Class Exercise #5: Secrets

performed Thursday, February 2, 2012

#5 Objective, Tactics, Secrets -- each person has a secret of their own, either dependent or independent (the audience knows what it is, or nobody but the actor knows what it is).

Scene -- Brittini and I enter from opposite directions. I close the door behind me after doing a bunch of whispering to someone outside the door. Brittini doesn't look happy. I persist that she tell me what's wrong. she says she got a bad test grade and it'll piss off dad. I insist that she not worry about it and it'll all be alright. I make her laugh by recalling Jared's funny Bell's Palsy. Slowly i make her happy and then lead her out the door where we yell "surprise!"

OBJECTIVES:

Brittini -- to keep secret from family and dad

• Secret: got a bad test grade
• TACTICS
• to avoid eye contact
• to reject
• to ask not to tell
• to make others for sorry for her

Karyn -- to make Brittini content enough to transition her to a celebratory mood

• Secret: throwing a surprise party for Brittini
• TACTICS
• To sympathize
• To joke
• To physically readjust to show she cares
• To offer mac&cheese

WORKING WITH BRITTINI:

Got a say, i was a tiny intimidated to work with brittini because she's pre-acting and pretty so i wasn't sure if she'd be stand-offish or something. Not at all! She reminded me a ton of my younger sister April. It was so natural working with her, especially playing her older sister! She's definitely got what it takes to succeed as an actress--the right look, the right deep dark eyes, the truth that she portrays. She could be a lil more... something. i don't know. charasmatic? no. grown-up? maybe. i don't know... it's some thing. but she's definitely got a star quality about her.

Honestly, i feel a lil competition. From the combination of Dave's and Gabby's comment ["why did you ask for her phone?" is really the only thing they said to me; "i like how you said 'you know what dad will do'" is what they said to brittini], i feel that brittini did better in the skit, which she probably did. She's a natural. I feel like it is a bit easier to play the depressed, unhappy character instead of the one pushing the scene along. It's harder to play happy truthfully, i think, because everybody has different ways of showing that they're happy--hyper, content, dancy, dull, normal, whatever-- but being sad is pretty commonly known to be one certain thing -- turned off, sad, emotionally unstimulated.

I want to work with Brittini again though. I feel she takes these things seriously and responds to improv well enough. And because she's like my lil sis, it seems so natural and truthful with her. After the skit tho, i realize i need to be less aware of my lines and stuff, and more focused on responding to the improv itself.