It’s been a while since I’ve stretched my own acting muscles
and I thought that the present would be a good time to attempt to build up some
of my old performance habits. With baby number one on the way, The
Chronicle Project will morph into something different for a while as I learn to
juggle motherhood, wifedom and career. Even as I slow down to take time with the
baby, I hope to continue finding ways to work creatively in the community and
hopefully share those experiences on Chronicles in Theatre.
Now it’s time to open my rusty toolbox. Actors, like all
artists, each have their own way of preparing for a performance. This is my
process, and it will definitely change as I discover methods that work even
better for me. Feel free to try my techniques on for size and modify as you
feel necessary. What works for me isn’t necessarily going to work for you but
at least it might give you a place to start.
Here goes nothing…
STEP 1: CHOOSE A PIECE
Sometimes just trying to find a piece to perform can be the
thing that holds you up and prevents you from doing anything at all. Finding the perfect
piece is like finding a four leaf clover, tedious. It’s easy to give up. Some
people have amazing dedication and just keep going and going until something
touches them and they have the ‘eureka!’ moment. I, unfortunately, am not one
of those people. I have an extremely short attention span and get frustrated
when things don’t progress in a timely fashion. This frustration leads me to
abandon my mission and head for the next ‘best’ thing. That being said, I
rarely finish anything on my own steam. I would like to change that.
I made a promise to myself last night that I would do
whatever it took to just perform something… anything, solely for my own benefit and growth. So as I lay awake, staring into
the dark void pretending I could see the ceiling, I decided that in the very least I would
memorize the Introduction of my new book and turn it into a performance piece, just so I could prove to myself that I could. Luckily I read a little farther this morning and the first chapter will make a much more compelling study than the
introduction.
Disclaimer: This is simply an acting exercise for me, I am
not intending on ever putting this in front of an audience other than maybe my
husband. (Secretly my inner diva wants to hit the stage with something
eventually, but I’ll tackle that hurdle if I get to it.)
So the piece that I start my journey with: Chapter One ‘A
Tale of Two Camps’ from the book It
Happened in Italy by Elizabeth Bettina.
My hope is that you might also be inspired to take
the first tiny step in your own creative journey and choose your practice piece along side me. Let’s not get hung up on
the idea of finding the perfect path, let’s just choose a direction and blaze a
trail.
Deanna
P.S. If you do take your first step, I would love to hear
about it in the comments below.
