Observation One Wednesday, September 4th, 2013 Time: 12:30-1:30 Description of location: This specific area is very small

compared to the others. Actors meet in different areas all around the Robinson building. Ill explain the relevance in location to each room later. This room is called the White Box. It is the main classroom for acting students. It is a very spacious room with a few rows of chairs towards the back of the room. Adjacent is the large space the students use to perform in front of the others. Behind the performing students is a projector screen, for film analysis at certain times. There are various desks, couches, chairs, and other props scattered around the sides of the room. If you are walking in, on the far left side (towards the wall) that is where the professor, Lon Bumgarner sits. Figured World: A figured world is a specific social area in which actors (people) play a specific role in, with the help/use of artifacts. In the acting classes specifically, the rules are not as strict as other classes, and are not necessarily easier to follow. They are, simply put, different. However many of the same rules and expectations from other classes come into play here. In terms of attendance, if he is there, you are there (dont miss class). If you are even a second late, you are not allowed to enter class. You must also dress appropriately. Other expectations include being ready to work, and keeping a professional and positive attitude about it. Dont come into class not wanting to be there, because the scenes will simply just not work. Thats another reason why you simply cannot miss class. This is a very active class, and if you are not here, not only do you suffer, but your partner does. You are never doing ANYTHING alone in this class. You have to rely somewhat on other people, at least to be there. His grading consists of 1,000 points. 200 of which are just class participation. You MUST participate; warm up on scene days, always ask questions (he loves it when you ask questions). You get two absences without any penalty. After that, 3 absences is 100 points deducted from your grade, 4 is 150, 5 is automatic failure of the course. Whats interesting is, 100 of his points are if he thinks you can act. If he believes you actually have the ability to act, to work as an actor, or to create characters, he will give you 100 points. If not, he will not. The other 700 points are graded performances/assignments. Actors: Actors are the people in the figured world that actually give the world itself sustenance. They have specific roles they play in these worlds, and without them, ther ed be no reason for the figured world to exist. It couldnt. How can a social world exist without people to be social in it?
Comment [s1]: Remember to add in descriptions of the two other locations later on

Comment [s2]: Clarify what is adjacent

Comment [s3]: Perhaps rephrase to make it flow better

Comment [s4]: Perhaps mention who he is again

Comment [s5]: Good use of describing rules and conventions for the class setting

Lon Bumgarner: Lon is the professor who teaches Acting II, and is currently directing the play this semester Love the Doctor. He has over 30 years experience working with brilliant actors and directors, working for 20th Century Fox, Disney, etc. He is a very blunt, sarcastic guy; but he is not mean about it. He knows who he can joke around with, and who he cant, and deals with each person differently, and is always trying to help people as best as he can. He is a leader in this figured world, and his role as an actor is to help students achieve their highest potential as an actor, and get them to think outside of the social norm. His methods are very unorthodox, however. Brandon: Brandon is a student of Lons, who is also in the play as the character Gonzalo. Brandon is a student in this figured world, whose role as an actor is to better his craft as much as he can, to get closer to reaching his dream of being a famous movie star. However, he loves to question Lons statements and rejects some of what Lon says is true, and not true. This makes him angry at times, and Lon can see that, and tries to turn that into something he can fuel for his acting. Nolan: Nolan is also a student of Lons, and is a good friend of Brandon. All she really wants to get from acting is to be famous, and therefore everything she does is getting closer towards that goal. The artifact she mainly uses is a, plainly put, bitchy attitude. She hates not getting what she wants. Her and Brandon seem to go back and forth arguing about each others morals and behaviors. Ryan: Ryan is an upcoming director, directing his very first play this semester. He wants to overcome his fears of not only stage fright, but not letting his turrets affect his acting ability, which is why he is in Lons class. Lon definitely sees potential in him and is constantly trying to push him, and always says when he notices something that Ryan has improved upon. Ryan is a very hard worker. Gina: Gina played Juliet in the play Rome and Juliet last semester. She did a phenomenal job, and is taking Lons acting class to continue to better her craft. She takes rejection very well, unlike most of the other students. Her main goal really is to get better, therefore, her attitude towards rejection is If they didnt pick me, I just wasnt what they were looking for, or I need to get better. She does not take these rejections personally, which is very important.
Comment [s6]: Could use Lons work experience as an artifiact

