11/28/18 - Journal #9 Last week, we performed our collaborative theatre project for a live audience, and completed a talk-back session afterwards in order to receive feedback and comments on the piece we had created. Having finished touching up specifics and feeling confident in our piece, "A Series of Chaotic Events Tied to a Wedding," I felt that the final rehearsing went smoothly overall, with only a few minor trouble spots. The main specific that we continued to struggle a bit with however was the timing of our piece. Previously we spent quite a bit of time working this out, and focusing on how to effectively let the piece breathe and flow naturally, while still keeping it in the time limit of 15 minutes, ad making sure that it kept its pace. Looking back at our decision to have the piece be slightly improvised each time, and the decision made to not write out a definite script, it made it so that there was a level of unpredictability throughout each run through. This left it slightly precarious, as the last few times we performed it for others in our class as a practice, the piece was tending to run a minute or two over. In order to remedy this, we worked on keeping up our pace, and making sure that each moment didn't drag or hesitate as it moved along. However, after the fact, I would be interested to see what or how the piece would have gone if we had created a rough script to follow. Even though we had instinctively created major points that we hit every time, specific words that we seemed to favor, and therefore were said every time, and inadvertently created little mannerisms that in my opinion really brought the piece together, I feel that much of our worry or rather hesitation could have been avoided and/or disregarded, had we incorporated this earlier in the process, or rather in the process altogether. Changing this conscious decision would have reworked some of our thinking and intention, but looking back on the process as a whole, there is no way of telling if it would have been helpful or not. Alone, I also spent some time looking back at the video and talk-back of our performance, and some major things when it came to the impact it had on the audience. Not in terms of our intended impact, of having the audience think about memories that they don't remember, or instances in which they will never know the impact they had on the other people, which in discussing with audience members did not seem to come completely through to them, but rather the little impacts that each moment had. Throughout the performance, there were specific lines, moments, or seconds, that we had incorporated purposefully to bring an element of humor or lightheartedness to the piece. I was able to see and that throughout, audience members were laughing, and having fun with the storyline. In this sense, it became apparent that we did accomplish keeping each audience member engaged and hooked in on the piece. Because of this aspect, I think it is interesting to see that even though our intended impact may have escaped our audience, just by having the piece run by itself, it created another impact that became common among audience members.
11/20/18 - Journal #8 This past week, our collaborative group spent the majority of the time polishing our piece, and running it over and over in order to fix bumps and hiccups. Only meeting twice, the first day, we did the bulk of this, and worked on the timing of our piece. As we had discussed before that we wanted the pace of the piece to be kept up by the side characters, moving along whether the best man, (or main character) wanted them to or not, we worked on keeping this incorporated. We timed ourselves each time we went through the piece, and began to add in our specific costume changes and things of the like to get used to them. I personally found this difficult, as I could tell our energy was drained a bit, and having a few days in between practicing it, we stumbled along piecing it back together. This was also exasperated as we decided to not create a formal script, leaving each time that we ran through the piece to be organic and slightly different based off of the any given circumstances. However, this week in particular, it felt that we needed to almost reboot ourselves, and get back into the mindset of each moment and the piece as a whole. The second time we met for the week, we were missing a person, and it was incredibly difficult to do anything overly productive. As we do have an outline for the piece that follows a specific order, starting with one possible disaster and then spiraling throughout the day chronologically, and is dependent on multiple monologues, we spent some time working on creating those. The one of us that plays the main character, the best man, was able to spend the majority of the time doing this, and going through what he needed to work out. I found this specifically helpful for me as well, as even though we weren't going through the piece physically, seeing it mapped out even in the little bit that it was on paper, I was able to visualize each section, and work through it in that sense.
