Progress report...

Mask workshop

The mask workshop was really interesting, because I have never worked with masks like the ones we used. I found it very challenging, because the masks had a set emotion, and you had to bring this emotion to life through use of physicality. I think the masks that had an obvious emotion of being sad, or really happy were easier to bring to life, but some of the masks with a more subtle emotion had to be manipulated, and you had to work a harder to get it to come to life.

 
I found that the masks were quite bizarre and scary, and I think it would work very well in our piece however, it could only work properly if you fully commit, to taking on the role of the mask. I think another challenge was the staging and you positioned yourself, because the audience became so immersed with the performance, that as soon as it is noticeable that it was just a mask, you immediately lost connection with the performance, so actors have to make sure the mask is a part of them, and take on the mask. they need to make sure they're not sideways on, and that their eye level is always up because if you're always looking down, the story and the character is lost, so as an actor you have to be conscious of not only yourself, but also spatially aware.

 
Personally I would find it difficult to incorporate it into our performance, because I think mask would only work with full commitment, but also it's something that would need to be played with for a long time, in order for me to actually fully engage with the character that comes with the mask, and I think it would take time to fully develop the skills in order for me to fuse with the mask, and rather it being just a mask, making it a part of me, so that it is just natural. I feel like when I'm wearing the mask, it feels very forced when it shouldn't, I think it should feel like a natural fluent movement.

Body over mind dance

In this exercise we stood with our eyes closed, listening to music on a loop. We were instructed to just go with natural impulses rather that thinking about the movements we were making, we would just let our body naturally move.

When we first started, I found that it was just natural for me to think about the moves, and because my eyes were closed I found I was more conscious of my movements because I couldn't see what was going on around me. I felt like I was restricting myself from moving, and it my mind was superior to my body, my movements were influenced by a thought process. After a about ten minutes, the music started to put me in a sort of trance, I felt really dazed and tired, but I found that I started to drift away from the room, it became a sort of outer body experience, and I started to loosen up and I stopped thinking about the moves, I started to let my body lead me instead.

The moves I was doing weren't big explosive moves, they were very subtle, there wasn't a real thought process behind it, due to the fact that the music was very hypnotic. There were a few moments throughout the exercise where something clicked and I realised I was in the room, and instantly I closed up and became conscious of what I was doing, at one point I started thinking too much, and I thought that everyone in the room was looking at me, so my mind had taken complete control of my movement.

The music that was playing was on loop, it worked very well, and it created a false sense of time, I was lost in the music, mentally, so I wasn't aware of how long I was actually standing in the same spot, and when we finished the exercise I was really surprised to know that we had been standing there for thirty minutes, I believed we had been there for approximately ten minutes, and I think it was the effect of the music playing on loop, it was very hypnotic and it put us in a trance.

I found the exercise overall quite uncomfortable, and it showed me that my mind is superior to my body, all my movements are pre-determined, and I'm very self-conscious of what I'm doing.

Mini Workshop - Grotowski

When doing our miniature workshop on Grotowski’s, I learned that Grotowski focused on the actor and their relationship with the audience, through emotion. His rigorous training exercises, helped to heighten an actor’s emotion, through physical exhaustion, which I thought was very interesting. He wanted actors to rid themselves of everything going on outside of them, this way they could be fully engaged with their emotions. This is where the idea of 'not to entertain, nor to instruct - to affect' comes in play, I believe the way to really affect and audience is through an emotional connection, because that way we can get them to really question.

I think Grotowski's ideas and what he wanted out of an actor would be beneficial to our piece, stripping back to a bare minimum takes away this element of trying to entertain, it becomes something on a deeper level, and I think we could use some of his techniques in order for us to fully engage with our emotions, but then also affect our audience and give them an experience where they are left in a reflective mood.

I will take away Grotowski's idea of this 'holy actor' will be really useful to me; I believe the way to create a relationship with your audience is through emotion.

Nerve Meter; Initial Response

When I first read the Nerve Meter I was very puzzled by the poem’s ambiguity. I found it quite dark and very intense; it had a very raw feeling to it, as if someone was giving us an insight to their internal being. I found that a lot of it was down to personal interpretation, and it isn't a straight forward poem, it has to be analysed and stripped down bit by bit.

Some lines really stood out for me such as 'lost in the shadows of man' and 'sleep came from a shifting belief' I got the idea of a person being trapped in between reality and a dream, but it also made me question reality itself, how do we define reality? I believe the poem has so much potential in terms of using it as stimulus, it definitely links in to the quote 'not to entertain, nor to instruct - to affect' because it's so dark, and it doesn't have a straight forward narrative, it's enveloped in metaphors and some of the lines sub-consciously force you to look within yourself, for example 'I am the witness, I am the only witness of myself' I think this line is so powerful; it put me into deep thought about limitations. I am the only one who can limit me, for I am the only one who really knows who I am, and I think that could have been used for the basis of our performance.

The poem leads to ask many questions which I why I think it would work so well as stimulus, i think the best plays, performances derive from a question, and it's always interesting to see how a question can be interpreted and how it's answered.

The Nerve Meter is definitely a poem that can be misunderstood, it requires you to look beneath the lines, and see it from a different angle. It's definitely based down to interpretation and opinion and what you think, but I think it's the perfect stimulus, because ultimately it will aid us in affecting our audience.

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.

Expectations of Experimental theatre

When I think of experimental theatre, I think of improvastion, I think it's about trying out unconventional material. I believe it's a type of theatre, where anything counts, nothing is unusual. I envisage the process to be an ongoing trail and error, trying things out, seeing what works and what doesn't. I think ideas will come from a range of different stimulus, and our performance will be a block of ideas that have come from various different places.

I think experimental term is all down to inspiration, and how we interpret things, but also having quite unconvential material in our performance that we wouldn't usually have in any normal performance.