Attention Essays

What did Stanislavski mean by Imagination and Concentration/Attention Essays What did Stanislavski mean by Imagination and Concentration/Attention Paper What did Stanislavski mean by Imagination and Concentration/Attention Paper Stanislavski, referred to by many in the world of theatre as the dominant influence on actor training today, had many views and techniques he believed were necessary for an actor to feel or follow in order to be fully prepared for a role. All of these ideas and approaches to acting were directly part of the Stanislavski system. Imagination was key in his system in order to turn the play into a theatrical reality through invention. In conjunction with the magic if which can be interpreted as belief. For example, if this piece of paper was really an injured bird, then what would it look like? How would it feel? Why is it injured? It leads the actor to create details and facts about a certain object or character, which in turn make the situation easier to believe in. Personally when doing this exercise and watching as the bird was passed around the room, each person adding more detail to the situation, my belief in the bird heightened and I became more involved in the situation. Sympathy was evoked for the bird by one girl, showing that the exercise was working for many of us. Every new fact acted as a fixation to the imagination and intensified out belief. The If is magic because it gives the imagination that stimulatory nudge which will excite the actor into action. What was interesting was that before we were told exactly what the piece of paper was, the group thought that we were going to have to imagine something for ourselves, which would have been a lot harder. This showed me that I found it easier working with a preconceived idea, oppose to creating myself and entirely new one. For me, this meant that although I began to believe in the bird, perhaps imagining situations is not as easy as one may think, which is why circumstances and the magic if help a lot when imagining a situation. In An Actor Prepares, Stanislavski sets this out perfectly with I am I; but if I were and old oak tree, set in certain surrounding conditions, what would I do? In the preparation of a role this is crucial. In order to establish the realistic style of acting Stanislavski wanted to achieve, an actor must draw upon the realistic reactions of himself, and incorporate them into the role. Not only will this add to the depth of the character, it will make the audience relate more to the character. By asking questions about the role, it becomes explored until the actor knows and can understand why his character reacts in certain ways, or why he is there, how he came to be there etc. Therefore, the role becomes believed rather than pretended; the actor becomes the character. As Stanislavski said, parts in the play are the invention of the authors imagination, a whole series of ifs and given circumstances thought up by him. There is no such thing as actuality on stage. And this is true even when acting events in history, as the actor still has to imagine what it would have been like and ask questions about the character, as with the bird i. e. why am I here? It is not merely about the actor learning his lines as these will give him no ideas of their thoughts, feelings or impulses. All this must be made fuller and deeper by the actor. In this creative process imagination leads the actor. When preparing a role, research therefore had to be done into every aspect of the character. Imagination helps to set up a background, setting and tone for every scene and most importantly an explanation that is crucial for an actor to realize. Stanislavski states that when creating a role, you should first gather all the materials that have a bearing on it, and supplement them with more and more imagination. For example, if I was preparing the role of Masha in Chekhovs Three Sisters, I would want to explore the thoughts and motives and explanations behind Mashas language and expression. In conjunctions with this would be the Russian culture and her standing within her family. When fully satisfied with all that only the text could tell me, imagination would be set free and I could explore her tones in certain scenes and pace. I would imagine in some scenes like her triste with Vershinin, she would be very excited in her speech but in others with Kulygin, perhaps more melancholy and slow. Then would improvisation occur when I would imagine how she would move around e. t. c. Extending the magic If allows greater opportunity for character exploration as I would investigate Mashas reactions to diverse situations. Extending my imagination to the extent that I am completely at ease within my given circumstances allows me to become more relaxed on stage in the character. The use of Emotion Memory would be a vital part of preparing for playing the role of Masha. Sincerity of emotions, feelings that seem true in the given circumstances that is what we ask of a dramatist A fundamental part of creating the role would be in making the portrayal appear realistic and believable. By drawing experienced emotions together into a kind of reservoir, actually experiencing an emotion as I am acting would add to the appearance of Masha being real. For example, when Masha argues with her sisters, she is feeling lonely, hurt and angry. On stage I would be really experiencing these emotions, but they would not necessarily stem from the same situations. That is to say, for instance, the feelings of pain would not have to be the result of my love leaving me to be with his wife. All of this linked to the idea of creating a natural character on stage, in order to step away from the unrealistic style of acting before the late 1880s. Imagination can be used to create places familiar to ourselves, or to create fantasy situations. Both are important for an actor to accomplish as often it is harder to act on something in which you have no experience and it is necessary to create a difference between pretending and believing in a role. For example, when given the scenario of cooking a meal in a kitchen, instantaneously I imagined my own kitchen and began cooking as I would there i. e. with the stove in the same place, cupboards and drawers. This was simple to believe as I know my kitchen very well and found myself nudging drawers closed and other habits that I do in my kitchen. If I were to perform in a kitchen, I would most certainly use my own imagination to aid in a realistic portrayal of one as I see it. The situations in which we were put became more and more diverse, and as my experiences