RADA Week 2
Another phenomenally exhausting week training with wonderful teachers alongside inspiring and passionate classmates! Here's a recap of the class work we did in week number two:
Shakespeare Workshop
My favorite class changes every day, but Shakespeare Workshop, an intensive with each group's respective director of their final productions, very often comes out on top. We continued to explore various Shakespeare texts with Nick Hutchison in our second week. Nick takes the text apart, breaking it down and analyzing things I had never realized were of any particular importance. He then puts the speech or scene back together, allowing us to watch the piece transform after adding all of this new information - a most rewarding and illuminating experience. This is just one of so many things Nick has opened our eyes to thus far:
* Addressing the audience is used in specific moments and by specific characters. If/when a character speaks to the audience, they are creating a direct relationship with them, automatically winning their trust and approval. (E.g. Iago, constantly downstage chatting it up with the audience versus Othello, constantly upstage center near the throne, in a place of power and detachment from the audience. What does this mean in terms of their characters? Who are we meant to develop a relationship with and, therefore, who are we meant to root for?)
Movement Tutorials
I cannot stress enough how much I value these individual work sessions. In week two, we worked with Katya, the Alexander/Laban teacher, for fifteen minutes each. In these sessions, we simply lie on the floor, think about steam rising from the tops of our heads, among other similarly bizarre images, and we almost inevitably walk out of the studio completely different people, in terms of our physical bodies, at least. Though, as a side note, I do happen to believe that physical freedom and alignment transform one's spiritual/emotional life in terms of human transparency and openness. I always sort of felt that way, but this has been proven to me rather indisputably through Alexander work.
Character in Text
As I go through my journal and my class schedule (charmingly pronounced shed-ule here in the UK), it becomes even clearer to me that I have so many "favorite classes." Character in Text, like Shakespeare Workshop, is frequently somewhere near the top of my favorite list. There is no doubt in my mind that our teacher Hilary knows absolutely every detail about every Shakespeare work in existence and, consequently, every character within these works. Our one and a half hour class consists of a ridiculously in-depth conversation about two or three characters of our choosing. We enter class having scoured the pages for as much information as possible on these characters and leave with mounds of detailed textual evidence and an entirely new perspective on who these people truly are. Hilary never fails to gently and insightfully illuminate our tendency to gloss over important details in the text, often found in Shakespeare's use of a single word in a seemingly off-hand remark. Week two brought a detailed description and analysis of the Elizabethan education system and what that meant for several of Shakespeare's characters.
Alexander 1/2
As mentioned above, Alexander has been sort of life changing for me. The main concept that changed my world is the idea that I don't have to hold my body up myself. That may sound strange, but with many years of dance training comes this notion that good alignment is hard work and involves a great amount of muscle engagement. Certainly, you must find breath within this "hard work," but you're doing a whole lot. Alexander classes have opened my eyes to the fact that I don't actually have to do anything to be in good alignment in terms of the actor's body. My spine holds my body up on its own, and all of my bones and muscles hang down "long and heavy" from my spine, like a skeleton hanging from its stand. This has been huge for me.
Stage Fighting
What a blast this class is! We worked on various hand-to-hand combat basics in our second week with Bret. I learned how to punch someone in the face (and stomach!), how to slap someone across the face, and how to strangle and be strangled, all without injuring, and in most cases, without even touching, my wonderful friends and classmates. We'll be incorporating these movements, among many others, into our choreographed fight scene to be presented several weeks from now.
Singing
We started working on our very first madrigal song as a group in our second week of classes! We didn't get terribly far with it yet, as there is a mix of levels in terms of familiarity with reading music. However, we are all really looking forward to digging into these gorgeous songs.
Sonnets
Another class I'm tempted to call my favorite! I'm sort of obsessed with Shakespeare's sonnets, I'm discovering. The romantic in me dies for these stunningly articulated poems, but honestly, it's the sonnets that reveal some deeper truth, often not concerning love at all, that really get me.
Laban
In week two, we continued to explore the directives we found in week one (weight, time, space, and flow > strong/light, staccato/sustained, direct/indirect, and free flow/bound flow), combining them in various equations to create more specific actions. (E.g. strong + direct + sustained = press) We then went through various texts, exploring how these actions might affect us.
Acting Shakespeare
We have been breaking down Hamlet's many soliloquies with Nona, and we will continue to do so for quite a while, I believe. These speeches are the perfect microcosmic representations of the greater world of Shakespeare, and Nona is taking full advantage of that. From explorations of physicality to those of voice, situation, emotion, and the like, we're tearing these classic words apart and making sense of them in a refreshingly tangible and cohesive way.
My second weekend in London brought a day of exploring the craziness that is Harrod's, a Saturday night at a most fabulous terrace party, and a Sunday of laundry, grocery shopping, and… you guessed it! SHAKESPEARE. Lots and lots of Shakespeare.
The last thing I feel compelled to include is the rhythm of London I feel I'm becoming a part of, in some very small way. I see the same people as I walk to the tube station every morning - like the shaggy blonde-haired man wearing a suit that seems not to match his laid-back personality at all and a pair of brand new red sneakers that don't match his personality either, but in a different way than that of the gray suit - and I've started to feel like I'm a part of something really cool. Yes, RADA. And yes, the Acting Shakespeare Course. But also, London. And that's pretty amazing. I find myself counting my blessings at the end of every day and feeling consistently overwhelmed by the number I come up with. That's a truly phenomenal feeling to fall asleep with. And it makes for some very sweet dreams.
