Published on Thursday October 23, 2003 .
You know you’re getting old when the music you used to listen to is now being played on an “oldies” station. Honestly, I’m getting tired of all the gangsta rap that’s being played on the hip-hop and R&B stations today. What ever happen to the good ole’ days of hip-hop and R&B before everything became so hard-core?
I started listening to another R&B station that plays “today, and yesterdays” hits. Tonight I was jammin when “Two Occasions” by Babyface came on. Whatever happened to songs like this? Groups like Mint Condition, After 7, Boyz II Men, Jodeci (their early years), Blackstreet, etc. A time when songs about love where “innocent” and playful as opposed to today’s R&B “love songs” like “In Those Jeans” by Ginuwine. The time when R. Kelley wasn’t trying to be an R&B thug…
I guess I’m just getting older…
…them damn kids and their gangsta rap…
Published on Wednesday October 22, 2003 .
Tonight Tom gave us the 3-hour pivotal lecture on character interpretation and script analysis. It was a very practical step-by-step guide on how to take a script, break it down and infuse it with an emotional reality. This is what all the training has really been leading up to. By now we are suppose to have the tools to be able to get an emotional preparation and then play moments naturally in a scene. This produces very realistic, dynamic acting. In the course of the lecture Tom also talked about life and how we should not waste any moment of our lives but live each moment fully. This means cherishing the relationships we have with other people and finding real truth and beauty in life. This attitude will translate into a sensitivity and vulnerability on stage which will fuel our imagination and performances.
There was a lot of information given tonight but it was very inspirational as well. I feel very lucky to be receiving the kind of training the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio provides.
Published on Tuesday October 21, 2003 .
Another late night as I sit here at the computer programming in Zope/Python while listening to my collection of old 80’s/90’s music. High School seems like a lifetime ago. A time full of teenage angst and confusion. I’ve lost touch with almost everyone I knew back then. I miss my old crew and old friends. Matt Mancini, Chris Short, Ty Burns, Cathy Short, Shelley Reinhart (Gensel)… Where are you guys now? How are you all doing? Would love to get back in touch with all of you…
Published on Monday October 20, 2003 .
Life is moving too fast and I feel like I’m struggling to keep up.
Tomorrow I have a creative meeting w/ Dan concerning my piece for the upcoming show in November. After watching a tape of the show we did in July I’ve become dissatisfied with my piece. I feel that my piece may be hard to follow and that the message may not be clear. I had passing thoughts of ditching the piece and going with one of my other stories which is more traditional, but it was just a passing thought. I will work on my current piece and refine it instead. There’s just a lot that I want to say and I’m not sure exactly how to convey it all in my piece.
I’ve recently started to get a little discouraged. The holidays are quickly approaching and the year will soon be over. I start asking myself: What have I accomplished this year? Where does my acting career stand? What is preventing me from achieving my goals?
On another note, I finally received a copy of the play “The Country Girl” by Clifford Odets for class. Now I have to read it and dissect it and then work on my scene for class…
…I also need to work on my holiday schedule…
Published on Saturday October 18, 2003 .
4/20/04 Update: It looks like I’ve struck a nerve with the company. I received a Cease and Desist order from their lawyer concerning my ‘web cite’ (notice spelling in the document).
It isn’t worth my time or money to fight this matter so I have deleted all “defaming comments“.
Published on Saturday October 18, 2003 .
I really enjoyed class today. I really respect our acting teacher Tom and all his insight and direction. He is very good at analyzing every moment that happens within a scene and breaking it down as to why the character feels this way and what their response is. He’s even spent 20min discussing the first 2-3 lines and moments that happen in a scene.
I was really impressed by the progress that I saw in other people’s readings. At this point, all we’re really doing is sitting across from each other on stage and reading the script - but at another level. Everyone is coming with emotion and really connecting with their partner. Even though people are still using their scripts these readings look more like performances than a “cold reading”. And you can really tell when someone is just reading, or trying to push emotion and when someone is really experiencing the emotion.
My partner and I did ok in class today. I’m starting to get a sense of the character I am playing and where he is coming from emotionally. I find it interesting because last week Tom told me I was given this scene to learn how to be strong, confident and very direct. A no-nonsense arrogant man who wants the best for a man he sees as his father figure.
Tom said that we definitely have made progress since last class but I need to go deeper. My notes from my performance today was to really think about what Ms. Elgin (my partner’s character) represents to me in my life (my character’s life - Bernie). A dominating woman who saps the confidence and life out of a good man. A woman who reminds me of my ex-wife and my mother. A dark nemisis who is trying to destroy my father figure (her husband) and my show. (You can watch the movie if you can find it.)
I am really glad I am receiving this training now. If I can go to auditions with this level of performance on a cold reading, people will definitely start to notice.
Published on Saturday October 18, 2003 .
Heather and I went to the beach tonight just to get some fresh air. It’s really nice to be at the beach at night with the fresh salt water air and the sounds of waves crashing against the shore…
Once I returned home I spent all night fixing both Heather’s computer and mine (a Mac G4 and an AMD 1900 respectively). Heather’s machine seemed to have a broken ethernet port and other strange problems, but after a trip to the Apple Store today and some consultation at the “Genius Bar”, the tech told me to try re-installing OS/X using the “Archive and Install” option to save all previous data. After a 2 hour installation process tonight, IT WORKED!!! Her machine is now up and running again on the internet!
As for my machine, I was getting a wierd message when Windows started up saying that my hard drive is corrupt! I thought I might have killed my hard drive. So I removed the drive and installed it in another PC I use for development. It automagically ran CHKDSK and found some corruption on the disk and fixed it. When I put the drive back in my main machine, it started up fine. The only problem is that it is still randomly crashing. For the moment, everything seems to be running fine…
Sometimes I really hate technology.
…must sleep… have acting class in the morning…
Published on Thursday October 16, 2003 .
I found a new item at my local Ralphs the other day - Klondike CarbSmart Ice Cream bars! I picked up fudge bars and vanilla bars coated with chocolate - and they’re really good! Much better than the Atkins Ice Cream.
Everybody is jumping on the low-carb bandwagon. Just watch out for those Partially Hydrogenated Oils!
Published on Thursday October 16, 2003 .
I had a commercial audition today for a technology company called Avaya. It went pretty well. There was one page of copy that they wanted to see delivered in a fun, but professional way. I could hear the other actors in the room while I was waiting in the lobby. Most of the guys seemed to be delivering the lines too fast or too plain. I practiced the lines in my head as if I was watching a host on TV. When it was my turn I felt I did a pretty good job. I delivered the lines in a very TV “host-ish” kinda way making sure I took my time with my delivery. The only thing is that I could have been more confident and centered. This is something I really need to work on - confidence. I want to be able to go into an audition with a slight ego, totally calm and collected and just deliver the lines with my style. While driving back to work, I even fantasized that I did the audition with a Jamaican accent. I don’t think that could have really hurt anything. They are probably looking for someone more clean-cut than me anyway…
