There's a rather fierce lightning storm happening right outside of my window, here in Astoria, as I write this. There's something very primal and inspiring and visceral about it all. There's the flash of electric light cutting through the sky and a near-immediate report of thunder that sounds as if the skies are sucking air. It's right above me and I can't help but be thrilled looking out my window for the next display and flinching back at the majesty of it all with my hackles at attention.
Today, in Kristin's class we continued the throat and tongue work that progresses us a step further in her cycle of vocal training. I'm really floored by the amount of attention put into what can initially seem the most trifling of exercises and the profound effect they have on my classmates. I say my classmates, because I was one of the few that wasn't re-jiggered today. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow. Seeing the release of long-held tension in a certain part of the body will sometimes also result in a flood of unexpected emotion, which really makes clear the relationship between tension and expression. It's interesting stuff.
In Andrei's class today, we had a two-hour post-mortem of Monday night's events. I was surprised at how many of my classmates were less than thrilled with their work from Monday night. Not that there were many people, but to hear from the of the doubt that they had in their own performances was so unexpected. These guys (and gals) are so good, and have no reason to doubt their own work, especially at Columbia where there is no onus to "perform". It's one of the major reasons why I so desperately wanted to study here. I remember seeing presentations of classwork under Andrei's guidance in the months before I started and and hearing him tell the audience that there is no need to applaud; that what they were about to see was lab-work of the students and a continuation of their rehearsal process. I think that might actually be the point where I really fell in love with the program. An audience member might be moved to respond appreciatively, but the banal contract of perform-applaud isn't encouraged. Everyone involved (student and audience member) has a reverent respect for the work. Now it's natural and a great sign that my fellow classmates care about what they submit, but, I suppose, I'm affected by the sour sense I get from the way that they treat themselves. Their work should be celebrated always. After viewing what happened myself, I'm a little crestfallen that the report that I hear that follows it doesn't sound with the same ferocity as the work that preceded it. Maybe it's adulterated by the days that have passed since then and reflection has set in. I don't know.
The class closed with us sorting ourselves into new groups and going over the material we have selected for our next round of scenes (spoiler: O'Neill & Kushner). I'm taking on two scenes this time, as are a few others in the class which is exciting. Everybody's really hungry to do more. No one is looking for the easy ride through, and that idea alone provides a charge and an external precipitate to do better. There's a sense of this pause that is happening. Even though there was a note of subtle disappointment amongst some of us, I can feel that the atmosphere of the class is charged; little stepped leaders are reaching out, and I feel the class sending streamers out in hopes of lightning striking again.
"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."
-DAVID FROST
I'll report back to you at the first flash.
-R
Today, in Kristin's class we continued the throat and tongue work that progresses us a step further in her cycle of vocal training. I'm really floored by the amount of attention put into what can initially seem the most trifling of exercises and the profound effect they have on my classmates. I say my classmates, because I was one of the few that wasn't re-jiggered today. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow. Seeing the release of long-held tension in a certain part of the body will sometimes also result in a flood of unexpected emotion, which really makes clear the relationship between tension and expression. It's interesting stuff.
In Andrei's class today, we had a two-hour post-mortem of Monday night's events. I was surprised at how many of my classmates were less than thrilled with their work from Monday night. Not that there were many people, but to hear from the of the doubt that they had in their own performances was so unexpected. These guys (and gals) are so good, and have no reason to doubt their own work, especially at Columbia where there is no onus to "perform". It's one of the major reasons why I so desperately wanted to study here. I remember seeing presentations of classwork under Andrei's guidance in the months before I started and and hearing him tell the audience that there is no need to applaud; that what they were about to see was lab-work of the students and a continuation of their rehearsal process. I think that might actually be the point where I really fell in love with the program. An audience member might be moved to respond appreciatively, but the banal contract of perform-applaud isn't encouraged. Everyone involved (student and audience member) has a reverent respect for the work. Now it's natural and a great sign that my fellow classmates care about what they submit, but, I suppose, I'm affected by the sour sense I get from the way that they treat themselves. Their work should be celebrated always. After viewing what happened myself, I'm a little crestfallen that the report that I hear that follows it doesn't sound with the same ferocity as the work that preceded it. Maybe it's adulterated by the days that have passed since then and reflection has set in. I don't know.
The class closed with us sorting ourselves into new groups and going over the material we have selected for our next round of scenes (spoiler: O'Neill & Kushner). I'm taking on two scenes this time, as are a few others in the class which is exciting. Everybody's really hungry to do more. No one is looking for the easy ride through, and that idea alone provides a charge and an external precipitate to do better. There's a sense of this pause that is happening. Even though there was a note of subtle disappointment amongst some of us, I can feel that the atmosphere of the class is charged; little stepped leaders are reaching out, and I feel the class sending streamers out in hopes of lightning striking again.
"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."
-DAVID FROST
I'll report back to you at the first flash.
-R
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