Siblings!!!

I got to spend a few absolutely wonderful days with my sister and brother-in-law who are simply awesome and really great at all the things. These pics are mostly of our exploits across the brooklyn bridge :)

Path...

HEY THERE!
If you haven't been following the progress of the movie "The Hobbit", maybe you should....especially if film making fascinates/inspires you as much as it does me!

I've been watching all the production blog videos they've made over the past year, and I just re-watched them this morning. Film has always been a number-one source of inspiration to me over the years, but now I'm finding myself trying to decide if that's a direction to pursue FOR REAL.

I had my first ever on-camera acting class last friday and it was brief but enlightening! Essentially it was formatted like an audition, but our instructor Matthew, who is a successful director/film-maker, was very generous in giving us tips, letting us ask questions etc.

What I've found personally, is that the technical aspect of acting on film was slightly baffling to me! I have never had to think about sight-lines before; but suddenly there I was trying desperately to keep my eyes at the same general level, while keeping my performance interesting. I LOVE the subtlety of film acting though. It really puts me back in my comfort zone as a human...whereas theatre for the past few years has really stretched me to become more comfortable OUTSIDE the normal physical realm I'm used to.

We'll have two more classes, which I will share about on this blog when they happen. In fact I have two more weeks of classes PERIOD! Then I'm headed back to Jackson. Bittersweet, as all transitions are by definition. I'm excited to have contacts in the future...there are some really amazing actors in this program, and people I'd LOVE to work with professionally in the future. So it's fun to know we are peers now, and hopefully, not to far from now, we will be collaborating in the "real world" :P

But back to The Hobbit. Because that's really on my mind right now. The production videos have REALLY REALLY reminded me how much I love being immersed in project, 24-7, with clear-set goals, and people worth working with. It gets my heart racing in a way that makes me so incredibly sure of this path in life I've chosen!

Okay, that's all for now.
Have a lovely sunday everyone,
Ginny

Needs and Skunks

Item One: 

Skunks stink so bad. What's their deal? We won't get into where this is coming from....

Item Two:

Jamie: Another Southerner

Dylan: The Beatboxer

If you are an actor/director/playwrite, you have an immediate close and personal relationship to the word 'Objective'. It's the first commandment of acting. The core. The bread and butter if you will. I don't care what method you're learning, or who you're learning it from...you will come across the term 'Objective'.

My loverly friend/scene partner, fellow southerner, Lindsey

What I'm learning is that Objectives are really just the tip of an extremely expansive, complex and multi-faceted iceberg. 

Gaaawgeous New Jersey pal Kristen

Okay, so, here we go; Acting 101: You've got your "Super Objective", which is the need of the character that takes them through the entire play from beginning to end.

Next you have your "Objective", which is a specific need of a character that carries them through an entire SCENE from beginning to end, and ALSO serves to further pursue the Super Objective.

After that, (according to Stella and probably many others), comes the "Action". An 'action' serves the need of a character in a single moment which further caters to the Objective, FURTHER catering to the Super Objective.

Following along alright? This is how my shakespeare teacher put it today in class, and it finally made a whole lot of sense!

The Stunning New Yorker Olivia

Actions are verbs. Specific verbs like: demanding, begging, flirting, worshiping, scolding etc, etc, etc. The list is endless, and it's up to us actors to find just the right actions to describe how we will achieve our need in the moment. 

Just six of the sixteen...waitin' around for class to start!

This is what I'm learning Yo! Day in and day out, here at Stella Adler, we're talking objectives and actions and needs and stakes and all that other fun lingo that we eat, breath, sleep, and dream as thespians. It's a crazy a world.

-Ginny

I Am A Chocolate Chip Cookie

Today in movement we were sweating so much we could have provided hydration for Jackson in a water-crisis! (it happens. Those pipes just aren't prepared for frozen temperatures.)

Well, it's not freezing here. It got to 98 F, purportedly, although my brain was beyond processing numbers while walking from my subway stop to class....all I could really think about was ovens....and how hot ovens were....and how we really shouldn't USE ovens at all....in fact ovens were just silly....silly hot ovens!!

Besides the fact that New York City is now full of half-baked chocolate-chip-cookie-people, there was also the afore-mentioned movement class through which we had the pleasure of perspiring! An hour of warm-up, some intense stretching (don't laugh at me), and then an hour of dance! Lots of fun, and at least we were all in it together with the whole slimy-sweaty-gross thing.

