We started daily classes this week. I spent the week getting to know the island of Naxos and doing things with my peers. They are so fun to hang out with, and I love it when we all go out to a group dinner. Many of us went on a boat trip on Saturday and spent the day swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.
We had more class time this week. Four different classes were covered over the week, each consisting of two to three class periods: Choro Drama, Shakespeare & Text, Contemporary Monologues, and Musical Theater Dance.
We learned the Choreography for The Birds for Choro Drama on Monday and started our Shakespeare scenes. It was very fun. Lenni had us do an exercise to get into character and into the scene. We chose 2-3 lines that we considered the most significant and summed up our character’s motives. It really worked. Shakespearean dialogue has never flowed out of me so easily before.
Tuesday was our first day of musical theater dance. It was very fun and very tiring. Our instructor was so-and-so, and he was great. He brought so much energy, interest, and passion to the dances. We learned dances that he was choreographing for In The Heights on Broadway. It was a fun dance to learn. We did a few other dances throughout the week, but my favorite was the one we did on Friday. It was from an immersive show that he had done. The dance had all the actors/dancers standing on tables, so there was a lot of armwork and very little movement around the room. We did a lot of work with facial expressions and talked about the meaning of different dance moves. It was a fun and different perspective on what musical theater dance could be like.
I was sick Wednesday morning, so I missed the last class of the Choro Drama and the presentation of the finished product of The Birds, as well as a Musical Theater Dance class. I was able to go to Contemporary Monologue in the afternoon. It went well. On Monday, we were assigned to look at something in nature for 15-20 minutes and describe it for the class. I chose a flower.
I described it once, was given notes, and did it again in a way that better helped the audience visualize it. We then all did our monologues. My goal for my monologue that day was to improve the beginning and the transition from the first part to the second part. After my monologue, I received feedback to help me continue working on my goal.
I had Musical Theater Dance and Shakespeare & Text on Thursday.
On Friday, I did my monologue and Shakespeare scene again. My partner, who played Demetrius, and I decided we would play it differently than we did on the first day. Demetrious might be a little enticed by Helena but ultimately ends up saying no instead of 100% disgust/rejection the entire time. This time, I got a lot more physical. There was a lot of floor work and physical contact with my partner. It was an environment where I could go all out and put myself into acting while still feeling comfortable and safe.
Thursday night, I went shopping for dresses. I had wanted to get a Greek dress the entire trip, but they were all either too expensive or didn’t fit right. I finally found a store with what I was looking for and got some really lovely dresses that I am very excited about.
Saturday was a big day. It was a boat trip day. 12 of us IDTP students went on a boat trip with Jason Boat Tours, and we went swimming in the Mediterranean and snorkeling. I found some pretty cool rocks there, and it was really fun. We had a traditional Greek barbecue on the boat and headed off to another island called blah blah blah. We walked around this island, got some ice cream, and played on the beach before returning to the boat. The boat made one last stop at a cave with ancient cave drawings. It was difficult to see in the dark, and I couldn’t get any photos because my camera/phone couldn’t get wet, but it was very impressive. It awed me to think about standing/swimming there thousands of years after the people who made it. After we got back, we all went to dinner together and then to bed, exhausted. I spent most of Sunday asleep. I feel like we got closer during this week. I got to know more of my fellow students. They are all very talented people with whom I can joke, laugh, and relax.
I eagerly await next week’s classes: Ancient Greek Scene Study, Acting Through Song, & Acting for Film.