Weeks 4 - 8 or something

I'm still in grad school.

It's tough, illuminating, frustrating, strange, and exhilarating.

It's starting to get to the point that I'm becoming increasingly ingrained into the training that the minute I attempt to explain it, it would require a whole treatise to describe.

Right now we're diving into acting technique through Tennessee Williams scenes. I'm working on a Blanche/Stanley scene with another classmate. Gone are the days when you simply run the scene and drill the lines. That's the least of our worries. Instead, we're delving into our senses and histories which fuel our bodies and minds (but mostly bodies). It feels as though the text is hardly there. The work is slow and tedious, but I'm getting a stronger sense of what my job is as an actor.

We're also starting to work on anger/tears monologues in class. It's not easy (duh).

In combat, we've learned three set phrases of single-sword choreography for the Hal/Hotspur fight in Henry IV, part 1. I'm playing Hal. We got some heavier weapons (verging into broadsword territory). And now we're going back to the epee blades for a tighter, quicker fight next week. I'm having a lot of fun with that, and I'm starting to sink my teeth into the final speech Hal directs to Hotspur's dead body.

I've opened Hot L Baltimore. I love the play. I think audiences are enjoying it. We had a riotous crowd on Thursday. The show closes on Sunday. Admittedly, I'm going to be happy to be done with it though. I'd like evenings to dive into work for more than just a scattered hour or two. Already, today has been great. I was able to read The Crucible in one sitting (we have auditions for the spring in a few weeks).

Right now, I'm struggling with the whole notion that I'm not in school right now. I'm working on eliminating "I gotta get the approval of my teachers." This is training. I'm training for an artistic marathon. It kind of feels like my classmates and I are at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (the X-Men). We're delving into super-human territory so that we can serve others.

I'm kind of in a weird mood. It could be a number of reasons. I haven't had time to just sit in silence for a long time by myself. I just read The Crucible, which is no easy walk in the park. I'll do a bit more cleaning today and solidifying monologues for a whole batch of auditions that are coming up in the next 8 weeks (which means quite a lot of Shakespeare).