No talking.

I agree with most of the others when they say that starting out talking would not be a good think. When we were acting in class we couldn't speak and so we had to look in the detail of our acting in order to make it look believable. I think that by starting out not being able to speak will hell up pay more attention to the details when we are aloud to speak. Being able to say something is a lot easy than having to act it out. I think the acting part will be much easier; however, I think that since being able to talk we will have to pay more and more attention to detail. I guess the more detail you have the better actor you are.

Not being able to talk has been a good and bad thing. It's good because you get to concentrate on the finer details of acting. You get to concentrate on movements instead of worrying about what you are going to say. The way that it is bad is that it makes it hard to communicate exactly what you are doing. Just like the one exercise where one person goes up and starts doing an activity and others join in. There were times where people didn't know what's going on and they changed the scene.

not speaking

I agree with Hallie that it was best for us to start off the semester without talking. I think once you incorporate talking it makes things a little bit easier (however I could be totally wrong because maybe acting with speaking is actually ridiculously hard). But I remember watching this behind the scenes thing on TV about the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. There is this scene right after they fight and pretty much tear their house to shreds where they just do stuff around the kitchen and all they do is look at each other, they don't talk. And the director was saying that originally they were supposed to have words but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie thought it would be more difficult and more meaningful to just use their faces and gestures and emotions to complete the scene. I thought that was really cool because attention to detail is what we always learn about in class and this was an example of that exact concept in a big time movie with big time actors.

Voice

Speaking of not talking, I think that voice acting would be pretty hard to do, especially if I had to do a character like Meat Wad on Aquateen Hunger Force. But maybe it's easier to get into a character if it is a wierd voice that isn't your own because you can trick yourself into believing that you are not yourself easier. Anyway I was thinking about this since our acting is without talking and some people act only with talking.

not speaking

I feel that it is good we didn't start speaking right away, because it helped us to understand that acting is more than just standing up in front of people and talking.  I think that the bus stop activity we did was awesome and really helped us show how we've learned and get us ready for when we do start talking.

Rocket Ship and Talking

Yeah that was fun. It wasn't nearly as fun as the jumping when getting hit by a bus, but it was pretty close.

As for the talking which I see people liek to talk about, I would have to say that not talking certainly makes you think more about how your body works and operates during a scenario. It would seem easier to just say something, but it probably would not appear to be real. Body movements probably are a lot closer to what you would do if it was real. I think this is probably the main reason that we don't start talking in the beginning because hardly any of it would seem real.

No talking

I have given some thought as to why we don't start talking right away in class and its because it makes it easier. I agree with Brittany when she said it is easier to convey a message when you can speak. When you can't speak you have to think several different details of an object and show it instead of us telling us. Also it makes it more challenging for the viewers too because they have to pay attention to just as much detail to know what is trying to be conveyed. When you can speak facial expressions seem to just come naturally along with the words but when you cant that is another aspect that you have to pay attention too. Overall i believe that you don't start the class off with talking because it is a challenge and makes us much more aware of our surroundings.

Reasons We Don't Start Out Speaking

In many of the acting experiences I've had, including shows, we always started out with activities that did not include speaking. In one particular activity I remember, we had to pick an emotion out of a hat. We proceeded to act as if we were sitting on a bench outside of school waiting for the school bus and we had to sit there and portray this emotion. This particular activity sticks in my head because it really helped us to think about our emotions first.

Speaking is, of course, an important aspect of acting...but it is most certainly not the only aspect. If fact, dialogue can just be distracting when you are trying to portray something. To be able to portray what you are saying, it is important to first focus on what you are doing. You can go up on stage and say the line "I feel sad." but is that what your body language is showing? If not, you won't be very convincing. First, it is important to realize what you are doing physically and whether or not you are really portraying the emotion of what you are doing through your actions. Once this becomes a bit easier to realize, then adding some sort of dialogue will be easier because you will be thinking about the emotion rather than just reading off a page and sounding fake.

Why we don't talk right away

I have a thought as to why we don't talk right away in acting class. I think that it is much easier to convey a message if you are speaking. You could easily tell if someone was hurt, angry, or upset just by what they were saying. When acting, the hard part is making what you are doing believable. In real life we do talk, but we also use body language such as facial expression, movement or gestures to communicate. Sometimes when acting we can forget about these things (details) and just try to convey our message through spoken words, when in actuality that is not at all how it goes down. It is important for use to first be able to take advantage of the details that can be conveyed through body language, then it will be much more believable when we add words.

moving objects

During class Thursday I liked how professor planco challenged the class by adding more to the circle, bringing on another level of multi-tasking objectives. I also had some problems thinking of an object that can move us; I believe I was thinking way to hard on this task. I felt a little weird when professor planco suggested our group to do a rocket. I never been on rocket so I don’t have a clue on how to act while on a rocket although I did like the challenge of it and I am glad the group gave their all. Thanks team, peace.

