Blog #15

Independant Component #2 Approval

(1) Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.

I will be performing in a piece at the Fullerton Theater festival this year.

(2) Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work requirement.

It will require several hours of steady concentrated research into the piece. I will have to memorize the piece. After that will be the performance at the Fullerton Theater festival.

(3) How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?  

It will allow me to study what I have been talking about in presentation. I will be able to discover (by using method acting) just how it works into researching your role and being prepared for a top quality performance.

Independent Component #1

LITERAL

a.) "I, Dean Nolan, affirm that I have completed my independent component, which represents 30 hours of comprehensive work."

b.) Although my mentor is Gregory Cohen, the main source I used to complete the independent component hours, is my participation in the IPOLY play, “Lady of the House.”

c.) I have provided a digital spreadsheet of my 30+ hours below.

d.) I have explained in detail below, what I completed in the 30 + hour requirement.

INTERPRETIVE

My 30 hours of work began before my audition. I spent many hours reading through the script and getting to know and understand the various characters. During auditions, my goal was to land the leading male role, which is exactly what I was able to do. I practiced various ways of playing this character, and also received many hours of coaching by Mr. Hogan, as to which way he thought I should play the character best. I spent multiple hours every week rehearsing with Mr. Hogan and my fellow cast members. I rehearsed after school directly with the cast members at IPOLY, as well as, rehearsing many hours at home on my own. In addition to memorizing my many lines, I spent several hours figuring out the best costume for the character, what marks I needed to stand at during my delivery, and how to use the wireless microphone effectively.

APPLIED

My independent component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better, by giving me an opportunity to study for a character and look within myself to define how that character should be portrayed. I had to draw on my personal past experiences and relate those emotions to my character. In addition, I observed others studying for their roles and talked with them about how they concluded what was the best way for them to play the parts that they were given. My topic, “How does one best use Method Acting to prepare for a role?” was completely infused by my participation of the IPOLY play “Lady of the House.” Method acting, as defined by Farlex, is an acting technique introduced by Stanislavsky in which an actor recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed. All throughout my 30 + hours of studying these characters and rehearsing for the play, I was immersed into understanding the foundation of my topic. Every character in the play provided me an opportunity to analyze myself, the situations the characters found themselves in and how I personally would react and feel in those same given situations. Method acting is described as looking within yourself of how you and/or others may view a person and their reaction to different situations. There were about a dozen different characters in the play, “Lady of the House,” and I was able to identify with, and study each and every one of them. And that study, is what contributed to my thoroughly understanding my topic of, how one uses method acting to prepare for a role.

• Audition, 2 days	Hours 2 days for 1.5 hrs.	3
  School Rehearsals	Hours, M/T/W 3:15-5:15 Nov & Dec	29
  Home Rehearsals	Hours 1/2hr x 3 x a week	12
  The Play x 4 Performances	Hours 4:00-9:00 x 4	20

• TOTAL HOURS: 64

 
 
 

Grading Criteria

• Log on a digital spreadsheet
• Evidence of 30 hours of work
• LIA submitted to blog

Blog #13

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpUjJVB_8ETHsCTsH2XKx_nGrw2BQ1gObLDce-3OrZk/edit

(I couldn't find out how to do the formatting so I just wrote it out. Seriously, I tried everything from downloading it to copy pasting it.)

Blog #12

1. What would you say is the way to best move an audience?

2. Do you believe that the audience's role in a production is vital?

3. How do you think an actor can fully realize his/her potential in a play?

4. Would you say that the job of captivating an audience is for the actors to decide or the material in the production?

5. Do you think an audience needs to be feel a sense of love for the acting in the production?

6. As an actor, do you think that a role in a production is something to be treasured to the highest degree?

7. As a director, do you believe that it's your duty to make sure the audience is captivated?

8. Do you believe that an actor can truly connect with the audience?

9. Do you believe that acting is the sole way to captivate an audience?

10. Do you believe that actors must excercise their skills to reach a level of expertise in acting?

Blog 10: Senior Topic Update

What are you currently doing in your independent component?

Well for my independent component, I am using my practice time in the IPoly Fall Play to reflect on myself to how my companions and I are acting. For example, I'm trying to look at ever tiny aspect of those who know their lines and the frustration we can see, compared to those that know every line and have their acting down for it.

What is a recent piece of research that you have reviewed would you say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project? 

I read an article called "Method Acting". It introduced me to what would not only become my essential question, but it made we want to really choose that style in the core of my research. On my other side, I have my new mentor - Gregory Cohen - who I have to meet with constantly and soon to research my topic. As an actor and a director, I'm sure there is much I can learn from his knowledge.

(Sorry for my late entry, it took a while to find the prompt.)

Blog #5B UPDATED

What is your topic?

Acting/Method Acting.

What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support that problem?

How does an actor rise above psychological problems? 

They found that actors are more likely to struggle to discuss past traumas, suggesting that they find it harder to resolve emotional problems. "Even though there was no difference between the two groups for past traumatic events," the researchers wrote, "more actors were unable to maintain narrative coherence when discussing memories of past trauma and loss."

Thomson and Jaque go on to describe how, despite an increased ability to "remain engaged, regulated and coherent during the interview process," members of the actors group were more likely to display signs of confusion, prolonged silence or "unsuccessful failures to deny a traumatic or loss event". They argue that this suggests "a greater vulnerability for psychological distress". However, the study also suggests that the actors have higher than usual imaginative facilities than members of the control group.

Trueman, Matt. "Actors 'struggle to Resolve Emotional Problems'" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 18 July 2012. Web. 09 Nov. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/jul/18/actors-struggle-resolve-emotional-problems>.

What is your hypothesis?

The amount of time a person spends reading a play in inversely proportional to the amount of time they will spend rehearsing.

Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment. Include the tools you plan on using. 

I will take a survey of IPoly's own drama club, or a survey of my mentor's show cast.

Select a Project Category for your experiment. 

Behavorial/Social Science/Art

Blog #9

Content:  You just completed the presentation on the foundation.   Please review your working EQ and respond to the following:

(1) What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?

"What is the way to best move an audience?"



(2) Did you decide to revise your working EQ after your presentation? If so, write your revised EQ here.  If not simple write "I am not going to revise my EQ at this time".

I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.



(3) What are possible answers to your current working EQ? 

- Method Acting
- Psychological Patterns
- Acting Classes
- Projection