October Meeting

Once again, I was blown away by the commitment and talent of our team at this week's meeting. Some performed monologues and were asked to perform them again with a new twist. Julia performed a monologue about a teenage girl who is having issues with her friends that she will perform next weekend in a scene on the big stage. It was hilarious, and we're all looking forward to seeing it with Dalene's tweaks and the added interaction with Steph as the bride of Frankenstein and Mark Cameron as Frank himself.
Shelley performed a great monologue about love at first sight and used her talent to transform from a young energetic girl who was annoyed with a boy into an old women reflecting on when she first met the love of her life. Lisa told a sweet story about a missions trip to a small village and used her recent trip to China as a tool for emotion memory and did it beautifully. Mark Meyer created an unforgettable character named Leon who stumbled into a life-changing encounter with God. His ability to perform it powerfully with two very different personalities was captivating. ( I was so inspired that I've been working on a character in our Christmas Eve narrative based solely on Mark's Leon.)
Anita performed a memorable monologue about a woman struggling with the fact that she can't have children. Her unique stances and movement reminded me of my theatre professor's favorite saying "the best moments are when you surprise the audience with something unexpected but it makes perfect sense." Phil is another great example of this. I never thought Phil could surprise me like he did on Monday. I really don't think words could describe the "versatility" in Phil's performances. He took a simple monologue where a man is telling his son about the first time he met his wife and made it a wild ride of a man slowly transforming his sexual orientation and then brought tears to our eyes when he retold it as if his wife had just died. It was quite an experience!

Two teams of people came prepared with their scenes. David and John gave us some chilling moments as John, usually our resident good guy, played a hit man David was hiring. Steph also tackled a unusual villain role as she and Sherry's reporter character sat down to discuss why she decided to murder the man who raped her sister. These were both challenging scenes and all four actors created incredibly believable characters while prompting a discussion about bringing out the tension in a scene so the audience has more reasons to be uncomfortable and lean in to the story a little more.

For those that were there, what were your favorite moments? What did you learn?

Our next meeting is November 26th. Here's what we have to look forward to !
Monologues: Corey, Julia, Becky, Heather, and Kyle
Scenes: Diana and Janet, Paul and Jon, Shelley and Dalene, Anita and Lisa, Mark and Phil, and Lori and Rebecca

Can't wait!

P.S. Our Christmas party will be Monday Dec 17th from 6:30-8:30pm (location TBD). Families are invited. Anyone up for potluck or would you like to have a catered event? Let me know your preferences. Thanks!

A Message From Deanna

Friends, Family and Loved Ones:

Well, I did it and I'm here in Gurnee. A bit hectic, but we made it through alive and well. I'm renting until I can sell my house in Granger and then I'll buy a home up here. This rental is much more house than I needed, or wanted (4 bedrooms and about 2400 sq ft) but the price was right. I even have some famous neighbors. Tommy Harris from the Chicago Bears lives directly behind me. The move went very smooth since they loaded and unloaded my stuff all in the same day. Thanks to my mom, we were completely unpacked in one day. We celebrated with a trip to the Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall. But then again, what's a celebration without a little crisis? When we returned from shopping, we discovered we were locked out of the house. Apparently the back door and front door have different locks; and the landlord only gave me one key-which was to the front door-and the front screen door was locked. On the bright side, it's a great way to meet your neighbors. Mike (the neighbor) was able to pop the lock on the screen door in 1.5 seconds. (Hmmm, he certainly made that look easy).

I just completed my first week at the new job and things are going well; considering. I was hired to replace someone that's now working part-time due to serious health issues and she is struggling a bit with wanting to work but not physically being able to. It's a tough situation for everyone, but we'll get through it. I still feel this is a wonderful opportunity for the long term. Since Scot Forge is 100% employee owned, the long term gains are unbeatable. No other company has even come close to their bonus plan and stock options. They are in a league all their own, yet it still has a "small company" atmosphere. The work itself isn't very challenging and doesn't really offer anything new or exciting but I can live with it for awhile.

Nick loves his new school. He walks across the street to a Teen Center after school and REALLY likes that. It's geared toward middle school age kids-complete with a skate park, volleyball and basketball courts, video games systems, computers, homework assistants, and even a snack bar and it's open until 7:00pm. The best part is that it only costs me $25/school year. I know, I couldn't believe it either. That's what those high property taxes will buy you up here. Lots of community resources. There's a brand new aquatic center (mini water park) behind my subdivision and within walking distance that he can go to in the summer.

