Final Jim Bonney Workshop and what I've taken out of them

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.

               

workshop #5

Today we got all of the interviewing done and I believe that it is being edited. Today we expaned the final project and it's coming out really really well. Miming is alot of fun and I'm gonna miss it when its over. At least I can say I know how to mime. This whole experience was very different but very very fun

Workshop 4 with Gregg

This past workshop with gregg went very well. We expanded our final project  and its starting to be very fun to do. I like the rituals  that we're putting into it  the way its going the "play"  will  possibly strike some people  and I'm gonna love watching their reactions.   I dont wanna spoil the surprise so I'll stop there  more on Tuesday!

3rd workshop with Gregg

Today we started working on our final project with Gregg. I think that its gonna be really cool after its all finished. We've based it on common "rituals" (traditions, ceremonies, ect) and so far it looks awesome even though we dont have much done but we have some time to add and tweak so this should be an interesting few workshops coming up.

Workshop #2

The second workshop with Mr. Goldston was  kind of boring. We spent alot of time doing "the robot" I wanted to do normal human miming and we did do that but not as much as I'd hoped. I honestly do like miming but its much harder than I expected it to be. The leaning on thin air is dificult and  so are the  rapid facial changes but i've been practicing at home so I feel like i've gotten a little better.  I'm curious to see what Mr. Goldston throws at us next. Until next time

Workshop #1

Working with Gregg Goldston today was very different from what I'm used to.  Today we learned a few different mime moves and we did a basic scene  of walking into a bar and ordering a drink. I found mime really interesting I didnt think it was going to be as dificult as it was but I had alot of trouble with some of the moves. My favorite part was "the dog". "The dog" is a move where the mime pretends  to be walking a dog that starts misbehaving. I'm feel like I'm going to get the hang of it eventually and I hope so because that was really fun.

Gregg Goldston

Gregg goldston was first exposed to mime in 1975 when he saw a Marcel Marceau show. He soon began pursuing the art of mime. Starting his training in Hollywood, California he then proceeded around the United States and then the world, having shows in Hong Kong, Moscow, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, and Poland. He has been apart of The Funny Bones and The Invisible People. His shows have been presented in a variety of New York venues including: Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist program, The New York Theatre Workshop, The Urban Stages program, and Lincoln Center’s Reel to Real Series.  Gregg Became very close with the very person that inspired his miming Mr. Marcel Marceau.  The relationship that emerged between Gregg Goldston and Marcel Marceau lasted 22 years.  Over time it evolved into a deep personal friendship, while maintaining a Master/disciple mentorship becoming the most influential relationship in Goldston’s life. Goldston was given the rare honor of performing as Assistant to Marcel Marceau during the Marceau U.S. Tours in 2000 to 2002,.  Furthermore, Goldston also performed lead roles with the Marcel Marceau Nouvelle Compagnie de Mimodrame, during its 5-week run at the American Repertoire Theatre of Harvard.  These performances in 2004 were the final company shows staged by Marceau prior to his passing in 2007.