Day One Exercises
Morning Session
I.FEELING WHAT WE TOUCH
First Series: General Exercises
Columbian Hypnosis (w/ Variations)One actor holds her hand palm
forward, fingers upright, anything between 6 and 10 inches away
from the face of another, who is then hypnotized and must keep his
face constantly the same distance from the hand of the hypnotizer,
hairline level with her fingertips, chin more or less level with
the base of her palm. The hypnotizer starts a series of movements
with her hand, up and down, right and left, backwards and forwards
the partner must contort his body in every way possible to maintain
the same distance between face and hand, so that face and hand
remain parallel. The hand must never do movements too rapid to be
followed, nor must it ever come to a complete halt. The hypnotizer
must force her partner into all sorts of ridiculous, grotesque,
uncomfortable positions.
Variation #1: Hypnotism with two hands. Same exercise, but this
time the actor is guiding two fellow actors, one with each hand,
and can do any movement she likes.
Variation #2: Hypnotism with the hands and feet. Like the
preceding versions, but with four actors, one for each of the
leaders hands and feet.
The Greek exerciseOne actor stands in the middle and at least
seven or eight others stand around her. She starts a movement and
everyone else must use their bodies to help her complete this
movement. For example, if she lifts a foot, someone immediately
places his body under this foot so that the actors foot is
supported. The overall effect should be almost as if the
protagonist was weightless, in space. She must always move slowly
enough to allow the other participants (who must move quickly) time
to discover her intentions, which should not be spelt out.
The Image of the HourThe Joker calls out a time of day, and the
actors must do whatever movements their bodies usually make at that
particular time. The Joker runs through different times, different
occasions, and significant dates for example: Election Day,
birthday celebration, funeral, etc.
Second Series: Walks
Slow MotionThe winner is the last person home. Once the race has
begun, the actors never stop moving and every movement should be
executed as slowly as possible. Each runner should take the largest
step forward she is capable of, on every stride. When one foot is
being moved in front of the other, it must pass above knee-level.
Another rule both feet must never be on the ground at the same
time. This exercise, which requires considerable equilibrium,
stimulates all the muscles of the body.
Third Series: Massages
In a CircleThe actors sit in a circle, one behind the other,
each person placing their hands on the shoulders of the person in
front of them, in order to keep roughly an arms length apart. Then,
with their eyes closed, everybody tries to find and massage the
hardened points of the partners body, in the neck, around the ears,
the head, the shoulders, the backbone. Switch directions. Then ask
everyone to lie back on the person behind them, who must carry on
massaging them, this time on the face.
Fourth Series: Integration Games
The Bear of PoitiersOne participant is designated the bear of
Poitiers (a French town where this game is played). She turns her
back on the others, who are the foresters. The latter busy
themselves with their forestry tasks woodcutting, planting,
tree-felling, etc. After an interval, the bear must give vent to an
enormous growl, whereupon all the woodcutters must freeze in their
positions, not making the slightest movement, absolutely motionless
as if their life depended on it. The bear goes up to each one of
them, growling at will, using any trick she can think of to make
them laugh, to make them move, to reveal that they are alive. When
the bear succeeds, the forester who has given himself away becomes
a second bear, and the two bears set off to do the same thing to
the other foresters, who still try not to move. Eventually there
are three bears, then four, and so on.
Fifth Series: Gravity
Horizonality SequenceWithout moving the rest of the body, which
should stay still, the actor stretches his neck and head forwards
and backwards. The movement should be executed on a single
horizontal line.The actor bends his neck to the left and right,
keeping his head upright and moving it over his left and right
shoulders, still staying on a single horizontal plane. Same
exercises for the thorax and the pelvis.
Verticality SequenceThe actor is seated on the ground, arms and
legs spread wide, forming a right angle, dividing her body
vertically into two parts, each half having one arm, one leg, one
shoulder, half the head, half the pelvis, half the chest. She
advances in this fashion on her hindquarters, leading first the
right side of her body forward then the left. The two parts of the
body should be as dissociated as possible, the movements isolated
as much as possible. Having stepped forward, she goes back to where
she started from, in reverse.
Circular MovementsThe actor moves forward by means of rounded
movements only circular, oval, spiral, elliptical, etc. The arms
revolve at the same time from front to back, up and down. The head
should describe curves in relation to the ground, going up and
down, never staying at the same level. The legs and the whole body
go up and down. The movement should be continuous, gentle,
rhythmic, and slow.
Day One Exercises
Afternoon Session
II.LISTENING TO WHAT WE HEAR
First Series: Rhythm
Changing RhythmsUsing voices, hands and feet, all the actors set
up a rhythm together. After a few minutes, they change it slowly,
till a new rhythm emerges, and so on, for several minutes.
The Machine of RhythmsAn actor goes into the middle and imagines
that he is a moving part in a complex machine. He starts doing a
movement with his body, a mechanical, rhythmic movement, and
vocalizing a sound to go with it. Everyone else watches and
listens, in a circle around the machine. Another person goes up and
adds another part (her own body) to this mechanical apparatus, with
another movement and another sound. A third, watching the first
two, goes in and does the same, so that eventually all participants
are integrated into this one machine, which is a synchronized
machine. The first person to start the machine is also the person
who can accelerate the rhythm and who will eventually stop the
machine. The aim of this exercise is to reveal inner rhythms,
rather than external clich behaviors. The machine can be an
emotion, a city, a government office, a culture, etc.
Chain Rhythm DialogueIn a circle, one person thinks of something
he wishes to express and tries to translate what he has thought
into a rhythm of movement and sound (not simply mimicking the sound
of the words!) The person to his right, watches him and answers
him, but addresses the answer to a third person (to their right),
who listens to him, and addresses a fourth person, etc. At the end,
the participants tell each other what they were thinking,
reproducing their rhythm while giving the translation.
Second Series: Melody
OrchestraTwo groups of actors improvise two orchestras,
preferably with improvised instruments, while one actor invents a
corresponding dance. He dances towards one of the orchestras,
replacing someone in it, while the instrumentalist becomes a dancer
and dances in the direction of the other orchestra, replacing
another instrumentalist who becomes a dancer and so on. Every time
a replacement is made the rhythm must of necessity change.
