Experiences in acting class

Although lately there have been many challenging exercises in class, I believe there is a lot that can be learned from them. One major thing I have learned in the last few acting classes is that there are many different ways to express ideas without ever having to say a word. One major example of this was when the class was asked to preform the "mirror exercise." Although it was very difficult in my opinion, it forced me to consider what the other person was doing instead of concentrating on anything but the "moment." While miring the other person I was, in large, able to look at their eyes, which was an uncomfortable feeling at first. After a while it gradually became easier to concentrate on the exercise without feeling a lot of social tension. Another class exercise that I have yet to master is the "tug of war" since it was very difficult in my opinion. Although it paralleled the mirror exercise in some ways for example by forcing you to react to the other persons movements, I believe it was a much more challenging exercise since I was unable to completely "give in."

In conclusion although there were several in class exercises that allowed me to concentrate on some of the basic elements of acting and to focus on being "in the moment" and surrounding myself with limited thoughts able the past or present, I feel that the mirror exercise was easier than the "tug of war." In the future I hope to develop a better sense of reaction to exercises.