Life's But a Walking Shadow

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

- Shakespeare

I wanted to find new experiences, and it seems this is one for the books. Now that the semester is in full swing, play rehearsals for Big Love have been happening at a regular, three day per week schedule. Our daily meets have been divided into two parts, beginning with an hour of Suzuki actor training, followed by two hours of actual play rehearsal.

Suzuki training is a method of martial arts for actors that was designed to help locate the center of the body; the idea is that, if all energy is being focused on the lower torso, the actor is free to step into his or her role without having to worry about what the rest of the body is doing. It's all about balance - becoming more comfortable with how you move and gaining an overall sense of control. Here's what Wiki has to say about it:

Suzuki’s methodology for approaching theatre and performance comes from understanding ancient Greek theatre and experiencing the Japanese performance styles of Noh and Kabuki, both of which emphasize strength in traditional values, discipline, and physical control. Where Tadashi Suzuki differs is in his eclecticism and search for performance means beyond what has already been exercised. He is a progressive director who has sought to redefine any traditional notions instilled in the realm of Japanese theatre and thus revitalize an art form.

His philosophies concerning the humanistic relationship between man and earth, one that defies spirituality in the traditional sense of the term, manifest in rigorous training practices that demand an extreme level of body control and physical exertion.

What that all means for us is a lot of stomping, posing, and balance exercises designed to really test the limits of our bodies. One aspect of the training includes having to memorize text from Shakespeare (above); during any of the large variety of exercises given, the instructor may call out "TEXT!" during whatever we're doing, prompting us to hold whatever physically taxing position we may find ourselves in and recite the text from memorization. The idea behind this is to be able to direct our attention away from the pain we're feeling, instead concentrating on something very specific.

For me, this means I'm consistently coming home sore and tired every night, which has also resulted in my sleeping pattern shifting more towards that of a normal person's pattern, rather than my old bedtime of 3 or 4 am.

We'd been told during our instruction that Suzuki training can aid not only acting, but all aspects of life in general; it teaches us how to walk, breath, have presence in social situations, and just live healthier in general. Only two weeks into the program, I've found myself putting the training to practical use. Yesterday I decided to warm up with a couple of the exercises before playing my daily DDR, and also see what might happen if I applied the Shakespeare text while playing. In short, this led to a highly increased concentration; in trying to remember the text, I found myself ignoring the pain brought on from the game and having much higher stamina. Not only was I able to play for much longer than I typically do, I was somehow able to do something miraculous / borderline impossible - I beat MAX 300.

I know most aren't accustomed to the individual stages of DDR, but if you've ever played Guitar Hero or Rock Band, or any music or simulation game for that matter, you'll know there's always that one impossible stage that everyone aspires to beat - for DDR, MAX 300 is it.

(note that the guy in the video is playing with a keyboard)

Pretty insane; it's a song I've tried at least once a day everyday for the last three months and have consistently failed somewhere around the half-way point - through the text, I was able to go from there to beating it seemingly overnight. I haven't mastered it, obviously, but I feel like playing DDR may actually be a good way for me to both memorize my play lines and improve at the game.


It's raining pretty hard out right now - there is something magical about tonight. I am excited by the prospect of going downstairs in an hour for martial arts practice during the rainstorm. I'm not sure why.