Third Series: Sounds and Noises
Sound and MovementA group of actors vocalize a particular sound
(the sound of an animal, of leaves, a road, a factory) while
another group does movements which correspond to the noises, in
some way visualizing the sounds. If the noise is meow, the
representation need not necessarily be a cat, but whatever
visualization the actor associates with that particular sound.
Ritual SoundSame thing (as the Sound and Movement exercise),
except that the group which makes the sound must restrict itself to
the sounds of a particular ritual waking up in the morning, going
home, getting to work, a classroom, the factory, etc.
Fourth Series: The Rhythm of Respiration
Inflatable DollThe actor pulls the stopper out of anothers body
as if the actor was an inflatable doll full or air. The part of the
body un-stoppered can be the finger, the knee, the ear, etc. The
un-stoppered actor acts as if he was in the process of emptying; at
the same rate as he breathes out, he deflates, until he falls to
the floor like an empty rubber doll. Then the first actor
approaches the doll-actors empty body and does the movements and
sounds of someone filling up a balloon with an air pump. The
balloon must fill up with the same amount of air as the actor is
pumping, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. After the relevant
time, without any motor movement (as if he was a real doll, a real
balloon) he re-inflates and his colleague helps him into an upright
position. Once the body has been blown up again, everyone plays
like a child with their balloon-doll, which should bounce on the
ground or off the wall (but never walk).
Two Groups, Facing Each OtherEach group gives vent to a
different sound, and tries to force the other group into
submission.
Fifth Series: Internal Rhythms
Rhythmic Images (w/ Variation)In the exercise-cum-game, an actor
goes into the middle (of the circle) and the rest try to express
with their bodies, each in turn, a rhythmic image of that actor, of
how they perceive him. After every actor has had a turn
individually, they all repeat their rhythms together. Then the
actor can try to integrate himself into this orchestra.
Day Two Exercises
Morning Session
III. DYNAMISING SEVERAL SENSES
The Blind Series
The Imaginary JourneyIn pairs. The blind partner must be led
across a series of real or imaginary obstacles found or invented by
the guide, as if the two of them were in the middle of a forest (or
any real or fantastic environment the guide has in mind: downtown
in a big city, in a crater on the moon, a supermarket, etc.) As in
all the exercises of this kind, speaking is forbidden because it
distracts attention from images and sounds, from imagination. All
information must be given by physical contact. Whenever possible,
the guide should make the same movements as the blind person,
imagining his own story. The guides should sow obstacles throughout
the room chairs, tables, whatever is available so that the
obstacles are sometimes real, sometimes imaginary.
The blind person must try to imagine where she is. On a river,
for instance? After a few minutes, the exercise stops and the blind
person must very quietly tell her guide where she is in the room,
who is next to her, etc. all the real information she has been able
to gather. Then she tells her guide where she imagined she was
journeying and the guide tells his story, and they compare
notes.
The Sirens SongEach actor must think of an oppression she has
actually experienced or is still experiencing. Then everyone closes
their eyes and assembles in the middle of the room. Whoever wants
to start utters a sound (a cry, groan, shout, lamentation, etc.)
which must be the translation into sound of the oppression she has
in mind. The Joker takes this first person by the hand and leads
her on a journey around the room, eventually stopping in a corner.
Same with the second person, who has started a different sound.
Three or four others follow, each in their own way, with their own
call. It is important for the Joker to choose quite different
sounds to inhabit the four corners of the room. Then the four let
loose their cries together. Those remaining in the middle listen to
the four and each choose the sound which best suits their own
oppression. Four groups form. After this everybody opens their
eyes, and they make four circles, and, in their separate circles,
each person recounts to the others the oppression she was thinking
of, the episode which was in her mind.
The Space Series
Without Leaving a Single Space EmptyAll the actors must walk
around very quickly (not running) trying to ensure that their own
bodies are always more or less equidistant from everyone elses, and
that they are all spread out over the whole floor-space of the
room. From time to time the Joker says Stop. At that moment
everyone must immediately come to a halt it should not be possible
to see a significantly empty space in the room. Then the Joker
says, for example Three noses, seven feet, and everyone must get
into groups where seven feet and threes noses are touching, as
quickly as possible. Again the floor-space must always be occupied
by equidistant groups. The game continues with the Joker using
other random combinations.
IV.SEEING WHAT WE LOOK AT
The Mirrors Sequence
The Plain MirrorForm two lines of participants, each person
looking directly into the eyes of the person facing them. Those in
Line A are the mirrors, and those in Line B are the subjects
facing/using the mirrors. Each subject undertakes a series of
movements and changes of expression, which his mirror must copy,
right down to the smallest detail. The exercise is not a
competition, nor is the idea to make sharp movements which are
impossible to follow. On the contrary, the idea is to seek a
perfect synchronization of movement, so that the mirrors movements
may reproduce the subjects gestures as exactly as possible. The
degree of accuracy and synchronization should be such that an
outside observer would not be able to tell who was leading and who
was following.
The Distorting MirrorWith the same partners (from the Plain
Mirror exercise), each subject is allowed to do what feels right,
and at each new stimulus, the mirror answers, comments, enlarges,
reduces, caricatures, ridicules, destroys in sum, produces an image
responding to the received image, but in a contrapuntal
relationship to it.
The Rhythmic MirrorBoth participants (subject and mirror) seek
movements which have rhythmic affinities. Both must find rhythms
and movements of the body which both find pleasing, movements which
can be slow or fast, gentle or vigorous, simple or complex. The
most important things are 1) that these movements are rhythmical
and identical, 2) that both partners feel good, at ease and happy
in the execution of the movements, and 3) that the whole body is
involved in them.
