Eleni J

8/31/2017

My name is Eleni and I'm very passionate about theatre. I hope that this class will help me become more comfortable performing in front of others so that I can pursue theatre as a career.

18 Comments

Eleni

9/1/2017 11:32:38 am

Who is more important, the playwright, or the cast and crew? Both parties play big roles the production of theatre, but the playwright's part is the more crucial of the two. The playwright must write the script in order for the cast and crew to have something to perform. Though the performers bring life to the story, the playwright must first create something that is able to be performed and think ahead enough to create characters that can be interpreted and brought to life by the actors. Furthermore, even without a cast and crew, it is possible for one to still experience the work by reading the script alone. A good example of this would be Shakespeare's works, which many are familiar with, even if not having seen it, and are often just read through.

My first performance in class went okay. Before the performance I was a little concerned how it would go, because the story was difficult to come up with. During the performance it was hard because some of my group wasn't performing as planned and then it was hard to stay in character at the end. After the performance I was relieved it was over.

Mr. Hanks

9/5/2017 07:45:41 pm

I feel like I was watching exactly what you wrote you were feeling. It started strong, then got a bit lost in focus. I think some more defined plot points would have helped the story to grow into something a bit more substantial. You mentioned having trouble maintaining character. Use that energy that bubbles up to power your character rather than to break out through you. Great fist go for the class, keep it up.

Eleni

9/8/2017 10:41:05 am

1. When I started thinking of my monologue I was struck with an idea at first, but i wasn't sure how I felt about it, so I tried to brainstorm but I ended up coming back to my original idea.

2. Thinking about spine, objective, and tactics has somewhat helped in writing my monologue so far, but it will probably help me more as I continue working on it. An example of a tactic my character is using is trying to impress the audience.

3. I would say my monologue is a comedy, because my character is making an over-exaggerated epic tale in a way that's comically over-dramatic.

Eleni

9/15/2017 10:30:23 am

I had a very positive and helpful experience this week attending the Sacramento Theatre Company's production of "As You Like It". I thought that the production was very well done and I really enjoyed it. It was evident that they were really strong actors in the way the never broke character and continued going even when they messed up. They also succeeded in creating very believable characters and relationships which helped bring the story to life.

To prepare myself for my monologue, I'm going to practice staying focused as I perform and staying in character. I'm going to create physicality in my character by using a lot of dramatic movement and gestures, which I'll also need to practice to become more comfortable with. In the live theatre I saw this week I saw a lot of dedication and focus to the performance which really inspires me to try to bring that to my monologue and give it my all.

Reilly Fox

9/22/2017 09:45:18 am

Eleni ily bb <3

Eleni

9/22/2017 10:43:06 am

Tiarra

9/22/2017 10:50:37 am

I loved your performance! There was so much energy and emotion and it was great. I was sitting at the edge of my seat just waiting to hear the next part. It was truly an amazing performance. :)

Eleni

9/29/2017 10:10:11 am

AHHHHH!!!! Thank you so much!!!

Eleni

9/22/2017 10:52:26 am

It was very hard for me to write my monologue because I couldn't really find a good idea to use, and the one I did settle on I wasn't very crazy about. As I was closer to finishing I became a little more inspired and motivated to work on it. Although I wasn't very passionate about my monologue, I'm very passionate about theatre and performing, so by the time we had to start practicing I decided that I was just going to all in and give it everything I had. If I couldn't be proud of my monologue, I wanted to at least be proud of my performance. And now I'm going to be performing it in the "Another Openin'" show, so I guess it wasn't half bad! ;)

Eleni

9/29/2017 10:33:13 am

For my set design I drew upon the 60s, Beatles vibe, as well as the color scheme and the bubble pattern. I'm basing the story/show for my set on the movie musical, Across the Universe. The basic stage scene I'm setting in my design is pretty minimalistic. I plan on having one (probably big-ish) piece in the middle that can be versatile and used for different scenes and then props, flats, drops, etc. that can be used for specific scenes. I'm not entirely sure yet, but I kind of want my set to look like a concert, at least in terms of lighting. The set will be simple to make greater emphasis and contrast in scenes where lots of colorful and bright things are brought in.

stella

9/29/2017 10:53:52 am

[CINDERELLA'S PRINCE]
Or half so fatiguing-
[BOTH]
As what's out of reach?