11/14/18 - Journal #7 This week as our collaborative group met, we mainly spent our time running our piece, and fine-tuning specifics throughout. Being a little over a week away from our performance, I noticed the feeling of precariousness throughout and the need to really critically look at our piece. One of the main things that we took on this week was the time limit and our piece. Beforehand we hadn't ever gone through the piece timing it, nor had we ever really gone through it without stopping. On the second day we met, we timed ourselves, and ended at around 25 minutes. Needing this to be under 15, we brainstormed on a few ways of tackling this. We talked about possibly taking out one of our moments of the ex boyfriend attending, forgetting to write vows, the wedding cake almost being ruined, and a fight outbreaking at the end of the reception. We also discussed how we could synthesize and synch in some of our dialogue and blocking to shave time off. Since we made the decision to not write out a full script, giving us the ability to change the piece ever so slightly each time, and giving it a level of authenticity and organic-ness that we are wanting, we decided it would be best not to fully take out any concrete moments, but rather shave off blocking and dialogue specifics. Once we did this, we were around 14 minutes, and pleased with how this worked out. One of us noticed that in speeding up our pace a bit, the best man was scrambling even more to fix each issue and moment, while those around him were keeping the piece in time, and moving along whether he wanted it to or not. Looking at this idea, we decided to keep this frantic feeling, and intend to relay this to the audience, showing that the main character (in this case the best man) is on his own timing however the day's events continue without hesitation. The other precarious thing that we began talking about towards the end of the week, was how to address costumes and lighting. We decided to dive into lighting more the week after, but we decided on rough ideas for each of our costumes. As each of us are playing multiple characters, we wanted small details that would portray completely different characters to the audience, while remaining somewhat ourselves. We talked about having a neutral toned base layer, but ended up on the idea of having wedding attire on as our base. This will keep the feeling of being at a wedding with the audience regardless of who we are at any given moment. And then, to show specific characters, we decided to have small changes such as hats, mustaches, bows, scarves, etc. to set us apart. We talked about having the bride wear a veil, the bridesmaid wear a bow, the aunt wear an extravagant hat, etc. As these fell more into place, the precariousness began to diminish, and it was easier to see how each of the details will be able to come together.
11/6/18 - Journal #6 This week, our group focused on working and reworking much of the piece. We explored more in depth how our impact and purpose of showing the audience the perfection in imperfection had changed/morphed so far. We looked at the progression of how the piece could go, and deciding on which moments we wanted to explore. In taking the diagram we created that went through each of the characters we would need for each of the moments, we decided on our progression that would flow nicely as it follows a chronological order from the beginning of the wedding to the end. We landed on beginning the piece with the ex boyfriend attending the wedding, moving into having a problem with the vows, and specifically the groom forgetting to write them, then moving into a near catastrophe in which a dog nearly ruins the cake, and ending with a drunk aunt starting a fight with her husband. I felt that this progression flows, as it follows a chronological approach, and will inherently make sense to the audience. We decided to take all the moments and see how we could express our purpose and intended impact. Taking all of them from one perspective, I also noticed that the audience will really get to know the main character (the best man,) and even be able to relate to him on some level. This will bring the audience closer to the piece, and will assist in the expressing of our impact and idea that there is perfection in imperfection. The next time we met as a collaborative group, we decided to look at the piece as a whole, and see how it flowed. This would allow us to see the piece from the perspective of the audience, and take that perspective into consideration. Starting with an overall look, we noticed that some of the moments had more outcomes than others, and not all the outcomes quite made sense, or worked altogether. In the moment with the vows, we looked at our solution of violence, and tried to find a way in which this would work. We explored the idea of the best man stealing vows from another groom, or somehow incorporating violence into his solution, however each time it felt awkward and inorganic. Because of this, we decided to leave violence out of this moment, and later this specific instance gave us the freedom to skip other solutions in the other moments. The last time we met for the week, we worked and touched base on how the piece was going, and the progress we had made. One of us began to think about how each of our set moments and ways that each moment plays out already stems or could stem from one approach. We then discussed this, and brought it into the piece. Now we have five set solutions that each of the moments go through such as violence, talking it through, going to others, thinking your way out, and not doing anything. I think this will really facilitate a better way of expressing our purpose and impact and being able to not only show that in any given issue not one solution will always be right, and ultimately sometimes there is nothing to do, but it will also allow us to stay true to our seed of memory.
