Acting @ MindSay

                  D’s first day back, not bad overall (until the end…will explain).  My day started with A in a VERY singing mood.  I was trying to write down the lyrics to the song he was singing,, but it was going too fast, so I quickly and craftily pulled out my camera and recorded video of it.  IT IS SO FRIGGIN CUTE.  He is such a monster sometimes; he’s a big  boy, but he acts like a 4/5 year old, and he’s so innocent sometimes and UGH, I love him and his songs, even if they don’t ever make a ton of sense.  And to their credit, E and D were tolerant of the first…3?  They clapped when he was done, then when he asked ‘how many stars?’ they were like ‘a thousand!’ ‘a billion!’ ‘infinity!’ and it was really sweet.  T

                What else, what else?   Today for writing group, we practiced and performed Jacob’s “The Battle for Cyzib” play.  Adooooorable, even though  he definitely could have added details/made it make more sense.  He played the character ‘Hairman’, Tyler was ‘Director’ (whose only job was to say ‘I hope you enjoy this play’), and Seth took over as ‘Blob’.  They were so cute, especially Seth who was actually acting.  It left me with this really gooey, gushy feeling all over. And then continuing that high…AB GOT A PERFECT, 10/10 ON HIS ‘ON TASK’ task.  10 times the alarm went off, and all 10 times, he was undeniably doing what he was supposed to be doing.  As I was leaving at 11:15, he was starting to fatigue and not do work, but that first hour and 15 minutes… <33. 

                At recess there was a snapping turtle laying eggs by the structure (seriously?  WHERE DO I LIVE!??!), and then I had a really great session with ENC after lunch.  Taught some Social Studies, and then I got to re-teach to A, who pulled it together and did really well with it.  He asks some good questions; so does E.

                My day ended with A having a great Art period.  We took the library/1^st grade hallway instead of the usual 3^rd/4^th, and he wondered if one was longer/shorter.  We started Art with Polly, and then after a bit of his apple snack, we went out in the hall and we timed our walk to see which path is better.  We were little Scientists, and it was SO COOL.  Even something so simple as “I think this hallway is longer and will take more time to get there” led to an informal lesson and talk about hypotheses.  Awesome.

                This afternoon, after I finished reading E and D’s nonsensical story, I decided it was time to empty the extra fishtank I had brought in on Thursday.  With a week and a half left of school (What? Insanity.), I think they’ll survive in the slightly-murky water.  So I pick up the heavy tank, and get it to the sink to empty.  This is the moment my body decided to have a Whack Attack and sneeze.  Water EVERYWHERE.  Only me.  Terrible, but also hilarious. I was just starting to clean up when Larry (vice principal) walks in.  He tells me that D had just had a minor fit in the front of the school/lobby.  Threw his bookbag, yelling a bit…yipe.  I had no idea he was even still IN school; E and he had been dismissed before A and I got to the bus, so I had assumed he’d gone out the side door like he was supposed to and was already home.  Not the case.  Not as bad as it could have been, and apparently when Larry put a hand on his shoulder to calm down he did and left, but… WHY COULDN’T YOU JUST KEEP THE GOOD DAY COMPLETLEY, KID?  WHY!?!

*title of entry = what A said after one of his songs and before he started another.  The kid is a  HAM. <3

Want more acting work?  Improve your Audition Success!

 

 

Note from webmaster:  One thing an actor has to have, walking into the audition room, is confidence and a sense of ease.  This is your very first contact with the casting director and whomever else might be in the room, including writers, producers and directors.  If you walk in looking nervous and insecure, you've already stacked the deck against you, no matter how brilliantly you then audition.  Also, the first words out of your mouth are vital.  If they don't come easily, if your voice is choked, over-enthusiastic or too low to be heard, you have already predisposed those with the power to hire you, to be concerned.  A great tool for the actor, to become more comfortable in the room and in their own skin, is to attend a good public speaking class.  I'd also recommend self-help programs geared toward creating a more genuine, relaxed presence in high-pressure situations because what they see then can color everything they see later.  Recommended: 

Cure your fear of public speaking

 

7 Public Speaking Survival Tips

 

I used to be terrified of public speaking - now it's natural and fun.

 

Dry mouth, fast heart, sweaty palms, blank mind - yeah I've been there! It's easy to fear public speaking. But I was never just content with overcoming fear. I wanted to be a great speaker. What I needed was a way of calming down and applying simple techniques and strategies to talk like a pro.

 

When I'd learned to relax (more of that later) I learned and applied the following four steps.

1. Reassure your audience - they need to know you know your stuff and you are human!
2. Hook them by being interesting and relevant. Tell them why what you are saying is relevant to them.
3. Inspire them by giving them information and ways of seeing that are new and applicable.
4. Leave them on a high by telling a story them encapsulates your central message.

How do you become confident enough to apply the four steps?

