Theatre Class at PSU

Theatre in the Making:
While at Penn State on October 12, 2012 we observed an introduction to acting class. It was AMAZING!!!!! We started off by going to see the theatre where students will be performing "Sweney Todd" in a couple weeks. We got to see the set, which was designed by an undergrad theatre student. We also got to see the impact of lights on the feeling of the performance. The lights could change the texture of the ground, and they showed us the sequence for "City of Fire," and I really got the feel of a fire. After that, we went back to the class where we participated in sevaral activities. First, we did a warm-up where the students circled up and each person had to do and action with a noise and then everyone else in the circle mimiced them, while still putting their own spin on it. I could see how this realtes to acting because an actor will have a script and know what their character acts like, but they also must put their own spin on it. Next, we played a game where everyone sat in a circle and when the person in the middle said something that applied to you, (For example, "Everyone who is wearing black pants") you had to get up and try to find another chair. This exercise tried to teach us that in acting, you have to take risks and do whatever you need to get what you want. For a career in acting, sometimes you have to put it all on the line. Finally, we got to see sevaral students participate in an exercise where one student had to balance a stick somewhere, and the other person observed their feelings. Each time one person said something, the other had to repeat it. This exercise is important for actors because they must be able to read the feelings of other actors and convey that feeling back to each other. This experience inspired me to want to take a theatre class in college!!