Artifacts: These are ideas, morals, emotions, beliefs, or physical objects that are unique to each individual in the figured world that gives them a certain sense of significance and sets them apart from others in the world. Lons Students: All of Lons students give him a sense of accomplishment. When his students better themselves as an actor, through his teachings, he feels like he has won. He has worked and talked with many famous actors including Angelina Jolie, Jennifer

Aniston, Johnny Depp, etc. But I think this gives him a sense of pride in his work, and makes him feel good. Brandons Stubbornness: Normally this would be a bad thing, especially in the regular world; but in this figured world, this is perfect. His stubborn attitude of always needing to be right, gives him so much more drive, determination, and motivation than anyone else in the class. He fights for what he believes in until hes not breathing. Lon loves that about him; it will make him so much more of a better actor, because he simply will not give up. Nolans Style: I think the way Nolan dresses is very important to her, because she wants to appeal to a lot of guys, regardless of her I dont care what anyone thinks about me attitude. Ginas Wisdom: Gina is one of the most patient, kind, and wise students that Ive seen in the class. She is constantly asking questions; but not to try and prove Lon wrong, but because she is so invested in learning more and more about acting. And she puts in an extreme amount of effort. Shes always willing to help others, and is always trying to learn

Comment [s7]: Like how you didnt use physical objects and they were very effective. However you still could use physical objects.

Discourse Communities: Certain groups in the figured world that end up joining together. The Attractive Guys Group (TAGG): In the theatre department there is a literal Attractive Guys Group. Apparently I have also been inducted into this group, or so Ive been told. The men in this group are Sammy, Brandon, and now me I suppose. As you can tell they have extremely large egos. The Pranksters: Sammy and Brandon are also in this group. They love pulling pranks on people and getting on peoples bad sides. They find it extremely hilarious. Anyone is fair game for their pranks, even people outside the department. The Girls: Almost every girl in the department, especially the attractive ones, stick together. This consists of Gina and Nolan, whom Ive already spoken of, and many others that I have not named yet, like Piper, Emma, Beth, Aubrey, Olivia, and Celeste. They love teaming up against the guys in any kind of conversation/battle. The Staff: The professors, directors, costume designers and writers, simply love making this environment fun for the students and actors to work in. They do pranks, and make jokes just as the students do.

Comment [s8]: Perhaps say that they co-exhist but dont necessarily join together

Comment [s9]: I should probably include myself in the actors section if I include myself in here

The Observation: 12:30 PM To get ready for class, Lon lets the students take 5 minutes to run around the building and do whatever they need to to get energized for their scene on Getting What You Want in an aggressive way.

12:35 PM Lon talks about Aperature and relating acting to color, having 3 components, Objectives, Obstacles, and Strategies. Brandon, as I suspected, questions most of what Lon says on this topic. 12:43 PM Lon calls out certain personalities of students, making some jokes with those he knows are alright with it, trying to prove that everyone has aggression inside of them. When we were children, we achieved all of what we wanted by crying or screaming. He wants them to bring that out in them for this scene. 12:46 PM Students and Lon both curse (not just to curse, but they dont beat around the bush) which shows how comfortable the students are with him, and how comfortable he is with them. He treats them like adults, and expects them to be able to handle that kind of language and not be immature about it. 12:51 PM Lon creates an exercise where the students use bed sheets as a rope, and play a game similar to tug of war, except youre not jerking the other person, you are just leaning back and using your hips and weight to bring the rope towards you. They never leave eye contact with each other, and start yelling out their objectives towards one another as they aggressively bring the rope towards them. When Lon feels they are fired up and ready for the scene, he yells scene, and takes the rope away. It was astounding how much of a difference it made. 1:00 PM Brandon and Nolan begin fighting during a break we have because of some unresolved issue outside of the class, and are already fired up from the exercise that Nolan begins to curse up a storm. She then leaves the class in anger. In the theatre department, drama is abundant. 1:10 PM Lon begins to lecture ironically on how when youre in your 20s, you face more obstacles than you most likely ever will. Not to say that they are harder obstacles than in a later adult life, but you do face more of them. 1:13 PM One of Lons friends or co-workers calls him, and he answers the phone, letting the students say hi to him, showing his friend that he is teaching a class. He tells his friend to go, in a funny, sarcastic way. 1:17 PM Lon plays various scenes from movies and has us analyze them for the characters objectives, strategies, and obstacles that they use to get what they want in the scene. He shows certain things that actors do when theyve won; like a subtle smile that you may not have noticed before. Observation Two Tuesday, September 10th, 2013
Comment [s10]: Good idea to observe them outside of the classroom setting

