Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
not_a_bird) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2019-02-25 06:29 am
not_a_bird) wrote in fandomhigh2019-02-25 06:29 am
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Acting 101; Monday, First Period [02/25].
It was actually kind of a miracle that Sweet Dee had actually gotten up and made it to class that morning with an actual lesson. That's how bad Iceland was, you guys. It made her actually look forward to getting back to actually teaching. Then again, she also had a plan for the next few weeks, which was something so rare that when she had to seize it for all it was worth, especially since she could actually pursue that plan without anyone butting in or stealing her idea or dismissing her for being just a dumb stupid bird.
It was really a toss-up on whether or not this lack of curbed enthusiasm was a good thing or not.
"Well," said Sweet Dee at the start of the class, "better rip this band-aid off quickly. Vacation's over, it's back to the good old grind again, but luckily, what we're going to be working on today and the next few weeks should be fun, because fun's the whole idea. We're going to be spending some time focusing on something that's kind of my forte, and that's comedy. And everyone's going to have the chance to finally get up and perform here coming up, so you'll want to pay attention, because no one's going to want to get up on that stage and completely bomb, am I right?"
Said with the nervous laugh of someone who knew only bombing. But don't worry! She had print-outs and video clips! The former of which she was handing out now, and the latter of which she'll be getting to.
"Anyway, comedy may look easy, but it can actually be pretty hard, since everyone has a different sense of humor. And so there are different kind of comedy, too. You have slapstick, which is considered the lowest form of comedy, that usually calls for exaggerated physical comedy in ridiculous situations, the most popular example, being, of course,meta-forThe Three Stooges."
And, after a little bit of frustration and at least one 'goddammit!', Sweet Dee finally managed to get the clip of highlights to play for the class as an example.
"And building from that, you have farce, which is taking a situation and exaggerating it to an extreme point, usually a normal situation gone absurd. Classic examples of farce include the work of the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin, for example, or Monty Python. The idea is that the the characters make decisions that are absurd and over the top but it's attempted to be played off as normal, like in this clip regarding a health inspector and a rat."
And after that one had played, Sweet Dee checked her notes and moved on. "Then there's satire, which is basically making fun of and mocking a weakness in a specific person or situation. This is tied pretty closely with parody, as well, which is a work that deliberately immiated another, like fake commercials on Saturday Night Live. And, to explain this one, I've got a our next clip, which is...nuanced. It's exploring satire by satirizing man-on-the-street interviews by asking about satire. A goddamn onion, this one is."
And it seemed that, by the point in the class, Sweet Dee was quickly losing steam.
"And then there's Commedia dell’arte, which is basically 'comedy of the artists,' which is, like, all fancy and historical and....you know what? Not really what we're going to be doing, so let's just skip that one." She shifted through her notes. "And that one, and that's probably not even appropriate for school, I don't know why I even included that, and that....you know what?" She tossed the notes on the table. "I think you guys get the point. Comedy. It's funny. People like over-the-top physical comedy, putting up a lens to society and making fun of it, a few raunchy jokes about sex always goes over well. Either way, in a few weeks, we're going to have a comedy night at Caritas, where I also work, and you're going to put together a stand-up routine for your grade. We'll have some time to work on it, though, and for the rest of the class, I've put together more examples of stand-up comedy to give you guys some inspiration. And this week, think about your own brand and style of comedy and bring something into class next week to workshop a little, bounce ideas off each other, and see how things might land. And, of course, if you have any question, just ask, we'll work through it, but for now, just sort of sit back and relax, but not too much, alright?" She laughed. "Pay attention and take some notes, because this'll be you guys in a couple of weeks."
And just like that, Sweet Dee was done teaching for the day and did what millions of parents had done since the fifties and let the television do the teaching for her.
Look. She tried, okay? And, overall, she made it through, like, half an an actual class. Progress!
It was really a toss-up on whether or not this lack of curbed enthusiasm was a good thing or not.
"Well," said Sweet Dee at the start of the class, "better rip this band-aid off quickly. Vacation's over, it's back to the good old grind again, but luckily, what we're going to be working on today and the next few weeks should be fun, because fun's the whole idea. We're going to be spending some time focusing on something that's kind of my forte, and that's comedy. And everyone's going to have the chance to finally get up and perform here coming up, so you'll want to pay attention, because no one's going to want to get up on that stage and completely bomb, am I right?"
Said with the nervous laugh of someone who knew only bombing. But don't worry! She had print-outs and video clips! The former of which she was handing out now, and the latter of which she'll be getting to.
"Anyway, comedy may look easy, but it can actually be pretty hard, since everyone has a different sense of humor. And so there are different kind of comedy, too. You have slapstick, which is considered the lowest form of comedy, that usually calls for exaggerated physical comedy in ridiculous situations, the most popular example, being, of course,
And, after a little bit of frustration and at least one 'goddammit!', Sweet Dee finally managed to get the clip of highlights to play for the class as an example.
"And building from that, you have farce, which is taking a situation and exaggerating it to an extreme point, usually a normal situation gone absurd. Classic examples of farce include the work of the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin, for example, or Monty Python. The idea is that the the characters make decisions that are absurd and over the top but it's attempted to be played off as normal, like in this clip regarding a health inspector and a rat."
And after that one had played, Sweet Dee checked her notes and moved on. "Then there's satire, which is basically making fun of and mocking a weakness in a specific person or situation. This is tied pretty closely with parody, as well, which is a work that deliberately immiated another, like fake commercials on Saturday Night Live. And, to explain this one, I've got a our next clip, which is...nuanced. It's exploring satire by satirizing man-on-the-street interviews by asking about satire. A goddamn onion, this one is."
And it seemed that, by the point in the class, Sweet Dee was quickly losing steam.
"And then there's Commedia dell’arte, which is basically 'comedy of the artists,' which is, like, all fancy and historical and....you know what? Not really what we're going to be doing, so let's just skip that one." She shifted through her notes. "And that one, and that's probably not even appropriate for school, I don't know why I even included that, and that....you know what?" She tossed the notes on the table. "I think you guys get the point. Comedy. It's funny. People like over-the-top physical comedy, putting up a lens to society and making fun of it, a few raunchy jokes about sex always goes over well. Either way, in a few weeks, we're going to have a comedy night at Caritas, where I also work, and you're going to put together a stand-up routine for your grade. We'll have some time to work on it, though, and for the rest of the class, I've put together more examples of stand-up comedy to give you guys some inspiration. And this week, think about your own brand and style of comedy and bring something into class next week to workshop a little, bounce ideas off each other, and see how things might land. And, of course, if you have any question, just ask, we'll work through it, but for now, just sort of sit back and relax, but not too much, alright?" She laughed. "Pay attention and take some notes, because this'll be you guys in a couple of weeks."
And just like that, Sweet Dee was done teaching for the day and did what millions of parents had done since the fifties and let the television do the teaching for her.
Look. She tried, okay? And, overall, she made it through, like, half an an actual class. Progress!
Listen to the Lecture - Acting, 02/25.
Because that's pretty much all class is today. Handout, half-a-lecture, and video clips with some questionably appropriate material.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Acting, 02/25.
...so this should be fun.
She did enjoy getting to watch all those clips, though, and almost got to wondering if it would be easier if she just put the idea of stand-up into the context of a poetry reading and channeled up Ingrid with this as she had with the tarot readings.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Acting, 02/25.
Oh no. An actual stage.
He had terrible luck with actual stages.