Homework 1

Here's my first homework for the "Acting Beginner Technique" with Joseph Daily class I'm taking at BH Studio in Manhattan.

This homework is based on the book "A Challenge for the Actor" by Uta Hagen.

I've started testing the six step technique (page 134) by evaluating my average day, similarly to the way the author describes her coming home after work (pages 136 and 137) .

Here're my observations from this exercise.

Step 1: who am I?

Right away the 1st step, revealed something. I was going to meet some new people today and wanted to project an image of a married man and a professional, but my absence of a wedding ring, baggy shorts and an overly short T-shirt painted a different picture, and I hadn't even realized it.

Step 2: what are the circumstances?

I also realized that I was fixated on the happenings of that day and had no clear idea what time it was, what I did this very morning or what I was going to do tomorrow or the rest of the week.


Step 3: what are my relationships?

I knew, some of my circumstances, and the relationships with people I dealt with that day (mostly my family).


Step 4: what do I want?

However, I had no idea what I wanted from the people. Had no objective overall, and picked small immediate objectives without first checking if they fit into / support my overall goal.


Step 5: what is my obstacle?

Because, I was not conscious about my overall objective for the day, I've mistaken the circumstances that had no bearing on the end result as my obstacles. The result was that I was very tired and frustrated. I did not feel accomplished enough because my fatigue was disproportionally high in comparison to my achievement.


Step 6: what do I do to get what I want?

I think, this step should involve thinking and choice. Having done the work in 5 previous steps, one should be left with a power to choose the course of action. This should feel good, because options give me a freedom to choose. But, I felt trapped by small choices that did not matter in the end.