Saturday 28th April Of Text, Context and Character

This Saturday marked the start of getting back into some solid technique.

I have wanted to do some detailed text workshops for a while and with the summer showcase in mind, there was no better time to start.

Tanushka and I wrote 6 mini scenes with no stage or character directions. The plan was for the students to get into pairs, pick a scene and create their characters from the small about of text that they had been given. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I have based these workshops on three easy steps:-

1) The text itself

William Shakespeare was a master of creating character through pace, rhythm, structure and composition of a line or lines. His characters literally, with study, leap off the page. Therefore, the words themselves are a good place to start - before character, before the scene or before anything else. What do the words tell us about the characters or the world of the scene? What can we glean from the language and rhythms used?

As this was the first in a series of workshops, we kept it very simple. One example below:-

A:     Yes.

B:     No.

A:     Please.

B:     Yes.

A:     No.

B:     Yes.

Six lines of dialogue and a world of discovery for the actors. So where do we start with this? Well, on the face of it there seems to be disagreement between the characters. But is that the obvious choice? Where could they be? What could they be doing? Are the characters human? What difference does pace make to this scene. The text itself gives us very little clues but what it does allow is a huge amount of diversity in performance. For example, what happens to the scene if we read it extremely quickly or add long pauses between lines? These are all choices that the actors have the freedom to make. Which leads me to -

2) The context or world of the text

Where are these characters? What makes sense to the text? This will have a profound affect on the performance. For example, it will be a very different portrayal if we set the scene in the future, in a dystopian Germany than it would be if we placed it in medieval England on the eve of The War of the Roses. Are these two aliens who are busy discovering English? The imagination is completely free to create context around the text but the key is to recognise that the performance will be different if the context is different! The sub-text or if you like, the unspoken meaning, will change depending on the context or the world - and this leads me to:-

3) The character

Once we are familiar with the words and have a good idea of the situation or the world where they are spoken, we can begin to explore the character. How does the character speak in this world? What motivates them? Why are they saying what they are saying and who are they saying it to? There is something that professional actors call, 'actioning' - this is basically where I place an 'I want' before every line. This 'I want' gives me an action to play on the line and gives me a wonderful place to start with a strong vision for what my character is doing and why. For example, if I take the action for character A as, 'I want to eat her pie,' then that gives me something strong to play. It means that I make a strong choice as an actor.

The key to all of this is that at this stage, no acting choice is wrong. Rather, making a strong choice is powerful - no matter what it is. It is then down to the director and actors to look at what the best and most suitable choice is for the scene or play as a whole.

These are three simple steps but they succeed in the task of both empowering the actor and giving them clear guidance on how to create a living, dramatic scene. From what on the face of it can seem a boring or difficult piece of text, we can pick it apart and take control.

The Brighton Passion Easter Sunday 2pm

Dear All,

You may be interested in coming and seeing The Brighton Passion tomorrow at 2pm.

This 'ere director is back on the boards where I've been understudying the role of Jesus. It doesn't look like I'll be playing the role tomorrow but I'll be doing a bit of narration stuff and playing a pretty nasty member of the crowd. It'll be a chance to see members of Brighton community acting out this amazing story and potentially seeing me practice a bit of what I preach!

Brighton Passion

See you there!

Saturday 24th March Of Practice and Performance

So this was the day of our end of term performance.

It's always good to distance yourself from a performance before going back and analysing it too closely. There is an emotional attachment immediately afterwards that, speaking from a creative's point of view, is extremely fragile. In my opinion, actors should never be given notes immediately after a performance. Similarly, if you're ever giving feedback on a performance then wait a bit if it's critical. Otherwise, the danger is that the performer/director is still too close to the performance to look at it objectively and might feel slightly put out or upset.

The four hours in the morning were a real joy and fulfilled a bit of a personal dream. I have always wanted to be working with a large group of young actors in a theatre putting on a decent length performance. From the get-go the focus was fantastic. Here was a company of actors, some who had never met before, working closely together and concentrating hard on creating our story. This enabled us to do some great work and get the performance ready for the evening.

