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.