Wednesday, January 16, 2008

First Day

I think this class is going to be a nice change from the every day routine that my other classes have fallen into. I am looking forward to getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Over all I think this semester will be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to what's ahead.

As for the observation that we had to do, I found it very interesting and kinda eye opening. I took a little time before practice to just sit in the field house and "people watch." It seemed like everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere or get something done. One thing that I noticed, but didn't expect is how much you can understand a conversation even though you can't hear the words. It is amazing how much we use body language to convey our points to others.

First blog for acting

Today I tried again to "picture" the football game as I had during class. I was able to get a little better and in some ways I think that I showed a little improvement. One major changed I noticed was that the timing of watching the game became a little bit more realistic as I tried to really "see" it instead of just trying to show other people what I was watching. Another thing that I showed some improvement in was in letting go of some of the social tendencies that get in the way of acting such as nerves that in the begging and still today prevent the realistic feeling of acting from taking place and instead create a sort of "haze" that makes it difficult to experience the simplicity of life. I really think this class will have some valuable things to offer even to a political science major. Although I was unable to completely perfect the new style of "seeing" in the future I hope to become better through practice.

Observation and First Day

How we all doing? So as far as the first class goes, it really seems like an interesting class. I wasn't expecting a whole lot coming into it, seeing as how I haven't really acted at all, but this looks like something I could have fun doing in school. It will be a nice way to end my senior year here, and escaping from the everyday life of us "boring" accountants.
As for my observations I went to the rec center and sat around for awhile before we hit the weights, haha. But anyways, I noticed that there were a lot of people in there. Now this is probably because its the beginning of the semester, and everyone is trying to catch back up on their routines, or trying a new resolution for the year. I think it's a little of both in my case. But what I noticed from sitting and watching people is that most of them were there with a friend or someone to workout with. Even the people on the track stuck in a group of two or three. I think its just more comfortable for people to be around others that they know, or its the extra push that a friend might give you when you're running or lifting.
See everyone tomorrow...

Observations

For my 10 minute preparation of this first blog I decided to go to the Student Center to gather my observations. My first observation was that it was indeed quiet. I was on the second floor by the doors that lead to Amstutz, however, I did not anticipate it to be as quiet as it was. Three individuals walked by. Two women and a male. All three appeared to be in a hurry. The first seemed like she was going to do homework, the second was coming from the rec center, and the third appeared to have just finished some homework. I gathered this from the third individual from the fact that he was clutching the piece of paper that was in his hands. It may only be the third day of class, but I understand where he was coming from. The interesting thing about all three was they all seemed to notice me, but it was very guarded. My final observation was one of the pictures on those walls. So many of us walk through the Student Center without ever paying attention to the pictures. The one I focused on was a 1910 photograph of The Annotators. The Annotators apparently was a club centered around world affairs. I find it interesting to look into the eyes of those college students and wonder what they could have possibly been thinking at that time? I can be fairly certain it was not that their generation and their children's generation would be involved in world wars. They probably were thinking of homework that needed to be done or that the picture was taking too long and they needed to eat dinner. Whatever it is, it makes me think about the meaningless things I focus on throughout the day, and how there is so much I do not know.

First Class

The first day in class was interesting because it was different. In most classes we just sit and listen to the professor going over the syllabus but in this class we actually got to talk about ourselves too. I was somewhat relieved to hear that we will not be really acting on stage because I have never really done that and being on stage trying to recite memorized phrases scares me to some extent.
The "seeing" exercise was a little difficult for me because I do not really watch football games and that was the sport that my group members picked. When I was sitting on the chair trying to actually "see" the game, I simply saw little details like the huge uniforms, the colors, the football in the hands of the players, and the numbers on their backs and fronts. I did not see any action though; I just saw random details.

First Day

Hey, how's it going everyone? Yeah, so the first day was very interesting and unique from most of the classes i have taken. Usually the professor just reads the syllabus and dismisses us or has a short spiel about the class. But we actually got involved in the class from day one - that's pretty sweet. Like I stated in class, i've never been in a play before or even seen a play before, which is one of the reasons i signed up for the class. I thought it would be something different and unique and i've heard good things from my roomate. The class exercise we did really showed me how awkward we all act without a purpose involved. I think one of you commented on how, they saw somebody in Convo sitting by themselves and they looked out of place until their friend showed up. This was pretty interesting to me and something i never paid that much attention to. I had some time to kill between classes today, so i thought i'd just observe people coming in and out of the student center. If they saw someone they knew, they would say hi and move on unless they weren't in a hurry; in which case they stopped to talk. However, the majority of people acted quite strange. Usually looking down or to the side, trying to avoid contact with anybody. Almost saying to themselves that they were in a hurry and couldn't communicate with anybody no matter what. One older lady walked in by the mailroom and looked to her left and right and then left again before heading into the eagles nest. This was all things that i've noticed but never paid attention to the frequency they occur.

Good Times

from the posts that have already been written it seems like everyone is pumped about this class and thats really sweet because i feel the same. it feels good to have a class without desks and an overhead. Also the class can be benificial in many ways, I mean at some point in the future we are all gonna have to do something in front of people so i think the class can help some people feel more confident in that area. I tried just watching people and got caught staring a couple of times, i mostly noticed body language and how people used them to convey what they were saying or what their body language suggested about the if they weren't speaking.

First Post

Hi everyone, this is Amanda B (since there are two of us). I don't know about the rest of you but I feel like we will all be experiencing something very unique together this semester. At this stage I feel a little apprehension on my part because I do not know any of you and I come into this whole experience not really all that confident about anything involving any sort of acting or acting exercises. However in reading the other two posts so far I feel at bit more at ease that some of you feel the same way I do.

Okay so that is enough about. As for the seeing exercise. I think I still need practice with the whole visualizing something going on that is not. I tried again to "see" the football game that my group had tried to see in class and I failed. I think most of it happened because I don't know much about football. It's hard to see it if I don't really know enough about it. So I tried to see something I knew about. So I visualized a person shopping. Amazingly enough I was able to see that. So now I don't feel like a complete failure.

Okay so I have to go to work now so I'll end it here. I'm really looking forward to getting know all of you. I'll see you all tomorrow.
Hey there! I think this class is going to be pretty sweet and bring a lot of people out of their boxes. I really liked what Polanco said about making us notice the little things. I think that is going to really affect everyone in our daily lives. As for the people watching we were told to do, I watched people in convo. I noticed how a lot of people stand with their arms folded and peek out of the corners of their eyes to see what others are doing and if they're being looked at. When they were ordering their food their arms would drop and they would lean a little more and act more comfortable. Oh and my favorite part of the day was when people would try to walk around with their trays all cute or cool or whatever. There is no way anyone is going to look cool with that horrible tray of food. I don't know if that really applies to anything we talked about but I felt the need to get that little annoyance of mine out there. Have a good day and see you guys tomorrow!

First Day

Whats up guys, my name is Keith Bryant. It thought the first day was pretty interesting. It was funny to see peoples face's when they had no idea what to do. The acting will be fun and plus I am always looking for an excuse to act crazy. I spent some time in the Eagles Nest and watched people for a little while. I remember watching a guy sitting by himself and looking around awkwardly for a while. When a girl arrived that he had been waiting for, he immediatly seemed alot more comfortable in his surroundings. I thought this was interesting.