4:00 PM Gina, Nolan, Brandon, and Sammy invite me to eat with them at the Cone Building. 4:05 PM As Im waiting in line at Subway with Gina and Nolan (Sammy and Brandon went to the Bojangles line), they begin to talk about how arrogant Brandon and Sammy both are. Even though Brandon, Sammy, Gina, and Nolan are all in the same friends group, there are two separate groups; the girls, and the boys, and they both talk about each other when the other is not around. 4:09 PM We all take a seat at a round table and Brandon begins to talk about things he disagrees about with Lon in the acting class. Gina tries to show him where Lon is coming from. Brandon responds by saying he knows what hes saying, but then again says he disagrees with it. 4:15 PM The conversation switches to sexist topics. Brandon and Sammy begin to speak about double standards with girls, and the girls talk about the double standard with guys. Specifically, how girls who dress with less clothing are considered slutty, and guys are considered tools, and if a girl is confident, shes bitchy, but when a guy is confident, he is successful, and things of this nature. 4:35 PM Gina invites a friend she recently met to come sit down with us, and Brandon texts me saying the man she just invited is a kiss ass. In my opinion, the man was just being nice and friendly, and I believe that Sammy and Brandon were jealous that the attention was not on them, and was on a different attractive man. 4:37 PM Brandon begins to make jokes about the man, being sarcastic. But it is clear that there is some hidden truth behind his satirical words. 4:45 PM A new girl Emma comes by and sits down as well and reveals a lot of drama that I was not aware was taking place. She speaks of someone else in the department that slept with her ex-boyfriend and everyone continues to talk about how much of an asshole her ex is, and how much of a whore the girl is. 4:51 PM Around this part of the conversation, I began to think that Emma was saying this for attention reasons. I had only just met her, and she was sharing this information with me, and everyone else at the table, including the stranger. 4:54 PM As we all leave Brandon and Sammy try to pick up a few girls that are hanging out outside of Cone, only to find out that they are both lesbians. Observation Three Wednesday, September 11th, 2013

7:24 PM I am at the rehearsal for the upcoming play Love The Doctor. Brandon is in this play, as well as Emma, Olivia, Tim, and Lon (the director). Everyone is looking over their lines, somewhat stressed because it is their first time off book. 7:30 PM For the first time, the movement instructor comes in (Carlos) and teaches them how to properly warm up before rehearsal, both physically and mentally. Everyone seems to put everything aside and be at complete peace for this. 7:40 PM Lon continues to run in and out, calling the person who adapted the play about changes that them want to make to the play as a whole. This shows he is very dedicated to helping us to do what we want, and helping make the play better in general. He told them Ask for forgiveness, not for permission. He will always do what he thinks is right, and just hope they forgive him for it. 7:55 PM Throughout running the first couple scenes of the play Lon constantly finds different ways to mold them into the person theyre supposed to be in the play; Emma is supposed to be this spoiled little brat who gets everything she wants, so when shes trying to get her father to do something, he ends up giving her money, just to shut her up. She could care less what the reason is, she just gets money! And he finds places to insert these little things in the play to give the character more definition. 8:15 PM After running through the first act, everyone takes a break and they begin to talk about everything that is completely non-related to the play. They pride themselves in doing what they can during break time, to forget about what is going on and just talk about stuff thats going on in life, and have funny/philosophical conversations with each other. However when the break is over, they get right back into work mode and are able to do it very well. 8:30 PM As some people are having trouble with their lines, Lon, as well as the other actors, comfort them in knowing how much time they have to learn them and that theyre doing a fantastic job. Lon is always complimenting the actors on their performance. If he likes something, hell specifically say, I loved what you did just there, definitely keep that; fantastic. And hell correct you if he doesnt like what youre doing, but not in a m ean way, he simply explains why it should probably be done a different way. I think that helps a lot in the collaborative process of making a play. 10:30 PM When rehearsal is done everyone helps tear down the set so the stage managers dont have to do it all on their own, and everyone has someone that they walk to their car with so they dont get mugged. Apparently a few actors in the past have gotten beaten and sent to the hospital after rehearsal, so they are very cautious about walking alone at night now.

