Improvising Narrative and creating sculpt

This evening we put the scripts down for the first time and tried telling the story without the help of the script.  Looking back, the most incredible thing, is how bad our memories are, as although we have read the story and parts of it so many times, we don't really know it at all.  This is because the story has mainly been used as a vehicle for the training in narrative styles, movement and rhythm, and thus been read on a superficial level, even though the content has been used to add emphasis and style to the performance.

It amazes me how little we take in from the written word in terms of detail and process.  We form minimal mental pictures to get a drift of what is going on in the story, using as little effort as possible.  We easily lose concentration, beginning to think about other things while the story is being told - or even whilst telling the story.

If we translate this into the experience of the audience, it may be important to consider how much information we want the audience to take in.  What is the experience of being entertained?  Does it mean that every word and experience are digested and internalised or maybe it is ok for the audience member to wander off a bit into their own world, lost partly in their own thoughts and partly in the flow of the performance.

Of course the actor does not have this luxury - they have to be focussed and present at all times, concentrating and bringing meaning and magic to the story that is being told.  Bringing the audience members back from their mental driftings into the presense of the tale.




As a warm up and to bring the group together, we did 3 kaliedoscope excersises - one with just hands and one with legs and feet.  then we did one swinging our arms and upper bodies, in a standing position.

In the main part of the session we read the whole of the Kettle Badger, each person taking it in turns to narrate a page and then beating the drum 10 times whilst the rest of the group entered a group sculpt.  the first time we did this with the script, then again by memory.  When telling the story by memory, 2 things happened.  Firstly the vast majority of the detail was almost instantly forgotten, secondly, the narrator's style became less dramatic and engaging, and they became more inhibited.  This shows that we have been using the script as a prop, and thus need to get used to working without it.

Despite the lapses in memory, we did piece together the bare frame of the story, adding a little bit of detail here and there for embellishment.  Thus overall, our collective memory of the story is now greater, as we were able to reconstruct it without the written word.  Over the next couple of week, we will continue to do this, and I have also committed to sending out the story - will do this today by email.  I may actually be able to do it here as a page - will see.


We are not fixing people in roles yet, as I want us to continue to work with improvisation without fixing any structure in terms of role or sculpt.  After a couple more sessions of this I think we will be ready to start to get structure to the performance.  Also Chris will be back after a 3 week absense, and now our other current project, Nettle Roots is over, he will be able to start working on the music for this.

Still to do:  Constitutionalise, Funding bid for Fairy tales evening.

A little bit of Commedia

First of all a note - I didn't blog last week's session.  Sorry guys.


Here are a couple of pics to remind people of what we did:

Briefly - we worked a bit more with narrative styles, and building up sculpts, using the Tea Kettle, to continue to familiarise ourselves with the story.  

  

Use of voice - e.g., intonation, clarity, emphasis, and changing metre is vastly improving, and I noted that now we need to work with movement.

We haven't done much on dexterity, because most of the movement style we have studied so far has been the slow, measured movements of the 1st story, the Thunder Good.  However, the narrator is intended to be a nimble, childlike figure, a magical makebelieve story teller, and, especially when trying to read from the book, we do need to work on a more flexible, nimble movement style.  There are also times when the characters in the story need more of a flexible, dance or acrobatic movement style, for instance, in the storm (Good Thunder) or the Badger (Tea Kettle).

Gabi gave a half hour session on Commedia De'll Arte.  We decided on this because in Commedia, the stylised, characteristic movements of the stock characters are very important.  They also add to the theme of the characters, which can be seen along the same lines as archetypes and thus can be lent to many other themes or works.

Each person in the group worked on a character, developing movements that show the characters themes.  for instance, Capitane - rather vain and grandiose, Harlequin, nimble, trickster, the Lovers, romantic and sexual.  At the end of the session we improvised a scene around the theme of a cafe, and two characters trying to get served.  It was very crazy with lots of things happening at the same time, and lots of movement.

This immediately led into the next part of the session, in which I instructed each member of the group in methods to further develop their character.  They each worked from 3 positions, that began as a sculpt, 1st position was standing, 2nd position sitting, and 3rd on the floor.  They also each chose a rythm for themselves - 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4.  In this rythm - including breathing, each person developed a movement sequence (motif) for each sculpt.  The rhythms really helped to describe the character, and added much interest to the movements.

It was quite special observing the characters taking shape as each group member worked alone for a while, moving around each other, and changing position, finding motivations, facial expressions became more animated, movements became more nimble and finely tuned.  

We then allowed the characters to interact.  We set up a performing area and an audience area, and in twos, the group improvised an interactive scene, starting with a scenario - e.g., dog walkers on a hill watching the sun set, or teachers in a staff room, and having only one rule for interaction - they must not be in the same position at the same time.

Giving the characters the opportunity to interact showed how each character, although very stylised and with just 3 motifs, could have very different responses in different situations.  these responses were gauged by things like size of movement, speed, energy, and facial expression.  

