R-Journals
Back to R-Journals
home
"Inter-what?
Or, Making it up as I go Along"
February 12, 2007
“Time takes time you know.” - Ben Folds’ “Time”
 |
| Our fearless master of all that is spontaneous, Dr.
David |
I missed being at school for the first time in my life over
winter vacation. Rollins seems to have this effect on many of its
students, and for those of us who just can’t get enough, there’s
this great thing Rollins offers called Winter Intersession. A week
before the actual spring semester starts, week-long courses are
offered on everything from the art of leadership to Florida’s
ecosystem. The classes generally last all day and are intensive in
nature. Luckily, most of the professors don’t assign a mountain of
homework with these courses; most of the required assignments happen
in class. Offered on a Credit/No Credit basis, any of the classes
provide students with a quick, enjoyable way to earn one or two
credits before the real work starts.
 |
| This is Rob making a shameless plug for the show. |
This year, the students lucked out and had a longer winter break
than usual, but when many of us returned for the regular term, the
thought of a hundred pages of reading due on the next class meeting
sent many of us into quite a tizzy. Coming back for intersession
allows you to get back into the swing of things with one class all
week, not to mention practice for waking up early again; I know over
winter break this was not a habit of mine.
I took a unique intersession class called “Leadership and
Ensemble Building through Long Form Improvisation.” When most people
think of improvised comedy or theatre, they think of Whose Line is
it Anyway? Well, most of the scenes in the aforementioned show last
for about three to four minutes. Imagine making stuff up off the top
of your head for 45 minutes or an hour, taking a 15-minute break,
then coming back and doing it all over again. By the end of the
week, we were doing exactly this. Of course, there’s a lot more to
it than just making things up, it takes storytelling ability and
immense trust of your fellow performers to be an effective
improviser. In our eclectic band of 14 or so performers, we began
the week apprehensive and even petrified in some instances, but
through the leadership of Dr. David Charles, we built friendships
and trust that allowed for some great scene work and intense
personal lessons.
 |
| Theatre games: a blast for any occasion |
It’s amazing what improvisation can teach you about yourself
because when you’re onstage without a script, there’s no safe place
except in your own vulnerability. If you let the audience in on what
you feel and play the honesty of the scene without trying to be
funny, chances are you’ll come up with a fantastic story and maybe
even get a few laughs. I learned more about myself in this single
week than I learned in my entire first semester. Up until I took
this course, I didn’t have much interest in improvisational theatre,
but now I’m thinking it could be a viable option after I graduate.
Another piece of advice for incoming first years: step outside
your own comfort zone when you arrive at Rollins. Take at least one
class you wouldn’t have considered taking right off the top of your
head. Enjoy it. You’ll learn more about yourself than you cared to
know in the first place, but trust me, you need to know this stuff
anyway.
back to top
| More about Robert...
Robert grew up in Florida and has a strong interest in
theatre and music. He also looks forward to participating in
Rollins Players,
Brushing
literary magazine, GLBTA, Concert Choir, the Cultural
Action Committee and many other dance and music
ensembles on campus.
Robert lives by the mantras of "Make them hear you" and
"Do all things with passion!" He looks forward to reporting
back on all the opportunities for students at Rollins.
back to top |
R-Journals is a program sponsored by the Offices of
Admissions and Public Relations. Your feedback is
greatly appreciated.
Click here to send your comments.
Robert's R-Journal archives:
|
