Jenna's Acting Blog

https://youtu.be/Wvfydd9himA

This semester has been fantastic! I have really grown to appreciate the theater community after this class. In all honesty, I was not huge fan at the beginning, but this class helped me open my mind to new ideas and experience. The first major progress is I got a lot better at memorization. From our first monologues to our final scene, I finally figured out what would make me a successful memorizer.  I also believe that I got a better attitude throughout the course. In the beginning I had a bad attitude but as we continued throughout the year, you as a teacher go to see who I truly am.  I think our class also became a lot closer throughout all of the different activities. Overall, I progressed in many different ways. I way stretched in many different ways. First off, my first monologue went totally outside of my comfort zone. I had to be more serious then I have ever been in my entire acting career. After this experience I still prefer having fun in scenes, but it was a good ...

Our scene gives me a very good feeling. In all honesty I think we are doing great. We are giving each other great feedback that is very helpful. We also listen to each other very well. I feel like everyone's voices and ideas are both heard and tried. Secondly, we have a good idea of who are characters are. I found the whole background story to be both helpful and enjoyable. Knowing who are characters are will make our interactions seem more natural. For example, knowing the relation between the mother and her daughters makes the scene easier to perform. Having Sarah and Lisa be so similar and having Beth be so different made it easy to create that kind of connection. I feel this connection can be seen throughout the whole scene. Thirdly, our characters are different from the characters we have played in the past, which will really help us improve our overall acting skills. We also are enjoying putting this scene together. This project is letting us use what we have learned and put ...

Sara Fake Selfish Gold diggerish Dependent on your other people Trying to still be like how she was in her past Old Wears expensive clothing Hair is down Was very beautiful Heavy make up 45 years old Has no job but is a housewife 1. When she got into college 2. The birth of her daughters 3. The soon to be marriage of Lisa 1. Her multiple divorces 2. Dropping out of college 3. Her husband recently leaving her Right before this she was make plans for Lisa's wedding. She plans on spending a lot of her ex-husbands money on this wedding. She made arrangements for the florist and the food for later in the afternoon. After the scene she calls Beth to tell her she is no longer invited to the wedding. Her relationship with her daughters has changed forever after today. Lisa and her still meet the florist and continue wedding planning. In this scene my character wants Lisa to marry dan no matter what. She also wants Beth to keep her mouth shut. An obstacle is th...

     I viewed The Caucasian Chalk Circle on Friday, November 11. It was shown in the Cheshire Academy Black Box theater. This play was written by Bertolucci Brecht and translated by Bertolucci Brecht. In the beginning of the actual story there is a wealthy governor, his wife, and their baby son, Michael. After the governor was brutally murdered, his wife decided to flee. She decided to have her servants pack her dresses before she knew her baby was safe. She fled with her dresses, leaving the baby without a mother. A chamber maid passes by and because of her kind heart she takes the baby, even with the chance of risking her own life. She then fled the city for the mountains. After being chased by the army, she then dropped the infant off at a peasant woman's home. The army found them again, and once again the maid fled with the baby. This time it was to her brother’s house. Because of her unmarried status, her brother’s wife made her live in the attic. After months of liv...

https://youtu.be/MMoNJmehQyE In this video it was very interesting because all of the masks were very different. Every mask had its own personality and character traits. Each girl used their mask to develop a story of sitting on the bench. It was also very interesting how the actors interacted with each. They each had their own way of moving and working with each other, which in the end made the video more enjoyable to watch. This is why I believe the video to be very interesting.

In the show the lion king masks are used to represent different animals Masks are used to portray characters that may be hard to costume otherwise In phantom of the opera they have been using ornate masks for all 35 of there seasons Some heavy metal bands use masks to portray a character They use this to reinforce the power of their music http://museum.msu.edu/exhibitions/virtual/mask/dialog/Masks_on_stage.html Julie Taymor has created masks for many different shows including the Lion King and the odyssey. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/julie-taymor/

This silent movie project has been lots of fun! The first thing I think we did well was working together. We worked very well collaboratively and bounced ideas constantly off each other. Also, if someone made a mistake we would just laugh it off and keep moving. We also maintained this through the editing process. For example, when adding transitions we made sure it worked for everyone before we continued on. The second thing I think we did well, is having a strong story. Our story was both funny and not confusing. I believe that the watcher can fully understand what is happening in the scene. Although, we struggled making a comprehensible story when we practiced in class, we made the real story very understandable. Finally, I think we made our silent movie very funny. We added elements that the audience would not expect. I also believe that I played my character to the best of my acting ability. The first thing I think we could do better is using our time. I know, especially for mysel...

