TUESDAY 15 MAY

GAME: Death by Palm.

1 hand on lower back. Together with whole Group trying to ‘tick’ the hands on the others’ back; palms are turned outwards.

When killed by palm stay on the side.

Last 2 remaining are the King & Queen. Finally Queen Anne-May ticked with great conviction Jurre to the eternal hunting fields.

SPEEDBOAT RYTHM - EXERCISE

(2x2 clapping on legs & 1x clap in hands)

RYTHM:         (slow)             Like – a – speed – boat

                        (fast)              Love – a – speed – boat

Group divided in 2.

Group 1: keeping the same ‘slower’ rythm

Group 2: Principal changes between slower and faster rhythm, shouting out at that moment ‘Now’.

EXERCISES ENTONING (per single line entoned)

MAGIC: Ongoing tone (as in singing, primal feeling of magic).

This would be intercepted by ‘cutting’ the text into (for audience supposed understandable) pieces.

POETRY POWER:    Intensity, ongoing

Paradox:         Multi interpretable for audience (for each persons own interpretation OPEN).

EXERCISE INTERPRETER

Bart is interpreter.

Jo is expert, speaking foreign language (French)

Expert is telling the story while the interpreter ‘translates’. What the interpreter is telling mostly (all the time) had no connection to the subject; it is completely to decide by the interpreter.

TRANSLATION INTERPRETATION SCENE.

Players – 2 persons (doing scene)                        (Bart & Saskia)

Interpreters                                                  (Jet & Marit)

Playing act in the scene in foreign (or non existing) language. Interpreters translate it in English according to their impression or fantasy (intonation, intention).

INTERPRETERS (divided into groups)

Scene done with 2 players in Jibbrish, each having 1 interpreter

After that scene done with 2 players in Jibbrish WITHOUT interpreter.

Hamlet (and all theatre)

NO storytelling; you are IN the story experiencing it.

WRITING EXERCISE:

Tim told all to choose 2 lines (short sentences) from a scene and afterwards during 2 minutes writing all associations in your head during 3 minutes, while sitting facing your scene partner. For example one said “What do you read my Lord” and the other “Words, words, words”.

Exercise was to continuously keep writing. As soon as one person would stop writing the exercise would stop immediately by penalty.

Note: Tim said on purpose 3 minutes, but clocked 6. This anticipating to ideas like having still such a long time left or filling in the time.

LIKE

In scene AFTER every line: ….. ‘like’

                                   (silent thought with arm gesture)

                                   (hand open, arm stretched low forward, palm open)

Hand directed to a person in the circle, who says ‘yes’ if it connects (feeling).

LIKE2

Standing, speaking out loud (likes)

During home rehearsals to acceptance (by yourself)

Tension in your voice drops.

You can’t hear yourself, only headset with loud music.

1 person gives the timing (tone) with 1 hand (right to left). The person speaking (with text) uses it for entoning the line.

And SELL IT.

PERSONAL CONNECTION

Connection to:          The play

                                   Character

                                   Situation

Surprised what you find in your own head.

It’s not that strange.

Give it the chance to surface and be surprised.

PERSONAL

LEAST personal:       Intellectual knowledge (piece)

                                   Sometime a few steps away.

PERSONAL:                Close to yourself, for example family related or to

                                   certain persons.

                                   Sometimes also connection to or through art (music, film)

                                   as connection to the personal (what does it do to you)

CREATIVITY

PASSIVE, let it happen to you.

Avoid ‘understanding’ (intellectual understanding).

Marijn:           Had an image and showed it (like)

Bart:                           Direct like (what do you see?)

ORIGINAL VERSUS UNIQUE

Devil: Tempting to do it as it has never been done before.

The devil wishes you to forget YOU can be unique.

UNIQUE:

Speaking the words while they mean something to you.

FIFO

Scene Romeo & Julia, players Jurre and Anne-May

Scene players both choose 1 partner.

Player whispers the FIRST inspiration in the ear of the partner (who will never ever tell any one about it, taking the information into the grave)

Objective: making the first inspiration conscious (because of social desirability).

FIFO2

Scene WITHOUT partners (players remember what just has been said)

COMA GAME

2 hands

Understanding text, back story of character.

Coma game: forget knowing anything at all.

You know nothing, except what follows.

For example: “I loved Ophelia” (who she is ?).

Time=coma time.

Devil: act stupid.

