Blog 19: Third Answer

EQ: How can a thespian ensure they are giving a believable performance?
ANSWER 3: By utilizing the skills of improvisation an actor can make his/her scene more realistic and believable. Improvising a few lines here and there can allow the actor to make the scene their own and better understand the characters needs actor's desires.
Evidence:
"The Actors Guide to Improvisational Theater"
"Improvisation improves the workplace"
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Blog 18: Answer two

1.  What is your EQ?
How can a thespian ensure that s/he is giving a believable performance consistently throughout their acting career. 2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
An actor should complete a proper scene and character analysis every time s/he performs.3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
Exploring all aspects of theater, specifically directing, can give an actor a better understand of the production process and understand what the their director wants from them.
 4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?
A written source is probably Acting One by Robert Cohen,
The Guideposts by Michael ...
and Directing for the actor
6.  What other source supports your answer?
The best evidence I can use to show this is my Interview 3 and my own personal experience. 
7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.
If you direct and you experience what if feels like to be on the other side of the stage then you will be able to take better from your director. There is a certain type of langue when directing and by learning that you can then better understand what your director needs from you to give the best performance you can.

Independent Component 1

• LITERAL
(a) Write: “I, Jordan Partida, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 32.5  hours of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
(c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours.(d) Explain what you completed. 

• I have casted and directed the song NYC from Annie to take to Fullerton Festival in March. NYC is about 5 minutes long and we have focused on harmony's, choreography and costumes because these are all the things that the judges at Fullerton will be looking at. Our rehearsals have been every Tuesday and Thursday from 3-4pm since November 20th. There have been a couple hick-ups along the way, having two people drop out and adding two people and myself to the production due to lack of cast. The number is now completely choreographed but is not completely competition ready. I will continue working with this production until Fullerton festival on March 18th and 19th. I presume approximately 15 more hours will be put into this production.
• Interpretive 
• My project is theater and Musical theater is just theater on steroids. It is more intense because it is not only acting but acting while singing and dancing. Singing while doing the intense choreography takes a lot of practice which is why we dedicate two days a week for rehearsals. Our original number was sloppy and we were our of breath by the end but now there has been so much improvement with the cast. Our movements are sharp and precise. Every second or rehearsal is spend working hard and doing what needs to be done. We have been working on this number for 4 months now and we plan to spend the next two months doing the exact same thing hoping to make finals at Fullerton this year.
• Applied 
• A theater production is a difficult process and nothing has made me realize this more than Annie. Being in charge and directing something so intricate has proven to be a big challenge for me. I have discovered that being a director has made me a better actress because it has allowed me to look at theater from a different perspective. I now recognize that in order to become a good performer you have to understand all aspects of theater which will be my answer two. When I had two people leave my production I had to not only replace them but step in and join the cast which gave me a different perspective. Watching Christine Cummings (mentor) direct the show "NO Exit" really helped my directing Annie. I needed to have a positive relationship with all my actors and listen to their needs and establish a strong communication ability with them. Overall this component has really opened up my eyes to big picture of what really goes into a production. 

Here is a video of the progress

Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
I am very pleased with the timing. I was worried earlier that I wouldn't have enough time to do everything I wanted to. I was also really happy with the amount of people that were engaged and enjoyed participating in my presentation.
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       (P)         AP       CR       NC
I think I deserve a P because I found it  difficult to go above and beyond based on the content I presented today. Most of my content was terms I had learned during mentorship and I presented them the same way they were presented to me. I was prepared to present and I belive I met all the criteria.
    
3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
I liked my activity and I think it really paired my presentation well. I was happily surprised with the about of willing participants in the classroom.
4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
Time is still an issue for me despite the fact that i made time I did have to rush my presentation. Time also ties into my activity. I was worried I wouldn't be able to explain my activity and why it was relevant to my lesson but I managed to sum up. I am thinking of changing the instructions a bit so that the audience has some more time to really grasp my concepts.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
I think my answer to is going to be something along the lines of, a thespian can improve their performance by learning all aspects of theater production. 

Blog 14: Interview 3 Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
I plan to interview my new mentor Christine Cummings. She is an actress, director and professor at Mt. SAC.


2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 
January 22, at 4


3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.
Where do you learn the most about theater, ie, acting, directing, in a classroom, reading... etc? 


4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).
What is the best way to practice the different guideposts and tactics to see what works best for the audience?


5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.
How much of an audiences reaction is based off the acting and how much is other aspects,(blocking, lighting, sound..)? 
How much can the actor control? How much of the reaction is based on their being a "good audience"?

Blog 13: 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
Mt. SAC
2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?
Christine Cummings is a professor in theater and is also and actress and director.
3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year?
I took her class this fall and spent 45 hours total. Now she is directing a show and I am shadowing her rehearsals while her assistant director Anthony helps me understand the process of the show.
4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.
Her class was very informative. I found myself using the information in improv and in Midsummer Night Jersey, our fall show. She was very helpful in giving individualized critique to everyone in the class and I felt as though my acting improved. I hope to continue to shadow the rehearsals and learn even more that I can apply to my work at school.

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?
I went searching for a new book this break and I checked out a few from the library. I have also been consistently emailing my NEW mentor back and forth working on a schedule in which I will be attending her rehearsals for No Exit.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
Honestly the most important thing I learned was that Christine is amazingly helpful and I am very much looking forward to working with her and her cast. 

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?
I plan on talking to Christine Cummings at Mt SAC because I am starting fresh with a new mentor. I was in her class this past fall so her and I are familiar with each other but I would also like to get some more background information about her involvement in theater. I want to ask her about my EQ, "How can a thespian best achieve the desired reaction from their audience?" and how she thinks I can improve it and how she would answer it.