I like this music https://youtu.be/izQsgE0L450 Ideas (in general not just to the song) - we could have someone dreaming of something - searching for a missing item - fight over something - traveling/journey - a lunch date gone wrong

Ideas for tango project Having a tourist find unintended object A love story Shopping in a cafe

   In my personal opinion this monologue went a lot better than my other one. The first reason is that I felt more comfortable as the character. My character was much more relatable to me personally. In the last monologue the character was quite a stretch for who I am as a person. For example, I would not take so many pauses when I was talking because I usually talk very fast. I felt like this monologue really played to my strengths of comedic timing and my overly energetic feeling. My character in this monologue had a very similar reaction to what I would do in the situation of having someone's face swell up. Thirdly, I was more confident in my ability to perform because I had already performed a monologue in the class. In the first one, I was a little nervous to perform in front of new people, but now it has become much easier. Finally, I felt like my staging worked better for me because I could consistently be moving and doing something, while in my other monologue I felt a...

My characters name is Samantha. She is in her early 20s and this is her first job after going to cosmetic school. She has moved to a new city and got a job as a department store makeup salesmen. Samantha wants to become a makeup artist but knows she has to start on the bottom. Today is her first day on the job and she wants to make a good impression with both her coworkers and the customers. Samantha's boss is a very mean woman, who tells her that if she does not make a sale in the first day she can no longer work there. This makes her work even harder and really shows her persistence. She is a people pleaser. Samantha wants everyone in the room to like her and if they don't she gets very upset. She also is very bubbly and happy, which makes most people like her as a person. An older woman walks into the makeup department and asks Samantha for a cream that will make her skin glow. Samantha remembers her training and suggests a brand new facial that will make her skin glow. With...

My new monologue is called "The Facial" and it was located in 111 1 minute monologues for teens. Here is the script

https://youtu.be/R56viTypk70

In the last week I have learned a lot about how to create a well structured monologue. I created my character by thinking of what I would do in their shoes. I thought of how I would react if I saw a gun in someone's locker. I used that emotion and idea to set the scene of how my character felt. I showed emotion through my actions, for example when I paced at the door or touched my face at the desk. I thought I did well using my actions well. I felt that my choices helped make the character more believable. For example standing up when saying the main line, this is something I would personally do in real life. I also believe that my props worked very well to set the scene. Having the chair and the desk made the audience feel like the principal because it was like I was talking directly to them. Something I could do better was adding more pauses when I spoke. I found this to be very challenging because as myself, I am very used to talking fast and not taking as many pauses. These pau...

A review of “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” “ The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Raphael Massie was performed in Edgerton Park in New Haven, on Friday September 1st. The story begins in Verona Italy, where two feuding families live. These two families are the Montagues and the Capulets. In the beginning there is a street fight between the two families and the prince declares that whoever starts the next fight will be killed. Romeo is distraughtly in love with a girl named Rosaline, his cousins, who see how upset he is bring him to crash a Capulet party. At this party Romeo meets Juliet and they fall madly in love even though their families are feuding. Later in the night, Romeo sneaks into Juliet's garden and they agree to marry in secret. Romeo persuades Friar Lawrence to officiate, and the two are married in secret. Later that day, Juliet’s cousins challenges Romeo to a fight, when he refuses Juliet’s cousin murders Romeo’s cousin....

  Hello! My name is Jenna Purslow! I am a 14 year old freshman and I live in Cheshire Connecticut. I  currently play field hockey.  I am very excited for acting this semester and I am ready to try something new.  Although, I am very much a beginner I am excited and ready to learn and perform. I have performed in a couple shows as ensemble characters but I am hoping this class will give me the skills to get a larger performing roll.         The first interesting fact about me is that I have a long history in dance. I have danced for almost 11 years and I love to perform as a dancer on stage. I have done ballet, pointe, tap, modern, and hip hop in this time. In my training I learned the amount of dedication it takes to be a performer and how every roll is important. I have also seen how large shows come together and I find it very interesting to see every step in the theatrical process. As a dancer I have really grown to appreciate the fine arts....