Actors in boxes!

[Genesius Redux]

This drives me nuts!

Tonight, again, one of my fellow actors whines to me after we just did a scene--"It's kinda freakin me out; you do it differently every night. I never know what to expect."

Um. Yes....

This is the third time this year I've gotten this "complaint." (And this is supposed to be a criticism?) And what ticks me off about it is the stupid presumption, the presumption mind you, that what I do on stage is all supposed to support some penny ante diva's precrafted theatrical moment.

Anyway, I didn't say what first occurred to me: "It's called acting, Sugar, you ought to try it sometime."

Instead I thought I'd just complain here.

So that's it. Complaint.

[dancin_feet]

Reminds me of our group routine we just presented. We had a minor acting section at the end where a pair of lost lovers finally find each other (she's a "lady of the night") and she gets offered money for her "services" from another guy and has to choose over love or money. Every time they did this section over the 15 weeks of rehearsals, the ending was different. We really didn't know what to expect on the night, but it was very interesting.

By the way the money won out! :wink:

[danceguy]

Hey GR,

This reminds me what I do at before dance lessons. I rarely do the patterns exactly as shown...I always throw a few more things in to keep the followers on their toes...especially if they are more experienced. I've had a few complaints...but I usually say "hey, you're supposed to follow, so I'm just keeping things interesting." ;) :D

SG

[Sagitta]

Yup. I almost always do something unexpected. Follows should follow otherwise leaders won't learn to lead. I advise all leaders to learn how to follow. :twisted: If I get whining I simply tell them I'm happy switching roles if you want to. (And I am) But don't worry. They never will say yes. Never!! So actually you don't need to learn. But it helps to start doing the follow footwork, lead them into the leaders footwork and say now you lead me through x and y move. :) People don't really understand the creative nature of dancing and acting.

[squirrel]

Sagitta... I would say yes... :) I know how to lead... so... with me your line will be lost... and you'll have to prove that you're indeed a follow (and mind me, you have to be a good one... :))

[peachexploration]

Anyway, I didn't say what first occurred to me: "It's called acting, Sugar, you ought to try it sometime."



Exactly GR! All the great ones never do it the same way twice. That's why they are great. :? Keep them on their toes. :D

[MacMoto]

This reminds me what I do at before dance lessons. I rarely do the patterns exactly as shown...I always throw a few more things in to keep the followers on their toes...especially if they are more experienced.
Yup. I almost always do something unexpected.
I actually like it when leaders do it. Feels more like proper dancing rather than a lesson/practice that way: he leads, I follow. What I don't like is someone from the same class doing a newly taught pattern when dancing with me after a lesson or at a club and, when it doesn't work, giving me a look that says "we've just learned this move, don't you remember?" Er, I do remember the move, but you didn't lead it!

[pygmalion]

Anyway, I didn't say what first occurred to me: "It's called acting, Sugar, you ought to try it sometime."

Instead I thought I'd just complain here.

So that's it. Complaint.

I think I love you. 8)

[Sagitta]

Sagitta... I would say yes... :) I know how to lead... so... with me your line will be lost... and you'll have to prove that you're indeed a follow (and mind me, you have to be a good one... :))

I can follow, but you got to give me enough dances. If I rarely dance as a follow, then I am a beginner as a follower, right. :wink: :) I know what the basics are, and what the signals are but it is tough getting in the follow time.

And I completely agree with you MacMoto. I try out a move and if it does not work I just don't push the issue. Do something else. I mean there are so many things that you can do, it's not a big deal!! After all, all "mistakes" are dance floor improvisations. There are no mistakes.

[Genesius Redux]

Anyway, I didn't say what first occurred to me: "It's called acting, Sugar, you ought to try it sometime."

Instead I thought I'd just complain here.

So that's it. Complaint.

I think I love you. 8)

:oops:

[pygmalion]

I'm a sucker for a man with a rapier wit. :wink: :D

[spatten]

GR,

Time to strike back. Just totally change the lines on her or steal her lines and use them as your own. See how she handles that.

I love doing improv during a performance - most of my fellow actors loved it also. Always keeps you on your toes.

Scott

PS - Don't do this in Shakespeare until you really are comfortable improvising in Elizabethan english, and your fellow actors are too. Then it can be a complete blast - but the knowldegeable English professors will come up to you after the performance and ask why MacBeth would start talking about trees and flowers.

[Kitty]

I'll complain about this one then, and see what you say :) :

My partner doesn't do routines for any dance (not even in class really). No groups of steps, nothing at all! I don't mind following at competition or performance, but sometimes he throws in unexpected things like one step after another in an unusual manner, or even steps I don't know. If I knew he'd do something like that in a performance or in competition, I'd be sooo scared! I'm already scared! Whats wrong with having part of a dance (latin or rhythm) being groups of steps where one familiar step goes after another in a familiar order? For competition I mean.

