#soliliquy

[bat-volcano]

@pukicho i hope you forgive me but i took some creative liberty and gave Soliloquy hands

[fishadee]

soliliquy “soapy” pearlpluck (the gilgoblin) and daxx bleakfuze (the gnome) have very different opinions on fashion

and sizing

[taketimetolove]

@pukicho Sorry if it looks bad, but I was just scrollin thru tumblr and remembered these guys existed, so I made something.

[herramblingthoughts]

Filter

I created this page about 3 years ago so I could be unapologetic about my thoughts and experience. I assumed that being anonymous would allow for that. Yet I find myself filtering what gets put onto here, and I think the question of why that is needs to be addressed.

So this post a tad different to my previous posts. Rather than writing as if I’m talking to someone this piece is more of a dialogue with myself.

Why, in this anonymous medium, do I find myself colouring my words in manner that is easy for people to swallow. The intention behind this page was not to appeal to people, nor was it to get share my “story/thoughts” with a stranger. It was aimed towards me. It was supposed to be a medium through which I could be unapologetic about my feelings and sort the chaotic mess in my head without judgement. It was supposed to be a place where I did not have to justify my feelings and explain “why”. A guilt-free confession.

Yet I find myself breaking down my words into dissolvable chunks. Coated with unnecessary explanation, my words have an underlining tone of justification. Which means that there is a self-imposed filter that doesn’t allow me to use this page for its intended use.

I need to accept that, before being a sister, aunt, niece, daughter and friend, I am a human. I’m not perfect. I will do things I know that are wrong and I should not be doing. I will feel things that I should not be feeling. Sometimes I will know all of that but still follow the heart and dreams blindly. Maybe it’ll be a blessing or a lesson, but that is something I have to learn through the experience. I should not invalidate my feelings and action just because it doesn’t fit into what I perceive people perceive of me. It could be wrong, but it is also my feeling, which means it’s real. It could be wrong, but it is the step I’ve chosen, which means it is real.

It may not make sense (if anyone does actually read my posts) but this was not written with the intention of being understandable to others, its more like an internal monologue.

 -L 

[blissjuice]

So last year I wrote a story for English class, the prompt of which I had no memory of. Enjoy.

Buzzyboo and Roy

          In the midst of the 5.3km² Woods lived Buzzyboo and Roy. Buzzyboo lived in a tree, while Roy preferred to build his own house on the ground. Buzzyboo always wondered why. Buzzyboo had to ferociously tear the hot red flesh from unwary prey. Roy preferred to pick berries from the surrounding bushes and churn them into a meal. Buzzyboo always wondered why.

          One day, Buzzyboo brought back dinner, a well-destroyed blob of flesh. When he was finished, his throat was dry, and he needed water. Buzzyboo set off to the nearest watering hole to quench his undying thirst.

          Meanwhile, Roy was at home, simply drinking out of his water supply that he replenished every month. When Buzzyboo got back, he was astonished!

          “Roy, where did you get your water from?” questioned.

          “Why, I just gather 27 kiloliters each month,” replied Roy.

          “Oh my GOD Roy, stop using the metric system, this is the U.S. of A.”

          Roy cried for days, but on the bright side, his tears gave him an extra week of water. Buzzyboo felt bad about hurting Roy’s feelings. The drilling fangs of guilt bore through his being, but after a long two minutes, it went away, and he went back to his normal hunting schedule.

          Months later (about three water-refilling trips), Buzzyboo had lain his eyes on a female. His eyes began to protrude inches (and not centimeters) past his face like in a cartoon. That’s probably because this is meant to be a cartoon. Of course, Buzzyboo, without even thinking, commenced his mating dance. His really strange eyes and horrible dancing skills had scared off the beauty, so he went to contribute to the water supply.

          “Why doesn’t she love me? I totally got friend-zoned,” Buzzyboo sobbed. Suddenly the door flung open, and ex-President Ronald Reagan stormed inside.

          “The friend-zone doesn’t exist, women aren’t entitled to you, and stop whining!!!” he screamed at around 4 bels. He stormed back out, the door magically closing behind him.

          “He’s right, you know.” Roy stepped out from behind a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Adam Sandler. “You humans are the strangest things,” said Roy.

This is 100% word for word, grammatical errors and all. End my suffering.

[shakespearenews]

To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin That makes calamity of so long life; For who would fardels bear, till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane, But that the fear of something after death Murders the innocent sleep, Great nature's second course, And makes us rather sling the arrows of outrageous fortune Than fly to others that we know not of. There's the respect must give us pause: Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The law's delay, and the quietus which his pangs might take, In the dead waste and middle of the night, when churchyards yawn In customary suits of solemn black, But that the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns, Breathes forth contagion on the world, And thus the native hue of resolution, like the poor cat i' the adage, Is sicklied o'er with care, And all the clouds that lowered o'er our housetops, With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. But soft you, the fair Ophelia: Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, But get thee to a nunnery—go!

The Duke’s version of “To Be or Not to Be” in Huckleberry Finn.

Source. 

[bone-cement-huffer]

I really like the word soliloquy and idk why. It just sounds really cool.

[tripptalk-blog-blog]

John Barton’s ‘Playing Shakespeare’, Chapters 1-5 Reading Notes and Main Points of Discussion

Chapter One: The Two Traditions

Elizabethan and Modern Acting

LOOKING TO THE TEXT FOR DIRECTION

Best advice is Hamlet’s speech to the players (A3 S2) ‘Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue’ 

In Elizabethan theatre the actors knew how to use and interpret the hidden direction Shakespeare himself provided’ (Barton 1984:4).

