Act.Create.Enjoy

In the beginning of the day we played some quick games. But we had a great deal of work to do. First of all, we spoke about the shoes and toys everybody had brought in and decided what still was needed. Our show included a change of shoes so a lot of coordination in our chaotic group was needed. ;)

After this, we rehearsed the choreography to music we had chosen the day before. Our opening, middle and ending number dealt with the themes of coming of age by giving away our toys (literally) and slipping into our parent's shoes (the shoes we had to bring in this day). It was quite moving for everyone and we started to get a feeling that our piece was beginning to be more then just a show-off of some teenagers. 

Then we got into (new) groups and started to stage the second part of our monologues. We decided which props were needed and if other persons should join the scene. I had a really funny monologue which was about a mother telling how she explainded the facts of life to her daughters (among other things by buying them some condoms...).

After deciding how to put the monologues on stage we put all scenes together and started to make some run throughs so that everybody remembered their key lines and when to enter. And over the day we did this run throughs over and over again.

In the evening, Sam and Alex invited me to a Pub and to watch a Comedy- Show afterwards. It was a really fun evening. The comedy consisted of a satirique show of the recent news. For example, how Kate and William acted as parents. Even though I didn't get all jokes because they were too insiders for me, I had a lot to laugh at.

Firstly, we played some of our favorite games (apart from Mafia which is a common favorite but a little bit long) Big Booty and Ninja.

Then we started to work on our monologues. First of all, we underlined nouns and verbs which are most of the time the words which we stress to make the action clear. After underlining them we started to draw pictures for each of these words. Then we had to tell our stories pointing on the pictures while we were talking. We did this to learn how to tell the story as clear as possible.

In the afternoon we started to stage in small groups the first part of our monologues. 

We discussed which costumes to wear. We agreed on wearing black with a special "adult feature", we also should bring in a toy and adult shoes. This was a little problem for me because I wasn't at home and only had a suitcase with me. Luckily Alex borowed me some shoes of her grandmother (which were golden and looked like Cinderella shoes ;) )

After our course we went all together to Covent Garden were we ate in Pizza Express and had a lovely and fun evening. Then we went to see the Musical Charlie and the Choclate Factory. It impressed me a lot because the stage and the ideas how to put in on stage were really original. (Humpaloompas played by pumpets, a real life television to introduce the Golden Card Winners.)

To warm up we played Big Booty because it is a quick game and we wanted to start working on our play as soon as possible.

Then we listened to different recordings of parents which people of our group had brought in. We did it with the same method as the day before. One person would listen and say it out loud. The stories were either anecdotes about their parents' childhood or about their children. This was very interesting because we got to know funny anecdotes about the other persons. 

Afterwards, we split up in different groups and listened to the different anecdotes and wrote them down. In the meanwhile our director had reparted the parts as fair as possible and we had to learn them till Thursday...

After the lunch break we learned a method how to memorize words. At first, we had to remember 20 different words. Which was really difficult and only one girl was able to do that (she's brilliant and has a fotografic memory) :). Then our director started to tell a story with each word and connecting them to eachother. Therefore he used very rare pictures like a mouse which is captured in a huge wine glass (to memorize the words mouse and glass). It was amazing and I still remember nearly all words.

After the course, I went in the Park with some friends and we had a long chat.

In the evening I prepared dinner together with Sam and Alex. Then we watched the rest of Eclipse. :)

Sorry for only writing now after my return to Madrid. But the last week I've been really busy learning lines and a lot of days I went out. So I didn't have enough time to write. But now I'm back and have plenty of time to write...  :)

Yesterday we learned a new technique.

To start of we played some games. First the name-shot game and then a bounce game which we had already done one week before but this time we managed to do it after two times (and not 20 like the week before).

Then one person listened to a recording and had to repeat exactly what the people in the recording were saying. The funny thing was if you didn't know that there were listening to something you would think that they were telling their own story. When I tried it out it was very difficult to understand the person talking because he was talking so fast. But it was a nice experience.

Then we did same thing with a recording which was the mother 's story of one of our group. Together we wrote the story ( an anecdote about her childhood down). Then in small groups we disscused how to stage it and acted it out. So we saw diffrent interpretations of the same story, which was quite interesting because everyone had done it diffrent.

At the end of the course everyone said which parts from the skript (s)he would like to perform. But because we hadn't enough time we reparted the lines the day after.

After the course I went home and ate an early dinner because afterwards I went to Sound of Music. This musical was very moving and funny. And every third sentence contained an Austrian stereotype.

Yesterday I met up another time with my new friends. :-)

Firstly, we planned to go to Brick Lane Market but I my way there was a completely mess. Because I got of at Paddington and had walk  a long way to change the lines. ( At least I know now that Paddington is the wrong place to change). Afterwards there was only a train which got one station before the one I wanted to go out. So I believed my station was closed (because some station were closed this weekend). Then the communication was really difficult because I was in the tube and I realised the station was opened I couldn't call and the other ones had taken already the bus back. The result: I had spend one hour in the underground to end up at Leicester Square. At least this gave us the opportunity to watch the film we agreed on seeing yesterday. :-)

We watched "Now You See Me". For me it was the second time. And to be honest this time I enjoyed more seeing it because I could focus more on the style then on the plot and I found some interesting details. ( And I wasn't so disappointed with some clues of the plot).

Afterwards we went to Pret a manger ( I really love this shop it has such a huge sortiment) and buyed food which we ate at Leicester Square.Then we went to Tate Britain with the mother of a friend and we saw some really interesting exhibitions.

