I went to a free hypnotism performance/workshop, specifically designed to explore possible implications of hypnotism to improv. Lots of thoughts on it, this post will become much longer later.
Being on stage
control
performance
inhibition/permission
expectations
in your head
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
First Rehearsal
At Coldtowne Theater, inside. Talking about what it means to be an actor, experience with theatre, who we are, where we came from. Will try to remember more later.
First Meeting
A few weeks passed between the announcement of the cast and out first meeting. We met at Arthur's house for an informal potlock get together. Some people I had never met, others I knew but hadn't worked with previously. I felt a bit nervous, not knowing what these new people would be like, how we would gel as a group. Some changes in cast had already happened, a few more were to come. Rehearsals had been set from the beginning at Tuesdays and Fridays 4-6 pm. This precluded a lot of people from participating, namely those with inflexible "normal" day jobs. I hadn't thought about this much until Sully pointed out that that was part of it, that those cast were necessarily of untraditional employment, the underemployed and self-employed and professional actors and freelancers. The time was chosen as well for its magic place in the day, the transition between work and rest for most people, between labor and entertainment. It is in this time, Arthur had explained, that the actors prepare to welcome the audience and create for them a world. It is when the actors get to work.
I like the time of day because it is just before the sun sets. This time of year, 6 o'clock has the sun sitting fat and warm on the horizon, like a cat staring as it begins to doze off. It's a beautiful time of day, the light turning everything golden if the sun is shining. If the sun is not, it's just a slow and gentle fade to darkness as the grey gets greyer. I anticipate the way the light will change as the days get longer and on goes the rehearsal process.
Did I mention that nearly all of our rehearsals are set to take place in a field? But this first meeting was inside, except for the part wehn we went outside to smoke, those who smoked, or be near the people smoking, those who didn't.
I like the time of day because it is just before the sun sets. This time of year, 6 o'clock has the sun sitting fat and warm on the horizon, like a cat staring as it begins to doze off. It's a beautiful time of day, the light turning everything golden if the sun is shining. If the sun is not, it's just a slow and gentle fade to darkness as the grey gets greyer. I anticipate the way the light will change as the days get longer and on goes the rehearsal process.
Did I mention that nearly all of our rehearsals are set to take place in a field? But this first meeting was inside, except for the part wehn we went outside to smoke, those who smoked, or be near the people smoking, those who didn't.
Callbacks
We talked a lot to nobody at all, then in a group, a kind of moderated group discussion turned theatre.
Auditions
There were auditions which consisted mostly of doing an invocation (a type of opening for a Harold, which is in turn a format for improv). In a group we invoke the spirit of an object through several iterations. Our object was "sword" and what follows is the gist, as I remember and embellish it, of what we said:
Sword
It is...
made of steel
two feet long
sharp at one end, with an intricate handle
kept in a sheath
used in battle
made by a master craftsman
You are...
passed from father to son
weilded in anger
protector of home
forged in flame
cold and hard
a thing for men
Thou art...
maker and destroyer of kings
the meeting of skill and material, each finely honed to a perfect edge
a glint in the sun, the last bright light before everlasting darkness
the bender of will and arbiter of disagreements, brandished by just and unjust alike
thruster, penetrator, conqueror
I am...
Virility!
Power!
Violence!
Peace!
Art!
Control!
I AM SWORD!
As I look at it now, it seems very like a poetry exercise from junior high English class. Hm, I wonder if other poetry forms could be adapted to improv uses. Improv and poetry, that's something I'd like to explore more. I both love poetry and am confounded by it. There are a few poems that seem magical, like a spell. Just a few words, carefully crafted, that say volumes more. The meaning implied by what is left out. I have acquired countless volumes of the stuff in an effort to harness it and understand it. And often I feel I am not as moved by most of it as I ought to be, or no, would like to be. Poetry! Unlock your secrets to me!
I am very fond of sestinas and love the idea of an improv show based on the form of a sestina, but it might just be needlessly complicated.
Sestinas are wonderful and just my kind of thing, complexly structured to the point of complication, rythmic and repetitious, both high brow and strangely primitive in their repetition. Six ending words are employed, one at the end of each line of each six line stanza. The same six ending words are used in each of the six stanzas, each time in a different order, followed by a tercet using all six words. Just tonight, I was talking with Arthur and John about the difference between the lengthy clumsiness of telling and the simple beauty of showing, so I will stop telling and start showing. First, this lovely graph, which I had not seen until I went just now to look up sestinas on the internet, but which lays out part of why the structure is so moving I think.
And here are some lovely sestinas written by other people:
Eating paella, and drinking red wine.
Bar-crawling all night in the Puerta del Sol,
And reading wisdom inscribed onto walls.
My thinking was tempered by world-class art
And the oils and fields full of olives.
Midafternoon pan with the oil of olives
Keeps food light so you can drink more sangria.
As visions of the Prado's Spanish art
Mingle gently with the sweet red wine
And the tiles of my apartamento's walls
Reflect the purity of the afternoon Sol.
Amigos wander down the calle toward Sol
And outdoor cafés offer tapas of olives,
But the best come from holes in the walls.
