.:Shakespeare:.

We went through our monologues again today. I was a little nervous, and I did not feel that I did a very good job. However, I am hoping that on Friday I can be much more ‘not myself’. I have been trying an activity which Ms. Anketell has been talking about, it involves me saying my lines into a mirror, but I have to stand perfectly still. This is really difficult, but I understand what it is trying to teach me:

• To stand still and stop fidgeting. I move too much.
• To understand the power of Shakespeare’s words, and to control it and use it effectively to convey the meaning.
• To slow my words down, I speak much too fast generally.
• To focus on my use of Laban movements such as glide, dab and press.

This activity will hopefully eventually help me to make my monologue much more successful.

We also discussed what we had learnt about Shakespeare so far, even though it has only been a short amount of time.

What I’ve learnt from Shakespeare:

• Iambic pentameter: Shakespeare manipulates the rhythm.
• Very good at extending the metaphor, usually related to imagery.
• Written as performance, not literature. When studying this as literature, get up and read the words. You will understand it much more.
• Imagery of Shakespeare, very important. Usually related to metaphors.
• The use of Laban. You need to understand what you need to do movement wise so you can understand how to portray what you are trying to convey through movement.
• Breath control, this is so important. It can completely change how a piece is said. We are all speeding through our monologues, we all need to slow them down. (Especially in my monologue!)

Hoping that Friday will bring on a better performance!

~ by kateibtheatre on October 22, 2008.