Exercises

Impossible Task

Everyone was given a piece of paper with an impossible task, which they had to carry out. My impossible task was to pull of the radiator. I found it physically demanding and in order for it to work I had to fully commit, even though I knew there was a very slim chance of actually accomplishing the task. It linked in with Artaud, and how he wanted to actors to be physically engaged, and push themselves to the limit. Even though I knew the task was practically impossible I had to believe and this gave me the momentum to carry on. I think the aim of the task was to show us that we as actors need to push ourselves, in order to reach our full pontential, and it's alo about pushing past the mental boundaries of doubt, telling yourself you can't do something.

 

Walk the Grid

In this exercise we had to focus on an objective, and walk in straight lines, only turning on a 90 degree angle. I found this exercise was down to mind over body, because even though I was so physically fatigued, I was so focused on achieving this objective, that it pushed me to carry on; I found that without an objective this exercise would have been challenge, because my walk would have had no purpose. After a while, I became so enveloped in achieving my objective, that everything around me became more distant. I think this task, showed me that we need to play to our objectives and use it to our advantage, work with it, give ourselves a purpose even with the smallest of actions.

 

Slow Motion Tennis

In this exercise we had to play a game of tennis in slow motion, I found it quite physically draining, but in contrast to the 'walk the grid' exercise this one was down to body over mind. even though I was thinking I'm really tired, I still kept pushing and after a while I shut off mentally, so the moves became instinctual rather than thinking about what position I'm going to next. This exercise taught me about discipline and in order to get the best out of our bodies, we have to push the boundaries, and push past the pain, because pain restricts us from fully committing. This exercise has taught me that I shouldn't let pain limit me, and that my body can endure more than I think.

 

No language argument

In this exercise we had to have an argument without using actual words. I found it very useful in terms of enabling me to use my body more to help communicate, and this was the first exercise which I thought was really experimental, because it is such an unusual way to communicate. I found that using sounds and our body, we could put across a message just as we would when we speak, but body language is a universal language that anyone could understand, and sometimes the use of no words, can be so much more effective.

 

We then repeated the exercise, but using only one word. My partner and I used the word 'fuck' however I think we could have used a better word, that could have been manipulated into various scenarios,; I thought my word only worked best in an aggressive situation. I found the groups that were the best were the groups that used a word that had nothing to do with their situation, because they manipulated it and made it work, however on a whole I found it better with no words, because it was a lot more powerful, and I found that sometimes less is more.

 

Emotion Line

In this exercise we stood in a line and we had to portray emotion on a scale, from 1 - 9 (depending on how many people were in the line) with the increase in number, the emotion built up in intensity. What I learned from this exercise is that emotion can be pushed so much, and I believe as actors, we may believe we're fully committed but there is so much more we can do, and sub-consciously we're holding back.