IPP Update (#8)

Description: I've finally completed my brainstorming aspect of my IPP performance! It will be in the Topanga Mall food court with an alumni who has had acting experience. He will act as my "manager" as we get into an argument about my working rights. Among the spectators, I will have one of my friends record what is going on as if she is a bystander walking past and recording a scene unfolding in front of her. Another friend will be planted and ask spectators about the conflict going on and try to get some opinions or a reflection about the issue from them. Initially, we will be having a quick dinner that gradually turns ugly as he tells me that as a female, it "fits" more for me to do the mopping, cleaning, and restocking while a guyfriend who supposedly also works at the same place is always the face of the store.
Analysis: I think that the performance will receive some wild looks for 2 different reasons:
1. We're causing a public commotion.

Public Commotion caused by a rude Kanye West

People come to the mall expecting a nice day shopping and looking around, not to hear arguments. Though people don't admit to it, I know that many eavesdrop on conversations happening around them which gives me hope that others will overhear our conversation. Also, the tables at the Topanga Mall food court are so closely packed together that it is inevitable the people at least directly adjacent to us will hear what we have to say.

2. Demographic wise, I am a short, Asian, and young female arguing with a tall, Caucasian, and older male. That, off the bat, I know will look a bit fishy. Even if the spectators don't know what we are arguing about, they may grow suspicious at the conflict from our physical appearances.

Reflection: Planning this performance, I talked with several teachers, other students in my theatre class and asked for feedback on my idea. Slowly, the idea developed until it reached where it is now. I really had a difficult time starting out. I chipped at it one by one though and I think I have a pretty solid performance planned. I first picked the setting. Where the performance is being held definitely sets the ambiance of the performance and where I am can affect how the people around me react. For example, if I had chosen to do this in an upscale restaurant, we might have gotten thrown out pretty fast or the manager of the restaurant definitely would have rushed over in a jiffy because he wants good service in the restaurant. Then after the setting came the actual reason for my being upset and how the argument grows. I think, during the time I'm mad at my "manager", I might take the risk and turn to others around us and directly ask something along the lines of "Can you believe he just said that?!" or "Oh, my, goodness. Would you ever work for a man like him??" And this way, I  can get feedback from the spectators. Finally, one thing I am vehemently against is revealing the fact that the performance is a piece of theatre. I feel that once people find out that it was a theatre performance, they will undermine the meaning behind the piece. I'm afraid that people will think I pulled it as a stunt to see reactions, which is nowhere near my goal. Sure, I want to see how the public reacts, but the primary goal is to get them thinking about the issue and creating social change. Unless violence ensues or the security threatens us, I will try to stay away from putting the fourth wall back up.

Augosto Boal, without whom this wouldn't be possible and to whom I owe my respects and ability to combine my passions.

Workshop of Cruelty (#6)

Description: For her IPP, Kayla chose the Theatre of Cruelty by Antonin Artaud to apply to her acting. We've all been traumatized by cruel theatre, and I think Karen more than most. Last year, she stepped out because she didn't want to watch the video Ms. Ashley was showing us, and I completely understand. This year, Kayla started her Theatre of Cruelty workshop with that same exact video and Karen chose to step out again.

After a whole year of rest from cruelty, I found myself in a flashback of horror and trauma when the scene started. For some reason, the screaming, yelling, and patterns seemed to affect me more than it did last year. As part of her workshop, we also did exercises to loosen our vocal chords and be free and dramatic with our movements. Kayla had us stand in a diagonal line and create a chorus of sounds and movements in a procession like dominoes falling in order. On some rounds, the eerie harmony and strength behind our voices and movement were really creepy. I don't think there's any other way to describe it. To finish it off, we did our own short production of a cruel version of "Little Miss Muffet". In hindsight, all that yelling and flailing was exhilarating and relaxing. Even if it did sound scary as hell.

