I'm freaked out by my ability to read rather quickly, but hopeless when it comes to full retention of material. I have a good sense of everything I've read for grad school so far. But I'm terrified of being responsible for specifics come September or October (or beyond). And then, having to re-read things, which makes me wonder if I've already wasted time reading them in the first place (this is an overreaction, I know).
A slower, careful read could be the answer, but that will create a backlog of issues as well.
The solution is probably to just shut up and keep working. I'm reading through An Actor Prepares (nearly done). I've read it before, but it's been a while, and the foundation material will make reading the other acting methods shine with clarity.
I realize that I think I'm behind because I'm not able to read this Stanislavski in one or two sittings like I am with a play.
Today, I need to be intentional with time. It's a day off; this is the perfect opportunity to make the pile just that much smaller. It's not even May (but it's close).
And at the same time, the move to Houston is going to be here at any moment.
I'm also not sure how to approach voice work from some of the books on the reading list. I have NEVER worked on a dialect or accent in a technical/formalized way. I'd like to recognize the symbols for IPA sooner rather than later (and figure out the difference between the vowels in "honest" and "father"). My desire to knock off another book on the list (keep trucking along) is put on hold with the voice work, which cannot be learned in a weekend (or even over the course of the summer, to be honest).
And don't get me started on Shakespeare.
Before grad school auditions, I had months to hone and select a nice package of 5 monologues and swim around them with all the luxury of time. Now I have less time and the responsibility is condensed and multiplied ten-fold.
But that's what I want.
The excitement remains. I know that this is exactly what I need. And now it's time to do the work. But figuring out what I need to drill, or what I can kind of "scrape" together in a thorough fashion is difficult to surmise.
Needless to say, after this 6 week period of "OOOOH, LOOK I'M IN GRAD SCHOOL--HUZZAH!" I'm met with "HOLY CRAP, I'M IN GRAD SCHOOL!"
1 comment:
I suck at reading slowly and retaining. Andy can read a book once, slowly, and retain a lot of details. I reread books for a couple of reasons, but one reason is I always speed through them and rereading offers me a chance to pick up new things I missed the first time.
It drives me crazy.
Stephanie
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