Introduction to Acting - Reflective Journal
21/4/2026-15/7/2026
FENG SHIWEN / 0374595
Introduction to Acting - VSA63904
Taylor's University
Class Register
In our first class, our lecturer, Mark Beau De Silva, introduced the
overall module structure, grading criteria, and acting fundamentals. He also gave us our first assignment: preparing a 30 second solo
monologue.
As a non-theatre major student, starting this course made me a little
nervous, especially since I had to prepare a personal monologue right from
the beginning. After studying the course materials provided by the
teacher, I realized that I needed to create a basic character profile. I
had to ask myself: Who is this person? What is his background? Why did he
choose to speak at this moment? And what is the purpose this character
wants to achieve? Only in this way can the character I portray be
lively.
🔎Week 2
This week, we did some physical and mental exercises in class:
Building the associative environment: The instructor provides an
environmental vocabulary, such as "machine". We enter the designated
space one by one, imagine the surrounding scene, and naturally integrate
into the environment by using body movements or sounds to play a role in
it.
Peer observation practice: We work in pairs. We carefully observe each
other's body movements and gestures, and try to imitate them. We quickly
capture the characteristics of each other's movements.
🔎Week 3
We had a guest lecture on Navarasa, which is the classical Indian
system of emotions in performing arts. The guest teacher explained the
nine basic emotions (rasas):
Śṛṅgāra (Love)
Hāsya (Laughter)
Karuṇa (Sorrow)
Raudra (Anger)
Vīra (Courage)
Bhayānaka (Fear)
Bībhatsa (Disgust)
Adbhuta (Wonder/Shock)
Śānta (Peace)
The Exercise: We selected one emotion and had to express it using only
a single word, relying entirely on our tone of voice, pitch, and
posture.
It was interesting to see how a single word could change its meaning
completely based on which Rasa we applied. I realized that we
communicate a lot through subtext and physical posture rather than
just literal words. This exercise forced me to focus on basic physical
and vocal delivery instead of relying on long dialogues.
🔎Week 4-5
During Weeks 4 and 5, we focused on practicing our solo monologues.
Each week, we performed our pieces in class and received feedback from
our lecturer and classmates.
The Mid-Term Requirement: A solo performance of at least 1.5 minutes,
containing at least three distinct emotional shifts. My Character
& Script: I chose a female character and planned an emotional
sequence transitioning through three Navarasa emotions:
Anger --- Shock --- Disgust
At first, I found that when I was delivering lines expressing angry
emotions, I would speak unclearly due to the rapid pace. The teacher's
advice was to make each word pronounced more clearly. I could practice
by looking in the mirror at home and record my performance process to
identify the shortcomings during the performance.
🔎Week 6
This week is the mid-term exam week and there are no courses.
🔎Week 7
This week, we officially formed our project groups and immediately began
brainstorming and practicing for our final group performance.
Our First Attempt: We initially chose to adapt a scene from the sitcom
Friends.
The Rehearsal: After about 30 minutes of rehearsal, we performed the
first two scenes for our lecturer.
The Feedback: Mark pointed out that our scene transitions were not
natural. Because we jumped directly from Scene 1 to Scene 2 without any
clear setup, it created confusion. The audience was left wondering why
certain characters had suddenly shifted positions on stage or why they
had abruptly changed the topic of conversation.
This rehearsal taught me that physical blocking and transition design are
just as important as the dialogue itself. When actors shift positions or
topics too quickly without visual cues, it breaks the audience's
suspension of disbelief. We realized that we needed to make our physical
movements on stage tell the story of the transition.
🔎Week 8
This week brought some changes to our group membership. With a slightly
different team dynamic, we began to reconsider our direction.
The Problem: We felt that the Friends script did not fully showcase each
member's unique role and emotional range.
The Decision: After a group discussion, we decided to drop the Friends
sitcom theme entirely. Instead, we chose to write and perform an
original script drafted by our own group members, which focused on the
societal pressures and workplace challenges faced by women.