10/22/18 - Journal #5 This past week, our group spent the majority of the time working on tweaking our impact, and brainstorming possible storylines that could be explored. On the first day, we honed in on the idea that someone would go through either their day, or an experience and have possible outcomes for different choices that they make. This would let us explore our seed of memory and our intended impact of having the audience think about memories that they don't remember, or instances in which they will never know the impact they had on the other people. We started throwing out ideas for storylines, and looking at the mind-mapping we initially did at the beginning of the process, we began looking at specific moments of history in which something either went wrong, or could have gone wrong. We discussed the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and looked at how a possible piece could take the audience through the perspective of the assassin, and change the ending and character's development through different choices. Feeling a bit hesitant with getting stuck in a specific moment, period, and event, I then suggested that we look at other areas or instance in which something could go or has typically gone wrong. Taking the idea of being specific, we started thinking of situations that could be more easily applied to the vast majority of humans. This would allow us to zero in on an idea, but still keep the process open-ended and easily adjustable. This lead us to explore all the moving pieces of large family events, and specifically a wedding. We started looking at how the bride or groom could be affected by the advice of their bridesmaids or groomsmen, could lead to either disastrous or wonderful scenarios. After this, we looked at how we could take the snapshot of one moment, and have it be repeated but end in different ways, or lead to different scenarios, and how this could be done. We discussed the difference between having each scenario being from different perspectives, or the same perspective, which then lead to the idea of people in different places and rooms at the same instant going through time. I feel a bit hesitant in choosing this idea, and that because there are so few of us in the group, that the transitioning and jumping from person to person could easily get messy or difficult to show. Taking this into consideration, looking at the piece as progressing in the future, I think it would be beneficial to critically look at our intended impact, and see what changes or adjustments we might need to make in regards to either the impact itself, or the ideas that we generated this week and a half.
10/16/18 - Journal #4 Today we started the week, by making sure we were all up to date/speed on what we had done in the previous week, and how we were going to go from there. After looking at the mind maps that were made the day I was absent, we started brain-storming on how we wanted to move forward. I found that even though there were less of us in the group, and that therefore it possibly should have been easier, it took us awhile to come up with a plan. Even though all of us have good leadership skills, I personally found myself being quieter, and noticed this from others in the group as well. This isn't to say that one of us was more dogmatic in their speaking, or forceful in articulating their ideas at all, but it was interesting to see how when the three of us all came together, some of us, myself included became much quieter, or even hesitant. Once we were eventually able to figure out a game plan so to speak, we moved into more exercises, but this time instead of a physical improvisational style, we focused on a more writing exercise. The first one we went through was were we all sat in a circle, and wrote one story line by line together. Once one person gave the first line, we then went in order writing the subsequent lines. I found that although we were all ultimately making the same story, every time a new sentence was written, the story's tone, direction, and even purpose changed drastically. Starting with the idea that two brothers were on a quest, themes such as religion, nobility (in the sense of being heroic, or having dignity), and even possibly gender were brought into the mix. I also found that these changes were also easily seen in the other exercise we did. After coming up with a prompt/first line, we all wrote a story ourselves for the next few minutes. Beginning with the line, "There was a sword fight and I saw it happen." I went on to talk about my character's daily routine of walking back from work, but taking a different path this particular day, and stumbling upon the end of a sword fight, where one person dies. After coming back together, however, we found that our ideas that arose from the same prompt were very different. This can bee seen to some extent in any kind of writing that has a prompt, however, we also noticed some similarities, or commonalities as well. Two of us mentioned one of the sword fighters dying, one of us mentioned the specific gender, and all of us wrote in the first person. I'd be interested in taking this last idea in particular, and discussing how it relates to the themes we initially discussed when coming up with our initial mind map, and how this could help being to shape our piece. The next day we met, we focused on really honing in our intended impact on the audience. We started by talking about possible exercises we could do, and worked on figuring out how to incorporate more of the themes and methods of Gecko Theatre. Trying to focus on the physical aspect of their company, became more and more challenging, and I noticed a shift in the group, when it came to trying to do more physical exercises. This wasn't necessarily a discomfort or apprehension to the idea, but rather a hesitation or weariness. This then lead us to look more at their use of "the seed," and evolved later evolved into an exercise. We took our main theme of memory, and the confusion and ambiguity that that can bring, and built off of a common theatre exercise in which people look at a common photo, and make a story about it. In our case, we looked at a photo, chose a specific person in the said photo, and described how "we" as that person felt in that specific instance. One of us chose to take on the "teacher," while the other two decided to make their people students. It was interesting to see how each of us not only interpreted how each of the people's body language and "look" influenced their feelings and mental state, but also how that then changed their interaction with and relationship to the others in the picture. I feel that this truly highlighted the ambiguity in memory, and as one of us talked about not even remembering the specifics of the event itself, but only the feeling that they had at that moment. I think that this would be very interesting to develop more, and look at in the near future.