Generally, technical rehearsals are long and tiring. They involve a lot of repetition. The lights need to be programmed in and focused and then refocused and then reprogrammed and then the operator needs to run the scenes a few times to get used to timings. This usually results in the actors repeating the same actions over and over again. But, as I said in a previous post, it is much more fun if you embrace that repetition as a chance to hone your character and the blocking. These days are always a real teller for which actors have a good sense of humour. My advice is to embrace the excitement of being in a theatre and have as much fun as possible whilst listening to what the technical team need!

And so to the performance and the story.

I am very aware that the story needs a bit of work. I will constantly be developing the script and looking to make things clearer story-wise. Having said that there is something wonderful about keeping things obscure. We're found that the majority of the joy with this story has been the discussions that we've had in rehearsals about the subject matter and the characters. We've asked the Windmill Young Actors to explore some pretty complex subjects and have found not only wonderfully imaginative and open intelligent minds, but also togetherness. This was and is their story. They have invested in it, written it and devised it together. It is their work. Together with Tanushka, we have simply tried to empower that story, give it some shape and create our performance.

The show itself was extraordinary. If you look at the facts, here are 35 young actors, a lot of whom had never performed in front of people before. Some of whom hadn't even had the confidence to put their hand up in class and had struggled with confidence. Yet here they were playing lead roles in front of hundreds of people. Amazing!

I am immensely proud of the piece of work and of all those who performed and helped develop the piece in rehearsals. Every term brings new inspiration and more delight and I can't wait until we get back on April 21st to continue to develop both the stories and ourselves as people and artists.

Saturday 17th March Of Moments

I apologise that I'm a little behind on this so just a very brief run-down of what we did.

At this stage of rehearsals, with a week to go, it's all hands to the blocking. It's usually the case that there is still a lot of the script to put together. The nature of only having 2 hours a week means that you only really get a good 90 minutes to work around breaks and warm ups per week.

The focus was much better this week and we pushed on into the creation of version 2 of 'The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves'.

These types of weeks are pretty exhausting for all concerned. Tanushka and I are working frantically to make sure that all the young actors know what they are doing and have a decent amount to do whilst at the same time managing the room and making sure everyone is healthy and looking happy.

I'll just dwell briefly on what I have previously called 'Moments'. These are the bits in a piece of theatre that raise it above the rest. If you can put moments of character connection or focsuing of the script into the performance it will always add to the enjoyment of the audience.

Moments

The little looks, the tiny gestures,
The hidden gems and the sly swoops into space.
Moments make the magic, a director's ally,
The reflected truth of a human soul trapped in a script.
Perhaps a head turn, a glance across the divide,
Between two hearts, a glow, fast, or slow
To behold, but there. Amongst the chaos,
Amongst the voices and the songs, amongst
The debris of bodies, arms and legs
That show a different side, a real side
And there, a piece of magic indescribable in the gloom,
In the dust and ashes that maybe, if you're lucky,
You'll see and it'll be
Your moment.

Saturday 10th March Of 5 Tips for Great Rehearsals

We had a very mixed rehearsal on Saturday. The more experienced earlier group were much less focused and this is something that we are going to have to address. Unfortunately, that means we are a little behind on their scenes. The afternoon group, on the other hand, were superb and we got a huge amount of good work done to the point where we are even thinking of adding an extra scene in this week.

But why was there such a difference between groups? I think that size has an influence and also perhaps a little misplaced confidence. As I said, we'll be addressing this but in the meantime I thought I'd outline 5 key tips to creating a great and productive rehearsal.

1) Come prepared

Now that we have scripts finalised I will be expecting all WYA to come having practiced their lines and with a sound knowledge of the story. The time spent in rehearsals is actually the bare minimum to prepare for a performance. As a professional actor I would expect to be doing a good hour a day outside of scheduled rehearsal time. During this time I would not only be learning the lines off by heart but also looking at my character. Where do they come from? Who are they? What is the world that they live in? If I come to rehearsal with a good idea of all this then I can throw myself into it with confidence, ideas and creativity and in so doing bring the script to life.

