Goals for Today:
-Help someone with something they struggle with
-Remember lunch
-Help lead an activity... that isn't music?
-Ask staff how I can help establish a leadership role
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Day 1.2: Houston, We Almost Had Problems
Report for end of day one: I am still alive. My first day at Interact was probably the perfect embodiment of organized chaos. I left the house and halfway to the bus stop realized that I left my packed lunch at home. I figured it wasn't the end of the world that I didn't have time to go back and get it. Local restaurant Moose & Sadie's is right next to Interact and I still had my protein meal-replacement shake in hand. I arrived at the bus stop at 8:22, giving myself plenty of time to catch the 8:28 bus that was on my route. As I arrive, I see the 25N bus arriving at my stop. I knew that I was supposed to catch 25 - I just didn't realize that the N made a difference. I started internally panicking because I wasn't sure why my bus was 6 minutes early and headed in the wrong direction but I hopped on and swiped my CollegePass card before sitting down. About five minutes later, we hit the intersection of 10 and Long Lake Rd. It is a red light. I look across the intersection only to see bus 25 - the one that I need - about to pass us going the opposite direction when the light hits green. I panic, jump off the bus, dash through mild morning traffic as the light turns green, repeat the boarding procedure and take a seat.
At this point, all is relatively fine and well. My blood pressure starts evening out again. I am not sure exactly what is wrong but I can tell that something is still off. I continue to get this sinking feeling that it will be on of the days where everything goes just slightly wrong. I get off the bus fine and walk to Interact only to realize that I am now also missing my protein shake which is probably sitting in the corner of a seat on one of my two morning buses.
However, I was able to get there and let it go and just jump in. I started meeting a ton of the artists. However, because my supervisor wasn't there, one of the other interns, Brenna, ended up showing me around. After I met a ton of the artists (who I will slowly start mentioning by name), one of them, Shean, began leading warm ups. As the day and week continued, this is what I have learned about the structural day at Interact:
A. 9-10: Arrival time
B. 10-10:45: Warm-ups/Exercise
C.10:45 - 11: Daily Meeting/Announcements
D. 11-12: Acting Exercises
E.12-1: Lunch/Social Time
F. 1- 2: Literary/Acting Exercises: Special Focus
G. 2-2:15: Break
H. 2:15-3:30: Music Exercises
After 3:30, the artists begin to be dismissed as their rides arrive to pick them up. For our workout today, one of the interns, Shannon, led Zumba activities for a half hour. I am learning that we do this as a way to help the artists work on increasing their range of physical mobility and stamina in order to increase their quality of performance.
During announcements, I was introduced to the artists as a group even though I had met them most individually. We also talked about making sure that the artists who smoke make sure to be respectful by not putting out their cigarettes that Collette and Scotty had just planted.
Our first session of acting exercises ended up being a session where the whole group started to learn a can-can routine for the upcoming show that they are putting together about France. We started with an exercise of brainstorming one word phrases that could contribute to the character of a can-can dancer. The artists came up with words like "blush," "saucy," "promiscuous," and "flirty." I volunteered the word "heels" so that some of the girls might be able to think about how they feel when they wear heels. I noticed that quite a few of the younger artists struggled with coming up with a word; many of them wanted to suggest phrases. I think this is something that I might be able to help them work on. A lot of the guys also didn't pay attention so keeping them involved in discussions will be another goal that I add to the list.
So at this point, I had achieved my first goal; I knew all of the artist's names except two. I had not yet helped anybody with a specific conflict yet. I had started to observe different areas of skill that could use work/refining. I had identified the program structure, was working on observing the directors, and had at least established my morning bus schedule.
Around lunch time, I spent some time with Karen, a wonderful artist there who is the MN Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year. Karen was struggling with a decision when it came to ordering a dress out of the catalog. The catalog is circling around Interact so that artists can order white cotton clothes to tie-dye at their 4th of July celebration. Karen was running into problems choosing for several reasons. There were only certain designs that Karen liked. On top of that, only some dresses came in XL or 2XL. She also had to decide which of these sizes she wanted to order. I sat down with Karen and we looked at some specific logic points. We first thought about whether or not it is beneficial to get something a little too big or too small. We also had to think about the fact that pure cotton might shrink and clothes with buttons will probably be tighter than clothes that tie shut
At this point, all is relatively fine and well. My blood pressure starts evening out again. I am not sure exactly what is wrong but I can tell that something is still off. I continue to get this sinking feeling that it will be on of the days where everything goes just slightly wrong. I get off the bus fine and walk to Interact only to realize that I am now also missing my protein shake which is probably sitting in the corner of a seat on one of my two morning buses.
