-Listen to eachother! Everyone had good, interesting, and constructive ideas and comments for the play/characters. It is important to have discussions (as opposed to arguments), but do not try to out yell each other. Yelling will only lead to frustration. Take turns talking AND listening (you should doing the same amount of both).
Which are were you being a pusher-of-opinion or sponge?
I think I can be (and was) a bit of a pusher-of-opinion. I can listen to others, but I'm of the mindset that I'm usually right. ;)
ReplyDeletePerhaps I need a bit of work on listening and learning to be a sponge. Good first prompt. Definitely a good one after today.
Hey guys! Howd it go today?? Sorry i was stuck shoveling a tennis court and I would like to think we could be in between a sponge and pusher of opinion...
ReplyDeleteI think i've never been more tired and with a bigger headache :(
ReplyDeleteso today was def interesting... some of us have already admitted to being pushers i for one think that for most of the issues i was a sponge conferring with others on opinions and then making my own. I got a bit aggravated at the pushers but meant no harm and if i hurt feelings i openly admit and apologize for it. But we def need to work on listening to eachother a lot more because i feel like we're starting to divide and we can only do one show so we need to make things work a bit better...
in other news: Mr. D, told ya i'd write a paragraph
Mr. Moore, you're back on my good side because you wrote a decent prompt :)
I think that i started off the auditions as a very patient and porous sponge.... But later during the auditions, i may have become more of a pusher-of-opinions. Finding a good and stable in between and staying there is hard, but i'll work on it. I think in general we could all do a little more listening and a little less interupting and talking over other people.
ReplyDeleteHonestly today I felt like I was pushing my opinions the whole time and I think at times I felt like people were disagreeing with me just to annoy me when I know that really was the case. I think I just need to get the idea out of my head that people are just trying to tick me off, because I really don't think that is the case. I think I just need to respect people's opinions about their choices of casting. I think I just need to worry about my own part sometimes and not try to be so controlling, but sometimes I get worried because there are some people who I think are unreliable and I want this whole play to be strong and not anything to be weak whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteSadat
I think a little different than everyone else I guess, because I thought everyone did a fair amount of both and that some people just did a little more speaking than others, but overall I thought we kept it pretty balanced. I think that we could listen BETTER, but I wouldn't say that anyone wasn't able to get their opinion across. I'd have to say that we did a pretty awesome job on our first day as directors. We all just need to remember to keep an open mind because some of the best auditions were from people I wasn't expecting to be good and I know that other directors said the same thing.
ReplyDeleteas a hole today i was impressed. i wasn't expecting to get so many strong auditions. I think we did a good gob at being both "sponges" and Pushers. but we do need work. some of us talked more than others when we were more adamant about a certain topic, while other times we were not. i think that i my self pushed my opinions but listened to other and herd them out. we just need to do a better job of choosing the right venue to have discussions. i know i wasn't perfect but i think we cant show weakness when leading a cast, we need to be in agreement about our direction and if we have problems then we need to hash them out in private, and avoid any public conflict. im not saying this happend i just think it can happen, and a fight between directers during rehearsal isn't the best thing.
ReplyDeleteToday was a very interesting day to say the least. We had many strong auditions, that came from some many unsuspecting people. I was definitely more of a sponge, but I still felt the frustration and tension. The auditions started off well, but as time progressed, everyone became more irritated. I no I became frustrated every time an auditionee ended, and those "pushers of opinion" would come over and tell me which character they should play. Everyone has their own opinions and jumping down each others throats, like during the callback selection, is clearly not the best way to make your opinion heard. Tomorrow we will have an even harder decision, I hope everyone will do a better job a listening, and debate decisions, rather than destructively criticizing each other for voicing opinions.
ReplyDeleteI just read all the blogs and i agree with all that the auditions were def a pleasant surprise and i especially agree with coleman on the point that we can not show weakness when leading the cast we have to represent a united front and settle our disputes privately and face to face with each other and not take them to a public forum (which includes in my opinion this blog).
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has it spot on when they say we have it "pretty good" but can be better. Isn't that always true? It's a good group.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely remember that tomorrow - the auditionees will be in front of us. Don't yell at eachother, watch what you say ( :) ), and deal with issues with directors in private, NOT in front of potential cast members.
It's going to be fun. Best of luck everyone. See you tomorrow.
P.S. It took me a minute to realize that "Alexander" was Xander and not Sadat... Woops.
Alright chaps, just a pre-note. During Study Hall this site is bocked off, so I have had to wait several hours to get my imput in.
ReplyDeleteFirslty, concerning the auditions, I thought they were all rather good. It really isn't a case of getting having to cut people who were bad, but rather people who were less good. It does sadden me because I don't want to deliver the bad news.
Today I think I started as an opinion pusher and I probably held to much ground, but since you guys got annoyed and I didn't want to crack this directing Union on the first day, I backed down. I personally think that I then took the middle ground. I had my own ideas, but I also respected other people's. If we can get discussions tomorrow in class I think it will make the process a lot easier at call back.
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ReplyDeletethose are some good, honest posts. job well done on day one. you are all passionate about this project as well as you should be. you've seen it from its inception and will see the final product as well. keep in mind that on a project like this, with so many leaders, compromise is not a necessarily evil but rather just a necessity.
ReplyDeletewhat is needed from all involved is what i like to call "The Gumby Attitude." if you're not sure who Gumby is, go to youtube. its all about being flexible. Flexibility with yourself, each other, and the play itself. the play will evolve, morph, and change as the actors and yourselves work with it everyday...and tomorrow is another day in the blackbox, so get ready!
I'd also like to add that overall today was good and I think tomorrow we'll really be even better because it seems everyone is really reading the blog seriously.
ReplyDeleteThis is of topic but i think all the alex/alexanders need to change there names or use a signature.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I cannot get on this blog during study hall which makes me...... !!!!!
ReplyDeleteToday I think everyone was very excited at the beginning and all of us wanted this play to be great. But we all forgot that the only way to make this play work is to respect each other and listen to everyone's opinion. People are just too excited to talk about their opinion. It goes on and on so that we could hardly make this efficiency. I hope that we could learn how to say our opinion in a good way and try to slow down and discuss things more.
I agree with Evonne on everything Including the Study Hall Remark. I think we need a round table to get the idea that we are all equal and all have an equal say in these early stages. Plus it would also allow us to talk to everyone.
ReplyDeleteOne more note is that as the auditions went on we all became a bit more on edge and a little fed up with the monologues. Thus I wish to praise Crazy Jimmy for allowing us to laugh after those long hours at the table.
I think I was more of a sponge, but I feel a lot of tension going on. I literally feel tired and depressed for a while because I was sitting there seeing people fighting and shouting out for their opinion. I hope that we could learn to respect each other and that I could try to say my opinion more (if possible) and I love you all! Its my 19th birthday tomorrow and so does Lucy and yeah!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYEAH EVONNE!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Coleman. Who are all these Alex's? Jeez.
ReplyDeleteSecondly. Communication will either set you free, or the lack of it will destroy you. Communication is about listening, thinking, and then speaking.
Thirdly. I'm telling you that going with younger, less experienced people will bring great results. They will throw themselves into this wholeheartedly.
Cutting people might lead them to find something else they love -- like PSN or badminton. You have an amazing group to choose from, and if you present it the right way, like Charles said, then you're all golden.
LH
Oh. And I'll work on getting this site unblocked.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see...
LH
Just got home, root canal sucked massively... How were call backs? And (to Dillon) did the kids that we had in mind for our characters fit, if not who was good and who wasn't?
ReplyDelete