Questions from Chapter 5:
1. "If you'd come here to study a musical instrument, on thing you'd have to learn is the proper way to warm up." Why is this important. Describe what you do or what you should do in order to prepare for your performance on stage.
2. "In a play the playwright is never going to give you a tablecloth that belongs to you. That is your job." What does this sentence mean and why is this important?
3. "Life in the theatre isn't necessarily when you get money from performing. It isn't when you sign a contract. It isn't even when you are in a play. It's when you understand it. If you understand it, you'll know why you want to act, and if you don't understand it you won't want to act." What does Stella Adler mean?
4. "Did you notice that this time as Jennifer described the robe she began to giggle? That's significant." Why was Jennifer's giggling during her description important to the audience?
I always seclude myself. I begin to think about the play as if I was reviewing my day in character. I begin painting a faux reality around myself so I can become submerged in my role. Plus, anyone in a production with me knows I pace in straight lines talking to myself in character for a long time. I'm weird... But it works for me
ReplyDeleteI don't think what you do can be misconstrued as weird. I mean, everyone gets into character differently. And as far as I know, it seems to work fairly well for you. Keep on keeping on, I might try some of these two, they seem very genuine and good.
DeleteNothing weird about it all! A quote someone told me once is "just because what a man's doing doesn't make sense to you, doesn't mean it doesn't make perfect sense to him." So who cares what you do to warm up? It doesn't matter what other people think about it. Everyone stretches differently before a game, everyone warms up their voice differently before a show, and everyone does something different to get into their zone for acting. It's just whatever works for you - it's personal and specific to you and your needs, and that's what matters!
Delete2)I think the playwrite can only ever give you a word. In this case, the word is "tablecloth". The playwrite gives you a basic idea, but he doesn't give you enough to imagine the tablecloth. Thats when it is important that you make the tablecloth your own. Your the one who decides what color and material it is and where its placed. As she explains, even the smallest detail, maybe a lamp on the cloth, changes the whole setting. Being the actor, you have to know how to create a scene for the audience given just a "tablecloth". I think that is one of the beauties of being an actor is that you are the one who interprets the script. You can connect to the play because it comes from your imagination.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with this. Acting is based upon making things your own as well as following what the playwright wrote. It is the actors job to really step into the world in which they are apart of now. Once an actor steps on stage, they should no longer be themselves. They should be their character and they should be experiencing everything through their characters eyes. So when you are given a tablecloth, that is YOUR tablecloth, so what does YOUR tablecloth look like.
Delete1. I think that everyone prepares differently for their performance on stage. There really isn't, nor should there be, a set way to prepare, as internal preparation of character is something that is unique to the individual. Personally, when preparing for a show, I try to just keep myself as calm as possible before hand, and then just shortly before going onstage I will pause and try to internalize. I attempt to forget myself and let the character take over: their mannerisms, how they speak, and how they react. It sometimes helps me to say a few statements about my character, like their goals, fears, and purpose.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is different in everything they do. When I prepare for a show, I like to be with the cast and be interacting with everyone. It helps me get rid of my nerves. I spend some time just sitting with my eyes closed, becoming my character. When my character was the Stepmother, I opened my eyes and made sure to convey how much I disliked everything around me, even in warmups- that was half the fun, watching everyone play the warmup games in character!
Delete2) When a playwright only gives you a word, such as "tablecloth", it is the actors job to give the tablecloth it's history. That's when imagination comes in. You have to really believe in the tablecloth that you are given. For an example: Is it old? What does it feel like? Where did you get it? Is it important to you? What does it look like? It is the actors job to go deeper than what appears to be on the surface. When a prop is given to you or when you are interacting with something, you have to really believe and see what you interacting with. It's creating history for these items so that it doesn't just stay as the "tablecloth".
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Making something have a history is difficult sometimes but it has to be done so that you're not just out there with your own story while you hold the tablecloth, but you're out with your story and the story of the tablecloth.
DeleteExpand on your thoughts Ryan; minimum of four sentences.
Delete2) I think that this sentence means exactly what it says. In theater, you are not going to get parts that were written for you and with your specific personal emotions in mind. (Unless you are Miley Cyrus and Nicholas Sparks takes a liking to you.) That is the entire point of acting. You need to convince yourself that that tablecloth IS yours, that you ate your first meal as a married woman on that tablecloth, that your first child spilt milk on that tablecloth, that your 50th birthday cake was placed on that tablecloth. You have to create the story behind the tablecloth, and you need to give it so much detail that if you ever think about that tablecloth in your everyday life, you feel like that it IS yours, and that all of those things did happen. If you convinced yourself, the audience will believe you as well. THAT is your job. You make the tablecloth belong to you.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Waggles. It can be so awkward trying to understand a character, and a lot of the time I think folks will just wait around for someone to say "Find yourself in the character!". And Adler comments/ridicules a lot on that cliche and hinders it a useless tactic for any actor. It's all about creating a real character with a real past, a real environment and real emotion, and that includes a lot of detail.