🔎Week 9
We began practicing with our new, original script (focusing on an
abstract Scene 1 with verbal biases against women, and a realistic Scene
2 set in a corporate meeting where male colleagues gang up on a female
colleague, Millie).
The Feedback: After watching our first draft, the lecturer suggested
that we should add some clear explanation or exposition at the very
beginning of the story. Otherwise, the audience might be confused about
our message in the first few seconds. He also suggested adding more
intense emotional peaks to better highlight the conflict between the two
opposing groups (the men vs. the woman).
When creating a script, it's easy to forget that the audience doesn't
have the background information you do. What seems natural to us might
be very difficult to understand for others. This feedback made us
realize that we need to "guide" the audience from the very beginning of
the first scene, and explain the story's premise before bringing them
into the intense workplace conflict in the second scene.
🔎Week 10
During the tenth week of rehearsals, we focused mainly on optimizing the
rhythm of the second act (the meeting room scene) and adjusting the
interactions between the characters.
Lectuer's feedback: After reviewing our character movement, the teacher
suggested that we add more dialogue scenes featuring female characters
at the end, as the original ending seemed a bit too abrupt.
Lecturer also gave us a very practical suggestion for stage arrangement:
When the character "the boss" (Yuan Yi) is speaking, all of us who are
playing the male employees should turn our heads simultaneously towards
the boss. This collective action can immediately visually convey the
theme of our "meeting" and the hierarchical relationship in the
workplace.
🔎Week 11
This week we didn't have regular classroom teaching. Instead, we needed
to arrive at the theater classroom at the scheduled time to adjust and
design the stage lighting for our performance.
Lighting Design: We attempt to enhance the connection between the
characters, the plot, and the space in the performance through the
intensity and color temperature of the lights (cool tones vs warm
tones), as well as the lighting at specific locations.
The Lecture's Advice: Mark suggested a theatrical technique: when
delivering key lines, the actor could "snap" their head directly toward
the audience. This acts as a brief alienation effect, stepping out of
character to address the audience directly, while still keeping a link
to the overarching plot. It made the delivery feel more theatrical and
punchy.
🔎Week 12
This was our final dress rehearsal before the official practical exam.
Our group was scheduled to perform second.
The Staging Transition: To make the showcase feel seamless, we practiced
setting up our props (moving blocks onto the stage) in the dark
immediately after Group 1 finished and the lights went out.
The Lecturer's Critique: Mark advised us to play the "patriarchal
corporate men" roles in Scene 2 with more theatricality, making them
caricature like, comically arrogant, and projecting our voices much
louder.
Our Group's Improvements:
We added subtle group murmurs when the Boss spoke or a key topic turn
occurred, we would all murmur and chime in like a real crowd of yes-men
discussing.
We intensified the opening conflict by having all male characters loudly
scold the female character at the end of Scene 1. When she finally
screamed "STOP!", we all froze instantly, creating a clean, sharp
physical punctuation to end the scene.
🔎Week 13
This week was our Final Performance. There were no classes
scheduled.
Reflection
Looking back at where we started, seeing our complete 5 minute showcase
run so smoothly gives me a huge sense of achievement. This module truly
pushed me outside my comfort zone. To be honest, at the beginning of
this journey, I felt incredibly awkward going on stage. I was hesitant
to loudly express my character's emotions under the gaze of so many
classmates, and sometimes I struggled to deliver the feelings
correctly.
However, by the end of this semester, I was able to collaborate
seamlessly with my group to complete a tightly choreographed theatrical
performance. Our transitions were swift, our coordination was precise,
and the entire showcase flowed smoothly.
This has been a highly challenging yet deeply interesting course. It
made me realize that acting goes far beyond just memorizing lines; it
relies entirely on empathy for the character, precise teamwork on stage,
and continuous iteration during rehearsals. I have learned a great deal
from this experience, and I am proud of how far we have come.
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