Whizbang

It took me a minute to realize it, but I have played whizbang prior to taking this class. Last year, one of my theatre major friends taught us the game in our voice studio class one day. I really enjoy this game because it gets me so energized and focused. At times, you really have to think hard and react fast when playing this game. It's just a really fun game! Honestly, I'd really love to use this in my classroom one day. It would be such a good way to get students reved up for class (in a good way, of course!) and I know that they would love it. It would be especially good it a music class because it gets the students up and moving and it definitely encourages them to be more confident, which is key in music.

Usefulness

It occured to me ther other day that a lot of the stuff that we are doing in class could be very useful in a classroom someday. I know that there are a lot of education majors in the class and I think that it is nice to get future lesson activity ideas from a class that I thought would be unrelated to my major.
I think that kids would respond really well to a lot of the things that we are doing. Since I am a music ed. major, I could definitly see using Wiz-Bang or The Human Machine activity in a classroom.

Stereotyping

I realized in class on Tuesday that our stereotypes of how people act depending on age are mostly true. When people opened their paper and saw what age they would be playing at the bus stop, it seemed as if it was pretty easy for them to figure out something to do. It was also fairly easy for the rest of the class to determine what age they were role playing.
I was only six years old during this activity. When I was running around the bench and constantly moving, I felt like I was "over-acting" in a sense because of what we have been practicing in this class. We have been taught that less is more. That is why I felt like I did too much, however in reality, I did what a young child really would do. I liked this activity overall because it was interesting, fun, and definitely entertaining.

Class was all sorts of different on Tuesday, whizzbang was fun but I am not joining the intermural team, my source (roommate) says that things will get even more complicated in whizzbang. terrifying. I also enjoyed the bus-stop exercise although for some reason I decided to be an old man instead of an old woman. I'm a weirdo I guess. I think that people were better at portraying extreme ages like 2 or 92 because it was easier to act a lot different than you would at a bus stop but not as easy to change to be 4 years older, what can really happen in 4 years? The 30-50 year range is about the same for everyone I think, and even 20's are only slightly more lively.

I also agree that the bus stop activity is one of the best so far this semester. I really enjoyed trying to act a certain age and have people guess. Also it made me think of many details on how that age would act. I feel that the activity allowed a lot more us to actually 'be in the moment'. I really enjoyed watching the different 'stereotypes' that everyone had for their age. The exercise we did at the beginning of class was fun as well. I thought it was funny how after one person said the wrong word everyone started to say it. Overall i think Tuesday was one of the best class periods we have had yet.

bus stop

I agree i feel that the bus stop activity was by far in my top 2 favorite activities so far. I feel that it is finally an activity that can show what we've learned about acting so far in the semester. I relaly like the other activity we did in the very beginning with the passing of the ball and shooting the basketball!! i loved it!

I enjoyed the bus stop exercise more than anything we have done in class so far. I think that this gave us a chance to put everything we have been learning in class together. It allowed us to remain simple but we paid close attention to detail so that we could properly convey the age we were acting like. I had lots of un doing this because it was the first time that I acctually did not think about what I was going to do. I just got up and went with the flow. I hope we do many more exercises like this one.

09.23.08

I really enjoyed the age activity. I thought it was really fun to try to guess the actor's ages. I thought everyone did a great job and I was able to guess close to everyone's age. I definitely think the extreme ages are much easier to do. The older ages and the very young ages were easy to guess. I think the ages from 30-60 are the hardest. It is hard to distinguish how old they are because I feel like everyone in that age range does similar things. They more than likely are going to work, have ridden a bus before, and are indifferent as they wait for the bus. I had it much easier being an old lady!

WhizBang

Hmm... yeah so I'd have to say that is certainly the most "unusual" game that we have played in class so far. It is actually quite amusing, but I think it would be a lot better if there was a rule put into effect that someone could not use the same motion more than twice in a row. Someone can simply just do a "bang" to anything and would be near impossible to lose. But that is just a loser venting...

And the activity dealing with the age was comical. It would have been funny to see four people at the age of 85-99 all on the same stage and only having two people able to sit down on the bench.

small objects

the activity we did last class was definantly hard! i think trying to handle small objects when they are not actually there is a harder task than i thought.  I feel that actors really have to go through so many hours working on little activities like these in order to make their performances real and believable.

Comparing Classes

So last night I was talking to my friend from California and I was telling her about this class because she had taken some acting classes in school and had been in a few plays and we were talking about how similar our classes were. It was funny how both of our teachers stressed the "less is more" idea. But when I told her that we aren't even allowed to talk in our class yet she was like oh wow that's so cool....so you have to focus on like the little details and stuff...I wish my class had done that. And I just thought it was neat that as an actor she thought our class was better than the one she had taken and she really like the whole concept of what we're doing right now. Anyway, I just thought it was neat to be able to compare our class to another acting class and see lots of similarities even though she took the classes in a school on the other side of the country.

House

One of my favorite shows is "House." The main reason for why I like it is because Hugh Laurie is an amazing actor. If you listen to him talk when he is not on the show, you can tell that he has an English accent. But when you watch the show, you can't detect any kind of accent. Also, they way he acts with his cane is perfect. You actually believe he has a problem with his leg.

