Jumping Jellyfish!

States of Tension  I found some websites with the 7 States of tension on, to try to find some different angles of looking at them.  One of them, which was very useful, was this one: http://dramaresource.com/resources/features/285-seven-levels-of-tension, on great site called dramaresource.com.

In this resource, the two states of tension that we worked with today, the first and fourth, are described as follows:

1. Exhausted or catatonic. The Jellyfish. There is no tension in the body at all. Begin in a complete state of relaxation. If you have to move or speak, it is a real effort. See what happens when you try to speak.

4. Alert or Curious (farce). Look at things. Sit down. Stand up. Indecision. Think M. Hulot or Mr Bean. 

At the start of the session one of the members spoke of a holiday in Ireland where there had been lots of jellyfish on the beach, and this inspired a game in which these two states of tension could be explored.

First the group walked around the room, stooped over and swaying, waving their arms and swaying their legs, as if they were jellyfish, being swept around in shallow sea currents, moving easily, but with as little tension as possible.  Gradually the tide went out, and the jellyfish sank lower and lower, until they were completely on the floor, randomly sprawled or folded up, unable to move.  The jellyfish thought longingly of the sea, and tried and tried to move their bodies, to find the water, but without skeleton or muscles, no real movement was possibly, just the odd little twitch or jerk, or judder.

Gradually the sea came back in, lifting the jellyfish off the floor, and as the jellyfish began to float, higher and higher, they were finally able to move, but randomly, swept this way and that by the ebb and flow of the waves.

Then the game began.  In jellyfish mode (tension level 1), the group moved slowly around the room, with their eyes closed, randomly changing direction, sweeping their arms before them, and swaying on their legs.  As soon as two jellyfish touched, they recieved an imaginary electric shock and "woke up", suddenly.  They stood bolt upright, raising their arms, sometimes with a 'bzzzt!' noise, and stood, looking around, wide eyed, having suddenly gained consiousness, staring at the space they found themselves in in amazement, their bodies tense and movements jerky.  Then, after a few seconds, they returned to being jellyfish.

The effect was very funny.  especially when it was unexpected, when the change of tension level was very quick, or when someone added an unexpected detail.

This was a good way to practice feeling the difference between these two levels of tension, and a good warm up for the group.

The next exercise was designed to help warm up the narrator.  We sat in a circle, and in turn, we said a very benign and meaningless sentence, such as "I am good at baking potatoes".  The first person, said the sentence in a very flat, matter of fact way.  The next said it with a bit more energy, and gradually the energy was increased, until  the last person, who generally was off their seat, gesticulating wildly - although sometimes the energy was cleverly introverted.  We did this with everyone taking it in turns being the 'starter', who thought of the sentence, and the 'finisher', who's task was to say the sentence with more energy than anyone else in the room.

This is a good game for lowering inhibitions, as it is funny and ridiculous, and encourages people to be imaginative about how they make their statements, as motivation can be changed drastically from one speaker to the next.

Finally we worked on The Thunder good.  Up to a point the piece is coming together now, however, we need now to work on the Thunderstorm Dance, which will be the high point of this story.  We discussed the need for some movement motifs.  The use of breath, which helps to create a dynamic, staccato energy, as well as how we might stylise the movements to give a 'japanese' feel to the dance.  I think some 'youtube' veiws may be in order here, to try to get some idea about the specifics of how we may do this. 

What will definately help is the fact that we have a new, bigger room soon, and we will be able to have more space to practice in. 

Wednesday morning - freely moving bodies

Neutrality
There is some law of physics that states that the constantly moving molecules in a gas will expand to fill the available space in the room.  Or something like that.  This is what i felt like during this session when we developed a game of moving, without motivation, and changing position when we came nearly into contact with an object.  The game changed slightly as we introduced rules (like the physical laws, these rules respond to a 'nature' rather than to a 'desire')  One body was attracted to another, and moved towards it, trying to come into contact with it.  To the second body, they first was treated just like any other object in the room, and thus moved away from.  By taking out the feeling of motivation, but just responding to the rules, the movement became a flowing dynamic.  The speed and energy were constant, and only the direction of movement changed.  At one point two bodies got stuck in the corner of the room.  Neither able to move, as their laws of movement prevented further progress.  In this scenario, according to physical laws, would there be a build up of potential energy?  I think not.  Build up of energy would occur due to animal motivation such as frustration.  This would be an emotional energy.  The physical energy, without the emotional factor, would be constant, and although the rules of movement are in conflict, preventing further movement. In this case, this  created a balanced state of stillness, where the two bodies maintained their position in space.  As human animals, we felt uncomfortable, as we had applied a human interpretation to the word 'rule' or 'law'.  We had thought that the 'rule' was 'to move'.  But it wasn't, the 'rule' was 'to move in relation to other bodies', and in this case, the movement was to be still. 

