Summer Productivity

This past week, I wrote a 12-page paper on Twitter's integration in the Theatre, I graded 50 critiques on The Cripple of Inishmaan, and I have cooked 3 meals for myself (as in, chopped things and heated them over a stove). I've slept in. I've taken a couple walks and went for a run. I still feel incredibly lazy. A sliver of me says I'm entitled to that. The other part says, "but you start rehearsals for Twelfth Night and Richard III soon!"

Today I:

• Did an hour yoga workout with a video I downloaded from Yoga Today. It was tough, but not ridiculous. What amazed me was how grounded I felt afterwards. This is definitely something I have to implement regularly.
• Read Richard III - paying particular attention to when new information was delivered that make either Richard or the others "start." I was made marks any time Hastings was mentioned. But I didn't want to get so self-involved. I aim to know as much as I can about the entire play. This is a biggie though. But today's reading made the play less of a beast than I have always thought it was. It's still a beast, but I think I can see the silhouette of the whole best, rather than just the horns.
• I meandered my way to Starbucks with the commitment of listening to the entire Decemberists' Hazards of Love album before I arrived. It was hot outside. My nose got sunburned, but it was a great trip. I can't imagine listening to this album any other way (confession: I hadn't done that before). Here's to having more of these walks or meditative listening journeys this summer.
• I did some cooking! (Pan-fried curried salmon with a cucumber, lemon, serrano yogurt sauce--all on top of naan bread)
• I cleaned up my dishes afterward!
• I started reading Mastering Shakespeare by Scott Kaiser. In seven lessons, Kaiser teaches some students how to use technique they already have and implement it in Shakespeare. The eerie thing is how much Kaiser uses the very same language that we have been taught in grad school. When I looked at the opening "credits," I found out Kaiser implements the acting technique of Robert Hobbs, which is what we're using at UH. I feel like I haven't left school at all. It's equally a comfort and a bit unsettling (but mostly comforting).
• I've also been going over my Twelfth Night scripts and Richard III scripts looking up strange phrases, words, or references. I want to be offbook before rehearsals start, but I also want to have a sense of all the language and circumstances on top of that (which will aid in memorization anyway).

I’ve got big plans for this summer

IN SHAKESPEARE:

·         Prep for Sir Andrew in Twelfth Night (then play the role)

·         Prep for Hastings in Richard III (and play the role)

·         Read The Elizabethan World Picture

·         Read The Rediscovery of Style

·         Re-Read The Training of the American Actor

·         Read Instant Shakespeare

·         Read Mastering Shakespeare

·         Watch/Listen/Read as much Shakespeare as I can

·         The MIGHTY 5/BIG 10:

o   5 Audition Pairs of Classic monologues (around 3 ½ minutes)

o   8 must be Shakespeare, 2 must be from Moliere or Restoration Comedies (or something similar)

o   Saturday, September 1 the second years will unleash our offerings for faculty the first years and anyone else who would like to witness the “fun”

FALL PRODUCTION WORK:

·         Read/Wrap My Head Around Serious Money (the fall show that goes up at the end of September). This play is a doozy: rhyming couplets, scatological, rapping, the crash of the London Stock market in the 80s.

·         Prep/refresh knowledge of Mother Courage

·         Work up monologues for fall auditions (August 25).

PHYSICAL:

·         Get stronger and more grounded

·         Get a regimen going. I’m thinking about a combo of yoga, body weight training, and running.

·         Tai Chi

·         Rolfing appointments once I’m done with my Arkansas Shakes contract…?

LISTENING/CONCENTRATION/FOCUS/CONNECTION

·         Listen through an entire major work (a symphony or an album). No breaks. Listen from start to finish. I have aspirations to take this to the next level and do this on a weekly basis, interspersing major symphonic works with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Miles Davis, etc.

·         Cold Reading dense language in RP

·         Read a few novels

TRACKING PROGRESS/LEARNING

·         We’re to keep up with Jack over the course of the summer through 3 emails , answering “What Do I Know Now That I Didn’t Know Before?”

·         I’m toying with crafting weekly updates to send to my classmates and faculty. I may copy them on this blog. My Voice Professor is doing something similarly with her notes as vocal coach for As You Like It at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and assistant vocal coach for Henry V (isn’t that freaking awesome!?).

RESEARCH/WANDERLUST…

·         I’m seriously considering an Amtrack or Greyhound pass to travel to a handful of theatres this summer. I’ve got “artistic cousins” and classmates performing all over the country, and it would be great to see them and visit other theatre companies. This is all fund-permitting, but I think something can happen. And shoot, I haven’t really been on a vacation since…I don’t know when.