Blog #23

1. I think the most successful aspects of my role in the Theater Project has been my ability to keep things organized and help out where and when I'm needed. I not only oversee things and make sure they are running smoothly but I'm an extra pair of hands to help. I have to say that I am most proud of the work I did on the script because I spent many hours working on the writing and editing of it. You can find a link to the script here.

I also think my help with the sets was useful to the class. We weren't quite on the same page when it came to sets and actually starting the construction, so myself and the set designers worked together to create the final and most functional set. Zach did an amazing job of actually bringing our ides alive and created three-dimensional version of the set. 

2. The most challenging part of the play has been the acting aspect. It was hard to decide who should play which character and it took a few weeks to finally figure it out. It took many cold reads in order to come up with the best decision. I think getting all of the actors to put emotions and make the lines seem natural is a challenge because these actors are of course not trained. We are all just students and it is knew for the students to become actors and for myself to help them out. We are all still working on how to make the characters seem dynamic by changing the tone of your voice, body language, and the overall mood. I think the actors are making improvements each time and are getting better with more reads. You can see some videos here of our cold reads. We then watch these videos to see how we can become better actors. 

3. A question I have is how the dynamics of rehearsals at the La Jolla Playhouse will work with only one day of practice? I want to be prepared as to how the schedule will work so each class knows how much time they have. I want to make sure that each group knows what they need to have and how it will be organized. 

I also wonder how we can practice our lights before the play. I want to make sure Halan has a chance to work on the lighting and see it visually but I don't know how to do that without the theater. Maybe we can get him cheap lights to practice or he can work out a day to shadow at the La Jolla Playhouse to see how it works there. 

4. I am most thankful for the writing tips I have learned and the amount of time Randy has spent on working and editing my papers. I really believe that the tips have drastically improved my writing and have made them more like articles that are thoughtful and analytic. My favorite to essays are my American Icons essay and my essay for the Theater Project.