In light of playing a Gorillia at the national history museum with 'creature feature' theatre company I continue to consider my homework.
Reading A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney how would you research and communicate the physiology of the pregnant character to an actress?
Oh I need a brew tangents have pulled me away into a thousand places. I am learning about my attention span alot this year.
Pelvic power
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
LABAN
I really like the work that I have done on Laban
It is really applicable and works from impulse in a particular way. The actors are given rules and restrictions and they become rich to play with. Especially when mixing an inner and outer effort can the effect of 'acting' take shape.
The elements are a great way in to the continuums (space, time, weight, flow) so again a cross over to Le coq's work is good to see. I also found cross overs with the states of tension, as I say to my students tension gives intention. I still believe that and it came back to me today.
You can play the efforts in big, comic and grotesque ways but also disguise them within naturalism. We explored the efforts for their rhythms, directions and use of space in fairly abstract way as pure movement. The way to consolidate one effort was to visit another effort that has one different element and then build in more differences afterwards. Then we played with a mixture of pacing around in the space to gestures and keeping the effort in 'stillness' before breaking into movement again.
We took a simple task of walking to a chair and sitting down, starting in one effort and making the change to another at any point. So if I travelled over in a Wring (Indirect, heavy, sustained) and I changed when I saw the chair to a flick (indirect, light, sudden) this adds meaning and then styles choices must be made to propose interpretation.
TERMINOLOGY
KINESPHERE - the bubble or personal space that surrounds you sometimes referred to as aura
PATHWAYS - movement pathways, neural pathways (nervous system), circulatory pathways (cardiovascular- respiratory systems)
ways in to efforts
Arc like or curved movements are INDIRECT they have no clear beginning or end which proved challenging when INDIRECT met SUDDEN. The dynamic of sudden normally comes out of a contrasting rhythm or pattern of movement for example a shock, or burst of laughter or high emotion rather than a constant speed. So to keep a sudden tempo while your movements have no punctuation and are continuous provided a challenge. Was this a challenge of the mind or the body? although some wouldn't separate the two as in Feldenkris training you are just your 'self'. Nevertheless where does the challenge occur in perception or action?.
Does one element rely on a exact set of circumstances to remain correct? or are we just most familiar with movement principles from our daily lives and therefore that is our benchmark? In movement training we take what is real and we dissect it for use elsewhere. By extracting movement principles we have more playing options whether we want to recreate something that looks very life like or something more stylised the source is the same. Our experience of movement through the tension, action, emotions and challenges that we feel and observe in others is our source and should be understood and manipulated for use in theatre. It is the conflict that we must chase to find new movement 'pathways' and understand more.
In all movement work we are trying to identify the pattern and rhythms that we head towards in order to know what we avoid. In the ones we avoid we may find the golden ticket to the factory of delights and more importantly orange dwarfs. The process of identification is key, what are my habits and the contractions within me am I a floating, fire, gorilla searching for eyes and bodies to play with? do I try to thrust but end up wringing and flirting with with air? I love to be strong, acrobatic and warrior like but also to morph and be less obvious make space for dreams. Indirect or direct what is most prominent at the moment my peers would say I am direct. I think I am externally direct and internally indirect. Tension level 5 but 0 is intriguing and is entering my body easily at the moment. None lives in one completely or if they do they become comic and extraordinary. To visit these different restrictions is the actors work.
Inner efforts get me excited and brought up an interesting question, where do I place the breath?. If the breath helps us to articulate the effort in every case from the external, it is also needed for the internal effort and then how can you share it or find a flow between the two needs for breath. It feels like a rub your tummy at your head situation.
BREATH IN MOVEMENT
Breath and impulse are so closely related in acting how do we find natural flow of opposing impulses. I say natural because I do it when I run for a train (Thrust - direct, Heavy, sudden movement) and think happy thoughts (Float - direct, light, sustained movement).
Glide, slash, float, glide, thrust, dab, press, wring...
Glide - direct, light, sustained
Float - Indirect, light, sustained
Wring - Indirect, heavy, sustained
Press - Direct, heavy, sustained
Flick - indirect, light, sudden
Slash - Indirect, heavy, sudden
Thrust - Direct, heavy, sudden
Dab - Direct, light, sudden
which are you?
It is really applicable and works from impulse in a particular way. The actors are given rules and restrictions and they become rich to play with. Especially when mixing an inner and outer effort can the effect of 'acting' take shape.
