A student driven blog on the experiences of new directors.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Music Scene Summary
Please post the summary for you music scene here. Also, if you get this and get the time, please follow the summary with your 5 questions/observations for Friday. Thanks!
My music scene is based on a true story from World War I, in which Allied and Central forces mutually ceased fire on Christmas Day for the sake of Jesus Christ's birth. Then on Dec. 26th, the fighting started again.
My conflict arc was awkward in that it didn't really follow the Aristotelian arc. It was like, "Peace peace peace peace peace I KILL YOU! peace again." So while my *story* is clear, my *arc* was more like a flat line with a blip on it. I think that presented a unique opportunity for storytelling, but also its challenges. How do you deal with four bars of nothing but this kid singing, when you're limited to a three man cast and pantomime in a black box theater? I was hoping the moment would stand for itself as Andrew was syncing it...and it sort of did. Like Dr. Fisher said in class, I didn't want to try to "fill in" the still moments. The very fact that there WERE these still moments in the middle of a world war is the whole point of the story. It's a miracle that these two countries would be just sitting there together.
I know there's usually no sense in saying, "Well if I'd..." but in this case, I know that I know that I know this piece would work successfully if I had unlimited resources and unlimited actors to work with. I can see it in my head. A TCOM major would LOVE to get his hands on my production concept. In such a dream-production scenario, I would have historically accurate production quality (yes, history buffs, I know the Nazis didn't exist in WWI, and I know America wasn't fighting on the Western Front in 1915. I needed costume suggestions, something clear and recognizable withing three minutes. That was a conscious choice to sacrifice historical accuracy for project recognizability), as well as a MASSIVE cast in historically accurate costumes. Now.....having said all this.......is it ultimately my fault for choosing something so large scale and lofty for a three-minute scene in a class of fifteen? Or is it more important that I *did* choose such a lofty subject/production and try to bring it to life to send a message?
I don't think it was Sam's fault that the class didn't really seem to take my piece seriously. I'm not sure it was anyone's fault, really. For some reason, nothing that is important to me is important to the rest of the class, and no matter how hard I work to try to strike a chord with my audience, or how clear my choices are, it still seems to fall flat. I realize there is a certain element of "knowing your audience" that comes into play, but I've been working really hard to follow Ball State Theater Department's training that I should make a bold choice to send a message that's important to me, a message that I think is worth sending. The messages I've been trying to send don't "just happen." They have been thought out and selected carefully, because I think they're worth saying something about. Otherwise......what the heck am I doing in the theater???
I had misinterpreted Austin's piece but to me, it still worked. The mood, I mean. I thought they were kids farting around in some old storage room, and disturbed the possessions of spirits who were still there in the space, so the spirits got angry and scared the kids away so they could go back to being left alone. Sort of like a, "Oh no, we've disturbed the dead, we have to put everything back to appease them before they get us!!" I think the piece could have been literally 60 seconds long and it would have been just fine, because as it was, the story kind of dragged on a bit. But other than that, I thought it was our most fun piece...and the only one that had the element of the supernatural.
Nick's piece was really cool. Fully told story, not a lot of wait time for the next beat, and well cast, I think. It was very musical-theater-larger-than-life, a la Nick Abbott. But it wasn't corny. Played off well.
Andrew Walker's piece was, in my opinion, the best executed of them all. I say that because his silence was MOTIVATED. He was the only one out of all of us that gave his characters a legitimate REASON not to be talking in their scene.
I was unclear about what conflict was in Sam's piece, other than what I remember him saying during a group rehearsal. The music was quiet, but from what I could hear, it was a good mood piece. The scene actually made me think, however, of a completely different song called, "Give Me Your Eyes," a song in which the speaker is asking God to give him His eyes for just one second so he can see others and their needs, to be able to help them, instead of being so wrapped up in his own (relatively minor) problems. I wished Andrew would have seen Kathleen!!!!!! But that was a legit choice to not have him see her...anonymous giving is close to my heart, so that worked really well to me.
Megan's "Color Blind" was really awesome. I kept waiting for the father to return, or at least to do something more. Either more to the girl, or addressed the boy. I don't remember the music that well as far as how it ended, but I almost wanted it to be more of a tragic ending...as in, they both still want to be together, but they are being visibly forcibly kept apart. But as I said, I don't remember the music that well so I don't know if that would have fit well with the ending of the song or not.
