It's All New (to me, at least)

The past couple of weeks with this class have been very interesting, to say the least. It has caused me great frustration and greater optimism. This class takes such a different approach from all others, in one way or another. I hate to say this, and I mean no offense to anyone, but the whole thing has thrown me somewhat off of my academic axis. Make no mistake, I have enjoyed every minute of it and I have even yet to been able to process all of the newly aquired information...I am not disappointed or angered. I had two hopes for this class which I stated on the first day. I wanted to learn a lot and I wanted to have a good time doing it. It seems that my wishes were granted.

Viewpoints are brand new to me. I had heard of the approach, but never much about it. It operates very differently from the way that I often do, but I am growing to absolutely love it. In Amelia's post, she mentioned having problems with 'staying in' her head too much and I know exactly how shes feels. Especially as of late, I have been incredibly analytical about everything. I got caught up in reading material from the Practical Aesthetics method, and far too focused on the analytical aspects. I have come to find myself spending too much time worried about words and precision, while giving very little time to experimentation and creativity. I have what I am calling 'Actor's block.' I'm trying to find the balance. The Viewpoints material and exercises have been doing a nice job of helping me find that balance. While I still have a long way to go, the Viewpoints exercises have begun breaking down that big wall of tedious analysis. I could go on for days about each particular element and how it has helped me, but I'll keep it short. The Viewpoints technique has been a wonderful new tool for tapping into creativity without asking me to mystically feel the words in my body. I am a happy, learning camper.

I am both excited and terrified about the solo performances. I feel like it has great potential, but I am stumped on a story. I am probably thinking about it too much (oh yes, that is an ever-recurring theme in my life...still looking for solutions.) I cannot think of a story, I don't have anything nearly as interesting as the stories we've seen and read. The creative river seems to have a problem with beavers.

Thoughts on Slaughter City still to come...I'm not done processing.