DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Goals Statement

     My overall goal for the Spring production is to be confident in analyzing Shakespeare as an actor. I plan to to ready myself to be able to confidently accept any opportunity for work beyond school involving Shakespeare. Furthermore, I want to be at a place where I can independently hone my acting in Shakespeare skills and know that I am staying on the true and correct track.

     Despite a thorough class on acting in Shakespeare, I still find the text somewhat intimidating. I have found that I need to be one hundred percent in the moment with a blank mind that is filtering what it is receiving as the character into a steady flow of imagery. The semi-overwhelming feeling comes when I realize that this is only half the battle, there is still the rhythm of the language and the various literary devices that the author has used very deliberately to assist the actor in staying on the character’s course, if they use it correctly that is. I can set a solid objective to map out the scansion of the text of the play as early as possible. I will allow myself ample time to thoroughly review my work and re-check it with my instructor.

     The House of York will be my first time working on a full-length Shakespearian production where I will be using my training from Guilford. Prior to college my only experience of Shakespeare was limited readings and stagings in high school and a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that I performed with a community theatre about three years ago. If I make the conscious effort to dedicate the techniques that I have been taught throughout the entire rehearsal process, then I am confident in being successful with this show.

     One of my major first steps deals with the task of line memorization. I have recently began memorizing using the imagery of the text as opposed to mechanical rote. With Shakespeare in particular I have noted that I become shaky and insecure with text only when I do not have the thought particularized. The language itself becomes choppy and awkward for me unless I have the conviction of owning the words that I am generating. A fitting objective in this case would be to maintain a character workbook that utilizes the methods I have been trained in at Guilford. I can follow the steps to the measure and ensure that I am doing solid given circumstance work.

     I really have to be on point during rehearsals. As a senior to the other students both in age and grade, The House of York will be an opportunity to set an example for those involved with the show. An individual’s focus and demeanor can have a profound effect on a group’s mentality, and I must make the effort to stay on task while I am on the clock. This will be an attitude that I carry with me to future companies I will perform with.

     I have been struggling to deal with structuring my breathe since I chose to pursue acting seriously at Guilford. It is perhaps my greatest obstacle to overcome if I am going to have a shot at a successful career. I have taken a voice and diction class that went in depth about how to effectively prepare one’s body physically to allow for natural breathe to occur with thoughts on stage, as it does in life. An objective for myself regarding breathe structure is to dedicate at least fifteen minutes before every rehearsal and performance to warming up. My warm up will involve a de-structure session followed by a re-structuring.

     I consider myself fortunate to have a Shakespeare production as my senior thesis. I must admit that the amount of research involved with the senior thesis independent study seems to be necessary for working on any sort of Shakespeare. Were I not a senior I would likely conduct sub-par research in a few facets if for nothing else than I have not received this sort of guidance before. Ultimately I feel that if I can conquer this full-scale Shakespeare production at Guilford College, I will find myself on a leg up in the ‘real world’.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.