Parting is such sweet sorrow!

'Our revels now are ended'

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, 
As I foretold you, were all spirits and 
Are melted into air, into thin air: 
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, 
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve 
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, 
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff 
As dreams are made on, and our little life 
Is rounded with a sleep. 

William Shakespeare 
From The Tempest, Act 4 Scene 1 

What a perfect selection to commemorate the end of something.  No one says anything like Shakespeare does.

I will be able to revise your marks until the end of Wednesday, but please get your journals in to me as soon as possible, to give me time to read them and evaluate your responses fairly.  I really enjoyed all of your work this semester and I feel pleased at how much we were able to accomplish.  Well done to all!

If you would like to continue to do drama, we will start auditions for "The Wars of 1812" in February after exam week.  There are only 20 speaking roles, but there are always jobs to be done backstage and ways for you to help, so pop in and see what's going on, if you aren't in the cast.  I am thinking I will assign understudy roles for the larger parts (Damien, Vanessa, Monica, Bill, and Joe) and perhaps we'll do a show with just the understudies!  If you would like to borrow a script, I will make a few copies and you can come in and read it.  I will continue to do rewrites as we rehearse, so it is definitely a work in progress.  Who knows?  There might be a few more parts by the time I'm finished!

This is the end, my friend!

Two days left of the first semester!

I am trying to put your marks together.  If you are missing any journals, you can still write them.  Go through the blog.  The topics are all posted here.  You can come in next week and hand in journals then, if you need to.  Just make sure you let me know that you are coming as I have to supervise exams and might not be in the theatre the whole time.  You can also drop your journals in my mail box in the office, if I'm not in my class. 

A couple of you haven't recited your Shakespeare speeches for me.  You can come in and do that as well.

All of you will be performing your final plays on Thursday.  Know your lines!  Show me how well you've learned the lessons we've worked on in Drama over the semester.  Speak clearly and distinctly.  Stay in character!  Listen to the other people on stage and react!  Think about subtext and pace.  Use some of the techniques that make an impression (choral speaking, mime, tableau, music, accents, physicality of character, energy and pace).

Course planning will be one of the things you do next semester.  I hope you will consider continuing in the Drama program.  There are always new and exciting things to learn in Drama and the skills you acquire here (teamwork, concentration and focus, confidence, imagination, creative risk-taking, observation, sensory awareness, self-discipline) are all transferable to any of your future endeavours.  I have really enjoyed working with all of you this semester.  Remember, you can still be part of drama in the drama club!  We will be starting work on "The Wars of 1812" in February.

"This is the real me!"

Grade 10's and 9's:  Now it is time to reflect on the extended role play.  Thanks so much to Kelly and Hannah for having taken on the role of teacher.  You can write about the teacher or the student, whichever you like.  The rest of you should write about your character for your last journal of the semester.  How did you find playing your character?  What did you try to do?  Were you successful?  Did you find it difficult?  Easy?  Explain.  How did your interactions with other people?  Write about specific events that happened which involved other people.  You may use the character's name or the actual student's name.

I was supposed to be a bit shy but anxious to make friends.  I asked "Marcy" if she minded if I sat with her and she got up and said she had to move.  (She was supposed to be mean, so she was in character.)  It really hurt my feelings and I didn't try any more that day to sit with anyone.  That reminded me how hard it is to break in socially.  But the next day I found someone who was more willing to talk and accept me, which made me feel a lot better.

It was fun to do the improv with "Rex" and "Krystal".  "Rex" was really good as Mr. T and I tried not to be too convincing robbing the bank (I think I succeeded in performing terribly).  "Krystal" was so focused on her visions that she needed to be reminded of her part.  I was a bit scared of "Keith" when I told him there were no polar bears in Antarctica.  He gave me such a look!

I always learn something when I do the roleplay.  If I'm playing a quiet character, it's just like I said in class -- I learn how much goes on when I stop talking and look around.  I think Ryan made a good point.  The quieter people who are supposed to play characters that are talkative might find it to be quite a challenge to come up with things to say.  But the roleplay exercise is supposed to be a challenge, so you can write about that as well.

On Thursday, we will see your film scenes (Grade 10) and your tv scenes (Grade 9).  You need to know the lines.  Think of a set for your performance.  Grade 10's -- your scenes are heavily subtextual, and you need to think about what you really mean when you say every line.  Grade 9's -- pace is everything in scenes of broad comedy.  You need to have lots of energy and pick up the cues!

Grade 8's:  We will perform your fables on Thursday.  You will need to know your lines, and dress like a group, and plan your framework.  I will let you rehearse for the whole class tomorrow.

And the award goes to . . .

