Workshops # 2

Songwriting: Today, Robin and I put the finishing touches on my song, "Bring you Home" and we ran through the ending a couple of times to establish the main harmony and background vocals (on the outro). We then recorded a rough copy of the song on Garageband while Robin sang the harmony in the background. Although the sound quality wasn't superb, the recording sounded excellent as a finished piece, especially when Robin added some percussion. I learned that a verse could simply be adjusted and rearranged to play over a chorus at the end of a song. I'm also learning how to leave some space between the verse and chorus in order to feature the guitar part a lot more. Robin has helped prepare my song for a professional studio, which is a great accomplishment for the year.

Week # 1: Big Project

LAST WEEK: We fixed the ending of the script and made it so that Jenny kills Tim

THIS WEEK: We'll fix the rest of the script and possibly film on thursday if we aren't replacing the cast

BIG BIG BIG PROJECT

MY PROJECT:
I'm trying to achieve two main goals by the end of this quarter. First, I would like to revise the script for Father by changing the ending to something more satisfying and anticipated. Perhaps, my group and I could change around the cast so that we have older actors replacing the Father and Tim character roles. We will also reshoot a lot of the scenes even if the cast is not replaced. The film will then be ready to compete in a small film festival. Second, I would like to write a song that features a difficult guitar part and possibly write lyrics to this. Later on, I would like to perform the piece with two or three guitars.

Workshops # 1

Song Writing: Jesse and I were fortunate to have a lot of individual work with Robin on our original songs. I first played my song, "Bring you home" for Robin and we worked on making the flow of the song much smoother. He had so much input on the song I brought him and his simple adjustments made my song sound much better. Robin would replace my chords with ones that sounded ten times better with the song as a whole. Robin said that a large difference between the verse and chorus will ultimately make a song sound so much better. When Robin changed the chords around for my chorus, the differenciation between both the verse and chorus stood out and really helped the sound. Robin also helped me finalize my piece and he offered some ideas for essential background vocals. This workshop helped me realize that there are various ways to write a song and a lot of different ways to play with the structure of a song. For example, Robin gave us a few examples of hit songs that have A and B sections in the chorus, which makes the listener much more tuned in while they listen. I'm glad that an individual, experienced in the music industry, heard my original song and helped me set goals to make it something worth recording.

Jim Bonney: Currently, we are working on subtext and the ability to allow dialogue to stir up different emotions. I'm enjoying the workshop more then last time because this year, I'm surrounded by a closer group of people and I'm much more confident with myself as an actor. Jim did an awesome exercise in which he had us listen to the song, "I know" by Jude while our eyes were shut. Then we each recieved the lyrics and were asked to say different lines with different emotions behind the text. The workshop allowed me to express whatever I needed to get out without feeling embarrased or masked. These exercises will ultimately help trigger a lot of emotions in my future character roles.

Today's Presentation

Today was not as hard as I thought it'd be. Usually, I get nervous for presentations because I'm usually asked questions at the end that I'm not quite ready to answer on the spot; however, this Big Book presentation didn't involve the audience's input, which was a bit more relaxing. I was excited when I taught the class about Dreamwork for Actors because unlike other class presentations, I was given the opportunity to teach about my hobby and talent. Since I was fully engaged in my book from beginning to end, the opportunity to inform people about this came naturally. I'm glad that I prepared what I was going to say for this presentation because my ability to speak without preparation is weak. My main goal was to get actors/actresses in STAC to read this book because it runs through the basics of acting with a whole new twist and a whole new style. If I could change something about my presentation, I would have possibly completed a powerpoint instead of an oral report on the book because personally, when I'm learning, I stay more interested when I am visually engaged in a lesson. Overall, I felt confident with my presentation because I was teaching about psychology and dreamwork: something that almost anyone could relate to even if their passion isn't theater or acting.

Another Freaky Experience...

So, I was onstage today for Carousel with Becky and we both had an odd experience...

The scene takes place at Billy's house mid-day. My character has just landed on earth as an angel to visit his daughter Louise (Becky), all grown up. In the scene, Billy chooses to make his daughter see him and talk to him; she continues to ask questions about her dead father. Throughout the scene, Becky and I were completely trapped in our characters and couldn't get out. I was talking to Becky later today and we both agreed that our friendly relationship in reality was totally forgotten in the 3 minutes we were onstage playing our characters. It's odd because I can't recall what was going on in my head, but when our characters are supposed to argue towards the end of the scene, my frustration built to the highest peak possible. All I can say is that looking into Louise's eyes, I couldn't help but see the evil and hate in her that I suddenly wanted to change, which caused me to grab her hand and really throw all of my emotion into the slap. It was fascinating how engaged we both were in the scene. In this show, my mind barely drifts while I'm up onstage. Although I can't relate to this villainous character, I really feel the pain that he causes people just by looking in my victim's eyes or studying their facial expressions. Fortunately, the cast is extremely talented and they really give me a lot to work with while I'm acting.

It's incredible how I can communicate with a character through their eyes and facial expressions. Sometimes, I'm even scared of myself when I see the agony I cause these people. I encourage all actors to really try and stay focused on their opposing actor/actress onstage because when you feed off that person, it really creates exceptional acting.

I wrote a song!

My song is finished and up on youtube and I'm really happy with the result...

I couldn't have finished this without my DAILY PRACTICE

Here's the link to my sister and I singing my first original song: "Bring you home"

Please give us some feedback....

"BRING YOU HOME" BY DOUGLAS FABIAN

Here are the lyrics to "Bring you home":

Verse 1:
It's Friday night and you're on my mind
I drove all night just to come inside
You're hiding there in the evening light
Turn around, open up, and I'll bring you home

You're not aware when I look at you
That everything is right on cue
Don't you fear, the atmosphere will clear up soon.

Chorus:
I'll be singin'
Hold on
You're safe the world is never gonna catch you
Look it's the break of dawn
The sun is up, the stars are all around you

Verse 2:
It's Monday now and you can't get by
Your cheeks are soaked, the tears you've cried
You're standing there in the morning bright
Stand up tall, we can fight
To bring you home

Your toes are cold but your hands are warm
Our lives are like the changing storm
Here and now
Is all we have to help us through

Chorus:
While I sing
Hold on
You're safe the world is never gonna catch you
Look it's the break of dawn
The sun is up, the stars are all around you

Bridge:
Winds change
Colors fade
But I'll be your solid ground