Scene six was one of the scene to touch upon on our movement classes, since it had two major animalistic parts that we needed help with. First, after Nisbett exits the stage all the lunatic and Renfield turn into spiders. We started by thinking about how spiders looked like, with their eight limbs that are bent and straight. They don't have much flexibility to them and their movements are quick and short. So, as we are all on the ground on our fours, it was easy to create a mockery image of a spider by having our elbows bent and head quite low, allowing our back be straight.
The next thing we looked at were the bats. We had decided that it would be a cool transition to have us slowly turn into bats from the spiders and then scatter around the stage before forming into the doors of castle Dracula. Siou directed us to have the movement come from our backs, rather than just flapping our arms around. We did a brief exercise where in pairs one would lead as a bat, trying to use different paces and levels to create the movement. This really helped us with different kind of sprints and soars with the bats.
In the actual scene, we would all first gather stage middle and after Sophie gives us the mark, we would separate into two groups, scattering to two sides of the stages, then back to the middle and after that to our starting positions for scene 7. This worked at first, but then we realized it was too organized and the bats were too slow, so later we changed the bats slightly, by allowing us to use our insane personalities in the bats more. This really brought the hectic feel to the flight and allowed us to scatter more freely around the stage.
Monday, 16 June 2014
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Path ways + Contact
I felt that these two different classes we had in movement were connected to the same goal, so I decided to put them in the same blog.
The first class, path ways was about finding different ways to move from place to place, not just travelling, but also creating an image at the same time. We started with dividing the class in groups of 4 or 5, with having everyone be lettered A, B, C, D or E. The A would start by creating a shape with their body and then the other would join one by one in order to create an image. Then, A would leave followed by the other, only leaving B on the place to start a new image. We would repeat this multiple times, creating interesting images, but also path ways to get out of the formations.
With our contact class, we explored ways of moving without losing contact with our pair. It was all improvised, but it helped us trust our partner and letting the other one lead and vice versa. We were taught different kind of lifts, but also how we can use counter balance to our advantage with this exercise.
Both of these classes helped us to get more comfortable touching each other and being brave to try different kind of contacts in our play, since Liz Lochheads Dracula is especially sexual. It will also help us focus and not giggle when being close to someone.
The first class, path ways was about finding different ways to move from place to place, not just travelling, but also creating an image at the same time. We started with dividing the class in groups of 4 or 5, with having everyone be lettered A, B, C, D or E. The A would start by creating a shape with their body and then the other would join one by one in order to create an image. Then, A would leave followed by the other, only leaving B on the place to start a new image. We would repeat this multiple times, creating interesting images, but also path ways to get out of the formations.
With our contact class, we explored ways of moving without losing contact with our pair. It was all improvised, but it helped us trust our partner and letting the other one lead and vice versa. We were taught different kind of lifts, but also how we can use counter balance to our advantage with this exercise.
Both of these classes helped us to get more comfortable touching each other and being brave to try different kind of contacts in our play, since Liz Lochheads Dracula is especially sexual. It will also help us focus and not giggle when being close to someone.
Tempo-Rhythm
We've looked at tempo-rhythm somewhat in the past but now Siou made us look at it in more detail. She drew this graph on the stage and we had to try out the different stages with some of the lines we have from the play. This really helped to find the certain tempo-rhythm of a certain line, scene or even character, since some tempos just didn't fit with the lines.
Another exercise we did was focusing on the stages 5-7. We started by being told that the goal was to look for a bomb, since there might be one in the room. It was important to stay quite urgent with our actions since it might go of any second. Moving to stage 6 we had to decide either to know that there truly is abomb and act accordingly, or act as in we had just seen virgin mary, or other unnatural beautiful even god-full thing. This stage was all about melodrama, trying to make our emotions and objectives as clear as possible. We would repeat this changing up which of the two choices we wanted to do. Last stage of this was believing that the bomb was going to go off.
With our play the tempo-rhythm should pretty high up the scale between 5-7, to really keep up with the Artaudian approach of trying to lance the abscess. This will especially help with the lunatics we do quite many times in the play and help us keep up the energy.
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
The Vampire Brides
It was important to us to work on the scene 9 of act 1, since we had decided it to do some lifts in the scen, and Siou's help was essential. We had Andy direct us with the lifts as well, but Siou could give some innovative ideas to make them stand out. Jonathan's lift was quite straight forward, we wanted him to be upright and since we had 4/4 of our guys in our class already on stage, we could have all of them lift me. To have my hands free and my upper body unrestricted, we planned to have the boys to lift me from my legs and thighs. This was pretty simple from the beginning, only thing we really still have to do is run the lifts over and over to make it smoother and steadier for the guys to carry me across the stage.