The Modeling Sequence
Sculptor Touches ModelIn partners, one participant as sculptor,
one as statue, each sculptor starts using her hands to model the
statue he/she has in mind. To this end, she touches the statues
body, taking care to achieve the effects she is striving for, down
to the smallest detail. (If touch is culturally inappropriate,
sculptors can use their own bodies to show the image or expression
they want to see reproduced i.e. the mirror model.) The Joker lets
this first exercise last as long as is necessary.
Sculpture with Four of Five PeopleThe participants divide into
four or five groups, each group having one sculptor and a number of
statues. Each sculptor fashions the bodies of her colleagues into
one significant image as if she were saying, This is what I am
thinking. When she has finished visualizing her thought, reifying
it, she takes the place of one of her companions in the sculpture,
who in turn becomes a sculptor. This new sculptor starts to work,
as if she was thinking: This is what you were thinking, but take a
little look at my response, and she alters the work of the previous
sculptor. All this is done without the sculptor touching her
statues.
Day Two Exercises
Afternoon Session
IV.SEEING WHAT WE LOOK AT (continued)
Image Game
Complete the Image (w/ 2 people, 3 people)A pair of actors
shakes hands. Freeze the image. Ask the watching group what
possible means the image might carry: is it a business meeting,
lovers parting forever, a drug deal, do they love each other, do
they hate each other, etc.? Various possibilities are explored to
show all the meanings a single image can have.
Everyone gets into pairs and starts with a frozen image of a
handshake. One partner removes himself from the image, leaving the
other with his hand extended. Now what is the story? Instead of
saying what he thinks this new image means, the partner who has
removed himself returns to the image and completes the image, thus
showing what he sees as a possible meaning for it. He puts himself
in a different position, with a different relationship to the
partner with the outstretched hand, changing the meaning of the
image, but conveying an idea, emotion, feeling this is a dialogue
of images. The partners take turns pulling out of the frozen image
and then adding to it with a new complementary idea. This exercise
can also be facilitated for groups of three as well.
Complementary ActivitiesAn actor starts any movement, and the
others try to discover what she is doing so that they can then
engage in complementary activities. For example, the movements of a
referee during a match are completed by the defending and attacking
players; a priest saying mass is completed with the addition of an
altar-boy and the priests congregation, etc.
Game of Mask and Ritual
Collective Creation of a MaskA group of actors talk and move
around. In the course of the conversation, an actor introduces some
characteristic or other of her way of walking, or talking, or
thinking or one of her personal obsessions. All the others try to
discover this characteristic and reproduce it. Once unification has
been achieved on this first characteristic, a second actor adds a
second characteristic which must also be assumed by the rest and
added to the first. Then a thirdand so on until in the end all the
actors are performing the same collectively created mask.
Exchange of MasksThe actors invent a character in the following
manner. The actors start going around in a circle, in their own
persona. They concentrate on the changing positions of each part of
their bodies. The hand its swinging movement. The head does it
accompany the movements of the feet or not? The vertebral column is
it curved or upright? The knees locked straight or bent double? And
so on.
After close self-observation, they start to change. What if I
was different? What if I had a different gait? What if my head
moved differently? Each person experiments as much as they want and
then constructs a mask, a physical character different from
themselves. Next, sound is added in the guise of language; no words
are spoken, only the melody and the rhythm which suit this type of
character. The Joker warns, Get Ready. Each person chooses a
partner; they talk (nonverbally) to each other, they shake hands
when they are ready to exchange masks, and then they do the
exchange. They choose new partners three times. The point of the
game is then to find your original mask again.
The Image of the Object
Homage to MagritteThe game consists of giving the group an
object, which each actor in succession must discover a use for, by
the addition of his body to the image. What could this object have
been? A piece of wood can be a gun, a baton, a stake, a horse, an
umbrella, a crutch, a cane, a ladle, a flagpole, a fishing rod, an
oar, a whistle, an arrow, a spear, a violin, a needle, etc.
The Invention of Space and the Spatial Structures of Power
Inventing the Space in a RoomUsing their bodes and any of the
objects from the previous sequence, the participants create an
environment in the room a boat, a church, a bank, a ballroom, a
desert, the high seas, etc. One of them starts it off and the
others have to discover what he/she has in mind and follow and
complete.
Photographing the ImageOne actor makes an image with her body
while everyone else is facing her, with their eyes closed. The
Jokers says open-close: like a camera, all open their eyes for a
brief moment then close them and reproduce what they have seen with
their own bodies. Then two actors make separate images, the same
brief opening and closing of the camera shutter. The participants
must remember both, and show the first one and then the other. Then
three images
Games Involving the Creation of Characters
The Childs FearHalf the group writes their names on pieces of
paper along with their primary childhood fear. The other half of
the group watches. The participants must play the character or
thing which frightened them most as a child, by moving around the
space using only their bodies (no spoken language). After a few
minutes, the Joker tells them to look for a partner. Then they
start dialogues with their partners, but without saying anything
which will obviously reveal their characters. The objective in
these dialogues is to frighten their partner, just as they
themselves were frightened of the characters they are playing when
they were children. After a few minutes, Joker tells them to change
partners and new dialogues ensue.
When this is over, the Joker reads out the names of the
participants one at a time, and those in the group who were
watching the game, as well as those who were playing it, must
describe the characteristics they saw in that person, trying to
describe how the person behaved. Then the Joker reads off the Fear
the participant was enacting.
The chosen character must be concrete, a person, an animal, a
tangible ghost, etc. For instance, instead of fear of darkness,
they must play the person or thing they are afraid of hidden in the
darkness. Even if the fear is something like fear of being struck
by lightning they should try to play the person (perhaps even God)
who wanted to strike them. By playing the subject that we were
afraid of, we gain a better understanding of our childhood fears
(which may still live inside us).
The Opposite of MyselfSame rules as in previous exercise. The
participants write their names on pieces of paper, along with a
characteristic they would like to possess, which must be completely
different from their actual persona. During the playing, after a
while the Joker must give the instruction Back to your normal
behavior and then Back to your opposite self.
