28th September - Introduction to Group Organisation

This was a small session concentrating on how we as a group and as an individual can keep ourselves organised. Our main activity was concentrating on the Johari window. The Johari window is set up into four different sections; open/free area, blind area, hidden area and unknown area. For this session, seen as though we only knew a few people each from our group, we put the Johari window into play by learning about each other. For example, for open/free area, I would write things about what I know about myself. For blind area, I would put what I don't know about myself but what others do, for hidden area, I would put what I know about myself which others don't and for unknown area, we would put anything that no one knows about you. This was a good icebreaker for everyone to get to know each other as well as a good start off to the subject.

From first impressions I think that our group organisation work will be useful as at least it will be a time to come together with anything we need to sort and any extra bits we will need to learn.

29th September Yoga and introduction to Stanislavski

Today was my first session of our set yoga classes. We were first taken through some basic exercises from our tutor, Nancy. We were shown the importance of breathing and how you should always breathe in and out through your nose. It is also essential that you breathe using your diaphragm and not into your chest and this will ensure that all the oxygen your breathe in will be sent around your body, not just a fraction of it. She taught us stances such as 'The Warrior Pose' where we got up from a plank and stood up, one foot in front and one foot behind with our hands stretched out either side of each other. We also learnt of a position where we stand up but take the position as if we were sitting on a chair. This mainly stretches out the back of your legs. After this work out, we had a relaxation session which was quite calming. If I was watching the group from the side then I would be questioning the logic in it. But having tried it all out, it has made me feel calmer about my studies, a lot more relaxed and less tense. We were then briefed on our next bits of work which will be Stanislavski. On that note, we were given a script each in which we have to read through for our next session. From first impressions of the script, we decided that we would break it down in 3 elements: - preparation (physical training - know your body), - motivation (units and objectives, pass the play - what happens to the character after the play?), - truth (you have to be able to repeat it perfectly). We also thought of different ways that would change the play for example: magic if - what if? Also, Feed the Character - emotional recall - feel what the character would feel.

I feel like this session was a great way to introduce the year that is ahead of us. I am looking forward to our next sessions in working into detailed realism and the methods of Stanislavski.