Scene Component Paper - Danny and the Deep Blue Sea

1. Play Analysis

The play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley is the heart-wrenching story of Danny and Roberta, both who have been hurt, both emotionally and physically, and have considered themselves to be unable to be healed. Danny and Roberta prove to be extremely interesting characters with many levels. Both of their pasts pasts truly effect them throughout the course of the show and the dynamic between them is extremely interesting to see.

The show begins in a bar; Roberta at her own table, and Danny at his own. The two begin to talk to one another. Danny makes it apparent to Roberta that he is a "bad guy", by saying this such as "Nobody crosses my fuckin' line, man!" (13) and "When I turn thirty I'm gonna put a gun in my mouth and blow my fuckin' head off." (14) To just a run of the mill person, Danny would most likely send them running. However, Roberta merely brushes Danny's "tough guy" remarks to the side and regards them as normal. As this scene escalates, Roberta reveals to Danny that she also considers herself a "bad" person, because she had a sexual encounter with her father. As the scene becomes more emotional for the both of them, Roberta asks Danny come home with her "For love." (26)

The next scene takes place in Roberta's room after she and Danny have just finished making love. Roberta attempts to romance Danny, however Danny won't have it. He makes it apparent that he's afraid of becoming close to anyone, and because of that fear he lashes out at Roberta. However, Roberta stays strong to what she wants, and tells Danny "Let's be romantic with each other! Say things to each other!" (33) Then, Roberta and Danny sheepishly exchange compliments with one another. This escalates, once again, into Danny lashing out and even going so far as to slap Roberta, but she holds fast, and continues to care for Danny. Danny's fear seems to subside, and he proposes marraige to her. Roberta says yes, and the two of them fantasize about their new life together before falling asleep.

In the last scene, Roberta wakes Danny up playfully, and the two share some small talk about their jobs and other trivial subjects. Then, Danny brings up getting married to Roberta, and she confesses that she wasn't serious about she and Danny getting married. "I was lyin cause I wanted a nice thing." she says "Get serious. No way are you an me gettin married. That was strictly make-believe." (44) Danny begs her to not say this, but she retorts with "Open your fuckin eyes. I ain't got no serious way possible I could get married to anybody. Not anybody. No less a guy like you." (44) In this scene, the way she acts is parallel to how Danny acted in the first two scenes, as Danny's disposition is with Roberta's previous one. The two of them completely flip flop. Roberta reveals to Danny that he isn't the reason she doesn't want to get married, it's because she is punishing herself for what happened between her and her father. "I don't mean ta spill my poison any further than I already have. Ya hear me? It's over. I'm through screwin everything up." (47) Danny, sensing that there is no way Roberta can forgive herself, forgives Roberta for what had happened. Roberta takes this, and the two then decide that they will get married after all.


2. Character Arc

In the first two scenes, Roberta maintains a level-headed, cool disposition. She seems to have it all under control and brushes Danny off when he says things about wanting to kill himself or worrying about killing someone else. However, multiple times her self-hatred rears its ugly head. In the first scene in the bar, Roberta grabs Danny by his shirt and says to him "But what you don't know is I'm crazy, too! Yeah. You dont' know me! I could do anything. I did something so awful. I ain't even gonna tell you what. If I told you, you wouldn't even look at me." (19) Danny presses her to tell him what she did, and she reveals that she had a sexual encounter with her father. After this, Roberta goes back into her "calm and cool" disposition and coaxes Danny to come home with her.

This type of flip-flopping continues in the second scene as well, but in the thrid scene it's apparent that Roberta has changed. She lets her emotions run free, releasing all the hatred she's held in herself for her whole life. She then turns it onto Danny, and calls him out on having slapped her and screaming at her. This is intersting, because when the actual event happened, Roberta acted like it didn't even happen. It becomes apparent that she internalizes all conflicts she may have, and she lets them boil into her very soul. The scene continues like this, with Roberta becoming more emotionally destructive, until Danny forgives her for what happened. Roberta seems to have been wanting someone to tell her that it's ok, and she almost immediately becomes at peace. In the first two scenes, Roberta seemed peaceful, however also with a wall up around her. In this last scene, she is also at peace, but she is completely vulnerable and exposed.

It's very ineteresting to see Roberta change so rapidly thorughout the play. Reading the whole play made it obvious to me that Roberta is the type of person to hold things in and not express how she feels until she just can't take it anymore. In the acutal moments that may hurt her, she acts like nothing happens, but once she starts unraveling herself in front of Danny, you can see that every conflict has stuck with her; and she blames herself for them. I've come to understand that Roberta is a very self-destructive person; not because she hurts herself, but because she truly believes that every conflict she is involved with is her fault in one way or another. She may recognize a conflict as wrong, but it is her fault. Roberta puts up a front to seem like she has everything together and to compensate for how broken she feels.


3 & 4. Scene Break Down & Objectives

I scanned a version of my script with beats and objectives. To view them, simply click on the image.