Another phenomenally exhausting week training with wonderful teachers alongside inspiring and passionate classmates! Here's a recap of the class work we did in week number two:
Shakespeare Workshop
My favorite class changes every day, but Shakespeare Workshop, an intensive with each group's respective director of their final productions, very often comes out on top. We continued to explore various Shakespeare texts with Nick Hutchison in our second week. Nick takes the text apart, breaking it down and analyzing things I had never realized were of any particular importance. He then puts the speech or scene back together, allowing us to watch the piece transform after adding all of this new information - a most rewarding and illuminating experience. This is just one of so many things Nick has opened our eyes to thus far:
* Addressing the audience is used in specific moments and by specific characters. If/when a character speaks to the audience, they are creating a direct relationship with them, automatically winning their trust and approval. (E.g. Iago, constantly downstage chatting it up with the audience versus Othello, constantly upstage center near the throne, in a place of power and detachment from the audience. What does this mean in terms of their characters? Who are we meant to develop a relationship with and, therefore, who are we meant to root for?)
Movement Tutorials
I cannot stress enough how much I value these individual work sessions. In week two, we worked with Katya, the Alexander/Laban teacher, for fifteen minutes each. In these sessions, we simply lie on the floor, think about steam rising from the tops of our heads, among other similarly bizarre images, and we almost inevitably walk out of the studio completely different people, in terms of our physical bodies, at least. Though, as a side note, I do happen to believe that physical freedom and alignment transform one's spiritual/emotional life in terms of human transparency and openness. I always sort of felt that way, but this has been proven to me rather indisputably through Alexander work.
Character in Text
As I go through my journal and my class schedule (charmingly pronounced shed-ule here in the UK), it becomes even clearer to me that I have so many "favorite classes." Character in Text, like Shakespeare Workshop, is frequently somewhere near the top of my favorite list. There is no doubt in my mind that our teacher Hilary knows absolutely every detail about every Shakespeare work in existence and, consequently, every character within these works. Our one and a half hour class consists of a ridiculously in-depth conversation about two or three characters of our choosing. We enter class having scoured the pages for as much information as possible on these characters and leave with mounds of detailed textual evidence and an entirely new perspective on who these people truly are. Hilary never fails to gently and insightfully illuminate our tendency to gloss over important details in the text, often found in Shakespeare's use of a single word in a seemingly off-hand remark. Week two brought a detailed description and analysis of the Elizabethan education system and what that meant for several of Shakespeare's characters.
Alexander 1/2
As mentioned above, Alexander has been sort of life changing for me. The main concept that changed my world is the idea that I don't have to hold my body up myself. That may sound strange, but with many years of dance training comes this notion that good alignment is hard work and involves a great amount of muscle engagement. Certainly, you must find breath within this "hard work," but you're doing a whole lot. Alexander classes have opened my eyes to the fact that I don't actually have to do anything to be in good alignment in terms of the actor's body. My spine holds my body up on its own, and all of my bones and muscles hang down "long and heavy" from my spine, like a skeleton hanging from its stand. This has been huge for me.
Stage Fighting
What a blast this class is! We worked on various hand-to-hand combat basics in our second week with Bret. I learned how to punch someone in the face (and stomach!), how to slap someone across the face, and how to strangle and be strangled, all without injuring, and in most cases, without even touching, my wonderful friends and classmates. We'll be incorporating these movements, among many others, into our choreographed fight scene to be presented several weeks from now.
Singing
We started working on our very first madrigal song as a group in our second week of classes! We didn't get terribly far with it yet, as there is a mix of levels in terms of familiarity with reading music. However, we are all really looking forward to digging into these gorgeous songs.
Sonnets
Another class I'm tempted to call my favorite! I'm sort of obsessed with Shakespeare's sonnets, I'm discovering. The romantic in me dies for these stunningly articulated poems, but honestly, it's the sonnets that reveal some deeper truth, often not concerning love at all, that really get me.
Laban
In week two, we continued to explore the directives we found in week one (weight, time, space, and flow > strong/light, staccato/sustained, direct/indirect, and free flow/bound flow), combining them in various equations to create more specific actions. (E.g. strong + direct + sustained = press) We then went through various texts, exploring how these actions might affect us.
Acting Shakespeare
We have been breaking down Hamlet's many soliloquies with Nona, and we will continue to do so for quite a while, I believe. These speeches are the perfect microcosmic representations of the greater world of Shakespeare, and Nona is taking full advantage of that. From explorations of physicality to those of voice, situation, emotion, and the like, we're tearing these classic words apart and making sense of them in a refreshingly tangible and cohesive way.
My second weekend in London brought a day of exploring the craziness that is Harrod's, a Saturday night at a most fabulous terrace party, and a Sunday of laundry, grocery shopping, and… you guessed it! SHAKESPEARE. Lots and lots of Shakespeare.
***************************
The last thing I feel compelled to include is the rhythm of London I feel I'm becoming a part of, in some very small way. I see the same people as I walk to the tube station every morning - like the shaggy blonde-haired man wearing a suit that seems not to match his laid-back personality at all and a pair of brand new red sneakers that don't match his personality either, but in a different way than that of the gray suit - and I've started to feel like I'm a part of something really cool. Yes, RADA. And yes, the Acting Shakespeare Course. But also, London. And that's pretty amazing. I find myself counting my blessings at the end of every day and feeling consistently overwhelmed by the number I come up with. That's a truly phenomenal feeling to fall asleep with. And it makes for some very sweet dreams.
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