Thursday, 1/15

First and foremost: lung cleansing successful, and indicated to me the tight spot in my chest. Right behind the bottom of my sternum, or about the indentation in the center of the chest. Felt like a pinching or like my ribs didn't want to expand there. Was able to complete the vacuuming, but both times that spot was in pain. A vice or it was sewn shut. Wonder what it would be like to have that opened up--hopefully vocal work will help.

The rest of the class was much fun. Different attitudes of walking, with closeness of body parts--I love touching! It's nice to be in a group that is self-comfortable, so we don't have the awkwardness involved in forced touching. It's like vacation time, canoodling in class on command. Wish we could have done the noses. Shared breath is a bit like a rebirth. Hot and musty... you get the idea.

It was wonderful and hilarious playing Adam through his life. I liked that I found the character's throughline--unable to make eye-contact, ruined forever by a terribly awkward conversation with his dad about the Facts of Life--somehow I don't think it's fair that this is class for us, and sad, sorry business students are sitting around getting boring lectures--but hey, they picked their fates (does one pick fate?). I chose this one because it's so much fun. Of course, they'd probably think it was stupid and wasteful and foolish and childish, so much the better for both of us.

Singing in different styles and in rounds is always good. Got to revisit childhood songs... what a delight! I always love the way "merrily, merrily, merrily" rolls along and over itself in canon... it really sounds like a stream burbling. Drunk lounge-pop came together really well.

I really want to play more of the genre game, telling different stories--really cool game, breaks down your barriers and lets you inhabit some mindset or mode without too much weight or expectation--quite freeing.

Tossing the ball was also fun.

Wearing shorts was a pretty good idea, I liked being mobile and athletic... I believe very much in an athletic approach to acting (I sure feel like an athlete on stage, huffing and puffing and sweating and straining), so it's encouraging to be in flex-gear, something you might wear to the gym or to yoga class. I feel like that, that acting is a workout or a spiritual ritual, cleansing, breath-based, empty, only a flow of energy... being able to move is critical, unless the object is to let the energy sink into certain parts and ruminate or boil or stew. But that's a movement choice, which is choice, not compromise--if you have the ability to move, you can still choose not to--if you do not have the ability to move, you cannot choose to do so. Choice: important.

I'm interested in breaking through the wall of caricature that seems to be present at these early stages. Relieving the humor (while keeping the fun)--it's play, but soon I hope it will be very serious play, the kind of play tiger cubs do to train for the hunt--stage-life feels brutal and bloody like that, muscular and animal. I'm excited to put aside the playful play and begin the serious play. I think the Greek will be great for that--blasting bodies like trumpets, sheer emotion of superhumanity, gargantuan puppets of myth instead of puny fleshly things... ooh, I get all bothered just thinking about it.

Additionally, here's my non-sequitor video of the day (actually a triplet):

Film (Part 1)
Film (Part 2)
Film (Part 3)