I had a hard time with this project because I am primarily a dancer. At first I thought it would be easy because through movement and music dancers tell a story... However when I was contemplating songs I couldn't think of actions other than dance moves. I came across my idea because I was watching "Mean Girls". I thought of a simpler story plot and found a song that didn't tell the story but enhanced the tone. I faced some challenges such as keeping the actors cheated out as well as timing with the music.
Some observations are:
#1 from an acting point of view it was much easier to be in pieces where the director had a clear vision of what they wanted rather than just telling us to to go with the words.
#2 the simpler pieces really did work best. I really liked Kelly's piece because it was simple, cute, funny and clean. It didn't look just thrown together and it came across nicely and I think it was because of the simplicity
#3 I think the pieces that used music to enhance the tone or tell some of the story worked better than complete narrative songs. The ballad narrative songs were hard to act in as well because the actions were faster than the words
#4 the slow motion in Anthony's piece was fun and an interesting idea. What's good about the slow motion was it took up music time while still ring fluid and comedic
#5 while I previously stated that narrative pieces didn't work as well, Nick's still had a fun upbeat feel and I think it's because his actions were very planned and motivated. Although there were some gaps, over all the picture was clear and easy to watch.
Observations: 1) I Feel really bad for laughing during Chelsea's scene! We hadn't really rehearsed the singing part because we wanted Andrew to memorize the lines before we really ran it.... so that was completely my bad
2) The Pokemon skit was hilarious and light hearted, which i think anyone can enjoy.
3) I felt like everyone's scenes had great aspects to them. Nothing is going to be perfect, most of us aren't directors.
4) Megan's piece was super great. The music fit perfectly to the scene.
5) All in all i enjoyed this exercise, it was different and fun.
1) Enjoyed the fact that there were all kinds of scenes with this assignment: drama, action, comedy, musical theatre, and slow-tempo. It made for some entertaining theatre.
2) Often times, it was hard for scenes to justify the silence. I wanted the characters to talk in a lot of the scenes.
3) You could tell who took time to think out the transitions. People who had smooth and fluid pieces were a lot more enjoyable to watch than the choppy ones.
4) Is it a better idea to set certain moments to certain lines of music or give a scenario and let your actors solve the problems and take their times with the moment? Some people had successful scenes both ways.
5) Really enjoyed everyone's scene! I think our class is pretty great, and we all seem to come from pretty different worlds which creates a nice dynamic. Would have been interested to see someone do live music to a scene!
My scene was Andrew and Austin sword fighting over a doughnut. I wanted to go simple because every story I was coming up with was way to complicated and hard to communicate so I went with the fight that Austin choreographed because he's awesome. I think it worked pretty well. I understand the comment about ending the scene earlier but I don't think I would've changed it, I thought the ending worked well for me.
1. Simple pieces worked very well in this assignment.
2. There were some scenes that had lyrics that only did what the words were saying and it felt like there could have been more to the scene.
3. I loved the pokemon scene it was funny and dramatic and well timed.
4. I also liked Megan's scene. It followed the lyrics enough to make sense but it wasn't word for word which worked really well.
5. The scenes were a lot of fun to watch, and seeing the interpretations that people come up with is always awesome.
My scene was just about a woman figuring out that her boyfriend had been cheating on her this whole time. that even tho he said all the right things and she loved him so much that she knew she just couldn't be around him no more. I did this piece not only because this seems to happen to a lot of people but it told kinda of my story too. 1.) I observed that it was very hard for me to get people to see my point of view on the whole story i was trying to show. 2.) i think it got me to open up a little bit and to see my weaknesses in being a director. 3.) also i felt like i connected more with the super funny ones and the super sad ones. Some of them i didn't understand at first. I think we should of watched them twice so then i got see some of the stuff i missed the first time around. 4.) I saw how a lot of the shows kinda showed want kind of music we like to hear and some of our personality. 5.) also i noticed some people had a harder time to get their point across-ed then others. and i don't know if it was the song or that we didn't have enough props or time to make sure they were all on point. i know some people had more time then others did.