DURING COMA:

You are very keen and awake, curious, wanting to know, want to get to the bottom of it.

It is strange.

Every time: FRESH.

Ready for what happens, to react.

COMA SCENE1

In scene times are set (5 times per player). The group has to ‘guess’ when the coma happened.

COMA SCENE2

Some one ‘is’ the coma (during clap 1 the scene stops).

At clap: head falls down (relaxed). 2^nd clap wakes up.

COMA SCENE3

Coma clap (both in coma and at awakening).

Head is not dropping.

DO NOT illustrate, DO discover

COMA SCENE4

No clapping.

Tim asks questions. Answer: I don’t know (about everything from before starting time of coma).

Only known what the other did say (after awakening from coma).

14th of may

We started with several exercises as a warm-up, like

clapping in the circle and throwing your own ball up in the air

and catching it, throwing up your own ball in the circle, move a place to your left and

catching your neighbour´s ball, as well as a voice warm-up.

We did a round of intoning lines and staying in rhythm as a group.

We worked on our new dialogues and did an exercise where we

had to make five movements every line (one on each beat)

and touch each other on the last beat. (Both people move,

the person who speaks the line touches the other person).

We discovered that the touch can be a lot of different things, like pushing,

touching like you want to touch something else and so on.

The touch should mean something.

The exercise is about every line has to do something

to the other person; should have an effect.

Tim made some remarks about how the verse in the

balcony scene is used to show Romeo and Juliet are

in rhythm with each other. When the nurse calls Juliet,

the rhythm is not affected and Romeo and Juliet stay

together in their own rhythm. It could also mean when

they are not in rhythm something is wrong.

In general a short line implies a silence or pause,

wherein something happens: an action. For instance

in Bertram and Diana ´and I´ll be bid by thee´ is

a short line, in the pause Bertram gives the ring to Diana.

We worked more on the dialogues and did an exercise where

you could only start moving on the last beat of the line and

had to stop moving on the first beat of the line. So you

could only move when ´the ball is in the air´.

In the second exercise you had to start moving on the last

beat and stop moving in the pause between the lines, every time

in the same rhythm.

These exercises where about choosing and having precision in movement,

staying in the rhythm and surprising yourself with the movement, that

doesn´t have to be naturalistic.

The rest of the day we worked on the meaning and understanding

of the words; we improvised our scenes speaking in dutch. In these scenes

people behaved more natural in the way they used their hands

and faces. After that we did the scenes in groups of 4, where

each person had a partner. The people playing their scenes

had to whisper their lines to their partner, who then had to translate

these lines out loud. Tim talked about the importance of putting it

on the other person, to put the problem on the other person.

And this was the end of the first day. 

Report - Tim Carrolls workshop Sunday 25th March

10.00 uur In the morning we worked on our voice and did a warm up with rhythm clapping. The whole group of actors was divided in half. One half was clapping in the rhythm of 8 counts, the other had to differ with a rhythm of 7 counts. All clapping together gave a very nice, musical sound.

10.30 uur We worked in pairs on a scene of Hamlet (choice) and we had to receive three actions from a group member that we did not play with. In return we gave 3 actions to someone we did not play with. These actions were to be remembered by every actor and acted out, whilst playing a scene with a scene partner.This led to some true and honest reactions due to the unexpected behavior of the scene partner. According to the actors that were asked for feedback, this led to surprise and sincere emotions, that enlightened the scene as well. We worked on this with several different scene partners. After playing, there was a feedback round to give (positive) feedback on the scene. Also, we watched two actors perform this in front of the group.

11.30 uur  All group members sat in a circle and every member took off their shoes. Then every group member chose some shoes intuitively from someone else. Next, all group members stood up and took the shoes of their choice with them. Every person started to rehearse a monologue, and tried to use the shoes at a moment that it felt right. It had to be rehearsed a few times individually before Tim asked some people to perform this in front of the group. Apparently, a few principles led to success:

a. One has to make connection with the shoes from the beginning. Ignoring them stressed the audience

b. One has to follow the inner impulse and not hastily make a choice that is not truthful and is merely imposed by the devil inside.

c. Take time to fully engage in this

d. One has to not be afraid to keep it simple. Shoes have a symbolic value like identity, walking forward, coming in pairs, that is strong enough.

e. One has to be natural, and let emotion come, rather than 'to act'

14.00 uur In the afternoon we had to work in a different space. In this space we first did a game by working with 2 balls. These 2 balls were thrown by two different persons in 2 different directions and were thrown to every other person. The balls would pass each other. This way there was a competition that could be won. This was more or less a warming up.

