Competing in the Shakespeare festival in Cal Poly

On April 12, me and nine other people form drama headed to Cal Poly to compete at the annual Shakespeare Festival. Its a time of year where about for school come to together to compete each on scene that is base from the work of William Shakespeare. this was technically smaller short version of Fullerton Festival. Anyway, there were only about 8 judges, half of them from Cal Poly, and three other schools. Its started off with women monologue to men monologues and finally group scene. By the  time it got to me, I was so ready to preform the monologue that I use at the Fullerton Festival and practice for months. But during my performance, I was choking a little bit and suddenly I kind of forgot the two lines for my monologue, I was starting to get nervous but i didn't wanted to let the audience nor the judges know I forgot my two lines. So I did what I have to do, I improvise the part continue my my other lines as if I didn't miss one. After my performance, I felt Ok but I was regretting for missing two lines of it. Luckily, after the competition was, we were allow to talk to the judges to see how we did. I did went up to to see how I did. He said i did a fine preforms and he didn't notices I miss lines. He said a true actor will continue the play without stopping and he was impress how i was able to manage to do it. It made me feel better that I did what i have to do without really screwing up the performance. Even though I didn't won the competition, I still got a great experience with my performance and watching other actor performing on stage. This may be my last competition of acting in high school, but I may continue it in my college year and maybe pursuit theatre as a carrier, but time and fate will tell.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My EQ is "What technique or method can an actor best use to engage the audience's attention?".

My three Answers are 

1. "Proper blocking can engage the audience"  

2. "The Stanslavski methods helps actors to become believable characters"

3. "The Chekhov technique teaches actors to create their individual interpretation of the character."

My best answer for my EQ is "The Stanslavski methods helps actors to become believable characters" because its a well effective tool that any actor can interpret and become believable character with emotional memories that is relatable to the audience . According to a paper from the journal The Arts of Psychotherapy, 70% of the patients who worked with professional actors over a 6 months period showed more emotional expression than the other two groups tested in 2010. This prove that this tool is very effective when actors use emotion memories which helps have a better performance on stage. Why this answer is better then the other two answer is that my first answer basically show how you are placing yourself on stage and knowing what makes a strong scene for actors to preform. And for my third answers , even though is a well effective tool use by famous American actors, the creator of this tool, Micheal Chekhov, got most his ideas form his mentor who is no other but Constatin Stanlavski, creator of the Stanslavski method. Without him and his method, the Chekhov technique wouldn't be invented.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

How I started my process with my best answers was looking at different source of different theatre tools. I was kind of hard to find a significant tool that most actors will rely on. I first research about proper blocking since that was the first tool that any actor will need to learn when preforming on stage, which became my first answer, but I felt like there was a better tool that really helps the actor's performance. I was then researching on a another actor tool called Alexander technique, which is the teaching of the relaxing the body and the mind within the role, but it said that this tool support by another tool called the Stanislavski method. At first, it didn't really caught my attention of this method but when I was reaching other tools like Meniser method and lee berg method, they all reference back to the Stanislavski method. So I decide to research on this tool. During my research, I couldn't really find any sources that fully explains what this tool actually teach, but i did fund sources that gives me a summary of what this method   teaches. Finally I found paper source called "The Staniskiavski system: Growth and Methodology" by Perviz Sawoski who talks about the tools that Stanslavski method teaches about. it describe of an important tool he toughs called "emotional memories" which talks about using personal memories through the character performance. During that time, I didn't fully understand what the tool  meant. luckily, that when mentorship, interview,  and independent components came to e useful. In mentorship, I ask my mentor and few other in this threat about this tool and they  gave me a good explanation and personal experiences of this tool . In my last two interviews, Giinns Escorbar and Mario Montenegro gave me a good explanation of how this tool help them to be true about them self in their performance. Finally my second independent component i got to try to test out this tool with my performances in the Fullerton festival. It help me with my performance better but I was missing something else. Luckily that something came to me during the bully presentation in I-poly. During that presentation, the presenter was asking anybody who was willingly tell them about of being bullied in the past.Only the few people gave a brief note but not much explanation. I in the other, I kind wanted to do but to nervous because my bullied past rough on me. but then i remember that the stanslavski method teaches actors to be true within them self through the performance and that hit me. So I volunteer to explain my bullied ast and how it really effective me and suddenly when i finish, the whole class was silence and gave me a huge applause. the next the day, I heard people talking about the huge impact I left to them and were really amaze of how I had the courage to tell them, Thanks to the Stanslaski method, it gave me the courage to be true to my self to the audience and i relizes now that this was the key tool that help me to engage to the audience. So that is why my second answer is my best answer for my EQ.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The problem that I have to face was finding one specified source that help me fully understand my best answer. For months, I have trouble finding book on a specific tool that I wanted to study, but when ever I went to the libraries or search on line in amazon or ebay, they are either to expensive or don't have it. So the only way that could help understand my two answer and my best answer was to look varies of different sources. Each source was like a puzzle piece and I have to put it together to have a solid answers and full understand what that tool is. I went through specific sources of articles in the cal poly library data base, which help me a lot, look through acting videos, and learn a lot of my mentorship, my two independent components, and my interviews. Thanks to these sources I found, it help em put together to form my three answers and pick the best answer for my EQ.    

