AND IT IS JUST GETTING STARTED!

It's been almost 2 weeks since we stared the rejersals for the school play. In class we've been working on our column and center of energy. Training has to be done every time, it never ends and all this work helps us to get better; so we train every single day we have drama class. It goes from making simple movements to rejersed 'choreographies'.

Now we have to focus on the play and choosing the part of production we want to do. I'll do make-up and be a wife (yay!..) so i'm realy excited. Today we were supposed to make a little lesson for the others, each one of us. So i tried to focus on the voice and the use of the center of energy. Since I have difficulties when it comes to invent noises, I gave the people little quotes from the play. What i forgot was to ask for the IB people to help me with the suppervision. I made several mistakes sush as ignoring when people made something wrong and rushing withour giving the guys time to think about the exploration of their bodies. And most important I have to be an example to the others; i can ask them to do something if i dont give them 'raw materials'. Next time i must lead them in every step to achieve what i'm aiming them to achieve. We are bodiesbut we need to go step by step to make a movement, an action, a scene, a play.

I wonder, how can I improve in my voice and imagination so i can serve as a great example?

Buenooo hola! Estoy suficientemente cansada para tratar de escribir en ingles así que mi post de hoy será en español. Hoy falte al cole (como se habrán dado cuenta), fue un poco imprevisto porque pensé que estaría mejor para poder ir. Estoy en cama; me acabo de levantar de nuevo y acabo de llegar hace unas horas de la clínica. Fui a emergencias en la mañana con el pecho cerrado y sin poder respirar bien; me tuvieron que nebulizar dos veces (cosa que nunca me han hecho y fue demasiado raro) que básicamente consiste en ponerme una máscara conectada a un tubo y pasarme oxigeno hasta abrir mis pulmones (no literalmente). Finalmente me dijeron que tengo bronquitis con un resfriado (me lo esperaba) y me mandaron centenares de medicamentos, así que no se sorprendan si aparezco mañana un poco dormida, con reflejos lentos o con mal humor (todo eso sería causa de la medicación). Lo recomendado por el medico fue evitar andar sin zapatos (inevitable), dormir con el ventilador prendido (de nuevo, inevitable), evitar esfuerzo físico y reirme mucho por la siguiente semana (sumamente inevitable). Con estas condiciones que tuve que prometer al doctor, podre ir mañana al cole. Solo escribía para avisar que mañana sin duda iré a nuestro querido holly theatre; al igual que en la tarde después de clases.

You took too many pills!, you little Jane Austin Wanna-be!

Today the language used in my post will make you visit the 19th century. Due to my recent fascination to Pride and Prejudice, you will observe how pills - which I took in large quantities in order to restrain my terrible cold symptoms that have worsen because of the reapeareance of a bronchitis that I had the misfortune to have during the summer - may have affected my better judgment and probably the concentration on my writting as well.
Although we discussed about the recent homework given on thursday, we had plenty of time to expose ourselves to the group and rediscover our bodies - again. Having finished with the talking, it was time to prepare ourselves for acting a little part of our lives. Who we actually are at the moment. I intended to show that I have a terror towards the future, I can be really insecure most of the time and most of the time as well, try to hide it without spectacular results. I certainly cannot look forward to it, it achieves in its purpose to petrify me in place and erase my mind. Few years ago, I merely thought about what would be of me; now, it all arrives quick and determinant, trying to get to me, to inmerse me into the unknown...
And then I felt it, the urge to go away from myself, the repression of feelings that I tried really hard to lock into place, finally came into view for everyone else to see it. I had never done that before; when I play a character, I connect with it, try to feel what he might have been feeling, explore him, become him; but this time I was not playing someone else, I was playing as myself. I felt totally uncomfortable, mostly because of the blindness I know I usually have towards myself and which I try to avoid...
I already know that through representing someone else, I can discover who I am further. But I wonder, how can I pretend to play a character without erasing my memories for 2 hours and forgetting who I am, and how I came were I stand?

Signs out off the street!

Usually an explanation has to be specific. AGAIN drama is the exception, a simple word like "sign" has a pretty broad meaning: Something that represents something else to someone. The value of signs is very important, we look at the material but also at the meanings that it brings. As we are trying to be great actors as Roberto [:)] we need to understand that the audience won't get an idea if we don't lead them to it. movements, voices and objects can all be signs. the objects that we brought sush as smells, clothes, pictures and songs, most of them made us remember moments or people that we enjoyed and love. So tomorrow we have to perform a little play about our life using the objects we brought and we also have to bring a picture that has nothing to do with our memories, i hope i can find a printer or i'm gonna get crazy! how can we explore signs even more?

DRAMA OR DESIGN CLASS?

So here it is! my first post! I have to tell you, i'm not a good writer... but i'll do my best. Today was our 3rd drama class, i feel so relieved when it finally comes! There are 8 people in the class, Sandra, Valentina, Felipe, Rodrigo, Diego, Sebastian, Sabrina (at the end she felt us and wen't to geography) and me. Having such a small group is awesome, it's so fun until we talk so much that Roberto tell us to shut up.It's hilarious to see him distracted anyway haha! The first two classes were about knowing each other better, although we've been together for years. Roberto also explained to us what we had to do for the IB and man! it's a lot! so let's see how much we can stand until we start going to bed at 4 am. The main activity we did was about trying to fool people, and people that usually know each other's secrets, it wasn't easy. We had to say 4 things about ourselves that obviously nobody else knew, three true and one false. it was pretty fun to watch and i got fooled twice! and then the bell run and little heaven fell apart giving homework as an outcome.

Today we had the last two hours, and after running (in my case, walking/running) 2.4km and having a too-quick shower that didn't even give you time to comb your hair!, drama was like a medicine. When roberto told us to rearrange his classroom, i seriously thought he was on crack, but then it came to my mind that it must have a reason behind it. right, that was obvious (showing how slow my brain works). Like in every play, we have scarce resources (economics applies to everything!) and although we might have brilliant ideas, we've got to work with what we have. Things like light, distractions, and the distribution of space made us look bad enough. And things like randomly placed chairs became magical props that were used to emphazise levels during acting ("sometimes the explanation comes after the action"...or something like that). I personally think that despite all of that, it looked great!.

The last activity was to make an sculpture, and i didn't feel concerned about Roberto's mental health anymore. I felt curious. The idea was that we had to make two sculptures with 4 chairs, 2 cubes and one bench; having into account that the audience have to be able to understand what the actors are doing, and you have to lead them to the right direction. the two groups were supposed to critisize each other. Our sculpture was called " tea time funeral", showing that the simple way things are settled can give so much information! A chair upside down became a dead warrior and two blocks together made a too-short coffin. Our goal was achieved; and there it was, the perfect kodak picture where even roberto was laughing his ass off. Is there a better way of learning, even when you thing that what we are doing at first doesn't make sense? I hope not.