After the exhibition the mother of this friend invited me for dinner. We went to a Turkish Restaurant and it was really nice because they live in Istanbul so they know which kind of food is good and I was aible to try a lot of new delicious food. :-)

Yesterday I went to Portobello Market with friends.

But before I had a little problem to arrive there because I took the wrong bus. So I arrived too late and the other ones had gone to cafe to wait for me. But I didn't find the cafe. That's why we agreed on meeting at Portobello Market. The problem: Portobello Market has no proper beginning nor end. So I got lost and it was even more complicated finding eachother. One of the problem was to find a common spot to meet. ( And it is not easy because there isn't one Antique Shop but twenty ;-)  )

Finally, we found eachother and I was really relieved and happy.Potobello Market has everything and in twenty varieties. Curiously some shops had the same sortiment as in Camden Market. We saw a Vintage Bookshop which sold this wonderful antique books. There was an old edition of the Grimms Fairytales. It must have been very expensive because the shop owner ( who was a little bit grumpy) asked me to put it back. There were also a lot of designer shop which sold original clothes and other stuff. But they were quite expensive...

After seeing the market we looked for a place to eat in outside of Portobello Market to escape from the crowds. On the way I found a bookshop specialised on cookbooks which I found quite funny.

Then we went to Covent Garden to meet an other friend and to go to the cinema. But we didn't find a film so we decided to go to a shop specialized on Cinema literature and other "cinematique" accessories. Then we went to Leicester Square and sat down in the gras and chatted. We had a really nice afternoon.

When I arrived home. I made Pasta with tomato sauce. And this time I managed to not burn it ( like the weekend before) so I was quite proud of me. :-)

Today has been a really interesting day. We did a really interesting exercise.

But before we played some games to warm up. First of all, we played Ninja and then Giants, Wizzards and Dwarfs. It was really fun. Afterwards we discussed the characters of the play which we not yet had talked about.

Then we did this movement exercise. Firstly, we had to to relax our whole body and get rid of all the tension. We were in stage zero were you aren't able to move. Then we had to get up but with as less tension and energy as possible. After this we had to walk around like zombies, like people who were exhausted in the desert. This was stage one, exhausted. Then we had to walk around as if we were on the beach, relaxed but with not as much feeling to go back to bed as before. This stage is called Californian. The neutral stage consisted in moving as efficiently as possible so that no energy would be waisted in being too relaxed nor having too much tension. After this stage we had to walk like business men, the alert stage. Then the animal alert stage which is moving around always having in mind that there could be danger from which to run away. Afterwards we had to slow down a little bit and walk around with lot of passion, this stage requires a lot of tension. Finally, we were in the statuesque stage where had to create so much tension that it was hard to walk around.

After experiencing this seven stages slowly we speeded up the tempo. Then we did a few exercises to practise them. For an actor this stages are quite important because it is an easy way to communicate which type of body language is required.

After the lunch break we played Mafia. I was one of the Mafiosi but I was exposed and finally the Mafia lost. I think I was so afraid of being caught that I spoiled it. Then we played Big Buddie.

Afterwards we formed pairs. We could chose parts of the text.Then we performed it in front of our partner. This one recommended in which stage we should perform it. Then we showed them to the group.

After this, we went to see a performance of another group which was really interesting. Then we discussed the show.

After the course I went to the British Museum. With an audioguide I visited the Ancien Egypt exposition.

Today we had a Onesie Day at class. A girl of my group had the great idea that everyone should come in a Onesie so everyone did. It was a lot of fun to see the faces of our tutors...

We played some games to warm up. One of the games was Big Buddy. Everyone became a number. The aim of  the game was to become Big Buddy. You can become Big Buddy if other ones make mistakes when you call their number. It was really tricky and I had to re-start over and over again. :-)

Afterwards we began to analyse the characters in our play in small groups. We looked forfacts about the character, what he said about his self and about his children. Then we discussed the character in the whole group and tried to describe the character as precisely as possible.

After our lunch break (two girls of my group had brought brownies which were really good) we played Mafia and got really exited about it because the mafia had won and it was really interesting to see the different strategies of lying.

Afterwards in other we analysed the rest of the characters and talked about them in the whole group.

Then I went with some of my group to Covent Garden Square. We went to "Build-a-bear" a shop were you can create your own bear. You can chose the fell and afterwards it is filled up and you put a heart inside and you can make a wish. I found it really nice how it was made.

After buying mine, I took the bus home and had a really nice chat with a girl of my course who went in the same direction. :-)

I can't believe it half of my time in London has passed. It has passed so quick.

Today we had formed new groups. We told our stories again and then we chose one story that we put in a scene. My crêpes story was chosen. But it was a little bit difficult to put into scene and we had to change some details so it would work on stage. After developing the scene we showed it to the rest of the group.

Afterwards we painted the shape of a house on the floor with tape band and we made the details and props out of paper. It was a funny and creative process and we shared all our ideas together and created a cool "art-house".

Then we put our scenes into this house and showed it to the the other. After showing them the other ones suggested what to change to make the scene more interesting and clearer.

Because we had spend so much time on the scenes at the end of the day we only had enough time to play some games. We played Ninja (you have to try to touch the palm of the others with only one move; it's really funny) and Mafia (a game where all turns around lying...)

After the course I went to South Bank. I saw the end of Borough Market and I went to the Globe Theatre but unfortunately all plays were sold out. :-( Then I went to St Paul's Cathedral but it was closed already. That's why I took the bus home. On the way I saw some nice parts of London. :-)