-          To do this an actor can look at ‘the basics’ discussed in my previous blog post for the hidden direction. E.g if there is PARENTHESIS, inflect upwards or down.

-          Much of it is instinct/guesswork, distinguishing between what is clearly and objectively so, and what is subjective

Barton comments that the methodologies we use to analyse Shakespeare are limited by the fact that we are a product of our time; this could go back to the idea that in todays society we do not trust the art of ‘oratory’, as we feel we have to psychoanalyse everything the orator is saying. (Obsessed with Freud, cinema, television, Stanislavski). We are obsessed with psychoanalysis and asking why did Shakespeare do this, why did Shakespeare do that? Why does Hamlet do this? Why did Hamlet do that? Instead of just trusting his use of language to direct our voices and in turn discover a characters thought process –goes back to the concept of ‘thesis’.

Barton poses the problem: Modern actors have obsessions with objectives, characterisation, and motivation in our search for the ‘real’ portrayal of life.

Elizabethans were more concerned with playing the quality of the speech as opposed to the intentions behind it- this is why we must look at the clues within the language to start with when approaching performing Shakespeare.

However Mckellen points out that Hamlet states

‘don’t be too theatrical’, ‘the motive and the cue for passion’

This begs the question, did Elizabethan actors also search for naturalist portrayals? Mckellen suggests that acting which draws on a psychological process into a character is not a modern process, but the terminologies that we have applied (such as motivation an intentions) are.

‘they did instinctively what we do consciously and intellectually’ (Barton 1984:13).

-          No director in our sense of the word

-          Little evidence of what happened in the rehearsal process

-          Actors looked to text (cue scripts) for direction

  CHARACTERISATION AND NATURALISTIC SPEECH

Comparisons with Marlowe, Kyd and Lyly

‘unconscious inventor both of characterisation in depth and naturalistic speech’ (ibid)

Shakespeare kick started our acting traditions, (or was it his actors?) Which look psychologically, therefore answers Bartons previous problem of modern actors obsession with motivation etc. As Shakespeares actors were already practising this type of work, just subconsciously and with direction from the text.

  Chapter Two: Using The verse

Heightened and Naturalistic Verse

  SHAKESPEARE THE ACTOR

Shakespeare was an actor; his verse helps the actor to:

-          Retain the text through rhythm and patterns

-          Phrasing

-          Acting hints

-          Be more concise, particular and exact

-          Musicality more attractive to listen to/ helps the actor retain audience attention

Because he is not around to tell modern actors how exactly the verse helps them, actors have choices to make, once these clues and hints are identified, in how they are going to use them to find the characters thought process and make the audience understand. That is why ‘clues’ is a good term to use as the actor is never 100% sure that you are analysing the text right.

  IAMBIC PENTAMETER

-          Possibly used because of the breathing differences in indoor and outdoor theatre

-          Actors should be conscious of it in initial rehearsals but not in performance

The blank verse should work on in your subconscious once you have got to the stage of ignoring it in rehearsal, after the analysis of the text for Shakespeare’s clues and hints

‘Audience has as much of a right to expect us to be faithful to his text as they would to hear an orchestra pay the right notes in the right time’ (Barton 1984:53)

  Chapter Three: Language and Character

Making the Words Ones Own

  Contemporary differences in pronunciation:

-          War/ wahrre

-          Eye/ ay-ee

-          Time/ tay-eme

Mix of west coast Ireland, West Cointry and American

  ANTITHESIS

‘Look for the antithesis of words and play them’ (Barton 1984:66)

Shakespeare thought antithetically, set the word itself against the word

An actor must give weight to the antithesis , set up the first word so that the other can antithesis it

  INFLECTION

‘By inflecting, you, as it were, keep the ball in the air from line to line’ (Barton 1984:69)

The actor must make sure not to insult the audiences intelligence, whilst inflecting in the right places to create the right sense.

  Chapter Four: Using the Prose

Why does Shakespeare use Prose

  -          Over 28% of Shakespeare is prose

-          Prose has rhythms, but there is not set rhythm

‘Key words have to be served up’ (Barton 1984:89)

If the actor does not find the rhythms there will be a loss of energy, definition and clarity. The actors must look for the strong stresses, antithesis, and parenthesis and sense the rhythm in that. Barton states that there is always a dramatic reason to prose and Shakespeare is directing the actors with his switch from verse to prose, but the actor has to find the reason why he is doing it due to the fact that Shakespeare is inconsistent in his changes, consequently there is no specific rule.

  Chapter Five: Set Speeches and Soliloquies

Taking the Audience With You

Most set speeches break into three;

-          pick up something in the immediate situation an respond to it

-          explore the situation (the bulk of the speech)

-          resolve what’s been explored, come to some conclusion or perhaps decide there is no conclusion

‘if you’re doing a speech on an empty stage, why are you doing it? You can’t be telling yourself things you already know?’ (Barton 1984:118)

The whole point of the speech is to share it with the audience (breaking of the fourth wall). The actor must find the thought process of the speech, which they can do by breaking it into three as Barton discusses, in order to understand and manifest it for the audience.

Barton, J. (1984) Playing Shakespeare: An Actor's Guide: New York: Anchor Books