More journalness.

3-10

Ha ha! I’m in the play. I’m pretty excited about it- this will be my first part in an actual East High play. I think Our Town will be pretty interesting-the pantomiming I think will be challenging. Most of the play isn’t really serious or comic, also, which is an unusual situation to portray. I’m curious as well as to how the large blocks of text for the Dead are supposed to be delivered-I am unsure whether it is supposed to be delivered by the Dead simultaneously, recitation-style, or the lines split up and given to them, so they are all saying different things at the same time.

Gallagher’s suicide talk today gave me an interesting picture of a scene for my IB musical-juxtaposing the class on the main part of the stage along with the counselor, and one person out in the corner of the apron (well, as much as there can be a corner on an apron). The counselor is giving the speech and the class sings its questions and comments (usually humorous) in a somewhat cheery, quick, upbeat fashion. The person alone is one of those super perfectionistic pressured people. I’m not sure where this whole idea would go, whether the effect would be serious or comic, but I’m slowly accumulating ideas for this show peice by piece.

3-15

Here's a diagram I made of the "death chairs" in the third act.

(see My Files page, diagram our town')

3-19

Here's some notes and sources for my practical performance proposal.

(see My Files page, ppp sources) 

3-23

Thought I'd post links for the music I used for my Practical Performance proposal.

Dresden Dolls:

http://www.dresdendolls.com -the official website. 

http://www.automaticjoy.com  - this has a good selection of other Dresden Dolls songs.

Gogol Bordello:

 http://www.gogolbordello.com/muzon/download.html - downloads from the band's homepage.

(These two bands are very theatrical in themselves and draw influences from Breacht's Epic Theatre) 

Brand New: 

http://www.fightoffyourdemons.com - the homepage

Mack the Knife:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=EDt&q=mack+the+knife+download&revid=276168871&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=5

(This gives a general idea of the many different versions that have been recorded)

4-9 Felt sooo stupid when I forgot the line last night. The most important line I have and I totally just lost it. I got too secure in my spot and then I got caught up in George’s entrance and my cue line completely slipped my mind. Other than that, however, I feel the play is going to go well. Our last dress rehearsal is tonight-won’t forget the line this time- and then our in-school performance is Thursday. I have been struggling to find a characterization for being dead-the point seems to be to have very little emotion. But last night it hit me-it’s relative peace, restfulness. Not really happy, not sad, just a stagnant, unchanging comfort. Thinking about Stanislavski, I came up with a comparison to lying on the couch by the window in the sunshine: not doing anything special, not in a hurry, just warm and content. Maybe not the best comparison, but it’s the closest one I’ve come up with right now.

4-11

Thought I'd post a skit I wrote. Not the best, but entertaining enough, I'd like to think. I directed its performance for an event at Cowtown once-total disaster. (see My Files page, Grey + Blue={heart}.)

4-12

This is just a comic strip, but it reminds me of the scriptwriting process, if it is perhaps a bit cynical. (see calvin writing on My Files page)

4-14

Our Town was exciting to do. I feel like we performed and produced it wll even if audiences seemed to find the actual material a bit dull. I think the main reason that play was so popular is because of its revolutionary use of pantomime and minimal scenery. It has very little plot, a topic which has always bothered me. I feel like most things should have a bit of a plot. But it is a challenging stretch for an actor, to pantomime, or to be dead, or be unobtrusive at time when you aren’t in the scene. I was happy I hit all my lines. I know it’s a small feat, but I was scared to death I would forget one after I did in rehearsal. I’m paranoid about things like that. I really loved the lightbulb center, how it went on and off and stuff. There a lot of little technical aspects like that which I thought were great. The lawnmower sound effect, the soda shop counter- the little setting-type things in a play which has so little setting stand out all the more when they’re really cool like that.

4-20

I’m not sure what I want to do about my independent project- there are so many possible options! Costuming intrigues me but I think I’d rather help someone do it just for fun than make it my independent project. I’ve been considering also directing the script I wrote for that assignment earlier this year as a one-act. I was going to give it a title, but more and more I realize the "Two-Person Script" is the perfect title- the characters’ lives are determined by Marco’s one fleeting wish and are thus "scripted." And of course, it involves two people. On the other hand, I’d like also to do something with someone else in the class, but that sort of thing rarely works out well. Sometimes people don’t do the things they need to do to let you get to your part of the project, and sometimes you just can’t agree on what to do. I’d love to do an Epic Theatre production, or even see one, for that matter. That project really awakened my interest in different theatre styles, and I wish there were more opportunities to see those less realistic styles of theatre in performance.

4-23

Ahh, Sweeney Todd. I know it's popular right now, which immediately makes it anathema to cool folk, but I just love it. It intrigues me, since I have only seen the movie version, to think of how it translated from the stage to the film version. I've attached my digital flipbook on the My Files page.

(see My Files page, Sweeney Todd, The...)

4-28

Here's another script I wrote a while ago. If anything, it illustrates to me the importance of not using crappy fonts.

(see My Files, The Power of Rumors)

5-2

Here's a possible set diagram for the first scene of "Two-Person Script."

(see My Files, 2personscriptset1) 

5-3

Set diagram for scene 2.

(see My Files, 2personscriptset2)

5-4

Set diagram for scene 3.

(see My Files, 2personscriptset3)

5-5

Set diagram for scene 4.

(see My Files, 2personscriptset4)