5. Rehearsal Analysis

I really enjoy working with DeAndre for this scene. I really feel like this scene is perfect for the two of us. During all our rehearsals, we really see eye to eye and are able to suggest what we want without feeling judged or bossy. Every time we rehearse, I feel like I know more and more about Roberta, and I'm finally letting her speak through me as opposed to simply pretending to be her. I find that our rehearsals are really moving along, and I can't wait to work on it more and get it concrete and ready to perform.


6. Performance Analysis

DeAndre and I haven't had a chance to perform our scene yet, however I can't wait. I'm confident that we'll do an excellent job. I really think that this is one of the best scenes I've ever worked on.


7. Short Evaluation

So far, this whole process is going excellently. It's such a pleasure to work with DeAndre, I honestly don't think I could have asked for a better scene partner. DeAndre really commits himself into the scene, and he just goes for it unapologetically. I really admire the fact that he can immerse himself so passionately, and I hope to channel that very soon. We're both really making progress with the scene and characters, and I can't wait to perform it. I really feel like we're both pushing ourselves to do better and better, and it's really a fun and enlightening experience.


8. Bibliography

• Shanley, John Patrick. (1984). Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

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An Actor Prepares - Reflection on First Half (Midterm)

What are some of the very basic principles of acting, according to Constantin Stanislavski? How can you utilize them in your own craft?

After reading the first half of An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski, my eyes have really been opened to all the different things you must be aware of as an actor. The first half of the book doesn't focus on "acting" techniques, but instead focuses on the beginnings of acting, such as action and physicality, imagination, and concentration. These are introduced as the most basic principles, and seem to be the first building blocks of becoming a successful actor.

"...The very best that can happen is to have the actor completely carried away by the play. Then regardless of his own will he lives the part, not noticing how he feels, not thinking about what he does, and it all moves of his own accord, subconsciously and intuitively." (13) Stanislavski says this in one of the very beginning chapters, making it apparent to the reader that the goal he is trying to achieve with them is to completely make them immersed in the moment and the play. In addition, Stanislavski makes it obvious to the reader that they must also be truthful in their acting. He states "A role which is built of truth will grow, whereas one built on stereotype will shrivel." (28) After introducing the reader to the basic rules of acting, he then goes on to explain in more detail how to go about immersing yourself within the role.

One of the first principles is action. As an actor, you must be completely aware of how you move onstage, or how you don't move. "Whatever happens on the stage must be for a purpose, a specific purpose, not merely the general purpose of being in sight of the audience." (33) Stanislavski writes, explaining how "all action in the theatre must have an inner justification, be logical, coherent, and real." (43) Nothing an actor does should merely be for the audience's enjoyment, or to make them more viewable; it must be true to the character. This is the first time Stanislavski introduces us to the concept of "if"; "...it reassures him through honesty, and encourages him to have confidence in a supposed situation." (44) he writes, explaining how the concept of "if" is the driving force for the actor to make their character's situation real.

Another basic principle is imagination. In this chapter, Stanislavski goes on to explain the concept of "if" further. He states that you must imagine that "if" you were in a certain situation, how would you react? "If" you were in a certain area, what would you see? What would you smell? Stanislavski writes that you must ask yourself these things for every role, and dig within your imagination and emotions to truly make a role realistic. "Every moment you make on the stage, every word you speak, is the result of the right life of your imagination." he writes, thus making the actor's own imagination a staple of acting.

Two other basic principles of acting are the concentration of attention and relaxation of muscles. In order to make a scene successful and convincing, you must be fully immersed within the scene both mentally and physically. You can't worry about what the audience will think or what they are doing. "In order to get away from the auditorium," Stanislavski writes, "you must be interested in something on the stage." (70) Stanislavski explains the concept of a "circle of attention", which is centered on an object or person on the stage. It is literally a sphere surrounding the object, just as a sphere of light encircles a lamp in a dark room. You must mentally create the "circle of attention" for yourself, and decide how large or small it should be. In addition to creating a mental sphere for yourself, you must have your body within the moment as well. You must play everything as if it's the norm for the character, and you must learn to relax and not look nervous. He states "There should never be any posing on the stage that has no basis." (99) Stanislavski also explains an exercise in which you lie down on the ground or in a bed, and you go from head to toe recognizing which parts of your body feel tense, and then focus on relaxing them.

I've found this book to be extremely enlightening so far. I intend to approach my roles with a whole process now; not only focusing on the role, but the world the character lives in, what they have gone through, how they think and carry themselves. In addition, I will most likely use the "circle of attention" concept in order to remain locked within the scene. Oftentimes I have found myself to sneak peeks into the audience and see how they react to certain parts of a scene, but now using the "circle of attention" I will stop that habit. In addition, I plan on using the exercise in which you lie down and "check-in" on where my body is tense. I tend to get extremely tense and nervous before shows, and I will try to curb that with that exercise (or at least a derivation of that exercise). I can't wait to continue reading the book and see what else I will learn.

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Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare

Last semester I decided to buy the suggested books for my Acting 1 class as opposed to just the required ones. I never actually read any of them until now. I had gone into Six Degrees of Separation without expectations, and I found the play to be extremely well written. The beginning of the show reminds me of a farce, very witty and quick, and it slowly immerses the reader (or viewer) into the philosophical.