My scene was the ridiculous lover's quarrel fight scene set to Florence + The Machines' Kiss with a Fist. I really like the song and whenever I hear it, I always imagine a crazy ridiculous kickass action movie fight, complete with gratuitous explosions and slo-mo cam. The basic story is that the two lovers were about to be married when the groom slept with his bride's sister when he was drunk and whom he thought was a prostitute at the time. He tries to blame her but she doesn't back down and she wins in the end kicking him out after realizing she doesn't need a man like that. The whole seen is shown through how she remembers it and has been embellished in some respects as memories often are.
1. Pokémon scene. Loved it. The end.
2. I also really enjoyed the burglary scene. It was subtle and I liked that I could see each moment happening with the music.
3. Simple definitely seemed to be better.
4. Personally, I think that giving the actors the general action of the scene and letting them improvise and find the moments for themselves was much more effective than having every second of the scene choreographed to the music. Murphy's Law, anyone?
5. I love that we have a lot of diversity in this class, and it's nice to see glimpses of people through their work. However, I think everyone, myself included, is getting a little too comfortable staying in their own genre. It would be interesting to see everyone do a complete turnaround and do the opposite of what they are comfortable with.
A shy and coy school girl is confronted by her ultimate crush, by means of a note that he slides to her as they sit in class. In the note, the boy professes his love for the girl and the two leave class hand-in-hand. They get to his place and after an awkward yet amusing flirting experience, the boy convinces her to smoke a little bit of weed with him. She ultimately succumbs to the pressure. Weeks after the event, the two are seen as full-fledged pot-heads, as they smoke their blunts on the way to school and hide them as they get to class. The teacher in their first class, who had prior suspicions, confronts the boy and forces him to hand over the blunt. After he surrenders the weed and is carried off, the girl is left in a frantic state as she bolts out of the class and into the hallway. She paces back and forward until she spots a closet and throws herself into it. As she pulls out her own blunt, the teacher opens the door.
The basic idea I had for this piece came after I decided which song to use. "Overdose" is an uptempo, pop song which immediately creates a joyful and pleasurable tone and atmosphere upon hearing it. I wanted to work against this convention and structure a story around the song that had some dramatic substance (basically a conflict that wasn't so cheerful). That was a very purposeful choice. Whether it worked or not or was efficiently communicated is up to the viewer, but that was the intent.
1. It's very interesting to see how the tone of certain songs shaped the structures of some of the scenes in the class.
2. Like others have said, if there's isn't gonna be any dialogue between the characters in a seen, the silence has to be supported and justified in every aspect of the scene. This is where my story suffered a little, because there were a few spots where talking could have taken the place of whatever weird pantomiming thing I had my actors do.
3. Figuring out transitions definitely wasn't the easiest thing--it was actually probably one of the hardest. Thank God the audience is always willing to suspend their disbelief because a lot of the transitions I saw (and also was apart of) required a lot of imagination.
4. After watching all of the scenes, I realized that we all, as theatre artists, have the power to tell really compelling stories (or at least something with a beginning, middle, and end) and I think that's really neat-o.
5. Being a director is tough shit. You have to think about every inch of what's happening on stage, think of any issue or question someone might have, and answer it without it ever being asked. You really have to possess this forthright personality that not only allows you to gain control of the situation but also forces you to catch the nuances. I'll stick with acting.
In my scene, a small time robber (Sam) turned into a big time killer in an instant. The hardest part for me was trying to figure out how to make the scene not be a movement/dance piece, yet still have a motivated silence. Questions: 1. For everyone, but especially Anthony, Meghan, and Jenny, what was your process? Did you first choose music, decide on the scene, work around your actors, etc? 2. Which overall style was most effective in reaching the audience? Personally, I thought the changing of scenes was a really interesting and bold choice that worked almost every time. 3. How did you try and deal with dead space in the music and also musical cues? 4. What would you change now based on the reaction of your scene? 5. How much did you concisely try to incorporate the lyrics of your song into your scene, if you had lyrics?
My scene was to the song 'The Ballad Of Love And Hate' by The Avett Brothers. The story was between a dysfunctional couple, the man struggles with mental illness (depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies) and his one remaining thread to sanity and the real world has gone on an extended vacation without him. Feeling lost, alone, and bitter he contemplates ending his life, only to come back home to open arms. The scene was intended to remind the audience of the power of ultimate love. That asterisk free relationship (may it be a family member, friend, or loved one) where no matter how bad you mess up- someone still loves you unconditionally.
