4/14-16: notes on Shakespeare & Company's Berkshire Intensive
SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY:
BERKSHIRE WEEKEND INTENSIVE
Friday-Sunday, April 14-16
BASIC NOTES ON ACTIVITIES
Friday Evening:
Dave (teacher) had us sit in circle, say who, where from, relationship to theatre, what we wanted from workshop, and one thing we wouldn't tell a group of strangers.
Then discussion about voice, acting, Shakes. etc (skimpy notes follow):
-- in Shakespeare, the actor reveals the self primarily through speaking rather than showing through behavior; the physical happens as a result of speaking.
-- voice work involves getting out of one's own way, removing obstacles, connecting with the deepest part of the self.
-- the thing that needs to be spoken...
-- speaking from the soul reminds us (the audience) of who we are.
-- soul: the innermost essential place in one (to me, this is a problematic idea which raises questions of who I really am and does a place exist)
-- voice: the more vibration, the more information.
-- volume doesn't come from greater effort ("projecting"); it comes from greater desire
-- play is important; it's called a play: when you give yourself over to just playing, things start to happen.
Then we began to work:
Gen stretching on our own; yawn & stretch; sigh out (NOT voiced); sigh into area that needed stretching
Finding neutral: place feet under hips by finding indentation from lifting foot; set foot down under hip;
gently sway forward & back; find still point but be conscious that tiny unseen movement continues.
sway side to side (like breeze gently pushing tree); find still point
sway on diagonals & then into circle; find still point
Mill and seethe exercise (returned to after each exercise): just forming large circle, walking through center area on way to other point on periphery; continue
As mill: shake hands gently (shaking water off them); add shaking elbows; add one knee; add one buttock; add opposite foot; add other parts--keep milling
Drop all and mill; notice how you're feeling
Listen for inner voice: what is it saying? become aware of it
As mill, notice whether mouth open or closed; play
" ", notice breathing: hold breath at any point? try letting breath go at that point
" ", notice where eyes are focusing: play with diff. focus points (floor, up, just above heads, inward, outward
" ", make eye contact with others--hold as long as you want w/out twisting neck; notice how affects breathing
" ", increase pace; increase again
Come to still place; stand; closes eyes
Visualization: starting w/ feet & working up, imagine bones and imagine bubble of air between each joint; really see the bones; ex: see where hip bones & pelvic bones & coccix wrap together to form huge bowl; work up spine to first vertebratee behind nose & between ears; take a long time to work through entire body until feel like being held up just by bones;
Then: mill remaining conscious of skeleton (let it move you); conscious of foot bones as start to move; let arms hang off collarbones and sway.
Come to still place; stand; close eyes
More visualization: imagine a tiny "you" in a bubble dressed just as you are inside skull (between nose & top vert.); tiny you looks up and sees dome of skull from inside;
Let tiny you drop down to below soft palate; look up and see where soft palate meets hard palate; see huge double arches of hard palate; look forward along palate to back of front teeth; see space between front teeth;
Let tiny you drop down to larynx: what does it look like to you? color?
Drop down to lungs: see lungs as soft pink curtains that billow out gently with inhalation, drop back on exhalatiion;
Look down and see diaphragm as pink parachute: billows down on inhale, returns on exhale
Drop down through diaphragm to bowl formed by pelvic bones; look down and see pool of vibrations: all the sounds you ever made or will make or want to make; all the words you said, will say, left unsaid, wanted to say.
Let yourself drop down into pool that sets off vibration (sigh out w/ sound); very gentle "huh"; drop down more of yourself to set off double-set as "huh-huh"
Open eyes; mill & seethe
Come to still place in front of a partner; become conscious of giving and taking air, breathing their air; what do you see about them that is most beautiful? look at it; what do you see about them that is most goofy?look at it; become conscious of being seen as beautiful; as goofy
Let your breath go to your partner; let it out
Take partner's hands; become conscious of holding their hands & being held
Say your own name to partner
Say partner's name to partner
Say good-bye
Mill and reflect on what happened
Repeat with new partner and: what do you notice about how they hold their hope? their lonliness?
Reach out and touch partner's cheeck (both do at same time); become conscious of touching & being touched;
(same name/good-bye biz)
Mill and reflect on what happened
Repeat with new partner; let the mask of your face go and just be with them; how hold their anger? their (?); put your hand on partner's heart
(same name/good-bye biz)
Mill and reflect on what happened
Come to still place; collapse on floor, let it take you, sigh of relief
(to be continued: describe ages exercise: 5 yrs, 9 yrs, 13 yrs.)
=============
Saturday morning:
Talked about breath, voice, Alexander technique, Linklater technique (both trying to remove blocks from natural alignment & voice.
Talked about body forming habits, with a terrific exercise illustrating: clench one fist and keep clenching it as discussion continues; eventually stop clenching and relax, but don't open hand. Fact that hand stays closed result of body forming a habit. Notice how difficult it is to open hand: that's body resisting changing the learned habit.
