Then, it happened. Yesterday, I was walking along 7th Ave with my acting partner, heading toward the studio on 37th St. We passed a shoe store, and I saw them in the window! The most adorable shoes I had seen in a long time were staring back at me. It was love at first sight. I literally squealed...just ask my acting partner. After class today, I went to try them on. It was like Cinderella and the glass slipper. They fit like a dream. The price was right. Sold! When I got to the counter, I was surprised to learn that they were even on sale! It was simply meant to be. My first NYC shoe purchase. Here they are!
On Monday, I was uplifted by not one, but two cards arriving in the mail. One was from Jeremy's Aunt JoAnne, just saying hello and letting me know she has been enjoying my blog. The other was from my in-laws, Janet & Steve. The front of that card has a picture of a woman wearing two different bright-colored, flowered flip-flops. It says..."Life is too short to be ordinary." Inside was a little magnet that can either go on the fridge or stand up on a flat surface. It reads..."If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it." I chose to stand the magnet up on my little computer desk in the apartment. It gives me extra motivation.
Acting class has been quite extraordinary. In the past week or so, myself and the majority of my classmates have experienced true "light bulb" moments...some from successes, some from failures, but all pretty intense. I've always been a very emotional being, definitely more of a feeler than a thinker. However, it has been astonishing how much this class, as well as the work I've been doing with my acting partner, has really opened me up even more to acting from my gut, going with my impulses, putting my focus on the other person and just "letting them happen to me." Not only do I feel it happening in myself, I can see it happening to other students in the class. It's quite a journey we are taking together.
It would be long and tedious for me to try to explain in detail the work and exercises we have been doing in class. (It would be more like a novel than a blog entry.) Maybe I can explain more when I get the chance to see some of you face to face. In the meantime, if anyone is really curious, I would suggest reading the book Sanford Meisner On Acting by Sanford Meisner and Dennis Longwell. It is the Meisner acting technique that is taught at the William Esper Studio, and Bill Esper studied with Sanford Meisner. The book follows one of Meisner's acting classes for 15 months and is written in sort of a "transcript" style, so you get a real feel for what went on in the classes (and what I'm experiencing here) and read actual interactions between Meisner and his students. It is not an excessively long book, and it is a very easy and engaging read. I think some of you might find it very interesting, and I think it's worth reading, even for those folks who don't pursue acting. Check it out!
One thing I will share from acting class, is a story that Suzanne Esper (my teacher) shared with us today. She was talking to us about the importance of taking risks, and she shared a story about a teenage girl who came to New York one summer to study dance at Martha Graham's studio. The teenagers would have their summer classes, and after class, they would all have to leave so that the dancers in Martha Graham's company could have class in the studio. One day, the girl decided to stay behind and hide out somewhere, so she could watch the dancers come into the studio. She did this, and no one saw her or said anything. So, the next day she was a little more courageous. She hung around and peeked in the door while Graham conducted the class. No one saw her or said anything. The next day, she managed to stick around and hide out behind the piano, watching Graham and her dance company from inside the studio. Feeling even bolder the next day, she stood in the back of the class to watch. At one point during the class, Graham had each of the dancers perform a combination across the floor, one by one. Each dancer moved across the floor, until they were all on one end of the studio...exposing this teenage girl who had snuck in to watch. Having been discovered, the girl proceeded to move across the floor, performing the dance combination as best she could. After she finished, Martha Graham walked over to her and said, "Live every moment of your life like that." Wow!
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