in those areas diminished, I found it much harder to imagine exactly as when in my kitchen what was happening or what the surroundings were like. Feeling the emotion in these situations was harder than believing or pretending the exercise was real, as although I had felt these emotions before, they were not as intense. Therefore, imagination is key in order to recall and keep fresh past events in an actors mind so the feelings can be replicated in new circumstances when needed. Stanislavski dais, Although our feelings and emotional experiences are changeable and incapable of being grasped exactly, images are much more easily and firmly fixed in our visual memories and can be recalled at will. One scenario placed us all on a train station in Brazil and asked us to create our own characters in an environment which is unfamiliar. This was difficult to imagine the totally unfamiliar as I have never seen a station in Brazil so naturally reverted back to my local station which was more comfortable to imagine and therefore act. The character creation and hence reactions to certain situations we were given had to be in character. I found this simple to act as I imagined my own reactions to circumstances and then incorporated those into what the created character would have. This I definitely did when we were told that our younger brother had died in front of us. It was hard to portray what my exact emotions would have been, however I did find myself on the brink of tears as undoubtedly I would be. As I have a younger brother, I found that the idea of his loss left me with intense emotions, however, if I were an only child I think it would have been harder to visualise such a feeling. The use of imagination and the magic if to create these circumstances and add emotions and detail to a play or sketch were highlighted greatly here. Concentration and attention helps the actor become completely absorbed in his work and therefore to forget the audience and other distractions, conquering their fear of the black hole of the auditorium. Concentration is helped greatly by imagination, belief magic if. If an actor can imagine completely that he is a certain character and become solely involved in it, it will seem as though nothing else is around. What is a performance will no longer seem so, and the actors attention remains fixed on what he is doing. The magnet of the audience is more powerful than many imagine. I myself know how fear of being ridiculed has made me more contained in my emotion when performing to others. When faced with an entire theatre full of people, watching your every move and prepared to criticise, it is no wonder that some find it hard to concentrate on their acting. As Stanislavski said, In order to get away from the auditorium you must be interested in something on the stage, be this the perfo rmance, your character, or point on your colleagues face. Whatever it is, an actor must have a point of attention not in the auditorium in order to not be sucked into the black hole. Even simple acts can become forced or strained when repeated on stage in front of hundreds of people so for an actor, it is necessary to learn how to walk or talk without the self-conscious nature we are all born with, or wondering why is that person looking at me? Therefore, when next on stage, it was seem more of a normality to be there oppose to in the general public. However, in performances, actors act together not alone. Stanislavski was aware that many performers tend to stop acting, or lose their concentration when they are not the main characters in a scene or when someone else is talking. Such performers make a great effort when they are speaking but not when they are listening. This tendency destroys the through line and causes the performer to move into and out of a role. That, in turn, weakens the sense of the ensemble the playing together of all the performers. Therefore, concentration is about what is happening on stage also, not only to overcome audience fear. Therefore, when preparing and rehearsing a role, an actor must become concentrated on being attentive to an object on stage and forgetting the auditorium/audience. However, there is a danger of becoming too concentrated on an object and therefore losing the realistic appearance on stage. Letting your attention wander around stage is more realistic than a singular stare. Stanislavski referred to the extent or range of concentration as a circle of attention. This circle of attention can be compared to a circle of light on a darkened stage. The performer should begin with the idea that it is a small, tight, circle including only himself or herself and perhaps one other person or one piece of furniture. When the performer has established a strong circle of attention, he or she can enlarge the circle outward to include the entire stage area. In this way performers will stop worrying about the audience and lose their self-consciousness. As a result, concentration can help and actor to overcome fear of the audience, and as such make their performance more realistic. Perhaps in Three Sisters the piano would be good to let your attention wander upon, or out of the placed window. Especially for Irina who in the first Act is very nostalgic, concentration and attention would be crucial to have. Irina is supposed to look far-away and lost in her own thoughts, so if I was playing her, I would be pausing upon objects to examine before turning my attention to something else. Concentration can make the actor seem more relaxed and therefore the character will be played more freely. In conclusion, imagination and concentration/attention can greatly aid the preparation of a role. Together, they make the outward behaviour of the performer gestures, voice, and the rhythm of movements- natural and convincing. The actor conveys the goals and objectives-the inner needs of a character. Even if all the visible manifestations of a character are mastered, a performance will appear superficial and mechanical without a deep sense of conviction and belief. The life of the character onstage is made not only dynamic but continuous. Some performers tend to emphasize only the high points of a part; in between, the life of the character stops. In real life, however, people do not stop living. Imagination greatly helps the character to be continuous in conjunction with the magic if. Lastly they help to develop a strong sense of ensemble playing with other performers in a scene, and the interactions between them as all actins onstage have a purpose. The self-consciousness becomes lost and a more realistic portrayal of a character can be set free.

