fandomhigh | Drama, Monday, Period 2 [6/8]

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acting

Drama, Monday, Period 2 [6/8]

"First of all, congratulations to those of you who auditioned for and were cast in the play," Sophie said, smiling at them over her coffee. "I expect all of you to work hard, and I look forward to acting with you, since I was cast as well. Secondly! A few no-no's I truly hope none you inflict on this production, or on any acting you do in the future. Because acting is a team sport as much as anything that takes place on a ball field."

"Upstaging. There are two ways to hog the limelight and ruin a play. One is to literally move upstage-- counter to whatever the director told you," Sophie did this on the stage, and pointed downstage toward the class. "While another actor is speaking, so that they have to face you and not the audience. Utterly unfair. If I catch anyone doing this, I will make you do the acting equivalent of sit-ups here in class."

Sophie gave the class an amused look. "Another form of upstaging is to distract the audience with extra movement or mugging while it's another actor's turn to be the center of attention. Cleaning, furniture-grabbing, fluffing one's hair at a dramatic moment for someone else; all unacceptable. Stepping on another's lines, interrupting them before they're done? Also unprofessional. You can be the greatest actor in the world and that kind of behavior will mean you are never cast a second time, or that you can very justifiably be fired. The best actors can make the act of listening into another part of the greater performance."

"Today, you get to be directors of scenes, as well as actors. Please break into the groups I've assigned."

[ooc ~~on its way!~~ up!]

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Emotion Option (http://www.whoseline.net/show/trans/games.html#emotion)

The Scenes:
Improvise either:
Two people discussing laundry in a laundromat
Two people on a date
Two people trying to get waited on in a restaurant
Two people discussing their cars they just crashed together
Two people hiding from the cops.

The third person (you pick who) will call out the 'mood change' every couple lines, jumping in at random. (see above example)

The Groups: [Based on RNG]

Gabrielle
Harper
Emma

Sam
Shilo
Parker

Rachel
Savannah
Robin

Serena
Eric
Jill
K-Mart

Edited 2009-06-08 05:18 (UTC)

Savannah was going over the options as this exercise seemed pretty cool.

Raven was relieved that the spell of lust that had gripped the school had subsided. Doors no longer had to be on their guard against molestation.

"Hello," she said to Savannah. "I am Rachel."

Savannah smiled at her. "I'm Savannah, nice to meet you."

"I am not certain how well I will do with these," Raven said. "I am unfamiliar with many of the activities the scenes are to describe."

Savannah smiled. "That's all right, I'm not sure how well I'll do at this whole improv thing. I keep looking at the scenarios and trying to figure out how I would act." Besides, she knew exactly how every date she and Johnny went on ended. She tilted her head. "Do you mind me asking where you're from? You'll find I have the flaw of being a very curious person."

Raven smiled. "That is not always a flaw. I am from a place called Azarath."

"I'm not familiar with that one, is it in another world? I know that we have a few students that come from places that aren't on Earth."

"It is another dimension," Raven said. "It has ties to Earth, but it is very small. Are you from this world?"

Savannah nodded. "I'm from Earth, but a different dimension." She shrugged. "At least that's how I've come to understand it the way it's been explained to me." She smiled again. "How are you liking Fandom?"

"It is very different from Azarath," Raven said. "I have had some difficulties adapting. I am unused to so many people being around me. It is very chaotic."

"Chaotic is a very good word to use in describing Fandom," Savannah agreed. "This was the first place I had ever been where I was with so many people on a constant basis." She smiled. "You'll get used to it, though, and most of the people are really nice."

"It is the emotions that I find most difficult to deal with," Raven said. "Particularly this past weekend. I could not block them all out."

Savannah looked both curious and sympathetic. "Telepath or Empath?" She asked quietly.

"I am an empath," Raven said. "I have been trained to suppress my own emotions and block out those of others, but I have been sorely tested since arriving here."

Savannah winced. "The last week must have been hell on you, then. One on my mother's best friends is an empath and I can only imagine the strain you guys go through." She shook her head.

Raven blushed. "It was...difficult, yes," she said. "I am fortunate that I was not entirely overwhelmed."

When Savannah mentioned her mother's friend, Raven asked eagerly, "Is your mother's friend here in Fandom?"

"I stayed locked in my room with my boyfriend and prayed that I didn't do anything that would embarrass me," she confessed. At Raven's question, she shook her head. "No, she graduated two years ago, but I'm sure I can get her contact information from my mom if you'd like."

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

trigons_child - 2009-06-08 14:31 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

walks-two-paths.livejournal.com - 2009-06-08 14:33 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

trigons_child - 2009-06-08 14:36 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

walks-two-paths.livejournal.com - 2009-06-08 14:41 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

trigons_child - 2009-06-08 15:06 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

walks-two-paths.livejournal.com - 2009-06-08 15:11 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

trigons_child - 2009-06-08 15:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

walks-two-paths.livejournal.com - 2009-06-08 15:29 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Emotion Option - WLIIA? Improv

trigons_child - 2009-06-08 15:35 (UTC) - Expand

"So, who wants to shout the emotions out?"

Shilo looked around for Sam, who she knew, and hoped that Parker would know who she was, while looking over the options.

"Hey," Sam said ~~belatedly~~, giving her a smile. "You look like you're doing a lot better this week."

"Well, I wasn't a half hour late for starters," Shilo replied. "So yes, already... what's the term? Batting one thousand?"

Oooh, improv. Gabrielle could do improv -- in a manner of speaking she did it all the time, though usually it was in a situation where someone could end up hurt or dead (or she'd end up with a knife to her throat again) if she messed up at the wrong moment.

She couldn't help wondering how well she'd do when she wasn't under that kind of pressure.

Strange.

Edited 2009-06-08 19:30 (UTC)

Emma really was not in the mood for this, after this weekend, but she sat down with her group obligingly.

"I don't think I understand the assignment," she said slowly. "Aren't improvisation and direction fundamentally opposite ideas?"

"Not necessarily," Gabrielle decided; if she thought about it, most of her life with Xena was improvisation, in a sense. "Think of it as taking the scenic route instead of the main road. You know there's somewhere you need to end up, but how you get there is up to you."

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