The elements are a great way in to the continuums (space, time, weight, flow) so again a cross over to Le coq's work is good to see. I also found cross overs with the states of tension, as I say to my students tension gives intention. I still believe that and it came back to me today.
You can play the efforts in big, comic and grotesque ways but also disguise them within naturalism. We explored the efforts for their rhythms, directions and use of space in fairly abstract way as pure movement. The way to consolidate one effort was to visit another effort that has one different element and then build in more differences afterwards. Then we played with a mixture of pacing around in the space to gestures and keeping the effort in 'stillness' before breaking into movement again.
We took a simple task of walking to a chair and sitting down, starting in one effort and making the change to another at any point. So if I travelled over in a Wring (Indirect, heavy, sustained) and I changed when I saw the chair to a flick (indirect, light, sudden) this adds meaning and then styles choices must be made to propose interpretation.
TERMINOLOGY
KINESPHERE - the bubble or personal space that surrounds you sometimes referred to as aura
PATHWAYS - movement pathways, neural pathways (nervous system), circulatory pathways (cardiovascular- respiratory systems)
ways in to efforts
Arc like or curved movements are INDIRECT they have no clear beginning or end which proved challenging when INDIRECT met SUDDEN. The dynamic of sudden normally comes out of a contrasting rhythm or pattern of movement for example a shock, or burst of laughter or high emotion rather than a constant speed. So to keep a sudden tempo while your movements have no punctuation and are continuous provided a challenge. Was this a challenge of the mind or the body? although some wouldn't separate the two as in Feldenkris training you are just your 'self'. Nevertheless where does the challenge occur in perception or action?.
Does one element rely on a exact set of circumstances to remain correct? or are we just most familiar with movement principles from our daily lives and therefore that is our benchmark? In movement training we take what is real and we dissect it for use elsewhere. By extracting movement principles we have more playing options whether we want to recreate something that looks very life like or something more stylised the source is the same. Our experience of movement through the tension, action, emotions and challenges that we feel and observe in others is our source and should be understood and manipulated for use in theatre. It is the conflict that we must chase to find new movement 'pathways' and understand more.
In all movement work we are trying to identify the pattern and rhythms that we head towards in order to know what we avoid. In the ones we avoid we may find the golden ticket to the factory of delights and more importantly orange dwarfs. The process of identification is key, what are my habits and the contractions within me am I a floating, fire, gorilla searching for eyes and bodies to play with? do I try to thrust but end up wringing and flirting with with air? I love to be strong, acrobatic and warrior like but also to morph and be less obvious make space for dreams. Indirect or direct what is most prominent at the moment my peers would say I am direct. I think I am externally direct and internally indirect. Tension level 5 but 0 is intriguing and is entering my body easily at the moment. None lives in one completely or if they do they become comic and extraordinary. To visit these different restrictions is the actors work.
Inner efforts get me excited and brought up an interesting question, where do I place the breath?. If the breath helps us to articulate the effort in every case from the external, it is also needed for the internal effort and then how can you share it or find a flow between the two needs for breath. It feels like a rub your tummy at your head situation.
BREATH IN MOVEMENT
Breath and impulse are so closely related in acting how do we find natural flow of opposing impulses. I say natural because I do it when I run for a train (Thrust - direct, Heavy, sudden movement) and think happy thoughts (Float - direct, light, sustained movement).
Glide, slash, float, glide, thrust, dab, press, wring...
Glide - direct, light, sustained
Float - Indirect, light, sustained
Wring - Indirect, heavy, sustained
Press - Direct, heavy, sustained
Flick - indirect, light, sudden
Slash - Indirect, heavy, sudden
Thrust - Direct, heavy, sudden
Dab - Direct, light, sudden
which are you?
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Well Overdue
Natasha Federova
Last wednesday my interrogating systems of movement was led by the ex mosco arts theatre Natasha Fedeova. I was taken by her energy which seemed so out of place at the 'lovely' central school of speech and drama. She was so frank and spoke about how felt. She began the class as most tutors do which I find a bit laborious, by asking us introducing ourselves. I think it would be more fun to introduce each other as we have heard the same thing time and time again, 'I have a mish mash of styles', 'I am a physical performer', 'I have done Grotowski's river work', 'I love laban' all words that mean very little but we still use them to describe ourselves. So she asked for all of our names and then said that she would say them back to us...and she did all 11 of us, now this tells me that although she is ill today she is made of hard stuff.