10/8/18 - Journal #3 This week, our group began exploring different exercises to help start the process. On the first day we met, we brought in two items that we each wanted to share with the group and subsequently discuss for possible inspiration. I brought in two pins that I had gotten this summer in Oregon, one of us brought in a letter opener that looks like a mini sword and sunglasses from their childhood, and another brought in a sword and a coffee cup from a summer program they attended this year. When talking and hearing about each of the objects, one of us noticed a common thread of memory between each of them. With each of the objects, there was a memory, a story, a person, or something that we were reminded of that was separate from the actual object itself. For example, when talking about the pins I brought in, I realized that the pins themselves weren't what I actually had a huge connection with. Instead, it was the reminder of people and a good and challenging experience. It was also interesting to see that two of us brought in an object that resembled or was a kind of sword. After looking at the objects, we began working on a mind map. We decided to branch off of the common theme of memory, and after working through many branches and stems off of the main idea that included anything from what memory means in regards to TOK, to how memory of specific interactions and examples can be remembered differently depending on the person. Towards the end, we landed on one particular idea of the crusades and medieval times, stemming from memory and the two sword-like objects. I found it interesting how we could start so broad, with all of our objects and ideas under one theme, and then come to such a specific idea such as the crusades of medieval times. I had never been particularly comfortable with mind mapping, and it is not usually my go-to brainstorming exercise, so I appreciated seeing it in a different way and trying it in such a way that it seemed to work better for me, and give me a new perspective on it. After working on our mind map, we decided to get up and try a few improv exercises to help us begin thinking things and ideas through. We decided to go outside for a bit, and try to start scenes that would then be added on to by each other. After a little while, we came back inside, and did a similar thing, and I noticed my own level of comfort shift drastically simply by coming back inside to the classroom. Outside, it was difficult for me to add onto a scene, or even feel comfortable enough to possibly start a scene on my own. However when we returned to the classroom, I began to feel more like myself, an was able to participate. The main thing that we discussed form these exercises, was the idea of having two people on one person. In all the scenes, ranging from two brothers and a step-mom, to a principle and two students, one being his daughter, there was always the element of two people together, or having some commonality, and then one person separate. Because we were running out of time however, we were not able to fully explore this idea, and will need to come back to it the next time we meet. The next time that we met this week, I was absent, and because I was gone, I am unable to fully discuss the process that the other two went through in my absence. However, after speaking with them after the fact, I definitely noticed the impact that one of us missing had on the group, and it will be interesting to see how this possible barrier unfolds as time goes on.