The next excercise was to work with a scene from Hamlet, and to receive and give an action to another person in the room. While playing the scene, this action had to be acted out. The action could be anything.

The next assignment was to come up with an inhibition, an object and an action. These were given by every person to another person. Accordingly, scenes were played in pairs and each person performed their part whilst keeping to the action, the inhibition and the object that had to be acted out or played with. We had some very interesting characters coming out.

16.00 uur Working in three- A group of three actors were to be playing a scene, and one of the actors had to be loved, the other one had to be hated. Every actor in this threesome chose whom he loved, and whom he hated. Then, every actor received an object from someone in the group and a secret action. Or some secret that led to a certain behavior. The other two persons received the same things. When playing the scene every person had to discover who hated him, who loved him, and what the secret action or inhibition was. This was very fun.

After this Tim gave a talk on this way of working and the workshop ended.

10.00 Amstelveen, 24 maart, De Meent.

Dear all,

In the following you will find my summary of what happened during December the 15^th, the last day in December 2011 with Tim.

I hope it will be useful and gives you a proper impression of what happened and how to deal with that.

GAME: 1 IN THE MIDDLE

Game space in a rectangle. One is in the middle.

In every of the 4 corners there is 1 person.

Objective: those in the corners try to change positions with someone else in another corner. This is only allowed AFTER eye contact (mutual agreement) with the other person.

The one in the middle needs to reach one of the 4 corners before the position changer going to that corner reaches it.

Longer sides are more ‘valuable’ than shorter sides. The king jackpot is changing over the diagonal.

Addition: all 5 positions now with 2 persons, hooked together with the elbows, which are not allowed to let go during running (then hook on at the position where this happened losing valuable time).

Addition2: all 5 positions now with 3 persons, hooked together with the elbows, which are not allowed to let go during running (then hook on at the position where this happened losing valuable time).

Addition3: all 5 positions now with 4 persons, hooked together with the elbows, which are not allowed to let go during running (then hook on at the position where this happened losing valuable time).

RHYTHM EMBODIMENT – PROSE AND VERSE

Dividing into groups. Individually every one names a figure 1,2,3, which will be the group number.

In groups dividing a prose text.

The person who celebrates his or her birthday the soonest in the calendar year decides, the others have to listen to that person.

After the prose has been divided into pieces, a speaker is selected for each piece. This does not have to be in equal parts. Every piece of text has its own speaker. Together with the group a rhythm is embodied. This may be done on your own way by for example hissing, whistling, singing, humming, tapping, hitting a heating tube or knocking.

This morning during the “1 in the Middle game” me having strained a muscle in my right leg I was provided by Daniel with a plastic dish bin of water and a dishcloth. These were at once taken by respectively Amber to make the sounds of the Oyster (fingers tapping on the water) and Barbara (hitting with the dishcloth a carton box.

This to underline anything can be used.

Separate elaboration is choir (multiple voices together). This gives an extra enhancement of energy.

VERSE – Always the same rhythm,                                   not dominant

PROSE – Always changing and clear rhythm,       dominant

GROUP DIALOGUE: with the group together embodying the rhythm in ‘contest’ with another group, so 2 groups facing each other.

Especially worth mentioning Claire (light as a feather) being lifted by her group and even being carried around. The other group of Bart also reacted to that, coming together in the dialogue in exchanging some intimacies.

Addition group dialogue: later alone (without the group).

Try to keep the same energy (of the group, together with the group).

POSITIVE COMMUNICATION:

It is not necessary to be close to the other, far away is also possible. Sending your voice through the space.

It is about the energy.

Still: don’t be a twat.

No ‘acting’: put ALL of the energy back on the other.

Tell the other something he or she DOES NOT WANT to know, but NEEDS to know.

Relax, it’s just the truth.

Fantastic line, this might become a new parole !

GAME: WINK MURDERER

Selecting the Murderer.

All seated in a circle with their eyes closed. Murderer is tapped on the shoulder by Tim.

All walking through the space. The murderer winks and the person winked at dies in a horrible manner, as much as possible ‘over the top’. There is a ‘prize’ for the most original way of dieing.