The Murder of Anchorwoman Ann Pressly

The Murder of Anchorwoman Ann Pressly On October 20, 2008, Anne Pressly, a popular morning anchorwoman at KATV television, was found badly beaten in the bedroom of her home in the Pulaski Heights section of Little Rock. She was found by her mother who went to check on her after she failed to answer a wake-up call. Every bone in her face was broken, her jaw was shattered and she broke her hand will trying to fight off her attacker. She died five days later as a result of her injuries without regaining consciousness. Recent Developments Man Convicted in Anchorwomans Murder Previous Developments Judge Refuses to Delay Anchorwoman Case Trial Anchorwoman Suspect Says Police Tricked HimOct. 8, 2009An Arkansas man accused of the murder of a popular Little Rock television anchorwoman testified that the police used threats and tricks to get him to confess to the crime and give different versions of what happened. Suspect in Anchorwoman Death Refuses ExaminationJune 16, 2009An Arkansas man accused of the murder of a popular Little Rock television anchorwoman has refused to undergo a court-ordered mental examination. Court papers said Curtis Lavelle Vance refused the exam, but he did so in a rational manner. Accused Anchorwoman Killer Faces EvaluationMay 5, 2009The man facing trial for killing a popular Little Rock television news anchor will face a mental evaluation at the request of his attorneys. Curtis Lavelle Vance is charged with the murder of Anne Pressly. Anchorwomans Accused Killer Charged in RapeApril 11, 2009The man accused of killing a popular Little Rock, Arkansas television anchorwoman has entered a not guilty plea to rape and burglary in a separate case. Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, was linked to the rape in his hometown of Marianna by DNA evidence collected in the Ann Pressly case, police said. Parents Say Pressly Was Sexually AssaultedDec. 1, 2008The parents of a television anchorwoman who was beaten to death in her home say she was also sexually assaulted. Anne Pressly was beaten so badly her jaw was shattered and she broke her hand trying to defend herself, her parents told NBCs Today show. DNA Links Murder Suspect to Earlier RapeNov. 28, 2008The Arkansas man arrested for the murder of a popular television anchorwoman in Little Rock has been linked through DNA evidence in that case to the rape of a school teacher in April. Curtis Lavelle Vance, 28, is being held without bond for the murder of Anne Pressly. Man Charged in Anchorwomans Beating DeathNov. 26, 2008A 28-year-old Arkansas man has been arrested in the death of a popular Little Rock television anchorwoman who was found beaten in her home in October. Curtis Lavelle Vance of Marianna was charged with capital murder in the death of 26-year-old Anne Pressly. Reward Offered for Clues in Anchorwomans MurderOct. 25, 2008A $30,000 reward is being offered for information in the case of an Arkansas television anchorwoman who was found brutally beaten in her home last week. Anne Pressly, 26, died from the injuries that she received in the apparent home-invasion robbery a week ago.