10/1/18 - Journal #2 1/2 This week we mainly focused on the beginnings of our process. After coming together as a group, we began by initially discussing what devising group we might be interested in looking at for inspiration and exercise examples. We looked at a few including, Fuel and Massive Company. I personally became frustrated as I found it somewhat difficult to navigate each of the group's websites, especially when their processes are usually more difficult to find. This made it challenging for me to draw from each of the devising companies, but one major theme that I found in both of the companies that I specifically looked at in depth was there use of collaboration with outside artists. Both Fuel and Massive Company work to encourage other artists to either try devising with them in terms of Fuel, or encourage young artists to join their company and try devising for themselves in the case of Massive Company. Even though I was able to find this thread of commonality, and was interested in possibly pursuing this, I soon realized that this would not work for the collaborative project. After discussing and coming together with my group however, we mainly talked about exploring using Gecko, the physical theatre company, and what this would mean for our process. We also began creating and discussing our agreements for our devising group. After looking over the CTP3 sheet, we talked about the idea that many of the agreements given here resonated with what we are wanting out of our agreements in terms of respect and how we would work together. We then worked on re-working and re-writing many of these ideas into our own words and thoughts, and put pen to paper. We ended up with these agreements: 1) We agree to respect each other as humans and artists and acknowledge that our intention is to help and support each other throughout this process. 2) We agree to not re-write, re-do, or criticize another's work without asking questions before, and working with the original creator. 3) We agree to not say "no" without serious discussion and consideration. 4) We agree that we need each other's support throughout this process. It was different for me from the practice CTP since there are only three of us in the group, and I found that coming up with these agreements took much less time than I thought it would.
10/1/18 - Journal #2 Today, we worked on separating into groups for the collaborative project. Having seven seniors in our class, we knew that we would need to either split into a group of three and a group of four, or a group of two, and a group of five. After deciding that we'd be more confident with the group of four and three people, we began working on personal advertising posters to share our strengths and personal approaches. I found this particularly difficult for some reason. Even though I have done this exercise before, I noticed this time making the poster I felt very uncomfortable outlining my strengths and experiences. I do think that this exercise was a good way of showing each other what we can bring to the table so to speak in terms of the process, but it was interesting to notice this discomfort with the process in myself, and that after the poster was created, I was still unhappy with it. After we had created these, we shared and walked around looking at what everybody had created. After a bit of time, we were able to come back together and discuss how we could specifically split into groups. There were a few ideas regarding what kind of piece someone was interested in creating, but we were able to recognize that this approach wold cancel out much the devising process, and hinder our process. This then led to a hard time in figuring out how to split up, until we decided to look at the groups we had last year in our practice collaborative project, and split somewhat according to this. The two people that had been in the same group decided to split up, and the other five of us who had been in the other group decided to split into those two. I decided to join the smaller group, with three of us in it total.
9/23/18 - Journal #1 In terms of filling out "My Personal Theatre Profile," I found it really hard to finish, and realized that recounting and even thinking about all of my skills and experience that I have in theatre felt uncomfortable and almost a form of bragging. Thinking of myself as being a pretty non-assuming person who doesn't like to show off, I noticed that it was difficult for me to set that aside and recount what I have done in order to paint a truthful picture of myself. Once I was able to wrap my head around this, and finish filling out the profile, I noted that many of my answers had to do with details and aesthetic. Usually when it comes to my relationship with theatre, my mind usually jumps to the role of being an actor, but when looking at my answers to many of the prompts, my mind thought more of costumes. In skills, I noted my attention to details and aesthetics, as well as mentioning similar traits in my approaches and interests. When talking about my approach specifically, I discussed looking at something as a whole and then picking it apart bit by bit. Often times these traits can be applied to acting, but for some reason this time around, I am drawn to exploring this in terms of costumes and other behind the scenes elements. It was kind of an "aha" moment for me, and as I mentioned before, I'd be interested in even looking at focusing on this aspect of the piece as I move forward with the project and then when we form our groups, moving forward with those in my group.