All are allowed to unmask the supposed Murderer by calling ‘J’accuse’. The person being accused either confirms or denies. If wrong the accuser dies of course dreadfully.

If correct the Murderer dies in great pain, making the world a better place.

Somehow starting this game Tim mentioned Maureen as the example of the impersonated Ninja. After several people having died, Fortune’s State pronounced Maureen to be the chosen one to save the world and unmask Jo.

PUPPETERY

Puppet seated in a chair. Head, arms and legs relaxed. Arms and head would fall down if unsupported, so that is necessary.

1 puppeteer standing next to the chair manipulating the head and one arm.

The puppet speaks lines of his or her own chosen monologue. The puppeteer chooses at each line a position for both the head and the arm (hand).

Addition: with 2 puppeteers.

Addition2: Puppet during text STANDING in the circle with  1 puppeteer. Puppeteer manipulates the head and 1 arm.

REPETITION. The puppet repeats the movements without the puppeteer. This AS IF you mean it (and do so).

REPETITION2. The puppet repeats the movements without the puppeteer. IN THE SCENE (with the scene partner). This AS IF you mean it (and do so).

Addition3 (after addition2 completed): Puppet during text STANDING in the circle with 2 puppeteers. Puppeteer 1 manipulates the head and 1 arm. The other puppeteer manipulates the other arm.

REPETITION. The puppet repeats the movements without the puppeteers. This AS IF you mean it (and do so).

REPETITION2. The puppet repeats the movements without the puppeteers. IN THE SCENE (with the scene partner). This AS IF you mean it (and do so).

SELLING of movements.

Imagine AS IF it is the best movement of the whole wide world. This concerns every single movement, whether or not seeming at first silly, crazy or illogical.

It is possible to use every movement so sell it !!!

Addition4 (after addition3 completed): In self selected groups: The puppet does text STANDING with 1 or 2 puppeteers IN THE SCENE. Puppeteer 1 manipulates the head and 1 arm. The other puppeteer manipulates the other arm.

REPETITION. The puppet repeats the movements without the puppeteers. This AS IF you mean it (and do so).

REPETITION2. The puppet repeats the movements without the puppeteers. IN THE SCENE (with the scene partner). This AS IF you mean it (and do so).

Addition5 (after addition4 completed): In the circle scene by both puppets STANDING without the puppeteers.

Positive: this exercise relaxes the voice.

Puppetery relaxes also how you listen.

DOING IT WELL

Doing it well is often associated with strain.

Relax the voice, relaxation is also ‘doing it well’. For example remember Cesar Millan with ‘calm and assertive’.

NO expression is sometimes even the most expressive.

SURPRISE

A ‘moment of art’ may occur when you do no expect it yourself.

PURE is: ‘I loved it, don’t do it again’.

Jet & Bart (Taming of the shrew): Unexpected movement of Jet (hanging, head falling in Bart’s hands).

Peter & Jo (Taming of the Shrew): Starting low on the floor. Large hilarity at the gesture  Peter pointing at the location of the ‘sting’. Important to mention as a puppet Peter was powerless and had to take over the chosen movements of the puppeteer.

FEEDING WITH TEXT

Feeding text: handing over the next line (if chosen at that moment).

This may be the director or another player.

GESTURE EMBODIMENT

All in the circle sitting on their chair. Scene of Taming of the Shrew.

Outside the circle standing with TEXT: Jurre & Jo

Inside the circle standing with GESTURES: Peter & Niels. They are translating the text into movements.

Rules: It is NOT allowed to move while listening.

            Hands above the waist. Hands up: communication.

Moving and gestures are of course possible in position, high and low, gestures with arm, head or hands.

In gestures: expression & communication of the content of the text.

End of the speech: ‘hit something’.

If you do not know this text: embodiment is in that case maybe even the most useful in expressing movements and gestures.

ALIVE & RE-ENERGIZED

IMPULSE when you are about to speak.

You have to do ‘something’ with your hands.

At clowning even at 100 yards of distance it has to be visible who is speaking.

KEEP ENERGY. The number of movements or gestures is much less important than the energy. Do not make it too complicated. It is no brain surgery.

It does not matter how the scene is staged in production. This is an exercise.

Lack of embarrassment about holding a position.

The spectator should be able to look at everything from 2 sides.

Image – turning around – looking at it.

Hands – thinking – Create thoughts - Express thoughts.

