RADA Week 3
Monologues
Last week, my group's brilliant monologues teacher, Lois, helped us zero in on the imagery within our individual pieces. Each student stood up and read their monologue, really focusing on the beautifully cinematic words we were given. Those listening were asked to write down all of the words and images that really stuck out to us, in addition to any words or phrases we didn't understand. This was immensely helpful, as so much of Shakespeare is about using the text and painting the necessary picture in the way you color the words.
Scenes
I am doing the first meeting of Olivia and Viola from Twelfth Night with a dear friend, Erica. Last week was the first time my group was told what scenes we would be working on long-term, and once we found out, we hit the ground running. We're still looking at some of the smaller scenes we worked on prior to our full-length scenes, but almost all of our class time and outside rehearsals are devoted to these new scenes now. I'm loving the whole scene, but the "Make me a willow cabin at thy gate…" speech will always hold a particularly special place in my heart.
Singing
More madrigals! Last week, we continued learning April Is In My Mistress' Face and began working on a new song, Since My Tears and Lamenting. We only have a one hour singing class each week, but it's the perfect amount of time to get a good grasp on the music of Shakespeare's time.
Shakespeare Workshop
Oh, how I love working with Nick in our Shakespeare Workshop. My favorite days are those that begin with three or more hours of this class. Every time we meet, my eyes are opened to another moment of Shakespeare's brilliance that so many people would gloss over if they allowed themselves to see it as a printer's error or a mistake. Nick is always telling us to refrain from "cleaning up" Shakespeare. When something doesn't seem to make sense, look deeper to find a reason why this character enters when they do or says their line to the person they speak to. Shakespeare wrote with incredible detail and intention and there is not a single aspect of his plays that should be deemed a nonsensical mistake. There is a reason for everything. Find it!
Acting Shakespeare
Last week we continued work on Hamlet's soliloquies with Nona. We have been working on finding the specificity within the "O, That this too too solid flesh would melt…" speech by assigning actions to each phrase and by marking breaths. It's incredibly challenging to incorporate all of these details, but that's sort of the point. Working on Shakespeare is like juggling all of the balls of technique you've been given until you can drop them all and they'll be there to support you without having to think about them. We also explored some of Hamlet's other soliloquies by creating movement pieces that captured the heart of these speeches. This was a wonderful way to specify the language and imagery, which is what it's all about!
Alexander 1/2
Alexander continues to change my life, both in class and out. I know that whenever my body feels tense, all I have to do is think about the Alexander directives and immediately, I stop working to hold my body up and everything opens and falls into place. It's difficult to put the sensation into words, but it's basically as though I begin shedding all of my body's unnecessary tensions until I've reached its core or original state of being - that of a tiny baby before the world has altered its alignment, openness, and consequently, its vulnerability.
Voice
Adrienne worked with us on finding the body's natural rhythm of breathing last week, helping us to access a deep, expansive, well-supported breathing pattern. She uses a lot of massage techniques to help us find our breath and, after a series of exercises, I had this sense that my body was a straw, my breath coming effortlessly up from my toes into my back and ribs, and finally up and over my head. It felt as though I had been a straw with a kink in it before doing these exercises, adding effort to my breath. However, after working with Adrienne, the straw was completely aligned, which made breathing as effortless as it should be. My next step in this process is finding a way to connect my Alexander training with Adrienne's Linklater work.
Voice into Text
Last week, we looked at all of the ways our voice can communicate without language. We spoke utter gibberish to one another, having fully intelligible conversations, simply because of everything we're able to express through our voices alone. A lot of the work we do in this class is very similar to the awesome voice training I'm getting at Webster. This is really important, because it allows me to incorporate some of the different training I'm getting here in London with the training I've gotten, and will continue to get, in the US.
Character in Text
Hilary continues to blow our minds with her incredible knowledge of Shakespeare's characters. I could listen to her talk for days on end and I'd simply never get bored. We sit around a table and take notes in this class, the only class we have that's like this, and by the end of our time with her, we are all inevitably leaning in, mesmerized by her wisdom. I wish I could include everything she has to say in this blog, but I would be writing a novel!
Sonnets
I am so bummed to be finished with Sonnets class. Our final presentation was last Friday and, though we were all really proud of our work, I would be happy working on these things for the rest of my life! And I guess that's the point. We now have the tools to do just that. Here is a photo of some of the Acting Shakespeare students with our sonnets teacher, Bruce, after the showing:
Monologues
Last week, my group's brilliant monologues teacher, Lois, helped us zero in on the imagery within our individual pieces. Each student stood up and read their monologue, really focusing on the beautifully cinematic words we were given. Those listening were asked to write down all of the words and images that really stuck out to us, in addition to any words or phrases we didn't understand. This was immensely helpful, as so much of Shakespeare is about using the text and painting the necessary picture in the way you color the words.