Inhale through nose: trace with hands path of breath up into head, down into chest & abdomen (noticed that breath seemed to get stuck in my chest). Repeat path with hands & look at others'.
Now inhale through mouth and trace path: seemed to fall much more directly from mouth down to abdomen (trace path).
Conclusion: for acting, breathing through mouth best: allows more intuitive breathing (without thinking), more quickly available allowing actor to respond to stimulus quickly.
Mill & seethe, breathing through mouth; shake parts of body as mill; pick up pace (without shaking) till moving quickly; reach forward, up, back with one arm as move; same with other arm; while moving quickly, head for open space (move into it with joy & conviction); pick one person to be imaginary enemy (don't tell who)--while milling quickly, try to stay as far from enemy as possible while still moving into open spaces; now pick second person to be ally (don't tell who)--try to keep ally between you and enemy at all times while moving into empty spaces.
Come to still place & stand w/ feet under hips; raise one arm straight out to side; inhale and coordinate consciously lowering arm with exhalation (end movement with breath). Now, instead of consciously moving, just drop arm and drop air out through mouth--no effort, just let go of arm and breath. Repeat other side. Drop both arms at once (with breath), return to position not quite straight out. Drop, then raise arms again not quite as far. Continue until just hands flexing wrists. Let go of breath and arms (or hands) at same moment. Don't force air out, just let it drop out.
Rub hands together to warm, then place hands on sides of jaw; let warmth penetrate jaw muscles; then gently draw hands down jaw to massage so jaw hangs open.
Gently turn elbow points toward front; imagine balloons tied to elbows; float elbows up; float wrists up; float fingers up; break at wrists, elbows, shoulders; let heavy head drag body down (little sigh of relief for each vertebrate); bend legs until in "Chinese rest" position; lower back to floor one vertebrate at a time until lying on back, knees up, feet flat.
Imagining pool, touch off "huh", "huh-huh", "huh-humm", etc. Extend legs, bring one knee to chest, hold, jiggle as "huh-hummm"; expose inner thigh and jiggle and hum; draw knee over to other side, jiggle & hum; repeat with other leg; draw both knees up, jiggle & hum; open both knees out, exposing inner thighs, jiggle and hum. Yawn & stretch, roll to side, "banana" yawn & stretch, repeat other side. Crouch, roll up to standing position.
(I think at this point we moved around room using "huh-humm" until gathering into large circle.)
Imagine pool, touch of "huh-humm" imagining that sound has specific color; let color gather behind lips; now, following "huh-humm-mah" with hands, let gather behind lips and then into hands in front of mouth; now same but let sound paint a person across circle; repeat; finally, let sound paint entire group.
Using hands to jiggle belly, speak one line of text (individually, moving around circle).
=======================
Saturday afternoon & evening:
We began to work on speeches. Chairs arranged in arc; first person walked to "stage", faced group breathing, looking at group; then spoke text; after finishing, stood and breathed; as that person returned to chair, next person took position and continued.
We reflected on what that experience was like (most agreed it was nerve-wracking. I was the last person, and as my time approached, my hands were icy; I got through the speech without going up, but I was conscious that my legs were shaking, my body was tingling, I did not feel "in my body"; I felt that I was able to focus my concentration on my speaking but I was not using or accepting the fact that I was shaking.)
Then Dave (the teacher) worked with each person individually while group watched. He asked who wanted to go first, and I volunteered. I stood facing him and the group as before; he began by asking why I had chosen this speech. We talked about my concern with race and the idea of white identity, the threat (sexual and other) to white privilege, etc. He kept probing to find out what concerned me. I think we focused on how being conscious of insecurities made me feel, what it made me want to do, which led to Iago wanting to "get" Othello and to rub Brabantio's face in the fact of his daughter being fucked by a black man. I did the speech out of that desire, which felt strong and liberating in a vicious way. Dave noted that I had, in a sense, backed off for the last line of the speech and wondered what it would have been like not to have done that. Somewhere in this process, I mentioned the sense that I was "acting", and that led to a long and very fruitful discussion of why I feared acting (in life as well as on stage) and where the message came from that there was something wrong with overdoing things, with my natural exuberance. Then (I'm not sure about the sequence of the conversation), he suggested the image of a life (or parts of a life) built like a house of cards which collapses, and asked if that related, and if so, how I felt about preconceptions collapsing. We talked about how that made me feel, and about how I felt about having to think about this race stuff all the time, and the talking eventually led him to ask me what I (Graham) wanted to say to the people in the room about this whole issue, which resulted in me saying to them, "It's so stupid! It's so unnecessary, just stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" He immediately told me to begin the speech from that place. I felt that, in my anger, I was mocking them for their racial attitudes and the waste it entailed, which turned into mocking Brabantio for his attitude. The result was extremely liberating, exuberant, connected, and felt honest and unrestrained. I achieved what I had hoped for in terms of connecting with the awful, ugly aspects of racism, but in a completely different way than I had expected. (Dave said to me, "You can't play a racist because you're not a racist. But you can play how you feel about it.")Felt like a breakthough.