Small Objects

When we were told to do something with a small object at first I didn't realize how hard it was going to be. I just went up and started to do it, however, I went to fast. Once I slowed down it allowed the audience to believe that I was actually playing with a rubix cube. I was thinking in my head where the colors were and which way I had to turn the cube in order to line them up. I think that when you are acting without the physical object it is much harder because you have to account for all the minute details in order for your part to be believable. I think that once I took in all the detail that my object entailed the class believed in what I was doing a lot more and I did find this exercise a lot more difficult than I though it was going to be.

small objects

i didnt think it was that hard to do the small objects. all i really did was pay attetion to all the lil detail , and i actually thought i was threading a needle. so now i kno what professor palanco means when he says " really pay attention to the detail ".

Difficulty with Small Objects

I had a really hard time with this exercise. Just coming up with an idea was difficult for me. I really liked some of the other ideas that everyone else had though and I think it'd be interesting to try those ideas.
It is funny how much you really have to concentrate to do this exercise. There is a whole lot more detail than it seems and you really have to focus. It is definitely a good challenge!

in general

So I'm starting to like the new exercises. I can def. relate to not seeing anyone when I was doing the small objects thing. Even though everytime I had an idea in my head someone got up and did it. So I had to think of something at the last min. and it was very hard. I was not there on tue and I was so confused about the frog detective but I caught on. So class is getting better I am starting to open up more and not care about how silly I look. I normally don't anyway but since its with people I don't know well it takes a while to warm up!

Small Object

I found the small object exercise really interesting. I didn't think it was going to be as difficult as it was. I had a really hard time picking an object and then figuring out how to show it. Once i actually had to take my earring out and do it for real i realized several small details that i did. Which when i had to do it for a second time made it easier for me to actually feel like i was putting in my earring. Also i thought it was rather interesting the different objects the class picked out and how they decided to act them out.

Acting like a Browns fan

I was watching the Browns game on Sunday, and I was kind of cheering for them, and acting upset when they were getting crushed, and I realized that I don't really like them that much, or care. I wonder if I was just acting like I liked them, and then I thought about whether people acted subconsciously, just for fun like maybe I was doing pretending to root for the Browns. Just a wierd thought I had.

Small Object

So this little small object task in class certainly made things interesting. Tying a knot in fish line does not seem that hard to do, but trying to act it out and making it last a long time almost seemed impossible. I think the problem for me was that I was able to visually assume it was there and complete the task, but I had a hard time assuming that I couldn't get it done properly. I think a different task would have been a little easier, especially if it could "never" be completed such as trying to fix a computer chip or something that could involve many mistakes/problems.

Thursday's class

Thursday's class was interesting. I had an object in mind before I got in front of the class, but I did not think about how I was actually going to use it. When I was standing in front of the class I realized that the task was much harder than I thought it was going to be. Our "props" are things we use everyday, and I have never paid such close attention to the little things I do automatically. I think that this task was fun and it reinforced the topic of class; pay close attention to the little details of objects, facial expressions, and emotions.

Small things leads to big perception

I enjoyed our class on Thursday doing the exercise of concentrating on small objects or things. I got up in front of the class during my turn and acted out “fixing broken classes with a small screw driver” It was interesting because once I got up there, everyone seemed to disappear faded to the back ground so to speak, while I was focused on my task. It seemed to me that everyone in class caught on much quicker with this exercise rather than previous ones. I enjoyed watching people do their skits or scenes.

mini-things

Thursday's class was quiet. People seemed to do a good job with their difficult small objects because we all were concentrating on what it was we were trying to do. People were generally more quiet and controlled when working on their small objects maybe because it was easier to work with something you can see all of in your hand, or in this case pretend to see. It was harder to lose track of or change the size if it is so small. I chose to take the sticky thing off the back of a laminated sticker because I was given the task once at work to put lamination stuff on magnets with our company information on it, and I was trying to remember how I did that and do it again, but this time fail. As the class goes on, as a class think we are getting more creative about our scenes and items and tend not to laugh as much; that's probably because we are awesome.

Concentration

Today in class I noticed that the more we concentrate the more believable our actions become. Personally, I think the smaller objects were almost easier than the larger objects. This is because I am really able to picture the item at hand. Also, since I have to concentrate so much about the object I am dealing with, I almost forget that other people are watching me. Once I thi9nk about the rest of the class, my actions become less believable because I think of showing more than just doing. Of course...the practice and experience the past few weeks could also be making a difference.

Frog Detective!

I am with Bill and Teddy about the frog detective game! I think it is so much fun! I was glad that I improved from Tuesday. haha I was glad I had another chance today to redeem myself from Tuesday! I finally learned on Tuesday that once you narrow what side the frog is on, it makes it a lot easier. You just have to be patient and not turn in circles a lot, which is what I was doing at first! I thought I did a good job of implementing my strategy today! Now I just need to work on not giving away who the frog is! Sorry Professor Polanco! :)

frogger

I liked the exercise that we did in class the other day. It was nice that we didn't have to make any weird noises. I think the way to play the game is to slowly turn until the motion changes. Then you can tell which side of the room the person is on. Then repeat the process.

