Here are the final performances. The lighting isn't the best and some of The Sneetches stuff was a little out of frame, sorry about that. But here it is if you want to see them!

Another Seussian Tableau

Creative Movement 2

My favorite three questions were the following:

1. Range of Movement- range of movement is the limits of oneself in terms of stretching their body to its fullest and smallest in terms of space, length, height, and mobility.  It is also a way of establishing oneself in his/her ability to be emotional available and mentally focused.  Anything can affect the range of a person, whether that is stress, illness, physical pain, etc.  The ways that a person can move in order to allow diversity is by finding that neutral standing and walking position while moving.  If an actor can be as neutral as possible then the ways in which they can change are almost unlimited.

4. Body Awareness- Throughout the process of this class I definitely feel more comfortable with most of my body.  I feel like I understand how expressive I can be with the simplest of movements.  The only thing that I still feel like I am not completely comfortable with is the physical limitations of my hamstrings.  Despite that fact I still feel like everything that has to do with movement can relate to the awareness of feeling.  For example, if you walk around the room and move with a frantic, radiant energy it will more than likely you make you feel hyper or worried or similar emotions.  If you walk around the room in a slump with potent energy it can make you feel tired or irritated.


18. Application- All of this knowledge of stage movement is crucial to my professional life and personal life.  The reasons being that as an actor, you want to be able to have as much movement ability physically, emotionally, and mentally so that you will stand apart from all of the other actors that you are competing against.  In personal life it is crucial because it allows you to figure out how other people are trying to communicate to you even if they are not saying anything to you.  It also makes it so you are aware of how you are using body language when contacting another person.  Someone might think you are being aggressive if you are puffing your chest at them.  Since I have the knowledge of that movement portraying that emotion I could make sure to change that.

Creative Movement Questions

http://sixxnine.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/project-london/

I love watching others move because I now realize all the ways that I move differently from others. I play a game while I’m at the library now to watch people and figure out which plane they move on while they are walking and what part of their body they lead with. I have discovered that some of my favorite goofy friends move with very little inhibition and that is part of why I enjoy spending time with them.

 I am able to have fun moving and investigating who I am and I have enjoyed every minute of the variety of new movement types I have been introduced to.  However, my favorite part of this class has been the privilege of getting to see more of who people are and how we can relate to each other through movement.

1.       My answer for this question is the one that has probably changed the most. Although I am still a little shy, I think that my movement more clearly expresses my feelings, philosophy and inner creative forces than it did at the beginning of the semester. I don’t naturally have a very bold movement style and I don’t necessarily stand out but my movement does mostly express who I am.

Creative Movement Questions 2

So I kept a lot of my original answers but I added in things at the end of most of them with updated thoughts at the end of the semester.

Seeing Others: For the most part I see other people move pretty fluidly. Obviously there are some people who have problems with their movement way more than the average person, but for the most part people move smoothly in regards to who they are. This semester I have noticed that more people around me move in interesting ways. I think that since I have been introduced to different movements people make I have been able to pick them out better.

Openness and Availability: For the most part I am open minded and able to try new things. There are times where I am reluctant to change my ways, but I will usually still listen to other opinions/options. This semester I have tried more new things and have opened myself up more to new friendships. Normally I am hesitant to put myself out there with new people but this semester I just decided to go for it with a couple new people and it was totally worth it.

Creative Play: Yes I am able to have fun while figuring out life. There are times when darkness creeps in but for the most part it is relatively easy to enjoy the people and things around me. As I get to know people better I find myself opening up more and not caring about trivial things. I have noticed that more people are drawn to me when I do that.

Expressiveness: It is not so easy to express myself through movement alone. I can do it but usually it takes effort if it is something I consciously want to express. Then there are other times that I wear my heart on my sleeve and it is obvious what I am feeling based on my body movements and expressions.

photo credit: Jenn Boughn

Creative Movement for Mel

1. Range in movement is how far your body can move within your own limits.  Fear, personal image, and ignorance does cause limited range in movement.  Some ways of moving would be how tall you stand, how you walk, and even what part of your body ends up leading.

2. Movement in others looks as if they can be stiff, loose, or just there.  This is seen when observing certain individuals who allow themselves to move rather than be tight all the time.  A lot of the movement I noticed is restricted to the shoulders and the torso.  The arms are a little more free and so are the legs most of the time.  The exercises that freed up the physical systems are the ones where we just walked normally and then gradually started to walk in a neutral position.  This one is also used for inhibiting the movements because of when we get into a different persons type of walk or something, it keeps us restricted.

3. I can move more neutrally so that I may show others how to walk and hopefully they will catch on so that they can have a better type of walk that works for them. If you move your shoulders inward, that cuts off communication for anyone else whereas if you held upright and were open, that would be more of an invitation for conversation.

Movement Questions... like 3 of them... yeah

Eli Stewart

05-09-2014

Stage Movement

Prof. Jenn Boughn

Creative Movement Questions

·         Spontaneity: Am I locked in categorical habit patterns of movement or am I able to react freely?

For the most part, when I do scenes or become a specific character, I try to discover the way they would walk based off of their given circumstances. However, they started out very generalized. I am able to focus more on specifics now, simple things like how they walk (side to side, up and down, etc.) or the pace at which they move.

·         Musicality and Rhythm: What is my rhythm habitually? Can I adapt to other pulses, phrasings, tempos?

