Deadpan.

Deadpan. It's really hard. (look)

No, but really. Today in comedy class, we experimented with  deadpan techniques on comedic monologues that we performed during the previous class period. It seems so easy because it's just making every line delivery simple, spare, and pure. But I think we discovered how difficult it is to deliver a line without any inflection or emotion. It's almost ghostly the way some of us delivered our lines.

 It's also about your focus, specifically your eyes. I think deadpan borrows a lot from the restoration time period with the tactic of an 'aside'. You deliver a line and then take a look to the side, with a completely serious face. The aside has to have some kind of subtext within it for it to be funny. For example, if you say "I am thrilled to be here." (look) (as if to say: Yeah. Right.) You also have to face the battle of being neutral, but also having energy. That was a big battle for most of us today. How do you have energy without giving inflection or emotion in your line delivery and without seeming wistful and ghostly?

I'm definitely interested in learning more about this technique. I can see why this is a graduate level excercise because it's essentially like reversing everything we've had installed in us for the last three years. It's going against everything you've been taught are correct techniques of acting.

Anyways, that's all I have to say for right now. I just had to speak about the new experience I had today.

:)

The Very Last One.

No, not the last blog post. My last semester of college. That's what we're talking about.

I can't believe it's already here. I feel like so much time has passed, and yet, almost no time at all. At the same time.

I've made the decision to move to New York after the summer. I visited over the winter break and it just felt right. I'm very excited. But the prospects of making and saving enough money to move there is just a little daunting. I've got one job at the moment, which gives me about $260 a month. Take that times 5 and you've got $1300. So I've got quite a bit to go before I can say hello to a new home.

I just auditioned this week for the school's production of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility"and it was one of my best auditions. I felt confident and I made choices that I don't think I would've made prior to the monologue class I took last semester. I thought outside of the box and I took risks. I received a callback, but I don't think I made big enough choices in my reading. I did not get cast, but I realized how much progress I've made in my audition techniques since the beginning of the year. Good things.

Upcoming Auditions:
-Midwest Theatre Auditions
-Stages (St. Louis)

Both are for summer, paid positions and both are happening in St. Louis. I'm hoping to come out of Midwest with a few job offers. I'm not participating in the dance portion, but I feel like that is a good choice because I do not consider myself primarily a dancer and from what I've heard, the dance portion is advanced.

Currently I'm trying to finalize my song choice. I've found my monologue and I'm in love with it, so I'm excited to have some fun at these auditions.

Right now, I'm just so ready to absorb and take everything I can from these last few months. I want to continue to let go of my own judgements of myself and go forth in class with confidence. I want to volunteer myself for in class demonstrations and take risks. I want to fail while it's still okay to fail without costing you much. I want to learn as much about myself in school while I can. I'm looking forward to this semester.

Here we go.