Anyways, here's my contact information. If you're ever up this way, just give me a call. I'd love to get together with you. Keep in touch and take care.

6671 Foxworth Ln
Gurnee, IL 60031
Home) 847 855-6099
Work) 815-675-4297 direct line
dglynn@scotforge.com

Pauls' Endeavor

Here's the 411 on Paul's upcoming play. Let's go show our support to Paul!

"The Nickel & Dime Players present

ANTIGONE 2007

The Greek tragedy by Sophocles, updated.

Saturday, October 20 at 2pm. In the Colfax Auditorium of the St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 S. Main Street, South Bend.

Wednesday, October 24 at 7 p.m. in the Colfax Auditorium of the St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 S. Main Street, South Bend.

Sunday, October 28 at 2 p.m. at St. Paul’s Methodist Church, corner of Colfax and LaPorte Avenues.

Admission is free.
More information, call 246-0104


What would you die for?"

Heather is Cancer Free!

Celebrate with us today as Heather just found out that she is cancer free! Here's what she said:

"Surgery last Wed went well....I entertained myself & anyone at the hospital who couldn't run away fast enough with Earl the rubber chicken. It definitely helped me deal with the drama. Then I pretty much slept for four days, struggled back to work Monday but today has gone well, I feel pretty normal! I also had my follow up doctor appt & he said they tested the lump & it was scar tissue and fibrocystic something or other...but NOT cancer. YAY God! (I would have said "Yay God" either way..but this is MY favorite option...YAY GOD!!!)Thank you for your love and prayers and silly emails and food....THANK YOU...John & I both felt very loved & will look forward to the opportunity to hug on all of you soon!Heather"

Chapter 2 Conclusion

(p. 36-43)

Richie continues to reassure his student that she'll get the hang of emotion memory with practice and patience. He tells her it's kind of like learning a song. Eventually you start humming the tune without even being aware you're doing it. That's the cool thing about this system. It takes practice and discipline, but eventually it just begins to "click"and becomes almost automatic. The trick is persevering through the old habits--kind of like this blog! Many of you aren't used to blogs and how to post a comment, but once you realized you don't need to be a great writer or a tech genius-just someone who can type an honest reponse, it became not such a big deal! Thanks for persevering!

The creature challenges Richie (p. 38) by asking him about playing a murderer since she's never murdered anyone. David Morgan had never won the lottery, but he has experienced a surprise or moments of pure joy,and he used those along with the "magic if" (what is this really did happen to me? How would I react?) to pull us in to his character's story when he performed his monolgue at the last meeting.

Richie gives us a couple of great reminders or warning labels on this tool: (p.40-41)
"Be careful not to overdo it. Don't look for "to be"when you should seek "to do.". . . The difficult spots are what you should watch for and work for. Every play is written for one or at most a few "high tension"moments. The audience pays the price of the tickets--not for two whole hours--but for the best ten seconds, the ten seconds when it gets the biggest laugh or thrill. Your whole strength and perfection must be directed toward those seconds."

APPLICATION: Name your favorite movie and it's "high tension" moment. Then name one of your scenes or monolgues you've performed or will perform in the meeting and tell us what the "high tension"moment is for that particular piece.

Richie sums it up well when he reminds her of the main idea of this new tool as she is about to leave for rehearsal:
"Notice everything around you--watch yourself cheerfully. Collect and save in your soul all the riches of life and the fulness of it. Keep those memories in order. You can never tell when you need them . . .they are your paints and brushes. And they will bring you reward."

Reminds me of a great verse :
Ephesians 1:7
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.


I hate to admit it, but I kind of identified with Richie (minus the sexism and egotism-but still you gotta love him) when he reminded her of the end result of the system (p.42).Because I've seen it in my students, I can clearly see down the road, when all of you will no longer feel like "convenient type" actors that are simply willing, fitting, and available, but you will finally own that you've become"daring artists" that take people to the exact spot they need to go to open their ears and hearts to crucial messages God has waiting for them. We're on our way! Thanks for your continued dedication. See you Monday the 22nd!

Plays to See

Anita's Pride and Prejudice this weekend!

Paul's Antigone Oct. 20 and 24th at the South Bend Main Library or St. Paul's church Oct. 28th.

Any others you'd recommend?

Chapter 2 Continued . . .

