January 19th HPAG Workshop was Way Too Much FUN!!
Take a look at this group of super talented actors. I was just blown away by the work of these guys!
We did an acting exercise about playing the action. The actors were given an action to play and they had to build an improv around it. Susan in the red sweater was to be 'controlling'. Jennifer's action was to make her feel 'guilty'. It was really good.
Larry's Action in this improv was to let Kareema feel loved and appreciated. Kareema's action was to reject him. Very interesting.
IMPROVISATIONS
"The Shamin and the Yogi" with Tom and Jennifer. I set these up myself before the workshop. Tom plays a Shamin in India. Jennifer has traveled very far to seek out his wisdom, however, the wisdom he shares with her sounds more like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Things like "what you seek is no further than the tip of your nose. " Jennifer gets annoyed and accuses him of being a fake.
This improv was so cool because Tom and Jennifer both practice Yoga and they were chanting in unison at the top of the improv and the end of the improv. You could feel the spirituality surrounding them. Of course Tom looks super cool with his long hair. I loved the casting of this piece. So good!
She almost leaves and then decides to stay and chant with him some more. It was fascinating! :)
"BLACKMAIL" with Larry and Kerry. Larry and Kerry work for a very successful Investment Firm. Kerry has discovered that Larry is stealing money from his clients and stashing the money in a Swiss Bank account. $4 Million dollars worth. Larry tries to deny the claim and then he confesses that he say Kerry dressed very sexy at a Gentleman's Club and getting very intimate with the BOSS. He says "I'm sure that Mrs. Cramdon probably wouldn't be very happy to hear that." They have to come up with an agreement. Larry offers Kerry 1 percent of the 4 Million that he has to keep her mouth shut and she has to agree. Then she says she's going shopping! It was so funny and they did a great job unfolding the story! Great job guys!
"Presidential Invitation" with Kareema and Susan. Kareema has won a contest and has been invited to the White House to meet President Obama. Susan works for the White House and has been given the task to instruct Kareema the proper way to address the President when she meets him. Susan is nice to Kareema but slightly condescending and that is not lost on Kareema. She says "I'm sure President Obama is a lot nicer than you are, so I'll just go along with what you're saying." But Kareema never would shake Susan's hand and she was getting madder and madder. It was so great! :)
No way is Kareema shaking her hand! It was really funny!
COLD READINGS
"American Beauty" with Kerry and Tom. Tom plays a very patient husband who has given up on trying with his wife who is really quite neurotic. He has sold the family car to buy himself a 'mid life crisis car'. Kerry is wondering where the other car is. So keeps complaining about things and Tom says "When did you get so angry?" Kerry says she's not angry. They start to get romantic until she thinks that Tom is about to spill beer on their $4000 Italian Leather couch. It's really funny! They did the scene twice and they were much better the second time around. I loved it. Kerry was so funny and Tom was so chill.
"Adam's Rib" with Susan and Jennifer . Jennifer questions Susan about shooting her husband after she discovers his infidelities. She goes through the motions of how she bought the gun, got a lesson, called her husband to have lunch. He turned her down. Then she went to have lunch by herself and then basically stalked him and shot him when he left the building he works in. Susan was very matter of fact about the days events leading up to the shooting. Jennifer was great with her questions. The scene was very exciting to watch unfold.
"The Exes" with Tom and Larry. Tom plays a man who has slept with a Nun and is feeling very guilty about his indiscretions. Larry is a priest who hears Tom's confession and asks if the Nun has officially become a nun yet and Tom said no. Larry said, "She was a Novice then?" Tom responds "Naw, I don't think so!" It was a really cute and funny scene and the guys did it really well. :) Good casting!
"Ray Donovan" with Kerry, Tom and Kareema. Tom plays Ray Donovan who has the assignment to make a shooting look like a robbery. Kerry plays a singer who is having an affair with a high profile person and she gets shot. Word can't get out about their affair, so Ray has an idea of how to deal with it. Kerry plays the out of control singer who is worried about getting to her Concert and is sure she is going to die from this gunshot wound. Kareema plays Lena who makes sure that Kerry sticks to the 'story' that Ray (Tom) gave her. Kareema says "I've seen you sing before, you're really good." Kerry is flattered and almost forgets she been shot. It was a really fun scene. Great work!
"PERCEPTION" with Jennifer, Larry and Tom. Jennifer plays a very colorful Homeless woman in this scene. This table is her cardboard home. Larry is a detective who questions Jennifer about witnessing a murder. Tom was just an extra in the piece although very valuable because Jennifer was able to play off of him and Larry. Jennifer plays her as a crazy drunk homeless woman and she was so great. Once she's answered their questions and they get what they need from her, she insists on getting some booze to take off the edge. "Fill her up," she says handing him her cup! So good.
"Didn't anybody ever teach you how to knock", says Jennifer playing a drunk homeless woman.
Tom and Larry interrogate Jennifer!
Jennifer was so great in this scene!!! :)
"Secrets and Lies" with Larry and Susan. Larry and Susan play a very unhappily married couple. They clearly don't like each other and they are trying to cope with a problem. Someone is killing children in the neighborhood and they have two kids themselves. They are not sure how to deal with the problem. They are trying to find a new house to move too. These two just argue about everything. There is so much bad blood here.
"THE DIVIDE" with Jennifer, Kareema, and Tom. Jennifer plays a case worker for innocent prisoners who comes to question a married couple about the possible innocence of their son who was accused of murder. Tom is the dad and he is confused about the fact that his son could be innocent of the crime he's been accused of. So many years have passed. It doesn't seem right. Jennifer has information that it could have been someone who was doing work on the house that committed the crime. This scene was super intense. Especially between Jennifer and Tom. It was like watching live TV. I really loved it!
Really nice moments between Tom and Jennifer!!
"Stranger Than Fiction" with Kerry and Kareema. Kerry plays a fiction writer who is trying to kill off her lead character but not sure how to do it. Kareema has been brought to help Kerry with her writers block. Kerry is smoking too many cigarettes and clearly having a hard time with this book. Kareema convinces her that she has a successful track record in the area of being a muse and lists all the things that she will do for Kerry. Kerry relents and the two begin working together. The scene was so perfect for these two that I asked them to get off book for this coming Sunday's workshop. Loved it!! ;) x. Kelly
And there you have it!! Another fabulous HPAG Workshop! If you haven't been to one of these workshops, you are truly missing out. I'm just saying! It's the best and most fun $20 you'll ever spend. So let me know when you want to come check it out! You'll be glad you did!
RELAX!!! IT'S ONLY ACTING!! It's supposed to be FUN!! Come play with us!
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