DeleteTo me, there's a really huge barrier between the prep for a show and/or scene, and the seriousness of stepping into character before you step on stage that first time. We tend to be so casual with rehearsal or time before shows. I think a "warming up" of sorts is extremely important... Whether with the entire cast and crew playing some silly games or "ZAP!" it's really crucial to get the entire production together in one room, get them really excited and feed off each other's energy, confidence and focus. It creates a single focus for the entire show if everyone is involved, whether amping up actor's and getting into character, or giving stage hands or techies that extra bit of energy they'll need for the show.
ReplyDeleteWhich question were you responding to? I didn't understand from the response.
DeleteI always warm up clearing my head of all things Ryan. I dont think at all of my day or what I will be doing later. I am the character. I think of who they are, how I can become them. I must start to walk and talk like them long before the show starts so that I not going on stage trying to be something that looks fake. I know that my job is to make the audience beleive that I am that character.
ReplyDeleteI think that forgetting about anything happening in your personal life is a great way to start out a performance. In drama as in many sports, the instructor or coach will tell you that you must come prepared to perform and you can't let a bad day, or a good one for that matter, get in the way. You have to be completely committed to the task at hand and can't let you life get in the way. I also agree that after that you should begin to become your character before you begin the play or the scene. That way if you are already in character there wont be any awkward moments where you break character.
Delete3. This is really what drives me, as a person, to want to pursue a career in this. This is what I really love, I love the understanding of it. I love the meaning, and the significance of all of it. To me it's not about "getting on Broadway," "signing a contract," "getting paid," or "getting awards for great acting" or anything like that. Do I love applause and do I enjoy success? Of course I do. Everyone does. But what makes me love acting above all else in the world so strongly is that I understand that acting is truth, and the pursuit of creating truth that kind of transcends everything we do here. It's fake, it's not real, but it's so much more significant and meaningful than anything else in life for whatever reason. I understand that, and that's what makes it so I can't do anything else - because I understand that real truth is created on stage, and I'm addicted to that creation and living in something more truthful and more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteAndrew- This touches me so much. I know you are going out for auditions in a few months, and seeing what you typed makes me happy. And I think that spark of life is in all of us when we act, and that's what brings us all together. We're all here for a reason. The most of us aren't here, our senior/junior year acting because we expect to succeed or get paid or win a Pygmy or to have a sense of power. We are here because the understanding of what goes on on that magical stage entices us to do more, to experience that feeling we feel when we perform. For me, it's an adreniline rush. Just being in a whole different world, that is truth; the thought of it makes me tingle. I absolutely agree with you, Andrew. And I'm sure you're going to go places in the future!
DeleteOne thing I love about us as a group is how we warm up. I love all of the warm up games we doo. East to West, the Banana Song, Ride that Pony, Super Sonic, and especially ZAP! I think these warm-ups give everyone a lot of energy and hype to get ready to put on an amazing performance.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to acting, one way I usually prepare is sitting in silence, closing my eyes, and getting into character. I think this time by myself helps me relax my nerves, and empties out anything that's been on my mind and just concentrating on the show and that's it.
And then when it comes to singing, of course, vocal warm-ups. Which I also enjoy doing.
4) Before she did her full description with giggling, Stella noticed how Jennifer was stoney and unfeeling with her description of the robe. That last description, I think Jennifer let go of what other people would think of her robe, with the fur and the diamonds everywhere. By giggling, she told the audience what Jennifer really thought of the robe. Stella is all about acting portraying the truths of life, not the facts or so-to-say mechanical things. When Jennifer giggled, it showed the audience what she really thought, and how she felt about the robe, and any barriers preventing her from speaking her true mind came down. Compared to her other descriptions, it gives the robe a feeling associated with it, and not just a newspaper-type report void of emotion. And emotion is what gets the audience interested and involved with whats on the stage.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I don't necessarily think that Jennifer let go of what other people thought of her description. I think the reason she even bothered to do it in such a mechanical and stony way the first time was because she wanted her peers, and her teacher, to see how seriously she was taking the assignment. The second time, she realized her teacher was dissatisfied and tried to make the description more illustrious without sacrificing the seriousness she wanted to showcase for her peers. But the third time she realized that her teacher would only be satisfied with an extremely detailed description, so she broke her character (because she was acting for her peers) and giggled in order to show that even she thought that what she was saying was silly. She was laughing at herself, because she assumed that was what her peers would be doing. I thought of all of this after I read the example in the book, so I didn't think it was an ample description of the idea that Adler was trying to exemplify. If the girl truly understood the idea, she would've provided the correct performance the first time, but unfortunately she was just made flustered.
