I didnt know today was the last workshop with Mr. Bonney. Im honestly very upset about that. Working with him has made me realize a lot of things not only in acting but in my own life. I feel that after being in his class I see the world in a different way. Since getting into STAC many things have impacted me on an emotional level: Swan Lake, Meisner training, The Empty Space, but none of these are quite like working with Mr. Bonney. I feel like a baby seeing the world for the first time If I hadn't gone to these classes two things probably would've happened. 1. I'd probably be an emotional wreck right now. I had gotten so used to keeping my emotions holed up inside me and these classes gave me a chance to release all the emotions that I'd hidden. The first few classes I walked back up to the school crying and afterwards I had never felt so good in my whole life! The way Jim Bonney works is amazing. I dont know how he does it but he can he me to feel things that no one else can and I really admire that but it also scares me. 2. My preformance in Urinetown would have been terrible!
I really had no idea how to play Barrel until the the day of the first show. I cut it super close but in my opinion I did it pretty well albeit with a hitch or two but in the end pretty well done. Barrel turned out to be a ruthless 6 year old in a mans body who falls in love with Officer Lockstock. Thats a pretty big difference from him being "Shrek" like I had intentionally planned. I got laughs and I was even recognized in school, people came up to me and said that I was their favorite character. I felt very confident about how I played Barrel, I knew what to do and how to do it well. I dont think I felt this confident with any of my other characters. I feel like I've come a long way from freshman year, I'm not the nervous kid playing Andrew Stein's dad anymore.
What I liked was that I eventually gave Barrel a personality that made him stand out from everyone else. I got my lines right, I held up the basses in the songs and I did what I could to make the show better. What I didnt like was that a few times in each show I got carried away and it took away from what was happening in that scene. I tried so hard to make myself seen that I forgot it's not the Jon Ghandforoush show. I had sooooo much fun but I messed with the others, I know I shouldn't have but I'm glad I took the risk so I could figure out what was good and what was too much. I took a risk and benifited from it, all in all Iwas happy with what I and the feedback I got.
Working with Mr. Bonney was very fun I'm really going to miss the workshops, anyone that gets that chance is lucky because you really begin to find yourself during these classes. I want to start taking acting lessons with him. I feel that if I work with him I can get really really good.
