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.
Quoting from the Book of Sirach, in the apocrypha of the Bible:
“Do not boast about wearing fine clothes, and do not exalt yourself when you are honored; for the works of the Lord are wonderful, and his works are concealed from humankind. Many kings have had to sit on the ground, but one who was never thought of has worn a crown. Many rulers have been utterly disgraced, and the honored have been handed over to others.”
(Chapter 11, verses 4 to 6.)
The following is a list – not exhaustive, of course – for the reader to glean some insight from.
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?