Analysis: Somehow, I was able to work past the raw emotions and stay in place as we did those exercises. When we started the Little Miss Muffet though, I worried about Karen, that maybe she might want to step aside and refrain from participating. She stuck all the way through though, and I wonder how she was able to endure it... The vocal exercises we did in that diagonal line really helped in becoming freer. The louder we yelled, or the quieter we got, we really gained control over our voices and we were able to use a controlled yet wild tone of voice in acting. It was effective in that we were able to find certain pitches that fit or sounded the "right" amount of cruel. There was a 2nd exercise that I think defined more control in our voices. Kayla had me read a poem aloud on repeat and she would command me to speak "louder, louder!" or "softer, softer, softer". Then I'd have to immediately adjust my volume to match. I knew I could be loud but I had no idea I could get so soft. This workshop helped in our Muffet performance when we would gradually crescendo into an almost climactic mood or dramatically diminish our presence, all with the use of voice.
Reflection: I learned Theatre of Cruelty can be my method of therapy. Maybe not all the time, but once in a while, it's almost an excuse to let out your pent up feelings! It felt really uncomfortable but devilishly enough, there's a part of you that says "hey, this is cool - lets go with it" and keeps you in the theatre.

It has almost a paranormal vibe which surprises me most that I was able to enjoy the workshop. I hate watching paranormal or horror shows, movies, anything. I guess I jumped on this with full determination and it paid off. When I reflect back on it though, I feel like I didn't have to step out of my comfort zone as much as the amount I had to for the monologue of Kate. Maybe it was because we were all being weird and freaky together that I didn't think I would stick out and thus, didn't get too self-conscious. It's amazing how Marian can put herself into any character and absorb herself into it. I think we created a pretty good theatre of cruelty performance, especially without any tools nor much time. If I ever participate in a performance of cruelty later on in life, I'd definitely try not to be afraid of including my raw emotions in there, especially since Artaud emphasizes so much that the spectators feel the raw emotions of a performance. They should leave the theatre feeling confused but more importantly, tense. The only way to go in this practice is up, as in improvement. By not reaching the end goal, there's nothing that's really negative or sacrificed. As a group, we really worked well together. We brought together our different styles and hidden cruel sides.

Shrewd (#6)

Description: Some weeks ago, we did our Shakespeare monologues in class. I played Katherina of Taming of the Shrew pre-subjugation. I'm bitter, shrewd, and just aggressive toward Petruchio. Before we started learning our monologues, we learned about Stanislavsky and his method acting. Stanislavsky's form of acting requires the actor to utilize actions to portray an emotion, desire, passion, etc. I paired up with Karen since we were both doing Taming of the Shrew, except she's playing Kate post-subjugation. After I recited a line, Karen would ask me what my action was and I would reply something along the lines of "I wish to condemn Petruchio for his ridiculous attitude toward subjecting women". This was supposed to help me enter the emotions of Kate and thoroughly portray her character in my actions. We each went through our own monologues line by line and after I recited a line, Karen would listen and let me know what was good or what felt missing.

Analysis: Kate is mad at Petruchio. Actually, "mad" would be an understatement; she is furious. It's her wedding day she's grudgingly been put into and Petruchio's not even there, leaving her in utmost humiliation. Rather than flailing around and raging, I wanted to portray a stern, internalized rage that seeps out of me. The remarks I say against Petruchio, I tried to portray as passive aggressive, to really show the wrath. I was afraid that if I displayed Kate's rage through wild, uncontrolled movements, they might be taken comically and I found this scene to be one of the gravest.

I imagined the scene as one that creates a dramatic pause at the end, with Kate's subdued rage and passivity. Finding the right tone for Kate was challenging. It was hard for me to portray the action of being mad when I actually wasn't. This was the first time I really experienced the challenges of acting. I started overthinking every detail of movement and voice. I tried to put myself into flashbacks of events when I was mad before, but I couldn't emanate the same emotions. This is where Karen helped a lot to increase emotions when needed or when to lower the drama. I actually think I'd do it better if someone actually got me mad before the monologue.
Reflection: I learned that I am not good at faking or acting mad. I can act happy, jovial, bubbly, but definitely not mad. Personally, I struggle with stepping outside of my comfort zone.

