Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory for High School Students 2003
Student Essays
Julia Alai
August 14 2003
Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory
When I was in my car on my way up here, the things
going through my mind seem so trivial now. There was
the thought of, " what if my room mate's a complete
idiot." which she was not. There was also the thoughts
of, what if I don't fit in, or even worse get along
with anybody. Well, I seem to have made a few friends
who I have talked to online, and run into on the streets
of my town. But as for getting along with everybody,
I didn't. There were the minor arguments with this one
or that one. But for the most part, I made some nice
friends while learning a load of new things. This opportunity
has been the opportunity of a lifetime. The connections
and relationships made were outstanding and made me
realize that I really do want to be a part of this business.
During my five weeks attending the Rutgers Summer Acting
Conservatory, I experienced a number of new and exciting
methods and ways of acting. I got to study under professionals,
including, Leonard Petit, Kevin Kittle, and Rick Sordelet.
All these experiences have not only made my acting stronger,
but they've helped me grow as a person. In movement
with Michael Blake, we were stretched beyond our limits.
For me this has helped in my jumps for cheerleading.
We had our days of dance and days of movement. My favorite
days had to have been dance. The reason for this is
because I have always been a dancer. I loved the way
Michael taught us, because not only did he encourage
us along, but he would throw in a fake accent here and
there to make sure we were still awake or still focused.
I also appreciated that at the end of the program Michael
gave each of us a picture of himself...autographed and
personalized. It was very sweet and personal.
In Master Acting, Kevin Kittle, the Director of Pitchfork
Disney, taught us many new and a bit testing, trust
exercises. They showed me personally that I need to
open up and trust people.
Kevin was one of my favorite teachers because he has
this presence about him that is welcoming and he seems
like a caring, forgiving, and genuinely talented guy.
His classes were fun and inspirational.
For Theater History we had Amanda Valdez, a student
of Mason Gross. Allthough the class, to me seemed boring,
Amanda made it fun. She would try to incorporate activities
like building a theater. She succeeded in keeping me
awake during this class. But even though it was not
a favorite of mine, I still learned about different
cultures of theater, like Noh, Kabuki, and ancient Greek.
Those cultured theaters were interesting to me, because
they don't just get up on stage and act. They use masks,
exaggerated makeup and other techniques.
In my acting class with David, I was always being told
to open up and let myself be vulnerable. David showed
me how to be vulnerable on stage, and in our showcase
I felt what he was trying to teach us shine through.
I felt that my scene was appropriate. I'll admit at
first I really didn't like it, but as we continued to
work on them in class, I started to like it. It was
challenging and intimate. It was fun yet at times hard
to figure out what to do. In the end though, it all
paid off. David explained the different techniques to
us in a way that we understood, or at least I got.
In the Vocal class with Mary Lou, we learned that you
must relax and massage your jaw, in order to achieve
the perfect sound. Jan also helped us work on our songs.
In voice Mary Lou told us to drop our jaws, to open
our mouths and lift our soft palates. It wasn't always
the easiest thing to do but in the end, I felt like
I had accomplished what I had set out to do.
In our dorms, our RA's, Joachim Boyle and Antu Yacub,
were there for us when we needed them. Whether it be,
cheering up, calming down, separating people when fighting,
or just hanging out and having fun with us, they were
there. I felt that they went above and beyond their
jobs and really tried to make friends with each and
every one of us. I know when I had to leave because
of my Grandpa's death, Antu was there every step of
the way. When I got back to Rutgers, Antu sat with me
while I cried. I appreciated that so much and wish all
of the Staff and RA's much success in the future.
During my five weeks I made some bonds that I hope
last me for a long time. I felt that I learned many
valuable lessons, that hopefully will stay with me a
lifetime. I will continue to practice all of the exercises
that have been taught to me. I will continue to do the
movement "killer's," those laterals have helped me a
lot. Thank you Michael Blake. On a scale of 1-10 I rate
Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory as a perfect 10.
So thank you to everyone for a greatly educational
experience that has shown me that I might want to consider
a different aspect of show business. I still love acting,
but I feel
I can use my skills in Directing or producing. I had
a wonderful time, and wish you all a great session next
summer. Thank you Marshall for an amazing experience
that has taught me valuable lessons and giving me the
knowledge that I have gained from your program.
Tom Garruto
Sometimes it takes one a while to realize a good thing.
The Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory was one of those
experiences. Not to say that I did not have fun while
I was there, which I did have, a lot of actually, but
it takes you a while afterward to realize how much you
have advanced because of the program. From participating
in the program, I have not only become a better actor,
but I have fine-tuned other areas of performance such
as dance, voice, writing, and stage combat. Also, I
have not only grown theatrically, but also as a person.
Through the five weeks that I spent at Rutgers, I learned
many things to make me well rounded as a performer.
Over the past two summers, I have participated in the
Paper Mill Playhouse's Summer Conservatory, where the
focus is more on performance than training. Since the
program at Rutgers was focused more on the training
of the actor, I learned more than I have at any of my
summer sessions in acting before. Right off the bat
on the first day, even before official classes had begun,
during our opening session with Kevin Kittle, I knew
that I would grow immensely in the field of acting.