Observations/Comments/My 2 cents 1. It is extremely important when giving out compliments/criticisms to your actors, not to single anyone out and make them feel awkward. I feel like it is inappropriate to say "Oh my one actor did this really well but the others sucked". Instead try to come up with something, ANYTHING, constructive to say.
2. And while we're on this subject- own up to a mistake if it is obviously the Director's fault. I know I didn't get to spend much time working on the end of my piece but I don't blame anyone but myself. I could have held longer rehearsals outside of class, or been more focused on our time in class.
3. The overall message didn't get through? I don't care how good of actors you have, if there is nothing for them to do- it is going to be boring. I'm not saying to give them "business" to do, but for the love of Zeus them sitting there motionless for long periods of time as we wait for the song to catch up is awkward.
4. Have fun. Seriously- I could tell when actors were able to collaborate with their directors on something instead of being preached at. When they are having a good time on stage, everyone can tell the difference.
5. Adapt. Going with the same idea or the same tactics every time you approach something doesn't cut it, either as an actor or a director. If it doesn't matter to people, or they simply can't relate then its your job as a director to find something relatable for your audience to connect to.
My piece was supposed to work like a montage. It wasn't supposed to be like reality it was supposed to convey a message as a whole that love does not bow to color or any other obstacle. I wanted to keep the action as simple as possible in the beginning of the piece to keep the message specific and clear. Each movement was supposed to have a different message and each was meant to build upon the last. I wanted both of the characters to come across rather young so I set them in a classroom. I didn't want to convey a specific time period so I didn't give the actors any action that might block them into a certain time. I realize that the date scene came across a bit unclear, but it was meant to be a generic date not anything specific. What was supposed to be meaningful in the scene was that their relationship was progressing. The "almost kiss" in the scene was the turning point which is why I had them sit in it for so long before the father interrupts them. I wanted to give the story a sense of closure when they meet back in the classroom. The message was meant to be that people in love deal with many obstacles, but the love doesn't change. I picked the song because it is one of my favorite songs. It also sounds more like a poem or spoken word than it does a top 40 pop song. I did not want the message of the song to be overpowered by the melody. I thought the song choice complimented the piece and that the piece could stand on its own without the music, which was the goal.
1. where do you draw the line between musical theatre and theatre with music? Is there a difference?
2. How would you add dialogue to a scene that already has music with words? I don't think it works most of the time.
3. For Andrew's piece, how did you come up with such a dark topic when your music wasn't as dark? Did you choose your song or your piece first?
4. For the flashlight piece, did you have an overall concept or did you want the audience to draw their own conclusions about your story?
5. Is it less effective to have a piece not based in reality?
My piece was supposed to be a story of 3 young adults who wander into abandoned attic with artifacts strewn about. As they pick up the treasures they disturb an unseen poltergeist like spirit who cuts off their only light source and leaves them terrified in the dark. I really wanted the actors to play themselves in this sort of situation with some slight exaggeration. I found it easy to find music, props, and a story. What wasn't so easy was putting it all together. I should have managed my time more so that the actors clearly understood what needed to happen, and that we could have run it a few times more. The scene really didn't have a message, it was more like watching a little scary story during October.
Observations:
1. Time can be a real pain to work with.
2. Im starting to see a theme with everyones projects and they all seem interconnected.
3. The Pokemon piece was a great example of collaboration, imagination, and time management.
4. I felt as if everyone was too focused on Andrew D's piece. Many of you were trying to find some deep meaning to the slap at the beginning and only focused on that one point of the piece. The entire thing was meant to be a fun, Mr. and Mrs. Smith-esque piece. I'm not saying its bad to be analytical, but I felt everyone took it too seriously.
5. I think the song choices really said something about the directors own personality.
This was my favorite project so far! I loved every minute of it. It was fascinating to watch how all the different directors had a song or story that reflected their own personality. Learning all the different scenes was super duper fun as well. Nick's was my favorite to learn and perform- it was so full of energy and storytelling. Teaching mine was fun, and I learned a lot about the way I create things. I couldn't think of it all in my head, I had to see my actors do it before I could arrange anything, really. Finding time for everyone was hard, but I also think that is because everyone in my group were perfectionists.
