the practice script was “Come in, Nielsen.”
the actors were L and H.
Darren observed their performance once, and then told them to perform again, but with a game in mind – an actor's game. L's goal is to get H to look at her for more than three seconds. H's goal is to give L as little eye-contact as possible.
“It is better to be a glorious failure than a mediocre success.”
Mediocre success hinders you from tasting glorious success. (Editor's note: Darren attributes this quote to the late playwright, Kuo Pao Kun)
“invisible body”: What an actor does off-stage, which helps in his performance on-stage. Eg. Tai-chi, amateur boxing, basketball, soccer, marathon-running, stamina-training.
Please let me ask – who, indeed, exerts control over this planet? Are the following people in control?
Acted with Ariel using a practice-script, titled “Come in, Nielsen”.
As things turned out, our scene became a confrontation between two hostile criminals.
A new classmate made his entrance today: Joao (pronounced somewhat like Jo-el), a youthful-looking man from Portugal.
He had missed the previous two classes due to a business trip – or so he claims – but he seemed to catch up quite quickly.
Today's exercise: intercostal diaphrammatic breathing.
Lie down and breathe in. Notice how your belly rises.
Now sit up and breathe in. Notice how your shoulders hunch up.
Two new classmates: Kester and Karis.
Kester brought his young son to class because there was nobody else to take care of his son.
Karis has a day-time job that involves sitting at a computer,
New game: Zip, Zap, Zoom. New rules. Everybody knew nothing about the game except our coach/teacher. But we managed to get a nice rhythm going, eventually. I feel proud of myself. I realised that I'm not incompetent, I just need some guidance and practice.
Exercise for the diaphragm:
Weight: 56.5 kilograms Height: 1.69 metres Complexion: light-skinned, not dark-skinned Bespectacled: yes
I'm back. Back at my footprints in the dusty tracks here — nearly obliterated by time and dust, gathered over a yawn of twenty years – or was it thirty?
Where are my classmates now?