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For a beginner like me
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Post: 41940991_1 created on Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:14 amPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:14 am
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Hello. I just began acting classes recently and I have a few questions.

1] Has anyone ever heard of any studios that have day to day classes after high school hours, rather than once a week classes. Reason for asking: My school's theatre teacher sucks and I'd like to take classes that would actually help and not be eight weeks with only one class a week.

2] Since I'm generally happy and all things that made me cry in the past I either get over or can't recall the moment/visualization, I have trouble crying on cue. The acting instructors I've had only mentioned triggers to make a person cry on cue, but I have difficulty with that. So my question is, have other beginners had that problem? Did you eventually learn how to cry on cue? Or are there other techniques to make you cry on cue that involve real tears, excluding pinching self, pain, etc.?

Thanks for bother reading if you got this far. [=
 
     
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Post: 41940991_2 created on Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:39 amPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:39 am
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1. My best suggestion would be to search up some community theatres perhaps, and see
if they have those kind of classes, I know homeschoolers type class would begin after
a regular school perhaps, maybe you could look into that :3

2. The common misconception on crying on cue is this,
If at the moment your focused on crying on cue, you just broke the number one rule in acting.
Never break character when your trying to cry on cue and your thinking on crying
on that cue, you just broke character. Stay in the moment , say your loved one just gotten killed
right before your very eyes, you were engaged to be married tomarrow, and his life was taken away from you. You shouldn't be focused on the cue to listen for to cry. LIVE and Breath in that moment.
and never leave it. understand your character, not just the lines written in the script.
think of the other things, what was his parents like, how well did he grow up, what did he
want to be when he grew up, that will help your motivation for anything.

I hope this helps :3
     

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Post: 41940991_3 created on Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:03 amPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:03 am
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1] I might try taking a course at the community college. My parents won't allow me to homeschool though, unfortunately. Fortunately, this is my senior year and I plan on picking up theatre in college. [=

2] That did help. Thank you. [= And I have one more question on crying too. Say, I was performing a monologue recounting the scenario you gave, and I'm supposed to cry because it's an emotional thought. I suck at visualization. Do you have any tips on how to get into the emotion?
 
     
"Artists use lies to tell the truth." -from V for Vendetta
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Post: 41940991_4 created on Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:11 pmPosted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:11 pm
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"ninjashayna"
1] I might try taking a course at the community college. My parents won't allow me to homeschool though, unfortunately. Fortunately, this is my senior year and I plan on picking up theatre in college. [=

2] That did help. Thank you. [= And I have one more question on crying too. Say, I was performing a monologue recounting the scenario you gave, and I'm supposed to cry because it's an emotional thought. I suck at visualization. Do you have any tips on how to get into the emotion?

Make a back story to that character in the monologue, showing their motivation to cry.
and in that back story relate the character to yourself( Times you get really emotional)
and that should make things easier :3
     

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Post: 41940991_5 created on Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:20 amPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:20 am
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"ninjashayna"
Hello. I just began acting classes recently and I have a few questions.

1] Has anyone ever heard of any studios that have day to day classes after high school hours, rather than once a week classes. Reason for asking: My school's theatre teacher sucks and I'd like to take classes that would actually help and not be eight weeks with only one class a week.[=


Where do you live (as in, close to what major city)? I may be able to help you out.

"ninjashayna"
2] Since I'm generally happy and all things that made me cry in the past I either get over or can't recall the moment/visualization, I have trouble crying on cue. The acting instructors I've had only mentioned triggers to make a person cry on cue, but I have difficulty with that. So my question is, have other beginners had that problem? Did you eventually learn how to cry on cue? Or are there other techniques to make you cry on cue that involve real tears, excluding pinching self, pain, etc.?

Thanks for bother reading if you got this far. [=


I have troubles with this as well - my professor reccommends trying not to cry (as that's when crying usually occurs in real life). Really, the only times that crying has really worked for me have not been when it's blocked in, but rather as an outpouring of emotion stemming from feeling the reality of the character.

In one instance in recent memory, I began crying during a dress rehearsal while playing a character - completely by surprise! In subsequent performances I attempted to reproduce it, with only minimal success. What works best for me is simply to feel the character and not worry about the emotion. Since emotion in humans is a natural reaction to the environment, it would make sense that in order to cry, you'd just need to create an enviroment in which you would cry. This involves the tricky task of bringing absolute reality from the unreal.
 
     
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Post: 41940991_6 created on Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:59 amPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:59 am
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Hey. Can't help you with studio things, but as for crying on cue...

It's highly overrated.

I'm quite serious. It's certainly a useful skill, but if you can't cry on cue, you are not a failure. In fact, it's often more dramatic for a character to not quite cry, but be right there on the brink. Tension breeds drama breeds interest, or something to that effect. Rather than shelling it all out, it keeps the audience on edge, because they feel like it's coming, whether or not it is, and that anticipation draws them in.

So, be upset. Simulate that you are indeed very upset. Practice in the mirror to make it look as if you might cry. And once you get to that moment onstage, who knows, by bringing yourself to that point and then trying not to cry you might end up crying after all, like xjudicatorx was saying. But if you don't, it's perfectly okay. smile

Good luck, and I definitely encourage you to expand beyond your school's drama program. Getting out into the drama circle of your area is the best way to go if you really want to get into performing arts. Try out for your school's things too, but don't get stuck there.
     
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Post: 41940991_7 created on Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:07 pmPosted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:07 pm
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"xjudicatorx"
Where do you live (as in, close to what major city)? I may be able to help you out.

If you could tell me of any in California? Any chain theater schools that run through the state. I'll know whether it's close or not.

EDIT: Thanks for the tip carolineIW
 
     
"Artists use lies to tell the truth." -from V for Vendetta
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