COMBINATION

Every of the previous exercises is allowed to be used in the scene inside the circle.

Scene = unexpected.

What happens happens.

BARK: I know you got better stuff than that – respect.

BE GENUINE >>> ENGAGEMENT of the audience

Important: take ownership of it.

Especially worth mentioning, among others Jo doing the exercises with very eager and bright shining eyes like a little girl having the most fun ever on the playground.

Really nice to see people go hissing, group contesting, barking, shooting arrows and much more with great enthusiasm. This was a good reminder what to strive for in march.

TRY THE EXERCISES AND DO THEM.

KNOW THAT IT IS GOOD, ALLRIGHT, OK AND GREAT.

We have a lot of time between now and march, use it wisely. Maybe start right here and right now.

Tim also mentioned to know at least one text completely through, so that you are able to do the exercises with that text.

I will also go to work. You have fun with that too.

Very merry Christmas and a happy new year from this place.

See you all next year.

With sweet love.

Floris

Wednesday morning we started with the Group clapping exercise and thereby immediately filling the room with energy again. I had missed one day and was very happy to be back again!

After that we started clapping on the first and eight count. We walked 8 passes in the rhythm of the claps and then started moving in slow motion and still keeping the count (well, let’s just keep it at, that that was the exercise) Then it was moving fast and keeping the count and the claps on the first and eight. Then the quick chance of 8 counts moving fast, and 8 in slow motion. Hearing TC at the side giving us an example of what the count should be and comparing it to our own showed how much room for improvement there is. Something we always love to know J

Then.. the arrow and bow. An exercise in the elegancy of the language that we’re trying to make our own.

On one we took the arrow from our quiver

On two we look at the arrow (which is a very important step as we need to check whether the arrow point is right so that it will hit target)

On three we attach the arrow to the bow

On four we stretch the arrow backwards

On five we let go with tension in our arms and body. (don’t forget the effect of releasing the arrow!)

The importance is to let our imagination work and really see and get the feeling of the arrow and bow. Like mime.. If you drop it, either you lost your bow/arrow.. or your audience..

We continue with a game of Cowboy’s and Indians (or explorers and native Americans if we want to be politically correct) While most of us die agonizing deaths, as is custom for our class, others are fierce in words and movements. The battle that Shakespeare’s words and characters are constantly in is becoming beautifully visible.

After that we do our lines and let our fantasy live more, since running away from an arrow is much more believable then moving a step to the left or right at the last minute. One of the many wonders of the world that TC is so kind to share with us. J I just love it how I always think, d0h! That’s just so logical.. why then.. didn’t I think of that before.

Jaqueline and Bart get up for the exercise with the arrow and have to receive and/or stop the arrow with magical powers. They show, ‘this is my arrow, I thought about it then I gave it to you. You can have it.

For those who remember the little talk about Shakespearse’s writing and the difference between writing with a quill and the computer now a days (something Saskia pointed out)

Also there was an article, for those who want to read it, from Guilbert O Daine about the difference between books written on the typewriter and on the computer.

The arrows are different in pro’s. Jet and Bart get up to do a scene between Hamlet en Polonius in Pro’s. They should not surrender, remember nobody looses a scene in Shakespeare. Every character always thinks they are going to win. Otherwise you will play an idea of the scene. Don’t judge your character. Ideas about your character are dangerous, you will fall into cliché’s.

For instance, the critics praise the polonius when he’s not played like a clown, it’s a mark on their books, brilliant! They did not fall into that cliché. Little does it matter that Polonius hasn’t been played like that in 40 years and we exchanged that cliché for the ‘machiavelli of the current times’  the Wheeler dealer with two secretary’s next to him.

It’s telling the audience what the scene is about, it saves the critics the boring job of actually having to listen to the scene. Like the critic TC told us about who slept through the entire show in a sort of alcoholic haze. It’s like they want a primary color of what the directors choices are.

Barking Part 2

Taking back the questions:

1. When did you think of that?

• Just now

2. Is that a good thing?

• Yes (Why)

3. Are they the same thing?/Is the second better then the first?

• No/yes

Decide there at the spot. Have an awareness of the room. Make a decision. Sorry if you don’t see, I want you  to see. I just thought of something..

We also had a short discussion about the first word usually being an Angelsaxian word and the second one Latin, or the other way around. To catch different layers of the society/audience. It makes it more potent.

