Characterization Exercise

I found my person from the american theatre magazine and its a picture of a guy with big, gold wings and he has on tight clothing with gold boots. Using Laban's analysis of different shapes and efforts, I would think that this person is gliding on stage because he's spreading his wings as if it wants to glide through the air and it's very direct. I can picture him saying something like, "I have bloomed into a beautiful butterfly that's ready to spread its wings and explore the world."

View Points

1. Learning about viewpoints this week was a great experience and also very fun. I like the fact that I can just be free and make a complete fool of myself without being judged. The exercise we did in class when we had to perform a story with our movements and random props while listening to music, was a bit challenging at first. I was with the second group so therefore I got to sit down and watch first and I could not believe my eyes. My peers were doing such a great job, I felt as though I would not be able to do that or be interesting like them. It was so amazing to watch a them tell a story and react on impulses. When it was my turn to do it, it started off pretty silly, but then I started having a great time. First, I simply did my own thing then I started paying attention to everyone and reacted to the stuff they did and before I knew it we were all telling a story.

2. A moment that felt alive for me was when Austin put on the mask; everyone reacted immediately and he was like the outcast of the group. That told a great story because it was like he wanted to fit in but being that he had on a mask, he couldn't. That was so interesting to watch and it seemed so real as if it were rehearsed. It better to watch viewpoints being done when everyone is responding to each other as oppose to just doing their own thing because that's boring to watch.

3. I think one of the activities we did with Addie was very forced; when we had to form a circle, cluster, and line without talking or having a leader. I did not like that exercise at all because it felt so forced and not natural at all. We were all staring at each other to see who would start the circle or line, we couldn't even enjoy ourselves because we were so busy worrying about forming these shapes. I definitely think we need to practice that one more.

Body Learning Part 2

Alexander described primary control as a dynamic relationship in which our head, neck, and torso are  primary influences for the coordination of our whole body mechanism and all our movements. It functions all of the time for better or worse in every position. After reading about the unreliable sensory appreciation, I realized that almost everyone can relate to this. Its basically when we feel as though our physical condition is kinaesthetically right or appropriate, but in reality it's wrong. Alexander described that in one of his lessons, his teacher guided him through the process of sitting to standing and he realized that his idea of standing involved him shortening his neck muscles and pushing his legs and feet on the floor. The teacher then helped him fix these problems and Alexander called the process, "going from the known to unknown." The key term he explained after this which was inhibition, was quite similar. Inhibition is the ability to delay our response until we are prepared to change it. This discovery was made when Alexander realized that he was the one that caused his voice problems. Direction was a bit tricky for me to understand, but I think it's when you actually think about your movements before physically doing them therefore you are aware of what you're doing. You begin to get a better idea of the directions in which your body are going and where you wish to go. Last but not least, I think ends and means is pretty much a mixture of all the other key terms. It describes how we use ourselves when performing actions; instead of focusing on the goal we wish to attain, we learn to have an increased consciousness of the physical means employed to achieve our ends intelligently. 

I must say, after reading this article I was a bit confused about some things so I went back and highlighted important stuff and read over it until I had a clear understanding. I found the whole concept interesting because Alexander was just a normal person who discovered all of this on his own and a doctor couldn't even figure it out. When I first read about the Alexander technique, I thought it was a bit silly because it seemed so simple to do and understand, but in reality its not when you actually get in front of a mirror and observe your physicality and try to make changes. What really stood out to me was the idea of unreliable sensory appreciation. I am always being told that I have a weird walk and I never understood how. People say my feet go out to opposite directions after every step I take and that my knees look like they touch. Of course I think the way I walk is normal because that's what I'm used to but if I actually took the time to observe the way I walked and figured out why I do so, I can maybe be like Alexander himself and fix my problem by using his technique. All in all, I really enjoyed learning about his life and all of his discoveries. 

Body Learning Part 1

The life of Alexander!

The oldest of eight children, Alexander was born in Tasmania, Australia in 1869. He suffered with respiratory problems which caused him to be taken out of school to be educated privately. His main love and focus in life was theatre and by the age of twenty, he decided to become and actor and reciter. Unfortunately, being in this profession was a problem for Alexander due to his respiratory problems once again. This affected the quality of his voice during his recitations and he began to get very frustrated. Doctors would tell him to rest, but Alexander realized that resting was not the cure at all. He had no problems with ordinary speech, but only had problems while he was reciting and acting. Ignoring the doctors, Alexander took matters in his own hands to find out what the problem was. One day, he stood in front of the mirror and observed himself reciting lines. He noticed how he stiffened his neck, depressed his larynx, and sucked his breath with a gasp. He realized that this is what caused his respiratory problems and that he needed to somehow change them. With lots of focus, he was able to connect the mind and body and have these problems come to a cease. His technique began to travel around the world and people admired it while some did not understand. He died on October 10, 1955 from a short illness. Alexander may not have been the easiest man to work with, but he will always be remember for discovering a technique that may help actors of today. 