My rhythm tends to be slower and more casual than the general person. I speak and walk with purpose. Other tempos, pulses, etc. come naturally to me because I have a strong internal rhythm.

·         Tension and Release: Am I holding? Am I letting go? Where am I too tight or too loose to move with integrity and clarity? How do I let go or be more precise?

I can be pretty tense at times. I knew of tension in my shoulders and lower back at the beginning of the semester. I have stretches that I do to let that tension go. I also discovered over the course of the semester that I have jaw tension as well, which is related to the tension in my shoulders. Simple stretches can be done to relieve  that as well. Once I have released said tension, I am able to move well, with integrity and clarity, but if I have not given these places attention, that is when my movement suffers.

Creative Movement Questions Pt. 2

Range of Movement: Physical range of movement has to do with the different planes an actors body can “physically” move in space. We colored these planes of movement in our coloring books the first week of class; frontal, transverse, cross, median, sagittal, and coronal. I think that emotional range of movement refers to the spectrum of feelings/emotions that an actor has experienced and can tap into in order to help influence a character/performance. Mental range of movement has to to with the actors personal beliefs about themselves. If an actor does not  think they can remember all their lines, hit the high notes, or do a cartwheel on stage then they have a mental road block. They don’t have a good mental range of movement. If the actor can have a greater emotional, physical and mental range of movement and not bring any personal “baggage” into their performance, then they can fully commit and bring that character/performance to a higher level of truth and believably. 

Seeing Others: When we see an actor/character who is walking with a hunched back, tense shoulders and neck, and breathing fast and shallow. They are communicating information to us/the audience about themselves. This person may be stressed out, in poor health, low statues, or just feeling down that day. But we see their body language and we fill in the blanks accordingly. On the other hand, if we see an actor/character who is standing up strait, allowing their shoulder muscles to be relaxed and not pulling everything out of whack, and allowing their lungs to take in calmer deeper breathes we perceive this actor/character as having high social statues. Simple core exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups mixed with stretching and maybe a little cardio can be extremely helpful for an actor to achieve better physicality that will communicate positive qualities about themselves/a character via body language. And also, the pain is not necessarily where the problem is. Little side story, I was on the track team in high school and ended up tearing my meniscus. The pain was in my knee, but it was because of the funky way I was running on the edge of my foot that was the source of the problem. Certain muscles in my leg would have to over compensate for the way I would run. My quadriceps muscle got so tight that it was pulling my knee cap into my meniscus. So when I would run the knee cap would be rubbing my joint and causing it to become inflamed and eventually tear.

Body Awareness: I feel very aware of my legs and knees. As I mentioned in the story above I have had a knee injury in the past, and all the physical therapy I had to do to get better has made me hyper aware of this part of my body. I think I don’t take care of my neck and shoulders enough. It is a place that I carry a lot of tension and stress. It is something that I have to be really mindful of and take extra care to not bring this stress and tension to a character who’s supposed to be care free and happy.

 Creative Play: I think that the best example of creative play is when we did the clown Olympics. My clown revealed himself more and more the more I interacted with the other clowns. Having to interact to the other clown characters made me internalize my feelings more and question how I represented my character’s feelings through pure physically and no words.

 

Final Post

Seeing others: I am much more able to notice movement in others now. Especially in a stage environment. I was at a choir concert at my sister's high school and was thinking "COMMIT! STOP SLOUCHING!!! THIS SONG IS FUNNY HOLD YOURSELF AS SUCH!!!!"
Flexibility: I feel less flexible now than at the beginning of the semester, I think it is due to illness and stress. For some reason I am infinitely more stressed this semester than last, and I am holding it in my upper body. I should be able to improve that on my own though.
Creative Play: I feel much more open to play and trust myself. This class was a very safe environment to do weird things and learn what I'm capable of coming up with. I've developed a great ability to emulate  a character quickly to help the internal.

I'll email you tonight for further reduced credit with the rest of the list..... My email doesn't work on my iPad with campus wifi. Sorry :-//
Aaand sorry that I forgot to do this post when it was due...

                                          http://www.jellymuffin.com/images/im_sorry/

Creative Movement Questions, Round 2

Here are my three favorite questions/answers. The answers in black are my original answers from the beginning of the semester, the ones is red are my current answers/ updated thoughts.

Relating to others:

Our gestures and proximity can affect others. Being too close can be uncomfortable for some as can standing face to face.  Open arms with palms up is a way to invite someone in or portray your information in a positive way. Crossed arms or downward movement can look closed off or bring the energy down.

Moving can produce distance or closeness just by turning the body. Facing away from someone, no matter how close you are creates a feeling of distance.

Engagement and follow through:

It all depends on the activity.  I do like to try new things and sometimes I find that they are not right for me. I will usually know this almost immediately and remove myself from the activity.  If I chose to continue something new, it means that I am enjoying it and I will go all-in and stick with it ‘til the end.

At this point, I am 100% down with the follow through.  Many changes are afoot in my life and I think they are showing in my stage presence as well. I could work on my engagement for sure. I have been letting life stress interfere with how present I am in class. Sorry guys.

Tension and release:

Good question. Depends on the day and the task.

When I don’t know my lines, I am stressed and this shows in my movement.  I can not find a way to be loose if I am uncomfortable because I don’t know what I am supposed to be saying.

Big Brag Tableau