In Shakespeare and, never means just and. It involves, no I can do better, or at least that, but also.

In some sense the second one canccled out the first. Always add energy to the word.

Shakespeare has meaning to everything. If it’s a question.. ask it! Your character wants the answer. It’s never just a phrase (is that just one of those phrases?)

4. What else could you have called him/her?

What do you do to someone by choosing how to call them. Using personal names, like sweet …, the best actor in the group or just using their name, or their full name. It does something to people. That awareness is very good to have when using someone’s name during a scene. It’s not just ‘my lord’ it is the choice of saying my lord. Which gives meaning to it.

Thou – familiar comes from the French word tu

You – Formal, comes from vous.

The decision to use thou or you is a very specific one. Choose it! It’s the important choice of creating a distance. (tutoieren) (vb. Amber, and why I pray you who might be your mother)

‘Thou is a nomination and thee is acutive.’ (ps.. dear readers, I wrote this down as I heard it said, but it’s latin to me, which I cannot read nor write;))

Change your mind at the last moment. (As, by my faith, I see no more in you. Than without candle may go dark to bed) Going to bed without a candle saves wax.

Be careful of getting on the Devil’s bus. Like the actor in Richard III. He was building up, raging, until at the highlight of it all he slamed the door and when the applause died out TC’s wife said.. “Well, he was joly upset about something” Brilliant quote J

Ann-May did her monologue from MacBeth, anticipating on barking. Barking is there to help you, not to tell you you were wrong. Don’t play a mood. Lady Macbeth is often portrayed as an angry bitch, but she’s asking the spiritis to unsex her. She askes for meanness and bitchyness. Show the beginnings of where it’s gonna go and the play will come of itself. 

Barking. The is a crucial principal. The job is difficult, don’t feel attached, be grateful for the barks you get because people are trying to help you. Seize the opportunity to do something with it. 

Repeated words. If Shakespeare repeats a word then the stress is never in the same metrical verse. One time it will be stressed, the next time unstressed. He never just uses the same word twice. It is truly a choice of words.

Therefore using the verse also helps to not get on the devils bus. It may fulfill people’s expectations, but if you keep breaking the mood then you’re alive in the scene. And the scene becomes real.

The class about Barking:

• It’s fun to see people struggle with their devil
• It’s fast
• Both the listners and the performer are very engaged
• Very much in the present
• Emotion
• More alive! Not pre-cooked.

You’re  not playing tricks, you play simple but detailed. Try this one from now on.. never ask rhetorical questions. The audience will find out that it’s rhetorical. Rhetorical is ironic, don’t prejudge for the audience. Genuenly ask a question. – Do you want an answer to the question?

The verse knows best!

PAUZE

Game, left hand open on your back and if you get taped, you’re out.

Don’t be a twat!

• I’m not!

The excersise continued with silently saying it, and responding to it.

Then to gestures.

Puppet! Keep a poker face, and let your eyes look straight ahead without helping the puppeteer or choosing where to look. Our eyes are trained to see moments.

During the evolution they found out that not moving our eyes is not good for us. They freeze, after a while our eyes do a check to see if we can still detect motion. That’s why many people in france claimed to have seen the virgin mary wink or smile or cry.. they should have just blinked or turned their heads to something more movable in the area.. bloody pilgrims :p

Saskia made a remark about ‘Up yours man/woman’ on youtube. Can’t remember in what discussion it was mentioned, but for those interested and those who can still remember, tadaa.

The other important discussion was about awareness. The actor William Hut took in much more in the room then just the audience. Nothing could happen without him knowing of it. It was like he had 360⁰ awareness.

I saw that! Of course you must have really seen something.

We realize what we show does get seen. Instead of actors just playing in the direction of each other, everything we do get seen, and we see and respond to that what we see the other actor do. Yet again so simple and yet a wonderful piece of truth lain before us. We learn how much information is in a face.

Maureen and Stan in the ‘Where I saw the secret’ exercise. How beautiful the tension between the two of them was. You have to be precise, specific. Left eyebrow, right index finger, white bit of the left eye.

Big amount of intimacy. You could see the struggle of them being aware of what they are doing. 

And the beauty of the face of a person who’s really listening. Next time we’ll try after we removed the wooden pole from their body’s.

Thanks for the great day guys!

