 8 million other things going on and trying to do this and everything else is very taxing not only mentally but physically. I've been sick now for what feels like forever but pretty much since the middle of March and because of all my stress and lack of time to relax, it is holding on for dear life. I know this may not sound the best but I'm ready to be done with it all. At first I was a bit apprehensive about being done with this class but now I'm just ready to hit summer and take a break and get better. I admit I have learned a lot about my own abilities but also just not censoring myself as much and letting things just naturally happen. I don't think so much about things and just try to go with the flow rather than map out everything I plan to do. I think this has transcended into my life outside of class. I have begun to care less and less about how things I do are percieved and care more about just doing things that I want to do. It's amazing to me how learning how to act in class has made me not act so much in my real life. Okay I am going to get some more work done now and up again in the morning for lab.

Also note I haven't been late to class in a hot minute. GO ME

Character Bio

Reading the posts commenting on the Thursday class makes me sad that I missed it. It seems like it was interesting. Right now, I am working on my character bio and I have quite a lot of ideas. I changed the scenario three times already and I am really hesitant about what sounds the best. I want it to be creative and yet I would like to keep it real as well. There are so many various backgrounds that I could use for my character and I don't really know which one would be the best. In addition, I am not completely positive how many and what kind of details to include.

Final Scenes

I think the final scenes are coming together really well. I'm surprised to see the intensity in many of our scenes even when there funny, we still give our own and I see the growth that has happen since the beginning of our course. I really have appreciated the different elements that we've learned.

Searching for Space

One major thing that I believe would improve the overall creation of acting on a personal level concerns the use of space. Although I believe that it is easy to do things such as memorize lines, comparably there is a level of difficulty in creating a connection with the different objects on stage. I believe this will ultimately draw the viewers into the performance. If this approach is taken concerning the movement on stage I believe that this will complement the script and in turn provide a more believable production.
I am very glad that everyone enjoys watching the creeper. I will admit, I do enjoy playing one. It is hard though to keep the laser beam on Molly and keep to my lines. I guess its just a matter of practicing and perfecting it.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Class was interesting on Thursday to say the least... I loved the fact that Kevin walks back out of the window that he crept into the scene through. Hilarious! And the fact that we're all creepers, oh well, I think it makes the scenes that much funnier. Seeing a guy crawling through a window isn't somethin' you see everyday. And as far as someone stalking someone else in real life, not so funny, but I think its just really funny that the positions we put each other into in the class. And I enjoyed the steroids controversy in ski-ball on tuesday as well...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Its amazing how fast the semester is going and how we are almost done with class. It will be a grind to get this final done as well as the other paper coming up. But Im going to enjoy the last 2 weeks of class and try to get the final squared away.

Friday, April 18, 2008

I really enjoyed working on our scene in class yesterday. It really helped me realize that the majority of our work needed to be on our emotions and facial expressions. having others input really seemed to help and also having the stage and props to work with made a difference too. I just appreciate everyones attitude and input when we were working.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

class

Today in class i thougth was good learning, Fabio does a good job helping people with their scenes. Ted had to leave so we couldnt do ours today! We will be ready to go on tuesday! see everyone then...

class

I thought going through our final scene was really fun on Tuesday. Being given direction and criticism made the scene come together a lot better than i think it would have without it. All hail Fabio!

greek week

greek week champs again. lip sync was amazing. I had such a good time on stage. it was such a fun experience to have the crowd cheering for all of us. everyone was going nuts it was amazing. now I am pretty sick and lost my voice. I hate it
So this will be a quick blog because I had to kick a poor guy off the computer in order to type this and I feel bad that we can't do our group project because I'm so selfish I have to use the computer for my own personal gain. Okay so I don't have anything to say. I think our class is really good at playing creepers, for example especially, Kevin, Zach, and now Molly. We may not be able to be serious at all times but at least we can be creepy. Okay I'm done now. Oh yeah Delon, we need to get together ASAP and practice our jailhouse rock scene. I'll see you all in a hot minute.

Tuesday's Class

I'm glad that I finally got to go yesterday and it was a blast. I'm hoping to get even more ideas to make it even better, but I think I've finally figured out what Fabio's been explaining to us all semester. The substance exercise helped a lot with this: focus. I was trying to really focus on the fact that I was a coke head and not trying to remember what I was going to say or do. I had a lot of trouble with this concept in the beginning of the semester and would constantly try to think of my actions before I would do the scene. I'm looking forward to seeing the scenes the third time around.
I think its funny the way that my characters always end up being weird in some way... its nothing like me at all, maybe thats why i choose to do the things that i do in class, just to be different. But I really enjoyed doing the touch all exercise and getting to do our final in front of him too. Now its just putting it all together and finishing work for all my other classes, and I'm outta here! woohoo

-The end

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Tuesday's Class

The groups that went Tuesday were really good. I'm really excited to see everyone's final scene, once we really perfect them and show them to our classmates I think there will be a lot of speechless people.
I really had fun with Ryan doing our scene where we had to touch every object on the set. I think it's a good activity to do so near to the final, because it's somewhat like an even more mini skit. It gave me some confidence and excitement. I'm thrilled to see everyone's final skit on the last day of class.
I love the fact that I no longer freeze in class. Hopefully the weather stays like this...

But, I just wanted to say I think everyone is doing awesome on their lines. Everyone is so creative and funny; it makes the class something I can look forward to all of the time. Keep working on your lines and I can't wait to watch more!!
i really enjoyed the two finals that we saw on tuesday. it was weird because after they did it a couple times, you could almost see them get it and understand it better right before our eyes. hopefully my progress will be just as great

pressure off

Hi guys,

FYI - your final performances don't necessarily have to be, "great." I am looking for obvious work, thought and improvement. Don't put unnecessary pressure on yourselves. It will only get in your way and in the end your work will not be as good as it could have been if you were more relaxed.

Complete everything I asked you to do, work steadily and with focus and you will all do fine.

You can do it.

Fabio

Acting Class

Although during the class demonstrations today there were several good examples of acting concerning the use of space as well as other acting techniques, this overall motif of acting helped to reinforce my current understanding of the final project which will be a culmination of all the class exercises that have been performed during the semester. This will be a testament to the principles of acting, which I believe will ultimately help me in the future. Though there are several things that I believe are important concerning the nature of acting, one of the most important characteristics of acting, is making a connection with the audience. While I believe that there are many different approaches that can be taken to create a successful scene, the ultimate goal of acting is arguably to “bring” the audience into the presentation.

In the future I will try to use the space better in order to properly create an acting scene that is not only conducive to the principles of acting that I have learned throughout class, but also relate to the audience. I believe that this combination of things is ultimately the result of good acting.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

class

class was funny today..even more fun when we get to watch peoples scenes rise to their finished product! i cant wait until we see them all! im getting nervous for the end of the year and our final products just because basically it has to be great in order to receive a good grade and well thats enough pressure in its self at least to me! c u all thursday

class

I was late for class today, so maybe i missed some whizz bang? Class was good today, i got to sit there and watch everyone else perform and see how to make ours better. people are really progressing and its awesome
Today's class was great. I loved watching the two groups work their scenes out. It was amazing how much they got accomplished and how much their scenes improved by the time they were done. I really enjoyed them. Both scenes were very entertaining and fun to watch. I would have never thought at the begining of the semester that we would all be this good and this far along in our abilities!!!! Makes me sooo proud!!!!
I thought it was cool today in class to watch the progression of the quality of the skits that the two groups did. Keith and Brian's started out ok and pretty simple, but by the end of their time and with the new additions to it, it was awesome when they did it for a final time.

yeeeeaaaaa bbbooooyyyyyyyy

tonight is lip sync for greek week. It is going to be an amazing time. I have a pretty important part on stage. acting class has definately helped me with being on stage in fron of a whole bunch of people. I really dosent bother me anymore. Im actually quite proud of myself. I have not been on a stage in over 5 years since high school and now I have been in two huge events on campus for the greek community. I had forgotten how much fun it can be.

