Matt Gray: So ‘artist’ aside, what does math have to do with actors, especially training actors? I just left a 14 year run of training exclusively at ‘conservatory’ drama schools. In each iteration of ‘conservatory’, the faculty seemed (with only a few exceptions) emphatic that students needed fewer ”distractions” from their discipline.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Math and the Actor
Matt Gray: So ‘artist’ aside, what does math have to do with actors, especially training actors? I just left a 14 year run of training exclusively at ‘conservatory’ drama schools. In each iteration of ‘conservatory’, the faculty seemed (with only a few exceptions) emphatic that students needed fewer ”distractions” from their discipline.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
Matt's thoughts on craftspeople taking math (and broader than that, branching beyond the borders of the conservatory program to explore a little) is something I've been thinking a lot about through my time here. In the first point, "artists" are magpies - we (should) explore the world, gathering the shiny bits to bring back and make our nests. Our craft is inherently tied with math, history, business - we investigate certain times and places and present them, as authentically as possible, in front of an audience. To do that, we have to understand the mindsets, and to get that perspective, you have to have the basic knowledge to rationally examine.
I'm troubled, however, by one of Matt's side points about how satisfactory or excellent students often coast by and all the attention is placed on remedial or troubled students. Matt's suggestion is that those who can complete courses more quickly should do so, but I take offense to that for both the gifted and the troubled student. The gifted student may have another checkmark on the list, but they have missed out on the experiences and the observations that may have happened in the course. Everyone has something to gain from any course - even if it's a meta-concept about how the teacher chooses to structure the course or the new ideas brought by class discussion. The remedial student, then, also loses out on learning from the excelling student, not to mention the setup for a terrible self-fulfilling prophecy of failure as the classroom dwindles and only the "problem students" are left. Matt's thoughts on variety of experience are spot-on, but this point just seems to stick with me.
I too agree with a lot of Matt's points here-I am grateful to have had a lot of math in high school (up through calculus) and I have seen it applied to at least my craft everyday. But I have also certainly applied it in acting and performance. For example, a lot of the things I learned in Sound stagecraft last year regarding dynamics and how sound travels (arguably both qualify as math) have made me more aware of what I do as a singer, how I position myself, adjust my own volume and microphone distance, etc. They have also made me more capable of communicating with the engineer in the back of the room, talking through how best to put together a song, how to measure myself against the band, etc. It's an obscure example, but the fact that I had some mathematical familiarity allowed me to better understand the math and science of sound, which helped me as a performer by bringing my left brain into the picture.
Here's my problem with blogs: Because they are inherently stream-of-consciousness writings by any- and everyone who has access to a computer, they are either brilliant or drivel. Regardless, rarely are they proofread. Take Matt's point number 3: "You can train actors their specific craft in time than four years." ...Matt, that sentence doesn't make any sense. "...in MORE time than four years?" "In LESS time...?" You're clearly missing at least ONE word there. And that's my point. In the time it takes me to figure out what you're trying to say, I've already lost interest in what you're trying to say.
Oh, HIS point? I actually couldn't agree with his POINT more; but if it gets muddled without clear wording or complete sentences, his valid and supportable POINT gets lost. And then...well, what's the point?
Maybe not every actor needs MATH but I'll bet you could make a stronger argument that more actors needing better education in writing and grammar...
Being at a conservatory and, as Matt said, seeing the belief from many that "students needed fewer ”distractions” from their discipline", my opinion has changed from a similar perspective to one closer to that of Matt's. This is not to say that I don't appreciate the education that I am currently obtaining, because I most certainly do. But I have also seen on many different occasions the effect that such intense programs that only focus on the discipline of the art and building leaders in the field has done to people.
The never ending intensity and constant pressure to be the best and "beat" everyone else breaks people. Strong people who have a passion for their work and love the craft they are pursuing. They don't get a sense of the world they are working in. This is a problem when you actually have to leave an educational setting and go out into that world.
With a wider breadth of education, it improves ones craft and leadership skills tenfold, and unfortunately, the opportunity to expand that knowledge is often taken away by the thought of "school cannot provide that professional level of training unless we have the students for as much time as is humanly possible"
I completely agree with Tiffany when she says that a vast education improves your craft and Its amazing how you can use your outside knowledge to add to your own craft and really make it yours.
Spending most of our time with teachers can only get us so far. Experience solidifies everything that we learn here and shows us exactly what skills we need to work on. I am the type of person who learns things best trying it and seeing what works for me and what doesn't. I have learned more in my life from my experiences then i have ever learned in school and some things school can't teach you.
My reaction to the Wired article still holds since whether people like it or not, math is one of those life skills that everyone needs. Ever since the world made the jump to making everything possible digital, math has become even more important since now to really push ahead and do something new, you need to be able to think in ways that can be translated into information that a computer can use. Matt's article touched on the topic of digital performance, and the reality is that more and more it seems that movies and tv shows are trying to cut costs by doing things settings digitally since most can't tell the difference.