The basic premise of the play is a wealthy couple, the Kittredges, are entertaining a friend of theirs when a young man, Paul, comes in saying that he has been mugged. He is very obviously wounded, and they soon find that he is the son of a very famous actor, and he is also the friend of their children. The Kittredges become enamored with Paul and beg him to stay the night. Suprprisingly, the next morning they find him with a male prostitute, and the two 'intruders' hurriedly leave. The Kittredges soon find out that this same young man pulled the same act on family friends of theirs, and a doctor. As they try to assess how this fraud knows all of them, it soon turns out that perhaps he isn't a fraud at all. Perhaps there is something much more deep within him compelling him to fake his life.

In addition to making you think. the play is riddled with social commentary. At the beginning of the play, the Kittredges and their guest, who is from South Africa, discuss apartheid, and the rich, white Kittredges frequently refer to (who they assume at the time is) Paul's father as a "famous black actor." In addition, when Paul tells Ouisa (Mrs. Kittredge) that he wants her to take him to the police because he's afraid he'll be killed, and she responds with "I don't think they kill you", Paul, very seriously responds with "Mrs. Louisa Kittredge, I am black." I found these inclusions to be very intersting. They were all so subtle, so intricately laid out within the script that you barely notice them.

Within the play, I found several scenes and monologues I could use.

• Pg. 53 - Pg. 60 - Ouisa and Paul's last conversation
This scene takes place on the telephone, however it is staged with two spotlights on Ouisa and Paul facing one another on a black stage. The feeling in the scene completely changes from the beginning to the end. The whole scene is very moving and I'd love to get a chance to perform it.

• Pg. 45 - Ouisa
In this monologue, Ouisa explains how everyone on the planet is related to one another by six degrees of separation. Just six. It's an extremely thoughtful monologue.

• Pg. 61 - Ouisa
Here, Ouisa calls Flan (her husband) out on trying to essentially cut Paul of their lives. Ouisa had tried to reach out to Paul, however, Flan is merely brushing the experience off. This monologue is very passionate and I really like it a lot, I may use it for generals next semester.

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Rumors by Neil Simon

I originally did Rumors in high school, but I haven't touched the play in awhile so I figured I would read it again. This show is one of my favorites, and in my senior year of high school I had the pleasure of even playing my favorite character in a production of it. I figured since I've grown as an actor since then, I'd take a crack at it again.

Rumors opens with two characters: Ken Gorman and his wife, Chris (who I played). Ken and Chris are extremely frazzled and worried. It turns out that the couple was arriving for a dinner party, however the host seems to have shot himself in the ear, and his wife can't be found anywhere. Ken and Chris spend the duration of the first act hiding what happened from the arriving guests, in order to save their hosts from embarrassment, but eventually they all find out. In the second act, all the guests attempt to hide what happened from some police officers who arrived at the house because of a car accident that occured. The entire play is really comedic, and it's really a fun show.

• Pg. 9 - Pg. 16 - Chris and Ken
This is the opening scene of the show. I'd love to do this scene again with the knowledge that I have now.

• Pg. 22 - Pg. 27 - Claire and Lenny
The first couple to arrive is Claire and Lenny. Claire is very prissy and... Well the most stereotypical way I could describe her is a "Desperate Housewife"; she's in love with drama and gossip, but wants none of her own. The relationship between Claire and Lenny is really comical.

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En Clase

So, today was class. I've really been scrambling all week to get my midterm things finished. Especially my monologue. Basically I've been reading plays like a madwoman and trying to get everything together. Not to mention the acting book. I chose An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski. I'm really liking the way the book is written. It's essentially semi-fiction; it's the story of fictional characters in an acting school, and the lessons are taught to the reader of the book by the characters teaching one another. I'm finding it a lot easier to read than the other acting books I've read. It captures my attention a lot more. It's like reading an I Spy or a Choose Your Own Adventure book instead of the dictionary; it's a lot more fun and easier to understand.

Unless you're this kid.

I'm really looking forward to continuing with the book. I literally have sticky tabs in it everywhere to mark the important parts. (Stanislavski even makes it easy on you and italicizes the acting methods.) If you can, I highly reccomend the book. I know I'll be buying it after this class.

On another note, I did my monologue from Elephant today. It felt a lot better than it did when I originally performed it. I think it's partially because I knew the lines completely this time, and partially because I've been working on it a lot. I've been doing a lot of character work and trying to figure out who this girl is, and I feel like I've almost figured it out. Peter liked a lot of my acting choices too. The only note he had was to play with standing up at an earlier place in the monologue, and I have to say that I agree with that choice as well. Standing up on the line I had wasn't nearly climactic enough, and it didn't feel right. I'll play with it some more.