Apply Critical Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Apply Critical Thinking - Essay Example In childhood education literature we also witness ‘non sequitors’, which is an attempt to create a cause and effect relationship where none exists. For example, the claim that, since enrolments to schools have increased over time the overall standards must have also gotten better is a non-sequitor. Empirical studies show no correlation between these two parameters. ‘Faulty Analogy’ is comparing apples with oranges. To say that public schooling will fail in the USA because it has failed to impress in China or India is a faulty analogy. One has to also take into account the economic, social, cultural and political conditions that bear upon educational outcomes. ‘Equivocation’ is the deliberate attempt to confuse the reader by obscuring one’s position on the subject. A policy maker or legislator who says that public schooling should be encouraged while also supporting government austerity measures is guilty of equivocating. Equivocation is c losely tied to logical contradiction. Finally, a commonly found fallacy in childhood education literature is that of ‘petitio principii’, also called ‘begging the question’. If proponents of the existing education system are correct in their praise of the system, it then begs the question why American children fare poorly in comparison to their counterparts in Western European

Analyse your online presence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analyse your online presence - Essay Example The question that has come up today is whether in reality the images that people have on the social networks are their real images in the society. Indeed, the images portrayed in the online presence are virtually different from the real images of the people in society. Facebook is a social site that has garnered a lot of favoritism from its subscribers since the day it was launched back in the year 2004. Today this social site has attracted over a billion users and the rate is subscription is increasing tremendously. Just like other social sites, Facebook has revolutionized to become an accommodating service that diversified users can use to meet their specific needs. The service now allows users to have access to marketing pages, make video and voice calls, share their opinions, message and even follow your favorite friends (Ryan, 2011). When I learnt about Facebook after my high school education, I was excited by the fact that this was a celebrity site that already existed among nu merous members of my social spheres. I admired the kind of fun that this site was offering to its users but with less exposure to the internet I remained passive in the matter although was already building from my colleagues who were already accessing the site. One year after my school education, I finally had a better phone and more access to the netculture and this was the best platform to start my account. One of the reasons why I decided to join Facebook and not any other site is because it was one of the famous sites in the world today and it was the term in the words of many youths during this period. Secondly, I was fascinated by the flexibility of this site and the numerous services that I could enjoy from this site. The first dialogue box in the Facebook account was â€Å"what’s on your mind† a feature that I like because I could update my message of the day and all my friends would respond to this message, and we would spend a whole day replying to these mess ages. Also, I was able to choose share personalized message with my friends through the Inbox option and this was this was a private and secure service that concealed most of my private life. Later, when I learnt that I could make a video call with my Facebook account, I found myself more attached to a free wireless internet service that provided in my college. In a nutshell, Facebook has remained a favorite site that has, as I intended, kept me relevant in the social circles. Today, the dynamic internet culture has led to the development of multiple social sites that are specific in functionality and that offer a wide range of services that are synchronized to its primary purpose. While social sites such as twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp are dominated by socialites, others such as Linked In is meant for career purposes and is dominated by professional seeking to share more professional information. Payton and Claypoole (2012) have pointed out to the multi-identity nature of the peo ple in their online presence. Principally it is impossible to tell the identity of a person from their online presence as the media provides the people with the chance to make virtual images of themselves that may not at all reflect their image in the society. While a person may appear naked in one on social sites, they may look totally different in a more professional site

