Kedzie and Judith have completed their report on “LMA for the training actor”. It can be found on http://www.lancs.ac.uk/palatine/dev-awards/penfield.htm
There is also a DVD available – follow the links for the order form or you are welcome to contact either Judith (jsteel@vcu.edu) or Kedzie (kedzie1@btinternet.com ) There is additional material on the blog site which will remain in existence as long as people are using it.
The workshop leaders will be Kedzie Penfield and Judith Steel.
One of the outcomes of this teaching project is to offer our ideas, thoughts, and findings, in a practical workshop setting that can benefit theatre and movement practitioners in the field and in higher education.
Details are on the link.
Continue reading "Workshop: LMA and actor movement training" »
Year 1
Day 1
Objective:
The day is used for rehearsals for the movement assessment: 'creating an abstract movement piece devised from the essential qualities of the character taking place in a scene outside of the play'. Today's work is about devising a personal warm-up, rehearsing the movement material for the assessment, and working with the performance partner.
Areas of Bess:
Body- fundamentals- 3 dimensional warm-up
Effort - effort elements
Shape- all aspects
Space -attention to spatial considerations
LMA principles:
Finding availability and openness to a performance challenge by connecting to aspects of the piece that can be fine-tuned through LMA theory, notes, and experiences that can support the embodiment of the material.
Day 2
Objective:
The day is devoted to the performance of the movement piece. Students will perform in pairs. Actors will set up their prop, take their place, and begin with the material. The event will include performing the 'task' the abstraction and elements that are exaggerated, all within a continuity of a beginning, middle, and ending. The piece will be videotaped.
Teaching thoughts and observations:
Students were apprehensive as this was their first substantial movement assessment that was determined through their own devising. The source of the inspiration was an acting class performance whereby each actor played one of two characters from a scene. The overlap with an acting class project was intentional. The instructors goal was to push the actors' understanding of their role in the scene by giving them the opportunity to explore abstract movement as a vehicle for defining the inner life of the character in its most physically manifested state. The performances were marked by a strong presence, through-line of intention, and interesting manifestations of character through a prop. Categories of assessment fell into the following three areas: through-line of intention, quality of physicality to support the intention, and development of the material (eg. variation and modulation).
Year 1
Day 1
Objective:
Level 1 will have a movement assessment next week. Today's work in class is to work with 'listening to the body', and developing a working process for developing abstract movement out of an intention
Areas of Bess:
Body- fundamental
Effort - effort elements
Space -attention to spatial considerations
LMA principles:
Body level listening with attention
Integration of body, effort, shape and connecting to motivation
Class activity:
-Developing a working process for creating movement material
-Practicing body listening
-Focus on character- movement stemming from impulse- go back into the physicalization - work to create a repeatable sequence
Teaching thoughts:
Focusing exercises based on how movement is registered and picked up by different individuals. 'Listen to your body' is the theme here. After doing, take time to notice the small details of how you chose to move. Do a body scan and movement scan.
Some follow the leader, some initiate movement with an impulse- continue the idea of allowing movement to come out of the body. After this type of focus, the students were asked to get back to thinking about their character. Play with exaggerating the quality, the use of body parts, and the attention to effort. Allow the quality to influence what you are doing-play with the extremes and the opposites. Let your body explore. This was a reminder to get out of the head and find the reservoir of possibilities inherent in one's movement.
Day 2
Class activities:
This is a continuation of day one with the addition of a prop. Possibilities of working with a prop include transformation -allowing the prop to act upon the character- exaggerating the way the prop is used
Teaching thoughts:
The creation of abstract movement is becoming a useful way to access the inner life of the character. Abstraction allows the actor to view and experience the essential qualities of what makes this person tick. Asking the actor to perform a scene 'outside of the play' also gives permission to engage in an imaginative exercise that plays with exploring the subtext of the character, some of which may never be totally revealed in a play. Playing with many possibilities, creative play, and imagination before 'locking in' to the reality played out in the script, hopefully, will allow for greater depth and understanding of motive and objective of the character within the play.