SITI Day 16
Suzuki with Bondo
When Grotowski saw Suzuki's company doing the work he commented that the system was all about the brakes. The patterns in Suzuki aren't there for the move, it is for the stopping. It is there to challenge the balance, the breath, and the focus of the actor. Being onstage isn't easy, and shouldn't be. Suzuki training is there to put you in the crisis and see where you stand. It is a sure fire way to show your shortcuts, your tricks, and your perceived limits.
Audience's breathe with us. In shakespeare, punctuation's are specific. Now granted they were probably added by the actors who sat down and read aloud there parts for the written version to be printed. But, those punctuation's come from the breath. When we breathe a lot, we break up the pattern of thought. On the flip side, if we don't breathe enough the audience holds its breath with us. It builds a tension that they subconsciously want released.
Viewpoints with Stephen
In my new group there are a lot of international students. 3 Spaniards, A dutchman, A greek, A malaysian, and of course some Aussies thrown in for good measure. They all are completely fluent in english, with the exception of the Spaniards. But in Viewpoints that doesn't matter. Because in Viewpoints we are speaking in the language of Time and Space, it is universal.
We started viewpointing with text today. The tough part is not acting and using the content of the words. Use the text as just another tool, don't let it become the only tool and don't let it stop your movement. Speak from the crisis, the imbalance. That is what the audience wants to see.
Playwrighting with Michael West.
Michael is a Playwright from Ireland that the company has started working with and he is working on a new translation and adaptation of The Seagull for them.
Can Theatre represent itself and Something else?
Take the idea of the Eucharist in Christianity. The Schism between Catholicism and the Protestant reformation was in large part due to the idea of Trasubstanciation. When taking communion the believers in Transubstanciation believed that they were literally eating the body of christ, and literally drinking the blood of Christ. That the moment it hit your lips it magically turned into the host. The Reformers believed that communion stood for the body and blood of christ. "This do in Remembrance of me" So on one side you have Mystery, Magic, and Transcendence and on the other you have Metaphor and Clarity.
What is Theatre? The former or the latter? A mix of both? Can both work?
Every play is a struggle with a big object. Imagine trying to carry a large object across the room, say a baby elephant. The sheer will power of belief needed to do that and the negotiation of the act is a metaphor for theatre. But it is also a struggle with a tiny object. The sheer attention and specificity needed to convey the small message a long way is also the metaphor for theatre.
Closer to the gutter we get the more shit we find. Go back to the Greeks. Performed as a part of a religious ceremony, what props did they have? Virtually none. Roman, where the gods were still being praised but not the reason for performance, what props did they have? Some, but not many. Shakespeare, Still evoking the gods but only as a tertiary focus, what props did they use? More, but only key things-Handkerchief, dagger, skull, etc. Then comes Naturalism and the props explode on stage like an orgy of epic proportions.
Take care of each other, Here's to a better tomorrow.
When Grotowski saw Suzuki's company doing the work he commented that the system was all about the brakes. The patterns in Suzuki aren't there for the move, it is for the stopping. It is there to challenge the balance, the breath, and the focus of the actor. Being onstage isn't easy, and shouldn't be. Suzuki training is there to put you in the crisis and see where you stand. It is a sure fire way to show your shortcuts, your tricks, and your perceived limits.
Audience's breathe with us. In shakespeare, punctuation's are specific. Now granted they were probably added by the actors who sat down and read aloud there parts for the written version to be printed. But, those punctuation's come from the breath. When we breathe a lot, we break up the pattern of thought. On the flip side, if we don't breathe enough the audience holds its breath with us. It builds a tension that they subconsciously want released.
Viewpoints with Stephen
In my new group there are a lot of international students. 3 Spaniards, A dutchman, A greek, A malaysian, and of course some Aussies thrown in for good measure. They all are completely fluent in english, with the exception of the Spaniards. But in Viewpoints that doesn't matter. Because in Viewpoints we are speaking in the language of Time and Space, it is universal.
We started viewpointing with text today. The tough part is not acting and using the content of the words. Use the text as just another tool, don't let it become the only tool and don't let it stop your movement. Speak from the crisis, the imbalance. That is what the audience wants to see.
Playwrighting with Michael West.
Michael is a Playwright from Ireland that the company has started working with and he is working on a new translation and adaptation of The Seagull for them.
Can Theatre represent itself and Something else?
Take the idea of the Eucharist in Christianity. The Schism between Catholicism and the Protestant reformation was in large part due to the idea of Trasubstanciation. When taking communion the believers in Transubstanciation believed that they were literally eating the body of christ, and literally drinking the blood of Christ. That the moment it hit your lips it magically turned into the host. The Reformers believed that communion stood for the body and blood of christ. "This do in Remembrance of me" So on one side you have Mystery, Magic, and Transcendence and on the other you have Metaphor and Clarity.
What is Theatre? The former or the latter? A mix of both? Can both work?
Every play is a struggle with a big object. Imagine trying to carry a large object across the room, say a baby elephant. The sheer will power of belief needed to do that and the negotiation of the act is a metaphor for theatre. But it is also a struggle with a tiny object. The sheer attention and specificity needed to convey the small message a long way is also the metaphor for theatre.
Closer to the gutter we get the more shit we find. Go back to the Greeks. Performed as a part of a religious ceremony, what props did they have? Virtually none. Roman, where the gods were still being praised but not the reason for performance, what props did they have? Some, but not many. Shakespeare, Still evoking the gods but only as a tertiary focus, what props did they use? More, but only key things-Handkerchief, dagger, skull, etc. Then comes Naturalism and the props explode on stage like an orgy of epic proportions.
Take care of each other, Here's to a better tomorrow.
posted by The Necessary Theatre at 1:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home