Cast your memories back to our first encounter with Drew and the 4 Core Principles of Zen Zen Zo Physical theatre making....
What are the 4 Core Principles and are they important to the development of the compositions for 'The Trial' so far? How and why....in what ways have these skills enhanced your awareness of theatre making in an ensemble? Have these skills equipped you as a performer and creator of physical theatre? How?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
heyy :)
ReplyDeleteokay, so the 4 core principals are focus, energy, self awareness and group awareness.
These core principals are extremely important to the development of the composititions of 'the trial' as they all encourage us to really harness the character(s) and bring it to life the best possible.
These skills have greatly enhanced my awareness of theatre making in an ensoble, as they help to create a more intense compositition and also, come into awareness of [your] self.
Making sure not to break the focus in such an obscure environment is quite diffucult, and since alot of the compsition is performed either using props, outside, or on the floor, somethings may go wrong, but you need to always maintain complete focus. Energy can be the difference between a pathetic performance or a great one, maintaining a high energy level (preferably no lower than a 5) will give the composition that extra boost and therefore be more enjoyable for the audienceee.
self awareness is more getting in tune with self. knowing own shape, ability and movements can help encompass a character and its personalities (the activity with the chicken legs, itchy arms ect.)
andddd group awareness is pretty much coming into awareness with your surroundings and also the people in the composition. using perriferal vision and also, almost sensing the other performers in your personal space and predecting their next movements.
so all four of these principals come hand in hand with eachother when creating a composition, or when performing anything.
so yeahh
i haven't mentioned the trial much.
whoops haha i didnt really answer the question.
oh well it took so long im not deleting it hahaah.
i hope thats alright
ill re answer it next time i log on haha sorry.
xo
Drew taught us that the four core principals are energy, focus, self awareness and group awareness
ReplyDeleteIn the opening scene that drew created we have to incorperate all of these 4 principals.
As we it is the opening scene of the Trial we must have lots of energy to grab the audiences attention. If we were to come on stage lathargic the audience wouldnt be very interested in what we were doing.
As we explore such a different form of acting we have to stay completely focused. In the Trial we have many different things occuring and other peoples parts signal us to begin ours, in or for it to flow we have to focus on not just our part but each others...
Which brings me to group awareness and self awareness. My part in the performance is to be a puppet to the people on the boxes, this consists of alot of group awareness. We have to be 'aware' of the actions of the people on the boxes as we mimic them as pupets.
Focus and energy coincide with self awareness as we need to be aware of our own focus and energy.
These skill have equipped me to perform physical theatre.. they have educated me to conduct exciting performances as i explore the energy and focus required in my own performance and then extend my abilities by relying on each other rather then delivering my own lines and not paying attention to other people around
For a physical theatre performance to be conducted in a comprehensize and correct manner, four core principles must be mobilised. These include Focus, Energy, Self Awareness and Group Awareness.
ReplyDeleteENERGY can be defined as 'forceful exertion.' In physical theatre, energy is a necessary tool that assists the actors in not only conveying a message with their bodies, but keeping the audience interested and entertained. High energy levels (5 and 6, or 7 if complete stillness is required) should be maintained throughout the entire performance, unless the composition necessitates it otherwise. In the opening scene, for example, energy levels of about 5 have to be maintained fluently, with the occassional uprising of 6 (when the 'authorities' surrounding the box reach out in a sinister mode toward the audience). High energy when high energy is required equals a breathtaking performance.
To be in control of ones output of energy, great FOCUS (the concentration of attention or energy on something) has to be sustained. In physical theatre, it is so important to focus on every aspect of your own performance so that [you] remain in character and do not tear the audiences understanding. This particular core principle can basically make or break a show; considering a majority of the movement that takes place in The Trial can be very new and uncomfortable for some cast members, for example, pulling hideous/scary faces, crawling along the floor, and ultimately man-handling friends, focus really needs to be equipped so that the audience's perceptions and concentration is not clouded, and we perform a memorable 'Trial.'
Focus is dependable on SELF AWARENESS and GROUP AWARENESS. Self awareness is self explanatory; being aware of ones own body movement and character. As Pia noted, Drew cleverley taught us this fundemental tool by insisting we close our eyes and let certain parts of our bodies become something completly different, such as our arms and fingers becoming a tree swaying in a light breeze. The Trial has so many versatile and wierd characters that all of us may represent at some stages, and for them to be believable it is vital that a complete awareness of each bodily movement is sustained.
In conjunction with this, group awareness is important also as everyone must cooperate together as an ensemble to create an equally energetic performance, and as it is common for a group of people to emerge as one character, all performers should be moving at the same rate so nobody stands out (unless necessary). The Trial operates this core principle in forms such as when Isabella, Maddy, Annie and myself emerge from under the curtain as 'spiders.' If one of us was to move at a faster or slower pace and did it slightly more differently, the effect would be broken.
Each of these skills have enhanced my awareness of theatre making as an ensemble by being the basis in which all ideas are formed, e.g. instead of saying 'lets walk to there,' it would be said 'lets walk over there with an energy level of about # and at the same time etc etc etc.' It makes us specific.
As the legendary Drew told us, each of us have to equip the core principles to our 'tool belt.' As a performer and creator of physical theatre, these skills have developed the fundamental aspects in which I, as an individual, must be in control of at all times so that my performance as a physical actor is compelling, and as a group we achieve our aims.
The four core principles or compositional tools are focus, Energy, Group Awareness and Self Awareness.
ReplyDeleteFocus is a compositional tool which enhances your performances, creating a believable character. The mirroring activity which we did in pairs when we were participating in Drews workshops aided our knowledge in focus and how to control it. Focus has greatly contributed in my performance in The Trial as I am able to be fully aware of my surroundings set wise as well as being aware of the fellow performers around me.
Energy is sepereated in 7 levels. For a performances, energy level 5 is recommended however it may depend on your character, on which energy level you produced. In The Trial, an energy level of 5 or more is what I feel is the approprioate level. As each person transforms into different characters greater or lower energy may come into place. Energy has helped be to be a better performer within an ensemble, as you can feel the energy level of the performers around you. On performance night each persons energy level was evident as well as the level of focus.
Group Awareness is very much the tool of relying on other people. As an individual, I find relying on other people a challenge at times, however, throughout the process of creating The Trial I found it easier to rely on the people around me as I was aware of their actions as well as my own. An example of brilliant group awareness was when Drew told us of when, in a performance, which he was part of their was a choreography sequence where approx 4 performers has to perform barrel turns. One performer unfortunatly injured his/her self and was unable to complete the set choreography. However, improvised and changed the barrel turns into something more achievable. The other peroformers became aware of his actions and soon followed his choreogrtaphy. The end result was seemless and just as effective as the original movement.
Self Awareness is being in tune with yourself and being aware of your blocking on stage and what is around you. Self awareness is to a safety precaution as well so you as a performer do not injure yourself or those around you.
The four core principles or compositional tools are vital for a successful performance. On performance night, I belive each person successfully achieved each principle to the best of their ability. I as an individual, believe that learning these toold has helped me to better understand not only physical theatre but drama as a whole. These compositional tools will definantly be used in future performances.