This frog game was alright, but the best frog game ever is frogger. It is probably the coolest game ever. I remember playing that game for hours when I was younger.

Tuesdays Class

By far the coolest game ever. Frog detective is so awesome, I hope we play it every day. I know I wasn't so good at it but I definitely like it a lot more than some of the other things that we did in that big circle of awkwardness. Overall I am beginning to like this class more and more, at first I wasn't so sure but now that I am getting more and more comfortable around the people in the class it seems a lot easier to make a fool out of myself in front of them.

Hundredth Post

Ha! I'm post 100 I think. Anyway I do generally agree that being less inhibited is a useful thing for acting and in most aspects of life, and that is why I am hereby vowing to come to acting class always with a little bit of a buzz on. I keep finding it easier almost every class to get into the mood to play around and act (a little), and I think that is probably because we are all just getting used to the situation of acting weird and imaginative in front of people, and I suppose inhibition will mostly go away in time, which I guess I look forward to.

Class in general

I agree that the frog detective game was fun to play. I love that we do silly excercises like that at the beginning of class to get people warmed up and ready to go. I think it definitely helps people get comfortable quickly. I really really liked the game where we had to attach ourselves to someone else. At first I was hesitant to make a sound with my mouth because everyone else had only used their bodies to make sound but I'm gad I did because I think it was way more fun than just snapping my fingers or something.

class on tuesday

i thought the excersise we did at the end of class wit the occupation scene was pretty cool. the other thing that was really cool was the frog detective excersise. i dont care that it is for lil kids it was awsome to play.

class on tuesday

Exercises

I agree that the frog detective exercise was really fun. Also the exercise when we had to connect to someone interesting. It was funny and neat to see everyone doing a different movement and making random sounds. And lastly i really enjoyed the exercises at the end of class. The different occupations we did were hilarious to watch. By watching these the one thing that i did notice was that everyone seems to be having fun now.

Exercise

I love the frog detective exercise i think it is fun and original, maybe its for little kids but it is definantly one of the favorite activities. However, i do really like the exercise we did at the end of class last class where we had to do an occupation or do something involving a lot of people intercating in a scene of some sort. I really felt like it was a hard activity but really made you think and i really liked it.

Frog Detective

I would have to say that Frog Detective has been the best "exercise" that we have done this semester. Although, the only time I was the leader I was instantly caught changing to clapping. The game appears to involves a lot of concentration on what others do on both the followers and the guesser. As long as the group is quick to catch on to the change (without staring down the leader), it appeared that the guesser had a hard time guessing. It also helped when the leader would instantly start to change the motion once the guesser turned.

The activity with the noises was rather interesting. I have no idea what that accomplished other than making people more comfortable around one another. It just seemed like we all were making weird noises and acting like we would not in public.

easing out being inhibited

On Tuesday, we started off with a cool game/exercise “Frog Detective” I looked at this game in a whole new way since this summer when I’d play with the campers during down time from the program. I have let go of some of my inhibition, and I will continue to do so throughout the rest of the semester. Since the start of the class, I have been paying attention to details more in and out of the class. Thinking about my study habits, people conversations and body language (not listening just viewing), the way animals move, etc. What I am finding out so far is that things aren’t what they appear to be all the time and all the time appearing may not be there at all. which makes life even more interesting. Peace.

sick

I was not in class on tue because i was really sick...but it sounds like you guys had a lot of fun! Im not really sure what you guys did but i herd about air guitars and stuff lol so i dont know.

Being Less Inhibited

On Tuesday, Prof. Polanco pointed out that actors need to be more outgoing and unhibited. I really struggle with this. I have always been more quiet and reserved. And I defintely think too much about getting answers right and not making a fool out of myself. That is actually one of the reasons I signed up for this course. I figured it was a good step towards trying to become more outgoing and stop worrying about what other people think. I obviously have lots of work to do. Hopefully I will progress through this semester. All I can do is continue to try my best...without embarrassing myself too much. haha.

Inhibitions

After class I thought long and hard about inhibitions. I first thought about how awful it is to be inhibited in acting class. The less inhibited you are the more people will believe you because you are going off a feeling that you actually have. I was inspired to throw away my inhibitions in not only class but also in life. Obviously, within reason, you should not have inhibitions. Inhibitions keep you from reaching your creative potential; and what kind of world would we live in if there was no creativity.

Focused

I thought our discussion on the importance of being focused was very good. It is so true that when a person is focused, the acting looks so much better. Initially, when I heard people say get focused/stay focused, I would equate that to not being able to have fun. I found out in class that you can be focused and have fun. I thought I was focused when I was playing my air guitar, and it was my favorite thing I have done in this class! I just need to remember to stay focused in class because the acting will be better and then I will have more fun because I do not feel like I am a terrible actor! :)

wop wop wop

Today's class was interesting because we started to incorporate sounds into things. It was weird making a nonsense sound in class because it isn't often that we get to do that. I liked the machine game and thought that to scene making part was hard when it wasn't something like sports or obvious exercising. I can never think of anything to start a scene that requires more interaction with other people (maybe I just don't get out much). I might get better at thinking of things as time goes on.

appologies

WOw, I had no idea that so many people like Adam Sandler. Parhaps you all are right- I should watch Spanglish and not The Water Boy. But, I still reserve the right to not go to his movies, just as you have the right to think he is amazing.