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Tom and Huck and Jim Review

Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing some of my friends perform in Tom and Huck and Jim, a children’s play by Margaret Larlham. Having worked on 1001 Grains of Sand last year, I had gone into it with expectations of song, dance, and lines that sometimes go over the heads of the children in the audience. However, almost instantly my expectations were shattered and the bar instantly raised. The instant the play started I was captured by the story and characters. I found everything about it intriguing and interesting, especially the story and writing of the play. In addition, everyone was cast extremely well, and you could tell that the actors were all incredibly committed to their characters. (And their accents!)

I was pleasantly surprised by Margaret’s choice to cast Loren Schrieber as Mark Twain. I honestly didn’t know that he had ever acted before, and I was extremely excited to see him after taking his THEA240A class. He played an extremely convincing Twain and carried himself with a languid quality that extruded the presence of the Mississippi itself. In addition, his vocalization was extremely new to me, he masterfully manipulated his voice and accent so he wasn’t Loren anymore, and I was taken into the play instantly.

I also found Eric Dowdy and Megan Stogner to be extremely entertaining. The two expertly carried themselves in both their neutral “narrator” roles, and also in the other characters they portrayed. They both were very different in each role and managed to convey different people in different situations. I especially liked the courtroom scene at the end of act I where Eric portrayed the judge, and Megan portrayed both the prosecutor and defense. It was very entertaining to see Megan jump back and forth between both hats and personalities.

The title characters were all also expertly cast. Bradley Sattler as the mischievous Tom Sawyer was extremely convincing and committed. His paintbrush/ fence sequence was extremely entertaining and childlike. I perfectly remembered that part of the book, and I loved the way he conveyed it. Jon Wat as Huck Finn was incredible. He managed to communicate to the audience a sense of immaturity and youth, yet maturity and a yearning to be a bit older than he really is. DeAndre Clay was an excellent Jim as well. I had never really seen him act before, and he blew me away. The way he carried himself lightly through the play, however also encompassed a tinge of sadness or worry. These actors all masterfully conveyed multiple levels in their characters and portrayed every facet perfectly.

Altogether I absolutely loved the play and all the actors, music, songs, and the whimsical journey it took the audience on. Margaret Larlham has really outdone herself this year, and I can’t wait until next year’s show she devises.

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Finer Noble Gases by Adam Rapp

Since my library book is near due, I figured I would read the last play in the book of plays by Adam Rapp. I found the play Finer Noble Gases to be very conversational and interesting, however it somewhat lacked in plotline or focus. However, this could have been intentional, if Rapp wanted to convey a "day in the life" sort of play.

The entire play takes place in the living room of a rock band and, in contrast of Faster, happens to be in one of the coldest spells of the year. Amidst drugs, public urination, and plots to steal televisions, Finer Noble Gases shows a typical day of these characters.

The dialogue between the main characters is gritty and uncensored, and while they seem to only speak to each other about trivial matters, Rapp has written it to expertly reveal their personalities and natures. In addition, once their neighbor, a character named Gray comes into the mix, you can see Rapp's true talent for juxtaposition. Gray is well-versed and articulate, and the dynamic between his character and the members of the band is truly striking.

Once again, as this is a male-dominated play (in fact there are no female roles) I could not pick any monologues or scenes for myself. All the characters are too masculine and mentioned as male, so I couldn't possibly be any of them unless some lines were cut out.

Even though I didn't find a monologue or a scene, I still found the play to be intriguing and for the most part well-written. I hope to read more of Rapp's work before the semester is over.

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Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl

Upon the recommendation of a friend, I decided to read Eurydice, by Sarah Ruhl. The play is a retelling of the myth of Eurydice and her husband Orpheus. Eurydice and Orpheus are madly and in love, and on their wedding day, an accident occurs resulting in Eurydice's death. Eurydice ends up in the underworld, where she eventually reconnects with her father. Meanwhile, Orpheus is determined to be united with Eurydice by any means necessary. The play ends tragically, but I won't spoil the ending for anyone. You should read it, it nearly made my cry.

Ruhl creates excellent imagery with her writing and innovative staging ideas, and I'd love to act in a production of this show one day.

With there being only one "female" role, any of the scenes with Eurydice are fair game. There's only really one monologue that she has, and it's pretty good.

• Act III, Scene 3. Pg. 410 (final part of final scene) - Eurydice's letter to Orpheus
The entire monologue had me nearly in tears as I was reading it. It's so emotional and... Ugh. I can't explain it. It's so poignant and genuine. I truly believe it. I really want a chance to perform it.

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Faster by Adam Rapp

Because I enjoyed Stone Cold Dead Serious so much, I decided to read some other plays Adam Rapp has written. I chose to read the play Faster. The play takes place in the city during one of the biggest heat waves the residents have ever encountered. The play focuses around three characters; Kitchin, Skram, and Stargyl.

All three are young men who live together in an abandoned basement, having been left by their parents, or otherwise. Kitchin, a some-what religious hip-hopper, seems to be the "brains of the operation", as he seems to disperse some of the chaos in their family unit. Skram is less level-headed, he brazenly speaks whatever comes to mind without censorship and manages to render the same lack of censorship with his actions. His character is more animalistic than human, which is all to apparent with the way he treats his younger brother, Stargyl. Stargyl is a sad character; he is a mute with limited mental stability, and while Kitchin seems to mother him the most, Stargyl's own brother berates and abuses him.