Scenes
I am doing the first meeting of Olivia and Viola from Twelfth Night with a dear friend, Erica. Last week was the first time my group was told what scenes we would be working on long-term, and once we found out, we hit the ground running. We're still looking at some of the smaller scenes we worked on prior to our full-length scenes, but almost all of our class time and outside rehearsals are devoted to these new scenes now. I'm loving the whole scene, but the "Make me a willow cabin at thy gate…" speech will always hold a particularly special place in my heart.
Singing
More madrigals! Last week, we continued learning April Is In My Mistress' Face and began working on a new song, Since My Tears and Lamenting. We only have a one hour singing class each week, but it's the perfect amount of time to get a good grasp on the music of Shakespeare's time.
Shakespeare Workshop
Oh, how I love working with Nick in our Shakespeare Workshop. My favorite days are those that begin with three or more hours of this class. Every time we meet, my eyes are opened to another moment of Shakespeare's brilliance that so many people would gloss over if they allowed themselves to see it as a printer's error or a mistake. Nick is always telling us to refrain from "cleaning up" Shakespeare. When something doesn't seem to make sense, look deeper to find a reason why this character enters when they do or says their line to the person they speak to. Shakespeare wrote with incredible detail and intention and there is not a single aspect of his plays that should be deemed a nonsensical mistake. There is a reason for everything. Find it!
Acting Shakespeare
Last week we continued work on Hamlet's soliloquies with Nona. We have been working on finding the specificity within the "O, That this too too solid flesh would melt…" speech by assigning actions to each phrase and by marking breaths. It's incredibly challenging to incorporate all of these details, but that's sort of the point. Working on Shakespeare is like juggling all of the balls of technique you've been given until you can drop them all and they'll be there to support you without having to think about them. We also explored some of Hamlet's other soliloquies by creating movement pieces that captured the heart of these speeches. This was a wonderful way to specify the language and imagery, which is what it's all about!
Alexander 1/2
Alexander continues to change my life, both in class and out. I know that whenever my body feels tense, all I have to do is think about the Alexander directives and immediately, I stop working to hold my body up and everything opens and falls into place. It's difficult to put the sensation into words, but it's basically as though I begin shedding all of my body's unnecessary tensions until I've reached its core or original state of being - that of a tiny baby before the world has altered its alignment, openness, and consequently, its vulnerability.
Voice
Adrienne worked with us on finding the body's natural rhythm of breathing last week, helping us to access a deep, expansive, well-supported breathing pattern. She uses a lot of massage techniques to help us find our breath and, after a series of exercises, I had this sense that my body was a straw, my breath coming effortlessly up from my toes into my back and ribs, and finally up and over my head. It felt as though I had been a straw with a kink in it before doing these exercises, adding effort to my breath. However, after working with Adrienne, the straw was completely aligned, which made breathing as effortless as it should be. My next step in this process is finding a way to connect my Alexander training with Adrienne's Linklater work.
Voice into Text
Last week, we looked at all of the ways our voice can communicate without language. We spoke utter gibberish to one another, having fully intelligible conversations, simply because of everything we're able to express through our voices alone. A lot of the work we do in this class is very similar to the awesome voice training I'm getting at Webster. This is really important, because it allows me to incorporate some of the different training I'm getting here in London with the training I've gotten, and will continue to get, in the US.
Character in Text
Hilary continues to blow our minds with her incredible knowledge of Shakespeare's characters. I could listen to her talk for days on end and I'd simply never get bored. We sit around a table and take notes in this class, the only class we have that's like this, and by the end of our time with her, we are all inevitably leaning in, mesmerized by her wisdom. I wish I could include everything she has to say in this blog, but I would be writing a novel!
Sonnets
I am so bummed to be finished with Sonnets class. Our final presentation was last Friday and, though we were all really proud of our work, I would be happy working on these things for the rest of my life! And I guess that's the point. We now have the tools to do just that. Here is a photo of some of the Acting Shakespeare students with our sonnets teacher, Bruce, after the showing:
Last weekend was lovely, as they all have been. On Friday night, a few friends and I went to The National to try to get tickets for King Lear, without success. Instead, we found an incredible burger restaurant (with gluten free buns!) and had a delicious and relaxing dinner. On Saturday afternoon, I had Afternoon Tea with the gorgeous gals pictured below and saw 1984 that night, which was as captivating as it was disturbing. On Sunday, we all saw a reading at the Globe, followed by work on my monologue and scene for the week to come.
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