It's awards season (starting with the Golden Globes early in January).  Do you care about awards at all?  I used to.  My sister and I used to pour over the Oscar nominations and discuss all the categories, not just the "big ones" -- actors, directors, best movie -- but also the art direction, the screenplay (really a more important aspect of the film than we think), editing (also really important).  I don't see as many movies as I used to (I haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees) and I really don't care about who wins anymore.  Lots of great performances haven't won over the years.  Two that come to mind are Bette Davis in "All About Eve" and Henry Fonda in "The Grapes of Wrath", two magnificent performances if there ever were two.  I find the awards shows themselves rather sickening -- I hate that phrase "who are you wearing?"

I was nominated for two awards last year for my performance in "Woman in Mind".  I won one of them (and I wasn't at the awards ceremony -- too bad!) and I didn't win the other (and I WAS there for that ceremony -- too bad!) and it was nice to win and not so nice to not win, but neither event did anything to convince me that that was the final word on the matter.  I still think of things I could have done to make  the character of Susan more interesting, more real, more moving.  I don't think, because I won an award, that my performance was great.  Nor do I think that I was necessary the "best" actor.  It was a huge part and people can be impressed with that.  She spoke with an English accent and mine is quite good (if I do say so myself), so people can be impressed with that.  And of course, a character who goes insane on stage can provide an actor with all sorts of opportunities to show off.  So those factors could have influenced the people who chose the winner.  And on the other hand, when I didn't win, I didn't feel like that meant my performance wasn't good.  It's certainly better to win than not win, but in the big scheme of things, it's the actual work that matters.

If you're interested in finding out about the next show, "The Wars of 1812", we will be reading some scenes from the play on Monday.  I'm hoping it will be in Mr. Allan's room.  It will be very casual, but we will discuss auditions, which will likely be in February after exam week.

Which face do you present?

Grade 9's and 10's:  Think about your assigned role for the extended role play.  What do you think of him/her?  Do you like the character?  How can you play the character?  Think about clothes, ways of moving, speaking, other characters in the class that you could play off.  Don't "wear your heart on your sleeve", meaning try to internalize your character rather than put it all out there.  Most people "suffer in silence".  They try to keep going and don't tell everyone their problems.  They might tell a close friend.  If you haven't been assigned a relationship in the role play, who would you naturally ally yourself with?  Come prepared to be your new role on Monday.

Grade 8's:  Which Aesop fable teaches a lesson that you need to learn?  Explain.

Bonjour demain!

Accents tomorrow!  In Grade 10, we've agreed to do Indian accents.  I don't do this accent well, so I hope to improve by listening to some of you!

In Grade 9, we're trying the French accent.  Either Quebec or Parisian, both are fine! 

Listen to actual people who might have the accent and you will have something that sounds authentic!

She's Ba-ack!

I am a bit better than Friday.  I stayed in bed the whole day and felt really rotten.  The TOC said you were all very good, and that makes me happy!  It is so helpful when I feel like I can trust you to do your work even if I'm not there to watch over you.

Grades 9 and 10:  We're going to start trying accents, so it might be a good idea to listen to people who actually speak with the accents we've chosen to try.  Youtube is a good source for this -- in fact, there are some youtube addresses (is that what they're called?) that actually purport to teach you how to use the accent.  Learning to do a good accent is really a matter of listening and copying.  When I hear an interesting voice, I will often repeat phrases that I like to try out the voice.  If you know someone who uses the accent, that is the best source of the real voice you want.  You don't want the "movie" version of an accent, which is sometimes not what the people sound like at all.  (I told the story about Dick Van Dyke's performance in "Mary Poppins".  He was a very popular American actor, but his character was a London chimney sweep and his accent was idiotic, making his performance really embarrassing.  On the other side of the coin, Hugh Laurie is an English actor but he plays the American doctor, "House", and you would never guess he isn't American from watching his performance.)  We're going to start with the British Isles on Wednesday. Any voice that you can identify as an accent that hails from Great Britain is good -- Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, or any English accent.  I don't mind if you aren't accurate, I just want you to try.

Grade 9's, after your exploration of violence on stage, we're going to end off the year looking at television acting.  I have scenes from the locally produced tv show, "Mr. Young", for you to work on.

Grade 10's:  We're going to try some movie scenes, from two great old movies -- "The Maltese Falcon" (in the film noire style) and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" (a good old horror movie).

In movies and especially tv, less is more.

Grade 8's, after we finish "The Creation of the World" (tomorrow -- be sure to bring music!!!), we will move on to our final project, in which we get to work on real scripts for the first time.  Don't forget that on Monday, you will be presenting your "show and tell" speeches.  Don't think you don't need to prepare -- you do!

