Techniques
Featured below are just a few of the techniques we delved into throughout the semester.
Suzuki
Disciplines
Tadashi Suzuki, Japanese Theatre Director among other titles, founded the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT).
He created the "Suzuki Method" of actor training which hones in on an intermingling between traditional Japanese Theatre and theatrical dance elements.
Focusing on the actor's awareness of their body, Suzuki utilizes exercises called disciplines that require extreme energy and concentration.
The Main Objectives of Suzuki Disciplines:
- Energy Production
- Breath Calibration
- Center of Gravity
The goal through these disciplines is to get actors to commit more to their craft both physically and emotionally.
To Suzuki, the minimal requirements for theatre are Point of View, Audience, and what he calls the "Invisible Body".
For the purposes of this class, discipline is a major factor. These exercises emphasized how much physical discipline, determination, and endurance is needed in the theatrical performance world. It displayed to students that sometimes actors must work through the physical pain to achieve the results the art is trying to portray. It took "suffering for the sake of the art" to a literal meaning. It also reminded students that performing is a craft one must discipline everyday. If a performance artist does not keep their body accustomed to the rigorous physical discipline regularly, it will be much more difficult to bounce back when the time comes. However, this type of discipline is as much a mental exhaustion as a physical one.
Stalinslavski
Self-Analysis and Reflection
Konstantin Stalinslavski takes a systematic approach to acting derived from Russian Theatre. During the twentieth century, Stalinslavski founded "the art of experiencing" in which actors are trained to bring their conscious thoughts to the surface to stimulate more subconscious and emotional responses as well.
Later on in his career, he established the "Method of Physical Action" which was a more physical rehearsal process for actors based on self-reflection and self-analysis. He also advocated later on in his life that an actor's work must come from both "inside-out" and "outside-in" philosophies. That means that actors must both work from an emotional standpoint and bring that work to the physical exterior of their work, and vice versa.
In class, we practiced both "inside-out" and "outside-in" techniques. With the Sonnet work, we went over the emotional connection to the text and then built upon that to create the physical movements we represented with each line. With our group devised presentation, my group decided to read the script, and then choreograph the movement. After mapping out the movement, we then decided to add emotional checkpoints within the piece to show the arc of the performance both physically and emotionally.
Lecoq
Levels of Tension
Jacque Lecoq's approach to theatre focuses on "physicality and movement". He also hinges upon the idea that the actor should have creative liberty and should not be ties down to rigid rules. Within this mindset, Lecoq developed the seven "levels of tension" for actors in which they can move about a space in their character.
- Exhausted/Catatonic
- Laid Back
- Neutral/"Economic"
- Alert/Curious
- Suspense/Reactive
- Passionate
- Tragic
Practicing these different levels of tension in class opened up my perception on how vast movement work can really be. Going through each level allowed me to experiment with different types of moving styles and how each style can dramatically change the character I am portraying (and how that character is presented to the audience).
Mary Overlie, Anne Bogart, and Tina Landau
Viewpoints
Mary Overlie originally developed viewpoint work in the 1970s as a master theatre artist and theatre educator. The "Six Viewpoint Theory" was later adapted by directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau. After the two women had adapted Overlie's work, their changes had resulted in finding 9 "physical" viewpoints and 5 "vocal" viewpoints. In class, we only focused on three specific viewpoints and different elements within those viewpoints :
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Space - (architecture, spatial relationship, topography)
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Shape (gesture -> behavioral v. expressive gesture)
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Time (tempo, duration, kinesthetic response, repetition)
In this class specifically, adding the use of viewpoints has dramatically changed performances. It makes them more interactive and dynamic for the viewer. For instance, in our contemporary monologue presentations, people had different viewpoints, and it made the whole performance personal to each character and it gave the audience a reference point as to who and where these monologues were supposed to be said. It paints a narrative picture for the viewer to follow when we do not have the physical resources needed to tell the story.