I missed last class due to illness, so I am feeling a little bit behind for Voice. I thought it would be a good idea to get some pointers from a friend who had taken this class previously regarding sonnets. She told me about her experience: how there was another guy in her class reciting the same sonnet as her, but both delivered the speech differently. “Differently” in terms of context; she said he interpreted the sonnet as if his audience was his lover, whereas for her, it was more of a general reaction to one’s blissful youth. She told me to do some background research about what my sonnet is about, and really do some deeper investigations. (Power of context!) She also said that her instructor told them to really try to be in the character, as that would influence how you would deliver the speech.
More out of worry than trying to be a good student, I took her advice and did some more research about my sonnet. (I picked Sonnet 116.)
Interestingly, I found these pointers titled “Summary of Steps for Reading a Poem” via http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/sonnet116/reading.htm
My friend also said something about a “technique” (or “right way”) to read Sonnets. So I did some research on Shakespearean sonnets and their structure, etc.
Sonnets have a song-like feel due to it’s rhythm.
Shakespearean sonnets are written in iambic pentameter (5 iambic feet, 10 syllables in pair, x (unstressed) / (stressed) x / x / x / x /
Rhyming structure: a-b-a-b/c-d-c-d/e-f-e-f/g-g
March 15
Thought: I think if graphic designers were not designers, they could fit the bill to be an actor. Designers often have the innate ability to put themselves into other people’s shoes easily. They are experts in playing a “role” as the nature of their work often deals with understanding the clients needs and thinking of the design problem as if it were truly their own. Also, Peter speaks about this realizing the “need” for something to encourage the truest breath to come out from us. Designers are need-seekers.
Alexander - “I don’t know what to say really”; Peter made him have a conversation with people responding to “Your text didn’t affect me / had no meaning” by saying “I don’t know what to say really”. The emotional response from the conversation is used as a means to carry / drive his text.
Green sweater (I forgot her name) – Hello Im ____ and I work at McDonalds vs. Hello Im ____ and I am a novelist. (The other one, she felt more proud to say.) Context: letting her imagine that her parents are moving back to home country; experience a ”swing” or seeing the strong fall, or the weak rise, or being upset deep inside but being happy at the same time knowing that it’s for the best. She was encouraged to make it really personal. i.e. Parents wanted her to be a doctor, but she wants to be a chiropractor; and making her say to her “dad” that she wants to be a chiropractor. (He made her stand beside her “parents”, and another across them.)
Elvira – Say “Hey!” (Note saying is different from yelling.); This exercise frees up the voice, I think. Pulling back (Peter holding her elbows/arms back, as she tries to move forward), Pushing forward (provoking), Back massage on roll down.
Farnaz – Talk to the hand, then move the hand farther. (Voice changes, or should anyway. Having a conversation with a person vs. with a crowd.)
Edeline – Translate Shakespeare in plain English (he made me do this on the spot; it was very uncomfortable, I had the tendency to laugh or smile after I did my translation mostly because I wasn’t confident enough of my understanding of my text. Peter encouraged me to really “see” the text as Shakespeare’s work is often filled with elaborate imagery. Paint the picture for the audience. Play on my imagination first, and really play it out: I need to be able to see everything / the whole story as if it were real, and that I should really convinced by my text. Then, allow that imagination / vision to extend and let others see that. Thoughts: from what I’ve observed from what he said as he coached other people with their speeches, acting is different from speaking a speech. Often, people were encouraged to make it their own / say it using their own interpretation. As I went up to present my speech (the first time), I had this in mind and was really careful not to turn my speech into a dramatic act / play. (This was one of my struggles as I did my research on my speech: the way people delivered it i.e. how they enunciated, projected their voice, is very “Shakespeare” or very theatre-like / not natural. Another challenge that I faced when I was trying to make it “my own” was the use of language. It felt very weird to me primarily because I am not that familiar with Shakespearean literature; and that people don’t really talk like this in real life. Therefore, I had trouble grasping the “reality” of it. This is of course not to undermine the text’s value. I felt very connected to this text because it was spoken by a man I truly admire, Kyle Cooper—one of the world’s renown motion designer, when I first heard him speak. It was probably the first time that I really learned to appreciate Shakespeare. When he presented it, it felt very “true,” and this “truth” is what allowed me to accept the text as it is [whatever that means] and really understand its meaning. The context is an actor [Chorus] explaining the background of the play Henry V, but apologizing that the actors and the stage are only ordinary and limited. They cannot fully reproduce the greatness of how the scene happened in real life; and he is appealing to the audience to “piece out their imperfections with [the audience's] thoughts”—let their imagination extend the scenes of the play to make it more real. I believe that this is what the core essence of what I do [design], or if not, at least it’s my philosophy when I do what I do: my ideas are limited and are not perfect, but I invite the audience to engage with the piece, and it is when they receive the message that the idea becomes “complete.”) I stood in the center of the circle, allowing me to imagine the oval stage a bit better. I had trouble capturing the real essence of my first line (Oh for a muse of fire…); all these time, I had the impression from Peter that I had a different interpretation of it, and that caused me to trust myself a little lesser. He allowed for big arm movements, and encouraged me to treat it as a play. (I was caught off guard because I never got to rehearse my text like that.) Peter also said that there’s a reason why it starts with the big open vowel sound O! He later said, he’d encourage me to start out really bigger. (I interpreted this as occupying/moving within a bigger space; I thought I was saying my text alright. He didn’t comment on me not breathing, nor gave me a back massage—which I secretly wanted. Haha! I thought it would feel really comfortable!) He then gave me this little cube (about 12x12x12″ in dimension) and told me to use it as my “stage.” He referenced plastic army men that I would use to imagine my “actors.”