I WAS RIGHT!
This session appealed to the boy in me! it appealed to my sense of challenge and adventure and complete physical engagement to the point of pain. She had us stretching in pretty extreme ways, doing splits, pushing and bending each other, she pushed our core muscles, our flexibility, our body/mind relationship, stamina, pain threshold, sense of game, pleasure....
I came out remembering the bold physical work that I love to do. It is something that keeps me on my toes and engaged. It's the challenge, but a challenge is within my reach or at least aspects of the work. So this is what I like to inject into my teaching which I think I know already but can enjoy more. Thanks Natasha for having a personality while you teach, for being firm and focused and for pushing all of us in the way that we needed to go. I was aware that others in the group were challenged differently to me just as I would be as was when counting and steps came into play!
She never showed us the limit of a move, she always added more to keep us working. 'To make your life interesting' enjoy it she would say!
To go back to my comment about central being lovely, I am not being derogatory but there is something a bit calm in the school and well packaged as I imagine most drama school have. This energy kicked me in face in the way I love to be treated and allowed me to work through my personality to get the best. To teach and direct you have to keep practicing theatre and be inspired and challenged in your own work. I really believe this and need to know that I will work best like this. I am so interested by all the teachers, their styles, subject and chosen approach to the aforementioned. The mixture in this great building in incredible, so rich.
It's funny how I remember more of the details of her class a week later, than I did at the end of the session. I didn't and usually don't make notes in practical sessions and I know that my body will remember what it needs as it has done for some many years. I look forward to working in this way again.
Last wednesday my interrogating systems of movement was led by the ex mosco arts theatre Natasha Fedeova. I was taken by her energy which seemed so out of place at the 'lovely' central school of speech and drama. She was so frank and spoke about how felt. She began the class as most tutors do which I find a bit laborious, by asking us introducing ourselves. I think it would be more fun to introduce each other as we have heard the same thing time and time again, 'I have a mish mash of styles', 'I am a physical performer', 'I have done Grotowski's river work', 'I love laban' all words that mean very little but we still use them to describe ourselves. So she asked for all of our names and then said that she would say them back to us...and she did all 11 of us, now this tells me that although she is ill today she is made of hard stuff.
I WAS RIGHT!
This session appealed to the boy in me! it appealed to my sense of challenge and adventure and complete physical engagement to the point of pain. She had us stretching in pretty extreme ways, doing splits, pushing and bending each other, she pushed our core muscles, our flexibility, our body/mind relationship, stamina, pain threshold, sense of game, pleasure....
I came out remembering the bold physical work that I love to do. It is something that keeps me on my toes and engaged. It's the challenge, but a challenge is within my reach or at least aspects of the work. So this is what I like to inject into my teaching which I think I know already but can enjoy more. Thanks Natasha for having a personality while you teach, for being firm and focused and for pushing all of us in the way that we needed to go. I was aware that others in the group were challenged differently to me just as I would be as was when counting and steps came into play!
She never showed us the limit of a move, she always added more to keep us working. 'To make your life interesting' enjoy it she would say!
To go back to my comment about central being lovely, I am not being derogatory but there is something a bit calm in the school and well packaged as I imagine most drama school have. This energy kicked me in face in the way I love to be treated and allowed me to work through my personality to get the best. To teach and direct you have to keep practicing theatre and be inspired and challenged in your own work. I really believe this and need to know that I will work best like this. I am so interested by all the teachers, their styles, subject and chosen approach to the aforementioned. The mixture in this great building in incredible, so rich.
It's funny how I remember more of the details of her class a week later, than I did at the end of the session. I didn't and usually don't make notes in practical sessions and I know that my body will remember what it needs as it has done for some many years. I look forward to working in this way again.
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Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Idiot in Brixton
That idiot was me!
I have to blog this so that I remember not to do it again. Basically tonight I found myself walking around brixton with a laptop in my cloth bag, getting lost because I thought I was so clever and could find my way home instead of waiting for a bus. I taught myself a valuable lesson today, not to be so impatient! this is one of my big character traits so tricky to kill off instantly.
But the fear of walking into places that I didn't recognise in an area that we are told to be scared of will keep impatience when it comes to safety at bay for now. It is so true that you learn best by your own mistakes. I feel like an idiot, funney after spending 3 hours at a workshop where people were paying to taste was it is to IDIOT. Funney. Basta! bedtime.