My music scene is based on a true story from World War I, in which Allied and Central forces mutually ceased fire on Christmas Day for the sake of Jesus Christ's birth. Then on Dec. 26th, the fighting started again.
ReplyDeleteMy conflict arc was awkward in that it didn't really follow the Aristotelian arc. It was like, "Peace peace peace peace peace I KILL YOU! peace again." So while my *story* is clear, my *arc* was more like a flat line with a blip on it. I think that presented a unique opportunity for storytelling, but also its challenges. How do you deal with four bars of nothing but this kid singing, when you're limited to a three man cast and pantomime in a black box theater? I was hoping the moment would stand for itself as Andrew was syncing it...and it sort of did. Like Dr. Fisher said in class, I didn't want to try to "fill in" the still moments. The very fact that there WERE these still moments in the middle of a world war is the whole point of the story. It's a miracle that these two countries would be just sitting there together.
I know there's usually no sense in saying, "Well if I'd..." but in this case, I know that I know that I know this piece would work successfully if I had unlimited resources and unlimited actors to work with. I can see it in my head. A TCOM major would LOVE to get his hands on my production concept. In such a dream-production scenario, I would have historically accurate production quality (yes, history buffs, I know the Nazis didn't exist in WWI, and I know America wasn't fighting on the Western Front in 1915. I needed costume suggestions, something clear and recognizable withing three minutes. That was a conscious choice to sacrifice historical accuracy for project recognizability), as well as a MASSIVE cast in historically accurate costumes. Now.....having said all this.......is it ultimately my fault for choosing something so large scale and lofty for a three-minute scene in a class of fifteen? Or is it more important that I *did* choose such a lofty subject/production and try to bring it to life to send a message?
I don't think it was Sam's fault that the class didn't really seem to take my piece seriously. I'm not sure it was anyone's fault, really. For some reason, nothing that is important to me is important to the rest of the class, and no matter how hard I work to try to strike a chord with my audience, or how clear my choices are, it still seems to fall flat. I realize there is a certain element of "knowing your audience" that comes into play, but I've been working really hard to follow Ball State Theater Department's training that I should make a bold choice to send a message that's important to me, a message that I think is worth sending. The messages I've been trying to send don't "just happen." They have been thought out and selected carefully, because I think they're worth saying something about. Otherwise......what the heck am I doing in the theater???
Five questions/observations:
DeleteI had misinterpreted Austin's piece but to me, it still worked. The mood, I mean. I thought they were kids farting around in some old storage room, and disturbed the possessions of spirits who were still there in the space, so the spirits got angry and scared the kids away so they could go back to being left alone. Sort of like a, "Oh no, we've disturbed the dead, we have to put everything back to appease them before they get us!!" I think the piece could have been literally 60 seconds long and it would have been just fine, because as it was, the story kind of dragged on a bit. But other than that, I thought it was our most fun piece...and the only one that had the element of the supernatural.
Nick's piece was really cool. Fully told story, not a lot of wait time for the next beat, and well cast, I think. It was very musical-theater-larger-than-life, a la Nick Abbott. But it wasn't corny. Played off well.
Andrew Walker's piece was, in my opinion, the best executed of them all. I say that because his silence was MOTIVATED. He was the only one out of all of us that gave his characters a legitimate REASON not to be talking in their scene.
I was unclear about what conflict was in Sam's piece, other than what I remember him saying during a group rehearsal. The music was quiet, but from what I could hear, it was a good mood piece. The scene actually made me think, however, of a completely different song called, "Give Me Your Eyes," a song in which the speaker is asking God to give him His eyes for just one second so he can see others and their needs, to be able to help them, instead of being so wrapped up in his own (relatively minor) problems. I wished Andrew would have seen Kathleen!!!!!! But that was a legit choice to not have him see her...anonymous giving is close to my heart, so that worked really well to me.
Megan's "Color Blind" was really awesome. I kept waiting for the father to return, or at least to do something more. Either more to the girl, or addressed the boy. I don't remember the music that well as far as how it ended, but I almost wanted it to be more of a tragic ending...as in, they both still want to be together, but they are being visibly forcibly kept apart. But as I said, I don't remember the music that well so I don't know if that would have fit well with the ending of the song or not.