The light fare is complemented by more sangria,
With a varied ratio of vermouth to wine.
One can taste that Spanish food is art.
Another day is spent with modern art,
At the Reina Sofía, due west of Sol,
Picasso's Guernica and rosé wine
With more tapas of bread and black olives.
Americans wonder if Pablo had too much sangria
As the monolith consumes one of the walls.
But oh the Prado, with Velázquezzed walls,
Presents the pinnacle of Spanish art.
Goya and Titian go down like sangria.
This is the real Madrid, not the clubs of Sol.
It's the difference between the oil of corn versus olives,
Or fine Rioja versus boxed Franzia wine.
But it always comes back to the wine,
So much that it begins to spin the walls,
And for the second time I see those black olives,
But it definitely looks nothing like art.
One too many bars in and around Sol
And too much vermouth in the sangria.
Spanish wine is fine as Spanish art.
Fine, too, are the storied walls around the Puerta del Sol,
But the finest are the olives, and my love, the sangria.
More sestinas from McSweeney's here.
And another I like:
I think I like the way sestinas make the speaker sound strangely and beautifully obsessed with the topic. They seem to lend themselves to imagining a speaker, too. Even when they are in third person, you can't help but imagine the poet, or whoever took the time to expound over and over on this topic, turning it around and seeing every facet.
Wow, when I started this entry, I did not think I would end up taking about sestinas.
Sword
It is...
made of steel
two feet long
sharp at one end, with an intricate handle
kept in a sheath
used in battle
made by a master craftsman
You are...
passed from father to son
weilded in anger
protector of home
forged in flame
cold and hard
a thing for men
Thou art...
maker and destroyer of kings
the meeting of skill and material, each finely honed to a perfect edge
a glint in the sun, the last bright light before everlasting darkness
the bender of will and arbiter of disagreements, brandished by just and unjust alike
thruster, penetrator, conqueror
I am...
Virility!
Power!
Violence!
Peace!
Art!
Control!
I AM SWORD!
As I look at it now, it seems very like a poetry exercise from junior high English class. Hm, I wonder if other poetry forms could be adapted to improv uses. Improv and poetry, that's something I'd like to explore more. I both love poetry and am confounded by it. There are a few poems that seem magical, like a spell. Just a few words, carefully crafted, that say volumes more. The meaning implied by what is left out. I have acquired countless volumes of the stuff in an effort to harness it and understand it. And often I feel I am not as moved by most of it as I ought to be, or no, would like to be. Poetry! Unlock your secrets to me!
I am very fond of sestinas and love the idea of an improv show based on the form of a sestina, but it might just be needlessly complicated.
Sestinas are wonderful and just my kind of thing, complexly structured to the point of complication, rythmic and repetitious, both high brow and strangely primitive in their repetition. Six ending words are employed, one at the end of each line of each six line stanza. The same six ending words are used in each of the six stanzas, each time in a different order, followed by a tercet using all six words. Just tonight, I was talking with Arthur and John about the difference between the lengthy clumsiness of telling and the simple beauty of showing, so I will stop telling and start showing. First, this lovely graph, which I had not seen until I went just now to look up sestinas on the internet, but which lays out part of why the structure is so moving I think.
And here are some lovely sestinas written by other people:
Spanish Sestina.
BY MIKE MCSHANE
- - - -
I spent four fond months sipping sangria,- - - -
Eating paella, and drinking red wine.
Bar-crawling all night in the Puerta del Sol,
And reading wisdom inscribed onto walls.
My thinking was tempered by world-class art
And the oils and fields full of olives.
Midafternoon pan with the oil of olives
Keeps food light so you can drink more sangria.
As visions of the Prado's Spanish art
Mingle gently with the sweet red wine
And the tiles of my apartamento's walls
Reflect the purity of the afternoon Sol.
Amigos wander down the calle toward Sol
And outdoor cafés offer tapas of olives,
But the best come from holes in the walls.
The light fare is complemented by more sangria,
With a varied ratio of vermouth to wine.
One can taste that Spanish food is art.
Another day is spent with modern art,
At the Reina Sofía, due west of Sol,
Picasso's Guernica and rosé wine
With more tapas of bread and black olives.
Americans wonder if Pablo had too much sangria
As the monolith consumes one of the walls.
But oh the Prado, with Velázquezzed walls,
Presents the pinnacle of Spanish art.
Goya and Titian go down like sangria.
This is the real Madrid, not the clubs of Sol.
It's the difference between the oil of corn versus olives,
Or fine Rioja versus boxed Franzia wine.
But it always comes back to the wine,
So much that it begins to spin the walls,
And for the second time I see those black olives,
But it definitely looks nothing like art.
One too many bars in and around Sol
And too much vermouth in the sangria.
Spanish wine is fine as Spanish art.
Fine, too, are the storied walls around the Puerta del Sol,
But the finest are the olives, and my love, the sangria.
More sestinas from McSweeney's here.
And another I like:
The Concord Art Association Regrets
Pam White
Your entry was not accepted. We regret
it wasn't (enough for us), a work of love.
We liked many of the colors on the whole
but the mass was just something unrelated
to the rest of our show. We hope your work
will have a bright future in another place.