2) Focus on stage

It almost goes without saying but when you are in the performance space you need to be keyed into the fact that at any moment you'll be asked to repeat a section of script or try something new. It's not the time to chat about anything other than what is being put together on the stage. This is often very draining as you can be asked to concentrate for long periods of time. However, this time is vital. Be thinking about your role, your place on stage, what the audience might or might not be seeing. You can help the director and be ready for that next run through. It's often in these moments that something about the character or scene will 'click'.

3) Focus off stage

This is absolutely vital. When everyone is in one room it is of paramount importance that you do not distract from what is going on on stage. So how do you keep yourself occupied as this can be very boring? Well, it's easy - watch, listen and practice. Firstly, watch what is going on. It may be that your scene is next or perhaps you're understudying for one of the actors on the stage. Either way, you'll need to be absolutely focused on what's going on. I am currently understudying the role of Jesus in Brighton's Passion play and so far, for the last 10 weeks, I have had to watch the actor playing Jesus closely and precisely. Every move, every line, every relationship that he creates needs to be in my mind for when I step up to play the role. Secondly, listen to what is going on. Your cue to enter might be coming up and you'll be expected to be ready. You can also learn from other actors and listen to how they say their lines. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you were performing a scene, the last thing that you'd want is for a couple of people off stage to be distracting you or making a noise. Therefore, it's pretty simple really - if you're waiting to go on stage, respect those on stage in the same way that you'd want to be respected. Thirdly, you can be practicing your lines in your head or going over a particular scene. You might even be able to find another room off the main rehearsal room to run lines with a scene partner.

4) Keep an eye on the director/s

You may have had an amazing idea or be worrying about a line or action that you have in the performance. This is absolutely fine. However, rather than going and speaking to the director immediately, take a moment to see what they are doing. They may be watching someone else perform or they may be discussing a certain aspect of a scene. This is NOT the time to go to them. It is absolutely right to go to them with a question or idea but wait for the right moment - maybe it's in a break or during a moment when they aren't focusing on something else. You'll soon get a reputation with the director of being easy to work with and professional if you are one step ahead of him or her and ready with questions and ideas at the right time. I always find times like this wonderful for learning. Those WYA who want to have a go at directing can watch Tanushka and I to see how we work, you'll then (hopefully!) have a better idea of how you'd like to direct. Having said that, as an actor, I've probably learnt most about directing from the directors that I didn't like!

5) Repetition should be embraced not rejected

Famous film director, Stanley Kubrick, who directed films like Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining (all 18s) was famous for his painstaking care and scene staging. He would repeat the same action with his actors over and over again because he felt that it was only in repetition that you would 'find' those moments of acting magic or that wonderful nuance of a character relationship. Put simply, repetition is part of acting. Whether you're acting in a film, a commercial or on stage, you will need to repeat the same lines over and over again. I once toured Alice in Wonderland for 6 months performing between 10 and 14 shows a week. Yes, it did get boring! But during rehearsal repetition is absolutely key to getting the lines embedded in your brain and on your lips. It's also for discovering new things about your character or the world of the play. Repetition should be embraced rather than moaned about. It will help put you in front of an audience as a confident and proud performer.

Millie-May Directing Blog 1

With the growing experience and talent of some members, Tanushka and I have started giving directing opportunities to the young actors. Take a look at what Millie said about her first attempt.

Last week in drama I had a go at directing for the first
time - believe me, it was hard!

Once you’ve got a picture in your head of what you want the scene to look like, it's quite hard to actually get it out of your head. You just have to accept that it's probably not going to turn out how you thought it would. You have to remember that actors aren’t dolls and you can’t simply force them into a position without them feeling uncomfortable in that position and able to move freely.

If you direct your actors to add a little look to the audience so they can understand what the character is feeling, it doesn’t always go as planned. I found that in performance the audience laughed, when actually the character was experiencing a tiring, backbreaking job. I guess they liked it, whichever way they took it, and that’s the main thing. The audience have to like it.