I watched Dave work with each person, taking care to find out their connection to the piece, exploring, probing, questioning that connection to find out what was most important to the person. A question he frequently asked was, "What do you most want to say to us about yourself (or to a particular person; i.e., Victor to his father)?" When the person could articulate that desire, "Use the speech to say it to us." The point was not to speak out of a though about what the character wanted or needed at that moment, nor even out of what the sense of the speech was, but what our connection to the speech prompted us to need to say to these people right now about us.
A good deal of the work seemed to be about articulating, taking responsibility for those feelings that were difficult, painful, risky to name. The work was very like therapy, but I didn't have the familiar feeling that it was misguided, that it was about the actor rather than the material, because the result seemed to be a truthful speaking of the text; it was about the text because the person who was the actor was absolutely present while speaking it. No gap between character and and actor; the same thing.
It wasn't all wrenching: One person doing Polonius couldn't remember her lines and the exercise became about playing with what was actually going on (groping, stumbling, laughing about it) while continuing to play the scene. Extremely productive.
The degree to which Dave led each of us to reveal ourselves in relation to speaking these texts was astonishing and powerful. I was constantly struck by people's courage. He never backed off from tears and fears but led us through them, always focusing on breath and staying "on your voice," not retreating into quietness or breathiness, and not turning inward but staying connected to the audience. Everyone achieved something impressive.
Another nice teaching technique: To push us into jumping into it (jumping off the cliff): "Off you go," meaning, do it now, don't hesitate, but in a supportive, non-coercive way.
===============
Sunday morning:
Dave began with asking us all to "check in": to voice what we were feeling at the moment. He talked about the process of "checking in" as the first step in the work. The point is not to do it, acknowledge it, and set it aside so you can do something else, but to start from where you are and let everything that happens grow out of that--and grow out of where you are at any given moment. So the work--exercises, rehearsal, performance, whatever--is always coming from what you are actually feeling at the moment. (I find the process of checking in to be difficult, but I'm hoping it will get easier with practice.)
He spoke at some length about the physics and physiology of sound: muscles as soft, non-porous material which soaks up and muffles sound waves; bone as hard, porous material which both bounces sound and allows it in so it can resonate (re-sound) within the bones of the body, setting up vibrations which travel to other bodies and the bones in them, literally "moving" other bodies. He had one person put hand on throat and back of neck of partner, take hands away, move together to simulate space taken up by larynx and neckbones, leaving about 1 1/2 inches for vocal folds. Point is, they are very close to the bones, and the sound can travel up and down through all the bones of the body.
(I'm struck how this clinical description is so much more helpful in thinking about resonating from literally any part of the body than is Growtowski's sort of mystical approach--as near as I can remember.)
He went on to talk about the progression of the work: relaxing and releasing the muscalature to allow breath; finding the breath (letting in fall in, then out on a sigh of relief) to allow you to check in; checking in to discover what it is that you desire to speak; letting the sound fall out to freely speak out of that desire; relaxing the muscles so that they allow the bones to resonate without damping the vibrations and allow the vibrations (resonance) to travel outside the body to affect other bodies.
(I was struck with what a terrific way this kind of description is to help student actors understand how the can affect each other and allow themselves to be affected.)
The important thing is being in touch with the desire to speak, that there is something at this moment that I feel needs to be said, that I need to say. (Good thought to use when talking to my first year seminar about making theatre because you want to say something.) The purpose of all this work is to free the voice to allow the desire to be realized. I'm reminded of something Dave said earlier: Increased volume doesn't come from greater effort; it comes from greater desire. The desire in this case is to speak to another person on stage, but also to speak to the audience: I, the actor, need them to hear me.
(Suddenly, I'm realizing that one of the things, perhaps the thing that I love most about Amie, is that she speaks with her own voice. She seems to have her own voice. Honesty.
Warm-up:
Standing: feeling bones of feet, imagining them spreading; picturing bones and bubble of air at top of anklebones, leg bones, thigh bones, pelvic girdle, spine, ribs, shoulder girdle, arm bones hanging off of shoulder girdle, neck bones. Head hanging over: fingers at back of neck, lifting head while keeping neck long. Massage jaw gently; using thumbs & forefingers together to trace upper jaw (thumbs in jaw hinges). Imagine hanging small weights from points below jaw hinges. Let jaw hang (slackjawed--but with eyes and nose alert); put forefingers at points of jaw hinges and lift upper jaw away from lower jaw till head tilted back; close & repeat.
Walking around the room: becoming conscious of breathing pattern; letting breath drop in, feeling it as far down as the peritoneum, pause till need to breathe, then letting go, letting go of the breath like letting the arm fall (sighs of relief); check in: feeling what?; imagine pool of vibrations and let ripple of sound come out: "Huh." Let sound come from desire to speak from where you are emotionally: "Huh." (It's the thought, the image itself, rather than a sound which signifies the thought, the image.) "Huh-huh. Huh-huh-huh." Continue, changing the sounds: "Huh-hummm. Huh-hum-mah." Etc.