I had a hard time with this project because I am primarily a dancer. At first I thought it would be easy because through movement and music dancers tell a story... However when I was contemplating songs I couldn't think of actions other than dance moves. I came across my idea because I was watching "Mean Girls". I thought of a simpler story plot and found a song that didn't tell the story but enhanced the tone. I faced some challenges such as keeping the actors cheated out as well as timing with the music.
ReplyDeleteSome observations are:
#1 from an acting point of view it was much easier to be in pieces where the director had a clear vision of what they wanted rather than just telling us to to go with the words.
#2 the simpler pieces really did work best. I really liked Kelly's piece because it was simple, cute, funny and clean. It didn't look just thrown together and it came across nicely and I think it was because of the simplicity
#3 I think the pieces that used music to enhance the tone or tell some of the story worked better than complete narrative songs. The ballad narrative songs were hard to act in as well because the actions were faster than the words
#4 the slow motion in Anthony's piece was fun and an interesting idea. What's good about the slow motion was it took up music time while still ring fluid and comedic
#5 while I previously stated that narrative pieces didn't work as well, Nick's still had a fun upbeat feel and I think it's because his actions were very planned and motivated. Although there were some gaps, over all the picture was clear and easy to watch.
Observations:
ReplyDelete1) I Feel really bad for laughing during Chelsea's scene! We hadn't really rehearsed the singing part because we wanted Andrew to memorize the lines before we really ran it.... so that was completely my bad
2) The Pokemon skit was hilarious and light hearted, which i think anyone can enjoy.
3) I felt like everyone's scenes had great aspects to them. Nothing is going to be perfect, most of us aren't directors.
4) Megan's piece was super great. The music fit perfectly to the scene.
5) All in all i enjoyed this exercise, it was different and fun.
It's not your fault, Sam. Quit feeling bad about it. You weren't the first to lose it--I was watching everyone.
Delete1) Enjoyed the fact that there were all kinds of scenes with this assignment: drama, action, comedy, musical theatre, and slow-tempo. It made for some entertaining theatre.
ReplyDelete2) Often times, it was hard for scenes to justify the silence. I wanted the characters to talk in a lot of the scenes.
3) You could tell who took time to think out the transitions. People who had smooth and fluid pieces were a lot more enjoyable to watch than the choppy ones.
4) Is it a better idea to set certain moments to certain lines of music or give a scenario and let your actors solve the problems and take their times with the moment? Some people had successful scenes both ways.
5) Really enjoyed everyone's scene! I think our class is pretty great, and we all seem to come from pretty different worlds which creates a nice dynamic. Would have been interested to see someone do live music to a scene!
My scene was Andrew and Austin sword fighting over a doughnut. I wanted to go simple because every story I was coming up with was way to complicated and hard to communicate so I went with the fight that Austin choreographed because he's awesome. I think it worked pretty well. I understand the comment about ending the scene earlier but I don't think I would've changed it, I thought the ending worked well for me.
ReplyDelete1. Simple pieces worked very well in this assignment.
2. There were some scenes that had lyrics that only did what the words were saying and it felt like there could have been more to the scene.
3. I loved the pokemon scene it was funny and dramatic and well timed.
4. I also liked Megan's scene. It followed the lyrics enough to make sense but it wasn't word for word which worked really well.
5. The scenes were a lot of fun to watch, and seeing the interpretations that people come up with is always awesome.
My scene was just about a woman figuring out that her boyfriend had been cheating on her this whole time. that even tho he said all the right things and she loved him so much that she knew she just couldn't be around him no more. I did this piece not only because this seems to happen to a lot of people but it told kinda of my story too.
ReplyDelete1.) I observed that it was very hard for me to get people to see my point of view on the whole story i was trying to show.
2.) i think it got me to open up a little bit and to see my weaknesses in being a director.
3.) also i felt like i connected more with the super funny ones and the super sad ones. Some of them i didn't understand at first. I think we should of watched them twice so then i got see some of the stuff i missed the first time around.
4.) I saw how a lot of the shows kinda showed want kind of music we like to hear and some of our personality.
5.) also i noticed some people had a harder time to get their point across-ed then others. and i don't know if it was the song or that we didn't have enough props or time to make sure they were all on point. i know some people had more time then others did.