I scared myself tonight and would rather not do that again. To see all the faces of the people at the workshop as they flopped and sunk into the swamp of shit where they really wanted to die in that moment is strange to think of now. I would have given anything to be playing or even flopping my ass of than being stuck in Brixton with what felt like danger around every corner.
What we do as performers is share something with an audience and take a risk every time we do, but the risk is in our heads.
More about the fantastic Natasha Federova tomorrow. What a fantastic day of levels of tension in the body and some good old Russian style movement for actors to get our teeth into.
I have to blog this so that I remember not to do it again. Basically tonight I found myself walking around brixton with a laptop in my cloth bag, getting lost because I thought I was so clever and could find my way home instead of waiting for a bus. I taught myself a valuable lesson today, not to be so impatient! this is one of my big character traits so tricky to kill off instantly.
But the fear of walking into places that I didn't recognise in an area that we are told to be scared of will keep impatience when it comes to safety at bay for now. It is so true that you learn best by your own mistakes. I feel like an idiot, funney after spending 3 hours at a workshop where people were paying to taste was it is to IDIOT. Funney. Basta! bedtime.
I scared myself tonight and would rather not do that again. To see all the faces of the people at the workshop as they flopped and sunk into the swamp of shit where they really wanted to die in that moment is strange to think of now. I would have given anything to be playing or even flopping my ass of than being stuck in Brixton with what felt like danger around every corner.
What we do as performers is share something with an audience and take a risk every time we do, but the risk is in our heads.
More about the fantastic Natasha Federova tomorrow. What a fantastic day of levels of tension in the body and some good old Russian style movement for actors to get our teeth into.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Limber Up
I had my limber assessment today
I had to lead a 20 minute limber class suitable for first year student actors. It could be preparing them for anything that I chose as my intended class. I am interested in animal work as an actor training into character development or creation. My task over the last few weeks has been to be very clear and teach something concrete to my class. I often work in a playful and creative way avoiding very technical exercises, as I write this I think it's not true but anyway in a schizophrenic way I will continue my train of thought. Maybe I am less drawn to these type of exercises because I have to be very clear in my instructions and know the work inside out.
BOY AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH dunno where that came from.
So I took some exercises that i do alot and really worked on getting to the core of what they were about and how to lead them. I was pleased on the whole although I ran out of time at the end so didn't tie it up quite right.
At the beginning of the module my feedback for the weeks ahead was:
NO GAMES
I MUST DEMONSTRATE
USE A SOFTER VOICE
DON'T RUSH
I definitely have addressed those points and therefore as I realised in my last blog, I am learning. I am tuning my teaching instrument and I love it. Another challenging aspect of my chosen limber was that it wasn't FUN and I think thats interesting. Sometimes we have to do prep work that is valuable and not an instant fix of adrenaline, humor and play. No sometimes play is around the corner but not quite needed yet. I must find play for myself that isn't always visible to the students but keeps me light and responsive. I am different to them and need to support there journey from the outside and resist MY desire to have fun all the time. Oh it's getting deep, i'm analysing myself thats thursdays session coming into my self indulgent blogging time!
RESEARCH QUESTION FOR NEXT WEEK?
I had to lead a 20 minute limber class suitable for first year student actors. It could be preparing them for anything that I chose as my intended class. I am interested in animal work as an actor training into character development or creation. My task over the last few weeks has been to be very clear and teach something concrete to my class. I often work in a playful and creative way avoiding very technical exercises, as I write this I think it's not true but anyway in a schizophrenic way I will continue my train of thought. Maybe I am less drawn to these type of exercises because I have to be very clear in my instructions and know the work inside out.
BOY AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH dunno where that came from.
So I took some exercises that i do alot and really worked on getting to the core of what they were about and how to lead them. I was pleased on the whole although I ran out of time at the end so didn't tie it up quite right.
At the beginning of the module my feedback for the weeks ahead was:
NO GAMES
I MUST DEMONSTRATE
USE A SOFTER VOICE
DON'T RUSH
I definitely have addressed those points and therefore as I realised in my last blog, I am learning. I am tuning my teaching instrument and I love it. Another challenging aspect of my chosen limber was that it wasn't FUN and I think thats interesting. Sometimes we have to do prep work that is valuable and not an instant fix of adrenaline, humor and play. No sometimes play is around the corner but not quite needed yet. I must find play for myself that isn't always visible to the students but keeps me light and responsive. I am different to them and need to support there journey from the outside and resist MY desire to have fun all the time. Oh it's getting deep, i'm analysing myself thats thursdays session coming into my self indulgent blogging time!
