Progress

Well Folks, this week officially marks the half-way point of my first semester at AMDA. This week and next week are peppered with various midterms. Funny how Most of my friends are preparing for graduation and I'm starting all over. I have alot to think about.

Tuesday was my first official midterm and it was in Sight Singing. I did fairly well, though I suddenly got very nervous and flushed. Learning how to read music and interpret rhythm is alot like learning a secret code. A lot of memorization and repetition till I can get it down cold. I actually mad flash cards. I haven't made flash cards to help me study since I learned the Times Tables. (I hope this works out better than that did- I'm still shaky on the 9's table...)

Its pretty funny how all of my classes sort of take on the persona of regular liberal arts courses, even though the whole program is very dedicated and specialized. For instance, I think of Sight Singing as Math. Dance is obviously Phys. Ed., Film lab is like a mutimedia history class, Acting is like a science lab, Musical Theatre seems to be like interactive English (or I guess music- since we do Sing ans so forth) and VPS is like a philosophy or theory class. Most people- like Danny would probably get a kick out of my rationale here. And it's true: Acting is not organic chemistry. Film Lab is not modern European history. VPS is most definately not macro economics or psych, but the same FEELING exists. Wierd?

Some days are very challenging here. I have honestly had to ask myself MANY times: What am I doing here? But other days- the days when all my work pays off, those days make it all worth it. Today was one of those days. In Acting class my partner Misha and I had to do a scene from a play called "The day they shot John Lennon" . We did all kinds of research- I read up on Mark David Chapman and went over original news articals relating to the tragic incident. We were both worried because neither of us (oddly) were very big Beatles fans- and sooooooo many people really are. We were afraid we would do the scene a disservice, or not have enough depth etc.. However we walked down to the Dakota (two blocks from where I live) and with all possible respect scoped the place out- imagined what the scene would look like with crowds of mourning fans. We picked out where we would stand. We talked about the candles, the crying, the cops, the barriers, the bewilderment, the weather (an early december night @ midnight) and so forth. The work and the careful, precise steps we took paid off as our in structor singled out our work as an example. We were very happy- and sure, we still have work to do, but It really is great to have positive reenforcement from time to time. Your Beth is learning!

After that was Musical Theatre and it was a performance day there as well. i had to present the song I've been struggling with: Moments in the Woods from "Into the Woods". The song is Sondheim at his mad-genious best and is most demanding to the singer&actor. I can't zone out for a minute- can't relax. However, I worked and worked and the work paid off. Here again my instructor was most pleased and I was graded well. Sure I have LOTS to still work on- but the progress is promising. Did I lose my pitch? Is my name Beth Reardon? Of course- but I was on top of the song for the most part. All in all I'm very excited.

I also had Jazz. I've learned a shasse and a triplet but am still a bit stumped by patabourre (sp?). I'm sure I'll get it. !!!!!!!!


Thanks for trudging through that lengthy update!
Love to All,

Beth