That doesn't mean I don't do things out of my comfort zone though. I love trying new things and expanding my experiences, but it really takes me a while to get adjusted to the new thing and to become skilled or adept at it. Even though many people wouldn't know this, I'm also very self-conscious about how others might judge the way I behave.

I've gotten more confident in certain aspects of my personality, but in acting, not so much yet. Usually, I have the perfect idea in my head; I can see exactly how a line should be dictated or acted through. And I can hear the tone of voice in my head, but when I try to actually enact it, I just can't. For next time, I'd have to really work on letting go of my inhibitions and... letting loose. Too much of social construct inhibits me from acting fully sometimes and maybe doing more workshops or exercises can help me loosen up. Once I do take that risk and overcome some self-consciousness, I think I'd be 200% better at Stanislavsky's method acting. The process of getting there though, I expect to take a while. I know there will be times when I fail and still stick with my comfort zone, but those are the little steps I need to take to reach the end goal.

IPP: Start! (#5)

Description: It's been a couple weeks since we actually started the Independent Project Portfolio but up until now, we have only focused on the type of theatre that we want to research and explore in our workshops and/or performance. I knew I wanted to do Invisible Theatre from the beginning though. Ever since we learned about Boal, he's been pretty much etched into my mind. I mean, my passion for human rights + Boal's fight for social justice in a theatre form = perfect match! Invisible Theatre is a bit different than your conventional dramatic theatre or even methodical theatre. It's a usually non-text based type of theatre and takes place in a non-theatre space. Boal's performs invisible theatre it in an everyday, public space and attracts bystanders to raise consciousness about the issue addressed in the performance. The premise of invisible theatre is that a theatre masked in daily life is used to reveal some sort of social issue that sparks some type of reaction in the spectators' minds. Then, the public is asked to reflect about their opinions and responses to the controversy.
Analysis: What I've learned about Invisible Theatre so far other than the textbook definition? It's hard to plan! The social issue that I plan to portray is the patriarchal culture that still exists in the 21st century workplace. What I want to do in my performance is point out the discrepancies between a male and female's work and the way they are each treated in the workplace. Ms. Ashley tells us that she definitely feels some inequalities even at Granada, as a female teacher. We've pretty much overcome the big rights issues for women in such a developed country, but the patriarchal problems of the workplace today are much more subtle.

I've been trying to brainstorm some ideas but so far, I'm lost on how I can portray such subtle differences. Maybe I need a change of setting or change in the main action portrayed. I really feel as if this topic speaks to me; theatre of any sort is interesting and fascinating but I haven't connected to a type of theatre so personally in the others types of theatre. The way that Boal uses theatre to reveal these issues is so clever to me and I think, one of the best ways the public can be informed.

I need to work out how I can make such an emphatic impact and really drill into the spectators' minds that females. Thinking about it, the best idea I have right now is a restaurant scene where my "manager" and I are having a meal. We start talking about work and I come up with a list of complaints I have of how I'm earning less, doing only menial position jobs, and how I get less credit that the male workers. I think this is such a crucial issue to reveal about modern, developed society. We think that this nation is so developed and progressive, but there are blatant flaws that still need to be righted: such as women's equality in the workforce.

To get ideas on my performance, I've been reading examples of performances Boal put on and workshops he did and they have completely opened my eyes to the power of action and dynamic to make a change. I've read accounts where spectators of invisible theatre separate, having formed distinct opinions on a subject matter due to the manner in which it was portrayed. It's amazing how powerful invisible theatre can be and it all lies in the hands of not only the director but also the actors and the spectators who react.
Reflection: It's been so difficult trying to start this process! I'm really excited about my IPP and performance but I'm still weaker in some aspects of theatre that I need to brush up on before I do the actual thing. The thing is, improv is daunting. It's different than when I would do improv in class because I know this performance will have a real effect on real people.