(Dave is leading us through something very similar to what I do with my students, but now it is connected to my understanding of the purpose, rather than just rote.)
Notice other people. Flick speck of dust off their shoulder as you pass them: "Huh." Brush shoulder. Brush them down the back. Let effortless sounds accompany the actions.
Forming a circle. Dave leads us through sounds which develop (again, like I've done with students only better): "Hi!" "Hey!" "Heyyyyyy!" Etc. This develops into a long, hilarious, call-and-response articulation exercise improvising off various tongue-twisters: Billy Buttons and his bananas, Peter Piper and his peppers, others. We're speaking to each other: it's fun, energized, free, and a wonderful workout.
Another important part of the warm-up, but I can't remember where it fit into the sequence: In pairs, A stands behind B: both are breathing; A warms up hands and places them on B's neck and shoulders, letting partner feel warmth; then A gently massages B's neck and shoulders; then A moves fingers up along neck bones till forefingers are along occipital ridge; then A moves forefingers up to bump at back of head, then moves down to slope of bump and, with a gentle push upwards, prompts B to let head fall forward; A starts massaging down one vertebrate at a time as B rolls down until hanging over from legs; A rubs B's sacrum; then A moves finger up each vertebrate, giving a litte "zzztttt" sound with each one as B rolls up until upright with head hanging over; then A places fingers of hand across neckbones and places forefinger of other hand on B's forehead; A gently lifts B's head by pushing on forefinger while keeping fingers on neck to encourage B to lift head while keeping neck long; A then kneels in front of B, placing hands firmly on tops of B's feet; A pushes strongly on B's feet three times, each time saying "Camel feet;" A stands behind B and gently pushes to start B moving around the room, then stands back to admire her/his creation.
=======================
Sunday afternoon (last session):
Lecture on grammar, syntax, rhetoric:
In Shax time, not yet formal grammar or dictionary. English not quite a formalized language unlike Latin or French; no rules of spelling, punctuation, how to order words (syntax), proper way to structure a sentence (grammar).
Because we are now steeped in grammar, we tend to think that speech conforms to grammar. When we speak Shax, we speak it grammatically. We want and expect the verbal experience of the written word.
Dave has taped a large sheet of paper on the wall containing Leontes' speech from WT (Act 1?) as it appears in Riverside edition. He reads it aloud as we follow with our eyes, an example of reading grammatically: pausing and breathing somewhat at commas, more completely at periods.
He then takes down the paper, revealing another paper underneath with same speech written as it appears in first folio, and with punctuation marks in one color, capital letters in another, and spelling differences in a third. The first paper is taped to the side so we can compare both side-by-side.
He makes the point that the First Folio version indicates that Shax is using punctuation and capitalization rhetorically rather than grammatically; it is written to be uttered, not to be read. There is a grammar, however, on that is derived from Latin and Greek.
When speaking rhetorically rather than grammatically, the character is attempting to say something he doesn't fully understand. Working it out.
In verse, the line of verse is the main unit; the sentence is the main unit in grammar.
Capitalized words (in 1st Folio) tend to lift out the thematic content of what is being said. Parentheses appear to indicate what is "under the surface" (I don't quite get this idea). Punctuation has nothing to do with where the speaker breathes but how the though is being developed.
He then drops what for me is a very problematic bombshell of an idea: The actor should only breathe at the ends of each verse line (I guess this proves I haven't read Linklater's Freeing Shakespeare's Voice; I obviously need to take a look at it). However, he cushions it by saying that, in performance, you breathe whenever you need to (and also with Shax prose). But he makes his point by reading Leontes' speech and breathing on the end of every line: It's remarkable how the though is brought alive.
(When working this way, it's important that every line doesn't become a declamatory statement or a single emotional act.)
Taking a breath at the end of each line of verse clues the actor in to what is happening physically. Instead of commas taking the wind out of the sails (instead of pausing), working in this way means using the comma to incite, to energize, to further the thought.
(When S & Co works with kids, they hardly ever have script in hand; their lines are fed to them (similar to the dropping in exercise, but on their feet). They learn the text by listening and speaking, not by reading!)
Working:
Dave stood beside the person working, giving auditory cues to take a breath (snapping) and visual cues to use the comma to energize (waving his arm). Looked like it was confusing but exciting for the actor.
The galloping rhythm that often results from breathing at the ends of the lines worked like gangbusters for Dyan's speech (Queen Margaret, HVI) but caused Karen to race; but Dave then worked to help Karen to slow down and still use the commas to energize. Fred (Edgar, Lear) had real difficulty not breathing grammatically, but not pausing for the commas was really effective in one place.
Dave, coaching: "You don't need to figure out what the breath means (i.e., why you're breathing there); just let the breath in."
Shifts within the speech (beat changes or intensification, or just a comma) happen not with the breath but with a shift in energy--but, boy, do they happen!
Following the rhythm of the speech, using the punctuation, and breathing at the ends of the lines allows the actor to stay in the moment--on the word--rather that thinking toward the end of the thought as happens when breathing grammatically. It allows me to be more in my body and less in my head!
