More 4 AM Jam Talk
It’s good to know that far worse than making a bad move during a jam is the feeling that you have not participated. Which is what makes me hells-appreciative that the team that hosts the hells-awesome Wednesday jam (Grandma’s Ashes) allowed people who hadn’t gotten into a scene earlier to come back at the end to try again. I still don’t think my scenes were great, and I’m going to analyze why RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW. Better start typing “tl;dr” now because you’re about to fall asleep:
I’m thinking too much of the “weird” / “awkward” thing to say. I guess this is the same as “trying to be funny,” which is something I want to AVOID. There was a scene, for instance, where my “mom” gave me a new car as a birthday present (and gave my “twin brother” nothing), and said “Happy 16th birthday!” to me. And yes, I shouldn’t “think” according to the UCB mantra, but I actually just started talking like myself after that, only a really awkward version of myself. I said “Thank you! Because being 16 is an accomplishment of mine, that I have done.” Which is something I’ve always inwardly felt about birthdays*, delivered in a way that I tend to talk when I feel like someone stops listening to me. I really wish I hadn’t played it this way during the scene — like a “bit” — because (a) it didn’t address the point of what was given to me, which was that it’s my birthday and I should be excited because I got an awesome car, and (b) she was listening to me, and there was no reason to introduce “awkwardness.” On the same token, later in the scene, it was one year into the future and my “mom” bought me another car and got my brother nothing, and he said, “so can I have the old one?” and I said, “no, we trashed that, it was a clunker, yo” — again inserting weird mannerisms from my own speech instead of “staying in character.” I’ve never ever ever ever been an actor, and would never even say I could approximate the skills of one, but this is something I need to work on. I tend to always be myself, which is fine, except when yourself isn’t that character. I’m not a super-spoiled car-crazy 16 year-old whose twin brother is hated by the family (I hope), so it should follow that I shouldn’t talk like myself when portraying that personality. Etc.
Another day, another jam! I’m looking forward to 201(!) starting next week so I can get feedback from people that aren’t me. Oh yeah, and meeting people is cool, too.
*EVEN THOUGH BIRTHDAYS ARE THE BOMB