It's often difficult to know exactly how an audience will react to the scene that you've directed and only through experience that you can get a pretty firm grasp on the feeling that you're creating through the performances and the blocking. Millie managed to put together a gorgeously sweet little scene. That's all I'll say on it for now. If you want to see how that scene turns out then come and watch on March 24th!

A Play in A Day - April 13th - Booking Now!

Saturday 3rd March - Of Putting it all Together

Where do you start when you have a rough sketch of a new piece of writing?

SCRIPT READING

This is pretty essential to get a feel for the rhythm and pace of the piece. It also flags up any obvious mistakes in the writing in terms of character and dialogue.

GUT REACTION

It's vital that your prospective actors feel at least a little inspired by what they've read otherwise everyone will be fighting a losing battle.

CASTING

In this case, Tanushka and I base the casting on a number of different aspects. Firstly, we look at whether or not the character will be suitable for the actor. We take into consideration experience, time as a Windmill Young Actor, commitment to the previous Saturdays, commitment to the workshops that we've run and age and size (very important if two actors are playing opposite each other in particular scenes or doing something physically difficult). Secondly, we look at how casting a particular young actor will benefit them as both an actor and a person. Some unconfident actors might benefit hugely from being given a little more responsibility, whereas some actors who have a way to go will be given something that they can get their teeth into - suitable for their talent. Thirdly, we might really want to challenge a more experienced actor and so cast them in a role that is the complete opposite to what they might usually play.

It was wonderful to chat to one particular member of the afternoon group last week. I mentioned that unfortunately there wasn't going to be the part this term that would fully recognise her talent and commitment. She responded, "It's fine. As long as I'm performing, I don't care what I play!" I wish all actors were like that!

PUTTING IT ON IT'S FEET

The first week of doing this is particularly challenging. And it was no change on Saturday. This is where, with scripts in hand, we begin to shape together the scenes and the characters. Tanushka and I are co-directing for the first time this term and it's a new experience for both of us. The good news is that it's working very well and we haven't gone down with 'creative differences' yet! The slightly tricky thing though, is that until we have firm 'blocking' (when actors have their places and positions on stage), things are quite slow and so a lot of patience is needed from the young actors.

CCOMBINING TWO GROUPS

This has been another great new opportunity for us this term. With two groups we have the chance to give each group very specific scenes and tasks that make up part of the whole piece. We can then put them all together and create one full and varied exciting final performance that utilises everyone's unique skills. Of course, it all becomes more complicated but then working through all that is what you're paying us for!

CREATING PERFORMANCE

Everything said prior to this is just the start. Once we have a shape to the performance the real challenge then begins. We begin to work the 'detail' into the scenes. These are the small moments that perhaps aren't in the script; perhaps a character history for an atmosphere or a piece of music. It's all vital!

With just 6 hours of rehearsal until 24th March, we're excited and just a little terrified!

Dear Parents - Please Read

Dear Parents,

As I’m sure that you’ve seen on the blog this term has already been hugely inspiring and productive.

If, for any reason, you haven’t signed up to follow the blog then I’d really recommend that you do as it details all of the essential information along with work from the students and performance times and dates.

www.bringactinghome.blogspot.com

On the performance front, we are now extremely excited to confirm two performance dates:-

Date: March 24th
Location: Windmill Theatre
Arrival for registration: 18.15
Doors Open: 18.30
Event: 19.00 – 21.30
Costume: Please make sure that you have the basics of an all black costume – this is a standard performance ask and worth the investment.

Tech/Dress rehearsals will be at the usual times on 24th March. 09.45 – 11.45 and 12.00 – 14.00 in THE WINDMILL THEATRE. There will be two 5 minute performances, one from each group, and will be tasters for the summer WYA show.

Date: 13th July
Location: Brighton Dome
This is part of the Family Festival.
TBC

We are also planning a Windmill Young Actors only evening where we will perform the full scale production of ‘The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves’ along with a showcase of monologues and duologues. The plan is to invite a number of industry professionals. This will be in the summer term.

A reminder – please can you make it clear in writing if your child makes their own way home after each Saturday. Also, if you are not receiving emails and updates about WYA then please email Cicely – ctaylor@blatchingtonmill.org.uk – to confirm that you’ve filled in the application form and that we have your details. Alongside this, please do follow the blog.