DeleteI can see how what Keenan is saying could be true, but I do still agree with Katie. I think Jennifer realized that Stella was looking for a raw emotion and reaction. When she finally relaxed and laughed during her description, she was able to connect with the class. If you put up a front like Jennifer was before, your acting is going to appear as acting. It wasn't until Jennifer let herself experience her emotions undhindered that the audience experienced them as well.
Delete1.) I've always had trouble with this. Everyone wants me to get up, walk over to the big circle, do little dances, sing little songs, and in general act like an adolescent buffoon. Now, before you sign me off as being a curmudgeon, it needs to be said that I definitely see the benefit. The jumping, moving, and overall silliness of the entire situation serves to loosen your body and prepare it for the activity that you are about to partake in, but it's never really been enough for me. I've always wanted to be somewhere quiet, away from others where I can put on the cloak of my character, imagine the scenes and situations they are engaged in, and most importantly, begin to react to those situations in a manner that isn't my own. We always do a small portion of the pre-show antics in which we "step into" character. I prefer that significantly to the dancing and giggling. But, again, I do see the benefit in the other method, and I certainly wouldn't discourage it for everyone else. Just me. And let's be honest, I'm a dork.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, we all have different things we all like to do to warm up for a role. Everyone has a method that they prefer. Some people like to play the warm up games. Some people prefer to start acting as their character would. Some people don't do much to warm up at all. It all just really comes down to personal preference with this kind of thing.
DeleteYou are kind of restating what Keenan said. What do you think about Keenan's response? Or how do you feel about warm ups? When replying to someone I want to encourage you to build upon the idea to open up conversation. :)
DeleteOkay, so for me, how I feel about warm ups is how I feel that day. If I'm all revving to go, maybe had some coffee, maybe someone complimented me on my outfit, etc, I'm all excited to stretch out and lunge and pick grapes and make motor boat sounds with my mouth. However, on days when I don't feel so spectacular, I detest doing anything. Before shows, I'd rather listen to a great song and belt it than sing about burritos. (But I'm never really up for that silly burrito song anyways.) I guess you could say that I'm super fickle about warm ups. My opinions change about it like the weather. Plus, whenever you don't take part in warm ups, particularly pre-show warm ups, people ask you, "What's wrong?" "Are you upset?" No. I'd just rather do something else.
DeleteI feel the same way too a lot of the time. Some days I'd rather be humming or singing somewhere where I can't be heard. And that's when I'm thinking of all notes I have to sing or the tempo of the songs. I want to go over every technical detail in my head so that I feel more prepared. Other days, I feel a little bit more confident with my voice so I'm not as worried. And that's when I'll join in on the silly game circle. For me, those games help me to loosen up, but they also calm my nerves. Having a bit of fun before a show helps me forget about how nervous I am, or what scenes I'm not too confident with. It all depends on the person though. Different warm up strategies exist for every type of actor.
Delete4. Jennifer giggling while describing the robe is very important. It shows us what Jennifer thinks of the robe. Because she giggled while describing the robe, we can tell that Jennifer thinks the robe is silly. If Jenny had talked about the robe in a bored tone, we would know that she didn't care for the robe. How someone talks about something can usually reveal a fair bit of what they think about the thing they're talking about.
ReplyDelete1) Warming up is really important for me. If I'm going to be singing, I usually do a lot of vocal warm ups first. However, sometimes I don't want anyone to hear me because the sounds aren't very pleasing and can be annoying. I don't want to be belting in the dressing room where other people are trying to get ready, so I'll warm up my voice at home or away from everyone. It's important to warm up your voice even if you won't be singing too. So that your throat is open, and your jaw isn't tight. Acting wise, I really enjoy doing the "step into character" exercise we sometimes do before a show. It really helps me envision my environment and begin to think and talk like my character. I truly believe the actor should definitely warm up their body and voice before every performance. I've went on stage before without warming up, and I was very disappointing with how I did. Warming up helps you be prepared, and also gets rid of some of the nerves.
ReplyDelete1. Before I go onstage I just rapid fire through my lines. Even if I know my lines forwards and backwards, I like to make sure they're in the front of my mind. It also helps me to be at the right part of the play. I also try to do voice exercises to warm up like I would if I was singing. For the most part I think it's important that people have some sort of warm up to help them get in character. Speaking from experience, at rehearsals I know it's hard to act well when your not in character and it's nearly impossible to try and do that in an actual performance. I'm not saying everyone needs some extravagant ritual before performing, but I think everyone needs a little something to prepare themselves to perform.
ReplyDelete