I've been pretty lazy about updating lately, so I'm going to take a moment today (in this post) to sort of regroup: reiterate what projects are still in play, eliminate/alter existing projects, and add a project.

PROJECT 1: Piano
Going as planned, so far. Right now I'm working primarily on the Aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations. I'm also peeking ahead to Beethoven's Pathetique and doing some work on that. I've still got several Mozart pieces to learn, but Pathetique is going to be a challenge and is going to take some time. It's also a really awesome piece that's worth spending time on and perfecting.

PROJECT 2: Screenplay
Not going as planned. I have dropped the ball on this one. However, it is a project I want to finish, so I'm going to pull it together and start over on Monday (going to New Haven this weekend).

PROJECT 3: Monologues/Plays
Again, not going as planned. I've kept up with the "play" part, but I haven't learned a new monologue yet. I'm going to keep pushing ahead with this one.

PROJECT 4: The Musical
I'm going to scrap it, for now. I have to work on it independently of this blog, so I'll continue to post recordings and such, but it's not going to be a "project." I may start a project having to do with the musical later, when effort independent of a workshop is required.

NEW PROJECT
PROJECT 5: Physical Training for Acting
It has become apparent, through acting class, singing lessons, and Alexander technique, that I have a lot of physical tension that is getting in the way of my acting. So, to combat this, I am going to focus more on physical training. Yes, I'm going to try to go to the gym more, but that's more of a general health issue. I want to focus specifically on becoming more relaxed, more flexible, and more generally aware of my body. My acting teacher recommended boxing, and I have been thinking about yoga for a while. So, I'm going to start going to yoga and boxing classes at my gym. My goal is to so a class each week for both. I will do my first yoga class tomorrow. I'm not sure what to do about boxing. I don't think I'll be able to do it through my gym, so I may have to go elsewhere. More on that later. But, for now, I'm going to start with the yoga.

Another Piano Update

Here's the next (fifth) piece of the project. Prelude in C Major by Bach. Very pretty, very simple. My interpretation is definitely not "accurate" by Baroque standards, but I like playing it this way. The next couple are pretty difficult (the Aria de Capo and Var. 30 from the Goldberg Variations by Bach). So it will probably be at least another week until the next update (unless I throw in another take of Invention 13, which I may).

Prelude in C Major from Bix Bettwy on Vimeo.

Piano Update

First of all, I'm aware that the audio file from my BMI presentation isn't working for many of you, so I will repost it as soon as I figure out how to fix it. I'm not terribly tech-savy.

Also, Invention #13 is below. This one has been a real pain in the ass. I'm still not 100% percent satisfied with this. The middle section is a little sloppy and I'd like to get the tempo up a bit, so I will most likely give it another day or two of practice and make another video. But I was inpatient to get up a video to show my progress. Enjoy ...

Bach - Invention 13 from Bix Bettwy on Vimeo.

File working?

If that music file in my last post isn't working for you, let me know.

Theatre of Blood

Today I had a presentation of my next Theatre of Blood song in the BMI Workshop. I recorded it and you can listen to it below. The recording is not terrific, but it's decent, you can hear everything fine. This is the second song in the show ("Once More into the Breech"), sung by Richard Lionheart, the main character. We got very good/helpful feedback, so we'll be making revisions and doing it again in a few weeks.

The song is performed (wonderfully) by Scott Mikita, the lyrics are by Billy Hipkins (the guy who's doing the introduction), and the piano is being played by David Gaines (also in the workshop). Enjoy!

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Save File: Once More.mp3

Coming soon ...

So, it's been a rough week ... I had lots of work this week preparing students for the SAT today, so I had to set aside a couple of these projects for the time being. However, I've been keeping up with the piano and going to auditions regularly again, so this week was certainly not a loss. Also, one piece of relatively good news: I got wait-listed by the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program. So, we'll see what happens there. I absolutely intend to go if I clear the list.

In the next week, I should have Invention 13 up.

On Tuesday, I have a presentation of my next Theatre of Blood song in BMI, so I will either record video or audio of that and put it up ... probably. I need to double check with my lyricist (Billy) and the performer if they are ok with me putting this material on the web, though I imagine they won't object.

Also on Tuesday, I'm doing a scene from Doubt in my acting class. I wish I could record that and put it up here, but I think that's probably rather tasteless to record things in acting class.

The screenplay I've set aside until I finish this next BMI presentation. Didn't want to do it, but I feel like I have to focus on the song for now.

Finally, an Update

So, I got pretty bad about updating every day this week. That being said, it may be a better idea to do fewer updates anyway. Maybe two or three times a week. The goal is to put in time on these projects every day, but there's not always anything interesting to post as an update.

So far, I'd say I've been moderately successful at doing this whole blog thing. I have been been keeping up my piano project (today was the first day I didn't get in at least 1 1/2 hours of practice ... I'm at my grandparents place for the night without my piano books, but I still managed to get some playing in). The screenplay project has been a bit more sketchy, I haven't touched that in a few days. I have read the plays (True West and Doubt, so far), so I'm keeping up with the play-reading. However, I may abandon that as a blog project, since it's really more of a guideline than a project with a finite goal. The piano and screenplay projects are good because I have defined a goal. I'll also keep the musical project, even though I have to do it anyway for BMI, because, again ... specific goal.

This post was mainly for me to think aloud. Thank you for indulging me. More updates to come (and, possibly, a couple new projects) in the next week ...