The second day > 13th of December 2011

The second day of the four day project, we started off with some warm-ups;

• Clapping in a circle
• Clapping while throwing the ball in the air, so you really need to keep count of when you throw and when you clap
• Throwing ball across while ‘sing-ah’
• Intoning text and then galloping the rhythm in pairs

Exercise: “It’s not that, it’s this”

This can be said at the beginning of a line of verse, or halfway through it.

That = general, vague, unclear

This = precise, specific, detailed

This exercise helps finding the argument in the scene.

The thing you are doing here is making a bet by saying these words. It sharpens the desire to communicate. It makes the thing you are saying more important and gives it more weight.

You need to believe that you are going to persuade somebody or change somebody’s mind in order to raise the stakes. As if you are saying: “That thing you just said didn’t quite cover it”. Also, when you have the lower status in the scene it makes you work harder, since you need to convince the person who has a higher status.

Try to find the ‘that’ in the other person’s head.

The exercise creates competition in what kind of scene it is going to be; not that kind of scene, but this kind of scene. It brings the situation into the present; that what has just been said is already in the past. This is especially the case with lists. Always try to avoid just listing the things as they were put in the text; the next thing needs to top the last thing on the list.

In addition, we did the same exercise, but then we used different gestures while saying “this” and “that”.

After that, we did the same exercise but only using the gestures.

Finally, we tried this without slowing down the scene, so keeping the speed into the text.

Exercise: Adding a gesture to a stressed syllable

A lot of our gestures are still very superstitious and ancient, they are atavistic. Adding a gesture makes something you are saying more stressed and more likely to happen in the future. It is like casting a spell and swearing an oath. It makes the promise deeper.

It is good to do this in rehearsals even if you don’t actually use it on stage, because it creates physical memory and therefore there will be physical energy coming from your actual performance.

We did this exercise, using the scenes. Then we tried making the text more legato and less staccato.

Exercise: “You’re there and I’m here”

Saying these words can really give new meaning to the scene and what you are saying, for example:

• You are in that mind-set, I am in this mind-set.
• You are over there, I am over here (location).
• You are already thinking ahead in the future, I am still in the present.
• You are wrong and I am right.
• You are focussing on unimportant things, I am focussing on important things.
• Let’s keep this distance of you over there and me over here.
• You are low status and I am high status.
• You are stupid and I am smart.
• You have a dirty mind, I have a clean mind.
• You are in the immortal, I am in the immortal world > we can never be together or understand each other.
• You are there, already knowing how the story ends, I am here wanting to know how it ends.
• We are both here in this same place, at the same time, we are not dreaming, this is real.
• You are there saying nonsense and I am stuck here listening to it.

It can create a certain difference, but it can also mean that you are both in this together.

First we said the whole sentence before a line of verse, then we separated the sentence and used it in different places in the line. Then we repeated the exercise but without saying the words, and finally we used just the gestures.

The same can be applied to a monologue. We used “You are there and I am here” combined with “It’s not that, it’s this”.

It is important that, when you first start applying this exercise, you don’t split up the sentence so you don’t get confused.

Exercise: Barking

Somebody does their monologue and others ask two questions:

• “When did you think of that?”

Reply: “Just now”

• “Is that a good thing?”

Reply: “Yes”

Then repeat the sentence or line you said before you got asked one of these questions and prove it; that you just thought of it (by clicking when the thought comes) or that it is a good thing.

Make it a good thing that you are saying it, to name it. It is always better than not saying it at all. Find out why it is a good thing, why we want to say it.

Have the thought as late as possible, don’t say it until the last moment. The timing of the click is very important, it must come just before saying the thought.

Conclusion: MAKE IT GOOD AND MAKE IT NOW.

We did this exercise in small groups, each of us saying our monologue and the others barking.

Barking is an exercise for the listener as well as for the speaker. There are four rules or questions, above are the first two, which can be asked in any sort of text.

It can be very helpful to bark somebody else doing your speech.

The exercise should be hard, but conflict free.

Finally, some random notes:

• Choose the reason why you are going off stage, it is not only about having a reason to go on stage.
• Verse makes it clear which word is important. We tend to put stress on “I”, “thee”, “me”, but with Shakespeare it is often more important what you are doing. The verse knows better than we do! The end of the line often has the secret.
• Thinking is the essence of a good performance. Don’t just raise the stakes for the sake of raising the stakes, the performance then just becomes pained.
• Never judge the characters. Each character needs to be presented as being completely right.
• Real positive thought cannot be acted, it must be done. Don’t be falsely energetic. Try to eliminate the devil each time things are going well.