The interesting character dynamics here make an interesting beginning, but the show somewhat fell apart for me once the actual plotline kicked in. It turns out Kitchin and Skram have kidnapped a young girl, and are going to sell her to a man from Oswego. The young men anticipate to use the money for a car to get the three of them to New York and start new lives. However, the young girl ends up being somewhat of a martyr or a prophet, and when the man from Oswego arrives he reveals he is the devil himself. The show continues onwards with an apocalyptic feel, what with churches being burned down and swarms of flies. However the story seemed to fall flat. I was more interested in how the characters would react in the story rather than being captured by the story itself. I felt displaced.

While I know that as a woman, I couldn't play any of these roles, I was really drawn to Kitchin's character. If a production were to blind cast, I'd love to play that role. Kitchin was very down to earth, however he still had an edge.

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The Love of Three Oranges Review

Jumping out of the SDSU theatre scene, I decided to see a play off-campus. Well, I didn’t merely decide to, I was excited to. My younger sister was in a production of The Love of Three Oranges at my old high school. (Grossmont High School) Her excitement of the production increased my own excitement to see it as the weeks of her rehearsals passed by. In this production, the play calls for improv. Copious amounts of improv. At first I was wary, since this was in fact a high school production, and saying that they can use improv in a production is putting a huge amount of trust in them. However, I found it worked extremely well and was very pleasantly surprised!

The show The Love of Three Oranges is essentially a comedic play that makes fun of the fact it’s a comedic play. The narrator frequently interrupts the actors giving back-story and making comments such as “It can’t be comfortable to hold that pose… *chortle*”. The story is essentially that of a two fairy tales in two acts with the same characters. The first act focuses on Prince Tartaglia and his case of “clinical hypochondria”. Essentially he had a spell cast on him by a witch and a meddling group headed by his cousin, Princess Clarice (whom my sister played), and the only way he can be cured is to make him laugh. Hilarity ensues with slow-motion swordfights, corny jokes, and silly costumes, and at the end of the first act, Tartaglia manages to laugh. However, in-turn the witch, Fata Morgana, casts another spell on him making him fall in love with three specific oranges.

The second act is essentially Prince Tartaglia’s quest to find the three oranges, and it is revealed that within the oranges are princesses that have been sealed there for ages. However, two of the princesses die due to their being released too early. The third princess and prince Tartaglia fall in love, and after many attempts to foil their marriage by Princess Clarice and her gang, the two end up living “happily ever after”.

Being a high school show, I didn’t have very high expectations for the level of skill in general. However two actors in particular impressed me a huge amount. I swear I’m not playing favorites at all when I say that Claudia Ethridge, who played Princess Clarice, was utterly hilarious. She played the sinister, demented, yet fashionable princess perfectly. She utilized her facial expressions very skillfully in order to reap comedic effect and characterization. Nothing she did was merely to get a laugh from the audience. You could tell that she really did her homework on her character and its levels and “ticks.”

In addition, I found the actor Sam Halgren to be very entertaining. Sam played Pantalone, the queen’s right hand man. Sam created an elaborate character for himself. I personally know Sam and his disposition off the stage, but onstage he was an extremely flamboyant manservant. In likeness to Claudia, Sam played the role with truth; he also never did anything just for laughs from the audience. Though he received them, you could tell that he wasn’t just trying to get a reaction from the audience.

Altogether I found the play to be extremely entertaining, and though some roles did fall flat, I never found myself simply laughing to make an actor feel good about themselves. I laughed with gusto and interest, and I’m truly proud of the cast for gracefully pulling off such an endeavor.

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Stone Cold Dead Serious by Adam Rapp

I saw Stone Cold Dead Serious, by Adam Rapp, last year at state. It had been put on by Skull & Dagger and directed by Julio Jacobo, and I have to say it was one of the best plays I've ever seen. It moved me beyond words. It was one of those shows that you feel instead of merely observing it, and I loved every second. Because of this, I wanted to get the chance to read it for myself this time. It was definitely just as moving on paper as it was on stage.

The story of Stone Cold Dead Serious revolves around Wynn Ledbetter, whose family is far less than perfect. With a zombie father and a junkie sister, he tries to hold all his family ties together as his mother tries to hold their house together. Wynn is a bit of a computer nerd, and the story begins to move forward when he reveals that he's traveling to New York (with his online girlfriend, no less) to compete in a video game competition. The entire play is written so realistic and beautifully that by the scene of the actual competition, I was so into it that everything made perfect sense to me, even though it sounds far-fetched out of context. (If you saw the show or read the play, I'm sure you'd know what I mean.)

I was quite partial to Shaylee, Wynn's sister, in the play. Though she is the most "fucked up" character, she's incredibly human and real. Her character has so many levels and her lines just strike you to the core.