The human machine exercises are fun, if a bit strange. It is really interesting in class to see all the weird things that people come up with. It is also interesting how people build off one another and the games take on a life of thier own.

using no hands/ mirror

i thought it was very intertaining and very dificult to try and convey and certain activity without using ur hands. at first i was like oh this will be easy , then once i started i was like oh m an this not good at all . also i thought the mirror excersise was dificult but not as hard as the no hands . as long as the person u were miroring went slow i thought it was easy to follow.

No hands attached

I think that the mirror exercise is easy as well but when we had to do the opposite I got so confused. When we do the exercise with the objects and we have to make them bigger or smaller, I think that is so hard. I did not know how to make it something new. The no hands exercise was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. Deciding what other body part to use was challenging but once we got up there to do it I was fine. This class really does make you think about everything around you and how you use every part of your body to function.

Hardness

Adam Sandler really doesn't do it for me, unless it's Spanglish. Also, Nick Cage is great unless he has a mullet. I actually don't think that the mirroring is that hard if you really get into it. I think that the hardest things we've done so far have been when we have to pretend to use props that don't exist, or when I feel like I have to improvise a motion for no reason. Rather tricky.

moving objects

I feel that the exercises we are doing in class are  defiantly harder than they look, especially when you have no idea what you are even trying to mirror.  I feel that doing it with one other person is a lot easier than doing it with 4 people, especially because its harder to be completely in sync with another persons movements and be able to make it work as a whole.  

Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler is an amazing actor. There is no one that can do the things he does. He can be very funny and also very serious. His roles in Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore are so funny. The way he change his voice in an instance makes it even more funny. He can also play serious roles like he did in Spanglish and Rain on Me (or whatever the name is).

Also, I love how all his friends are in every movie.

Problem Solving (No Hands)

I am pretty sure that if we were the first group to have to preform the action with no hands of moving the television cart, it most likely would not have ended to well for us. After watching the first group and hearing the suggestions made by the professor, it made the concept seem easier. Plus Juan and I were able to watch the group physically move the television stand to see how it might move awkward on them.

The acting exercise where the other group had to mirror what we were doing is probably the hardest exercise yet. Without knowing what someone is trying to accomplish, it makes it very awkward to predict what the next type of move would be.

Surprising Challenges

I agree that many of the exercises that we do in class seems like they would be easy but they really are not. The talking on the beat exercise was really hard for me. Maybe it was just the topic I had, but trying to think of something to say that fit the beat was difficult. Also the exercise where we had to use the same object. It was different to have to use the same "object" between two or more people. I still find myself having a difficult time paying attention to the little details. For example when Paige and I did the blanket I ended up making the blanket shorter.

No Hands

I found the exercise that we had to move something with a partner to be completely difficult. Once he said that we could not use our hands the task in my mind became so much more difficult and my assumptions proved right. I don't think we realize how much we do with our hands. Once my hand were taken from me in that exercise I had no clue what I was going to do and I found it really hard to do the task without hands. I love my hands and I hope he never takes them away from us again because once he said no hands everything changes.

Comment on Briana's Post

I was just reading about how you think Adam Sandler is an awful actor and I strongly disagree. While Adam Sandler is great in movies like Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy, I would recommend that you watch Spanglish. I have never seen a more honest performance in my whole life. He is so real and approachable in this movie. He is sincere and serious. I was more than impressed when I saw it for the first time and it gets better every time I watch it. I think it takes a great actor to be so in touch with his emotions to go from light-hearted, ridiculously funny movies to such an honest movie about real life.

Surprising Challenges

Some of the activities we do in class seem like they should be easy, but then once I actually get up and try them they are way more challenging than I expected. For instance...the talking on beat exercise. When people were messing up I thought that it was humorous, but at the same time I was thinking to myself 'how hard can this activity really be'. I thought that once I got up there I would be able to do it with no problem. However, I was extremely wrong! I got up there and struggled along with almost everyone else in class. It was simliar to having to tap your head and rub your stomach at the same time. Talking and keeping a beat...once you get off beat, it screws up your talking and everything falls apart from there. ha. Even with supposively simple activities like these, a lot of practice must go into it before you can actually master it.

Thinking outside the box

The exercise we did at the end of class when we had to move an object but could not use our hands was very challenging in my opinion. My partner and I had an idea of how to move the object and once we got up there we were both completely clueless. I realized that I need to be more creative and try to "think outside the box" more. I have never been very creative, and in this class creativity is essential. It is good that I am being challenged in this class! Hopefully my creativity will improve as this semester continues!

bears

Nicolas Cage is a good guy leave him alone. Yes he's in a bear suit, yes, he punches a woman, but no, he is not a bad guy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOpsbAUEe90)........I never saw this movie, but other movies I've seen him in, not too shabby if you ask me. I also like Christopher Walken, especially when he dances. it's pretty much awesome. Anyway, today in class I learned it is much harder to pretend to make make a snowman without hands. Maybe when it snows this winter I'll do a case study of sorts. Also, I learned that the speaking to rhythm thing can make even the lamest of subjects kinda fun, I'm suggesting that all AU staff adopt this new method of teaching. the end

People who suck

I would agree with hallie that Nicloas Cage sucks. The only movie that I ever really liked him in was "Raising Arizona" , which came out 20 years ago. I also think Adam Sandler is not very good at what he does. He is suppossed to be funny, but all he ever really does is run around and make stupid noises/faces. Also, when I watch old saturday night live shows, he always seems to be laughing at his own jokes.