Final Skit

So I'm really excited about getting to go today. I've been waiting since the first day to go and improve on our skit. I guess I don't have that much to say either, It's hard to believe that we only have 3 weeks of school left and I'm looking forward to watching everybody's final projects.
I just tried to post my blog and it wouldn't let me. So now I have to type another one. Yeah all it my blog was was a list of my complaints about my CS 245 class from hell. It's terrible. I have to write my paper now. See you all tomorrow.

lymph nodes

my lymph nodes will not stop bothering me they're swollen one minute and then fine the next I'm starting to think it's stress related who knows. the final project for this class seemed easy at first but now that we have worked on it its harder than I thought. the progress we made last thursday (or lack there of) really made me realize how much of a team effort it is. for instance when one person forgets their lines it's up to the other person to keep the sinking ship afloat. I'm done peace out!
I really don't have that much to say either... Looking forward to seeing more sketches in the making tomorrow, and maybe even get to do our touch everything exercise or whatever you want to call it. Hope everyone had a good weekend and avoided the crappy weather we had on Saturday, and yep I got stuck outside in it. I already forget when the "tornado" stuff was. I was sittin in the house and realized that the sirens were going off in Ashland, and so I turned to the Cleveland station and got some weather reports... Yeah I was on the ball there. We decided to stay upstairs cause it was too far north to affect us. Thats my little story, hope you liked.

The End :-D

Monday, April 14, 2008

im looking forward to class tomorrow because im excited to see what new ideas people have for there skits and ways to improve on mine and ross's. There's only like 3 weeks of school left, so its starting to get to crunch time with getting everything done with the final.
I am really looking forward to class tomorrow. I feel like I've been gone forever and have missed out on so much. I hate being sick and getting behind in my classes. It is so inconvinent to get sick this close to finals. I am loving this nicer weather and I think thats making homework even harder lol. Plus I think all the professors have a conspiracy going on how to drive us all crazy with work lol jk.

Difference

I just came back from the International Club radio show that I co-host, and today I came to realize a major difference between U.S. and Bulgaria that I haven't really thought about. We had as a guest a guy from Sweden and he was talking about the "hi", "how's it going" phrases people here are used to say on the go. In Bulgaria, no body on the street will ask you "how are you" unless he/she knows you very well and will stop to talk to you for a little bit. If you are just acquaintances with someone, he/she will simply nod or smile politely and keep going. If you ask somebody "how are you" you usually expect a long explanation and you are usually supposed to ask with some concern or at least interest to hear the answer. Here, it is totally different. "How are you" is more like "hi", that one is neither interested nor cares about the answer.
So I dont really have a lot to talk about today. looking forward to class tomorrow. trying to work on the final, and hoping it will come along smoothly. the very fact of watching others do their finals, helps significantly. it allows one to be able to see how someone else is doing there's, and apply the good and the bad to their own.

class

Looking forward to class tomorrow....Greek week has started and its going well, we're having a lot of fun. Kind of a boring weekend.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

mexico

So i was bummed to miss three days of acting class with everyone, but i can;t say i was to bummed because i got to lay on the beach in Mexico. One thing i found to be very interesting about the Mexican workers on the resort was that they did not care if you looked like an completely obvious American tourist or not, they spoke Spanish to you first before any English. I appreciated this, not only because I was able to practice my Spanish, but because it showed that they expected the guests to conform to their culture before they conformed to ours. I thought this was a very strong and subtle stand for them to make. Yes the beach was amazing and the water was beautiful. There were topless women hanging out to which is always a bonus! :)

Acting Scenes

In class last Thursday there were several different acting scenes which made the class worthwhile. Although I am certain that I have much more to do concerning the notion of acting while remembering lines, I am certain that the final project will be a success. While there are a few more things that must be done in terms of redefining the floor plan as well as creating a more convincing display of the lines that were given, I believe that for the most part our group is on track.

In conclusion I look forward to the next chance to improve my acting abilities through class participation as well as constructive criticism. I believe that this is the best way to create successful acting as well as building camaraderie among fellow peers.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

thursdays class

class was fun thursday. its awesome seeing everybodys scenes progressing as well as watching everybodys scene where we have to touch everything in the scene!!! i cant believe this semester is almost over with already! its gone by so fast! i look forward to everybodys finished product! i hope u all are having a fun, safe weekend now that there are no more tornado warnings!!! lol see you all on tuesday!!

Lines and not knowing

It seems that some of you have noticed that having lines is harder than not having lines. That is why we end with them rather than beginning with them. It is a more difficult skill.

Also, the reason I don't always give you all of the information before you attempt something is that:

1. I want you to figure it out for yourself (problem solving), because then you have better chance of really learning.
2. Sometimes you learn more from your mistakes than your success.
3. When you succeed you have ownership of your success.

F

Friday, April 11, 2008

Kearns and Luabender Fantastic

I just wanted to take a sec to comment on what Kevin and Carrie wrote circa March 26. I love it when people have mini-epiphanies, no matter how small, because that means they are thinking.

Regarding Carrie, what can you say, she is just plain right. Kevin unknowingly reminded me of one of my mini-epiphanies. It was when I realized that all disciplines are tied together in some way. For instance, you can take a principle from, let's say, chemistry and apply it it to theatre.

Example: A chemical reaction happens when you put two or more things together under a given circumstance (like heat). An emotional reaction (which biologists might argue is also a chemical reaction) happens when you put two or more things together under a given circumstance (like heat). They might both blow up! The same way I just blew your mind!

F

Thursday, April 10, 2008

so i'm gonna keep this short and sweet since i still haven't left my house to come to school. i'm crazy worried about our final skit because delon and i still really have no clue. i believe we decided on being in jail and i'm the repeat offender and delon is the officer. other than that its all sorts of up in the air. not to mention i feel terrible and hoped that i would be able stay in bed today but realized that i can't without it adversely affecting my grade so here i am doped up on meds just hoping i live to make it another day. I'll see you all in class in a hot minute

Tuesday's Class

How funny was it to see John acting high:) I love the creativity that flows when were in class it gives everyone the opportunity to be someone other than themselves and thats always fun:)

sweetness

I just wanted to say im sad to see this class come to an end. I know we still have a lot of time left but not really. This class has been very fun to me and I think to everyone else as well. I might not be a great actor but I think this class has helped me with my everyday life. I think I have more confidence to get up and speak in front of large groups. I think that showed with my appearence at Mr. University. I sang and spoke in front of about 400 people and it didnt really phase me. I think this is because of the confidence that was built by our class work

class

So I really enjoy these scenes we've been doing with the chalkboard. People are hilarious and everyone has been ad-libbing such funny lines. We do sound so much better when we don't try too hard to think about out our next action. It's much more natural and makes it funnier.

