What motivates you? There’s the old joke about the actor who constantly asks, “What’s my motivation?” It’s part of the actor’s job to figure that out, not to be spoon-fed the answers by the director. In one instance, when an actor was told to cross from one side of the stage to the other, heContinue reading “Speaking of Motivation”
Tag Archives: theatre
Improv!
Tell us about the last thing you got excited about. I was very excited about the StoryZ Improv Night. We—members of the StoryZ theatre company—created the event, and I was the master of ceremonies. We had three performers, including one from the audience (though a ringer, actually one of our own), and elicited some honestContinue reading “Improv!”
Negative Emotions
In yesterday’s blog post, I responded to the prompt about positive emotions. I googled it, and discovered the Internet thinks there are twelve of them. Of courses, that got me wondering what the negative emotions are. And so my google search said: In acting, we talk about playing emotions and not conditions, so I’m notContinue reading “Negative Emotions”
Goooooooaaaaalllllls!
How do you plan your goals? How do I plan my goals? This is an interesting question. I see this planning akin to the objectives of a character in a play, with both short and long term goals. And I think they arise and I work toward them in different ways. Once I thought: I’dContinue reading “Goooooooaaaaalllllls!”
I Profess!
What profession do you admire most and why? This is an interesting prompt from one perspective: I guess I’m supposed to pick some particular profession, like the old rhyme/song: Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief,Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Sorry, that’s a remnant from my less socially aware childhood. It should be Native American chief,Continue reading “I Profess!”
Open for Business
If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell? When I was a kid I loved watching the TV show Dark Shadows. As an adult, I found the bloopers on YouTube and howled (like Quentin the werewolf!) with laughter. One of the funniest things happened as someone entered a shop andContinue reading “Open for Business”
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world? Once again, the prompt kicks in an earworm that will be with me the rest of the day. As for the prompt itself: I’ve become a bit cynical over the years about effecting change in the world. I spent 31Continue reading “Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes”
Nickname?
What’s the story behind your nickname? In another blog post I talked about the origin of my avatar’s name, and how I came up with Phorkyad Acropolis. Here we focus on my real life name. To begin, I don’t really have a nickname, per se. My birth certificate says, “Stephen Alan Schrum.” My mother onceContinue reading “Nickname?”
Post Mortem
We always ended our theatre productions with a post-mortemdiscussion to talk about what worked and what didn’t. On 7/26/2023, StoryZ, our new theatre and performance group, hosted its inaugural offering, an Open Mic Poetry Event. I’ll be having a longer discussion with others soon, but I wanted to jot down some points before I forgetContinue reading “Post Mortem”
Acting Choices
Are you seeking security or adventure? When acting a role on stage, we constantly make choices. Why does my character say that then? What happened to the character in the past that led to this moment? What in my life is similar that I can use to relate to this event in the play? LifeContinue reading “Acting Choices”
MUSOFYR 