Wednesday 29th April 2009

Circle of names. Still too fast for me. Would numbers be easier? A few New Boys.

Picking up from where the last session ended, Page 46, which turns out to be NOT Page 46 in about half the scripts (scrub earlier suggestion about numbers). Once we've established what is REALLY meant by "Page 46", session commences with a demo of the feeding exercise for the Nubes.

The actors sharing a part stand in a line, feeder works their way along the line. For any Feeding Virgins out there, the Feeder speaks a line softly and in a neutral tone to the actor, the actor then speaks the line.

Point of concentration: to affect the person they're speaking to, do something to them, change something.

Also, relate what you say to the last thing said, refine it, contradict it, don't ignore it, and don't just go with the other person's flow.

Hassell: "Get off the bus. Get off each other's bus. In fact don't even get on their bus". (soundtrack cross-fade to voices in Colin's head: "There is no bus, the bus is an illusion. The bus is an elephant trap. The bus will not take you where you want to be. Mind your own bus-iness, bees go bus. Cut up your Oyster card. Helpmeeee.")

Hassell: "At this point we're just looking for the bare facts of what you're saying. Not interested at this point in what you're feeling about it."

Introduced touching.

Busts/challenges:
Don't just use the touch to take over from your PART-ner.
Don't make the touch illustrative.

TEA, then:

LEVEL 1

Sitting on chairs in a circle, enough room behind for the feeders to walk. This time, the actor begins each line with "Yes", then the line they've been fed. Stand and enter the space with each line, hold your ground until you've been replaced. Seems to me that "Yes" is like a hook, a useful tool for connecting to what's just happened in a positive way, connecting to the person who's just spoken, even if it's "you" (i.e. one of your PART-ners). Brings an energy that isn't just sliding in. Worked really well when people said "Yes" and still went on to correct, challenge, clarify, improve on...etc. So I guess the energy is often a "Yes, BUT...", or "Yes, AND...".

Easy to use the "Yes" to cover standing up, or to slide into your line. Easy. Less interesting.

LEVEL 2

Precede your (fed) line with "No, you don't understand".

(Hassell might have reminded us to "solve it, make things better" around this point. Not sure. If he didn't, I'm sure he wishes he had)

NEXT

The piece ends with an epilogue. Police report, direct address to the audience,confessional, soliloquy, whatever it may end up being.

Everyone who's not the policeman spreads out around the space. Feeder calls out the line, and each policeman has to find an individual to say that line to. Next line, a different listener. So you have to work the room, one person at a time. Good communication exercise. Very telling when two policemen descend on the same person and have to fight for that person's attention - heightened the need to communicate. How do we grab the talking stick when there's more than one stick(XF: "Get off each other's stick, don't even get on their stick, there is no stick, the stick is an illusion, the stick is an elephant trap, the stick will not take you where....no no no stoppit!")?

Then it all went a bit Greek.

Three policemen against a wall. Being fed.

LEVEL 1

Choral speaking. No. Chanting. Chant the lines in unison. Keep faces blank.

LEVEL 2

Gesture with each line, or rather strike a pose. Only using arms and hands. Still chanting, faces still blank. No giggling (faaat chance).

LEVEL 3

Last three short phrases. Synchronise more closely. More specific (illustrative?) gestures/poses. Then all look down.

Quite hypnotic. Trance-like. Chanting of course gives the words more weight, while taking away emotional colouring. Three voices make each word a chord, not just a note. So, simple, but textured, layered.
What is being said in the epilogue is very personal, intimate. The formality of the exercise was perhaps a useful way of reminding ourselves that we could give the audience space to make up their own minds about what was being said. Neutral, but not throw-away, not copping out in any way. Full, committed to, but not manipulative. Shared, rather than performed. Dunno.

Pub.