Wednesday, August 29, 2012

HOMEWORK

In the Spotlight performance
Tomorrow, Thursday, August 30

Go over and over Jabberwocky -
And I mean: OVER & OVER the
entire poem.
For: Friday, August 31

Fill out Study Guide #1
Due: Friday, August 31

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

HOMEWORK

Memorize Stanza 6: Jabberwocky -
"And, hast thou slain the
Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
For: Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 29

Fill out Study Guide #1
Due: Friday, August 31

In the Spotlight assignment Steps 1- 2
Due: Wednesday, August 29
Steps 3-6
Due: Thursday, August 30

Monday, August 27, 2012

HOMEWORK

If you have not yet, you are very
fortunate to have one more night to
memorize Stanzas 4 & 5: Jabberwocky -
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two!
And through andthrough
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
For: Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 28

Also, one more day to read TIPS FOR ACTORS
hand out
By Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 28

Fill out Study Guide #1
Due: Friday, August 31

In the Spotlight assignmentSteps 1- 2
Due: Wednesday, August 29
Steps 3-6
Due: Thursday, August 30

Friday, August 24, 2012

HOMEWORK

If you did not complete Journal
Assignment #3 in class, complete
By: Monday, August 27

Memorize Stanzas 4 & 5: Jabberwocky -

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and
through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
For: Tomorrow, Monday, August 27

Read TIPS FOR ACTORS hand out
By Monday, August 27

Fill out Study Guide #1
Due: Friday, August 31

In the Spotlight assignment
Steps 1- 2
Due: Wednesday, August 29
Steps 3-6
Due: Thursday, August 30

Thursday, August 23, 2012

HOMEWORK

Memorize Stanza 3: Jabberwocky
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
For: Tomorrow, Friday, August 24

Read TIPS FOR ACTORS hand out
By Monday, August 27

Fill out Study Guide #1
DUE: Friday, August 31

In the Spotlight assignment
Steps 1- 2
DUE: Wednesday, August 29
Steps 3-6
DUE: Thursday, August 30

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

HOMEWORK

Memorize Stanza 2: Jabberwocky
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!
For: Tomorrow, Thursday, August 23

Read TIPS FOR ACTORS hand out
By Monday, August 27

Fill out Study Guide #1
Due: Friday, August 31

In the Spotlight assignment
Steps 1- 2
Due: Wednesday, August 29
Steps 3-6
Due: Thursday, August 30
Below is assignment in Google Doc formatting:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j4U0De4p11pBOGbHN5N_Da1Sgu8VnkpA6DHeRfhLRao/edit

One Side Does Not Fit All in Theatre - or in Life

Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie believes in the power of stories, and warns that hearing only one about a people or nation leads to ignorance. She says the truth is revealed by many tales.She illustrates this with a story about coming to the United States, as a middle-class daughter of a professor and an administrator, and meeting her college roommate. Adichie says that her roommate's "default position toward me, as an African, was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning, pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa. A single story of catastrophe."

(From: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-12-21/opinion/ted.talk.adichie.excerpt_1_roommate-story-random-house?_s=PM:OPINION)

Today, in drama class, we watched Chimamanda Adichie's powerful TED Talk on The Danger of a Single Story. (You can access the talk here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg)

The implications of Adichie's talk in terms of acting - creating a character, mounting a show - as well as our work in drama class and in terms of our lives in general, are broad. When we determine a person - place, thing, or situation - as being just one way and only that which we - from our perspective - see and/or understand, we limit that person (place, thing, or situation) as well as ourselves. We only allow for part of the story. It is only in digging deeper, being open to learn more - or simply to be aware that there may be more - that we can come to know the bigger story, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. Whether it is about people we know or characters we are creating. As Adichie explains, we rob people of their dignity when we only know their single story. We restore dignity by acknowledging we are all made up of many stories.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

HOMEWORK

Memorize the first stanza of
Jabberwocky:
’Twas brillig, and the slithy
toves
Did gyre and gimble in
the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths
outgrabe.
For: Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 22

Monday, August 20, 2012

HOMEWORK

Read Kristin Linklater hand out
on Vocal do's and don'ts
For: Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 21

Friday, August 17, 2012

HOMEWORK

Read hand-out on The Group Theatre
For: Monday, August 20

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

HOMEWORK

Journal Assignment #2:
Title your entry: Assignment #2: From Here
Be sure to put today's date in the upper right hand corner

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”
―
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Please re-read what you wrote on
the first evening of your first day of school: the habit you want to let go and
the aspiration you chose to move towards this school year.
Write ½ a page to a full page of
how the quote above applies to your willingness to let go of the habit and
strive towards the aspiration.
THEN,
Write ½ a page to a full page of how
the quote also applies to actors in understanding the given
circumstances/character givens of a script as well as to the actor creating a
back story.
DUE: Tomorrow, Friday, August 17

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

HOMEWORK

Memorize Contentless Scene
(both A & B's parts) - by rote
For: Tomorrow, Thursday, August 16

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

HOMEWORK

Practice and be prepared to share
your talent, 1.5 minutes min. to 3
minutes max.
For: Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 15

“Artistic talent is a gift from God [or the Universe, or your innate being] and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but
must develop it.”
―
John Paul II

“Human resources are like natural resources; they're often buried deep.
You have to go looking for them, they're not just lying around on the
surface. You have to create the circumstances where they show
themselves.”
―
Ken Robinson

“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how
much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do
it.”
―
Lou Holtz

Monday, August 13, 2012

HOMEWORK

Bring in a photograph from a magazine,
of an UNfamous man or a woman. Color
or B & W photo - either is fine.
This is an O.T.O. exercise, so please DO IT!
For: Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 14

Remember to practice and be prepared to share
a talent, 1.5 minutes min. to 3 minutes max.
For: Wednesday, August 15

Friday, August 10, 2012

YAY! We made it through the first week of school!

