To Be, Or Not To Be…..

So far, so good!

Another great beginning to the spring semester. The spring semester is always a bit easier to teach. Students had only a month off instead of three months off in the summer, so they are able to jump back into the swing of college a bit easier.

So far, all of my classes are going great. Everyone is eager to learn. That makes my job a lot easier to do.

This semester I am taking two classes. One is Writing for Hollywood. As you all know, I love to write. I feel that my forte is short one act plays, however I do enjoy the challenge of writing a screenplay. Dialogue is easier for me to write, it is cool to have the option to put in a car chase or a spaceship in one of my stories.

Then I am taking the Acting for Camera class once again. I had a great and challenging time acting last year. Right now, I feel that I'm not done learning how to be a better actor for film. So the next time I shoot a Sci-Fi short, I hope that I am an even better actor. I can't wait to play the heavy in some major film one day.

I spent the whole weekend learning my lines. On Sunday afternoon after working on my lines while running three miles, I finally 'got off book'. For you non-actors, 'going off book' means that you don't need your book to say your lines.

Last time I took this class, I learned how to memorize lines. The way that works best for me is to say the lines backwards. And I like to walk around as I learn my lines too. I went for a walk in the cold and learned most of the lines this way. Being a bit uncomfortable, I find helps me to focus on the lines and add some drama to my performance.

I have always wanted to learn and perform the famous "To Be, Or Not To Be" soliloquy from Hamlet Act III, Sc. I. This in one of the hardest soliloquies to perform because everyone has done it. However I've never seen anyone interpret it the way that I do. So I worked reality hard, and got it down. Then of course shot a video of me acting it out. It's not perfect, I dropped a few words, I do feel the emotion of what I wanted to convey is there. And that's acting. Words are important, yet showing the emotion of the lines is more important to me.

Songs and plays, are flowing out of me at a blinding speed. It is amazing how many songs I have written in the last few years. In every song I write, I see that it is getting easier to write some catchy tunes.

Well, to be or not to be, Herbert Midgley, that is the question. I hope you all are having a great semester. And don't worry, it will be over before you know it. In the end, did you enjoy the ride? I know that I will! And I’ll always have a big smile at the end.

See me act before the acting for camera class.
Hamlet Act III, Sc. I. "To Be, Or Not To Be" Soliloquy

Here are a few songs I wrote this week.
Never Together (Music Video-BW Version)

Never Together (Music Video)

I Love You With All My Heart and Soul (Music Video B&W)

I Love You With All My Heart and Soul (Music Video)

Here is a 40-minute concert of me rockin' out when it was too cold to do anything else.
Herbert Midgley Rockin' Out On a Cold East Texas Day 1-15-07.

Here is an episode of the greatest TV show that ever aired in East TX. I was one of the co-hosts of this TV show. So let's go back to 2003 and enjoy the past.
Whatever TV Show (3-28-03) The Greatest TV Show in East TX!