Interview #1 Brandon Why do you want to be an actor? So that I could start down the path towards acquiring the status and influence necessary to change the world. That is very big to me. I love acting as it is, I have a strong passion for it, I have fun doing it, and coincidentally, I can have the strong influence I need in order to change the way people think; about film, about life, about everything. Who is an inspiration in your life and why? Not to be clich, but my parents. They have helped mo ld me into the person I am today; moreover they have caused me to challenge myself towards thriving in my craft, so that I can prove that I am meant for something great in this world. If you had to do a different career other than acting, what would it be and why? Well, thats a tough one. Id either want to be a musician or a political. Both have the influence, music more so on the younger demographic, but in politics I could directly influence policies that would affect our nation. Ultimately, establishing a legacy so that I, or the things I stand for, wouldnt be forgotten in death. This country has changed a lot over the years, and not for the better. I want to be able to fix that. Whats the biggest risk you have taken to commit to your craft? Theres not really a specific instance, Ive just dedicated most of my life to it. That is my risk; not having a real back up plan, knowing that this is the gateway to what I was meant to do; change the world. Any risk is worth that kind of feeling; knowing that what you do makes a difference in peoples lives. Its the greatest gift I could ever ask for, and Ill do anything I can to achieve it. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I dont know where I see myself in 10 years, but I can only hope that I havent abandoned my dreams, and allowed myself to settle for just going through the motions of life.

Interview #2 Emma Why do you want to be an actor? I dont just want to be an actor, I need to be an actor, its the only way I feel alive anymore. I need to feel alive, so I need to do it. Who is an inspiration in your life?

Kelly. A huge inspiration to me. She just kinda sees through all the shit I put up. I hope oen day that I can inspire people the way she inspires me, and help them. The way she treats me, and the way she treats other people. Shes willing to be more than a teacher and a mentor, but at times a mom that I need. She believes in me. Angelina Jolie as well. I know that sounds really clich, but her humanitarianism; I really wanna do some of that work. Looking past all the glamour and fame, and the 6 kids, and brad Pitt; she has a heart for people. If you had to do a different career other than acting what would it be and why? Ive really been thinking about how miserable can I be to do what I love the most. Other than humanitarian work, I really love fashion. Ive always wanted to work for TOMS. Blake Mycoskie started this company after a trip to South America, where he saw all these kids running around without any shoes, and he sees a nuclear plant. They were absorbing toxins through their feet. He started feeding their society, he also started an eyewear line. The statistic that stuck out to me is that 60 percent of the people that cant see are women. In most countries they cant affo rd eye care. I would love to work for that company, not only for the fashion standpoint, but the humanitarian. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I dont know. I probably couldve told you those years ago. Now I have no idea where this ride is going to take me. I dont like being tied to one place. I would give up the love of my life for my dream. I would drop everything. What methods do you use for getting ready for a role? I think me ritual changes for every show that Im in, because my charac ter changes between every show. Ive played roles where I would play a deranged mother where her child was taken away from her. I have to make myself reallyemotionally available. And for someone who protects that a lot, wanting to convey that feeling to an audience, costs me something, and so I have to pretty much take my ribs and rip them open, to get to a very vulnerable place before I get on stage. Besides that I just drink water, warm ups, always stretch. If youre not willing to commit to that level youre not an actor. I also have this ring that was given to me when I was around 12. But for some reason that ring is my charm. If Im not wearing it, its in my dressing room and in my box. And my grandmothers gold bracelet. How does music influence your acting? Ive been classically trained as a singer the past 10 years, and I never knew theatre was an option for me. I just really enjoyed singing, and performing. But I think of the stage until I had the chair of the music department of USCA and she said I want your voice in my show. The next summer I started doing shows, and theres not been a year since I havent been in a musical, play, acting class, etc.