Words, Words, Words

[GiiNGEY95Mw2]

Im playing milton in a student directed one acts :)

[thisisthewierdone]

im doing this in my theatre class and im swift.. this has really helped me with pronunciations and provided a lot of entertainment. good job.

[KevinSmellsGood]

Why aren't they black!!!

[PinDrop09]

We did this in the round a month or so ago. The Kafka I played was COMPLETELY different from yours- not all spacey like she is here, but an edgy, anxious creature in a cage. Still, your video helped a lot with some of the choices. ^_^ Thanks.

[OllyPeel91]

This is brilliant! I'm in it at the moment, ready for the Prague fringe festival - I didn't notice any lines missed or changed at all :S I thought it was really, really good! :D

[mscupcake678]

i think you guys did a great job :)

im supposed to play kafka and its really inspired me to just go all out with it.

i have a new perspective on my character :) 

[monkeey3]

I think you all did an amazing job i found this to be very funny and i think Max did a great job.

[patsfan41191]

I like the performance. Just my own opinion, we're performing this at my school and our interpretation involves a lot less "punchlines" and a quicker flow thorugh dialogue. For example, in our performance the line "i'm just a chimp" is not delivered with extra emphasis. Still, this was pretty entertaining so good work!

[motherglucker44]

I was milton too in my theatre class and I did what this guy did and took a lot of liberty in the lines. It turned out to he very funny and one of the more popular scenes we did. Just saying.

[maxfagin]

@motherglucker44 Why do people keep saying that I screwed up the lines in this scene? Please. I'm dying to know. What lines did I mess up?

[allisonwonderland689]

@maxfagin You didn't miss anything that changed the meaning of the lines and they're negligible mistakes. I think that Kafka actually changed more lines than you did. The only line that I actually think lost any of the jokes was one of hers (the one, it's the only way we know they're watching line). I think Swift who came closest to all the lines as they were written was actually the weakest in the cast. It didn't really matter at all.

[xIdiosyncrasy]

The verbatim is all fucked up. I'm currently doing this for my Theatre Arts class and I'm Milton. This Max guy, sure he's funny, but isn't really sticking to the lines, which is quite important.

[maxfagin]

@xIdiosyncrasy Would you care to point out exactly what line(s) I've missed, and more importantly, what comedic/thematic/dramatic elements have been lost by such an omission(s)?

[mspoofyhair]

IM IN THIS RIGHT NOW!! :D im swift and im having a little trouble acting monkeyish :/

[katiegirl235]

i was swift in this and i loved the way i did it wayyyy more thsn this one.

[jessieee22]

I'm Kafka too. We gave her a British accent.

[taylord52]

im doing this in hight school right now im kalfka i love being her !!!!!!!!

[mkzxoxo12]

im kafka in this and i must say....my director made kafka to be more serious and smarter...BUT thats my director...

[planbskaterpj]

i was swift in this

[MadameMadHatter]

I'm Kafka in our production this year =)

[acey45]

sooooo amacher

[maxfagin]

@acey45 What did you expect? Pyrotechnics?

[allenyannone]

@acey45 amateur* idiot.

[leyandrea13]

@acey45 its pretty amateur to spell that wrong. ironic, too.

[acey45]

@leyandrea13 Not nessasarly. Lets say someone was at a language barryer. But they could still be a good actor.

[jwb4291]

bo burnham does it better

[maxfagin]

@jwb4291 Of course he does. Bo Burnham does everything better :) But I refuse to change the tags for this video, on the grounds that David Ives beat Burnham to the punch by almost 20 years.

[Anight7mareX]

This isn't Bo Burnham!

[Elodiron]

@Anight7mareX hehe was searching for him, too :D

[FaunOfTheDevil]

I was Swift in a production of this. I'm not a big fan of this production it's over acted and they made Kafka stupid. she is NOT stupid, and they all are trying waaaay too hard to act like chimps

[maxfagin]

@FaunOfTheDevil The script DOESN'T SAY whether Kafka is stupid or not. And since there has to be some explanation for her evident naiveté to everything going on between Milton and Swift, our actress chose to make the character a bit of a ditz. Other actresses will make other choices, but hers is completely within the bounds of the script.

[maxfagin]

@FaunOfTheDevil With regards to this being over acted, I respectfully disagree. But that's irrelevant. Even if this is over acted, note how the audience is LAUGHING.

Over acting is completely acceptable in farcical comedy (think Cary Grant in "Arsenic and Old Lace", Peter Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove", or the Marx brothers in every movie they ever did.) If the goal is to make people laugh, then I think any kind of performance is fair game, as long as it works :-)

[KMCNC]

i'm playing kafka in this play this weekend!

[MrGagalove95]

i think that Milton and Swift are best interpreed in this act but if you're lookin for some ideas to play Kafka dont follow this one because it seems like she over did it. i didnt like her acting

[JonnysTrickBag]

I'm playing Kafka in this play on monday night, and i'm not sure how to best play the character. I'm stuck between an immature, daydreaming child style, or like a slightly stoned, out there way. Which one sounds like it would suit Kafka better?

