A little bit of thought...
There’s a general assumption in some quarters that acting isn’t necessarily a thoughtful thing…that it’s all about instinct and action and although both of those things are important aspects this morning’s Gold company workshop raised the importance of reflection and the need to consider what elements are at play…
We set up a real time improvisation, a cast of characters to take part in it and then pretty much let it run…adding in catalysts and signposts as it went. As a formula for workshops and actor training it’s hardly new but despite this it does require a standard of engagement from a reasonably experienced set of actors if only so that they stay in role as consistently as possible throughout the improvisation.
Gold company managed this well, as I had faith that they would…and as it closed we had the usual quality of initial responsive discussion displayed by this vibrant company…including input from some people that don’t always feel confident to take part (you have to ask if they’d been empowered by the role they’d just played) but as we said our goodbyes I was left with the hope that the thinking didn’t stop there…that some of the things we’d touched upon in the discussion would prompt further thought and reflection as they are, in fact, central aspects of acting, performance and even to some extent the more general task of interacting with the world on a day to day basis…
The main thrust of this reflection was about relationships…firstly with the people in our lives, those familiar and not, those loved and liked or not, those resented and feared or not…and the part we play in those relationships…which isn’t always the part we think we play…and then it was about the relationships between concepts; the actor and character, reality and fantasy, escapism and acceptance and openness and barriers…
So my point is this…in order for this morning to be really successful and exceed the initial buzz of immediate action…there just needs to be a little bit of follow up thought…and in doing this the whole experience becomes significantly richer…
We set up a real time improvisation, a cast of characters to take part in it and then pretty much let it run…adding in catalysts and signposts as it went. As a formula for workshops and actor training it’s hardly new but despite this it does require a standard of engagement from a reasonably experienced set of actors if only so that they stay in role as consistently as possible throughout the improvisation.
Gold company managed this well, as I had faith that they would…and as it closed we had the usual quality of initial responsive discussion displayed by this vibrant company…including input from some people that don’t always feel confident to take part (you have to ask if they’d been empowered by the role they’d just played) but as we said our goodbyes I was left with the hope that the thinking didn’t stop there…that some of the things we’d touched upon in the discussion would prompt further thought and reflection as they are, in fact, central aspects of acting, performance and even to some extent the more general task of interacting with the world on a day to day basis…
The main thrust of this reflection was about relationships…firstly with the people in our lives, those familiar and not, those loved and liked or not, those resented and feared or not…and the part we play in those relationships…which isn’t always the part we think we play…and then it was about the relationships between concepts; the actor and character, reality and fantasy, escapism and acceptance and openness and barriers…
So my point is this…in order for this morning to be really successful and exceed the initial buzz of immediate action…there just needs to be a little bit of follow up thought…and in doing this the whole experience becomes significantly richer…
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