Commedia Troupe Week 2

This was the last week of Commedia troupe work. We had spent most of our time in class practicing and (mostly) not wasting time. All of us had improvised quite well, and although we had made a ton of changes, we were still able to rehearse many times and get used to the scenario. In fact, the improvisation felt so natural that all of us practically were our Commedia characters. At the end of Tuesday's class, our story seemed so funny that even Thomas was unable to stop laughing at Carson's perfect portrayal of Pantalone.
On the last Drama lesson this year (2009), we ended our Commedia unit with our troupe performances! When my troupe performed, many parts were unexpected, since so much improvisation occurred! For example, the scenario didn't say that Pierrot would complain when Il Dottore got rid of his pimple.
I must say that all of my troupe members acted and improvised very well. Thomas did not exaggerate enough to get to the energy level 6, but at least the audience responded. Also, Nir and I were both at energy level 5 for the whole performance. I'm pretty sure that none of us were even close to Carson's explosions. However, we were funny enough to impress the audience. At least that counts for something!
I loved this unit. I can't wait for the final one!

Commedia Troupe Work Week 1

Finally, our troupes were chosen! I (Tartaglia) worked with Nir (Il Dottore), Thomas (Pierrot) and Carson (Pantalone). There was one little problem with cooperation in the group, but it was fixed in a short period of time. At first, I thought that the mix of characters was quite strange and that it would be hard to work out, but I was wrong. The scenario came to us quite quickly. When our scenarios were ready, we rehearsed, and each rehearsal was a bit different. As we practiced, we figured out loads of ways to improve our scenario, such as adding more lazzis and jokes into it. If I had to redo this week, though, I would have continued to work on the scenario earlier and not waited for my other teammates to start contributing. That way, we would have been able to prepare the scenario sooner.

Commedia Character Monologue Week

This week was focused on our individual Commedia characters. I was really lucky to have my first choice (Tartaglia) and to naturally get into character. I enjoyed acting with the mask on, because it really helped me understand the character's personality. It was also fun to interact with other characters, so I would get used to being around them.
On Wednesday, everything was pretty much the same, except we had scenarios to work with. I enjoyed it, since I was able to improvise easily and not worry about "forgetting lines".
We had to perform on Friday. At first, I was reluctant to perform, but being second really helped. I think that it really helps to go first or second, since the nervous feeling quickly fades away. The strangest part was that my performance was a lot more amusing than I thought it would be! I guess it teaches me not to underestimate my abilities.

More into Commedia

Tuesday's class was a mix of the Zen Zen Zo workshop and the type of classes we had at the beginning of the year. We did many activities to improve our control over body energy and movement in different postures. During the end of class, my group members and I all ended up having different small ideas in our main plot, and the skit was a total mess. Then, on Thursday, we learned a bit more about Commedia characters in order to choose the one we'd like to act out. I was lucky to have my first choice, Tartaglia, or the stutterer.
I had actually underestimated many parts of Commedia, such as the character Tartaglia and improvisation. It was hard to improvise with others, since we are unpredictable even to the rest of our troupe. Also, just by stuttering too much, I suddenly started coughing. And to think that rehearsing for this character would be easy...

Commedia Film Week

Our scripts for the film are finally finished! It was nice that on the first try, the script already fit the time requirement. I wasn't completely satisfied with the script ending, but my teammates disagreed. Anyways, we worked on our acting and our expressions. We decided to do the rest of the practicing at home, though. On the filming day, though, I could honestly say that I ruined some of it because I was rushing Mr. Rahman, and I stuttered in the second scene. However, the last scene could have been called perfect, since everyone went through the entire part smoothly. The end of class was just me and my group members rushing to get the iMovie done. In fact, Jessica had to stay after class ended.
This week did not go as I had planned, but it was equally exciting and enjoyable!

Drama Workshop

Today, there was a workshop for Drama, so our English and Drama classes were reversed. In the workshop, we learned about three main parts of acting: energy, focus and physical awareness. I loved the workshop, because not only were we able to interact in a fun and energetic way, it was also the perfect time for deep thinking and understanding of concepts of theatrical arts. I hope we get to do activities like this in regular Drama classes!

Presentations and New Play

This week was for the drama presentations! I was nervous at first, as usual. However, as we went through it, the panic disappeared. It was a bit disappointing to realize that many people did not get most of the jokes we had prepared, though. At least it was better than the PowerPoint part. Nobody asked questions for our slideshow, and each time the other groups did it, it was too quick for me to get all the notes. Then, on Friday, I needed to catch up on the scriptwriting for the upcoming play. I would explain the scenario, but that would have to be a surprise. I can't wait for the next project!

