So I completed my first year of grad school at Columbia University (for those of you new to the blog I'm a current MFA Acting student there.) The last semester was intense, to say the least. It definitely kicked my butt, BUT for the better. Although it took a while for me to gain this positive reflection--somewhere within the final two weeks. One of the more amazing classes that an acting student in the first year at Columbia can expect to take in the second semester is called Collaboration and it is taught by none other than Anne Bogart, director and co-founder of SITI Company.
Okay first: Anne is amazing in her ability to communicate. Let me elaborate--she is able to convey sometimes rather intricate and complicated ideas in a simplified form. Which in my case would result in me thinking "OH! I see what you're asking of me!" So, that in itself is a talent that is very much taken for granted and she is a master of it.
So, Collaboration is a class comprised of first year actors, directors, playwrights, and dramaturgs. The idea is brilliant. Since they're are 6 directors, for 3 separate times in the semester you are put into a group with a playwright, director, dramaturg and actors and you collaborate on short 10 minute (not all of them stuck to this) new works. You present your work (where ever it was in its progress that week), and Anne would give feedback. It was an all day class, so each group got an hour to present and work with Anne. I would say we were able to present our works to the class 3 or 4 times before a final presentation for the public.
Because of this gift of communicating that I mentioned above, almost seamlessly with actors (at least that's what I observed), many key lessons for me as actor happened in a very short span of time. What made it even more remarkable for me, was that I was able to reflect on it in the moment, and decisively use what I had just learned in the next moment. I know this sounds basic, but when you're being told what your bad habits are in front of 50 of your peers, switching on a dime can be--well, difficult. And I had never processed such large thoughts as my habits--I mean, that big bag of bull shit tricks that actors carry around with them that in the end hinder the truth instead of bringing it out--in such a short span of time! And here I was tackling some of my beasts on the spot! I don't why but I was able to rise to the occasion with Anne. And it wasn't always that way from the beginning of class. In the beginning of the semester I was told, and discovered it myself soon after (by that I mean what it felt internally for me when committing the act), that I was dropping my energy every time I stopped speaking. Really basic but I was totally oblivious to this fact.
There were many more lessons learned for me in that class, but I was most proud of this new development in my creative process. I had developed a more efficient way to tackle my problems and use lessons learnt on a future beast (if you will.)
Well, I'm going to leave it there for today. Don't want to lay down a massive thing we can't swallow. But, now that the computer is here--you'll be hearing from me!