Thanks everyone. Exciting times ahead!

Best Wishes,

Ben and Tanushka.

Saturday 25th February - Of Scripts and Ideas

With a full complement of students (we now have 41 registered), WYA kicked off the new half term with a bang!

It's always an exciting time as an actor and director when you have your first reading of a new script. I always think what it would have been like for actors in Shakespeare's day. They would receive their parts written out for them, potentially having no idea of the play, the other characters or what happens in Act 2! It was exhilarating new work to be played with and discussed, fought for and digested.

And so, our young actors were presented with the 'The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves' development script. The idea is that I give an outline with bits of dialogue and stage direction and then together as a group, we devise and develop what is on the page. I then take it away with copious amounts of notes and re-write the script. It's down to the actors to stake a claim with ideas and potential characters. These are the moments where Tanushka and I will listen to the read-throughs, place new ideas into the mix and respond to spoken passion with an open mind.

Well, you might think that with a group of kids that you'd get a couple that had potential or perhaps you'd tut at a few mis-placed references to 'X Factor' or 'Doctor Who'. Not with this bunch, however. Opinions flew around the room, words tumbled into newness and characters grew from the minds of children.

The real joy is that I now have some unique and original pieces of writing from the kids themselves to incorporate into the story.

And so here I am with four pages worth of ideas and a new script to write. All I can say is be careful what you ask for!

We have three performance dates scheduled for the rest of the academic term. Dates and times will be coming soon.

February 25th - We're Back!

Dear All,

The pancakes are eaten, the tummies are laden and the Lent promises are suffering under ghastly temptations. But, never fear, Windmill Young Actors are back with a bang this coming Saturday 25th February.

Bring your rehearsal heads as we'll be heading straight into rehearsals for the end of term showcase and end of year production.

'The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves' is BACK!!

Josie Lambert - Walking Through the Smoke

Yet more amazing writing from our group. This time, it's Josie Lambert's turn to write a poem inspired by the Butoh exercise. Josie is 10!

Walking through the smoke,
Covering my eyes,
Soft ash on the floor,
A civilisation dies.

Expressionless face,
A planet on my head,
Struggling with the balance,
Slowly being lead.

The planet's weight is painful,
My screams as silent as this night,
I cannot keep moving,
Not falling is a fight.

As I lay in the darkness,
The dust of a month, year, century,
My eyes are open but I cannot see,
This world was never meant for me.

The warm duvet of dust,
I'm as peaceful as a sleeping baby,
But still so tiringly awake,
Until a strange light hits me.

That light pulls me up,
From the point it touches me,
Getting lifted to the surface,
The light was the key.

Now I'm walking through a land,
Filled with blinding lights,
Weird machines called 'cars',
And people breaking into fights.

I ask where I am,
They can't see or hear me,
My answer is blank faces,
And the knowledge I will never be free.

Saturday February 4th Of The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves and Improvisation

It was time for Butoh with the afternoon group. Overall they are slightly less experienced than the earlier group so we had decided to give them an extra week to bond before this exercise. It's fascinating to see how the new group is developing their own personality and how it differs from the morning group.

The morning group are larger, overall a lot more experienced, and it feels like you're working with friends. Some of the group have been together now for years and it makes such a difference to the feeling in the room. This sense of camaraderie was typified when our eldest student, Elliott, applauded one of the youngest and least confident members simply for getting up and having a go at performing. Elliott is a boy who has struggled at times in the group but this year has truly thrived and lead from the front. He sets a great example for the younger members and is really learning to relax in his own performance.

The afternoon group are smaller and therefore, it is somewhat easier for them to be more reflective in their work. Quite a few new students have brought more diversity and a different energy to the room. There is a sense of excitement and newness about the work we're doing. Having said this, experienced members like Anna Simmonds and Sam Salvage have grown in responsibility and supported the newbies with professionalism and character. Similarly, Ellen Boucher who wrote the poem that I published last week and sisters, Isabelle and Freya have really come out of their shell in this smaller group.