My scene was the ridiculous lover's quarrel fight scene set to Florence + The Machines' Kiss with a Fist. I really like the song and whenever I hear it, I always imagine a crazy ridiculous kickass action movie fight, complete with gratuitous explosions and slo-mo cam. The basic story is that the two lovers were about to be married when the groom slept with his bride's sister when he was drunk and whom he thought was a prostitute at the time. He tries to blame her but she doesn't back down and she wins in the end kicking him out after realizing she doesn't need a man like that. The whole seen is shown through how she remembers it and has been embellished in some respects as memories often are.
ReplyDelete1. Pokémon scene. Loved it. The end.
2. I also really enjoyed the burglary scene. It was subtle and I liked that I could see each moment happening with the music.
3. Simple definitely seemed to be better.
4. Personally, I think that giving the actors the general action of the scene and letting them improvise and find the moments for themselves was much more effective than having every second of the scene choreographed to the music. Murphy's Law, anyone?
5. I love that we have a lot of diversity in this class, and it's nice to see glimpses of people through their work. However, I think everyone, myself included, is getting a little too comfortable staying in their own genre. It would be interesting to see everyone do a complete turnaround and do the opposite of what they are comfortable with.
A shy and coy school girl is confronted by her ultimate crush, by means of a note that he slides to her as they sit in class. In the note, the boy professes his love for the girl and the two leave class hand-in-hand. They get to his place and after an awkward yet amusing flirting experience, the boy convinces her to smoke a little bit of weed with him. She ultimately succumbs to the pressure. Weeks after the event, the two are seen as full-fledged pot-heads, as they smoke their blunts on the way to school and hide them as they get to class. The teacher in their first class, who had prior suspicions, confronts the boy and forces him to hand over the blunt. After he surrenders the weed and is carried off, the girl is left in a frantic state as she bolts out of the class and into the hallway. She paces back and forward until she spots a closet and throws herself into it. As she pulls out her own blunt, the teacher opens the door.
ReplyDeleteThe basic idea I had for this piece came after I decided which song to use. "Overdose" is an uptempo, pop song which immediately creates a joyful and pleasurable tone and atmosphere upon hearing it. I wanted to work against this convention and structure a story around the song that had some dramatic substance (basically a conflict that wasn't so cheerful). That was a very purposeful choice. Whether it worked or not or was efficiently communicated is up to the viewer, but that was the intent.
1. It's very interesting to see how the tone of certain songs shaped the structures of some of the scenes in the class.
2. Like others have said, if there's isn't gonna be any dialogue between the characters in a seen, the silence has to be supported and justified in every aspect of the scene. This is where my story suffered a little, because there were a few spots where talking could have taken the place of whatever weird pantomiming thing I had my actors do.
3. Figuring out transitions definitely wasn't the easiest thing--it was actually probably one of the hardest. Thank God the audience is always willing to suspend their disbelief because a lot of the transitions I saw (and also was apart of) required a lot of imagination.
4. After watching all of the scenes, I realized that we all, as theatre artists, have the power to tell really compelling stories (or at least something with a beginning, middle, and end) and I think that's really neat-o.
5. Being a director is tough shit. You have to think about every inch of what's happening on stage, think of any issue or question someone might have, and answer it without it ever being asked. You really have to possess this forthright personality that not only allows you to gain control of the situation but also forces you to catch the nuances. I'll stick with acting.
In my scene, a small time robber (Sam) turned into a big time killer in an instant.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part for me was trying to figure out how to make the scene not be a movement/dance piece, yet still have a motivated silence.
Questions:
1. For everyone, but especially Anthony, Meghan, and Jenny, what was your process? Did you first choose music, decide on the scene, work around your actors, etc?
2. Which overall style was most effective in reaching the audience? Personally, I thought the changing of scenes was a really interesting and bold choice that worked almost every time.
3. How did you try and deal with dead space in the music and also musical cues?
4. What would you change now based on the reaction of your scene?
5. How much did you concisely try to incorporate the lyrics of your song into your scene, if you had lyrics?
My scene was to the song 'The Ballad Of Love And Hate' by The Avett Brothers. The story was between a dysfunctional couple, the man struggles with mental illness (depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies) and his one remaining thread to sanity and the real world has gone on an extended vacation without him. Feeling lost, alone, and bitter he contemplates ending his life, only to come back home to open arms. The scene was intended to remind the audience of the power of ultimate love. That asterisk free relationship (may it be a family member, friend, or loved one) where no matter how bad you mess up- someone still loves you unconditionally.