It's the first time I'm planning something like this and it's a risk I'm taking. I was worried that I might not succeed in the performance but I talked to Ms. Ashley and the thing is, even if the performance were to fail, that is a result I can write about in my IPP. If I do succeed, it'd be so cool to directly see the effects of the performance, to analyze the reactions of the spectators. Most importantly though, I would succeed in informing the public about this issue and accomplish the goal of raising awareness and a mind for social justice. The social change that I want to make would come true and this work of theatre would be my first work of activism. If I don't succeed, it'll be a great learning experience for me. I want to lead a life of activism later in my life and invisible theatre may be a channel to do so.

Regardless of whether I succeed or not, I'd come out of the experience with many learning outcomes. And I think the fact that this is a real life application would allow room for growth, as an actor and as a student of the world.

A Sad Romance

Last week, we performed our clowning routines and it went great! We had tricks, sound effects, and a plot twist that made our audience laugh and enjoy the show. I especially loved the humorous parts, like when I threw an armload of toys at Chris and he was nervous about approaching the girl (Hannah Chang) so he kind of threw them at her and ran back.
During rehearsal, I was worried that something might go wrong, or that we might forget a part. But as much as a clear performance is necessary, I also learned that it doesn't have to be perfect down to each second. Not all our sound cues were on time or on place, some of the transitions were not good at all, and we may have skipped over a trick but the point was that we exaggerated and acted and gave a performance in the parts we showed.
Because our clowning performance was purely of original devising, the audience had no idea what to expect only had our actions to go off of. What makes the audience laugh and enjoy a good clowning around is not the missing part of the performance, but how well the performance is given.
I especially liked that our routine had so much diversity in character: Chris, a sensitive, sad clown; Kayla, a boisterous, light hearted clown; Shari, a cool, chic dancing clown; and me, a silly, crazy minion. All the different dimensions of our clowns contributed toward the greater performance and worked in harmony together.
Watching the other group's clown performance, I found it so enjoyable and fun to see what kind of ideas they came up with and how each of their characters contributed to the clowning. We all assumed different identities and aliases for the performance; it was neat and fascinating to see that side of us coming out.

Clowning Around

We've finally started our clown rehearsals! Chris (Elisondo) had an idea of a storyline so we decided to run with it: he sees a pretty girl he likes in the audience and attempts to impress her. Each of us then would offer Chris a talent or trick he could use to impress her. I've decided to be a character clown. Initially, I chose the whiteface comedic clown, but then was inspired by the minions in Despicable Me that, in a way, act like clownish characters. In the process of getting Chris the girl, Kayla would teach him a magic trick or two, Shari would teach him dance moves, and I'd give him some toys (papoy's!) he can gift the girl. But of course, each talent would go awry somehow when he actually approaches the girl to try it out.
It's great fun trying out different tricks and physical humor we can use. For example, there's a part in which Chris tries to get a stuffed unicorn from me but my hands are attached, so he pushes against me hard and ends up falling on the floor. I'm really enjoying our rehearsal times. We get to goof around, but appropriately, and step out of our comfort zones and just explore ourselves and our inner sense of humor.
When you start to think about it, clowns are very unsocial characters. They break every possible social norm and somehow get away with it through entertainment. If someone were to walk down the street in baggy, mismatching clothing and blunder every step of the way, he/she would become outcast and stared at, judged by onlookers. But on stage, covered with make up and shone with a spotlight, people laugh at them not in a demeaning way, but an appreciative way. Antisocial behavior is used as entertainment. It's weird that purposeful antisocial behavior would trigger such a reaction but when it happens in real life, it's rude and awkward to laugh at.
This makes me question what about clowning it is that makes people enjoy themselves and feel better. Even though we were putting on antisocial acts, we're also enjoying our time acting out and doing tricks. To me, clowning feels so different from playing a role in a play like Medea where I'm a completely different character. When I'm a clown, that's still me, coming up with my own costume, my own make up, my own actions and lines (if any) that are all geared to resemble who I am. We still have bits to polish up and plan out for now, but I think our performance will turn out good; especially our audience participation!