Here's some tips some of which are practical some of which are to do with the way you think about your public presentations and also how you can start to change the way you feel about them.

 

Public Speaking Tip One

Breath your way to calm. When you breath out you relax that's why people sigh when they're stressed.

Breathing in without breathing out causes hyperventilation and worsens anxiety. Just before your speech take five minutes breathing in to the count of seven and out to the count of eleven (quick count-not seconds!). On the out breath hold it a second before breathing in again. This will produce quick and lasting calm. Remember extending the out breath calms you down.

 

Public Speaking Tip Two

You have a responsibility as the presenter but relax you don't carry all the responsibility. Presenting is a team effort. Audiences are responsible for politeness, extending their attention and attempting to learn. It's not all you-it's a meeting of two halves. Never mind how they judge you. How do you judge them?

 

Public Speaking Tip Three

Use metaphor and stories. We all experience life metaphorically. The most technical logical person spends at least two hours a night dreaming! Talk detail if necessary but present patterns with metaphors. Folk from 4 to 104 love stories. Use em.

 

Public Speaking Tip four

Captivate attention by using words that evoke all the senses. Describe how things look, sound, feel, smell and taste. Paint pictures and sensations in their minds with your words.

 

Public Speaking Tip Five

Vary your voice tonality and speed of delivery. Keep them alert and engaged. Convey energy when need be and slow down when you need to 'draw them in close.' You are the conductor to their orchestra. And pepper your talk with humour. Your willingness to be funny shows personal confidence and confidence is contagious.

 

Public Speaking Tip Six

Tell them what they are going to get. What they are currently getting and then what they have got from you. Sell your sizzle!

 

Public Speaking Tip Seven

Watch and learn from other great speakers until compelling, relaxed speaking is a part of you.

 

Rehearse positively. You need to rehearse how your going to feel as well as what you are going to present.

 

Don't think about your forthcoming presentation whilst feeling nervous as this creates an instinctive association between fear and presenting. This natural negative self-hypnosis is very common with nervous speakers.

 

Hypnotically rehearse your speech whilst feeling relaxed. This produces the right 'blueprint' in your mind. In fact when you do this enough times it actually becomes hard to be nervous!

 

All great speakers know how to use great self-hypnotic rehearsal. Hypnosis changes attitudes and can bring emotion under control. I used hypnosis, to change my instincts around public speaking. Now I just can't get nervous whether it's 50 or 500 people. The world needs great communicators. Go for it!

 

Cure your fear of public speaking - if you want that extra boost of awareness and confidence the next time you have to speak in public, get the help you need with this fantastic hypnosis download.

 

Tonsillitis and sore throat information featured for actors:  hypnosis for great acting

Are you an Actor?  Increase Your Skill Level!

 

I got this email from my friend, Marc Zicree.  Marc, an accomplished writer (author of the Magic Time: Angelfire, Magic Time: Ghostlands, the Twlight Zone Companion and other books.)

is directing a new Star Trek movie starring the original Dr. Sulu, George Takai.

 

Here's the casting notice and it is very time-sensitive.  They only have a few weeks to get this vital role

recast.  Update.....well, the film is made and I'm hearing great things.  To read more about the Zicree Zone, visit Marc's blog

 

Well, my monologue went well today. I just got home from that exam. My teacher told me I did a great job. She asked me if I was taking Drama next year, and I told her that I was unsure. She told me that she really thinks I should. I also commented and told her how I felt that I really came out of my shell this semester. She was also slightly surprised about last Thursday, when everybody complimented me. I said that I really wasn't expecting it, that people were complimenting me on things - and I barely even got to know them.

I departed from the school theatre, and went to the main doors to wait. Chase was sitting there, waiting for his ride home. I sat beside him and we talked for a few minutes, about nothing, really. He just asked me how it went, and I said it was okay. Then he started playing his DS.

It's a little awkward, because Chase is my friend - and when I'm with my friends, I have a tendency to talk a lot. Chase is very mellow, laid back, and quiet. It's not that I mind, but I just feel like there's some sort of odd barrier stopping me from getting closer to him. Well, as if I didn't already put up a personal sheild up around me to stop people from getting too close to me for my own safety... I really wish I didn't have that, but I don't know if I can help it. I desire to stay protected, but at the same time, I want to be risky. It's odd, but I've been used to feeling like that for so long.

Then Liam was wandering down the hallways, and found me sitting. I was delighted to see him, since I hadn't seen him in ages. He sat beside me, and we talked for a bit - mainly about how his bus broke down for forty minutes and how aggravated he was about being late for his English exam. Then he told me he was gonna go look for one of his friends, and he was too lazy to get up. I rolled my eyes and heaved myself up, and told him to give me his hands. I helped him up, and he started to walk away. I watched him go, then he turned around after a few steps, he turned around and with a grin on his face he asked me if I wanted a hug. I complied, and he walked back to me and hugged me slightly. As he started to leave, I told him that wasn't a meaningful hug (in a joking way) - and, with another smile, he walked back to me and hugged me tighter - before he suddenly lifted me up in the air and spun me around before he set me down. I like it when he does that. Don't ask me why.