There were a few scenes that I really enjoyed and could use in the future.
(SPOILER ALERT)

• Act I, Scene 1. Pg. 12 - Wynn & Shaylee (The first scene with them in the play)
I enjoy this scene because it shows Shaylee at her core: She is a very "sister" like character, however her mentality has been so screwed up that she doesn't completely conduct herself as a kosher "sister" figure anymore. It shows that even tough she and Wynn haven't seen each other in a long time, they still have that sibling bond, no matter how much their minds may get messed up.

• Act II, Scene 2. Pg. 72 -Shaylee & Cliff (May continue with Linda as well.)
This scene takes place after Shaylee has tried to commit suicide. Shaylee and her father are sitting in the hospital room and have an exchange. After awhile, her mother comes in and joins in the conversation.

• Act II, Scene 3. Pg. 92 - Shaylee & Wynn
This is the final scene in the entire show, and it's so moving. In the scene, Shaylee visits Wynn in his hospital bed after his own attempt at suicide. Wynn can't speak because he is in so much pain, however the scene carries on the energy of both characters. It's incredibly poignant and deep. It's by far my favorite scene in the whole show.

I also found a monologue of Shaylee's that I really liked.

• Act II, Scene 3. Pg. 95
The monologue occurs in the final scene. Shaylee talks about turning her life around and staying clean. The whole monologue is really hopeful, almost childlike.

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The Vagina Monologues - Reflection

This year I had the pleasure of working on The Vagina Monologues at San Diego State University. Working on the show was truly a life changing experience. I was given the monologue “My Angry Vagina” to perform, along with Jill Cepela. I had merely known of Jill before working on the show. It’s safe to say that we got really close really fast once production started. In addition to Jill, I found myself getting extremely close to the other girls in the cast. The entire cast was so tight-knit, it was so much fun to work on.

As an actor, I feel like Vagina Monologues really helped me grow. I was the youngest person in the cast, and at first I was extremely intimidated and nervous. Because of this, I found it harder to memorize and I said “line” unnecessarily during rehearsals. I knew the lines, however I would say “line” if I wasn’t sure what a line was so I wouldn’t look stupid. Also, I felt that I had to “one-up” everyone else in order for them to see that I deserved the role, seeing that I was younger than all of them. However, once I began to warm up to the other girls in the cast, I felt a lot less intimidated and pressured. I found that my being intimidated was extremely silly; I got cast for a reason, and that was because the production team thought I was a good actor.

Once I quit being so intimidated, I really felt my progress with my monologue flourish. I took my acting to new levels, and I really had a great experience with the whole performance. In addition, my eyes have been opened to the fact that I shouldn’t feel lower than other actors simply because of my age; age has nothing to do with it. It’s about how you practice your craft and how you perform. Working on The Vagina Monologues was truly a beautiful experience for me. It couldn’t have happened at a more perfect time in my life. I’ve really grown emotionally from the experience, and I think it helped me realize that I shouldn’t get down on myself for being the youngest person involved in anything.

Other than having a great time for myself, I really enjoyed working with the other women in the cast. We all became very close and we had such a great time working on the show. Gracie Lee Brown and her performance of “The Flood” was so well done. She managed to add the comedic relief to it perfectly, yet also retains its sadness. I also found Rachel Hoey’s performance of “Because He Liked to Look at it” very conversational and realistic. I was extremely proud of Gina Mauro, Courtney Enea, and Emily Gordon for taking on “My Vagina was my Village”. I had read that monologue during callbacks, and it was extremely hard for me to do. The three of them really conveyed their emotions just the right amount for the monologue. In addition, Jill Cepela, who also did “My Angry Vagina” with me was amazing! I loved working with her throughout the run of the show. Jill was really fun to work with, and she really helped me push myself to be better. (Not in a “I have to be better than you” way, but in a “I want to be as good as you are” way.)

Altogether, I loved working on this show. Everyone did such an amazing job acting, and I’m really proud of every girl in the cast that I had the wonderful opportunity to work with.

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Birds of Paradise Review

I figure I should put a disclaimer at the beginning of this entry: You may not like what I say. So there.

I didn't like Birds of Paradise. I don't mean to be rude or ungrateful, but I just didn't like it. It wasn't particularly my style, and some things either fell flat, or detracted from the story, in my opinion. It was a mix of everything, I suppose.

I didn't particularly enjoy the story itself, but then again that could have been because of certain directional choices or other factors. I found it to be a little... Well certain things in the plot didn't seem to have "high enough" stakes, such as the possible falling-out of Nancy Snow's character and Justin Deater's character. It seemed like it was merely a subplot that I knew, and the characters knew, would end up ok. The only thing that seemed to be a high-stakes situation was the main conflict of Brandon Joel Maier's character with the script and "struggle for power and recognition."

I personally found Brandon as Homer to be just about the best actor in the whole production. I found his performance to be the most sincere and realistic. In addition, he really pulled off being a younger, more awkward character, which must have been a huge challenge considering his height. He really did his homework as far as character study goes. However, I found the other actors to all have their moments of truly breaking through and being real, but for the most part it seemed as if they were just an actor on a stage playing a role. Don't get me wrong, they're all great singers, but some of the actual lines were said extremely... Campy. And honestly I don't like campy stuff.