Why we don't talk

Does anyone have any thoughts on why we do not speak in class right away?

why

Hello Friends,

You guys are doing great on the blog, but let me remind you, like it says on your syllabus, it is not enough to say you liked something. You have to explain why. If you do not, I can't give you credit for a post.

That being said, see that you are thinking about the lessons that our exercises teach especially the less obvious and, ironically, more important ones.

Keep it up.

Getting Moved by Object

I really liked the getting moved by an object activity. I thought that the balloon in the parade was a great idea. My group (the remedial group) had trouble coming up with an activity. I thought Professor Polanco made a good point when he said that none of us have probably seen anyone get hit by a bus, so that makes it harder to act out. The only time I have seen anyone get hit by a bus was in a movie, and it was very unrealistic. Final Destination had a scene where someone got hit by a bus, and I remember when I watched it I commented on how unrealistic it looked. When we acted it out, people knew what we were doing, but it did not look real. Acting out more familiar activities makes the scene more realistic.

Empty to Full Activity 2 - sorry you couldn't read the first one.

When doing this activity, I picked something that I literally do every day so that I would be able to reenact it in front of the class with little difficulty. However, that did not go as planned at all. I figured since filling my bag with books is something that I am obviously familiar with and do a lot, the hardest part would be acting like it was heavier rather than putting the books inside the bag. I was shocked. I guess it is routine so I do not actually think about how I put the books in my bag when I do it. Therefore, throughout this activity I realized the importance of detail even more.

Empty to Full Activity

When doing this activity, I picked something that I literally do every day so that I would be able to reenact it in front of the class with little difficulty. However, that did not go as planned at all. I figured since filling my bag with books is something that I am obviously familiar with and do a lot, the hardest part would be acting like it was heavier rather than putting the books inside the bag. I was shocked. I guess it is routine so I do not actually think about how I put the books in my bag when I do it. Therefore, throughout this activity I realized the importance of detail even more.

I like wizzbang. bling bling, ca-ching... I did not do my empty/full thing yet, but the objects that move you was pretty entertaining. I like to see what other groups come up with. As a class, I think we are pretty darn entertaining. I too, am excited to talk because people say funny things, and I like funny things.

Can we speak yet?

So i am really excited that we get to talk soon. I understand why it is important to do things without speaking, but I feel that it is a little bit unnatural to never speak during the activities. If we are supposed to be as real as possible, then I think talking should be a part of the scenes since real people have a tendency not to be mute.

bus stop

i thought when we did the bus stop activity everyone was acting there age. no-one was really over doin it. i didn find it hard to start acting the certain age like instantly though . but i guess that what u have to do when ur an actor/actress, be able to change charaters or ages at the drop of a hat.

Class Tuesday

Class was pretty interesting on Tuesday. I really enjoyed the whizbang game and I keep wondering where he comes up with some of these games. Half of them I have never even heard before, I must have been deprived at a young age. I think that the buss stop game was pretty interesting in that it was definitely easy to see the different age groups. I could mostly depict the different ages out by watching how much energy each person had. The older the person was they seemed to be like a bump on a long and the younger people had tons of energy.

bus stop activity

This was a fun activity and good learning experience about stereotypes with age. generally we stereotype by culture, color, or physical characteristics but this was an interesting twist, after the class I started to carefully watch several people of a diverse age group to examine what we did was close to what actually happens with movements and body language and I have to say we were not that far off from the stereotypical actions of what people do, also I think everybody is giving excellent energy towards the class objectives and activities, peace.

bus stop

I really likes the bus stop exercise. It did not look that hard and then i got up there and i had no idea what to do. I had to think about how the people i see daily really feel and try and become one. It was very hard, i had to be a 99 year old lady and i could not imagine how she would really feel. I just tried to imagine how her body would feel and how weak she would be. It was very hard but i enjoyed a challenge.

Yeah, Yeah

I also thought about stereotypes during that bus stop scene. It seems like it is kind of unavoidable. The character that we were only had an age and maybe a gender. There was no goal we had to achieve other than to convey someone of that age. When I think about that, acting like a stereotype is kind of what we were supposed to do, which is fine with me. I stereotype people all the time, and am bad like that.

Watching

I've noticed that we've been doing a lot more watching in class for the ast 2 days. Like, we watched other people have difficulty with small objects on Thursday and on Tuesday we watched other people on a bus stop for the majority of the class. But I don't mind it at all. I really enjoy watching other people and seeing what crazy ideas they come up with for our many different exercises. Even just watching someone try to take an earring out for like 2 minutes straight was really intersting to me and I've found myself paying way more attention to little details not only in the classroom but elsewhere too. For example I just notice how people eat or the way they carry themselves or things like that, and I just think it is all very interesting.

The whizbang game was kind of fun. I liked being able to use words with more than one syllable. I like the game because it's easy and it's fun. I think this game can get pretty hard if he adds in a few more actions. It's hard sometimes to remember all the rules.

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."