Listening

Someone recently asked me if I was more of a listener or a talker, and I found myself hesitating before giving an answer. If someone had asked me this question before doing the Meisner work, I would have instantly said that I'm more of a talker, but the work we've been doing in class has made me more of a listener. The repetition has really made me aware not only of what an individual is saying to me, but how they're saying it, how they feel about it, what's going on with them today, etc. In the observed circumstance, I'm more conscious of how what I say or do affects my partner and vice versa. This awareness has carried over into my every day life; I'm more intuitive with people and I'm really starting to hate small talk. I'm constantly trying to make meaningful contact with people and to be more direct in my communication with others. I can feel myself becoming more impulsive on stage and off, and I really feel that I'm living life more fully than I ever have before. I love how the studio work overlaps with everyone's personal lives, I've said before that we're essentially going to school to learn how to be children again, but I also believe we're learning to be better human beings.

On a different note, I can't wait to get started on scene work! I imagine that the text will replace the repetition but the impulses will still carry the interaction. Adding text will definitely make things more challenging, but I can't wait to just play with it. I've been working on my monologue for the TPW audition, and I'm probably going to use the daydreaming exercise for my emotional preparation. I did a kind of mini daydream prep for a scene I read in my script analysis class, and I could feel the difference in my work.

~Madeline