However, I was able to get there and let it go and just jump in. I started meeting a ton of the artists. However, because my supervisor wasn't there, one of the other interns, Brenna, ended up showing me around. After I met a ton of the artists (who I will slowly start mentioning by name), one of them, Shean, began leading warm ups. As the day and week continued, this is what I have learned about the structural day at Interact:
A. 9-10: Arrival time
B. 10-10:45: Warm-ups/Exercise
C.10:45 - 11: Daily Meeting/Announcements
D. 11-12: Acting Exercises
E.12-1: Lunch/Social Time
F. 1- 2: Literary/Acting Exercises: Special Focus
G. 2-2:15: Break
H. 2:15-3:30: Music Exercises
After 3:30, the artists begin to be dismissed as their rides arrive to pick them up. For our workout today, one of the interns, Shannon, led Zumba activities for a half hour. I am learning that we do this as a way to help the artists work on increasing their range of physical mobility and stamina in order to increase their quality of performance.
During announcements, I was introduced to the artists as a group even though I had met them most individually. We also talked about making sure that the artists who smoke make sure to be respectful by not putting out their cigarettes that Collette and Scotty had just planted.
Our first session of acting exercises ended up being a session where the whole group started to learn a can-can routine for the upcoming show that they are putting together about France. We started with an exercise of brainstorming one word phrases that could contribute to the character of a can-can dancer. The artists came up with words like "blush," "saucy," "promiscuous," and "flirty." I volunteered the word "heels" so that some of the girls might be able to think about how they feel when they wear heels. I noticed that quite a few of the younger artists struggled with coming up with a word; many of them wanted to suggest phrases. I think this is something that I might be able to help them work on. A lot of the guys also didn't pay attention so keeping them involved in discussions will be another goal that I add to the list.
So at this point, I had achieved my first goal; I knew all of the artist's names except two. I had not yet helped anybody with a specific conflict yet. I had started to observe different areas of skill that could use work/refining. I had identified the program structure, was working on observing the directors, and had at least established my morning bus schedule.
Around lunch time, I spent some time with Karen, a wonderful artist there who is the MN Special Olympics Female Athlete of the Year. Karen was struggling with a decision when it came to ordering a dress out of the catalog. The catalog is circling around Interact so that artists can order white cotton clothes to tie-dye at their 4th of July celebration. Karen was running into problems choosing for several reasons. There were only certain designs that Karen liked. On top of that, only some dresses came in XL or 2XL. She also had to decide which of these sizes she wanted to order. I sat down with Karen and we looked at some specific logic points. We first thought about whether or not it is beneficial to get something a little too big or too small. We also had to think about the fact that pure cotton might shrink and clothes with buttons will probably be tighter than clothes that tie shut
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Day 1.1: Commence Operation Inter(re)act(ion)
A short preface: The purpose and mission of this blog is to help keep a record of my experiences in this, the summer and fall of 2012, regarding my internship toward my Theatre Arts degree with an emphasis in acting/directing. My internship will take place at a theater center in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. The place is called the Interact Center. Seeing as how this blog will chronicle my hopes, fears, achievements, failures and reactions to all of the aforementioned, the blog shall be called A Summer of Inter(re)act(ion).
It is currently 7:31 A.M. Given the chaos of this week this will have to be posted to the blog that I create later this week. I catch my very first Metro Transit Bus in approximately an hour. I am so excited and so scared. How strange is it that the only time I have seriously used public transportation is in Japan?
So, my goals for today are simple:
1. Learn the names of as many artists as possible.
2. Find and help at least one person with conflict.
3. Start to find areas that could use growth in the different artists.
4. Observe the directors and learn the program structure.
5. This should maybe be first, but figure out a consistent pattern for bus arrival and departure.
And with that, I am off to the starting line. Let's see how today goes!
It is currently 7:31 A.M. Given the chaos of this week this will have to be posted to the blog that I create later this week. I catch my very first Metro Transit Bus in approximately an hour. I am so excited and so scared. How strange is it that the only time I have seriously used public transportation is in Japan?
So, my goals for today are simple:
1. Learn the names of as many artists as possible.
2. Find and help at least one person with conflict.
3. Start to find areas that could use growth in the different artists.
4. Observe the directors and learn the program structure.
5. This should maybe be first, but figure out a consistent pattern for bus arrival and departure.
And with that, I am off to the starting line. Let's see how today goes!
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