Metacognition: Drama

     While memorizing lines is an important aspect of performing in my drama classes, or performing in school productions, it isn't the only thing that I need to focus on.  There are separate aspects that I need to work on in order to deliver a convincing performance.

     My first step is to analyze my character.  I find that if I can really know who my character is, then it becomes easier to actually become that character.  I think that this is one of the most important things that anyone can do as an actor.  If you can fully know who a character is, and how he would react to certain situations, then that is how you will be the most convincing in a performance.

     The next thing I'll do is memorize my lines.  This is obviously very important, because without memorization, you might just look like a fool on stage.  I try to take this relatively slow.  The process of memorization usually happens over a longer period of time, while I rehearse the scenes more.  I'll usually read through certain scenes every night.  It sometimes can be frustrating, but that's why I go slowly.  If I went faster in an attempt to cram all the lines in, I know I would mess something up.

     I'll usually analyze my scene next.  By this, I mean that i'll figure out my motives for everything I'm doing, and what is my purpose in the scene.  This is also the step where I'll analyze all my blocking, which is a theater term for the movement I do on stage.  This is important to do, because it could end up looking a bit awkward if you and whoever else is with you on stage just sits in the same spot.  With purposeful movements, it keeps the audience engaged, and it helps to avoid awkwardness.

     When I combine these steps, the first time it is rehearsed, it is usually an awkward mess.  But this is the point in my process that I work on combining everything, and perfecting all the steps. I find that the performances never are perfect, but sometimes they get pretty close.

     The thing that really surprises me about my process in this is how organized it is.  I feel that acting is very important to me, so I really put my heart into it, no matter how big or small the part.  The reason it surprises me is because I don't put this much work and passion into many things, and I found that when I do find something i'm passionate in, I really go all out with it.

     The only thing I'd like to improve about this process is that I wish I could apply it to more things.  I feel as if this process is very good, and when executed correctly, it really turns out well.  If I could apply this passion to more things, I would have improved my grades by a lot, and I could also be a much better athlete.

Blogging Around: Melanie & Murray

Melanie's post

Her post was under the, "What if?" prompt.  She began by giving examples of things that were created, that may never have been made if there were no "what if" questions.  She continues to elaborate on the questions "what if there was a cure to cancer?", and "what if creativity did not exist?".  At the end, she added a little thing to think about that involves the loop of what if questions.

I really love the statement that you posted at the end. It got me thinking of the odd circles and weird paradoxes in life. I found myself asking questions throughout the post like, "if we didn't know what creativity and beauty was, would it actually be a bore?". Things like these really get me thinking, and I love it. I truly enjoyed pondering about this post!

Murray's Post

In Murray's post, he describes how he loves writing songs, and how he would use his own creative ideas to come up with new things.  However, he said he eventually ran into a "writers block" for musicians.  He wrote about how he studied famous and influential composers and musicians, and took "snippets" and ideas from their work and applied them to his, while still keeping his own originality.

I can relate to this post a lot, but in a way that doesn't seem to match at all. When you wrote about taking ideas from other famous artists and composers, I thought of how I improve myself as an athlete. In order to better myself, and improve my skills, I look at the professionals. I studied their techniques, and their play styles. I figured out what works for me, and I feel this is basically the same things you do, but with music. When we looks at the professionals in our field, we know that they worked hard to get to where they are, and we know that they must be doing something right. I think that this theory of looking at people who are "better" than us can be applied to almost anything.