Saturday 5th November Of Focus and Slavery

Having been away for half term it was a real privilege to get back into training with the Acting Club students.

Something must be going around because we have literally tripled in number this term and now stand at the heady heights of 35 students.

With a performance lined up for 3rd December, brains came together to begin creating something worth its salt. However, with new players joining every week it was important to initially go back to basics.

Tanushka lead some games and warm ups but then we moved quickly into some focus exercises. We talk a lot about finding a 'neutral' position as an actor. This isn't a place of laziness but rather a place of spring-like readiness. The whole body is relaxed, upright and we are 'leading' from our centre. Shoulders are relaxed and heads upright, eyes fixed ahead. The actor is ready. At Acting Club we do a lot of work on focus and finding that 'neutral' position. Tanushka and I are firm believers that once we have a firm and natural understanding of 'neutral' then anything becomes possible. Furthermore, there is little chance for young people to actually train in focus. In so doing, the performers are not only learning where to begin as actors but also learning valuable skills to take with them into the classroom and their social lives.

Once more I was astounded by the level that this group work at. Over thirty 7 - 12 year olds, standing in a straight line, in silence, focused purely on slow precise movement. Even more interesting was some of the feedback. Some students remarked how they had felt in a bit of a trance. They had felt ready to do anything. This is the state that actors need to be in on stage - reacting purely to the moment, the truth of the situation.

This work is absolutely vital in establishing a foundation from which to create work. Not only that, but it establishes ensemble and commitment to working in a large group with limited room at a professional level.

Following on from this, we began looking at our ship. How could we create a strong piece of theatre with so many people?

We began building a movement piece based on the old slave ships, where the slaves would sit chained together, rowing in tandem with their masters cracking the whip. We managed to establish some wonderful synced movement in two teams where they chanted and rowed together as one. A really positive start to creating a final end of term piece.

I can't wait to see what they come up with next.