The Drama Stories I Never Quite Finished

Well I guess I tailed off somewhat when talking about my endless drama antics for the autumn term. I will be honest, it was becoming like writing a diary, and as I see it if I don't enjoy writing something, you wont enjoy reading it. So the drama write ups in future will be a little more generalised I think. In part it gives me an excuse to write less, but hopefully it will make a better read as a result. So this blog will summarise the courses I have completed and bring to a close the latest chapter on my quest to act.

I am currently enjoying some time off. I'm not doing much and drama right now, which in a sense is nice. I will feel much more refreshed when January comes around that way. So I guess it would be better to conclude the last stories before I start all the new ones. Though this said I still haven't quite decided what path to take in the new year. I have some ideas but in true Gareth style, I will leave it as late as possible before making a final decision.

So over the last 3 months I have been doing 2 acting courses and one specialised course on voice. They have definitely helped me a lot and built up a lot of confidence. I guess now I feel like I am on the second rung of a very long ladder! But I am also starting to feel a bit disillusioned by the height of that climb thats now before me. I know that I have to stay focused. Though some things are much easier said than done. In the down time between courses I always start to get some negative vibes, but I am sure even the best actors, and all those ones who inspire me so much have their down days too. I really need to get hold of what causes these vibes and be more positive and proactive going into 2010, not just in acting but it would be a start.

So what have I taken away from these last three courses? I learned one hell of a lot about the effective use of the human voice. There is a lot more too it than you would think. But lets take things back to basics here. An actor's voice is like a decorators paint brush. Without it they would be buggered in their trade. When you see the voice as a tool like this, you realise just how important it is to an actor, and how complex it is to use. After all a tool is only any good if it is used correctly, and in essence the same goes for our voices. I know that sounds silly, but effective breathing, posture, articulation, and projection are factors that need to be considered. I will admit this course wasn't the most enthralling at times, but it was beneficial, and that is what was important.

As for the acting courses... they were more down my street. I met some great people who have become good friends, and indeed re-united with old friends, such as Vikas my long time drama drinking buddy, whom I hope to continue drinking and acting with into 2010! The only problem with these courses are that my new friends come from different places and walks of life, and it becomes increasingly difficult to stay in touch with them! Thank god for Facebook! Never thought I would say that in a blog! It reminds me, I really must drop a few people a line over the Christmas break. But back to the blog...

One of the courses heavily featured the play "The Notebook Of Trigorin" which was a Tennessee Williams adaptation of Chekov's "The Seagull". I can honestly say that I learned a lot on this course. I really enjoyed working around that play, and being reunited with my old drama teacher Jenn was wonderful! However the play itself I hated! Its quite ironic really, how I can enjoy the course but not the play! I am more cut out for modern pieces such as "Harper Reagan" which I studied in the other acting course I was taking. In these workshops I worked with Cat Clancey who was also my voice coach. She has some different methods of teaching, and the diversity was such that I could cover the same topic with both Jenn and Cat and learn new things with each of them.

So in terms of acting I think I have revisited a lot of old things and learned some new techniques. I always take a greater interest in the more obscure methods of acting. I think its really important that you look at different ways of reaching for and expressing emotion in acting. Sometimes it isn't as clear cut as you would think. Furthermore there is much more to acting than just being on stage in from of a seated audience. With Cat we learned ways of appealing to all the human senses. It was rather spooky but a lot of fun. I say that purely because I got to freak Danielle out again!

So my pledge for 2010? Well i need to keep working hard at what I am doing if I am to succeed. I have a lot of plans in the pipeline but i think 2010 will be the make or break year for me. The only thing is I have set myself a big goal, and if I am honest achieving it may not be easy, but lets be honest set the bar too low and where will my motivation come from?

So thats the last courses summarised... I have a few blogs planned for the festive period. So make sure you check back soon. Thank you for reading and have an awesome Christmas!

G xxx