Day Three Exercises
Morning Session
V.THE MEMORY OF THE SENSES
Reconnecting Memory, Emotion and Imagination:
Memory and Emotion: Remembering a Day in the PastEach person
must have by their side a co-pilot to whom they recount a day in
their past (last week or twenty years ago) when something really
important happened, something which made a profound impression on
them, the memory of which provokes emotion, even today. The
co-pilot listens while at the same time creating another image in
his mind. The co-pilot should help the person to link the memory to
the sensations by asking lots of questions related to sensory
details. The co-pilot should try to create the same event in his
own imagination, with the same details, the same emotion, the same
sensations which will be different, of course, because they will be
his own.
Rehearsal on the Stage of the ImaginationEverything you have
done in imagination (in the previous exercise) must immediately be
played on stage. The other actors help, the protagonist (i.e. the
storyteller in this exercise) and the co-pilot play director, and
you try to play physically everything that has been played in the
imagination. In one half of the room, the protagonist recreates the
image of her story using actors from the group and in the other
half of the room, the co-pilot recreates what he heard and
visualized in his mind using actors from the group. Compare
images.
IMAGE THEATRE
Image Techniques: Models and Dynamisations
Image of the Word: Illustrating a Subject with your BodyThe
Joker asks five or more volunteers to express a theme (chosen by
the participants) in a visual form. Each works without seeing what
the others are doing, so as not to be influenced by them. One after
another they come into the middle of the playing space and use only
their bodies to express the theme they have been given. Without
talking, they position their bodies in a still pose, to express
their opinion or idea or experience of the theme, as it strikes
them there and then. When all the volunteers have been into the
space and shown their individual images, the Joker asks if anyone
in the audience can suggest an image different to those shown. The
response is almost always in the affirmative. After everyone has a
chance to show their interpretation of the theme, the Joker changes
the theme and repeats the exercise.
Image of the Word: Illustrating a Subject using Other BodiesThe
Joker asks a first volunteer to illustrate the theme proposed by
the group, using the bodies of other members of the group. This
sculptor chooses who to use and places them in relation to each
other to form a single image composed of several bodies and, if
desired, simple objects that are available (chairs, table, etc.)
She uses either the modeling mode, by which she physically
manipulates and moulds their bodies into the right shapes and/or
the mirroring mode, whereby she shows them with her own body the
positions she wants them in, and they arrange themselves
accordingly. The one tool she may not use is the spoken word.
When the model is finished, the Joker initiates discussion with
the group on messages projected by the image. Other volunteers
offer their image of the theme, using actors from the group and
discussion ensues. It is important that the person who is sculpting
the image works fast, so that she will not be tempted to think in
words (verbal language) and then translate into images (visual
language).
Ritual GestureEvery society has its rituals, and consequently
its ritual gestures and signs. This technique tries to uncover
them. The point of uncovering each societys rituals is that they
are the visual expressions of the oppressions to be found at the
heart of a society. Always, without exception, an oppression will
produce visible signs, always it will translate itself into forms
and movements, always it will leave traces. Just as it is possible
to discover and discuss social oppressions in spoken discourse, one
can also achieve this end using image techniques.
The Joker asks someone to come into the middle and make a ritual
gesture, that is, an action that belongs to a ritualized social
structure. The rest of the group observes the gesture. When anyone
thinks he has worked out which ritual it belongs to, he goes into
the middle and completes this gesture with another, equally
ritualized. A second person, then a third, then all those who think
theyve understood the initial gesture, as well as the modified
completed gesture, also go into the middle and together form a
large static image of the ritual suggested by the first
gesture.
RitualThis is a simple and effective technique that is extremely
revealing. The Joker asks for a volunteer actor to show the ritual
of a specific person in their reality (e.g. mother, priest, beggar,
etc.). The actor, without words, shows what a ritualized day in the
life of a mother, a priest, or a beggar would look like. The
exercise continues as long as there are new volunteers ritualizing
a day in the life of a specific character in their reality.
The important thing is always to look for the ritual that
reveals the oppression: the ritual of arrival at work, the ritual
of the young man and woman in a bar or back at the apartment
belonging to one of them, the mothers birthday ritual, the police
inspectors visit ritual, the ritual of the son asking his father
for money, the ritual of the penitent in confession asking for
forgiveness, etc.
Day Three Exercises
Afternoon Session
IMAGE THEATRE (continued)
Images of Transition: the Technique in Action
Image of TransitionThe group creates an image of the chose
theme, arriving at a model that the whole group is willing to
accept. The subject matter of this model must be an oppression, of
whatever kind, which the group has suggested. Consequently this
will be a real model of oppression. Then you ask the group to
construct an ideal model, in which the oppression will have been
eliminated and everyone in the model will have to come to a
plausible equilibrium, a state of affairs that is not oppressive
for any of the characters. After this, you return again to the real
image, the image of the oppression.
The Joker then poses the question to the group: How do we get
from the real image to the ideal image? Volunteers sculpt the
transition images that represent the logical steps to get from the
real image to the ideal image.
New Image Theatre Techniques: The Cop in the Head
Dissociation Thought, Speech, ActionSomeone gives an image of
her oppression. This image can be realistic, symbolic,
surrealisticwhatever; the important thing is that for that person,
the image speaks. Over five minutes, all the people in the image
must voice their interior monologues, at low volume and without
stopping i.e. everything that comes to mind, as characters, not as
individuals. In other words, speak everything that the body, in
that position, could think. The participants should try not to
listen to what others are saying. This exercise is helpful in
rooting actors in the characters inner thoughts.
SomatisationA scene is played and then replayed without physical
self-censorship. The feelings the script engenders in each
character are shown corporeally. The idea is not to illustrate,
rather to let come whatever comes. The physical presentation should
correspond mainly to the interior monologue and not to the scripted
dialogue.
The Three WishesThe protagonist shows an image of an oppression
as it is. The protagonist has a right to three wishes. She has the
right to modify the image three times (or more). She is to carry
out these wishes in her own order of importance. Each person she
intends to change should offer as much resistance as will challenge
the protagonists strength and ability just up to their limits,
without overstepping these limits. Offer resistance which the
protagonist will be able to overcome, but not too easily; she
should have to use all her strength.