Junior Year - Practice Project
3/25/18 - Journal #12 This week our group began by working on the blocking and timing of our piece. The first day, we spent in the performance space going over the lighting and specifics of how we want the sets to be spaced. After this was finalized, we were able to continue working on the actual blocking and how we were to transition between each vignette. It was a bit difficult the first day, as one of our group members was absent, but we were able to still get a pretty good look at how it will be. The next time we met, we continued to work on the blocking and putting the vignettes into one coherent storyline. We worked hard on making sure the piece was not too long, as the initial run throughs were taking us about twenty to thirty minutes. After we got it down to about fifteen, we were able to get some initial feedback from an audience. Once we received this, the next time we met, we were able to focus on making some big edits. We decided to take out an entire scene, as it was not working with our intention, and after realizing we took out the part that connected the scene to the overall story, it made much more sense to exclude it. Another comment we got was regarding our characters' ages, and making sure that they are juvenile enough for the storyline. This was more difficult with some characters, and as we dropped the entire cast's ages down a year or two, I noticed, that making sure this was coming across was hard to keep consistent. Even though we made some big changes this week, I feel good about moving forward towards the performance in the coming week.
3/16/18 - Journal #11 We decided to begin the week by continuing to work on the script, when we realized the short amount of time we had left to work on our piece. We then worked out a schedule for the next few weeks and made a few deadlines that seemed reasonable. Looking at all that we needed to do, I started to feel worried about getting it all done, but after putting everything into a schedule, it felt do-able. We decided to somewhat chose our own costumes, and base them off of clothes that we already have. We distributed out which props each of us were going to bring, and other similar logistical details. The next time we met, we agreed on having the script done, but with making sure everyone had a say in the final rough draft, we decided to finish it the next time we met. After finishing the script, we began practicing and finalizing the blocking and sets. With the ending feeling awkward, we also spent time working out other ways we could bring the piece to a finish. This was harder than I thought it would be, and we were all beginning to get frustrated with it, as we couldn't find a way to end it organically. In order to try and find different approaches, we put down our scripts and tried improvising different endings as that is how we initially started writing our other scenes. Feeling that this began to work a bit better, we continued to try different endings, and the next time we meet, we will be able to continue to work on finding a better conclusion.
3/9/18 - Journal #10 To start off the week, our group decided to spend extra time working and editing our script to make it flow better. This was difficult at the start, and for awhile, we weren't quite sure how to approach this. We tried multiple ways to begin writing new scenes, but felt stuck and blocked. One exercise we tried was prompted after we noticed the other scenes came about after improvising them. This time, however, the dialogue and interactions between characters were difficult to navigate, and it didn't work as well as it had before. The next day, we continued to work on the script and decided to try the scenes once more. Still feeling choppy, one thing we noticed, was that our energy as a whole was low and not working very well. We realized that we weren't quite sure of how some of the characters should be in specific instances. For example, we felt confident in our interactions in stressful situations, and that each character's energy was matching the others, but in the moments just in the car, we felt that it was awkward and felt forced. We then decided to take a break form trying the scenes and write up an outline for each scene and go over what exactly we wanted to happen in each section of the piece. Once we did this, the script flowed much better and I found it much easier to see how we were going to fit each of the vignettes in together. The last day of this week, we continued to work on the script, and afterwards I feel better about our energy as a whole, and think that moving forward, we should try putting the scenes together consecutively.
2/26/18 - Journal #9 This week our group met twice, and before the first session, we had taken time to read and reflect on one another's journals. We then discussed our thoughts on how we were thinking similarly and differently in our reflections, and discussed the specific bigger ideas and aspects that we needed to address in the next few weeks. We all noticed the need to incorporate music more solidly, and to either find a time for our road trip exercise, or decide on a completely different exercise. Trying to take in the themes and exercises seen in Stan's Cafe, we decided on staying in character for the rest of our rehearsals. This will let us live and breath as our characters for an extended period of time, and in doing so hopefully find new details and aspects that we either want to include or explore. We spent the rest of the class period working on and solidifying which scenes we want to include and the order of events. This made the next day much easier, as we now had a better idea of how the piece will be outlined. The next day, we spent the session working on each of our decided scenes, and trying out different interactions and dynamics in each scene. As we had talked about having one scene that explores each of the individual characters and their personalities, we decided on five different scenes with one for each person, and one that ties all of us in it. After working on ideas for each specific scene, and beginning to solidify these, I think the next step for us to take would be to finish writing up our tentative script.