Passing Objects

I have to mention the exercise we did in class Tuesday where we were passing objects. I found this exercise surprisingly difficult. While other were passing. all I could think about the entire time was things I could turn the object into but when it got passed to me, I completely blanked out. When the exercise was introduced, I thought it would be simple for me. On the contrary, it was quite challenging for me.

Actors

I don't think that Keanue Reeves is a bad actor.  Well at least i really like the movies he's in, however i think that Nicholas Cage is terrible.  He is monotone and can only play in action movies, he is not a versitile actor, however his movies usually do pretty well in the box-office.

Bad Acting

Is it just me, or is Bill Paxton the worst actor ever. It is very easy to see that he has no clue what he is doing. He tries to show his emotions way too much. Just watch him in movies like Twister and Apollo 13. The way he yells and reacts in situations is not at all believable. Has anyone else notice this. If not, look for it in some of his movies.

Unconventional Acting

I wonder sometimes if Keanu Reeves is actually a bad actor. He gets made fun of for it a lot and in the movies I've seen his delivery seems a bit wierd, but I have always wondered if he is actually some brilliant actor whose character is so complex that extreme subtlety is the only way to convey what is actually happening. I also wonder why comedy actors seem to never get nods for awards shows unless they do a serious role. It seems like it would be hard to be able to act comically and still make a relatable hardcore character. Maybe it has never been done.

Class

In class i though that the mirror exercise got a lot harder once the leadership was taken away. I am usually the leader in most group projects, however it is sometimes better to step back and follow every once in a while. When you act I can see where following can be better because you are going of what others are doing and that is what real acting is, taking in your surroundings and adjusting yourself to what you have to do to make the audience believe it is really happening before there eyes.

mirroring is achallenge

I have been challenged in many areas so far in the past few weeks by this class and I enjoy it; looking forward to future challenges of the class. Mirroring is such a great concept to bring strangers to together for a common cause to create art or display of reality. The many ideas and thoughts that are flowing during the moment of trying to figure out the action(s) of our classmates is really a great experience. To view or see great minds at work exploring the possibilities of what is being said by body language. This exercise has been challenging in the sense sometimes I take control when I don’t need or want to, it just seemed to happen so when that happens I really try to check myself.
Peace.

Thinking outside the box

I agree with Brittany's comment about how she never thought to feed off of the other people in the class when we were doing our joining in activity on Tuesday. I was the same way, when I saw Aaron digging a hole I was thinking okay so we're going to have 8 people all digging a really big hole. But then when we did the scene at the park and I just thought it was so cool that we all did our own thing but it came together to look like a bunch of kids playing at the park and I thought it was really neat.

Also, after just these first few classes I already notice myself becoming more comfortable with the activities and exercises that we're doing. At first I felt completely ridiculous when I had to get up in front of everyone but on Tuesday I was playing an imaginary volleyball game with a referee and everything and a sunbather in the background and I felt totally comfortable.

Mirror Exercise

I think the hardest part of the whole exercise is that you are unaware of the moments or thoughts the other people are doing. For example, in the baseball and volleyball games, the movement is so fast that it is probably pretty hard for people to actually make it look like it is going on. The mirror exercises have to be slowed down to the point where it almost seems mechanical. Although, it was obvious that the later ones after my gardening activity started to get much better since people were paying more attention to their surroundings.

The O C

So I have never seen it before and my friend made me watch it and now im addicted. I just wanted to throw that out there. While watching the O C i can def. pick out bad acting. Some of the actors seem to not have a very good idea of there surroundings But on the subject of the mirror exercise it is def. more hard then I thought it would be. The class is a lot of fun but I think it will be so much more easy once we start to use words and stuff.

Acting

Details

I also agree that the mirror exercises are harder than they look. When we had to do it without a leader it made it even harder. I never knew rather she was going to move or if I should so I hesitated a lot. I also really enjoyed the exercises when people had to join in. I honestly didn't think it would turn out to be fun like it did. I never realized until this class how important little details are in acting. For example when I "walked" into the bookshelf because I didn't really pay attention to where the others "placed it". Also when we were doing the joining in exercises by adding a simple detail you could set the entire scene. As I said before i didn't realize how important the little details were.

Creativity

I very much enjoy going to class. I find myself amazed at others' ability to think outside the box. For example, during Tuesday's class we did an exercise where people had to join in an activity. At first the joiners tried to do what the first person was doing. When we did the second activity and Renae pretended to play hop-scotch; other people joined in with different activities. One person was sitting on a swing. I found myself thinking Can we do that? It had never occured to me to work together with someone but to feed off of them and do something different. This class inspires me to be more creative. When there aren't rules you don't always have to play it safe; get crazy!