The group analyzes what she did first, second, third
alternatives are suggested. The Joker brings the scene to life with
dialogue and physical actions.
The Screen ImageThe model: the protagonist constructs an image
of her oppression, without worrying about making it comprehensible.
It can be symbolic, it can be whatever the protagonist wants but it
must be true.
This dynamic image is played a number of times. Each time, each
participant has the right to replace the oppressed character and,
within the dynamic of the image, try to break the oppression she
has seen. Each participant should project her own experiences onto
the image she has seen, without trying to understand what she has
seen. What matters is that she be able to project her own
oppressions onto that screen.
Day Four Exercises
Morning Session
FORUM THEATRE
Theme DevelopmentThe group chooses a theme, or central idea, or
subject matter. For this purpose, the group may divide itself into
several subgroups.
Image of ThemeEach subgroup makes an image of the theme, which
is a general image, an abstract image all the participants make
comments on it.
Logical Movement of that ImageThe actors inside the image, at a
sign from the director, show the logical movement of that image
what movement would each of the characters inside the image
probably make. Comments.
ImproviseThe small group decides upon a story they will play and
improvise alone and to do so they can use rehearsal techniques such
as Rashomon, Screen Image and all the others; then, they come back
to the general group and must show the following:
Image of the ThingsEverything on the stage speaks. We can shut
our mouth but not our body it will always be speaking. On stage we
are always saying things with our bodies even if we dont want to
say anything. So it is with the objects, the things on the stage.
Not a single thing on the stage should be there innocently,
everything must have meanings, connotations, ideas, emotions.
Kinetic ImageEach actor shows, separately, the movements that
their character makes in real life within the staged location.
Comments from the group on what they have felt and seen.
Image of the Chinese CrisisThe group must make the image of the
Chinese crisis, that is to say, the image of the crucial moment
when the protagonist has to take the irreversible action or to say
the irreversible word that will determine the outcome of the
scene.
Monologue of their DesireThe actors inside the image, at a sign
from the director, should all at the same time speak the monologue
of their desire what each one of them desires in concrete
terms.
Image of the Desire in ActionThe actors should show in slow
motion their desires in action.
Day Four Exercises
Afternoon Session
EXERCISES: Preparing for Forum Theatre
Stop! Think!In the Stop! Think! exercise, at any given moment
the director/Joker stops the rehearsal and shouts Stop! Think! All
the actors have to start speaking in an undertone at the same time,
letting loose an interior monologue of everything that is in their
characters minds at that particular moment. Thus all the actors
talk in a continuous flow, making their thoughts explicit, until
the director shouts Go on at which point the actors pick up the
scene exactly where it stopped, without a break. This can be done
as many times as necessary in any scene.
RashomonEach actor in a scene, as the character he is playing,
makes an image of how he sees the other characters. This image
should not be naturalistic since it is designed to show the
characters own personal, subjective feelings, opinions, sentiments
but it should be true, however deformed, expressionistic,
surrealistic, allegorical or metaphorical it may be. So the
sculpting actor goes around to each of the other characters and
places them in poses and positions them and gives them expressions
according to how his character has experienced them during the
scene.
Having completed the whole image, he must go, in character, and
tell each one of the characters his wills and desires towards or
against them, energetically, over a period of one or two minutes.
The actors playing those characters remain motionless, just
listening and hearing. After he has visited all of them in this
fashion, he goes back to his own place in the image and the other
actors (also in character), without moving, have the right to throw
back at him their own wills, desires, sentiments.
Analytical Rehearsal of Emotion/StyleActors rehearse a scene
with a single pure emotion (or style) as the starting point. For
example, the actors play the scene first with hate, with a violent
and terrible hatred contained in every line and in every action.
Then they replay the same scene with love alone. With Style, the
actors decide to play the piece in a different genre or style
circus, melodrama, farce, sitcom, etc. Whether it is appropriate or
not, it is likely to generate new material or other
possibilities.
TelegramEach actor can pronounce only the most important word in
each phrase of the dialogue, even though he must think the whole
phrase and beyond.
Artificial PauseRepeated delivery of the same words and
movements in the course of rehearsals and performances tends to
have a hypnotic effect on the actor, whereby his ability to
perceive and be aware of what he is saying gradually becomes
weaker.Consequently he puts it across in a correspondingly weaker
fashion. Rehearsal with artificial pauses entails forbidding the
actor to speak immediately, or immediately to execute whatever
action he has to do. On the contrary, he has to insert an
artificial pause of five to ten seconds, or longer. Thus the actor
loses the mechanical support which the rhythm of the text and
action gave him, he has to forgo the structural security of the
piece, and his awareness and sensibility are reawakened.
The Reconstruction of the CrimeThe actors rehearse a scene in
front of the group. Whenever an actor comes to a moment she
considers important, she can turn to the audience and speak
directly to them, in character, justifying her actions in the scene
i.e. I am doing this because of such and such a thing. When the
actor is speaking, everyone else in the scene freezes.
Play to the DeafThis is the ultimate exercise for developing
what we have earlier referred to as the actors undercurrent. The
actor must stay absolutely faithful to the piece and its rhythm,
and think all his lines, trying to bring out all that is contained
in the undercurrent, without speaking a single word or making a
sound. To make this happen, he must apply all his concentration.
What should be avoided at all costs is that the exercise be allowed
to turn into a mime exercise. Not a single gesture or movement
should be added to help the other actors work out where the
dialogue has arrived at or is heading. This is a workshop exercise,
not a game; the actor must be genuinely transmitting at
undercurrent level.
SAMPLE Day One
Morning Session
Introduction of the ParticipantsIntroduction of Theatre of the
OppressedExpectations and Concerns vis--vis the WorkshopOverview of
Training Schedule
I.FEELING WHAT WE TOUCH
This category deals with tactile sensitivity: our naked bodies
are constantly touching the air, our clothes, other parts of our
own bodies and the bodies of others, but we feel very little of
what we are touching this series helps the actor to feel more of
what she touches; also, it is concerned with mechanized ways of
walking and moving, with externalizing emotions, with feeling and
discovering new ways of structuring her muscles and helping the
actor to find new ways of expressing herself and acting on stage
and in life.