Kevin Kittle's teaching taught me how to take a more
natural, everyday approach to acting through his exercises.
In our normal acting classes, with Chris O'Conner, I
learned how to be more realistic and natural through
repetition. Then I learned how to apply that realism
to a scene when we worked on scenes later in the program.
In the acting classes, I learned more than I have ever
learned about acting before, but this was only one of
the many fields of the performing arts which I advanced
in.
Through other various classes of the day, I learned
many things. Through the voice classes, I learned many
things about my voice, my speech, and how to use my
vocal instrument. Under the teachings of Kathleen Kelly,
I was taught how to speak properly with perfect pronunciation
and formation of sounds. During class with Evan Meuller,
I learned how relaxation is connected to the voice and
how to speak without using unnecessary energy. In Evan's
class, I also learned about Shakespeare's Sonnets when
we worked on some of them and performed them for the
class. I learned new and valuable techniques of singing
with Mary Lu Farrell. She told me that I held too much
tension in my neck when I sang, so she suggested that
I bend over when I sing. When I tried it out in class,
it worked like a charm.
Through the Saturday workshops, I learned so much in
such a small amount of time. In our first workshop,
a writing workshop, I learned a lot about just simply
writing based on recalling a true experience and performing
it, which was so easy because it didn't require any
extra work to tap into any emotions because it was all
there already having already happened in my own life.
In the next workshop, the hip-hop intensive, I found
out through other people, that, contrary to my own previous
opinion, I can dance, which made me pretty smug and
happy. In our last workshop, a stage combat workshop,
I learned so much about fight choreography. I had been
taught stage combat before both in school and at previous
summer programs, but none of the training I've had compares
to this. These moves were so easy to execute and more
believable than the other ways I have learned. Also,
jumping from the ladder and swinging from the harness
was fun, too.
Aside from the performing arts, I grew a lot as an
individual. Before this program, the only person I had
ever lived in the same room with was my brother when
I was little. This was such a completely different experience
for me. Having a roommate was such a struggle to comprehend
and get used to at first, but after the first week,
we were fine with each other. I also come from a very
small town where every step of a person's is watched
and carefully observed, making it easy for one to get
a bad reputation based solely on their actions. At Rutgers,
I felt like I could be myself and nobody would judge
me. It was such a socially liberating outlet for me,
but only now do I realize that, now that I have been
back at my home for a week and see once again how I
have to keep in line and conform to the social standards.
Usually, when I do a show or take an acting class, when
it ends, I like to leave it be and let it end with closure
and usually do not stay in contact with the people I
meet during the course of the class or show. I think
the friends I have made through Rutgers are friends
that I will stay in contact with for a long time. Being
a person who finds it very hard to finds it very hard
to find true friends to connect to, I never expected
to come as close as I have with the friends I have made
at Rutgers.
Over the five weeks that I spent with the Rutgers Summer
Acting Conservatory, I learned many lessons that will
be valuable to me for the rest of my life, both inside
the classroom and outside as well. I have learned so
much in the way of the performing arts which has helped
me grow as an actor more than I ever thought I could
at this age. I've also become more of a grown up and
independent individual. I have had one of the best experiences
of my life at Rutgers and I will never forget the moments
shared with my Rutgers family.
Eric Carsia
"Acting is doing." Little did I know that these words
would serve as a personal genesis in a bible of Meisner
education. For five weeks, myself and a group of eager
high school students embodied an experience that has
changed our outlook on life. I will no longer ignore
the set boundaries of society or block out and shut
down my emotion. I have grown to be vulnerable and curious.
Accepting nothing less than the truth has provided the
epiphany that I have yet to understand who I am as a
person.
My teachers have stripped me of my insecurities and
built up my strength. They have fed me information and
nurtured my development into an actor of trade. With
a constant repetition of insight, they showed me how
to create a world where simplicity and specificity reigns;
a world I never thought possible.
Coming into this program, I wanted one basic question
answered: "can I contribute to the entertainment industry?"
I thought this program would give me all the knowledge
I needed for a career in acting, directing, writing,
or other adjacent art forms. I had experienced the feeling
o acting truthfully before, bit I didn't not know how
to reproduce that same level of "truth" the next day.
I came here wanting to learn the secrets of successful
acting.
What I did not expect from this program was the chance
to truly look at the beauty that was locked within me.
Up until a month ago, I thought that I had myself figured
out. I thought all I had to learn from life was more
behavioral and idealistic. I was too focused on what
could happen instead of what was happening at that moment.
I realized that much of my life was based upon a pattern
of thought instead of what I felt. This was what inflicted
my acting. I learned that in order to know how to act,
I needed to know myself.
The first day of the conservatory I felt nervous but
determined. As I walked to my first class that evening,
I kept wondering about how I would be spending half
the summer learning what most college students learn
in a couple of semesters. I also could not believe the
diverse personalities of my fellow classmates. I had
no clue that the relationships I would develop with
them would be some of my strongest.