Being in the Momen

I've learned through the semester that this concept of being in the moment is so critical and allows actors characters to come to life and be believable. If an actor, or us for that matter tries to think about what we're going to say or do, it becomes evident and fake to the audience. However, If they are truly portraying a character, the audience believes them to be that character. Because they're reactions reflect those of the character and not of the actor.

Stay Cool Fool

i am finding it really hard to turn this nothing script into a believable performance. despite this fact the progress that John and Chris made on their scene was awesome. with that said hopefully tomorrow fab fabio will help us out knowing me and amanda we will probably end up dancing around the place who knows
in an unrelated topic my computer was stolen last week and it sucks. I'm basically using this blog as a vehicle to vent my frustration but I'm trying to stay cool fool which has become my motto these days. so keep an eye out for a broke down dell computer that shouldn't have been stolen anyway seeing as it's not worth anything any more. theives are assclowns
Sorry I couldn't be there the other day everybody, and miss out on all the joy that this class gives me... I've been really sick the past couple days and couldn't even drag myself out of bed until late. But I will be there tomorrow, have no fear. That is if anyone was having fear in the first place for me. :-D Alright peace

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The Objects Exercise

I think that the exercise when we had to touch all the possible objects present in the scene was pretty interesting. It is somewhat spontaneous as far as words are concerned. The most interesting part is that no one so far has taken too much time to think what to say. They just say it without considering the consequences or the audience's reaction. Although without any specific preparation in regards to what to say, it seems that it always makes sense to some extent. The only somwhat "artificial" thing to me was touching all the objects as soon as possible. It is hard, though, because usually one does not always go around the room or whatever environment he/she is in and touch possibly everything. I am excited to see what the remaining groups have planned.
in last class, the skit i did with ross was very entertaining to do. i actually would have liked to pursuit the scene further. i felt as though there were more things i could have said or done that could have only added to the entertainment of the skit. i hope everyone found it as entertaining as it was for me to do it

Final Project

While in class on Tuesday I was unable to completely get "into character," I believe that for the final project my partner and I will be ready for the scene. While I was able to visualize the differences between the acting that takes place "in the moment," and the acting that was done earlier in the year, I would say that there is a significant disparity between the two stages. In my opinion from just a basic understanding of acting principles it is possible to convey a successful approach to acting.

In conclusion I believe that the acting being created through "spontaneity" derived from in class exercises is unparalleled going along with the idea of reason vs. instinct. If on the one hand there is little though being displayed in the process of acting it is impossible to be completely successful. On the other hand if too much thought is displayed, in my opinion, successful acting is also unachievable. Through my perception this is a delicate balancing act that must ultimately be given a sense of compromise concerning the overall motif of acting.
In my psych class, we were discussing whether or not we (the students in my class and I) are adults. The majority of the students said that they were not, while only a few considered themselves in adulthood. Then we went on to debate whether the age group people perceive themselves as being a part of is reflected in their behaviors and the way that they act. For example, if you consider yourself and adult, would you try to be more mature than just shrugging it off and being like "eh, I'm still a teenager..." Acting in such a way might be stereotypical, but nonetheless it is the way that society defines these ages. I suppose that is the reason that we tend to over exaggerate certain behaviors when we are acting like a certain age group, whether or not we really would behave that way in real life.
I agree with ross on that it was interesting to see how others would act out the same scripts but with different actions to accompany them...I also believe the highlight of class was when ross owned that helpless stole when he told kevin that he was his son haha

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

class

class was somewhat boring today but its cool to see how someone with the same lines can make a whole skit completely different. Our inside skit with Kevin and I, was funny. Finding out that my employee is now my son and he dates my daughter WHAT!! haha that was fun. see everyone thursday

acting

cant wait to do my scene and see where it takes our ideas. Chris and I have a few ideas of what we are going to do we know who we are, where we are and so on. I have an idea our scene will change like ross and teds did. that is very fun to me, no knowing what is going to happen and just going with it. im excited!!!!!!!

Final Acting Project

It was great watching both Ted and Ross and John and Iva with their final projects and the improvements that have occurred. I didn't think that any of the four tried to force a trait or idea, but were just acting "in the moment" They reacted to each other when something occurred and weren't trying to think about what to say or do. I can't wait to practice my scenes more and get feedback from the rest of class and Fabio to make the scene even better
I hate having to drive such long distances, I say this because I had to drive down to Columbus again for a job interview tonight. The only thing that made the drive bearable was that it was so nice i could drive basically the whole way down and back with my windows down. Other than that, it seems like everytime I make that drive it seems to get longer and longer too... I wonder why that is? Well, hope everyone had a great weekend and that we're enjoying this weather, I heard it wouldn't last until the weekend, it would be cold again. :-(

Spring

I am so excited that spring is finally coming. I absolutely love spring on campus. Everyone is outside and enjoying the weather. The flowers are in full bloom and are absolutely beautiful. The only way I make it through the winter without going crazy is knowing that spring on campus is always so beautiful and amazing!!!!

Monday, April 7, 2008

So today definitely was beautiful, like everyone else said and that makes me happy. And it's not just because it's beautiful outside, but because I won't freeze in class now. Every day I go in there I freeze. And it doesn't matter if I have my coat on or not, I still shiver. But tomorrow will be a good day because now I won't. Plus, I can enjoy the class even more.
So okay today was a beautiful day. Now that i've got that out in the open (just incase you all didn't notice) I'm now wondering how in the world am I going to get everything done. I think I'm probably stressing more than I should but I guess that is how I am. Not only that but the damn shift key on my computer isn't working right now so I am having to work exta hard to make capital letters. Okay so I'm excited for class tomorrow, it's nice to know that it is noticable that we are all improving. It's hard to believe we made it this far just from starting in January. Truly it's amazing. So since I've got my blog up before Delon this next part is for him. Hey Delon when are we gonna finish figuring out our plan for our scene? haha lets just get this thing done.

See you all tomorrow!

Almost Summer

It was really nice today. I just enjoyed walking to classes, and I took extra time to do so. Everybody was wearing t-shirts and shorts and that reminded me of the summer. I usually spend the summer at home, but this coming one I might be staying here. It just does not really make that much of a difference any more. When I first came to U.S., every plane I saw in the sky reminded me of going back home, and I couldn't wait to see my family and friends. Now, it is totally different. When I went home last summer, I even got bored and wanted to come back here. I think it's just interesting how when one gets used to the environment, it changes him/her completely.

Thursday's Class

it was interesting to see the difference between reading our lines cold turkey and then actually developing a storyline to go with it. The guys had a purpose after we went through all the possible scenarios that they could be experiencing when delivering their scenes. I can't wait to see everyone else do theirs:)
I love the weather today! It FINALLY feels like spring. I even got an ice cream cone at convo and ate it outside. The sunshine is a stress reliever, and it really has put me in a great mood. I am looking forward to practicing my skit tomorrow- I think my partner and I have finally got it figured out better, and it will be nice to have the classes input.
I agree with Chris in that, there is such a difference between just standing up without having any idea of what to do, and actually having lines and having a somewhat plan. The response acting sometimes is easier to do because you are merely responding, and really have no idea what is going to happen. I know when I have to memorize lines, I kinda seize up and have trouble because I am so concentrated on remembering the lines.

