We looked at different forms and forces and how they can be
embodied physically and create an emotion or story. The first exercise was an
individual one where we were told a movement and we had to recreate this in our
bodies, for example; melt, shatter, freeze and disintegrate. Some of the
movements were a lot harder to create and had to be interpreted individually
and what it meant to us, where as others created a more instant response and a
lot of people seemed to have the same idea of the word. One of the first words
that were said was melt, this seemed to create a unanimous idea across the
class of what melt meant, and instinctively we all began to slowly collapse
into the ground. Personally I found that my body dropped and my limbs all
became very heavy and were pulling me into the ground. The movement was a very
slow, soft movement as I felt I was turning into liquid and that is a lot more
fluid and less harsh. As soon as melt was said I got the image of the Wicked
Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz melting in my head, I thought that this
was bad at first because it was a stereotypical image, however I felt that it
gave me a base to work of and to explore and develop into something more
abstract. Another word that was said was shatter and although similarly to melt
it was going into the ground, shatter was of a higher, more violent speed, of
which there was a lot less control and fluidity within my body. I also found
that my movements became a lot more ridged and sharp. One of the hardest words
I found to interpret was disintegrate, I think this was because unlike melt
your body wasn’t turning into another substance and unlike shatter is was
falling apart but it was disappearing and dissolving into nothing. Physically I
found this quite hard to explore because I felt I had to try and make my body
become nothing, however I explore the movement of falling to the ground but it
felt like a contrast of melt as it was a slow, steady, controlled movement to
the ground, and shatter as there was a slightly harsher edge to the movement. I
found that these explorations were really useful to develop and to work with
because it could be applied to different characters, similar to Laban, and to
show an internal turmoil. For example you could show someone being loss and
suffocated from their problems through melt or the end of a relationship
through shatter.
We then developed this exercise so that we were working with
a partner and we had to explore a piece of movement where we a playing opposing
forces, for example melt vs freeze, solid vs liquid, shatter vs fragile ect. I
found that this was a really interesting way of developing the exercise and it
opened different avenues within a relationship and showed the different
elements to a story or characters and this could communicate and connect to the
audience. One thing that is interesting about working in the abstract is that
the audience have to invest in it more however the all get out of it an
individual story and message from the piece. With the partner that I worked
with, we explored solid and fragile. At first I found this difficult to work
with, especially when we worked together, touching, as it was two completely
contrasting movements trying to work as one and I think that it when watching
it really said something about the relationship but when doing it, it felt
unnatural. However once I got into the exercise I found it was about reacting
physically to my partner’s movements and how they changed or affected my
movement. From watching others work I thought that it showed and expressed
really interesting story and I could have my own personal interpretation. I
think that the individualism that the abstract gives the audience creates a
great sense of personal interaction between an audience member and the actors
and I think it creates a really special piece of theatre. For example one
couple that I watch was one melting and he collapsed in on himself around his
partner’s legs, while his partner was freezing and he stayed strong but had a
few sharp movements. I thought that this showed the different ways that two
people experience and reactions to the war. One who had a complete emotional
meltdown and lost all stability and focus on reality and only way of surviving
is by clinging onto his friend. I thought that the friend on the outside had to
remain strong and stable, however lost all emotional and sentimental ability as
he wanted to help his friend. I think that this demonstrates the power of the
abstract and how it can connect with an audience and they can develop their own
story.
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