As the class and I walked into Room 107 (a meat locker
of human knowledge), we met Kevin Kittle. He introduced
himself and as he spoke, his humble voice and comedic
attitude drew our every attention to his introduction
about acting. What he unveiled to us that night would
only be the foundation of what would come the following
weeks. Kevin talked about "pinch-and-ouch: -- the idea
of action/reaction. He explained to us Meisner's theory
on acting and preached that in order to be an actor,
one only had to be present. One has to believe he or
she is the character. I thought his ideas to be logical,
yet I would soon see the being vulnerable is not a very
easy thing to do.
The rest of the week the class and I met all our teachers.
Movement class was issued by the unpredictable, mysterious,
and flamboyant Michael Blake. Michael combined techniques
of discipline and outrageous character to help sculpt
the class into dancing machines. Michael's class was
at first a little strange for my body because I was
accustomed more to ballet training rather than to modern
dance. I found it hard for me to actually allow my body
to be simple with the movement. Michael was constantly
reminding me I needed to relax. He, like many of my
teachers, told me "to get out of my head" and work with
what my body knew naturally. What I admired about Michael
was that he constantly pushed me to work to my full
potential. He taught me how to surpass the mental limits
my mind set on my body and how to be more sovereign
with my movement.
Mary Lu Farrell and Jan Cerrigione taught singing lessons.
It was here that I gained a new respect and love for
singing. Learning how to properly take care of my body
and voice enhanced my quality of singing an urged me
to continue with signing lessons.
Along with the vocal training in this program came
speech lessons with Kathleen Kelly and voice class with
Evan Mueller. I was completely blown away with the voluminous
aspects of these classes. Kathleen really opened my
eyes to the techniques of theatrical speech. The class
and I learned to articulate and resonate our dialogue.
The fact that the positioning of the tongue and soft
pallet creates most accents was also a very interesting
concept. I learned how to be eloquent and forceful on
stage and gained the advantage of further defining myself
as the character.
The days when the class did not have speech with Kathleen,
Evan literally showed us how to breathe and relax on
stage. Evan presented different exercises, which encouraged
us to be more fluid when acting. The exercises were
also beneficial to the sound and care of the human voice.
Later on in the day, the class and I would have other
sessions, which broadened our point of view to the number
of jobs that work to create a production. From directing,
to theater appreciation, to stagecraft, to career options,
we were bombarded with the different subcultures of
theater life. A theater history class was also provided
and was taught by Amanda Valedes. From these classes
my respect for this industry reached new heights. I
also appreciated the honesty that the teachers brought
to the classrooms. They talked about the hardships and
the amount of focus needed for the business. The guest
speakers who came and told us their stories and gave
a more realistic approach to the business stressed this
even more.
The last class on our daily schedules was acting. I
think I can say that this was the most influential class
of the program. It profoced much thought on my part
about Meisner and about other methods of acting. At
first I found the class to be enjoyable, but by the
end of the first week I felt as if my should have been
taken out of me. Yet I look back on it and I realize
now that such a feeling meant I was really being open
to what my teacher David Newer had to say. I first found
difficulty with the class when we started the exercise
"repetition." The main idea of this exercise is work
off your partner in the moment. As one repeats the statement
the partner had made, one is not to not think, but feel
the impulse or reaction and express it. "Repetition"
forced me to be honest. I guess that's part of what
I felt after the class. I felt all open because of my
honest during the exercise and I was scared because
I was so used to shutting down my emotions. I slowly
became more familiar with the exercise and the class
later expanded upon it boundaries incorporating activities
and then working into scenes where dialogue was present.
The idea of being with your partner remained constant.
I feel this class allowed me to be more open as an individual
and I also have become more aware of what it means to
be 'truthful.'
However, even with all the training I had during the
day and all the sessions and classes the group and I
had, I believe most of our emotional growth and education
happened on our own time. Every night 16 amazing individuals
and myself stayed up late in our dorms talking about
our pasts, our hopes, and our dreams and declaring ourselves
as human beings. We were always there for each other
and we also prepared ourselves, as one to embrace whatever
obstacles would come next. We proclaimed ourselves to
each other and in doing so we expressed all the beauty
that we all seemed to hold deep inside.
Even our counselors, and Marshall, were not ashamed
to be free and open with people who could easily be
thought of as inferior. Marshall was our father these
past couple of weeks and the wisdom he shared made all
the difference in the world. He kept reminding us that
even if we were having difficulty with the material
that all we needed to do was relax and accept the fact
that life was "a marathon ... not a sprint."
I learned so much from my counselors. I admired their
constant search of discovery. They made me more than
ever realize that I was on a journey. If I had to sum
up the experience we all shared at this conservatory
is that we all demonstrated the ability to show innocence
once again. We were reminded of how amazing our lives
truly are and how we cannot hide form or be frightened
of change. Feeling something in a different way is what
makes acting so enjoyable for us. I can have a different
visceral approach to the same material. It's what makes
acting so vigorous, yet so fascinating.
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