2/16/18 - Journal #8 We decided to begin the week by doing a few improvisation exercises in order to see how our characters would interact and develop with each other. We started by coming up with random scenarios and trying to make them work. At first it was very difficult to get into the right head space for me personally, and many of the scene attempts were choppy and disjointed. After awhile, however we got into a groove and were able to make good headway. We tried one scenario where the four characters hit a pedestrian and are not sure what to do with the aftermath. At this point the basis for my character was mainly the quiet, shy, and even confusing girl, but as we worked on this scenario, we decided to shift her into more of a "goody too shoes." This fit much better in with the rest of the characters, and as we tried different scenarios, we all liked the result. We talked a bit about looking again at all our characters and possibly even doing a similar thing in which we shifted around their personalities and characteristics. I think that this idea would help us a great deal as some of the personalities are still in the awkward and unsure stage, but this will also just change and develop overtime. The next day we met, I was gone, so it is difficult to fully reflect upon, however I was filled in on what they worked on. They had created a google doc in order to start initial ideas for the script, and decided to go along with a few ideas and scenarios we had worked on on Monday. After I had read a bit of what they had come up with, I feel reassured in the direction we are taking the piece and think that what we are changing and adapting will only strengthen what we are creating together.
2/9/18 - Journal #7 This week our group made great progress in cinching in more details about our piece. At the start of the week, although not all of us were there, we were able to decide who would be performing and who would be working on the technical and directing responsibilities. We decided upon having one director, who would mainly give suggestions and make decisions regarding blocking, characters, and script details. As well as performing when it comes time, the rest of us will spend time working on costumes, lighting, possible sets, and props. Distributing the responsibilities, gave us the ability to move forward and start thinking about the more specific details of our performance. We did a few exercises in order to get into and generate possible ideas for each specific character. We did one exercise in particular where we decided to share a story about ourselves. I decided to talk about being a writer, and the pressure of getting into college that ultimately led me to run away from home. We also noticed that by doing this exercise, we were able to make connections between our characters, and give reasons for how they found each other. The next time we met, we were able to make more definite decisions that we want to strive for at least right now because everyone was there. We worked on some improvisation exercises to generate a few ideas on how to start the scene, and we came up with a few different ideas. After we decided to focus on one, we tried the scene's beginning. Although it started off bumpy and rocky, we were able to hone in on a few points that we liked, and change those that we didn't. Having a specific person who is the director has already been incredibly helpful, because we were able to get notes and feedback right away, and change little nuances as we went along. As of right now, I feel more solid in the direction that we are taking the process.
2/5/18 - Journal #6 On Friday, the class split into two different devising groups, and as this process is a practice for next year, my group consists of all juniors. It is difficult for me to fully reflect on the time, because I was absent that day, however I was later filled in on what my group worked on and discussed. I was told that after being split into two, they talked about the objects that we had brought to class the session before. Noticing a few common themes of literature, games, and tropical, Alena brought up the idea of having a road trip of some sorts. When I heard this, I immediately thought of many trips my family used to take to Eastern Washington as a child, and the road trip our class took in 9th grade to Ashland Oregon. They also discussed tying in music throughout our piece, and as it gets more solidified, I am interested in seeing what genre of music we decide upon, especially with it having the chance to shape our piece quite a bit. In the previous weeks, we also presented to the class different professional devising groups, and in the hope to incorporate their methods, and themes, our group is looking at including the sense of community seen in Double Edge, and the awareness of space and one's surroundings seen in Gecko Theatre. I was also told about a few exercises that we might be able to do to better help us get into the right mind set, such as the "I'm going to a picnic..." exercise, and in doing so it made me think of the improv exercise where someone joins you on a bench and sparks up a conversation. This would create possible ideas into relationships we want our characters to have, as well as ideas for conflict, communication methods, and characteristics.