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The two significant sources that help me to answer my EQ is Ginna Escobar from my third interview because she gave me a full explanation of understanding what makes an actor's performance so unique. he even describes the three answer I showed her before and the one she explains the most was my second answer because she was more of a method actor where she learns be because the character that is believable and related to the character and gave me full understanding f this tool.  My second significant source is form a five hour video sources called "Michael Chekhov: THE MASTER CLASSES (Complete 1955 Recordings)." by Micheal Chekhov. The reason why is because even thought the Narrator mostly talk about his technique, which is my third answer, he also talks about the whole art of theatre in general. He talk about the importance of understanding stage composition applied to his tool, which that part help me little with my first answer, and talk about another tool that he learn from his mentor who was Stanislavski and gave a full explanation of Stanislavski method, which help me fully understand that tool and develop better for my second answer.

Be prepared with evidence and specific examples to support any response.  It is also significant to cite sources as you explain.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content:  

LITERAL
(a) Statement saying: “I, student name, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

" I, Gustavo A. Rios, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work"

(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component

The source that help me with my Independent Component 2 is Joe Hogan who is my Drama Teacher and the one who is charge of the I-poly Drama team for the Fullerton Festival 2014.  

(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).   Post it next to your mentorship log.

All ready been done. Here is the link just in case 

Independent Component 2

(d) Explanation of what you completed.    

What I have completed is a work of more than 30 hours of rehearsing two scene, one monologue and one group,  and competing at the annual Fullerton Festival 2014.  

INTERPRETIVE 
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.

What I have done that demonstrates 30 hours of work is that I have been practicing, rehearsing on two different parts, one is monologue and another is group musical play, and competing at the annual theater competition which is know as the Fullerton festival. This is the time of year where 30 high school drama groups come together to competitive against each other whether its acting scene, tech crew, or stage designs. So the last two month, I have been working on two of my parts that I had competed all ready in the festival. For my monologue part, I have to practice memorizing my lines and learn to have a better understanding what type of person my character is and see what situation is my character is going through. Not only that, I have been working with my group on the three scene from the musical play that I perform from Decembers play. My group have to practice and change a lot of the choreography and the blocking on stage. During that time, my teacher, Mr. Hogan, gave us feed back on what to improve on our scene so that way we can do it better.  Finally on the two days of the competition, I didn't just preform my two parts, but I also observe and talk with other high school actor to see how they practice in their own scene and what works for them.  

All of the pictures will be below of this page   
APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

How this component help me find new answer of my EQ was through my practice and preparation for the Fullerton Festival competition. When I was learning my lines of my monologue, Hogan told me that I shouldn't just know my lines, but I should also learn what my character is feeling through this scene. This reminded me of a method tool that I have been researching on for a while called Stanislavski Method, which teaches you to use your own emotional expression within your character's emotion to show real emotion towards the audience. Luckily, my character was a funny happy person so I needed to remember of something of a moment when I was funny and happy in my past and soon enough, I was able to act out what my character could of gone through.  

Not only that, I also work on my body to show some unique expressive language like how I talk, How I gesture, and how I move around to grasp the audience attention.  I learn this from another acting tool called The Cekhov Techinque. This tool teaches to bring the not just one characters, but to play as multiparty characters  to life on and finding the right expressive language to the right character. This was a challenge for me since the characters I was playing move alot so much but I find a way to express my self well as the characters. I move slow around the stage, use the right gesture that fits well of what my character saying, and speak something unique that grasp the audience attention while fitting right for the character's voice.   

And finally, with proper blocking, which is my first answer, I was able to keep my self in one place of the stage where all the audience will be focus on me when performing my monologue. Not only that, it help me and my group with our timing and the choreography for the musical play scenes in the competition. Even though me or the I-poly drama group didn't win the competition, i did learn a lot from my experience and from actors i meant who were competing as well. Thanks to this, I  now have proper answers that helps me answer my EQ and help me break down to see which of my answer will best fit for my EQ.