RESEARCH QUESTION FOR NEXT WEEK?
Sunday, November 6, 2011
End of Week 4...thank god!
End of week four is music to my ears.
It's been an awkward week, a struggle to motivate and find the reason for anything really. I'm not going to rattle on about why it was hard because it's just a week in a series of many that will be wonderfully different.
I had beautiful weekend with my love, in Etampe (1 hours south of Paris) amongst giggling, artichokes, markets, sky blue eyes, tears of joy, etc we visited ecole Philippe Gaulier for a much needed injection of his wit and wise words. Philippe reminds me that
1. The relationship between Clowns is the most important thing
2. The difference between clown and eccentric character is the relationship with the audience. The character does eccentric things that exist in their own world regardless of the audience response. The Clown does his gags or actions for the audience, they acknowledge the flop and try to save the show with what they do.
3. The clown doesn't do things well, there must be problems and interruptions.
4. We must understand the clowns game
5. We have to believe that you are good friends with your partner, even if you fight it is just to have an affect on the audience.
So full of inspiration and sensing the fragile journey that his students are in the middle of I was grateful to have witnessed Philippe at work again.
I also learned as I often do that Clown work needs to be simple, I saw some work that didn't make me laugh and I think to my own work and think i'm doing all right. I have something! Part of this week has been an uncomfortable feeling of displacement, why, what, who, am, I, want, do, I, F off! I really try to avoid putting myself in a box, which happens to be what my best mate calls me! I am me and I can do different things that all use me and what I love to do! that is the title on my flat pack box.
My task in pedagogy class was to break down what I can do easily and teach it step by step. This is a good challenge for me, I try to remember the feeling I had when doing a particular physical exercise 8 years ago! Oh man that calculation has really taken me back. My body has so much memory in it and I carry exercises and physical advice around from so many sources. To teach this work I must take a step back and break the motion down and find the words to communicate. This is a good lesson for me, so yes I am learning here.
I am excited by the potential of the 'Movement director' and I continue to learn more about the possibilities and challenges she has. So I will start to think about some research activity for research week ,week 6. What do I want to explore with my class?
Clown Lab went to central on saturday, which was great for me. I really needed to work in an area that I love and find that organic flow through the work that I chose to share with the group. I have an eye on the changes that I want to make and the work that I have done at salford has prepared me for this link.
The Playful body.
It's been an awkward week, a struggle to motivate and find the reason for anything really. I'm not going to rattle on about why it was hard because it's just a week in a series of many that will be wonderfully different.
I had beautiful weekend with my love, in Etampe (1 hours south of Paris) amongst giggling, artichokes, markets, sky blue eyes, tears of joy, etc we visited ecole Philippe Gaulier for a much needed injection of his wit and wise words. Philippe reminds me that
1. The relationship between Clowns is the most important thing
2. The difference between clown and eccentric character is the relationship with the audience. The character does eccentric things that exist in their own world regardless of the audience response. The Clown does his gags or actions for the audience, they acknowledge the flop and try to save the show with what they do.
3. The clown doesn't do things well, there must be problems and interruptions.
4. We must understand the clowns game
5. We have to believe that you are good friends with your partner, even if you fight it is just to have an affect on the audience.
So full of inspiration and sensing the fragile journey that his students are in the middle of I was grateful to have witnessed Philippe at work again.
I also learned as I often do that Clown work needs to be simple, I saw some work that didn't make me laugh and I think to my own work and think i'm doing all right. I have something! Part of this week has been an uncomfortable feeling of displacement, why, what, who, am, I, want, do, I, F off! I really try to avoid putting myself in a box, which happens to be what my best mate calls me! I am me and I can do different things that all use me and what I love to do! that is the title on my flat pack box.
My task in pedagogy class was to break down what I can do easily and teach it step by step. This is a good challenge for me, I try to remember the feeling I had when doing a particular physical exercise 8 years ago! Oh man that calculation has really taken me back. My body has so much memory in it and I carry exercises and physical advice around from so many sources. To teach this work I must take a step back and break the motion down and find the words to communicate. This is a good lesson for me, so yes I am learning here.
I am excited by the potential of the 'Movement director' and I continue to learn more about the possibilities and challenges she has. So I will start to think about some research activity for research week ,week 6. What do I want to explore with my class?