"The text is doing me; it's not me doing the text."
BERKSHIRE WEEKEND INTENSIVE
Friday-Sunday, April 14-16
BASIC NOTES ON ACTIVITIES
Friday Evening:
Dave (teacher) had us sit in circle, say who, where from, relationship to theatre, what we wanted from workshop, and one thing we wouldn't tell a group of strangers.
Then discussion about voice, acting, Shakes. etc (skimpy notes follow):
-- in Shakespeare, the actor reveals the self primarily through speaking rather than showing through behavior; the physical happens as a result of speaking.
-- voice work involves getting out of one's own way, removing obstacles, connecting with the deepest part of the self.
-- the thing that needs to be spoken...
-- speaking from the soul reminds us (the audience) of who we are.
-- soul: the innermost essential place in one (to me, this is a problematic idea which raises questions of who I really am and does a place exist)
-- voice: the more vibration, the more information.
-- volume doesn't come from greater effort ("projecting"); it comes from greater desire
-- play is important; it's called a play: when you give yourself over to just playing, things start to happen.
Then we began to work:
Gen stretching on our own; yawn & stretch; sigh out (NOT voiced); sigh into area that needed stretching
Finding neutral: place feet under hips by finding indentation from lifting foot; set foot down under hip;
gently sway forward & back; find still point but be conscious that tiny unseen movement continues.
sway side to side (like breeze gently pushing tree); find still point
sway on diagonals & then into circle; find still point
Mill and seethe exercise (returned to after each exercise): just forming large circle, walking through center area on way to other point on periphery; continue
As mill: shake hands gently (shaking water off them); add shaking elbows; add one knee; add one buttock; add opposite foot; add other parts--keep milling
Drop all and mill; notice how you're feeling
Listen for inner voice: what is it saying? become aware of it
As mill, notice whether mouth open or closed; play
" ", notice breathing: hold breath at any point? try letting breath go at that point
" ", notice where eyes are focusing: play with diff. focus points (floor, up, just above heads, inward, outward
" ", make eye contact with others--hold as long as you want w/out twisting neck; notice how affects breathing
" ", increase pace; increase again
Come to still place; stand; closes eyes
Visualization: starting w/ feet & working up, imagine bones and imagine bubble of air between each joint; really see the bones; ex: see where hip bones & pelvic bones & coccix wrap together to form huge bowl; work up spine to first vertebratee behind nose & between ears; take a long time to work through entire body until feel like being held up just by bones;
Then: mill remaining conscious of skeleton (let it move you); conscious of foot bones as start to move; let arms hang off collarbones and sway.
Come to still place; stand; close eyes
More visualization: imagine a tiny "you" in a bubble dressed just as you are inside skull (between nose & top vert.); tiny you looks up and sees dome of skull from inside;
Let tiny you drop down to below soft palate; look up and see where soft palate meets hard palate; see huge double arches of hard palate; look forward along palate to back of front teeth; see space between front teeth;
Let tiny you drop down to larynx: what does it look like to you? color?
Drop down to lungs: see lungs as soft pink curtains that billow out gently with inhalation, drop back on exhalatiion;
Look down and see diaphragm as pink parachute: billows down on inhale, returns on exhale
Drop down through diaphragm to bowl formed by pelvic bones; look down and see pool of vibrations: all the sounds you ever made or will make or want to make; all the words you said, will say, left unsaid, wanted to say.
Let yourself drop down into pool that sets off vibration (sigh out w/ sound); very gentle "huh"; drop down more of yourself to set off double-set as "huh-huh"
Open eyes; mill & seethe
Come to still place in front of a partner; become conscious of giving and taking air, breathing their air; what do you see about them that is most beautiful? look at it; what do you see about them that is most goofy?look at it; become conscious of being seen as beautiful; as goofy
Let your breath go to your partner; let it out
Take partner's hands; become conscious of holding their hands & being held
Say your own name to partner
Say partner's name to partner
Say good-bye
Mill and reflect on what happened
Repeat with new partner and: what do you notice about how they hold their hope? their lonliness?
Reach out and touch partner's cheeck (both do at same time); become conscious of touching & being touched;
(same name/good-bye biz)
Mill and reflect on what happened
Repeat with new partner; let the mask of your face go and just be with them; how hold their anger? their (?); put your hand on partner's heart
(same name/good-bye biz)
Mill and reflect on what happened
Come to still place; collapse on floor, let it take you, sigh of relief
(to be continued: describe ages exercise: 5 yrs, 9 yrs, 13 yrs.)
=============
Saturday morning:
Talked about breath, voice, Alexander technique, Linklater technique (both trying to remove blocks from natural alignment & voice.
Talked about body forming habits, with a terrific exercise illustrating: clench one fist and keep clenching it as discussion continues; eventually stop clenching and relax, but don't open hand. Fact that hand stays closed result of body forming a habit. Notice how difficult it is to open hand: that's body resisting changing the learned habit.
Inhale through nose: trace with hands path of breath up into head, down into chest & abdomen (noticed that breath seemed to get stuck in my chest). Repeat path with hands & look at others'.