2/1/18 - Journal #5 We also shared three object yesterday and discussed their meaning. I brought in a playing card, an empty journal, and a magnetic ball. Even though it was not planned, I realized that each had some sort of connection to my childhood. I was reminded of playing cards with my grandma over the summer and being obsessed with magnets as a child. Some brought in stories about monsters and one in particular was a book that had illustrations of monster on sticky notes. After discussing a bit about what each object meant to us, we noticed the recurring theme of fear and childhood. We then discussed some of our childhood fears, and began thinking about how that might translate into a piece. Although we do not have an exact idea of what we might do next, I think that we are prepared to move forward together and feel good about what our piece could turn into.
2/1/18 - Journal #4 Yesterday we spent time discussing and going over our four planned agreements for the devising piece. We settled on a few that encompass all that we want to keep in mind. We discussed the need to give and receive criticism impersonally but respectfully, advocate for yourself and others, and not say "no" for five minutes. Although we had a few others, these three stood out the most to me. The last point is one that I feel I will need to keep in mind the most, as I tend to make decisions quickly, and/or come up with a verdict based on first impressions. This is also a new experience and process for me, and although I feel hesitant, I think that with these agreements, and the people I am working with, we will be able to have confidence in the piece we create.
1/30/18 - Journal #3 While looking over the collaborative creation of theatre worksheet I filled out, I noticed many if not all of my answers described approaching and doing exercises that include practicing and refining. Because of this, I realized that a huge part of theatre for me is refining, reworking, and shifting ideas and movements to not only accommodate the storyline, but also to accommodate those involved in the performance. This process cannot be rushed or forced, and therefore must come about on its own over an extended period of time. I also saw this when reflecting on the processes of two devising theatre companies. As an example, in "The People Show," they improvise much of their creations, and once they have a basic sketch of a scene, they work together to edit and create something. However, this process does not have a specific amount of time, and therefore lets the theatre piece come together organically. This kind of process extends into other disciplines such as when I described correcting a math test with others. I noticed that we would work together to correct all the mistakes, but neither or us knew how long this would take. If we were to force this, we might get it wrong. This needed to come organically and without stress of getting it done. I believe that this applies to devising theatre and working collaboratively on theatre as well as anything involving a form of a creative process.
1/26/18 - Journal #2 For my article on the devising process, I chose Vanessa Garcia's "The Paradox of Devised Theater on the Twenty-First Century Stage. This article discusses devising theater and its contradictions to society today. With the internet and its constant instant gratification, people no longer wait for information. In a similar sense, many people tire of devising quickly as it can take an extended period of time. Garcia also describes the devising process as building something from the ground up. According to her, when a devised piece is being made, it is essentially submerged underground. As it is created and worked on, it rises and a ladder so to speak is built until it reaches the surface. She concludes with the idea that devising theater is a solution to the emergence of technology and its monopoly on society right now, as devising not only embraces the "surface," or the world and society we live in today, by using technology and multi media, but also stays true to its roots in Commedia Dell'Arte.
1/19/18 - Journal #1 People's personal contexts can change depending on race, gender, age, and so forth, but I think a major part of them is people's childhood and how they grew up. For me, I lived in a household with one older sister, and two parents. I was able to be myself and challenged to find my way differing from my sister or friends. Having had the opportunity to attend smaller schools, I was pushed to participate and be out of my personal shell. My family has also shaped much of how I see the world and my state of mind. Being a white American young woman, I also have a very different experience than others around me, and I think from time to time I can take this for granted. I also know a large part of my personal context is being raised in an Episcopalian extended family. I like to think of myself as being a structured person, and in this social context, I have noticed recently that many of my fundamental ways of being are tied to my family's religious ties. I would not be the same person if I had a different childhood or personal context.