Today’s lesson was so much fun! We spent a large part
of the three hours going back and forth between being a complete wobbly
jellyfish to ridiculous caricatures of Hamlet. Sounds made up? I assure you
it’s not.
It’s all about expression of the different levels of
tension.
Level #1: jellyfish
– where there is nary an ounce of strength in your body. We wobbled about the rehearsal
space like invertebrates and fell apart all over the floor.
Wish I was this cute when I wobbled everywhere!
Flea fly jellyfish! |
Level #2: Californian
– ever watched a drunken American swagger and stumble over the pavement?
Yup, that’s us, practising a more human, but still completely paralyzing level
of tension.
Level #3: normal
human being – how we walk every day. Kind of like a leisurely stroll, or
walking without much purpose or destination.
Level #4: stealthy
– James Bond with less swag. Maybe a lesser criminal, or an assassin making
his way to his target. Significant tension, but suppressed to make room for
tiptoeing around.
Not sure how you're supposed to be stealthy with that huge ring. |
Level #5: alert
– James Bond or Bourne on a mission. Tense enough due to a constant lookout for
potential targets or enemies with a gun. We had fun pretending to be in a
movie.
Level #6: comedic
– what a BEAUTIFUL day! I want to sing a song about the beautiful green
grass! Everything was in exclamation marks as we pranced about the space
dancing. You might argue that a comedic or happy character requires less
tension, but this is not true, as actions must always be pronounced and
seemingly lax gestures are in fact laced with direction and force for the
stage.
Level #7: tragic
– Hamlet. Slow, purposeful? dramatic? steps, marked
with pronounced grief and unspeakable regret. Many thuds were heard as we fell
to our knees.
'Give me your best tragic Hamlet impression.' |
Why is tension so crucial to theatre, you ask? Well, we learnt
that tension, not conflict, is what’s central to drama. And tension, unlike
conflict, requires nothing more than body language to be expressed. A simple
push and pull between characters could speak volumes without explicit
explanation of back stories, which could get unnecessarily complicated and
possibly even boring.
Of course, apart from our own bodies, the room itself
imposes a meaning on us and takes on different values every time we change the
setting; space is always loaded with meaning and allows us to make do with
imagination and creative absence to make up for any possible lack of logistics.
Sometimes, we choose to use space instead of actual equipment to evoke a
certain sense of theatricality.
What a big takeaway from a simple, fun exercise.
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