How to be a Clown: Ringling Bros Edition

To get into our clowning unit, we saw a "How to be a Clown" video by the Ringling Brothers in class. They had created a video as a starting tutorial with tips and lessons from their actual school of clowning. It was like a real life textbook we were watching and learning from, which was more interactive than reading a text.

• Skills - One thing that the video emphasized was over exaggerating every movement. A clown has to make sure her actions are shown and everyone in the audience can clearly tell what is going on. Clown acts aren't like other theatre performances that the audience has to concentrate and interpret. Also, exaggerating a movement turns it comical. For example, slipping on something, but flailing your arms wildly and spinning to fanatically grab onto something makes the audience laugh that you are struggling so much with such a simple action. By stepping out of social norms, a clown is able to be laughed at and create entertainment for the audience.
• Costumes - What you were should resemble who you are. Another point that the Ringling Brothers in particular emphasized was that everyone has an inner clown that just needs to be drawn out. There are other clowns who disagree though, and say the clown character is created and is completely different than who you are. But I like the idea that I have an inner clown. Everyone has a quality that can be exaggerated to be clown like. Not all clowns are funny and silly; they can be sad, reflective, or even haughty. The clothing shouldn't just be oversized and mismatching, but should work with the actor and his/her body type. For example, a more pudgy clown can dress in polka dots that will accentuate the curve and exaggerate that into a comical aspect, just as the actions that are made. For a tall clown, he/she may dress in vertical stripes that will elongate the body's trait. Clown costumes also don't have a standard form to follow - I began to think of out-there, creative outfits I could create my mixing different colors, prints, and fabrics. Accessories can also add to a costume if used well. Just as I accessorize my outfits for school and plan to put certain items together, clown costumes are the same! Just with more vibrant, strong components. 
• Make Up - Wow... this was quite a process. I put on make up everyday in the morning, but this is make up to enhance my natural traits. Clown make up, on the other hand, creates a whole new face. The face is dressed up with different shapes and colors just as the body is; it's an extension of the costume. When this segment began, my mind raced to come up with an idea for my make up in our future performance. The make up is just so free; you can do anything. Depending on the type of clown one takes up though, some features would be different. Such as a red nose for an auguste clown, a white face for a classic clown, bright colors for a happy clown, teardrops or a frown for a sad clown. Even putting on the colors, I didn't know that the white had to be patted down just so and really packed in, or that you had to powder after each layer of colors. A point that the Ringling Brothers gave for this section though, was to keep the make up simple. When painting your face, a little bit can go a long way. There's no need to put sparkles or shapes and patterns everywhere. A slightly turned up lip, slightly more arched eyebrows, and red cheeks can go a long way. 

Theatre Week 1: Introductory Workshops

Theatre is finally back in session! These first two weeks we've been going through some theatre exercises to warm up; we have 2-3 newcoming juniors in our class so Ms. Ashley walked us through a couple exercises to get them out of their shell. Although theatre arts is so broad and fascinating with all its different facets, I think my favorite part of it would have to be the workshops. Devising a performance, writing/adapting scripts, designing costumes, and preparing for a role is immensely satisfying but there's nothing like having good old plain fun acting out of my usual boundaries and exercising theatre techniques at the same time. We get to bond with each other and see different sides come out. Here are some of the exercises we did in class:

• "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" - One person plays the "wolf" who lets the "sheep" out of their pen (a corner of the room). While they roam around, the sheep repeatedly ask Mr. Wolf "what time is it Mr. Wolf?" to which the wolf gives random, bogus times. At one point, the wolf answers "noon" or "lunchtime", giving the cue for the chase to start. The sheep must run back into the safety of the pen while the wolf chases after them, and whoever he/she tags has been "eaten" and step out. Rounds continue until their is a lone sheep or the wolf triumphs. It's a lot more fun when the wolf really gets into his/her role and prowls, hunched down, like a real predator. The acting stirred real fear and worry for me, that I might get "eaten".
• "Grandmother's footsteps" - One person stands at one side of the room, facing the wall away from the others. The rest stand at the opposite end of the room. The objective is for the group to reach the grandma and tap her/him without being caught. Grandma turns around at random times and the group must freeze, whatever pose they are in, and whoever moves and is caught by Grandma is caught. While playing, I realized the amount of focus the game called for, as you had to try and be silent as to not give away any hints. We soon realized that slower, more deliberate movements were less likely to get caught in unbalanced. Though the way to win is to get to the other side of the room, Grandma's surprise glances forced me to really think about every step and how I can keep my balance at all times. I had to be sure of my movements and ensure that I could control every part. 

Theatre Update: It's been a while...

It's been a good some months since I last posted.. wow..
Since finally performing Medea in front of a crowd, (it was just so amazing and such a great time!) we have been focusing more on techniques and learning about different practitioners. Right after Medea, we jumped into ancient Chinese theatre, learning about the Yuan Dynasty which is particularly famous for its theatre and plays written then as well as about Chinese character archetypes. We made our own Chinese masks, incorporating purposeful colours and shapes and gave him/her a backstory and a character type if it were to be in a real play. A lot of this Mrs. Ashley says it's to help us with our research papers and PPP later on, and I agree. We definitely need the textual information part of the class. 
I do miss doing exercises and little skits of different acting methods; they weren't just fun but allowed us to experience it firsthand which is the best way to learn about the little nuances behind the method. But as soon as we get some of this 'educational' stuff done, we can go back to performing plays! Yay! 
I'm actually quite interested for the PPP though; I hope all goes well!

Reading Poetry Out Loud (Week of October 22, 2012)

This week, we started going through our poems for Poetry Out Loud. We individually stood up in the front and recited our poem and Ms. Ashley helped us with our intonations and actions line by line. I chose "a song in the front yard" by Gwendolyn Brooks:

I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life.

I want a peek at the back

Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows.   

A girl gets sick of a rose.

I want to go in the back yard now   

And maybe down the alley,

To where the charity children play.   

I want a good time today.

They do some wonderful things.

They have some wonderful fun.

My mother sneers, but I say it’s fine

How they don’t have to go in at quarter to nine.   

My mother, she tells me that Johnnie Mae   

Will grow up to be a bad woman.

That George’ll be taken to Jail soon or late

(On account of last winter he sold our back gate).

But I say it’s fine. Honest, I do.

And I’d like to be a bad woman, too,

And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace   

And strut down the streets with paint on my face.

Because the poem was so mature and required seriousness, I felt like I couldn't express myself as I

needed to in front of the class. I felt embarrassed at times, because the interpretation of the poem that I

had found was just a little snippet of the poet's wish to become naughty and a bad girl. But I reminded 

myself that sometimes, even I feel this way and I really wanted to take this poem seriously. Ms Ashley 

said it could be a winning poem if done well. I plan on having a one-on-one session with her and really 

make it great to perform. 

As for my second poem, I chose one of my favorites (of my very limited poem 'repertoire'), "My papa's 

waltz" by Theodore Roethke:

The whiskey on your breath   

Could make a small boy dizzy;   

But I hung on like death:   

Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans   

Slid from the kitchen shelf;   

My mother’s countenance   

Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist   

Was battered on one knuckle;   

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head   

With a palm caked hard by dirt,   

Then waltzed me off to bed   

Still clinging to your shirt.