Now inhale through mouth and trace path: seemed to fall much more directly from mouth down to abdomen (trace path).
Conclusion: for acting, breathing through mouth best: allows more intuitive breathing (without thinking), more quickly available allowing actor to respond to stimulus quickly.
Mill & seethe, breathing through mouth; shake parts of body as mill; pick up pace (without shaking) till moving quickly; reach forward, up, back with one arm as move; same with other arm; while moving quickly, head for open space (move into it with joy & conviction); pick one person to be imaginary enemy (don't tell who)--while milling quickly, try to stay as far from enemy as possible while still moving into open spaces; now pick second person to be ally (don't tell who)--try to keep ally between you and enemy at all times while moving into empty spaces.
Come to still place & stand w/ feet under hips; raise one arm straight out to side; inhale and coordinate consciously lowering arm with exhalation (end movement with breath). Now, instead of consciously moving, just drop arm and drop air out through mouth--no effort, just let go of arm and breath. Repeat other side. Drop both arms at once (with breath), return to position not quite straight out. Drop, then raise arms again not quite as far. Continue until just hands flexing wrists. Let go of breath and arms (or hands) at same moment. Don't force air out, just let it drop out.
Rub hands together to warm, then place hands on sides of jaw; let warmth penetrate jaw muscles; then gently draw hands down jaw to massage so jaw hangs open.
Gently turn elbow points toward front; imagine balloons tied to elbows; float elbows up; float wrists up; float fingers up; break at wrists, elbows, shoulders; let heavy head drag body down (little sigh of relief for each vertebrate); bend legs until in "Chinese rest" position; lower back to floor one vertebrate at a time until lying on back, knees up, feet flat.
Imagining pool, touch off "huh", "huh-huh", "huh-humm", etc. Extend legs, bring one knee to chest, hold, jiggle as "huh-hummm"; expose inner thigh and jiggle and hum; draw knee over to other side, jiggle & hum; repeat with other leg; draw both knees up, jiggle & hum; open both knees out, exposing inner thighs, jiggle and hum. Yawn & stretch, roll to side, "banana" yawn & stretch, repeat other side. Crouch, roll up to standing position.
(I think at this point we moved around room using "huh-humm" until gathering into large circle.)
Imagine pool, touch of "huh-humm" imagining that sound has specific color; let color gather behind lips; now, following "huh-humm-mah" with hands, let gather behind lips and then into hands in front of mouth; now same but let sound paint a person across circle; repeat; finally, let sound paint entire group.
Using hands to jiggle belly, speak one line of text (individually, moving around circle).
=======================
Saturday afternoon & evening:
We began to work on speeches. Chairs arranged in arc; first person walked to "stage", faced group breathing, looking at group; then spoke text; after finishing, stood and breathed; as that person returned to chair, next person took position and continued.
We reflected on what that experience was like (most agreed it was nerve-wracking. I was the last person, and as my time approached, my hands were icy; I got through the speech without going up, but I was conscious that my legs were shaking, my body was tingling, I did not feel "in my body"; I felt that I was able to focus my concentration on my speaking but I was not using or accepting the fact that I was shaking.)
Then Dave (the teacher) worked with each person individually while group watched. He asked who wanted to go first, and I volunteered. I stood facing him and the group as before; he began by asking why I had chosen this speech. We talked about my concern with race and the idea of white identity, the threat (sexual and other) to white privilege, etc. He kept probing to find out what concerned me. I think we focused on how being conscious of insecurities made me feel, what it made me want to do, which led to Iago wanting to "get" Othello and to rub Brabantio's face in the fact of his daughter being fucked by a black man. I did the speech out of that desire, which felt strong and liberating in a vicious way. Dave noted that I had, in a sense, backed off for the last line of the speech and wondered what it would have been like not to have done that. Somewhere in this process, I mentioned the sense that I was "acting", and that led to a long and very fruitful discussion of why I feared acting (in life as well as on stage) and where the message came from that there was something wrong with overdoing things, with my natural exuberance. Then (I'm not sure about the sequence of the conversation), he suggested the image of a life (or parts of a life) built like a house of cards which collapses, and asked if that related, and if so, how I felt about preconceptions collapsing. We talked about how that made me feel, and about how I felt about having to think about this race stuff all the time, and the talking eventually led him to ask me what I (Graham) wanted to say to the people in the room about this whole issue, which resulted in me saying to them, "It's so stupid! It's so unnecessary, just stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" He immediately told me to begin the speech from that place. I felt that, in my anger, I was mocking them for their racial attitudes and the waste it entailed, which turned into mocking Brabantio for his attitude. The result was extremely liberating, exuberant, connected, and felt honest and unrestrained. I achieved what I had hoped for in terms of connecting with the awful, ugly aspects of racism, but in a completely different way than I had expected. (Dave said to me, "You can't play a racist because you're not a racist. But you can play how you feel about it.")Felt like a breakthough.