The Real World

I do not know if anyone watched The Real World last season, but instead of being assigned a "job" like usual, they were assigned to go to improv classes. As they improved they were then assigned to participate in shows. Yesterday I was sitting in class listening to Prof. Polanco talk and I realized that we are basically doing the same thing - minus being on TV and doing shows. It was amazing how much The Real World cast improved by the end of their time there.
I feel like I learned so much already that would not have crossed my mind if someone did not point it out to me. For instance, when holding an imaginary fork or rope...my fingers/hands can not be pressed together or it does not look realistic. I am looking forward to seeing how much everyone in class progresses and improves throughout this semester. And I am really enjoying being able to take a course different from all my other classes.

Mirror, Mirror

I agree that the mirror exercises are harder than they look. I have never considered myself a control freak ( In fact, I always thought that it was my nature to follow rather than lead) but when we do the mirror exercises i often find myself wating to take control because I feel the need to DO something. The hardest part of the class so far has been trying to keep it simple. It is so easy to just be a mime and "show" what i am doing. It is a lot harder to actually "do" something with nothing. I never considered myself unimaginative, but I have difficulty interacting with things that aren't there.

odilon

I noticed today how hard it was not not know who is leading the mirror game. It wasn't quite like taking turns, it was more like trying to move one of those quiji boards with the letters that spell out the name of your high school crush or tell you if you're going to win the lottery. (OK, not quite like that) I was trying not to think too hard about what was going to happen next but it was hard. I liked the part of class where we did something and people joined in. I am a better joiner than starter because I couldn't think of anything. good class

Leadership

I thought our mirror exercises and discussion on leadership was very good. In most things I do, I consider myself a leader. Whenever we have group projects, I am usually the person who makes sure we are getting everything done. In the mirror exercise, it is very important to not always be the leader. I liked when Professor Polanco said that five actors working together are going to perform a better play than if one of the actors is trying to be the leader and the other four actors are following him. This got me thinking that for the next group project I have to do, I should not step up to be the leader and see what happens. I am sure that the other group members would think of better ideas all working together compared to just using my ideas for the project.

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I have acted in many plays since I was in fourth grade and I have never realized some of the things that we are learning. I knew that you had to react off of others but I just never thought so hard into it. Watching movies it is easy to pick out bad acting but im sure many can do that. I think it is a lot easier to act with props and words but I do think that what we are doing in class will help a lot.

Acting and Such

As many other, I, too, have been watching the acting in movies/TV shows/etc. lately ever since I began this class. It's interesting how many tips you can pick up on just by focusing on the acting of what you are watching. It definitely gives you good and bad examples of how to express certain emotions or how to react in various situations.

I feel that taking this class was a really good decision for me. I have done a little bit of acting (high school shows, community theater, etc.) in the past but I have never actually taking an acting class. It is really interesting to me to use what I have learned from the past and to combine it with the new things that I am learning. I think this class will help me grow as an actress and will definitely help me should I decide to do any more shows in the future.

Acting

I have notice how well actors are able to control their emotions during a scene. The way that they can make themselves so their emotions is amazing. It seems to me that being able to cry would be a really hard thing to do. But the actors do such a great job at it that it is hard to realize that they are still acting. I also like when actors act like they're trying to act. I remember the Woody Allen epidsode on Seinfeld where Kramer tries to figure out the best way to say, "These pretzels are making me thirsty."

Degree of Difficulty

I completely agree with the posts showing respect for how hard acting can be, especially because I think that being on stage is difficult. And watching movies with emotional performances (I watched 'Blood Diamond' yesterday) I now can't help but think about how actors who are crying or screaming or dying actually think to a degree that it is indeed happening to them at that moment. I wonder sometimes, also, whether the toughest thing about acting is actually the acting part or whether it is getting into the proper mindset to actually act. For some reason I think that once someone is in that place where they are completely into what they are doing as somebody else, which is clearly very hard to get to, it would be easier to keep going with a character, but I don't know.

Acting

I have a new found respect for actors.  I always thought that acting was easy but i have now found that it is by-far a lot harder than i thought.  Class on thursday was very fun and hard at the same time.  Trying to mimic someone else's motions without making it obvious who was the leader was def. hard! 

Acting

Acting

I agree with everyone that acting is a lot harder than i thought. Like Fabio says you have to actually live that moment in order for people to believe you. And that is a very difficult task for me. I can think of the moment and how it went/goes but its hard to actually "live" the event. I also agree that with the use of props it would make it easier. When we had to act like we were playing tug-a-war it would have been much easier to do. Another example of this would be when we had to act like we were eating. We didn't have any props but the table and it was hard enough but it would have made it even more difficult if the table wasn't there. Overall so far i have grown to respect people who do acting for a living because it is hard work and takes a lot of time.

Acting

I have a new respect for actors since being in this class. I believe that to act as if you were doing something is not as easy as if you were actually doing it. Also I believe that props make it a lot easier because when acting without them you have to take into consideration all the minute details and sometimes that can be difficult. Though if you can accomplish that you can really make someone believe you. Acting is something that seems as though it would be easy, however since starting this class I can see where it could become hard. I found the most difficult exercises in class were one's where we were eating and pretending to do something where we didn't have props. You just really have to consider all the details of what you are doing and slow down and that seems to make your acting a little bit more believable.