First Series:General ExercisesColumbian Hypnosis (w/
Variations)The Greek exerciseThe Image of the Hour
Second Series:WalksSlow Motion
Third Series:MassagesIn a Circle
Fourth Series:Integration GamesThe Bear of Poitiers
Fifth Series: GravityHorizonality SequenceVerticality
SequenceCircular Movements
SAMPLE Day One
Afternoon Session
II.LISTENING TO WHAT WE HEAR
In this series the actors have to understand that it is
important to find inner rhythms and not to seek to make portraits
of people, or even worse, caricatures. If one tries to show the
rhythm of love, hate, fear, I dont have to make faces, contortions
or other grimaces, or show ways of walking that are characteristic
of particular people.
First Series: RhythmChanging RhythmsThe Machine of RhythmsChain
Rhythm Dialogue
Second Series: MelodyOrchestra
Third Series: Sounds and NoisesSound and MovementRitual
Sound
Fourth Series: The Rhythm of RespirationInflatable DollTwo
Groups, Facing Each Other
Fifth Series: Internal RhythmsRhythmic Images (w/ Variation)
SAMPLE Day Two
Morning Session
III. DYNAMISING SEVERAL SENSES
Of all the senses, sight is the great monopolist. Because we
see, we dont bother to perceive the world outside through the other
senses, which remain dormant or become atrophied. The first part of
this section is entitled The Blind Series. In these exercises, we
voluntarily deny ourselves the sense of sight in order to enhance
the other senses and their capacity for perception of the outside
world just as people who really are blind can accomplish feats of
perception which astonish those of us who are sighted.
The Blind SeriesThe Imaginary JourneyThe Sirens SongThe Space
SeriesWithout Leaving a Single Space Empty (w/ Variations)
IV.SEEING WHAT WE LOOK AT
These three exercises help us see what we are looking at the
mirrors sequence and the modeling sequence. The exercises develop
the capacity for observation by means of visual dialogues between
participants; obviously the simultaneous use of spoken language is
excluded. Symbolic gestures, such as those used to signify OK or
Yes or No, should be avoided, as should any sign corresponding
exactly to the word(s) it replaces.
The Mirrors SequenceThe Plain MirrorThe Distorting MirrorThe
Rhythmic MirrorThe Modeling SequenceSculptor Touches Model (w/
Variation)Sculpture with Four of Five People
SAMPLE Day Two
Afternoon Session
IV.SEEING WHAT WE LOOK AT (continued)
Image GameComplete the Image (w/ 2 people, 3
people)Complementary ActivitiesGame of Mask and RitualCollective
Creation of a MaskExchange of MasksThe Image of the ObjectHomage to
MagritteThe Invention of Space and the Spatial Structures of
PowerInventing the Space in a RoomPhotographing the ImageGames
Involving the Creation of CharactersThe Childs FearThe Opposite of
Myself
SAMPLE Day Three
Morning Session
V.THE MEMORY OF THE SENSES
If I bang my hand, I feel the impact. If I remember banging my
hand yesterday, I can awaken in myself an analogous sensation. This
series helps us to reconnect memory, emotion and imagination when
rehearsing a scene or preparing a future action.
Reconnecting Memory, Emotion and Imagination:Memory and Emotion:
Remembering a Day in the PastRehearsal on the Stage of the
Imagination
IMAGE THEATRE
Dealing with images we should not try to understand the meaning
of each image, to apprehend its precise meaning, but to feel those
images, to let our memories and imaginations wander: the meaning of
an image is the image itself. Image is a language. The whole method
of Theatre of the Oppressed, and particularly Image Theatre, is
based on the multiple mirror of the gaze of others a number of
people looking at the same image, and offering their feelings, what
is evoked for them, what their imaginations create around that
image.
If an image is interpreted in just one way it ceases to be Image
Theatre and becomes a mere illustration of the words spoken.
Additionally, a message does not exist without a sender and a
receiver. And both receiver and sender integrate and are contained
in the message: they are part of it. Thats why, in order to really
understand a message, it is important to receive and send it in
different languages. An image is one of many possible languages,
and not the least of them.
Image Techniques: Models and DynamisationsImage of the Word:
Illustrating a Subject with your BodyImage of the Word:
Illustrating a Subject using Other BodiesRitual GestureRitual
SAMPLE Day Three
Afternoon Session
IMAGE THEATRE (continued)
Images of Transition: the Technique in ActionImage of
TransitionNew Image Theatre Techniques: The Cop in the
HeadDissociation Thought, Speech, ActionSomatisationThe Three
WishesThe Screen Image
SAMPLE Day Four
Morning Session
FORUM THEATRE
Forum Theatre consists, in essence, of proposing to a group of
spectators, after a first improvisation of a scene, that they
replace the protagonist (or antagonist) and try to improvise on
his/her actions. The real protagonist should, ultimately, improvise
the variation that has motivated him/her the most. The Forum
Theatre is extremely useful as extraversion work for a protagonist
who wants to try alternatives to her usual behavior.