Commedia dell' Arte Play

This week, we needed to work with scripts. At first, I was surprised, since I thought, wasn't Commedia dell' Arte all about improvisation and no scripts? But, it was more exciting than I'd thought. My partner and I had a wonderful time improvising and using our imagination to make our skit as humorous as possible. We also had to do a PowerPoint on words that were probably not understood. Through this process, I'm actually learning a few words myself. Both classes were spent doing this, except on the second class, we practiced acting skill of Commedia. I loved to play with the status of characters, and, surprisingly enough, I found myself liking to play the servant more than being the master. It was probably because there are more types of servants than masters, and therefore it is easier to improvise while being entertaining simultaneously. This was a really enjoyable week. If only more time was spent on acting exercises!

First Impression of Commedia dell'Arte

My very first impression of Commedia dell' Arte is that it is a genre of theatre that gives a sense of freedom and equality, since both genders are included, and actors are not limited to scripts. It also seems quite professional, even though commoners invented it.
My favorite character type is the Zanni, because they make the story more interesting, and they are sometimes quite clever and cunning. However, I liked the Dottore in the play the most, because he seemed intelligent but was, in fact, gullible and a bit foolish. He was able to trick the trickster back. Also, his character and personality seems funny to act out.
I would like to know how the commoners were inspired to create Commedia dell' Arte. Another question I would like an answer to is: If Commedia dell' Arte is such a famous form of art, why would so many people not know their favorite character? Is it because they can't choose, or they don't know any characters?
I realized that masks could actually help people be more courageous on stage, since others could not see half of their facial expressions. If the facial emotions are unseen, the audience begins to focus on body language instead, taking the fear away from the performers. Also, the actors themselves don't have to worry about the possibility of not showing their expressions clearly.
I look forward to this unit!

Moving on to the next MYP Unit

On Monday, we did our personal reflections. I was very honest with myself, and I had to be harsh on my team members, although not everything was their fault. I think that if I had to redo this project, I would do some parts differently, but some mistakes we made before helped us in other situations. For example, when David wasn't here and we didn't have the clips, we re-uploaded them, and we were able to find our camera number that way. Wednesday was the day we learned about "Commedia dell' Arte". I found it quite amazing how one simple form of theatre could evolve into so many new genres. I also learned the importance of masks that day. Before that lesson, I would have thought that the masks only played a minor part in expressing emotions.

Silent Film: Finishing Touches & Movie Day

October 13 was a real pain in the neck. Just when it seemed like everything was falling into place, the converting was horrible. It was taking 3 HOURS to finish! Luckily, the outcome was great. All the pauses had stopped, and the movie ran smoothly. I thought I looked like a fool, but at least we enjoyed filming. Then, there was the day that we watched all the other movies. My favorite was the one with the jelly, because the plot was such a small thing enlarged into a funny story! I learned that sometimes, there are many situations in the way, but in the end, every step was worth it.

Filming Process Week

This time, the filming was better, since my group was cooperating very well. Although the other group sometimes interrupted our filming, most of the parts were filmed. However, on the editing day, the person with the videos was absent, so the videos had to be re-uploaded. Sadly, HandBrake wouldn't work! The last few minutes were used to try and film, but there were so many problems that we weren't able to. By the end of the week, all the filming and video converting was completed. Unfortunately, importing the videos onto i-Movie was a pain in the neck. I still have to work on it tomorrow. I've learned from this experience that no matter how things seem to be fitting perfectly at first, there's always the possibility of obstacles slowing us down, so we must plan ahead and make sure we use all of our time effectively.

Filming Day 1

We finally began to film, but most of the captured films were ruined, thanks to my shaking hand, a group member's unstoppable blinking and someone else's constant goofing off. At first, we needed to fill in the places we'd film in. Then, we sorted out the ares that each group was using, and we made sure that nobody would interrupt another group's filming. It was hard to work continuously, since the other groups need help with filming, and other groups had to evacuate certain areas to film. It could have been a very productive day if nobody made too many mistakes.
By the way, when the groups were filling in the sheet of paper to say where they would be, I lost my silver mechanical pencil with a black rubber part. Has anyone seen it?

First Day of Silent Movie Planning

Finally, we began to plan out our silent movies! At first, many groups had about the same idea, but it ended up being completely different for every group. My group was unable to think of an idea until we began to babble about random things. In the end, we came up with a very unique idea with a funny plot and actions easy to express. I look forward to filming the movie!

First Official Learning Class

August 26, 2009

Instead of playing a bunch of games in the drama pit, we studied physical communication. We watched a few funny videos with characters only communicating physically, and we discussed some questions. To end the class, we played "Slow-motion Assassin". I enjoyed both parts of the class, because I like participating during class and coming up with strategies in many situations. Although this class was less eventful, I preferred this lesson to the other ones. This lesson was considered my favorite over all the others in this subject!

1st Blogging Experience...

This is the first time I've ever blogged. At first, we were a bit confused about the setup, but class eventually started to get better. It'll take me FOREVER to get used to this, because I'm a formal writing kind of person. However, I guess this will be quite fun. I'm still not sure if I'll like blogging, but it's worth a try!