The girls had more variation in their lift. They started by lifting Izzy on a King's chair, lift where the other girls create a sort of a chair for Izzy to sit on. This turned out to be too complicated. but also having Izzy hidden between the other girls. Then, Siou suggested that we would have Izzy been lifted as she was laying down. This could free her leg and arms to do what she likes, maybe creating some kind of a sexual scene, as if she was calling Jonathan to bed. I am not entirely sure what didn't work out, since I was working on my lifts, but I guess the lift itself was difficult to carry out and so the girls changed it to a similar lift as mine with the guys. I guess this was for the better, since now me and Izzy can make proper eye contact whilst in the air and I can give the key to her easier.
Siou also helped the girls to make their vampire brides more tempting and lustful, by telling them to be more cat-like. The girls would start from their positions on stage left and they would have to pick three places on the stage to walk into while doing their lines. Then, the fourth point would be around Jonathan where they would start circling him as he says the line "Who- are- you?". "Who"s the brides will be saying should be almost whispered, some of them mocking and sharp and some just gentle blows. Throughout, Siou told us that the walk should be sexual and seductive.
The girls had more variation in their lift. They started by lifting Izzy on a King's chair, lift where the other girls create a sort of a chair for Izzy to sit on. This turned out to be too complicated. but also having Izzy hidden between the other girls. Then, Siou suggested that we would have Izzy been lifted as she was laying down. This could free her leg and arms to do what she likes, maybe creating some kind of a sexual scene, as if she was calling Jonathan to bed. I am not entirely sure what didn't work out, since I was working on my lifts, but I guess the lift itself was difficult to carry out and so the girls changed it to a similar lift as mine with the guys. I guess this was for the better, since now me and Izzy can make proper eye contact whilst in the air and I can give the key to her easier.
Siou also helped the girls to make their vampire brides more tempting and lustful, by telling them to be more cat-like. The girls would start from their positions on stage left and they would have to pick three places on the stage to walk into while doing their lines. Then, the fourth point would be around Jonathan where they would start circling him as he says the line "Who- are- you?". "Who"s the brides will be saying should be almost whispered, some of them mocking and sharp and some just gentle blows. Throughout, Siou told us that the walk should be sexual and seductive.
Monday, 3 March 2014
21.1.2014
Today in class we talked about dynamics. We started out by writing all the dynamics we knew and remember from previous classes, and here is a picture of what we came up with:
After this, we started to connect these different kind of dynamics with emotions, and thought about, what dynamics our scenes might have in them. Our scene is quite slow paced and since it does dabble with serious subjects, like death and lost love, my group felt that some of the main dynamics should be slow and bound. Still, there is some lightness at the end with Nell's dance, which could be a nice contrast to the heavier dynamics within the scene.
Describe the dynamics your character has? How can you use it in your movement piece?
I feel that the last scene Nell has very heavy dynamic, since she is sick and her free and joyful spirit is trapped inside of this dying body. So heavy and bound would describe her well, but I would also like to show some of that lightness she used to have when she was younger, since in the scene she has come to say goodbye to the playhouse, and is overwhelmed by nostalgia.
After this, we started to connect these different kind of dynamics with emotions, and thought about, what dynamics our scenes might have in them. Our scene is quite slow paced and since it does dabble with serious subjects, like death and lost love, my group felt that some of the main dynamics should be slow and bound. Still, there is some lightness at the end with Nell's dance, which could be a nice contrast to the heavier dynamics within the scene.
Describe the dynamics your character has? How can you use it in your movement piece?
I feel that the last scene Nell has very heavy dynamic, since she is sick and her free and joyful spirit is trapped inside of this dying body. So heavy and bound would describe her well, but I would also like to show some of that lightness she used to have when she was younger, since in the scene she has come to say goodbye to the playhouse, and is overwhelmed by nostalgia.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
11.2.2014
As a warm up today we did a movement exercise that had us use the different kind leans or trust exercise we have learned about. The idea was, that the teacher would put some music running and everyone would be walking around the room freely. When the music would stop we would have to get the closest person to us and do a trust exercise or a lean with them. It was also important for us to try and use different levels and relationships while doing this exercise.
After this we performed our movement pieces to Siou and all of the others. I feel that everyone's pieces are looking great, but what everyone needs to work on, is just committing with our whole body to the movements, to make it look better and more determined.My group especially should work on this still, and we still need to work out our ending for our piece, since now we are not sure how it ends. We were thinking about adding a tableux at the end, but we are not sure about it yet.
After this we performed our movement pieces to Siou and all of the others. I feel that everyone's pieces are looking great, but what everyone needs to work on, is just committing with our whole body to the movements, to make it look better and more determined.My group especially should work on this still, and we still need to work out our ending for our piece, since now we are not sure how it ends. We were thinking about adding a tableux at the end, but we are not sure about it yet.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
04.02.2014
We started our class by talking about different kind of transitions we could possibly use in our movement pieces. One of the most obvious transitions would be walking, but using it in every transition would make our piece bland and uncreative, so it is important to explore different methods of transition. Other types of transitions are:
How you have developed your movement pieces?
