Isn't it amazing how things happen? Literally, the day after our last session, which ended on a very sad note, I had an email from a contact in Birmingham inviting us to perform at the Arts All Over the Place Festival on the 8th October. This is very exciting, and after a few phonecalls it transpired that we have enough of a cast to perform one of the stories to the Custard Factory crowd.
We also have to quickly think about music, makeup and costume and dance. We soon realised how having only one story to work on, and a performance date, strengthens ones focus, as in our next Monday session, we began to see the beginnings of a complete work.
After the usual round of catching up and sharing stories from the week, we got straight into action, with an exercise in developing roles. We each found 3 positions, at different levels, that described something about our characters, and showed these to each other, with Willow, the Fairy, introducing each pair of characters. Each pair experimented with getting from one position to another, and holding each position, in order to really get to grips with the experience of how it felt, both physically and psychically to take that shape.
For the first time we made a leap of progress on the storm dance, as this method gave the storm demons enough structure to be able to put together a motif of stylised movements, suggesting energy, speed and destructiveness.
In a circle, each person in turn, showed the group their positions, accompanied by an "I am ..." statement. The position was held in silence for a long time, still strengthening the sense of role development by the actor.
The actor playing Willow had been inspired to learn much of the story by heart, and again, this allowed for a leap of progress, as for the first time she was actually acting, moving through the space, interacting with the shapes, visualisations, audience, and able to conjour up the story, without being inhibited by reading the written words.
For the first time, we saw the story physically as a flowing, dynamic piece. We became aware of how and where the changes in energy take place, and the part each role plays in these modulations.
We nearly got throught the whole story, with just the ending to choreograph next week. Then we will be perfecting each part. Enhancing the style of movement, the character interactions, the shapes in the sculpt, and the all important flow of dynamic energy that travels through the story from beginning to end.
We also have to quickly think about music, makeup and costume and dance. We soon realised how having only one story to work on, and a performance date, strengthens ones focus, as in our next Monday session, we began to see the beginnings of a complete work.
After the usual round of catching up and sharing stories from the week, we got straight into action, with an exercise in developing roles. We each found 3 positions, at different levels, that described something about our characters, and showed these to each other, with Willow, the Fairy, introducing each pair of characters. Each pair experimented with getting from one position to another, and holding each position, in order to really get to grips with the experience of how it felt, both physically and psychically to take that shape.
In a circle, each person in turn, showed the group their positions, accompanied by an "I am ..." statement. The position was held in silence for a long time, still strengthening the sense of role development by the actor.
We nearly got throught the whole story, with just the ending to choreograph next week. Then we will be perfecting each part. Enhancing the style of movement, the character interactions, the shapes in the sculpt, and the all important flow of dynamic energy that travels through the story from beginning to end.
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