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!