As a physical body, we would just remain still, unquestioningly, having no motivation to change position, and no human consciousness with which to reflect upon or question our position.

Eventually we put 3 bodies into the space, each moving randomly, without motivation, changing direction only when coming close to another body. 

Why would we do this?

To develop the idea of Neutrality.  We chatted about Buddhism and Taoism, the state of being that contains no emotion or motivation, just is.  We related it to an antelope, who will eat grass for days and then in an instant of spotting a lion be running in the opposite direction at full speed.  But this had to much of a motivational factor.  Then we thought of a frog, sitting motionless on a stone, staring seemingly at nothing until a fly appears, in any random area about the frog.  In an instant, the frogs tongue is flicked from its mouth, grabs the fly, and is pulled back, the fly has been eaten and the frog still sits.  I imagine that it blinks at this point, but I have no evidence from nature to say whether that is the case.  I wonder if the frog likes the taste of fly, or gets a feeling of satisfaction when it gets the tip of it's tongue right on target?  I wonder if the frog feels hunger?  I imagine that any animalistic drives such as these may interfere with the frogs state of consciousness, and cramp it's style somewhat, so maybe not.


In a neutral state, anything is possible, awareness is fully present, experience comes from all of the senses, but is not necessarily responded to.  It just is.

Then we start to get relaxed, and lose it.  Because relaxation is closer to exhaustion, the state in Lecoq's cycle of 'no energy', than neutrality.  Neutrality contains potential energy, and movement comes easily from a state of Neutrality.  In relaxation, we don't want to move, we want to be still.  Neutrality neither wants movement or stillness, but can do either.  I realise at this point that often I have seen Neutrality as the same as Relaxation.  Relaxation is seductive, it pulls you in because you are a lazy human that doesn't want to move.  In an opposite state, Anxiety (a high state of tension), you can't help but move, this is often through fear, or repressed anger.  Anxiety motivates you to move, and Relaxation motivates you to be still.  Neutrality motivates nothing, yet makes anything possible (within the potentialities of your own possiblities).  So what is it?  and how do we get there? 

Tension in Motion

Reflecting on Wednesdays session, and having read Peter Wrights chapter on Lecoq's theory of  States of Tension, I found myself a little disgruntled.  I am not sure of some of the ideas.  The cycular image seems forced, and the starting and ending points of 'exhaustion' and 'rigor mortis' don't seem the same at all to me, and the terminology used is emotionally laden.

In my mind, the most sensible examples of the two points are sexual extasy and death (but only if one is aware that one is dying, which generally, in dramatic situations, one is)  The point of sexual climax, or during death throes, the body may become rigid, unable to move, each muscle tense.  Following this, the point of exhaustion is reached, in release from tension, after the climax, or the death occurs, the body becomes limp and lifeless.  In the first case there may be a great reluctance to move, in the second, one could not move because one is dead.

As far as the other states of tension go, I took the group through an exercise where they first entered a state of neutrality (the 4th state), and walked around the room, greeting each other in several ways.  Making eye contact, then using a brief hand shake (with eye contact), then a double handed handshake.  The effect to me as the spectator was of warmth and regard.  In the second condition, I asked the group to tense up the area between the shoulder blades, and their buttocks.  I asked them to walk around the room and greet in these ways - first through eye contact alone, then through a brief handshake, and then with a hug.  The effect was rather funny - a bit Basil Fawlty - overformal, like people at a business meeting who are trying hard to be friendly but who would rather not be there.  This relates to the 5th State - which Wright calls 'Is there a Bomb in the Room?', the bomb relating to an emotional state, which in this case, appeared to be embarrasment - the state of tension and the actions were in conflict with each other.

Group members commented on the experience of walking through the space, sometimes feeling that connections were not so easy, the unnaturalness of the second part of the exercise.  

The Slow Motion Running Race


Merv found this game in one of the books he is reading - Lecoq I think.  In it, the group members take part in a running race, but in this running race the point is to come last, and the race takes place in slow motion.


One of the first surprises was how hard it was to balance, and this brings us to one of the points of the game - to break a movement down to it's minutest parts.  This was slower than slow motion, and as the race progressed, the movements got even slower.  Group members got gradually better at co-ordinating themselves, and increased thier awareness of their movement.


Rehearsal - Urashima - We got to the End!!

The slow motion running race was very good preparation for the rehearsal of Urashima.  The mood of this story is very still.  The movements, more than any other story, are very slow, and need to be as minimalistic as possible.