I got comments that Shakespeare is the hardest to do as a speech. (What did I get myself into?) But at the same time, I feel no regret picking it as a speech that resonates most to me. I don’t really know how I did for my presentation. But (a) I didn’t forget my line, and (b) people clapped. Haha, that’s good enough for my ego. It was a bit ironic though; in my program, I label myself as ‘childlike’ (i.e. curiosity, imagination) and am interested in things that are whimsical. I found it funny that I, or my imagination, wasn’t “childlike” enough.
We did the exercise Dippity Dah, Dippity Dah, Dippity Dippity Dippity Dah! Saying one word to the person next to you, enunciating it well and expressing it loud using our actions (arms extended, or jumping, feet movement). It needs to go first in one full cycle, then it can go in both directions. It was often hard to “pass it on” to the person next to me. For example, as Peter passed it on to me, my intuition dictates that I retain that connection with Peter. Turning my back on him felt a bit uneasy/rude, and I found that interesting compared to all our awkward staring exercises before.
Speech Presentation
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March 8
Chris: Letting consonants hit you: repugnant / “r” “p” “g” “n” “n” “t”
- feel those in your mouth; understand the meaning of your text word per word, phrase by phrase: “secrecy” sounds like it’s a secret from how it’s pronounced.
Jessica: I am a human being. Peter walks with her around in a circle (twice) as they hold hands (for connection). They walk around (he was tiring her for the purpose to let the breath drop and come from her lower stomach.
Farnaz: “seeing people” and making a connection; She was presenting a speech by Nelson Mandela for the South Africans.
Jade: convincing people to accept opinion by moving neck forward/backward.
Ruth: Jamaican accent, “inferior” and “superior” — he made her imagine that “inferior” referred to her home country, and to channel that emotional response through her speech.
Peter’s example: “I miss my home. I miss my friends, but I’m here”—Peter was able to manipulate his voice as this emotion informed how he presented the text. Provoking.
We often cheat ourselves of the experience by holding onto our breaths.
Nicholas: His speech involve something about discrimination/horrific. Peter referenced seeing a 9/11 jumper photo in his rehearsal. He noted that there is a difference between seeing that photo and breathing the experience of the photo. The images that we have are often images that we have from our life.
Noam: Thought is up around our head area, but we should breathe from our lower stomach.
Alexandra: Martin Luther King (speech that he just died). Peter illustrated the power of context. Replacing Martin Luther King as “shot and assassinated” with her mom, and how that changed her speaking the words “I have sad news for all of you…” There is difference between just speaking the text and making it our own.
We did Context: we were in a circle with our eyes closed and Peter asked us to say our text with the specific “context” we associate with the text. Everyone hesitated and waited for a while, until one person spoke, then another, and then all started speaking their text.
“What we’re doing is very courageous.”
Context (location) for my text is an abandoned basement with a makeshift stage and a couple of chairs, the air is cold since the room hasn’t been occupied, there are spiderwebs here and there.
We danced to “I’ve got a feeling!” It was so much fun. I never realized how much I crave for dancing. It was different this time because this was in front of other people (I usually dance in my room, by myself). But there was something liberating with what Peter said: “Dance as if you were dancing for yourself.”
Warm-up exercises: grounding of feet, feet color outline, swinging limbs back and forth, swing arms back and forth, row row row your boat, move neck around, roll up/down, point and flex of foot pointing to the ceiling, open up hip sockets, feet/legs flat on the floor and “really want something” or tense whole leg up to your bum.
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March 1
Warm-up exercises: open up hip sockets, lying down head facing one way while other leg stretching and pointing to the other way, point and flex of feet pointing to the ceiling (tense / contract), roll down/roll up, arm swinging opposite direction, one leg tense while the other is released, on the floor with our knees and feet raised doing a “walking on air” kind of motion. We did “Hummmmmahhh” while rubbing our hands from our stomachs upwards to a release from our mouths. There is difference here between “showing” vs. “sharing” your breath experience (first one is fake). We walked in a circle and exchanged breaths; we stopped and stared at our partner vs. seeing our partner (my partner was Monica).
