A happy day, a sad day...

THIS POST HAPPENED TO FIND IT WAY SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN WHERE ITS SUPPOSED TO BE...


FIND MY PLACE HOME...


What a day of ups and downs!
Just as I was getting rid of the visitor and that crazy roller coaster ride...

Went to rehearsal today. Charlotte said that we were going to work on specific exercises to bring us deeper into our characters, explore our boundaries and expand ourselves. I had no clue what to expect, but was looking forward to something interesting.

I have no formal training in theater - so all of this is completely new to me. All the rehearsals, the blocking, the memorizing of the lines, it's all such a rush! As a little girl I dreamed about acting, but knew that it took alot of hard work and that not everybody made it. It would have been a tough life. I think it took me this long to realize that at the place I am in my life right now, all my 'life experience' behind me,l I am in a good spot to try acting. It takes a certain level of maturity and self-knowledge to be able to use yourself as a vehicle for whatever character you are going to play.

So we did the standard exercises - warm up, shake down etc. Then we started to get a little funky. That is when Charlotte pulled out a blanket and said:Are we all ready to have some fun?

The purpose of this exercise was all about trust and concentration. With one person lying on the blanket, on the floor, the rest of the group stood around them. Standing over the sleeping person, we moved our hands over their body, concentrating and imagining them as weightless. At the count of three, all of us took our little spot on the blanket and lifted the person up to about eye level, then on another que - up above out heads. The first one was trippy. Carrie lay down on the blanket. Her tiny frame covered the length and we had to tuck her long hair behind her head so we wouldn't end up tugging it by mistake. We all took a deep breath, paced our breathing together and lifted. She felt so light! She said that she felt the same way too. We then hoisted her above our heads and kept her up about 10 seconds and then carefully set her back down. The look on her face on the way back down was that of complete peace.Oh my God guys! That was so trippy! I felt like I was floating! Hearing that, everybody who was first apprehensive asked to go next.

We cycled through the whole gang of 10. When it got to my turn, I was a wee bit nervous - I am afraid of heights, but hopped into the center of the ring. I was already pretty relaxed so I tried to keep my composure on the way up. Well, let me tell you! It was as if I was floating in water, high above the room! And on the way down!! Even more bizarre - gravity takes its toll, pushing down on you but at the same time, you are being suspended and think you are still high up, not anticipating the floor. It felt like I was descending for 5 minutes. An experience unlike any I had before. We all got a kick out of it...

The next series of exercises were for our characters - in one set, we had to say our lines in the way we would normally, and the second - exaggerate to the maximum - body gestures, voice - everything to boot. It's interesting how 'reserved' people are normally, even actors. The difference between their exaggerated personas and their 'normal' ones was like night and day; the exaggerated versions often a lot stronger and more convincing than the later. Sometimes over the top is good - but through this exercise, we were able to feel and compare the two and try to find a middle ground.

The one I thought was most amusing was the three way conversation. The main person sat in the middle and two other characters sat on either side. The purpose of this was to practice concentration while two streams of dialogs going on. The results were hysterical! The funniest one was when Miranda waa being bombarded by Steve and Big. Keeping in character the whole time, we watched her evolution from calm cool and collected to the quick tempered redhead firing off sarcastic one liners to each guy. We 'exercised' for about 4 hours. It 's an understatement to say that it was a full afternoon!

On a sad note, a good friend of mine, Matt, had to accompany his sister to the vet to put her cat down. He called me while I was in rehearsal - he was really upset. I wish I had the opportunity to talk to him because I know what that is like. Such sadness on a shitty Saturday afternoon. My prayers are with you my dear.