The line delivery seemed to be either campy, or like they were over-acting. Not the annoying, in your face "OH HERE I'M ACTING LOOK AT ME ACTING" kind of over-acting, but the kind where it sounds and looks like they're aware that they are playing a character and that they're telling a story. I found the diction to be to be really enunciated and clear, but it wasn't realistic at all. Not in my reality, at least. I also found that some of the characters seemed extremely shallow and fake. While they were, in fact, more minor characters, I truly believe that in order to make a production real and poignant, every character has to seem just as deep as the "main" characters. Otherwise, the audience is subconsciously aware that it's a play that they're seeing, and they become aware of who the leads are and who's most "important". In reality though, everyone is just as important as everyone else, so just because a character is minor doesn't mean that it is any less important than the lead. The playwright wouldn't have written the role if it was dispensable. So you may as well make the character seem like a real person.

Altogether, I found it to be a show that captured my interest for it's duration, but that's about it. Nothing I saw there will stick with me emotionally like other shows have stuck with me. It didn't make me think or ponder about anything, and it didn't strike me emotionally. Actors need to reach out to the audience and make them see that they're not that different from one another, but the entire show I felt as if there was a plexiglass wall between us. It was somewhat disappointing, but eh. At least I went in with an open mind and no expectations.

Also, that penguin sequence was just weird.

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The Zoo Story by Edward Albee

At the risk of looking like I'm copying Jon Wat and his blog, I figured I'd post my entry about The Zoo Story by Edward Albee since I finished it today. (What can I say Jon, you're a trend setter.) I've been really interested in reading this play because they're doing it for Juries this year. Yes, I do know there aren't any specific scenes or monologues I could do, seeing how I'm a woman and all, but the play was nevertheless amazing.

I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read it yet, so I will say that The Zoo Story takes place in a park, and is essentially an exchange of words between Peter, a stable family man, and Jerry, a man who seems to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic. The way the play is written is very interesting, it's formal, yet conversational.

I hope to direct the final scene of the play one day, perhaps in Directing I or even for One Acts or something. The scene is so striking and amazing, I couldn't set the play down once I got to that point. (Seriously, I was hanging out with my boyfriend and he had to go do something, so I started reading The Zoo Story, and then I got to the "turning point" of the play. I didn't want to stop reading it at that point, and we ended up going out to lunch a few minutes later than we had originally planned. :P)

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The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman

After all this putting off, I've finally decided to start reading up on these plays I'm supposed to be reading. I basically made a list of plays I've been meaning to read and jumped right in.

For my first play, I decided to read The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman. I've been meaning to read this one for quite some time. My younger sister performed it (as Romaine and other characters) last semester at her high school, and it was a very moving piece.

I really wanted to read it because even though the high school actors were extremely professional and advanced, they had to cut out a lot due to what the school district said they could say.

I found the play to be just as moving in text as it was on stage. The Laramie Project chronicles the members of the Tectonic Theater Project interviewing selected members of the Laramie, Wyoming community regarding the incident when Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old college student, was brutally murdered because he was gay. The events they describe include memories of Matthew himself, the night of the murder, after Matthew's death, the trial of Matthew's murderers, and the aftermath. The play is mostly monologues, however there is a large opportunity for re-enacting events that the characters talk about.

I found a total of 4 monologues that I could use in the future.

• Pg. 31 - Romaine Patterson
In this monologue, Romaine speaks about Matthew and his qualities, everything from his nicknames to his interest in politics. This monologue strikes me because this could be played as if it were nostalgic and happy, and the ending line "...but not too smart on like common sense things." could then be played ominous and affected.

• Pg. 42 - Sherry Anderson
Sherry explains here how she knew one of the murderers, Russel Henderson. She tells how he was always a sweet guy, and how she can't believe how this could happen. The monologue has many emotional levels to it, and I'd love to perform it one day.

• Pg. 73 - Romaine Patterson
This monologue takes place in the scene with Fred Phelps (This guy: Click Here. And YES, he is referring to Matthew Shepard.) where she has rallied counter-protesters to his protest. She explains about "Angel Action" and what exactly they do. I find this monologue to be extremely inspirational, especially because I had the pleasure of seeing my sister perform this monologue in a very moving manner. I want to find my own way of making the same monologue just as evocative.

• Pg. 86 - Romaine Patterson
I feel that this monologue could be delivered very well. Romaine explains her future plans in contrast to her past dreams, in addition to Matthew serving as an inspiration of sorts. It's a very compelling monologue.

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Statue & Narrative

I completely forgot to do this in my last entry. So here goes.

The statue I created is very strong to me. I entitled it "Come and Get Me.", simply because I imagined that's what someone in that pose would say. (In a condescending tone.) In the statue, I make my torso "stand tall", however my head is slightly angled downwards with my eyes remaining level, creating an intense, angry look. In addition, I purse my lips slightly with a very faint smile. My arms are held outwards with my palms facing away from me, somewhat looking like I'm crucified, I guess. I find it to be a very strong image, and I like it a lot.