I wonder what it is with boys and hugging... It doesn't feel like they mean it, or like me, when they hug me. Maybe it's just something awkward for them. Hey, I don't know many boys who like to hug - not that it's a problem, really. I'm just a hugger, I like getting hugs and I enjoy giving them. But anyway.

Liam asked me out on a date last year, in the second week on February, I think. I don't know if he still has a crush on me or not, since I turned him down (I have my reasons.) I'm not going to ask him, and it doesn't really matter.

Tomorrow is my Science exam, and after that's done - then I get to stay home for the rest of the week. On Monday, the 2nd of February, is when second semester starts - as you know.

It's a little odd. I get this odd feeling now. I have these massive cravings to blog now, and when I don't, I feel like something isn't accomplished. Who knows. ^^

Well, I don't actually call my grandfather 'grampy'. But today's his 80th birthday, so my family and I went out to dinner with them and a few other relatives. It was alright, but I got bored sometimes - hey, most of the people at the table were seniors, so they didn't really talk to me much. I was talking with my cousin, though, who has two kids of her own - 6, Olivia, and Brody, who's 4. They're both very cute. =) I've been babysitting them with my younger brother tagging along. They really like us. My cousion, Lisa, has a very good feeling she'll be in need of a babysitter soon, which is good. I don't really care about the money, really. I do it for the kids. ^^ (Ain't I nice? XD)

She was also offering to colour my hair. She told me she thought that a really dark, brownish-reddish colour would look nice on me - since I have really dark, deep eyes. I told her it sounded like fun, and I really wouldn't mind trying it out... But I'm second guessing a bit. I'm unsure of what to do.

I was also talking with my mom. I told her I didn't mind having my hair short, but what I DID mind was the reactions I got from passerbys because of it. (Y'see, no average girl at my school has short hair. Most of them have it long, so most of the people in my school look at me kinda weird...)
I also told her that because of that, I thought having really short hair made my self-esteem lower. (It already is kinda low, but I`m trying to work on it...) I confessed to her why I wanted to grow my hair out. I told her I thought it would make me look pretty. As I said that, I was on the verge of tears.

I have a real problem with accepting who I am. I know, from reading my past blog entries, that that probably shocks you a little - with my talk of how I'll one day do something with my life and somehow impact others.
It's not like I totally hate myself, I do like some parts of me - but most of that is within my personality. I like the fact that I'm a geek, and that I "stand out". I like the fact that I'm a unqiue individual, and I like school subjects that most students don`t.

The problem is that I feel very self-conscious with my physical attributes. The only thing that I do like about myself physically is my eyes. Some girls come up to me and say that I have very pretty eyes, and I say the same back. Many girls even tell me that they wish they had my eyes, or my eyelashes. (I don't even need to wear mascara, because it looks like I already have it on! Pretty handy, eh?)

But, other than that - I find I have a lot of faults with my body image. I wish my hair would grow quicker, so that it could be longer - and other students in the hallway would stop having to guess what my gender is. It really doesn't help that I`m so flat-chested, either. I'm pretty much the smallest size that there is, and I found out a month or two ago that I shrunk from a 34 A to a 32 A. And just when I thought that I was gaining my way to a B...
I don`t have a bum, either. Well, I do - but I don't have one that sticks out, like I notice with other girls that flaunt what they have. I feel ashamed because I don't have anything to flaunt.
My skin isn't great. Acne invades my face, and I have my dad's eyebrows - which are really thick and bushy. I also have the odd hairs that grow in-between them, but it's nothing noticeable.

I must admit, I have decent legs, though - and a few of my family members say that I have a "model figure". I brush that off. I don't want to be a model, anyway - not even if I had the looks for it.

I continuously ask myself if being pretty is actually worth it. Go ahead, think I'm crazy. It would gain me attention from boys, and people wouldn't be afraid to approach me. But being pretty on the outside would mean I would have to sacrifice myself... I would have to sacrifice my geekiness that I like so much, and so many other things that I can't think of right now.
...If being "pretty" means having to be somebody that I'm not, is it really all that worth it? All I ever wanted to know throughout my life was the answer to the question I often asked myself... And still do...
"Am I... Pretty?" - I'm begginning to think no...

I've decided to combine the two monologues into one, and I'm gonna be doing some hardcore memorizing tonight, tomorrow, and on Monday. Since nothing out of the ordinary will be occuring, I might not be updating for the next day or so - but I'll still sign on every once in a while to check up on whatever.
Wish me luck!