Clown Lab went to central on saturday, which was great for me. I really needed to work in an area that I love and find that organic flow through the work that I chose to share with the group. I have an eye on the changes that I want to make and the work that I have done at salford has prepared me for this link.
The Playful body.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Le Coq, Le coq, Le coq
I love Le coq!
For those that don't quite know how to take that statement I will explian. Jaques Le coq was a theatre practitioner that trained actors and creatives to use their bodies first and foremost to expereince acting. He focused on the physical over the physcological. The physcology was left for the spectator and the actors were free to inhabit movement in relation to space. It is more complicated than that but also his work was very simple, revisitng basic human actions inorder to discover physical freedom and physcial control. His theory and philiosphy is massive and interrogated human nature, while his exercises/forms were rooted in simplicity.
The 7 levels of tension is something that I have encountered in different ways over the years. Recently I have began to incorpate this work into my teaching and I am very interested in it at the moment. To revisit this today in class after teaching it and exploring it with another Le coq trained teacher in the space of 2 months was fantastic. I had the sandwich effect of the being the student (the bread) either side of the meat (the teaching) in the middle. That's an interesting thought, to have the students experience close to your teaching is a good combination. It needn't be that you work on a level so to speak with the students as you must assume the role of teacher but to keep their experience close to you is useful. I like to see the different approaches of teaching this work including the use of language, the time given, the imagary and labels attached. This time we moved through the states quite quickly and we didn't as I previously experienced break into a sweat and feel the body working to it's limits. We analysed each state after we had attempted to embody it, the states had numbers and the odd reference but a version of the titles for each were given to us at the end. In groups we discussed each state in terms of weight, breath, space (internal and external) and general associations. This discussion allowed me to consider the experience of others in the exercise and therefore my perspective was accompanied by that of other people. This is what I wanted to get from this course, to know how to work with actors by drawing on the expereinces of others not just my own. I want to have a varied understanding of the expereince of the work of so that I am more likely to resonate with them differently on their different journeys. We jumped in and out of the states which was a good training and we did them all from standing and moving positions, which I think is very useful for the actor. When it comes to the application of this work the actor should be able to transfer the tension of all of the levels in all positions. Previoulsy I had found that students felt confused when I taught the tensions beginning on the floor, to then adapting them to the different exercises. They were thrown into their heads to figure out the change and became disconnected from the sensation as a shape shifting experience.
Neutral Mask
Ahhh to be here again is another treat. It is always a nerve racking expereince and rightly so. To put on this 'neutral' mask feels a bit like taking off your clothes in public. The fact that everyone will be taking off their clothes one by one does nothing to ease the situation. So I find this a really active, challenging, refreshing experience. Again the teaching approaches are always different with a few constant codes of behavior. I put the mask on and turn to see my group, informally as 2 others are doing it at the same time and I have no instruction but to stand there. They gently laugh at me and my tutor commented on how this will be hard for me, as I have done it before. Damn there's no escaping this desire to want to be good, the neutral mask is so cleaver and it works to remove your ego or at least expose it to everyone! so cheeky! in the words of one of my teachers ' it's a cheeky mask, this one' yes cheeky in that it looks like one thing and it reveals another. So the first thing that struck me after wearing the mask for a few minutes as they looked and tittered at me was how grounded I felt. That was lovely, maybe new for me? I didn't feel self concious and I held something in me, or it left a trace of it's self in me. It, me, ah it gets a bit confusing when I start to write about this work but I think it is the experience that stayed imprinted on/in me when the mask was taken off.
So with the echoes of previous notes from previous teachers and the pressure of everyone knowing I had studied this before, which of course is not necessarily a benefit, I continue. I wake up for the first time, I walk through the mist, see the ocean and throw a pebble. I had a pleasant and inspiring mask experience today. I will look into this more from the perspective as a performer and a teacher but not I have to go and meet my mate fishy!
Performer or teacher that is the question?
For those that don't quite know how to take that statement I will explian. Jaques Le coq was a theatre practitioner that trained actors and creatives to use their bodies first and foremost to expereince acting. He focused on the physical over the physcological. The physcology was left for the spectator and the actors were free to inhabit movement in relation to space. It is more complicated than that but also his work was very simple, revisitng basic human actions inorder to discover physical freedom and physcial control. His theory and philiosphy is massive and interrogated human nature, while his exercises/forms were rooted in simplicity.
