Blog 8- Let's Take a Note from Broadway to Bust

In class recently, we watched the CBS special Broadway or Bust, a documentary about the days of rehearsals leading up to a competition and the competition itself where high schoolers who won their regional completions competed using a solo piece and part of a group in a madly which included a song from the musical they were nominated from which was played by their character in their awards show. It was a very educational for me to watch the competition and I learned many different things.
Evan was the student that I identified most with. We both are better at acting than at singing, so we might chose to sing a character song instead of a more serious one. Evan and I both are skilled at performing in comedic acting, yet it was not shown if Evan can act in dramatic roles, while I can perform in dramatic roles. We are both very hard workers, as he had to work very hard to succeed in his performance, which made him improve a lot and eventually be one of the three boys nominated to win the award for the solo. The high schooler I had the most in common was Evan.
Despite having a lot in common with Evan, I learned more from Brittany and her experience. She showed me that you have to work hard to perform as she progressed a notable amount throughout the documentary. She also showed me that people can come over many obstacles, like being homeless, and still be successful, as she was able to win her regional competition and be considered seriously for the solo part until the judges thought that if she sang again her voice would be damaged. Her experience also showed me that sometimes the judges and/or the people who are auditioning you might just see something you can not or they might have your best interest at heart. The student I learned the most from was Brittany, not Evan, who I ha a bit more in common with.
These lessons I learned from Brittany and Evan I can used in my audition piece. I can use Evan and my similar strengths in our comedic abilities to use it to my advantage in my monologue, as it has both dramatic and comedic elements to it. The fact that Brittany had such a dramatic evolution of her abilities will help me stay positive when I do not get my monologue right. Brittany and Evan had to work very hard to make the improvements they made will help inspire me when I practice to keep working hard and try my best. Brittany and Evan both taught me many different lessons that I can use when I work on my monologue audition piece and perform in general.
I learned lots of different lessons and enjoyed watching the special Broadway or Bust. Each of the featured students  taught me something about acting and performing in general.  Some of the featured high schoolers also had a lot with me. I can not wait to add these lessons to my monologue and tell you about it see you.

Starting from the Beginning- The Early Careers of Scarlett Johansson and Neil Patrick Harris

In acting class today, my class is researching different performers who worked in the theater. We each picked two people to research. I chose to learn about Scarlett Johansson and Neil Patrick Harris.
Scarlett Johansson started acting when she was a kid.  Her family included many people working in theater, like her grandfather,  Ejner Johansson, who a director and a screenwriter, her mom, Melanie Sloan, a producer,  and Vanessa, her big sister who also is an actress. Her  interest was continued and involved in her education when she went to Professional Children's School in New York after elementary school until 2002 when she graduated.
 Did you know that Johansson's first role ever was a theatrical one? She was in Sophistry, an Off Broadway play with Ethan Hawke in 1992. She had several roles early in her career while she was a child, as she started auditioning when she was a kid, but they were limited by her mom because she didn't do well with rejection. Sophistry was followed by her first four film roles, where she played Laura Nelson in North in 1994,  Kate Armstrong in Just Cause in 1995, Emily in If Lucy Fell in 1996, and Amanda in Manny & Lo in 1996, which gained attention from critics, which helped her career.
Actors, including me, can learn a lot from Scarlett Johansson's early career. It shows that if you keep try and auditioning you will eventually get a part, as she went through rejection as a child actor. She became upset when she didn't get the part she tried out for, which shows that you have to learn to accept rejection, or at least be more understanding when you don't get the part.  Her career also shows that acting takes a lot of hard work and practice, because she went  to acting school. The career of Scarlett Johansson can teach many actors, including me, many valuable lessons.
Neil Patrick Harris started acting after being Toto in The Wizard of Oz when he was in elementary school. His passion grew as he acted in many different performances at La Cueva High School and eventually the playwright Mark Medoff discovering him when he was at acting camp in New York.
After his discovery, Harris was casted as David Hart in the film, Clara's Heart, the television movie Too Good to Be True as Danny Harland, and as Billy Johnson in the movie Purple People Eater. He gained a lot of attention from Clara's Heart which also starred Whoopi Goldberg and was nominated for a Golden Globe, which was his first professional role. His first professional theater credit was when he played Mark Cohen in the 1997 National Tour of Rent.
There are several lessons that can be learned from Neil Patrick Harris' career by actors, including myself. His career also shows that knowing people can help your career, as Medoff, who discovered him, also worked on Clara's Heart. The critical and popularity of Harris's early work shows that some people can get their success by luck sometimes, as it's very rare to be nominated for a Golden Globe in your first professional film. Harris's career can teach several lessons to actors, myself included, about being a performer.
I found it fascinating researching about successful actors' like Neil Patrick Harris and Scarlett Johansson's early careers. I learned many interesting facts about them, also, like that Harris' first role was playing ToTo. It also taught me important lessons about acting, also, which I can use when I work on my monologue for my audition piece, which I'll write about it soon.
See you then!
Sources-
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Patrick_Harris
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlett_Johansson



     
      

Blog 7- Monologue Take Two

Over the next few weeks in acting class, my class will be working on audition pieces.  Each person picked a type of performance that they want to do.  For my audition piece I have chosen acting in monologue.
I have many strengths as an actor and performer in general. I have taken many singing, dancing, and acting lessons.  I really like to act and to be on stage.  My voice is strength of mine when I perform because I can project it on stage.  My facial expressions, body language,  and movements work to my advantage, as I can do them well.  I like and am skilled at being other characters while acting.  Working as a performer and an actor shows that I have skills in several different areas.
There are also many areas of acting that I need to work on during this project.  I need to improve my ability to memorize monologues faster and accurately.  I try to talking slower. I also need to work on being less nervous when I am performing, because sometimes when I get very nervous, my performance changes.  I also need to work on not fidgeting when I am doing my monologues, because it detracts from the scene. Despite my abilities in some areas of performing and acting, I also have some areas that I need to work on, which I can do during this project.
In this assignment, I'm trying to challenge myself, while I still demonstrate my skills.  I am doing a more dramatic, darker roll in this project because I usually pick roles that are more humorous and light. This will let me show my abilities, despite being challenging for me, because it still is very similar to comedic acting and still involves the abilities that I am good at. I also will try to use a monologue that is longer than what I have done in the past, which will challenge my abilities for memorization skills, but will give me more time to show more of my talents. When I perform my monologue, I am trying to challenge myself, yet show my skills.
I have chosen acting for several reasons.  It seems to be somewhat easier for me to act. I am also more comfortable acting, and when my nerves are not as noticeable when I act comparers to other kinds performing. I like it more than dancing and singing. There are a few reasons I picked acting.
The genre of my monologue is dramatic, which shows a director many different things. It shows that I am able to do a serious piece, which theater often includes. It fails to show that I can do comedic acting. It also shows that I am capable of playing a darker character than most comedic scenes would allow me to do. My choice of a dramatic monologue shows several things about my abilities.
If I really was auditioning with this monologue, I would need to get the director  to give me the part, which I would use many ways of showing my talents.  I would stay in character. I would show confidence. I would project my voice.  My body movements and facial expressions would be true to the piece and help build my character and monologue. There are many things I would do to get the part if I really used this piece for a monologue.
I'm really excited to see how it goes working on my audition piece and how my classmates will do. I think it will be fun working individually and still work with my classmates. I can't wait. Bye!


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