Log #3

This was our last practice week, so we took it really serious. Since I have already memorized the script, there was another problem came up which was I am not good at put myself into the character. This was a general problem there are three situations under it. (Also the drama “The dead” inspired me a lot because I focused on every character’s acting when I saw the play. So I learnt from them.) 

First, always focus on my lines, and the most important thing in my head is to speak out all my lines correctly. Because of this, my voice volume is very small. I was not confident enough to raise my volume; as a result, audiences could not hear me clearly sometimes. Actually, this problem is very easy to solve. Practice again and again to make sure I can recite every single line without thinking. I usually practice with Nancy after class and after school, and I am quite sure that I improved a lot. 

 Second, I cannot always react to my partners’ lines properly. For example, Lord Capulet has a very long monolog which is blaming Juliet. When we went through this part, I just kneeled down without any reactions. And it was really unrealistic. It seemed like what Lord Capulet said was none of my business. My partner told me that I need to really imagine that my parents force me to marry with someone I do not like, and if I refuse I would be throw to the street and die. Should I cry? Should I make decisions and rebel them? It is really hard to imagine because I am lack of experiences. I need to reflect my mental activities through my tiny body languages. Such as cry, bite my lips, scratch the ground, squeeze the edge of my dress are all good choices. Facial expressions are also important to show my character’s emotions. 

 Three, I did not act like Juliet. My actions, intonation and attitude are not very Juliet’s style. Since we used the old style script that means we should not modernize the performance also. I should act like a rich noble man’s daughter during Shakespeare’s time, so I need to stay gentle and graceful even though when I am mad. I show let audiences recognize that I am Juliet according to my actions rather than from the plots. If I am reach this goal that would be wonderful. I need to pay attention to every single detail just to make my reactions as reliable as possible. 

 As a conclusion, in order to make our performance successful, we need to not only to focus on myself, but also cooperate with my partners. Their acting is very nice and professional. I afraid I would mess up when we record our final draft. However, the only thing I can do is to improve myself by practicing as much as can, keeping thinking all the time, staying in the character and responding to others properly. I believe we can finish this project perfectly.