I am having a quiet day all to myself today. The last week has been so busy, getting everything organised for the drama classes I am hoping to run. I have been getting flyers designed, ready and then been going all around town putting them up and handing them out. So far I have five or six signed up for classes, one person has signed up for three different workshop. So the next step is to start getting all my thoughts in order for these classes. Plan out a rough shape, and reread enough to inspire myself to teach again.
I've also been making some headway as regards making contacts with the University. I have about three different people who want to meet up with me to talk theatre, one of them the head of the BA Acting course recently set up there and another a lecturer on the MA in Theatre Studies who has spent alot of time in Russia, so we have alot of common interests. I am looking forward to just talking. I hope I can remember how to talk about theatre. Lately I have just been putting one foot in front of the other and going with what is happening. So I won't panic. I have no idea what I want out of any of this so there is nothing to get nervous about. I do need to jump into reading my Chekhov and Stanislavski books though. Any scrap of free time I've had for reading lately has been spent on "Entering the Castle" which has been consuming my attention. Feels so horrible to need to wrest away from it when I am finding it so absorbing! I am only reading it for now and listening to the cds to get an overview. Partly because there is so much in it and I want to get a sense of trajectory and I suppose partly because some of the work seems so very hard in it. When I read the exercises in some of the rooms, I can't even begin to think of answers for them. So I guess that's why I am just getting a feel for it right now, beginning to pray more and write the odd private journal entry.
Today though, I feel like starting. I made a journal on my laptop just for working on it, where I can write my exercises and put anything that inspires me from the book into. I want to collect images of the different rooms to spark my imagination, I want to put quotes and favourite pieces of sacred writing in there. Like a kind of scrapbook/journal that is for my eyes only.
Then when I was looking for an image of the castle that appealed to me, I came across a couple of different blogs (not on blogger, with different hosts) that really appealed to me, of people writing about their spiritual quests and exploring the relationship between Art and the Spirit. The relationship between Art and Mysticism is really beginning to interest me. For now, anyway. I am a fickle soul. I have commitment problems!
But I guess that is why I did start this blog. To explore the effects my spiritual search is having on my life. Within the bounds of privacy of course! What I promised myself was to write each time only on a given topic without being too confessional or digressive as if I was writing it only for myself. To write as if I was writing for others, though I don't mind in the least if anyone reads it or not. I guess to impose some discipline on my mind by consciously forming thoughts which I need to take responsibility for as there is the possibility others could see them. To solidify my inner life somewhat? It is so nebulous in there!
So I should write in it more. I feel bad that I haven't. But on the other hand I am aware that, in this period of my life, there is a need for privacy too and sometimes I don't have anything to say that I would like to say to anyone else. That's why I need to start "Entering the Castle" properly today, even if I haven't fully given the book the once over. (I can still finish it from the point I am at in the Sixth Mansion and start from the start in greater and more laborious detail).
I just don't want the self-examination in the first three mansions to become too morbid!
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2 comments:
That’s great you are getting those classes going and the early sign up rate seems to demonstrate you'll be filling a real gap in the Galway market. Maybe a good start is to spend the first week looking at the reasons why the folk taking part want to act at all. It will certainly give you an idea of what they expect from the course, what you and they are dealing with, and how you can tailor-make the sessions to fit their specific needs. Are the classes for professionals, amateurs or newbies??? Wherever they are right now the question about artistic motives is bound to be a crucially relevant one. Maybe for your own interest you could take a spiritual approach to the work- meditation, higher self, visualisation, yoga techniques etc. Try linking Carolyn Myss’ Sacred Contract with a Jason Bennett approach to archetypes perhaps like i am doing with the Actors Bothy. I seem to remember that your pal Mr C. studies acting with John Osborne Hughes the guy who ran the Spiritual Psychology of Acting workshops in which I participated in Glasgow last year. Perhaps he might be able to put you in touch with him and he can give you some useful pointers. Some ideas for you to consider anyway. All serious-minded actors need guidance in how to do the deep soul exploration and inner work which will maintain a healthy psychic balance and creativity. Acting schools never bother with this and I sense there is a growing starvation for it in our present culture. The connection between Art and the Spirit has always been a preoccupation of mine as you know but the industry doesn’t encourage it because it is always looking for quick results, to the detriment of achieving any real depth or enduring quality. The link between the two clearly fascinates you too and you mustn’t feel you have to apologise for this, be embarrassed or try to pretend that it is irrelevant to you or the needs of your students. It absolutely isn’t. It's actually the foundation for everything they will ever do as artists- whether they realise it or not.
I’ve been having a real struggle with those reptiles of mine. Especially fear and ego. Having said that, this morning’s Quaker meeting ministries directly related very much to these issues and I think I may be finally gaining a bit of clarity after also taking advice from pals- Bill, Eric, George and John- all actors-in the last couple of days. My venture into the so-called Corridors of Chaos in the 1st mansion have proved pretty hairy and challenging for a week or two but I feel I have made some headway and the sun may be starting to rise again! Phew. As a result I think I’ve now decided I want to study acting at the RSAMD for a year during my career break. And Karen says she wants to do the Musical Theatre course too. Maybe I can carry her books- Ha ha ha!!! :-)
Hope you had a great boogie last night. Mx
Good luck))
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