The 7 levels of tension is something that I have encountered in different ways over the years. Recently I have began to incorpate this work into my teaching and I am very interested in it at the moment. To revisit this today in class after teaching it and exploring it with another Le coq trained teacher in the space of 2 months was fantastic. I had the sandwich effect of the being the student (the bread) either side of the meat (the teaching) in the middle. That's an interesting thought, to have the students experience close to your teaching is a good combination. It needn't be that you work on a level so to speak with the students as you must assume the role of teacher but to keep their experience close to you is useful. I like to see the different approaches of teaching this work including the use of language, the time given, the imagary and labels attached. This time we moved through the states quite quickly and we didn't as I previously experienced break into a sweat and feel the body working to it's limits. We analysed each state after we had attempted to embody it, the states had numbers and the odd reference but a version of the titles for each were given to us at the end. In groups we discussed each state in terms of weight, breath, space (internal and external) and general associations. This discussion allowed me to consider the experience of others in the exercise and therefore my perspective was accompanied by that of other people. This is what I wanted to get from this course, to know how to work with actors by drawing on the expereinces of others not just my own. I want to have a varied understanding of the expereince of the work of so that I am more likely to resonate with them differently on their different journeys. We jumped in and out of the states which was a good training and we did them all from standing and moving positions, which I think is very useful for the actor. When it comes to the application of this work the actor should be able to transfer the tension of all of the levels in all positions. Previoulsy I had found that students felt confused when I taught the tensions beginning on the floor, to then adapting them to the different exercises. They were thrown into their heads to figure out the change and became disconnected from the sensation as a shape shifting experience.
Neutral Mask
Ahhh to be here again is another treat. It is always a nerve racking expereince and rightly so. To put on this 'neutral' mask feels a bit like taking off your clothes in public. The fact that everyone will be taking off their clothes one by one does nothing to ease the situation. So I find this a really active, challenging, refreshing experience. Again the teaching approaches are always different with a few constant codes of behavior. I put the mask on and turn to see my group, informally as 2 others are doing it at the same time and I have no instruction but to stand there. They gently laugh at me and my tutor commented on how this will be hard for me, as I have done it before. Damn there's no escaping this desire to want to be good, the neutral mask is so cleaver and it works to remove your ego or at least expose it to everyone! so cheeky! in the words of one of my teachers ' it's a cheeky mask, this one' yes cheeky in that it looks like one thing and it reveals another. So the first thing that struck me after wearing the mask for a few minutes as they looked and tittered at me was how grounded I felt. That was lovely, maybe new for me? I didn't feel self concious and I held something in me, or it left a trace of it's self in me. It, me, ah it gets a bit confusing when I start to write about this work but I think it is the experience that stayed imprinted on/in me when the mask was taken off.
So with the echoes of previous notes from previous teachers and the pressure of everyone knowing I had studied this before, which of course is not necessarily a benefit, I continue. I wake up for the first time, I walk through the mist, see the ocean and throw a pebble. I had a pleasant and inspiring mask experience today. I will look into this more from the perspective as a performer and a teacher but not I have to go and meet my mate fishy!
Performer or teacher that is the question?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tuesdays are hard
Tuesdays are hard and of course because of that they are my favorite day. I love to work hard and I get annoyed when I am not learning. So much of learning of course is in the mind of the beholder and there is always opportunity for it should you be willing to see it. On this course, in this place in my mind I am in a constant state of analysis, I notice so much and it swirls around my head like a whirlpool of self reflection. I find meaning in everything, I constantly think in metaphor and draw parallels between random acts and calculated plans. I find significance in the things I do right down to the way I fold up my bike. So I am learning that my brain and my being communicates ideas at least internally through metaphor and often in non linear thought patterns. When I communicate ideas, be it feelings, teaching, or responses to a provocation I am often very true to how I feel. This however doesn't always come across as I would want it be it in performance or teaching I think i'm saying I want more control over the way I communicate.
And ah I feel flat today and a bit like what's it all about! what am i doing? I know it's because Tuesdays are hard and I have high hopes and aspirations but also because I miss my man. From being so full of the feeling of closeness and touch to be apart again feels hard, like tuesdays but worse.
And ah I feel flat today and a bit like what's it all about! what am i doing? I know it's because Tuesdays are hard and I have high hopes and aspirations but also because I miss my man. From being so full of the feeling of closeness and touch to be apart again feels hard, like tuesdays but worse.
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