No good deed goes unpunished!

I don't know what that has to do with this blog entry but I think it's a good quote.  What do you think it means?

Tomorrow is journal day!  Remember to try to be as specific as possible.  Don't assume I know what you're talking about.

Grade 10's:  How do you identify yourself?  If you were going to be a role in a role play, how would you describe yourself in four or five sentences?  Do you practice any customs as we discussed in class?

Grade 9's:  Why do you think violence is so prevalent in dramatic presentations?  Do you like to watch violent films?  Explain your answer.  Think of a violent film you've seen -- what was it like?  What impact did it have on you?

Grade 8's:  Remember you are presenting your "show and tell" speeches a week from Monday.  It must be two minutes long and must engage your audience.  The item you choose to show isn't really important but you must be prepared and speak clearly and confidently.

Your journal topic:  What are your plans for your "creation of the world" play?  Which role are you playing?  What sections lend themselves to a mime?  to a tableau?  to choral speaking?

Let me hear your balaleika's ringing out!

Back in the USSR!  Don't know how lucky you are, boys!

Tomorrow, we're back to the salt mines.  I hope you all had a great holiday and are ready to get back at it tomorrow!  The time flew by, but on the other hand, it seems like a very long time since we were at school.  But the funny thing is, once we're back in the building, it will feel like we never left!

This is Ukrainian Christmas eve.  Ukrainians follow the Julian calendar, and so everything is later.  (A great idea if you want to take advantage of all the sales after Christmas, plus for me, I never seem to get it all finished.  I sent out my Christmas cards on January 2!)  I am more Ukrainian than anything else.  Both my father's parents were born in Ukraine and even some of his older brothers and sisters were born there.  They were very emotional people, as I recall, and could laugh and cry in the same sentence, practically.  I can't speak any Ukrainian (except to say Merry Christmas and "apple" -- Christosye Roshdaiya (it's written in Cyrillic, so this is a guess for spelling) and "yapco".  My mother's family came to Canada in the early 1800's and so they are a real mix of many different European origins.  If you speak another language at home, you should thank your parents, because I wish that I had learned Ukrainian when I was young.  They say if you speak more than one language as a child, you will find it easier to learn more.

Grade 8's, don't forget that on Tuesday, you will be reciting "All the world's a stage":

All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man, in his time, plays many parts.

Practice speaking CLEARLY.  It is more important than being loud.  Try to appear confident, even if you don't feel that way.

We only have three more weeks of semester one!  Let's make them count!  See you tomorrow!

Auld Lang Syne - Best wishes for 2014!

I'm not sure what that phrase means (I could google it, since it's 2014, but I'm not going to do that now).  I believe it's Gaelic and I know Robert Burns (whose birthday we will celebrate later this month with my recitation of "To A Mouse") wrote it and we sing it on New Year's Eve.  We had a relatively quiet New Year's Eve.  I used to long to go out to some big fancy dress affair with a swing band and a kind of Rosemary Clooney supper club atmosphere, but then Mike and I did that a few times and I realized that the old saying is true -- that only the amateurs are out on New Year's Eve.  I think now my ideal New Year's Eve would be to spend the evening hiking in a snowy forest and celebrate the rolling in of the New Year under the stars in a frosty place where you could see your breath and not hear anything but the crunch of your boots in the snow.

We all stayed up till midnight and planned to bang pans at the turn of the clock, but the fireworks started earlier and Daisy worked herself up into a complete panic and just before 12, she managed to wedge herself between the washing machine, the wall and the hot water heater and so at the striking of the clock, Mike and I were trying to figure out how to get her out.  It was like one of those puzzles except with a living thing and both of us thought we might have to call the vet or something.  Luckily, we finally got her out with a great deal of pulling and pushing and struggling and no real injuries (although she seems a little stiff this morning) and then I put her on the leash for the rest of the evening.

Did you make any New Year's resolutions?  I made one -- I'm going to ask more questions.  Sometimes, I'm afraid of asking a question because I think it might sound silly, but if I don't know, I need to ask.  I remember the resolution a character in The Golden Road (by L.M. Montgomery, one of my favourite authors) made -- she resolved to have all the good times she could.  It wasn't as easy as it seemed and she wasn't able to keep it.  I think that's a good resolution to make, if you can keep it in mind throughout the year and use it to inspire you when you feel shy or nervous about putting yourself forward.  I wish you all the happiest and most beautiful New Year's Day.  Our bird feeder is crowded with little grey bushtits, and it makes me happy to think we can give them a little treat on a dreary day when it might be hard for them to find a nice meal.