I watched Dave work with each person, taking care to find out their connection to the piece, exploring, probing, questioning that connection to find out what was most important to the person. A question he frequently asked was, "What do you most want to say to us about yourself (or to a particular person; i.e., Victor to his father)?" When the person could articulate that desire, "Use the speech to say it to us." The point was not to speak out of a though about what the character wanted or needed at that moment, nor even out of what the sense of the speech was, but what our connection to the speech prompted us to need to say to these people right now about us.
A good deal of the work seemed to be about articulating, taking responsibility for those feelings that were difficult, painful, risky to name. The work was very like therapy, but I didn't have the familiar feeling that it was misguided, that it was about the actor rather than the material, because the result seemed to be a truthful speaking of the text; it was about the text because the person who was the actor was absolutely present while speaking it. No gap between character and and actor; the same thing.
It wasn't all wrenching: One person doing Polonius couldn't remember her lines and the exercise became about playing with what was actually going on (groping, stumbling, laughing about it) while continuing to play the scene. Extremely productive.
The degree to which Dave led each of us to reveal ourselves in relation to speaking these texts was astonishing and powerful. I was constantly struck by people's courage. He never backed off from tears and fears but led us through them, always focusing on breath and staying "on your voice," not retreating into quietness or breathiness, and not turning inward but staying connected to the audience. Everyone achieved something impressive.
Another nice teaching technique: To push us into jumping into it (jumping off the cliff): "Off you go," meaning, do it now, don't hesitate, but in a supportive, non-coercive way.
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Sunday morning:
Dave began with asking us all to "check in": to voice what we were feeling at the moment. He talked about the process of "checking in" as the first step in the work. The point is not to do it, acknowledge it, and set it aside so you can do something else, but to start from where you are and let everything that happens grow out of that--and grow out of where you are at any given moment. So the work--exercises, rehearsal, performance, whatever--is always coming from what you are actually feeling at the moment. (I find the process of checking in to be difficult, but I'm hoping it will get easier with practice.)
He spoke at some length about the physics and physiology of sound: muscles as soft, non-porous material which soaks up and muffles sound waves; bone as hard, porous material which both bounces sound and allows it in so it can resonate (re-sound) within the bones of the body, setting up vibrations which travel to other bodies and the bones in them, literally "moving" other bodies. He had one person put hand on throat and back of neck of partner, take hands away, move together to simulate space taken up by larynx and neckbones, leaving about 1 1/2 inches for vocal folds. Point is, they are very close to the bones, and the sound can travel up and down through all the bones of the body.
(I'm struck how this clinical description is so much more helpful in thinking about resonating from literally any part of the body than is Growtowski's sort of mystical approach--as near as I can remember.)
He went on to talk about the progression of the work: relaxing and releasing the muscalature to allow breath; finding the breath (letting in fall in, then out on a sigh of relief) to allow you to check in; checking in to discover what it is that you desire to speak; letting the sound fall out to freely speak out of that desire; relaxing the muscles so that they allow the bones to resonate without damping the vibrations and allow the vibrations (resonance) to travel outside the body to affect other bodies.
(I was struck with what a terrific way this kind of description is to help student actors understand how the can affect each other and allow themselves to be affected.)
The important thing is being in touch with the desire to speak, that there is something at this moment that I feel needs to be said, that I need to say. (Good thought to use when talking to my first year seminar about making theatre because you want to say something.) The purpose of all this work is to free the voice to allow the desire to be realized. I'm reminded of something Dave said earlier: Increased volume doesn't come from greater effort; it comes from greater desire. The desire in this case is to speak to another person on stage, but also to speak to the audience: I, the actor, need them to hear me.
(Suddenly, I'm realizing that one of the things, perhaps the thing that I love most about Amie, is that she speaks with her own voice. She seems to have her own voice. Honesty.
Warm-up:
Standing: feeling bones of feet, imagining them spreading; picturing bones and bubble of air at top of anklebones, leg bones, thigh bones, pelvic girdle, spine, ribs, shoulder girdle, arm bones hanging off of shoulder girdle, neck bones. Head hanging over: fingers at back of neck, lifting head while keeping neck long. Massage jaw gently; using thumbs & forefingers together to trace upper jaw (thumbs in jaw hinges). Imagine hanging small weights from points below jaw hinges. Let jaw hang (slackjawed--but with eyes and nose alert); put forefingers at points of jaw hinges and lift upper jaw away from lower jaw till head tilted back; close & repeat.
Walking around the room: becoming conscious of breathing pattern; letting breath drop in, feeling it as far down as the peritoneum, pause till need to breathe, then letting go, letting go of the breath like letting the arm fall (sighs of relief); check in: feeling what?; imagine pool of vibrations and let ripple of sound come out: "Huh." Let sound come from desire to speak from where you are emotionally: "Huh." (It's the thought, the image itself, rather than a sound which signifies the thought, the image.) "Huh-huh. Huh-huh-huh." Continue, changing the sounds: "Huh-hummm. Huh-hum-mah." Etc.
(Dave is leading us through something very similar to what I do with my students, but now it is connected to my understanding of the purpose, rather than just rote.)