A New Respect For Actors

I agree with Aaron that acting is probably easier when you're allowed to use props and whatnot but at the same time I still think it is really really hard. After just a few of these classes I already see actors in a new light because pretending to do something and making it look real is not an easy task. I think the whole idea of being really good at pretending when we were little and then being told that we're not supposed to do that anymore as we get older is very interesting because some of the most well known and idolized people in the world are famous for being actors and pretending. Also, I've always been completely amazed by child actors because for me acting is hard but they're so little and they can do it so much better than me. But applying the thought that it's natural for kids to pretend and really believe something is happening makes it a little easier for me to understand how they can be so talented at it.

Lately when I'm watching TV or a movie I think of how the actors are just standing there in front of dozens of cameras and crew people and it amazes me how real they make everything seem. I can't even pretend to play tug of war in front of a group of 20 some people with out cameras, I can't imagine doing more serious involved things in front of all the people on set while filming for TV or a movie.

Television Acting

I agree that the actors and actresses on television make it look easy. I would have to imagine though that they have had a lot more experience than any of us. It would probably pay off in the long run if we had 100x classes of acting.

Although I have been in a few plays a long, long time ago (youth group in church maybe when I was ten), it seems like it is a lot harder that I remember. Maybe when I was younger I was able to imagine things better. In those plays though, I did get to use props which I think might make acting a little easier if there is an item to actually look at.

Acting is difficult

I agree with Paige. Before taking this class, I think acting was something that I took advantage of. When I used to watch television or movies I always thought to myself that actors have the best jobs in the world, I mean how hard could it be to read lines and pretend? After doing a few simple exercises in class I have been enlightened to see the depth of acting. I have learned that it is very difficult, and to be good at it you must be very talented. Before, it was very easy to watch the cheap scary movies or the movies on the Sci-Fi network and pick out 'bad' acting. While watching these movies I used to think that anyone could do better than the actors cast in these movies. I now know I was wrong. Good actors are extremely talented and they make such a hard task look extremely easy.

Movie Night

I watched "What Happens in Vegas" this weekend and really noticed the ways in which they ate, drank, and expressed emotion(s). I used to think that it looked easy, but I now know how challenging it really is to imagine something that really isn't happening. It amazes me how something we do every day can be so difficult to act. When we act in class our bodies seem stiff and our eyes seem glazed (not emotionally into the scene). However, when watching this movie I realized that the actors and actresses had feeling in their eyes as if the scene was really their life!

Watching a Movie

I watched What Happens in Vegas this weekend. This was my first movie I have watched since being in Acting for Non-Majors. I found myself watching the actors more closely because of this class. I was amazed how easy they made acting looking. I have realized that acting is not easy! I need a lot more practice at making the actions I am acting out realistic. I never really thought about the difficulty of acting until I took this class. I believed every single action the actors were doing. I was paying attention to their facial expressions. Cameron Diaz was making excellent facial expressions that were believable. One thing I realized was that I have only seen Ashton Kutcher do one “type” of acting. He always is the quirky character who is always joking around. I would like to see him play another role in a movie!

clean up in aisle 5

I'm not totally sure what I am supposed to write about but I was watching the office today, not sure if anyone else watches that but I really really like it and I noticed something that kinda sorta related to our acting class. one of the characters pretended to pull the pin out of a grenade and throw it at another, the character that it would have hit picked up some paperclips at the correct moment and threw them in the air, it was special and funny. I suppose they are professional actors that have no doubt already taken acting for non-majors and got an A. plus.

The Horror!

While I am writing this I am watching a REALLY old horror movie ( it was made in the 40's) with my friends. I know that people complain about the quality of the acting in movies today, but judging from this movie, the acting was no better back then. This movie reminds me of a bad high school play. All the actors are trying to show what they are doing rather than being real. Now that I am focusing on it, it is really getting on my nerves. As far as plot goes, the movie is interesting, but I don't believe any of it becuase of the crappy acting. There are occasional moments where the acting is not so bad, usually when the characters are not speaking. The dialogue is especially stilted.

about class

Thursday's class was interesting and a good learning experience for me, seeing first hand with a diverse style of exercise, humor, and knowledge is a good method of molding or building a relax and team work like atmosphere and that this technique can bring a group of diverse personalities on board for a common cause. The mirror exercise is a tool or technique that could be very beneficial in my field of work (CTRS) not only with my clients but also with staff /team building exercises.

eating in convo

While eating in convo, I watched a couple of people eat their meals. As I watched one person, I noticed that they always took a sip of their drink after every bite. It wasn't a big sip, it was just a very little sip. I also saw that the person would always lean towards the table when they went to take a bite. The person's chewing was kind of weird. It looked as if their mouth was moving side to side. And finally, I noticed that for some reason they were eating their ice cream with a fork. That suprised me a bit.

I actually watched people eat in the Eagle's Nest which made it pretty hard because I'm not very discrete and it was hard to watch people eat without totally staring at them. But I figured it out after a minute or two and I decided to watch a group of three girls while they ate and carried on a conversation. After watching people pretend to eat in class it was really funny to notice little details while people ate real food. For example, I noticed that they talked more than they ate; they would take a bite or a sip of something then put it down and continue talking. Then I remembered that in class when we were pretending to eat everyone did it really fast, it was like there was no break from eating and most people hardly chewed anything. While I was watching the girls I paid special attention to how long they chewed their food.....it was way longer than I pretended to chew on Tuesday. Clearly I was just swallowing my food in gigantic chunks.

