More on this later, when I'm not so completely drained. To sum up. It was really a long time to become best friends with total strangers for one day. I met some awesome people and teriffic performers. We did a LOT of drama games. The purpose was to: 1) watch us act under pressure and on our feet; 2) To see how we reacted with the other members of our group. I simulated belly crawling across a smoke filled room, walked to a point in the room with purpose, use a chair as various improv props (a cocktail waitress' tray, the result of a misfired nail gun, and Miss Universe's crown), sang nonsense sylables to various people trying to simulate "positive energy," and became various parts of a noisy machine working at double, triple, and half speed. It was fun and WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY out of my comfort zone. I haven't done an acting class since "acting for non-majors' freshman year at Baylor. The singing part was of course the easiest. I can read music and wasn't learning by rote. They picked a song with LOTS of tricky intervals and key changes......
Some common mistakes I saw in the "get up and perform something you prepared" portion:
1.Young people choosing monologues that were too hard. An 18 year old has no business playing Hamlet.
2. Choosing a monologue that is too old for you. Always stay within your current steriotype.
3.Kids choosing songs that are too high or too low to show themselves off. Some of the kinds sang ok, but would have done themselves more justice if they'd stuck to speaking. IMNSHO. Most of the kids were increadibly talented for their age. For any age. One guy did a monologue about kissing a girl in the bathroom at a junior high party, and it was really good. Another girl/guy... I'm pretty sure she was a girl...Though I thought she was a young guy for most of the morning...that may have been the reason she showed her bra strap off during her monologue about wanting to be a boy. She had written it herself...apparently someone (unidentified) had molested her sister, maybe her....and how if she were a boy her little sister would be able to say "my big brother is going to beat you up. And really mean it." It was very well written and powerfully done. I don't know whether doing a piece like that helps her chances or hurts her...and the t-shirt with the logo "ambiguous." Would a company hire her for male roles or female? Or maybe just to play children? Je ne sais pas.