HOMEWORK

Please read the hand-out on Konstantin
Stanislavski; be prepared to discuss
For: Monday, August 13

Take some time to think about - and practice -
a talent that you have. Prepare a piece or a
presentation that showcases your talent to share
with your class (1 1/2 minutes min., 3 minutes max.)
For: Wednesday, August 15

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

No Homework this evening!...
unless,
you did not turn in your forms and/or
your journal (Ass. #1: Ensemble).

Encouraging Reminder:

You will serve yourself and your classmates better if you
stay current and up to date with all of your assignments.

I have a deadline. I'm glad. I think that will help me get it done.
- Michael Chabon

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

HOMEWORK

Seniors:
Journal Assignment #1
*MUST be written (neatly, in complete sentences) in your composition book.
Be sureto write your first and last name and class section on outside of composition
book. Be sure to title your journal entry: Journal Entry 1: Ensemble on top line of page; write today’s date on the upper right hand corner.
Please take time and care in writing a complete page (or more) reflecting on last night’s reading (No Small Parts) and the ensemble work we do in class. What did you get from the reading? How does that apply to our work in class? How will it apply when we begin work on Alice in Wonderland? Write whatever else comes to mind, and/or how you feel about the reading, our work, the process, etc.

Due: Tomorrow, Thursday, August 9

Make sure that you have given yourparents/guardian their copy of theParent-Student Handbook. Encourage them toread it before filling out and signing their form,and the Permission to Post to the Blog form.It is YOUR responsibility to return those two forms,as well as the Student form, to Ms. P

DUE: Tomorrow, Thursday, August 9

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

HOMEWORK

Seniors:

Read No Small Parts hand-out
THOUGHTFULLY and THOROUGHLY
Be prepared to discuss
Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 8

Make sure that you have given your
parents/guardian their copy of the

Parent-Student Handbook. Encourage them to

read it before filling out and signing their form,

and the Permission to Post to the Blog form.

It is YOUR responsibility to return those two forms,
as well as the Student form, to Ms. P

DUE: Thursday, August 9

Monday, August 6, 2012

Welcome back!

Homework, Seniors:

Write down the habit, behavior, or attitude

you wish to let go this school year; Write

Down your aspiration or goal that you would

Like to set for yourself this school year.

DUE: Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 7

Give your parents/guardian their copy of the

Parent-Student Handbook. Encourage them to

read it before filling out and signing their form,

and the Permission to Post to the Blog form.

Return those two forms, as well as the Student form,

to Ms. P

DUE: Thursday, August 9

"There Are No Small Parts..."

Konstantin Stanislavski, the great theatre innovator and director from which almost all 20th century Western acting has stemmed, once said, "There are no small parts, only small actors."

For me, this adage is one that not only reflects what any good actor should adhere to, but a life lesson for each of us to practice. Whatever our "role" is at any given time or place in life, we have the ability to give our best - no matter how seemingly small a contribution we are making. It is not our business to judge the quantity of our giving, it is our job merely to show up and be our best selves. A simple smile from one person to another can be just as important as donating a million dollars to a charitable organization. We never know who we are going to impact or how big of an impact we are going to make.

Thus, the same holds true if we are cast in a role that seems small, when what we really wanted was a leading role in the school play. It is what we make of our time and talent. It is what we give not what we get. When we put our time and energy into serving something greater - the play, the playwright, the cast, the audience - we typically reap rewards we had not previously been aware of. Our perspective enlarges and our world becomes bigger.

In a theatrical ensemble, every part is integral to the whole. In our drama classroom at TPA, the same holds true. To those of you who have been in my drama classes or worked with me in the Spring Musical, you know that this is what I refer to as the O.T.O. Philosophy (Other Than Ourselves). What we do in class (and out) has a great effect on our peers and our classroom experience. Whether we bring a negative or positive approach to the class and the work we do, that attitude will affect the entire class' experience - in an either positive or negative way. If someone comes to class unprepared, that will slow down either one or all of the other people in the class as well. It is up to each of us to accept our responsibility as part of the creation and maintenance of the group. It is up to us to bring our best selves to the work.

That does not mean we are not allowed to have "bad days" or moments. It is important to be authentic and to allow ourselves to feel our feelings. When we do, thwe allow others to be themselves - and that, too, is part of the O.T.O. philosophy and much needed for ensemble work, where creating a strong rapport and trust is most definitely necessary. If we walked around acting as if we were all right when we weren't, that would set us up for fbecoming great fabricators and wall-builders - something that would be detrimental to ourselves and the group. Hence, it is our willingness to keep it real and find ways to channel that energy so that it impacts ourselves and the group in a beneficial way.

The ETA (Educational Theatre Association) posted an article by Michael Deahn on their website that I would emcourage you to read. Deahn shares his thoughts on the importance of ensemble work in an article entitled No Small Parts: In the World of the Play, Everyone Counts.

This fall, the senior drama class will begin their semester exploring and experiencing the theatre methods of the 20th century, beginning with Stanislavski. In September they will embark on a wild rehearsal process and production creation of the Eva Le Gallienne stage adaption of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. This experience will offer this multi-talented class the opportunity to share their talents, play well their parts, and hone their ensemble skills.

I look forward to an exciting new school year!

Cheers,
Nicky Pitman