And so we look forward to the next stage of 'The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves'. Tanushka and I love to get our ideas from the work that the kids do but often when you give them a few rules within an improvisation they then go off and produce something which is rough at the edges, to say the least. It was truly groundbreaking this week as every group in the morning, without fail, produced simple, effective and dramatic scenes of which I could take numerous ideas for the writing of the next play. In my 10 years of working with kids in a drama I have literally never experienced this. Occasionally you'll get one or two nice ideas but today was astounding.

I can't wait to get back to it on February 25th!

No Windmill Young Actors tomorrow (11th) or next week (18th)

See you on Saturday 25th February.

The Ash - By Ellen Boucher

Ellen, aged 9, is a member of the afternoon group of Windmill Young Actors.

THE ASH

The ash was falling, falling from nowhere. I stared into the nothingness. I didn’t want to walk but something was pulling me. Perhaps it was the restless spirits that lay under years - so many years - of ash that always fell, always would fall and always had fallen. I was carrying something, it felt important. It was on my head. I couldn’t carry it anywhere else. Something wouldn’t let me. But it was so heavy. It weighed me down. Then I was sinking. Now it wasn’t just a thing on my head, something was pulling at my legs. The spirits were luring me into the underground world, just the way my entire civilisation had been taken. Then I stumbled. I was on the ground. The spirits had taken me. I couldn’t get up. I just lay.

A light was shining on my face and my body was numb. An entire millennium under the ash and now I was free. I’d forgotten how to move. I managed to rise. I kept rising. I was in the air. But my body was as light as air. There was nothing left of me. I was a spirit like all the rest of my people. I wasn’t free. I was gone. Now I was just a spirit desperate for revenge on my evil death.

Saturday 28th January Of Butoh and Breaking Away

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh

It is very rare that adult performers have the focus and the discipline to undertake long Butoh exercises.It requires an aspect of performance and physical skill that most don't have. Therefore, we made it clear to the students at WYA that this was an exercise that was very advanced. We asked them to go with it as much as they could.

So, what was the exercise?

It begins with a walk - a shaking off of the fact that the space is a working dance studio. We encourage the students to begin to think about their own walk, ignore everyone else. Then, with the aid of music, we begin to create a world. A world where every sense is alive. The walk slows, feet barely moving and eyes ahead. The walk slows even further and suddenly you feel a weight on your head. You are balancing. You are striving to hold this weight but it pushes you down. Slowly. You struggle against the weight but slowly, slowly, it pushes you into the floor. You fight against it but soon, soon you are down. Your entire body stretched out. And the world you know begins to evaporate. Your body becomes covered, you lie there, in the ash of centuries, the ice of ages.

A ray of light pierces the dark and hits one part of your body. That part begins to move, to come alive, to explore the light, the new surroundings and slowly, slowly, your body learns to move again. You stand, or do you. The air is air? You move through it, peaceful, floating, how do you move? What is around you? Alive. And then, you see yourself, you see your hair, you think about your breakfast and with a large step, step back into this world and you.

The whole exercise lasts about 30 minutes.

Now, all this sounds a little out there and intense!! But actually, it's just a simple imagination exercise and allows the performer to explore aspects of their senses, to focus fully on every small movement. It focuses the mind, allowing the performance to take over all of our worries and self-awareness.

We also make the point that this is performance. This isn't you, the actor, and it's very important to shake off that performance. As actors we are presenting a truth, we aren't becoming a character that stays with us. There are countless stories of actors coming off the rails because of the intensity of their involvement with a character. We embrace the fact that in the moment of performance, the character is fully there, but when we 'step out' of character, we are us again, you and me.

For young actors, this exercise gives them a wonderful opportunity to go to extraordinary places in their imagination. It teaches them that self-awareness and lack of confidence can be overcome. It also builds ensemble - everyone involved, everyone experiencing something together.

Here are a few quotes from the young actors after the exercise.