Reducing Violence in Society Essay Example for Free

Reducing Violence in Society Essay Finn’s that â€Å"we really understand the market only when we examine it within its [full] political, social, and cultural context† (p. 144). His use of the term the â€Å"moral ecology of markets† refers to his concept that markets involve complex interactions among a wide range of social factors that must be studied like an ecological system. Finn has identified four areas of morality:(1) government imposed constraints to markets that prevent market abuses, also they various opinions from left and right hinge on where fences should be built (2) the provision of essential goods and services to all persons, that means to redress distributional shortcomings of the market and balanced the demand and supply. (3) the morality of individuals and groups to restrain individual pursuit of self-interest by virtue. 4) the presence of civil society, in other worlds voluntary associations of individuals to achieve common goals. He suggests, is not between addressing these problems through totally free markets on the one hand, or some sort of centrally planned system on the other, since all real-world economic systems include some mix of markets and government involvement. Market systems provide some boundaries that limit or prohibit certain practices, and planned economies allow some decisions to be made by individuals. For all points of view from left to right, the assessment of justice will depend not only on the structure for markets themselves but also on the context of markets. Finn provides an economic defense of self-interest and market. Because he tried to believe that libertarians seek to defend markets without recourse to moral claims. However, they have failed eventually, because any defense of markets necessarily involves some moral claims, and indeed libertarians do accept some claims, though often implicitly. So that Finn proposes the â€Å"four problems of economic life†Ã¢â‚¬â€allocation, distribution, scale, and quality of relations—which all economic systems must address. The economic problems are interrelated, and attempts to solve on can have a beneficial or detrimental effects on the others. Begins with the â€Å"construction of fences† that defines the bounds of allowable market fences. They allow the established fences people are free to pursue their own interests. Simultaneously, USA people agree that current market fences are morally sufficient to prevent abuses. Since Finn argues that do acting on self-interest within the game is allowed. The executives should be responsible to shareholders and employees. It is not just corporation get profits as a main purpose, but also managers should consider others. For example a company had shortage, executives does not lay off its workers during a downturn in demand but rather reduces the wages and salaries of company employees, because everybody has right to pursue their self-interest. Employees also need to pay for their family or terrible life. Also, each person have desire to pursue self-interest in social and allow do acting within rules what they made, like the â€Å"construction of fences†, the multi-national corporation should obligate to treat all teams be fair. Finn’s arguments are not convincing. I do not think Finn’s account of self-interest promote mutual understanding. First, Finn’s account of self-interest fails to recognize that in most market exchanges neither the buyer nor the seller takes explicit account of his or her self-interest, nor the interest of others, but each simply â€Å"goes about his or her business. For example if I back to home and by the way go to supermarket to buy fruits and milk, I make calculations nor do I consider tradeoffs. I simply select the items, pay my bill, and head for home. I pursue my self-interest because I base my decision on factors such as convenience, bargains, but how often do â€Å"abuses† arise on account of self-interested behavior ? Second, Finn’s account of self-interest is that he seems to equate self-interested behavior with market behavior. A government officer might seek to enlarge his budget, or the number of workers reporting to him, so as to increase his salary.

Cuisine Essay -- Health, Food

A cuisine cannot simply be defined as a particular group of food associated with a geographic location. To understand a cuisine equal understanding of the culture to which it belongs must exist. A culture, such as the population of Italy, manipulates the presentation and substances of a cuisine to something representative of that culture. This makes a cuisine much more than food on a plate; a cuisine includes history, both of those making the dish and the ingredients and cooking styles that form the final product. A cuisine includes pride of nationality and personality. Similarly culture is more than a geographic location; it is a way of living and a respect for a group of beliefs and traditions. To understand this relationship between culture and cuisine certain information must be addressed; information such as the demographic figures surrounding a culture, the specific effect Italian culture has on Italian food, as well as the ingredients and cooking skills applied in the Italian cuisine. Consequences of the Italian cuisine will also be identified, both nutritional value and health detriments and how these effects may continue into the future. Cuisine can be split into two stages: pre-swallow and post-swallow (Crotty 1995). Pre-swallow is based around social aspects of cuisine (Gallegos 2011) such as who does the cooking and why people eat the food that they eat. Post-swallow is concerned with the effects food has once eaten; post-swallow also deals with the nutritional and health impacts that food has on consumers. When deconstructing a cuisine it becomes clear that demographic information plays an important role in the pre-swallow stage. Gender, age, location, religion and government influence all have a contribution to s... ... continue to rise. A symptom of obesity, cardiovascular disease, remains the highest cause of death in Italy at 16% (World Health Organisation 2006) followed by cerebrovascular disease, better known as a stroke, at 14%. Both of these diseases are caused by diet, particularly a high cholesterol diet and with western food chains such as McDonalds becoming more entrenched in Italian culture it is reasonable to believe these causes of death will remain the same into the future unless a regression into healthy local Italian cuisine is taken. To conclude, Italy is a diverse location both in terms of geographic regions and cultural traditions, it is only fitting that it has a diverse cuisine, full of history, religion and most important of all the soul of the Italian people. Its mark on world cuisine through innovation and passion last a long time.