[Chris Stratton]

If you always do it the same way, then that becomes the only way you can do it.

There is certainly a time and place to agree to work on certain things.

In truth though, I'm not above tossing the occasional variation even then, just to be sure things are working for the right reasons.

[Genesius Redux]

GR,

Time to strike back. Just totally change the lines on her or steal her lines and use them as your own. See how she handles that.

Scott-

Don't tempt me. :twisted:

[DancePoet]

spatten: very funny, lol

[pygmalion]

I'll complain about this one then, and see what you say :) :

My partner doesn't do routines for any dance (not even in class really). No groups of steps, nothing at all! I don't mind following at competition or performance, but sometimes he throws in unexpected things like one step after another in an unusual manner, or even steps I don't know. If I knew he'd do something like that in a performance or in competition, I'd be sooo scared! I'm already scared! Whats wrong with having part of a dance (latin or rhythm) being groups of steps where one familiar step goes after another in a familiar order? For competition I mean.

Hmm. I see why this causes you panic. I prefer to have a prepared routine for performances, too. But, unfortunately, even when you have a prepared routing, you have to be ready to revert to good old lead and follow, because things happen sometimes. People forget, or lose their place, or haave to avoid another couple of the floor. :?

[Genesius Redux]

I'll complain about this one then, and see what you say :) :

My partner doesn't do routines for any dance (not even in class really). No groups of steps, nothing at all! I don't mind following at competition or performance, but sometimes he throws in unexpected things like one step after another in an unusual manner, or even steps I don't know. If I knew he'd do something like that in a performance or in competition, I'd be sooo scared! I'm already scared! Whats wrong with having part of a dance (latin or rhythm) being groups of steps where one familiar step goes after another in a familiar order? For competition I mean.

Hmm. I see why this causes you panic. I prefer to have a prepared routine for performances, too. But, unfortunately, even when you have a prepared routing, you have to be ready to revert to good old lead and follow, because things happen sometimes. People forget, or lose their place, or haave to avoid another couple of the floor. :?

Hey Kitty-

Yeah, I totally agree with you and Jenn on this. When I put out my first complaint, it was about acting, not dancing, and those are very different animals. When you're acting, there are all sorts of things that remain constant, like basic blocking (i.e. where you are on stage at any given moment, which is important because of lighting considerations and entrances and exits). That always remains relatively constant. What I was first talking about were nuances of line readings, which can't really be separated from what you're listening to and hearing in your partner, since it's all about being responsive to the words and intent of your partner. So actors who try night after night to recreate emotional moments are doomed to failure in the long run, because they're not aware of what is actually happening on stage and often have to struggle against it. That's the essence of amateurism.

Dance is different for me--not only do I have way less experience as a dancer than I do as an actor, but I would feel in competition that it's very important to work within the confines of what you've actually practiced with your partner. That to me constitutes the shared language of dance. Like Jenn says, things happen, especially in competition, you get these cluster situations that you have to find a way to get out of, or just avoid collisions--so I would think you'd need to have a repertoire of escape and avoidance steps as well. But like musical improvisation, it's not just about "making it all up" on the spot. Improvising musicians draw on a huge repertoire of "licks" that are well practiced, and they may put them together sometimes in different ways--but often even the best solos you here "improvised" are at least thought out structurally in advance for even the very simplest purposes (do I have 64 bars or 128), and return on themselves.

So yeah, I would want to count on a dance partner to not just casually shift routines or do something completely unexpected in the middle of a performance that is tantamount to throwing in steps I've never seen or never practiced (since I lead, I usually don't have to worry about that sort of thing). But I'd also want my partner to be responsive enough to be ready to change things if we need to. Again, since I'm doing Pro/Am with such a splendid teacher and partner, there really isn't anything that I can do that she wouldn't be able to respond to and even save my butt if need be.

For me, sticking with a routine in ballroom isn't restrictive because there are so many things I'm working on--knees, hips, ankles, feet, frame, extension, arms, styling. And often doing things the same way is important in, for instance, cross-overs, where I'm not looking at my partner and the way we hold our arms is important to the overall visual effect. But over the whole course of a song, what we do from figure to figure may very well change.

But yes, I agree with you, there needs to be enough communication between partners that if something's going to change it happens smoothly and in such a way that both partners know what's going on. Otherwise, just one knows the step and the other is kind of panicked not knowing if she's going to be able to follow because she's never done it before in practice.

My two cents.