After learning about different kind of relationships and transitions, we really wanted to apply these things to our movement piece. before, we had had the problem of having quite a boring transitions at the beginning of our piece, where we are in the square. Rather than just taking a step to move counter clockwise, to change our positions, we added a simple spin to it, to make it more interesting. After it, when we are supposed to rotate our positions again, rather than doing the spinning bit again, we decided to add using counter balance into our transition. What we will do, is Bella and Jenny go to counter balance first and the me and Max do the same, creating a X formation to our hands. Then, when Bella and Jenny rise up and let go of each other, me and Max use our weight to pull each other to switch places. Then, Bella and Jenny will repeat the counter balance and to the same.
- Running
- Spinning
- Crawling
- Jumping
- Hopping
- Sliding etc.
We also talked about applying awareness of relationship in movement, to help show different relationships between our characters. The different types of relationships are:
- Mirroring
- Counter balance
- Call and Response
- Question and Answer
- Meet and Part
- Canon
- Unison
- Contact
How you have developed your movement pieces?
After learning about different kind of relationships and transitions, we really wanted to apply these things to our movement piece. before, we had had the problem of having quite a boring transitions at the beginning of our piece, where we are in the square. Rather than just taking a step to move counter clockwise, to change our positions, we added a simple spin to it, to make it more interesting. After it, when we are supposed to rotate our positions again, rather than doing the spinning bit again, we decided to add using counter balance into our transition. What we will do, is Bella and Jenny go to counter balance first and the me and Max do the same, creating a X formation to our hands. Then, when Bella and Jenny rise up and let go of each other, me and Max use our weight to pull each other to switch places. Then, Bella and Jenny will repeat the counter balance and to the same.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
07.01.2014
Today in class, we continued to look into Laban by using the effort graph and adding more to it. We added the effort actions to the graph which are:
- Punch
- Circle
- Float
- Dab
- Flick
- Slash
With these actions and the effort graph in mind, we started our exercises. As inspiration, we used Jackson Pollock's piece Number 23. We started talking about how we saw this piece, and what kinds of movement we could see in it. The first things to pop in my mind were indirect, quick and free, but as you examine the piece more closely, you can see sustained movements, such as long circling sequences.
So, from this discussion and using the piece as our stimuli, we had to move a round the room, making ourselves pathways. Every time we would pass someone else or turn, we then would do a movement inspired by the effort graph, using different levels as we did them. In the end, we also combined these different movements and pathways we discovered ourselves, with a partner and perform a short movement piece to everyone else, showing the different kind of movements we had thought of.
So, from this discussion and using the piece as our stimuli, we had to move a round the room, making ourselves pathways. Every time we would pass someone else or turn, we then would do a movement inspired by the effort graph, using different levels as we did them. In the end, we also combined these different movements and pathways we discovered ourselves, with a partner and perform a short movement piece to everyone else, showing the different kind of movements we had thought of.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
18.12.2013
We have been looking into different
types of movement for a while now, but in this lesson, we focused on
Laban movement analysis and different qualities of movement.
Laban movement
analysis
Rudolf von Laban was
a dance artist from late 1800's to the early 1900's. He created the
foundation to the Laban movement analysis which is the method and
language describing, visualising, interpreting and documenting all
varieties of human movement. Laban movement is used my many, like
dancers, actors, athletes and physical therapists, since it combines
features from many fields, such as anatomy, kinesiology and
psychology. Laban is usually divided into these groups:
"Body
(Bartenieff Fundamentals, total-body connectivity)
Effort (Energetic dynamics)
Shape
Space (Choreutics, Space Harmony)"
Laban also looks at the groups in themes of opposites:
"Mobility/Stability
Inner/Outer
Function/Expression
Exertion/Recuperation"
Effort (Energetic dynamics)
Shape
Space (Choreutics, Space Harmony)"
Laban also looks at the groups in themes of opposites:
"Mobility/Stability
Inner/Outer
Function/Expression
Exertion/Recuperation"
Effort
Graph
Effort, sometimes
also described as dynamics, is the process of understanding the more
subtle ways the movement is done to show its inner intention. Simply
put, the Effort is used to decide the best way to move to show a
certain emotion or intention. The Effort Graph gives you the list of
types of movement you can use can combine to convey the wanted
emotions.
--------------------------------
Whilst in class, we did some exercises where we used the Effort Graph and the different descriptions of movement to our advantage. We were first divided into four groups, each group having their own quality of movement. By listening the the music provided for, we had to start moving in coherent matter. This, as it soon was pointed out to us, was more difficult that we thoughts, since a lot of people, including myself, had some difficulties with letting our inner walls fall down and not be embarrassed by our movements and how we looked like doing them. We were then divided into pairs, where our next task was to mirror each other, changing 'the leader' as we went on. Again we were following a certain quality of movement, like light or indirect. Me and my partner, Yunusa, in my opinion did relatively well, since I felt we were focus and tried different sorts of movement. Still, we could have been a bit crazier with our ideas. When we were grouped up with another pair, I felt that the movements became a lot more creative and since the whole group was focused, we were actually having fun with the exercise.
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