In real life, I was dangerously close to getting my power shut off this week. Fortunately I was able to come up with the money to pay it.
But last night I had another powerful dream which gave me a sense of some energies I'm disowning in my work. In the dream I woke up, which gave the impression that I was really wide awake, and I went to turn the lights on and could not. The overhead light was off, and one small oven light shone, but there was a sense that the power had been shut off. In the dream I knew I had paid the bill but somehow felt helpless to fix this conundrum. I was unable to see things in my apartment, and my place felt as though it did not belong to me. I wandered around for a while, frightened. And then, suddenly, the lights and tv and everything popped on with a mechanical roar and I felt a wave of relief.
Here is an interesting piece in relation to voice dialogue and my personal process. Because my life has been rather unstable financially these past few months I have a feeling that I have a self that keeps me together with a "everything's going to be ok, it will all workout, you've got control" voice. This dream facilitated me into opposite: a sense that everything would NOT be ok, that all was lost, that i had no power to fix things. Curiously, or not, this was the exact energy I needed in my performance a few days ago. I'm not sure I fully tapped into it, but this dream delivered on the energetic present in the piece.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Dreamlog #1: Being/Doing
I just awoke from a powerful dream. Without getting in to too much detail the narrative took me into the future with regards to my relationship with one of my acting teachers, Jason Bennett. Who, not coincedentally exposed me to the power of Voice Dialogue.
The setting was Tuscany, where our mutual colleague Catherine Keir was acting as his assistant giving potential students tests and making them write on the blackboard in chalk (chalk was a big theme in this dream) to test their aptitude to join the acting school. There were many students around, and all I wanted to do was get in to see Jason who was apparently too busy to be seen. I also felt shame, and that these students were doing more for their career than I was, and that I didn't have what it took to study. There was something frantic about this setting, the students milling like bees around a hive and Catherine in the center frantically working.
Later in the dream, I came upon Jason, much older, in a church (or hallowed building of some sort) writing something in chalk up in the corner of the wall. The atmosphere was much more in line with a slower pace, a calm pace, no one felt rushed. He was there alone, and while our meeting did have emotional implications in regards to our relationship the way he addressed me was that of an old soul: forgiving, slow, kind.
In my waking life I was been living so often in what we would call "doing" energy, our society lives in it most of their waking life, and especially in New York. This dream brought me the wisdom and a reminder of "being" energy. It is a powerful shift to embrace it, in your life and in your acting. If you watch many of the great film performances of our time there is a lot of long takes where the actor is lost in their thoughts and imagination, effectively "being."
The setting was Tuscany, where our mutual colleague Catherine Keir was acting as his assistant giving potential students tests and making them write on the blackboard in chalk (chalk was a big theme in this dream) to test their aptitude to join the acting school. There were many students around, and all I wanted to do was get in to see Jason who was apparently too busy to be seen. I also felt shame, and that these students were doing more for their career than I was, and that I didn't have what it took to study. There was something frantic about this setting, the students milling like bees around a hive and Catherine in the center frantically working.
Later in the dream, I came upon Jason, much older, in a church (or hallowed building of some sort) writing something in chalk up in the corner of the wall. The atmosphere was much more in line with a slower pace, a calm pace, no one felt rushed. He was there alone, and while our meeting did have emotional implications in regards to our relationship the way he addressed me was that of an old soul: forgiving, slow, kind.
In my waking life I was been living so often in what we would call "doing" energy, our society lives in it most of their waking life, and especially in New York. This dream brought me the wisdom and a reminder of "being" energy. It is a powerful shift to embrace it, in your life and in your acting. If you watch many of the great film performances of our time there is a lot of long takes where the actor is lost in their thoughts and imagination, effectively "being."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Some Thoughts From Friends on Voice Dialogue
I put together a video with some of my actor friend's thoughts on this work and it's potential. Check it out.
Intro to The Blog
Hello,
I'm using this blog to talk about a little about the Voice Dialogue process in relation to being a professional performer. My experience with this work began as a student of Jason Bennett where I eventually became an assistant for his Archetype Workshops. Over the next few days (and then over the next few weeks, months, and years) I'll be writing a bit about the work in relation to acting process and craft.
I'm using this blog to talk about a little about the Voice Dialogue process in relation to being a professional performer. My experience with this work began as a student of Jason Bennett where I eventually became an assistant for his Archetype Workshops. Over the next few days (and then over the next few weeks, months, and years) I'll be writing a bit about the work in relation to acting process and craft.
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