Rehersal experience

Although our group had some degree of difficulty meeting due to schedule conflicts we were able to meet up enough times so that everyone was on the same page and familiar with the scenes

2/28

Met up after class and discussed blocking the directors gave notes on where the actors should stand including verbal cues for nonverbal actions such as the timing of getting on the roller coaster. We only worked on scene 1 this day.

3/6

Met up again after class and went over both shots, the directors also liked some of the actors small additions and they were implemented into the scene.

3/15

Rehearsed before class to go over scenes again.

Jim Carrey is a self taught actor whose roots lie in stand up comedy which obviously lends to his extremely humorous character. He started practicing stand up at an early age performing for almost anyone who would listen, eventually once he became older he started looking for professional work both on tv and film and ended up working the comedy club scene for a while. This background of performing in front of a live audience is most likely a huge factor in his abilities in improvisation, wide range of easily read facial expressions, and loud often exaggerated way of acting.

I chose Jim Carrey because unlike any other actor he seems to have a unique ability to almost transform his face into a wide range of expressions which lends to his acting skills. Jim's more serious roles are also just as effective as he can use his impressionistic skills to imitate a wider variety of emotions then some of the other famous comedic actors.

Flash mob

Being in the flash mob was an interesting experience that gave a taste of what it is like to perform public theatre. Although I could not see what people were doing after we froze and the timers went off I could hear people walking around me obviously wondering what was going on. The hardest part of being in the flash mob was wanting to see people's reactions when I could not. I guess that is something that sometimes actors have to go thought because they are unable to break character.

Slam Nation

The slam nation video gave a unique insight into the broad range of what can be called theatre. The most noticeable difference between what was seen in poetry slam and what many associate with traditional theatre is the location. Poetry slams seem to have more of an informal feel as they often take place in venues such as bars. However even though the differences in location might seem like a big deal the fundamentals of theatre are there. The audience is engaged, there is a person performing in a given space. What was interesting about the video was that all the poets had there individual style yet they all spoke from somewhat of an autobiographical point of view. For example Beau Sia used humor and pointed out stereotypes of Asians in a unique way.

One thing that I found most interesting about the video was the statement regarding what entitles someone to a poetic license. The statement was “in order for someone to gain a poetic license you must first write a poem that everyone agrees is a poem” , “then after that whatever you write can be considered a poem”. Basically they are saying that they can say whatever they want after they have “proven” themselves. I saw allot of evidence in this video of this in some of the performances that I thought were just strange. However usually when little restriction is given in terms of content that is when people come up with some very interesting and sometimes powerful stuff as seen in Saul Williams performances, Slam may be presented differently than most theatre but the fundamentals and entertainment value of the performances remain to be very similar.

6 word memoir

I've many pasts, but one life.