Using very simple and being minimalist in the number of moves means that every single movement becomes full of meaning.

 In the running race, the movements where slowed into their minutest parts, and in this session we also reduced movements such as a fisherman hunching over in grief, so that there was acute awareness of his head sinking into his hands, his chest pulling inward, his back bowing over.

 We have discovered the power of making a rule - and then of breaking it.  Throughout this story, the 10 beats between sculpts rule is stuck to.  The beats are slow and quiet.  Then at the end, this rule is broken, as the Fisherman and the narrator move into the same dramatic space, the intention being that the audience is also even more intensely drawn in.

Sometimes we found that actors utilised states of tension without even realising they were doing it.  It was important at times like this to point it out when it was happening, so that the moment could be incorporated into the final choreography.


And so we have finally choreographed one entire story.  It's a nice feeling to have got to this stage of completion.  Of course rehearsals are no-where near finished, as details will be polished up, new techniques of moving and relating and being still will be worked with, right up until the actual performances.

                                                                               

states of tension

Today we played at the community room at Rising Brook Fire Station in Stafford.  The Fire Officers were lovely and welcoming and the room nice and light, and though not very big, we managed to do some lively and intense dramas.

Warm up - the game we started with was 'On your Marks', and used the starting position in a race as the initial movement.  The point is that the starting position was the neutral position, and from this, any movement at any level, is possible.  The group members take it in turns saying 'On your Marks,  Get Set...', and another member gives the instruction - 'roll on the floor', 'jump up and down', 'hop' etc.  This was an energetic and light hearted way to begin to think of using our bodies in terms of strength, stamina, subtlety, poise and balance.

We began then to link in the movements with each other (linking in with themes of complicite),. and got into a position that made us think of sky diving.  This was followed by us going through half of a sequence where we became a team of skydivers jumping out of an aeroplane, free falling, pulling the chute cords, and ending up landing.  However, as we discussed how we would do this, we touched on themes of states of tension, which seemed really relevant, and so we put the jumping out of the plane excersise to one side for a while to work more directly with 'states of tension.  We never did finish the jumping out of the aeroplane sequence, it would be nice to return to it one day.

The relevant theorists when looking at states of tension are Peter Wright and Jaques Leqoc.  Looking back on it, I have several areas of confusion, which I'm sure that more experimentations will help to clarify.  

Saying that, the theory was very useful, and as a group we made many associations with ways in which it could be applied in different contexts.

Two examples of tension that Lecoq describes are fear (the bomb excersise) and anxiety (cocktail party excersise).  We added different scenarios to these, as a group improvising around the theme of horror (locked in a room with a monster in), pride and joy (tying shoe laces up for the first time), fear (going into a cellar full of spiders with only a torch) and love (finding and embracing a baby monkey).

Some of the questions occuring to me following the practice are:

1)    To what extent does the actor actually experience the feeling when portraying it (Stanislavski and Brecht).

2)    how successful can the actor be in moving from one state of tension to another, without getting 'stuck' in one state.  This is very relevant to therapy, where one doesn't want ones clients to be going home in fear, imagining there are monsters in the roof or joy, believing there to be monkeys in the trees, and actors, who may be portraying a state of very high tension in one scene, and a completely different level, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in the next.  Dramatherapeutically, there are many ways to enrol and derol, which ensure that overattachment to a role or state does not occur, but in drama practice, it is time consuming and not really seen as necessary.  But actors do need to be able to switch between states, and is this a skill that can be learned?

3)   there was some assumption among the group (myself included) that the level of tension related to the quantity of the type of tension being portrayed, thus we put an emotional interpretation (joy, love, fear etc) to the tension.  I don't know if this is what the model actually is saying.

4)   the model is cycular.  It starts and ends at the same point.  How then does one state lead to another?  Discussions around this question may help to build up discussions around the questions in number 2.

This will be the subject of more investigation on the theory group.

For the members of Konnektiv who turned up, the experience was intense, as we played with various states of emotion (which is how we interpreted the word 'tension').  For me, there was the feelings of responsibility brought about by some of the questions I have posed above. It is certainly possible to switch between apparent states of tension, if a more Brechtian approach is taken, where the actor is aware of the quality of tension being conveyed, and is able to convey it convincingly, yet within a very short time, have no trace of the tension left in them.  However in 'acting out' the tension, it is unavoidable that the actual feeling is experienced, to some degree.  Are there traces of these left after we apparently leave the state?   After some of the scenarios, some of the actors carried the tension for quite a while, it did not leave easily.  Was there a 'holding on' to the state?  If so, what might bring about this desire to 'hold on'?  Perhaps being in that space where it is safe to explore emotions usually tucked safely into boxes, there is a seductive quality, a sense of luxury, permission - we can immerse ourselves into this experience together, and share what we find.  