Practice Makes Perfect

While in class Thursday there were many things that were appealing about the "tentative" acting that was displayed by the class. Although it is difficult to get in the mind frame to act without any prior notice of what will be required; I believe that in some cases the acting was a better quality compared to scripted. In my opinion this is because the idea of being able to create a spontaneous reaction to a scenario requires the actor to display a genuine, and "free" style of acting. I believe this class was not only refreshing but extremely educational. While on the one hand the class as a whole was able to not only enjoy the humor of the acting, but also learn a few new techniques concerning the use of space as well as objects; leads me to believe that everything was "in alignment." In my opinion the ability to create a connection between the props on stage is one very important quality that an actor should possess.

Friday, April 4, 2008

thursdays class

class thursday was fun it was interesting seeing that one group go up and down and up and down but its good for them bc they got to see sort of what our teacher is looking for. also that touching everything in the set activity was funny cant wait to see everybody else go! have a good fun and safe weekend i will see u all tuesday! :)

Thursday, April 3, 2008

todays class was alot of fun. I enjoyed acting out our scene with ross and the different actions...I guess i was having to much tho, since fabio had to deny me during the last exercise from going first haha

class today

Class was fun today, It seems like actions can just appear without even trying. You can make a scene without ever even talking about it with a parter. John and Eva did a real good job today, it would seem that they had scripts, though they didnt. Good job

Background

I think last class showed us the importance of knowing your character and having a background for them. Also I think it is important to have a setting and some sort of confilct figured out. This is what really makes a scene worth watching. It is what gives a scene substance.

Today's Class

I'm so nervous to see what we do with our floor designs today because I think ours is a it outlandish and we just might be embarrassed when he asks us to act out our design. On another note I think my partner and I did a great job of remembering our script for class:)
So I don't really like it when we are asked to do something and I don't know why we are doing it. Sometimes I wish that we could just find out what we are doing while we are doing it not after the fact. As much as I would love to write more it's getting close to that time that I need to leave my house to make it to class on time so I'm gonna jet and get going. See you all in a few.
I am really interested to see what we're doing with the floor designs as well. Our idea is hilarious and I really hope we get to expand on it. As for the final, I'm much more confident about my lines after going through it in class... however I know there is much more work that needs to be done in order to get it to the best it can be.

final

I am very excited for our final. I am interested to see how everyone is going to do. It was pretty cool to see how people who had the same lines spoke in a completely different manner than on another. I bet things will change around a lot when its time to do the final. I cant wait for whiz bang
5 weeks until the end of the semester and i have a lot of work to do before that 5 weeks is up. lately I have been so frustrated and it's been weighing my mind down. This type of stress always affects my mood and i've been in a shitty mood lately the acting class actually helps me get some of that stress off of my chest and im glad i can get something interesting and awesome out of a day that would normally be mundane and unawesome

there is absolutely nothing on TV at 2:17 AM

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

So I'm pretty excited to see what we do with these "set designs" we did the other day. It should be interesting to see what he makes us do, but I also really want to see what everyone else came up with. We all have such different senses of humor and they are all hilarious. Tomorrow should be interesting.
So last class I had a little trouble with the lines. Even though I had studied them, because i wasnt able to study with Molly, it really threw me off. I think that it probably would also help if we had established a relationship. It appeared as though the people that had established relationships did better with the lines than those who had not.

Final Assignment

I was thinking about the final assignment and the different relationships and situations possible for a dialogue like this. There seems to be a lot of possibilities and yet and it is somewhat limited. I enjoyed listening to the different groups recite. I liked how the different groups made the same words sound in a different way. I had to recite memorized dialogues before, and not surprisingly I always seem to forget some of the words although I have practiced. The combination of words and acting might be harder than I expected.

Final Project

Although I am sure that in the future there will be a good deal of work to do concerning the final project, there is a good possibility that I will be able to create a better understanding of my character's role in the over aching theme of acting, and work toward a deeper level of commitment to things such as the storyline and back round information.

Another important component of acting, in my opinion is focusing on the objects that will be created during this final project in an effort to ultimately help the audience to gain a better understanding of the scene in which the acting will be done.

In conclusion I feel that through more perseverance in my acting abilities I will be able to quell any concerns dealing with, in my opinion, some of the major components of acting such as storyline, back round, and an accurate portrayal of the scene in which the acting will be created.
it was fun seeing everybodys group go, im excited for this assignment i cant wait to see everybodys end project. i hope everybodys having a good week and i will see u all in class on thursday dont forget your drawings of the stage!!!!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I enjoyed watching the other groups with the same scripts as us act out there scenes. It was interesting to see what kind of a different spin that they would put on the scene than my group did. Also the ideas that were brainstormed in class about possible relationships in groups was fun to.
So I'm really not totally confident in my memorization of my lines... albeit they are very simple, i just have a terrible memory and now I'm like, "damn what was i supposed to say?" but i have confidence that i'll have it ready when its my time to go. See you all in class.
I've done it this time I didnt memorize my script for today so this should be interesting i think me and amanda can work through it. right now im caught up in this show about a doggy who won't stop eating his poo (Animal Planet rocks) I can't wait til class it should be sweet I'm also a little sick (again) just warning

script from high school

I found a script from a production i took part in. It was my senior year of high school. I auditioned with out any specific role in mind and was given the role of the jock. This was kind of a fun role because i was not an asshole jock like that in real life so i got to pretend for a couple nights. There was a funny guy role that i think would have been more fun, but thats ok it was fun regardless.

The substance

We finally figured out the purpose of the substance and like I mentioned last time our improvement is evident. We're all more focused and attentive than earlier in the semester. Nobody is trying to "show" something but rather trying to focus and make their actions real. I'm looking forward to these last couple of weeks of class and wiz bang of course. That was pretty awesome last week when we got Fabio out.

free movie night

I went to free movie night this past weekend, it was pretty good. The movie that was shown was called Atonement. All of the actors were very good and I foun myself getting lost in the story. The way it was set up was unlike other movies. There were some very interesting cuts in the way it was shot. I think other people should go watch this movie.
I was in Florida all of last week and one of the biggest differences I noted in people was the way they talk. Obviously, people in the south drawl their words out very long and slur many of them together into conjunctions that people from the north don't use. We became kind of friends with the people in the house next to us who were from Georgia, and they tried to talk with my accent and had a very hard time doing so, while it was much easier for my family to talk like them. Is it difficult for people from the south to play a role in which they are from another area of the country or world? At least these couple people definitely could not pull it off...

Monday, March 31, 2008

So, can anyone say stressed???? I sure as heck can right now. I feel like all my professors have just dumped everything on me at once and I really don't know what to do. I have pretty much had 3 hours of sleep a night for the last 2 weeks and I feel like it is really starting to wear me down. I try really hard in class to focus on the exercises we do but I always find myself thinking about what I have to do after class and what I need to get done right away. Even as I'm sitting here right now I have marketing on my left and robotics on my right and my lines I need to memorize right in front. Speaking of lines, are you gonna be part one or part two Delon? Anyway back on my rant of all things school work. I guess I wish that the professors didn't load so much on us all at once. It gets especially hard for commuters trying to run back in forth to campus to meet with groups for every class under the sun. Gas is not cheap and all this running around is starting to hurt my checking account. Okay well I need to get back to work now on all my school stuff. I will see you all tomorrow.

