AMDA: A Day in the Life - Acting

Hi, my name is Ahkei Togan I am a seventh semester in the acting BFA program at AMDA LA. Today is actually a really busy day for me I have a ton of classes. I have screenwriting. Media for the actor. And stage combat styles. And tonight is the premiere of "Holy Ghost" which is the BFA play that I am in. Just with everything going on, the nerves are definitely there. It's a big night.

My first class is short film script development with Brian Barry and basically what we do in that class is write our own individual scripts.

I didn't want you guys to know that I was still so attached to her.

I feel like in my career as an artist, writing dialogue was one of the hardest things for me. It really helps me find that voice that's inside of me that I can also put on paper and figure out how to tell the story.

My next class is media for the actor with Katie Kane. Media for the actor is basically showing you all the ways that you can portray yourself as an actor. So for the first scene that we're shooting, I am the Assistant Director, I have the responsibility of choosing where the camera goes, figuring out where the actors are going to be, and making sure that their shots look like what they need to look like. I'm in charge of the whole set for their scene. And then after that, I have another scene that I'm actually going to act. Going to go from being in front of the camera to behind the camera.

So lunch is a break away from the long day. It's a break away from the stresses that may come from whatever classroom you just came from. And it's a nice way to spend that 30 minute break that you may have laughter and joy before you have to go into a serious emotional scene in your next class.

Next, I have fundamentals of oral communication with Deshawn Booker. Today Deshawn challenged us with a presentation asking us the question of if we could who we'd like to have dinner with, and I chose J. Cole. He is a hip hop artist. And I decided to do a presentation in the form of a rap based off of one of the songs that he has written that has empowered me over time.

Yo, what's up Cole? How you spit the real and still you become the man? How you front the bill and still come out with a plan?

As an artist or as an actor, you're always going to have to use your voice. You always have to get used to being in front of audiences, whether it's an audience of 10, or an audience of 10,000.

My next class is advanced stage combat styles with Tim Brown. That class is very important because it just it's something to add to why you're different as an actor. So today, we were working on a style of Mixed Martial Arts. And we'll have normally two instructors in each class who are basically there to kind of give us notes on how we can make this part better or make this part more believable as the fight. They're also very patient with us. And I think that's a big thing about the class because it's not always easy picking up the fights that we're working on.

Since I started at AMDA I've been blessed to have many experiences with being able to just portray my art in as many ways as possible.

I learned that when I loved I loved with the love that resembled an infinity pool.

Since I've been in Los Angeles. I've been in three BFA plays. I was in "Mr. Burns" and I played Matt. I was Nelson in "Wedding Band." And then this semester I am Rogers Canfield in "Holy Ghost"

For a long time have started to call show days "game days," because this is my sport. This is what I love to do. For, I want to say about four or five years, I've always had my own warmup time. I love to get my body just used to my environment so that when I'm on stage, that's something that I'm not worried about whatsoever.

For the show, one of the things that I've been appointed to is fight captain. So that's basically me, looking over the fights and making sure they're staying safe.

That's better, that's better. Let's go ahead and bump it up to show speed. And let's do it twice, back to back.

Once the wardrobe and makeup starts coming on, that's when the character starts coming out. So right before the show, the cast gets together and we do a focus warm up.

Everyone loves us as a cast, so we have to continue to love each other. So let's just do it. Let's bring it in. And on three, we're picking them up and we're putting them back. Alright here we go. 123- Pick them up and put them back!

Right before I go on stage, I dedicate every show to my family and any person ever in life who has supported me and still supports me. Then I pray and I go on stage.

In "Holy Ghost," I play Rogers Canfield. He's an old man that has just been trying to figure out how to live without his best friend, which was his wife.

Hold it you! Just hold it!

The biggest challenge of playing an older person is people believing that you're an older person. It's getting into that physicality. It's getting into how does this person even breathe? And to go through a seven hour day as Ahkei the big challenge of that is making sure that those two to three hours that you're on stage, Rogers Canfield is shown, not Ahkei.

After a performance, it's like this heavenly fear. And it's just a relief in a sense, but it's also like this adrenaline that's just like "that was amazing." That is why I'm an actor. That is why I get on stage. I think being around fellow artists is a beautiful thing. AMDA is the community where they love to support you. And the same people that you've been in class with the same people that you have seen on the Piazza in the cafe are the same ones that are going to be in those seats when you're performing on stage. I just really appreciate the platforms that are given at AMDA and just the environment. It's been a great journey.