Dra|\/|a & Pl@y. Sprint 4 Week 2

How does one generate ideas? First, one needs to overcome the Resistance (read Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art). Resistance is that friction that holds you from taking the first step. Resistance also appears in the form of organization roadblocks, such as judgment from peers. Pixar reduces those frictions by using a process called the Brain Trust, and we are testing that in the Middle School.

Without resistance, the creator becomes like water, where the ideas naturally flow. Well, it all sounds good & magical. What does Acton Academy actually do?

Besides not answering a question (which itself can be tricky), our Guides do three things as game makers: connect, inspire & equip.

  • Connect: Start with Mindfulness, Meditation and Keeping it Healthy
  • Inspire: Ida & Rafidah Hero’s Sharing, MacBeth show
  • Equip: Idea Creation

Connect: Start with Mindfulness, Meditation and Keeping it Healthy

The Elementary School (ES) Eagles continued mindfulness sessions with Auntie Harsha. Eagles learned about some of the curious nature of the mind.

“My mind runs around everywhere like a puppy. I want to be a big doggie.”

Oh, my mind is doing all this? Really?

They learned about awareness of how the brain works and their own actions. Being aware is becoming a long-term goal for the young Eagles (and for many of us of all ages too).

Also, the Eagles continued their meditation practice. They added props to help themselves in the middle of meditation circle.

“I brought Energy stones and crystals for our meditation.”

Eagles exercised their bodies too.

The Middle School (MS) Eagles were running the Physical Development sessions with much ease now. Few of the ES Eagles volunteered to join, with the intention to try it out with other studio-mates. Later, they led the other ES Eagles.

“This is a real workout!!!”

Now, the ES Eagles started the routine too.

“Run run, don’t stop.” (no picture… they ran too fast)

Planks. Keep it straight!

“Let’s do this again next week guys”

“Let’s do this again.” No, the Eagles meant self-organized PE, and rock climbing too :))

Exercising the mind & body needs nourishment. Yes, healthy nourishment—food. Two eagles realized their moms have packed some cookies and chocolate in their lunchboxes. The ES Eagles upheld their “no junk food policy”.

“We are going to keep our junk food in the jail box until the end of the school day because it is not Friday. We shouldn’t be eating this.”

With a connected body, mind & a community together, the Eagles were ready to be inspired & get equipped!

Inspire: Ida & Rafidah Hero’s Sharing, MacBeth Show

This week was packed with inspiration exposures! The Eagles had two Hero Sharings—Ida Nerina on Monday, and Rafidah Abdullah on Friday. Both of them had major roles in the Malaysian TV & movie industry, and have now engaged in directing and screenwriting. On Wednesday, the Eagles watched Macbeth in DPAC.

Ida shared her inspiring story and the challenges she faced in her work and life. She explained the process of immersing herself in character, remembering the lines and emotions, but ultimately everything will happen naturally when done with passion and fun.

Here are some of her quotes, reflecting her insights and also the reality of the industry.

“Secret to acting is reacting.”
“For Malaysian actors. You need a second job to pay the bills.”
“Do not give up on your dream.”

Her authenticity, her engaging character, and the courage of adapting and reinventing herself now as a director since a spinal injury in 2009 awed the Eagles. They engaged enthusiastically with questions.

To learn more about her, Google or spend the next 19 minutes on this TEDx Talk.

Rafidah shared her experiences and technicalities of script writing.

“Before we go on a shoot a program, you must have a script to know exactly what to do…”
“You got to translate the screen, that idea in your head to the paper, in a script.”
“When you write a script, you need to write visually… Visualize it.”

There are much mechanics in this craft, involving a description of the interior and the exterior, the scene setting, as well as description of context. Rafidah went through the process with the Eagles, using concrete examples by taking inputs from the Eagles. There was a continued emphasis on digging deeper and visualizing it on screen. Every detail was drilled, from curtains, props, clothing, sounds and everything that makes an audience experience. There were lots to digest!

Our young Eagles even shared his work and received insightful feedback before her sharing started! Thank you Rafidah!

“This is the story of this Minecraft…” A 7-year old getting feedback from Rafidah, a veteran scriptwriter!

It was a privilege to have our Eagles engaged with veterans of the industry. Thank you, Ida and Rafidah!

Macbeth

The only way to learn more about a stage play is to see and experience one! The rendition of Macbeth by KL Shakespeare Players was brilliantly simplified to allow children to understand the story. Three actors, minimal props, basic instruments and a lot of ingenuity and interaction wooed the audience.

The Eagles came out with plenty of comments and learning:

“It is so cool!!!”
“I like how they use the dolls and boxes as props.”
“I love Shakespeare!”
“We want our guests to dance and make sound effects too.”

Inspired, the Eagles started their work on generating ideas for their exhibition play.

In addition, the Eagles also reflected on their experience by dissecting their experience with Auntie Chitrah.

A must do. Pictures with the cast!

Equip: Idea Creation

The Eagles were assigned to groups for their Exhibition plays. They collaborated to come up with ideas. But disagreements, tears, anger, and arguments took a toll on collaboration. Clashes and conflict reigned into their conversations.

“I don’t want to be on the same team.”
“My story is better!”

In the frustration, one Eagle voiced calmly…

“Everybody let’s brainstorm again. I have an idea. Why not we combine the idea?”

15 mins later, the team was in smiles. “We are ready to present our new story. It’s going to be so good!”

I do my very best, even to the last bow!

It was a journey of courage to grow. In two weeks, one Eagle went from “I’m really bad at acting and drama” to “I have directed 3 plays!”

It’s all part of Acton’s philosophy. Fail early, cheap and often.

Meanwhile, in the MS studios, it was moving in a serious tone. They worked deeply with Auntie Chitrah on brainstorming, character development and created the backbone of their scripts.

On Friday, the Eagles formed a Braintrust. They started by agreeing on the rules and outcomes, similar to the anonymity and respect the best idea approach of Pixar’s best practice. They held each other accountable by deducting EB during the session for disrespecting any practices they agreed on. As they worked through the process, they discussed and voted for the Best Story and Best Character.

In the voting image, stories have kept a secret to protect the creative process of the group, ala Pixar’s brain trust.

There’s a lot more to Drama & Play, so do refer to Auntie Chitrah’s SoulArist FB page for her stories!

Oh, a small note on our new campus. It’s coming to form.

When we continuously connect, inspire and equip…

And if we can do this with an open mind… we transcend resistance. Without resistance, the creator becomes like water, where the ideas naturally flow.

You might be thinking, another post ending with Bruce Lee video??! Yes, this will be the flavor of blogs this Sprint, and I will explain why at the end 😛

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