Theme DevelopmentImage of ThemeLogical Movement of that
ImageImproviseImage of the ThingsKinetic ImageImage of the Chinese
CrisisMonologue of their DesireImage of the Desire in Action
SAMPLE Day Four
Afternoon Session
EXERCISES: Preparing for Forum Theatre
Stop! Think!RashomonAnalytical Rehearsal of
Emotion/StyleTelegramArtificial PauseThe Reconstruction of the
CrimePlay to the Deaf
SAMPLE Day Five
Morning Session
FORUM THEATRE IN ACTION
Large Group Identifies List of OppressionsSubgroups Select One
ThemeSubgroups Develop Short Play around Theme
SAMPLE Day Five
Afternoon Session
FORUM THEATRE IN ACTION
Joker BasicsJoker Training:
Participant #1 Jokers a SceneParticipant #2 Jokers a
SceneParticipant #3 Jokers a SceneParticipant #4 Jokers a
SceneParticipant #5 Jokers a SceneParticipant #6 Jokers a
SceneParticipant #7 Jokers a Scene
*At the end of each individual Joking session, the large group
evaluates What worked well with the participants individual joking
style and How they could improve. Discussion ensues on what makes a
good Joker
SAMPLE Day Six
Morning Session
FORUM THEATRE IN ACTION
Large Group Reviews Remaining List of OppressionsSubgroups
Select One ThemeSubgroups Develop Short Play around Theme
SAMPLE Day Six
Afternoon Session
FORUM THEATRE IN ACTION
Review of Joker BasicsJoker Training:
Participant #8 Jokers a SceneParticipant #9 Jokers a
SceneParticipant #10 Jokers a SceneParticipant #11 Jokers a
SceneParticipant #12 Jokers a SceneParticipant #13 Jokers a
SceneParticipant #14 Jokers a Scene
*At the end of each individual Joking session, the large group
evaluates What worked well with the participants individual joking
style and How they could improve. Discussion ensues on what makes a
good Joker
SAMPLE Day Seven
Morning Session
(Depending on the time allotted to the trainer, any of the
following activities can be included.)
1.Conflict Resolution Skills for the Joker (Explanation: Forum
Theatre can become quite emotionally charged and knowledge of
conflict resolution skills and mediation skills can be very helpful
for Jokers expecting conflict in the forum setting.)
2. Selling Forum Theatre to Colleagues/Strangers/New Contacts
(Explanation: Forum Theatre advocates frequently find themselves
having to defend art-based peacebuilding work, especially in
countries where art has negative connotations. In Pakistan, this
session was essential for theatre activists due to the pervasive
negative stereotypes surrounding theatre and art in general.)
3.Working with NGO Organizers: The Basics (Explanation: In many
countries, Forum Theatre groups are invited by NGOs interested in
exploring new ways of addressing local, regional and national
conflicts. This session addresses communication flow between
theatre activists and NGO representatives so that the Forum Theatre
process can be as effective as possible.)
4.Forum Theatre Summary (Explanation: This summary session is a
must for every Forum Theatre workshop. This enables participants to
look back on the workshop and review the new tools and skills that
have been acquired and to address any unanswered questions.
Additionally, all trainers should provide a space for participants
to evaluate the effectiveness of the training so that trainers can
receive advice for their next training.)
Circle Sculpture Grade Level: Grades 6 to 8 Grades 9 to 12
Subject: Reading and Language Arts Social Studies ArtsOverview:An
introduction to the Theatre of the OppressedThis lesson plan is to
accompany theTeaching Tolerancemagazine article"Flipping the Script
on Bias and Bullies"Framework"It isn't easy theater," director
Jeannie LaFrance said. "But it's awesome."She was talking about the
Theatre of the Oppressed, a set of theatrical techniques that
challenge our most basic assumptions about drama. By blurring the
line between actor and audience, Theatre of the Oppressed can shake
your students out of complacency and make them feel empowered to
confront injustice in an effective, nonviolent manner. These
techniques can attract students who wouldn't normally get involved
in drama and implementing them doesn't cost a lot of money.It does
take work. However, if you take the time to introduce these
techniques and create a safe environment for self-expression, you
will find that students make rapid progress.The four-day plan,
based on the "circle sculpture" technique, gives you a step-by-step
look at how to introduce the Theatre of the Oppressed in your
classroom.ObjectivesStudents will learn the techniques of "circle
sculpture" and perform as "spect-actors" in a performance about a
topic that is important to their community.Materials Chalk and
chalkboard (or marker and dry erase board) Newsprint or posterboard
MarkersA Note on Classroom EnvironmentThe first step this multi-day
lesson involves safety and trust building. Take special care while
guiding the activities to ensure that each student feels valued and
heard, and that all opinions, thoughts, and feelings are considered
equal.Remember, once trust has been established, the community's
growth and learning can be both rapid and deep. At the conclusion
of these activities, students can emerge with a shared experience
that is powerful and transformational. Trust the process, your
students and yourself.ProcessDay 1By deconstructing a quote from
theater artist/educator Michael Rohd, and engaging in a warm-up
activity, students will begin to explore the techniques of the
Theatre of the Oppressed.Quote Activity1. Write the following quote
on the board:"Theatre allows us to converse with our souls, to
passionately pursue and discover ways of living with ourselves and
with others."Michael Rohd, theatre artist & educator
2. Ask three or four different students to read the quote
aloud.
3. Ask students to pair up and share with their partner an
example of a play, movie, television program or other performance
piece they believe is an example of what Michael Rohd is
describing.
4. Brainstorm a list of emotions associated with their examples.
Write the responses on the board.Explain to your students that the
series of activities you have planned for them over the next few
days may bring up some emotions mentioned on the list. Let them
know that you will do all you can to create a safe space for
learning. Encourage them to take personal responsibility for doing
their part to maintain that safe space.Warm-up/EnergizerWarm-ups
and energizers are essential in preparing students for theater
work. They create a safe space for self-expression and cause shift
in the way students engage with a particular theme.Warm-ups and
energizers not only get the group started, they foster a safe and
playful interaction among the participants. In addition, the group
gets an opportunity to begin participating in structured activities
in which they will be asked to use their bodies in a new way. This
shifts them from their automatic responses and habits, and sets
them up to engage a topic from a new perspective.Cover the
SpaceThis movement activity will help students shift from the
traditional classroom format. With the exception of directions
coming from you, this is a silent exercise.Designate an open space.
You may mark it off with physical boundaries like desks or chairs,
or you may simply designate the space.Tell students to start
walking around the space. Direct them to try to cover every inch of
the designated space. They should keep walking. No talking or
physical contact are allowed. After a few minutes, ask students to
be aware of their bodies. Though they can't talk, they should look
at one another. Ask to them become aware of the floor, the space
underneath their feet. After a few more minutes, let them know it
is their job, as a group, to ensure that the entire space is
covered at all times. Tell them when you call "freeze" they should
stop. Once they have stopped, give them feedback on how well they
are covering the space, then "unfreeze" and resume walking. Keep it
going until you are satisfied that the group has become completely
focused on the task of "covering the space."Follow-up questions for
the class1. How do you feel about the energy and focus you brought
to the exercise?
