Log #3

After two weeks of practicing, we did some changes to our play during this week. By watching other students’ performance on Monday and Tuesday, I can know more about what audiences want to see and what I need to improve.

When I was acting, I was more nervous then my first time performing to the whole class. One of the most important reasons is that we finally performed without looking at our scripts. This causes another problem, which is that I don’t know where I should put my hands. Acting does not means to recite your scripts, do movements that audiences like. It means to really be the character that you are performing. When acting, the things I should think about are not those small, unnatural movements, but think about what Romeo would do when he is speaking. I am no longer my self when I am on stage. I am Romeo, the boy who just marries Juliet for one day, but is forced to separate from each other. When Romeo is saying: “ Look, it was the lark, the herald on the morn,” should I point out at the window? This is not about whether I usually point at the window. It is about whether Romeo will do so. I should think more from Romeo’s stand to make the performance more realistic. Like what Stella Adler says, acting has soul, use your soul to act. Also, put yourself into that environment and feel what the character feel.

In this scene, Romeo and Juliet are experiencing a really sad separation. They know that they probably won’t see each other anymore so they try their best to enjoy their last moment. From Ms. Guarino and other students’ comments, I clearly know that I am acting more like Juliet. One problem that I made is that I run to Juliet and gave her a big hung. I stood on my toes and wrapped my arm around Kate’s neck. This is clearly what a girl would do. Even though in this scene, Romeo and Juliet’s gender are kind of equal, but I still need the audiences to see that I am Romeo at the first sight. To be more masculine, I first should dress up like a man, and then stand my feet separately. This is the first change that I made after seeing the feedbacks. Since neither of them wants to leave each other, they have to speak very slowly and staring at each other for a longer time. So the second change that I made is to speak slower. I tried to slow down my voice, and I did it at the beginning. But when my part is almost done, I spoke hurry and tried to exit as soon as possible, which should not happened. So I started to think what kind of emotion does Romeo has when his promises to Juliet. He must be unwillingly and sad. So every step he walks away, he looks back at Juliet and walks slowly. Then I changed my attitude toward the last few parts because I have also experienced the feeling of a person who you loved walks away and didn’t look back, so I understand Romeo’s sadness. On this Saturday, Kate came to school, and we changed our blocking and movements then practiced again and again. The scene becomes more realistic after adding more blocking and interactions.