Day One.
There's a lot of stuff that I owe to this blog. Things that need to be recorded. One of those things I hope to accomplish today. There's still two interviews awaiting the editing bay and a slew more that need to be shot. But today is Day One. One thing at a time and everything in it's right place.
Church.
I've mentioned in the past few posts that we had an intensive week with Andreí. It's a chance to really work intensively (go figure) on some scenes that we either felt went well and would like to try to develop further or scenes that didn't go so well and would like a chance to make right. Every night we have an hour and a half session where both the first and second year classes come together and listen and meditate on readings that Andreí thinks would be relevant to our development. There were two nights that struck me rather hard. One night dealt with the idea of identity, the other had to do with the idea of the theater as a holy place.
I've written previously about my thoughts on both of these ideas, but I was caught off guard by how irreverently I had been treating my time during the few weeks leading up to the night where Andreí read about the spirituality of the theater and it's potential. I, admittedly, have the inimitable ability to lose focus on such a grand scale that I, myself, often have trouble fathoming it. I can get selfish quite quickly. I shut down.
I had been in a rather large funk and had withdrawn a bit into myself and thought that I was focusing on myself, but in reality was probably being a larger asshole than I care to report here. What stuck me was that after a mere twelve weeks I had lost sight of what my place was in the grand scheme of things and was being not only disrespectful to my own experience, but probably everyone else's as well.
Andreí's main point for reading his selection that evening was to shine a light on an attitude that he felt was being allowed to flower in the department. We had, as a class, been joking, talking, napping, and horsing around through classes and weren't respecting ourselves, our craft, or each other.
It got me thinking about working for over a year to get in to this program, and how quickly I had lost sight of the point.
We have class in Riverside Church three times a week. Every Wednesday through Friday, when entering the church, I take off my cap (if I'm wearing one), lower my voice and put another cap on the profanity. That's respect for an institution that I don't believe in, and I couldn't seem to muster up the respect for one that I do believe in. It was night of some pretty great clarity. I hope I can maintain it.
Finally.
So this is the new year! There's been some fantastic moments to round out 2011 that I won't share here, and some incredible friendships and experiences already in the dawn hours of 2012. So, thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this account of my experience. As promised last year, I hope to include more thoughts and materials from my fellow classmates, more interviews, and more insight into this wonderful adventure that we share.
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
- Benjamin Franklin
Happy New Year!
-R
There's a lot of stuff that I owe to this blog. Things that need to be recorded. One of those things I hope to accomplish today. There's still two interviews awaiting the editing bay and a slew more that need to be shot. But today is Day One. One thing at a time and everything in it's right place.
Church.
I've mentioned in the past few posts that we had an intensive week with Andreí. It's a chance to really work intensively (go figure) on some scenes that we either felt went well and would like to try to develop further or scenes that didn't go so well and would like a chance to make right. Every night we have an hour and a half session where both the first and second year classes come together and listen and meditate on readings that Andreí thinks would be relevant to our development. There were two nights that struck me rather hard. One night dealt with the idea of identity, the other had to do with the idea of the theater as a holy place.
I've written previously about my thoughts on both of these ideas, but I was caught off guard by how irreverently I had been treating my time during the few weeks leading up to the night where Andreí read about the spirituality of the theater and it's potential. I, admittedly, have the inimitable ability to lose focus on such a grand scale that I, myself, often have trouble fathoming it. I can get selfish quite quickly. I shut down.
I had been in a rather large funk and had withdrawn a bit into myself and thought that I was focusing on myself, but in reality was probably being a larger asshole than I care to report here. What stuck me was that after a mere twelve weeks I had lost sight of what my place was in the grand scheme of things and was being not only disrespectful to my own experience, but probably everyone else's as well.
Andreí's main point for reading his selection that evening was to shine a light on an attitude that he felt was being allowed to flower in the department. We had, as a class, been joking, talking, napping, and horsing around through classes and weren't respecting ourselves, our craft, or each other.
It got me thinking about working for over a year to get in to this program, and how quickly I had lost sight of the point.
We have class in Riverside Church three times a week. Every Wednesday through Friday, when entering the church, I take off my cap (if I'm wearing one), lower my voice and put another cap on the profanity. That's respect for an institution that I don't believe in, and I couldn't seem to muster up the respect for one that I do believe in. It was night of some pretty great clarity. I hope I can maintain it.
Finally.
So this is the new year! There's been some fantastic moments to round out 2011 that I won't share here, and some incredible friendships and experiences already in the dawn hours of 2012. So, thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this account of my experience. As promised last year, I hope to include more thoughts and materials from my fellow classmates, more interviews, and more insight into this wonderful adventure that we share.
"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
- Benjamin Franklin
Happy New Year!
-R
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