Franceline NKingu
January 24th 2010 by Elevated Grounds in GroundationMy First Blog…ok…so where do I start hmm?!?
Well first off I am blessed to be apart of this organization I’ve always wanted to do something like this but I never really got the chance. I use acting as a way to express the pain, which I have gone through growing up and it has made me a stronger individual. Entering Elevated Grounds to others would be something they take for granted …but for me it takes me one step closer to where I have to be…to where I want to be! I am happy to be apart of something that I love to do but also something that moves in a way that helps strengthen the community and young people who are in need of guidance. Promoting an awareness is always a great thing, and as an elevated member I am happy to be apart of that. I enjoy coming in for practice, three times a week to see people who are funny, upbeat, and motivated individuals; that makes me not see the distance I travel everyday. This is an experience I will not take for granted because I am in environment where I will learn and also be able to teach others which is a good thing. One thing about this week which was the beginning of my first appearance with Elevated Grounds was that I was scared…no like REALLY SCARED!!! I didn’t know if they would like me, and if they would accept me, however how wrong I was. I got comfortable and I feel welcomed and I just want to say thank you to those whom I have met and have made me feel equal to them. Anyways I feel like I am going on for days….but I can’t wait till Monday…till then see you later =]
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”
January 29, 2010
Ok so lets hope i am doing this Blog correctly…if not please do not LAUGH!
Anyways, the beginning of this week as for rehersals has been ok. Why i say ok is because…i just didn’t feel as though i gave it my all. I really… REALLY love the role that i have been given but i feel like i am not allowing my self to become the role. However, i am ready to work and try to make the best of the role to my ability. Everyone was present at rehearsal, we had a new actor come in but he was new to me not to everyone else. He’s a nice dude, and i am happy to have him on board. Anyways the beginning of the week was alright.
The end of the week rehersals were good. We kinda took a spin on things and sat down and talked about different mental health issues, how it may relate to us and how we can better give off the message. Damn I loved practice on thrusday…And it’s just the start …its going to get even better. We were missing one person today, he’s usually the goofy one..but practice still went good, Trisha did a good job directing….and i got to hear a little bit from K.G on her views on mental health. I like this team because not only is everyone talented…but everyone is willing to learn and make a difference. God Bless them…can’t wait untill next practice…until then see yah later! =]
HEY EVERYONE!!
Ok so I never wanted to write a blog so much right now…but I can’t wait until tomorrrow. Alright so it is precisely 2:31am… YES I AM NOT TIRED!! Ok so firstly practice was AWESOME! It started off flow but the end was like FIRE! Not everyone was there…however Jelisa came back from her absence which was GREAT! Because for a good week it has been me and Sherricka (she’s too funny) and I can’t complain it was a good week! Yesterday Danian did one of his best works that I have seen so far..(scene 19 I think) it was great…allowed me to be in my character. During break I got additional help on my audition for Ryerson from Danian… He really knows what he’s doing! Everyone else I admire to see and everyday I see and learn something new! There is one individual I would have to say isn’t as comfortable with me yet…but he will soon because I am a magnet! As for the teacher Umoja-I mean MR.LAWRENCE he did an expetionally good job today…he looks like a great teacher on stage! Anywhooo ok so I got it all outt now I can go to bed…OH wait one thing I need to work on for my role is to be more seductive …have a larger sex appeal…so I need to practice that! I hope it goes well! Anyways can’t wait until practice tomorrow or I should say today. Until then see you later!
Nkingu signing off!
HELLO!
So practice on Monday was great, my friend came to join us and she will be involed in our new cast for Stress n’ out! It was an unexpected practice monday, because we did something out of the hat. K.G wanted to see where our heads were at for how we can bring youths from the community into a safe and healthy program. We had to express our thoughts on media issues, which was very interesting to see everyone’s veiwpoint. I enjoyed it very much, however when it came close to ending the night off, KG believed it was a good idea to put new comers on BLAST! so Me, Arianne, and Devante (i spelt his name incorrectly) had to express a piece about ourselves that we are most talented at. I did a monologue because i am a creative writer and i enjoy acting very much. By all means i started my week off BOMB! because mondays rehersal was a refreshing reality check of why we are doing this, and the bigger picture behind it. We have a great week ahead of us …Until then see you later!
Nkingu signing off!
hmmm….we were missing a few this week…! tsk tsk!
This week was good, i had an alright rehersal. Umm. we did scene one for the first time and went well, i need to step into my character a bit more. We where missing a few people but practice still went smoothly. We made some changes to my characters dance, and i was thrilled about it and i can’t wait to dance to it. I recently began making a song for my character so i hope that Pratrice and Trisha like it…its pretty upbeat..and has a little rap in there…so i am crossing my fingers. Anywho..Tuesday should be a good practice and i hope to see everyone out, until then see you later!