We remember last year you tried to place
another photograph and it was also with regret
we turned you down. Though for that particular work
we found nothing about it (no one could) to love.
It was obscure and a little upsetting in relation
to the rest of our show which we look on as a whole.
Now you may think us ungenerous. On the whole
you are probably right, but this is our place
and we can do what we want whether you relate
to it or not. However we don't want you to regret
your association with us. We want you to love
us, send us money, but please, no more work.
You see right now we need money to work
on the building we're in. There's a hole
in the roof and one wall needs all the love
and attention it can get. Really the place
needs so much, which all costs. I regret
to remind you we need more space for related
works. We're trying to expand and relate
to lots of different kinds of work
so different people won't regret
their visit with us but will see the whole
beauty and tranquillity of the place
and come with us, a journey of love
where people of all races, colors, and creeds love
to look and bask and of course bring relations,
friends, and lovers. All are welcome to our place
here where all the world's magnificent work
can be shown in its entirety, the whole
place filled - with your exception, we regret.
We know you'll love the whole
work we're doing for this place.
We can't relate enough our regret. I think I like the way sestinas make the speaker sound strangely and beautifully obsessed with the topic. They seem to lend themselves to imagining a speaker, too. Even when they are in third person, you can't help but imagine the poet, or whoever took the time to expound over and over on this topic, turning it around and seeing every facet.
Wow, when I started this entry, I did not think I would end up taking about sestinas.
Conversation
This is the log of a chat online between Arthur and I, before auditions. lightly edited for glaring typos.
me: hmm, hmmm.
me: hmm, hmmm.
6:02 PM oh, you wanted to talk about your project too
Arthur: sure.
6:03 PM if you're interested, I'm interested in where you're at with improv and theatre in general
6:04 PM me: well, i feel like I've gained a level of confidence as a performer
i feel like i can do a good show not just with pgraph but with almost anyone
6:05 PM so i guess i've built up a certain level of trust towards the universe in general
which is why i'm interested in doing projects with new and different people
6:06 PM and i've been doing a lot of narrative and genre stuff, which has been enjoyable, certainly, and is amazing for building specific skills that can be applied more generally
but i'm eager for a chance to do something more open, with less defined expectations and greater possibilities for discovery
6:07 PM Arthur: what interests you about what you've read on ol' Jerzy?
6:08 PM me: i was intrigued by his drive to make theatre relevant and meaningful
and it made me wonder how that would apply today
it seems in difficult times like revolution and dictatorship it's clearer how theatre can have an impact
6:09 PM i haven't studied much about theatre of the oppressed, but i get the impression that that's what it's tending towards
6:10 PM and so it makes me wonder how theatre can be similarly meaningful in a relatively stable and comfortable western society
i can see some possibilities around challenging the need for instant gratification
and the constant multi-tasking
6:12 PM it could be about creating actual relationships rather than virtual ones
i think it taps into the same kind of storytelling impulses that make things like the Moth and This American Life so popular
6:13 PM what i love about true stories, and great song lyrics, and good movies and books, is the small details that are so particular but make it feel so real and relatable
because generic things aren't universal
specifics are
6:15 PM i feel kind of rambly, is this what you're looking for? do you have any follow up questions?
6:18 PM Arthur: nope, I think we're on the same page :)
6:20 PM me: it sounds really exciting
6:22 PM i'm reading some more of grotowski and it resonates with other things i've been reading and thinking about the past couple of years
zen, social interactions, transactional analysis
6:24 PM did you see biography of physical sensation?
6:26 PM Arthur: no, what's that?
me: it was a show rubber repertory did not long ago
i didn't see it but it sounds like it touched on some of the same ideas
Arthur: interesting
i saw The Casket of Passing Fancy
6:28 PM me: i was talking with someone the other day about how theatre is a strange space
6:29 PM the act of being on stage in a way condones whatever happens on that stage
6:30 PM it conveys to the audience "this all right, we've planned this for you"
and some people would exploit that for art
push boundaries
6:31 PM but i think that that dehumanizes the audience
and it says, "what is happening here is not real. you are not a part of it"
6:32 PM i'd rather see what happens when you tell the audience "what's happening here is real. You are a part of it
Arthur: yep, i agree completely
6:33 PM there's a Theatre of Revolt
and then there's a Theatre of Community
6:36 PM me: it's a very intriguing project
Introduction
I have recently embarked on an experimental theatre project with 11 other actors, under the guidance of Arthur, who conceived of this project. It does not have a name, it has no clear end goal in terms of what shape the performance will take. It was inspired, as I understand it, by the work of Polish director Jerzy Gratowski. It is an exploration and collaboration. As of today, I have participated in two auditions, one casual meeting, and 5 rehearsals. In that time the process has caused me many and varied thoughts and emotions. I am inspired to start a record of the process, and of my reactions and thoughts about the things we do, think, and discuss in rehearsals. I hope that the other performers will add their own thoughts and reactions as well. I'm going to put in some placeholder posts for the rehearsals we've already gone through, and hopefully fill them in more in the future. And from now on, I will be putting down my thoughts after each rehearsal while they are still fresh.
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