Drama Journal #2

1) Why is it important for actors to be able to work in pantomime?

Because while you are acting in a play the audience members in the back row will not be able to see what you are doing when you are making small actions, so by over exaggerating emotions and working in pantomime even the people in the back row will understand everything completely. For instance if the actors in the Midsummer Night’s Dream did no act in pantomime it would not have been as easy to understand what they were going.

2. What are the three most important things an actor must remember when performing panto?

The three most important things an actor must remember during pantomime are to lead with your chest, slow motions and exaggerated your body and face. I believe this to be true because without those 3 rules it would be just like you are walking and not acting out pantomime.

3. Which exercises were the most challenging for you today?

The exercise which was most challenging for me in today’s class was gesture walking because we had to use our entire body in pantomime where as the facial pantomime where we were sitting down in the chairs I found the easiest because we were only using our facial expressions. Currently I am fine when it comes to exaggerating my body and my face separately but when I am asked to do both at the same time I am finding it rather difficult. As the year progresses I hope to get better at this and feel more comfortable.

Drama Journal

I felt that today’s activities were very helpful and proactive because it let me experience acting with my body language as well as my facial expressions. The tightrope walk and the garbage walk helped me to figure out my movement and how I wanted to act them out. I feel that it improved my skills and I hope we do other activities like that in the near future.

I feel most confident in the slow motion actions because I find exaggerating to be fun and helpful. I enjoyed this exercise because while I act out motions at a slow pace it helps me as I act at a regular speed. I feel that the games and exercise we have been doing in class are very good acting techniques that will definitely come in handy.

The activity that challenged me the most difficult was the tight rope walk because you had to really imagine that you were walking 100 feet above the ground on a non-stable platform that you could easily fall off of. I had to use my entire body and pretend to loose my balance and walk very slowly; at one point in time I really did loose my balance.

I believe that as you are trying to get well known in the acting field you start off with movement drills and activities because as you are performing in a play you will be able to use your face and body more actively and be able to trust your surroundings and the people you are acting with.

Drama Homework 3 Questions

1) Why is it important for an actor to trust the people he/she is working with?

It is important for an actor to trust the people he/she is working with incase they forget their line, that way one of their fellow actors, directors or narrators can help them out. If you are comfortable with the people you are working with and the area it is easier for you to get into character and feel more

2) What was the most difficult aspect of the activities that we did today for you personally?

I found the most difficult aspect of the tourist game was being the traveler from another country because you really had to trust the guide and believe that they would lead you properly across the room without leading you into an inanimate object. The most difficult part of the story game where everyone would take turns continuing the story was trusting the group that they would continue the story without messing it up. Here I notice a common theme that the most difficult thing in this game is “trust” which can actually be a very difficult thing to do if you do not open up.

3) Why are an actor's facial expressions and body movements just as important as the words that they say while they are on stage?

Because that way the audience can understand what is going on better. If an actor says “I hate you” without emotion you might not grasp the concept that they are very angry where as if they are saying it with lots of emotion while being mad and using their body to cope with the actions you can tell that they are very mad.