Learning our Lines

So for some reason I'm a bit nervous about tomorrow. I know the lines are easy but I wonder how difficult the scene will become once we incorporate all the different elements that we will be asked to do. I am equally interested to see how everyone does with their given lines. Good luck everyone:)
I did not find last class as interesting or engaging as the substance exercise. Though, I would like to say that every class is interesting and engaging. I wish that we would do more with the substance exercises. I think that some people had some trouble with it, but I found it amazing. It almost felt as though the substance was truly there. It was interesting also to see the others react when they were suppose to have the substance or lack the substance. Very, very interesting stuff.
so ive been sick the last couple of days and im bored. There is nothing on tv so i have been watching some of the crappiest movies ive ever seen. Of course, I was critiquing them and just became bitter. I remember the days when I used to be able to sit and watch a horrible movie and think very little of it (unless it was a movie on the scifi channel, in that case they're absolutely terrible and i watch them because of this factor). This class has forever ruined my ability to watch horrible movies.

classes

apparently i suck at remembering these blogs but i really enjoyed class on thursday not so much tuesday but it was funny to watch everybodys version of using different objects in the bathroom lol, i had alot of fun and am excited for our end of the year project! see you guys this week!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Bathroom Exercise

I thought that the bathroom exercise was fun because it felt like a real bathroom scene. Everybody was pretty much doing the same thing, using the objects in the bathroom, but in a different way. We were used to imagining only one object to deal with at a time, but that exercise required a whole room. The interesting thing was the everybody placed the bath tub, the toilet and the sink in the same place.

Breathing Exercise

While in class the last week working on different breathing techniques, I found it quite relaxing to have no obligation but to "live in the moment." Although there were times in which it was difficult to focus on moving through the different substances, I did think it was very interesting to see the reactions that each person made in comparison to "having the substance" and not "having the substance." While at first they were stationary and inactive as the matter was removed they became relaxed.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Breathing

The breathing exercise we did the other day was EXTREME! After doing all that breathing i seriously felt so relaxed it was crazy, i felt like i was walking on air. It was weird and slow at times but i understand why we did that. see ya tuesday

Today's Class

I really liked the exercise that we did today involving space. I thought it was cool to see how everyone had different visions of what the location was and the different objects that they would put in it.

Breath

So how about I just remembered ten minutes before class to write my blog:) Anyway Tuesday's class was pretty interesting, the breathing exercise was pretty unique in the sense that we don't really think about how important it is because its such a natural part of life for us.
The substance had me in its grasp and wouldn't let go that made me almost pass out other than that experience i thought the excercise was very interesting i really want to see what he does today that brings the whole thing together.

Class

I thought class was really interesting on tuesday. It was interesting to see how my body felt different when the "substance" was there and then wasn't. I could almost feel my body becoming limp when Fabio said that it was now gone.

Tuesday's Class

Tuesday's class was definitely interesting to say the least. I don't think we've ever did something similar to that activity before. I'm not entirely sure of the purpose and I hope he explains it more today. However, I don't know about everybody else, but the activity helped me focus on my substance and the object in general. I've had difficulties with focusing in this class, but I thought I kept my focus for the most part during the activities.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Substance Exercise

Last class, when we had the substance exercise, I enjoyed it because it made me feel relaxed. I took yoga in high school and the breathing part of the exercise somewhat reminded me of that. It was similar in the way that I wasn't thinking about anything. The only disturbance, I believe ,was the standing. In yoga we were lying down. At one point, I was almost swaying. On the other side, although I wasn't thinking about anything specific, I imagined the color of the substance....it was yellow. I don't really know why.

THE SUBSTANCE

The substance was a great exercise. I had a really good and challenging time with the idea. It was nice to actually focus on my body moving through space. Everything was very delibrate without ever really thinking about it. I could almost feel the substance around my whole body when I moved.
I would really like to comment on fabio's thought that the things that are truly important to us we dont use reason. It is especially interesting because in almost all of my other classes reason over passion is stressed so much. Everything we read, Machiavelli, Locke, Hobbes, Lincoln, Aristotle, the Founders, anything, reason is stressed as the most important thing. Then when you actually think as an individual as to what is truly important to you, chances are you did not reason to that conclusion. My favorite example of this is love. Love of God, love of brothers, and love of one's significant other are all things that make no sense. Love is the most illogical and bizarre thing I can think of. What would possess someone to be willing to place someone else's preservation above their own? Love does, but why do we love, why do we allow ourselves to fall into such a trap? Love is certainly passion over reason, and the things we love are the things that are most important to us, so do we really reason, or do we just think or feel as though we reason?
i dunno about other people but i found myself getting kinda dizzy and light headed when we were doing the substance activity...but it was a good exercise, definitly the longest and one that required the most thought

Learning

I really do believe that we learn more through doing and living than any other way. I have lived it my entire life. Not only through sports and school, but also with family, friendships, and just life in general. The best example I can think of is my senior year in high school. Everyone told me the year before that my senior year would fly by faster than i could imagine. In a way I knew and understood this, but not to the full extent. No matter how many times someone told me, preached to me, and no matter how hard I tried to wrap my head around it I was not prepared for what I finally learned what everyone truly meant.
I truly believe that living and doing allow us to fully comprehend what we truly need to understand. I could ramble off countless situations where i am living proof, but I'm sure we all have better things to do.

Moving the Substance

Today in class there were several important acting techniques that I believe in the future will help me to further improve my acting abilities. Although I believe it was difficult today; It was also useful in terms of creating successful acting through "being"instead of thinking. Although it is difficult, to effectively create acting that is realistic, I believe that with more practice I will become better accustomed to the idea of simply "being." Another revolutionary idea the was displayed in class today involves the use of a technique in which a substance is displaced in order to allow each person to concentrate less on the meaning of each exercise and more on the "moment."

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I appreciate the fact that our efforts are being appreciated. the comments Fabio makes in class encourages us all to push it to the limit and thats pretty sweet. I am very interested in what he has in store this week
So I'm really excited about our project. I think it's pretty cool he's giving us the opportunity to show how we interpret things. I'm really excited to see what everyone does.
Oh, and I hope all of you had a lovely Easter.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter with the girlfriend

I went to my girlfriend's family Easter on sunday for lunch and was greeted with open arms. I had met most of the family members before this get together, but only once. The aunt i made friends with at the first get together immediatly started talking to me agian which made me feel more comfortable. I think i stayed either next to my girlfriend or that one particular aunt the entire time. I think it is funny that people will flock toward some form of comfort. If i was not able to be next to either of those two, nine out of ten i was quiet and next to invisible. This reminds me of the way class was at the begining of the semester. People came in and sat next to their friends and talk to their friends only. This has proggresivily evolved into a comfortable level with everyone and i am looking forward to having that comfort with my girlfriends family someday.

hello all

so how is everyone doing. I hope all my fellow classmates had a great easter break. My break was good I spent most of my time with my family which was good. I had to do some acting because I got mad at my girlfriend and had to pretend I was not. I am a damn good actor to not get yelled at by her. She is very mean and I think my skills that I have learned in class have helped me tremendously with not getting yelled at.


love, peace, and chicken grease

Project

I am really happy that we finally got our project. I think it is going to be really fun and I like that we get to add our own creativity to the equation. The activity that we did on thursday was really cool. I think I liked it alot more than the tangled activity that we did.
So I hope you all had good easter breaks. I went home on Sunday and had dinner with my family and my moms parents. It was nice sitting around and having a good home cooked meal for once. Its tough eating a huge meal like that here at school... I take for granted how much I actually depend on people to get food for me. I can't seem to make the quality of food my mom makes at home here at school, it makes me sad, 'cause I know I'm going to have to be doing this soon. Well I'll see ya all at class in the a.m.

