Monsters

What do our minds conjour up when we hear the word "monsters?"
I used this word in Mondays session, dividing the group into two, and instructing them that half were monsters from outer space, and half were monsters from the deep.
Themes flowed strongly, physically and psychologically:

1950's B movie
Gutteral noises
Characteristic movements
Simple desires
Need for safety
Suspicion of difference
Organisation vs chaos
Exploration vs defence

How would the session have panned out differently if I had used the term "creatures"?  or "inhabitants"? 
There was a sympathetic treatment by the group of the "monsters", the "home" monster", and the defence/aggression towards the "foreign" monster came after attempts at communication and understanding were frustrated.

Being denied the opportunity to communicate in English, group members became very expressive in their vocal and physical expression.  This may also explain the simplicity in their presentation, and they found the themes that they could communicate were very restricted.

Verbal language gives a lot of flexiblity and subtlety, and opportunity for rich and varied expression.  At the same time we sometimes use language to dissociate from our physiology.  Verbal language can be used to rationalise, distract, confuse, lie and bore. 

Body language, which can include non verbal sounds, does not rationalise, it communicates by experience, we have to actually 'feel something' to convey it.  We might think that the body cannot lie.  Politicians use clever body language lies, but we soon become accustomed to the stock presentations of the Blairs and the Camerons, the outstretched hand, the hand in the pocket, the steady gaze at the camera; and we see through these lies.  The range of physical utterances is very limited, and they does not reach us the way authentic communications reach us.  We wouldn't be so forgiving to an actor as we are to a politician.  If an actor was only able to speak with steady firm gaze, one hand outstretched and one in the pocket, we would never forgive them.  They would be sacked on the spot.  The actor must find, on some level, a truth in their physical utterances.  The truth must be personal.

Self awareness, emotional aliveness and confident communication are necessary requisites and unavoidable outcomes of the rawness of discovering these personal truths and putting them into action before a spectator.

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We also did some "slapstick" training.  Funny walks, bumping into each other, stumbling, falling, reacting to each other, before and after the collision.

Safety
How hard can we bump without hurting ourselves and each other?
What are the least painful parts of the body with which to collide with other actors/objects (such as the floor)
How do we speed these movements up, so that they look natural and real, whilst still maintaining safety for the actors?

Exaggeration is humorous.  It is a childlike, basic form of humour.  Also stretching out the suspense - taking a while to sway and totter before falling - this exaggerates the feeling of impending doom - the knowledge of our impending doom - flailing arms, wide eyes and gaping mouths, high levels of indignation - impotent rage is very funny.  It expresses high levels of anger but is safe.  Like a bear in a cage.

A root of sadism?  We seek our own anger in others, but render it impotent so that we can see it's full glory without being endangered by it. We may poke and prod, but we need to know that the bear cannot bite, so we put it into a cage.  It's roars of rage, fear and pain are thrilling and fascinating.  Safely the other side of the cage, a sadism holds a pointed stick.  We feel for that time that we can control rage, fear and pain.  We will not be victimised by them.  We are the master of them.

In drama, we pretend in one go to be the sadist, the bear, the victim and the master.  We pretend to victimise ourselves and each other - in pretend pain we gain pretend mastery, and as spectator, we are the pretend sadist, laughing a a pain that we know is not real.

Thus one of the roles of humour, that most accessible and enjoyable form of entertainment, is to enable us to engage with and acknowledge the darkest side of our nature.