Writing vs. acting
I have time for a short update; yay for me! However, I'm only going to talk about a random thought I've had for awhile now that's been bugging me.
I assume that at some point in my drama class, we'll be writing in addition to acting. However, as I've looked at the scripts we've been studying so far, I've realised that some things simply look better on paper then they do when you try to transcribe them to acting.
For instance, we have the following line: PARKS: I didn't know! (she gestures helplessly)
Now, I don't know if anyone here has ever tried to gesture helplessly, but you just kind of frown and flail a bit. Not so much helpless as ridiculous.
Or, possibly, the common occurances in books that involve characters conversing with their eyes. As pretty as it looks on paper, people's eyes very rarely construct sentences on their own. Therefore, when I find that I should allow my eyes to tell ___ how very much I missed him and wanted to be near him again , I don't know whether to squint incredulously or gaze seductively. Either way, I end up looking as though either my contact lens has traveled to uncomfortable regions or I'm about to burst into tears. Not so alluring.
My instructor, doesn't seem to understand my dilemma, however. When I ask her to demonstrate for me, she seems to do the same thing twice and then insists there was "a huge difference!". I think this is just the acting portion of bullshit, where nothing is really there until someone else points it out, and then the actor is free to take credit for it. ("Oh, I loved your soulful look during Act II, Scene i! You could really tell how much ___ longed to be reunited with ___!" "Oh, uh, I just had to go the bathroom, but yes, thank you!")
I assume that at some point in my drama class, we'll be writing in addition to acting. However, as I've looked at the scripts we've been studying so far, I've realised that some things simply look better on paper then they do when you try to transcribe them to acting.
For instance, we have the following line: PARKS: I didn't know! (she gestures helplessly)
Now, I don't know if anyone here has ever tried to gesture helplessly, but you just kind of frown and flail a bit. Not so much helpless as ridiculous.
Or, possibly, the common occurances in books that involve characters conversing with their eyes. As pretty as it looks on paper, people's eyes very rarely construct sentences on their own. Therefore, when I find that I should allow my eyes to tell ___ how very much I missed him and wanted to be near him again , I don't know whether to squint incredulously or gaze seductively. Either way, I end up looking as though either my contact lens has traveled to uncomfortable regions or I'm about to burst into tears. Not so alluring.
My instructor, doesn't seem to understand my dilemma, however. When I ask her to demonstrate for me, she seems to do the same thing twice and then insists there was "a huge difference!". I think this is just the acting portion of bullshit, where nothing is really there until someone else points it out, and then the actor is free to take credit for it. ("Oh, I loved your soulful look during Act II, Scene i! You could really tell how much ___ longed to be reunited with ___!" "Oh, uh, I just had to go the bathroom, but yes, thank you!")