Sometimes a surprising reluctance makes us question each other.  One member of the group protested that they could not show the quality of tension that was being asked of them.  I reminded her that we weren't there to actually 'have' the experience, but to 'show' it (an actor has to have a rich and varied repertoire of states that they can perform, they are tools of the trade).  In showing the experence, as well as we are able, we might feel like experimenting with what it might actually feel like, and there are therapeutic opportunities there for us.  In being able to fully experience the feeling, we might become better, more convincing, energetic actors.  these are not statements, they are possibilities, open to discussion.

As we moved away from the Japanese Fairy Tales temporarily, I had intended that we work very physically, hence the use of Leqoc's model.  However, we seemed to work more on an emotional level than a physical level.  Whilst initially we were paying attention to physical states, and commented on these during the 'bomb' exercise, in later exercises, we tended to focus on the experience of the emotion.  It will be valuable in future sessions to be able to return to this and spend more time focussing on the physicality of the experience.

Finding the Badger Within

At the beginning of the session, lots of people were really tired, so we tried a livening up experiment.  I had hoped to combine this with a sort of Boalian style experiment in role power, but that bit didn't really work.  As you will see looking through the photographs, by the end of the session, the group was really rather lively.

 The group sorted themselves into order of tiredness.  The most tired person led first, as they walked around the room, gradually feeling their way into roles of their characters in The Badger Kettle.  Everyone walked very slowly, there was lots of hunching over and loud yawning, as they expressed the most tired feelings of the most tired person there. 

Inspired by a Cirque du Soleil video that we watched on Sunday, I had emphasised with everyone that they should also be thinking about 'how' they are travelling.  I didn't want to see anyone 'walking', as themself.  There are so many ways and reasons to move from one space to another.  Each movement needs to be choreographed, to make it purposeful and stylised, pleasing to watch, part of the spell we are creating, separate from 'normal life'.  In 'very tired' mode, this was more difficult than later in the session.

Gradually, the leader was swapped for someone who was less tired, and they led the group, and set the tiredness level for everyone else to follow.  Through changing the leader each time, like this, the energy level of the group was gradually raised.

 As the action sped up, and footsteps became lighter, heads were raised and a few people started to hum.

 The group moved between two of the rooms in the meeting house, because each room is very small, and I am trying to find creative ways to incorporate both spaces, but they are connected by a small narrow hallway and two doors..  My idea of the 'power play' in the doorway was that because it is so small, only one person could get through at a time.  Therefore, each person would have to negotiate with another, who would go through the door first, and this negotiation would be in character.  In fact, this was too much to add in to the warm up at such an early stage, and people didn't really enter into the spirit of that part of the instructions.  I will try to fit in a modified version of this exercise in another session.

 After a few increases in the energy level, things started to look quite lively.  At some point, people picked up instruments, and this is where the energy really began to pick up.

Movement became more frenetic and sounds became louder.  Most of the group began to really start enjoying themselves, and freeing themselves up to the idea of letting go and being a bit silly.

The rehearsal part of the session was far more lively than usual.  This was partly because we were working on a very lively part of the story, but also I think because the warm up session fed into the rehearsal.  The narrator didn't take much enrolling, as she had already developed her character quite a lot, so the method I used was to reflect her movements and speech patterns.  We both rolled around on the floor, crawled about, walked in an uneven circling waltz pattern, discussing the characteristics of the role. 

We have finally set the character of the Badger Kettle, and she will be able to start to work more intensely on her style of movement.  There is also the opportunity in this part of the story to use clowning skills to make a really dynamic and funny slapstick element to the piece.

Some of the members of the group who were not on stage at this point took the instruments that were used in the warm up and devised a piece of music for the badger to dance to.  As with the narrator, I facilitated the enrolement of the badger by reflecting her moves.  Several other members of the group all joined in at this point, and with the music playing and the energetic moves, some initial self consciousness soon gave way to a more uninhibited, flowing, dynamic show of interactive movement.

During this session we were more aware than ever about how much progress the group has made since our initial early stages of rehearsal.  We have a wide range of energy levels, and through the three stories, many different emotional states and styles of movement are shown.

Starting from next week, we will be having Wednesday morning rehearsals as well as Monday evening rehearsals.  Not all of the group will be able to attend these, although we hope to attract more members as some people will be able to attend who can't come to the Monday sessions.

