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August 31, 2004
Long, Looooong Day
Whoosh. I'm so tired my eyes keep unfocusing.
Here's the daily Poly picture. Clearly, he's learning about grace, deportment and dignity from Quickly.
Today I gave my presentation in Acting Studio. It's the animal work class. Five of us presented our animals today; facts about them and how we connect to them. I'm always amazed by people's emotional responses because, at least in the group I'm with, they put a lot of thought and honesty into the work. And no two responses are ever anything alike. Today was no exception. The coolest part was how very clearly the personalities of the presenters affected the style of the presentation.
One common thread throughout the class: every single presenter was on the verge of tears at one time or another, though several of us didn't actually cry. But at some point, every presenter got very, very personal. That, of course, is the very best part.
I also auditioned for the MFA Directing class today. They're doing scenes from Shakespeare (the problem plays), and though I said I only wanted to work with one director (because each director does 2 scenes during the semester), I ended up with 2 directors. They both wanted me enough that I will be doing a scene with one at the beginning of the semester and a scene with the other at the end. It's kind of nice to be that kind of wanted. And I'm looking forward to working with both Sharon and John.
Then I came home and caught up on my reading. And, I think I've come up with the basic premise for my one-act play for Playwriting. It will be loosely (very loosely) based on the 51st Highlanders in WWII, the ones who were left behind at St. Valery and spent the majority of the war in a stalag. They spent their time harrassing the Germans from there.
I kept thinking that it was too big an idea, that I didn't really want to write a play with no women in it, that it's not really a case of writing "what I know," but it just kept coming back to me, insisting on my attention. So I finally gave it my attention, really thought about it, and I think I have the germ of what could be a very compelling story.
I'm not going to say anything more about it now. You're just going to have to come see the play.
And in remodelling news, Dave was so excited about the state of the floor (no more tiles) that he spontaneously levitated.
Posted by sally at August 31, 2004 09:08 PM
Comments
how is the play about the 51st going . My grandfather was captured there and then.
Posted by: Peter Middleton at February 26, 2005 05:33 AM
Thank you for asking!
It's done, actually. A nice little one-act, if I do say so myself. Set in real time, in one bunkhouse with three soldiers (two women and a man) and the outside enemy/other represented only by offstage sounds.
It ended up being not so much about the 51st, as about what they had to do to not only survive their time in the stalags, but to get to a point where they realized they could still fight the war by participating in espionage and sabotage for the Allies; the moment when all hope is lost, and the moment when a new hope steps into the breach.
I wanted to use women as well as men, because that's important to me as a female actor, so I ended up setting it in a sort of anywhere/anywhen/anywar place, when women could be soldiers as well. It still had a vaguely WWII feel to it, which my classmates noted when they read parts of it.
I think it's probably unproduceable because I have two rather expensive props that get demolished over the course of a performance: a blanket which is shredded to make splints and a noose, and a ladderback chair which is broken apart to make splints, a cane and a weapon.
But I think it turned out well. After one section was read by members of the class, there was a very long silence, and then the instructor said, "That's a very well-written scene." And the others agreed. I have a huge amount of respect for the instructor, so I really took those words to heart. And she gave me an A for the course.
Posted by: Sallyacious at February 26, 2005 08:34 AM
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