ReplyDeleteObservations/Comments/My 2 cents
1. It is extremely important when giving out compliments/criticisms to your actors, not to single anyone out and make them feel awkward. I feel like it is inappropriate to say "Oh my one actor did this really well but the others sucked". Instead try to come up with something, ANYTHING, constructive to say.
2. And while we're on this subject- own up to a mistake if it is obviously the Director's fault. I know I didn't get to spend much time working on the end of my piece but I don't blame anyone but myself. I could have held longer rehearsals outside of class, or been more focused on our time in class.
3. The overall message didn't get through? I don't care how good of actors you have, if there is nothing for them to do- it is going to be boring. I'm not saying to give them "business" to do, but for the love of Zeus them sitting there motionless for long periods of time as we wait for the song to catch up is awkward.
4. Have fun. Seriously- I could tell when actors were able to collaborate with their directors on something instead of being preached at. When they are having a good time on stage, everyone can tell the difference.
5. Adapt. Going with the same idea or the same tactics every time you approach something doesn't cut it, either as an actor or a director. If it doesn't matter to people, or they simply can't relate then its your job as a director to find something relatable for your audience to connect to.
My piece was supposed to work like a montage. It wasn't supposed to be like reality it was supposed to convey a message as a whole that love does not bow to color or any other obstacle. I wanted to keep the action as simple as possible in the beginning of the piece to keep the message specific and clear. Each movement was supposed to have a different message and each was meant to build upon the last.
ReplyDeleteI wanted both of the characters to come across rather young so I set them in a classroom. I didn't want to convey a specific time period so I didn't give the actors any action that might block them into a certain time. I realize that the date scene came across a bit unclear, but it was meant to be a generic date not anything specific. What was supposed to be meaningful in the scene was that their relationship was progressing. The "almost kiss" in the scene was the turning point which is why I had them sit in it for so long before the father interrupts them. I wanted to give the story a sense of closure when they meet back in the classroom. The message was meant to be that people in love deal with many obstacles, but the love doesn't change.
I picked the song because it is one of my favorite songs. It also sounds more like a poem or spoken word than it does a top 40 pop song. I did not want the message of the song to be overpowered by the melody. I thought the song choice complimented the piece and that the piece could stand on its own without the music, which was the goal.
1. where do you draw the line between musical theatre and theatre with music? Is there a difference?
2. How would you add dialogue to a scene that already has music with words? I don't think it works most of the time.
3. For Andrew's piece, how did you come up with such a dark topic when your music wasn't as dark? Did you choose your song or your piece first?
4. For the flashlight piece, did you have an overall concept or did you want the audience to draw their own conclusions about your story?
5. Is it less effective to have a piece not based in reality?
My piece was supposed to be a story of 3 young adults who wander into abandoned attic with artifacts strewn about. As they pick up the treasures they disturb an unseen poltergeist like spirit who cuts off their only light source and leaves them terrified in the dark. I really wanted the actors to play themselves in this sort of situation with some slight exaggeration. I found it easy to find music, props, and a story. What wasn't so easy was putting it all together. I should have managed my time more so that the actors clearly understood what needed to happen, and that we could have run it a few times more. The scene really didn't have a message, it was more like watching a little scary story during October.
ReplyDeleteObservations:
1. Time can be a real pain to work with.
2. Im starting to see a theme with everyones projects and they all seem interconnected.
3. The Pokemon piece was a great example of collaboration, imagination, and time management.
4. I felt as if everyone was too focused on Andrew D's piece. Many of you were trying to find some deep meaning to the slap at the beginning and only focused on that one point of the piece. The entire thing was meant to be a fun, Mr. and Mrs. Smith-esque piece. I'm not saying its bad to be analytical, but I felt everyone took it too seriously.
5. I think the song choices really said something about the directors own personality.
This was my favorite project so far! I loved every minute of it. It was fascinating to watch how all the different directors had a song or story that reflected their own personality. Learning all the different scenes was super duper fun as well. Nick's was my favorite to learn and perform- it was so full of energy and storytelling. Teaching mine was fun, and I learned a lot about the way I create things. I couldn't think of it all in my head, I had to see my actors do it before I could arrange anything, really. Finding time for everyone was hard, but I also think that is because everyone in my group were perfectionists.
ReplyDelete