Finally, each person, in role as their stock character, read some of the Tea Kettle.  Again, they were given tasks.  They had to weave around the audience, sitting directly beside one audience member and engaging them personally, they also had to use all 3 positions.  

Each character gave a completely different style of reading, and each one engaging and energetic.  Which were very funny, and a delight to watch.

Next week we will continue on the same theme.  The group will be asked to familiarise themselves with parts of the story so that they can work without the book in hand, and thus free themselves up for greater movements, as well as not having the problem of losing their place on the page.

Monday May 2nd - Narrative styles

Introduction

Today we experimented with narrative styles.  The aspects of narration that I asked the group to focus on where bodily movements, posture, vocal tone and clarity of enunciation.

Focus and Warm ups

We brought ourselves into the room by saying our name, and describing where we are and what we are about to do.  We went round the circle a few times, each time requiring more detail and gradually bringing focus of attention from the busy lives we had come from and into the Konnektiv session.

We then observed things about each other, again going round the circle more than once in order to bring peoples focus of attention more closeley into the group, and strengthening the sense of connection between group members.

In order to bring in a physical warm up, we slightly changed that excersise by "imagining" each other doing things.  The person imagined then had to mime what they had been imagined doing.  For instance, I imagined Damon juggling with seven balls, and he then had to mime this.

We then brought in voice by imagining each other as someone of a particular age and gender, singing or speaking, to a group.

 Experimentation

The poetry reader looks alert, feet and hands are being
used to tell the story as well as the face.
 She leans towards the audience and uses vocal tone to
 add interest and meaning to the prose.

The main body of the session was taken by experimenting with narrative style, as we all took on a different role with which to tell the Japanese Fairy Tales we are working with.  We had a fairy, who had to persuade some children that they had to believe in her so that she could stay alive, a preacher, who was trying to convert some shoppers, a polititian, promoting their views at a hustings, a performance poet and a nursery teacher.

The audience

The "nursery teacher" reading is non-intrusive
but still includes the audience by leaning forwards, and
being seated brings the narrator closer to the children.

The point of the experiment was to look at ways that different people use to engage, persuade and entertain an audience.  Normal rules of acting don't apply, as the narrator makes personal contact with the audience, using eyes and body language.

The nursery teachers style is relaxed and simple,
unlike some of the more assertive styles we experimented with.
Her voice was soft and she spoke quite slowly

 Our audiences tested the narrators by being engaged, 
indifferent, or put off by the messages being relayed.  Some narrators were surprised that they found the experience of a "rude audience" to be liberating, and their performance improved as they were challenged by indifference to create a greater level of rapport, or got past the point of caring what the audience thought, or even got angry with the audience.

The "fairy reader" used a flirtatious manner, entertaining
 the audience by her quick, nimble movements and using a bright,
 lilting voice.

 Movement was very important, and sometimes quite hard to sustain.  However the movement adds to the character of the narrator.  Suggesting elements of personality to the reader, adding drama and style to the reading, and generally being much more entertaining than being still.

Occasionally the fairy would come quite close
to the audience, clearly requesting  more engagement.  
Both voice and movements where quick and light

The politician read slowly, with some gravity.
Attempting to convince the listeners of the seriousness
 of the subject under discussion.
Her voice was slow and deep and she used an emphatic tone.

 Some of the personalities used less distance than others.  The fairy was very intimate, unlike the polititian who was much more still physically during the performance.  The fairy had less social rules, was more childlike.  The polititian mainly used physical and vocal gravity, and strong eye contact, to engage the whole audience simultaneously.  The fairy flitted from one audience member to the other, engaging and releasing eye contact frequently.  She smiled a lot, unlike the politician.

The preacher was the most aggressive of the speakers,
his body language broke many social rules as he
threatened and accused his listeners.   Like the politician,
the preacher used slowly spoken words spoken emphatically.
However his tone varied a lot as his voice rose and fell in waves. 

The preacher used the more magical, unreal style of the  fairy, along with the emphasis and gravity of the politician.  His message was very serious and real, yet was given in a way intended to arouse strong emotions such as fear.  He did this by using a very varied vocal range, quickly changing his voice from deep to high, causing a forceful and emotive delivery.  He pointed directly at the audience, again quite threatening in his manner.


There seemed to be several themes in the range of styles of reading:


Intended magical content - indicated often by use of varied and changing vocal range.  Real readings were indicated by less of a vocal range, and greater use of emphatic words.
Intended emotional content - altered by changing the vocal tone, as well as the style of movement, quick for happy, or fearful emotion, slow for brevity.

Using the whole body, from tip of toe to slant of shoulders,
 the whole audience can be included in the reading

Entertainment - the less serious readings involved more quick, quirky movements, indicating an interesting character and adding texture to the reading.

At the end of the session, we brought the session to a close by a group mirroring excersise, where one person led the movement and passed the leading task to a random other, until someone ended the task by standing still.