Feel the need for breath; breath = thought.
Abrupt tension, but abrupt release.
To feel something, you either feel the need to see or touch it first.
Your tension transfers to your partner (read: tension is transferrable.)
This week is about releasing. With a partner, we did an exercise that required for our partner to “let go” parts of their body as we start manipulating these for them i.e. neck, shoulder blades, elbow/arm, knee/leg, both legs, then massaging head afterwards as a way of saying sorry to the body. Then child’s pose, then roll-up. The first demo with Jade she commented something about a “pushing” sensation to release; and that you’d think you’ve released, but in reality you haven’t. I had Jade again as a partner for this exercise. It was really difficult for me because she seemed heavier than I am so most of the time I felt like I was struggling in lifting/manipulating parts of her body. On top of that, I would feel tired as it lasted longer; I’m pretty sure she was aware that I was struggling. I also felt like I wasn’t trusting myself enough (that my strength isn’t sufficient to hold her body). I guess in that sense, I was partly responsible why she couldn’t fully let go of her body to me.
After the exercise, here are some notes of what I felt: numb sensation, tingling; my lower back hurt a lot when I went sideways for child’s pose.
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March 25
During job/portfolio interviews, try copying the other person’s mannerisms to make them feel more comfortable. —Shahin Edalati, YSDN Alumni
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Feb 8
Warm-up exercises: We worked on the neck today. (Yay! I know that my neck is really one of the most tense part of my body.) I felt dizzy after doing the neck exercise, and just before we did the Hah! Other exercises that we did: Hummmmmah! Brrrmmmmaahhh! (+ with piano). We also did Hummmahhh in front of a partner, and also shared our breath. Neck nodding while tilted on the side, with eyes open; roll up / down; walking around; child’s pose; hip socket; head facing one side, while stretching foot towards other side on the floor; tensing entire leg while the other remains released; point and flex of foot towards the ceiling; letting the weight of our hand hold our necks down; shake loose; one foot on the floor, one foot up with eyes closed (This felt weird!!! It’s easy to get off balanced.)
“Image sits in our breath.” Our thoughts are in our “gut” / stomach area.
We need to breathe in then speak while slowly letting air out as you speak. We often inhale, then exhale, then speak on empty breath.
Alexandra:
from words → image → speech.
“The really important kind of freedom.” -from her text
She had a response of “blue” as a visceral image, and was asked how would the color blue would “act” like. She went around with her hands waving freely and turned around in a circle (i.e. movement of freedom). Body’s reaction to text: how we deliver that word informs our text. Words live by the images we serve them with. This is why it’s important for us to have a texture/color/images for our words.
Find out what it is that is really important about our speeches.
This is so cool! Projection calibration tracking
tracking, motion sensor
and thissss!!! Minority Report effect
Foldable displays
via http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/
Today, during speech presentation day, Peter asked me a question and made me realize I didn’t really fully grasp what “O for a muse of fire / that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention” meant.
I did research on some paraphrased versions of the text before. I understood it as a simple lightbulb or spotlight that illuminates the stage.
Here are some research I found today:
And finally, a plain English translation of the text. It was soooo hard to translate it this morning!
If only we had divine inspiration, our play might rise to the highest level of imagination. If we had a stage as big as a kingdom, real kings and queens to act the part of kings and queens, and royalty to also witness the glorious spectacle, then it would be as it really was. Then valiant King Harry would resemble the god of war, as he did in life, and famine, sword, and fire would sit like dogs at his feet, waiting to be unleashed.But, ladies and gentlemen, since that’s not the case, you must forgive us plain, ordinary men who dare to act out so great a story on this humble stage. Can this theater seem to contain the sweeping fields of France? Could we even squeeze into this little theater the helmets that looked so frightening at Agincourt? Hardly! But, pardon us, because just as a few strokes of a pen, a few zeros, can signify a huge number, we, who are zeros in this great story, can work on your imagination. Pretend that within the confines of this theater sit two great kingdoms divided by a narrow but perilous ocean. Let your thoughts make up for our imperfections. Divide each man into a thousand, and there you will have an imaginary army. Imagine, when we talk of horses, that you see them planting their proud hooves in the soft earth. Because now it is your thoughts that must dress up our kings and transport them from place to place. Your thoughts must leap over huge spans of time, turning the events of many years into the space of a few hours. To that end, consider me a sort of chorus, here to help tell the story. And, as the speaker of any prologue should, I ask you to hear our play courteously and to judge it kindly.via http://nfs.sparknotes.com/henryv/page_2.html
I didn’t realize “Muse of fire” meant so much more. Something way bigger…
via http://mocoloco.com/fresh2/2010/03/10/clavilux-2000-by-jonas-friedemann-heuer.php
Also,
The last video above poses an interesting thought on how Shakespeare tends to “overflow his characters with words.” I’m not really sure what that means, but I’m guessing I will find out soon enough.