I agree with most of what Matt said in this article (although Jacob has a good point about the proofreading... that sentence threw me off too). I went to a liberal arts college that required that I take economics and a philosophy class and a theology class and yes, a math course. These courses were some of the best and most interesting classes I took in college. Classes outside of one's major or concentration can allow anyone, not just actors, to see "how the other half lives." If actors, or anyone, are isolated in a conservatory program without exposure to not only other ideas, but to other people who don't see theatre as the be all and end all of existence, how can they depict relatable characters on the stage? Math specifically is a real-world skill that everyone needs, and I think it is short-sighted to assume that actors don't "need" math or other courses.
This article is very intriguing. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the part about futures leaders. That phrase or quote is used all over the school, in our donor adds, in the promos for the school and even in School of drama's mission statement. It is something that is obviously very prevalent at CMU. I really agree that you can't force people to be leaders or even really expect them to be. Also I think that there are other ways to be good at your job and to do things with out not necessarily always being the leader or innovator. I think lots of people are successful as people that help other people realize their inner potential. Being a leader also has the connotation of being the head when generally the most helpful people are the ones who know when to step back.
I agree that math and other studies are important and hugely useful to those studying in the arts. It was also intriguing to read the part about using the word "artist", a word that is indeed overused and causes people, who use it to refer to them self, to lose credibility and oftentimes respect. It's nice to see how another culture pays their respect to their craft by being humble and not taking any credit for their work. Indeed, in order to be a great craftsman, a person should be skilled in many different fields, especially someone working in the arts who needs to have an understanding of the outside world.
Math and the Actor:
http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2011/09/math-and-actor.html?showComment=1315808516564
Following Brian, I don't know if I feel that the "troubled" students are the ones that receive all the attention. The successes and the troubled students that receive the attention, the ones in the middle are the ones that are forgotten. Yes, we are at a conservatory, and yes it is the one that Matt is referring too, and I agree with him in someways. We all could have gone to a liberal arts college and received a more diverse education. However there are opportunities to take classes outside of Purnell. There are the few double majors, the BXAs, but there are also electives. I know that in the PTM option we are forced to take directed electives as part of our requirements, and you can continue to take more classes out side. I think that people could have a more vast education, but they don't push themselves. Lastly, we are in a technical school. The majority of college students are looking at going to graduate school once they finish up their four years, where else can they go? We are extremely marketable and specialized at the same time. We will, for the most part, have jobs. We can discuss how we may be more well rounded, but there is no denying that our chances of having jobs is fairly high in comparison to many others right now.
I agree that in order to really be able to be a good actor, a good, artist, a good storyteller, is to actually go out are have experiences to draw from.
I think sometimes the specialized nature of programs and that mindset of "we must have them for as many hours as humanly possible" can be highly detrimental.
Without experience to draw from, your ability to create is severely limited.I think more programs should encourage their students to be well rounded, not just for artists but for other disciplines as well. I think artists can benefit from more exposure to math and science, and mathematicians and scientists could benefit from more exposure to the arts and all the areas in between.
Overspecialization seems like a good way to back yourself into a corner with only one set of highly specific skills which will put you at a disadvantage if you ever want to branch out and try something new later on in life.
I agree with Matt in that schooling is no guarantee of success in any field. What makes for the best learning experience is to actually experience what the real world is like. There is no formula for success, and school can only take us so far. It is because of this that we should learn as much as we can about everything that we want to. Just focusing on the classes that will prepare you for a career in one field doesn't make any sense. Isn't History important for everyone? Aren't Science and Math useful to everyone? Learn as much as you can while you have the chance, you never know what you'll use in the real world.
While this article is not particularly well written, it brings up a point that I very strongly agree with. We came to CMU to get an incredibly focused conservatory experience. This training program makes us incredibly good at doing all things required to succeed in our selected area of study. However, we are not putting on our shows for people trained only in the arts. We have to be able to understand, entertain, and portray onstage all sorts of people, mathematicians included. This requires a basic understanding of many different subjects, be it math, science, history, etc. Not to mention, math skills are incredibly useful in day to day life.
Thanks for you comments everyone
the grammar issues, I wont apologize for. I write as I speak - incorrectly and without editing. However, missed words and poor spelling is unforgivable. Thank you for your input.
Id like to address two points :
1 - Blogs are capable of many more gradations than brilliance or drivel. And whatever you want to add to the conversation will certainly develop it even more. So feel free to contribute and comment. Your passionate diatribes about grammar & spelling mistakes destroying your ability to engage with ideas were eye opening. I hope they sticks with you throughout all of your written work while in college. It is actually something of a revolution for your generation to be telling my generation to buck up and write better. Very refreshing! Just make sure you have a body of work to back you up while tossing those stones.
2 - I agree whole-heartedly that every student, regardless of their 'level', has much to learn from every lesson. What I was alluding to is that a dangerous precedent is established when one kind of student gets 'extra' help over another. Because my experience tells me that students are highly astute to things like that, and will react accordingly. In other words, if students see that tantrums and wild behavior in class gets the most significant response from the instructor, more students will have tantrums.
"Problem" student, therefore, is not so much a comment on ability, but on approach. It is a problem if an actor is making trouble in class to get a response, rather than doing their work to get a response. Though I NEVER made that clear in my post, and will amend the article to reflect that. Your points, Brian, were thoughtful and insightful, so thanks and I promise they will be responded to.
best of luck through your semester
matt
... see what I did there? Bad spelling - i LOVE IT
Post a Comment