David Chiu

Technically, I don’t think my partner and I have finished our scene. When I mean finished, I mean performed the scene in front of the class and acting coach in a way that demonstrates that you understand the scene, the circumstances, the relationship, the characters and the emotions - and are able to act it out in a seamless, emotional, talented way. Our current problem is making the relationship of husband and wife look real and for me - embodying the character of a small town, simple, bully who is now reformed. The last time we performed the scene, it was in front of one of the founders of the studio. He liked our performance but said that he was on the fence on finishing the scene. He said our performace was more of a first-year finish (the acting was natural and believable and all the basic elements of relationship and circumstances were apparant), but we did not demonstrate the ability to portray the characters in the scene (which is what second-year is all about).

Anyway, after talking to my partner a couple days ago, we decided to move on to the nursery rhyme exercise and speak to Tom to hear his opinion on whether or not we still need to work on our scene…

Nursery rhymes

In this exercise, we have been given the task to pick out one nursery rhyme and act it out in three different circumstances. We are basically creating mini-scenes using the nursery rhyme as text. I chose to use this rhyme:

Curly Locks, Curly Locks,
Will you be mine?
You shall not wash dishes,
Nor feed the swine,
But sit on a cushion
And sew a fine seam,
And sup upon strawberries,
Sugar, and cream.

I setup three different scenarios representing the course of a relationship between a boy and a girl. The first one, I’m sitting on a park bench with my “girlfriend” and saying the rhyme as a marriage proposal. The second scene, my “wife” is storming out of the room with a suitcase and I start reciting the rhyme as a plead to stay. The third scene, I’m back at the park bench sitting with a buddy reciting the rhyme as a bittersweet memory.

Although a few people in class setup elaborate sets, I kept mine simple. All I used was a park bench in my first and last scene. Well, Tom like the overall idea that I had for the scenes, but he said my acting was inconsistent and “skit-like” in some instances. I didn’t have the emotional depth to support the scene. He also said that this is a good indication of the state of the scene I was last working on and that my partner and I need to bring back our scene to work on it more.

Well…

This is why they call it acting CLASS. This is where we all need to learn the process and learn how to do it right. Like my wife tells me, at least in class we get a second chance. In an audition, if you don’t do it right the first time, you’re done.