Personal Myth

While I'm still a little foggy about what exactly I have to write about, I figure I may as well have at. What I understand what I'm supposed to write for my "Personal Myth" is a specific point in my life with a very clear poignant emotion. Let's see how this goes.

First of all, let me just say how hard it is to think of specific memories when you're told to think of a specific memory. It's really hard. I can be reminded of specific things in everyday conversations, but when I'm told to think of one and write about it, well, I fall flat. I mean, honestly I'm only writing this paragraph because I can't think of anything.

So, I may as well write about a huge ordeal that inspired my own personal journey to finding myself.

After the first few months of being in college my freshman year, I realized that I wasn't exactly happy with my boyfriend at the time. Explaining why is a whole other story, so I'll just leave it at that. So I broke up with him. Now, this was at a point where I didn't have people I considered to be close friends at state, and the fact that I had broken up with my now ex-boyfriend made my old "friends" disown me. So I was essentially alone. I mean, I had my family, but the rest of my social life was hardly what I wanted it to be.

I didn't go around trying to replace everyone. Instead, I figured this was a perfect time for me to grow and become a better person and to find myself.

I write in my own personal journal a lot, and this except perfectly encompasses how I felt at that time:

"...I'm beginning to feel as if I'm apart. I'm somewhat displaced from everyone & the rest of the world... displaced and apart & observant. Someone so away that they can firmly assess their own situation pragmatically. Intelligently. It's like... Like I'm almost untouchable."

Or this one.

"Sometimes I feel like some force. Because I'm all alone. I'm all alone and by myself and have no attachment. Therefore I feel somewhat holy and untouchable. As if I were encased within an aura."

It's this incredibly profound feeling of being yourself. Being aware of yourself and how you act. And being capable of existing all by yourself. It's liberating and free and scary. And that was the first time I'd ever felt it. It's somewhat aloof, yet willing to take everything in.

I love that feeling.

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Concerning Class - A "Catch Up"

Once again, I've been slacking in the journal entries. Vagina Monologues really took up a lot of my time, but I'll write another entry about that experience. I'm catching up with my entries now.


18 February 2010

Today we performed our monologues. Well, some of us at least. I performed mine. It went ok. I could have done better. A LOT better. I don't know why, but I just couldn't commit. I tried, I really did. I'm going to work on it more, so hopefully it'll be fine. I think part of it is that I was a little shaky on the lines. I mean, I had all of them, but I fell back to my usual "Well I'm not confident about this line, so I'm going to get nervous" thing. I think once I get "solid" on them I'll do great.

We also critiqued each other. I think it's really important to get feedback from your peers, so I'm really glad Peter told us to do that. I think it's eye opening to get feedback from so many people as well, because lord knows Peter doesn't have the time to give all of us a ton of notes. Seeing so many different takes and perspectives on acting is really interesting. Some groups also read-through parts of their scenes.



23 Febuary 2010

We basically did today what we did last week. More people performing their monologues, others doing their scenes. DeAndre and I have our scene. It's the first few pages of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley. I really like the scene a lot. In the beginning and most of the middle it's very conversational and somewhat guarded between the two characters, but then near the end it becomes very twisted and sick, especially for my character, Roberta. I'm really excited.



25 Feb 2010

In class today we did a really Suzuki-esque exercize/ approach to characterization. I remember doing this during the callbacks for Hotel Cassiopea my first semester at state. The general idea is that you get your body moving and focused on one task, then you create "statues" from a neutral position. the movement should be completely organic and not pre-meditated at all. The whole thing was extremly physical and tiring, but still cool. After awhile, Peter told us that we would characterize one of the statues we created and use it for our scene. I really liked that, especially because the statue I came up with really coincided with how I had originally wanted to characterize Roberta. (Completely unintentionally, mind you. It was a very interesting coincidence.)

I really like that we're doing exercizes about physicality. I think it's often overlooked by actors our age, especially if it's "just" for scenes. It makes me aware of every facet of the character, from mentality to physicality to irks or compulsions our character has due to possibly scarring experiences they encounter.

God I love theatre.



2 March 2010

We continued work with our statue characterizations today. I'm really enjoying all of this. We took the characterization even further this time and incorporated the other characters into it, meaning that we basically walked around the room and greeted one another. I liked doing this because it actually made me think outside of the lines I have or the statue I created. My character received her own voice in that moment. We also got with our scene partners and did some contact improv, which I really enjoyed. I had done some earlier this semester in my Improv class with the Larlhams. It was a really intersting experience.

DeAndre and I did a read-through of our scene today as well. We didn't do much of it, but Peter said he really enjoyed it for us. He said that he liked what I was doing vocally and the choices I was making already, which is cool. He also said that she's a very intelligent person, which I agree with. I want to try to show the audience that Roberta is a really intelligent person, even though she's really hurt and messed up.

On another note, I've come up with a list of plays I'm going to read. (Finally.) I've been putting it off, but I may as well start now. They're basically just plays that I've been wanting to read anyway, so it's a good excuse. Expect a few play entries soon. And my Vagina Monologues paper/ experience thing. And other stuff.

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