Keep it real.
So from what was described on Thursday I'm kinda excited about what this new exercise is that we are doing this week. It's gonna be tough getting back into the swing of things with classes cause it has felt like we have barely done anything in school for awhile. I got a harsh reminder of how lazy I've been getting lately. I'm taking CS 245 Robotics and Machine Learning this semester and we have a lab due well tomorrow now and my group isn't finished. It's amazing how things sneak up on you. So now it seems like I have everything on my plate all at once and its just all getting closer and closer. It's really amazing the amount of stress placed upon us sometimes. I feel like have to be superwoman to really get it all done. It reminds me how thankful I am for this class this semester. It really has helped keep me from going insane. It's a nice break from accounting or robotics. OK well I'll see you all in the morning and I feel like this will be another week of me not being late!!!

Easter Break

I didn't really do much over Easter break. I wasn't feeling very well, so I spent all the time lying on the couch and watching TV. Actually, in Bulgaria it is not Easter yet because we use the Orthodox calendar instead of the Catholic and Easter is sometime in April. Come to think of it, now that this break is over, we won't have any other breaks for the remaining 7 weeks of school. Hmmm...it's somewhat depressing...

class thursday

class last thursday was interesting. Iam excited to see how much we are all improving in this class and its nice to hear that we are as well. i hope everybody had a nice easter! see u in class this week!
So during my massive amounts of college basketball watching, I saw tons of commercials. Many of which were completely a waste of time, but I still made sure I watched the acting. There was one in particular that the actor made a gesture in accordance to what he said. It was basically perfect, from my eyes, and made me think about that gesture. How many times would it have happened that the actor played out that role, and that one, glorious time, he made some gesture that went perfectly with his character. It so natural that I it is hard for me to believe that it was an actor. Even in class, when we try to feel things, and be the character, it is so very difficult to separate oneself and be the character. To also have the right gestures, not necessarily the right inflections is to me ridiculous.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Keep it up!

Dear Friends,

I just wanted to say, again, how impressed I am with the growth I am seeing in all of you (this goes for the 9:25 a.m. class, as well). Something happened over spring break and/or you are just starting to put things together without knowing it. In a discipline where m learning is much of the learning is non-intellectual, it is difficult to know when things will suddenly click, but they inevitably do. It is fun for me to see.

Thanks.Fabio

Keeping the Height

Although today in class I struggled a bit with keeping the height of the imaginary table the same while I attempted to place plates on it, I am sure that in the future there will be improvement. I also enjoyed the game of whiz-bang we played even though I did not make it to the final circle. Another import detail that I noticed during class was that it is certainly difficult to decide on an activity when acting, however I believe that with a little more concentration I will be better able to successfully act in order to more clearly demonstrate to the audience the task I am preforming.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

the exercises that we did today in class were new and i liked them. They provided a chanllege, like trying to keep a constant height of a surface. I beleive that these will help us alot tho in our final presentation.

stuck in a submarine

Pretending to be stuck in a submarine was a new experience for me. I think that if i were really stuck in a submarine that was under water i have freaked out a bit more and probably started hitting and kicking things. I can get a little claustrophobic though. I think this scene we have to do for the final will be fun. It will be fun to our own little twist on a dialog.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE

I think that the open ended scenes will be a challenge as well as being alot of fun I know Fabio said we were making a lot of improvement but I felt like I struggled with being in a room with the walls closing in yea that kinda sucked sorry guys. well i havent showered yet and class starts in a bit so I guess I should get ready knowing me I will probably be late. I'll see you guys there OH Melanie's Birthday was yesterday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE
Hey guys, its awesome we've been making noticeable improvements in our acting. I'm gonna go ahead and chalk this one up to everyone really getting used to each other, I think being more comfortable in front of the group is contributing to how well we're doing in class. As for the final, I'm thinking this will be a unique adventure, and I'm looking forward to finishing it.

class

I missed class on tuesday but from what everyone is posting i think i might have a clue whats going on, hopefully im not too far behind and maybe someone could tell me about the final! see everyone today.
What Fabio said about everyone making improvments is very true. I noticed how big of strides we have made as a class and it is nice to see that even as the exercises get more complex, that we dont have a problem with them.

Tuesday's class

Like Fabio said we're all improving and you can tell and its exciting to see. I'm kind of bummed that we haven't played wiz bang in awhile and i hope we get to play it at the beginning of class today. I'm excited about learning the lines for the final and making a good final showing. I'm trying to incorporate everything I learned in class to make it great. See ya guys in class
Over spring break I watched a ton of movies. While I was watching these movies I found myself critiquing the actors and whether or not I really believed them. A lot of the movies I thought were completely believable. Some, especially when I would watch a couple movies with the same actor, I found to be a little absurd. I love this class, but watching some of my favorite movies and critiqing them is not cool. I'm ruining some of my favorite movies.

Trapped

The trapped exercise was very entertaining. I think what made it interesting for me was watching people frist realize that they were trapped then trying every way possible to get out. Then after they could not figure any other way to get out, it was neat to see how they reacted to the situation.

I think that everyone is doing better because we all had a break to walk away and refocus. I think that everyone is really trying to be true to the situation and not try so much to show us what is going on, as much as actually trying to take themselves to the situation.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

So things have been crazy stressful and I know I should be excited about the final project but right now everything is terribly stressful. I have been given final projects and papers in each one of my classes and with my hectic work schedule I find myself feeling as though I'm swimming in all the work I'm doing. It's nice though that the final for this class is different than anything else. It will help break the monotony of every other class by having something that will be able to stimulate my creativity and hopefully Delon will want to incorporate dance since I think I've made it quite clear that I really like to dance. So I just got home from work and now I'm gonna get a bit of shut eye. See ya'll tomorrow

Final Assignment

I was just looking at the dialogue for the final and I think it might be a little hard. Acting without words requires quite a lot of concentration, and with words it would undoubtedly become even more challenging. I don't really know whether I will be able to use the right intonation for the particular action we are expected to choose for each line of the scene.
For some reason, I have very little to write about right now. So I think that it would be appropriate to find something that I could discuss. Well, March Madness begins tomorrow, which I am looking forward to, and besides all the wonderful basketball that I plan on watching, hopefully there will be some actual educational benefit I can draw from it. Such as, the commercials during the games and the acting which goes on in the commercials. Ya, I am probably grasping at straws, but I guess that with the amount of time I plan on putting into basketball, I may as well make it worthwhile from an acting viewpoint.

Acting

During spring break I saw several commericals that I believe showed exceptional acting. Although there are different settings to conduct acting in, I believe that one of my favorite types of acting combines any element of comedy to improve the overall appearance that it gives. While there is certainly great acting in any genre such as tragedy; I feel that overall there is much to be gained in terms of combining humor with a good story line.