2. What helped to keep you focused? What happened when you were
not focused?
3. How did it feel to do this in silence? Were there times when
you wanted to speak?
4. Did the group "cover the space?"Framing the IssueEveryone
sits in a circle and brainstorms about an issue you will be
exploring with the group. For example, you can ask the group to
share thoughts or concerns they have regarding the increase in
anti-black hate incidents across the country after Barack Obama's
election.You can either go around the circle or call on students to
raise their hands. It's not a dialogue at this point. People
briefly say what's on their mind and others listen.After hearing
the thoughts and concerns just shared, you ask the group for single
words that come to mind around this issue. These can be themes or
emotions (i.e., fear, anger, guns, crime, jealousy, race,
harassment).You write them down as they're called out. Aim for a
list of 30-50 single words. When you've finished, read the list
back to them. This list will serve as a blueprint for the rest of
the activity, but it is also one that you'll likely return to again
and again.DebriefStudents should return to pairs to share feelings
raised by today's activities. After each partner has an opportunity
to share, ask the pairs to select one feeling word that captures
some of what both partners shared. They should write the word on an
index card, without signing their names, and turn it in. (You will
add the words to the list created earlier.)Return to whole group
and thank everyone for their participation. Let them know when the
process will continue.Day 2Warm up/gameThe Wind BlowsStart by
having everyone sit in a circle of chairs. Pull one chair out of
the circle so that one person does not have place to sit. You may
want to ask who would like to volunteer to pull their chair out.The
object of the activity is to have one person stand in the center
and share a statement with the group a statement that is true for
the student. For instance, if the student is nervous about a test,
she or he can share that. The statement doesn't have to be true for
everyone, just for the student in the center.The statement must be
shared in this format: "The wind blows if...(insert statement)".
The person in the center can share anything they feel comfortable
sharing. For example, "The wind blows if you are feeling happy
today" or "the wind blows if you are the eldest in your family."The
"wind" has just blown, and the participants, like leaves, must find
a new location if this statement is also true for them. This is the
opportunity for the person standing in the center to take an open
chair before another individual takes it. Whoever is left in the
center, without a seat, is the one who will share next.You can play
the game for 10-15 minutes depending on your group. As they find a
rhythm, you may remind them that they can share about experiences,
likes and dislikes, family, etc. whatever feels safe.Follow-up
questions1. Were you surprised by the things people chose to share
in the group?
2. If you were in the middle, how did you decide what to
share?
3. Were you honest in your responses? Did you change seats each
time the statement was true for you?
4. How do you feel about being a part of this group right
now?Reframing the issueAsk students to recall the community issue
they explored in the last class session. Read students a recent
news report about that issue (for instance, if your class chose to
talk about racial backlash incidents following the election of
Barack Obama, you might select a story about one of those
incidents.)Ask each person to select a single word from the list
they generated during the last class session a word that
characterizes what was shared from the news report.Partner
SculptEveryone gets a partner. One partner will start as the
sculptor, the other as clay.Demonstrate to the group how to sculpt
human clay. The sculptor can sculpt by touching the "clay" and
moving his or her partner into place or by mirroring and showing
them the position they should take. The sculptor cannot talk. The
activity is silent.You call out a word from the list and the
sculptor uses the clay to create an image in response to the word,
to make a piece of art. The goal is not to illustrate the word or
to play charades. It is to shape, imagine, and create. The image
can be realistic, abstract, concrete, or symbolic. There are no
right or wrong images! It doesn't have to have a "meaning". It can
come from a thought or a feeling.After the sculptors have sculpted,
they can walk around and look at others' images. There should be a
gallery of responses to the word. When every sculptor has returned
to their image you say "clay, relax" and the clay and sculptor
trade places.Go back and forth through a variety of words until you
feel ready to move on.Debrief1. How do you feel about your
participation today?
2. Did you prefer being the clay or the sculptor?
3. Were you able to express what you wanted through this
exercise? Why or why not?Congratulate the students on their hard
work. Encourage them to talk to others about what they experienced
today. Remind them when the group meets again.Day 3Group
SculptEveryone gets into groups of four or five. Each group will
pick someone to sculpt first.You call out a word and they sculpt.
This time they have more pieces of clay to work with. However, just
because they have more bodies, doesn't mean that they have to
sculpt a realistic story or scene. They can, but they can also
sculpt abstract images. They have to sculpt quickly and
silently.During each round of words, you can relax all the images
but one and allow everyone to see each other's work. You go around
the room until each image has been featured and then move to the
next word. You want to make sure each group member has a chance to
sculpt at least once before moving on.Day 4Warm up/gameShape &
Number
Circle SculptEveryone stands in a circle and three people get in
the middle. You call out a word from the list and the three people
create an image on their own. They are all clay and they simply
find a position in relation to each other as you count to five. On
"five," you call out "freeze" and they hold whatever position they
are in.Explain to the rest of the group that they are looking at
one out of an infinite number of possible images for this word.
They will now have a chance to re-sculpt that image as much as they
like. Anyone can step into the circle and re-sculpt. One at a time,
the group tries to share as many images as they can. They sculpt
silently and pause a few seconds between images. This continues
until you stop the round and go on to a new word.DebriefTips on
Processing the Images If you want to talk about an image, ask what
people see. Whatever responses they give are valuable. Make a point
of not trying to have them answer in a certain context. Just ask
what they see.
Have people tell the story they see in the image. Push for as
many different stories as you can get.
As they walk around and look at images, remind them to see the
images, not just glance at them.ResourcesMichael Rohd. 1998.Theatre
for Community, Conflicts and Dialogue.Heinemann.
Augusto Boal. 1992.Games for Actors and Non-Actors.Routledge
Augosto Boal. 1985.Theatre of the Oppressed.Theatre
Communications Group