(p. 30-37)

Last time Richie briefly introduced the concept of the Memory of Emotion, but in these pages, he really gets to the meat of the idea. He starts with the story of the cucumber patch. A good example of how outside cricumstances can bring about inside feelings.

Question: Can you think of a time when outward circumstances brought about a very vivid memory or emotion for you?

For me: Certain songs bring me back to where I first heard them. The smells of certain foods especially pot roast bring me back to large family gatherings at my grandmother's house.

The Creature doubts that she has these memories since she's so young. He tells her she has:
"Plenty of them--just waiting to be awakened, just waiting for a call. And what is more, when you do awaken them, you can control them, you can make use of them, you can apply them to your craft."

He asks her to relive a time when she felt torn between two extreme emotions, and she explains the time she left her brother behind to travel abroad. As she starts to act it out, she is brought back to the place she needs to be for her challenging part. But when he asks her to continue with her speech to her mother, she stops and doesn't get the connection. He tells her she will with practice:
"Be logical. You must substitute creation for the real thing. The creation must be real, but that is the only reality that should be there. Your experience of double feeling was a fortunate accident. Through your will power and the knowledge of your craft you have organized and re-created it. It is now in your hands. Use it if your artistic sense tells you that it is relative to your problem and creates a would-be life. To imitate is wrong. To create is right."

I know I've mentioned this before, but this reminds me of my first college acting course when I was asked to play this maniacal woman who kidnapped women who were trying to get abortions. When her victim would scream and pull at the chains she had chained them to the wall with, she would kneel and pray for them. My questions to my professor were "What if I don't have anything I've experienced that fits with it? What if I choose the wrong thing?"

Basically, my poor, patient professor had to ask me a ton of questions until I landed on a bad experience I had while babysitting. The little girl made "strong willed child" seem like a chia pet! Her name was Abby, and she was quite a challenge. Her mother, Debbie, insisted that she take a nap and warned me that she normally takes naps no problem, but with babysitters, she tries everything in her power to get out of taking a nap. And oh, was she right. It started out with a sing songy tune complete with wall banging with lyrics like " I won't take a nap. I hate you. If you don't open the door and let me watch TV I'll tell my mom you hit me!" (Precoscious little rascal . . .) So, knowing the thing she really needed most was a nap, I had to try to tune her out and wait out the storm. When this clicked, our scene finally became compelling and our motivated conflict left our class spellbound.

In the midst of your scenes and monologues, there will be times when you look at a character and say "I have nothing in common with this person! How am I supposed to play this?" that's when the system comes in handy.

Let me put it this way. We've been trying to build a house with limited tools and doing a pretty good job at it! But studying and practicing the use of this system is like a Home Depot shopping spree. Imagine the possibilities . . .

An Update from Heather

"Thank you for the prayers & thoughts, I actually go for a lumpectomy on Oct 10th! ICK...but the biopsy came back clear...the three doctors just think it is wrong, isn't that reassuring?

Latent stress has definitely reduced my energy level, I will be glad when I feel NORMAL! I did get a pink hair extension from Salon Ubon to increase prevention awareness--FUN!

Have you had your mammogram???????"

Deanna's Sign

If you were there for our first meeting, you remember Deanna's great monologue about a sign from God. Well, it's time for her to follow the sign. Join me in wishing her a fond farewell. We'll miss you Deanna, but we're inspired by your pursuit of God's next adventure for your life.

Here's a message from Deanna.

Friends, Family and Loved Ones:
Yes it's true. I will be moving to the Gurnee, IL area within the next couple weeks. I'm working with a realtor up there who has uncovered some really nice rental homes and/or townhouses and I should have a permanent address within the next week. I've accepted a position in Spring Grove, IL with a company called Scot Forge. (www.scotforge.com) and will be starting October 16th. The company is 100% employee owned, very stable, and profitable with a very unique culture. Definitely a good place to "land".

As you can imagine, this is a bittersweet time for me and my family. I've lived here my entire life but am looking forward to the change. Remember, the only things you regret are those you never pursued.

I picked the Gurnee area because of the great schools system but it will make it a slight commute to work, but worth it. Nick is looking forward to the adventure, but Amanda has decided to live with her dad, at least for now. She is a teenager, so one never really knows what they're thinking.

Once I get settled, I'll be sure to send you my new contact information.

Regards,
DeAnna

On to the Next Chapter . . . .

We are now on Ch. 2 "Memory of Emotion"

(The following discussion is on p. 21-29.)

