Lesson One: Concentration, Part 3

(p.11-end of Ch.1)

Sorry for the page numbers being off so far. My version from college was a different printing. I went back and corrected.

Side note: I've noticed that the question and answer aspect of this isn't working out like we'd planned, so I will just be discussing the chapter here and how it might relate to us. If you'd like to add or ask anything, feel free to make a comment.

So, Richie asks the creature "What is acting?" She stumbles and bit and he gives her another big pretentious correction:
Acting is the life of the human soul receiving it's birth through art.

Basically, we're being asked to bring fiction to life. This the challenge with your monologues. Many of them are very unlike you or are dealing with situations you have not dealt with directly.


But Richie has good news. God created some great tools to help us solve this problem--the five senses. He mentions that these are like the basic scales, and we give these senses problems to solve (objectives). This helps us focus in and simplify the role. Kind of reminds me of Mark Beeson's way of breaking thing's down into smaller steps. Just do the next right thing.

The next right thing for your monologue could be to give yourself a "what if" that will help you relate to your character a bit better (Stan calls this the "magic if"). Or think of a time or situation in your life that is similar and relive how you felt in that moment. (Another tool called "emotion memory".)

As the chapter continues, the student tries too hard once again, and she asks what she needs to do to gets things right. Richie explains that the training of an actor consists of three parts: body, mind, and soul. (I know, duh . . .)
1.) BODY: Don't worry, 90 minutes of fencing and interpretive dancing will not be expected of you. He just means people that have control and are aware of the way their bodies move have an easier time with character development and authentic movement.
2.) MIND: Basically, this is what we're doing here. We're studying new tactics using our minds to create more powerful moments that will bring people to Christ. Another aspect of this is that Richie is recommending being a lifelong learner. It's the good old crayon box idea where the more experiences/knowledge (crayons) you take in, the more colorful things you can do with your art.
3.) SOUL: What he describes in this section is more of the "mind" aspect really. For us, this training of the soul in our roles consists of continually drawing closer to God and seeking him in every aspect of our lives. Once again, we get a great moment when we replace "theatre" with God in the last few lines of the chapter:

"I: One thing alone remains which cannot be developed but must be present. It is GOD.
The Creature: You make GOD seem like something very big, very important, very . . . .
I: Yes, for me GOD is a great mystery, a mystery in which we are wonderfully wedded the two eternal phenomena, the dream of Perfection and the dream of the Eternal. Only to such a God is it worthwhile to give one's life."

In a nutshell, we will be:
- concentrating on using the five senses to create real moments on stage
-devoting our lives to Christ, mind, body and soul
- and using our Art to bring a little of up there down here

What a privilege. Thanks for commiting to take this next step together. See ya Monday the 24th!