Physical approach to reacting to noises.
Divided into pairs, one person in each pair was asked to stand in front of the other, facing away from him/her. The person behind, then, would start making noises within the widest range possible in order to produce a physical reaction on the other person.
It is very interesting to see the power of suggestion that noises have.
While I worked with Sarah-Jane I found much more interesting to explore the subtleties of the reactions to noises that were not too far from each other in terms of intensity or volume, noises that did not create a reaction too abrupt or extreme. These little details made the actors be much more aware of the changes going through their body, whereas when a sudden change in the intensity of the noise was made, it directly triggered an also sudden and fast physical reaction that did not allow the same level of scrutiny of the movement.
Then we moved onto group work, still keeping the same concept.
The class was now divided in two groups lead by Sarah-Jane on one side and Chantelle on the other. Two rows were formed by the rest of the actors, now facing each other. This new factor added yet another layer to the exercise. The principle remained the same. It was the fact that the 'noise-makers' had now five people in front of each of them (so they had to move from one side to the other whilst 'inflicting' these noises into their of the group), that contributed with this new layer in the exercise.
I experienced the exercise from one of the ends of my row, what made the journey of the noise clearer. We now had to react not only to the change of the noise, but also to the change of the 'flow' of this noise.
To finish the exercise we broke the line and stood staggered around the room. We were now to react to either of the two leaders and we were also asked to play the neutral state of intensity (which we are going to use for the characters of the witches) in between the reactions to the noises.
Although we all played it at the same time and could not see each other's work, I can see this exercise as a very interesting way to develop the witches scenes, giving it a macabre look with these contorted movements mixed with the 'almost ethereal' tranquility of the neutral state.
A very interesting exercise to work on physicality and the readiness to react to anything that happens on stage.
Divided into pairs, one person in each pair was asked to stand in front of the other, facing away from him/her. The person behind, then, would start making noises within the widest range possible in order to produce a physical reaction on the other person.
It is very interesting to see the power of suggestion that noises have.
While I worked with Sarah-Jane I found much more interesting to explore the subtleties of the reactions to noises that were not too far from each other in terms of intensity or volume, noises that did not create a reaction too abrupt or extreme. These little details made the actors be much more aware of the changes going through their body, whereas when a sudden change in the intensity of the noise was made, it directly triggered an also sudden and fast physical reaction that did not allow the same level of scrutiny of the movement.
Then we moved onto group work, still keeping the same concept.
The class was now divided in two groups lead by Sarah-Jane on one side and Chantelle on the other. Two rows were formed by the rest of the actors, now facing each other. This new factor added yet another layer to the exercise. The principle remained the same. It was the fact that the 'noise-makers' had now five people in front of each of them (so they had to move from one side to the other whilst 'inflicting' these noises into their of the group), that contributed with this new layer in the exercise.
I experienced the exercise from one of the ends of my row, what made the journey of the noise clearer. We now had to react not only to the change of the noise, but also to the change of the 'flow' of this noise.
To finish the exercise we broke the line and stood staggered around the room. We were now to react to either of the two leaders and we were also asked to play the neutral state of intensity (which we are going to use for the characters of the witches) in between the reactions to the noises.
Although we all played it at the same time and could not see each other's work, I can see this exercise as a very interesting way to develop the witches scenes, giving it a macabre look with these contorted movements mixed with the 'almost ethereal' tranquility of the neutral state.
A very interesting exercise to work on physicality and the readiness to react to anything that happens on stage.
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