Other progress on the management front is that now the bank account is up and running, and we can start looking for funds to begin making costumes/stage set and so on, and to get in specialist workshop facilitators.  We are also looking for venues for January performances, with a chance being that we may be performing at Community Rooms in Staffordshire Fire Stations.

1st August 2011 - Lecoq, clapping, working with gravity. The Badger Kettle.

Lecoq.  One of our members has been spending much time studying Lecoq, and was interested in some of the themes that have come out of his deliberations.  One of these is the Meyerholds study of biomechanics, and in particular, the way that each movement can be broken down in to three parts.  These include the preparation to move, the movement and the finish of the move.

To look more closeley at this, we used a game from Lecoq's book, which involved the group sitting in a circle and all starting to clap, and changing our claps timing until we were all in time with each other.  The theory was that the claps would gradually come into time, and then would speed up, and then the rhythm would be lost.  This was indeed what happened, and at the end of the game, it was as if everyone made a round of applause.  The three sections tied in with the ideas of the three parts of the movement.

Whilst we discussed this, I remembered an excersise that a group of students did at university a year ago.  This involved people resting on each other in such a way that if one moved, the other would fall, but in position, they actually felt relaxed, safe and comfortable.  I remembered that it was important to note how each pair got into their position, in order to complete the movement effectively and safely.

This led to another exercise in which in twos, we all worked out an interdependent position.  We had to show in detail how we prepared for the movement, moved, and ended the move.  The following pictures show the shapes that we made, and give some idea about the variety of positions that are possible from the simple instruction.

Following this we spent some time working with gravity.  After the video of the Commedia influenced dance that we watched last Sunday, I spent some time pondering on the fact that one of the things that makes a performance watchable and entertaining, to me, is the apparent lightness of the performers.  This applies to dancers, actors, singers and musicians.  When a skilled performer is playing, it is almost as if they have no weight.  They could take off in any direction, at any time.  I have seen 20 stone actors with this skill, and really there isn't much difference between them doing it and an 8 stone dancer.  It is an illusion.  It involves muscle control, fluid, planned movements, a good posture, and I think, and enjoyment of moving.


This is like a child playing in a field, running around, jumping, climbing, doing summersaults, for the pure joy of moving.  It is opposite to a person with depression, where every little movement takes a great effort and can even seem physically painful.  A person with depression may look incredulously at a joyful child.  Unable to imagine how they can experience such exhilaration from movement.  Even if they, in earlier life, had engaged in such play.

I wanted to ask the group to engage in an exercise that would give some idea about the polar experiences of heaviness and lightness.  After spending some time centring their bodies, in standing position, I asked them to imagine weights being added to their backs, at the top, between their shoulder blades.  10 imaginary weights were added, and each time, the group members rolled down thier spine, as if weighed a bit further down by the weights.  Eventually, by the time the 10th weight had been added, they were all crouched on the floor.  I walked around pressing each one between the shoulder blades, to reinforce the feeling of weight.


Following this, I spoke again to the group, asking them to now imagine that the weights are being removed, one by one.  Gradually they raised up, from the floor, until they were standing when the final imaginary weight was removed.  Then, I went around and lightly pinched the two hands of each group member, saying that I was attaching helium balloons to their hands.  The imaginary helium balloons were also added to the tops of their heads, between thier shoulder blades, and finally their feet.  


I then asked each group member to choose one of the roles that they were playing and walk around as smoothly and lightly as possible, thinking about the speed and rhythm of the movement.  The results were that each person moved with a sense of greater confidence and looking more agile and poised than they had previously.  One member looked very much like a string puppet, which gave an idea for another workshop that we could do one day.


Finally we worked with the Badger Kettle.  We hadn't realised how much this piece has been neglected recently in comparison to the other two stories.  As a group we worked through the introduction, starting to develop the characters of the Kettle and the priest.  We found ourselves working with reflections and repetitions, which connected the characters to each other, even when they were doing quite different things.

Some research findings - mainly The Good Thunder with a bit of Urashima thrown in

The Good Thunder

Like my first childhood soft toy (Pink Rabbit) the names of Raiden-Sama and Rai-Taro are very literal - 'rai' means thunder, 'den' means lightning, 'sama' means master and 'taro' means eldest son.

In some versions of the story, when Rai-Taro reaches the age of 18 he turns into a white dragon and flies away. Perhaps this could be reflected in the costume.

Raiden beats a (taiko) drum, often with a tomoe (not to be confused with tomato or toenail) symbol on. Here is an example:


Apparently the peasant is called Bimbo - I wonder if his name is to be taken as literally as those of the thunder gods...

Urashima

I may be able to utilise my Origami skills after all! Here is an example of the tamatebako, or casket:

Yay =)