In conclusion I feel that while it is important to portray any character that you are attempting to create through acting, there is also some importance in how this is done visually and what type of character you are attempting to portray.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I am growing to love this class. Even though I am not going to go into a career in acting, I find that much of the stuff we work on, such as being confident in front of others and being in the moment, will be beneficial in all areas of life. It somewhat saddened me that we received the directions for our final project today. Though Fabio said that we have "all the time in the world" to work on it, it still made me realize the class is slowly drawing to a close. Therefore, I want to take advantage of all the advice I am given and the friendships that I am making in the coming weeks.

class

class today was fun, it was nice to hear that all that weve been working on all semester is starting to pay off! im a little nervous about our scenes that we have to do, but im sure it will all be just fine! i hope everybody had a great spring break! i had the flu, sinus infection, and still have a double ear infection lol so mine was okay minus all that! i wish we didnt have school this week bc i think its dumb to go back to school for four days then back home again! oh well i guess! see u all on thursday :)

Spring Break

I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break as well. However, I found it pretty entertaining that some people were practically still on spring break with yesterday being St. Patrick's Day and all. There were so many people at the bars during the day as if there were no class that day. Oh well we all need a fun day:)

Habitat Build

I spent my spring break in Columbus Georgia building a house for Habitat for Humanity. There were ten schools there building ten houses in a week. It was a fun experience. The contractors that where assigned to the houses were also volunteers and usually they were really helpful. Our contractors were not so helpful though and they didn't seem to care about the build. They normally build big expensive houses and were not too concerned with the quality of the house we were building for a low income family. It made some of us mad that they would let the house be built in an unprofessional manner. I thought it was interesting that these people who volunteered their time where not willing to actually help. They seemed like they just wanted to be there and stand around for tax reasons or something.

Spring Break

I hope everyone had a good break and I'm looking forward to class again today. I went and saw the new movie vantage point over break and I was pretty disappointed. The actors themselves did a nice job portraying their characters, the problem was the production in my opinion. I thought it could have been improved and made for a better story. Instead I became annoyed watching the movie and couldn't wait until it was over.
Today was St. Patrick's Day. I think it's funny how many people actually wear green, just to participate in the holiday traditions. Maybe they're actually scared that they'll get pinched!

Spring Break

So i think they need to change the name of spring break. How many people go to leave for spring break and when they walk outside they walk into a blizzard!!! Also it is kinda hard to have spring break, come back for four days, then go home for easter, and come back for another four day week. I know it sounds odd, but I would rather wait another week and have spring break during the weekend of easter and end up getting out of school early. But hey what do I know, I'm just like everyone else, we all think we have the solution to everything.

Monday, March 17, 2008

class

Over spring break I went down to North Carolina to visit my aunt. One of the first things I told her about was this class. She thought it sounded awesome and thought this would be a lot of help for me in the future. My dad said the same thing. He told me there was no way he could do some of this stuff and I really consider my dad a very outgoing person. He told me that by doing these kinds of things in class will help me come out of my shell with people I don't know. Honestly, the only person I knew in this class the first few sessions was Molly (and we all know thats not any sort of a privilege; just kidding molly- I'm assuming you're used to it by now though) and I had to get up in front of all of you and do absolutely crazy things. The more I hear people say it the more I agree, I really think this will help in my career even though it has nothing to do with acting.

Last Class

The last class when we had to do the entanglement, and I actually had to re-do it, I felt awkward. Perhaps that is why I laughed both times. I don't really know why...I guess, I just felt funny. I was doing something I don't usually do and it felt weird. I believe just because it was out of the ordinary, I couldn't really focus and stay serious. That makes me think of the extra features on some movies when actors actually laugh about what they are doing or saying, and they have to re-do it. Before, when I watched those bloopers, I didn't really think they were funny and I didn't really find a reason for the actors to laugh. Well, now I somewhat understand that.

Pointless Break

I have no idea why Ashland University doesn't decide to have spring break during our Easter break. I know we wouldn't get as many days off but I hate having to come back for a couple days to leave back out, and I don't think we're as involved in many of our classes because were so focused on leaving again for break. It just makes more sense that way.

Back To Class

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm finding it harder and harder to get up everyday knowing I have to go to class. I can feel that we are getting closer and closer to the end and while I'm happy about that for some of my classes, I approach the end with a little bit of apprehension towards this class. Being an Accounting major I'm rather certain that with the hectic schedule I have for the rest of my time at AU I won't be able to take other class like this one. And while I know there is lots of time left, I am now trying to figure out what I am going to take in the fall and what am I going to do over the summer. I hate how sometimes we are forced to deal with future when some of us are having time dealing with the now. I just want to enjoy the time I have left in my classes this semester, not worry about what might happen in the future. So for all of us lets just remember how awesome this class is and enjoy each day we have left.

Dead Man Walking

There were many different things that I believe helped to contribute to the play Dead Man Walking. One of the most important characteristics of the play involved the actors and their ability to act without props in most cases. Although they were able to use different things on set to create a different setting for example, the majority of the play was, in my opinion, created through their creation of objects such as the glass wall in the prison among other examples.
So over spring break i saw the musical, Thouroughly Modern Millie. The music was excellent, but i really did not like the scenery or the plot. The scenery was essentially what Fabio called "high schoolish". I thought that they tried to recreate everything instead of letting the audience's imagination take off. The plot was quite possibly the most mind numbing experience I have ever had. However, I guess that is what one will get at a musical since the emphasis is clearly on the music and not on the plot, which is fine because the music was superb.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Why DMW

Hi Guys,

Amanda asked a really good question that audience members often have about plays and what makes a play. There are lots of different types of plays and theatre. Some theatre is meant to entertain (Phantom of the Opera), some is meant to instigate, some is meant to be political, some of is meant to initiate community discourse (Dead Man Walking). There is no one type of theatre. Not everyone likes all types, except maybe me. Some people want to escape and other want to be intellectually stimulated. People who like Phantom might hate political or avante garde theatre, and I know for a fact that people who like "artsy" theater usually hate Phantom. I think that is OK. Not everything is for everybody. Like different types of films, different types of theatre have different audiences. My feeling is that they are all valid and can all be good. The question, in my mind, is did they achieve their goal.

Peace

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Entangled

Hopefully everyone got out of ohio for break unlike me. But for those that got stuck here for the weekend, I feel your pain. Class was fun on Thursday, been awhile since whiz/bang, but the result was the same, me going out still... maybe next time. haha, but I also thought it was so hard to be entangled in something. And then when I did do the extension cord, I still went too fast, and ended up getting ahead of myself. I still need to remember to keep it slow and simple.

Friday, March 7, 2008

this week

sorry i couldnt be in class on thursday...i was slowly getting sick all week and just decided to rest a little bit. i hope everybody had a good week of midterms! and i hope everybody has a good, fun, safe spring break! i will see u all when we get back!
I hope everyone has fun on there breaks, i know i will. But i am kinda curious to see what i got on the dead man walking paper when we get back...but until then everyone enjoy their breaks

Thursday, March 6, 2008

So first things first. I really enjoyed Delon's interpretation of the Safety Dance in his blog. It was amazing!!! But on a serious note, I am glad we are gonna be up and moving around in class today. It's not that I don't enjoy sitting around talking but my lack of sleep right now needs desperately for me to be moving around. Can't wait to see everyone in class and now I should probably get going so I'm not late........again.

Tuesday's Class

it was interesting hearing all the different opinions about the play. I never would have noticed somethings that we discussed that had potential to make the play better or worse. It was refreshing though to hear both the honest positive and negative thoughts about it. I enjoyed our class discussion!

Mr University

Everyone come to mr university tonight. im in it and will be on stage singing. For those of you who do not know what mr university is it is basically a male beauty pagent. The alpha phis put it on to raise awareness abotu womens cardiac care. It should be a real good time to watch a bunch of guys make jack asses of themselves. hope to see you there

Mr University

you can blog if you want to, you can leave your friends behind, cuz if your friends don't blog and if they don't blog then there no friends of mine!