CINDERELLA'S PRINCE

11/7/2017 10:56:05 am

Am I not sensitive, clever, well-mannered, considerate, passionate, charming, as kind as I'm handsome, and HEiR tO a ThRONE??!!

Eleni

10/11/2017 11:22:01 am

So... I was perhaps not the most productive during the creative process these past few weeks. I was inspired by my collage, but I struggled for a while to find a show/story that lined up with my inspiration. After I finally found a solid story, it was hard for me to decide which specific scene to do. I had a lot of ideas but they were more just broad things for an overall show and very specific. I feel like because of that, I had a hard time starting it. It wasn't until I finally just started to make something, even though I wasn't 100% about it, that things began to flow and actually come together. This experience has kind of taught me to just start going with my instinct and not try to make everything perfect.

Eleni

11/3/2017 10:43:07 am

I decided on my idea for my puppet based on what the other people in my group were doing. Stella was making a dragon, so I decided to try to make something mythical. I settled on making a nymph. I struggled most with trying to figure out a specific design, because I just had vague ideas. I also struggled with just starting because I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted and didn't know how to make the different pieces. I hope to bring out the kind of carefree and non-human aspects of her personality/being through my voice.

Eleni

11/7/2017 10:50:36 am

I think our puppet play performance went alright. I really broke character for a while in the beginning and I just couldn't stop laughing, but after that it was fine. I think that it was partly because we didn't have that much time to rehearse and get over/used to the script. Not practicing a lot also made it difficult because we really had to use the script, which took our attention away from moving the puppets. It was also really difficult to try to turn the pages and hold the puppet at the same time. If we had had a different set up it may have gone a little smoother. (Now we know for the future.) I think that even thought there were a few bumps, we had a good story and were able to get across. And we got some laughs, so it wasn't a complete failure. Watching the other shows was fun and also helpful. It helped to see what they were doing that was good and what parts weren't as effective, that way we could learn from them and apply it to our own performance.

Eleni

12/4/2017 11:05:17 am

I really enjoyed the Shakespeare performance! I thought that it was really cool how something written so long ago could still be interesting and funny to audiences today. I started my costume and makeup designs by looking up the fashions of different eras, and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. I finally just decided to go with the 1940s, because it was a fashion that I just really liked and I knew it would be easy for me to design and research. I think that Shakespeare remains relevant to audiences today because, although the language is unfamiliar to us, he writes about situations and emotions that are universal and transcend time and place.

Eleni

12/17/2017 08:33:55 pm

For my final performance I'm doing a scene and song from 'Into the Woods' with Stella. We had been planning to do this performance for a while, but we didn't quite have it together the first opportunity we had to do it, so it was easy for us to decide on. We first came up with it because we wanted to do a fun musical theatre duet, and this seemed to be the perfect one for us. So then we had to work on how we would make it our own. We figured out the details on our costuming and our staging/props; then we did some thorough "research" by watching a wide selection of performances of the song, taking the best parts of each and trying to incorporate it into our own. I'm really excited for this performance, and I hope it all goes well!

Eleni

12/22/2017 03:09:44 pm

I think my final performance could’ve gone better. I think that the performance as a concept was really good and had a lot of potential, but the execution just fell flat. We just didn’t really get the audience reaction we expected, and I think it was in part just because the audience wasn’t exactly made up of theatre people. I also think it had to do with us not rehearsing enough. I think that once we’ve had more practice with the songs and working out comedic timing and blocking, the performance will play out a lot better.

I’ve had a lot of takeaways from this past term. I think above all, this experience has really grounded in and confirmed my love and passion for theatre and my desire to keep it a part of my life. (Can’t wait for Theatre 2)

Theatre 1: Blogs - Fall 2017

Eleni J

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