We started
the lesson off imagining that we were walking along straight lines.
Automatically I was able to imaging a grid of pipes that overlapped, I was able
to use my imagination to turn the exercise into a game that didn’t allow me to
fall off of the pipes otherwise I would fall and die. This meant that I had to
place my feet in particular places in order to not fall. By doing this I was
able to carry myself around in a more precise and exact manor. When turning
corners my movements were sharp and quick. I also had to be aware of my peers
that were following their own paths. Using my peripheral vision I managed to
avoid bumping into them most of the time. However the few times I did bump into
someone, it ripped me completely away
from my focused that I had created and I found that after bumping into one
person I often ended up bumping into a series of people immediately after until
I was able to gain control of the situation once again.
During this
exercise there was music which also helped movements to be synchronised and
allowed a pace to be kept. As a whole class, there were moments in which we
allowed ourselves to fall behind in terms of pace when we should have continued
to push through and kept a constant energised speed. In respect of the exercise
relating to the mind, I thought that it would look very effective as something
that was continuous as audience members entered the space because we were all
like little impulses on our own individual missions. If we were to add
something like torches which we switched on and off every once and again as we
moved around the space then it could have built upon that image and closed with
either one light disappearing at a time or a build-up of lights to reveal
something spectacular.
After this
we got into partners and were given the aim to hit the back of our partners
knees but to avoid our own from being hit. This was the most exhausting task
for me because being active whilst interacting made me want to laugh which
meant that my body could maintain the energy that it required for as long. I
found myself wanting to give up a lot of the time. However, having a partner
worked two ways because it also brought out my competitive side and I was
willing to put in as much effort as my partner because I wanted to make sure
that I beat them.
We then got
into different pairs and stood opposite our partner. We took it in turns of
either playing the fisherman that was trying to fish the fish out of the water
or the fish that was trying to fight the line that it was caught on. During
this exercise, I think the music was a huge part of the atmosphere that was
created. There was very dramatic but slow music playing which was fed through
our movements and translated in the slow motion and exaggerated movement and
facial expressions that most of us used. At this point in the lesson, we were
all so tired that we didn’t even care what we looked like or the fact that the
exercise was a bit strange, instead we just went for it. It was at this moment
that I understood why Grotowski liked exhausting his actors, it was because a
shield that is unconsciously there is then removed and a fresh rawness can be
revealed and delivered in its juiciest form.
We then did
an exercise that I really liked that included having a partner and then having
to get away from them. This is a good exercise because it really forces both people
to put in all of their effort and strength to either escape of trap a person.
My partner wasn’t as strong as me and so I was able t escape quite a few times
so it wasn’t actually that effective for me personally but I can see how it defiantly
would be so long as the partners are equally matched physically. The exhaustion
also seemed to get rid of awkwardness or insecurities; it allowed pure emotions
to be awoken from the dead. My mission to escape meant that I hate my partner
and needed to escape their grip in order to survive.
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