12 December 2011

Where back on track. The first day, of the master classes by Tim.

In the morning we started in a circle. A person claps their hands at the same time as the person next to them. That person passes the clap on to the next one in line. If this happens simultaneously it creates a rhythm.

Variation two: we left the circle. Still keeping an eye on the person passing you the claps before you started moving around. The exercise started up again with the added difficulty of trying to locate your clap buddy.

Third variation, standing still, same person gives you the clap, if you count you can do it with your eyes closed.

Zombie exercise: one person is a zombie and walks to you to eat your brains. You make an eye contact with another person. That person has to say your name, before the zombie gets you. Then you are the zombie and walked to that person.

We started with the new learn verses. The persons in the middle who were doing the scene, point someone to give the right word on the end. Then repeat the same line with the (right) word.

Important to know that Shakespeare uses opposites (like black versus white, death versus life) and he repeat all the time the same words.

We did also the tennis ball exercise.

After the pause we stared with prisoners and guards. There are more guards than prisoners. The guards stand behind a prisoner who is sitting on a chair. The guards, who have no prisoner, try to steal another prisoner by winking. When the prisoner sees the wink, then the prisoner can escape to that guard. But when the guard tapped the prisoner on the back, then, they stay.
A variation is when the prisoner is fast enough to escape then he scolds the guard. But if the guard taps you in time, then he will call you back with names.

Second variation, instead of scolds you pick a line from your verse.

Verse in Shakespeare is often comedy. Sometimes it is in tragedy and then mostly on the end. Rime verses ABAB are rare in Shakespeare. Sonnets are ABABCDCDEFEFGG, and there is one in Romeo and Julia (when they meet, before the kiss)

There is a structure in verse and also in prose. In prose it is not a metrem but there is a rhythm. For example monologue Hamlet: What a piece of work is a man!

What helps by prose is to keep it alive. If you stop fighting against it, it will be easier.

NOOB (None of our Business)

A friend of Tim said verse is by heart (emotion) and prose is by head (reason). There is in an element in prose to show it off, you have to dazzle (bluffen).

When there are 4 beats instead of 5 it is magic.

There will be switch from prose to verse but they never go back.

Exercise, we worked again with the new verses. You start with:

You want me to say…(fill in) and after that you start saying the lines.

Second exercise: after you lines you said:

Say this: (and fill it in without saying it loud), when you’re finished you snap your fingers.

After the snap the other person can start with his lines.

Variation, you are with another couple and each of them whisper in your ear what the other one wants you to say.

Love,

Anouk

We had our fist session with Tim. Amazing to have a dream come true, and see so many actors willing to learn and eager to know more about Shakespeare. It was an intens day, with loads of chalenges. Am happy inspired and tired, so a shorter recap than i would have liked, but at least the first block is posted!

After a introduction, we started with a warm-up, where we intoned one sentence of our verse speech. Than we did some singaaaa, singaaaa, singaaaa, singaaa, singaaa, singaaa, singaaa, singaaa. And we slided down our vocal cords (to in my case discover that it has been to long ago and therefore didn;t reach the rnage I could if I would warm up more)

Then we learned the ritme of the line: ta-dum ta-dum ta-dum ta-dum ta-dum, and practiced with a tennisball. We caught the ball on the first stress and thew it in the air on the last. So And WHY I pray you, Who might be your MOther. This resulted in a lot of tennisball flying around and some personal frustration on not knowing my lines as much as I should.

To make the line more interesting the next thing we did is to change in speed. So thow the ball higher and have a longer pause, or a shot thow to speed it all up. After doing this, we stood in a circle and the group had the ball. The actor could take as long as they wanted to speek the line, but having come to the last stress, it was up to the thrower if what speed the actor carried on.

After lunch we carried on with our scenes:

Speaking them in verse and repeating the last word of the line by the next part.

Speaking every line, stopping at the end and making an other person from the group quess what the last stressed word is.

Speaking the line to someone in the group who said yes at the end of every line.

Speaking the line  to someone in the group who questions your last stressed word and you awnsering with yes and the word.

Think I summerised most. Am going to learn some more lines for tomorrow. Was really amazed and inspired that some actors got up and spoke out their lines without a problem. So thanks all, for the hard work, the first great day and to many more to come!!

Amber