Our most useful critics are often the ones that around us most often. These are also often the most neglected. They might be hesitant to comment because they aren’t experts. You might hesitate to ask them because you know it won’t be what you need. These people you interact with though represent at least a section of the audience you are trying to entertain. Most performances are not just for the artistic elite. Here is how to help them help you.
[Read more…] about How to help others give you useful feedbackSinging Performers
Good Risk Taking
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go. — T.S. Eliot
I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. — Pablo Picasso
Discovery, exploration, and art-making, in general, require that artists take risks to make progress in their art. The artist has to push past their current understanding and comfort zone into discomfort and the unknown. The key is to determine which risks are good and which are not when it comes to working on the stage.
[Read more…] about Good Risk TakingAction!
Now that you have identified what your character is thinking, what they are looking at and reacting to, and what they want you are ready to go back and decide what action belongs in the circles you drew on the action music on Day 1.
[Read more…] about Action!What we really mean by what we say
We can make words mean just about anything. Think of the phrase “I love you.” That can mean anything from “you are nice” to “I’m going to kill you when we get home” depending on how it is said and in what context. To make the accented syllables and words we identified with lines and the most important words we marked with boxes in Day 1 come to life we have to decide what the words we are singing mean. It isn’t just a matter of definitions of words or translations. It is identifying what our character is intending to communicate in its most unrefined simple form.
[Read more…] about What we really mean by what we sayAction and Emotion Triggers
What we want is driven by what we sense, feel emotionally, or think. We feel is driven by what we sense or think (yes, other things like hormones and chemicals influence these as well but for since this is a beginning class lets focus on what we see, feel, think, and what that makes us want to do. What we think will be discussed in the topic heading where discuss subtext and inner-monologues. This leaves making decisions about what we sense and feel like our character in response to this context we have created.
[Read more…] about Action and Emotion Triggers