Richie sees the creature once again, and she has another problem. Like any good teacher, he starts out with a little encouragement (a far cry from Ch. 1). After learning so much, she's embarrassed about her last performance for him. He tells her:

"You just did it. You made the attack yourself. You didn't wait for somebody to push you."

(Reminds me of 25 cool people I know.)

One of the millions of things I love about GCC is we focus on a "Big Idea" for each service, and we drive it home in as many cool ways as we can. First Impressions even has a big idea that can be summed up in 2 words- You matter! So this whole chapter is about one big idea that is one of the greatest tools in the actor's belt--affective memory or memory of emotion. It's kind of our secret weapon for those tough parts that are hard to relate to. (Much like most of your monologues!)

Richie notices this ability in her before he explains it to her:

"She is like a violin whose strings repond to all vibrations. I am sure she takes all there is in life as only a strong, normal being can take it. She selects what she wants to keep; she throws away what seems worthless to her. She will make a good actress." (24)

Though he recognizes it, she only sees the problem in front of her. She gets very serious when she tries to explain it, and he gets frustrated with her. He says:
"Why do people get solemn as soon as they speak of things which have no purpose but to bring joy to others!" (Lightbulb?!) I went to my grandparents church a few months ago, and this reminds of me of the atmosphere of their services as opposed to GCC. Our church knows how to celebrate the joy of following Christ. We are so lucky it's easy to take it for granted!

So, off my soap box now, she explains that she knows the part inside and out (p. 25) but still feels like something is missing. I know I've been there. Especially when I was younger and was asked to play older married women or mothers before I experienced it myself. I tried to do everything right but something was missing. "They will say 'You are very good, but you lack experience' and that's all. What is that cursed experience?" (26)

That's when we get the first intro. to our big idea. He talks to her about the "practicality of dreams". He says all of her experiences, senses, real or imagined are at her beckon call to be used to connect to her part.
"You will have to organize and synchronize the self that is within you, with your part. Then everything will be splendid."

Have you ever noticed how God uses difficult times to prepare us to help others through similar difficulties? It's the same thing. We get to recall true experiences from our lives to help point others to Christ. That's what the memory of emotion is all about.

At the Willow Creek Arts Conference, Nancy Beach said:
"If we as artists do not speak to the absence of God, we will not awaken the search for his presence. Our message of hope must be rooted in both darkness and light. We must live in the contradiction. Embrace the darkness while pointing to the light. All we can offer sometimes is a bit of a broken hallelujah."

She talked about "living in the contradiction" which is exactly what the creature is trying to do with her part.

Discussion Question:
Can you think of a time in your life where you were torn between two extreme emotions like the character the creature is being asked to play?

Example: On my wedding day, I was having the time of my life until I noticed the look in my dad's eyes when he offered me his arm to walk me down the aisle. I realized the simultaneous beginning and ending of chapters in my life. Fear and a sense of adventure. Joy and Grief all at once.

What about you?

More on this to come next week . . .

Meetings with Meaning

Well, good things come in small packages rang true at our last meeting. September is a crazy month for all of us, so thank you to those of you who were able to make the last meeting and nail your challenging monologues!

Sherry provided an authentic, intimate moment when her character talked about her memory of abortion. Paul freaked us out with his intensity when his character encountered a man melting on a train. Steph gave us a dynamic performance as her character convinced her son that he will help her "glow" on her wedding day whether he liked it or not. John McClain set up his surprise ending beautifully with a great story about an elevator accident. Lori convinced us that she couldn't help that her character hadn't left the house in seven years. Dave gave unprecedented characterisation and energy when his farmer character won the lottery. Jon Crutchfield made us laugh and gasp and love his character as he tried to get his wife to let him back in the house after a fight. Janet was hysterical as a movie extra with a unique perspective on her job. And Rebecca made us cry and cringe as she pleaded with her husband to stay with her. I'm so sorry that many of you missed these amazing performances! It's so fun to walk with each other as we stretch and grow in our art. I guarantee you would have been surprised at the growth and effort of your fellow team members.

For those of you that weren't able to make it, your monologue you already received is your October assignment, so we will look forward to seeing those on Monday Oct. 22nd from 7-10pm. Those that made the meeting, you will receive short scene assignments via e-mail next week when I get back from the Catalyst conference in Atlanta. You are not required to meet with your scene partner before the performance, but feel free to try to meet and run through it if you have time. See you all Oct. 22nd!