Hey everyone,
we’ll where should I start this week was good I must admit we were short some people but practice still went smoothly! We didn’t have practice thursday so it was a time to relax a bit! However when we did have pratice we worked on a new scene which was cool and I got a little comfortable with my character. This week my goal is to be totally out of my norm and be better then I was last reheral so wish me luck! But I know it’s a mini blog not much to say until then see you next time!
Nkingu signing off
Hello again!
It’s Diana Dawkins and I am what you calll the prettiest chick on the block! Lol I am kiding…it’s just plain old franceline! Anywho practice is the same just worked on some parts…patrice ordered pizza which was amazingly good! Yum! Anywhoo we added some cool steps to one of the dance/singing parts which turned out pretty good! Umm we were missing some people at practice hope they can catch up! Anywho I am still working on that seductiveness so I will let you viewers know when I got it on point! Anywaysss until next time see you later!
Nkingu signing off!
Ok so i don’t have much to blog about this week only because i have not been to practice….however I will be back this coming up week, i miss everybody. Um i was really disappointed when practice was canceled Monday …when i was two mins away…but i guess the storm was hectic! when i am passionate about something i will be there rain, snow, hail…anything! Another reason i wasn’t at practice was because i was practicing for my auditions for university, however i hope and believe this weeks practice will be good. Can’t wait to see everyone and i hope we will get a lot done this!
until next time see you later
Nkingu signing off!
Oh and Diana’s song will be recorded this coming up Saturday hope it turns out niice
Hey Guys,
My comp was down for a bit…but i’ll post up my last week blogs today.
Anywho Practice was great this week, we had a sit and talk session with Sofia who will be helping us with this play, and gave us our first presentation day. EXCITED! We met a new potential character of the play so hopefully he comes through, because he looks very talented and i m sure will be a wonderful asset to the play, and EG. We worked on several scenes this week but mostly in groups so it can go faster. I am still working on grasping the whole character of Diana so hopefully all goes well. This friday, i got some help outside Elevated Grounds with my role, and i was able to grasp the whole feeling so hopefully it works out well in practice. I completed the song this weekend for DIANA my character; in which i will be dancing to so i m here tryna to make up a dance to it…hopefully E.G likes it. Anywhoo…until next see you later.
Nkingu Signing off
The Song
The Stress of my Life,
Is trapping me, increasingly,
Internally I’m losing the Fight.
17 years old from foster care, to mental home,
Its just the daily norm I can’t feel no more.
Breathe in breathe out,
Tell me how that’s going to help,
When life around me don’t give me the way out.
Boys to men,
I careless to even give a damn.
That’s just the way I cope,
life has given me no hope.
The wounds inside me,
are to deep for one to see.
I use to dance my way in life,
others cope and use a knife.
I just slide my way in bed,
to the man my spirit fed.
I m trapped in a tangled web,
that’s what the voices say.
These kids don’t understand i m a walking illusion,
tell me why they can’t see through this crazy delusion.
I’ve been used and reused
that’s how I deal with the feud
between my spirit, heart and mind,
I’m too lost for one to find.
No Marco Polo here
I m drowning in this lake of fear.
I m waiting for the man that will love me and understand.
The Stress of my Life,
Is trapping me, increasingly,
Internally I’m losing the Fight.
He walked away when I was seven,
Mama said it was a blessing.
My hearts composed of steel,
I’ve learned not to feel.
Where were you when I fell?
Dad: Too busy in the motel.
When I got my first crush?
Dad: I was out with Cyndi Rush
I cried myself to sleep
Dad: yes, I heard those nights you wept.
Then why dad, why? You never even said Goodbye
Dad: Yo, I couldn’t be that dad,
Your mama always getting mad, but I will always love you, care for you, i hope you understand.
My Diana Dawkins
I m a walking prisoner
I am like the cold meat you left out for dinner.
I got sexual appeal,
But like the mirror effect everything you see isn’t 100% real.
Behind this pretty face, lies a girl who’s lost her place.
Broken spirit, shattered heart only seen as plastic art.
Opened my heart too many times, habituated to being blind.
I blame the man that walked away, because now that spirit won’t decay.
The Stress of my Life,
Is trapping me, increasingly,
Internally I’m losing the Fight.
Dear God
Let her see
That she is free
And can be held by you.
To all the youths out there
That feel, that life ain’t fair.
