Workshop for Theatre of Cruelty!!!!

This picture shows one of the variations of the "Mirroring exercise". we would feed of f each others acts, like a wave.

We started off a bit unsure at times, but as shown in the pictures. we started to gradually show some confidence

By the end,  we let go of any prejudice and embarrassment!!!! We were a perfect ensemble 

Thursday 30^th of August, 2012

Theatre of cruelty WORKSHOP!

Today I think was my one of my favorite drama classes ever!
Mr. Atwood, a professional dance and drama instructor took over the class today to work with us in rhythmic/ energetic workshop full of instruments, music, movement and feeling.

Before the class, I had no previous knowledge about what we were going to do, as my teacher just told us “get ready to get physical”! I didn’t know what to expect from this, but something told me, possible intuition, that I was going to explore what I was capable of doing so far.

So far, theatre of cruelty has taught me, that it is crucial to propel yourself, (via inspirations, gestures, feelings, ideas, anything that inspires you) to the maximum, in order to squeeze out all that emotions, feelings, thoughts and problems that your character is facing. I have learned in other lessons, that to be a successful actor in the theatre form of “Theatre of Cruelty” you had to push yourself outside of the boundaries of normality and even reality, to get to a new level, which I see as being a level in which your feelings are so raw and true, so untouched and unexplored, that they can be frightening when you face yourself with them and manage to face the audience as well. In the past lessons, we I have been experimenting with this idea, and tried to express it the best I can, with exaggerations of movement, gestures, noises and so forth, however I believe that there is something very important that is needed as the basic premises to express this, and that is to find a truthful way of knowing how to get through that place inside you exploring with your sentiments, facility to move, to feel and sense, and a great way to do this is through music.

Today, we started experimenting with instruments. We all chose one (I chose  two sticks which I clapped together at first) and we were asked to find a rhythm of 8 beats (the standard in music) which we could repeat and was coherent with the music played. To take this further, we were asked to each change the rhythm and follow each other. With the help of the music, our phonetic senses were being awakened, and that was our starting point.

After this, we used our bodies more. In a circle, we were played different genres of music (pop, rock, modern, classical) and we were asked to just “feel”. No particular routine was given to us, except to feel the music, to let ourselves stop thinking and investigate what our bodies and muscles felt . Everyone in our class was a bit embarrassed at first, our consciousness and fright to embarrass ourselves acted as a boundary over us, and we looked at each other with dought. Lloyed was then put on the spot of standing in the circle and just moving, as he was caught movin his arms and legs around in in a silly way. W e all thought he was just joking, but Mr. Atkinson thought it was perfect. If we analyze this, we can understand that the reason that led Lloyd to do this was that it was what he felt at the moment. Afer this, we all copied his moves, and more of us were pulled inside the circle. I felt like I liberated my body, sometimes I even closed my eyes because the feeling of the music in compass with my body felt good, and the different genres of music encouraged me to feel different emotions as well.

We were also paired in partners and asked once again to simply “feel” the music, and this time mirror your partner. I believe this was done intentionally, to explore the feelings that movement and sound and body gestures can create on another people, similarly to the exercises we have been doing previously in class, and similarly to try and make our audiences feel and empathize with what we feel.

This exercise made me think on how drama is all about the transmitting feeling, and how sometimes we have to go beyond “pretending to feel” and actually feeling, to get to a point of emotional catharsis. Working ensemble also helped me to open myself to other peoples interpretation of music and movement, and pushed my body to different interpretations.

After an hour, we were taken back to the start. We were sat down in a circle and asked to again get an instrument. Music was played again, and we had to find a way of following the rhythm. I felt that this time around it was much easier than before, and that my coordination was better, as well as my facility of grasping the feeling.

I recall sitting in the circle and Mr. Atwood tapping me in the shoulder and telling me “go up, and feel”. At that point, I felt liberated, I felt free and capable of just jumping in and responding with feeling and movement to the rhythm of my classmates. So I jumped in, and moved as I pleased around the room and the circle, letting again, my intuition guide my steps. While we were enjoying other people dancing, as we were so engaged, in a sort of trance that reminded me to the Kechak dance of fire, I felt happy, and I could feel this feeling being passed on by the rest of the class. Everyone was so engrossed and absorbed in the moment that no one noticed that the music was off. We were carrying the rhythm by ourselves! We had learned how to follow it and feed off it. Slowly, we all stopped playing our instruments, until the last person stopped, and then I realized what we had achieved.

Although it may not have made sense if you don’t try to understand, I believe it is all about finding other ways to attain truth, and gaining the confidence to magnify this to the audience. I understood that to do this, you fist had to begin in the start, as we did today.