Watching someone eat.

At first I felt pretty awkward as I watched someone eating from across the room. As he ate for about the first few minutes he didn't have much to say, however, once he got some food down his eating became slower and slower as he was more concerned with the conversation around him. He took really big bites and also was talking with large amounts of food in his mouth. At first he was really hunched over his plate really concentrating on his food but as time went on he would slowly sink back into his chair not really interested in his food anymore. He also seemed to chew really fast as he was about to say something.

Eatin' Folk

I managed to sneak some stares at three people who were eating, two of whom were in conversation and one that was listening and eating. Eating is a more violent act when it is done between sentences, and it is done almost subconsciously. The people I watched were not focused at all on their eating, and the more engaged listener seemed far more engaged with her friends than she was with her bowl of soup. The one girl I was watching was eating more properly than the other two, and that is more of what I would associate with eating alone, careful and more aware of herself.

Eating in Convo

Today i observed 3 guys eating at a round table during lunch today.  They seemed to be close friends from the way they interacted.  They talked while they were eating and didn't seem to have any manners while eating.  I felt this was very typically of college boys. 

Observing Someone Eating

I observed a blonde guy sitting at a table across from me eating today at lunch (around 1pm or so). He was eating chicken for lunch with chocolate milk. He ate with his fingers and did not use any silverware. He was sitting at the table with 3 other people, one being another guy and the other two being girls. With the way he was interacting, it seemed that these people were his close friends. He seemed very talkative with the table and seemed to talk more than eat. Out of all the people at the table, he talked the most. He would take a few bites, chew, swallow, and then start joking (or what I assumed to be joking, since there was much laughing) around with the people at the table again. He sat a bit hunched over his plate but did not ever have his elbows on the table. He was also smiling for most of the time I observed them.

Eating

Eating dinner at convo

I watch a group of four girls eating dinner. The first thing i noticed was one of the girls would put her fork down after every bite. Also another girl would wipe her face after every bite. And the last girl kind of shoved her food into her mouth. I did notice that all the girls talked a lot while eating. It seemed as though one girl would talk as the others were eating and once she was done another would strike up a conversation while the others ate. So it seemed to switch roles so that it gave them time to eat as well. I also noticed that all the girls did lean over their plates while they ate. So i noticed a lot of different things within the five minutes of watching them eat.

View eating at convo

This assignment was completed during my lunch today. Over to my left about 11 o'clock angle, there were three ladies having their lunch together. Throughout most of the time the ladies ate quietly using very little movement while eating. 2 out of 3 of the ladies were sitting with their legs cross while the other young lady sat on her left leg throughout lunch. they were sitting straight up in their chairs, all using their right hand to feed themselves, so their left side of the body had very little or no action while they ate. Conversation did not pick up their pace as far as body language is concerned. As the young ladies continued to enjoy each other’s company and fine meal, one could sense they are a close knit group of friends, simply by enjoying each other’s presence, they had over five minutes of complete comfortable silence. Once they started to talk to each other had their own turn to talk, they never talk over each other, it seemed as if they were actively listening to one another.

Watching someone eat

I secretly watched a girl eat lunch in Convo the other day. She had a salad and a pulled pork sandwich. Overall she seemed to have pretty good manners. She took small bites and chewed with her mouth closed. She was sitting with another girl and they were occasionally talking, but they both seemed too tired to carry on much of a conversation. As this girl ate, she leaned over her plate so she did not get any food on her. Also, she licked her lips pretty often, which I found pretty disgusting in all honesty. The way that she was eating her food, she seemed like she was not even that hungry. She played with her salad using her fork to mix it around, but did not really even eat it. She was a very slow eater. One thing that I noticed through watching this girl eat, as well as scoping out others enjoying lunch, that we did not do in class when imagining we were eating was open our mouths big enough. I do not think that we would have actually been able to fit the food in our mouths without getting it all over our faces.

watching people eat food

I watched a person eating this morning in convo. I was pretty far away, but I think she was eating hash browns or something and then a banana. The girl was sitting by herself and staring off into space. She chewed beautifully with her mouth closed most of the time. I noticed that when we were in class we mostly grabbed our imaginary forks like neanderthals while most people hold a fork like they would a pen. (this girl did at least). She drank her milk lazily and made it look so easy, maybe this was because she did not have to imagine the weight of the glass. She looked up as she chewed but down when she went for another bite. It got weird when we made eye contact, so thats where it ended. creeptastic

watching people eat

I watched two people eat breakfast this morning. It was very early in the morning( around 7) and most people were not very animated at this time of day. There is much more eating than talking going on. The two people that I observed have been eating breakfast at the same time as me, at the same table, almost every day for three years now. I am pretty sure they are a couple. They don't speak a lot, but they don't seem to mind. They read the paper rather than watch the tv like most people are doing. They eat slowly, without making a lot of extra movements. The guy slouches over his plate a little, but the girl's posture is basically upright.