Lest We Forget
Last night, Mr. Willis read “Mr. Rose,” “The Doorway,” “The Berrington Bunny,” and “Lest We Forget,” and this was a very moving night. ¶ To start, I picked up new inspiration during the discussion on “The Doorway.” The timing is nearly perfect, for I have a presentation on the progress of the project, The Doorway Movie, next week. I will use this inspiration in my speech. ¶ This was the first time I heard Mr. Willis read “The Berrington Bunny.” It sounded familiar, and I found out why when Mr. Willis read “Lest We Forget.” ¶ “Lest We Forget” is a very intense, benevolent, and emotional account of a very unique and beautiful story, the life of Mr. Willis’s son, Colin. “The Berrington Bunny” is referenced in the story. ¶ I had many thoughts today. I was particularly influenced by the idea of learning to accept yourself and others for who and how you or they are. In addition, the concept of giving with “no strings attached” struck a vibrant chord. ¶ Our last essay, number four, is due next week. This is the reflective essay. I’m not sure exactly how to approach this one, but I had some ideas during class. ¶ Also, during class a former realization was reaffirmed and escalated. This realization is that I thoroughly enjoy the class. It is a similar sensation acquired from my first reading of Les Misérables, the unabridged version over five years ago. I developed such a strong relationship with the book that I didn’t want it to end, and I had the same feeling in class. Now, I tell myself, Les Misérables hasn’t ended. Jean Valjean’s character continues to influence me. This class will find a way to live on in myself, just as Jean Valjean, in Les Miserables, inspires my actions and Colin, in “Les We Forget,” inspires our hearts.
Wardrobe
Today, I took Shane out to get his character’s wardrobe. This included a sports jacket, dark striped shirt, jeans, and some shoes. ¶ Shane’s character, Joseph, is on the way to a job interview, and I am leaning away from the traditional office job for his character. I like the idea of his character being associated to the technology industry. Perhaps Joseph is a computer programmer, and he went to school with his best friend, Jordan. Maybe the job he is applying for is a start-up company that exercises very casual attire. Anyhow, I am very happy with the wardrobe and direction for Joseph. ¶ On another note, earlier today, I had another idea to work with for the shoot. If I need to, I can go out with Shane and shoot his telephone scenes without him speaking directly to the other characters. I would play the other characters while speaking with Shane, and I would also play opposite of the other characters, i.e., Shane’s character, when shooting their scenes. I would then splice the scenes together to make each scene work. This may be ideal since I am working with such a small team.
Rehearsals
There are two notes to this log. ¶ First, for last week, there was a confusion in our scheduled rehearsal date. Our rehearsal room was occupied when we arrived, so Shane, Jenn and I decided to drive out to lunch to discuss the project further. ¶ Second, we had our first rehearsal yesterday, low resolution cell phone pictures listed below. The objective was to get the crew used to being themselves in front of the camera and to adjust to thinking in the moment. Overall, the talented preformed as I expected. Shane displayed and ability to play and express a dynamic range of emotion and physical action, Jason did them same but in a more subtle and quizzical fashion, and Jenn followed suit by playing herself truthfully, which is exactly what I wanted. ¶ I informed the cast, we would began shooting in the coming weeks (note: shooting is rescheduled to next semester), and this would be our last team rehearsal meeting. 
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof & Author Quiz
Yesterday, I finished the Author Quiz and posted it on this page. Mr. Willis was very great full for and responsive to the quiz. He sent a link to the quiz in an email to the rest of the students. Mr. Willis playfully noted that he scored 100% on the quiz. ¶ In addition, Mr. Willis read over my class logs and was very entertained by them. He noticed that I incorrectly titled Long Day’s Journey into Night, changing it to Hard Day’s Journey into Night. I reviewed my notes and realized as the play progressed I went from the correct name, Long Day’s, to the incorrect, Hard Day’s. I believe this was due to the content and subject matter in the play as it developed, and it actually effected me to the degree that I changed the title in my logs! I initially corrected the name in the logs, but I think the mishap of the title suits for the progression of this journal and the play, so I will change the title back to the incorrect title with an added note. ¶ In class, we read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It was a fast paced play, very comical in many ways. The casting for the reading was great too. In addition to Mr. Willis masterfully playing Big Daddy, students outstandingly read for Big Mama, Margaret, and Mae. I read for Brick and developed a Southern accent. At some times I was strong into character too. We had just enough time to finish the play, and I wish we had more time to either hear a lecture or to share thoughts on the piece. ¶ I’m looking forward to our next class which, unfortunately, is not for two weeks. We were assigned a wealthy amount of reading, and this reading isn’t due for two weeks.
Finishing Death of a Salesman
Yesterday, we finished Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller. Mr. Willis played Willy Loman, and I played Willy’s son, Biff. This play was extremely intriguing and fun to preform. Mr. Willis wrapped up the play by sharing his life changing experience, dropping out of his pursuit for priesthood. He also explained how the story represents an American tragedy. In addition, he hinted towards the association to social and moral corruption resulting from capitalism. ¶ A couple of weeks ago, I questioned capitalism’s place in society, far beyond the present. And I had this idea, we, the people of the US, depend on competition based on consuming, or consumption. This resulted from the question, “Competition for what?” The consumer immediately popped in my mind, and I united the words “Consumer Economics” and also “Consumer Capitalism.” I then searched on Google and found some aspects of my vision similar to Wikipedia’s definition, see Consumer Capitalism at Wikipedia. Most importantly, in this definition, I found a very similar perspective to my vision by Bernard Stiegler. “Stiegler argues that capitalism today is governed not by production but by consumption, and that the techniques used to create consumer behavior amount to the destruction of psychic and collective individuation. (Wikipedia.com)” I’m not exactly sure what is meant by individuation, so I will have to research this later. Unfortunately, very little of Stiegler’s critique on Consumer Capitalism is translated. Again, more research is desired. ¶ Now, I can either write on this subject or choose to do 5 poems based on the characters of our recent poems and stories. Soon, I will decide.
Cast Team Meeting
Yesterday, we had a team meeting to break down the project and go over the production schedule. The meeting was at Erik’s Deli and Café in Dublin. Shane Simone, Jason Hitchings, and Jennifer Trujillo were in attendance. ¶ Through lunch, we did a casual meet and greet that was very natural and fluent. Afterwards, I explained the background of the project and the process by which we will work. Then I explained who would be playing each part. The communication went very well, and I am excited about this team. ¶ Jason showed interest in the parable that inspired the project. The parable can be found on Mr. Willis’s website, The Doorway. I will add this link to the main content on this page too. ¶ On another note, Jenn went to Granada High School, and she knows Mr. Willis, so I will mention her name to Mr. Willis. ¶ Below is our official cast, from left to right, Shane Simone (playing Joseph), Jennifer Trujillo (playing Clare), and Jason Hitchings (playing Jordan).
Location Pics
I drove to Antioch’s downtown. The purpose was to scout locations for the morning of Joseph’s challenges, i.e., where he gets his coffee and runs into his first series of issues with his car. Downtown Antioch is low on foot traffic and has a unique feel. It will be easy to shoot there, and the desolate, more so abandoned, feel will compliment the project. Below is a photo from the shoot. Additional photos are located on Flickr, The Doorway Location Scouting Photos.