[maxfagin]

@JonnysTrickBag That depends on what your fellow performers are doing. I personally think this piece works best when the characterizations of the monkeys contrast extremely sharply with each other (That's what we tried to do in ours; Milton = Intellectual acquiescence, Swifty = Intellectual rebellion, Kafka = Innocent indifference). I personally think you should go with whatever performance will put your character in the sharpest contrast to whatever the other two performers are doing.

[girlsaloudrx]

ok my drama group is doing this, im kafka, but we're not that melodramtic....maybe cos it's amercian I dunno

[chchucks]

I guessed that that's what you guys were going for and I don't have a problem with, I personally just wouldn't do that.

[chchucks]

I am currently playing the part of Milton in this play, and to be honest, I really don't find this performance all that funny, everything just seems so overacted for the purpose of a cheap laugh. I personally feel that the best way to be funny not to draw so much attention o the jokes, let them come out on there own. If the only way to get laughs with a script is by acting all goofy and wacky and oh so silly, then it's missing the point. All in all, if you guys love doing this just keep going.

[maxfagin]

I completely agree with you. But there are two ways to do comedy: One way is the high level approach that you are suggesting where the performer is nothing more than a vessel for the humor written into the script. The other way involves placing emphasis on the jokes, slapstick, and cheap laughs.

[maxfagin]

The first approach can only be accomplished by an incredibly skilled actor (of which I am not). If an amateur were to attempt such a performance, the results can be artificial, unconvincing and (worst of all) unfunny.

However, the second approach is completely within the reach of an amateur performer, and so is almost always the safest way to ensure a performance which (while "cheap") is still entertaining.

[BrownieLover724]

We are doing this at my school, and I'm kafka. haha. I am a horrible kafka!

[Hotaruzuki]

@BrownieLover724 From one Kafka to another.........I feel your pain! lol

[hartguy123]

We are doing this at my high school and I am going to be Milton. How does the character talk and act?

[maxfagin]

Umm, that's up to you as an actor!

[hartguy123]

Well when you were in it, how did the milton it your performance talk?

[maxfagin]

Well, as long as you're here, why don't you watch the video and find out? :)

[hartguy123]

oh, duh, stupid question. haha

[sparrowlov33]

The District competition is coming up very soon! And I would like to audition for this one-act. I was wondering any tips?

[maxfagin]

You can't be to monkeyish.  Take it over the top, and then go further. The greater the contrast between monkey and writer, the funnier the skit is.

[tessafras]

this is disappointing for vassar. i would have expected more.

[iLaughiPlayiRock]

I'm going to be swift. D;

[XRVStudios]

I thought this was awsome! I'm doing this play too although I play swift. Any tips? Message me!

[MidgeMyLove2012]

me too!

My director is telling me to be angry and agitated, and we're changing the character to be a girl so that i get to wear a dress xD

have you guys started practicing yet?

[zahrtypoo]

I am currently in a summer stock production of this (i am playing milton). We are also doing Sure Thing, The Universal Language, The Philadelphia, Variations on the Death of Trotsky, and English Made Simple.

David Ives is just amazing.

[Zeila68]

All of these versions i've been seeing are okay, but i did this last year and i kind of have a different version of how it should be done in my head. Anyway you do it, it's still really fun though. However, has anyone seen a really good version on you tube? if so, could you tell me?

Have fun preforming this everyone! It's awesome.

-Luna ( i was kafka in my production)

[dancechicka123]

I just played Kafka in our theatre production at school. We did Words, Words, Words, Sure Thing, The Philadelphia, English Made Simple, and Seven Menus. Kafka was my favorite role out of the three roles I played.

We changed a few things about how the characters acted, but thats the great thing everyone views things differently. I love to look up videos of the plays we did and compare them.

Well done you guys =)

[theladysman1984]

feels highschoolish

[edwardcullen454]

yea im going to be milton in this but my scene partners have nooooo energy in this scene so i have to show them this and be like "come on lets get CRAZY!"

[iamronnie]

i'm playing Kafka for this at school soon. interesting to see a different actor's perception of the character. my interpretation was much less hyper-active - much more cynical and disinterested .

[ilovestyx22]

sooooooo good

[samxschmidt]

MILTON WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

REALLY REALLY GOOD JOB !

:]

swift and kafka were okay...

[shineyrubberbands]

I'm Swift in this. I'm looking forward to it!

[ezlove656]

the acting isn't very good. they don't deserve the laughs their getting

[animebu]

I'm supposed to do this in school and I'm Milton. My other two friends are Kafka and Swift. This is gonna rock!

[BeckyBloodrush]

Me too, Were doing it for our GCSE tomorrow :S

I'm Milton, (:

[gnrfreak808]

I like. :]

[exinspire]

Individual characterization weak. Kafka was disappointing, could of done much more base on your potential, perhaps if you tried a little cute girl approach... Overall monkey-ness, superb. Blocking at the end was weak however, during Swifty's monologue. Position him(her) upstage for a grander effect. Overall nice.

[chaos101]

i was milton. I must say good job

[missthing2010]

I'm in this right now and I'm Milton. This is great! I love it!!!!

[a409b]

Wow! Really good you guys! That's hysterical. I'm Milton in this right now. Brilliant!