Use and Functioning, The Whole Person

Before beginning the process that led to Alexander's discovery, he believed, "the mind and body were separate entities" but this was false. Alexander taught people to use their body as a whole in a mindful manner. Separating the mind and body causes conflict with our emotions. He argued that, "all training must be based on the understanding that the human organism always functions as a whole and can only be changed fundamentally as a whole." Not only has Alexander's techniques allowed us to use our body better in everyday life, but it has also effectively helped actors on stage and has prevented diseases.  

Alexander Technique

Video 1
1. The most important thing you can do when there is no one to help you is self observation.

2. Self observation is watching yourself; meaning to watch everything as far as possible in you and around you as if it were happening to someone else. Self absorption on the other hand is self pre-occuppation when you are concerned and worried about yourself.

3. We suffer from depression and anxiety because we identify ourselves as being depressed and we convince ourselves, rather than actually experiencing the feeling. He goes on and explains that saying, "I am depressed" is false and it really should be, "I is experiencing a depression right now." You are not your depression, you are just trying to convince yourself that you are.

4. He used an analogy about the sky and clouds to define the word "self" and he simply says that "self" is the sky observing the clouds passing by.

5. If you understand things, they will soon change.

6. "What you judge, you cannot understand."

Reflection: After watching DeMello's video, I completely understands what he means when he explains that you are not your depression. It makes perfect sense and I feel as though I never separate myself from my emotion. When I got to college and realized it was completely different from high school I would say things like, "I am stressed" "I am a failure" etc. because I ended up with a 2.8 gpa my first semester. But Chelsea Smith is none of those things. I am fun, loving, caring, intelligent, crazy, goofy, friendly, outgoing, etc. I can go on and on, but just because one day I may be feeling a certain emotion, does not make me that emotion, I am only experiencing that emotion during the time. 

Video 2 
1. When we experience fear, stress, and anxiety, we instantly compress ourselves which causes the survival mechanism to kick in and we start to shrink because of our flight or fight response. The body is preparing for a life-threatening situation which is not good.

2. The Alexander technique allows our body to have a more appropriate reaction for when we are going through stress and anxiety.

3. "Nature would prefer us to be in balance."

4. The 3 points of contacts for the foot are: the little toe, big toe, and heel. 

5. The three hinges in our legs are: the ankles, knees, and hips.

6. The hip joints are below the pelvis and in line with the pubic bone.

7. "Allow the pelvis to be heavy like an anchor."

8. The top of the spine is between your ears. 

Reflection: I think the connection between my mind and my body are in sync. Whatever is going on in my mind will affect my body. For instance, if I am having a bad day and have a lot running through my mind, you will be able to see that through my body language. I may tend to walk slow with my head down and either a mad or sad look on my face, as oppose to how I normally would walk and look up at others with a big smile on my face. 

Getting Out of Your Own Way

1. Society tells our children that they are only candidates for human life. If you do not play by the "world's rules," you are basically a waste and will have no future. Our society demands that you have a future!

2. Society's preparation for life is the school system of course and getting ready for the next stage in life. For example, kindergarden prepares you for first grade and high school prepares you for college which as people say, is the only way you can be successful in life. Society makes it seem like without education, you have nothing.

3. When one arrives, Watts claims that he or she often feels cheated because you've been trained to get out in the real world just to be in the same predicament you were in while you were in school and college. It's like you're constantly looking for the perfect future. Some graduate college and can't even find jobs, some people have competitive jobs like law for instance and have to compete with others to get a job which can be very hard. Life does not get easier once you're done with school, it just gets harder and harder. 

4. The final goal of our society is retirement, where you can finally spend your hard earned money on whatever you want, not have to worry about going to work everyday, and just live it up. But he also mentions that by then you will be very old with no energy so it defeats the purpose anyway. 

5. I always stress to my friends not to live for the future. They're always worrying about who they will marry or how much money they're going to making etc. Also, there are many people in college that only major in biology, law, business, etc. just for the money. The problem with living for the future is that you're so busy making plans that you're not having fun in the present or living life how you want to. Right now, I am enjoying my four years in college being a theatre major. I am not concerned about how much money I will be making once I graduate, I am doing what I love and what I am passionate about. 

