Not I Process...

I initially started out the process by reading the text out loud to myself. It seemed like a logical place to start. Especially after last Wednesday's class, the text became much more manageable and accessible, and less of a daunting “how do I deal with these words on paper?” task. I tried different rates of speed…seeing how fast or slow reading affected the work.  Since we discussed the sense of urgency last class, I wanted to experiment a little bit with seeing whether or not urgency could be achieved without spewing the text at a warp-speed.  I found it to be a challenge, however I also found that it was a lot less manic, which almost made it a little bit more foreboding.

Actually memorizing the text, however, was a completely different ball game.  It was particularly difficult because I had to grapple with the different rhythmic patterns of the words on the page.  But after several hours of playing around with different sentence cadences (if you can call them sentences), it finally clicked.

I found myself using more of my musical senses more than anything in grappling with this piece. It felt as though each phrase had its own rhythm, its own musicality, etc.  Some lines were faster than others.  Some were slower than others.  I also found that in trying to take the lines at a quicker pace, it was easier for me to think about learning them in sort of musical phrases, then put the phrases together, and smooth out the transition between the phrases.  In summation, thinking of “Not I” as a musical piece without a tune has helped me get into the piece and work with it a lot easier.

The only obstacles I’ve consistently experienced is my consistent need to create images in my head to remember the words on the page, and sometimes there just simply is not an image to be had.  Without cue lines, or a through story, it has made conquering this piece a particular challenge (especially when you’re dealing with a section in the middle, like me).