On to more pleasant subjects!
I get to be one of three southerners headed to New Jersey this Saturday! That would make a pretty entertaining TV show I think....okay, so I'm not truly southern, but I'm claiming that here in the Big Apple, cause it's the simplest explanation (people are NEVER satisfied that I'm not fluent in German or Lithuanian when I tell them that's where I'm from)

One of my classmates lives in Jersey so a few of us get to go hang with her! I'm ridiculously excited and love these people. Woot!

In other news, I've been working hard on several projects for next year that I'm so excited about, and now I've added a couple more to the list!
-Directing "Angel Street" at Belhaven in the Fall WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

-Putting together my very eclectic senior recital for the Spring

-Writing a song for my beloved former-roommate's senior dance piece!

-Collaborating with my fellow Theatre Senior for HER senior recital

-And NOW, I've officially decided to self-record another album that will HOPEFULLY be completed and available to the public around Christmas. It includes mostly music I've written this summer, so that should be interesting :P By the way, if you want to follow my musician's page on facebook just click here!

Have a wonderful summer evening everybody/all five of you reading this :)
-Ginny

Life is fine art...

Yesterday this household awoke at 5:30 am to begin our second attempt at our Boston Adventure! This time we were very successful :)

After a thirty minute train ride, a ten minute taxi, and a four hour bus ride, we arrived at Boston Commons, sat down and had lunch on a bench.

Mrs. Clark blazed the way on the Freedom Trail, reading aloud to us about the sights we encountered.

Follow the red line. That's the key.

We only had two hours to spare and so we ran to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and meandered to our hearts' content. It was magical for me.

 My mum always has to remind me to add my signature to my work. These guys remembered :)

For those who don't know, I'm mad about Joseph Turner. I've now had the opportunity of seeing four of his works up close and I just keep falling deeper in love with the colors, the brushwork, and the spirit of his art. 

TESSA! I wanted so badly to bring this guy home for our nook. Don't you think he'd look smashing??

So happy :)

                         
























  Turner <3 This one is HUGE

Another favorite of mine. Picasso's philosophy is central in my thoughts. And I love this piece.

 

I love these women! Mrs. Clark is an amazing woman who leads the fullest life you can imagine! And Zerin is my sanity and my comfort every day :)

-Ginny

Rigor and Rest..

Even in "the most exciting city in the world", life can become quite repetitive when reduced to morning alarms, train schedules, classes, and meal times. I don't mind it so much; in fact, having routine is a nice change from past summers when each day was a complete surprise from the next. At the same time, this program is so rigorous, both physically and mentally, that I'm finding myself taking a deep breath when thinking about the coming semester after this summer.

Another train ride home at the end of a day...

As always, it's the little things that make me hopeful and bring sunshine to my life! I really adore my classmates at Stella. A reliable source says that WE are the favorite group among the teachers. I don't like the brag, but I will say that there is certainly a willingness among the group to accept, love, and work hard with each other. We're not perfect, we're all rather flawed in fact. If, however, we have learned anything this summer, it is that we should always be aware. Aware of our learning, aware of our surroundings, and aware of our mistakes. Being aware doesn't have to mean we dwell in it; in fact, our awareness is leading each of us to new-found freedom in our craft and as people.

Mrs. Clark's kitchen window

Today I informed my classmates that I would be taking pictures of everyone next thursday. You see, we mostly wear our blacks since almost every day involves a lot of movement exploration. Thursday is our one day to show off our full colors and plumage, since none of our classes require blacks on that day. We usually end up cooing and awing at each other's outfits and individual styles. So next week you can expect pictures of my lovely classmates!

All three of us were in costume for presenting our scenes that day :)
Lindsay (on the far right) was my scene partner <3

Three weeks to go. Next week we will begin screen-work in acting classes! I am excited, but have almost NO idea what that will entail, so stay posted.

-Ginny

A nice kind of adventure...

Us at Grand Central with good attitudes

So, Zerin, Mrs. Clark, and I had made some grand plans for a day-trip to Boston. Up at 5 am, out the door at 6:00, and caught the train at 6:15. Two minutes later we all looked at the rain outside, the rain predicted in Boston, and decided we changed our minds! Instead, we arrived at Grand Central, had breakfast and decided to head back.

Stealing Annie for the day!!

In the meantime, I decided to pay my wonderful friend, Annie an early morning text and see if she wanted to come back and spend the day in Scarsdale with me! So that's what we did :)

Swimming sounds like an EXCELLENT idea :)

Mrs. Clark's glorious pound cake

The Wild Turkey feather we found on the ground.

Sometimes your plans don't work out because there are wonderful surprises at the other end of the tracks! Hours of talking and good food later, I feel replenished, happy, and ready to hit the city again tomorrow :) HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

-Ginny