Know that God’s still here and he hears your prayers
So walk bold and straight,
With your head held high
And to every problem let go and let God deal with it.
The Stress of my Life,
Is trapping me, increasingly,
Internally I’m losing the Fight.
Hello Everyone,
So Practoce at the beginning of the week went well. We meet our new Director for Stress n’ out; CoCo; she is great and has wonderful insights for this coming up performance. We went through scene by scene this week and i am more confident about the scenes and my character. I am now becoming more invovled with my character and i feel comfortable doing scenes with Jerome because we built a relationship…so its going well. Now we have a performance coming up and i have a dance to do, so i hope i can creat something inspirational for that section. I like freestyling to dance, but i think its best that i come up with a dance, so that it looks more clean. Anywho we ended off the week with a small practice and we basically went through scenes that needed music and props. I am in charge of make-up and clothing, which i finished doing this weekend. Anywho until next time see you later
NKingu sign off!
Hello Everyone
Anyways we have a practice on Monday morning, and I’m not a morning person! However i am excited to get this practice going, hopefully everyone shows up and has their game face on. Practice should go smoothly and if so we can probably leave early hopefully. I forgot to mention this in my last blog , we have two additional members to EG; Nathaneal and Jordan Who are very talented and i can’t wait to work with them some more. Scene two in the play is a sexual scene and for me to be comfortable doing it, i have to be comfortable with the person, however meeting Nathaneal for the first time i was able to do the scene like i have been doing it for years. He makes me feel comfortable so i have a great feeling about them being on board with EG.
What do we do…elevate…what do we do… elevate.!
Nkingu Signing off!
Well…where do I start? This week was good I missed one practice during March break due to a doctor’s appointment. However, I believe we are pretty prepared for our upcoming performance. The Monday practice was productive we worked on scene setups and how each scene will flow. The only concern and worry that I have right now is One scene in the production which involves movement and voice, and secondly my dance piece. So hopefully all goes well, I am working on my dance piece right now and I hope it works out OK for the production. Honestly my only fear is that I can’t pull it off as great as the last production. I hear a lot of “voices” saying that last year was good and I just don’t want to disappoint the group members that were previously in the last production and I don’t want to disappoint myself. So let’s hope by God’s grace I put my all into DIANA and into this production.
Thanks
Nkingu signing off!
Hey
So I m scared, I m shaking and trembling inside to perform. It’s not the fear of being on stage its more like the good feeling that what I’m doing isn’t any ordinary performance. It’s not a school play that everyone laughs at and enjoys for one day. It’s not a one day appearance. However, it’s bigger then that and I think it’s huge that’s why I’m scared, that’s why I’m shaking, it’s a huge deal! I’ve always prayed to God to use my talents to inspire others, and help others. The word God places secure to my heart is “EMPATHY” because this is something that one should have when performing. It is to put yourself in the characters shoes, to know his or hers emotions. For me I use empathy to express, to many teens who deal with such a problem that is so severely painful yet to society expressed as an insignificant matter. I’ve always wanted to make a difference and I believe that Monday (29th) will be a day that a seed will grow in me. I don’t want the money of fame, the Oscars which would be great, I just want to help, and that’s all just help. I enjoy working with EG, and I feel like this is where I belong, no rush to stardom, but to take a slow path there and help people on the way. I’m excited and I can’t wait, and I hope my fellow cast members are just as excited as myself.
Nkingu Signing off
Hey,
So tomorrow is the day i am so excited!!!
We have practiced so much and we have put so much time into this production that i believe in each of my peers that this will turn out how God has intented. We are going to express the feelings of each youth that feels the stress of mental health. God has blessed us and has given us this performance and i believe that we were brought to this location for an important reason. We are going to show millions of youths that getting help is ok, and making a difference through the talents God places before you, you will be able to grow abundantly through him.
Nkingu Signing off
Hey,
So this Blog is dedicated to our Director, CoCo
I’m extremely thankful for the work you put out there for us to reach for. You allowed us to see deeper into our talents then we imagined. There were days that I was depressed and down but you brought me to a level were I will be able to use my stress and incorporate it with my character. I appreciate all that you have done, and what you have thought me. You should me my flaws but you also showed me how to cover those flaws and put forth the best work out there. I am glad that I was able to experience this moment with you and I happy to have worked with someone so talented and passionate about what they do. I wish you all the best and when God showed me that my place was at EG I know it was for a true reason because through this organization I learned to cope with my stress way better, I learned to use my stress in my God given talents, and I learned to not blame myself for the mistakes I have gone through in life but to know God has forgiven me and I am now free.
Thank you E.G and a big thanks to COCO!