1. The chinese word for nature is ziran and it means, "that happens of itself." 

2. You stop the spontaneous flowering of nature when you control it and it is told to continue to do so.

3. We as human beings are the fabric and structure of existence itself.

4. The secret of life is being happy with the present and just enjoying every moment of your life. Be thankful that you are still living.

1. Dr. Brewer's experience of flow was when he was riding his bike down a steep trail.

2. We get caught up thinking 50 percent of the time.

3. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.

4. During meditation the autopilot parts of the brain quiet down and it allows you to relax.

5. In nine minutes, the test subject learned the difference between feeling the moment and getting in his own way.

Reflection: I realized that during our yoga practice, I am too worried about how painful it is or how I'm not flexible compared to my peers. I have so much running through my mind, that I am not experiencing yoga. Instead, I am worried about all these things and also about whats going on in my life. That completely defeats the purpose of even doing yoga. I need to learn how to be more relaxed and just let my body go. While playing killer ball, I realized that you HAVE to be in the present to play the game. If not, you are bound to get hit right in the face from not paying attention lol. I must say, I had so much fun playing killer ball, I was completely in the moment and threw all my worries out the window. All i was worried about was catching the ball and getting that person who was in the circle out! Performing wise, I am always in the moment trying to perform to the best of my ability. I am not thinking about anything else, not even during rehearsals. These videos were really great and taught me not to worry about the future and just live for the moment.

Mindfulness

1. Dr. Kabat-Zinn describes mindfulness as paying attention as if your life depended on it. In the other words, it allows you to connect better with your life in the present moment.

2. According to Dr. Kabat-Zinn, our life depends on mindfulness because attention is what helps us navigate our lives, to actually know what's happening around us. 

3. It does not matter what things you pay attention to, all that matters is attending and making sure you are actually present in the present moment. Worrying about the past and the future is irrelevant because you are squeezing out the present moment, which you cannot get back. 

4. No, mindfulness is not a technique; it is a way being aware and opening your mind.

1. Andy simply suggests that we take a step back from life for just ten minutes to familiarize ourselves with the present moment.

2. Our minds are lost in thoughts 47 percent of the time.

3. Mindfulness is not about controlling our thoughts and feelings at all, it is about seeing these thoughts clearly with a relaxed mind and not judging them at all.

4. The activity we did in class when we had to balance a stick on two of our fingers was very difficult for me and now i understand why. I was not focused like i should have been, I was too busy worrying about other things in my life instead of relaxing and focusing on the stick. I was also pretty stressed out about things, which caused tension on my fingers and caused the stick to continuously fall. 

For this activity, I sat on the chair in my bedroom cross-legged and set my timer for ten minutes. For some reason I kept getting distracted for the first five minutes. I kept thinking about school, my boyfriend, things that had been bothering me, and etc. So I stopped and turned on some soothing music, this seemed to help a bit. I guess its hard for me to stay in the present moment, it might take practice, but I must say, meditating is very soothing and relaxing.  

About me :D

1. I am taking this class as an elective because I am a Theatre major with a concentration in film and I feel as though this will be a great class to take to help me become a better performer on stage. I can learn about body control and physical freedom. I also think that this will be a very fun class.

2. My major is Theatre with a film concentration.

3. I will definitely consider myself as an extrovert.

4. I am most interested in theatre of course, english, and spanish. In high school I cheered for three years and played volleyball for six years. I love performing on stage, watching movies, decorating, shopping, going to amusements parks, and just living life to the fullest.

5. Hmmm, this question actually made me think a lot; I guess presence means how to carry yourself and how people perceive you or even how you will be remembered. For instance if you walk into a place full of people, will they stop what they're doing to stop and speak? Will they even notice you? Will they roll their eyes and continue to their business? Or will they run up to you and give you a hug? I feel as though I have "it" because I am a people person and I have a great personality. I treat others the way i want to be treated.

6. I feel as though my body is very stiff and that needs to change asap. I also do not think my upper body is very strong and I would love to build that upper body strength. 

7. I am confident that my body can do many dance moves, kicks, and jumps.

8. I am definitely self-conscious about my body when it comes to flexibility. I had a huge problem with that on the cheerleading team and it was quite embarrassing. I was the only one who could not split or even do simple stretches. 

9. I hope to learn more about movement on stage and how to use the space. 

10. Hopefully in five years, I will be back in California fulfilling my dreams with being an actress or at least working in the entertainment industry.