Even though it's a cupboard, you’re not seeing a cupboard.
I couldn’t see but I could hear everything.
It felt like there was no one else in the room. You weren’t looking.
There’s an object that you see but it’s not an object.
It could be a lake, where you go down down down – it covers you.
At first you feel awkward, but then when you see others, you feel that you can drift into it.
My eyes were dropping but I felt that I could still feel the ash.
A beam of light – a miner’s or architects torch.
Ice melting.
You could taste the ash.
Kind of like, losing a sense – it became about what you felt and what you heard.
It’s good to shake it all off afterwards.

And oh yeah, remember that these kids are aged between 7 and 12. All I can say is that I was totally inspired by them this week and I am every week. I guess I should get used to expecting more and more because they are pretty special.

February 4th - Last Week Before HALF TERM (11th and 18th)

Dear All,

Just to confirm that this coming week will be the last week before we break for 2 weeks for half term.

THERE WILL BE NO WINDMILL YOUNG ACTORS on Saturday 11th and 18th February.

Thanks all.

Group Size Update

Dear All,

Just to let you know that the morning session, 09.45 - 11.15 is now fully booked for this term. There is still room in the second group 12.00 - 14.00 but that is filling up fast.

Cheers,
Ben

Saturday 21th January Of More Masks and Games

Not a huge amount to add from last week.

We continued the mask work and looked a little more at Meisner. The majority of each class was spent making sure that everybody had a go in the masks.

The fantastic thing that has come out of these sessions with masks is the discovery of a new freedom in performance. It's often the case that some of the kids understandably become very self- conscious in front of others.

The mask allows for a form of escape from that. The focus is removed from the face of the performer and the performer can 'act' freely, 'behind the mask'. Therefore, as a way of teaching how to perform, the mask provides the perfect protection for the performer to act naturally whilst not worrying about what they look like. And hence, some of the students began to show a level of performance and confidence that had previously gone untapped.

A fantastic couple of weeks.

Saturday 14th January Of Meisner and Masks

One of the joys of working with kids is that you are able to introduce lots of different techniques into their training. They haven't yet formed a full working practice or 'method' of working. Therefore, we try to cover as large a variety of forms and performance studies as possible in Windmill Young Actors.

This week we looked at two very particular forms, in Meisner and Mask.

As I'm writing this, Wikipedia is currently down so I'm unable to get their wonderful definition of a mask. But hey, as I'm sure most of the journalists around the country are finding today, they actually write because they used to enjoy being original! So here goes:-

Mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment (okay I'm cheating, you can still get that much on the google search page!). But I'm going to branch out. A mask can either be figurative or literal. People can be regarded as 'hiding behind a mask', mask here representing a 'front' or 'fake personality'. In performance mask has a rich history, from ancient tradition through to Shakespeare and more recently as a teaching method to help us forget about 'us' - Ben the performer with all of his physical and facial defects! The mask is able to portray possibility in performance. With such a set expression, from neutral to extreme, the mask takes over. The performance becomes hugely physical and every slightest adjustment becomes significant and takes on meaning. Okay, enough for now!

There are a number of rules with mask, and if I can persuade Tanushka to ever read this blog, then maybe she'll get round to telling you about them. Alas, having never trained fully in mask, I found myself learning alongside the kids. Tanushka is a great teacher and always makes classes fascinating.

But there's an important point to make about her directing. She always always always encourages discussion. She allows an individual or small group to experiment in front of the class in performance and then encourages feedback afterwards. I am learning as a director that sometimes you get more from the discussion than the performance itself. I guess, it's similar to telling your child off. You can either shout at them or you can sit them down quietly and explain why what they did was wrong and why they shouldn't do it again. You can champion what works and what is good and right whilst also beginning to explain the importance and of boundaries and discipline.

As adults we have the opportunity to learn everyday but those lessons are often affected or tainted by what has gone before. With kids, the sooner they understand a method, the sooner they can find the unique value in it for themselves.

We did a very quick Meisner exercise of repetition. Meisner is designed to make us forget about what is going on in our own heads and focus purely on the moment or the relationships on stage, right at that second. There will be more on this is future weeks so I'll talk more about it then.

Good stuff.