American Musical and Dramatic Academy Rehyan A.

Rivera Correa C2 Ray Virta-Acting

Life Study Exercise

During this study Ive started watching people and the irst things I notice now are how they di er rom me! in posture! "reath! and how they carry themselves. I used to not pay a lot o attention to the posture o a person! "ut now I ind that there are many more ways to carry onesel . I used to notice only the most e#treme cases! "ut now I can ind discrepancies in people who I would have thought moved the same! or wal$ed the same! or had the same posture. %or e#ample! while loo$ing or a su"&ect in the "allet school that was staying at the 'trat! at irst I assumed that "eing "allet students they would have the same alignment! theyd "e pulled up! and turned out all the time! and wal$ with theyre noses up. As I o"served! I saw that within themselves! even though they were mostly pulled up! and very straight most o the time! the "ody weight seemed to rest in di erent places! the head was angled di erently! and when they were rela#ed the weight o the "ody didnt always rest at the "alls o the eet li$e I thought it would! and (gasp)! they D* slouch when theyre sitting! unless they thin$ some"odys watching them. %or my +i e 'tudy! I chose a +atin American employee rom the dumpling cart I re,uent on -2nd 'treet. I dont see many people who are not rom AMDA on a regular "asis !so loo$ing or a su"&ect! he was the one that irst came to mind. I also thought a"out using one o the "allet students! "ut I wanted to trans orm into someone who was su"stantially di erent to me in posture and presence. .es in his late twenties or early thirties and always seems cheer ul. .e treats all the clients with respect and always has a smile! even i at times he seems very tired! or unhappy! hell put on a smile "e ore greeting a new customer. .e usually wor$s there on the a ternoons! and Ive only seen him on "rea$ once! so most o my o"servation has "een o him standing or leaning! Ive only seen him sit down once! "ut I o"served details o his posture while seating in order to recreate them. /he "reathing o this person di ers rom mine in that he "reathes rom his upper ri"cage! e#panding it upwards and to the sides. /he "reath seems shallow! and the e#halation is ast and sometimes strong. /han$s to the ast e#halation it seems li$e hes tired all the time. /he head is mostly held orward rom the nec$! and its held in a low position! the nec$ is not entirely e#tended. /he corners o the mouth o ten twitch to resem"le a smile when his ace is otherwise neutral and his "row is lowered as i it was heavy most o the time. During e#halation his ri"cage and shoulders come down ast and stay there a while as he inhales slowly again! his mouth rela#es as he e#hales. 0hen hes not doing any particular activity his e#halation stops "eing as rushed and his pattern turns more rhythmical (his inhale and e#hale last almost the same). 0hen hes a"out to spea$ he e#hales all his air in a ast motion and inhales ast in order to "egin tal$ing. /he only

sounds that are associated with his "reathing come out when he "ends to pic$ something up! he lets out all the air! and sometimes theres a small moan! other than that! and the sound o his e#hale! the "reath is silent. And as I said "e ore! the e#hale ma$es it seem as i hes tired all the time! i the corners o his mouth didnt twitch his 1neutral2 e#pression would seem sad. .e is a man o "igger proportions that I am! and his weight seems to "e distri"uted around his pelvic area and lower a"domen. .is head is usually orward and low on his nec$! his shoulders are mostly rela#ed down! "ut pushed slightly orward closing the torso. .is hips are turned out! and so are his eet! $nees are rela#ed. .is lower spine is curved orward when he stands. 0hen hes leaning on something! his upper "ac$ slouches more as his shoulders get more orward. In his stance! the nec$! the lower a"domen and lower "ac$ seem tense! other than that! the rest o the "ody seems rela#ed. .is $nees are unloc$ed! and his shoulders are rela#ed down and orward (instead o "ac$). /he weight o the "ody seems to rest on the heels o the eet when hes standing! it seems to "alance on the act that he leads with his pelvis3a"domen! i he rested his weight on the rontal part o his eet he would come o -"alance. .is arms are rela#ed rom the shoulders down! and the weight o his hands ta$es over the use o his wrists ( he lets his hands hang rom the wrists). 0hen hes handling something! li$e a "ottle o sauce or a spatula he lets the weight o it all on his wrist instead o using the wrist muscles to hold it up! so it rests at an odd angle on his hands. .e also slightly li ts the shoulder o the arm hes using to pour things! so he ends up using his whole arm or the movement o pouring. .e lets the weight o the arms slump the upper "ac$ (along with his nec$). .is spine is not in correct alignment at all! it is a pronounced 1'2 shape. *nce the "reath is integrated with the posture it seems to e#plain the pushing o the e#hale! since the a"domen is engaged in holding the weight the lungs cant support the inta$e o o#ygen and its pushed out rapidly! it also ma$es or very shallow "reathing. %or my study! I chose to trans orm into my su"&ect on an ordinary day! getting ready to go wor$. I will use most o the scenarios I saw him in! +eaning! standing! pouring something! seating! etc. 4ut the scenario will "e what I imagine his home to "e li$e. It starts with him getting cereal! a "owl! and mil$ rom his pantry. 5ouring the cereal and mil$ into the "owl! eating a ew mouth uls o it on the counter! then inishing the "owl o at the couch as he watches /.V.! he goes "ac$ to the $itchen to put away the "owl! the cereal and the mil$! gra"s his phone! and wallet rom the $itchen counter! and chec$ the time on the phone. .e then goes to sit down at the couch to put his shoes on! gra"s his hat rom a near"y chair! puts it on and i#es it. /hen he turns o the television! gra"s his $eys! e#its and loc$s the door "ehind him.