Notice other people. Flick speck of dust off their shoulder as you pass them: "Huh." Brush shoulder. Brush them down the back. Let effortless sounds accompany the actions.
Forming a circle. Dave leads us through sounds which develop (again, like I've done with students only better): "Hi!" "Hey!" "Heyyyyyy!" Etc. This develops into a long, hilarious, call-and-response articulation exercise improvising off various tongue-twisters: Billy Buttons and his bananas, Peter Piper and his peppers, others. We're speaking to each other: it's fun, energized, free, and a wonderful workout.
Another important part of the warm-up, but I can't remember where it fit into the sequence: In pairs, A stands behind B: both are breathing; A warms up hands and places them on B's neck and shoulders, letting partner feel warmth; then A gently massages B's neck and shoulders; then A moves fingers up along neck bones till forefingers are along occipital ridge; then A moves forefingers up to bump at back of head, then moves down to slope of bump and, with a gentle push upwards, prompts B to let head fall forward; A starts massaging down one vertebrate at a time as B rolls down until hanging over from legs; A rubs B's sacrum; then A moves finger up each vertebrate, giving a litte "zzztttt" sound with each one as B rolls up until upright with head hanging over; then A places fingers of hand across neckbones and places forefinger of other hand on B's forehead; A gently lifts B's head by pushing on forefinger while keeping fingers on neck to encourage B to lift head while keeping neck long; A then kneels in front of B, placing hands firmly on tops of B's feet; A pushes strongly on B's feet three times, each time saying "Camel feet;" A stands behind B and gently pushes to start B moving around the room, then stands back to admire her/his creation.
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Sunday afternoon (last session):
Lecture on grammar, syntax, rhetoric:
In Shax time, not yet formal grammar or dictionary. English not quite a formalized language unlike Latin or French; no rules of spelling, punctuation, how to order words (syntax), proper way to structure a sentence (grammar).
Because we are now steeped in grammar, we tend to think that speech conforms to grammar. When we speak Shax, we speak it grammatically. We want and expect the verbal experience of the written word.
Dave has taped a large sheet of paper on the wall containing Leontes' speech from WT (Act 1?) as it appears in Riverside edition. He reads it aloud as we follow with our eyes, an example of reading grammatically: pausing and breathing somewhat at commas, more completely at periods.
He then takes down the paper, revealing another paper underneath with same speech written as it appears in first folio, and with punctuation marks in one color, capital letters in another, and spelling differences in a third. The first paper is taped to the side so we can compare both side-by-side.
He makes the point that the First Folio version indicates that Shax is using punctuation and capitalization rhetorically rather than grammatically; it is written to be uttered, not to be read. There is a grammar, however, on that is derived from Latin and Greek.
When speaking rhetorically rather than grammatically, the character is attempting to say something he doesn't fully understand. Working it out.
In verse, the line of verse is the main unit; the sentence is the main unit in grammar.
Capitalized words (in 1st Folio) tend to lift out the thematic content of what is being said. Parentheses appear to indicate what is "under the surface" (I don't quite get this idea). Punctuation has nothing to do with where the speaker breathes but how the though is being developed.
He then drops what for me is a very problematic bombshell of an idea: The actor should only breathe at the ends of each verse line (I guess this proves I haven't read Linklater's Freeing Shakespeare's Voice; I obviously need to take a look at it). However, he cushions it by saying that, in performance, you breathe whenever you need to (and also with Shax prose). But he makes his point by reading Leontes' speech and breathing on the end of every line: It's remarkable how the though is brought alive.
(When working this way, it's important that every line doesn't become a declamatory statement or a single emotional act.)
Taking a breath at the end of each line of verse clues the actor in to what is happening physically. Instead of commas taking the wind out of the sails (instead of pausing), working in this way means using the comma to incite, to energize, to further the thought.
(When S & Co works with kids, they hardly ever have script in hand; their lines are fed to them (similar to the dropping in exercise, but on their feet). They learn the text by listening and speaking, not by reading!)
Working:
Dave stood beside the person working, giving auditory cues to take a breath (snapping) and visual cues to use the comma to energize (waving his arm). Looked like it was confusing but exciting for the actor.
The galloping rhythm that often results from breathing at the ends of the lines worked like gangbusters for Dyan's speech (Queen Margaret, HVI) but caused Karen to race; but Dave then worked to help Karen to slow down and still use the commas to energize. Fred (Edgar, Lear) had real difficulty not breathing grammatically, but not pausing for the commas was really effective in one place.
Dave, coaching: "You don't need to figure out what the breath means (i.e., why you're breathing there); just let the breath in."
Shifts within the speech (beat changes or intensification, or just a comma) happen not with the breath but with a shift in energy--but, boy, do they happen!
Following the rhythm of the speech, using the punctuation, and breathing at the ends of the lines allows the actor to stay in the moment--on the word--rather that thinking toward the end of the thought as happens when breathing grammatically. It allows me to be more in my body and less in my head!
"The text is doing me; it's not me doing the text."
posted by Graham at 8:42 PM
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