....No but seriously.....In tuesday's class we talked a lot about the play in terms of style and aesthetic value, we also talked about the meaning and central ideas of the production. However I feel as if we did not acknowledge the performances of the cast enough. I thought our fellow students did an excellent job bringing this play to life. its hard to see someone everyday and then see them acting in a play but these guys were great and the dedication they put into the production really showed

class

So i'm really excited about class today. It seems like it's been awhile since we did a lot of group stuff and I'm really excited about the conversation while eating thing we're suppose to do today. Plus, I have a test before this class and once I get here I know I'll be much more relaxed.

Odds and Ends

The discussion was good Tuesday and I enjoyed hearing what other people thought, but I'm excited to act again and hopefully play wiz bang at the beginning of class. I love that game! The eating exercises that we'll be doing today, I'm not entirely sure what to expect. When actors or actresses eat on TV or in the movies it seems simple enough, but I've learned by now nothing is as easy as it seems. I'm also at a slight disadvantage cause I wasn't here the day for the eating exercise a month or so ago, but I just have to concentrate and actually pretend I have food in front of me and then act naturally in the conversation.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

tuesdays class

i really enjoyed talking about the play as a class on tuesday. it was nice to hear other peoples opinions both similar and different from mine. it was especially nice to hear other peoples opinions that were similar to mine because at times i felt like i was the only one who felt that way about certain things. i guess alot of answers to my questions could have easily been summed up by the fact that there was simply not enough money for the production, but i still believe that my high school had better use of its little money for our schoool productions but that is just my opinion...not trying to bash the play or n e thing but theres so many ways of working around budgets now a days! well cya'll in class tomorrow!
I enjoyed the discussion we had about Dead Man Walking Tuesday in class. It brought about many good points and different viewpoints that I found to be eye opening. It's obvious that no matter how a play is done, even with the best cast and directors, there will be certain aspects that some people will love and some will find completely unnecessary. That's just the way it works.

Class Discussion

I also think that the discussion on Tuesday was interesting because I got to hear other people's comments and experiences triggered by the play. I was surprised how the play has affected everybody in a different way. That makes me think about how hard it must be to have everybody interested, excited, and satisfied by a play. For me Dead Man Walking was both interesting because of the multi-media that I have never seen implemented in plays before, and boring because it seemed that everything was happening at a very slow pace.

Tuesdays Class

I enjoyed our discussion tuesday in class about the play. It was nice hearing everyone elses views and it helped me in understanding some parts of the play that i didnt like or understand. But Im looking forward to getting back to our activities for next class.

class

Class on tuesday was interesting, it was good to hear everyones views on the play dead man walking. Looking forward to class tomorrow

Edmund Fitzgerald

I thought class was an interesting turn in direction from what we've all been used to with acting so far. I liked that all we did was discuss our different reactions and likes/dislikes about Dead Man Walking. As much as I like listening to what everyone else had to say about it though, I really missed getting to act something out, I just kept looking down at my watch going, "ok... are we going to act soon?" haha, but it was fine. Hopefully we can get back into the flow tomorrow. Now you may wonder why my post is Edmund Fitzgerald, well I'm going to get back to this Great Lakes Beer that I just bought and tried for the first time... Its pretty interesting, it tastes a lot like coffee, the website said it'd go good with a steak or ribs. Now if I only had money for either of those...

camera shy

So i help out with TV@ News on Wednesdays and i have seen many people try the on camera positions and get nervous. You can always tell when someone is nervous becuase they stumble with their words and maybe become quieter and quieter as they talk. I saw the same thing for a couple people in the production of Dead Man Walking. There were a few actors that you could tell were not quite comfortable on stage yet, but i have faith that they'll come around. I used to be nervous being on camera or on air, but now i love the attention. :)
I really wish that the production of Dead Man Walking that I saw had had all the statistics of the other productions. I think if that was the case I would come away differently from the play. Regardless, it makes no difference. I would like to reiterate that I have never seen a play about the Death Penalty and I think that theater is a wonderful way to begin dialoge on the subject. The key is however, that the play must be balanced, or there will be a side who will not listen and thus no dialoge can begin.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Acting Class

Although last class I learned many new acting techniques, that I believe in the future will help me in studying the field of acting, I know there are also many different techniques that I will have to learn in the future. Such as cooperation with fellow peers in order to create a better picture as a whole in terms of the audience's viewpoint.

Dead Man Walking

The play was amazing. I was so glad to experience this story. I had never seen it before and was truly moved by what I saw. Even though I knew what was going to happen in the play because people told me I was still affected the same way I would have been had I not know the play. (that was a very bad sentence) The actors were great and the use of video was an interesting twist that I have never seen before.
I went and saw the play on Saturday and I guess I don't really know what to think. I guess I was supposed to like it by the sounds of the other posts but I found myself wondering why someone would even want to make this terrible story a play. I think it is bad enough that it actually happened but to have it thrust upon people as a play (which most people go see for entertainment) was rather strange. So if someone is looking for high praise for the show, I really wouldn't look here because I just didn't get the point. I don't want to watch something so terrible being used as a play.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Dead Man Walking

I went to the play this past Saturday and I loved it. I can't wait to hear everyones reactions to it. I honestly was not ready to leave the theater yet:)
Tonight I watched the slam dunk contest at the rec center. It was quite entertaining. Contestants were judged on the style, creativity, and strength of their dunk. It was interesting to see what people came up with in later rounds of the contest, as the dunks became more and more skillful. Some of those guys were just so athletic and talented, it was amazing. Yet before the contest there were a bunch of other guys on the floor that were practicing dunks, too. There were two that I just thought were absolutely incredible and were surely going to win, but they were not in the contest. I assumed that they did not enter on time, or, what seems less likely in this case, they did not have the confidence to do so. I always wonder how many truly talented people there are out there, whether in athletics, singing, or even acting, that are undiscovered...

Dead Man Walking Around

I went to the play this last weekend and it wasnt anything i expected it would be. I wasnt ready to see a play so dark and gloomy. I wished i could have had a better experience! Nothing against the actors or ashland theatre department but it just wasnt my cup of tea but i thought the actors did a great job of making the audience believe in their character.

Dead Man Walking

So I finally went and saw the production on saturday and was in kind of a trance when i left. I knew that it was about a guy on death rowe but it made me kind of sad when it was all said and done with. I guess i just didn't mentally prepare myself enough for such a depressing experience. I did think it was a good performance though. The actors did an amazing job and i also liked that did not use props. Kudos to the drama peeps.

Response Paper

I am finally done with the response paper. I thought it would be a lot more difficult to write about my experience at the play than it actually was. I found out that I am not acquainted with a lot of theatre terminology that is needed in order to fully describe the experience of watching Dead Man Walking. But the good thing was that while writing, I realized that I remember a lot of simple details and sometimes even phrases that the actors used. Overall, I am not sure whether I liked the play or not but I have to admit that I certainly enjoyed some particular moments.

Dead Man Walking

I really enjoyed viewing Dead Man Walking on Saturday night... Jon had told us it got kinda emo towards the end but I didn't think it'd be as depressing as I thought. I dunno, maybe I'm just a big baby, haha, but yeah it was depressing. Well I'll be happy to get back into class on Tuesday, hope your all ready for my football player/sex worker look again. Haha