Nature of Poverty Essay

The nature of poverty can be described in many ways. The obvious way to explain poverty is the lack of income. However, in the deeper meaning, poverty also includes those who lack of security, healthcare, power, and other basic necessities. Poverty can be categorised in terms of absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is household based measure by income per year under a statistic developed by government which will aid those who are poor by giving them money depending on the number of members in the family on a yearly basis. While, relative poverty focus on people’s living with no statistic. For instance, if a family has 10 members but they have only 3 cars, they can be regarded as poor. Nevertheless, there are three common methods that use to measure the level of poverty. The first method defines poverty as a lack of income, which can be measured by World Bank. The absolute poverty for this case is a cut up point above or below the certain amount of income. Yet, this method has a major drawback. Since it focuses solely on income and ignoring other important factors such as social well-being or the general welfare of people, this method fails to provide the whole aspect of poverty. Secondly, UNDP measures poverty in terms of the lack of capability. It is known as Human Poverty Index that indicates the standard of living of the people in the country, which are life expectancy, life satisfaction, and footprint. This method provide not only deeper but also broader ways of measuring and assessing poverty. It looks pass the income factor and takes into consideration the non-monetary aspects, which generate the more well-rounded information and results. However, there are some critics that this method cannot truly measure the level of the poor since statistics and numerals are unable to measure people’s feelings. It is said that we cannot know how others feel unless we walk in their shoes, therefore, in order to get the accurate result, living with the poor is required. Lastly, poverty as a social exclusion is mentioned by Robert Chambers about the nature of poverty. Chambers introduces the bottom-up theory, which suggests that people should actually work with the rural poor who lack of power to speak out, security, and live with fears. Therefore, the approach is carried out to get an in depth understanding of what are the real meanings of poverty by associating directly with the poor. By this view, Chambers tends to provide qualitative method while other methods are quantitative based. Although this method  provides useful information of the poor, there are few flaws to be considered. Because the outcome is mainly based on qualitative methods such as verbal communication, there is a high tendency that the outcome will be bias. Moreover, snapshot may occur. For example, the interview conducted during the harvest season might get a better result than the actual reality. Therefore, the long-term picture should be taking into account in order for the outcome to be more anthological and longitudinal. Another problem is that people may not be honest, which is called courtesy bias. This way people will only answer what the researchers want to hear and leave the truth out. Thus, sometimes researchers may ask them to draw the picture of their life, which turns out to be a better way to get the real answer. Chambers talks more about vulnerability and isolation of people. For example, the poor cannot transport to sell the goods. In conclusion, there are several ways to measure the level of poverty. Three most common methods are the lack of income, HPI by UNDP (lack of capability) and social exclusion by Robert Chambers. Each method uses different viable and factors to indicate the level of poverty, all have their own advantages and criticisms. Therefore, each one is suitable and appropriate in different situations and purposes. However, in my opinion, even though, the lack of income method might be easier to measure and assess, the social exclusion theory by Robert Chambers could provide the real well-being of people since it includes the important of non-monetary factors that are crucial for the welfare of people.